It was during this uneasy transition that he’d met someone who challenged everything he understood about love and connection. Someone who saw him beyond the reputation that he’d spent his life carrying against his will.

Not as the prodigy.

Not as the masterpiece.

Just him. Just Taemin.

And for the first time, he found himself wanting to be known rather than simply admired.

The relationship unfurled slowly. It was quiet, intentional, and built on this gentle understanding he’d never experienced before. For someone who spent his life observing others, he found himself utterly captivated by someone who was able to look back and truly, truly see him in turn.

Yet even in love, he still struggled with that age-old instinct that defined his art. He wanted to understand every detail, peel back every layer, uncover every hidden corner that lay inside of them. He loved them deeply, yes, but often through the lens of an artist—always trying to capture something that, in truth, was never meant to be captured in the first place.

Then, as quietly as it blossomed, it withered. There’d been no grand display of betrayal or righteous anger—though it would have been much easier if that were the case—just the quiet realization that they’d grown into two different people and that they simply could not be what the other needed. And still, that absence left behind a hurt Taemin never once imagined possible: the loss of the one person who ever made him feel like he was more than what others had created him to be.

: ̗̀➛ timezone is gmt -5

: ̗̀➛ written for the scarlet room universe, est. june of 2026

: ̗̀➛ profile completion: around 95%

: ̗̀➛ ranges from semi-para to novella depending on muse.

: ̗̀➛ i do not care about nor attempt reply mirroring and will not expect you to mirror either.

: ̗̀➛ do not give me one-liners unless it's in one of the ic chat spaces.

: ̗̀➛ i do not roleplay on walls. rooms or properly labeled group pms only please!

: ̗̀➛ do not expect daily replies.

: ̗̀➛ i work a full-time job with some crazy ass commute times so activity most days is going to be very spotty.

: ̗̀➛ fast moving chats more often than not get to be very overwhelming for me and will have my brain lagging like a 2007 windows vista. if i miss your message i promise it's not because i'm ignoring you.

: ̗̀➛ i do not poke or chase people for responses. if it's been more than a month of radio silence i will consider our threads and plans for threads to be dropped.

: ̗̀➛ if you see i’m responding to other threads or in the chats more frequently, it’s not because i’m ignoring you or have forgotten our threads. i simply have more muse or time for those things respectively.

: ̗̀➛ please do not poke me unless it's been more than ten days! chances are i'm just busy or stuck in a creative rut :)

: ̗̀➛ above all, just...communicate with me. please. i have terrible anxiety and have a difficult time when faced with filling in unsuspected blanks.

: ̗̀➛i am not my character and he is not me. what my character says and does is not always reflective of my real-life beliefs and values. do not conflate the two.

: ̗̀➛ certain themes, such as smut and erotica, are heavily dependent on whether i'm comfortable with you as a writer and whether it fits the plot for our characters.

: ̗̀➛do not try to force a relationship or dynamic onto my character. this is non-negotiable and you will be blocked/ignored if you try.

: ̗̀➛ask instead of assume. just because i may make jokes about a dynamic or interaction ooc does not mean that it'll automatically correlate in-character. sometimes i'm unserious just for the sake of being unserious.

: ̗̀➛ absolute no-no's: anything revolving around incest, certain kinks (can be discussed in pms), in-depth depictions of terminal illness, god-modding my character without my say-so

: ̗̀➛ themes that are okay and encouraged: angst, in-character drama, romance if plotted, smut if plotted and it serves the characters or plot, slice-of-life

: ̗̀➛ you may use my characters as a plot device if you wish. please just let me know ahead of time how you're intending to use him.

: ̗̀➛ i look forward to writing with you! let's all have fun and make plenty of great memories!

ੈ♱‧₊˚ nicknames/aliases:

⤷ taemni, taemi, min

· · ── ༒︎༻♱༺༒︎ ── · ·

date of birth/age: 18 july ⋮⋮ 33

place of residence: seoul, south korea

occupation: painter specializing in portraiture

orientation: panromantic demisexual

bedroom preference: switch/vers

marital status: single & not particularly interested

· · ── ༒︎༻♱༺༒︎ ── · ·

height: approx. 175 cm

eye color: deep umber brown

hair color: natural black with silver undertones

speaking cadence: soft-spoken with a slow, velvety timbre that is measured and deliberate, as though his words are carefully chosen rather than allowed to simply flow freely, even in moments of distress.

gait/posture: practiced elegance yet unhurried, almost languid, with not a hair nor stride out of place. he has a tendency to "frame" spaces as he walks and slows near visually interesting subjects without ever fully stopping.

· · ── ༒︎༻♱༺༒︎ ── · ·

attire: he doesn't concern himself with following the latest trends or putting on grand displays of his wealth. he wears what he likes and whatever feels most comfortable rather than what exudes opulence. he's a painter, after all—one who does not shy away from the messes of his own craft.

sample 1 — sample 2 — sample 3 — sample 4

fragrance: yves saint laurent’s l’homme eau de parfum or tom ford’s neroli portifino eau de parfum.

he often gravitates towards fragrances that are citrusy, woody, and floral in profile. on rarer occasions, he allows himself darker, more indulgent compositions with spicier accords—most notably, tom ford's black orchid eau de parfum.

jewelry & other body mods:

⤷ ear piercings

⇢ has 2 types of piercings in each ear.

⤷ body piercings

⇢ has a navel piercing & nipple piercings

⤷ tattoos/body markings

⇢ a peony unfurling on his right hip, partially faded as he's begun the removal process. it gives the illusion of a carefully curated birthmark

ੈ♱‧₊˚ _{as this character is for an alternate universe, the mun has taken some creative liberties with his information and how he is portrayed. he is not in any way representative of his idol faceclaim.}

temperament: melancholy-choleric

enneagram: 4w5

moral alignment: lawful neutral

fatal flaw: perfectionism in perception

love language:

ੈ♱‧₊˚giving: acts of service, quality time, physical touch (rare and intentional)

ੈ♱‧₊˚receiving: acts of service, quality time

· · ── ༒︎༻♱༺༒︎ ── · ·

taemin moves through the world with calm, meticulous restraint—composed and quietly attentive. he engages with others as though they are objects of study, and his interest often comes through with precision, fixation, and an unsettling depth of attention to detail rather than true emotional openness. even in intimate spaces, he is unable to fully relinquish his need to understand, refine, and define that which has captured his attention, but he is not unkind. quite the opposite, actually. but he seldom allows himself the privilege of showing anything beyond the surface level of said kindness unless he is very taken by someone.

attentive ⋮⋮ observant ⋮⋮ disciplined ⋮⋮ composed ⋮⋮ perceptive ⋮⋮ patient ⋮⋮ loyal (selectively) ⋮⋮ elegant ⋮⋮ well-mannered

negative:

fixated yet detached ⋮⋮ perfectionist ⋮⋮ vain ⋮⋮ obsessive ⋮⋮ possessive

neutral:

soft-spoken ⋮⋮ reserved ⋮⋮ unnervingly good memory for small details

specially tailored clothing ⋮⋮ expensive fragrances ⋮⋮ dim lighting ⋮⋮ high-quality coffee or tea ⋮⋮ quietly observing subtle human details ⋮⋮ rainy weather ⋮⋮ soft fabrics (silk, linen, cashmere) ⋮⋮ slow dancing ⋮⋮ classical lit or poetry ⋮⋮ warm, candlelit spaces ⋮⋮ late-night diner runs ⋮⋮ handwritten letters ⋮⋮ sweets, though he refuses to admit it

dislikes:

loud, attention-seeking individuals ⋮⋮ incompetence ⋮⋮ emotional intrusion ⋮⋮ cluttered spaces ⋮⋮ cheap imitations of luxury ⋮⋮ losing composure ⋮⋮ people who probe too much into his personal life ⋮⋮ recklessness ⋮⋮ wastefulness

hobbies:

playing the piano ⋮⋮ wine tasting ⋮⋮ calligraphy ⋮⋮ flower arranging ⋮⋮ watching old films ⋮⋮ master art studies ⋮⋮ learning languages ⋮⋮ museum visits (alone) ⋮⋮ photographing candid moments ⋮⋮ portrait sketching ⋮⋮ attending symphony or opera performances

habits:

moves quietly and with precision ⋮⋮ listens and observes more than he talks ⋮⋮ runs fingers along the rims of glassware while listening or thinking ⋮⋮ maintains prolonged eye contact without realizing ⋮⋮ lowers voice rather than raises when irritated ⋮⋮ unconsciously tracks people's movements ⋮⋮ instant detail retention ⋮⋮ gently commanding when working with a model for his pieces

emotional reciprocity ⋮⋮ creative stagnation ⋮⋮ being misunderstood/unseen ⋮⋮ abandonment ⋮⋮ never truly being able to form genuine connections with people

secrets:

now what could have possibly given you the idea that he'd ever share his secrets with you?

ੈ♱‧₊˚ _{below is a small list of available connections for taemin's character. each is open to only one character and will be properly labeled as they become filled.}

ੈ♱‧₊˚ _{other connections not listed here may be established with him, but do note that the mun is taking limited threads due to very limited time.}

From a young age, Taemin possessed an almost unnatural affinity for portraiture. He understood color and value before he understood the characters of his own name and knew the significance of proper composition and balance before he could articulate why those arrangements felt right. His portraits were widely praised for their startling anatomical precision and their uncanny ability to expose something deeper within their subjects. It wasn’t long before these works garnered the attention of collectors and curators far beyond the borders of Korea.

Soon enough, the thing that started out as a child’s innocent fascination with people and color became a career masterfully crafted by his family.

He painted for society’s most distinguished figures: the aristocrats and the heirs, the cultural figures, the ones wealthy enough to believe that even their likeness could one day become a legacy. He became his family’s greatest achievement. Their living proof of success. Somewhere along the way, they stopped treating Taemin as a son and more as a masterpiece of their making.

And for a time, he’d mistaken that pride for genuine love.

Until he realized it wasn’t.

By the time he’d turned eighteen, however, he’d grown tired of being treated as just another extension in the legacy of his family. His achievements were never about who he was at the heart of it, only what they represented. So he left. Left without spectacle, without explanation, and without looking back. His decision had become a point of public interest for some time. Yet when he was asked, he offered no statement, refusing to allow himself to become just another story for others to consume.

✧. ┊dynamic: friends with benefits

✧. ┊human or hybrid: doesn’t matter

✧. ┊age: 26+

✧. ┊genres: smut

✧. ┊bedroom preference: top-leaning, dom or sub doesn't matter

✧. ┊description: he never asks you for anything complicated, and you never offer anything beyond what makes sense. there’s a silent agreement between you two that you will never try to turn it into something it isn’t, though with taemin, that line sometimes feels unstable. he’s…quieter than you expect him to be. not detached necessarily, but attentive in a way that makes it difficult to tell if he’s actually participating or if he’s spending your shared time observing you in that eerie way only an artist does.

✧. ┊dynamic: childhood friend

✧. ┊human or hybrid: doesn’t matter

✧. ┊age: 29+

✧. ┊genres: slice-of-life, friendship, emotional anchor

✧. ┊description: you knew taemin before the silence. before the rise to prominence in the art world. before his time and his childhood were brutally stripped away by endless commissions, exhibits, and conferences. you knew the shape of his laughter and the weight behind words spoken around mouthfuls of sugary sweets. you remember golden summers spent at the lee’s lakefront estate, the caretaker bringing you fresh squeezed lemonades garnished with blackberries and sprigs of mint, and the little scar that cut just beneath the corner of his right eye; he’d fallen out of a tree while trying to get a clearer view of the lake.

above all, you remember when he used to be happy.

when he began to withdraw into himself, you quickly realized just how rare and precious those moments were. now, he seldom laughs. seldom speaks at length anymore unless you really pry it out of him—and he lets you. he always lets you. because at the end of the day, you’re the only one who ever really knew.

✧. ┊dynamic: casual acquaintances

✧. ┊human or hybrid: doesn’t matter

✧. ┊age: 20+

✧. ┊genres: slice-of-life, friendship

✧. ┊description: you often saw him at the cafe during the morning rushes, when the coffee was at its freshest and the patrons their crankiest. he always sat in the same spot, drinking the same drink, eyes fixed on someone new each day. eventually, those dark, probing eyes landed on you, and the the two of you had settled into a pattern before you even had a name for it.

it wasn’t anything significant. he’d come in, order his drink, sit in his spot, and watch you or whoever else had captured his attention that day. you’d learned through fleeting observations that the man in the corner wasn’t just there to people-watch. there was the tattered sketchbook. the worn watercolor tin. the lead and rubber. the curious eyes and quiet head tilt. he was an artist. and from what you’ve gleaned through stolen glances when he wasn't looking, a damn good one at that.

and yet, there was always something about him that felt…distant—closed off in a way that felt less like retreat and more like a quiet punishment that had been forced upon him without room for his input—and perhaps that’s what compelled you to sit with him the next time the opportunity arose.

His skills had remained. It was not the precision or the technique that began to slip from his grasp. No—it was the fascination and curiosity, things that had, at point, come so naturally to him. Countless faces and stories began to blur together, and for the first time, Taemin found himself staring at a blank canvas with not a single clue as to what he was searching for.

He thought that maybe it was simply inspiration he lacked. Yet meager inspiration could not account for the emptiness that he felt when he worked. Were it so simple as inspiration, he wouldn’t have become stuck in the tireless loop of picking up the brush, mixing the paint, and then staring at the canvas for hours on end with not so much as a single brushstroke laid.

So when he was invited to visit the Scarlet Room as a guest, he accepted. Not out of desperation or some expectation to find a grand revelation waiting there for him, but because the monotony that had infiltrated his every day had begun to feel unbearable.

He thought that there, among the unfamiliar faces and even more unfamiliar stories, he’d finally find something worth capturing again.

status: responded

location: pms

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location: pms

status: active thread - replied

location: taemin's loft

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