info dump.

[unwieldy]

H I S T O R Y Haein's story begins with his orphaned mother, Seo Mijae, who had been taken in by a Buddhist temple located in the mountains of Busan, South Korea. She was raised by kind monks, and surrounded by a tranquil wilderness for a backyard, but her adventurous spirit longed for more. During an outing at the age of eighteen, Mijae stumbled across an old shrine built for the mountain god Hwang, and found him lounging there. Her intense curiosity had her approach him and the god, awed by her beauty, stuck around to entertain her. Their friendship quickly developed into romance, causing Hwang's trickster brother, Geum, to grow resentful as he had also fallen in love with Mijae. Concerned with his brother's dangerous jealousy, Hwang asked Mijae to leave the mountains and start life anew somewhere far away. That was what she had always wanted, he reminded her, and it wasn't as if he'd be able to stay with her in the way she deserved. Mijae agreed and they spent one last night together before she left for the city of Seoul, but what she didn't know at the time was that she had become pregnant with Hwang's child. When she realized she was pregnant, she spent some time debating whether or not to go through with it and ultimately decided she wanted to become the loving parent she had never had. She gave birth to a demigod son, named him Haein, and loved him unconditionally. They struggled during the early years since Mijae found it difficult to support both herself and her child, but she was tenacious and bold, and soon enough she was able to make a living for them and then some. When Haein was nine-years-old, the jealous god Geum finally found her and Haein. Angered by the realization that she had had a child with his brother, Geum cursed Haein to have to grant three wishes of anyone that held onto a special talisman in the hopes that he'd be able to use that power to wish Mijae into loving him. But it turned out that certain wishes could not be made, and making people fall in love with others was one of them. Further enraged by this, Geum did the next best thing. He separated mother from her beloved child and gave the talisman to someone on the other side of the world, causing Haein to have to disappear from home in order to grant that person's wishes. He was gone for a week and it traumatized the young child, having been thrown into another country with a culture he didn't know and a language he didn't understand. After the three wishes had been made and Haein had been returned home, his mother had such a fit that Geum backed off for a couple of years, ashamed by his actions. But after an especially bad fight with his brother, Geum returned and sent Haein off once again. This time he was gone for months, but he and his mother had been prepared and they kept in contact through emails and phone calls until his return. This went on for years. Haein would disappear depending on his uncle's moods and he never knew where he would end up. He quickly learned to adapt, building walls around himself for protection and self-preservation. He also became quite masterful at deliberately botching up wishes or generally being uncooperative about the wishes asked of him. But as the years went on, he found himself longing for a stable environment and to not be a tool for others to use. He tried to confront his uncle, but Geum would always run away from him. He then tried to take the talisman away to destroy it, but found that he could not touch it, and when he begged the people holding the talisman to wish for its destruction, they denied him. It became something of a dream for him to find someone who would free him from his curse. After spending a year away from home and even starting university there because of an incredibly indecisive wish maker, Haein was returned to Korea. He transferred to a university in Seoul and it's there that he met two brothers, Hyunseok and Hyunwoo, and somehow managed to become friends with them (after a lot of persistence and hardship on Hyunseok's end). For a while, things were quiet and good. But then, Hyunseok ended up with the talisman after a particularly nasty confrontation where Geum had taunted Haein that his "friends" would have no trouble turning against him. Hyunseok, despite his incredibly stupid nature, somehow managed to find a loophole and made a wish that basically enslaved Haein to him. It destroyed their friendship and a vindictive Haein lashed out in return, targeting Hyunwoo and entirely changing his demeanor to irreparably damage the brothers' relationship. Hyunseok and Haein spent some time making each other miserable, Hyunseok more on accident while Haein intentionally worked to ruin the other's life. Hyunseok swore that once Haein fixed Hyunwoo, he'd be freed, but Haein was distrustful and refused to do so on the suspicion that it was all a lie. Hyunseok became increasingly more and more desperate, so when a nameless god presented himself to the boy and made a deal to fix Hyunwoo in exchange for Hyunseok's servitude, the agreement was immediate. True to his word, the unnamed god kept his end of the bargain, and Hyunseok quickly realized that the deal meant that Haein had effectively been placed right into the god's hands via Hyunseok. With Hyunwoo fixed, Haein no longer had any leverage against Hyunseok, and found himself granting disastrous wishes due to the fact that the nameless god knew to be specific with his wishes so that Haein would not be able to tamper with them. With the nameless god in control of Haein and his powers, things were steadily going downhill. P E R S O N A L I T Y In the case of Haein, the bad far outweighs the good. To start things off, Haein absolutely despises drawing attention to himself. He shies away from public interest, preferring to keep a low profile in order to remain at a distance from the prying eyes of others. While he has always been introverted and a private person in general, his reclusive tendencies grew to be severe during his childhood. Being raised by a single mother in an affluent neighborhood put a target on his back, and the other children were eager to bully him, spurred on by the rumors their parents would spread. As he grew into his looks, people flocked to him for a different, much more shallow reason. Haein caught on at a fairly young age that the relationships he had were devoid of any real feelings and that people viewed him as a tool to use to further their own goals rather than as a friend, or even as a person. He pulled away from them, hurt by the realization that he did not have any genuine connections, and hardened his heart. His curse has only exacerbated the problem of making honest friends. While bouncing around from one place to another has allowed Haein the ability to adapt to new and fairly odd situations rather quickly, it has done exceptionally poorly for him when it comes to developing long-lasting relationships and ties with other people. Being unable to remain in one location for long, Haein has basically forgotten how to be personable, and he's mostly given up on making the effort. This has also caused him to disregard the consequences of his actions or words, and he has a tendency to say or do whatever he wants with the expectation that he will be disappearing shortly after anyway. He has no consideration for others or their feelings, and Haein has crossed many lines and burned countless bridges because of his inability to filter himself. He has also experienced firsthand how selfish, ruthless, and disgusting human beings can be when presented with what is essentially a genie, and this has further jaded him and left him cynical and suspicious of the people around him. The above is entirely hypocritical in that Haein is selfish as well. While he looks down on people for being awful, he is just as, if not more, cruel and indifferent toward others. He certainly does not care enough to question the things that should be questioned, and the uncommon way in which he lives his life has desensitized him to numerous issues that would normally raise eyebrows. It is with this in mind that Haein can really mess with people. Having heard and granted many stupid and dangerous wishes in his early years, Haein has made it so that the wishes asked of him now end up badly more often than not. The severity of his wish mangling depends entirely on the situation, and Haein has done everything from having someone taste pennies whenever they drink water to rendering another completely deaf, blind, and dumb. As for feeling remorse for the lives he's ruined? There's hardly an inkling of any and he firmly believes himself to be in the right. Haein is incredibly stubborn, petty, and vindictive. Once someone has soured in his eyes, he is quick to hold a lasting grudge and forgiveness does not come easily, if at all. He's clever and shrewd, and this combination lends him an upper-hand in unfavorable situations. Being used by someone in any way is a guaranteed method for Haein to harbor an intense dislike and irritation toward that person. He will absolutely take matters too personally, and will be uncooperative and hostile when annoyed. Something especially important to note is that Haein craves control. He has had zero control throughout his life and this has led to a desperation to regulate everything that he possibly can. His personal and home life are strictly controlled, as are his studies. Haein is studious, a quick-learner, and disciplined when he puts his mind to a task. He is goal-oriented almost to a fault, with his stubborn nature refusing to accept mistakes or failures along the way to his objective. When he is intent on doing something, he makes use of all resources he can to get there. Now then, surely there must be some other redeeming factors for Haein besides his ability to concentrate and his adaptability...? Well, buried underneath his many flaws, he is commendably loyal when push comes to shove. As difficult as it is to form relationships with Haein, they are still possible. Once a person has settled in his thoughts as being worth his time, he will go out of his way for them (usually with an indirect approach). It would take a grievous error to shatter that loyalty, and in the case of Hyunseok who had been one of his first real friendships in quite a while only for that trust to ultimately break, it has not been easy for Haein to remove all of his former feelings toward his ex-friend. At the end of the day, what Haein longs for most in life is to just be an average guy. He even avoids using his abilities in an attempt to deny that he is not completely human. Unfortunately, he has never had the chance to come around and accept what he is due to the fact that he's often too preoccupied by the circumstances he has been thrown into. While there are those out there who strive to be remarkable, Haein would be content to live out his life quietly, without the attention of both human beings or gods who bring him nothing but trouble. A B I L I T I E S Haein is at his most powerful when granting wishes. There are a number of things that he cannot grant, such as making people fall in love, killing someone, bringing back the dead, wishing for more wishes, messing with the timeline, or wishes that would harm the world/universe. The wish maker must be in possession of a talisman that summons Haein, gives them power over him, and allows for three wishes. After the three wishes are made, Haein is sent back home and the talisman returns to Geum's hands where he can then pass it off to another. Haein cannot grant wishes or use this power without the talisman. Outside of granting wishes, Haein is a demigod and so that allows him certain abilities. He's got telekinesis, enhanced durability, accelerated healing, and he can detect other supernatural beings. As the son of a mountain god, his healing ability extends to all living creatures. But while things like plants take very little effort, larger animals and especially human beings are extremely draining for him to heal. Depending on the scale of the injury, he can go from light-headed for a couple of hours to full on passing out for days.