Arielle | blackandwhiteburns | 9/10

NICKNAMES:
➳ Arrows- his clubmates refer to him by this nickname. It originated due to Takeshi’s strong skills in archery, where he is one of the members who won the most number of archery competitions. Eventually, this same nickname spread among his classmates after his good friend Donghyun started calling him that. The reason why his classmates call him by this nickname is not due to his archery skills, but due to his sharp tongue, something that is well-known among his peers and lecturers alike.

LANGUAGES:
➳ Japanese- fluent, his native language
➳ Korean- semi-fluent, he learned this language back in high school. He picked up Korean relatively quickly, and is able to speak it such that Korean speakers can understand him and vice versa. However, he occasionally encounters difficulty understanding more complicated terms, and requires help from others in comprehending them.

FACE CLAIM: Kawamura Kazuma (THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE)

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT: 175 cm, 61 kg

APPEARANCE: He has a fringe that is above his eyebrows, and does not have any piercings. Other than that, he looks exactly the same as his face claim.

STYLE: His fashion style leans more towards casual wear, which is apparent in terms of the clothing he owns in his closet. His usual style is t-shirts and jeans, but instead of completing his look with the classic sneakers, he usually switches it out in favour of his favourite pair of black boots. The outerwear that he usually wears are denim jackets and hoodies, especially the former. On days where he is feeling exceptionally lazy (which isn’t too often), he can be seen in a t-shirt and bermudas, but of course, he will never wear this sort of outfit to class or school in general; he only wears as such when going to places like the shopping centre, or when meeting with his friends outside of school. During winter time, he wears a warm coat on top of his outfits. The only time when he dresses outside of his usual style is when he has to do so, such as class presentations and networking events.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

PERSONALITY: ESTJ (Executive)
+ve: Sensible, organised, observant, resilient
-ve: Sharp-tongued, stubborn, demanding, overly independent

If there is anything that can describe what Takeshi is like as a person, it would be that he has a knack for making good decisions. This can be traced back to the fact that he is someone who uses logic to guide him in his decision making process. Before he does something, he usually evaluates what will happen if he takes the particular course of action, and what will also happen if he doesn’t do something. From there, he decides which is the most practical route to take. When encountered with tricky situations, he is able to stay calm and composed, as he believes that if he panics, it can interfere with the way he processes the circumstances and comes up with solutions to solve the problem. Because of his level-headedness and excellent problem-solving skills, people can rely on him to get the best results, even when everyone is in dire straits and they don’t know what to do.

One thing that people around him take note of is how he always seems to be on track with what he has to do, and manages to deliver work that is expected of him. This is due to the fact that he is highly organised. When there are things for him to do, he will list down his deliverables, after which, he will rank them according to how urgent or important his tasks are. Once he is done, he then sets a deadline for himself to complete the work given to him. Furthermore, he is very focused on doing his work, and is able to achieve a balance between working on his tasks and taking breaks without compromising on either aspect. Because of the high discipline he has, not only does he get his things done in time, he does not have to worry if he has completed his stuff at the last minute.

He is also someone who is very observant. He is highly aware of his surroundings, which is seen by how he manages to take note of people, how they speak and react, and what they do. Besides this, he is able to pick up on small nuances, such as a shift in one’s body posture, or a change in facial expressions. This ability of his helps him to discern who is being genuine and who isn’t, so that he can avoid those who bring negativity to him. Because of this, he knows everything, even before someone says anything. He is also able to utilise his observation skills, where he gets behind what others are saying or doing, and from there, turn this into his advantage and gain the upper hand, especially when debating with someone else.

His strong focus on his tasks goes back to his resilience. He isn’t one to easily give up on what he’s doing, and will do his best to reach his goals. His experiences in school also helped toughen him up and gave him a reality check at an early age to how people can bring others down or make things difficult for others, which in turn honed his ability to recover quickly from difficult circumstances or people. He will try his best to pursue what he wants no matter how difficult it gets, unless there is a very strong reason for him to give up and divert his attention to something else.

To Takeshi, there is no point in engaging in manipulation or mind games with other people, hence he seeks to tell the truth as it is. At the same time, he also doesn’t mind people being blunt and direct with him, for he isn’t someone to beat around the bush and will say what is in his mind. While he believes deeply in “honesty is the best policy”, there are instances when he has hurt others with what he said, due to him not sugarcoating or mincing his words. Not everyone appreciates his straightforward, no-nonsense tone in what he says, especially those who are a little more sensitive and don’t care for people being too harsh in what they say. There are rare times, though, where he exercised tact when communicating with others, but only because it is the best course of action for him to do so.

Not only that, he has a headstrong attitude when dealing with issues. He challenges the norms, especially when he feels that there is a flaw or a problem to it. This isn’t necessarily something bad, except that this also means that he holds on very tightly to his beliefs (for the right reasons of course). He isn’t one to yield or give in easily, especially when he isn’t fully convinced that their ideas are truly better than his. On a not so positive note, this means that he will get into arguments with others over whose ideas are better, and this spells chaos when the person he is debating with is just as headstrong or stubborn as he is. Sometimes, people even need to mediate and stop the argument once it gets too heated.

Takeshi tends to demand a lot from himself, to the point where he places additional burden on himself when trying to carry out his work. This usually ends up with him burning or tiring himself out, both physically and mentally. It isn’t a rare occasion to find him still up and awake late into the night when everyone else has already gone to sleep, and usually requires others to tell him that it’s ok to stop and continue what he’s doing tomorrow and get some rest.

His independence is a strong suit of his, but it’s also a huge weakness at the same time. While this means that he’s able to do many things himself, he isn’t one who readily seeks or accepts help from others. It isn’t because he is too prideful to seek or accept help, but it’s because he doesn’t want to burden others with his problems. He doesn’t want to have to add his issues on top of other people’s work, because other students around him have their own set of problems to overcome as well, not to mention, busy schedules. Hence, he will try to sort out his own problems as much as possible. Eventually, it got to a point where he will attempt to do anything and everything that’s expected of him alone, even though he actually could use some help or input from others. It can sometimes get to a point where he gets burned out, and at that stage, he accepts some assistance- reluctantly.

BACKGROUND: He was born as the younger child of two in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. His father is an interior designer, while his mother is a high school chemistry teacher. He thrived and grew up well, having two loving parents and a caring elder brother, Hiroshi.

From a young age, Takeshi excelled in both his studies and his extracurricular activity, archery. When he went on to junior high school, he began to learn more about Japan’s history and relations with other countries. Japan’s relationship with their neighbouring country, South Korea, has always interested him, since it is a well-known fact that the two countries have had a tense relationship and numerous disputes. It is no secret that many South Koreans view the Japanese negatively, and vice versa. Their strained relationship intrigued Takeshi, and he began to take interest in learning more about South Korea’s culture and history. This was one of the reasons why he took up Korean as his foreign language when he went to senior high school, just to get to know their neighbour better. One good thing to note, he has never viewed Koreans negatively, and neither does his family members.

Takeshi has always wanted to study abroad, and decided to go to a university in South Korea. Since South Korea is a neighbouring country not too far away from home, and he is able to learn more about the Korean culture and history better, this choice seemed natural to him. His parents, however, were rather concerned with his decision to study abroad, and wondered why he didn't enrol in a local university instead. He managed to convince them that it is because it is an invaluable experience to study abroad, he gets to learn more about another country and interact with the people there. Besides, he can take care of himself, will come back to visit them every semestral break, and he will return home after graduating.

Prior to him leaving for South Korea, Hiroshi got in touch with Kawanishi Shohei, a famous cellist whose younger brother, Katsuki, is currently studying in the University of Ulsan. After informing Katsuki that his friend’s younger brother intends to study in South Korea, he knew that together with his roommate and best friend, Hyunwoo, they will be helping to look out for Takeshi while studying in their university, and ensuring him that his time will be worthwhile during the four years he is living in South Korea.

YEAR: Freshman

MAJOR: Law

CLUBS AND SOCIETIES: When he was attending the clubs and societies carnival hosted by the University of Ulsan, he happened to chance upon the booth set up by the school’s archery club, complete with bows, arrows and archery targets. When one of their club members (the vice-president to be exact) asked if he wanted to try out archery, Takeshi accepted the invitation, and impressed the members with his skills. He was then encouraged to join their club, which he did. He will then represent the university and compete in various archery competitions, and eventually become one of their club’s best archers. During his sophomore year, he signed up to be part of the club’s executive committee, and is then chosen to be their president.

COLLEGE LIFE:
Monday:
10.15-12.15 p.m.- Introduction to Police Science (C00889)
2.00-4.50 p.m.- Introduction to Law (C00611)

Tuesday:
10.00-10.50 a.m.- Introduction to Administration (C00613)
2.00-3.15 p.m.- Introduction to Sociology (C01092)
5.30-8.30 p.m.- Archery Training Session

Wednesday:
10.00-11.50 a.m.- Introduction to Writing and Reporting (A00038)
2.00-3.15 p.m.- Introduction to Sociology (C01092)

Thursday:
10.00-10.50 a.m.- Introduction to Administration (C00613)
3.00-4.50 p.m.- Logic and Thought (A00076)
5.30-8.30 p.m.- Archery Training Session

Friday:
12.00-1.40 p.m.- Special English for Social Science (C01120)

Without fail, Takeshi will wake up at 7 a.m. in the morning and wash up before going for a morning jog at the park nearby his apartment. After 30 to 45 minutes of jogging, he will then return to his apartment and have a proper shower, after which he has his breakfast with his roommates Katsuki and Hyunwoo. The three then make their way to school together, and he will then go off for his own lessons.

During lunch time, he can be seen eating together with his friends from class. If he has spare time after having his lunch, he will take his time to do his assignments, or read up more about his modules before going off for his next class. Once he is done for the day, he will then make his way back to his shared apartment, and continue with his assignments after his dinner. More often than not, he gets too engrossed with studying and completing his work, and can easily be staying up late into the night. By then, either Katsuki will be nagging him to go to bed and complete his work the next day, or Hyunwoo will take away his laptop and only give it back when Takeshi promises that he will go to sleep.

Takeshi goes for his archery training with his club on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. To him, archery is one of the best ways for him to distress, which is why he is so enthusiastic and puts in his best efforts into his club sessions, especially when it is nearing his archery competitions dates. His passion also extends to weekend sessions at the nearest archery shooting range, and he can easily spend two to three hours there. Aside from that, he also enjoys visiting shopping centres, frequenting Starbucks and finding a spot in the cafe where he can sip on his coffee and work on his projects at the same time.

He doesn’t mind attending parties, but it is simply not something that he partakes on a regular basis. When he does, though, he drinks alcohol in moderation, opting for a cocktail or two. He will participate in drinking games from time to time, but stays far away from the dance floor (according to him, it is because his dancing , and he isn’t too comfortable with people cozying up with others). Because of his careful attitude to alcohol, he never gets drunk, and instead, is usually the one looking out for his friends. Once they get drunk, it is time for him to help them sober up, and get them home when the need arises. Once everything is settled, he then heads back to his apartment.

LIKES:
➳ Rainy or snowy days
➳ Matcha ice cream
➳ Roller coaster rides
➳ Accessories, especially rings and bangles
➳ Poker card games
➳ The colour black
➳ Quiet spots to do his work

DISLIKES:
➳ The smell of cigarettes
➳ When people interrupt or lie to him
➳ Doing things at the last minute
➳ Unexpected delays
➳ People blocking his path
➳ Excessive public display of affection
➳ Oily or greasy food

HOBBIES:
➳ Archery
➳ Writing in his online journal
➳ Playing poker card games
➳ Watching movies and dramas
➳ Video gaming

HABITS:
➳ Doing a handstand when he is stressed or bored
➳ Listening to music while doing his work
➳ Swearing when he is frustrated, angry or extremely stressed
➳ Chewing his lip when he is nervous
➳ Rolling his eyes when he hears or sees things he deems as stupid

OTHERS:
➳ On top of being skilled in archery, he is an ace in darts. He has won many games of darts against others, such that people warn challengers that they will likely lose as he is simply too good at it.
➳ His favourite coffee drink is long black.
➳ Like his brother, he learnt how to play the piano from a young age. However, he lost his interest fairly quickly, and quit after three years of playing it.
➳ He picked up archery as an extracurricular activity in elementary school. He grew to enjoy it greatly, and started joining competitions and winning some of them. He continues to do this sport on a regular basis.
➳ Takeshi is a moderate drinker. He can easily drink eight to ten shots of soju, but drink more than that, and he will start to get tipsy. He also doesn’t experience flushing when drinking.
➳ He keeps a mood board and post-its in his apartment. He writes down his to-do list and sticks it on his board to remind himself to do his work.
➳ He has a short fuse. Despite losing his temper fairly often, he never fails to make people scared of him every time he does so.
➳ His favourite video games are Dota 2, Warcraft III and Dynasty Warriors.
➳ He owns a Nintendo Switch he purchased upon its release in 2017. He and his good friend, Donghyun, will play games on his Switch from time to time.
➳ While studying, he likes to play music in the background to help him get through his work.
➳ He originally learned to write with his right hand, but because he was told he has terrible handwriting when he was young, he switched to writing with his left hand out of spite. Eventually, he became left-handed, and his handwriting also improved with time.
➳ Despite being left-handed, he was trained to shoot using a right-handed bow. Hence, he uses his left hand to write, while he uses his right hand in archery.
➳ He is an average cook. He can make simple dishes, but not anything more fanciful or complicated. He relies on outside food, or meals that Katsuki cooks. However, he does help Katsuki to prepare meals sometimes.
➳ He is well-known by his classmates for debating answers with his lecturers on a regular basis.
➳ He likes taking unglam photos of his friends and family and adding funny captions to them.
➳ He often engages in debates on social media when he sees things he doesn't agree with.
➳ As much as he likes being around people, he enjoys having some down time once in a while. He likes taking a walk around the beach, sitting on the sand and admiring the sunset.

Hiroshi is Takeshi’s elder brother, and is two years his senior. From a young age, Hiroshi has always been looking out for his younger brother; in fact, if you asked him if he’ll ever stop caring about Takeshi, he’d say, “That will never happen. Looking out for my little brother- it’s in my blood.”

Even though they are brothers, they both have rather different personalities. While Takeshi is more serious and at times, intimidating, Hiroshi is more humorous and friendly. Despite their differences, they get along well, and one can see that the both of them often hang out together so often, they are pretty much joined at the hip. In fact, Takeshi is the most relaxed when together with his brother as they engage in their customary friendly banter. They also know when their sibling is in trouble, and confide all their personal problems with each other; there is literally nothing that they do not know about each other. 

Hiroshi has been playing the piano ever since his parents enrolled him in a music school when he was three. Unlike Takeshi, who quit playing the piano, he fell in love with it, and can spend hours playing the piano. As he grew older, his skills got better, too. He started joining competitions and winning some of them, and is determined to become a musician. Of course, his piano skills didn’t go unnoticed. In 2015, Kawanishi Shohei, a famous cellist and Youtuber, happened to chance upon Hiroshi’s piano performance video during a piano competition (to be exact, he was performing Frédéric Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu, one of Shohei’s favourite piano pieces), and engaged him as his accompanist for his solo concerts in Japan. From there, the two of them got along pretty well, and are still in contact with each other.

When Hiroshi knew of Takeshi’s plans to study in a university in South Korea, he suggested that he could consider studying at the University of Ulsan. Since Katsuki, Shohei’s younger brother, is studying there, he can help look out for him. Takeshi accepted his suggestion, which is why he will be studying in Ulsan for the next four years. Even though Hiroshi is away studying music at Tokyo College of Music, the two of them are still very close, and message each other every day without fail.

INTERACTIONS:
Takeshi: I like my coffee how I like myself.
Hiroshi: Sweet, sugary and a total delight?
Takeshi: No. Dark, bitter, and too hot for you.

Hiroshi: Does the egg come from the chicken, or does the chicken come from the egg?
Takeshi: How about you go back to the time when you were an egg yourself?

Hiroshi: Sometimes I think your eyes don’t roll back far enough for your liking.
Takeshi: Yes, you’re absolutely right.

After Takeshi accepted Hiroshi’s suggestion, Hiroshi forwarded the acceptance to Shohei, who in turn, messaged his brother Katsuki of this arrangement as well as his contact number. After obtaining his contacts, Takeshi went on to message Katsuki and arranged a time to meet up on Skype to discuss things and get to know each other better.

From the virtual meeting, Takeshi got to know more about studying and living in South Korea, while Katsuki got to know more about what it is like to live in Japan. Through some more online meetings, besides familiarising themselves with each other, Katsuki also taught Takeshi the Korean language and culture, on top of what Takeshi learned in school, so that he can become accustomed to the language and culture and not have such a hard time studying in a foreign country.

Currently, Takeshi is living together with Katsuki and Hyunwoo’s shared apartment. The three of them get along together well, eating dinner in their apartment and gaming together. They grew close despite being vastly different in their personalities. If Takeshi isn’t together with his friends, he is together with his two seniors and roommates, especially during the weekends.

In fact, he sees Katsuki as his second brother, because he cares about Takeshi a lot, and he helps him out whenever he is facing troubles. He knows that he can rant about all types of drama to Katsuki, for he isn’t one to react immediately, but gives him space to freely complain about whatever is going on around him. Takeshi also happens to be one of the few people to know about Katsuki's family situation, because Katsuki feels comfortable enough around him to talk about it (and of course, Takeshi kept this to himself and did not go around spreading such personal information).

Even after graduating from the university, Katsuki and Takeshi continued to stay close, and chat on Whatsapp occasionally. Katsuki even came to Nagoya to visit Takeshi while he was on summer break and was back home in Japan. When Takeshi is a senior at the University of Ulsan, while on a two-week long trip in Chicago with his brother Hiroshi during his winter break, the two of them stayed together with Katsuki, and he got to meet Katsuki’s elder brothers for the first time, and even attended Shohei’s fan meeting event, where Hiroshi is a guest performer.

INTERACTIONS:
After watching one episode of a romance drama
Katsuki: What’s your favourite part of the episode?
Takeshi: The end of the episode.
Katsuki: You didn’t enjoy a single portion of it?
Takeshi: Not at all, not even the end credits scene with the preview for the next episode. To put it kindly, everything that falls under 1. cliched, 2. unrealistic, and 3. cringe-inducing, the drama did it all. I highly recommend you to continue watching it if you want to have a torturous time.

Takeshi: I’m gonna go crazy.
Katsuki, smiling: It might help by thinking more positively about things!
Takeshi: I’m positive I’m gonna go crazy.

The first year of university, besides his two roommates and friends from his archery club, he did not really get along very well with his classmates in the same major as him. There is too much drama and fakeness circulating in his classes to make genuine friendships. That was until he met Yoon Donghyun, who eventually became one of his closest friends in the university.

Every year, prior to the start of the new school year for incoming freshmen, the university will organise an orientation camp for students of each college, which occurs even before the freshman orientation programme. Takeshi signed up and was accepted to be one of the group leaders for the orientation camp. During the group leaders’ training, he met his fellow group leaders, and was paired together with Donghyun, a law major who recently got discharged from the army. The two of them got along very well with each other, perhaps even helped by the fact that they both are students who are studying law, and find it very easy to come up with topics for a conversation.

When the new school year started, as Takeshi was making his way to the lecture theatre for his first class of the day, he met Donghyun along the way, who was going to the exact same class as he is. He later found out that they both are studying for almost the exact same modules, which means that they would be seeing a lot of each other for their classes. This is also one of the reasons why one can often see them hanging out for lunch and on Saturday mornings, where the two of them will be playing archery together and grabbing lunch together afterwards.

Of course, there are times when they argue with each other, but they don’t last for very long, and before anyone knows it, they are back to becoming friends again. Perhaps Takeshi may never say this to Donghyun, but he is very thankful for having met him in university, and becoming his first ever genuine friendship he made with someone in the same major as him. However, with the appearance of a girl, Christabel Kim, things are about to get a lot more interesting...

Interactions:
Donghyun: I see you’re highly active in arguing with others online.
Takeshi: Ever heard of the saying "When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat"? Gotta put some es back in their place.
Donghyun: That’s not what Ronald Reagan meant when he said that, but okay.

Donghyun: So how’s your project treating you so far?
Takeshi: I’m doing fine. It’s exciting, and I’ve got new responsibilities as well.
Donghyun: Oh? What sort of responsibilities are we talking about?
Takeshi: Keeping my sanity intact while dealing with my team members’ shenanigans.

The first time Takeshi and Donghyun met Christabel, it was at a College of Social Sciences networking event they attended as sophomores. In fact, Christabel first approached Donghyun, who later introduced her to his best friend, Takeshi. They learned that she is currently taking International Area Studies and Commerce as her major, and that she hails from New Zealand. They got along well, and exchanged contacts by the end of the event. If their breaks happen to coincide with Christabel’s, they will meet up together to have their lunch while talking about the juicy drama happening in the classes they are taking.

Over time, the three became so close, Donghyun and Takeshi started to address Christabel by her nickname, Bel. Somewhere along the way, Christabel started to see Takeshi in a different light, perhaps it is because he usually looks extremely serious, but when he hangs out with his friends, his serious facial expression is replaced by a smile which she finds so endearing. Not to mention, he genuinely cares a lot about his friends, Christabel included. When Donghyun realised that she started to behave a little differently around Takeshi, after asking her about it, she finally confessed that she had fallen for him. That is when Donghyun enlisted himself to help her pursue Takeshi.

However, he doesn’t feel the same way about her, and only sees her as a good friend of his. This was why he rejected her kindly when she finally plucked up the courage to confess her feelings for him. This unfortunate turn of events caused a rift in the friendship that they both shared, and the two of them hung out much less often than before.

On the other hand, there was Donghyun. He didn’t know what to feel about Takeshi rejecting Christabel. He definitely felt sad for her, as her love went unreciprocated, yet at the same time, he couldn’t help but also feel relieved. He didn’t understand why he was feeling the latter feeling. When he talked to Takeshi regarding Christabel’s confession, he picked up on Donghyun’s behaviour, for it seemed unusual to him to talk about her and her positive traits so much. It was after their conversation that it dawned on Takeshi why his best friend had behaved as such- when he was helping Christabel win Takeshi’s heart, he hung out with her more often than usual, and now he had fallen for her while doing so, just that Donghyun was unaware of his feelings for her.

With the discovery, Takeshi went to talk to his best friend, and help him realise that he felt that way about the rejection, as he had fallen for her. He then persuaded Donghyun, that if he does like her, then don’t ignore his feelings, and go win her heart over. With that, Takeshi turned to the sidelines while cheering on for his friend in his pursuit of love.

Interactions:
Takeshi, staring at Christabel’s laptop screen: Aren’t you supposed to be doing work?
Christabel: But I am doing work! I’m comparing to see which of these sushi-shaped pouches best matches my bag!
Takeshi, sighing: There’s no point in debating with you over what the word “work” means, am I right?
Christabel: Absolutely!
Takeshi: If you say so. The tamago sushi pouch looks great, by the way.

Minhyuk is Takeshi’s coursemate who is from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Although Minhyuk is actually Japanese, he was adopted by a Korean couple when he was 6 months old, and grew up speaking English and Korean. Their relationship never did run smooth, which is extremely apparent when they are having the same classes. Having two equally stubborn and competitive law majors is bound to spell trouble in some way or another.

The two of them were put in the same group and were tasked to work together with three other classmates for a group project. However, things didn’t turn out so well with these two students. The two of them have rather differing opinions, hence it was a common affair to see the two of them argue over what should be included in their presentation and what should be removed. It doesn’t help that the both of them aren't very willing to compromise, and they usually needed their group mates to mediate and stop the never-ending arguments between the two of them. Needless to say, while they did well on the project, this was the start of their rivalry.

When they see each other in class, their mutual dislike didn’t go unnoticed. Takeshi is well-known for debating his answers with his lecturers, and not wanting to let the arguments go, he joined in the debate as well, just to get on Takeshi’s nerves. From debating his answers with his lecturers, it evolved to become a heated exchange between the two students. Not to mention, the two of them were regularly pitted against each other by their classmates, as they are two of the best performing students in their major, which did nothing to help the situation.

After the first semester, the two of them started to see each other less often, as they registered for different classes. It seems as though their rivalry has abated slightly; Takeshi continues to debate his answers, but Minhyuk no longer joins in to annoy him, but holds his own discussions with his lecturers instead. However, it is clear that the two of them are not fond of each other despite no longer outwardly challenging the other person, and this is something that is not going to be changing anytime soon.

Interactions:
Takeshi: It seems that I’ve smelled something.
Minhyuk: Oh yeah? What’s that?
Takeshi: The smell of your bull.

Takeshi, answering a call from Minhyuk: What do you want?
Minhyuk: I literally sent you messages about meeting up for the project! Where the hell are you?
Takeshi, checking his phone: You literally just sent those messages half an hour after I started my archery training, and I will only end my training at 8.30 p.m. So how about you guys discuss first, and I catch up later? You seriously haven’t expected that people can’t cater to your fancies and demands, have you?

SONG YIHWA (송이화) ➳ 19 ('97 liner) ➳ FRIEND

CHAE SUNGHA (채성하) ➳ 20 ('96 liner) ➳ FRIEND

Which high school did you graduate from?
I graduated from Meito High School back home in Nagoya, Japan.

Why did you choose this major? If not, which major are you currently leaning towards?
Wow, this is gonna be a pretty long explanation, so hopefully you don’t get too bored by it. Without further ado, let me take you on a trip back to when I started attending high school. My best subject back then was Japanese literature, while the other was Japanese. My literature teacher, who was also my language teacher, took notice of the scores that I was getting in the two subjects, and she realised that maybe she can push me a little harder. I started getting additional assignments and a wide variety of writings, and stretched my ability to write argumentative essays and analyses. Also, one interesting thing to note is that my school has a speech advocacy programme, where one student is selected to deliver a speech on a weekly basis. My teacher selected me several times throughout high school to be the one to deliver my work, and from there, I also managed to hone my public speaking skills. Because of the great pains and efforts that my dear teacher put in to discover my potential, I decided that I would want to put my skills into something I love, which is why I decided to enrol myself in a law major, and after graduating, pursue my dream job of being a prosecutor.

What do you hope to gain out of college life?
A good GPA is one of them. If I want to become a prosecutor, graduating with a law degree is the very basic minimum, alongside the bar exam which I will be taking after I go back to Japan, so that I am qualified to practise law. Academics aside, I also hope that I have achieved a good balance between studying and leisure time, that my archery skills are still very good, because as much as I take pride in my studies, I also take pride in being able to hit the bullseye. Last but not least, I hope to make good friends while studying in Ulsan and get to know South Korea a little better before I return to my home country after I graduate.

What is one word that you would want people to describe you as?
I’ve heard people describe me in many ways- intimidating, aggressive, critical, y even, but I want to be described as someone who is multifaceted. I think a lot of people just see my argumentative or competitive side, but to be honest, there’s more to me besides being a debater. I enjoy being with my friends, I enjoy intelligent conversations, I enjoy archery. In other words, I’m more complex than people think.

What part-time jobs are you undertaking now or plan to undertake in the future?
As of now, I do not have a part-time job. However, I am considering taking up a part-time internship position at a law firm after I’m done with my freshman year, so that I can gain some work experience and know what it is like to practise law.

How do you cope with stressful situations?
I have a very interesting way to cope with stressful situations, and that is to do a handstand when I’m stressed. I got inspired by a television show I watched when I was nine, where one of their main characters does a handstand when he feels like crying, reason being because if he’s upside down, then his tears won’t flow out any more. I thought that this sounds great, so this is what I do when I’m under a lot of stress and I need to find some way to meditate or let off steam. If not, you can probably catch me shooting some arrows at a nearby archery field if there is one.

What is your take on drinking, clubbing and nightlife activities?
I don’t mind going out drinking with my friends, but I don’t really like going to nightclubs. I am very comfortable around people, but I still don’t really feel that nightclubs are the right scene for me, especially those kinds that blast loud music and everyone is crowding around on the dance floor. I'm bad at dancing anyway. If you catch me at a bar, you’d probably see me sitting at a table and drinking alcohol, maybe even chatting with the bartender, or playing a game of darts. When people are drunk, I usually take care of them, because I don’t like getting drunk in the first place, and I see too many people have hangovers to want to drink more than I can handle. I can tell you, though, it’s very interesting to watch how people behave when they are drunk. Oh yes, I nearly forgot to add, the drink that I usually order at a pub is the tequila sunrise.

Do you plan to study abroad for one semester? If so, where?
Yes, I definitely do. I’m thinking of studying as an exchange student in either the UK or the US. I’ve heard that these two countries have splendid law schools, so I’d love to experience what it’s like to study in the universities there. Furthermore, they are known for having a diverse group of people, and I think that interacting and exchanging ideas with people from all walks of life will definitely be something interesting and valuable for me.

Which places would you like to travel to during school breaks?
I definitely want to explore other parts of South Korea, such as Seoul, Busan and even Jeju Island. If we’re talking about travelling outside of South Korea, besides going back to Japan, I want to visit Australia the most. They have so many beautiful tourist destinations- Bondi Beach, Great Barrier Reef, Blue Mountains National Park, Sydney Harbour Bridge... Oh yes, and the Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin! I’d love to be up close with the crocodiles there!

What are your short-term and long-term goals after graduating?
One of my short-term goals is to graduate with good grades, and after returning back to Japan, to take the bar exam, so that I can be qualified to practise law, and become a prosecutor from there. But of course, it’s not always about studies, but also about my relationships with others, and I really hope that the friendships I made while in university can continue on even after I return home. When I leave, I also want to leave with happy memories, and to resolve any conflicts I have while studying at the University of Ulsan.

COMMENTS: Hello, it’s Arielle with my second character, Takeshi! I hope you don’t mind me creating another male Japanese character for Class of 2020 ><

Nonetheless, I hope that you have enjoyed reading more about him! Once again, I did not include any love interest for him, so he has an open relationship plotline. 

SCENE REQUESTS:
➳ Takeshi, Hyunwoo and Katsuki playing Overcooked! with Takeshi raging at some point in time
➳ Takeshi and Donghyun playing Mario Kart 8 on Takeshi’s Nintendo Switch
➳ Takeshi visiting his family back in Japan during his semestral breaks
➳ The Iwata brothers visiting the Kawanishi brothers in Chicago
➳ Takeshi’s classroom debates with the lecturer delivering the lesson
➳ Someone from Takeshi’s major challenging him to a duel in darts and them competing to see who has to foot the bill for everyone’s drinks
➳ Takeshi competing in an archery tournament and showcasing his skills in archery

PASSWORD: AB+