(ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ ‥…━━━★ han aeja
han aeja
alina
hyperreal, 3/10
hyperreal, 3/10
join the dkml team !
about me !
personality.
pos. calm, rational, loyal, intelligent
neu. determined, reticent, self-reliant, sharp
neg. jaded, overachieving, unyielding, calculating
intj-a, 5w6, ravenclaw, lawful neutral.
aeja’s calm is less inate than it is trained. she’d cried easily as a kid, empathetic tears spilling when the kids around her were upset and restless, and all she could do was sit beside them helplessly, one small hand holding another. in adulthood, she greets the world daily with near stoicism, a solution in hand for every problem, plans and backup plans, working through things step-by-step instead of rushing into them headfirst. this is what changed: she grew up.
aeja is a people-watcher. she takes a step back when she first meets new people, watches mannerisms and interactions before she steps in to introduce herself. perhaps this is how she slipped into cynicism, a first-hand witness to peers tripping over themselves and clamouring over one another for internships and job openings, again and again. like a formula, almost. plug a few variables in, and the result is always the same.
this is the beauty of things: much like math, most things can be solved to some approximate value. aeja cannot find the perfect, exact answer, because life is messy and unable to be represented by equations or graphs. still, there’s always a threshold, a value, a point for intervention before things verve off exponentially into unknown territory, and so aeja approaches life the same way one approaches math—formulaically. it hasn’t failed her yet.
this approach bleeds into her friendships, too. while aeja is quick to offer a listening ear, her view of everything in life as a problem to be solved results in her struggling to discern when people would like to vent, or if they’d genuinely like advice—she defaults to the latter. she means the best, but it’s a little condescending, at times. aeja’s self-appointed role as the problem-solver is a greater struggle when her ever-present calm slips away; there are only a handful of tells for her stress spirals, and she refuses to talk about it to all but a handful of people. she tends to keep to herself for the most part, finding it easier to stick to the people and routine she knows. still, there are times where she wishes she absently for a little more flexibility to her life—it's a work in progress, but hoyang is the first step.
pos. calm, rational, loyal, intelligent
neu. determined, reticent, self-reliant, sharp
neg. jaded, overachieving, unyielding, calculating
intj-a, 5w6, ravenclaw, lawful neutral.
aeja’s calm is less inate than it is trained. she’d cried easily as a kid, empathetic tears spilling when the kids around her were upset and restless, and all she could do was sit beside them helplessly, one small hand holding another. in adulthood, she greets the world daily with near stoicism, a solution in hand for every problem, plans and backup plans, working through things step-by-step instead of rushing into them headfirst. this is what changed: she grew up.
aeja is a people-watcher. she takes a step back when she first meets new people, watches mannerisms and interactions before she steps in to introduce herself. perhaps this is how she slipped into cynicism, a first-hand witness to peers tripping over themselves and clamouring over one another for internships and job openings, again and again. like a formula, almost. plug a few variables in, and the result is always the same.
this is the beauty of things: much like math, most things can be solved to some approximate value. aeja cannot find the perfect, exact answer, because life is messy and unable to be represented by equations or graphs. still, there’s always a threshold, a value, a point for intervention before things verve off exponentially into unknown territory, and so aeja approaches life the same way one approaches math—formulaically. it hasn’t failed her yet.
this approach bleeds into her friendships, too. while aeja is quick to offer a listening ear, her view of everything in life as a problem to be solved results in her struggling to discern when people would like to vent, or if they’d genuinely like advice—she defaults to the latter. she means the best, but it’s a little condescending, at times. aeja’s self-appointed role as the problem-solver is a greater struggle when her ever-present calm slips away; there are only a handful of tells for her stress spirals, and she refuses to talk about it to all but a handful of people. she tends to keep to herself for the most part, finding it easier to stick to the people and routine she knows. still, there are times where she wishes she absently for a little more flexibility to her life—it's a work in progress, but hoyang is the first step.
background.
there’s a certain level of stress that aeja used to put herself under—maintain, really, as if it were a requirement for normal living—and plow through it all without so much as a wince. it’s like this: growing up as an only child to ageing parents means that her future plans are not so much dreams as they are facts—aeja grows up knowing that there is a list of things she must achieve, and all she does throughout her schooling, university, and brief work years is tick the boxes.
there’s a certain level of stress that aeja used to put herself under—maintain, really, as if it were a requirement for normal living—and plow through it all without so much as a wince. it’s like this: growing up as an only child to ageing parents means that her future plans are not so much dreams as they are facts—aeja grows up knowing that there is a list of things she must achieve, and all she does throughout her schooling, university, and brief work years is tick the boxes.
aeja moves from the comfort and familiarity of hoyang at eighteen, headed to seoul for university. life at snu is hard—a handful of kids from hoyang had gone with her, but they'd all split off into different majors. aeja, to a double-major in accounting and finance. she learns to juggle some semblance of a social life and with maintaining high grades and an endless pursuit of internships with the big four. she lands her first internship with deloitte anjin in the middle of her second year of university, thank heavens, because then she can get her next with references, and then her next, and then a job.
except it's harder than that, and she still has to add -kissing to her list of skills before she manages to secure a grad job at samil pwc. three years blink by, all while aeja sits in a little white cubicle staring at her screen and blurring numbers and occassionally and the little aloe plant she has in the corner. she smiles at the well-meaning coworkers who pop their heads over dividers to ask if she wants to go out for drinks after work.
the best friend she'd managed to make leaves the company two and a half years in. jihyang unnie, who had urged her to follow because, ae-ie, half the people who were here when we started have left, and we've been here for long enough that the pay's better elsewhere where they don't work you like a dog just because the stupid company's got a reputation that precedes it, and aeja-ah, i'm serious, promise me you'll leave soon. it'd sounded so stupid at the time, leaving the career she'd so painstakingly built.
jihyang leaves, and though she's friendly with all the others and they take care of her so, so well, it's not the same. aeja exchanges small talk and responds with small smiles and polite laughter and eventually, it's too much. six months after jihyang leave, aeja sits and evaluates her office life, plugs her emotions, her salary, the exhaustion that runs through her bones no matter how long she sleeps, all into some sort of calculation. this, aeja knows, is the point before things get messy. it's a split second decision then, except it's not really, because aeja adds the variable of her bank account too, and her answer still works.
jihyang leaves, and though she's friendly with all the others and they take care of her so, so well, it's not the same. aeja exchanges small talk and responds with small smiles and polite laughter and eventually, it's too much. six months after jihyang leave, aeja sits and evaluates her office life, plugs her emotions, her salary, the exhaustion that runs through her bones no matter how long she sleeps, all into some sort of calculation. this, aeja knows, is the point before things get messy. it's a split second decision then, except it's not really, because aeja adds the variable of her bank account too, and her answer still works.
she moves back to hoyang, lies to her boss about family troubles, too ashamed and too proud to admit to burning out. she packs three years in an office into a cardboard box and wonders if it was all for nothing. but her shoulders feel lighter, and she's got a network of connections at her fingertips, so things will be fine, eventually. besides; she needs this. aeja knows she’ll slip right back into the corporate life almost as soon as she leaves it, even if it's to a smaller, better-paid office.
but for now, a year off.
lifestyle.
aeja moves in with her parents at first, until her childhood best friend shows up at their doorstep and says, my roommate's moving out, come live with me aeie! aeja debates the pros and cons in her head, crosses them out like balancing numbers, and sieun wins out by two cats and the virtue of being aeja's favourite person to talk to. so off she goes.
aeja has been looking around for work as a freelance accountant, but only gets the odd job here and there. it’s nowhere near enough to keep busy, especially when this time of year isn’t heavy on financial deadlines. she spends some time looking at markets too, a reasonable pool of funds that she's saved up to play around with, just to make sure she doesn't lose her touch over the year. still, most of her investments are steadier, more long term, and she only really checks on whim. consequently, she doesn't really have much of a set schedule. for all of aeja's freedom, sieun still teaches elementary school full time, and so aeja decides to takes on the majority of the cleaning around the house. she cleans twice a week—sometimes three times, when exceptionally bored. it takes her the entire day each time, vacuuming and mopping and scrubbing at the kitchen and the bathroom, dusting at corners. it’s comes to a halt when hyunmin drags the two of them out for a day out that it isn’t really a day out, and is more of a surprise intervention.
(they'd finished an escape room in the beginning, and aeja's spreading their array of food across a picnic mat when hyunmin clears his throat and says, "so." when aeja looks at sieun, brow furrowed. when the girl lowers her eyes guiltilty in lieu of explanation, aeja only sighs.)
(they'd finished an escape room in the beginning, and aeja's spreading their array of food across a picnic mat when hyunmin clears his throat and says, "so." when aeja looks at sieun, brow furrowed. when the girl lowers her eyes guiltilty in lieu of explanation, aeja only sighs.)
aeja eases up a little on the cleaning after that. still, she needs something to do—she's gotten used to life in the fast lane, and it's easy to get lost in thoughts and buried anxieties, or simply grow bored without some source of mental stimulation. she eventually takes a liking to watching documentaries or sieun's drama recommendations.
hyunmin works somewhere in the IT field (he'd brushed her off when she'd asked for an explanation, and aeja still has no idea). his hours, apparently, are quite flexible—he calls aeja out for lunch sporadically, and her small circle has widened to include some of his friends; some she remembers from high school, some he'd met at college or work.
weekends leave sieun almost entirely free, save for some prep work she squeezes in on sunday nights. sieun likes hosting dinners—often with her plethora of friends, occassionally just the two of them and hyunmin. weekends also give her the luxury of having dinner with her parents, which she takes gratefully; with the distance she'd felt with them since moving to the city, it's been easy to make excuses not to visit more.
still, while she packs her social life to the brim, aeja still finds herself aimless and wondering if she should have left seoul at all, sometimes. it's a bit of a relief when she finds dkml hiring.
hyunmin works somewhere in the IT field (he'd brushed her off when she'd asked for an explanation, and aeja still has no idea). his hours, apparently, are quite flexible—he calls aeja out for lunch sporadically, and her small circle has widened to include some of his friends; some she remembers from high school, some he'd met at college or work.
weekends leave sieun almost entirely free, save for some prep work she squeezes in on sunday nights. sieun likes hosting dinners—often with her plethora of friends, occassionally just the two of them and hyunmin. weekends also give her the luxury of having dinner with her parents, which she takes gratefully; with the distance she'd felt with them since moving to the city, it's been easy to make excuses not to visit more.
still, while she packs her social life to the brim, aeja still finds herself aimless and wondering if she should have left seoul at all, sometimes. it's a bit of a relief when she finds dkml hiring.
trivia.
— a tendency to speak too formally; something she picked up working in the corporate field with clients who thought they were all-important. she forgets this is a cafe, sometimes, but at least it makes the kids giggle.
— she's bi! it doesn't really matter, though, because beyond ocassional appreciative glances at her ex-coworkers and clients in seoul, aeja has never found time to date, and she's happy the way things are.
— a tendency to speak too formally; something she picked up working in the corporate field with clients who thought they were all-important. she forgets this is a cafe, sometimes, but at least it makes the kids giggle.
— she's bi! it doesn't really matter, though, because beyond ocassional appreciative glances at her ex-coworkers and clients in seoul, aeja has never found time to date, and she's happy the way things are.
— slight weakness for period dramas. she'd thought them a waste of time, but living with sieun means that there's always one drama or another playing in the background. she'd lingered in the kitchen to watch out of curiosity once, and been hooked ever since.
— can't really cook. she's learned to make do, but aeja can not and will not go off-recipe, lest disaster occurs. one would suppose that after all these years of living alone she'd have learnt some sort of instinct, but she's awful with balancing flavours and spices impromptu. she's got a handful of basic meals she can whip up, and she mostly eats these on rotation.
— not the biggest fan of drinking, but can handle her alcohol well when it comes to it. she's partial to maeshilju and green grape soju.
— would love to have a cat of her own. the more time she spends with sieun's cats, the more convicted she becomes. the orange tabby sieun had picked up off the streets—bonbon—is a sweetheart. the fat russian blue found in a pet shop window—peanut—is a menace. aeja loves them both with all her heart.
— has a soft spot for gummy candy. particular favourites are neon gummy worms and haribo bears.
— a massive math nerd. it'd been her favourite subject at school and she'd always naturally excelled in it. she truly falls in love with it at university. she'd joined math teams, attended training competitions, been to a camp or two. pure math hadn't really been a career option, but finance was a decent substitute.
— music playlists consist mostly of classical musical and instrumental osts. aeja likes having music on in the background as she works, but anything with lyrics tends a bit distracting, since she tends to hum along unconsciously. still, there are a few rnb and pop songs littered through her library, courtesy of her friends' recommendations.
— usual coffee order is a oat milk cappucino. when she gets to make it herself, aeja tops her cup with a shameful amount of chocolate powder.
— has a notable perfume collection. she likes having diffusers or lit candles around the house, and spritzing on perfume allows her to take that to the workplace. she's most fond of warm or woody scents, but does have a few floral and fruity scents in her collection.
first look !
character name. han aeja
nicknames. aegi — she was almost always the youngest in her department, she's the youngest of her friend group, she's the youngest of her cousins... it's almost inescapable, at this point.
ae-ie — cutesy, endearing nickname used by her friends.
birthdate+age. 17 april 1995, 25
ethnicity. korean
face claim. mamamoo's wheein
backup face claim. gfriend's sowon, twice's jeongyeon
height+weight. 159cm and 51kg.
appearance. aeja tends to keep her hair shoulder-length and undyed. her hair is naturally pin straight, and she tends to leave it uncurled out of convenience. she wears it tied back in a low ponytail, or, more recently at the cafe and as the accessory comes back into fashion, twisted up with a hair claw. both ears are pierced, with a pair of silver studs usually left in.
fashion. aeja's style is, put kindly, fairly sensible—put bluntly, a little boring. aeja's wardrobe has long been dominated by office-appropriate looks; slacks, pencil skirts, blouses, and blazers—black and white when she first started working, and then more neutral-toned as she grew older, slipping into occassional muted pinks and browns right before she'd taken her leave. nothing really changes in hoyang (there's no need for a new wardrobe when she's planning to return to the office, anyhow), but she does purchase a pair of mom jeans, and a few pairs of looser fitting pants—comfort is key after all, especially when you're standing in a cafe all day.
admin
lee
sieun
sieun
yoo
hyunmin
hyunmin
GEUM
JIHYANG
JIHYANG
CHOI
JADU
JADU
CHOI
JAMONG
JAMONG
the interview !
the name's jadu - it's nice to meet you. she extends her hand to shake as she sits down, then inviting you to do the same. the chairs seem to come forward to greet you as well, putting themselves at the perfect spot to meet your bottom. aeja shakes jadu's hand firmly and laughs. hi, jadu. i'm aeja. it's a pleasure to meet you too. i'm twenty five. twenty six, this year? aeja blinks, brows furrowing. oh, god, i'm twenty six this year. well... that's that, i suppose. i'm taking a year off, i guess—i was working in finance before this, and i came back to hoyang for some fresh air. she pulls a face. and then i have to go back.
so we're going to be doing the interview in a tag team kind of way, thanks to the suggestion of my dumb brother (a slight eye roll is detected), and obviously i'll be starting it off! so why do you want to work here? i mentioned a break, right? as it turns out, you can only go so long sitting at home and cleaning the house before you go start to go a bit insane. my roommate comes here every now and then, says the vibes are nice, and she saw a hiring poster? she's sick of me sitting around and trying to cook for her, i think. aeja catches herself and laughs. sorry—that was a bit a ramble there, hm? in short—i have too much free time on my hands, and dkml seems like it'd be a good place to spend it.
okay, sounds good. she jots a few things down on her clipboard. just out of your line of vision, her words are turning into doodles, dancing around on the page. alright, then i'll call in my brother for further questioning! she flashes a small, cordial smile as she gets up from her seat. sounds good to me, love. it really is lovely here, by the way. i can't quite put my finger on what it is, though. aeja inhales, head tilting to the side, a slight frown forming. she wonders if it's just the smell of things baking.
he enters, putting his hand up first in a still wave before reaching out for a shake. hi, i'm jamong, the better looking twi- something falls from a shelf behind him and hits him in the head. ow! you little- weirdly, he looks at the door his sister just exited from instead of at the shelf from which the object fell. aeja bites her lip to keep in a laugh. the twins seem sweet, despite their bickering. are you alright, jamong-ssi?
he rubs the back of his head as he sits down. alright, i'll just be getting right to it. what can you offer us as an employee? mm. i worked part-time as a waitress years ago, back in high school. aeja sighs. but it's been a while since then, so i've no doubt that i'm a bit rusty. i'm good at dealing with difficult clients—uh, difficult customers. oh. aeja smiles wryly. if there's any trouble with accounting or the likes, i'd be happy to help out with that, too.
mmm.....alright. sounds good. that's all for me, thanks for your time! he gets up from his chair, but before he can even reach the door, it bursts open. took you long enough, my boy, now get on out of here! a clean-cut, middle-aged man in a frilly apron takes the seat the younger boy had just occupied. hello, the name's hakmin. a pleasure to meet you! she dips her head in a slight bow. a pleasure to meet you too, sir. my name's aeja.
alright, if you can't tell, i can be quite impatient. so we're going to be discussing your availability. tell me what days and what hours you can work. ah—did jadu say? i'm not quite doing anything at the moment, so i should be free any time. maybe at least one weekday and one day of the weekend off would be good, though?
alrighty then, we'll be taking all that into consideration. hang in there, kiddo, the interview's almost done! hakmin gives an abrupt two- salute as he gets up from his seat and opens the door to reveal his wife, wiping her damp hands on her skirt apron. oh, i was just about to check on you- there you are, beautiful! hakmin embraces the woman and kisses her on the cheek before leaving the room. aeja looks at the two fondly, eyes crinkling. they remind her a bit of her parents, and aeja's certain, again, that her decision to come back to hoyang had been the right one.
ah, hello! my name is bok, it's a pleasure to meet you. i'm here to talk to you about what position you would like to take! what were you thinking of doing? aeja dips her head into a bow again, smile lingering. it's a pleasure to meet you too, ma'am. i'm aeja. uhm, i used to be a waitress, and i'm alright with numbers. but i'm not too particular; wherever hands are needed, i suppose. i haven't worked in a cafe in a while, so i'll probably need time to adjust either way.
okay then, that's it for now! thanks so much again for coming in, we'll get back to you as soon as we can. lovely. thank you, mrs choi. have a good day! aeja pushes herself up, and bows again before leaving.
time stamp !
final words. me? projecting my worries abt corporate slavery? now why would anyone do that haha.. ,.
suggestions.
- aeja's reluctant mom instinct coming out bc she's always been the youngest but she looks at the rest of the dkml crew n thinks they are Children.,. please
- aeja's reluctant mom instinct coming out bc she's always been the youngest but she looks at the rest of the dkml crew n thinks they are Children.,. please
- going off ^ that .. aeja nags at the twins sometimes too (esp. jm) and they just look at her like '????')
- aeja loosening up around the dkml gang!!!!
password. （´__｀ ;)
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