“The legend of the origin of Shadowhunters is that they were created more than a thousand years ago, when humans were being overrun by demon invasions from other worlds. A man summoned the Angel Raziel, who mixed some of his own blood with the blood of men in a cup, and gave it to those men to drink. Those who drank the Angel's blood became Shadowhunters, as did their children and their children's children.”
A ward of the Seoul Institute. He comes from an extant shadowhunter family who’s given up the Shadowhunting lifestyle.
When a family or branch decides to quit shadowhunting they can never come back or seek help from the Clave, but the Clave can appear before the ex-shadowhunters children once every 6 years and will be offered to become a Shadowhunter up until their 18th birthday.
Wonwoo was a different case however, he ran away from home at the age of 11, tired of hearing about the Shadow World from his parents but never getting to experience it first hand. So he ran and ran and ran as far as he could making his way to the front steps of the Seoul Institute, where he knew they had no choice but to let him in because of his lineage.
He was one of the 6 other wards already living in the Institute at the time; the head’s son Seungcheol, Joshua a transfer from the Los Angeles Institute, Jeonghan who like Wonwoo recently showed up at the front steps a few months ago, Junhui who was transferred to the Seoul Institute after a demon hoard attacked and left the Shanghai Institute in ruins, Jihoon son of the head of the smaller Busan Institute, and a rather rambunctious guy by the name of Soonyoung.
Wonwoo spent most of his time studying in the Great Library, he was often always in the company of Joshua, Junhui, and Jihoon. Their tutor spent the morning teaching the boys about basic shadowhunter history lessons and the finer points of the Covenant and the Accords. In the afternoon, Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Soonyoung would join the former group for lessons in language such as various demonic languages and learning about runes.
During the later half of the day the group would spend their time in the training room reinforcing their already existing fighting skills, because shadowhunters were born warriors. The group often split into their own pairs to train, Wonwoo was new to the facility which was why his partner was the Training instructor.
Wonwoo is skilled in hand to hand combat- his swiftness, agility and his punch were unrivaled by the others (even Jeonghan who was the strongest of the previous wards).
He specializes in using his seraph blades but he has a collection of his own weapons; he often uses axes, he has a staff, but his favorite weapon is his double sided scythe.
Wonwoo got a Voyance rune as his first, Jeonghan being the mischievous little shit he was tried to coax Wonwoo, Joshua and Jun into getting a second rune. This ultimately led to Joshua falling ill, Jun was out cold and Jeonghan was sent to the infirmary after Wonwoo punched him in the eye when he tried to put a second rune on him.
Wonwoo spent most of his days learning about medicine and herbs in the library. He also made a makeshift lab in the abandoned sanctuary on the grounds where he made his own weapons and inventions for himself and his new friends.
Was a total badass during his first official mission with Jun and Jeonghan in which they had to take down a Dragonidae demon down by Han River. Literally swung his axe right between the demons eyes while Jeonghan slashed at it with his seraph blades and Jun had his electrum core whip wrapped around the demons neck before Wonwoo came in clutch with his double sided scythe.
Came back to the institute drenched and dripping in ichor, the black substance evaporating off their black shadowhunter outfits. “I need Joshua to draw a really nice iratze on me”
Wonwoo is pretty introverted, but don’t let that fool you. You can find him at this lowkey Downworld club in Hongdae almost every weekend. He’s pretty popular and well known in Downworld for his looks and his wild side.
He has a bunch of friends and connections Older shadowhunters would frown upon like his connection and friendship with the local werewolf packs and the lead Vampire clan in Seoul. You can find him at the Downworld club charming the faerie girls to get him and the guys free food.
He has a parabatai, his best friend Mingyu. Not many Shadowhunters have a parabatai but those who do have found a lifelong partner who will fight together and lie their lives down for each other bound by oath. They’re basically inseparable, wherever Wonwoo goes Mingyu follows no questions asked. “Even if you went to Fae to skinny dip in the cursed waters I’d run after you and do the same, I am your parabatai after all”
Wonwoo got shitfaced drunk at a party they attended during their year of travel in which he and the gang visited the Glass City, Alicante in the homeland of all shadowhunters- Idris. He also caught Jeonghan flirting with a ghost but he never talked about it and uses it as blackmail against the older boy.
He took over the role of history teacher at the Seoul Institute and began teaching the newcomers -Chan, Vernon, Seungkwan. He also taught them the value of knowledge in herbology, medicine, and even masonry.
Upon turning 18, he was given an invitation to join the Silent Brothers wherein he would give up his life and dedicate his new life to being a archivist, researcher, librarian, scholar, doctor, priest, and healer for the Shadowhunters.
He knew what it meant to be a Silent Brother, the trials he had to undergo foremost, the appearance he’d have if he went through with it (Silent brothers have unique runes, some which mutilate their appearance like the Quietude rune and the several lines of Marks that stitch or shut their eyes and mouth. Others even simply have these removed entirely from their face, leaving blank spaces where their flesh once was) the detachment from his current life, living longer than normal, speaking through ones mind, and….losing his bond to Mingyu and his friends forever.
He declined with a very unpleasant “fuck no”
He usually walks around the institute like a cat stalking prey at 4 in the morning like he isn’t supposed to be asleep🙄
The dinning room is his play area: he teases and gets snarky with Jeonghan like it’s a fucking routine, he teases Seungkwan like his life depends on it but other than that it’s nothing but 13 men laughing and eating together (when Soonyoung doesn’t burst in through the doors with Seokmin looking like they did something wrong-usually involves them being mischievous in Wonwoo’s lab)
He got stung by a Ravener demon once when the demon entered Wonwoo’s lab in the Sanctuary (part of the institute built on unholy spaces outside the hallowed ground of the Institute to accommodate Downworlders visitors) he managed to kill the demon and draw a healing rune on himself before Mingyu ,who felt Wonwoo’s life force slowly slipping away through their Parabatai bond, alerted the others that something wasn’t right
He throws himself into the frontlines for his friends, especially the younger ones in any situation.
One day while defending the Institute from a variety of demons sent after then by an evil warlock, Wonwoo was fighting alongside Mingyu when he saw Vernon against the front stairs holding off a hell hound demon with his crossbow and he threw his staff at the demon directing it’s attention to him giving Vernon enough time to get back up.
Similarly, while at the Downworld club in Hongdae Chan got a little too flirty with a werewolf’s younger sister and an altercation started. Wonwoo stepped between the two boys, holding the werewolf by his collar while holding Chan back, looking at the alpha who was making his way down to the bar where this was all happenening. “Get your dog under control Eunwoo, they were just talking I don’t see why there had to be a fight when we’re all cool don’t you think?” “Unless…you want me to start a fight that is”
Ok but badass Wonwoo aside, he loves taking pictures of the guys in the institute. He has journals and photo albums about each one of them so they can be added to the library one day and be remembered as some of the greatest, brightest, and fearless shadowhunters the Seoul Institute has ever housed.
He’s the institute’s resident medic through his years of studying and working on potions and medicines in his lab, the guys even get hurt on purpose so Wonwoo can care for them.
You can always find him and Mingyu walking the corridors talking in hushed tones as they look out the institute’s windows and end up talking on the rooftop overlooking the city.
When he was 16, Wonwoo snuck out of the institute to go see his family; it was against the rules as his parents left the Shadow World for good. Upon getting home his mom hugged him and held on to him like a lifeline and his dad was just happy he came home at least for a few hours.
He told them all about his life as a Shadowhunter thus far, and for a moment they looked proud of him and that made him happy. They were happier when they met his parabatai (Mingyu really takes that “wherever you go I’ll go” parabatai oath to heart) and hearing about the new family he’s made at the institute.
He left them a scrapbook he made of himself over the past few years he’s been away including some letters he wrote in case he got to see them again someday. Unbeknownst to him, Mingyu also gave Wonwoo’s mom a collection of letters and notes the other guys wrote about Wonwoo and their experiences with him and the different sides of Wonwoo his parents didn’t get to experience in their home.
Upon arriving at the institute the pair waltzed into the dining room where Seungcheol’s voice boomed “And where the fuck have you two been?”
“Oh…you know there was this faerie girl with these obnoxiously l-“ “Enough about Raina and her obnoxiously large faerie ears” Jun chirped up, interrupting Wonwoo while simultaneously stuffing his face with toast.
“actually he’s talking about Ella, a faerie girl with obnoxiously long model like legs” Mingyu piped up as he sat down next to Seungkwan who proceeded to admonish the parabatai duo for smelling like “nothing but alcohol and sweat”.
Wonwoo rolled his eyes, took some toast and coffee, and walked to the Great library where he’d try to find something new to learn that day that he already didn’t know.
happy birthday to my comfort person. jeon wonwoo, my love and adoration for you is bigger than my whole heart itself. thankyou for always making me smile the biggest on my good and bad days. forever my favourite man ♡ no words are enough for you.
