tl;dr cynical meets a self-deprecating wreck; all grown with a meshwork of hopelessness that forms a being that's probably the saddest most loneliest seventeen year-old there is. unaware of what to do and where to be, junichi has become stagnant; doing the one and only thing that brings him solace — the one and only thing that caused his destruction — the one and only path he cannot pursue. injury drowned his career and extinguished the flame that once lit his heart. 

 

name  ueda junichi (植田順一)
nickNAMEs 
 

· JUN (順) : it's shorter, faster, and much more convenient of a name for everyone that he knows. there isn't a soul that doesn't call him by this name, and the fellow club members like to tack -chan to the end of his name when they're feeling playful or when they want to get on jun's nerves. 
 

· ACE (에이스) : to be completely frank, jun isn't the swim team's ace anymore, he was upcoming and promising, but after a regrettable  turn of events on jun's front, he no longer has the potential he once had. however, the nickname stuck, and several teammates still address jun as the 'ace'. 
 

ethnicity  japanese-korean 

date of birth  twelfth of october, 1999 (17)

place of birth  kuwon-gu, seoul, south korea

current residence  kuwon-gu, seoul, south korea 

 

appearance  in the swirl of the genetics pool that is ueda junichi, there were plenty of impressive characteristics that he had been born with; a nose that sat tall, eyes that were droopy, sleepy, but in a lovely, endearing way, skin pale, milky, translucent almost. but amongst the characteristics in the pool, unfortunately enough, height was definitely not one of them. standing at an unremarkable height of one hundred and seventy-five centimetres, and weighing in at a beefy seventy-six kilograms, jun's body is in quite exquisite shape. as a swimmer, jun's shoulders are large, broad and muscular, his calves finely toned, and biceps any guy would die for. his abs are no joke either, he's almost sure that at one point, girls that claimed to be the swimteams fanclub were only there to ogle the marvelous bodies of the team. his body fat percentage remains quite low, but as a naturally buoyant individual, the large amounts of muscle mass that jun possesses doesn't hinder his swimming ability.  

 

it's barely noticed as jun's attire would usually cover it, and most people are aware of it at this point, but jun has a scar that runs a rather impressive twelve centimetre length over his kneecap. it's a surgical scar, and it stands rather clear against the pale canvas of his skin. despite the substantial amount of time he spends in the sun, his skin, tanned, is still much lighter than most — slight tanlines are visible at his ankles and around his hip, where his swimmers would usually sit. 

 

 

face claim  wonho of monsta x 

backup face claim  shownu of monsta x

 

traits 

 

 

 

he's sure there was a time he wasn't so dull, so grim and so damn miserable all the time. he's sure he was happy before the accident. it's just that, well, he can't remember it. he can't recall a time where the laughter that escaped his lips wasn't bitter, a time where he truly felt content. after the accident, his wistful thoughts had overcome him, and it shaped a new him — the pathetic being he is today. 

 

despite all odds, jun still persists. despite injury, jun still swims. despite being told that he has no future as a swimmer, jun still tries, and tries. relentlessly. stupidly. jun has never been a person to follow rules or do what he's told — he flows at his own pace, regardless of where it brings him.  it's common to find jun floating, serene in the depths of the crystal waters during lecture hours. it's common to find jun sitting in a vacant classroom when he didn't want to be around others, whether it be his classmates or his swimteam. he's careless, carefree if you'd like, too absorbed in his own melancholy to woe over the fallout of his actions. jun is perceptive. he's knowing; well-rounded when it comes to the , he knows them all, the mechanics, the do's and the don't's. known to aid the new club members, jun tends to help them improve — he sees the flaws and he tells them how to fix them. there is no sugar-coating, it's all technical anyway, and most see him as a valuable and significant figure, of course, under all his carelessness and wreckage, that is. it's the most he can do at this point, the most he's willing to do. 

 

with his pessimistic ways, jun is at a loss. he swims without a cause or a care, without a single thought about the injury that anchors down his knee — the injury that continues to gradually destroy him. jun's cynicism and self-doubt is his vice, he's lingering aimlessly, directionless, not good enough to swim anymore, yet too absent to find another path. it's endless drifting, and he's beginning to lose his bearings, drowning. 

 

 

the tale a loveless marriage. if anything, it was for the sake of jun's mother, for her to be able to reside in south korea and turn over a new leaf — begin a new life. love was a choice, not a feeling; it was their choice to live together and try to mend and make things work. once a few years had passed, after they had been married and lived together rather well, junichi was born. despite the lack of romance, things had progressed well — they held up a strong façade, playing their roles as mother and father as seamlessly as they could. they developed a platonic bond that rivalled anything romantic, and together with jun, they held up a strong foundation for the family. 

 

he was fifteen. one of the most heartbreaking sights to witness is your own mother crying. lucky enough for jun, he had to witness his mother in tears everyday. it wasn't long until he was told that his father wouldn't have much time left to live. all the pieces clicked. his mother in emotional turmoil, his father becoming weaker, the smile that was hopelessly etched on his face becoming less convincing and much more bitter. he had cancer, and it was spreading. fast. it wasn't long until junichi was dressed in black, a never-ending ache that ate at his heart. 

 

he was never home. swimming was the only thing left he had that could calm the chaos that lingered within him; so he found himself by the poolside more and more often. he hated himself, allowing his mother to wallow in her despair alone, but he was at a loss, unsure of what to do, or what to say to make any of it better. he wasn't sure if there even was a way to make it any better. so he swam, to win as many awards as he could so he make his mother smile. it was the only thing he could do for her. even if it killed him. 

 

there aren't many things that interest jun anymore. he seldom attends class, and would rarely ever go out with any friends. heck, he's not even sure if he has any friends. the swim club is where he spends most of his time, regardless of the weather, jun will not hesitate to get in and go for a swim in the freezing cold waters. along with his less than hectic lifestyle, jun also works at a convenience store to help his mother with bills; he doesn't mind it, the monotous routine of it all works well with him — it gives him more time to sit in silence, reeling in his own sorrow. 

 

grandeur  jun's eight. he's standing at the edge of the water, eager. looking down into the depths of the body, he can barely see the bottom — it's blurred and the soft swell of the water builds with the excitement within him. he's ready to jump. he didn't get to dive into the deep end that day, but the elation, it was more than enough to ignite a spark within. 

 

jun was eight when he first began swim lessons, when he first dipped into a pool with a real intention of getting to the other end. when he was young, the distance seemed so vast, so incredible, that when the first time he was able to swim his way to the opposing wall, his excitement couldn't be contained. from then on, the enthusiasm blossomed into a passion, a burning love for the sport.

 

growing up, jun had one favourite : freestyle. it was fast, sleek, effortless, everything that could propel him as fast as he could in the viscosity of the liquid. 

 

competitions and gold medals were jun's endgoals. he entered several, and came out on top of most of them. he loved to see the proud look on his parents faces, and he loved the glory of it all — that he was actually good at something. jun's academics were less than impressive but he already had his eye on the prize: to be an olympic athlete, so that other measly stuff like mathematics really didn't matter in the long run. jun was a naturally talented swimmer, it all came to him so easily. he was a young up-and-comer, people really saw the utmost potential in the boy.   

 

after the passing of his father, the only thing jun put effort towards was his swimming. he would train after hours, much longer than he should; continuing to do laps in the water until fatigue overcame him and his legs would no longer allow him to kick. he would curse and erupt in anger every night, always wanting to endure in his desperate attempt of improvement. jun maintained this lunacy for numerous weeks. as the days passed, it had become evident that jun was exhausted and overworked — even with his unrivalled dedication to the water, the copious amounts of training was doing more destruction than any good. it was inevitable. nearing the end of first year, he injured his knee. overworked, they said. a partial tear in the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee. and it wasn't that jun wouldn't be able to swim anymore, it was just that he mightn't ever be able to swim at the level he used to. with reluctance and repentance, he went through rehabilitation and surgery for the reconstruction of his knee — it was amongst the hardest moments of his life, he had nothing to do to cope, nothing to do to numb the pain that  closed in on him. 

 

once his knee was healed enough to swim again, jun did not hesitate to jump straight back into the lovely pool he had missed oh so much. and desipite the concern of his upperclassmen, he reassured that he was fine and he could dive right back into the rigorous training he was used to. jun doesn't take care of his knee like he should. he feels it deteriorating. his ability to swim is slowly fading away. 

 

in the swim club of denver high, many of the seniors had high hopes for jun. despite his less than great attitude, the kid had talent, and they knew it. they would have an ace in what was arguably one of the most important , freestyle. the way jun glided in the water wasn't exactly graceful; it was powerful, almost as if it were fuelled with anger. he sacrifices endurance for speed, although his intense training style is looking to improve the weaker number. he's looking to be the best. in his first year at denver high, jun had won a total of three awards in his age-range, all bright and shining gold medals. he was determined to continue his streak into second and third year, winning as many awards as he could for the team — for himself. once jun returned from rehabilitation, it was indisputable. his power was gone — the speed, the strength, the potential... it had dissolved considerably. 

 

jun still swims, fully aware of his deteriorating talent. he continues, with a foolish idea that maybe, just maybe, if he trained harder than ever, he could be able to reclaim the position he once had. 

 

the state of the club, honestly, is one of the last things on jun's mind. with his stringent training menu, jun thinks things may be able to be restored. it's going to take much more work than that, and although jun is unwilling to go out of his own way to find new recruits, he's agreed to aid the new members. jun is selfish, and so he leaves the state of the club for others to handle; it's not like he would know what to do in order to mend it if he were put in charge. to reestablish the status of the club would lead to more awards, and that is a goal that jun wouldn't mind reaching for; it's one of the only things that push him to help out with the club. 

 

connections 

 

· MOTHER / UEDA CHIKA (植田千歌) :  jun's a bit of a momma's boy. he would do anything to make her smile. he loves her more than he could ever explain, and she's the only family he has left. it's known that jun is bad with words, he doesn't know how  to express himself, so he's always at a loss when he tries to talk to his mom, when he wants to make her laugh or cheer her up. instead, he shows his love through actions. he wants to win awards for her. he picked up a lousy job at the convenience store to help her with bills — he doesn't say it, but junichi would do anything for his mother. chika is extremely proud of jun, with all that he's been through, she's incredibly supportive of his swimming and would never miss one of his races. she highly detests his ethic of 'train until fatigue' but jun doesn't quite listen to her when it comes to something like that. jun likes to call her everyday, especially if he knows he'd be staying back at the pools for much longer than usual. their calls usually don't last long, or even have much content, but it's the sentiment that counts.

 

· SWIM CLUB MEMBERS (AT DENVER HIGH) : most of the members have different views on jun, but they've come to a general conclusion that there's nothing they can say to him that'll change his destructive ways. none of the members are particularly close to jun, and he really doesn't mind that. he doesn't project it, or voice it, ever, but he does, to some extent, wish the best for the other members — most are struggling to get by too. 

 

 

comments okay, i feel like i might've gone overboard and wrote way too much... but i got so carried away as i was making jun up. if you have any questions, since jun's a little bit... all over the place, please don't hesitate to ask me anything! there's... a lot of water/swimming/drowning related puns and for that i have to apologise lmao

i hope u like him ;;