김로나 IS AN INCOMING FRESHMAN!
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kim rona
Is it too late to fix everything?
— Now playing: Keep Your Head Up Princess by Anson Seabra
bASIC
FULL NAME Kim Rona 김로나
OTHER NAMES
DATE OF BIRTH December 15, 2003 (19)
BIRTHPLACE Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
HOMETOWN Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
ETHNICITY Korean
NATIONALITY South Korean
PRONOUNS She/her
ORIENTATION Heteroual, heteroromantic
LANGUAGES
FACECLAIM Jini, soloist and former NMIXX
BACKUP Chaehyun, kep1er
HEIGHT 165 cm
WEIGHT 48 kg
APPEARANCE
Name someone who looks like an ice queen. Here’s a hint- it’s someone who always walks in an upright posture, has long hair as dark as the night sky, and brooding eyes. That’s right, it’s none other than Kim Rona.
Her first impressions don’t stray far from a rich whose parents bribed her way into college, a stuck-up girl who’s too posh for Jeju University. Well, only a part of that sentence is accurate. Want to hear something more accurate? She has the tendency to intimidate people right from the get go due to the way she carries herself. What not a lot of people realise is that her posture and way she walks has been long ingrained in her, thanks to her parents who emphasised the need to always present herself in a dignified manner. In fact, this has proved effective in hiding the real Kim Rona.
She has the standard lobe piercings, and no tattoos on her fair skin. To her parents, she’s far too precious and pure to be marked by ink or other undesirable things. However, some time after entering Jeju University, she’ll eventually gain interest in further body modifications- getting a second set of lobe piercings around her ears, two helix piercings on her left ear and an inner conch piercing on her right ear. She’ll also have a moon and cat tattooed onto her back. As for her hair, she’ll be more open to getting highlights, though she’s not quite sure about bleaching her hair in an entirely different colour.
STYLE
Thanks to her upbringing, Rona has been showered in luxury brands from a young age, from Chanel to Burberry to Gucci and more. Put in the constant reminder of her parents to always be dressed presentably, and you get someone who looks so put together and prepared for any occasion. On the flip side, it feeds into her “rich ” label, because anyone can tell how expensive her clothes are. But it’s not like the clothes she wears are super outlandish. She goes for a neutral palette- beige and brown and white and black and navy blue and the occasional checkered patterns, and her clothes are that of classic cuts that will stand the test of time.
Her ability to pair clothes and match them with the right shoes and accessories is something that she has mastered over the years. No matter what she dresses herself in, it’ll be something that will look good even in the next ten years. Her taste and fashion sense is one of the few things that she takes full confidence in, especially when it’s such an effective way of concealing who she is underneath all those fancy labels.
However, with time, she’ll loosen up a little with regard to what she wears. While she includes more casual articles of clothing such as sweatshorts, sweatpants and hoodies, and also starts to buy clothes from more affordable brands, she doesn’t stray too far away from her clothing colour scheme or the general clothing designs she goes for.
OTHER NAMES
•.♥ Aurora her English name. It isn’t used all that often, since she lives in South Korea and her given name is unique enough, but it comes in handy during English language classes, interacting with international students, or when she’s being mentioned by her parents to foreign business partners or friends.
NICKNAMES
•.♥ Roro 로로, Nana 나나 nicknames derived from her given name. Her family mainly addresses her as Roro to avoid confusion with her sisters, while her friends call her by either of those nicknames out of endearment.
•.♥ Rorona 로로나 a nickname coined and used exclusively by Woojoo. Rona has no idea why one of her closest friends would create such a nickname, but she can’t be bothered to get to the reason behind it; she just accepts it.
•.♥ Rora 로라 a nickname derived from her English name. Almost nobody calls her by this except for her international friends, until Woojoo came round to calling her as such.
•.♥ Rorona 로로나 a nickname coined and used exclusively by Woojoo. Rona has no idea why one of her closest friends would create such a nickname, but she can’t be bothered to get to the reason behind it; she just accepts it.
•.♥ Rora 로라 a nickname derived from her English name. Almost nobody calls her by this except for her international friends, until Woojoo came round to calling her as such.
BIRTHPLACE Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
HOMETOWN Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
ETHNICITY Korean
NATIONALITY South Korean
ORIENTATION Heteroual, heteroromantic
•.♥ Korean 100%. Her native language
•.♥ English 80%. Having been put into English language classes from a young age (because English is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world, as said by her parents countless times) and it being a mandatory second language in school, her parents expected her to be adept at the language. Well, it paid off, having advanced proficiency in the language, far surpassing that of many of her peers, and not having a noticeable accent when she speaks it.
•.♥ English 80%. Having been put into English language classes from a young age (because English is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world, as said by her parents countless times) and it being a mandatory second language in school, her parents expected her to be adept at the language. Well, it paid off, having advanced proficiency in the language, far surpassing that of many of her peers, and not having a noticeable accent when she speaks it.
BACKUP Chaehyun, kep1er
WEIGHT 48 kg
Name someone who looks like an ice queen. Here’s a hint- it’s someone who always walks in an upright posture, has long hair as dark as the night sky, and brooding eyes. That’s right, it’s none other than Kim Rona.
Her first impressions don’t stray far from a rich whose parents bribed her way into college, a stuck-up girl who’s too posh for Jeju University. Well, only a part of that sentence is accurate. Want to hear something more accurate? She has the tendency to intimidate people right from the get go due to the way she carries herself. What not a lot of people realise is that her posture and way she walks has been long ingrained in her, thanks to her parents who emphasised the need to always present herself in a dignified manner. In fact, this has proved effective in hiding the real Kim Rona.
She has the standard lobe piercings, and no tattoos on her fair skin. To her parents, she’s far too precious and pure to be marked by ink or other undesirable things. However, some time after entering Jeju University, she’ll eventually gain interest in further body modifications- getting a second set of lobe piercings around her ears, two helix piercings on her left ear and an inner conch piercing on her right ear. She’ll also have a moon and cat tattooed onto her back. As for her hair, she’ll be more open to getting highlights, though she’s not quite sure about bleaching her hair in an entirely different colour.
Thanks to her upbringing, Rona has been showered in luxury brands from a young age, from Chanel to Burberry to Gucci and more. Put in the constant reminder of her parents to always be dressed presentably, and you get someone who looks so put together and prepared for any occasion. On the flip side, it feeds into her “rich ” label, because anyone can tell how expensive her clothes are. But it’s not like the clothes she wears are super outlandish. She goes for a neutral palette- beige and brown and white and black and navy blue and the occasional checkered patterns, and her clothes are that of classic cuts that will stand the test of time.
Her ability to pair clothes and match them with the right shoes and accessories is something that she has mastered over the years. No matter what she dresses herself in, it’ll be something that will look good even in the next ten years. Her taste and fashion sense is one of the few things that she takes full confidence in, especially when it’s such an effective way of concealing who she is underneath all those fancy labels.
However, with time, she’ll loosen up a little with regard to what she wears. While she includes more casual articles of clothing such as sweatshorts, sweatpants and hoodies, and also starts to buy clothes from more affordable brands, she doesn’t stray too far away from her clothing colour scheme or the general clothing designs she goes for.
Personality
Types ISFJ, Phlegmatic-melancholic,
1w2, Hufflepuff, Lawful neutral
1w2, Hufflepuff, Lawful neutral
Strengths Compassionate, kind, conscientious, responsible
Insecure, narrow-minded, manipulative,
controlling Weaknesses
Insecure, narrow-minded, manipulative,
controlling Weaknesses
Princess Ann from Roman Holiday, Elizabeth
Egan from If You Can See Me Now, Vyn
Richter from Tears of Themis Bits of
Egan from If You Can See Me Now, Vyn
Richter from Tears of Themis Bits of
Rona cannot settle for anything less than perfect. It’s the way she’s been conditioned to live with, her older sister being the textbook example of what a perfect person is. Everything needs to be within her own control, not a single thing out of order. But the sad truth is that she, like everyone else, can never control others, and not everything is up to her to decide. Yet she desperately clings on for some form of control, hoping that there’s nothing's out of place, that everything and everyone is all according to her expectations. If not, she’ll not be working hard enough and making the best out of the opportunities that supposedly appear in front of her.
Of course, there’s the bright side of things, no matter how dark her situation is. Having been told that she can’t come close to her ever so perfect sister allows her to know exactly what it feels like to be belittled, more so when it’s been something she has been dealt with for years. Her empathy is especially apparent when it applies to people who have been seen and not heard. She’s there to offer a listening ear, to comfort someone going through hardship, help out where she can. After all, the last thing such people like her need is someone else bringing them down again when they’re already at such a low point in their lives.
Her upbringing has also been crucial in shaping her work ethics, and it’s not a bad thing, actually. She has developed the ability to be thorough with her work, always seeing her work from its start to the finish and never stopping halfway unless it’s completely necessary. Whenever something crops up, she will try her best to correct them, while also learning from her experiences in order to avoid similar problems and do better next time. Whenever she makes a mistake, she will never attempt to downplay it or let it slide or blame someone else, always owning up to her mistakes and apologising if necessary. Add in her habit of leaving no stone unturned and taking great care to not leave anything uncorrected, and you have someone who can be trusted to get things done, always.
Even then, there’s still no doubt that the dark side of Rona is ever present. Yes, she is able to understand what others are going through, but this doesn’t mean that this is always the case. In fact, having been on the receiving end of her parents’ warped upbringing has contributed greatly to the development of a victim mentality. Her tendency to feel that things are going against her severely hampers her ability to understand other people’s perspectives that goes against her own. In order to validate her own opinions and feelings, she has become intolerant of that of others.
As desperately as she tries to make herself worthy of being loved by others, she ends up pushing away most people who she tries to befriend. Funnily enough, she’s unaware that part of the reason lies within herself. Almost every conversation she has with the people she attempts to be friends with will go down the route of how she feels she’s inadequate, just so that someone can prove her wrong and let her mind rest for at least a moment. It’s almost as though she’s trying to make things all about herself, or at least that’s what it’s like in other people’s eyes. Once they tire of dealing with her negative energy, they start to leave. But she’s quick to realise this, and is no stranger to appealing to their needs and wants, even resorting to guilt-tripping when she senses it’s needed. More often than not, though, they don’t work in the long run, and slowly but surely, she gains a reputation for being toxic, even when she doesn’t really intend to.
Background
From the moment Kim Rona, second daughter to Kim Junho and Seo Yunjin, younger sister to Kim Mina and later on older sister to Kim Hyena, was born, she was expected to be perfect.
Her parents were the founders of K-Connect Press Inc., a company established in 1991 that publishes The K-Connect, one of the most widely-read lifestyle magazines across South Korea. With how much money they have earned from this venture and investing a good amount of it on their children, from the best milk powder to the best diapers to the best food to the best schools to the best tutors, it only makes sense that their children grow up to be the best.
Well, at least that is what happened to Mina, Rona’s older sister of ten years. She is the firstborn and was excelling in her studies, so it made sense that their parents paid her much attention and expected Rona to be as excellent and as talented as her sister is.
Except, she wasn’t.
Her parents took notice of that, and that’s just a mere understatement. The usual family conversation will manage to involve how great Mina is. Mina had become student council president. Mina ranked number one among her fellow students. Mina won a prestigious competition. Mina this, Mina that. And what did Rona do? Rona did not achieve any of these.
Long story short, Rona can never be like Mina.
Funnily enough, Hyena, her younger sister of three years, also did not hit the expectation of being like Mina. But being the baby of the family somehow is enough to get her parents to fuss and fawn over her, though not to the extent they did to Mina due to their age.
It’s not like Rona didn’t try. She tried so hard to get her parents to praise her like they did to Mina, to smile like they did to Hyena. What if she manages to hit her parent’s high expectations, like that one time she scored second overall among her fellow students? A mere grunt of acknowledgement. She’s now a little closer to her great and revered sister, Mina, but there’s still a long way to go.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been born, so I wouldn’t be an eyesore, she retorts in yet another argument with her parents. Thank you for being little miss perfect and never able to be as good as you are, she remarks sarcastically as Mina attempts to make conversation with her for the umpteenth time. And Hyena will be hiding away in one corner, sometimes out of sight, sometimes pretending not to hear the many heated exchanges involving her family when she can’t get away.
When the founders of K-Connect Press Inc. unexpectedly drowned when their yacht capsized while on the way back from their holiday in Japan in 2019, Rona knew that she’ll probably be going to hell (if she even believed in it in the first place) for only being capable of this thought while her sisters grieved. I’m glad my parents died.
There will no longer be any arguments involving their parents, only silence or Rona shouting at Mina to go away. At least having just Mina to deal with at their family home is much easier than dealing with three people, two of which were constantly out to get her.
When the time came to apply for university, despite being able to qualify for some of the best universities in South Korea, she forwent that all for Jeju University. It’s a rather rare opportunity to be able to get away from her family (mainly Mina, actually) back at home, but yet still be able to remain within South Korea and save her the trouble of adapting to life outside the country.
Her parents were the founders of K-Connect Press Inc., a company established in 1991 that publishes The K-Connect, one of the most widely-read lifestyle magazines across South Korea. With how much money they have earned from this venture and investing a good amount of it on their children, from the best milk powder to the best diapers to the best food to the best schools to the best tutors, it only makes sense that their children grow up to be the best.
Well, at least that is what happened to Mina, Rona’s older sister of ten years. She is the firstborn and was excelling in her studies, so it made sense that their parents paid her much attention and expected Rona to be as excellent and as talented as her sister is.
Except, she wasn’t.
Her parents took notice of that, and that’s just a mere understatement. The usual family conversation will manage to involve how great Mina is. Mina had become student council president. Mina ranked number one among her fellow students. Mina won a prestigious competition. Mina this, Mina that. And what did Rona do? Rona did not achieve any of these.
Long story short, Rona can never be like Mina.
Funnily enough, Hyena, her younger sister of three years, also did not hit the expectation of being like Mina. But being the baby of the family somehow is enough to get her parents to fuss and fawn over her, though not to the extent they did to Mina due to their age.
It’s not like Rona didn’t try. She tried so hard to get her parents to praise her like they did to Mina, to smile like they did to Hyena. What if she manages to hit her parent’s high expectations, like that one time she scored second overall among her fellow students? A mere grunt of acknowledgement. She’s now a little closer to her great and revered sister, Mina, but there’s still a long way to go.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been born, so I wouldn’t be an eyesore, she retorts in yet another argument with her parents. Thank you for being little miss perfect and never able to be as good as you are, she remarks sarcastically as Mina attempts to make conversation with her for the umpteenth time. And Hyena will be hiding away in one corner, sometimes out of sight, sometimes pretending not to hear the many heated exchanges involving her family when she can’t get away.
When the founders of K-Connect Press Inc. unexpectedly drowned when their yacht capsized while on the way back from their holiday in Japan in 2019, Rona knew that she’ll probably be going to hell (if she even believed in it in the first place) for only being capable of this thought while her sisters grieved. I’m glad my parents died.
There will no longer be any arguments involving their parents, only silence or Rona shouting at Mina to go away. At least having just Mina to deal with at their family home is much easier than dealing with three people, two of which were constantly out to get her.
When the time came to apply for university, despite being able to qualify for some of the best universities in South Korea, she forwent that all for Jeju University. It’s a rather rare opportunity to be able to get away from her family (mainly Mina, actually) back at home, but yet still be able to remain within South Korea and save her the trouble of adapting to life outside the country.
connections
NAME Kim Mina, Esther Kim 김미나
RELATIONSHIP Older sister
AGE 29 (1993)
OCCUPATION Chairman of K-Connect Press Inc.
FACE CLAIM Irene, Red Velvet
Rona hates Mina, period. Having been fussed and fawned over for years by her parents and the numerous comparisons they have made between the sisters did the trick in fuelling Rona’s inferiority complex. Besides that, the huge between the sisters also made it difficult for the both of them to relate to each other.
Little does Rona know, the constant comparison between the sisters have also caused much pressure to Mina, needing to make sure that she doesn’t disappoint her parents who had such high hopes for her at any costs. She has also repeatedly tried to reach out to Rona, hoping that they can be there for each other. Now that their parents are dead and there’s a greater need for the sisters to band together, there’s an even greater desire for her to patch this gaping hole in their relationship up. Alas, she will never succeed, unless Rona is also willing to let her walls fall down. The chances of that happening doesn’t seem to be anytime soon, especially not when Rona’s escaped to Jeju Island for her university education.
RELATIONSHIP Older sister
AGE 29 (1993)
OCCUPATION Chairman of K-Connect Press Inc.
FACE CLAIM Irene, Red Velvet
Little does Rona know, the constant comparison between the sisters have also caused much pressure to Mina, needing to make sure that she doesn’t disappoint her parents who had such high hopes for her at any costs. She has also repeatedly tried to reach out to Rona, hoping that they can be there for each other. Now that their parents are dead and there’s a greater need for the sisters to band together, there’s an even greater desire for her to patch this gaping hole in their relationship up. Alas, she will never succeed, unless Rona is also willing to let her walls fall down. The chances of that happening doesn’t seem to be anytime soon, especially not when Rona’s escaped to Jeju Island for her university education.
NAME Kim Hyena, Hayley Kim 김혜나
RELATIONSHIP Younger sister
AGE 16 (2006)
OCCUPATION High school student
FACE CLAIM Kyujin, NMIXX
Although Hyena, like Mina, has also been fussed and fawned over by their parents (though in her case, it’s because she’s the baby of the family), it wasn’t to the same extent as Mina was. There’s no denying that Rona also resents her a little as a result of their parents’ upbringing, it helps that they are closer to each other in age. Being able to spend more time together gives them great opportunities for them to bond with each other. Even though Rona has gone to Jeju to attend university, they regularly keep in touch.
It goes without saying that Hyena hates the tension between her parents and her older sisters. She had hoped that she and her sisters could be there for each other, since following their parents’ death, this is all that’s left of the Kim family. Getting Mina and Rona to reconcile is much harder than she thought, but if there’s anything that she has in common with Mina, they don’t quit that easily.
RELATIONSHIP Younger sister
AGE 16 (2006)
OCCUPATION High school student
FACE CLAIM Kyujin, NMIXX
It goes without saying that Hyena hates the tension between her parents and her older sisters. She had hoped that she and her sisters could be there for each other, since following their parents’ death, this is all that’s left of the Kim family. Getting Mina and Rona to reconcile is much harder than she thought, but if there’s anything that she has in common with Mina, they don’t quit that easily.
NAME Jung Haerin 정해린
RELATIONSHIP Close friend
AGE 19 (2003)
OCCUPATION First year JJU student, Korean Language Education
FACE CLAIM Soeun, weeekly
Rona honestly couldn’t be more thankful for being placed in the same tutorial groups as Haerin is. This is because Haerin was the one who took the first step to befriend her after class and introduce her to Jieun, another friend of hers. Since then, the three of them have become nearly inseparable, often sitting together in lecture theatres and having lunch together.
However, Rona won’t lie that as kind and friendly as Haerin and Jieun are, and how much they include her in their conversations and what they’re doing, she sometimes feels like an outsider. After all, Haerin and Jieun had nearly a whole semester to bond with each other before Rona came into the picture, so there are definitely some inside jokes that Rona is privy to but don’t quite understand. The fact that both Haerin and Jieun don't need to stay on campus (their hometown is Jeju, after all) and they commute together too and from school everyday are even more opportunities to grow closer without Rona in the picture.
Between Haerin and Jieun, Rona’s closer to Haerin, partly because she befriended Rona first, partly because Rona chats with Haerin more often than she does with Jieun. The both of them tend to do catching up after lectures and tutorials, filling each other with what they have missed out on during their classes.
RELATIONSHIP Close friend
AGE 19 (2003)
OCCUPATION First year JJU student, Korean Language Education
FACE CLAIM Soeun, weeekly
However, Rona won’t lie that as kind and friendly as Haerin and Jieun are, and how much they include her in their conversations and what they’re doing, she sometimes feels like an outsider. After all, Haerin and Jieun had nearly a whole semester to bond with each other before Rona came into the picture, so there are definitely some inside jokes that Rona is privy to but don’t quite understand. The fact that both Haerin and Jieun don't need to stay on campus (their hometown is Jeju, after all) and they commute together too and from school everyday are even more opportunities to grow closer without Rona in the picture.
Between Haerin and Jieun, Rona’s closer to Haerin, partly because she befriended Rona first, partly because Rona chats with Haerin more often than she does with Jieun. The both of them tend to do catching up after lectures and tutorials, filling each other with what they have missed out on during their classes.
NAME An Jieun 안지은
RELATIONSHIP Close friend
AGE 19 (2003)
OCCUPATION First year JJU student, Korean Language Education
FACE CLAIM Nayoung, LIGHTSUM
Like Haerin, Rona is so so thankful to Jieun for taking her in as a friend. Lectures and lunches are now definitely less lonely, now that she’s got two familiar faces from her course.
Yes, Rona doesn’t deny that she sometimes feels like an outsider, especially with the inside jokes that Jieun and Haerin talk to each other about at the start. However, with time, these inside jokes don’t actually matter that much anymore, not when they’ve spent so much time to the point where they know one another very well, and will always be there for one another regardless of what happens.
If there’s one thing that Jieun and Rona bond over, it’ll be judging some of the things that Haerin says, especially those that seem so nonsensical and silly. All in good fun, of course. Jieun also calls Rona the voice of reason in the trio, especially because Rona tends to assume a neutral ground and issues the final verdict whenever their conversations go astray.
RELATIONSHIP Close friend
AGE 19 (2003)
OCCUPATION First year JJU student, Korean Language Education
FACE CLAIM Nayoung, LIGHTSUM
Yes, Rona doesn’t deny that she sometimes feels like an outsider, especially with the inside jokes that Jieun and Haerin talk to each other about at the start. However, with time, these inside jokes don’t actually matter that much anymore, not when they’ve spent so much time to the point where they know one another very well, and will always be there for one another regardless of what happens.
If there’s one thing that Jieun and Rona bond over, it’ll be judging some of the things that Haerin says, especially those that seem so nonsensical and silly. All in good fun, of course. Jieun also calls Rona the voice of reason in the trio, especially because Rona tends to assume a neutral ground and issues the final verdict whenever their conversations go astray.
NAME Ryu Kisung 류기성
RELATIONSHIP Friend
AGE 23 (2000)
OCCUPATION Second year JJU student, Business Administration and Accounting (Double Degree)
FACE CLAIM Jinyoung, CIX
Kisung is one of Woojoo’s closest friends, having met each other because they sat next to each other during one of their tutorial sessions. After Woojoo and Rona became friends, Woojoo introduced Kisung to Rona, so that Rona, who doesn’t have many friends, has another friendly face in Jeju University.
Rona wouldn’t say that she’s close to Kisung, because they chat with each other or hang out (and if they do, it’s usually in the presence of Woojoo). However, the both of them are on friendly terms. One of the ways in which they bond with each other is through their mutual judgement of what questionable things Woojoo does or says.
RELATIONSHIP Friend
AGE 23 (2000)
OCCUPATION Second year JJU student, Business Administration and Accounting (Double Degree)
FACE CLAIM Jinyoung, CIX
Rona wouldn’t say that she’s close to Kisung, because they chat with each other or hang out (and if they do, it’s usually in the presence of Woojoo). However, the both of them are on friendly terms. One of the ways in which they bond with each other is through their mutual judgement of what questionable things Woojoo does or says.
NAME Cha Eunchae 차은채
RELATIONSHIP Close friend
AGE 19 (2003)
OCCUPATION First year JJU student, Chemistry and Cosmetics
FACE CLAIM Haewon, NMIXX
Throughout Rona’s life, Eunchae was a constant for a good chunk of it. Owing to their wealthy backgrounds, they attended the same middle and high schools, meeting and befriending each other in middle school. Their tensions with their families also helped them bond, finding solace in each other as they try to navigate through their hardships and difficulties over the years. That is, until they drifted apart during their final year of high school. Rona’s thankful to have met such a good friend in Eunchae, given how she lost friends as a result of her negativity. Because Eunchae was one of the few people who never left and never stopped talking to her.
Little did they expect to reunite when they bumped into each other at Chungsam Hall, because they live on the same floor. Since then, they’ve managed to rekindle their friendship, almost as though they’ve never drifted apart.
Rona eventually found out about what happened between Eunchae and her ex-boyfriend Jiwon and ex-friend Jiyoo, especially with how Eunchae had a slightly sullen look when she happened to see the both of them. Since then, Rona has grown rather protective over Eunchae, partly because of Eunchae’s dating history and partly because of her fears of losing Eunchae as a friend. But at the same time, she also helps Eunchae as much as she can to come to terms with the fact that Jiwon’s not worth her time and energy.
With Rona and Eunchae becoming close again, they’ve become each other’s support, especially because they can’t always count on each other to make the right decisions. But at least there will be someone to help catch the other if she falls, while also maturing throughout their four years at Jeju University.
(Collab with tiffanybluex)
RELATIONSHIP Close friend
AGE 19 (2003)
OCCUPATION First year JJU student, Chemistry and Cosmetics
FACE CLAIM Haewon, NMIXX
Little did they expect to reunite when they bumped into each other at Chungsam Hall, because they live on the same floor. Since then, they’ve managed to rekindle their friendship, almost as though they’ve never drifted apart.
Rona eventually found out about what happened between Eunchae and her ex-boyfriend Jiwon and ex-friend Jiyoo, especially with how Eunchae had a slightly sullen look when she happened to see the both of them. Since then, Rona has grown rather protective over Eunchae, partly because of Eunchae’s dating history and partly because of her fears of losing Eunchae as a friend. But at the same time, she also helps Eunchae as much as she can to come to terms with the fact that Jiwon’s not worth her time and energy.
With Rona and Eunchae becoming close again, they’ve become each other’s support, especially because they can’t always count on each other to make the right decisions. But at least there will be someone to help catch the other if she falls, while also maturing throughout their four years at Jeju University.
(Collab with tiffanybluex)
NAME Yoo Dana 유단아
RELATIONSHIP Roommate, friend
AGE 21 (2001)
OCCUPATION First year JJU student, Undeclared
FACE CLAIM Lola, PIXY
In all honesty, Rona had no idea what she had done to get Dana as her roommate at Chungsam Hall. The older girl’s a complete weirdo, with how she tells her to sage the dorm every once in a while to get rid of spirits, talk to inanimate objects (like her crystal collection), or telling the barista to concoct a potent caffeinated potion when they went to the cafe to get their coffee fix.
But maybe things aren’t as bad as Rona originally thought it was going to be. Even though Dana stands out from a crowd, from her dressing to her interests to the way she carries herself, she can’t deny that her roommate has lots of confidence in herself, something she wishes she had. In fact, Dana did much in helping Rona be more confident in herself, byforcing encouraging her to believe that she is enough.
In return, Dana, like Rona, will realise that it’s not good to judge people based on what they seem like on the outside. Being roommates with someone vastly different from themselves is extremely helpful in being more accepting of people who come from other walks of life. Rona will also help encourage Dana to give more thought about what she truly wants to do in the future, instead of living life without direction. Even though Rona can’t help but sigh when she overhears yet another drunk conversation with what seems to be with Dana’s boyfriend, she’s always down to listen to Dana’s ramblings about her love life. No guarantee that she approves every single one of Dana’s decisions, of course.
(Collab with starliet)
RELATIONSHIP Roommate, friend
AGE 21 (2001)
OCCUPATION First year JJU student, Undeclared
FACE CLAIM Lola, PIXY
But maybe things aren’t as bad as Rona originally thought it was going to be. Even though Dana stands out from a crowd, from her dressing to her interests to the way she carries herself, she can’t deny that her roommate has lots of confidence in herself, something she wishes she had. In fact, Dana did much in helping Rona be more confident in herself, by
In return, Dana, like Rona, will realise that it’s not good to judge people based on what they seem like on the outside. Being roommates with someone vastly different from themselves is extremely helpful in being more accepting of people who come from other walks of life. Rona will also help encourage Dana to give more thought about what she truly wants to do in the future, instead of living life without direction. Even though Rona can’t help but sigh when she overhears yet another drunk conversation with what seems to be with Dana’s boyfriend, she’s always down to listen to Dana’s ramblings about her love life. No guarantee that she approves every single one of Dana’s decisions, of course.
(Collab with starliet)
QUICK FACTS
Did
you
know
you
know
•.♥ She likes strawberry and peach flavoured things, historical novels, bargains and discounts (because she actively refuses Mina’s money), cute stickers, documentaries and lofi-music.
•.♥ She dislikes doing things last minute, being looked down upon, flavoured milk, peanuts (especially roasted peanuts), the smell of rain and slow walkers.
•.♥ She watches documentaries, listens to music and collects stickers in her sticker book as a hobby.
•.♥ She has a habit of clasping her hands together when nervous, wiping the top of a canned drink before opening it, and eating kimbap or bread when she lacks time for a proper meal.
•.♥ She is afraid of disappointing others, grades lower than a B+, things spiralling out of her control, losing her friends, being in a motorcycle and most flying insects (except for butterflies and dragonflies).
•.♥ As she does not want to rely on Mina to provide her with money, she’s applied for a student loan and is a part-time barista at Happy Bean Cafe.
•.♥ She does not exercise often, and when she does, it’s either yoga, pilates or cycling.
•.♥ She owns a pig plush toy which has been with her since her first year of middle school, and it’s currently sitting on her bed at Chungsam Hall.
•.♥ She has been told by some (including her sisters) to have a rather nice singing voice, although she thinks otherwise.
•.♥ She’s not too fond of K-pop, especially with how flashy the music and sound have become of current groups. As such, she rarely listens to them.
•.♥ She is also not fond of romance novels, movies and dramas because of how unrealistic they can portray love and relationships to be. But she’s okay with them when done well.
•.♥ Her top three least favourite things to receive as a gift are mugs, water bottles and stuffed toys. If possible, she would request people to give her gift cards instead.
•.♥ She has gotten her driving license, but does not have a car. She’s currently saving up to buy a BMW 420i Coupé.
•.♥ She only started drinking after attending Jeju University. As such, she has a low alcohol tolerance at the moment, flushing rather badly after just drinking 4 to 5 shots of soju.
•.♥ Her least favourite school subject is art, because she finds she does not have much talent in sketching, drawing or painting.
•.♥ She would like to go for a student exchange programme, preferably to the United Kingdom, France or Germany.
•.♥ She has never been in a romantic relationship, and isn't actively seeking one, not when she wants to focus on herself and achieve success at the moment.
•.♥ Her dream job is to become a Korean language teacher (and not be working under K-Connect Press Inc. because Mina is there).
•.♥ She dislikes doing things last minute, being looked down upon, flavoured milk, peanuts (especially roasted peanuts), the smell of rain and slow walkers.
•.♥ She watches documentaries, listens to music and collects stickers in her sticker book as a hobby.
•.♥ She has a habit of clasping her hands together when nervous, wiping the top of a canned drink before opening it, and eating kimbap or bread when she lacks time for a proper meal.
•.♥ She is afraid of disappointing others, grades lower than a B+, things spiralling out of her control, losing her friends, being in a motorcycle and most flying insects (except for butterflies and dragonflies).
•.♥ As she does not want to rely on Mina to provide her with money, she’s applied for a student loan and is a part-time barista at Happy Bean Cafe.
•.♥ She does not exercise often, and when she does, it’s either yoga, pilates or cycling.
•.♥ She owns a pig plush toy which has been with her since her first year of middle school, and it’s currently sitting on her bed at Chungsam Hall.
•.♥ She has been told by some (including her sisters) to have a rather nice singing voice, although she thinks otherwise.
•.♥ She’s not too fond of K-pop, especially with how flashy the music and sound have become of current groups. As such, she rarely listens to them.
•.♥ She is also not fond of romance novels, movies and dramas because of how unrealistic they can portray love and relationships to be. But she’s okay with them when done well.
•.♥ Her top three least favourite things to receive as a gift are mugs, water bottles and stuffed toys. If possible, she would request people to give her gift cards instead.
•.♥ She has gotten her driving license, but does not have a car. She’s currently saving up to buy a BMW 420i Coupé.
•.♥ She only started drinking after attending Jeju University. As such, she has a low alcohol tolerance at the moment, flushing rather badly after just drinking 4 to 5 shots of soju.
•.♥ Her least favourite school subject is art, because she finds she does not have much talent in sketching, drawing or painting.
•.♥ She would like to go for a student exchange programme, preferably to the United Kingdom, France or Germany.
•.♥ She has never been in a romantic relationship, and isn't actively seeking one, not when she wants to focus on herself and achieve success at the moment.
•.♥ Her dream job is to become a Korean language teacher (and not be working under K-Connect Press Inc. because Mina is there).
UNIVERSITY LIFE
MAJOR Korean Language Education
ROOM PREFERENCES
Even though Rona prefers a single room over a double or even triple room, she’s aware the chances of being able to get a single room at Chungsam Hall is extremely slim. So she isn’t too picky about what kind of room she gets, since a double room and a triple room is cheaper than that of a single room. Hopefully her roommate(s) will be nice and she can get along at least decently with them, since she’ll be living at Chungsam Hall for one whole year and going back home to Seoul is not an option.
That is, until she realises who her roommate is.
SCHEDULE
Monday
8:30 - 10:30 Introduction to Korean Literature lecture 11:00 - 13:00 Communication English I lecture
14:00 - 16:00 Educational Theories in Teaching Korean Language lecture
Tuesday
12:30 - 14:30 Theories in Teaching Korean Phonology lecture
15:00 - 16:00 Introduction to Korean Literature tutorial
17:00 - 18:00 Communication English I tutorial
Wednesday
11:00 - 12:00 Educational Theories in Teaching Korean Language tutorial
15:00 - 16:00 Theories in Teaching Korean Phonology tutorial
Thursday
9:00 - 11:00 Counselling of Career and Study Planning I -1 tutorial
12:00 - 13:00 Theories in Teaching Korean Phonology tutorial
16:00 - 22:00 Part time at Happy Bean Cafe (subject to change)
Friday
9:00 - 17:00 Part time at Happy Bean Cafe
Saturday
12:00 - 20:00 Part time at Happy Bean Cafe
Honestly, Rona thinks that her timetable isn’t the best, but it definitely isn’t horrible. At least she has one day where she isn’t going for classes, and has generally enough time to have a good lunch on the days she has classes on.
If she’s not in school or at work or involved in the College of Education’s club activities (she’s the current secretary for the club), she can be found in her room studying. However, if it gets too suffocating, she’ll be found studying outside her room. Some of her favourite haunts are the lounges at Chungsam Hall, the Central Library, One World Cafe and Lounge and the lecture theatres. Speaking of lecture theatres, one of her favourite things to do late at night is to screen movies or dramas from her laptop, if the lecture theatres are left unlocked, that is. Better than going to parties, getting wasted and hooking up with total strangers, and then regretting it the next day.
Besides studying during her free time, Rona can also be found relaxing in her room if she finds she’s too tired to use her brain. She’s constantly on the lookout for cute stickers to add to her collection, hence scrolling through Instagram and checking out online shops frequently. She also hangs out with her friends rather often, usually over a meal, but sometimes over shopping, cycling, exploring new places in Jeju Island, and more.
DIRECTION
Studying at Jeju Island, miles away from the busy life back in the bustling city that is Seoul is perhaps a much needed breath of fresh air for her. She’s free to do the things she loves, and not have to deal with the tension in her family.
Given her wealthy background, she hasn’t met a whole lot of people outside of her socio-economic status. Attending university is certainly one way for her to interact with people who aren’t as well off as she is, and be exposed to people with differing opinions from hers. It isn’t obvious to her at first, but she’ll eventually realise that the people who challenge her opinions are not doing it out of malice, and are not out to attack her. From then on, she’ll learn to be less judgemental towards other people. At the same time, with some guidance from others, she’ll slowly gain confidence in herself.
Needless to say, escapism isn’t a long term solution. Rona will come to understand that as she gradually finds herself maturing in terms of her mindset and also how she deals with her problems. This includes finally letting Mina in and mending their broken relationship after having shut her out for years, and connecting with Hyena on an even deeper level.
Even then, Rona isn’t sure if working at K-Connect Press Inc. is something she can envision herself doing. It’s up to her to make Mina realise this, so that she can pursue a career she truly loves.
Even though Rona prefers a single room over a double or even triple room, she’s aware the chances of being able to get a single room at Chungsam Hall is extremely slim. So she isn’t too picky about what kind of room she gets, since a double room and a triple room is cheaper than that of a single room. Hopefully her roommate(s) will be nice and she can get along at least decently with them, since she’ll be living at Chungsam Hall for one whole year and going back home to Seoul is not an option.
That is, until she realises who her roommate is.
Monday
8:30 - 10:30 Introduction to Korean Literature lecture 11:00 - 13:00 Communication English I lecture
14:00 - 16:00 Educational Theories in Teaching Korean Language lecture
Tuesday
12:30 - 14:30 Theories in Teaching Korean Phonology lecture
15:00 - 16:00 Introduction to Korean Literature tutorial
17:00 - 18:00 Communication English I tutorial
Wednesday
11:00 - 12:00 Educational Theories in Teaching Korean Language tutorial
15:00 - 16:00 Theories in Teaching Korean Phonology tutorial
Thursday
9:00 - 11:00 Counselling of Career and Study Planning I -1 tutorial
12:00 - 13:00 Theories in Teaching Korean Phonology tutorial
16:00 - 22:00 Part time at Happy Bean Cafe (subject to change)
Friday
9:00 - 17:00 Part time at Happy Bean Cafe
Saturday
12:00 - 20:00 Part time at Happy Bean Cafe
Honestly, Rona thinks that her timetable isn’t the best, but it definitely isn’t horrible. At least she has one day where she isn’t going for classes, and has generally enough time to have a good lunch on the days she has classes on.
If she’s not in school or at work or involved in the College of Education’s club activities (she’s the current secretary for the club), she can be found in her room studying. However, if it gets too suffocating, she’ll be found studying outside her room. Some of her favourite haunts are the lounges at Chungsam Hall, the Central Library, One World Cafe and Lounge and the lecture theatres. Speaking of lecture theatres, one of her favourite things to do late at night is to screen movies or dramas from her laptop, if the lecture theatres are left unlocked, that is. Better than going to parties, getting wasted and hooking up with total strangers, and then regretting it the next day.
Besides studying during her free time, Rona can also be found relaxing in her room if she finds she’s too tired to use her brain. She’s constantly on the lookout for cute stickers to add to her collection, hence scrolling through Instagram and checking out online shops frequently. She also hangs out with her friends rather often, usually over a meal, but sometimes over shopping, cycling, exploring new places in Jeju Island, and more.
Studying at Jeju Island, miles away from the busy life back in the bustling city that is Seoul is perhaps a much needed breath of fresh air for her. She’s free to do the things she loves, and not have to deal with the tension in her family.
Given her wealthy background, she hasn’t met a whole lot of people outside of her socio-economic status. Attending university is certainly one way for her to interact with people who aren’t as well off as she is, and be exposed to people with differing opinions from hers. It isn’t obvious to her at first, but she’ll eventually realise that the people who challenge her opinions are not doing it out of malice, and are not out to attack her. From then on, she’ll learn to be less judgemental towards other people. At the same time, with some guidance from others, she’ll slowly gain confidence in herself.
Needless to say, escapism isn’t a long term solution. Rona will come to understand that as she gradually finds herself maturing in terms of her mindset and also how she deals with her problems. This includes finally letting Mina in and mending their broken relationship after having shut her out for years, and connecting with Hyena on an even deeper level.
Even then, Rona isn’t sure if working at K-Connect Press Inc. is something she can envision herself doing. It’s up to her to make Mina realise this, so that she can pursue a career she truly loves.
interview
Hello! welcome to the Jeju University family! Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
Out of all the colleges in Korea, why did you pick Jeju University, and why your major?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
“Still living and breathing, I hope,” Rona says with a small chuckle. Self-deprecating humour’s always effective.
What would you say are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
As a freshman, you will reside in Chungsam Hall. What do you look for in a roommate? Any lifestyle habits that you find intolerable?
What are you looking forward to the most as an incoming freshman?
my beloved
strangers
♡ song woojoo
FULL NAME Song Woojoo 송우주
NICKNAMES
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 2000 (22)
HOMETOWN Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
ETHNICITY Korean
NATIONALITY South Korean
OCCUPATION Second year JJU student, Business Administration
PRONOUNS He/him
ORIENTATION Heteroual, heteroromantic
LANGUAGES
FACECLAIM Jungmo, CRAVITY
NICKNAMES
•.♥ Joojoo 주주 a nickname derived from his given name. It’s usually called in an endearing or joking manner by his fellow friends and classmates.
HOMETOWN Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
ETHNICITY Korean
NATIONALITY South Korean
ORIENTATION Heteroual, heteroromantic
•.♥ Korean 100%. His native language
•.♥ English 45%. English is a compulsory language to learn in school, but after sitting for his CSAT, there’s not much need for English in his life, not when he mainly speaks to others in Korean. As such, his skills in the language have gone rusty.
•.♥ English 45%. English is a compulsory language to learn in school, but after sitting for his CSAT, there’s not much need for English in his life, not when he mainly speaks to others in Korean. As such, his skills in the language have gone rusty.
PERSONALITY
If you’re majoring in Business Administration at Jeju University, there’s a high chance you’ll know of a student called Song Woojoo. He’s perhaps the textbook definition of a popular student- very outgoing and friendly, has many friends, and probably would also have ended up getting everyone’s contact number by the time tutorials are over. It definitely helps that he’s known to have a wicked sense of humour, always quick to come up with quips that are thoroughly entertaining, even to sixty-year-old professors, and has a bit of a reputation of being a class clown. Not only that, he’ll also try to lend a helping hand as much as possible, because it definitely to be left behind and being all alone.
That’s not to say his outgoing personality doesn’t have its drawbacks. For starters, he’s great at getting a party started, but not so great when it comes to serious matters where there’s no place for jokes. As such, he does get into trouble at times for not taking something seriously when he should, or saying something at a place and time where it’s inappropriate to do so.
Although it’s true that he’s got many friends and he finds it easy to adapt to other people, it has caused him to develop a habit of constantly trying to fit into others’ worlds, and not doing things the other way around enough. As a result, he definitely has company when it comes to lunch or doing fun activities together, but he doesn’t have enough friends that he can truly count on during difficult times. In fact, Kisung, his close friend, is one of the rare people in Jeju University who has gone beyond a surface-level relationship (and Woojoo has plenty of those) and genuinely showed concern for him when challenges arise.
The reason why Woojoo is studying Business Adminstration is not because of a love for the course, but because of how applicable this degree is to a wide variety of careers. He hasn’t done much planning about his future, including what kind of job he aims to pursue following graduation, so he suffers from a lack of direction. He also has the tendency to pull all-nighters in order to get his assignments completed on time, and that usually happens when he’s not prioritised his work enough. Somehow, he manages to be consistent when it comes to his grades, but if he doesn’t do something about his lack of responsibility, it might just end up biting him in the in the future.
BACKGROUND
There’s nothing really that remarkable about Song Woojoo, the baby of the family who has one older brother, a full-time HR representative, and one older sister, a full-time air stewardess. He’s not rich by any means, considering that he’s born to a middle-class family (much like a significant number of households across South Korea), but still having enough to live a comfortable life.
Growing up, Woojoo wasn’t a particularly great student, his grades usually nothing more or nothing less than what’s above-average. But he’s well-liked by both his teachers and fellow peers, even having had a few girls who crushed on him throughout his school days, especially because of how friendly he is to everyone.
But by the time high school graduation hit, Woojoo found himself at a loss. Entering the workforce is inching closer and closer to him, but he has no idea what he wants to work as. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have much time to think, not when he needed to start sending applications to universities.
He knew that he won’t be able to stand it studying in the SKY universities, because he knows just how rigorous and tiring it’ll be. Maybe applying to Jeju University isn’t a bad idea. He probably might much prefer it over the likes of Chung-Ang, Hongik or Dongguk University, since it’ll be like having a bit of a holiday as he slowly figures out his life on an island away from his home. Hopefully.
But the problem of choosing his major remained. So what is the solution to an indecisive guy? Majoring in Business Administration! There’s so many jobs he can do with a degree like that- analytics, supply chain management, merger and acquisition, marketing, and so on, and the pay’s pretty good. Surely having four years (and an additional two years in the army) in university will give him enough time to find the answer to the question that he’s not given that much thought about previously.
THEIR STORY
1
“Welcome to Happy Bean Cafe, what can I get you?”
Rona couldn’t believe someone coming into the cafe this late, a mere 15 minutes before closing. But she couldn’t afford to roll her eyes in front of a potential customer, lest she finds herself possibly getting into trouble with the managers.
“I’ll have an iced americano, please,” said the guy.
At least he’s bothering to smile, Rona thought.
After paying for his drink, Rona proceeded to make his order, calling him over once she placed it on the counter. The guy thanked her and left.
As the guy was walking back to the halls, he noticed something a little off about his order. It seemed more bitter than the usual iced americanos that he had ordered from Happy Bean Cafe. He drank a little more, and it dawned on him.
The girl had made him an iced ristretto instead.
Eh, no biggie. Humans make mistakes, don’t they? Especially when he went to the cafe so close to 10 p.m. It’s not like the coffee she made was horrible, either. So he continued to sip on his drink as he walked to the hall on campus he's staying at.
2
Little did Woojoo or Rona expect, they were in the same tutorial group for Counselling of Career and Study Planning I -1.
He walked into the classroom, and noticed a girl sitting at an empty desk. This girl looked rather familiar- wait, wasn’t that the barista who was working the closing shift that day he went to Happy Bean Cafe? He’s rather good at remembering faces, more so when it was an interesting incident he encountered thanks to her. So he walked right up to the desk, plopped down in the seat next to her, and turned towards her direction.
“Hey, wrong-drink girl!”
The girl jumped a little in her seat, clearly having been caught off guard by Woojoo’s remark, then turned to face the person who had just called her that.
“Do I know you?” the girl asked, obviously rather confused by Woojoo’s greeting.
“Oh my, you forgot me? I was the guy who came to Happy Bean Cafe nearing closing time. I ordered an iced americano, but you served me an iced ristretto instead!”
And that was when Rona remembered.
How could she have made a mistake like that?
But she quickly brushed those thoughts aside, since the guy’s probably waiting for her answer.
“Ah, yes. So sorry I served you the wrong order. Please let me know how I can make it up to you. As long as it’s within my means, you can count on me to deliver.”
She clearly wasn’t expecting the guy’s response to her apology.
“It’s fine. Takes one coffee connoisseur to know another, I guess,” he said with a grin, and then held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Song Woojoo.”
Rona took his hand and gingerly shook it.
“Pleasure. I’m Kim Rona.”
3
Rona has to admit that Woojoo is the complete opposite of her. Sociable and able to make friends so quickly (and wishing she had his talent of doing so), but boy, can he get annoying at times.
But somehow, she’s gotten used to his company, even when he’s grating on her nerves. She’s definitely grateful that despite her huge flaws, he doesn’t seem to grow tired of her and leave her as a result of it.
Rona’s gotten used to many of Woojoo’s antics by this point, but certainly not this- waltzing straight to her room when her roommate wasn’t around.
“Hey, Rona! Let’s go for a fried chicken supper run!”
Rona couldn’t believe her ears when he heard. Going out of school this late at night? And fried chicken for supper?
Woojoo must’ve caught on to her misgivings. “I know of this really good place near school that sells fried chicken. And it only closes at 2 a.m.,” he said. “Come on, live a little!”
“I can go to sleep early and still not miss out on having a life,” Rona grumbled, but ultimately relented. Go on a supper run for once, and if she doesn’t like it, she’ll refuse him next time.
After clinging on to Woojoo for dear life as he cycled to his destination, they arrived at a cozy-looking fried chicken restaurant. It’s definitely a nice atmosphere, Rona admits.
She also had to admit that Woojoo was right- the fried chicken served by the lovely owner was to die for.
“Thanks for bringing me to the fried chicken place,” she told Woojoo as they left with their bellies warm and fulfilled. And for giving her the opportunity to do something that she's never quite done before her entire life.
4
The both of them were sitting opposite each other in the lounge at Chungsam Hall, when Woojoo walked over to Rona while yet on another break, because studying is one of the worst things to do.
That was when he realised that Rona was making notes for next week’s lecture videos.
“Wow, I knew that you were hardworking, but I never knew you were this hardworking!” He knew that he couldn’t help but comment on this habit of hers, no matter how much he’s gotten used to her needing to study.
“Not the first time I’ve heard this, actually,” Rona replied without tearing her eyes away from the laptop screen. “I want to make sure that I’m one step ahead of what I am expected to do. Don’t wanna fall behind and end up needing to do a lot of catching up, but also want to get the studying out of the way before I relax and enjoy, you know what I mean?”
And that led Woojoo to think about his studying habits and way of doing his work- cramming things to the point they creep up on him, and being lucky enough to have gotten away with it thus far. He could’t deny that Rona made a pretty good point- it’s not always good to only start doing things when they need to be done, is it?
5
Woojoo has always been fascinated by latte art, and it’s great to finally have the opportunity to try making the signature hearts he’s seen on the lattes he’s gotten in the past. And the best thing is, he’s getting a class on latte art for free! This is part of the benefits of being friends with a part-time barista working for Happy Bean Cafe. But what’s even better is that he’s doing something he loves with a friend he cherishes so much.
He sure was having lots of fun learning the basics of latte art and creating the typical heart shapes, failing multiple times (but all the better since he gets to drink a little more coffee). His friend enjoyed it too, but then the curveball came.
Rona groaned when she saw that the swan she was trying to make in her own latte was ruined. All because she had used a little too much force when making the swan’s head.
“I think it still looks gorgeous,” Woojoo commented. “A bit of mistakes and imperfection adds uniqueness and life, especially when it comes to coffee.”
But Rona certainly didn’t agree with that.
“I was supposed to have a heart for the swan’s head,” she replied through gritted teeth as she began to walk away. “But now I have a blob for its head instead. It’s way too costly a mistake if I was making it in a cafe.”
By the time she’s managed to calm herself down and walk back to where she left her imperfect swan, she noticed that the swan was gone. In place was a latte with a perfectly-shaped heart.
“I hope this cheers you up a little? You taught your student well.”
Rona turned to look at Woojoo, the artist behind that heart. On his face was an earnest smile of someone who had tried so hard.
She couldn’t deny that she wasn’t touched by that gesture.
6
Oh, no. There were quite a lot of questions Rona did not do enough studying for for the test, which will make up 30% of her module grade.
She knew she had to release that building pressure and worry of messing up her grades onto Woojoo, who was with her. Otherwise, she’ll go crazy for thinking that she isn’t good enough. She’s comforted by the fact that Woojoo had said that it probably won’t go as bad as she thinks it will, but she can’t bring herself to believe in it completely. What if hope backfires on her when she receives her result?
She eventually came to the realisation that Woojoo had gone quiet, unlike the previous times when she confided in him.
The silence was a little long for her liking. Add in his seriousness to the mix, and it’s enough to make her uneasy.
“We’ve had conversations about this before,” Woojoo said quietly at last. “It’s fine to be worried and talk about them, but do be careful about the consequences if that’s going to be one of the major things you’re gonna talk about in your conversations with your friends.”
Rona was stunned into silence at that moment.
Congratulations, she had messed up yet again.
But the more she thought about it alone in her room, the more it’s probably a good thing that Woojoo pointed this out to her.
If he hadn’t seen her as a friend, he wouldn’t have bothered to point this out to you, unlike the people she used to be friends with. She should take in their feedback and try to change. She wants to be loved. She wants to feel like she's deserving. She doesn’t want any friends to leave her, including Song Woojoo.
7
Since when was there something a little more than friends between Woojoo and Rona?
Probably when she apologised to him and slowly began to be more confident in herself. Not quite there yet, but at least she's relaxed and loosened up a bit more. Probably when he found himself a little bit more motivated to want to do better and start making goals, especially when it comes to the things that really matter to him. Probably when they notice their hearts seem to beat a little faster when they’re around each other. Or maybe it’s the slight blush of their cheeks whenever the other says or does something sweet.
In that case, there’s just one more question left.
Who is willing to take the plunge, to do something about their desire to be more than just a friend to the other?
INTERACTIONS
If Rona is being completely honest, she didn’t expect to become friends with Woojoo, who’s ever so different from her. But then again, opposites could totally attract.
He’s super energetic- usually the one to start a conversation, both in-person and over the phone, even sending her encouraging messages and stickers over text (which she appreciates a lot). Rona makes sure to put in as much effort in her replies, although it can be hard when she’s preoccupied or too deep in her own thoughts. Still, she tries not to leave him hanging for too long, taking a maximum of two or three days to reply to his texts.
Like any other friendship, she definitely has moments where she argues with Woojoo. It can be pretty much anything- from their work to their opinions on a particular movie, or them just bantering for no particular reason. Even if they do get mad, they don’t stay mad for too long; apologise and make amends with food, and it’s all good to go.
As they grow closer to each other, they also begin hanging out much more frequently, to the point where Haerin and Jieun sometimes about Woojoo being a boyfriend. The reality is that they’ve simply grown so comfortable around each other (yes, that includes Woojoo’s annoying antics), they can pretty much do anything together.
ENDING Ideally dating, but if they don’t, they’ll remain close friends
TRIVIA
Types ESFJ, Sanguine-Phlegmatic, 2w3, Gryffindor, Chaotic good
Strengths Gregarious, outgoing, witty, caring
Aimless, irresponsible, selective, flippant Weaknesses
Aimless, irresponsible, selective, flippant Weaknesses
Yoimiya from Genshin Impact, Ivan from
If You Can See Me Now Bits of
That’s not to say his outgoing personality doesn’t have its drawbacks. For starters, he’s great at getting a party started, but not so great when it comes to serious matters where there’s no place for jokes. As such, he does get into trouble at times for not taking something seriously when he should, or saying something at a place and time where it’s inappropriate to do so.
Although it’s true that he’s got many friends and he finds it easy to adapt to other people, it has caused him to develop a habit of constantly trying to fit into others’ worlds, and not doing things the other way around enough. As a result, he definitely has company when it comes to lunch or doing fun activities together, but he doesn’t have enough friends that he can truly count on during difficult times. In fact, Kisung, his close friend, is one of the rare people in Jeju University who has gone beyond a surface-level relationship (and Woojoo has plenty of those) and genuinely showed concern for him when challenges arise.
The reason why Woojoo is studying Business Adminstration is not because of a love for the course, but because of how applicable this degree is to a wide variety of careers. He hasn’t done much planning about his future, including what kind of job he aims to pursue following graduation, so he suffers from a lack of direction. He also has the tendency to pull all-nighters in order to get his assignments completed on time, and that usually happens when he’s not prioritised his work enough. Somehow, he manages to be consistent when it comes to his grades, but if he doesn’t do something about his lack of responsibility, it might just end up biting him in the in the future.
There’s nothing really that remarkable about Song Woojoo, the baby of the family who has one older brother, a full-time HR representative, and one older sister, a full-time air stewardess. He’s not rich by any means, considering that he’s born to a middle-class family (much like a significant number of households across South Korea), but still having enough to live a comfortable life.
Growing up, Woojoo wasn’t a particularly great student, his grades usually nothing more or nothing less than what’s above-average. But he’s well-liked by both his teachers and fellow peers, even having had a few girls who crushed on him throughout his school days, especially because of how friendly he is to everyone.
But by the time high school graduation hit, Woojoo found himself at a loss. Entering the workforce is inching closer and closer to him, but he has no idea what he wants to work as. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have much time to think, not when he needed to start sending applications to universities.
He knew that he won’t be able to stand it studying in the SKY universities, because he knows just how rigorous and tiring it’ll be. Maybe applying to Jeju University isn’t a bad idea. He probably might much prefer it over the likes of Chung-Ang, Hongik or Dongguk University, since it’ll be like having a bit of a holiday as he slowly figures out his life on an island away from his home. Hopefully.
But the problem of choosing his major remained. So what is the solution to an indecisive guy? Majoring in Business Administration! There’s so many jobs he can do with a degree like that- analytics, supply chain management, merger and acquisition, marketing, and so on, and the pay’s pretty good. Surely having four years (and an additional two years in the army) in university will give him enough time to find the answer to the question that he’s not given that much thought about previously.
Rona couldn’t believe someone coming into the cafe this late, a mere 15 minutes before closing. But she couldn’t afford to roll her eyes in front of a potential customer, lest she finds herself possibly getting into trouble with the managers.
“I’ll have an iced americano, please,” said the guy.
At least he’s bothering to smile, Rona thought.
After paying for his drink, Rona proceeded to make his order, calling him over once she placed it on the counter. The guy thanked her and left.
As the guy was walking back to the halls, he noticed something a little off about his order. It seemed more bitter than the usual iced americanos that he had ordered from Happy Bean Cafe. He drank a little more, and it dawned on him.
The girl had made him an iced ristretto instead.
Eh, no biggie. Humans make mistakes, don’t they? Especially when he went to the cafe so close to 10 p.m. It’s not like the coffee she made was horrible, either. So he continued to sip on his drink as he walked to the hall on campus he's staying at.
He walked into the classroom, and noticed a girl sitting at an empty desk. This girl looked rather familiar- wait, wasn’t that the barista who was working the closing shift that day he went to Happy Bean Cafe? He’s rather good at remembering faces, more so when it was an interesting incident he encountered thanks to her. So he walked right up to the desk, plopped down in the seat next to her, and turned towards her direction.
“Hey, wrong-drink girl!”
The girl jumped a little in her seat, clearly having been caught off guard by Woojoo’s remark, then turned to face the person who had just called her that.
“Do I know you?” the girl asked, obviously rather confused by Woojoo’s greeting.
“Oh my, you forgot me? I was the guy who came to Happy Bean Cafe nearing closing time. I ordered an iced americano, but you served me an iced ristretto instead!”
And that was when Rona remembered.
How could she have made a mistake like that?
But she quickly brushed those thoughts aside, since the guy’s probably waiting for her answer.
“Ah, yes. So sorry I served you the wrong order. Please let me know how I can make it up to you. As long as it’s within my means, you can count on me to deliver.”
She clearly wasn’t expecting the guy’s response to her apology.
“It’s fine. Takes one coffee connoisseur to know another, I guess,” he said with a grin, and then held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Song Woojoo.”
Rona took his hand and gingerly shook it.
“Pleasure. I’m Kim Rona.”
But somehow, she’s gotten used to his company, even when he’s grating on her nerves. She’s definitely grateful that despite her huge flaws, he doesn’t seem to grow tired of her and leave her as a result of it.
Rona’s gotten used to many of Woojoo’s antics by this point, but certainly not this- waltzing straight to her room when her roommate wasn’t around.
“Hey, Rona! Let’s go for a fried chicken supper run!”
Rona couldn’t believe her ears when he heard. Going out of school this late at night? And fried chicken for supper?
Woojoo must’ve caught on to her misgivings. “I know of this really good place near school that sells fried chicken. And it only closes at 2 a.m.,” he said. “Come on, live a little!”
“I can go to sleep early and still not miss out on having a life,” Rona grumbled, but ultimately relented. Go on a supper run for once, and if she doesn’t like it, she’ll refuse him next time.
After clinging on to Woojoo for dear life as he cycled to his destination, they arrived at a cozy-looking fried chicken restaurant. It’s definitely a nice atmosphere, Rona admits.
She also had to admit that Woojoo was right- the fried chicken served by the lovely owner was to die for.
“Thanks for bringing me to the fried chicken place,” she told Woojoo as they left with their bellies warm and fulfilled. And for giving her the opportunity to do something that she's never quite done before her entire life.
That was when he realised that Rona was making notes for next week’s lecture videos.
“Wow, I knew that you were hardworking, but I never knew you were this hardworking!” He knew that he couldn’t help but comment on this habit of hers, no matter how much he’s gotten used to her needing to study.
“Not the first time I’ve heard this, actually,” Rona replied without tearing her eyes away from the laptop screen. “I want to make sure that I’m one step ahead of what I am expected to do. Don’t wanna fall behind and end up needing to do a lot of catching up, but also want to get the studying out of the way before I relax and enjoy, you know what I mean?”
And that led Woojoo to think about his studying habits and way of doing his work- cramming things to the point they creep up on him, and being lucky enough to have gotten away with it thus far. He could’t deny that Rona made a pretty good point- it’s not always good to only start doing things when they need to be done, is it?
He sure was having lots of fun learning the basics of latte art and creating the typical heart shapes, failing multiple times (but all the better since he gets to drink a little more coffee). His friend enjoyed it too, but then the curveball came.
Rona groaned when she saw that the swan she was trying to make in her own latte was ruined. All because she had used a little too much force when making the swan’s head.
“I think it still looks gorgeous,” Woojoo commented. “A bit of mistakes and imperfection adds uniqueness and life, especially when it comes to coffee.”
But Rona certainly didn’t agree with that.
“I was supposed to have a heart for the swan’s head,” she replied through gritted teeth as she began to walk away. “But now I have a blob for its head instead. It’s way too costly a mistake if I was making it in a cafe.”
By the time she’s managed to calm herself down and walk back to where she left her imperfect swan, she noticed that the swan was gone. In place was a latte with a perfectly-shaped heart.
“I hope this cheers you up a little? You taught your student well.”
Rona turned to look at Woojoo, the artist behind that heart. On his face was an earnest smile of someone who had tried so hard.
She couldn’t deny that she wasn’t touched by that gesture.
She knew she had to release that building pressure and worry of messing up her grades onto Woojoo, who was with her. Otherwise, she’ll go crazy for thinking that she isn’t good enough. She’s comforted by the fact that Woojoo had said that it probably won’t go as bad as she thinks it will, but she can’t bring herself to believe in it completely. What if hope backfires on her when she receives her result?
She eventually came to the realisation that Woojoo had gone quiet, unlike the previous times when she confided in him.
The silence was a little long for her liking. Add in his seriousness to the mix, and it’s enough to make her uneasy.
“We’ve had conversations about this before,” Woojoo said quietly at last. “It’s fine to be worried and talk about them, but do be careful about the consequences if that’s going to be one of the major things you’re gonna talk about in your conversations with your friends.”
Rona was stunned into silence at that moment.
Congratulations, she had messed up yet again.
But the more she thought about it alone in her room, the more it’s probably a good thing that Woojoo pointed this out to her.
If he hadn’t seen her as a friend, he wouldn’t have bothered to point this out to you, unlike the people she used to be friends with. She should take in their feedback and try to change. She wants to be loved. She wants to feel like she's deserving. She doesn’t want any friends to leave her, including Song Woojoo.
Probably when she apologised to him and slowly began to be more confident in herself. Not quite there yet, but at least she's relaxed and loosened up a bit more. Probably when he found himself a little bit more motivated to want to do better and start making goals, especially when it comes to the things that really matter to him. Probably when they notice their hearts seem to beat a little faster when they’re around each other. Or maybe it’s the slight blush of their cheeks whenever the other says or does something sweet.
In that case, there’s just one more question left.
Who is willing to take the plunge, to do something about their desire to be more than just a friend to the other?
If Rona is being completely honest, she didn’t expect to become friends with Woojoo, who’s ever so different from her. But then again, opposites could totally attract.
He’s super energetic- usually the one to start a conversation, both in-person and over the phone, even sending her encouraging messages and stickers over text (which she appreciates a lot). Rona makes sure to put in as much effort in her replies, although it can be hard when she’s preoccupied or too deep in her own thoughts. Still, she tries not to leave him hanging for too long, taking a maximum of two or three days to reply to his texts.
Like any other friendship, she definitely has moments where she argues with Woojoo. It can be pretty much anything- from their work to their opinions on a particular movie, or them just bantering for no particular reason. Even if they do get mad, they don’t stay mad for too long; apologise and make amends with food, and it’s all good to go.
As they grow closer to each other, they also begin hanging out much more frequently, to the point where Haerin and Jieun sometimes about Woojoo being a boyfriend. The reality is that they’ve simply grown so comfortable around each other (yes, that includes Woojoo’s annoying antics), they can pretty much do anything together.
•.♥ Rona sometimes brings Woojoo along to the lecture theatres to screen a movie on the projector screen- provided that the lecture theatres are left unlocked at night, of course.
•.♥ Speaking of watching movies, if they don’t like a movie they watch, expect them to be pausing the movie every now and then to rant about it.
•.♥ Rona sometimes treats Woojoo to a discount when he happens to come to Happy Bean Cafe when she’s on shift. Although he understands that Rona can’t serve him coffee on the house because the cafe needs to make a profit, it still doesn’t stop him from whining about it. Playfully, of course.
•.♥ He has made a sticker pack out of Rona’s unglam photos, which he occasionally uses when messaging her. Rona has strongly considered making a sticker pack out of Woojoo’s unglam photos in retaliation, but she’s never bothered to take unglam photos of Woojoo to begin with.
•.♥ If Haerin, Jieun or Eunchae aren’t free to go to art conventions or fairs, Woojoo is next on the list of persons she’ll ask to go. Mainly because she doesn’t really like the idea of going to conventions or fairs all by herself; it feels so lonely.
•.♥ Woojoo will occasionally surprise her with die-cut stickers or sticker sheets from shops or fairs he comes across.
•.♥ Woojoo is one of the few persons who Rona has shown her sticker collection to, even impressing him with the sheer number of stickers she has collected over the years and how much she’s spent on this hobby of hers. Needless to say, the latter of his opinion has earned him a sharp look from Rona- you’re willing to spend more when it comes to the things you like, after all.
•.♥ How does Rona keep herself so updated with happenings around campus? Just ask Woojoo, who pretty much knows at least one person across all the academic schools in Jeju University.
•.♥ Up to now, neither of Rona’s sisters know of Woojoo’s existence at her university.
•.♥ Speaking of watching movies, if they don’t like a movie they watch, expect them to be pausing the movie every now and then to rant about it.
•.♥ Rona sometimes treats Woojoo to a discount when he happens to come to Happy Bean Cafe when she’s on shift. Although he understands that Rona can’t serve him coffee on the house because the cafe needs to make a profit, it still doesn’t stop him from whining about it. Playfully, of course.
•.♥ He has made a sticker pack out of Rona’s unglam photos, which he occasionally uses when messaging her. Rona has strongly considered making a sticker pack out of Woojoo’s unglam photos in retaliation, but she’s never bothered to take unglam photos of Woojoo to begin with.
•.♥ If Haerin, Jieun or Eunchae aren’t free to go to art conventions or fairs, Woojoo is next on the list of persons she’ll ask to go. Mainly because she doesn’t really like the idea of going to conventions or fairs all by herself; it feels so lonely.
•.♥ Woojoo will occasionally surprise her with die-cut stickers or sticker sheets from shops or fairs he comes across.
•.♥ Woojoo is one of the few persons who Rona has shown her sticker collection to, even impressing him with the sheer number of stickers she has collected over the years and how much she’s spent on this hobby of hers. Needless to say, the latter of his opinion has earned him a sharp look from Rona- you’re willing to spend more when it comes to the things you like, after all.
•.♥ How does Rona keep herself so updated with happenings around campus? Just ask Woojoo, who pretty much knows at least one person across all the academic schools in Jeju University.
•.♥ Up to now, neither of Rona’s sisters know of Woojoo’s existence at her university.
OUT OF CHARACTER
COMMENTS
Oh my, I think I’m finally done with my girl. Hope you like her, and let me know if there’s anything for me to clarify or edit. Also, all ages stated in the app are as of 2022, and Woojoo and Kisung enlisted in the army after completing their first year at Jeju University ^^
SCENE REQUESTS
PASSWORD
To be honest, Rona doesn’t get along too well with any of the female RAs. Younggi is nice but reminds Rona a little too much of herself (although she does like her baked goods, especially her cookies), Haerim is someone she deems as a weirdo, and she barely sees Kyunghee around, let alone get to know her. But if she really has to pick one, she’ll go with Haerim, simply because of how chill she is, and she’ll probably look the other way if her friends end up staying overnight at her room.
Oh my, I think I’m finally done with my girl. Hope you like her, and let me know if there’s anything for me to clarify or edit. Also, all ages stated in the app are as of 2022, and Woojoo and Kisung enlisted in the army after completing their first year at Jeju University ^^
•.♥ Gaming night, with Rona joining in as a noob. Will she enjoy herself or rage quit? We shall have to see
•.♥ Rona and Woojoo bickering, and them making up shortly after that
•.♥ Rona hanging out with her friends and sometimes judging them
•.♥ Rona finally having a conversation with Mina, and patching things up with her
•.♥ Rona and Woojoo bickering, and them making up shortly after that
•.♥ Rona hanging out with her friends and sometimes judging them
•.♥ Rona finally having a conversation with Mina, and patching things up with her
To be honest, Rona doesn’t get along too well with any of the female RAs. Younggi is nice but reminds Rona a little too much of herself (although she does like her baked goods, especially her cookies), Haerim is someone she deems as a weirdo, and she barely sees Kyunghee around, let alone get to know her. But if she really has to pick one, she’ll go with Haerim, simply because of how chill she is, and she’ll probably look the other way if her friends end up staying overnight at her room.
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rona_aurora
#youth
#free
#awayfromhome
#pickmeup
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