- faceclaim: ok taecyeon

age: thirty-two

birthplace: hanseong

ancestral place: jeju/tamna

social rank: jungin

occupation: royal head chef/sura + many other side gigs, including one at hbm

negative: too selfless, controlling/micromanages, cares too much. short-tempered with those he is comfortable/close to. he crashes hard during the low points. it's not rare that puts himself under too much pressure/carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. some might argue that he has low self esteem issues, despite his confident image, not thinking he deserves better for himself.

positive: despite the issues in his life, he will always help others in need.

negative: due to his low self esteem, he does not believe that he deserves better in his life. sometimes it has him overly worry about the future and it can nearly destroy the good in his life. he also has a difficult time letting others know when he needs help or is drowning in his problems.

food: potatoes, tangerines, seafood, and pork are his easy ingredient choices. they remind him of his family's ancestral roots in tamna/jeju.

dislikes: debt collectors, judgmental individuals, and drugs

hobbies: painting, drawing, singing, gardening, and stargazing

while his grandfather was a respected court painter, the same could not be said of his father. boo sukku was a talented painter, but with that same amount of talent he was just as addicted to his vices. name it and he most likely tried it, but he had a penchant for gambling and drugs. it was these problems that had driven out yikyung's mother out a few years after his youngest sister's birth. all the children knew was that she met another man, never to be heard from again.

with their mother gone, it only added onto the stresses that made sukku sink further into his addictions. the gambling debts eventually added up, debt collectors becoming a more common guest for the boo household compared to family and friends. sukku could barely keep up with his work, the kids were drowning with his problems. to solve this, each boo child had to take on various jobs to help pay off the family's debts.

despite his talents in the arts, like his grandfather and father, yikyung gave up on his dreams. before he was ten, he knew that he had to be realistic. art was a rich man's hobby. even with his family's connections and his talent, he could not guarantee himself a honorable position like his grandfather. he knew too that art was not as reliable of an income. on the other hand, the military was a stable, but dangerous career. while it would guarantee his family food on the table, it came with the gamble of his own life, never knowing when it would be his last day on earth and the last time he could support his siblings.

for that, a life in the kitchen was a stable job that he loved and was good at. people had to eat, so he would always have a job. plus, it was flexible enough where his skills could be applied anywhere, whether it was in a tavern or in the royal family's kitchen.

preference: yangban, jungin, or sangmin. someone with cash
relationship: negative
note: while sukku is still under further discussion and development between junseo’s mun and me, imagine him as a joseon version of shameless’s frank gallagher.

boo sukku owes a number of people, including muse a. like clockwork every month, yikyung stops by muse a’s place to pay off sukku’s debt. however, he happens to be short this month and can’t seem to scramble enough cash to delay the payment. desperate and knowing the family is at their limit, yikyung tells muse a to do whatever they want with him to pay off sukku’s debt for the month.

preference: yangban or jungin
relationship: teacher and student
genre: comedy

as one of many yikyung’s side hustles, he provides private cooking classes to wealthy families around hanseong. while he’s proud to say that 99% of his students see improvement within the first few lessons, muse a happens to be in the special 1%. it is difficult to say if the improvement is just that slow or they decline in progress, despite being one of yikyung’s students for the past year. everyone knows that yikyung sticks with the gig because muse a is one of his best clients. why does muse a stick with these classes, despite nearly burning down their estate every single lesson? who the hell knows.

preference: 30+. yangban or jungin most likely. if sangmin, it would probably be that muse a’s family owns a successful business involving a kitchen (ex: tavern, gisaeng house, etc).

yikyung rarely had a quiet or slow day, always hustling for quick and extra cash. it was partially why he started his first job at age seven, working for muse a’s family as their kitchen assistant. it seemed odd that a child worked in muse a’s home, but nothing about yikyung’s life made much sense.

note: this plot is flexible. the two could be close or estranged, depending on what you want.

preference: jungin or sangmin.
relationship: connected to the debt collector that attempted to hunt down the boos, only to go missing one night.
note: please send a gpm to boo yikyung and junseo if interested

the boo children were on the run once again, but the chase that night was different. it was raining hard and this time around, they were told that they were going to be sold off as slaves. running low this month with cash, they had little to bribe with or to postpone their punishment. desperate, the children ran into the mountains to hide, only for the debt collector to find them there.

the chase ended with the collector dead and the five boo siblings hiding the body, swearing to secrecy of that night’s events.

versions

#1: child or sibling. 25-45
muse a was not much different from the boo children. like them, they were constantly scrambling for the next meal or paycheck. there was never certainty in the household. despite his bad temper with others, it helped that their father/brother did his best to provide for his family. he hunted down runaway slaves and collected debts. when he didn’t come home one night, muse a started a cold and lonely journey, resentful of the family he had to chase down.

#2: fiancee. female. 39-44
muse a’s fiance was a debt collector with a terrible temper. if it wasn’t for muse a’s terrible family situation, they would not had sold her off to him. despite praying for a way to end this relationship, she did not expect her fiance to go missing right before the wedding. since then, she don’t know what to make of the boos. it would be easy to blackmail them, but in some ways they saved muse a from a life with her fiance.

preference: female. 30-35
relationship: childhood friend/mutual unrequited love.

notes: must be taken (married or engaged), widowed, divorced, or previously engaged. similar to yikyung, muse a comes from a family with its fair share problems. it's partially how the two became close over the years, leaning on one another.

version #1

loosely inspired by "more than blue"/"a story sadder than sadness with lee boyoung and kwon sangwoo

“what do you wish for?”

“someone to fall in love with.”

yikyung’s was heartbroken hearing this, but accepted it. muse a was his best friend, the woman he loved all these years, but said nothing of. yet, it was from that day on he did everything he could to help make muse a’s dream come true. he thought he found her a good husband too. it was all he could do, despite his love for her. however, he could never settle down with her, especially with a family like his. it was not fair for her.

what he didn’t know was that muse a loved him too.

- will mirror responses.

- i am a slower responder.

- extra: i am slower with 3rd/para responses. just started writing in 3rd/para, so please excuse my rough responses.

with romance, this does not guarantee our characters are endgame. rather, the plot has romantic elements to it like former lovers, current attractions, etc. 

location preferences: walls typically, but will respond in rooms. anything smut related, strictly walls or pm.

genre avoidances: nothing too fluff, comedic, or action based. willing to do comedy if the plot calls for it and it feels natural.

triggers/limits/will most likely not plot with: 

incest

sexual assault. it's fine if it is part of your character's background.

cancer/terminal illnesses. will most likely avoid plotting/rping with your character if it's part of their background in some way, especially if it is vital to your character or the plot. 

plotting essentials and notes

• for plotting please send a pm.

• if you do not have any ideas when approaching me, please tell me what you like/don't like. 

• i can get extremely detailed and ask too many questions during the process, just a warning. this happens more so when there's history, angst, or complicated layers between our characters. i want to make sure we are on the same page.

• please contribute to the plotting process. it helps me immensely when suggesting ideas, but also inspires me to do better.

if i am not responding to you, it does not mean anything negative. i am slow with responses, so please be patient. me being in rooms is not a sign that i am ignoring you.

responses

overall: ooc is faster than ic. not a preference, it's easier for me to respond to something ooc.

ic responses: i try to get back to everyone at once.

he was twelve and on the run in the middle of the night, chased after by debt collectors once again. it was not new. from the time to time, the family had to lay low for awhile whenever the debts were too high. however, they always seemed to have a miracle or two come their way. they always collected just enough to keep the collectors away for a bit longer, but that night they were not able to gather enough money. now they were close to being demoted, potentially even sold off as slaves.

it rained hard that night. mud caked everyone's feet, making them more prone to slipping. panicked, the five boo siblings decided to split into two groups to throw off the debt collector.

the siblings not be separated for long. when the youngest boo child threw a rock at the collector's head, a trick her siblings taught her whenever someone was after her, it happened to hit the collector's head. what no one expected was that one throw to lead to a fall, a hundred foot fall off a cliff.

maybe it was the siblings' loyalty, but maybe it was that night. burying the collector's body together as a group, all five of the boo children and their father agreed to keep this as a secret amongst themselves. it was this and many other secrets that kept them bound to home and their father, who would use their secrets against them.

juggling with whatever gig he could get, he aimed to be one of the best chefs in hanseong. partially out of pride, knowing that cooking was one of the few skills he had. however, he also needed that bump to work in the royal court. while it was a place of prestige, it was also a place of consistent well paying work.

eventually he made his way there and reached the position of sura, but even then the hustle never stopped for yikyung. his father's debts always continued to grow, unable to stop his addictions. because of this, yikyung still continues to work off the debts that never seem to end, but also does his best to take care of his family. sometimes he blows steam here and there. however, he is close to reaching his limits on certain days.

preference: 27-38

relationship: pseudo or potential step siblings. most likely there is tension between muse a and the boo siblings.

notes: muse a's father split from their family twenty-two years ago

the boo family and muse a know there should be no animosity between them, but it is hard not to. after all, the boo sibling's mother and muse a's father ran off together twenty-two years ago. it was this event that made the boos and muse a the source of gossip for a few years. while the two set of children never interacted with one another, they knew each other's faces and shared a certain shame that only they would understand.

despite the mutual silence between them, things are turned upside down when their parents return after all these years with a family of their own. now the children are forced to confront their parents and each other.