nam mikyung

by cakevspie (kristy)

appearance

— "i'm not particular to size, only one doesn't like changing so often, you know"

face claim — lee jung ha
back up — miri

height — 158 cm
weight — 45 kg

Mikyung is average. That's how she always describes herself. Average height, average weight, average looks. And that's how it seems to be. She has an average body, for an idol, nice looking enough, thin with enough curves to be attractive. Mikyung is attractive, but certainly not stunning. She knows that she isn't a visual, and therefore doesn't try too hard.

She has a sweet enough face, a few beauty marks scattered here and there (one behind her left ear, right on her jaw, another one on her chest, and a few on her arms), natural reddish-brown hair. Not overlly tall, not overlly short, not overlly skinny but not overlly curvy either. Like the girl next door, pretty but not beautiful. That's how she always describes herself. 

Her body type is that of wider hips and a smaller bust with a tiny (23.5") waist. Again, nothing spectacular, but overall a nice canvas for stylists to work with. She has pierced ears and a belly button piercing as well, but SM usually makes her take it out. No tattoos, normally doesn't dye her hair, but she did go blonde once as a teenager, only to end up hating it and never wanting to do it again. Ironically, she later has to as a part of {alice} promotions.

fashion style

— "..she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat..."

With her relative plainness in mind, Mikyung wears whats comfortable for her. Usually that includes leggings (she can't stand jeans) and some sort of long sweatshirt or big t-shirt. Again, she's by no means a true beauty, doesn't care much for pulling off the 'y' concept. She's more of the girl you'll find in a coffeeshop, soft, quiet, like home. She curiously also prefers to have her hair covered or up when she's out or among strangers - tied up in a ponytail or a bun or hidden beneath a hat. She only lets her hair fully down when she's sleeping or with people she's truly comfortable with. 

As an idol, Mikyung is basically okay with whatever the stylists make her wear, which is usually dark, warmer colors, and they seem to fit her own personal style. She gives this impression of almost constant adolescence - like a young, teenage girl in the way she dresses and presents herself. 

For dance practices, she usually wears atheltic leggings or tights and a large t-shirt. Airports usually involve sweatshirts and leggings, maybe some cute slippers if she feels like it. Sleepware is basically almost the same as her day clothes - really, she loves comfy clothes most of all.

personality

— "who in the world am i? ah, that's the great puzzle!"

"Mikyung, Mikyung, always on the run." That's what her brother would always say. And indeed, it seems like its the trurth, as Mikyung is always running around, always on the next thing to do, the next thing to check off her list, never any time to stop and smell the roses.

That's not to say that she doesn't appreciate the beautiful things in life. As a matter of fact, the few times she does slow down and is present in the moment, those moments are the best in her life, and she knows to appreciate them, store them in her pocket because they come so few and precious. With a 100 mile an hour life, sometimes it feels like she can't breathe

It's really her stubborn nature, really. Even as a girl, she had complete faith in her ability to do anything, get anything done. Join a milion clubs, take all honors classes, find time for friends. It was exhausting. Even as an idol, Mikyung still tries to get it all done - dance rehearsals, vocal training, CF and drama filming. Even when she's run to the bone, she will never admit she's tired. Just keep running, get it all done.

In her relationships with others, Mikyung tries so hard to be the best she can, but as a result of stretching herself so thin she's often not really there - its hard to be, when you've got a million things on your mind. She puts on a facade of cool reason and logic, locking her messier emotions away because they really have no place in her 100 mile an hour life. She's often the straight man of the group, rarely caught up in any high jinks or mischief. She walks a straight path, a tightrope line. 

On the outside, she is the perfect idol. Polite, sweet, inspiring, always a smile at the host or fan or another one of her group members. With her group members, she lets her hair down a little bit more, allows herself a little bit of breathing room, but never quite enough. And what would be enough? Mikyung's very afraid that if she allows herself to stop, to catch her breath, just for one second, she'll never catch up again. So she can't allow herself to fall apart. Not yet.

Just a little more, just a little more. No time to say hello or goodbye, just always running late.

trivia

— likes

one — caramel coffee
two — disney movies
three — musicals
four — harry potter
five — weird socks
six — pancakes
seven — anything to do with paris
eight — greyhounds
nine — cheesy dramas
ten — cinammon
 

— dislikes

one — clutter
two — early mornings
three — sasaengs
four — country music
five — sunglasses
six — wet socks
seven — mung beans
eight — hot weather
nine — dead phones
ten — tangled earphones
 

— habits

one — covers when she laughs
two — avoids eye contact at a first meeting
three — puts her pen in when she's thinking
four — twists her hair when frustrated
five — paints nails when stressed

— hobbies

one — singing/acting
two — playing the piano
three — watching let's play videos on youtube
four — exercising
five — cooking

— other facts

one — considered studying film in college before making it into SM
two — secretly loves doing aegyo 
three — always late to everything
four — takes the longest to get ready in the morning because everything has to be perfect
five — the biggest scaredy-cat of {alice} - she's afraid of ghosts, spiders, dentists, heights, ect.

background

— "i can't go back to yesterday because i was a different person then"

Mikyung was born a month too early in Busan, South Korea, the second child in her family and the first daughter. Her parents were a world-renowned ballet dancer and a children's book author. She had one older brother, Minkyu (not related in anyway to the Seventeen member Kim Minkyu), who was five years older. They lived as a family in Busan until Mikyung was five. In 2000, her mother committed suicide by jumping from the roof of their apartment complex. She had been suffering from postpartum depression for a number of years after Mikyung's birth, as well as clinical depression due to her departure from the ballet industry in the year previous. 

Heartbroken, her father decided to move to the United States, unable to stay in Busan despite the overwhelming support he was receiving from his family and friends. He, Mikyung, Minkyu, and the children's grandmother moved to Los Angeles, California, in 2001. There, Mikyung and Minkyu grew up, still speaking Korean at home with their father and grandmother, but also learning English and going by the names Mikki and Minny respectively. Minkyu pursued what may have seemed like the stereotypical Asian honors student route in southern California - graduating with honors from high school and going on to major in engineering at Stanford in 2008. Mikyung, on the other hand, tried her best to follow in her brother's footsteps, but was drawn to the more artistic outlets instead, learning to read and play music and to sing and act. She became a prominent character in her high school's threatre program, known for her intensity and passion when it came to performances.

In 2011, at the age of 16, a friend in the theatre department introduced her to K-Pop. Recognizing the language and lyrics of some of the top hits of the year ("I Am the Best", "Don't Say Goodbye", and "You and I"), she was entranced by the Hallyu wave, and began to foster the incedible idea that she might be someday return to Korea to sing. In May 2012, having just turned 17, she auditioned for SM Entertainment at the monthly audition. By October, she was on her way to Seoul, ready to begin her life as a trainee.

Mikyung trained for three years before debuting as a part of {alice}, quickly realizing straight off the bat that she would have to work harder than ever before in order to even stand a chance in this industry. Her Korean wasn't quite up to par with those of Korean nationality, even though her English skills brought her close to other artists of SM who spoke English (such as Amber, who came from LA as well, and Krystal of f(x)). She trained primarily as a vocal, strengthening her already skilled voice, practicing several hours a day. Her constant effort made up for the fact that she was often a few minutes later to her practice rehearsals, a fact that frustrated her trainers, but was often forgiven later on in the practice when she seemed to work twice as hard to make up for it. As one vocal teacher remarked, the only place when Mikyung was consistently on time was while keeping the beat for a song. She always hit her notes and her marks every time.

With her goal in mind, Mikyung kept primarily to herself while training, a quiet, hardworking girl. She did associate occasionally with others, such as the Mad Hatter, offering to have tea with her every once in a while (part of her quest to reach perfection did involve being social, after all) and she seemed to connect well with the Caterpillar, looking up to her as almost a sort of older sister. To most others, however, she was simply always in too much of a hurry to get to know well. When she found out she was going to debut, that may have been the first time in three years that she finally stood still.

family

— "begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end; then stop"

mother — Lee Miyoung (이미영) // 36 (deceased) // professional ballerina (retired) // high-strung, perfectionist, loving but slightly unstable // Miyoung loved her family, truly. Having worked for years to become one of Korea's best dancers, reaching the top of her field before finally giving it up in order to start a family, Miyoung still missed the stage incredibly. She retired from the professional dancing world when she became pregnant in 1990 with Minkyu, and while she never regretted her decision to have a son, she would struggle with the depression that followed for the next ten years. When Mikyung was born prematurely, Miyoung also had to deal with the postpartum depression that came after as well. She would struggle with it for the next five years, before a small ankle injury took her out of recreational dancing as well. That was the last straw, and she left without leaving a note. Mikyung is fairly aware of the absence of her mother, not remembering much about her other than faint memories of her touch and her smell. In a way, Mikyung carries a small amount of guilt with her, as well as her mother's qualities of always striving for the best. She feels that because her mother had to give up her dreams, she has to try her best to reach the perfection that her mother couldn't be, ballet ribbons tied tight, tiptoe perfect. Miyoung affects Mikyung's life in one other, strange way as well. Mikyung, knowing that her mother suffered from postpartum depression partly due to her premature birth, has a strange habit now of making sure she's never early for anything again.

father — Nam Youngsoo (남영수) // 55 // children's author // gentle, quiet, kind, pensive // Youngsoo loves his children more than anything, and he loved his wife so much that he never remarried. He's always been quiet, more of background presence than anything. Yet his support is like solid iron, he has a will of steel. He is Mikyung's biggest support, the one who encourages her to pursue her dreams and promises to always be behind her to back her up. He waits for her to reach out to him instead of trying to keep her close, which means that more often than likely he's waiting for her to call. Mikyung typically calls him once a week, Minkyu once or twice a month, and Youngsoo is grateful for it, despite the loneliness he often feels with the absence of his wife and now grown up children. Mikyung sometimes feels a little guilty for leaving him behind in America (as he refuses to step foot in Korea again, not even for her), even as he assures her its not the case.

brother — Nam Minkyu (남민규) // 25 // occupation // good-natured, teasing, doting,  // Minkyu and Mikyung are closer now as adults than they were as teenagers. As children, Minkyu looked out for his little sister, but around the age of 14, four years after his mother's suicide, he became more sullen and withdrawn. Mikyung in return began to place blame on herself. The two grew apart as teenagers, their interaction often being the bare minimum "hello" and "goodbye". When Minkyu went away to college, however, they became very aware of the distance between them, and wanted to try and bridge that gap. Since then, they have kept in good correspondance with each other, often calling each other by their childhood English nicknames, "Mikki" and "Minny". He oftens pokes fun at her decision to become an idol, and Mikyung in turn always asks him if he's paid off his student loans yet. Minkyu lives in San Francisco with his wife, Katrina, and their daughter, Amelia. 

grandmother — Kim Sookja (김숙자) // 85 (deceased) // retired, former secretary // stubborn, conservative, well-meaning, strict // Mikyung's grandmother was her mother's mother, a formidable woman who, upon arriving in the United States, refused to learn a word of English. She is primarily the reason that Mikyung remained fluent in Korean even while growing up in an American school. Though Sookja was confined to a wheelchair for the last 25 years of her life, she still was a commanding force in Mikyung's home. She insisted on overseeing nearly every aspect of domestic life, often being the bad cop to her son-in-law Youngsoo's good cop. She tended to dote on Minkyu and was particularly hard on Mikyung, hoping to mold her into what she considered a proper Korean young woman. Despite this, however, she was fond of both of her grandchildren - she just showed it in different ways. Mikyung in return constantly hoped to win her grandmother's approval, being the most afraid of her when she told her of her dream to become a K-pop idol. To her surprise, Sookja was incredibly supportive of her dream, even paying for her plane ticket to Seoul. Unfortunately, her grandmother died in her second year of training, and never got to see Mikyung debut. Mikyung still holds her grandmother in her heart, however, as a great influence on her life and pays tribute to her memory by including her in her acknowledgements on {alice}'s first album.

friends

— "we're all mad here"

best friend — Alice Hawthorne // 20 // student at UCLA, undeclared major // bubbly, outgoing, excitable, loyal, a bit of a ditz // Mikyung's best friend since the first grade, they met when Mikyung was being teased by the boys in their class about her English (which, having come to the United States only a year previously, was still rather rudimentary). Alice stood up for her and declared their friendship at only 6 years old, a bond that would last for the next 15 years. The girls grew up together - Alice was the one who gave Mikyung the nickname "Mikki", and the two were nearly inseperable. Mikyung was quieter and more intense than Alice when it came to her actions, while Alice was louder but a lot more 

ex-boyfriend — Benny Ortega // 21 // student at UCLA, acting major // personality // relationship with your character

unnie/caterpillar — TBD // TBD // fellow idol and bandmate // mature, motherly, sensible, has a powerful sort of presence // relationship with your character

mad hatter — Manami Haru // 18 // fellow idol and bandmate // pleasant, agreeable, day-dreamy, kind of kooky // relationship with your character

SEONBAE/UNNIE — Amber Lau // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

SEONBAE/UNNIE — Krystal Jung // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

others

— "no wish fish would go anywhere without a porpoise" 

sister-in-law — Katrina Nam // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

niece — Amelia Nam // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

vocal trainer — Name // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

manager — Name // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

rival — Name // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

bandmates — {alice} // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

Awesome seonbaes — f(x) // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

cutie seonbaes — Red Velvet // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

loser seonbaes — EXO // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

grandpa seonbaes — Super Junior // age // occupation // personality // relationship with your character

chosen plotline

"Would you tell me, please, which way i ought to go from here."
"that depends a great deal on where you want to go."
"I don't much care where."
"then it doesn't matter which way you go."

PLOTLINE/STAGE NAME - white rabbit
stage name/nickname: mi-tokki (미토끼, white rabbit)
ROLE IN THE GROUP - main vocalist, dancer

SINGING TWIN - include link
DANCING TWIN - include link
SPEAKING TWIN - include link
ANY OTHER SPECIALTY - acting, musical theatre, playing instruments (piano and guitar, primarily)

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER FIT THIS PLOTLINE? — mikyung is 

WHAT DOES YOUR CHARACTER THINK ABOUT HER ROLE IN THE GROUP? — at least one paragraph

WHAT ARE SOME VULNERABILITIES/PROBLEMS SHE MIGHT ENCOUNTER WHILE IN "WONDERLAND", AKA THE KPOP INDUSTRY? — at least one paragraph

send the application

return to the story

kim jongdae (exo-m's chen)

— "how long is forever?" "Sometimes, just one second"

personality — Jongdae is the lead vocalist of EXO-M, a hard-working, dedicated performer and a genuinely good person overall. Known for his kind-hearted and gentle nature, Jongdae is often seen to be looking out for his fellow EXO members and his fans. He's generally easy-going and laid back, prone to often joking around as part of the Beagle Line with members Baekhyun and Chanyeol, Jongdae definitely has a playful and mischevious side that might come across to some as slightly childish (especially due to his habit of playfully whining "whyyyy") - however, he also has displayed signs of maturity and responsibilty in the past, again often taking care of his fellow members and knowing when to stop a joke in case it becomes problematic. In this way, Jongdae seems very likeable and gets along well with mostly everyone around him. He's very committed to being the best vocalist he can be, once stating that his dream is to be the best singer in the world, and often states that he feels like he still has a lot to learn. 

Jongdae also has a slightly flirty nature, one that likes to joke around (labelled as a "troll" by some fans). This is mainly the persona he undertakes as Chen, onstage, the person he presents to his fans - cheerful, sweet, playful. However, he can also sometimes be more subdued (more offstage than on), allowing him to also be respectful and caring. While he is a very good and likeable person, he also seems like a hard person to get to know intimately, as he also appears to be very private and maybe even slightly reserved when it comes to very serious things or negative emotions. Such things he has certainly never shown to the public, and those around him may also be unaware of his reservations, believing that the Jongdae he presents is the truest level of depth he possesses. 

relationship — 

history —  

other — 

sample dialogue —