PERSONALITY TRAITS —

 

isfp, hufflepuff

[ pos ] sweet, playful, witty, observant, understanding

[ neu ] selfless, childlike, sarcastic, polite, cautious

[ neg ] cold, detached, introverted, gullible, private

 

ELABORATION —

 

honestly speaking, haneul is probably one of the most misunderstood people you'll ever meet. ever since she stopped talking, she'd been seen as cold and detached, never speaking a word and only showing emotions to select few people. what most people don't know is that she isn't actually hard to get close to, she's just more introverted, preferring to be talked to first rather than being the 'first talker', and she's being cautious, especially after what happened back in la. she's scared she'll trust the wrong people, she's scared she'll get hurt again and above all, she's scared that if she starts showing what she really feels, she'll end up spilling everything she'd tried so hard to pretend never happened.

 

but once you break past the exterior, she's actually a very sweet person. despite being one of the younger residents in the comple, she's always looking out for people, whether they know it or not, and she's always incredibly nice to whoever learns to accept her the way she is. the time she'd spent not talking allows her to pick up more things than most people usually do, and that's why she's very very observant, always able to pick up if something's wrong with someone, and always knowing exactly how to deal with it. she's also very understanding, never pushing anyone to tell her their problems, because she knows that sometimes you need time to know how to explain things, especially things that are hard for you to say, even if it's to one of your best friends. in fact, that's one of the reasons why the other residents of the hwang complex go to her whenever they need help (also because they know that she doesn't talk and that a mute will never go and tell their secrets, but she prefers to not focus on that). another reason why people tend to go to her for help (sometimes even to get her to do errands for them, but she'll also prefer not to think that they're just taking advantage of her) is that she's incredibly polite and selfless. she can't find it in her to tell other people 'no i won't do what you just asked me to do, that's ridiculus' even though that's what she's thinking, because that's the way she'd been brought up, and also because she's scared she'll hurt someone's feelings by doing that. so she does it all without complaining.

 

and then if you get close enough to haneul, you'll find out that she's not just nice, she's also kind of a child at times. she's very very playful, just like you'd expect people her age to be, always teasing her friends, always finding new ways to cheer people up (though it sometimes does lead to a few self depreciating jokes about herself, like 'hey, at least you can talk to your crush, i'm mute'). and though she'd gotten considerably less naive after the incident, she's still pretty gullible, never doubting people and trusting people way too easily for her own good (her friends would say that it's because she hardly ever comes across people who are nice to her, and she'll jump at any opportunity to make new friends). despite all that, though, haneul is quite smart for her age (well she had to study to make up for the times she didn't spend socializing), allowing her to come up with really witty responses sometimes, though they can sometimes be bordering on sarcasm, and they always lose their effect due to the fact that she can't really speak and her comebacks take too long to write down. but details.

 

and then there's the final side to haneul. most people already know to some extent that there's some part of her that she's keeping to herself, and they're right. she's very private, always keeping her own troubles to herself and acting like she's fine on the outside when really all she wants to do is lock herself in her room and break down. but because she doesn't want people to ask and she doesn't want to worry anyone, she bottles it all up and pretends nothing bothers her and that she's still as bright and cheerful as usual.

 

BACKGROUND + EVERYDAY LIFE —

 

[ 1998 ]

 

"can i really?" haeun asks as she tugs on her mother's arm, practically bouncing with excitement at the idea of getting to hold her sister for the first time. her mother laughs softly, waiting for the girl to calm down a bit before handing her the small bundle resting in her arms. she knows haeun wasn't always the most gentle girl in the world, but somehow she trusted her with haneul.

 

haeun brought her sister closer to her, grinning. "she's so small," she whispers in awe, looking down at haneul, the fingers of her spare hand hovering above the baby's face. haeun glances back at her mother, smiling. "i love her already. i'm going to be the best sister she's ever had!"

 

her mother couldn't help but smile at her beautiful daughter. her two beautiful daughters.

 

[ 2005 ]

 

"how did your test go?" haeun asks as she meets her sister at the front gate of their school. haneul flashes a big smile, one that haeun always loved seeing on her little sister. "full marks as usual, i'm guessing?" haneul nods happily in reply.

 

"yep!"

 

she knew it. haeun never had to worry about her sister in school ever. she was smart enough for that. her face lit up knowing that her sister did well, and she laces her fingers with her sisters. "i'm glad you did good."

 

[ 2013 ]

 

her parents called her that day telling her haneul was gone. that she had been on her way back from school and that she'd never arrived home. she didn't even finish her shift that day, instead rushing home to search for her sister. but there was nothing. no clues, no call, nothing.

 

she spent weeks staying up for hours on end, trying to find out where haneul went. people don't just disappear like that, and she was sure that if she tried hard enough, either her or the police would be able to find out where she went.

 

and then one day, they found her, tied up and unconscious in the basement of an abandoned building, wounds and bruises littered all over her body. haeun couldn't even start to imagine what they'd done to haneul in there. but all she knew was that after the incident, haneul stopped talking.

 

they called it elective mutism. where she stopped talking of her own will. that whatever happened to her over the period of that month had left her mute.

 

her parents had wanted to admit her to a mental home right there and then, thinking there was something wrong with her, but haeun convinced them not to. if haneul was to recover, she had to take her own time. she knew what had happened to her was hurting her inside, and that she shouldn't push her for an explanation. after all, haneul wouldn't want to worry them.

 

[ 2014 ]

 

haeun was told that she'd be getting a job overseas, in korea, and immediately she knew that she was going to be bringing haneul with her. she didn't trust haneul to stay in la after what had happened, and she really wasn't sure whether her parents would just throw her into a mental home when haeun wasn't there.

 

and that's how the sisters ended up in seoul.

 

[ now ]

 

she wakes up at around five, because the nightmares that plague her mind at night won't let her sleep past that. she then gets ready for the day, showering and brushing her teeth before making breakfast for both her and her sister (if haeun's home), who'd probably stayed up until midnight trying to get her designs perfect and everything, since she's the one supporting the two of them. she doesn't forget to feed her cat before she leaves for her classes at 8:30. her classes start at 9 and end at about 4, at which she then heads back home, looking for part time jobs on the way back. of course, nobody wants to accept a mute, so when she gets home she never gets any new job offers. she then goes out to look for vernon (her cat really likes to go exploring whenever her and her sister aren't home) and once she finds him, she starts making dinner. she then video calls maxine to update her on things, and once that's done, she waits for her sister to get home to make sure she doesn't skip dinner (the times vary a lot, ranging from 8:00 to 1:00 am).

 

her weekends are pretty much the same as her weekdays, aside from the fact she doesn't have school. the time she's supposed to be at school she spends going to the library or going to new cafes, and of course, attending her dance classes (she majors in dance at university).

 

RELATIONSHIPS — 

 

    

 

• sister - jung haeun (24) - fashion designer - fc: jeon somin - bright, protective, stubborn - she's very close to her sister, the only person in her family that still accepted her after she stopped talking, convincing her parents not to send her to that mental hospital they were planning to admit her to. she's incredibly grateful to her sister, and she wishes she could help her one day in return.

 

"i'm going out for a few months. are you going to be okay by yourself?" haeun asks, sitting down next to her sister, a small worried smile on her face. her suitcase lay unopened on the floor of the living room, the clothes she had previously been trying to stuff into her suitcase momentarily forgotten.

 

"i'm 19, i can take care of myself," haneul signs, an annoyed look on her face even though she wasn't really mad. she knew that her sister was just looking out for her but she needed to let go sometimes. "besides, i have vernon with me. i'll be fine."

 

her sister pulls her into a tight hug, her arms wrapping around haneul's neck. "be safe, okay?" she whispers into her hair. "i don't want anything bad to happen to you again, okay? never again."

 

• neighbour - min yoobi (20) - student - intelligent, quiet, private - she doesn't really interact much with her neighbour aside from the (multiple) times she ends up at yoobi's door to ask whether she's seen vernon, or whether she has cat food she can spare, but she does wish that one day she'll get to know yoobi better. she knows yoobi probably has a reason why she's like this, though, so she tries not to disturb her as much as possible.

 

haneul somehow finds herself in front of yoobi's door again, smiling sheepishly at the elder as she holds up another note, something the girl is probably used to seeing by now. "i'm really sorry for disturbing you again but i seem to have lost my cat again. have you seen him anywhere by any chance?"

 

yoobi shakes her head gently after reading through the note, and haneul shoots her a small smile. she doesn't know if the other picked up the almost indiscernible look of disappointment and worry in her eyes, but she bows, letting her hair fall in front of her face just in case. she scribbles a small 'thank you' on her notepad and tears the page off, handing it to the girl before heading to the next door.

 

• best friend - maxine fernandez (19) - student - fc: maggie lindemann- cheerful, energetic, understanding - maxine and haneul had basically grown up together, and even after haneul moved from la, they still remained the best of friends, often video calling each other or planning meet ups whenever they had holidays. maxine was very understanding when haneul stopped talking, and always tries her hardest to make haneul feel normal, not like some sort of alien species like most people see her.

 

"how's everything?" maxine asks, her smile growing wider as the camera came into focus.

 

"everything's good," haneul signs, though really it wasn't. she'd heard them talking about her again. always the same ones. the girls. but she couldn't let maxine know. not when maxine's trying her hardest to make haneul feel normal. no, she couldn't let her know. and so she plasters a fake grin onto her face, hoping maxine wouldn't notice "everyone's really nice here."

 

"that's great to hear."

 

"it is."

PET NAME — vernon