Jungwon (Wonly // Lienwon)
Early on, due to only meeting Jungwon once they began the show, Lien felt very resentful of Jungwon, and jealous. He was obviously a favorite of everyone, and while it was with good reason, she often felt less than and inadequate against his talents, especially since he’s younger than her. Through the show they grew closer, working together to reach the final group, lending to the great respect she has for him.
Heeseung (Lynnhee // Lienhee // 01z)
Heeseung is her closest friend from her trainee days. They trained together for a long time and when she first started, she struggled to communicate with nearly everyone until she met Heeseung, who often translated for her with his knowledge in English. She’s been thankful for him and they’ve remained close ever since.
They argued and fought when they first met, having such distinctly different personalities. They didn’t care for each other at all and it became a point of contention among the other contestants on the show, especially Heeseung, when he realized how much they disliked each other. Only once they were placed in a performance group together did they realize they had to put their differences aside, working together to do well. Their performance was considered one of the best that round, bringing them closer together.
Unbeknownst to Lien, Jake was very intimidated by her. He felt very awkward and uncomfortable when he would speak with her, for many reasons. He respected her talents and found her very beautiful, not to mention she’s older than him. Only once the group was put together did Jake tell her about it, endearing Lien to him. They’ve since grown a close relationship in which Lien often dotes on Jake.
Sunghoon (Hoonly // Lienhoon)
Their personalities are the most similar and they tease each other often. Lien’s always found the way Sunghoon’s humor pivots between dry and dad jokes so fun, making it fun to see which one is going to come out if she keeps picking at him. They play around often, many times getting caught on the show playing around between filmings when they shouldn’t have been. Sunghoon does also listen to her well though.
Sunoo (Sunly // Sunflower)
Her sweet boy, her baby. Sunoo’s always been her most precious boy, even when they were on the show it was rare you would see one of them without the other, oftentimes with Lien wrapping her arms around him from behind, chin on his shoulder. Some people wondered if there was something going on between the older girl and him but it was truly just a very close, sweet friendship. Back then, at least. Lien considers herself Sunoo’s protector, she’ll defend Sunoo to the death if necessary.
Her baby part 2, but as he’s been growing older it’s been harder and harder for her to baby him. During Blessed-Cursed promos they had a little bit of a rift in their relationship, as Niki was growing up and Lien was having a hard time coming to terms with it but she’s since gotten used to the fact that she has to stop babying Niki so much. He’s grown so much, but still comes back to Lien whenever he wants to be taken care of, back hugging her to keep her close whenever he’s feeling small.
Jungwon (Jungsa // Chaewon)
Faith trusts Jungwon with her whole heart. She’s never met someone so sure of themselves, so absolutely certain of every choice he makes, and so talented and giving that she just can’t imagine a better leader for their group. She’s always known him to be the best choice for the future group, even if she didn’t make it. Jungwon appreciates his noona’s trust in him and tries his best to always look out for his sensitive noona no matter what to pay her back.
Heeseung (Heesa // Chaeseung)
She’s his baby, always has been. Even when they were in the show together, Heeseung would be the one to catch her when she would fall, and would remind her not to let the show stop her from living her dreams. Faith didn’t have a lot of faith in herself while she was on the show but Heeseung was a pillar to her, someone she could lean on when she didn’t know what she was doing. He often guided her towards being her better self and still does, she looks up to him a lot.
When she didn’t know anyone who would understand her, she would gravitate to Jay, who would always meet her in the middle. Both being North American born, they could understand each other in ways some others couldn’t, and still do. In a sea of uncertainty and bogged with homesickness, Jay would share anecdotes about Seattle with her and let her tell him all about Toronto, different sides of the continent but sewn together by an understanding no one else has. It brings them close together.
Both having trained only a short period and feeling far, far out of their depths, they clung to each other on the show and still do. Sometimes they’ll just end up in their own little world, giggling in English over nothing at all, playing around together often. They’re the kind of pairing that it’s hard to find one without the other, Jake or Faith trailing one another around during shootings or promotions just so they don’t lose the other one. They’re each other’s comfort person in this terrifying thing they’re both taking on together.
Sunghoon (Cheonhoon // Chaehoon)
When they first met, Faith was the most intimidated by Sunghoon, the elegance of his features, his cold appearance. Their language barrier often felt difficult to cross as well, as Faith often felt like her Korean fell quite a bit short of fluent. Sunghoon was the one who told her otherwise though, that her Korean was quite good, crossing the gap between the two of them. Sunghoon knows that Faith is the softest of the girls, the fastest to tears, and considers it part of his duty as her oppa to take good care of her.
Sunoo (Sunsa // Chaesun // 03z)
They’ve been best friends since they met, immediately syncing up. They’re the same age, they’re both water signs, they’re both quite sensitive, it’s like they’re meant to be friends. They’re so alike the others often joke that they were separated at birth. They both know it’s not true, they have certain things that are so definitely different from each other but it’s airtight, their relationship. Faith doesn’t know that she would’ve wanted to keep going without Sunoo.
Niki (Cheonki // Rikiyeong)
Niki considers Faith more of a friend than a noona. She doesn’t act like a noona towards him, she regards him in the same way as Jungwon and Sunoo, hardly thinking twice about treating like he’s the same age as her. He thinks it might have something to do with how she was raised back in Canada, but he doesn’t give it much thought, because he likes the way that Faith has never looked at him as a baby. They treat each other well and play together often, often giving each other piggybacks due to both being on the taller side.
Jungwon (Jungyeon // Hyeonwon)
With Hyeon being the only girl in the group that’s younger than him, Jungwon feels a great sense of responsibility for her. Hyeon may be more bold and outgoing than Faith but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t need protecting, being the least experienced and one of the youngest of the whole group. Hyeon looks up to Jungwon as an oppa and a leader, aspiring to be as good as he is one day.
Heeseung (Heehyeon // Hyeonseung)
Early on, Heeseung felt there was a great, big insurmountable gap between himself and Hyeon. Fans and staff would coo over them when they were together but Heeseung felt strange and uncertain around her, since she was so much younger and a girl. Over the years, they’ve grown closer and even play together, in the dorm and on stage. Hyeon used to be shy and intimidated by him, lending to the strange stilted way they used to regard each other, but since working and living together they’ve gotten close, making Heeseung feel all the more protective over her.
Jay (Jayhyeon // Jonghyeon)
Jay has always felt an intense sense of protection over Hyeon. She was one of the youngest even when they were on the show, always making Jay feel like he should be looking out for her, only made stronger when they both made it into the final group. They’ve argued about this before, whether or not Jay saw Hyeon as a young woman or just a little girl, causing Jay to relent a little bit on his protective streak. Still, old habits die hard and, as much as Hyeon doesn’t want to admit it, whenever she feels lost she finds Jay’s steady presence comforting.
Jake (Jakehyeon // Jaehyeon)
Hyeon is his favorite play partner. Maybe it’s because they both grew up only children, but they gravitate towards each other like kids on a playground that have never had a playdate before. If left alone, they will play, teasing and picking on one another, pulling-pigtails type stuff from Jake while Hyeon will roughhouse back. Jungwon has scolded the both of them before, the two of them trying to act like they weren’t just about to ruin the other’s stage outfits in the green room.
Sunghoon (Sunghyeon // Hyeonhoon)
She is his baby, his precious girl, his princess, his sweetness. Sunghoon isn’t usually one for skinship or tenderness but what Hyeon wants Hyeon gets. He’ll cave if she so much as blinks her big eyes at him, Sunghoon willing to go into debt to get her anything she wants. And Hyeon feels the same way about Sunghoon, he’s her prince charming, the oppa that she runs to if she needs anything, especially a shoulder to cry on. They met in training and Sunghoon was heartbroken at the very idea that they might not debut together, he was thrilled when they did.
Sunoo (Sunhyeon // Hyeonoo)
Their personalities are vastly different, causing them to bicker frequently. Not a day goes by that Sunoo and Hyeon aren’t having some petty disagreement about something or bothering one another just for the fun of it. They are the true Tom & Jerry of the group, prodding and poking at one another just to get a rise. It’s childish and Jungwon and Heeseung have both suggested separating them before if they can’t play nicely.
Niki (Nikiyeon // Hyeonki // Maknaez // 05z)
Hyeon and Niki have always been close, ever since the very beginning, in training and the show. Despite Niki’s remedial understanding of Korean at the start and Hyeon only knowing a little bit of Japanese, their friendship seemed to defy the language barrier. They’ve been thick and thieves ever since, and everyone in the group is constantly on the defensive against whatever harebrained schemes these two dancing maknaes have come up with against them. Apart, they’re menaces. Together, they’re an unstoppable force of evil.