EMPIRE : Ila In Depth
Ilona Jung'S PROFILE
personal introduction
"Hi, I'm Empire's Ila, the monarch of July!"
additional talents
1. drumming - Ilona learned the drums when she was fourteen and played in her school's metal band from ages 15 to 17
2. writing songs - she started writing for the school band when she was 16 and never really stopped since. She cringes at a lot of the lyrics she wrote for Subutech and is too shy to show anyone what she's written since, so most people don't even know that she still writes.
3. sowing and hand embroidery - Ilona has made her own intricate halloween costumes for years now, so she's quite good at making clothes. She's never made anything for other people though and is very used to her own measurments, so it would probably need some adjusting until she could sow for the others. But if it would make them happier, she'd love to make them things.
ideal type
Ilona would probably start that answer with a nervous chuckle, because she so totally has a type and she doesn't want to describe it too closely because that would be embarrassing.
"I think someone... probably someone a bit calmer than me? To balance me out a little. Someone talented."
official height & weight
162 cm and 50 kg
fanclub
Diviners - Ilona represent's the crow, in mythology crows were used in augury or divination. Diviners seemed like an appropriate fan name, since they will help shape the future (or just Ila's and EMPIRE's future, depending on how you look at it.)
popular ships
Since Ilona is so free with compliments, there's actually not that much shipping going on. She seems friendly with everyone she meets, so few people are treated in special ways.()
initial thoughts/opinion
she looks like she could beat me up. that's both impressive and terrifying.
relationship
Honestly, Ilona is a bit afraid of Yujin. The death glares when someone asks her to share food, the fact that she gets angry if you move something in her room and not to mention that she's good at martial arts, kind of frighten Ila. She does understand, that their leader has good intentions and is totally the group mom, but she Ila still find her a bit scary. She just counts herself lucky, that she's one of the people under Yujin's protection.
If she has to confide in her about something, or ask a question relating to the group, Ilona feels safe around her leader. Since Ila is worried about being the leader of her sub-group herself and wants to do well, she'll ask Yujin if she's doing okay every once in a while. In that sense, Ila looks up to Yujin as sort of a mentor. She's also offered to be there for Yujin if she ever needs it, in return.
In day to day interactions, however, Ilona is a little uncomfortable around her, because of above mentioned scariness. So she becomes a bit more stilted, stand up straighter and starts worrying that she's doing something wrong. Ever since she found out she studied in LA, she wants to talk to her about it and wonders sometimes, if she ever worked Yujin's flight.
Ilona has warmed up to Yujin a lot ever since rooming with her.
on-camera
Even on-camera it's pretty obvious, that Ilona looks up to Yujin and wants to impress her.
triviA
none so far.
initial thoughts/opinion
Ilona thought Damian seemed overconfident and cocky when she first met him. After all, they were only trainees. She kept wanting to challenge him to a rap battle, to teach him a little humility, but never did because if she'd have lost, it would just have inflated his ego. And that risk just didn't seem worth it.
relationship
And then she heard him rap and got to know him a little better. Actually speaking to him about non-rap things changed her view of him drastically. Because he was almost exactly her type. Charismatic, chill and a strong talent for rapping are all things he shares with her celebrity crushes. The intense partying will probably throw her off a bit, but when she thinks about it, she's probably been clubbing with worse people in LA. Of course, around people that she isn't a fan of, she's a lot calmer and less awkward, so she actually manages to be pretty normal around him. Him being flirty and her being so bubbly probably leads to a lot of flirting and she does have a tiny crush on him. To be fair, she still thinks he can be a bit cocky and careless, but she has a bit of a rose-colored glasses thing going on. It'll grow to annoy her again when the bubble bursts, but for now she can look past it with ease. But eventually she'll realize, that they share a lot of their negaitve qualities. They're both impulsive and stubborn enough to get into fights about stupid things either with each other or others. And they both doubt themselves, although Ila is a lot more ready to talk to people about it, rather than hiding her insicurities away. So there'll probably come a moment when she wants to help him with something, he refuses, she get's frustrated and is annoyed with him for a few days. After that the crush is gone and they can just be jokingly flirty friends.
on-camera
They're still flirty and friendly on camera. She is careful not to interact with him any more than with anyone else, but does steal glances his way every so often.
triviA
♥She misspells his name a lot as Damien.
♥ The whole Ila having a bit of a crush-thing is optional, only if everyone is comfortable with it, since both Ilona and Damian have other endgame love interests.
♥ Whether anyone from EMPIRE or the fans have picked up on her glancing at him (and for the people that know them in private life: that she excuses some of his flaws) or not is up to you.
initial thoughts/opinion
Oh, he did the solo thing! That was cool, didn't know he's YG now.
...
oh no he's annoying
...
he speaks english! He's from... somewhere. Cool! I have a new YG best friend!
relationship
(copy pasted from the app) Ilona is one of the regular users of the nickname Jay or Jayjay. When he's being particularly savage, she'll call him Ginny Weasly, because it sounds a bit like his name and also Ginny Weasly is pretty badass. It's sort of half-teasing and half-compliment. These two have been friends for a few years now. They met when Ila started training. She knew who he was from his solo career way back when and was surprised to know he was now a YG trainee. They started talking and within the first conversation he started nagging or complaining about something, which prompted her to say matter-of-factly you're kind of annoying in person... That, of course, stopped him dead in his tracks and he mumbled what the to himself, preparing to yell at her. She heard his perfect english, remembered he was half-something, grabbed his arm with a bright smile, declared he was now her best YG friend and dragged him to lunch. That took him by such surprise that he just went along with her. So she proceeded to word-vomit at him about anything from trainee work over how she didn't remember where in the US he was from, but she had only ever been to LA, which was so cool; all the way to have you read anything by Terry Pratchett? When he finally recovered from the initial shock of having been swept away by this girl and began to make the conversation less one-sided, he had almost forgotten the insult in the first place. Ilona still can't stand his nagging, but has formed the theory that it's probably just nervousness and self-consciousness that he projects onto others. So even though she finds it hard to deal with, she tries to reassure him that everything will be fine. Because, really, if there's one thing she's good at, it's keeping a sunny disposition. She's also very hesitant to open up to him about her own self-doubts, out of fear that they'd feed into each other's nerves and drag each other down. They've been friends for long enough to develop the kind of friendship where they really love each other, while not really liking each other. Whenever he gets to argumentative, she just walks away, which pisses him off to no end. If she refuses to give up something that is doomed to fail, he just buries his face in his hands. In a way, although their postive qualities are very different, leading to them enjoying each others' company and playing well off each other, their negative qualities are a little too similar. They're a little too much of an unflattering mirror sometimes. But when it comes down to it, they stick up for each other.
on-camera
These two are a mess and a half on and off camera. They make a great, albeit highly competitive team whenever they're paired up for games. They have each other's backs and seem to be able to communicate without words if they really need to. But they also fight constantly. She'll shut him down if he nags too much with little regard for the camera and he's not shy to roast her, if she's being stubborn about something that just won't work. Mostly, EMPIRE fans are really, really confused about their relationship. They seem to be in a constant state of scoffing, rolling their eyes and getting mad at the other's antics, but every once in a while they pull through and seem like the most amazing friends and like they're only pretending to be annoyed.
triviA
♥ Their sheer exasperation with each other has led fans to speculate about whether they either hate each other and fake the friendship for the camera, or if they're faking the bickering.
♥ A lot of fanfiction portrays them as exes that were really pissed at each other for a few months after the breakup, but have gotten over it and now try to help the other find love again, usually setting the stage for other ships to sail.
initial thoughts/opinion
Ilona thinks that Bitna is just the best. She's so talented and cool.
relationship
Ilona feels completely comfortable around Bitna. They have a lot of things in common and are also very different in other ways. Where Bitna is introverted and closed off, Ilona is extroverted and more in-tune with her feelings. But they share a fierce independance, determination and wanting to see others happy. Ilona is a bit sad, that Bitna doesn't like horror movies, but accompanies her to see Marvel movies when they are released because action is the next best thing. Ilona also learned long ago, that Bitna doesn't like or know how to talk about her emotions, so whenever she's feeling down, she'll ask her to talk about poetry instead. Which is great, because Bitna has some deep thoughts on poems and Ila not only loves deep conversations, she also takes a lot of it as advice for her secret writing. Or she'll just ask her to talk about Marvel, if they feel like a more light-hearted conversation.
on-camera
They are friends on camera. Being around Bitna seems to calm Ila down a bit and ground her.
triviA
♥ If they room together they will have a seriously impressive collection of shoes.
♥ Marvel movie evenings :)
initial thoughts/opinion
she seems mean...
relationship
As it turns out, Ilona thinks Jooyeon is awesome. The confidence and improvisation abilities are very admirable to her and the fact that Jooyeon's main goal in life seems to be to make people laugh is something they have in common. They are also both the kind of people who never seem to lose energy or cheerfulness (except for Jooyeon in the mornings) and it's nice not to be the only weird one in that regard.
Once again, Ilona is sad that Jooyeon doesn't like horror movies, but after realizing she's the first to cry during a sad movie, she kind of gets it and tries to comfort her.
Ila is a little afraid of her savagery, but thinks the swearing is the funniest thing. The arrogance does bother her a lot, though, but she tries to look past it or deflect it by pointing out how awesome certain other people are, too. Ilona has decided she can't fault Jooyeon for her bluntness, though. Ila is usually only blunt about positive things, but she did call Jason annoying to his face in their first interaction, so she feels like she can't really judge.
on-camera
these two are absolute moodmakers on camera. Although they do both speak a fair amount, Jooyeon is a lot funnier, while Ilona is a lot sweeter. Generally they make a pretty good team.
triviA
♥ Jooyeon hates Ilona's new cereal habit. (see the cereal or milk first section for an explenation). They fight about it almost every time it happens.
initial thoughts/opinion
he's stoic but a hardworker
relationship
They don't interact a lot. Ilona is worried, that he might not like her and tries to comfort herself with the fact, that he's not super outgoing with anyone other than Daekwan and the twins.
on-camera
On-camera it's mostly smalltalk.
triviA
none so far
initial thoughts/opinion
he seems sweet
relationship
Ilona being the whirlwind she is and Daekwan an introvert, she didn't realize how overwhelming she can be.
After a while they get along well and Ilona tries to cheer him up whenever he seems down. After all, he would absolutely do the same for her!
on-camera
They interact the same way they do off-camera.
triviA
♥ she's had a few google searches on how to help friends who have shut down. Mostly because of Daekwan. A little bit because of the Frost Twins. But mostly because of Daekwan, cause she knows he appreciates her help - the twins she's not so sure about.
initial thoughts/opinion
She's so pretty, how can one person be so pretty? That's unfair.
relationship
Ilona has just kind of decided that they're going to be friends. She just hopes that Yide will roll with it. Luckily, Ila has little problem with onesided conversations and will just flop down next to Yide and start talking and never stop. They also share some of their music taste, so if Yide ever wants to shut Ila up, she just has to put on music. Maybe one day they'll bond over writing, but Ila isn't ready for that just yet. But also, they share the same favorite animal! How many people name ducks as their favorite animal?
on-camera
Ilona tries to look out for her friend. If she seems uncomfortable with a question or situation, maybe Ila can jump in. Or if she hasn't gotten enough screentime, Ila will try to include her in the conversation.
triviA
♥ Yide's constant stretching makes Ila feel like she needs to strech more, too.
♥ Ilona has started carrying lip balm everywhere in case Yide bites her lips too much.
♥ Yes, this friendship began because Ilona thought Yide was pretty.
♥ If they room together there will be a lot of duck pictures on the wall. And probably some posters of bands scattered in between.
♥ I put duck feeding as one of my scene suggestions, so uh, if Ila can't drag all of EMPIRE along, she'll definetly get Yide to go.
initial thoughts/opinion
someone is challenging my role as ray of sunshine! jk, he's lovely
relationship
Ilona really appreciates Haru. He's just such a sweetheart, really passionate and always doing his best. They get along very well, being around them is like getting stuck in a tornado of positivity.
on-camera
They're not paired up a lot, because they have similar on-camera personalities. So in order to mix things up and create more interesting dynamics, they are usually in different groups. Which is a shame, cause they play off each other very well.
triviA
♥ Ilona jokes that the only thing that isn't great about Haru is that he doesn't like horror movies.
initial thoughts/opinion
Oh, he was in Wayve! That's cool!
relationship
Minjae seems to have no interest in befriending her and after trying to hold proper conversations with him a few times, Ilona has close to given up. She just doesn't understand what she's supposed to think about him.
on-camera
They're friendly on camera.
triviA
♥ She's super impressed with the fact that he was in Wayve and thinks he's real talented. But she isn't sure if she should mention it, because she thinks he might be sad about having left the group. She does fully believe the story of sheduling issues.
initial thoughts/opinion
She's like a little owl-robot when she tips her head like that! Aww!
relationship
Ilona really isn't sure how to feel about Minjin. The calm calculation and lack of outward emotionality are something Ilona usually finds unsetteling, so she becomes more subdued around the younger girl. After a while she realizes that the uneasiness she feels is mostly sadness and worry, because as much as she accepts people that aren't as outgoing as she is, she's not quite sure Minjin's apathy is healthy.
So Ilona is somewhere between soft concern and over-compensating enthusiasm when interacting with Minjin.
on-camera
On camera, Ilona puts her worries aside and they're friendly.
triviA
♥ If Ilona rooms with Minjin, she will physically stop Damian from entering the room ever because he makes her roomie uncomfortable. If he wants to talk to her or hang out with her, they can do that anywhere else in the dorm and if he want to get something out of their room for whatever reason, she'll get it for him. Gotta respect all roommates whishes!
Ila'S interview
how do you feel about empire?
> I like Empire! We're gonna be a mess.
Jaeho sighs and gives her a dissaproving look. Her eyes grow wide and she laughs.
A good mess of course! We just have a very wide variety of personalities, so anything can happen. Look forward to us!
why is your stagename Ila?
> It's a nickname of mine and it's easier to pronounce in korean. Also, I think it sounds nice. Sorry, it's not a very interesting story...
you were formerly part of the hip-hop duo subutech. how do you feel about that, and how do you feel about debuting in an idol group?
> The only thing betraying her emotions is Ilona clutching her hands and pressing her tumbnail into the index finger of her other hand.
I, uh...
She laughs lightly and Jaeho raises his eyebrows. "Do you need a minute?" She takes a deep breath to gather herself.
I think I'm okay? Thanks, Jaeho. I know there's a lot of stigma about being an idol for people who come from the underground rap scene. But I like to think that it doesn't mean giving up your integrity to debut in kpop. Music is about expressing emotion and telling stories in a different medium and I don't think that changes when you switch scenes. I probably reach a different audience now, but that doesn't mean the people listening don't matter.
Jaeho smiles. "You still haven't quite answered the question, though."
Oh, right! How do I feel about debuting! Okay, so looking where we're going instead of just where I'm from, I'd say I'm excited to debut. It's nice not to have to debut alone, you know.
outside of your main subunits, which member or members of empire would you like to collaborate with, and why?
> I think a collab with Nero could be fun. We both started in hiphop, so it would be a back to the roots type thing. Though a full Leader-Squad would be awesome, then we'd have some rappers and singers? But honestly, I think Empire are all great.
which male member and which female member are you closest to?
> Male probably Jason. If you ever see us interact and think that we hate each other, then that's true... But also he's my YG bestie and if you hurt him, I will find you.
Also, Haru is a sunshine and Daekwan is so nice and ... can I say everyone?
I have a lot of respect for all of EMPIRE's women and am close to a lot of them, but I think I'm closest to Yide? She's just the sweetest, you'll see.
if you could collaborate with members of e2w and c2c, which members would you choose and why? answer this honestly, their will be collabs in the future and that's all I'm going to say about that! if you'd like more information about e2w and c2c you can pm me and i should have a story thread up (eventually) for more details on this 'verse.
> Definetly Aerin! We've been friends for a while and she's so freaking talented! I haven't really met any of C2C in person yet, but they're super cool as idols, so anyone that wants to collab, I guess?
outside of your reveal, would you like to pursue solo promotions?
> I think as long as Empire have my back, I'd love to branch out! I think I'd like the creative freedom that working as a soloist would give.
thank you for your time, Ila. do you have anything else to say?
> Please look forward to Empire! We're all very excited to bring you music.
ilona, behind the scenes
display name/names in the group chat
♥ Ilona (1)
(set by Ilona)
Her first name was just her name. You have to be professional for the first two days in a new group, after all.
♥ Ilaaaaaa (2)
(by Yujin)
For some reason, the "has lived in LA"-squad got talking about Alvin and the Chipmunks. And they joked that Ila's stage name can be shouted like Alvin's name. And so Ilaaaaa was born.
♥ Ilalala (3)
(by Haru)
Honestly just a play on her stagename and that she likes singing to herself.
♥ longer versions of Ilalala
(by Ilona)
Wouldn't it be funny, if Ilona added a "la" to the end of the Ilalala nickname every week, just to see when people would notice? Ilona certainly thinks so.
♥ sunshine (4)
(by Daekwan)
Well, they did eventually notice and changed her name to something more normal. And since she is one of their resident sunshines, that was her name.
dp/dps in the group chat
Everytime someone changes Ilona's display name, she changes her picture to match it.
(1) Her official picture, for when her name is professional.
(2) Ilaaaaaa seemed like it needed a shocked expression.
(3) As Ilalala got longer and longer, she thought it would be funny to put a new picture. She didn't change her pic until her name was changed to sunshine, so that people would be slower to notice.
(4) Okay so at this point her hair went to brown and sunshine sounded like it should have yello flowers, if not sunflowers.
members they'd rather room with
Probably Bitna or Yide. With Bitna she could have Marvel evenings and with Yide she could cover the walls in duck pictures and other posters.
members they'd rather not room with
Yujin. Because Ilona feels like she's about to mae a mistake a lot of the time she's around their leader and she just doesn't want that kind of a headache in her own room. She understands that this is mostly her fault, not Yujin's, but she just feels like it would be exhausting.
If she wound up rooming with Minjin, she's afraid Minjin would find her tiring and stop liking her or something. But other than that, she also wouldn't mind rooming with her.
preferred chores
Laundry. During the time she lived alone, she worked as a flight attendant. As such, she was living out of hotels and so never really got good at cleaning. But she did learn to do her laundry at really inconvenient times and in really inconvenient situations and to just get it done, so why not stick to what she knows?
She will also gladly help others pack and prioritize on what to take every time they travel. She is also a master at efficient packing and is frequently the person that packs things so neatly that no one else can figure out how it all fit in one bag when they have to re-pack it themselves later on.
chores they'd rather not touch
The dishes. Doing dishes for twelve people would take forever and might be pretty gross. Also, she'd rather not wake Jooyeon. She likes their friendship and doesn't want to it up.
dorm life
Ilona trains and hangs out with friends a lot, but especially in the beginning stages of Empire, she makes an effort to spend time at the dorm and with the memebers. Gotta get to know your crew.
Mostly she half-dances across the apartment, seeing who wants to talk to her or do something fun. Especially in the hours where people are asleep, she tends to stay up and write her lyrics, hoping that no one will see her or ask about it. She's been up when Damian has snuck back in from partying a few times and will strike up a conversation with him. If he ever asks her about what she's writing, she'll make a deal that she keeps quiet about his sneaking out, as long as he keeps quiet about her writing.
birthdays, holidays, all the days!
Christmas is a lovely time of the year and Ilona has a little list of potential presents for friends and family in her memo app. Somehow she still always ends up in a time crunch with actually getting the presents.
Being such a horror movie fan, she does predictably love Halloween. If she doesn't know what costume she's going to make by march and hasn't made a mock-up by july, she will stress out. Also, she'd prefer that the actual costume is done around september, so that she can fuss around with the details until Halloween. After the big night, she usually recycles parts of the costume into her wardrobe.
the members can suggest any songs for their warmup songs. what song or songs does name suggest?
()write them here! preferably songs from 2017 and 2018 because... timeframes for the story.
cereal before milk, or milk before cereal?
okay but have you considered both at the same time? Around three weeks ago, Ilona made a joke about that and Jason dared her to do it. So she did and it went terribly. Stubborn as is, she's decided she's going to keep praciticing until it works. Jason has resorted to warning others to keep a safe distance and reevaluating his friendships as he hands her a paper towel. She is getting better, though. Also, it used to be cereal before milk, like a normal person.
haru, jason, or damian?
Ilona is very awkwardly caught up in this. Jason is her YG bestie, Damian is her type and Haru is clearly the most competent. Her first instinct when asked about this was to suggest someone else just to confuse everyone. But when she thought it over, she realized that neither Junsu nor Daekwan would probably appreciate it and Minjae was out of the question anyway. So because she doesn't want to start so soon, she gave a non-commital shrug, a warbling "eeeeh" and fled to work on something.
After being pestered about it, she decided bluntness hadn't hurt her so far, so she pointed at the three in order. "Jason, I love you and you know that. Damian... you're awesome. Haru, you are clearly the only person, that doesn't act like he's completely and utterly self-absorbed and as such the only person who should even be considered to be a leader... Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, I guess." Another shrug and Ila goes back to doing whatever it was she was doing.
idol relationships, past present and future
♥ friends
Because she hasn't been training or active in the kpop world for very long, she hasn't made too many friends yet. (But she will, knowing her.) She might have also met some people in passing, that originated in the underground rap scene, which would give her something to build a friendship off of.
♥ enemies
To be honest, Ilona doesn't see herself as a person that would make enemies. The strongest negative reaction she has to people is turning her nose up at them and telling them they balls. Whether anyone considers her their enemy, however, is a completely different story.
♥ celeb crushes
Do you want the list again? Here's the list: BTS' Suga, Bang Yongguk, BIGBANG's TOP
All of these are present, although she's trying to squash them by listening to more of the western rap that Fabian recommends and asking Yide if she'll put on music for her. Ila is a bit too afraid of meeting her idol crushes and totally not being prepared to act like a functioning, chill person. So she's trying to fix things.
She's also trying to focus her celeb crushes outside of the music world entirely, relying on the shows and movies she watches instead. Those ones tend to be more of a deep admiration and respect (not that the other's aren't, but her non-music celeb crushes tend to be on way older men, so they aren't people she would ever actually consider dating, but she will fangirl and refuse to stop talking about them). So far, there's Andy Samberg (Brooklyn 99) and Elijah Wood. Also, Chris Evans, Tom Holland and Benedict Cumberbatch. Basically, she is now afraid that any of them will become aware of kpop and EMPIRE.
Viola says
comments i'm sorry that i used the in depth character study as an opportunity to make up more dumb stuff like the cereal thing lmao
suggest...
how empire should (try) to get to know each other better?
♥ Karaoke & Pun Rap battles
♥ Fibbage
♥ Ila will try to get people to play the non-app version of OK Go's Say the Same Thing (Which is as fun as it is stupid)
scenes
♥ Ilona Insisting on making halloween Costumes for everyone. Maybe they end Up filming a dance practice or something in the costumes once they're done?
♥ Sadly coming to the realization, that she can't really watch horror movies with anyone in EMPIRE and so she embarks on a quest to show them her favorite non- horror shows and movies instead.
♥ Bulding an obstabcle course in the dorm (sorry yujin)
anything else
nothing atm :)
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