What is your character’s name? Does the character have a nickname?
Jung Hyebin. She’s referred to Hye by close friends. No particularly clever nicknames yet, to her great disappointment.
Does your character have a birthmark? Where is it? What about scars? How did he get them?
Only a small scar on her wrist from when she’d first attempted to scramble eggs. In her defense she was eight and she’d never seen her parents turn on the stove, much less touch a cooking utensil. A miracle she didn’t burn the house down, really.
Who are your characters friends and family? Who does she surround herself with? Who are the people your character is closest to? Who does he wish he were closest to?
Hye’s an extrovert through and through-- she’s the girl who strikes up a conversation with the person behind her in the checkout line, the local coffee shop’s beloved customer (every single barista who works there knows her go-to order by heart), your friend, and your friend’s friend, and your friend’s, friend’s friend. It helps to have a big heart and a decent sense of humor(?), and she likes to think she’s developed a good number of friendships since she’d moved to Seoul.
Her closest acquaintance is Kang Han. They’ve seen each other at their most awkward, painful stages of growth and they’ve reached a point where words aren’t always needed. He’s the first person she thinks of regardless of the situation at hand. Couldn’t imagine where she’d be without him.
Where does your character go when they’re angry?
What is her biggest fear? Who has she told this to? Who would she never tell this to? Why?
Losing loved ones. Typical abandonment issues from being neglected as a kid. Still worries that one day the people she truly cares about will leave her, which sometimes translates to clinginess and a pervasive need for company when she’s not working. If she likes someone she’ll put her heart and soul into making sure they don’t go through what she did. (Then again, whether she likes you or not doesn’t actually matter.)
She hasn’t really talked about it. Not explicitly, anyways. Who in their right mind would willingly bring it up in conversation?
What makes your character laugh out loud?
A lot. Dad jokes, stupid antics, you name it. If you stick around her for too long you won’t be able to get her laugh out of your head. It’s one of those loud, screechy, yet oddly-endearing laughs.
(Seriously, though, it’s not that funny.)
When has your character been in love? Had a broken heart?
The first is in her second year of university, when she was dating Sung. Started out as a solid friendship, ventured into romantic territory, and bounced back out again. She had a boyfriend in high school but that was more of a test-run, and he wasn’t a terribly good kisser either. She’s thankful for their time together even if both of them agree that they’re much better at being close friends. He’s still on her ‘favorites’ contact list, and she refers to him as My Lover in public just to embarrass him.
What is in your character’s refrigerator right now?
Stacks and stacks of tupperware. She always cooks enough to end up with leftovers (none of them are for her, though). Sticky notes on each container to remind her who they’re meant for. A carton of milk. Orange juice. Eggs. Typical kitchen staples, like green onions and tofu. The occasional exotic fruit. No prepackaged meals- the only things she has in her freezer are some dumplings she’d made last week and a tub of ice cream.
Look at your characters feet. Describe what you see there. Does she wear dress shoes, gym shoes, or none at all? Is she in socks that are ratty and full of holes? Or is she wearing a pair of blue and gold slippers knitted by her grandmother?
Her beat-up pair of Adidas superstars she’s had for years. They’re starting to look a little shabby but she can’t bear to part with them. At least there aren’t holes in them-- not big ones, anyway (there’s a teeny tiny tear on the left shoe that she’s been meaning to patch up but hasn’t gotten around to). A pair of bright yellow flip flops for hotter days. Work heels, but only if she’s in the presence of her coworkers. They’re expensive and mad uncomfortable, but any other option is considerably worse. Minimizes time spent in them as much as possible.
When your character thinks of her childhood kitchen, what smell does she associate with it? Sauerkraut? Oatmeal cookies? Paint? Why is that smell so resonant for her?
Garlic and green onions. As a kid, she’d always take the liberty to throw in way more than what any recipe would reasonably call for. Can’t go wrong with a little extra flavor.
Your character is doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for her to throw out? What is difficult for her to part with? Why?
Easy to throw out: clothes that are no longer socially acceptable for outside wear-- shirts with unidentifiable stains, hole-y underwear, jeans with tears in places that would attract the wrong kind of attention.
Difficult to part with: Receipts. She keeps them all in a box under her bed. There are some dating back to her first year in uni, so worn the print has faded and is no longer legible. Each one holds its own special memory. Her first legal drink. Jisoo’s birthday dinner (which had left a remarkable dent in her wallet, poor thing). The final textbook purchase. Ice cream with Hoon. When she can’t seem to find a photograph to commemorate a certain special day, she’ll dig around until she can find proof of it in numbers instead.
What is one strong memory that has stuck with your character from childhood? Why is it so powerful and lasting?
The first time someone complimented her cooking. It was Junghwan’s first time coming back since he’d left for university. You made this? She’ll never forget the look on their faces-- Junghwan’s hilariously stunned, and his Dad’s cheeky I-told-you-so.
You’ve got a gift. Seriously, Hyebin-ah.
(It was the best thing someone had said to her in years.)
