heartsoft

[heartsoft]

(  kim  yong ji,  cis-woman,  she/her  )     KI  YEONA   :   the  thirty year  old  survivor  that  joined  the  crescent  apartments  safezone one  month  ago.  when  the  infected  swarmed  the  streets  the  first  night,  yeona  managed  to  survive  on  their  own  because  of  how  perceptive  +  resilient  they  were.  however,  when  they joined  up  with  the  group,  it  became  clear  just  how  distant  +  sensitive  they  are too.  now,  they've  established  themselves  as  a  hunter  within  the  group,  thriving  at  the  job  because  of  their  marksmanship  and  rifle.  (  riyu,  she/her,  21+,  pst  )

OVERVIEW.

full  name  : ki yeona birthdate  : 6  september  (  30  ) hometown  : jeju island,  sk gender  +  pronouns  : cis  woman  +  she/her orientation  : demisexual zodiac  : virgo occupation  : hunter , shaman family  : roh sangwon (father, 70, deceased) , ki areum (mother, 68, deceased) , roh ujin (brother, 41, deceased, mercy killed after being bitten by mincheol) , roh giwon (brother, 41, alive) , roh mincheol (brother, 39, deceased, was turned from a bite) , roh iseok (brother, 36, unknown, never came back from scavenging) , roh yongsun (brother, 34, alive)

BIOGRAPHY.

yeona's fate was sealed the moment she took her first breath of air. born as the only daughter in a sea of brothers, it was her duty to uphold the musok reverence that had been passed down from generation to generation in her mother's side of the family. before she could understand what her inherited role as a ki woman meant, yeona was a little girl immersed in the rhythm of ranch life in jeju island first, finding joy in the movement of playing with her brothers and exploring the ranch rather than listening to stories of ancient gods and spirits.

despite the high expectations that weighed heavy on her shoulders, yeona's induction into musok was a slow one. when she wasn't undergoing informal training with her mother for early exposure, she would often sneak off with her brothers on their hunting trips. it was through their careful instruction that she learned how to handle a rifle at twelve, and through her own merit, her marksmanship sharpened to near perfection. it was a secret well kept amongst siblings who felt for the little girl who would go on to grow in a world completely different from their own. and despite being worlds apart, the siblings were extremely close and often looked out for each other.

months before her eighteenth birthday, yeona began to have strange yet vivid dreams of death and chaos. uncertain as to why she was having these horrifying dreams, she ultimately decided to keep quiet, though the impact of these visions lingered and left a major toll on her mental health. while on her hunting trips with her brothers, yeona began to take notice of crows and foxes at every turn. feeling as though she were losing a grip on her sanity, the veil of uncertainty was lifted when she confided in her mother about the signs she was seeing. her mother would only go on to interpret these patterns as omens. a week later, yeona was officially initiated into musok as an apprentice under her mothers guidance to refine her knowledge.

while some of her siblings left the ranch to travel following their parents' deaths, yeona stayed behind with the rest of her brothers where she would spend the rest of her twenties fulfilling her role as a well respected mudang in the community, providing the locals and surrounding clients with rituals for blessings and divination. although yeona remained satisfied with her work and believed she was living up to the training her mother left her with, there was always a part of her that wished she could travel the world just like her brothers did. when she turned thirty, she decided to pay her eldest brother a visit in san francisco. life was seemingly coming together for yeona, the prospect of travel was fresh and exciting, but as luck would have it, the dreams that she had at eighteen began to revisit her on the plane trip there.

the chaos, the destruction, the death and screams.. nothing could have prepared yeona for what was quickly unfolding upon exiting the plane. hell had risen to earth and all she could do was hope she could find her brother. fortunately, she was able to find safety with a random group of survivors who knew their way around the city better than she did, ensuring her survival during the darkest time of the apocalypse. unfortunately, that didn't last very long and when their numbers dwindled to zero, yeona was alone in a world that was not her own. two months somehow rolled along and by a stroke of luck, be it from the gods she devoted her life to or her deep seeded desire to survive, yeona finally crossed paths with her brother who eagerly brought her to safety in the crescent apartments safezone.

EXTRAS.

yeona had way too many brushes with death, too many close calls for her own comfort. the first month, she managed to get her hands on a rifle after successfully killing a police officer who had attacked the group and claimed the lives of a few. to this day, she still prays for the peace of those who died and thanks the officer for lending her his weapon that got her out of many more sticky situations afterward.

she still practices shamanism, though in private, and firmly believes the gods and her spirit stones are what kept her safe all those weeks alone in the wastelands. she was able to retrieve the rest of her tools after arriving to the safezone and has continued to serve those who believe in the practice, providing anyone who wishes with prayers and talismans to ensure their safety.

yeona has had different people from across the world seek for her help prior to the apocalypse. as a result, she became near fluent in english and understands it more expertly than she speaks it. she often appears quiet and distant in conversation, but this is mostly because she is taking her time finding the proper words to engage. she sometimes goes days without speaking at all because her mind is in constant distress and would rather her actions do most of the talking.

in the two months where she fought for survival, yeona was able to learn how to memorize and navigate certain parts of the city. initially, she was simply one of the many survivors trying to reel back from the horrors she had witnessed, but when her brother failed to return from a scavenging run a month ago, she decided to offer her skills and became a hunter for the safezone. although she has ulterior motives of her own that might put her or others at risk, it is satisfying to bring home food that isn't canned or expired.

despite the apocalypse gravely altering her personality, she has managed to remain altruistic in honor of her mother. she would rather peel off the shirt on her back to provide someone else warmth than to watch them suffer. despite the exposure to death and gore, she is still extremely sensitive to it all and privately mourns for the world that she never got to experience. she has developed a certain wariness that makes her intuition all the more sharper. less trusting and more perceptive, she is able to notice little details, be it in her surroundings or in people.

[heartsoft]

Kim Yong Ji in SOMEBODY (2022) dir. Jung Ji Woo requested by anonymous