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Joo Won 주원 [Current Drama 2024 - The Midnight Studio/ 야한(夜限) 사진관]


flutterby06

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@kittyna Remember when you asked if that Halloween picture Joo Won posted was a filter or real makeup? I can 100% confirm it was a filter. Lol. I saw it on the Snow app! Haha.

 


Also it looks like Joo Won and his friends went bowling.
His friend posted a story on his Instagram.

 

Credit: JooWon_Thailand_FanClub via. Instagram via. GwagSangHo via. Instagram

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So here we go: my very first "Ojakgyo Brothers" fanfic!

 

Spoiler

Title: Orphan

Drama: "Ojakgyo Brothers"

Characters: Hwang Tae Beom, Hwang Tae Hui, Hwang Tae Sik, Hwang Tae Pil

Premise: What started off as a completely normal weekend for the Hwang brothers takes an unexpected turn when they're told their cousin Tae Hui will be staying with them - for good. As he and his brothers scramble to adjust to the newest member of the family, Tae Beom tries to solve the mystery of what actually happened to his little cousin.

 

Note on timeline: In order to write these characters as little kids, I had to figure out their exact age differences first - being three years or four years apart isn't that big a deal when you're in your 30s, but when you're still little...that can be quite a substantial difference in maturity. Unfortunately, most of the brothers' ages are revealed in the drama in quick throwaway "blink and you'll miss them" comments - but here's what I managed to figure out for their ages at the start of the drama (ages given first in Korean reckoning, with "real"/biological/international age in brackets). If I got any of these wrong, please forgive me. :unsure:

 

Tae Sik - 37 (36)

Tae Beom - 34 (33)

Tae Hui - 30 (29)

Tae Pil - 29 (28)

 

And since we know that Tae Hui is 6 (5) when he's adopted, that means the character's ages in this fic will be as follows:

 

Tae Sik - 13 (12)

Tae Beom - 10 (9)

Tae Hui - 6 (5)

Tae Pil - 5 (4)

 

That being said, if I end up messing up on how children talk, especially in Tae Beom's narration, then my apologies. In my defence, though, I do see him as being rather precocious for his age ;) 

 

Once again, please do not repost or republish this fic on any other website - if you want to share it, please just use the URL for this comment. Thanks!

 

Spoiler

Orphan

 

“Boys! Come out here – your father has something to tell you!”

 

“Ne, Eomma!” I yell back through the closed door. Quickly, I use my ruler to mark my place in my math workbook. “We’re coming!”

 

I turn off the light on the desk and get ready to go outside. But even when I’m done tidying up my stuff, Hyung still has not moved. He’s still lying on his back in the corner where he sleeps, his comic book right in front of his face.

 

I groan and roll my eyes. “Hyung, come on – we’ve got to go.”

 

“Just a minute, Tae Beom,” he says. “I’m almost finished this page.”

 

Fuming – yes, that’s a good word: “fuming” – I snatch up my eraser from my desk and throw it right at him. It misses and flies right past him, but still manages to make a loud smack as it hits the wall.

 

“Ya!” Hyung sits up and glares down at me. “What was that for?!”

 

I know it makes me look babyish, but I stamp my foot anyway. “Come on, Hyung!” I whine. “We gotta go!”

 

“Alright, alright,” he mutters, finally starting to get up. “I’m coming.”

 

“And what would Halmeoni say,” I snap back at him, “if she found out you were reading your comics in the dark – again? You’ve already got glasses, and you want to mess up your eyesight even more?” I make circles with my fingers and hold them up to my face. “Four-eyes!”

 

“Ya, Hwang Tae Beom!”

 

Hyung tries to smack me, but I’m faster than him. We run out into the main room of the apartment, almost crashing right into Tae Pil. Normally, he’d get mad at me – and then I’d get mad at him, and then either Hyung or one of the grown-ups will have to break us up. But today, he just pouts at me his shoulder before pointing over at the other side of the room.

 

“Appa” – he’s still too little to start saying “Abeoji” yet – “who’s that?”

 

Hyung shushes him with a pinch, but he doesn’t scold him like he usually does – because all three of us are too busy staring at the kid Abeoji’s holding. He looks to be about Tae Pil’s size, but it’s hard to tell since he’s got his arms wrapped around Abeoji’s neck like a koala bear. He’s also got his head down, so I can’t see his face, either.

 

“Boys,” Abeoji says, “you all remember your cousin, Tae Hui, right?”

 

Hyung and I both nod, but Tae Pil shakes his head. Of course he wouldn’t remember – the last time we saw our Aunt and cousin was at our Uncle’s funeral, and Tae Pil had been just a baby.

 

“Well, here’s the thing.” Slowly, Abeoji crouches down on the floor. “Something’s come up, so he’s going to be staying with us.”

 

Hyung starts asking Abeoji more questions, while I follow just behind Tae Pil as he runs closer. Soon, we’re both standing behind Abeoji, just inches away from Tae Hui. He still has his head down, though, so all I can see is his hair.

 

That doesn’t stop Tae Pil from trying to talk to him anyway. “Annyeong!” he chirps, waving his hand back and forth.

Finally, Tae Hui looks up. He blinks slowly at us, rubbing his eyes with his hand, before staring blankly at us.

 

Is that why he hasn’t spoken yet? Because he was sleeping?

 

“Annyeong!” Tae Pil says again. “I’m your cousin, Hwang Tae Pil.” He holds out one hand. “You wanna play?”

 

But Tae Hui doesn’t say anything. He just stares down at Tae Pil’s hand for a second before burying his face in Abeoji’s shoulder again.

 

Tae Pil is confused. He steps closer, waving his hand. If Tae Hui were looking up at us, Tae Pil’s hand would be right in his face. But nothing happens.

 

“Appa…” Tae Pil looks lost. “What’s wrong with him? Can’t he talk?”

 

“Ya!” I give him a sharp nudge with my elbow. “You can’t just ask someone that – that’s rude!”

 

“Gwenchana, Tae Pil-ah,” Hyung says, coming over to join us. “He’s probably just shy. Isn’t that right, Abeoji?”

 

Abeoji looks at all of us out of the corner of his eye. “Geu rae.” He gives Tae Hui a little bounce. “Be patient, Maknae,” he says to Tae Pil. “He’ll warm up to you three soon enough.” He whispers something in Tae Hui’s ear. I can’t hear what it is, but it makes Tae Hui look back up and give us a shy wave.

 

“Aigoo! Is that our Tae Hui?!”

 

Halmeoni’s voice from the kitchen is so loud, it makes Tae Hui jump, his eyes growing super-wide. He turns around to look just as she comes out, clapping her hands at him.

 

“Look at you – you’ve gotten so big already!” Halmeoni bustles over to us. “Hwang Sa-jang,” she says to Abeoji, “I would have come out sooner, but there’s so much to be done now that our Tae Hui is here.” By now, she’s bending down in front of us, holding her arms out. “Tae Hui-yah – you still remember your dear old Halmeoni, don’t you?” She claps her hands gently. “Come and let me take a good look at you.”

 

Hyung and I exchange looks. If Tae Hui’s already so shy with kids like us, how’s he gonna react to her? But then, after staring at her for so long that I’m starting to worry that he really is scared, he unwraps his arms from around Abeoji’s neck and holds them out to her.

 

“Halmeoni.”

 

It’s been so long, but Tae Hui’s voice is just as cute as I remember it: quiet, almost as high as a girl’s. And his smile is the same as before, too: small – just big enough to show his two front teeth – but sweet, with two big dimples on his chubby cheeks.

 

His smile’s like a bunny rabbit’s, the grown-ups used to say.

 

Halmeoni scoops him up right away, staggering just a little under his weight as she stands back up. “Omo, omo, omo…” she murmurs to him, “you’re so heavy now.” She gives him a little bounce, so he’s sitting more comfortably in her arms. “Soon you’ll be too big for your Halmeoni to carry you anymore – and then, when you’re even bigger still, I bet you’ll be just as tall and strong as your Abeoji was.”

 

Tae Pil nudges me with his elbow. “Why’s he not scared?” he whispers

 

“Because,” Hyung answers when I glance at him, “before our Uncle’s accident, Halmeoni used to babysit him. So Tae Hui knows Halmeoni better than he does all the rest of us.”

 

“Oh….” Tae Pil nods, pointing one finger at his chin like he’s so smart.

 

“Maknae-yah,” Halmeoni says as she puts Tae Hui back down on the floor, “why don’t you show Tae Hui your room? He likes cars – just like you.”

 

Tae Pil grins. “Ne, Halmeoni!” he chirps back, giving her a salute. Then, going over to Tae Hui, he grabs onto his hand. “Come on! You wanna race cars with me?”

 

Tae Hui looks back at Halmeoni, but when she gestures for him to go ahead, he smiles and nods at Tae Pil. And then they’re both off, running into Tae Pil’s room even as Abeoji calls out to remind them both that Tae Hui’s a year older, so “Be nice, Maknae!”

 

That leaves Hyung and me, and all the grown-ups.

 

“Tae Beom-ah,” Halmeoni says, “go and keep an eye on them before they get the idea to tear this whole place down.”

 

“Ne,” I answer, grinning at her. I don’t know about Tae Hui, but Tae Pil can certainly make a big mess when he wants to. “But what about Hyung? Shouldn’t he come, too?”

 

Hyung nods. He opens his mouth to say so, but then Abeoji holds up his hand.

 

“In a moment, Tae Sik-ah. You can join the others later. But first, there’s something we need to tell you.”

 

I know that means I’m supposed to go, but I don’t move until Abeoji actually gives me a look. So even though I’m dying to know what Hyung can know that I can’t, I go.

 

I can always pry it out of him later. I’m good at that.

 

~~~~~

 

“Mwo?!” My mouth drops wide open at Hyung. “‘For good’? What do you mean, he’s staying here for good?”

 

“Ya!” Hyung shushes me, putting one finger to his lips. “Keep it down – they’ll hear you.”

 

I look back over my shoulder at the wall separating our room from Tae Pil’s. Even from here, I can hear Tae Pil and Tae Hui racing their toy cars around the room – Tae Pil’s making ninety percent of the noise, though.

 

But that’s not important. Not with the bomb that Hyung’s just dropped.

 

“So what do you mean?”

 

“I mean,” Hyung retorts, “what I’ve just said. Eomma and Abeoji…we’re adopting him.”

 

I shake my head. That’s even more confusing.

 

“Wae?” I ask. “Why do we have to take care of Tae Hui? Doesn’t he have his own Eomma?”

 

I mean, I know – we all know – what happened to our Uncle, but that still leaves our Aunt, right?

 

But Hyung shakes his head. “Not anymore.”

 

My mouth falls wide open. “Mwo? Wae?” I drop down to a whisper. “Did…did something bad happen to our Aunt?”

 

“I don’t know,” Hyung snaps. “Abeoji wouldn’t say. All he said was that….” He twirls one hand around in the air, like when he’s trying to find the right word to say.

 

I try to help. “‘Apparently’?”

 

He snaps his fingers and smiles in relief. “Geu rae – ‘apparently’. Komawo, Tae Beom-ah – you’re so smart. But anyway – well, ‘apparently,’ for some reason I don’t know, our Aunt just can’t take care of Tae Hui anymore.”

 

I still don’t get what Hyung’s saying, but I nod anyway. “So she told Abeoji to bring him here?”

 

Hyung shakes his head, reaching up to grab his hair with one hand. “I…I think that’s what they – the grown ups, I mean – all had in mind at first. Apparently – there’s that word again – they’d all known about this for a while.”

 

I know it’s rude, but I jump in anyway. “So why didn’t they tell us?”

 

“Because that’s not what actually happened,” Hyung bursts out. “I mean, I’m sure that was the plan – that arrangements would be made, and then Abeoji would tell us with Tae Hui coming over a few weeks or months from now – but instead” – he snaps his fingers again – “our Aunt just disappeared, just like that.”

 

I feel something cold and heavy, like a big rock, in my stomach. This is just getting weirder and weirder. “Mwo?”

 

“No-one – not even Abeoji – knows what happened. All we know is that when Tae Hui woke up yesterday morning, he was all by himself.”

 

“Omo!” I gasp, clapping my hands over my mouth when it comes out too loud. “So how did he get here?”

 

“Someone found him sitting out on the street by himself last night and called the police. They thought he’d just gotten lost, so they took him back to the station with them.”

 

“Why didn’t he tell them what’d happened?” And then, it hits me. “Was it because he was scared?”

 

Hyung shrugs helplessly. “Maybe. But Halmeoni said that Tae Hui’s always been quiet to begin with, so who knows? But this morning, when still no-one had come for him, the cops finally asked if there was anyone else besides our Aunt they could call.” A small relieved smile grows on his face. “Thank goodness Tae Hui remembered Halmeoni. It still took the police a long time to figure out who exactly our Halmeoni was and then track down our phone number, but once they had that…you know how Abeoji just ran out ‘on a quick errand’ after lunch?”

 

I nod.

 

“Well, that was to pick Tae Hui up from the police station.” Hyung now spreads his arms out wide open. “And here we are.”

 

“So…what’re we gonna do?” I look back at the wall between Tae Pil’s room and ours. “Does Tae Hui know what’s going on?”

 

“I don’t know,” Hyung barks back at me. “Abeoji said he tried to explain on the way here, but Tae Hui’s still so little….”

 

I understand what he means. I’m ten this year – all grown up, as Halmeoni would say – and even I’m confused. And Tae Hui’s only six!

 

“So I guess,” Hyung continues, “we’re just gonna have to make things up as we go along.” He shrugs. “It’s not like Tae Hui’s got any other place to go–”

 

“Stop it! Give it back!”

 

I stare at Hyung. Hyung stares right back at me, his eyes huge in surprise.

 

That was Tae Hui.

 

“We’d better go, Tae Beom-ah,” Hyung says. “Bbali, before the grown-ups find out.”

 

Together, we rush into Tae Pil’s room. The two little kids are sitting on the floor, each grabbing onto one end of Tae Pil’s big toy police car. They yank it back and forth, neither of them willing to let go.

 

Hyung’s jaw drops. “Ya – of all the – ya, stop it!”

 

They don’t seem to hear him. Instead, with one sharp tug, Tae Hui wins, pulling the car so hard out of Tae Pil’s hands that they both fall over backwards.

 

“Ow!” Tae Pil squawks, scrambling up to his feet. “You big meanie – that hurt!”

 

He looks like he wants to throw himself at Tae Hui, so Hyung grabs him while I grab Tae Hui, and we pull them apart to opposite sides of the room.

 

“Ya, Hwang Tae Pil!” Hyung snaps. “What’s wrong with you?”

 

Tae Pil points angrily at the police car. “I was playing with that!”

 

Hyung and I both stare at Tae Hui, but he shakes his head, hugging the car close.

 

Tae Pil gets even madder and stomps his foot. “Was too!”

 

“Aniya!” Tae Hui protests. “I had it first.”

 

“But it’s mine!” Tae Pil whines. “Pick something else – like the firetruck.”

 

“But you said that one’s yours, too.” He’d started off quiet, but now he gets louder and louder. “The firetruck is yours, the race car is yours…everything is yours, so what am I gonna play with?!”

 

My mouth falls open in surprise. Tae Pil looks like he wants to say something, but Hyung stops him by turning him around to look him in the eye. “Ya, Tae Pil-ah,” he says, “what did we say to you about sharing?”

 

Tae Pil pouts. He doesn’t want to admit that he was wrong – he never does – but then he looks down at the floor. “If I have something, and somebody else doesn’t,” he mutters, nudging the floor with his feet like he’s sulking, “then I have to share with them.”

 

Hyung nods. “Geu rae. So…?”

 

“But it’s not fair.” Tae Pil points at Tae Hui again. “What about him? Why am I the only one who has to share?”

 

“Because–”

 

I try to explain, but Hyung beats me to it. “Just because.”

 

I know I shouldn’t do it, but I roll my eyes and smack myself on the forehead anyway. Hyung might be the oldest out of the three of us, but he just happens to be the dumbest as well.

 

No wonder, then, that Tae Pil just makes a weird face. “Huh?”

 

“You…you know. Things like your toys or your room.”

 

“I know that!” Tae Pil squawks in protest. “But what about him?”

 

“A-Abeoji will bring Tae Hui’s things here tomorrow,” Hyung continues. “But Tae Pil-ah, it’s not just you. We’ll all have to share with Tae Hui from now on.”

 

Tae Pil blinks at him in surprise. “Why?”

 

Hyung grabs the nape of his neck with one hand – clear sign that he’s getting nervous. And no wonder: once Tae Pil starts on his questions like this, he never shuts up.

 

“Um…because….”

 

“Why?”

 

“Well, be-because our cousin Tae Hui’s gotta stay with us and–”

 

“Why?”

 

“Well, that’s because Abeoji and Eomma will be taking care of him and–”

 

“Why?”

 

Hyung blinks several times. “What do you mean, ‘Why’?”

 

Something doesn’t feel right. I tighten my grip on Tae Hui’s shoulders, just in case. “Hyung….”

 

“Why do Eomma and Appa have to take care of cousin Tae Hui now?” Tae Pil makes a strange face – no wonder, since he’s only five.

 

“Well….”

 

“Doesn’t he have his own Eomma?”

 

“Well, that’s because–”

 

“Because he’s our cousin, right? So doesn’t that make our Aunt his Eomma and–”

 

“Because he hasn’t got one!” Hyung bursts out, finally sick and tired of Tae Pil’s endless questions. “Because she left him all by himself, and we can’t find her, so she’s probably not coming back!”

 

All four of us go completely still. My jaw drops. Slowly, through my hands, I feel Tae Hui tensing up.

 

“Hyung!”

 

He turns to look at us, his expression just as surprised as mine. “Tae Beom-ah….”

 

“What’s your problem?” I blurt out, squeezing Tae Hui’s shoulders to try to stop him from trembling. “You big, fat dummy – how could you say something like that–”

 

But I don’t get to say any more, because just then, Tae Hui starts to cry. I knew he was going to sooner or later, but he starts so suddenly now, it’s like everything that’s happened yesterday and today has just hit him all at once. He drops the police car down onto the floor with a clatter, his hands balling up into fists. His mouth opens and his eyes scrunch shut as tears roll down his round cheeks – the only part of him that’s actually properly chubby like a little kid’s. And because he is still a little kid, he cries like all little kids do:

 

“Eomma!!!”

 

Running footsteps rumble outside before all three adults burst into the room. Immediately, Halmeoni crouches down beside Tae Hui, scooping him up into her arms the second I let go.

 

“Aigoo…” she coos, her voice just barely audible over Tae Hui’s cries. “My poor baby…my poor baby….Gwenchana, Tae Hui-yah, your Halmeoni’s got you….”

 

She carries him out of the room, Eomma following just behind. As for Hyung and Tae Pil, Abeoji’s already got them both standing at attention in front of him. But while Tae Pil starts to fidget, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Hyung just stands there with his head down and his lips pressed together.

 

“What’s going on?” Abeoji booms, looking disapprovingly over both of them. “What’d you do to him?”

 

Why he hadn’t called for me to join my brothers before he started interrogating – because “interrogating” really is the best way to put it – them is beyond me. But I do notice when Hyung flinches even as Tae Pil opens his mouth to protest.

 

“It wasn’t me, Appa – it was Hyung!”

 

“Ya, Hwang Tae Pil!” I blurt out, stepping over towards them. “Quit lying – none of this would’ve happened if you’d just been willing to share your toys.”

 

As Tae Pil whines at me for “tattling,” Abeoji peers over his shoulder at me. After staring at me for a long moment, he turns back to the others.

 

“Is that so? Alright, then: which one of you is going to talk?”

 

~~~~~

 

I don’t see Tae Hui again until later in the afternoon, after I’ve finished my homework for the weekend and gone to the kitchen for a snack. As I come back out into the main room with my well-deserved bottle of banana milk, I spot him seated at the large dining table with a colouring book.

 

The book looks new, as does the box of crayons beside it. In hopes that it would cheer him up, Halmeoni had taken Tae Hui with her to the market to buy more ingredients for tonight’s dinner. From what I’ve heard, she’d also treated him with a gift from the toy store – this must be it.

 

I’m about to take a step closer when, just then, Tae Pil comes out from his room, his toy police car and firetruck in his arms. Usually, that wouldn’t stop me from heading over anyway; but this time, I stay back as he approaches the table.

 

“Here,” Tae Pil says, setting down both cars with a clatter. “You can have these.”

 

Tae Hui stops colouring and looks at the toys for a long moment. He says something to Tae Pil, but his voice is so quiet that I can’t make out what.

 

“Gwenchana,” Tae Pil answers with a shrug. “I have a ton. So you can play with these until you get your own.”

 

Tae Hui nods, then goes right back to colouring.

 

“Mianhae.”

 

I blink in surprise at the same time that Tae Hui does. I know that Abeoji had given Tae Pil a stern talking-to about sharing, but it’s not like him to just apologize without sulking about it for a while first.

 

“I shouldn’t have been mean. I’ll share with you from now on.” Tae Pil holds out his hand, pinky extended. “Promise.”

 

Both of them pinky swear, and then Tae Pil scampers over to the television in the corner, turning it on to his favourite kids’ channel. I’ve outgrown the brightly coloured cartoons that he likes a long time ago, so I just ignore him and start to head back to my room….

 

Wait.

 

I stop, right in front of my bedroom door, and look down at my banana milk. Turning my head, I look back over my shoulder at Tae Hui and then at the toy cars beside him on the table.

 

Hyung’s right. Tae Pil might have to share the most – his toys, his room, everything – with Tae Hui since they’re so close in age, but really, all of us should share. It’s only right.

 

Before I can stop myself, I head over to the table and sit down beside Tae Hui, poking the straw through the foil top of my banana milk before holding it out to him. “Here you go.”

 

Just like with Tae Pil’s cars earlier, Tae Hui spends a long moment just staring at the banana milk, but then he takes it, holding it with both hands as he drinks.

 

“Do you like it?” I ask as he sets the half-finished bottle back down on the table. “Is it good?”

 

Tae Hui nods, his eyes still focused on the drawing. “Mm.”

 

As he starts colouring once again, I scoot closer so I could look over his shoulder. He’s chosen to work on a picture of a large airplane, but what catches my eye is how he carefully fills in each small window of the fuselage with his light blue crayon.

 

“Wa…” I gasp, impressed. “Tae Pil scribbles all over the place, but you’re staying inside the lines already?” I reach over and ruffle his hair with one hand. “Good job, Tae Hui-yah!”

 

He nods silently. Just like with the banana milk, I guess that’s his way of saying thanks. But I can’t stay quiet like that; I’d go crazy.

 

“Do you like planes?” I ask when the silence goes on too long. When Tae Hui nods again, I tap my finger on the picture. “Is there anywhere you want to go, then?”

 

“Mm,” he hums with a nod. “America.”

 

“‘America’?” I gasp. “Ya…that’s awesome! But isn’t that a bit far? Wouldn’t you be afraid to go that far away all by yourself?”

 

He shakes his head, lips pursed into a determined pout. “Not by myself. Eomma said she’d take me there.”

 

My jaw drops. “Jinjja?!”

 

“Mm.”

 

I look around to see if anyone’s heard us. But none of the adults are in the room: just Tae Pil, and he’s sitting so close to the television by now that I know he’s not paying attention to us anyway.

 

Mouth still hanging open, I stare at Tae Hui. “Ya, Hwang Tae Hui, you – you little – I mean, you knew where our Aunt – ani, I mean, your Eomma – you knew where she was this whole time?”

 

He nods. “She said she’d take me, too.”

 

So what’s he doing here all by himself? I want to ask Tae Hui that, but I can’t. I don’t want him to start crying again – and besides, it’s not like he’d know anyway.

 

Instead, I ask another question: “Just the two of you? All by yourselves?”

 

Tae Hui shakes his head. “Samchon was going, too.”

 

“‘Samchon’?”

 

“He comes to our house sometimes,” Tae Hui says simply. He makes a face. “Eomma says he’s gonna be my ‘new Appa’. After we go to America.”

 

Ah. Now I’m starting to get what’s going on. Good job, Tae Beom-ah. Just a little more, and I’ll know everything.

 

“Do you like him, this ‘Samchon’?”

 

Tae Hui shrugs, but doesn’t stop his colouring.

 

“Does he like you?”

 

That makes him slow down, his hand coming to a stop. For a long moment, Tae Hui doesn’t say anything, but I do see him blinking slowly several times. He lets out a sniff, then shakes his head. “Eomma says he does, but…but I don’t think so.”

 

“Wae?”

 

“Samchon is nice to Eomma, but he doesn’t smile at me. And he doesn’t play with me. And….”

 

Tae Hui goes quiet, but I don’t need him to finish. He’s only six, so he probably doesn’t understand, but I think I know what happened now: his mother’s new boyfriend must have made her choose between him and Tae Hui; she must have slipped away in the middle of the night because she couldn’t bring herself to say goodbye.

 

As this all goes through my head, I see Tae Hui scrunching up on himself. He puts down his crayon and tucks his knees up under his chin, wrapping his arms around them like he’s trying to hug himself. He’s sniffling even more now, and his face crumples….

 

Omo, omo, omo – now I’ve done it.

 

Quickly, before the adults can notice, I tap Tae Hui on the shoulder and help him to climb into my lap. He hugs me the same way he did Abeoji earlier today, with his arms linked around my neck and his head resting on my shoulder.

 

“Ya, don’t cry,” I whisper softly into his ear. “Gwenchana, Tae Hui-yah – of course you miss your Eomma. Who wouldn’t, if they were in your shoes? But it’s not your fault. Sometimes grown-ups just don’t make sense – but there’s nothing wrong with you, arasseo?”

 

Tae Pil must have heard something, because he peers over his shoulder at us. When he sees Tae Hui in my arms, he scrambles up from the his spot in front of the TV and comes up beside us. “Gwenchana…uljima….” he chirps in his sing-song voice, patting Tae Hui on the shoulder in time with his words. He keeps repeating them over and over again until I feel Tae Hui going still in my arms.

 

“Don’t worry,” I say to him, patting him on the back like I’ve seen Eomma do to Tae Pil whenever he cries. “Everything will be alright – you’ve still got us.”

 

“Hyung’s right,” Tae Pil says, trying his best to wrap his tiny little arms around both of us in a big hug. “Appa and Eomma, Halmeoni, the hyungs and me…we can be your new family. And you will never, never be all alone by yourself. Never, never.”

 

~~~~~

 

“Keun-Hyung.”

 

What I’d been about to say in response to Hyung’s request dies on my lips as I join him and Tae Pil in turning to glance at Tae Hui beside me.

 

That’s strange. Normally, he’s the last out of any of us to speak up.

 

“You can’t do this. You’ve got to raise Guk Su yourself.”

 

Hyung blinks in surprise, then rallies himself to try again. “Tae Hui-yah–”

 

“Guk Su’s your son,” Tae Hui bursts out, his words drowning out Hyung’s for once. “He’s your son, so of course you should be the one to raise him. It’s only right.”

 

It’s only right.

 

In the awkward silence that follows, none of us could look Tae Hui in the eye. All three of us know what that means, even if, under the circumstances, we can’t bring ourselves to say it out loud.

 

“Honestly, Hyung,” Tae Hui continues, “I’m really pissed at you right now. I’m – I’m only putting up with this because you’re my Hyung – if you were anybody else, even if you were one of my friends, I’d have punched you ages ago.”

 

It’s surreal, hearing just how worked up he is. I try to shoot him a sympathetic look, but it goes by unnoticed, Tae Hui not even sparing me a glance as his eyes bore right into Hyung’s across the table.

 

“Because you know – because I’m….”

 

He cuts himself off, a frustrated scoff rumbling deep in his throat.

 

“You know my birth mother remarried and left me behind. Back then, Abeoji and Eomma had no choice but to–” He cuts himself off, now redirecting his gaze to shoot daggers at Tae Pil. “I know you don’t like that, so let me correct myself – Uncle and Aunt had no choice but to take me in.”

 

Now it’s my turn to glare at Tae Pil – have the two of them really been fighting over this again? Despite his earnest promise to the contrary, Tae Pil did end up taking Tae Hui’s adoption harder than Hyung or I. And, in that way that little kids do, he’d always fallen back on the one thing that he could hold over Tae Hui’s head whenever they quarreled over some little thing: that Tae Hui was adopted, that our Eomma was not his real one.

 

Tae Pil might be the maknae, but for goodness’s sake, he’s pushing thirty by this point – shouldn’t he know better than to resort to such childish tactics by now?

 

At least Tae Pil has the grace to look ashamed of himself, avoiding Tae Hui’s gaze until he returns to Hyung.

 

“So for myself, I get that. But Guk Su’s different. His father’s still around, so why should his grandmother be the one to raise him?!”

 

Now Hyung, too, looks ashamed. Not that that would make him change his mind – as far as he’s concerned, marrying Ye Jin is still an easier way out – but it does mean that he also can’t look Tae Hui in the eye anymore, choosing instead to stare unseeing at the simmering pot between us.

 

“Hyung, do you know what it feels like to be abandoned by your own parents? Do you have any idea how lonely it is? Always remembering their absence, feeling alone, spending your teenaged years feeling like some sort of stranger – some sort of freak – do you have any idea how that feels?”

 

Ani. I don’t know how that feels. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like. And the sad thing is, I know exactly why.

 

“Do you even know,” Tae Hui continues, “just how envious I was of you three when I was growing up?” He looks hard at Tae Pil. “Especially you, Maknae – you who always had Eomma’s love.” His voice breaks. “Do you know how jealous I was?”

 

He, too, looks down at the table now.

 

“Life’s not fair, and I don’t expect it to be fair. Because of what happened to me, I’m fated to be a loner. The love that you three take so much for granted is a debt that I will spend the rest of my life trying to repay.

 

“No one ever taught me that,” he cries out, his voice growing more heated by the second. “I learned it by myself – even as a little kid, I knew I had to grow up. So I pretended. Every day, I pretended that nothing was wrong, pretended that I was cool, pretended that I wasn’t lonely....Pretending and pretending until now, I don’t even know who I am anymore.

 

“I can’t feel anything anymore. I don’t know how. And now, when someone I like finally comes into my life, I didn’t even realize it until it was too late!”

 

On opposite sides of the table, Tae Pil and I stiffen in alarm. He’s…he’s talking about Ja Eun, isn’t he?

 

“So Hyung, you have to raise Guk Su. As if being abandoned by his mother wasn’t bad enough, don’t scar him again by leaving him as well. I…I don’t want him to end up like me – because, really, back then, I wasn’t fine after all.

 

“Now, if you’ll excuse me….”

 

Before any of us could say anything, Tae Hui roughly pushes his chair back and gets up, slinking out of the restaurant like an angry black cat. Or a ghost.

 

I glance over at his place at the table – at his bowl of rice, the lid still covering it. Biting back a sigh, I join my brothers in staring down at our plates; I hadn’t been hungry to begin with, but with Tae Hui feeling like this, even the thought of food sounds sacrilegious.

 

Letting out a sigh, I glance over at the others. Both of them continue to stare off into space, most likely still reeling from Tae Hui’s outburst. I cast a quick glance over my shoulder – there he is, by the cash register, even his agitation unable to stop from footing the bill.

 

That’s Hwang Tae Hui for you – always the responsible one.

 

And I…I’ve always been the mouthy one. The talkative one. The one who prefers to speak up now and apologize afterwards. The one who, when push comes to shove, does a better job at getting through to him than anyone else.

 

So why should today be any different? After murmuring to Hyung’s unhearing ears that I’ll call him back later, I dash out of the restaurant, just managing to catch up to Tae Hui on the street outside.

 

“Aigoo…” I blurt out, my voice forcibly bright as I drape one arm over his shoulders. “Is that how it was? Who would’ve thought? You’ve always been so mature, it’s amazing.”

 

Tae Hui doesn’t say anything, but he clearly doesn’t mind my being around since he matches his stride with mine, allowing the two of us to walk side-by-side.

 

Strange how old habits die hard, as I now find myself patting him on the back the same way I did when he was little.

 

“Aigoo…my dongsaeng. You’re doing great, my super-awesome dongsaeng….”

 

Finally, he stops, and I stop beside him. He’s still avoiding eye contact, but I jump straight to the point anyway: “Something happened today, didn’t it.”

 

He answers with the slightest of nods. “Mm. I was pretending again today.” He starts blinking rapidly – fighting back tears, perhaps? “I wasn’t fine, but I pretended I was.” After a moment’s hesitation, his face sets in determination. “Even though I don’t have the confidence, I think I can do it again. That’s what I told her, anyway.”

 

Even in such dire circumstances as this, I can’t hold back an amused smirk. After all, a dongsaeng’s love life is every hyung’s favourite ammunition. Still, I have the common decency, at least, to school my expression into something more suitable before Tae Hui could notice. “Is this about Ja Eun?”

 

“Mm. It’s over. In fact, it never even began. She doesn’t want to see me anymore.”

 

As Tae Hui tears his eyes away from me, turning his face up to the sky in attempts to blink back his tears, I take a moment to process what I’ve just heard.

 

I was the one he’d confided in, back when he finally started coming to terms with his feelings for Baek Ja Eun. At the time, I was sure that I knew what was going through his mind: the intense stirrings of first love.

 

But now, with Guk Su in the picture as well, I’m starting to wonder: maybe, just maybe, it goes back further than what I saw that night. Maybe, before there was love, there was something deeper, something stronger:

 

Empathy.

 

Out of all of us, Tae Hui was the first to say that we should just give in – even if we could not return the farm to Ja Eun, we should at least take her in. And now I realize, with sudden shocking clarity, that he sees himself in her. In Guk Su.

 

Orphans, all of them. With parents, yes, but still left fending for themselves in a world where they’ll never belong.

 

So it’s with this newfound understanding that I clap my hand back on Tae Hui’s shoulder and offer him a reassuring smile – a gesture he accepts as he takes in a deep shuddering breath.

 

There’s not a lot I can do to stop Tae Hui from feeling lonely, but I can at least make sure that he’ll never be alone.

 

Author's Notes (in "Hidden Contents" because of spoilers)

 

Spoiler

So that's my first foray into writing fanfiction for "Ojakgyo Brothers". I know that there are a good number of fics floating around online about Tae Hui and Ja Eun's relationship - and they're still one of the cutest and sweetest K-drama couples I've seen to date - but for me, the thing I wanted to explore the most was the relationship between the four brothers. And that, at least in part, is what inspired me to write this fic.

 

There's not much to offer here as far as behind-the-scenes tidbits are concerned, but I will say that it was a lot of fun trying to imagine what the brothers might have been like as kids. Of course, realistically, I can't expect them to have their adulthood personalities, but I did throw in a ton of miscellaneous nods along the way:

  1. Tae Beom doing homework while Tae Sik reads a comic book - a hint at Tae Beom's overall intelligence and his future outcome as the smart/highly educated brother
  2. Tae Beom's aside comments about words, and his prompting Tae Sik with "apparently" - a hint at Tae Beom's future career as a journalist (because journalists and reporters have to be really good with words, especially how even synonyms can have very different nuances)
  3. Tae Sik's general awkwardness, especially his difficulties keeping up with Tae Pil's incessant chatter
  4. Tae Hui's smile as a child - we don't see the child actor smiling, but I'm sure you all recognize our JW's distinctive smile here, right? B)
  5. Tae Hui's wanting to play with the police car in particular - a hint at Tae Hui's becoming a police detective in the future (I know he wanted a job in the legal profession at first, but what 5 year old would think of being a prosecutor when he grows up? So cop it is :P)
  6. Tae Hui crying for his mom - I know that they say he "never cried" about that as a child, but that's hardly realistic. I instead imagine that he stopped crying/adjusted way more quickly than anyone expected and that's the image that stuck. But come on, he's 5 - let him get at least one good cry in there.
  7. Tae Hui colouring in the lines and Tae Pil's tendency to scribble - Tae Hui and Tae Pil's main difference as adults is that Tae Hui tries to follow the rules while Tae Pil is the rebel in the family
  8. Tae Hui's talk about "Samchon" and the States - a nod to how Tae Hui's mother ends up going to the States with her second husband. We don't know when it happens, so I moved it up this early. Also, Tae Hui's comment that he thinks "Samchon" doesn't like him is a hint at the hostile relationship we later see between Kim Hong (Tae Hui's would-have-been stepfather) and Kim Jae Ha: honestly, the man is narcissistic at best and borderline abusive at worst, so I think Tae Hui actually got the better end of the deal, all things considered.
  9. Tae Beom comforting Tae Hui as a child - a hint at how Tae Beom is often the brother whom Tae Hui ends up confiding in, despite Tae Beom's annoying habit of stealing Tae Hui's intel for his own news reports

 

Once again, if anyone wants to access my other K-drama fanfics and other Hallyu-related writings, a master list is available under the "About Me" tab on my profile page. Thanks for reading - have a nice day!

 

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On 10/28/2019 at 7:30 PM, kittyna said:

 It's great to see JW having fun with his friends. He seems to hang out with this bunch quite a lot, since I've seen @leesiyoung38 show up numerous times on Instagram updates.

 

Lee Si Young is an actress. She joined Huayi Brothers around/ after the time JW went to Military Service. She does boxing, is passionate about fitness.. And JW also seems so these days. None of HB people right now are as gym crazy as these two right now may be. :P  I think that's why we see them gym together often times. 

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Okay, so this isn't strictly JW-related, but check out this really pretty fanart for "Nae Il's Cantabile":

 

 

And here are some recent fan-made collages as well:

 

 

 

To be honest, neither shirtless pics nor smoking pics are my thing - as a rule, these are the two categories of Hallyu star photos that I absolutely will not recirculate on my Pinterest account, for instance. But while we're still waiting on actual news and/or updates, this'll have to do for now.

 

(By the way, is it just me, or is "Joo Won" just a really common name? Half the time when I search up the name on Instagram, I'm seeing stuff for other celebrities or for that BL comic "Love or Hate" - the latter of which, considering the nature of the fanart, would be rather awkward if it's ever mistaken for uri JW.... :unsure:)

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Couple of goodies for everybody:

 

1. The behind-the-scenes footage from JW's recording session for "I Believe" is now on YouTube!

 

 

I love how into the music he gets - but also those moments when something does end up breaking his concentration and he cracks up. ;)

 

2. Sure, guys...you go ahead and call it that :P 

 

(Filmed and shared on Instagram by Min Jin Woong)

 

 

 

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Thanks, @tokkimoon, for the pics! I love seeing behind-the-scenes moments like these, especially given how well JW gets along with the staff. :) 

 

I don't have pictures to share this time around, though. Instead, this is a fic-related update: the next installment of my Seolleim in Salzburg series will be going up in December. Yep, it's Christmas Special time :P 

 

(Forgive me if it sounds too soon for some of you to be going on about Christmas already - here in Canada, preparations start right after Halloween, so...)

 

Now, I do intend to abide by the time I have set for posting the whole thing, but I also have some snippets that could serve as previews in the meantime. So today, it's Preview 1:

 

Spoiler

I had thought, given her aversion to disciplinarian teachers, that Nae Il would be afraid of the Krampuses and their violence. But instead, to my surprise, she is absolutely fearless. She, like so many others our age, makes a game out of teasing the costumed actors: getting all up in their faces before dancing away with a laugh as their switches flick at her heels. And, living up to her nickname, she’s good at it, too: actually managing to dodge and escape more often than the other girls in our small section of the street.

 

But sooner or later, even she has to meet her match, as one Krampus, rather than going for her directly, instead swoops down to snatch her hat right off her head.

 

Immediately, she squawks in protest, jumping up on tiptoe and waving her arms frantically in attempts to grab it back. But he is a good deal taller than her, and easily holds it up out of her reach, driving her back with his horsehair switch until she finally relents with an indignant shrug.

 

By this point, I, too, have stepped closer to the action, slowly drawn to the front line by simultaneous concern for Nae Il’s safety and fascination at her performance. So as this particular Krampus, more trickster than devil, now capers about in a jangling circular dance with his prize, Nae Il can actually make out my face in the crowd. Eyes burning in indignation, she stomps several steps toward me, throwing up her arms in helpless frustration.

 

If she thinks that I’m about to step in to help her, though, then Seol Nae Il is sorely mistaken. Instead, I make a shooing motion with one hand, gesturing for her to try again.

 

“Mwo?!” she mouths at me, incredulous. “How?”

 

I switch tactics. This time, flashing her a reassuring smile, I move my hand in a quick upward sweep, similar to what I would use to prompt a quick skipping beat from an orchestra.

 

With all the noise around us, I can’t hear what Nae Il murmurs to herself as she intently watches my hand, trying to figure out the meaning of my gesture. What I do see, though, is the exact moment when she gets it; she immediately brightens, her mouth opening in a small “oh” in understanding. Then, after giving me a smart salute in thanks, she turns and runs back towards the Krampus, parking herself resolutely right at his feet.

 

Just as I’d thought, he stumbles to a halt, surprised at the sight before him: Nae Il, her hands planted firmly on her hips, staring back up at him with the most aegyo-infused pout that she could manage. His hand, still holding her hat up in the air, slowly lowers down until it is level with his head….

 

Without warning, she makes her move. Jumping up just high enough to grab onto his furry shoulder, Nae Il propels herself upwards, easily snatching her hat clean out of his hand before springing back down to the ground – and straight into my arms.

 

She lets out a piercing shriek and swiftly breaks free with a sharp elbow to my ribs. As I double over and stumble back several paces with a startled cry of my own, she whirls around, the hand holding her hat raised and poised to strike…until the sight of me stops her in her tracks.

 

“Orabang!”

 

“Ya, Seol Nae Il…” I gasp out, slowly straightening up even as one hand is still pressed to my side where she had hit me, “gwenchana?”

 

For a moment, she simply stands there, jaw dropped in astonishment. Then, without warning, she lashes out, swatting me on the arm with her hat anyway. “What was that for?! You scared me!”

 

“Mianhae, Nae Il-ah.” I laugh sheepishly, taking several steps back away from her with my hands raised in surrender. “I just didn’t want you to fall.”

 

She answers me with her cute mock-serious pout, pulling her hat back on with a huff. She strides towards me, her mouth opening to throw back some retort – but then, suddenly, she stops, her eyes wide as saucers.

 

“Or- Orabang….”

 

But I don’t get to ask her what’s the matter, because just then, out of nowhere, a large paw claps down on my shoulder.

 

I stiffen in alarm, going completely still for a moment before, pulse pounding in my ears in dread, I slowly turn to look behind me….

 

Oh. My. God.

 

Wait a second - didn't I say this was a Christmas Special? It is - but you'll have to wait and see why there's more of a Halloween-esque vibe at the end. :naughty: Or, you know, you could just Google "Krampus" but that might spoil the surprise :P 

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A couple of recent goodies for you guys:

 

1. Even though JW plays a pretty secondary role in here (since it's Joo Sang Wook commenting on Moon Chae Won in particular), it's still nice to have a cute behind-the-scenes look at "Good Doctor"

 

 

2. JW did his Master's at Konkuk University, but many other actors have gone there as well (not sure if for their Bachelor's or for post-graduate studies like him, though)

 

 

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Loving those shoes - even if the flowers on them make me laugh. Just a little. :P 

 

Also...it's finally happened!

 

 

So, what do I think about this drama so far? I'm curious, and wondering how exactly it's going to play out. In particular, I wasn't expecting JW's character to be one "with a disorder which prevents him from feeling emotions". I can't say I've seen him doing that before - like, JW has played plenty of emotionally repressed characters (i.e. characters who actually feel emotions strongly on the inside, but who can't or don't show them for various reasons - like Park Si On because of his autism, or Cha Yoo Jin as the result of his father's abuse, or Hwang Tae Hui because of his childhood circumstances and his introversion), but not someone actually incapable of feeling. Looking forward to seeing how he takes on this particular challenge. :glasses:

 

[EDIT] - And here's another article, which says more about the actual project

 

 

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A couple of fun goodies for everyone (besides that massive announcement from the other day, I mean ;))

 

1. That time when Kim Tak Gu managed to mistake Kim Tae Hyun and Gu Ma Jun

 

 

For those who are a bit confused: Yoon Si Yoon, who played Kim Tak Gu alongside JW in "King of Baking, Kim Tak Gu", took part in a variety show where, along with other celebrities, he had to guess which two dramas featuring the same actor the screenshots were taken from. Given that this is JW's fan forum, I'm sure everyone here would recognize the two images as Park Si On from "Good Doctor" and Kim Tae Hyun from "Yong Pal". However, somehow, Yoon Si Yoon guessed that one of the two images was from "King of Baking" :P (I'm assuming the second one from process of elimination, since he did guess "Good Doctor" as well). What's even funnier is that that started a series of wrong answers - "King of Baking" + "Yong Pal", "King of Baking" + "Gaksital" - before Yoon Si Yoon managed to redeem himself by getting it right. Like a boss. B)

 

2. Analyzing JW's style

 

 

 

3. Not something from Instagram this time, but Preview 2 of my upcoming Christmas installment for Seolleim in Salzburg. Let's see what sort of shenanigans Cha Yoo Jin and Seol Nae Il get into this time....

 

Spoiler

“Ya, Seollebal – just what on earth do you think you’re doing?”

 

Startled at my voice behind her, Nae Il whirls around in the middle of our kitchen, a bottle of wine cradled in each arm. For one heart-stopping moment, her stockinged feet slip and slide on the tiled floor; but fortunately, she manages to regain her balance before disaster strikes.

 

“Or- Orabang!” she finally yelps out. “What are you doing here?”

 

“That’s what I’m asking,” I say as, taking several swift strides towards her, I firmly take both bottles from her. Gripping each one by the neck, I brandish them both in her direction. “What’s all this?”

 

Nae Il’s mouth opens slightly, but nothing comes out until, with a bemused shake of the head, I place both bottles back on the counter.

 

“Well, you see, Orabang…you know how Muhammed and Fatima are coming over today, right?”

 

I turn around to face her, arms crossed casually in front of my chest. “Mm.”

 

“And you know how Muslims don’t drink…right?”

 

“Geu rae.”

 

“It’s been so long since we’ve had guests over,” she gushes, “and I really want us to be the best hosts that we could be. And so….” She breaks eye contact, glancing down somewhere at the floor beside me as she shifts from one foot to the other. “So…so I thought that, well….”

 

“You thought,” I retort drily, “that you should get rid of the wine first – before they could come in and see it.”

 

Nae Il’s eyes widen and her lips press together into her most puppyish pout as she nods. I, for my part, simply stare at her, incredulous.

 

“Ya, Seollebal,” I gasp out. “You…you seriously….”

 

It starts slowly: a deep rumbling chuckle somewhere in my chest that, for her sake, I try to suppress. But soon it grows stronger and stronger until finally, I burst out laughing.

 

Fortunately, rather than being offended, Nae Il cracks a relieved smile. “Wae?” she asks. “What’s so funny?”

 

“Nothing,” I answer. “Just….” Stepping right up to her, I cup one hand to the back of her head before pulling her close. “Trust you to come up with something like that, Seollebal,” I murmur as I stroke her hair.

 

Nae Il responds with a hug of her own, reaching out now to wrap her arms around my waist. But soon, she steps back, head tilted back to peer up into my eyes. “So can I do it, then?”

 

I chuckle a second time, switching from stroking her hair to ruffling it. “Baboya – you don’t need to.”

 

Finally, she seems to get it. Her mouth opens slightly as she nods in understanding.

 

“Well, then. That’s settled.” I bend down to place both bottles back in the wine cooler next to the refrigerator. “By the way, just where the hell were you planning on hiding these?”

 

She hesitates for a moment before answering sheepishly, “Your room.”

 

I jump up, gobsmacked. “Mwo?”

 

“More specifically: your wardrobe.”

 

My jaw drops. It takes me several rounds of opening and closing my mouth like a fish in mute astonishment before, finally, I turn my back on her, throwing my hands up in mock exasperation.

 

“Geu rae,” I bark out sarcastically as I march briskly outside toward the bedrooms. “Just go with the option that makes me out to be some sort of alcoholic, why don’t you.”

 

 

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Credit: JooWon_Thailand_FanClub via. Joo Won via. Instagram

 

Now these videos are interesting because we get to see how Joo Won acts naturally in social environments. LOL.
Now time to ANALYZE!!! Hahahahaha. I'm still wondering about his MBTI personality type.
From this video, he is pretty much standing around with his friend.
I'm the same way with unfamiliar faces, I tend to cling to someone I do know.
I'm pretty convinced he is still introverted but will be extroverted when needed. Hahaha.
 

Credit: JooWonSweetHome_TH via.Instagram via. Lovely_Ceci1 via. Twitter

 


Credit: MeyahMJW via.Instagram via. Lovely_Ceci1 via. Twitter

I'm pretty sure this is the girl in the videos! She must have asked him to take a selfie. :w00t:

Credit: JooWon_Thailand_FanClub via. s0.s2 via. Instagram

This last post is giving me Woman Yelling At Cat Meme vibes.... now I have an idea..... :P
 

Credit: ZuWon.Aya0930 via Instagram

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13 hours ago, tokkimoon said:

Now these videos are interesting because we get to see how Joo Won acts naturally in social environments. LOL.
Now time to ANALYZE!!! Hahahahaha. I'm still wondering about his MBTI personality type.
From this video, he is pretty much standing around with his friend.
I'm the same way with unfamiliar faces, I tend to cling to someone I do know.
I'm pretty convinced he is still introverted but will be extroverted when needed. Hahaha.

 

I'm not sure about MBTI type, but I definitely recognize JW as an introvert based on his behaviour in the video:

  • For an A-list celebrity, he's spending a good deal of time hanging around the sidelines. In fact, it took me a moment to spot him in the first video you posted since I was expecting him to be the centre of attention - but no, it's the three guys in the middle (the one with crazy colourful clothes and the other two in black) that the camera seems to be following. I don't know if that's part of his job - like, whether he's there to promote a particular piece in the collection and that's why he's staying there - but JW's definitely not right smack dab in the middle of the action here.
  • When he's not directly interacting with someone - friends, fans...not sure which - he adopts a rather closed stance: standing straight either with his hands in his pockets or with his arms crossed. He's not stiff or tense, but I notice that that's how he carries himself the majority of the time in these videos. In the first video, he's even got his arms crossed as he approaches the group in the centre, only switching to a handshake after he's been introduced. :P 
  • He also doesn't appear to be saying anything in these moments. Okay, so it'd be hard to hear his voice anyway because of all the hum and buzz of voices that you get in social gatherings like this, but I don't think I see his lips moving all that much either. ;) He's doing the whole "smile and nod" combo instead. 

 

I know from numerous interviews that JW's a self-identified introvert - he's mentioned before that he's actually way less vocal in real life than what we see on 1N2D, and he also told a story once on "Win-Win" about being introduced to a girl while hanging out with a friend and not saying anything to her besides a standard greeting during that entire conversation because he was too shy. I'm sure he's worked a lot harder to develop his social skills over the years - that is, after all, one of the major reasons he got into acting in the first place - but core temperament isn't something that can be changed completely. Even if JW's more outgoing now than he was when he first started out, I think he'll always be an introvert: someone who prefers spending time either by himself or just in small groups.

 

By the way, going back to the bit on MBTI type...I can't say I have any idea for JW personally, but what about the characters he plays? Any ideas? I've got my hypotheses, but I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks, too :) 

 

[EDIT]

 

Just randomly, I went back and re-watched the Yoon Si Yoon clip I'd shared a few posts back...and I just noticed something. Based on where people are pointing, you can see which screenshot they're trying to guess the drama for - and it turns out things get really weird.

 

I'd thought that YSY correctly identified Park Si On and mistook Kim Tae Hyun for Gu Ma Jun, but actually...he labelled Park Si On as Gu Ma Jun, and Kim Tae Hyun as Park Si On. 

 

Wait - what??? Ya, Kim Tak Gu, what the heck???

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13 hours ago, kittyna said:

 

I'm not sure about MBTI type, but I definitely recognize JW as an introvert based on his behaviour in the video:

  • For an A-list celebrity, he's spending a good deal of time hanging around the sidelines. In fact, it took me a moment to spot him in the first video you posted since I was expecting him to be the centre of attention - but no, it's the three guys in the middle (the one with crazy colourful clothes and the other two in black) that the camera seems to be following. I don't know if that's part of his job - like, whether he's there to promote a particular piece in the collection and that's why he's staying there - but JW's definitely not right smack dab in the middle of the action here.
  • When he's not directly interacting with someone - friends, fans...not sure which - he adopts a rather closed stance: standing straight either with his hands in his pockets or with his arms crossed. He's not stiff or tense, but I notice that that's how he carries himself the majority of the time in these videos. In the first video, he's even got his arms crossed as he approaches the group in the centre, only switching to a handshake after he's been introduced. :P 
  • He also doesn't appear to be saying anything in these moments. Okay, so it'd be hard to hear his voice anyway because of all the hum and buzz of voices that you get in social gatherings like this, but I don't think I see his lips moving all that much either. ;) He's doing the whole "smile and nod" combo instead. 

 

I know from numerous interviews that JW's a self-identified introvert - he's mentioned before that he's actually way less vocal in real life than what we see on 1N2D, and he also told a story once on "Win-Win" about being introduced to a girl while hanging out with a friend and not saying anything to her besides a standard greeting during that entire conversation because he was too shy. I'm sure he's worked a lot harder to develop his social skills over the years - that is, after all, one of the major reasons he got into acting in the first place - but core temperament isn't something that can be changed completely. Even if JW's more outgoing now than he was when he first started out, I think he'll always be an introvert: someone who prefers spending time either by himself or just in small groups.

 

By the way, going back to the bit on MBTI type...I can't say I have any idea for JW personally, but what about the characters he plays? Any ideas? I've got my hypotheses, but I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks, too :) 

 

[EDIT]

 

Just randomly, I went back and re-watched the Yoon Si Yoon clip I'd shared a few posts back...and I just noticed something. Based on where people are pointing, you can see which screenshot they're trying to guess the drama for - and it turns out things get really weird.

 

I'd thought that YSY correctly identified Park Si On and mistook Kim Tae Hyun for Gu Ma Jun, but actually...he labelled Park Si On as Gu Ma Jun, and Kim Tae Hyun as Park Si On. 

 

Wait - what??? Ya, Kim Tak Gu, what the heck???

 

Oooooh YESS! Thanks for your analysis. We need to see him in person to see for sure. :P
I completely agree with your points!! Honestly, he's so down to earth, that sometimes I forget he's famous.
I'm actually not good at figuring MBTI but I wanna hear what you think his characters might be! Lol.
I can tell you whether I think they are extroverted or introverted (at least his TV characters). Haha.
Hopefully my guesses aren't too crazy. Haha.

Extroverts - Gu Ma Jun, Lee Kang To, Han Gil-Ro, Kim Tae Hyun, Gyun Woo
Introverts - Hwang Tae-Hee, Cha Yoo Jin
Park Shi On is hard because of his condition. It's really a wild card.

Did I forget anyone? Also, feel free to disagree because these are from assumptions, haha. I'm not clearly thinking about all the details, hahaha. I might have forgotten some moments that prove otherwise.

BTW, yeah Yoon Shi Yoon's memory was pretty bad in that case. Hahahahaha.
It was been like 9 years though right? Ma Jun's hair was pretty straight too and black.
Joo Won's hair in the later years has more brown tones.
 

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7 hours ago, tokkimoon said:

I'm actually not good at figuring MBTI but I wanna hear what you think his characters might be! Lol.
I can tell you whether I think they are extroverted or introverted (at least his TV characters). Haha.
Hopefully my guesses aren't too crazy. Haha.

Extroverts - Gu Ma Jun, Lee Kang To, Han Gil-Ro, Kim Tae Hyun, Gyun Woo
Intrroverts - Hwang Tae-Hee, Cha Yoo Jin
Park Shi On is hard because of his condition. It's really a wild card.

Did I forget anyone? Also, feel free to disagree because these are from assumptions, haha. I'm not clearly thinking about all the details, hahaha. I might have forgotten some moments that prove otherwise.

 

Well, I'm not a psychologist myself, so I can't say I know MBTI super-well either. However, as a fanfic writer, I do actually use this site here to sometimes help me flesh out characters more than what we just see on screen: Personality Portraits

 

Using that, I do have my own guesses on some - but not all - of the characters JW's played. But before I get to that, I just want to say that I really like your extroversion/introversion guesses. Me, I see it more on a spectrum than an either-or (since many people carry some combination of both extroverted and introverted traits), so here's my take.

 

Just a quick FYI: I'm not necessarily using whether someone is talkative/social or quiet/shy as the key deciding factor. I'm thinking more about where I've seen the character being happiest: as the centre of attention in a busy social setting (extrovert), or doing something at home by themselves or with 1-2 others (introvert), or somewhere in the middle/it depends (ambivert)

 

Most Extroverted

Han Gil Ro

Gyun Woo (Maybe? I haven't watched "My Sassy Girl" in its entirety, so just going by the short clips I've seen on YouTube)

Lee Kang To

Kim Tae Hyun

Gu Ma Jun (To be honest, I'm rather fuzzy here, too - can you believe it's been almost 4 years since I watched "Kim Tak Gu"???)

Park Si On

Cha Yoo Jin

Hwang Tae Hui

Most Introverted

 

If I could actually do gradients, I would - since it's still more complex in my head than what I have here. :P Like, an ambivert who's closer to the introverted side of the scale would still be different from an ambivert closer to the extroverted side - or you can have someone like Gu Ma Jun, who appears to enjoy the attention and buzz of a social setting but is so crippled by his own insecurities that he withdraws into himself more often than not (the difference here being that, unlike an actual introvert, Ma Jun hates it).

 

I'll come back later with a couple more detailed - and full MBTI - takes on some selected characters, but this is all the time I've got now ;) 

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