it’s yaya again and i'm back with another updated intro ! this time, it's my boi haneul's turn. hit me up on @xojinnie if you have any questions or want to plot.
— welcome to infinite entertainment! it's CHOI HANEUL, who is the SECURITY of SOLOIST #1. i’ve heard whispers that the 29 year old is pretty DARING but lowkey BLUNT. also, doesn’t he remind you of KIM TAEHYUNG?
ABOUT — PINTEREST — PLOTS
UPBRINGING
haneul doesn’t really remember his birth parents — but his birth certificate had him listed as born on may 20th, 1995 in busan, south korea. at the age of three, he was left on the doorsteps of a gorgeous house in the seoungbuk district after his parents were no longer able to handle the financial and mental burden of being parents. he never heard from them again.
the wealthy owners of the house ( the choi family ) took him in. his mother struggled with pregnancies in the past, and the two were desperate for a son of their own. haneul being left on their doorstep was a perfectly timed opportunity that landed in their laps. within the first year, they adopted him.
however, haneul's position as the crowning jewel was short-lived. two years after he found his way to the chois, his mother got pregnant. she gave birth to haneul's adoptive brother and suddenly, he was no longer of much interest to them. as he got older, he felt like the black sheep of the family, like some glaring mistake in otherwise perfection. the conservative friends of his parents treated him like the ugly stepchild. and it didn't help that his parents constantly compared him to his brother, the biological pure son.
in response, haneul began to act out. being abandoned at such a young age had already scarred his psyche, and now being ignored and treated as less then only made the matters worse. it seemed like he didn't quite fit anywhere in this world and he was tired of trying. if the environment he grew up in was going to treat him like a misfit, then he might as well play the part.
haneul was considered a naturally intelligent child but growing up, he spent more time getting into trouble than actually focusing in school. fights, destruction of property, wild parties. . . acting out seemed to be the only way he didn't feel numb to his new situation. as he got older and more audacious, his parents became crueler and more withdrawn from him, unsure how to handle his unruly behavior. in their mind, this insolent outsider was making their lives living hell — so they were simply returning the favor.
the main thing that was a comfort to haneul during his childhood and teenage years was music. he loved listening to it, loved making it, loved performing to it. he listened to songs about anger, pain, and hurt and suddenly, it felt like there was someone out there who understood him. it became his form of escapism.
after reaching his wit’s end with being stifled by his supposed "family", a sixteen year old haneul tried his luck at an audition to become a trainee at infinite entertainment. he wasn’t the best there was but he had enough passion, mystery, and visual to make it in. no longer wanting to deal with him, his adoptive parents willingly agreed to let him move to seoul to train and were quick to disown the young man the moment he stepped out of the door with his bags.
TRAINEE YEARS AND DOWNFALL — drugs & alcohol tw
haneul just wanted to focus on the music. that was all that mattered to him. but upon becoming a trainee, he soon realized that he was giving up something he loved dearly: his freedom. there were so many restrictions. no drinking, no tattoos, no anything. it all became so suffocating and reminded him of the oppressed home he'd just left behind. with every rule added, he had a stronger desire to break them.
so, he did. he partied hard. he got tattoos in hidden places the staff couldn’t find. he snuck out every night. soon enough, haneul got the reputation as the trainee to "watch out for". he was known as being too careless, too arrogant, and too selfish. all that mattered to him was what he wanted. his desire to rebel quite frankly pissed off his potential future members. here they were, granted with an opportunity of a lifetime, and han was operating like a complete lost soul.
truth was, he simply didn’t know where he belonged. he knew it wasn’t with his family. he thought it would be here, surrounded by music. but it didn’t seem to matter where he was, han felt empty. and he was beginning to realize, maybe he didn’t belong anywhere. the realization was depressing as fuck. to cope with it, haneul partied way too hard one night and ended up having to be transported to the hospital after being found passed out by a peer.
after being treated for a non-fatal overdose, haneul was promptly kicked out of infinite as a trainee. he was nineteen at the time, eight months from debuting. since he would no longer debut and was in breach of his trainee contract, he now owed the company approximately 335 million won for the loss and for his expenses while being trained. infinite offered him a chance to work on the staff side of things. 50% of each of his paycheck would be returned to the company as repayment until the debt was paid. essentially, the offer was for haneul to do a shit ton of labor at a very minimum wage.
haneul initially refused to swallow his pride. he told the company to go fuck itself and told them he’d find another way to pay them back. however, his now tainted reputation followed him around seoul. no other idol company wanted to take in a flight risk and even the regular every day jobs weren’t fond that he had a record. realizing he’d be royally screwed either way, haneul reluctantly agreed to the initial offer from infinite.
A CHANGE — drugs & alcohol tw
after losing something that was so important to him, haneul spiraled out of control at the start of his twenties. his new job with infinite involved a lot of unglamorous grunt work, which was overwhelming and exhausting. that paired with the stress of his debt made things hard for him mentally. despite the terrifying incident he experienced, the young man continued to turn to drugs and alcohol as a way to deal with the shitstorm that had become his life.
due to a mere random encounter, the darkness in his life offered a beacon of light in the form of kim seonhwa. they met on new year's eve at a party and there was a pretty immediate connection. the two began to date and eventually fell in love, experiencing a lot of firsts with one another. it could have been considered an ill match: the problem child and the darling idol. but the truth was, seonhwa saw haneul for exactly who he was. she never once tried to change him, and she never once judged. it was a feeling he'd been searching for ever since he was an angry, vulnerable kid. she inspired him to try and be better.
unfortunately, it didn't prove to be enough. haneul was truthfully far too unhealed to be in such a serious relationship. his reliance on substances and immense self-loathing hindered him from growing in the relationship. seonhwa was also getting more popular and far busier and the combination of issues led to things crumbling after a year and half together.
completely and utterly at rock bottom, haneul began to work out in his free time as a form of therapy. the adrenaline kept his mind off his dark thoughts. he took up activities like boxing, taekwondo, and swimming at the shitty (but free) recreation center next to his tiny apartment.
as time passed, he began to mature and reform his behavior. his wild, cocky tendencies tapered down into more brooding, sensible ones. he stopped turning to drugs and alcohol as a salve and instead, his vices became cigarettes, weed, and the thrill of a tattoo needle.
the biggest downside was that during his worst, haneul pushed everyone who cared about him away. so even though he was finally in the healing part of his journey, he didn't have many people to help him through the lows or share his wins with. he accepted that this was the consequences of his actions, though it didn't help with the self-loathing part of his personality. he didn't want to be alone. not really. but he tolerated the idea that maybe that was what he was meant to be.
infinite took notice of haneul's emotional and physical improvement and realized he would be better used on the security side of things. he was offered a promotion to become a bodyguard for the company's newest idol set to debut — fujiwara somi aka michelle.
initially, haneul and somi butted heads. in his mind, she was purposefully trying to make his job harder. the truth was though they hated to admit it, the two were quite similar — both blunt and liking things their way. it was no surprise they had a tumultuous start to their time together. however, with years came a better understanding of one another and now, haneul would do anything to protect her. she is the little sister he never knew he wanted. he takes his job very seriously and always treats it as a top priority.
shortly after turning twenty-five, haneul completed paying off his debt owed to infinite. the company, impressed with his loyalty and maturity over the years, offered him a full-time salary and promotion to become head of michelle's security. though he holds extremely resentful feelings towards infinite, he chose to accept the offer for the sake of continuing to work with somi.
while haneul has long redeemed himself in his professional life, his personal life remained a bit of a mess. ten years had gone by since he last spoke to his family. he never once committed to another serious romantic relationship, instead preferring flings that he could detach from easily. and his tendency to be a workaholic and isolate himself during his off hours meant that he didn't have many friends to turn to.
TOUR
the 2022 infinite world tour, however, forced him to confront the mistakes and people from his past. with nowhere to escape to but in a hotel that everyone shared, haneul had to learn to make amends and prove that he's better than he once was. the time on tour not only gave him a chance to rekindle a relationship with seonhwa and former friends of the past, but also ushered in the growth to open his heart to new things and people.
despite the long, excruciating nature of the tour, haneul ended things on a rather high note. he unintentionally established himself as the company's "dad slash big brother". as one of the oldest around, he ended up being a person that others could turn to for protection and blunt advice. and in return, he was taught that maybe he doesn’t want to be as alone as he’s made himself for years.
CURRENTLY
though tour is wrapped, haneul still continues his duties as head of michelle's security. the only thing different now is that he comes home to seonhwa at the end of the night. the two of them have recently moved in together and have adopted a puppy, who haneul loves.
now that he is in a far more evolved era in his personal life, haneul now turns that feeling of unsettledness towards the future of his career. being a bodyguard had never been his endgame, or even his plan to begin with. and he's struggling to figure out what he's actually passionate about. in the meantime though, he still dedicates himself to the task until he can figure out what's next for him.
TIDBITS
personality: daring, blunt, stoic, wary, protective, intense, sardonic, evasive, intelligent
aesthetics: messy curls, the scent of amber, cigarette butts, tattoo sleeves, bruised knuckles, black coffee, blazing eyes, sharp wit
is annoyingly always viral on twitter and tiktok for being michelle’s “hot bodyguard”
can speak five languages in varying levels of mastery, thanks to his former wealthy upbringing
can play the guitar and has an affinity for songwriting and producing, but hasn’t tapped into those skills ever since he left the idol industry
love language is acts of service ! will grumble about how fucking annoying the ask is but he’ll do it anyways
has approximately 25 tattoos
he’s got a heart, i promise. it’s just buried within a wary, introverted exterior to protect himself. but if you’re one of the chosen ones, you’ve got a grizzly bear dad at your service
FOR REFERENCE
personality overview
map of haneul's tattoos
more tidbits
