- chae's soulmate
- first impressions: omg another foreigner
- only thing they have in common is their emotional constipation, love for food and disney
- despite that they still get along together really well
- always so eager to spoil nakwon (and everyone else but nakwon mostly lols)
- very close outside the group uwu they do hang out by themselves quite frequently just doing whatever they think suits them that day
- chae isn't sure why but she always naturally drifted to nakwon. whether is was their shared sense of abandonment, nakwon's quirks, or just thanks to her being the most approachable of all, it didn't matter bc chaewol clung to her all throughout high school
- will never forget nakwon trying to comfort her at the stairs at prom. it was a small gesture that meant the world to chae

- a relationship chae wished she tried harder to keep alive

- they tried to keep in touch after high school but just liked with most of the squad, it just fell through
- nakwon gets angry at the stupid titles that reporters write about chaewol that are so obviously out of character
- wants to reach out and ask about the articles and how she's doing but is afraid she might get rejected (same for chae tho)
- not 2 b biased or anything but chae is really looking forward to reconnecting with her soulmate to sincerely (and lavishly) apologize to nakwon (and everyone but mostly nakwon fajlsfjs) for not trying harder to keep in touch
- "i'm sorry, i hope you don't hate me for breaking my promise." (her promise for always keeping in touch with nakwon)

- adoptee introvert x adoptive extrovert
- first impressions: guy so loud it scares me
- chaewol just thinks of taehyung as the extrovert that adopted everyone in the group
- it's true bc chaewol was an adopted introvert
- she was pretty close to taehyung outside of the group. she'll never say it but the day she was taken under his wing was when her life was better
- confided in him a lot about... everything
- mean guy who kept teasing her abt her crush on woojoo ):<
- gaming buddies!! they play all kinds of games together. latest releases, or the vintage street fighter. you name it, they've probably own it and play together
- arcade days together
- nothing much has changed from her relationship with him from highschool. somehow, keeping in touch with him was so possible, it was impossible to drft from him
- met up the instant chaewol moved back to korea
- chaewol goes to all of his concerts in korea with vip tickets bc taehyung shoves them at her
- when she was overseas and they were starting out she'd buy his korean concert tickets when she was on break
- he goes to her house a lot just to hang out or game. he brings yeontan with him and snacks for her grandparents and brother
- gossips sm abt the industry fajldslf
- "taehyung u "

- spoiled little sister x strict older brother
- first impressions: intimidating quiet guy
- admires eden for how honest he is, knowing the truth may hurt
- honesty 101 with eden lol
- he often called chaewol out whenever she was acting high and mighty. it hurt her feelings and ended up avoiding him whenever it happened but she knew he was just looking out for her
- she thanked him in the from of a small, somewhat expensive gift and a note that said, "thanks... and sorry if i hurt your feelings." almost everytime

- considers him as one of the biggest reasons why she's more self aware about herself and catalyst for change
- didn't really contact each other much outside of the group. they had limited closeness outside of the group

- even though they weren't close, chaewol was still pretty hurt about him enlisting without telling anyone
- a little bit bitter about it even now but she understands even if she doesn't know his reasons
- they don't talk anymore and only sees what they post on social media
- she has so many questions to ask once she can finally see him. why did he leave without a word will undoubtedly be her first one, because how could he?
- almost immediately starts tearing up (but hides it... not well... bc all she's doing is blinking rly fast and scowling) once she's finally seen him in person bc she finally has her strict brother back
- "why would i be crying over you?" 

- anime/study buddies
- first impressions: quiet girl lol
- unlike the rest of the group, chaewol slips byul some chocolate, mostly on special occasions or chae just got sick of the chocolate she had. always the nice expensive kind
- always makes byul promise not to overindulge !!
- sad abt how byul views herself. tries to boost her confidence a little by gently reminding her that byul is fine either way
- so many anime marathons
- chaewol is v happy she can be herself around byul and doesn't feel like she has to hide her interests
- v tsundere when it comes to helping lmao

- they've sort of lost touch once chaewol moved to australia
- finds it hard to gather courage to talk to her again
- misses her anime buddy ):
- secretly orders mass amounts of chocolate from byul's shop and finds any excuse to order from her... literally even the smallest of excuses.
- byul sees fishy news articles about chaewol and musters the courage to ask her about it, to which chae kindly and somewhat sarcastically debunks
- "did you perhaps think i've made a character UNdevelopment?"

- unbothered x crackhead 
- first impressions: other guy so loud it's scaring me who hangs out with loud guy 1
- admires woojoo for how openly he can express his feelings
- doubly admires him for still being so bright for all that he's been through
- had a really big crush on him throughout high school but was mostly in denial/didn't want to realize it
- opposites attract i guess? they were pretty close outside of the group and contacted each other often

- hung out a lot outside of the group mostly bc chaewol kept up with all his antics and was willing to despite "being sick of him" 

- very much appreciated that he cheered the loudest when chaewol competed in taekwondo
- helped him learn how to use all of the new trendy techy stuff
- tried to teach him how to game... didn't end very well. often ended up playing things that were easy to catch onto like stardew valley, pokemon and tetris lol
- tried to keep in touch after graduation but failed as he went to the military and she got busier in school. they don't contact each other anymore
- since moving back, chaewol would like to reach out, but second guesses herself everytime bc she's worried he might have felt the relationship was a little one sided
- would also probably start crying upon seeing woo bc she's finally seeing one of her best friends ever again
- "i'd never cry over the likes of you!" 
- (but... u cried when he left to enlist...)
- ^ only bc something was being taken away from her yet again
 

- the unlikely friends
- first impressions: really nice girl, but prob doesn't like me
- didn't get along all too well in the beginning due to vast differences in upbringing and personality
- chaewol notices sekyung trying to avoid her but doesn't try to fix it bc she doesn't want to force ppl to like her (tae lowkey meddled to get them to get along lol)
- really respects sekyung and feels ashamed of her priviledge (honestly her whole group started making her realize just how easy she had it in life) 
- ended up being pretty close! chaewol is attracted to nice and genuine people and sekyung was exactly that
- nothing in common but vibe together anyway
- very supportive of sekyung's dream for stardom. she was very tempted to have her parents pull some strings so breaking though would be easier. was stopped by sekyung lol
- tried to keep in touch after grad but failed. they have no contact with each other as of now
- will watch and rewatches literaly anything and everything sekyung is in, 30 second cfs are not exempt
- sends sekyung flowers and some small, mildly spendy gifts through taehyung. makes taehyung say it's from him
- occasional commenting under sekyung's posts once chae can gather the courage
- shocked abt sekyung's change and understands but takes chaewol some time to get used to
- "u know... as stand in ceo i could totally- no? okay..."

- the one-sided chase
- first impressions: student who keeps following me and buying me my fave foods prob for a recommendation
- no chae, hansol just really mf likes u
- hansol has honestly been crushing on her for like, ever but they can't date bc he's technically her student

- yes he held out for  like 2 ish years. ever since he saw her on campus getting a tour, he was so hoping he'd see her in his classes. to his dismay she's his athletics director...
- regrets taking a gap year but at the same time doesn't bc he prob wouldn't have met chaewol if he graduated the same year as her
- hansol is prob her only friend that she can see on the regular (unlike tae and chris) so she ends up confiding in him a lot bc he's always around
- hansol knows all the tea and will not hesitate to square up for her (but doesn't need to bc she knows how to fight) 
- others might say chaewol is hard to read, but hansol finds it so easy to figure out when she's sad or angry. always the first to comfort her
- it literally drives him mad that he can't text her bc of the professionalism chaewol has to keep.

- hansol keeps every single convo a secret and their relationship on the dl, covering up by saying, "no i just want some career guidance, and she gives rly good taekwondo tips."
- it bothers chaewol a ton that she's basically crossing almost all lines of professionalism with hansol, but she can't help it bc he's just so easy to talk to... and the only one close to her age to socialise with 
- towards the end of his academic career, he gets impatient and starts making his advances a little more obvious, calling her cute, patting her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears and his touch seems to linger longer than normal. finally can hansol cross the line that separated them 
- chaewol is sad that he will be graduating this fall commencement (sometime feb 20' according to kr's academic yr and if i'm mathing right) bc she'll lose her buddy ):
- hansol is mf excited bc that finally means he can ask for her number, take her out on dates not have to hold back on his advances, and if he gets far enough, meet her family that she gushes so much about
- once hansol finally gathers the courage to ask chaewol to date him, she had to take a step back and tell him that she needed some time to think. to her, when he asked her to be his gf, all of her feelings just fell into place, and explains why she was so fond of him. she politely declines, explaining her fear of abandonment and fear of disappointing him. he understood, gave her space for like, a week before asking her out on a date again. 
- to him, it just meant he didn't do a good job of reassuring her and delivering his feelings to chaewol. so he makes a deal with her. within the next 5 months (she has til jun/jul), he will do his best in winning her over and all she has to do is go along with his plans. she can decide to accept him or reject him fully by the end.
- spoilers, she accepts him within the first 3 months lol

- doting sister x cutie brother
- first impressions: please don't grow up too fast ("is this how normal parents feel?" -chae) 
- literally wants to spoil him rotten bc he's just so cute but she just has to hold herself back so he doesn't grow up to be a brat
- he loves chaewol sm. he loves to cuddle her and likes hanging out with her a lot and is always so happy to see her pick him up bc that means he gets to eat something yummy
- yes he does love his grandparents but they don't ALWAYS buy him smth yummy
- doesn't care what they do he just wants to spend time with her
- he happened to stumble in on chaewol tinkering with her pc build and they ended up building it together (which means chanwol was holding her tools and shining a light while chaewol explained every piece and their function and where it went and why)
- he grew to love tech and is excited to take over samsung when he gets older
- doesn't understand why his older sister didn't want to do it, but all he needed to know was that "she doesn't like it" and never bothered her again
- walks in on chaewol watching anime or gaming. he will join her and chaewol happily teaches him how to play her games

- doesn't understand why his grandparents have gray hair and why chaewol has blonde hair despite her many explanations
- was born a year after she graduated so he doesn't know abt her friend group but is excited to see some nice ppl bc he thiks they're getting her a vacation and he gets to tag along

- strangers
- fc: daniel dae kim & shin eunkyung
- chaewol misses the times where she got to spend actual time with her parents. she has hope that she can rebuild their rs
- her parents hardly contact her and it always breaks her a little bit inside. 
- she remembers crying a lot when they didn't visit for her 14th birthday like they did every year. 
- she cried the 15th, the 16th, and the 17th bday too. she stopped crying when she finally realized that a meaningless text with an apology tacked to it with an expensive gift delivered to her would be their "celebrations" from now on
- she was grateful she had friends for those years on her birthday but it still stung her heart
- they only come to talk abt taking over samsung
- she gives in and compromises with them and has been doing stand in work since she turned 21
- constantly paranoid they'll somehow sabotage her future careers just so she can take over samsung
- she hates going to all the networking events mostly bc she was forced in while compromising, but was always excited to see people she knew from the entertainment industry (tae when he was active mostly lol)
- the networking proved to be useful tho bc she's met many celebrities struggling with their diet and weight so she connects w them. proven to be v successful
- she keeps all her successes, career news and anything important away from her family
- she knows it's no way to rebuild but she just doesn't know where to start. chae believes once she can finally prove fully independance is when she can have a heartfelt convo
- prays the day is soon but doesn't believe it to happen until at least the next 5 years

- parental figures (dad's side mostly bc she lives w them)
- fc: don't really have any? i just looked up korean grandparents and this is what came up fjsljl
- broke their hearts when they saw chaewol sobbing about not being able to celebrate her bday with her parents
- they're very disappointed in their kids tbh 
- chaewol still keeps in touch with her mom's side but doesn't have to worry as much bc her aunts and uncles on that side take care of it
- they've done their best to fill whatever void she had from "losing" her parents but even they know it's not the same even if she doesn't show it
- chaewol gossips a lot to them so know everything
- chaewol worries about them a lot and does her best to provide with her income(s) from samsung and school... which is plenty but not exactly "fully independant." her grandparents also have lots from their retirement. they would give it to her but knows she would refuse it
- they fully support chaewol not wanting to continue down the road of being a ceo, even with her grandpa being the chairman
- they're worried for her ever since she stopped talking to her high school friends. they've noticed that she lost her spark and worry ever since she came back from australia, seeing the only person she spends time with is her brother 
- they wished taehyung would visit more often but are also aware he shouldn't try to draw more attention as both tae and chae are p high profile ppl
- they get so happy when they see she's brought hansol home and notice immediately that hansol likes her sm
- they often meet with her parents to stand up for chaewol without letting her know. they normally do this during chae's work hours and chanwol's school hours
- they love chaewol and chanwol so much, and they're so excited to see chaewol break out of the family to pave her own way (they're excited for chan too but they've sort of picked up on him wanting to be ceo)
- they all garden together :') and they all get so excited abt new flower sprouts or a good veggie/fruit harvest
- they're always ready for chaewol to come and spill her heart out when she's having an especially hard time doing what she needs to do
- typical chill grands lol
- they're super excited when chae tells them about the reunion and even more excited when she tells them they'll be tagging along to daegu with her for it
- they know she's secretly a gentle being and are worried she might end up sobbing when she meets with her friends again (they r not wrong)
- very supportive and subtly doting grandparents <3