The noble Ha family prides itself in being loyal subjects to the house of Silla from the inception of the four houses. The family has housed numerous notable scholars who became servants to the royal family. They pride themselves in upholding tradition, but in these ever-changing times, this poses a challenge to the youngest daughter of the Ha family, Ha Sooyoung. First, it is expected that the oldest male heir follows the footsteps of the patriarch. Second, the daughters were expected to uphold the lavish image of the family. By studying etiquette, attending gatherings exclusively geared towards high society, and maintaining political power through marriages -- a woman of the Ha family reflected the rigid social classes which Aerok was once bound to. In many ways, they were of second importance to the male heir -- yet they were supposed to upkeep the reputation of the family by always remaining prim and proper.
Childhood (0-12 years, 1997-2009)
Sooyoung was born on a warm May evening, when the peonies bloomed in the gardens of the Ha manor. She’s the youngest of three children; her siblings include her older brother, and older sister (Lee Sunmi). She was a bright and cheerful child, the object of her mother’s love until she left the world from an illness a few weeks before Sooyoung’s second birthday. Sooyoung doesn’t remember her mother, but she remembers her love from the many letters that she had written for her -- a letter for every birthday until she turns twenty five. Sooyoung keeps these letters safe with her, because it’s the only source of parental love she’s ever known. She’s grown up thinking that her father was incapable of love, he was always busy upholding his duties for the Silla family. When he was home, he expected his children to always be on their best behavior.
After all, they were the future of the Ha family.
Nevertheless, Sooyoung was tired of being told what she could and could not do. While her father poured his attention onto her older brother, Sooyoung seethed with hints of rebellion broiling within her. When someone told Sooyoung that she couldn’t do something--that she was incapable of being as competent as the men of the house, it spurred Sooyoung to prove them wrong. From a young age, she was determined to steal the spot that was for her brother, the position of a royal advisor. All because she wanted to prove her father wrong.
During her adolescence, she would get in trouble for not listening to her father or etiquette teachers. She would be confined to her room until her father thought it was appropriate for her to come out. That only made her rebellious streak worse, because soon, Sooyoung would become adept at climbing down her windows to sneak out. Despite being a hassle at home, Sooyoung proved herself to be a well rounded student. She always received praise from the tutors at home, as well as at school. Her father didn’t care, he was still focused on making her brother a suitable advisor.
Adolescence (13-15 years, 2010 - 2012)
One thing that Sooyoung soon found out and used to her advantage was the fact that her brother did not want to become an advisor. The person she deemed as her rival, waved a red flag before the game had already started. She could not hate her brother for being the object of her father’s attention. He was soft-hearted, kind, and a good brother to her. His dreams in life were simply different from the ones their father forced on him, and he was trying to be a good son by following the authoritarian parent’s orders. Sooyoung looked up to him, and snuck into some of his own private classes until the instructors would eventually decide to teach them both. She watched as he was drowned with an overwhelming amount of work, volunteering to help sort through them whenever their father was away.
2012 -- Christmas day, a few weeks before she’d enter high school, she received a text from him. She knows he wishes to meet his demise and stops him from doing exactly that. Sooyoung tells him that she’ll help him run away and find a new life for himself. She does exactly that by forging her father’s signature and sending him on a plane to Ecnarf. She still receives letters from him. At first, to hide their identities from their father, he penned her name as Yves. Eventually it stuck, and now Sooyoung uses it regularly.
Youth (15-18 years, 2013 - 2015)
When her brother disappears, her father is sent into a state of panic. Sooyoung watches as he alerts the authorities , she watches as a massive search party which spans weeks is conducted. Sooyoung knows where he is, she doesn’t say anything to her father. Eventually her brother mails their father himself, telling him not to worry, but also being firm in the fact that he’ll never step a foot in Aerok. That their father should give up their ambition of making his son the next advisor. It went against everything that the Ha family stood for, but Sooyoung could only watch as her older sister was told to shoulder the weight of the Ha family as the heir and daughter. She regrets watching and never helping her sister stand up for herself because she wakes up on the night her sister was to be engaged, only to see her slip away.
She’s now the only child left in the lonely Ha manor, and still the child that her father underestimates. At this point, Sooyoung knows that she has to work hard to prove herself. So she does exactly that. In her final year of high school, she spends sleepless nights studying until the acceptance letter to Aerok University finds its way into her mailbox.
She knows this is still not enough for her father.
Youth II (18-21 years, 2015 - 2018)
College is busy for Sooyoung. She’s invested her time in making sure she maintains perfect grades -- and also studying for the certification tests that were necessary for royal staff. Tests which people prepared for since childhood, Sooyoung would prepare for in a matter of one year. When she finally passes, she approaches her father with the results. It’s in that moment, when she sees the reluctance and hesitation engraved on his face, that she knows she’s finally succeeded in her goals. She’s finally proven herself to him.
2016 -- She enters the alcazar as an intern to the advising office. He agrees to mentor her for five years, and at the end of those five years, he would relinquish his position. She would become the next advisor.
2018 -- There’s a quick change of plans when her father suddenly falls ill. He continues his advising duties from his deathbed, with Sooyoung constantly rushing from the manor to the alcazar. A week before a major meeting between the houses, he passes away. Sooyoung becomes an Advisor at the young age of 21.
Present (21-?? years, 2018 - 20??) Current Year: 2021 Current Age: 23
Ha Sooyoung is finally the royal advisor to the house of Silla. Bearing the badge of the white tiger on her uniform, she comes to the office proud and confident in serving the house to the best of her ability. She’s acknowledged by her peers as a hard-worker who always gets the job done. Sooyoung sees things differently; in the wake of her father’s death, she’s become an whose shoulders are heavy with burden. She believes that she needs to keep working hard to prove herself; oft forgetting to take care of herself.
