hong minsu

sunburned & unkissed

[goalsets]

hello ! the party ended an hour ago and he’s still here /ref. i’m pearl (s/h) and i’m bringing you hong minsu (hiraeth's lead dancer, vocalist, and rapper). more info can be found under the cut, but in the meantime here's a quick tl;dr:

soccer prodigy turned hiraeth's very own personality hire (?). left a very promising sports career to be an idol. everything's still romantic, right?

please give this a * twice vc * heart heart if you'd like me to hit up your dms !

THE BASICS .

FULL  NAME.     hong minsu     AGE     .    twenty - seven  ( 27 )  GENDER  +  PRONOUNS     .   cis  man,  he  +  him     ORIENTATION     .   tbd    .     TRAITS     .   easy-going, sensitive, charming, confident, impulsive, spoiled, curious, mercurial, warm, outgoing, romantic, creative, fearless, secure.

HISTORY .

minsu is a surprise baby to two parents who are old enough to have gotten their shit together. pros: a stable upbringing, in terms of both emotional and financial security. cons: it's a lonely childhood, in that his siblings are so much older than him... they don't really grow up together.

his parents sign him up for soccer lessons and it's initially just one of many extracurriculars, but it becomes his entire life. long story short, with his determination and his parents' support, he's able to put everything into his dream; he's signed up for soccer camps, begins training with prodigious coaches, and qualifies for junior programs abroad. it's his first love, and he willingly lets it consume his entire life.

then, one summer, he visits his cousin in seoul, and he falls head first into the world of hongdae's underground music scene. and then, even after he leaves, he can't stop thinking about it. it's not that he falls out of love with soccer, but he can't help but think: what if? he's in brazil, and he lays in bed listening to songs on his ipod that remind him of home. his soundcloud playlist of his favorite k-indie songs keeps growing. when he goes to noraebangs with childhood friends back home in jeju, they laugh when he sings a ballad a little too earnestly. and he laughs along, but he can't help but feel a pang in his heart. it's more important to him than he likes to admit, but he recognizes the feeling in his chest for what it is — longing.

he ends auditioning over 50 times before he's accepted as a trainee for apex entertainment.

THENEXT ( survival show era ) .

is a fan favorite in thenext (undeniable, even if there were 3 ppl who ranked higher than him 😒 /silly)! he's one of the newer trainees at that point (has only been at apex for 3-4 months), but he's notable for his fast-improving dance skills (#footwork) and receptiveness to critique and feedback from judges — all skills that carried over from his soccer background. ranks low for the first few episodes, but it goes up steadily with every challenge.

moreover, he wins viewers' hearts with how great he is in keeping morale up. most of the other trainees don't see him as a threat, at first, and he keeps his hands full making sure other kids have enough time to both practice and relax/have fun. has a viral moment or two making himself look like a fool in the practice room just to make the other trainees laugh. comforted other trainees when the stress got to them and they needed a shoulder to cry on.

DEBUT - CURRENT DAY .

debuts. hiraeth are quickly dubbed as monster rookies, and all eyes are on them and their live stages. and very quickly, fans are reminded of minsu's relatively short trainee period. while his dance skills are solid enough that he can keep up with their very energetic debut choreos, there are a few stages (that antis bring up for years afterwards) where his breath support is lacking. very quickly there is a good swath of haven fans who had tried to give the final lineup a chance, but their patience ran out very quickly. like. maybe minsu shouldn't have ended up in the final lineup. what about our pick who ended up getting edged out for 6th or 7th place ?

luckly it blows over eventually, in part because minsu doesn't let others see it phase him — both fans and antis alike. he quietly devotes more time with vocal coaches. it seems like he moves on, so eventually antis do too. it takes years though, and sometimes his live stages are still viewed with scrutiny.

image-wise, at debut, he was not quite solemn or experienced enough to be a pseudo-leader, nor was he quite luminous enough to be a fake maknae. he's silly but unfortunately his favorite brand of humor is the type in which his target audience is himself (which endears him to his fans/friends, but does not go as far as to impress variety show hosts and the larger public). he values his privacy. all in all, this leads to adagio somewhat struggling on how to market him, especially as memory fades of both his past soccer career and his performance on the show. however, his diligence and #goodpersonality keeps him relatively well-liked. pretty scandal free, as well.

eventually, adagio signs him up for acting classes (which is one part due to his promising performances in concept skits and music videos, and one part just throwing a dart on the board). and the projects he ends up gets cast in are well received! which is great! but he's still highkey in it for the music.

OTHER NOTES .

athlete at heart. team-oriented. thrives off of healthy competition.

he was never the most popular member at debut or even now, but he's never been in this for fame (it'd be a lie to say that he's not enticed by starpower a bit, though, of course). while he feeds the parasocialism beast from time to time (i.e. saying that the members feel like siblings, flirting with fans for the camera from time to time), he's known to value his privacy (think: twice dahyun). he aimed for more screentime on thenext because that meant debut, but he doesn't mind letting his members take the shine now.

he seems easy-going, but he's not afraid to make sacrifices in pursuit of what he loves. he doesn't believe in looking back at roads not taken with regret, just reflection.

has a very distinctive/contagious laugh haven loves to tease him for.

essentially, he gave up a promising career he was considered to be a prodigy in (soccer) for a promising career he was not so good at but loved anyway (a music performer). but all in all, it's not going too shabby.

WANTED PLOTS .

hiraeth members! i'd love any kind of plot, but i'd love love a plot or two where their dynamic has developed over time — the kind of bonds that form when you unleashing angsty teens in a battle royale for their dream careers.

gym buddies ! soccer fans/buddies.

exes! the one that got away! whew!

99 line friendship plss

[goalsets]

closed for @lovelettersbymio lynk con, mix & match set

minsu enters the set, aware of the cameras already rolling and positioned on him, but even then, his curiosity to see which idol he's been paired with is genuine. so, too, is his delight when he sees that it's kismet's mio round the corner on the other side of the set. while he does not yet know the rookie idol too well, they had met previously when kismet was filming challenges for "jellyous". and from what he's seen so far, he likes mio's spirit. and her streak of sadism, if he thinks about how high energy her choreography was.

he turns to mio, bowing with an easy smile. "hello, mio," he says. he walks, as he was previously directed, to a jenga block tower at the center of the set. it easily surpasses even his height, and he expects that his taller stature will likely be to his advantage ... "have you played jenga before?"

after her response, he reads the rules to their mini-game: each block has a challenge. they have to pass the challenge, and if producers don't think they passed the challenge correctly — they must pull another block. of course, whoever topples the tower loses. "ladies first?"

[xgteez]

Jiung | DUH! @ KGMA | cr

[goalsets]

closed for @yujininabottle a restaurant in seoul, july 2026

places like these are the places where minsu feels most free. in front of a charcoal-lit grill with one of his closest friends, within the city he calls home but without the prying eyes of the public. the staff here knows that he and yujin are idols—in the way that the owner always comments on how handsome they look and the way that their respective signatures are on past album copies kept near the entrance—but they're afforded their privacy. they're sat closer to the kitchen, further from the busier section in the front. they're allowed to be themselves, be anonymous. they're just like any other two friends you can find in seoul in their twenties, catching up after a long workday. in hong minsu's case, when it comes to chae yujin, he can use this opportunity to be a loving and doting thorn in his side.

"yujin, you're looking extra handsome today," minsu says, as he does whenever he sees yujin. yes, water is wet. grass is green. yujin is still unfairly easy on the eyes, even if he's dressed in a more inconspicuous outfit and not styled for a red carpet or a magazine shoot. "how have you been?"

[hedreaming]

we're going to be friends / @yoursummer backdated to 2022, iseul & minsu meet for the first time at a salon after minsu mentioned wanting to be iseul's friend on a variety show.

iseul was having that usual day of preparing for upcoming schedules. todays just happened to be one of the ones where he had to go to the salon and get something new done to his hair. he was pretty sure it was something simple, in a sense, and not actually involving any dye or at least any bleach. which, truth be told, iseul was always thankful because he really liked getting to keep his natural color. sure, it was a bit boring, but it was easy to maintain, and he always felt more like himself when his hair was dark.

though, the times he's been blond have been fun. he just was never quite a fan of bleaching his hair and the upkeep that went along with being blond. he's not quite sure he really believes whoever decided that blonds have more fun because he did not have more fun when he was blond, that was for sure. at least, that was just iseul's opinion on that.

nonetheless, he did his usual greeting with the staff, the small talks that they did. it was the simple things, iseul had gotten used to that sort of small talk that he had to do. though, he just felt lucky that it's a hair stylist that he's come to known now, and he doesn't have to feel awkward talking to a brand new person. that was always something that the "secret" introvert wanted to avoid, to be perfectly honest. though, his stylist always seemed to understand such. a secret knowing between the two.

when he's sat down in the chair after his hair is washed, then curled around the rods, and the perm is applied, he doesn't have much to do. his eyes look in the mirror towards the person next to him. then it clicks in his mind that it's minsu of hiraeth. which then reminds him that he saw the clip where the other had mentioned to wanted to be his friend. so, iseul decided that he should push his introvertness aside, and speak to the other.

"hi," he greets, giving a small bow from his seat to the other. "it's minsu, right?"

[goalsets]

there's something comforting about a hair salon. sure, this stylist is much younger and much more stylish than the shop owner at the salon he and his family frequented in his childhood. this current stylist, after all, has silver earrings on both ears that dangle like stars, and one of his eyebrows (currently furrowed in concentration) has a slit through it. but the smell of perm solution, the tiny cuttings of hair on the floor, the rhythmic snips from the scissors — those are all the same. he's spent many a salon visit nodding off in these plush black chairs.

his hair is back to black, and will be for the forseeable future, much to his hairstylist's relief. but the damage from years of bleaching, dyeing, and heat styling means salon visits are as much of a necessity as ever. or at least, that's what the hairstylist has been repeating to him, and minsu's inclined to believe him.

minsu is prone to spending his salon visits talking about everything and anything with his hairstylist, but now they're at the point where they're waiting for his keratin treatment to sit in his hair and work its magic. his head swivels to one side when he hears his name. it takes only a moment for him to place the other idol's features.

"oh, hello!" minsu says. he mirrors the other's bow and a smile curves his lips. "iseul! it's nice to see you."

[djotime]

Visit Original Link

[goalsets]

lynk.com/profiles/minsu-hiraeth-profile

stage name: minsu (민수) birth name: hong minsu (홍민수) position: lead dancer, vocalist, rapper birthday: february 27, 1999 zodiac sign: pisces chinese zodiac sign: rabbit height: 178 cm (5'10") weight: – blood type: o nationality: korean

minsu facts: – he was born in jeju, south korea. – he has two older siblings. – before becoming a trainee, minsu had wanted to be a professional football player. – when he was a younger, he spent two years living in brazil to attend a football school, but moved back to korea for high school. – following high school, he was accepted at gwangju university in 2017 to study physical education and play for the university's football team, but he convinced his parents to push back his enrollment for a year to let him attend open auditions in seoul after graduation. – he became a trainee in 2017. he auditioned over 50 times at multiple companies including kh entertainment and dsn entertainment before becoming an apex entertainment trainee. – he was a trainee for 2.5 months before filming of thenext began. – he earned 4th place on the final of thenext. – according to members, minsu rarely cries. – his representative emoticon is 🐯. – he can speak korean, portuguese, and english. – if minsu was a girl, he wouldn’t date any of his members. – as of 2023, he has two pet guinea pigs — sully and mike, after the characters from monsters, inc, which is his favorite movie. – minsu's ideal type is "someone with pretty eyes who likes him best".

show more minsu fun facts…

[jiung-s]

Jiung ☹ SAD SONG (240921)

[gaeulz]

[hwanwooyoung]

"r u crazy?"

[jiung-s]

Jiung ☆ Killin' It (240208)