personality. 

 

+ charismatic, confident, bold, pragmatic, observant

- outspoken, opinionated, untrusting, deceitful, arrogant, defiant, sarcastic

 

enters kang gahyun with a smirk on her face as her hair wave along the wind as if there's a mini fan blowing underneath. she is a charismatic leader and likes to have everything in line with her liking. perhaps it's her intelligence, or her confidence, or her assertiveness. being born in an affluent household was not equivalent to being born with rose-tinted glasses - rather, she saw the reality of society. the way she was treated differently than her classmates when they all messed up made her realise the importance of power and status. gahyun is a pragmatic person, she knows how to make good use of her edges and take advantages of people around her to achieve her goals. and with an insightful perspective, she spent years observing her surrounding to be able to escape from punishment whenever she got into troubles, again. because kang gahyun is always seeking for excitement in life. her parents are so conservative that it's suffocating. therefore, she is bold enough to try anything new and thrilling. these excitement made her feel alive in her mundane life.

 

you know those moments when you start to reflect yourself when asked if you're a good person? kang gahyun won't hesitate to answer that she's anything but a good person. being the little princess of the kang family, she never bothered to flatter anyone or sweet talk anyone - she always thinks threats are much more efficient. gahyun speaks bluntly, and refuses to think about others' feelings. she isn't afraid to voice out her opinions - and they should always be correct. her academic achievements and family background provided enough reasons for her to grow into an arrogant person. being covered by her brother and parents, gahyun has naturally became a deceiving person without much sincerity. she tends not to open up to people and builds her facade with lies and jokes as her defense mechanism. gahyun doesn't have the tendency to express her true feelings, hence she's become emotionally constipated over the years. her brother is the only person she could truly open her heart to. the lack of parental love has crafted her untrusting nature, which explains why she refuses to connect with people easily and pushes people away with her mean and rude behaviours. it also results in her defiant personality, especially towards her parents. for a very long time, seeing her parents' surprised and disapproving expression has been a hobby of her.

 

now with yujin being her soft spot, she has been trying to become a better person for him. more importantly, she wouldn't want anything bad happen to him because of her previous wrongdoings. she's less arrogant and rude, but being a good person is limited edition only during occasions that doesn't regard her own benefits.

 

background.

kang gahyun was born in an upper class family, with a pair of conventional parents and an overprotective twin brother, kang junghyun. most of her childhood and teenage era was made up of her being a rebellious pain in the , doing whatever it took to annoy her parents. now that she looked back, it was probably just her immature tactics of getting their attention as her parents were constantly busy with work. as a kid, gahyun was intelligent enough to make her parents proud, achieving the top 10% at all times, which was her golden pass of messing around the campus, especially enrolled in prestigious private academies. she never entered the classroom without being on the verge of being late, and began dying her hair to different shades of brown since fifteen. climbing trees, escaping to medical rooms during pe lessons and even skipping classes were nothing strange to kang gahyun. after all, her parents and brother would always save her and back her up. what is life without some excitement without bearing any responsibilites?

 

the protocol has become routine - she messed up, then her brother would try to fix things, or her parents would just talk (or bribe) the authorities out of penalising her, lastly ensuring her came back home unharmed. entering puberty, gahyun only became more rebellious and earned herself the nickname of "psycho" by her highschool and university classmates. she feared nothing. everything could easily become a toy of hers, just because she was kang gahyun. in fact, she was a bully in middle school and high school. she was the bad kid, picking on different people simply out of boredom. later, she grew more mature to get into relationships, before dumping them without blinking - boring, she would say. people around her were all from affluent families and had similar lifestyles, nothing was really challenging or exciting to gahyun. the only time she really compromised with her parents was when she picked political science for her bachelor degree while her brother would continue studying in a graduate law school afterwards. she just couldn't let her brother bear the burden of taking over the law firm alone.

 

gahyun met go jihoon in university, the father of her child. frankly speaking, she was only trying to date someone her parents would absolutely disapprove of just to piss them off back then. then first sergeant (jungsa) jihoon came into the picture. he was good looking and a nice person to go out with. most importantly, he came from a humble family and wasn't considered to have a bright future in the military. jihoon was the perfect choice.

 

but life wasn't as predictable as gahyun thought. she soon fell in love with jihoon, despite her parents' strong opposition. as if destiny chose to side with her, she became pregnant two years into the relationship, in her final year in university. gahyun decided to keep the baby to have her parents accept jihoon into their family. junghyun was furious and demanded gahyun to think thoroughly before she acted, as an adult. yet she insisted. it was a gamble - sure, her parents were conservative and stubborn, but they wouldn't want anything harmful for gahyun. jihoon and gahyun even began planning for their wedding after her graduation, until jihoon left for a mission. and he never made it back.

 

by the time jihoon's death hit gahyun, she was already seven months pregnant. she was devastated but tried her best to control her emotions so as not to negatively affect the baby inside her. she visited a therapist frequently to ensure her conditions were suitable of carrying a baby. it was a difficult time, bearing the child of a dead lover. she began to reflect herself excessively, thinking if it was all her fault from the beginning. if she didn't insist on defying her parents and keeping the baby as a means to stubbornly marry jihoon, none of these would happen. fortunately, with her therapist's help, she was able to overcome early signs of antenatal depression. her parents tried to convince gahyun to send the baby to an orphanage afterwards, but gahyun refused to do so and found sustenance in raising the baby. as time passed, she became more reserved and quiet which began to scare people around her, especially junghyun. and things only got better when yujin was born.

 

raising yujin alone was tiring and stressful, but it was also exciting. yujin's presence filled up the hollowness in gahyun's heart ever since jihoon left. as yujin grew everyday, gahyun slowly returned to the previous charming and bright self. she found the true joy of her life. upon seeing this change, her parents had to accept yujin and supported gahyun in raising yujin alone, both financially and mentally.

 

fast forward to 2021, gahyun was introduced to the single parents club by chohee and hyunwoo as they registered each other as alumnaes of snu. gahyun kept in touch with chohee and they were aware of their circumstances, therefore chohee extended an invitation to gahyun upon the opening of the club. currently, she is working as a public affairs analyst and she thought it would be a great opportunity for her to expand her network in leisure time.

trivias. 

❀ yet to be financially independent from her parents as she needs to take care of yujin. her parents still send her a lump sum of money every year to support her expenditure.

❀ her relationship with her parents is quite distanced now. though they would visit yujin and her regularly, but they're still reluctant in showing their affection for each other. they mostly talk about work and the economy.

❀ her ordeal of working as a public affairs specialist is her parents hoping her to broaden her horizons and gain more practical experience and skills before working for the family law firm.

❀ had a vegetarian appetite when carrying yujin, turned to a vegan eater ever since.

❀ has a weird obsession of wearing matching outfits with yujin whenever possible. don't be surprised when they both appear in moschino sweaters at the single parents club.

❀ orders different items every time she visits a coffee shop. but when she's too lazy to choose, always go with iced cappuccino and blueberry cheesecake.

❀ used to have a huge addiction of manicure but painfully quitted after yujin was born. the only thing she blames him for.

❀ however, unlike other moms, gahyun never stopped putting on makeup after becoming a mother. she did change all her products to natural and organic products, though.

❀ a skilled photographer and has an eye for aesthetic. she owns a small collection of film cameras and digital cameras.

❀ dated both boys and girls in high school and university.

❀ yujin is literally her only reason of fear. gahyun has become more careful of herself and her life due to yujin, not wanting him to become alone.

❀ mainly watches horror, thriller and action films. other genres bore her. as a result, yujin watches a lot of marvel and dc films instead of disney singalongs.

❀ used to smoke out of curiosity, quitted because it worsened her nasal allergy.

❀ doesn't easily get drunk because she used to drink a lot during university - she could down 15 shots and still behave normal. but when she got drunk, that's when things will go out of control (tends to happen when she mixed a variety of liquor). gahyun would do literally anything out of spontaneity and since she's quite tall, it's really difficult to control her. after having yujin, she learnt to control herself and seldom take more than 7 shots a night.

❀ yujin is the victim of her experiment cooking. has no prior knowledge in cooking until yujin was born and is learning it step by step. gahyun should be thankful that yujin is not a picky eater.

❀ a firm believer that yujin will have idol material handsome look with jihoon and her genes.

❀ studied political science in seoul national university.

❀ her parenting style leans towards the western style due to western tv drama influence and her own carefree personality. however, she never overlooks the important of mannerism which is highly emphasised in south korea.

❀ gahyun lets yujin sleeps in a room by himself to train his independence.

❀ sometimes gahyun dresses yujin up with more feminine items like ribbons and pink dresses behind everyone's back to satisfy her desire of dolling her child up.

❀ currently, gahyun is staying in a two-bedroom apartment in seocho-gu. it's a private estate with a clubhouse for yujin to enjoy recreational activities. there's also playgrounds nearby. her brother lives next door so that it's easier for him to take care of them. she signed yujin up at a preschool so that she could go to work. gahyun also hired a domestic helper to pick yujin up everyday and clean the house until she comes back from work. occasionally, when she has day offs, she would pick yujin up.

 

quotes. 

❀ (shrugs) "i'm kang gahyun." (think: "i'm chuck bass")

❀ (to yujin) "oh my god, i can't believe my boss is more obnoxious than my parents - yeah, your grandparents. can you even imagine? please don't grow up."

❀ (to colleagues) "like, why are you acting like it's your first day here?"

❀ (to new colleagues) "welcome to your hell!"

❀ "gosh stop wasting my time i have a son to feed for god's sake."

❀ "some films are so bad that they should be penalised for being released."

❀ "out of curiosity, do you have a problem with me? here's a solution: quitting."

gahyun showed a confident smile, "hello, i'm kang gahyun. i'm a public affairs specialist in sk holdings. fun facts? my parents own a law firm and i'm rich."

"i have a son, eugene. or kang yujin. he's turning three (korean age) soon." her smile softened upon mentioning yujin, "i think he's the cutest baby on the world, and fortunate enough, he isn't making my life too difficult like other kids."

gahyun did some maths with her fingers, "it was two years ago... so i was twenty three when yujin was born, yeah."

gahyun felt her lips a bit dry when recollecting the past of jihoon, "actually, even before yujin was born, he lost his father already. i think it was around 27 weeks into pregnancy that yujin's father passed away," she her lips, "but luckily, my brother, my family and jihoon's family were there for me to get through that tough time."

"the hardest thing... being a single parent is definitely not about unicorns and rainbows - it's like completing a group project all on your own when everyone was being a free rider. of course you could finish it, but you'd have to work extra hard and spend extra time. but when it comes down to the hardest thing, it is realising that you are the reason why your child isn't having a complete family. and everytime he got sick or something bad happened to him, you'd always blame yourself for not being a good person in the past."

"though the journey is tough and rocky, but never forget that your children will be your biggest happiness. you don't have to be alone, as there are people like us going through similar things like you," gahyun ended with a genuine smile.