name : ryu juyeon.

dob : march 30, 1842 (27).

class : yangban.

title : viscount.

house seal : the willow tree.

occupation: tutor for noble families + literature teacher at hanseong's gyobang. head of 붓꽃.

⤷ previously: sungkyunkwan scholar.

orientation: heterosexual

relationship status: engaged.

appearance.

⤷ height : 185 cm.

⤷ build : lean, muscular.

⤷ dress : pastel colors; mostly green, purple, blue, or pink.

柳主演

Duke ryu.

lee jookyung.

uncle.

ryu songmin.

stepmother; aunt.

first cousin.

ryu hyeon.

ryu yeonhwa,

first cousin.

DUCHESS RYU.

aunt.

ryu minho.

first cousin.

ryu aera.

first cousin.

mbti : estp-t.

moral alignment : chaotic good.

love language : quality time & physical touch.

temperament : phlegmatic-sanguine.

character inspiration : my lovely liar's kim doha.

(+) mellow, rarely gets angry, non-materialistic, has a big brother aura even when with those older than him, protective.

(=) thrill-seeker, rebellious, non-conformist, tries to keep to himself, could be a little goofy.

(-) vengeful and abrasive when made angry, does not forgive nor forget, slightly naïve, overly ambitious that it can come off as arrogance, emotionally constipated.

personality.

— sometimes, he manages to get out of trouble by using his looks and kind disposition to his advantage.

— has a warped perception of love, he believes true love doesn't exist because of his father marrying his aunt after his mother + he constantly gets his heart broken.

— he's a lightweight when it comes to drinking.

— he doesn't like to reveal his last name, family, and status when meeting new people.

— he feeds the village dogs and cats, much to his neighbors' avail.

— he finds it hard to intimidate others, would rather kill with kindness.

— he loves kids.

likes : the cold breeze of the night, the flicker of candlelight, ssuk beomul, animals, pissing off his stepmother, the forest.

dislikes : beaches, alcohol stronger than makgeolli, not being able to fully act how he'd like to, confucian ideals.

hobbies : reading, calligraphy, embroidery (learned from gisaengs).

skills : archery, martial arts, swordsmanship.

as the eldest in his family, juyeon's father was quick to put him through training on the typical ryu family military path. however, he disliked training, and his mother was able to convince his father to let him pursue the scholarly route instead, as long as he still partakes in training. confucian studies piqued his interest at a young age, not because he liked it, but because he was heavily opposed to it. his mother was a forward thinker as well, and instead of bedtime stories, they dreamt of a future together where social division crumbled and women had equal power as men.

juyeon's mother was his entire world, and that world collapsed when he was just 10 years old after she succumbing to a mysterious illness after just a few weeks of being sick.

soon after, a new motherly figure appeared as his father married his mother's younger sister. juyeon always had a dislike for his aunt. she was cunning, dangerous, and she shared the same sentiments towards him.

at eighteen, juyeon was arranged to marry a girl from a prominent yangban family. she fell for him hard, but he couldn't bring himself to love her, even after countless efforts. a year later, he passed the gwageo examinations with flying colors and began to attend sungkyunkwan. after just a few months at sungkyunkwan, juyeon's dedication to his studies made his fiancee feel alone and she began to spiral, without him knowing.

[tw: suicide, drowning] in her room, juyeon discovered a note addressed to her family and him, stating that she will end her life tonight at the ocean. frantically, he rushed to the beach and barely managed to get her out of the water. after a heartfelt conversation, he felt that he was able to calm her down and naïvely fell asleep beside her on the sand. when he awoke, only her shoes remained next to him. a short journey down the shore, he discovered her washed-up, lifeless body.

“minhee? why are you like this?”

history.

for months, he was the prime suspect of the murder, and for juyeon, life was hell. after the discovery of her letter, which had been curiously hidden away, his innocence was finally proven, but the damage had already been done. not many of the people that left him came back to his side.

his father supported him the whole way, but that can't be said about his stepmother. she tried convincing his father that juyeon is a danger and of him being guilty. his father's faith in him did not waver at first, but his stepmother still managed to convince him to pull juyeon out of sungkyunkwan and have him live a quiet life, away from the public eye, to uphold their family's reputation.

the reason for her actions was simple. juyeon had caught her cheating and to this day, she continues to threaten his place in their family if he ever reveals what he saw. unfortunately, she has juyeon's father wrapped around her finger.

“honey, he's not the son that you know and love anymore.”

in memory of his mother, he now leads a secret organization, a branch of a better joseon called 붓꽃 (butkkot), to educate the lower ranks and women. they do so by having members regularly visit villages and homes and teach while disguised as tax and debt collectors. as for his day job, juyeon works as a tutor for noble families (jungin and yangban) along with teaching literature to gisaengs-in-training at hanseong's gyobang.

connections.

choi saemi.

close friend, colleague, ex-crush

chae seongyeom.

close friend, colleague,

older brother figure .

yoon hyein.

betrothed. (arranged)

name.

relationship.

01. [tw: torture]

"i didn't...i didn't kill her." juyeon slurred as he fought for his mind to slip out of unconsciousness. his face, tired and pained, was slick with sweat and dirt and his pale lips bone dry. the male was tied to a wooden chair, his ankles bound with two crossed wooden poles shoved between his legs. two men stood on either side of juyeon, holding onto the sticks as they awaited the investigator's command. the blood stains that decorated his white clothing were both fresh and old.

"i said, did you kill her?" the investigator's voice was deep and stern. the excruciating pain that radiated throughout juyeon's legs made it hard for the yangban to even part his lips to speak. "i....i didn't." his voice was hoarse and barely a whisper. "i woke up...and she was....she drowned." juyeon's neck struggled to keep his head upright as his head moved up and down, fighting with exhaustion to maintain eye contact with the investigator.

the official sighed, nodding his head to the men to continue their torture of the nineteen-year-old. this continued for weeks, maybe months until that letter was found in minhee's room.

in the end, it was all a blur to juyeon.

headcanons.

headcanons.

02. the presence of a new face in the ryu estate presented a new opportunity for juyeon. a chance to finally redeem himself. the estate was overwhelmingly lonely for the yangban, aside from his talks with yeonhwa and interactions with aera. his family disapproved of him and his stepmother pulled strings in the background, using her people to spread rumors about juyeon amongst the servants of his family. no one wanted to talk to him. in fact, they avoided him like the plague. but juyeon couldn't blame them for their actions, he wouldn't want to get involved with a manipulative, crazed murderer either.

nam boram was different from the rest of them. she was yeonhwa's new lady-in-waiting, and juyeon always considered a friend of yeonhwa to be a friend of his, even if he had not interacted with many of them.

in front of the mirror, he rehearsed his introduction to her a dozen times, each ending with a sigh. after just a few years, did he manage to forget how to meet new people in ordinary settings? despite his tedious preparations, juyeon opted to simply wait outside for yeonhwa's door until her lady-in-waiting would finally emerge.

as he listened to the laughter of the ladies from within the room, juyeon felt the exact opposite. his palms and fingers were sweaty, his behind started to ache from being sat for so long. eventually, the long-awaited sound of his cousin's door sliding open and closed came. eagerly, juyeon sprang to his feet, greeting the back of boram's head with a friendly hello. at the same time, the female turns to look at him and jumps back, both startled by the sudden voice and unfamiliar face. watching her struggle to regain her balance, he quickly intervenes by supporting boram's waist to keep her from falling over. flustered, the two quickly break off and the yangban takes a few steps back. "i'm so sorry miss, i apologize for startling you, it wasn't my intention." panic dripped from juyeon's voice.

"it's okay. did you need something, my lord?"

"oh uh...no?" juyeon had forgotten his carefully planned introduction.

a tinge of confusion washed over boram's visage. "i apologize, i must get going."

"juyeon." he blurted out as she hastily turned back to leave.

she stopped in her tracks at the sudden name. "pardon?"

"you can just call me juyeon. and you are?"

"nam boram, my lord."

headcanons.

< 30th march 1869 : hanseong gyobang → ryu estate. part one of three. >

“juyeon, just go home already! it’s your birthday! the girls won’t mind missing literature class for one day.” min grumbled, forcefully pushing juyeon out of the gyobang. “but mi—“ before he could even finish calling her name out in protest, the madam closed the doors behind him. now he had no choice but to go home.

after an anti-climatic journey back to the ryu estate, juyeon greeted the many servants with a smile, but it wasn’t returned as usual. instead, they turned to each other to whisper into each other’s ear. his stepmother must have gotten to them again. he wondered what crazy story she spread to them this time.

without wasting another thought on his tarnished reputation inside his own home, juyeon slid the doors to his chambers open, only to be met with his father and his stepmother sitting at his desk. confusion etches itself onto his visage as countess ryu suddenly springs from the floor, pulling him into an embrace. she smelled of jasmine and roses. it never failed to make him feel sick. gently, he pushed the woman off of him, much to his father’s disapproval. “juyeon! that’s your mother!” earl ryu scolded his son, but juyeon could not care less. he hated her with every fiber of his being.

“no need to scold him, dear. oh honey, happy birthday!” countess ryu laughed heartily, taking her stepson’s hands into her own and pulling him to his desk, which had been decorated with sweets and tea. juyeon’s eyebrows knitted together, already sniffing out something fishy with the entire situation. they never celebrated his birthday. they only cared for his siblings’ birthdays, so why was he getting special treatment now? what did the countess have up her sleeve this time. “you’re already 27, juyeon. time flies, doesn’t it?” his father cracked an uncharacteristic smile, pushing a small plate of ssuk beomul toward his son. it must have been over eight years ago since he had last seen the earl direct a smile towards him. hesitantly, juyeon took a piece of the rice cake from the plate. he held it up to his lips, wondering if it had been poisoned, but he had no choice but to eat. he couldn’t be disrespectful towards his father.

countess ryu watched her eldest stepson with a look of satisfaction, and the delight in her visage made juyeon nearly choke on the ssuk beomul. maybe it was actually poisoned. forcefully, he swallowed the food down like it was bitter medicine, despite it being his favorite food. “i appreciate you both celebrating my birthday like this, but you didn’t have to.” he laughed nervously, his eyes darting back and forth between their faces, but juyeon couldn’t read anything from their expressions. they were always so good at keeping their inner thoughts hidden. “are…you going to going to stay here the entire day, or was this just offer your greetings?” he shifted uneasily as he prepared to take another piece of ssuk beomul from the dish.

“oh no, i’ve—we’ve prepared something extra special for you today, darling.” she corrected herself, flashing another smile at juyeon. countess ryu spoke with a sickeningly sweet voice that sounded as if it dripped with honey, a complete 180 from the venomous tone that she would use towards him in their most private conversations. his father just sat there, completely clueless. it’s a shame how such a great man was reduced to a shell, a puppet for his wife, but juyeon did not dare pity him. it was his father’s fault for marrying his first wife’s menacing younger sister and allowing himself to be so easily manipulated by her tricks. “you /really/ shouldn’t have.” he mirrors his stepmother’s artificial smile, hoping it was enough to signal for them to leave the room.

headcanons.

[CONTINUED]

“countess ryu, lady hyein has arrived.” a servant abruptly called out from the outside, followed by the swooshing of the doors. a unfamiliar woman, around his age, stepped inside, a collected expression painted onto her face. a million questions ran through his mind as juyeon had never seen this woman in his life, but one thing was for sure: something was not right. juyeon’s stepmother eagerly greeted the female, beckoning for her to sit beside juyeon.

bewildered, juyeon moved to the side to make room for the lady. he turned to her, trying his best to control his expression, but he couldn’t crack a smile for her. instead, he flatly bowed his head towards her. “oh, this is splendid. you both look good together. lady hyein, this is my eldest son, juyeon. a handsome boy, isn’t he?” countess ryu continued to talk with the earl by her side, reduced to a useless accessory. “i thought about how you are already 27 and unmarried, and it’s truly a shame if you don’t continue our bloodline soon, so your father and duke yoon have arranged a marriage between you and his only daughter.” juyeon could have sworn that the smile on the countess’ face contorted into a smirk as she gestured towards the young woman beside him. “meet your new betrothed, dear.”

he turned his head towards hyein, and in that moment, juyeon could no longer suppress his emotion, his eyes reflected a look of terror exceeding his expression from the news of his initial engagement. hyein also looked rather confused, possibly as fearful as himself. he could not bring himself to properly greet her, instead, he focused his attention back on his stepmother. juyeon’s blood boiled with such ferocity that he nearly lunged for her. he desperately wanted to wipe the mocking smile on her, maybe even drag her out of his room and out the gates. he wanted to spit on her and tell her to not come back, but he could not. not in the presence of his father and hyein. who knows what strings the countess would pull if he retaliated so openly against her in front of her husband?

“mother, you know how i feel about marriage. why would you do something like this behind my back?” juyeon hissed through gritted teeth, maintaining eye contact with the countess. he knew she was behind this fiasco, it was always her. the yangban was fuming, face flushed an angry red as he continued to restrain himself. unbeknownst to himself, juyeon had punctured the skin on his palms with his nails from the tightness of his fists. he shook with anger, but it immediately dissipated as his door slid open once again to reveal boram’s smiling face.

her lips were parted, ready to say something to him, but upon realizing that a meeting was being held in his chambers, she quickly excused herself and slid the door closed.

until today, juyeon didn’t know it was possible for his world to fall apart a second time.

a forbidden romance.

— taken - yang seoyul.

— female, any class, 25+.

— genre: angst, drama, romance.

— flashback, 1861.

you were the reason why juyeon couldn't love his fiancée. the thing he held onto when he was thrown into a loveless engagement. he couldn't get his mind off of you, and it helped drive his fiancée's madness. after her death, the guilt consumed juyeon and you, and just like that, their romance was over.

his worst pupil.

— open.

— m/f, 25 and younger.

— yangban, jungin, or cheonmin (gisaeng).

— genre: anything goes.

— could be a flashback.

you manage to drive juyeon absolutely crazy, an impressive feat, during your tutoring sessions to the point that he almost quits on you. you try to make it up to him, still needing his help.

plots/connection skeletons.

his star pupil.

— open.

— m/f, preferably younger than 26.

— sangmin or cheonmin.

— genre: anything goes.

juyeon looks forward to his tutoring sessions with you, and it has begun to blossom into a budding friendship. you sense that he doesn't agree with what he's teaching and you begin to pry for his true thoughts and perhaps, his past.

bad blood.

— open.

— m/f, any age.

— yangban.

— very negative connection.

you are related to juyeon's ex-fiancée (her sibling, parent, cousin, etc.) and believe that juyeon hasn't been punished properly for her death.

playlists.

special thanks to ubebread

for this beautiful playlist!

ooc.

hi! you can call me gude, gudetama, or by my character's name :)

— pronouns: she/her or the pronouns my character has

— tz: gmt-5, but my sleeping schedule is horrendous

— age: 20+ 

please reach out if you want to plot or connect!

— third pov only.

— i usually mirror. i can do from para to multi-para.

— open to all genres, my favorites are angst, comedy, romance, drama. endgames are discussed, not implied.

— no smut. if the plot/connection requires it, i'm okay with implying that something nsfw occurred if you are 20+ ooc.

— i find it difficult to write/understand purple prose, so i greatly prefer writing styles that are more straightforward. i'm completely fine with being detailed, but purple prose is like a different language to me most of the time.

— i am a very busy person so please be patient and understanding if my replies are slow!

— please do not poke me.