#i hope no one in unity is surprised when sunghee is the first not to sign the contract whenever they have to renew it !

[fmdsunghee]

prompts. restructuring task 001.

+10 ecp points

assuming your muse has changed in some way, be it internally or as a result of a change of the external factors around them, how is your muse different? these can be as small as an opinion on a song they hadn’t released previously or as big as a major change in their background.

Probably the most significant change is the fact that now Sunghee is slightly younger and also the maknae of Catalyst. Before, they were already part of the maknae line, which naturally made them one of the youngest in the group, but now they are the absolute youngest, currently even the baby of Gold Star, which has considerably changed the way people treat them. It’s not something Sunghee is used to, because they are used to being the older sibling, but now as the maknae they are the one being babied. They don’t… particularly care for it? The insistence that others pay for shit when they go out together or the treatment they usually get for it are both things that make them slightly annoyed. 

Another change is perhaps in their image. Not so much a change per se as a bigger focus on it than before? Now there’s an actual effort from Gold Star to sell Sunghee as this like… almost perfect little brother. It was mentioned in their app that Sunghee got the position as an MC because of an interview they did where people kept gushing about how polite and sweet they were, and they easily managed to make people fall in love with them because of this approachable, welcoming and kind personality of theirs, which is a considerable contrast to the group’s image overall. Sunghee feels an extra pressure to present themselves as a pleasant person all the time, which can be very draining. 

Something small that changed is putting more focus on their lighthearted personality. Sunghee was turning out to be too quiet and too serious for who they actually are, and lost some of the playfulness that they were supposed to carry and that’s going to be more prevalent moving forward. (wc 296)

what does your muse think of their company and their group?

Sunghee’s opinion about Catalyst is about the same as they had about Unity. They enjoy the type of music they release, mostly, and the music they don’t enjoy they just don’t go back to. They are thankful that they weren’t stuck in a group with a concept like Cloud because Sunghee knew they would be even more babied than they already are, and as much as they don’t mind being the playful maknae, they wouldn’t want to be restricted by Cloud’s image. And they are also thankful Catalyst is not too conceptual the way Quantum is because they would struggle with sticking with that perfect idol group formula. 

The biggest issue Sunghee has with Gold Star is the absurd emphasis on personality. Might seem like a contradiction, considering that most of their fame they currently have is a result of their personality being used as a bargaining chip to sell them, but it’s precisely because of that Sunghee feels as if they are not allowed to ever do anything wrong. Which is very stifling to someone who can’t always control the way they will react to things. It’s very overwhelming to be constantly aware not only of the performance you’re putting on but also the way you present yourself — their personality that is sold to the public is very close to who Sunghee truly is, but they are made to feel as if there is no wiggle room and that’s daunting. (wc 242)

is your muse on their first contract or their second? if they’ve renewed, what were their feelings around that at the time and what were their hopes for their second contract? if they haven’t renewed, what are their current thoughts on the end of their eventual first contract?

As Catalyst is still a very recent group, they are still on their third year together, Sunghee is obviously still in their first contract. For now, they don’t think there’s anything that would push them to not want to sign with the company again. Sunghee would prefer if the group stayed the way it is because they do enjoy the experience of being in a group and it wouldn’t be as fun to be an idol if they were by themselves — hence why for solo music promotions they don’t enjoy doing a lot and prefer only doing the basics — but they also sometimes think about whether the increase in their fandom is going to affect the way they feel about the group eventually. Catalyst is one of the biggest groups fandom wise, so it’s something that scares them a little bit. 

Going into contract renewals eventually probably one of the things Sunghee is going to ask for the most is more creative control of group related music. Not that they wanted to work on a lot of things, and so far they’ve been given some level of creative freedom to write lyrics and whatnot, but Sunghee would like to participate more in other creative aspects. Another thing they will probably try to negotiate when time comes is more freedom to decide what things they have to do, solo promotions wise. (wc 232)

what are your muse’s goals and motivations?

Being a musician was always Sunghee’s first and main goal. Becoming an idol was a short-term, almost impulsive goal of theirs that they had when they were a teenager, and somehow they managed to make that come true. Working with music was something that Sunghee decided on at a very young age, even before they considered becoming an idol, and they genuinely feel very blessed that they get to do that. They don’t really have ambitions for awards or recognition beyond what they already have, especially because the fans give them a lot of the reassurance they used to seek from people in their lives. So now Sunghee is trying to focus on other short-term goals, related to things that interest them. Participating on a cooking show, for instance, is a goal for them. Learning new recipes that they can actually enjoy eating is also a goal for them. Having a radio show of their own, develop a career in hosting which is something they realised they really enjoy — things in the realm of idoldom that don’t necessarily have to do with music. If anything, their only long term goal music wise is to work with Chinese artists eventually, but they’d like to do that more behind the scenes, as a producer or a songwriter, than anything. 

Sunghee would never admit to this out loud but two things motivate them the most. The first is trying to make their family proud. They know whatever they do is going to make their mother proud, but they specifically would like to make their step-father proud of them. That’s probably the hardest thing to do, but they are not giving up on that anytime soon. The other is spite. But in a healthy, non toxic water sign way. Sunghee just kinda wants to prove to anyone who ever doubted they couldn’t do it that they are very capable of doing anything they set their mind to. The world is not built with them in mind, which means they are often exhausting themselves in a way other people don’t have to, but Sunghee is nothing if not motivated to keep going. (wc 358)

what is one conflict, internal or external, that your muse is currently dealing with, has recently dealt with, or will need to deal with in the future?

The eternal source of conflict for Sunghee is the fact that being an idol is exhausting beyond a normal level of exhaustion for them. Not only being constantly aware when they are performing so they won’t forget lyrics or choreography, but also being constantly aware whenever cameras are around since they can’t, as it was mentioned, even let a bit of the less enticing aspects of their personality slip. They are on, on, on, pretty much whenever they are not home, and while Sunghee is still managing to handle that, it’s truly a mystery how things are going to develop moving forward. There’s a real possibility that they might take time off at one point, which is also something they hate even the mere thought of since it feels like admitting defeat.

Something more external is the inevitable questioning of where their “alliances” lie? I’m not planning on going too deeply into it since it involves far too many political things for comfort, but there’s a section of both Catalyst’s fandom as well as people who follow idols in general that question whether being raised in China by a Chinese step-father makes Sunghee too, I guess, China friendly? Again, this is not something that is going to be explored too in depth, but it’s something that inevitably impacts who Sunghee is as a person and might keep them from being able to do a few things they’d like to do. (wc 240)

if your muse has established career claims, what are their thoughts on their career so far? if they do not, how do they feel about not having individual activities yet? what would they like to do in the future, if anything? if they don’t have ambitions for individual activities, explain why.

Most of Sunghee’s established career claims are for credits in Catalyst’s music. Something that was kinda pushed into them from an early age is the thought that rappers should write their own verses. It’s not something they get to do as often when it comes to Catalyst’s discography, especially because Gold Star is still a company that is worried about the quality of the music being released and they trust the idols just as far as they can throw them, and Sunghee is not even that big of a senior, not to mention being the maknae. So they definitely would like to work more on Catalyst’s music in the future, applying themselves more to it is something that they would like to be given a chance to do. 

The other established career claim they have has to do with hosting, which is that they hosted the Gayo Daejejeon in 2020. It’s a bit of an extension to their Music Core hosting gig, since it felt like a natural progression for them to host MBC’s end of the year show as they already host their weekly music show. Hosting is definitely one of those things about idol life that Sunghee is very surprised to enjoy as much as they do, and it’s something they want to do more of. Their Music Core gig is ending soon, which is going to be very bittersweet for them, but they would like to work on radio as well as variety shows in general, as they truly do enjoy everything that comes with this hosting path. (wc 261)