This is the story of Ryujin & Yeji from childhood, through Itzy, and into retirement. During that time, an intense and sometimes painful love blossoms, made difficult by the demands of fame and the search for meaning and purpose during Itzy and afte...
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Yeji grew up in a home in the outskirts of Seoul surrounded by love, laughter, and caring. She was truly loved by her family.
But her family was also very poor.
Her father was someone who could always find a way to make just enough money for them to pay their rent and keep the lights on. But he often had problems keeping his jobs. Yeji remembered fondly when he pushed a food cart around Seoul. When he came home at the end of the day, his pockets usually had a few leftover buns in them. He taught her a trick: he put the buns in the oven for a few minutes, took them out, buttered them, and then sprinkled sugar all over them. Yeji loved the treat, and loved having the attention of her dad.
Her mom worked as a custodian at an office building downtown. It was part-time so she could be home when Yeji got back from school. Since she often worked nights, she usually seemed tired. Her mom was the one who made her love math and science. Her mother said that knowledge wasn't just for making your day or your job easier. It was for making life easier, and for growing as a person.
Before she was even 12, she would make up kpop dancing and singing routines and make her parents watch her performances. They supported her patiently because they never thought anything would come of it. They took her to secondhand clothes shops so they could try to get her dance outfits. They thought she was adorable. But deep down, they always thought Yeji would be some sort of office worker. But Yeji had other plans.
She never knew she was poor until her early teenage years. At that time, she also finally realized that her dad wasn't lazy, or defiant, or crazy, like some people said. What he was was mentally ill. He had terrifying anxiety that made leaving the house a profound act of courage. They didn't have the money for him to get medication, so he suffered in private misery each day, his hands shaking constantly. He was still loving, and still acted as if nothing was wrong. It made Yeji love him even more.
Living in poverty had taught her how to carry herself in the world. She would always stand straight. She would always be the best and brightest person in the room. She didn't want to be judged, so she would never judge others. She would smile. She'd never let others see her struggle. She would work impossibly hard to develop and nurture the singing and dancing talent she knew she had.
But no one - no one - would ever hurt the people she loved.
Her goal was not to do musicals, classical dancing, or traditional Korean dancing. She wanted to do hip-hop styles, and rap, and there was only one place in the world to do that.
