A brief foray into the military ranks of TKEM characters…
It’s no secret that our favourite boys from the Kingdom of Corea have a history in the military - but apart from Gon being bottom of his class in the Naval Academy (as confirmed by Choi Gitae in Ep4), what else do we know? As with every tiny detail that sparks my interest in this show, I took it upon myself to find out, and gave myself a headache in the process. Let’s have a look, shall we?
Lee Jihun:
I’m starting with him because he’s the only one I could find a concrete answer for, thanks to him being from a universe very similar to ours. Though we only see him very briefly in Ep16, from that short scene we can glean a little bit of information about what he was doing:
To find his rank, one needs only to look at his epaulettes. You can see that his are black, with three gold stripes: two thick ones, with a thin stripe in the middle. This identifies his rank as follows:
He’s a Soryeong, which is the equivalent rank to a Lieutenant Commander.
However, what I find perhaps more interesting for Jihun is this badge he’s wearing:
Though it’s blurry when you zoom in, I’m pretty sure it’s this one:
You heard it here first, folks. Lee Jihun is a Navy SEAL. They didn’t have to include this detail - you’d probably have to be quite familiar with the military to recognise it straight away, and I doubt that even most Korean fans would be able to recognise it, because I can tell you for a fact that I wouldn’t be able to recognise the equivalent for my own country. Someone on the production team decided this, and I want to give them a big kiss on the mouth, because now it’s confirmed that the sweet little Jihun we saw grew up to be totally badass after his abusive father passed away. I sincerely hope that it was a good life that led him to joining this branch of the military, and not some combination of horrible factors that pushed him into joining one of the most intense and dangerous branches… hm. I’m not going to dwell on that, actually. You can all make your own conclusions here.
Now… to the Kingdom. *sigh.* This is where things start to get more vague and confusing. I’m going to start with ranks first, and then go onto what they were doing as one big section because, spoiler alert, I haven’t got any sort of concrete idea.
Lee Gon:
His rank is easiest to determine, because Choi Gitae says it explicitly when they met at his father’s funeral in Ep4. I cross-referenced this with the closed-caption Korean subtitles, and everything adds up nicely: though he’s the Commander-in-Chief of all the armed forces in the Kingdom, thanks to his position as the monarch, while he was actually serving, he rose to the rank of Daewi, or Lieutenant - the highest rank of the junior officers - before leaving the navy.
Jo Yeong:
When we see Yeong in his navy uniform in Ep6, this is what we can see:
Once again, that same pattern emerges on his epaulettes of two thick stripes surrounding a thin stripe - he’s a Soryeong, a Lieutenant Commander. This means that Yeong ranked one rank higher than Gon before he left the navy, which is something that brings me quite a lot of joy.
However, something I like even more than that is Yeong’s current title, as the leader of the Royal Guard. We all know him and love him as Captain Jo, but in Korean he’s referred to as 조영 대장 - Jo Yeong Daejang. This is what Gon calls him in the iconic “Are you having fun, Captain Jo?” and you can also see that title of Daejang on his character page on the official TKEM website. On WordReference, this is what happens if I search for 대장:
Ignoring the results about other things, it doesn’t seem to mean “Captain” explicitly, it’s more like a general kind of leader title. His rank isn’t necessarily “Captain,” it’s whatever Daejang is equivalent to. So… how good is a Daejang? Looking at the South Korean armed forces, in the army, air force, and marine corps, Daejang is equivalent to General, and in the navy, Daejang is equivalent to Admiral. To put this into context a little better, the only rank in the South Korean navy higher than Daejang is Wonsu, and this rank only exists on paper and has never been given to any officer of the South Korean armed forces. To achieve this rank of Wonsu, you’re appointed from the rank of Daejang when you have “distinguished achievements.”
In conclusion: Yeong has an incredibly high rank in the armed forces, second only really to Gon himself, assuming no one from the Kingdom has ever been appointed the rank of Wonsu either. However… there’s a first time for everything, and though I’m only speculating and of course could never say anything for sure, if anyone was going to get those distinguished achievements needed to be a Wonsu, it would be our Jo Yeong Daejang.
Choi Gitae:
I’m including him briefly because I have a bone to pick with the subtitles. In English, he’s Captain Choi. In Korean, Gon refers to him as Hamjang, which, as far as I can tell, doesn’t exist in the South Korean navy of our universe. In the Korean subtitles in Ep4, he’s named as 최 소령, Choi Soryeong, and he’s just… he’s not that. Let’s take a look at some pictures:
The epaulettes on the first picture and the star badge on the second tell us that his rank should be this:
He’s a Junjang, equivalent to a Rear Admiral (lower half). Not a Captain, and not a Lieutenant Commander. As for the Hamjang/Junjang disparity, I’m going to suggest that Hamjang is the Kingdom of Corea’s equivalent to the Republic’s Junjang.
So, what was everyone doing in the navy?
The only clue we have is a badge:
This is from Yeong’s uniform, but in Ep6 Choi Gitae was wearing the same, and Gon was wearing a gold version of it. However, for the life of me, I can’t seem to figure out what it is! The design seems to be that of a ship sailing through the waters, but that just gives ✨navy✨ in a general sense. Browsing google images, I’ve noticed the same golden badge that Gon wears on other high ranking members of the South Korean navy, so maybe it signifies a high rank? Or maybe it just means that the wearer is in the navy? I don’t know! I can’t work it out! What it tells us at least is, if Yeong isn’t wearing a “specialised” badge like Jihun… it’s unlikely that he served in any kind of special forces… which I feel is a piece of information that might break some hearts in the fandom as their headcanons shatter into pieces. I’m disappointed too, because when I saw Yeong’s badge without paying attention to any of the other characters, I thought that the two shapes on the sides looked a little like submariner dolphins, so I’ve spent half a year or so thinking that’s what Yeong did in the navy, before I realised that Gon and Choi Gitae had the exact same badge.
So, if anyone has been bothered enough to read this far and also happens to be a Korean military buff, I would love you forever if you could tell me exactly what this badge means, and whether it gives us any indication of what Yeong or Gon or anyone else was doing in the navy. However, maybe it’s good that it’s unclear, because that leaves fic writers plenty of room to wonder about what Gon and Yeong were doing in the military - whether they were doing different things, strengthening their bond as best bros doing the same thing, and if you’re on the same side of this fandom as me, whether they were repressing some big feelings at seeing each other in their military uniforms, or whether they were engaging in certain activities that are maybe stereotypical of sailors cooped together on the same boat without women to spend their nights with… there’s plenty of room for interpretation :D
A/N: I should be finishing my final papers but instead I did this... send help.
Everyone sat in the auditorium, eagerly waiting for the presenter to take the stage. Jihun was known for the most exciting speeches. This year was no different. They knew he wasn’t going to fail them this time. Soon the room lights as dimmed down as the stage lights were all focused on him. His stage presence was so... dominating. It didn’t need to beg for attention, instead is naturally grabbed the eyes of everyone.
That’s all Jihun needed. He walked down to the middle of the stage and looked behind to make sure his powerpoint wasn’t on yet. He believed in the element of surprise was more important.
Here goes nothing, he thought.
“Love. It makes people happy and crazy. It has the birds singing and the people grasping for it at every moment. However, is it really a magical moment that happens like the movies?” He paused, adding effect. “No, it’s fucking not.”
Everyone jumped at his accusation.
Jihun smiled, he hoped for that very reaction. He continued, “Well you all know that the process of falling in love is simple. It’s the series of chemicals that have us feeling euphoric and... well other things. What I’m here to talk about in this series is about an experiment that I conducted last year. With the social experiment, I used thousands of volunteers but I’m going to only explain 1 case tonight. It’s the very special case of a close somebody.”
-1 year ago-
The clock was ticking. It was the only thing making noise in the otherwise silent room. Jihun was watching how you reacted to the silent, since it scared most future patients away. This experiment needed the best of the best, Jihun thought.
However, you were still comfortable as ever.
If anything, it worried him on how unfazed you were acting.
“So, when are you going to interview for this?” You asked, suppressing all the anxiousness that was building up inside. The only thing that kept you from completely breaking down was the only thing that college students are thinking of...
Money.
This whole thing was paying you enough to stay financially stable until the next experiment science has to offer. You needed it since recently your roommate had hit you with the moving out card, leaving you with not enough time to find a new roommate and left you instead with a new found debt. It was a terrible move from their part, but luckily you saw the flyer for this project and decided that you were healthy, young, and ready for anything crazy.
Jihun shifted in his seat and nodded, beginning the interview. He watched as you answered everything quickly, creating a rhythm in how everything was going. He was interest on how quickly you took control of everything. Your answers were unpredictable and show
Surprisingly, he liked it.
So much that decided to do something crazy.
“Well, Miss (y/n), you seem to be a perfect candidate for our project. I will email you later tonight and explain what you will be doing as a patient.” The both of you stood up and Jihun led you over to the exit of the office. He explained that you wouldn’t end up with any psychological problem and that it’s a simple process. Before he let you completely leave, he pulled out his hand. You were a bit taken aback from this but shook his hand. You looked at him and that’s when it happened.
The sparks.
You suppressed the feeling and continued to act unfazed. All you could think was about how you are connecting with the experimenter and how wrong this was. You searched for any reaction from his part, but he remained just as calm.
Before the any of you realized, you both were still holding each others hand. You quickly let go and apologized to Jihun, who in turn was smiling. It was going according to plan, he thought.
He watched as you walked out of the building, almost too fast.
-Present time-
“See, I introduced the patient with their new found partner. They both had completely opposite type personalities in every way. From the MBTI to their intelligences. The question was, how was science going to prove that only a few steps need to be followed to trigger the chemical change to have them believe their falling in love?” Jihun stated. He smiled, glancing at everyone and watched as his eyes fell on you. He visually tensed up, choking a bit on the suffocating hair.
He tried to pull himself back together, he was still in front of an audience.
“It’s a simple process really, when you first meet someone. You want hold their hand longer than expected and maintain eye contact. While that seems simple, there’s a specific time your suppose to maintain it for before it completely makes the situation awkward. Can anyone guess-”
“3 seconds.” Your voice announced. All eyes soon fell on you and you watched as Jihun struggled to maintain his cool and collected persona. It was your time for a rebuttal. “3 seconds is how long your suppose to maintain in physical and eye contact.”
“Yes that’s correct, thank you miss...”
“(y/n).” You replied, but quietly added, “but you already knew that.”
“Good, so in doing that. He was asked to add moments between him and the patient, creating a longer time. With this, he establish a relationship and created a process where the further increase each moment longer and longer. In turn, the patient believed that they were falling deep in love.”
-7 months ago-
You were sitting across Jihun.
He decided to meet up at a nearby coffee shop since he was a master student at your university. It was quite odd, because he kept finding time to meet up with you. He asked about how you were and seemed to be trying to get to know you.
It felt oddly nice.
He was funny and seemed awkward at first, but after some time with you, the chemistry from before began to happen. Jihun was relieved for two reasons. One, because he needed to have this experiment work. Two, because he wanted to know you.
He just couldn’t believe that you wanted to meet him again after the first time. One coffee date turned into 10 and soon found yourself meeting with him more often than you thought.
Although, you still wondered when the experiment would start.
He talked about things that were going on, and kept you interested in the conversation. It felt like you were a couple, but you weren’t complaining about it. You like spending time with him, because he would hold your hand constantly and refuse to let it go. It was adorable really because he was surprisingly touchy.
He said he loved knowing you were there.
The dates became more intimate, and that’s when he finally gathered up the courage to kiss you.
It was after one of your dinner dates. Everything seemed to be going well and you were getting a little impatient for him to finally kiss. Jihun decided to drop you off at your front door. He noticed how often you were not so subtly glancing down at his lips. It made him smile, because of how impatient you were getting. That’s when he decided to finally break wall he had built and kissed you.
It felt so... beautiful. It wasn’t a magical moment nor something like the daydreams of high schoolers, but it felt like it was moment you wouldn’t forget.
The indimating man was so sweet and kind to you. There wasn’t a moment that you didn’t love being with him. Sure, he was very work-oriented and more serious but you knew that he had his ways of showing affection. Whether it be working in the same room with you or reading to you the stuff he was working on and asking your opinion.
You loved him for it.
His small little smiles when you were teasing him about being serious were so gorgeous. He also loved it when you ran your fingers through his hair after a long day, telling him that he worked hard and that he did a good job.
He was so soft sometimes, but it was something only you knew. it was a secret you kept to yourself.
A memorable moment was a small one. It was a time where Jihun had come from work a decided to visit you at night. A patient was causing him a hard time and all he wanted to do was get away from them. He seemed frustrated and stress, so you helped him destress by forcing him to watch an emotional movie with you. At first, he didn’t want to, but by the end the both you were holding each other and complaining about all the shit of life.
It was just your way of making him feel comfortable.
-Present time-
Jihun glanced at the slide that was on the screen, feeling his heart break a bit as he felt the anger radiating from you. What if he hadn’t lied? What if he had stopped the project and allowed himself to feel what he felt. Would it be worth it? Would you still feel the hurt of the experiment?
He wished he could back.
He shook himself out of his thoughts, “It wasn’t until the end that the actor had to reveal the truth, and in it we had them take a questionnaire, revealing their feelings and how they believed they fell in love.”
A hand soon was raised and both you and Jihun were surprised. It was a classmate of your. You recognized her from some of your classes as the one always asking some of the craziest questions. For whatever reason, you were glad she was going to ask a question.
“What happened after? I mean feeling were clearly involve. If the patient fell in love and it seemed that method worked. That must have meant that the actor also fell in love,” she stated.
Jihun tensed up at the unexpected question. Why hadn’t he thought of an ending to the story? Given that students want closure, he forgot.
“Uh... well... to be honest that’s a part of the story that I don’t have. When the experiment ended, they had a choice to make things work out. Love may not be a magical moment like the movies, but it does give us the choice to make it feel magical. Ever patient that was a part of the experiment realized that, and learned that it’s a choice and not a feeling. Feeling can come and go but choosing to love some past those feelings is real love.”
You watched as his eyes fell on you, “I figured that feeling out when I met that certain someone as well. A very close person, whom I love dearly despite everything.” He smiled. His eyes fell back on the audience. They searched around for you, but you stayed hidden away. How would they react if they knew that a student stole the heart of their speaker?
-3 months ago-
Jihun was a serious man, and had a cold side that hurt anyone who felt it, including you.
At first, Jihun was saying that he was getting busy with work and couldn’t come around more often. Then there were other excuses that followed until the days where he hadn’t answered any text or call.
You didn’t know what you did wrong. Was it something you said or something you did? There wasn’t a moment where you saw him get upset.
It wasn’t until the night he randomly showed up that you finally got a hint of what was going on. At first, you thought it was break-up, but the sad look in his eyes said something else.
The moment Jihun saw you, he wanted to grab you and hug you so tightly as if the world was going to end. This wasn’t something that he wanted to end. Your love was something that he felt was worth it all. However, he knew how hurt you were going to be, so why not avoid the whole talk and cut off ties?
He walked in and sat you down like the first time you met. A silence had fell in the room again, but this time it felt too heavy. There wasn’t any clock that sang to the room, nor any mystery to each other.
It was a painful moment instead of a new beginning.
Jihun had pulled out some paperwork for you and explained that the experiment time was over and that you as the patient had to have a final interview to finish off the final paperwork.
That’s when a harsh reality had set in. Jihun had used you and the whole relationship for the experiment. It made you wonder if anything he felt was real, or was he just that harsh of a person?
Jihun had been waiting for the right time to mention the experiment. How the hell does one do this? It like the cliche moment you see in love stories, but this was real life. His heart was a stake, because you had become something bigger than a project.
He sighed, “I’m sorry... I need you to keep yourself together as I conduct the final interview. Any final comments after can be said after we finish.”
As much as you wanted to argue, you agreed to the terms and held yourself together throughout the interview. He had asked detailed questions about how you felt and when you believed you fell in love with him. It felt to painful to even remember those moments. To think how naive you were to the truth.
Jihun turned off the recording and watched as you collapsed into tears. He tried to comfort you and wanted to tell you the truth but you pushed him away. “Go away, get out! I don’t want to see you anymore!” You lied. You didn’t want him gone, nor did you really hate him.
You wondered how hard it must have been for him to hold this secret for so long. How hurt he must been feeling at the moment. All your thoughts were wondering about him. Even though he hurt you, you still care about him. You didn’t stop loving him for something like this.
You wished he knew how much you wanted him to stay.
However, Jihun never did learn that sometimes you meant the opposite sometimes. You watched as Jihun gathered his things and walked out of the room for what felt like the last time.
-Present time-
All the students applauded Jihun for his presentation and began to make their way out of the auditorium. You sat there, waiting for Jihun to notice you one last time. You swore to yourself that this was going to be the last time before you completely let go of him.
That’s what you wanted to believe.
Jihun finished gathering his things and glanced around the room one last time when his eyes fell on you. Instead of a glare or scowl, you smiled. His heart skipped a beat and he forced himself to face back down. He didn’t want you to see his face becoming flushed.
You walked down to the stage and prepared yourself what you thought was the last time for you and Jihun. You didn’t want it to be. Instead, you wanted to be doting on Jihun for giving a beautiful presentation and laugh with him about his beginning.
“You did really good up there.” You announced. He glanced back up and felt himself become so hopeful. You hadn’t changed much, but you were still so beautiful in his eyes.
“Thank you, I was really excited to talk about it... i guess.” He hated the small talk. He wanted to know how you were doing and so much more, but he was stuck in this hell because of the decisions he made.
He wondered if you still hated him for his actions.
The both of you were stuck standing awkwardly on stage, trying to find something to talk about. However, all you could think of was of him admitting that he still loved you. “You... you uh mentioned earlier something about-”
He blushed, “ah that! Right, I did mention that in front of hundreds of people.”
You smiled. Jihun was never good about talking about his feeling. You knew that, and also knew that sometimes you were the one who was having to push it out of him.
“Jihun... I came up here thinking this was going to be my last time seeing you but you are someone I wanna keep seeing everyday again.” You watched as the shy boy looked over to you with this new found spark. “I know we had this project hurt us, but I want to try again. A new beginning really.”
“As long as I get to prove that I still love you.” He muttered. He reached for you hand and felt your warm hand intertwine with his. It felt so right to him. Maybe Jihun didn’t get the tight hug and passionate kiss like he wanted, but he just glad that he was getting another chance with you.
Seventeen [Vocal Unit] Reaction to their s/o feeling down and wanting cuddles.
Woozi
I think Woozi might be a bit awkward, not because he didn’t want to help you feel better, but he just doesn’t seem like someone who would like extended hugging and cuddling. He’d let you go and sit on his lap and rest on his shoulder for a while whilst he hugged you, humming softly as he tried to think of ways to make it better. After a while he’d say he was going out to get snacks for you and he’d return with ice cream and chocolate. He’d suggest putting on a film. You two could sit on the sofa eating your snacks, he’d pull your legs over his so you still had contact with him, whilst still keeping him comfortable.
Jeonghan
“You aren’t supposed to frown,” Jeonghan would pout, shaking his head as he lifted his hands up to push up the corners of your lips into an awkward smile. You’d push his hands away slowly, smiling slightly but shaking your head. “I just need hugs, Jeonghan. Please?” “You don’t even have to ask,” Jeonghan would open his arms for you and let you lean forward to curl against his chest in whatever position you needed, one arm wrapped around your waist to support you. He’d put on the TV for light background noise, giving him something to watch as you rested.
Joshua
Joshua wouldn’t just hug you, he would do everything he could to comfort you. This means cuddling on the sofa with your favourite snack and pints of ice cream, watching your favourite shows as you rest together. He’d ask you questions about what was getting you down, but he’d do it quietly, making sure he doesn’t upset you with them and make it worse. Every time you frowned more and looked like you might get more upset he would lean in and press a soft kiss to your cheek, making you smile and distracting you from what was getting you down.
DK
“I will cuddle you forever!” DK would sort of wrestle you into a hug, his long arms wrapping around you. He’d pull you in quickly then pretend to fall over slowly, keeping you safe as he dropped down onto the floor, making crazy sounds in his attempt to make you laugh. Once on the floor DK would wrap his legs around you, trapping you against him with all of his limbs to show you how serious he was taking your request for hugs. “I will hug you till you’re feeling good again. Which obviously won’t take long since you’re being pressed against my body.”
Seungkwan
Seungkwan would probably be kind of playful, perhaps not seeing how down you were. When you asked for hugs he would laugh, shaking his head. “You wouldn’t kiss me a week ago, and now you want hugs, what kind of fair deal is that?” Seungkwan would wiggle his finger playfully at you, but he’d stop suddenly when he saw how sad you looked and the way you drooped at his words. “Are you ok?” He’d ask quietly, frowning as he took a hesitant step towards you, not sure if you still wanted to hug him. He would reach out slowly, kinda awkward about it, and pull you in for a gentle hug. “Just tell me what’s wrong, I’ll help make it better.”
☼ Iris
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