full name seok junho (昔俊皓)

title second son of lord seonggeun, marquess of gyeongju; heir to the marquessate of gyeongju

courtesy earl of cheongdo

address lord (seok) junho

boulder junho (石巖 俊皓) used by friends and fellows at the gentlemen's club junho is a member of. the nickname originates from a ssireum tournament that he won in university, and references both the way he was immovable in the ring as well as his stubborn streak. it also doubles (triples?) as a bit of wordplay. this is extremely unfunny i'm sorry

lord of spring (春君子) lord seonggeun's children are sometimes collectively called "the four noble ones," named after the idioms 梅蘭菊竹 and 四君子. no one remembers exactly how it came about, but presumably it has to do with there being four of them total. whatever the reason, junho is the orchid—herald of spring, the season he was born in—with which he shares the virtue of humility, as well as his gentlemanly disposition. but that isn't what the nickname was always about; in fact, it first gained traction when he was much younger, and had a mocking tone. the irony of the name faded not long after he came of age, however, replaced by the more positive associations of recent. now it's used in society papers to talk about junho without explicitly naming him.

general nicknames all derived from his given name—jun, juni, and juno are the most common. they're reserved for his family, close family friends, his (future) wife, and particularly cheeky friends like bosun.

date of birth april 26, 1807 (twenty-six)

birthplace the seok estate, wolseong

hometown wolseong, gyeongju-si, gyeongsangbuk-do

fluent korean his native language. spending the majority of his life in gyeongju, his native accent is in line with the gyeongbuk dialect, however a good number of his private tutors came from the capital, so he has learned the gyeonggi dialect as well. he's able to switch between the two with ease, but favors the latter so as to be more universally understood.

intermediate chinese as the noblemen of europe might learn latin, french, and greek, junho learned chinese to read classical chinese literature and older korean texts. he has some experience speaking the language, but it's clear his strength lies in reading and writing.

basic english while speaking english as a skill has picked up traction among the noble class, the house of seok does not believe it will be pertinent in the future. for that reason, junho only learned a bit of the language in his formal education, so he can manage greetings, a brief self-introduction, and a few key phrases, but otherwise doesn't know much at all. basically, his english proficiency is likely lacking compared to his peers.

faceclaim hwang minhyun (nu'est)

backups kim taehyung (bts' v), han seungwoo (victon)

 

appearance largely resembles his fc, though junho has darker, more prominent moles (see: minhyun's makeup for inside out promos). always well put together with impeccable posture.

 

wardrobe reflecting the refinement expected of his house, junho's clothes are ever sensible and understated (or, as his sister kiho would say, "dull and uninteresting"). he avoids bright colors and patterns, opting instead for the standard dark blues, dark reds, and black. maybe dark green if he's feeling adventurous. until recently, though, he has been in slight mourning attire, consisting only of gray, black, and white clothes.

 

at home, his style isn't nearly as rigid. when he isn't in his riding attire, he's often seen walking through the halls in a shirt, trousers, and dressing gown, or jeogori, baji, and jungchimak.

 

overflowing with charm, just genuinely charismatic. he seems to have it all: looks, talent, intelligence, maturity / keeps his feelings in check at all times / behind closed doors, he's a bit more open and honest, but not by much. some might say he's a tad emotionally stunted? or at the very least has difficulty articulating his emotions / the reality, though, is that seok junho feels a lot, and that bothers him. thinks he should be able to have control of his emotions on the inside too / to quote 16personalities dot com: junho "may take emotions into consideration, but really only so far as to determine the most effective way to say what needs to be said." / i'm talking about his emotions a lot huh / detail-oriented, perfectionist, realistic, a problem-solver / high expectations he has for himself often bleed into what he expects from others / decisive / sometimes won't say he's changed his mind bc he doesn't want to be wrong—which is extremely irrational; he's aware of that, and he hates it / deep down there's a part of him that is a hopeless romantic

 

background the house of seok is a lineage that has stood the test of time; it's even in the name (the hanja for seok (昔) translates to "ancient"). in addition to its noble status, the house of seok prides itself on preserving the cultural traditions of korea, and so almost all members of the seok family learn skills tied to traditional instruments, sports, and art as children. in general, while the seok family is respected for its long, storied history, dedication to the crown, and wealth, it also has a reputation among the nobility for being a bit behind the times.

 

the second son of lord seok seonggeun, then the earl of cheongdo, junho was born 12 years after his half-brother seungho and four years after his half-sister yeonho (both products of the earl's first marriage). as a spare, junho would have to make his own way in the world, and because of his noble birth, respectable jobs were few and far between, each requiring a considerable amount of time and commitment. and so, his parents ensured that he would get a head start in the best way they could—through his education.

 

so, at eight years old, he was sent to the best boarding school available. unfortunately, his time there was cut short, as he contracted scarlet fever during an outbreak mere months after he arrived. against all odds, he survived both the illness itself and the intensity of treatment on a young child's body, but it left him with a weak constitution, and he was sent home to recuperate. from there, it was decided his schooling would be conducted at home indefinitely. unable to leave the estate often, as a preemptive measure, junho's bond with his siblings grew strong, but he became increasingly awkward and nervous while interacting with most everyone else. word of the social inept young lord seok quickly spread through the court, followed by doubts that he would find any success when he became a young man. for if he had none of the qualities befitting a gentleman as a child, how likely would it be for him to develop them later on?

 

as junho grew up, his parents did their best to maintain the appearance of a loving, happy couple before the peerage, but early on, junho learned they were anything but. from the 15 year between them to constant verbal disputes, and a fundamental disagreement on how to best raise their children (and, in his mother's case, her stepchildren, including a stepson only a few years younger than her), they simply could not get along. that, of course, contradicted the idea of marriage junho learned about in literature, where loving—or at least functional—partnerships were abound. over time, he came to the conclusion that a loving marriage was nothing more than a fantasy. and seok junho was not one to dwell on fantasies for long, even when he was young.

 

in 1820, with the passing of junho's paternal grandfather, lord seonggeun became the latest marquess of gyeongju. once the previous marquess' affairs were in order, however, his father was elected to be one of the royal family's advisors, a job that would leave him in hanyang for most of the year. his mother, junho noticed, seemed much happier without her husband around, from then on free to run the household as she saw fit. for the most part, anyway.

 

two years later, when junho was 15, his older sister yeonho entered society with a splash, as expected. she had always been a sociable, well-mannered young lady, and even before she was able to join the social season, there was talk of how beautiful she was. in the days following the first event of the social season, countless suitors lined up at their residence, and before the year's end, she was married. yeonho's absence from their family home saddened junho greatly, but at least they could communicate through letters.

 

junho continued his studies at home until he turned eighteen, growing stronger with each passing year. he went on to study in hanyang, first for university, then an inns of court for law school to pursue a career as a barrister. by leaving his family's estate for an extended period for the first time, junho had the opportunity to reinvent himself. following a bit of guidance he received in his youth, he chose to do so, and flourished for it: he put himself out there, made connections, overcame his awkwardness. in time, the reserved, hesitant second son of the marquess of gyeongju was gone, and the self-assured lord seok junho of today stood in his place.

since entering society at age 21, junho's time each season has been entirely uneventful. without a title to his name, and because he planned to begin a career where he wouldn't find much success for the first decade or so, few parents saw him as a viable match for their daughters. and, if they did, it was out of desperation. in the end, though, there were always more fitting alternatives. not that mattered to junho; marriage was the last thing on his mind.

 

in the fall of 1832, following his graduation from law school earlier that year, junho was preparing for the bar exam. however, after an urgent letter from his father arrived, commanding he return home but not explaining why, junho returned to gyeongju. upon his arrival, junho learned what happened: his older brother had disappeared. in the letter seungho left, he claimed to have grown weary of the vanity of high society and wished to live a life of his own making, far from the kingdom. in hindsight, there were signs that things would turn out as they did. seungho had always been a bit flighty—while he understood that he had a duty as a first-born son to take over the marquess' duties one day, he joined the military anyway. he once admitted to junho that his engagement to his wife lasted as long as it did (over a year) because he didn't want to commit. the list went on. still, no one thought seungho would simply flee into the night as he did.

 

in the days that followed, events moved quickly. his sister-in-law and nieces moved out of their home in cheongdo and into the seok estate's guest rooms. junho sat with his father and his father's steward in the study for hours, deliberating with them over their next move. eventually, the three of them settled on fabricating a story, for garnering sympathy would be better than a scandal. up to that point, seungho was a major of the royal cavalry, someone who should be remembered with honor and dignity.

 

and so it was declared: while traveling abroad, major seok came down with an illness and suddenly passed away. valets of the house had already left to claim his body, so he may be properly put to rest, but his distance from home meant it would take time. there were questions, of course. where was the major headed, and why? what illness did he succumb to? among others. but it would be indecent to question a grieving family too much, would it not?

 

following a symbolic lie in state and private funeral, the marquess promptly announced junho as the new heir, and junho's life took a significant turn. instead of the path of law and order, he had to take on the mantle of heir apparent, which among an array of responsibilities included something he had never thought about seriously before: marriage. after all, as the only other man in his immediate family, continuing the seok family line became all the more crucial.

 

most importantly, though, junho must pretend that everything is fine.

 

01 mostly shows his affection through acts of service and quality time. also physical touch, to a certain extent. the love languages are fake anyway

02 in addition to his schooling, junho learned sword techniques, calligraphy, and gwonbeop when he was younger.

03 his favorite pastimes are reading, playing board games, horseback riding, fencing, and gambling.

04 currently owns two horses: yagwang, an 11 year old gray andalusian mare, and bori, a 6 year old black percheron gelding. yagwang is junho's hack, who he's had since he was 15, while bori is a (now retired) warhorse who belonged to seungho.

05 on most days, junho fills in his eyebrows. they're naturally sparse and don't compliment his features quite like more defined brows would.

06 junho is a member of a gentleman's club called scholar's subject to change, also wow i'm bad at naming things. the club is open to all academics, though a large portion of its membership consists of law students, barristers, and judges. scholar's main attraction is the library and its extensive collection of works, though the club has a bar and a couple parlor rooms as well. junho was elected to the club nearly three years ago, and spent almost every evening there when he was in law school. during the season, he cuts this down to one or two nights a week.

07 ever punctual, junho has a pocketwatch he always keeps on his person. it was a gift from his brother he received some years ago.

08 has outgrown the more long-term effects of his childhood illness, save for especially rigorous exercise; he tires and feels winded just a bit more quickly than others in that case. but it can easily be remedied with a short rest.

09 the cover up of seungho's disappearance had the unfortunate, though anticipated, consequence of bringing the seok family's health into question—the previous marquess had a physician on standby because of frequent issues in his final years, junho narrowly survived scarlet fever as a child, and seungho apparently died from mysterious illness. some have begun to wonder: "why are the men of house seok so sickly?"

00 here