DISPATCH, (06/24/17): Kaleidoscope Records has officially released information about main dancer, lead rapper, and maknae, Im Rihwan, on A-TEAM′s official website! Rihwan is a ‘00 liner and has been beloved by fans since his debut in 2015. Find out more about Rihwan below!
I, IM RIHWAN, have read and understand the terms and conditions as my position of MAKNAE and agree to honor the standards that are to be expected of me as an employee of KALEIDOSCOPE RECORDS.
OOC INFORMATION
Preferred name: jemi
Pronouns: she/her
Timezone: gmt+8
Other muses: N/A
IC INFORMATION
Faceclaim: NCT’s lee jeno
Name: im rihwan
Stage name (if applicable): N/A
Idol concept: rihwan is a-team’s “evil maknae” who’s known for being the older members’ favorite to “playfully” smack. with that he’s also considered the “maknae on top,” the youngest who could probably rule the entirety of south korea if he wanted to. rihwan’s playfulness certainly makes him fit for the part, but what most people overlook is his subdued maturity. in the way he speaks, the way he interacts with his members, he always knows he is accountable for whatever he does— that’s probably why he’s settled with his image— and whatever he does to the annoyance of his members he always apologizes for it at the end of the day. he usually uses this concept to his advantage to make the other members do his bidding, but rest assured, only up to a certain level.
Birth date and age: february 1, 2000 (17 years old)
Company name: kaleidoscope records
Group Name: a-team
Group Position: maknae
Strengths: dancing is his main strength, and he is also able to choreograph and teach choreography. he also raps quite a bit in their songs, and is trying to develop that skill as much as he can. having done several commercials as a child, he is also experienced in front of the camera and is capable (and wants to do more) of acting. within the group, he is also capable of cheering the other members on, a role even an “evil” maknae has to possess. with that, he’s also a very good listener and confidant.
Weaknesses: he isn’t much of a singer yet, and is very aware of that. rihwan’s insecure of his singing voice, but he’s able to carry a tune, at least. he also has a bad habit of comparing himself to others, which can make him feel very down about what he lacks. of course, as the youngest of his team he is also quite whiny—this goes for when his members don’t follow him or when he finally gets bossed around—but it isn’t overbearing.
Positive traits: committed, diligent, cunning, dependable
Negative traits: impatient, manipulative, insecure
PERSONAL HISTORY
bright lights and big cameras have stopped fazing him years ago. no stranger to the entertainment world, rihwan has almost never stopped working since he was four years old. people who know him say his mother’s to blame for this, and some other people also say he’s overworked. honestly, rihwan just wants to keep going. rihwan is far from tired, and believes that his real work is only beginning.
despite being a rookie in the idol world, rihwan isn’t an unknown face to many. a lot of people know him as the “angpang boy,” a little boy from that one seoul milk commercial for their kids’ variant called angpang. four-year-old rihwan made his mark as a korean household name, and has since then been working as a commercial actor. he still remembers his first shoot— the director loudly calls out a word he can barely understand as the lights are switched on. scanning the small crowd around him for a familiar face as he squints to adjust to the light, he finds his mother standing off to the side, giving him a reassuring smile and nod while mouthing, “rihwan, good luck.”
at four years old, he isn’t sure if he finds comfort in that. before he could respond to her, someone kneels down in front of him, speaking slowly and simply. instructions are fed to him, he nods, and everyone gets out of his way. when he gets asked if he’s ready, he replies with a loud yes, just like what he was told to do by his mom when she told him he would be on television. the cameras start rolling and he starts waddling with his bedroom slippers across the wooden floor like how they rehearsed at home, recalling hearing his little sister crying for food in the background. it’s honestly easy for him, despite his young age, to follow the script and everyone’s instructions. he knows what to do, but needs a little help on how to do it. multiple takes are spent redoing shots to get the right one, and as soon as they got that shot of him gulping down milk and wiping his lips on his sweater sleeve before showcasing a picture perfect smile, the lights go off as everyone claps and he’s brought back home holding his mother’s hand.
when he gets home he asks his mother if it would always be like this. his mother sets down his dinner plate in front of him as she sits beside him, and she replies with something along the lines of “if you want to.”
at five years old, a year later, he finds himself in a similar situation. in front of a couple cameras, given a few instructions—same old. after his first shoot, the kids at his kindergarten ask if that was him in that one milk commercial on TV. he just replies with, “maybe,” coyly but at the same time obviously flattered. this time it’s a shoot for some sort of food? rice? he doesn’t really know. all he knows was that he needs to whine and cry. he goes through with filming and when it finishes his mother wipes the tears he cried for the shoot away. “you did well today,” she says, and he responds with a nod.
it’s difficult to understand everything happening around you at just five years, and rihwan was feeling that insecurity and detachment from everything around him. for some weird reason, though, he enjoys it. being in the limelight feels right for him.
still, his life in show business wasn’t free of struggle. being the son of a working mother and a father working abroad he had to take care of his siblings growing up as well. this doesn’t mean his mother didn’t take care of all of them well—but he always knew he’s his mother’s favorite, being the firstborn. so he constantly figures he should spend time while he can with his sister who’s two years younger than him and his brother who’s three years younger.
at seven years old, when he isn’t at shoots, young rihwan spends time with his siblings, and the family dog, of course. their time is often spent by the pond at the park near their house, which doubles as a wishing well despite all the agitated koi fish. rihwan firmly believes in the power of his hundred-won wishes, holding his sister’s hand with his left and using his right to throw coins. the year he spent off working has a year of him studying, given, but it was also the year he started to frequent the wishing pond. now back into work, rihwan wishes he could do more cool things on camera to make his family (pet dog included) proud.
at almost ten years old, he realizes he’s gotten more than he bargained for. after seeing his face on so many CFs, entertainment companies have taken notice of his potential as a future idol visual. his second disappearance from commercials was short-lived, and soon he gets plunged into more auditions for more commercials after his mother gets her work life back together and rihwan does well enough in school. initially reluctant to accept offers to take rihwan in from companies, his mother figures it would be better to leave his management to people who, in her opinion, know better than her about managing kids. and so begins rihwan’s journey as a kaleidoscope trainee, the company out of the handful whose name mrs. im has heard about the most.
at eleven years old, he realizes that maybe his hundred won coins were well spent. half a year he has spent so far under kaleidoscope records has been tiring, to say the least, but hey, he’s been learning how to dance and he finds that a lot of fun. he’s still doing commercials, and also, he’s sure to get into that performing arts high school when he gets older. he does miss his family though, and wonders if his siblings are taken care of. living away from home is rough, but he trusts in the people around him enough to carry on. at that age he has started to process how things work in the industry. he realizes he can’t succeed if he doesn’t put in the work. so he works, and he works hard.
at twelve he finds that his passion for dancing has grown. the initial plan of him being a visual was overthrown by his rapid grasp of dance. after being surrounded by people who genuinely think “dance is life” he’s grown to love dance, and even performing in general. he misses filming for commercials, but then he also wants to focus on what his life is hopefully going to lead up to: becoming an idol. it was never in his plans—acting might have been, but never singing and becoming an idol. he finds the serendipity slightly funny. who knew he could actually make it? not his siblings, for sure, the ones who often joked about him ending up like the idols they saw on sunday afternoon music shows when they were young. well, even younger.
however, at fourteen years old, he gets tired. tired of waiting. he knows he’s still too young to debut, but at the same time, his almost three and a half years of training have been all too long for him. he still loves performing, and in fact has been dabbling in different dance styles and trying his hand and creating his own dances. his hunger to debut is strong, although he’s held back by his insecurity in singing. typically he skips intensive vocal training by chatting up his instructors or using dance practice as an excuse, but never does it on purpose. or so he likes to think. he’s secure in his dancing ability, and often resorts to avoiding singing by learning rapping and immersing in hip hop, which is useful in dancing, too. lately he’s been hearing talks of a new boy group being formed, and all his fingers are crossed.
he sends his sister text messages regularly, reminding her to toss at least three coins into the wishing pond for his speedy debut.
at fifteen, he finds himself being selected to debut as one of the members of “a-team,” kaleidoscope’s newest fresh-concept boy band. ecstatic, rihwan sure is, but just as scared. he’s trained with a lot of them before, but now being in a team with all of them is different. as the youngest of the bunch, he has to be taken care of but at the same time he has to be reliable. after all, he can’t be the weakest link. he doesn’t want to be.
seventeen and well into his work, he has settled into his niche in the group as the playful, impish youngest member of the team, but is still cautious about how his members feel. it’s funny how his (and his siblings’) coin tosses has gotten him to where he is now, enjoying a good amount of success as an idol— who would’ve thought? the child who has been working since almost birth is now an older child working even harder. rihwan’s career is only beginning for him, and he plans to take this ride as long as he can.