:*:･ﾟ( JUNG JIHOON. THIRTY SEVEN. CIS MALE. HE/HIM. ) ( LEE MINKI ) is a ’ ( ‘82 ) liner from ( DAEGU, SOUTH KOREA ) and originally debuted in (‘99 ). they are a ( DANCE ) mentor and are known for being ( A SOLOIST ). fans say that they are ( + DEDICATED, + CREATIVE AND + PASSIONATE ) but they can also be ( - UNFORGIVING, - BLUNT AND -RETICENT ). .
hey guys, this is minki! i don’t have any plots up for him, so i’m always up for brainstorming! or if you have any plots you want for your muses, we can work something out. if you’d prefer to talk on d*sc*rd, feel free to add me at wontokki#4732
tw: death, child abuse, child neglect
being born on christmas day should be the best christmas gift parents could ever ask for, especially after years of wishing and praying for a child of their own. unfortunately for ha minki’s parents, that was not the case. specifically his mother. his mother passed away during childbirth, something that his father didn’t take very well. he saw minki as the reason for the death of his wife, and he began to resent him. it only grew worse over time because as minki grew, he began to look more and more like his mother. by the time he was eight years old, his father couldn’t stand the sight of him, and sent him off to live with his grandparents, who were diehard catholics.
they forced their religious views on him. every morning he would be forced to wake up before dawn and say his “morning prayers” and every evening he would have to say prayers after dinner and before bed. not to mention having to say the rosary in the middle of the day. he was forced to go to a conservative catholic school, so they had daily masses that were mandatory. by the time he was eleven years old, he knew the bible like the back of his hand, something that he wasn’t proud to admit.
even though he had catholicism shoved down his throat, he still couldn’t bring himself to believe in most of what they preached or practiced. things just didn’t seem to add up in his mind, and whenever he voiced his opinions on the matter, he would be punished. punishments usually consisted of him being locked in a tiny closet filled with religious figures and pictures for hours on end. he had to read the bible and pray while kneeling in front of a giant cross. and if he fell asleep and his grandparents found him asleep, he would be beaten.
that didn’t do anything but push him further and further away from his grandparents and religion as a whole. the only ties to religion he had at that point was the church choir he was in, and he wasn’t about to give that up. being in the choir was the only silver lining to it all. he loved to sing. singing was his escape from it all. whenever he was trapped in that tiny closet, he would keep little pieces of paper that he would write lyrics on tucked in the floorboards, and he would sing to himself to pass the time.
it wasn’t until he was thirteen that his life started to turn around for the better. he had always been a dancer since he was a young kid, but he had ended up joining a dance troop. and usually, that dance troop would dance during church services. that was how a scouter found him. as soon as mass had ended, he was approached by her, and was told how talented he was and how much potential he had. his grandparents were there, and of course they shut the woman down before she could even give them her card. there was no way that they would let their grandson get involved in the music industry and go down a path of destruction.
of course, minki didn’t listen. he took the woman’s card anyway, something he was later punished for at home. but he knew that it was his ticket out of his grandparents’ house. it was also his ticket to pursuing his dream. he didn’t really care about being an idol, all he cared about was the music, and if his grandparents had taught him anything, it’s that god, or whatever higher power is out there, made things happen for a reason. he figured that was a sign to do it.
so unbeknownst to his grandparents, he got on the subway and went back to his childhood home. his father technically still had custody over him, so it was his decision to sign the papers to allow minki to start the training process. his father almost slammed the door in his face as soon as he saw him, but minki was able to convince him not too. it surprisingly didn’t take him a long time to convince his father to sign the papers. he didn’t want anything to do with him anymore after the death of his mother, so his father was more than happy to get rid of him for good. when he was with his grandparents, he was still technically under his father’s care. now he got to relinquish all of his rights to minki as a guardian - not that minki particularly cared. he hadn’t seen his father as a father figure his entire life, so it wasn’t a major loss for him.
his grandparents kicked up a huge fuss about him becoming a trainee, but there wasn’t anything they could say or do about it, especially since it was minki’s father who signed the papers. for the first time in a very long time, minki was happy. he was finally going to be able to do what he loved to do - dance and sing. sure it wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but at least it was a starting off point. if he could make it as an idol, that would open so many doors for him to become so much more.
in february of 1999, minki debuted as renegade’s leader, main dancer, lead vocalist, center and face of the group. during this time, they were a successful group up until their disbandment in 2004. it was also during this time that minki started his own solo career and his popularity skyrocketed, which led to rumors of his newfound popularity being the reason behind renegade’s disbandment. after parting ways from the group, minki continued to expand his career, becoming one of the most well known idols in the industry. he dabbled in acting, modeling, mc’ing and hosting. you could rarely turn anywhere without seeing his face splashed across a tv screen or billboard.
it was march of 2013 when minki’s face and name was splashed across tabloids and articles, but for the wrong reasons. netizens were ripping into him left and right. why? because he was in the middle of a scandal. what scandal? him getting a girl pregnant. nothing could be proven, but just the speculation of it all was enough to put minki in hot water. it took months for his label to clean up that mess.
even though the whole scandal had been written off as rumor, it was anything but. it was one hundred percent true. minki had gotten a girl pregnant, his secret girlfriend at the time. and he was actually happy about it. he had always wanted to be a father, he had always wanted to prove that he could be a better father than his own, but he wouldn’t get the chance to. as soon as his label found out, they paid the girl off and told her to get rid of it or get lost. and to minki’s surprise, she actually listened and did the latter. not only did she leave him, but she took his child with her and he hasn’t heard from her since.
since then, minki has become more closed off and reserved. the whole situation really hurt him deeply, and he feels as though he can’t trust anyone after that. he can’t trust anyone with his heart anymore, so he’s closed it off. the only ones that know the truth about what happened back then are his closest friends and the people at the label who handled the situation, and that’s how he wants to keep it. he even tries to forget about it himself, although sometimes he can’t help but think about some little boy or girl out there running around with his eyes and nose.
why did he join the unit as a mentor? it’s simple - the money is good, he was bored, and he figured it would be a good chance to get his name out there again before he releases another album or acts in another movie or drama.
