trigger warning: death, employer abuse, mentions of an eating disorder, self-harm

─── ▹ THE BASICS
✶﹒birth name ── jo minseo ( 조민서 )
✶﹒spanish name ── valerie jo
✶﹒nicknames ── val, mi, mimi

✶﹒ethnicity ── korean
✶﹒nationality ── south korean + spaniard

✶﹒birthday ── october 4, 2001
✶﹒sun sign ── libra
✶﹒chinese zodiac ── snake

✶﹒height ── 167cm ( 5'6" )
✶﹒weight ── 46kg ( 101lbs )
✶﹒blood type ── a

─── ▹ LIFE'S STORY
✶﹒place of birth ── andeok-myeon, seogwipo-si, jeju island, south korea
✶﹒hometowns
         ꕀꕀ nohyeong-dong, jeju-si, jeju island, south korea ( 2001 – 2005 )
         ꕀꕀ aeropuerto, barajas, madrid, spain ( 2005 – 2009 )
         ꕀꕀ berruguete, tetuán, madrid, spain ( 2009 – 2017 )

✶﹒romantic orientation ── unlabeled
✶﹒sexuality ── unlabeled
✶﹒gender identity ── demigirl
✶﹒pronouns ── she/they

✶﹒languages
         ꕀꕀ spanish ( 86% )
         ꕀꕀ korean ( 71% )
         ꕀꕀ english ( 47% )
         ꕀꕀ portuguese ( 18% )

✶﹒religion ── christian
✶﹒education
         ꕀꕀ hanlim multi arts school ( g. 2020 )
         ꕀꕀ seoul national university ( attending ) ⨾ korean language and literature major

✶﹒background
VALERIE WAS BORN on jeju island on october 4, 2001. born to teen parents, she and her twin brother's existences were met with opposition by almost everyone around them. everything about the family was looked down upon in seogwipo-si, so her parents moved to jeju-si and built themselves a new life where dad worked corporate and mom stayed home to raise the kids and sell cakes out of their small apartment, but the family's financial struggles and newest bundle of joy couldn't keep them on the island for long.

after giving birth to adrian, their mom had a health scare and needed medical attention, but seeing as she wasn't a south korean citizen, she would have to go back to spain. a normal 21 y/o would've just up and left, but seeing as she had a long-term boyfriend and three kids, she couldn't. she tried to hide it, but she didn't last long, and the family moved to madrid. while valerie was happy about the move, they were curious about what caused the family to leave. but each time they asked, they never got an answer, because what mother wants to tell her kids that she developed lung cancer from all the cigarettes she smoked to cope with how she was the reason her kids didn't know the rest of their family? she told valerie they moved for "better things", but valerie always knew something was wrong.

and then, one day, it all crashed. valerie and her mom were playing with dolls when her mom collapsed. valerie tried her hardest to wake her up, but she wasn't responding, so she frantically called the ambulance. but her mom couldn't be saved — she was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital. valerie lost her mom at eight-years-old. she would never pick up a doll again, or look at the baking equipment in the cabinet to the left of the fridge. no one would, because her dad moved the family to the other side of madrid and kept all of her mom's stuff in the dustiest parts of the attic.

the move and loss of their mom turned valerie into an unstable outcast. they tried hard at first to be their old self, but how could they? their mom died in front of them, and her final words were constantly echoing in valerie's head. it's hard to be all happy-go-lucky when your entire world crumbles at your feet. but in the sea of kids, a girl named isabella saw right through them. valerie didn't want to form friendships, but it was hard not to bond with isabella. the two girls shared so many interests, were both grieving the loss of family members they were close to, and were in the same class. for the longest time, isabella was all valerie had. they used to be close to conan, but after their mom died, he shut them out since they resembled their mom. they also had strained relationships with their dad and adrian, so they were making no progress with their grief. they clung to isabella until their dad introduced them to roxice, his girlfriend. valerie didn't find it hard to bond with roxie, and they spent a lot of time together. as they got older, roxie became another mom to them. they were starting to let go of the grief.

but nothing could truly rid valerie of the depression she was struggling to cope with. roxie tried everything she could, but it wasn't enough — valerie was still crying every night, praying to god to give her any sign that her mom was watching over her. it had been six years, but she was still struggling to be a normal girl. she got pulled further into her depression and ended up spending her free time online. she entered chatrooms, ran a tumblr blog, and just tried anything and everything to keep her mind off what she was running from. the internet made her happy, and the internet led her to day6's debut.

day6 became their lifeline. something about the band made them feel so understood, and they didn't want to let that feeling go. music became their escape from a world that only wanted them to suffer. they found comfort in day6's lyrics, sharing their love for the band with isabella. as day6 released more music, valerie became more aware of their desire to become a singer so their work could touch people the way day6's did for them. they found more comfort in the artists under jyp entertainment that the therapist their dad sent her to in 2015. becoming an idol became their goal.

life in madrid was becoming more confining for her — she had no friends outside of isabella, no relationship with conan, and she was growing a hatred for the city that took her life away. she wanted a new start in seoul at jyp, so she submitted an online audition in 2016 and was moved to the in-person round, meaning she would have to go to seoul. roxie was on her side, but her dad wasn't, so valerie couldn't attend. things only got harder for her afterwards. she was scared that ghosting jyp would prevent her from ever joining a company, which only made her anger issues worse, and she begged her dad to let her become a trainee. but he didn't budge, which annoyed her, and she had no one to turn to for support. she persisted her efforts into 2017, and her dad finally agreed... on the condition that she didn't go alone.

seoul was valerie and conan's sixteenth birthday present. arriving in the city with their twin and ragdoll kitten floof, they finally felt at peace. they had tours lined up with two of the best performing arts schools and an audition set up with jyp. they wasted no time, as they dropped their bags off at their family friend's house, navigated the subway system, and made their way to the school of performing arts seoul. when they entered the building, the school's administration introduced them to their newest star: lee daehwi, produce 101 season two's third-place winner and current member of boy group wanna one. valerie didn't watch the show, so to them, daehwi was just another starry-eyed rookie idol the school was using for clout. daehwi was nice and an amazing tour guide, but they couldn't get over how sopa was using him, so they decided to attend hanlim mutli arts school.

she auditioned for jyp any chance she could in between her studies at hanlim, even after they rejected her previous auditions. during all of this, daehwi remained her only friend in south korea because they had so much in common — music, the difficulties of the auditioning process, their childhood dreams of becoming kindergarten teachers. valerie always thought this friendship was part of her rebranding. it gave her the strength to attend jyp's 2019 audition. she stood outside the company building with conan, but while they were waiting, a woman approached them. she talked about how she had just recently opened her own company and was looking for trainees, and while valerie insisted she audition for jyp first, the woman was persistent and convinced the twins to join her company, destiny entertainment.

valerie knew not to trust strangers, but there was something different about that woman — sasha. she was so hopeful about destiny, so persistent with her efforts, and so open about how her and her husband wanted to help the next generation of idols. daehwi mentioned how suspicious valerie's scouting was, but they knew destiny was their last chance at becoming an idol. sasha supported everything they did and gave them the chance to prove themself, so valerie supported her in return, even if that came at the expense of their health.

shortly after joining destiny, she debuted in the five-member girl group 5ifty. sure, their debut was rushed and the members definitely weren't ready for it, but she chalked that up to her willingness to follow every extreme diet, taxing workout routine, and high expectation sasha had or recommended. but despite all the training and dieting valerie did, netizens didn't like her, and she found it hard to connect with the other 5ifty members and other idols because of that. daehwi decided to introduce her to his members, which went well, but she just couldn't form a real connection with youngmin — something about the way he carried himself made her not trust him. and once he left ab6ix because of his dui, he exposed daehwi and valerie's romantic relationship to dispatch, which ruined her career as soon as it started.

the hate got worse as the days progressed, but sasha wouldn't let them leave 5ifty. she urged valerie to work harder — to follow harsher diets, train more, and do whatever was necessary to make the public love them. so valerie did just that; they lost weight, improved their vocals, and spent days practicing at the expense of their physical health. daehwi told them that they needed to stop pushing themself so hard since the netizens would turn their backs on them if they made the slightest mistake, but they were far too deep in sasha's world to believe him.

5ifty had a comeback in 2020, and the public had started easing up on her. the promotions went well and she began forming relationships with other idols, causing her to become happier. sure, the netizens were still ruthless to her, but she was getting used to it. as long as she kept practicing and dieting, they'd love her like they loved conan. sasha was proud of how far valerie had come, stating that she was almost the exact idol she pictured when she founded destiny, and promised her a solo debut if she continued improving. and while daehwi tried to tell valerie how concerned he was about this, she didn't listen; she was blinded by the rose-coloured glasses sasha put on her face.

valerie never got their solo debut. while they were preparing for 5ifty's second comeback, they pushed themself too hard and was hospitalised. the comeback hadn't been announced, so they asked sasha if destiny could reschedule it, but sasha refused and tore them apart. sasha had always been hot-and-cold, speaking down to them often, but never to that extent. and valerie told no one it had been happening, so imagine daehwi's reaction when he hears his girlfriend is in the hospital and sees them crying while their boss (who's ruining their life) is berating them. he tried to convince valerie that it was time to leave destiny, but they couldn't — it was all they had. they would rather kill themself to remain as valerie than have to live as minseo again.

after recovering, she returned to destiny's building, met by chaos. after sasha visited her in the hospital, she and her husband had taken the company's money and left the country, leaving the idols and trainees with nothing. and the year of mistreatment from sasha finally crashed down onto valerie. she fell to the ground sobbing because the woman she trusted with her entire life had disappeared and left her with nothing; she had a second mom leave her. days passed with no news of what would become of destiny, causing idols and trainees to leave en-masse, including three 5ifty members. it was up to the eldest idols at destiny to figure something out, and after a month, one decided to give up his career and take over the company.

they never left, and they were eager to start anew under into the woods entertainment. they might not have 5ifty anymore, but they knew the company would debut them. they spent the rest of 2020 training the way sasha taught them to, but the most they got from into the woods was moved around debut groups that dissolved early on. they tried to remain strong, but it was hard; how did the new ceo not notice their efforts?

daehwi. he had to do something to keep her from losing herself, so he got in touch with into the wood's ceo and told him of the abuse sasha had put valerie through, and begged him to not let her debut until she got treatment. the ceo was horrified and agreed, telling valerie that she would be on a lax training schedule and required to attend therapy sessions as part of her schedule if she wanted to debut. that broke her again; all she wanted was to debut, and it was being withheld from her because someone thought she was a little too dedicated? after this meeting, she locked herself in a training room, cut herself, and passed out while training. she was found by her brothers, who took her to the hospital and convinced her that it was time to leave.

after leaving into the woods, valerie struggled to regain themself. they went to every therapy appointment, spent a lot of time alone, and even stopped listening to music altogether, but it would take substantial efforts for them to begin healing. eventually, their family decided to send them to a psychiatric hospital, hoping it would help. they had visitors often, but they remained distant from everyone who visited them and was in the hospital with them. in august 2021, after five months, they were released from the facility and returned to everyday life. they applied to seoul national university and planned on focusing on their family, but in september of that year, they received an offer from ardor & co. about joining the company's new girl group. and while they knew they probably shouldn't, they took the company up on their offer.

─── ▹ MISC. INFO
✶﹒likes ── gaming, italian food, kpop, reading, sweets, writing.
✶﹒dislikes ── big dogs, birds, math, nonfiction, writing essays.
✶﹒habits ── lip chewing, nail biting.
✶﹒hobbies ── reading, writing.

✶﹒phobia ── atelophobia ( fear of not being good enough ).
✶﹒allergy ── pollen.
✶﹒health conditions
         ꕀꕀ major depressive disorder ( d. 2015 )
         ꕀꕀ anorexia nervosa ( d. 2019 )
         ꕀꕀ borderline personality disorder ( d. 2021 )
         ꕀꕀ post-traumatic stress disorder ( d. 2021 )
         ꕀꕀ stress-induced paranoia and psychosis ( d. 2021 )

✶﹒trivia
         ꕀꕀ she doesn't drink soda.
         ꕀꕀ they can't pay attention to things that don't interest them.
         ꕀꕀ every march, she donates ₩1,000,000 to the korean cancer association in memoriam of her mom, who died of lung cancer in 2010.
         ꕀꕀ they auditioned for jyp entertainment three times — 2016, 2017, and 2018 — but they were rejected at each audition. they almost auditioned for the company in 2019.
         ꕀꕀ she wants to be as vocally talented as jamie.
         ꕀꕀ one of their goals in life is to become a published author.
         ꕀꕀ she openly has beef with lim youngmin, but she won't reveal why.
         ꕀꕀ they're a fan of many kpop artists, but their favourite of all time is day6. they've been a fan of the band since they debuted, and they inspired them to become an idol.
         ꕀꕀ she has a ragdoll cat named floof and another cat named kiki.
         ꕀꕀ they can play the keyboard.

✶﹒mbti ── enfp & isfp
✶﹒personality
         ꕀꕀ bubbly ⨾ valerie knows that deep down, she can't be alone forever, even if everyone wants to push her away because of her diagnoses. so, in order to make others see her for who she is rather than the labels attached to her, she puts on an optimistic front. they don't need to know what goes on inside her brain post-sasha, after all. sasha is gone.
         ꕀꕀ childish ⨾ when you spend your childhood wondering if your mom is going to die, and then she dies right in front of you when you're 8, you grow up in that moment and shove your inner child out of a window. valerie still goes back to that window and sees how the remains have slowly morphed back into their inner child. they hope they can heal her.
         ꕀꕀ easygoing ⨾ valerie has too much shit going on to really care about anything anymore. if it doesn't hurt anybody, why should she make a big deal about it? she has to make sure she takes her meds, sees her therapist once a week, and keeps all the sharp objects hidden; she doesn't have the time or energy to care about whatever stupid issue kpop stans want to blow up this week.
         ꕀꕀ goofball ⨾ the class clown always has some deep shit happening at home. or, in valerie's case, the practice room connected to sasha's office. they like to ignore that the mirrors were one-way; they'd rather crack a joke about helicopter bosses instead.
         ꕀꕀ quiet ⨾ valerie never saw the appeal in talking. people ask too many questions, assume too many things, and put words in your mouth. she'd rather just sit down, shut up, and listen. it keeps the peace, and lord knows how she'll act if her peace is disturbed any more.
         ꕀꕀ shy ⨾ valerie doesn't like to acknowledge their bpd diagnosis; after all, how could they end up with a personality disorder? little valerie, the girl who shut the world out and has been chasing for their dead mother's love since that day in 2010? valerie, the woman who doesn't know who they really are and avoids others like the plague so they won't be abandoned again? valerie, the girl who tries every trick in the book to make daehwi hate their guts so they can leave him, and yet he knows what they're doing and that they'll cling to him until their arms give out? it makes them want to close themself off from everyone and not talk so they can maintain the relationship.

─── ▹ RELATIONSHIPS
✶﹒family
         ꕀꕀ JO MINSEOK ⨾ dad, office worker, 41, alive, close
         ꕀꕀ ROXIE JO ⨾ step-mom, video game developer, 41, alive, close
         ꕀꕀ NAM SINHWA ⨾ mom, baker, 39, deceased ( died at 25 ), close
         ꕀꕀ JO MINKYU ⨾ brother, ardor & co. trainee 22, alive, close
         ꕀꕀ JO MINGI ⨾ brother, ardor & co. trainee, 18, alive, close
         ꕀꕀ JO MINJI ⨾ half-sister ( shared dad ), 2, alive, close

✶﹒industry friends
         ꕀꕀ WOONG ( ab6ix ) ⨾ 26, close
         ꕀꕀ DONGHYUN ( ab6ix ) ⨾ 25, average closeness
         ꕀꕀ WOOJIN ( ab6ix ) ⨾ 24, average closeness

✶﹒dating history
         ꕀꕀ LEE DAEHWI ( 2019 – present ) ⨾ there was something about daehwi during that sopa tour that told valerie he was different from everyone else she had met. she had never seen herself becoming friends with someone like him, and now she couldn't imagine a life without him. and her, out of all people, he chose her? they were at the aquarium when he asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend. throughout each long day of training, and the entirety of sasha's reign of terror, he was right by her side trying to get her to safety. did she listen to him? no, and it really pissed him off, but he couldn't be mad at her because she was a victim, after all. he stood by her side and did whatever he had to to protect her. valerie hated him for doing this, especially since sasha told her he was doing this so she would fail and that she should hate him. it made valerie split on him a lot, but he knows what's going on and never takes it to heart.

✶﹒group members
         ꕀꕀ RAVEN ⨾ before they met, raven always seemed like the person valerie's childhood self saw herself as as an adult — put together, responsible, stable, and loved. raven was perfect in their eyes, and instead of pushing her away, they wanted to know her more. but as they got closer, raven opened up more, and valerie realised that raven was completely different from what they imagined based on first impressions. while they never got along with the members of 5ifty, raven let them know that they could get along with the daylily members. raven is their closest friend in the industry, almost as close to them as isabella, and even their bpd can't find the heart to target raven. they truly are best friends.
         ꕀꕀ SERENITY ⨾ valerie thought serenity was stuck-up at first. she was the rich girl from florida who got whatever she wanted whenever she wanted; her parents would send the girls money if something in the dorm broke or they had a low food budget, she never had to pay out-of-pocket for medications, and they'd send her care packages often. she heard stories about serenity's time in various extracurriculars and the amazing facility she went to to treat her eating disorder, and she was jealous. serenity had everything she needed and could ever want. but as they started preparing for their debut, she knew that she had to be cordial with serenity. the two actually got along very well after that, especially when she opened up to serenity about her struggled with anorexia, and serenity promised to help her recover. now, they're pretty close.
         ꕀꕀ ARA ⨾ ara was too stoic for valerie at first. it was impossible for them to read her, which made them so uncomfortable they couldn't talk to ara. they trained together for months preparing for their debut, and they had interacted so little you could count it on one hand. it wasn't until they were promoting their debut title track that the girls finally started talking. and while sure, they had little in common, they both did share a love for gaming, so they would play video games together and talk during their gaming sessions. it's their ideal way to spend time together. maybe one day valerie will open up to ara and let her know to protect herself; they see a lot of themself in ara, but they also see a fighter. ara debuted at the age they were when sasha started taking advantage of them, and they would kill someone if they did the same to ara. but for not, valerie will tell ara to come to them if anyone does something that upsets her, and they'll take care of it.

─── ▹ HER CAREER
✶﹒group ── 5ifty
✶﹒company ── destiny entertainment
✶﹒debut date ── october 2019
✶﹒disbandment date ── october 2020
✶﹒training period ── 1 month ( joined september 2019 )
✶﹒positions ── lead rapper, maknae
✶﹒age at debut ── 18

✶﹒group ── daylily
✶﹒company ── ardor & co.
✶﹒debut date ── april 18, 2022
✶﹒training period ── 6 months ( joined october 2021 )
✶﹒positions ── main vocalist, face of the group, visual
✶﹒age at debut ── 20