PERSONALITY
☇ she's kinda weird...apologizes to chairs she bumps into, barks at dogs that look at her, talks to herself in any given situation...says really random things sometimes...refer to cat quote...but it's charming
☇ generally though, people like her because she's "nice and funny", as your basic peer would say if asked.
☇ an outgoing introvert
☇ nakwon cultivated mild abandonment issues as a result of the divorce. she felt like her dad had left her behind, like she was unworthy of love, like all relationships were temporary and could be broken at any time.
☇ because of this, even her friendships with the daegu squad have a sense of unauthenticity to them. she feels a pressure in the back of her mind when it comes to maintaining relationships because she's scared they're just going to fall apart. she feels like no one has ever chosen to love her, that they just like and care for her because she's there.
☇ this sort of fuels her drive for people pleasing - she loves making other people happy and puts in that extra effort to bring them laughter and help them feel comfortable. some annoying part of her brain tells her she has to because it's the only way she can be made worthy of love. while her affection and amiable personality are not fake, there's an internal emptiness to it because of her own insecurities.
☇ part of her also doesn't want other people to feel the way she feels sometimes, so she tries her best to help them feel safe and loved (just a lil ironic).
☇ emotionally constipated haha. she's never been good at working through emotions or understanding what she's feeling and it's only gotten worse after she left korea, when she stopped journaling and didn't have tae around to guide her through it all.
☇ used to be more sensitive (and dare i say naive?) and would sometimes wear her heart on her sleeve, but soon after the divorce and in years following, she's toughened up and become more resilient. not to say that she's extremely emotionally mature now, but more that she just doesn't let it affect her too much (or just doesn't...think about it too much).
☇ extremely patient, which definitely comes in handy with kids. no one has ever actually seen her be angry and it really does take a lot for her to be upset in public.
☇ gives off very chill, happy-go-lucky, idgaf vibes but highkey does gaf. people don't usually think she has issues because she always seems so bright and humorous.
☇ hates crying in public. thinks she looks ugly when she does and is very particular about when it's okay to (which isn't often).
☇ can be high tension if she's with someone who's also high tension (which is why her and tae together can get a lil chaotic)
☇ basically very adaptable to whatever environment she's in! when she was younger, that used to mean she'd just kind of blend into the background, but gradually throughout high school and a lot more through adulthood, she's grown in her leadership skills and now it means that she's more capable of catering to people's various needs.

BACKGROUND
☇ grew up going pretty back and forth between daegu and los angeles - she was born in america, then lived in korea from ages 5-8, then was back in the states until high school. she attended daegu high for the full 3 years, then moved back to la for university and then found a job there and has resided there since.
☇ her parents divorced after her dad cheated on her mom when nakwon was in middle school, which is why they moved back to daegu, so they could get a fresh start.
☇ she's since tried to erase pretty much all her memories with him - even the good ones. all she remembers is a blurry mix of bedtime stories and late night arguments...
☇ nakwon doesn't really remember her first 3 years in daegu as a kid, so even if your character had gone to the same kindergarten as her or something, she probably...would not have known.
☇ she lived with her grandparents whenever she was in daegu.
☇ met tae in may of their first year. the school year started in march so it had been a couple months, but she was still lonely, having come straight from america and feeling down and left out. (the group is officially established by the end of first year, so your character should be in it before then!)
☇ (SLIGHT TW) 2010 was a rough year - she was starting high school where she knew no one, she had just moved to korea, her parents had just split...there was a lot of transition going on in her life and it really took a toll on her mental health. that summer leading into her freshman year and the first few months before she met tae, nakwon was very very sad. while she never got medically diagnosed with depression (or even went to find out), she just found that many of the symptoms and signs she had read about online were very similar to what she felt in her own life. maybe she had been depressed, maybe she hadn't - she still, to this day, can never really say for sure, because there's a lot of doubt and insecurity inside her that prevents her from validating her feelings.
☇ tae had really been the key point in her going down a different, brighter path than the otherwise very dark and sad one she had previously been en route to. his presence had always been so contagiously cheerful, and it definitely affected nakwon, too, and then he went the extra mile to be a good friend by showing her that he was willing to be there for her and putting in the effort to listen to her, which was big brownie points on her end.
☇ and of course the daegu squad! while she mostly confided in tae, their friendship was always encouraging and the main contender in her internal battle between believing she's loved and feeling unworthy of love.

DAILY LIFE
☇ her work day gets her up at around 6-7, depending on what she needs to do to get ready for the day - shower, lesson plan, etc. class starts at 8 and ends at 3, and every other day she stays till 5 for the after school program.
☇ free time is spent pretty equally on work and play - lesson planning, grading homework, progress reports, and then going out with friends, catching movies, company dinners.
☇ she likes spending her weekends either staying in or going all out, meaning one saturday she can be in bed for 24 hours straight, and then the next saturday, she's out for cocktails with emmy.
☇ guilty pleasures include occasionally indulging in escape rooms with friends, pop-ups, or trips to disneyland (she loves disneyland! emmy got her a pass for her 19th birthday after just taking her there for her 18th).
☇ once she goes back to daegu for the reunion, she lives with her grandparents and helps them out at their produce market when she has time. when she's not working there or doing missions, she likes chilling at cafes or going around looking for trendy new eats.
☇ her mom had moved to seoul once nakwon went back to la for university, so naturally, nakwon lives with her once the reunion shifts into the seoul stage. she gets to reunite with robin, so much of her free time is spent with the dog, or helping out her mom with the bakery she started when nakwon left (donghwa bakery, translating to 'fairytale' - sells macarons, pastries, teas, coffee, tarts, and other baked goods). also likes cafe exploring aaand, you guessed it, eating good food.

introduce yourself.  hiya, i'm winnie! or- oh, i guess you can call me nakwon. dang i haven't used that name in a while!

describe your current lifestyle. are you satisfied with it?  i'm currently a student teacher at a kindergarten here in koreatown. it's great! i love the kids, my coworkers are nice, it's a decent paying job...a little routine, but the kids make it fun. oh, and i'm living in an apartment with my good college friend, which is also great.

how do you deal when life gets hard, if indeed you do?  uh...well, i guess i...journal? i haven't done it in a while, to be honest, but it's like both external and internal processing in a way, you know? i don't really like bothering other people with my problems, so writing it down lets me still get it out at least on paper.

if you're comfortable, share a little about those hardships.  oh. well right now i don't think anything's really...going on. life's a little boring sometimes but it's not bad. i'm grateful to be where i am right now. back when i journaled a lot, like in high school ish?? that's when a bunch was going on, but it's all pretty much in the past now, so...we gucci. (she is Unaware that her actual problem is her unacknowledged abandonment issues oop)

what's one characteristic of yours that you wouldn't want your child to inherit?  oh damn...i actually talked about this with my roommate like...last week? we were just talking about our lowkey traumatic asian childhood experiences and then kinda got to the topic of future children...but yeah, anyways, i had said something about not wanting them to go through the same things i did. though i guess that's not really a characteristic...and it depends on me more than them...

do you miss high school? what's one of your favorite memories?  oof, that's honestly a tough one...there are a lot of aspects of high school that i miss and then a lot that i really don't hahah. actual school itself kinda , like learning? i'd rather not be back in calculus...but...i definitely miss my friends. they're probably the biggest thing. i remember in...i think it was our last year? we went on an mt and we snuck away from the bonfire to try to have our own mini bonfire and after not getting a fire going for like 30 minutes, we almost burned the forest down...yeah, good times. i don't know how we didn't get caught.

what's one thing you wish you knew back then?  back in high school? oh...that's a good question...hmm...i think...i'd want to tell myself that...things take time. i remember feeling like things were going to be horrible forever, but really, i was still so young. and maybe a little dramatic. but i believe things really do get better - even if some things might take longer than others.

how do you feel about the reunion? what was your reaction to the letter? how are you handling logistics?  it was... definitely a pleasant surprise! i'm, like, 99% certain that this is somehow tae's doing, but that also seems...kind of impossible, so i don't really know. maybe wishful thinking. but i'm super excited! it doesn't sound like a typical reunion, which...only gives me more reason to think tae is behind it...but yeah! i'm excited! luckily i have a lot of vacation days saved up from work, so taking some time off shouldn't be too much of a problem. i can probably stay with my mom in seoul and...maybe my grandparents in daegu? we'll see.

what will you be looking forward to the most if you do accept the invitation?  oh, so many things! the reunion itself sounds really fun, but also i...i haven't seen my friends in a fat minute...or my mom...or my dog! oh my god my dog...wow, it's been so long since i've gone to korea...oh, my food list has so many good places in korea that i've been wanting to try...have you heard of bburingkeul chicken?????!!?

thank you for your time. hope you can come out to the reunion!  yeah, for sure!