Personality traits. 

Earthbender, Dauntless, Slytherin, ESFP

social, hard-working, popular, friendly
fiery, independent, stoic/emotional, rule-bender
stubborn, perfectionist, secretive, distrusting
 

Personality. 

social, friendly

For having joined the industry so early in life, and for all the rough patches Aeri has had to work through -- between her mother’s death and losing first U.Jin and then Yuri -- she’s a remarkably outgoing and social girl. While she wouldn’t go so far as to call herself a social butterfly, she is defintiely a social creature, bouncing between people and networkinng as easily as others breathe. It means that over the last decade in the industry, she’s made a large number of friends, both in the older generation artists a nd the younger gens.
 

hard-working, stubborn

Some might call it stubborn. Others -- Aeri among them -- call it being a hard-worker. And that’s what she does. She works hard, busts her , and refuses to back down. Aeri spends hours in the practice room, and hours in the studio, pouring over the dances, the lyrics, her raps. As the youngest in the industry and one of the longest promoting idols, she has an image to maintain, and there’s no way she can back down from her image of Baddest on the Block now. But she’s also stubborn, known for staying up late to practice or work on her raps, for baulking in the morning whenn all she wants is five more minutes of sleep.

observant, perfectionist

Aeri is a particularly observant individual, something that lends to her perfectionst nature. She sees the little things in those around her, like when her girls are on edge and need more sleep, or when someone’s fighting with their significant other or staff or fellow members and needs to vent. Aeri sees it. All of it. And while she often pretends to have seen nothing, it doesn’t stop her from going out of her way to offer little pick me ups and comorts for the elder members. But it’s a double edged sword at times, too, because Aeri often picks up the little things she’s messing up on, and the little things she can do better, and she holds herself to a standard of excellence that sometimes just isn’t doable. Aeri is hard on herself, her own worst critic. But then again, she does have an image to maintain.

fiery

Some call it passion. A pasison for life, for the stage. But Aeri’s always been more prone to calling it fiery. Fire. She’s got fire in her eyes and in her soul, a drive to follow her dreams and a stalwart refusal to back down or give up. It’s how she debuted so young, how she managed to make it work when balancing idol life and academics. It’s how she’s built up her solo career while still staying true to Sowon. And it’s how she’s managed to make a name for herself as one of the biggest and baddest female rappers in the industry. She’s bold and beautiful, with a passion for her dream and the committment to pursue it. If that’s not fire, then what is?

independent, stoic/emotional

There are, however, a great many downsides to spending half of one’s life not just in the industry, but as an active idol. The most prominent is that Aeri grows up in the industry, groomed by management and the company to be beautiful and self-sufficient. It’s easier that way, to not need to rely on anyone for anything. And as such, Aeri has become fiercely independent, unwilling to be the weak link, unwilling to disappoint her groupmates. But because of that, she also struggles with asking for help. Not that it matters, of course. Aeri is good at squashing her feelings down until she has the time or patience to deal with them. (For the record, that would be basically never. She has more important things to do than emote.) But Aeri is emotional. Very emotional. And because of how independent she is, and how things work within the industry, Aeri learns that while she can open up about her emotions and feelings with the older members, she also knows how to lock down her expresion to avoid giving things away to those around her.

rule-bender

There come a point in every individual’s life where they rebel against their parents, or guardians, or whatever. Aeri’s rebellious phase doesn’t begin until late 2014, early 2015. t this point, Sowon is discussing what to do when their contracts come up for renewal and what they intend to do. Together, of course, because they’re Sowon first and foremost. After the move has begun, Aeri rebels by getting more piercings and tattoos, stepping away from the “good girl” image she’d been pusshed into. She also begins rebelling againt the other members, pushing them sometimes just to see how far she can go before she’s scowled. She won’t neecessarily go out of her way to break a rule when she can bend it just enough to get her way or get things done. But you can sstill bet that she’s going to bend as many rules as possible.
 

secretive, distrusting

Idols come and go, the industry ever changing, and there’s no shortage of groups debuting or making comebacks, especially in 2019. And in such a rapid-paced industsry, there are sharks, hounds on the hunt for blood and scandal. So much so that after the first couple years following Sowon’s debut, Aeri learned that the best way to be  an idol was to keep her personal life and  her idol life seperate. But that also meant keeping secrets, and it meant trusting only a set few with the truth of her reality. But more than knew, the more fans there would be, and the more noise. And Aeri is already so, so loud. But her secretive and otherwise distrusting nature is largely why Aeri’s never been featured in any of the big news tories to break on the online search engies, 
 

Background.

1994

All stories must start somewhere. Perhaps ironically, Aeri’s begins over two years before her birth on a wet and dreary autumn day in Busan. Her father, Lee Seungri, is a finance consutant. Her mother, Cha Aehin works in marketing. They’re both holding coffee, both talking on or messaging on their phones. People shove by, and Aehin and Seungri collide. Aehin’s hot coffee spills across Seungri’s chest and down his slack, going so far as to seep into his dress shoes. But that discomfort and inconvenience takes a backseat when he realizes that his iced coffee has splashed all a cross a tight, white blouse. Seungri averts his eyes and pulls off his jacket before offering it to her. It won’t do much good, but it’d better than being oggled in public.

As Aehin pulls his jacket on over her blouse, he finds himself saying, “I guess I ruined your coffee.” And after her noise of acknowledgment: “Can I buy you another?”
 

Fortune favors the bold, or something like that. Aehin will be late for work if she goes for another cup of coffee now, but she’s willing to make a compromise. “How about dinner, instead?”

1996 - 2002

Aeri’s birth comes shortly after a shotgun wedding, not that either of her parents mind. That first coffee-turned-dinner date had led to many more, and there had always been that intent there, for Seungri to ask Aehin to marry him, but he’d wanted to woo her, to build a better life for them before popping the question. But no matter. After all, the two are happy together.
 

Aeri is born slightly premature on the first of December. Despite being premature, she’s healthy enough, and after a couple extra night in the hospital to check both Aeri and her young mother over, the two are sent home where Seungri welcomes them with open arms.
 

In that way, Aeri’s early years come and go. Her parents remain busy with work, but they always ensure that they’ve made enough time for not just her, but for themselves. Once each week, the family goes out to eat, enjoying local cuisine and dive joints that only city natives know how to find. Aehin and Seungri are as in love as they were the day they first spoke their vows, and their joy reflects that.

2002

But nothing golden every stays, and no good thing lives forever. 
 

It's September 25th. Aeri is a few months shy of turning six when her mother doesn’t come home one night. Who does come home, however, is a cop. Two cops, actually, with stern expressions and stiff shoulders that slump a little in their dark uniforms when an inquisitive Aeri opens the door with a hopeful mommy? Seungri takes one look and seems to understand. He nudges Aeri to her room, promising to come in soon to read to her, and he remains out in the other room to talk. Aeri falls asleep before he arrives to tuck her in and read to her.
 

The next morning, Seungri has to explain to his daughter than her mother will never be returning home again.

2002
 

It takes a couple weeks for the changes to become noticable. Seungri doesn’t even see them at first, too busy trying to put the pieces of his life back together to create some sort of stable ground for Aeri. But when he does see it, he can’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before.
 

Shortly after Aehin’s funeral, Aeri develops a stutter. When Seungri notices, he takes her to a doctor, and then to anaother, but both say the same thing: he’s too old for it to be natural, normal. It’s passing, they say, she’ll grow out of it. It’s the third doctor that suggests the problem might be psychogenic and recommends Seungri take his daughter to a therapist.
 

Her name is Ahn Jinri, and Aeri takes to her immediately. Even so, it take a couple sessions before Aeri begins to open up about her home life and how things are now that her mother is gone. But Jinri is patient and good with children, and she gives Aeri little tasks to work on at home as she bides the time between visits. One such task is to keep a diary -- a journal, Aeri promptly renames is, refusing to do something so girly as to keep a diary. In this journal, Aeri writes down everything, from stories about school, to meals with her father, to dreams she’s having. And as Aeri becomes more comfortable with keeping a journal, Jinri begins to tackle the next issue: overcoming the stutter. 
 

It means a lot of reading out loud, first to Jinri, and then to Seungri as Aeri’s confidence in herself begins to build again. And after almost a year of therapy and with her sessions down from one per week to one a month, the stutter that had plagued Aeri following her mother’s death seems to be mostly cured. Six months later, midway through 2004, Aeri is released from therapy entirely.

2005-2007
 

Late 2005 sees the debut of the initial version of Super Junior, and 2006 sees the debut of Big Bang and Brown Eyed Girls and the rebranding of Super Junior of a fixed unit of thirteen. But it’s the rebranding of Super Junior, their comeback with U, that gives Aeri the idea to try something new with her journal. Although she’d overcome her stutting problem and had finished her therapy sessions, Aeri had kept the practice of writing in journals, expanding her practice from the mundane things like talking about school and her friends to trying her hand at poetry and short little things, lines that weren’t quite poems but certainly weren’t quotes.
 

It’s Super Junior’s comeback as thirteen -- riding on the coattails of Brown Eyed Girls’ debut that makes Aeri wonder if maybe, just maybe... Maybe she could do something like that, too.
 

And at the tender age of ten, Aeri decides she wants to be an idol.
 

The next year finds Aeri watching a lot of tv. But it’s not tv so much as it is music shows, programs, watching the idols dance and teaching herself to move her body like that, too. She sings along, and she raps along, and she finds that while singing is fun and fine and well and good, it’s rapping that she enjoys the most. It’s rapping, finding a rhythm and spitting words like a maelstrom of fire and bullets, that she enjoys the most.
 

She can keep up with the boys when they rap, and she’s better than the girls. So what’s stopping her from going out there to show the world ust what she can do?
 

Age. Age and distance. but not for long.
 

2008
 

Early in the year, Seungri gets a job offer. A really good job offer. Seungri’s current company has a sister location in Seoul, one that has several positions that need filled, including a well-paying finance position that Seungri would be perfect for. The position is all his if he wants it. 
 

Rather than commuting every day, Seungri packs his and Aeri’s belongings and takes them to Seoul. On one hand, it brings them closer to his new job. On the other, however... It brings Aeri one step closer to achieving her dream.
 

With the condition that she stay on top of her schoolwork, Aeri is allowed to audition for entertainment companies. And should she be accepted to one, her father promises to at least consider the offer.

He doesn’t expect Aeri to get one. Not immediately. But on her second audition, she received a call back. Y.I Entertainment wanted to see her again. Her first audition had been a little...faltering, but after reviewing her application, they’d chalked it up to age and inexperience and decided to give her another look, liking the raw talent they’d seen. 

So Aeri returns, auditions again. This time, the call he recieves offers her a contract as a trainee under Y.I Entertainment. 

Aeri is thrilled, and in March of 2008, at all of eleven years old, Aeri signs with Y.I Entertainment. But before she signs, and before he gives his permission, you can bet that Seungri finds out all he can about what her training schedule will be like in order to ensure she’ll still be able to continue her schooling.
 

Trivia.

— likes: pink, camo, pink camo, spicy food, butterscotch, butterrum, cool weather, winter, lotions, candles

— dislikes: school, math, artificial fruit flavors, chocolate, soda, being too warm
— habits: picking at her fingernails, biting her lip, humming to herself, tapping her fingers on things
— hobbies: writing lyrics/raps, watching movies, listening to music, networking/meeting new people, colletcting lotions
— fears: failure, being alone, claustrophobia
— special talents: can eat a lemon without making a face, memorizing lyrics/raps quickly, playing piano & guitar*
— favorite color: pink
— favorite number: 7
— favorite season: spring
— favorite food: chicken fried rice
— favorite drink: lemon/citrus water
— favorite plant: peonies
— favorite sound: windchimes

— favorite smell: citrus

— favorite song: BTS's Cypher pt. 2 Triptych
— favorite artist(s): Super Junior, Monsta X, Stray Kids, Moonbyul, LE, Dreamcatcher, Ateez, Stray Kids (Monsta X and Ateez are her favorite though)
— motto: Never give up, never surrender.
— At the time of her debut, Aeri was the youngest idol in the industry, a title she held for many years. (Arguably until the debut of NCT U and Dream, or therabouts when companies began debuting young teens/actual children.)
— Aeri didn't date until 2015 after Sowon left Y.I and formed WISH. At the time, it was partially because she hadn't had her birthday yet (she wasn't legal), and partially because she just didn't care. But after her birthday, and after the start of 2016, there was a new reason: Sowon were terrifying. Sowon didn't particularly like the idea of their baby dating anyone. ...and Aeri really couldn't blame them for being protective. (Still, it didn't stop her when she decided she wanted to try going on dates.)
— Although Aeri didn't know it at the time of the accident, her mother was killed by a drunk driver. She was a few months shy of turning legal (but after the creation of Wish Ent), when Seungri sat her down to tell her the truth and to tell her to always be careful. Aeri told him she would be careful, and she promised she had no interest in drinking. 
— As of 2019, Aeri has held true to that and has never looked twice at alcohol.
— Aeri looks up to RM and Suga of BTS and LE of Exid (her idol!!!).
— She doesn't have an ideal type.

— *Aeri began teaching herself piano after she started training at Y.I Ent. Her interest was eventually discovered, and the company helped her find lessons to build on that interest. By the time Sowon left Y.I in 2015, Aeri was more than proficient, and she made sure there was a piano somewhere in the new building for her to continue practicing. After the girls formed Wish, Aeri invested in lessons to learn guitar. At present, she's good enough to play acoustic or backing/guide stuff for some of their songs or her own solo stuff, but she's aware she'll never make a living as a guitarist (and she's okay with that).

— Her performance songs of choice are: piano 1, 2, 3 and guitar 1, 2.

— Her favorite songs to perform on piano are those by The Piano Guys, Ludovico Einaudi, and Yiruma.
— When Sowon has a long day ahead of them, Aeri will generally bring a book with her and read on the drive there/back and in the moments when she's not actively dancing/practicing/etc.
— Aeri tends to favor groups that have more of a rock or alternative sound, and groups with a solid rap line. Super Junior is an exception because theyre the group that helped her see that being an idol was her dream.

— Her favorite Sowon tracks are Black Swan, Between Us, and Remember.

— Her favorite solo releases are Trick or Treat and Cider (and later Home).

— 5 things you can always find in her bag: wallet, nail kit (file, clippers, etc), pen, lip balm, lotion. her phone would be there, too, but that's probably in her hand or pocket.

Relationships. 

father / Lee Seungri / 49 / financial advisor / stable, reliable, kind 

Aeri is, and will always be, a daddy's girl. After the death of her mother and his wife when Aeri was six, Seungri stepped up to the plate to find a careful balance between work and raising his only child. It took time and they had to struggle through any hardships, but Seungri adored Aeri, and there was nothing he wouldn't do for her. Even now, a young woman, well-liked and respected in the industry, Seungri would still do anything for his baby girl. As Aeri matured over the years, the two remained close, with Aeri often going to her father whenever she had concerns and questions that she felt uncomfortable asking the other girls about. When Aeri first began her body mods, Seungri supported her choice -- in fact, he was there at her side for her first tattoo. And even when she began dating, he supported her chocie, only warning her to be careful and to let him know if she needed anything. (He tried not to be intimidating or threaten her suitors should they hurt her, but... Well. He is a dad.)

 
mother / Cha Aehin / 31 (at time of death) 

Despsite the fact that Aehin has been dead for most of Aeri's life, she's still an important figure. Morbid and sad as it may be to acknowledge, Aeri knows that if her mother hadn't died, she never would have gone to therapy and been introduced to writing as a therapy. Sure, she might have disscovered rap down the line anyway, but whe's to know for sure? So Aeri remembers her, asks her father about her, and remembers that even when the world is a dark place, there's a window somewhere, waiting to be open to let in the light.

groupmates / Sowon

Sowon are like the sisters that Aeri never had, the girls she grew up with and learned to love and adore and treat like the family they are. They they do have their petty spats and squabbles on occasion, like all families do, but overall, they're close. 

Aeri considers herself closest to [Free Spirit] (becasue she's the group's second rapper), Kanon (her chosen Big Sister figure), and Iseul (because they're both social butterflies). She also has a soft spot for the younger-aged members of Sowon because they're a bridge between her and the older members of the group.

fun facts:

— When Aeri is in need of something, she'll go to specific members of Sowon for aide. If Sowon can't help her -- a very rare instance usually -- she'll branch out and ask her group of friends within the industry.

— For dance help, she goes to Actress and Free Spirit. For vocal, she'll hit up Iseul or Kanon. Language things she doesn't know depends on the language, butJapanese is always Kanon. Other languages, if she can't find someone in-company, she'll reach out to her circle of friends in the industry.

- 

groupmate / Go Iseul / 27 / member of Sowon / social, determined, lively

Iseul, like Aeri, is a bright and upbeat individual, the sort of social butterfly that truly lives up to her name. Aeri gets along exceptionally well with Iseul because of this. Iseul is one of the members Aeri is closest to in Sowon, partially because their personalities mesh so well, but also because Iseul is one of the oldest members of the group and out of all of them, she's the one Aeri leans on and goes to the most. She's sweet and kind and thoughtful, but also loud and boitrous and kind of obnoxious, always capable of giving Aeri the emotional pick-me-up when she really needs it.

fun facts:

— In EARLY interviews (pre 2015) when Sowon is asked who she would date if one of them were a boy, Aeri always picks Iseul.

— She has a playlist of Iseul's solo releases on her phone.

— I Got Love is one of her favorites.

— When Iseul was working on songs for Sowon, Aeri would sometime collab with her, often in the form of giving the elder woman advice on placement of raps within the lyrics, and then prodviding those raps.

groupmate / Park Hana / 24 / member of Sowon / loyal, calculating, cunning
Out of all the girls, Hana is the one Aeri tends to heads with the most -- not because they don't get along, but because they're similar in some ways and entirely different in others. They heads sometimes, but they're still friends.  As one of the dancers of the group, and closer in age to Aeri than some, Aeri feels comfortable enough going to her when she needs help with a dance because she knows Hana will get down to business and do right by her. But they're not as close as Aeri and Iseul, or even as close as Aeri is with [Free Spirit] or even Kanon, and Aeri also knows better than to trust Hana with too much personal information.

fun facts:

— Favorite song is Bubble Pop, but Aeri always had to be careful dancing to it around Sowon because she was a babie, and the rest of Sowon were very "D: AERI NO" about it. But as they both aged and matured, Hana took pride in helping to teach Aeri the dances to Lalalay and Noir.

groupmate / Watanabe Kanon / 26 / member of Sowon / devoted, reserved, headstrongKanon is one of the members of Sowon that, despite their major gap in ages, Aeri feels an odd kindship with her. Kanon, of course, is the first successful Japanese artist in the industry, which Aeri doesn't necessarily understand, but she does understand leaving everything behind to pursue a dream that you don't know will pan out. But Kanon's independence and determination and loyalty is something Aeri's always admired, and perhaps more than any of the other members, Aeri views Kanon as a reliable older sister figure. And if there's any one thing Aeri really doesn't want to do, no matter how dumb it might be....Kanon's generally the one that can convince Aeri to do it. 

fun facts:

— Aeri's favorite thing to do with Kanon is practice her Japanese, or have Kanon tell her a story in Japanese. Kanon is how she keeps her Japanese skills in top shape.

— It was Kanon that introduced Aeri to Your Lie In April. To this day, it's one of her favorite animes, and she'll watch it in Japanese just because it's got Kanon's voice.

— Aeri's always had an interest in producing and it's Kanon she goes to for that, too, in hopes of finding her own sound and helping to continue to make a name for herself wihtin the industry. She'll never had Kanon's notoriety as a producer, but Aeri feels like it's a good start.

friend / Park Yujin / 29 / ex-member of Sowon / reliable, mature, honest

When Sowon debuted, Aeri considered herself close to Yujin. As the leader, Yujin was someone that Aeri felt comfortable going to when she was lonely or sad, or when she missed her father and home more than she thought possible. Yujin wasn't her mother, but she was older, stable, reliable, and Aeri really looked up to her like. Looking back on it now, Aeri can see why Yujin struggled with the concepts Sowon was being pushed into. Aeri didn't enjoy them much after a while, either. But at the time, Yujin breaking her contract just so she could leave stung in a way that Aeri didn't have words for. She felt overwhelmingly betrayed, and for a few weeks afterward, she was inconsolable. She began trpping over her words around the dorm -- on stage, of course, in front of the world, she was fine. But at home, surrounded by the girls that knew she was all of 14 and had just lost a big sister and an important figure in her life, Aeri stammers and stumbled over herself, and cried. It took a visit from Yujin herself, sneakily arranged with Iseul's help, before Aeri could begin to overcome the loss.

Now she understands. Now, now that Sowon is on their own, doing their own thing, she understands whwy Yujin needed out. And now they're good. They still talk regularly, Yujin is still one of Aeri's big sisters. she's just...farther away now. But she's happy. Yujin is happy,  and Aeri knows that that's what matters.

[ more collabs? will be put here! ]

hoobaes & friends / Monsta X

Aeri first met Monsta X in person in May of 2015 when the group debuted with Trespass. She’d watched the No.Mercy survival program that had formed the group, always interested in rappers and hip hop artists coming into the scene. So then to actually meet them? Yeah, she was excited. Right off the bat, she befriended Jooheon, put at ease by his excitable and eager nature. She watched their stage that night, and though it was clear they were rookies, they had an energy an passion to them that she really liked. Over the days that followed, she watched their other stages and made sure to greet them warmly every chance she got until Sowon’s promotions ended.

In the years that followed, she ran into the guys several more times during overlapping promotions cycles, managing to get closer to Jooheon and Changkyun in particular. She was friendly with the others, but there was no mistaking the fact that she, Jooheon, and Changkyun were close. The elder boys all treated her a bit like they might a younger sister, with Kihyun nagging her like she's one of his group, with Minhyuk and Hoseok both doting on her like they might a younger sibling. And then constant squabbling with Jooheon and Changkyun.

timeline: 
— First met MX in May 2015 when MX debuted and Sowon were finishing Excuse me promotions.

— Met again in Sept 2015 when Someone Like U overlapped with Rush promotions.

— Briefly overlap again in May and October 2016 as MX promotes All In and Fighter and Sowon promotes Girls Don't Cry and I Knew It.

— Their schedules didn't strictly overlap in 2017 due to outside forces, but Aeri did attend both dates of the Beautiful World Tour on June 17 and 18 in 2017. And after the second, she did take them all out and buy them a celebratory dinner before they wernt on their way.

— The Connect World Tour took place on May 26 and 27 of 2018. But due to Sowon's promotions for Remember, Aeri was forced to pick and choose, and was only allowed to attend one night. She ended up choosing the first night, May 26, and treated the boys to dinner again before retreating to her own apartment to prepare for the next day’s schedules.

— MX comes back with Alligator in Feb 2019 just as Sowon comes back with Mago and Unnatural.

hoobaes & friends / NCT 

Aeri initially meets NCT unit U in April of 2016 when their promotion cycles overlap. Sowon’s promoting Girls Don’t Cry, and NCT U are promoting The 7th Sense and Without You. At the time, both parties are awkward -- despite being the same age as the leaders in the group, Aeri’s a senior in the industry, and NCT U are literal babies compared to her. It’s awkward, but Aeri refuses to deterred and wishes the well as they part. She crosses paths with NCT Dream in September of 2016 when Sowon’s promotions overlap with the baby unit of NCT Dream. If NCT U had been awkward, her meeting with the Dreamies is unbearable on another level simply because they’re actually children, and she’s been in the industry for so long. Aeri’s meeting with NCT 127 in June 2017 goes better, as does her meeting in August 2017 with the Dreamies. By the time their paths cross again in December of 2018, she and NCT as a whole are on good terms. In the present, Aeri is a fan of Mark and Taeyong as rappers and they, in return, are major fans of hers. She’s on great terms with Jaehyun, Doyoung, Ten, and Yuta -- with all of the boys, really -- and she treats the Dreamies like they’re her kid brothers, much to their general annoyance. Meanwhile, Taeyong treats Aeri more like a same-age friend than a kid sister (much to her amusement considering she’s his sunbae), and Mark is kind of like the family’s pet dog combined with kid brother vibes. 

timeline & bonus:

— Aeri’s first meeting with NCT U is in April 2016, when their promotions for The 7th sense, Without You, and Sowon’s Girls Don’t Cry overlap. Their debut had been hyped, and Aeri had been excited to find out their schedules overlapped. She was less excited when they stared at her like they were vaguely horrified to know they existed on her radar.
— The next meeting is with NCT Dream in September 2016 when Lip to Lip and We Young overlap. Like the U unit before them, most of Dream are flustered and vaguely horrified to know they exist on Aeri’s radar. Mark, however, is emboldened by their first meeting, and he treats Aeri more cheekily, which Aeri appreciates. Though, in turn, she treats Mark like a mix between kid brother and obnoxious house pet.
— Aeri’s path crosses with NCT 127 in June 2017, and the meeting goes much better simply because NCT has more experience under their belt and Aeri, from the get-go, treats them closer to same-aged peers than her hoobaes. There’s still a level of respect there, Aeri is their respected senior, but she treats NCT like brothers and friends, and they treat her the same. It’s a weird relationship, but it works for them. It’s during this promotional cycle that Aeri gets close to most of NCT 127, adding them as contacts in her phone and joining group chats with them (mostly to bully Mark, which is, apparently, the pasttime of choice).
— In August of 2017, Sowon’s and NCT Dream’s paths cross again as they promote We Young and Lip 2 Lip. This time, Aeri gives the boys no chance to be awkward, greeting them and immediately launching into an enthusiastic commentary about how much they’ve grown since Chewing Gum. By the time their promotions no longer overlap, Aeri has all but adopted all of the members of Dream -- including Jaemin, who’s absent from promotions for health reasons.
— Their promotions overlap one final time in early December 2018 when NCT 127 is promoting Simon Says and Sowon are promoting Wind Flower. For once, they’re all in fairly chic, classy outfits, and Aeri makes the joke that she could be one of them with her stage presence, rap prowess, and short hair, and she hangs around them as much as possible. Taeyong and the elders of NCT 127 are ridiculously fond of her, Mark is also fond of her, even though he and Aeri have a Tom and Jerry type of relationship. 
— Aeri gets along with almost all of NCT in some way or another. She knows next to nothing about mosst of the WayV members (at least until she meets them through overlapping NCT 2020 promotions or hanging out with the boys), but over all, she’s on good terms with them all. She gets along best with the rappers -- Taeyong and Mark -- but also lets the elder members -- Taeil, Johnny, etc -- baby her a little bit when they feel like it. And the Dreamies are her babies, and if you make them cry, she will not only fight you, she will destroy you. (Incidentally, Aeri has the softest soft spot for Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung.)

hoobaes & friends / Seventeen

Sowon is in between comebacks when Seventeen make their debut at the end of May in 2015, so Aeri doesn’t get to meet them immediately, but that doesn’t stop her from watching their performance and marveling at their synchonicity. She’s also struck by their debut concept -- three teams, one vocal, one hip hop, one performance. In a group of thirteen people, it’s a great way to let each individual find a way to shine while still appealing to individuals and the masses. So when she gets a chance to meet them when their promotionss overlap in September of 2015, you know Aeri jumps at it. She becomes fast friends with a number of the members, most prominently the hip hop line -- Seungcheol and Mingyu in particular. Seungcheol (“Scoooooops!” as Aeri calls him) is close-ish in age to her, and fellow rapper Wonwoo is close enough. But Mingyu, despite being younger, has the same sort of excitable puppy energy that Aeri gets along best with. And Vernon, despite being a few years younger, is cheerful and sweet, and it’s nice to have someone to practice her English with.

Aeri also gets along well with Jeonghan and Joshua -- though Jeonghan is a bit of a flirt and Joshua treats her like another sibling (which gets a bit tiring after a while, what with his sweet, gentlemanly demanor and her busy bee tendencies). And with Junhee, Soonyoung, Jihoon, Dokyeom, and Minghao, as they’re all either same age friends or close in age to her. (Though maybe, just maybe, she has a soft spot for Hoshi’s equally excitable nature and his tireless perfectionism.) And she loves impromptu/point dance lessons with Woozi since he's not technically a dance line member and breaks dance routines down into easy to digest bites.

timeline:

— Aeri and Seventeen initially meet in September 2015 when Seventeen’s Mansae promotions and Sowon’s Someone Like U promotions overlap. Aeri's been following their progress in the industry since debut -- predebut if she's being honest, she watched a handful of the Going 17 episodes -- so she's thrilled to finally meet them. Aeri makes quick friends with Mingyu, of all people, soon followed by Wonwoo, Seungcheol, and Woozi.
— Promotions in May 2018 are the overlap of Seventeen’s Don’t Wanna Cry and Sowon’s  Between Us, and just as before, the groups get along incredibly well. (Aeri also tells them that next time they need girls for their mvs, they should hit her up, because she's experienced and can be trusted not to cause problems. And also they're good company.)
— In February 2019, Seventeen are promoting Home when Sowon comes back with Mago and Unnatural. When Aeri isn't busy harassing Monsta X, she's harassing Seventeen, excited beyond word for the fact that they included so much sign language in their choreography, and learnign bits and pieces of it from whomever is unlucky enough to be cornered by her (usually Seungcheol or Soonyoung, who find it adorable, or Jihoon, who finds it a bit tiring.

honorable mentions!

Aeri makes it a point to socialize while promoting whenever possisble, leading her to collecting a large number of phone numbers of fellow idols and performers. She has a decided favoritism for rappers and of people that think and feel like she does, but chances are good that if you’re looking for someone’s number, Aeri either has it, or she knows someone that can get it for you.
She tends to collect the numbers of boys more often than girls, but that’s largely because there are more male rappers that she likes and respects than females.

They don't talk all the time, but she does check out their comebacks and hit them up to cheer them on or hype them up. Additionally, if she can attend their concerts, she will generally try if promotions allow.

note: top 2 rows are connections she's made by Feb 19, the 3rd row are future connections. (Hovering over the icons provides group and name!)
 

Stage Name. Iri [이리]
Member Colour. 

#DA70D6      orchid

#DAA520      goldenrod

#3CB371      mediumseagreen

Plotline. The Fierce Rapper

Vocal Twin. OMG's Jiho (Everglow's Shihyeon) ; All told, Aeri's voice isn't the best. Iseul is a queen and the stantard Aeri tries not to hold herself to -- her specialty is rap, after all, and she doesn't need to feel inadequate -- and she's certainly never going to belt notes like Wendy, Yuju, or Taeyeon, but she's good enough, and she knows she's good enough. She's a stable vocalist while performing with a solid sound and a set of lungs to back her up, and you can tell that she's been singing for years because of how mature her voice has become since Sowon's debut. But after ten years in the industry and half of her life singing and dancing, you'd better hope her sound is solid.

Rap Twin. G-Idle's Soyeon (soloist Yezi) ; Aeri is an outstanding rapper with wicked flow and undenyable stage presence. She's sharp with her word, spitting them with a deadly accuracy that leaves Sowon's fans screaming and Sowon's haters reeling. She's one of the baddest rappers in the industry, and not even her haters can deny that. (Though they try. Being shown up by a kid? Pitiful.) Additionally, there's a slight difference between when she's singing and rapping, an edge to her voice that she considers to be one of her attractive qualities. And, perhaps most importantly, because she's still young, her voice while rapping (and singing) still sounds pretty young as well despite her many years in the industry and the otherwise maturity to her voice.

Dance Twin. DC's Yoohyeon (Gfriend's Eunha) ; Aeri's no dancer, but years of dancing with Sowon, days spent in the practice room in front of the mirrors, pouring all of her blood, sweat, and tears into the groups' routines on top of a good memory and quick study have turned Aeri into a stubbornly good dancer, if nothing else. She'll never be on par with the likes of Lisa, Seulgi, or Yooa, and she can only ever hope to be half as good as Kai and Hyoyeon, but Hana, Actress, and Free Spirit are proud of how good she's gotten and how quick of a study she is, and that's all that matters. It may take her time to perfect the dance, hours more spent in the practice room, working on all the tiny things that Actress and Free Spirit make seem so effortless, but she does it. 

Trainee and Idol Life. Aeri is a trainee for just under a year before she debuts with Sowon. Not only that, but she’s also very, very young (she’s twelve when she debuts), so all of her time is spent either practicing or in school (or in bed, thanks to the laws against minors and working). She works hard with the time she does get, though, pouring over practice pieces in the dance room, writing and rewriting and then reciting her raps until she can say them in her sleep, preparing for the day when she can finally spit bullets on stage. During this time, she does manage to become close to several of the older trainees, many of which would end up debuting in Sowon with her. They liked her passion and her spark, her refusal to act her age, her determination to always become better.

And then it happens, debut. Aeri does beat out a couple other trainees for her position within the group, something that doesn’t necessarily sit right with everyone -- with both the trainees left behind and with a couple of her fellow Sowon members. But in the months that follow, Aeri fights to make it clear that she’d been chosen because she was the best rap trainee there was to offer, and she deserved the chance to show it. ....not that she gets to show it any time soon.

It really isn’t until the switch in companies from Y.I to WISH that Aeri is allowed to show off her skill. The concept change helps, but being able to release solo music, to have creative freedom, is what helps the most. Aeri finally steps out of the perfect little girl mold she’d been forced into by Y.I and she takes her mic and refuses to relinquish the stage and limelight.

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, though. During the time under Y.I, Sowon lost two of their members: U.Jin and Yuri. Although Sowon was never particularly close to Yuri despite being closer in age to her, she had looked up to U.Jin who was the group’s leader. Losing U.Jin hit Aeri hard, and for a short while after U.Jin’s contract was dissolved, it seemed like Aeri’s stutter issues might actually return due to the emotional stress she was under. On stage she was fine, always strong and capable under the bright lights. But at the dorm she was quiet and withdrawn, tripping over her words and lacking the usual fire as she and the remaining members of Sowon reoriented themselves.

A similar occurance happened following Yuri’s departure, but not to sure an extreme extent. Aeri was sad, and it showed, but because she wasn’t as close to Yuri, her mentality amd emotional stability remained level enough to avoid issues.
 

Pre-debut.

2008 / Y.I releases a couple grainy/poor quality videos of Aeri practicing her raps, singing, and dancing to promote interest in her. 

Post-debut.

Y.I gives Aeri a solo debut and comeback during her time with the company, but her debut song isn't amazing, so it takes forever to get a comeback arranged. Even then, the concepts aren't her favorite. And then again, a lackluster repsonse, so any further solo stuff is shelved until after Sowon leave Y.I. It doesn't stop Aeri from working in private on the sort of music she'd like to release, but it defintiely does stop her from actively releasing it, at least until Sowon forms Wish Ent. Very soon after, Aeri begins to reinvent herself, first by releasing a fun, sassy summer song, and then by working on the solo comebacks she's always wanted.

Aug 2012 / Idle Song (orig. Soyeon)

Mar 2014 / Jelly (orig. Soyeon)

July (late) 2015 / Beam Beam (orig. Soyeon) [primarily released as a digital single, as like a "look Yojeong, I grew up!" and also a summertime song; Sowon push her to do a couple live stage performances in early August as like a fun gift to Yojeong thing]
Feb 2016 / Cider (orig. Yezi)

Sept 2016 / Trick or Treat (orig. Grace)

Dec 2016 / Chase (replacing Yezi) (dig. single/not promoted)

Oct 2017 / Zombie High (orig. Grace)

Jul 2018 / Giant (orig. Yuqi)

Sept 2018 / Wow Thing (orig. Seulgi/Chungha/Soyeon/SinB) [maybe a Sowon thing?]

xxx 2019 / *Bomb (orig. AleXa)

xxx 2019 / *Do or Die (orig. AleXa)

xxx 2019 (late) / Home (orig. Yezi)

xxx 2020 (early) / My Gravity (orig. Yezi)

xxx 2020 / *Revolution (orig. AleXa)

xxx 2020 / *Villain (orig. AleXa)

xxx 2020 (late) / *Dessert (orig. Hyo & Soyeon) [Aeri & Hana or Actress? ft. one of her rap friends]

xxx 2021 (spring) / Rule The World (orig. AleXa)

xxx 2021 (summer) / Xtra (orig. AleXa) w/ BM of Kard (some of her friends feature in the mv as the crew she runs with

xxx 2021 (Octoberish) / Anck Su Namum (orig. Yezi)

* All songs marked also get bonus English versions released on the single/ep.

** currently working on a possible list of songs Aeri might help produce, either for Sowon or for other artists, most of which will be a collab effort with Kanon or endorsed by Kanon! Please check back for this list in the next couple days!

Scandals.

2009 / True / Sowon's Iri youngest idol in the industry?? 

Not so much a scandal, but could be perceived that way because of how the media/dispatch writes and portray some articles, and how knets react to them. This article is basically about how Aeri is, at the time, the youngest idol in the industry. It gets some attention from knets that argue she's too young, and attention from Sowon's fans that argue that it's her passion andher dream. 

2015 - present / False / dating scandals

With ten years in the industry under her belt, it had to come up eventually.  Luckily, Aeri doesn't really start collecting friends until 2015 when she turns of age, so there's no reason for her to appear in the headlines in possible dating scandals until then. But once she does start collecting her male rapper harem (haha--), and all of her same/close-aged friends, it's just a matter of time. But it's all false. They're all false.

Ariel.

Comments/questions. I still love the fact that Aeri was, in short, a challenge child. Namely, I was struggling to pick a face and made a friend choose and it was Eunha and #challengeaccepted. After the news of Gfriend's disbandment (and now the news of Vivis happening!) I was super psyched to work on Aeri again and give her back to you. As before, I'm basing Aeri a bit on Maru (Trei/ex CClown) and Jungkook, both of whom were very young at debut -- Maru was the youngest idol to debut for a long time, if I recall, and Jungkook has since spent about half of his life either as a trainee or as an active idol. Sorry I still couldn't offer more in the way of scandal ideas. Aeri's age and overal personality as well as her tendency to network and make friends didn't really allow for much scandal-wise. And even then, it's going to be largely accidental, dispatch and fans misconstruing her bro ships with her male idol friends.

Suggestions. 

— Sowon going all parental and staring at the boys when Aeri goes to greet her friends while they overlap on promotions. No matter how old she is, she'll always be their baby.

— More mature comebacks and b-sides for Sowon where the members get to really showcase their maturity and how far they've come since debut. Also sassy, confident songs! (Like Remember and Black Swan. ie Fierstar's Mirror, CLC's No or Me, Twice's Get Loud.)

— And then someone in Sowon subsequently "no Aeri you're too young for this" "I AM NOT" (which is extra funny because she is, in fact, not too young now)
— Someone also subsequently losing it over Aeri's solo comeback with Home, because holy damn that song was a m a z i n g--

Password. This was, as it always seems to be, an incredibly tough choice. Aeri's top choice would be Remember, but her bare-in-second-place choice would definitely be Mago.