Zen

IGN: PokerDots RP Name: Zen Minori Age: 38 Character backstory and description (over 200 words): Chapter Ⅰ - The Beginning 12th March 1985, Seoul. Zen Minori was birthed into an upper class family as an only child with extremely wealthy parents who spared no expense when it came to his education and upbringing. He had a very privileged childhood, often flaunting his expensive designer clothes and dining with his family at the finest restaurants the city could offer. To begin with, Zen exceeded his expectations in his education, achieving the highest grades possible due to his parents splashing out hefty amounts of money to pay for the superlative private tutoring. However, Zen's parents were far too overprotective of their son, urging him to study endlessly and never found himself being able to socialise with those outside the closed bubble of upper class snobs he all so despised. As he grew older, Zen began to feel more and more suffocated by the high expectations of his family overseer and the closeted world of upper class nature. Despite his spoiled privileges and academic success, he began to grow bored of the repetitive routines of his lifestyle and soon found himself feeling like he was trapped in a gilded cage with no real purpose but to impress his family. His academic achievement soon started to deteriorate and his urge to escape his dull, snobby life grew stronger by every passing day. It began with petty disobedience to his parents, often declining their orders to study, and rather sneaking out on late night walks and exploring out of the high end neighbourhoods he was trapped within. One night he was on his leisurely walk and found himself in the heart of Seoul's ghetto, an area he had never dared venturing into before. As he navigated through narrow alleyways and evaded the piles of garbage that littered the streets, he soon found himself face to face with a beautiful young Korean lady of similar age. From the outside, she seemed small and innocent, but Zen soon learned of her true intentions as she began interrogating him about his well dressed manner, something that was a rare sight within the poverty ridden area. The girl couldn't help but be curious, and Zen was taken aback by her courageous persona; he had never sparked up a feeling so quickly towards anyone before. As a kind gesture, Zen handed over his jacket to the girl and they soon began exchanging words in a lively conversation. Her name was Hwa-Young, and she lived with her family within the slums, which was quite clear through her poor choice of clothing, something Zen was not accustomed to. Despite the contrast in backgrounds, the two became very close friends and often met up on a daily basis in the ghetto despite the concerns of his parents who grew more worried about Zen each passing day. Through Hwa-Young, Zen had his eyes opened to a different side of life - one that was well hidden from the upper class ruling. He witnessed the struggles of the people in poverty that suffered daily within the ghetto, their desperation was immeasurable, however, he was also opened up to their resilience. As their friendship blossomed, Hwa-Young opened up to Zen about her own struggles and how her family was hardly getting by due to the extreme circumstances and she longed to escape the life of poverty to pursue her dreams of a better life. For once in his life, Zen felt he had a purpose in life to help Hwa-Young, and as their feelings for each other grew stronger, he found himself committing acts of theft against his father to try to aid Hwa-Young in any way possible. As Zen started becoming acquainted with life in the ghetto, he witnessed more and more acts of violence and crime, but rather than being taken aback by this, he found himself impelled by the sight of it. He was conjuring up an unhealthy habit of stealing from his father, the rush he felt while doing so, the sense of being caught at any moment made him eager to continue his road of delinquency. His life was finally getting interesting, and his love for Hwa-Young continued to develop, his prior upper class and privileged life was incomparable to his new profound life of mischievous behaviour. Chapter Ⅱ - A New Life As Zen and Hwa-Young grew through their teenage years, they remained close friends and slowly developed into a romantic relationship as they both continued to bond with their delinquent ways. From that day onwards, the two were inseparable and were constantly together, exploring the city of Seoul and making new memories together. Zen was overjoyed to finally have some interest in his life and could spend it with someone he loved dearly. As they grew more comfortable with their new relationship, they began to explore more ambitious activities together, going from petty theft of their parents to more devious crimes such as Grand Theft Auto and joyriding. By the time they had both reached the age of 18, they were certain they wanted to expand their relationship and thought of creating a family of their own, one distanced away from their own homes. With some of the money Zen had 'borrowed' from his parents, they purchased a home on the outskirts of Seoul to settle down a little. After Zen and Hwa-Young had settled into their new home, they were thrilled to finally have the privacy they had always wanted. They enjoyed spending time together, and often found themselves getting intimate with each other. As time passed, Hwa-Young began to notice changes in her body and decided to take a pregnancy test, and to her surprise, it came back positive. She immediately shared the news with Zen who was overjoyed. The following day they took a visit to the doctor for a check-up and they were informed that she was pregnant. They were thrilled with the news and quickly prepared for the arrival of their children. Finally, the day had arrived for Hwa-Young to go into labour, Zen being by her side every step of the way, comforting her and exchanging words of encouragement. After a few tedious hours, their beautiful baby boy was welcomed into the world. Years later, the couple had another baby: Zen would go on to name his first son as Seno Minori, and Hwa-Young decided upon the name of Tae Minori for the other son, and from that day forward the Minori Family had been created. As young parents, Zen and Hwa-Young were not the most mature individuals to raise two sons, and they continued to perform delinquent acts as ultimately it was their most prodigious way of bonding with each other. As much irresponsibility they may have had, they always prioritised their sons and on the occasions they escaped the house to act upon their mischievous activities, they always made sure their sons were in safe hands with their friends who often babysat them. As Seno and Tae grew, they also found themselves mixing with kids who were a very bad influence on them, and due to their parents often indulging in troublesome activities themselves, the two brothers justified their actions. The two of them often found themselves involved in delinquent activities such as drinking, smoking and vandalising property and the two soon had very little regard for the law. Zen was disappointed in his son's actions, knowing it was wrong he attempted to talk to his sons, warning them about the dangers of their actions, but Seno and Tae had no interest in listening to their fathers wise words. The two brothers kept digging deeper and deeper, their acts of crime soon turning to violent outbursts which would be directed towards anyone who tried opposing them. Zen knew soon enough they would run into individuals they should avoid, as Seoul was known for various gangs that demanded respect and obedience, two things the brothers did not have much acquaintance with. However, unbeknown to Zen and Hwa-Young, trouble landed at their doorstep much sooner than they had hoped for. Chapter Ⅲ - Seno's Tangent One dark and gloomy night, as the ghastly moon looked upon the eerily silent streets of Seoul, the two brothers adventured out on their usual patrols of the neighbourhood, planning how they could stir up trouble since at this point, the brothers went out of their way to involve themselves in any conflict they could conjure up. Seno, the more courageous one of the two, led the both of them out into deeper waters, they ventured out further than they had before, and into downtown Seoul. They searched down every street, they were not familiar with the bustling nature of inner-city Seoul, all the flashy clubs and cars caught their eye, there was nothing like this in the outskirts of the city and it lured them in. However, one car caught Seno's eyes the most, a Nissan s13 Silvia that was heavily modified and wrapped head to toe in race livery that was parked directly outside one of the most notorious clubs within the city. Seno, being someone who is used to getting what he wants, when he wants; Approached the car with little to no hesitation, and despite Tae's objections, Seno tried the handle of the driver side door, and to his surprise it was unlocked. The first thing that crossed his mind was easy pickings, how could he not take upon an offer so enticing and free? Wasting no time, he climbed into the vehicle, and with his prior knowledge and experience of hotwiring cars, he had the engine started within seconds. Tae, being more aware of the idiocy of the situation, he stayed put on the side of the road as Seno revved the engine in his boastful act before recklessly swerving down the street and out of sight, all that was left was a plume of dark smoke. As Tae spectated his brother's thievery, a knot formed in his stomach, he knew this was the most reckless and dangerous act they had committed yet and the consequences of this could be far worse than Seno had intended. Tae was preparing to leave the scene without causing any attraction to himself, but trouble had just emerged from the exact club the luxurious car had been parked outside. A mob of angry men rushed outside to where the car had been parked, some armed with bats and crowbars. Tae's heart fluttered in his chest as he attempted to stroll away innocently, however this attempt would fall short. By this time, the streets had been emptied and Tae was the only bystander of his brother's devious act, and the mob of men soon caught onto this and began cursing at Tae as they closed in on him. Wasting no time, Tae burst out into a sprint, his heart pounding in his chest as he could hear the men shouting and cursing behind him, their footsteps shadowing his as he darted down alleyways and across streets, try to lose his pursuers. The men were relentless however, and they continued to chase him and Tae was feeling more and more desperate, he knew he couldn't outrun them so he decided upon a plan to hide. As he rounded a sharp corner, he had some distance on his chasers and used this opportunity to dip into a narrow alleyway that was just up ahead. He dived behind a dumpster as his breathing become shallow and laboured, he watched as the men continued past the alleyway and he drew a deep sigh of relief. Tae stood up, dusting himself off and was about to make a dash the opposite way to his freedom until his relief was cut short. A cold sensation struck the back of his neck as he felt a sharp sting shoot down his spine, and Tae froze up like a statue. The cold steel of what seemed like a pocket knife pressed against his neck firmly, his heartbeat accelerated as he now knew he was in some deep trouble. He turned around slowly, cautious to not make any sudden moves as his perpetrator's menacing face came into view, Tae instantly recognised it from the group of men that had just been chasing him prior. "Care to explain where the fuck my car is?" the man growled, his grip on the pocket knife tightening. "I didn't do anything, I swear!" Tae stammered, "It was my brother, he took your car!" The man gritted his teeth, "Does your brother know who the fuck he is dealing with here?" the man exclaimed in frustration. "Who is your brother?" Tae hesitated, stumbling on his words "Look, I'm really sorry, I will get him to-" his words cut short as the man pressed the knife harder against Tae's throat, drawing blood. "Alright! His name is Seno Minori, we weren't thinking straight, I will fix this I promise!" Out in the distance, sirens began to draw closer, the man released the knife from Tae's throat, "This is not the end. You will be hearing from us." and as quickly as he had appeared, he had vanished back into the dark shadows of the alleyway. Tae stumbled out of the alleyway, clutching his bleeding neck as he collapsed onto the sidewalk with exhaustion. His mind raced as he tried to process what had just happened, he knew Seno's actions had put them both in great danger, but he could have never expected for it to escalate to this kind of level. As he sprawled out onto the pavement, the sirens were closing in on him and he knew he had to evacuate the area to avoid being captured. As he struggled to his feet, he heard a familiar voice call out to him, just around the corner Tae could see Seno waving his arms out the car's window that he previously stole, his mischievous grin soon turned serious as he watched his brother stumble over to the car with blood dripping from his throat. As Tae climbed into the car, Seno wasted no time in getting the pair out of sight as he put the car in gear and sped off towards home. Chapter Ⅳ - A Devastating Blow The duo rounded the corner to their home and pulled up on the driveway, quickly staggering out of the car and into the house. Zen and Hwa-Young at the time were on a night out and were not home to aid the two brothers, so Seno took it upon himself to try stop the bleeding of Tae's throat. He rummaged through the kitchen and stumbled across some rubbing alcohol, his hands trembled as he worked to staunch the blood dripping from Tae's throat. Seno applied some alcohol to the wound to ensure it was clean before instructing Tae to keep pressure on it to slow the bleeding, luckily the gash hadn't been deep enough to sever any arteries. A sense of guilt and frustration radiated through Seno but he stayed focused, he knew Tae needed medical attention but this would be far too risky to get within the city, especially if the men that had attacked Tae prior were looking out for the car. Tae's breathing became less laboured and the bleeding had slowed down to a slow trickle, Seno suggested their best option was to leave Seoul and seek medical help outside the city to avoid detection, Tae nodded in agreement. Seno grabbed the car keys off the counter and dashed outside, while Tae slowly stumbled behind him, clearly weak and enervated from the blood loss he had endured. Seno started up the engine and put the car in gear, and once Tae had embarked, he sped off the driveway and headed out of Seoul in search of a hospital. Later that night, Zen and Hwa-Young returned from their night out, both had cleared a few bottles of alcohol and were visibly quite drunk. As they both stumbled up the driveway, Zen fumbled with the house keys and tried to unlock the front door. He laughed uncontrollably as he kept failing to insert the keys into the keyhole before stumbling into Hwa-Young, causing her to lose her balance and plummet to the ground with a thud. "Watch where you are going, you dumbass," she slurred, rocking back and forth to try to get herself back on her feet. "You are going to kill us both!" Zen chuckled as he stumbled over to Hwa-Young to help her up. "You're fine, I'm fine," he mumbled as he helped her off the ground. "Let's get inside, shall we?" They finally managed to get the front door unlocked and stumbled into the dark house, in their drunken state they completely disregarded the need to lock the door as they were too preoccupied giggling and tripping over their own feet. They both agreed it was time to get some rest, after all they had been out all night partying and it had gone 3am in the morning when they had arrived back home. Zen headed up first, Hwa-Young following him up the stairs, clenching onto the railing for support to prevent her from tumbling back down. After a few trips and giggles, they finally managed to make it to the bedroom, and they both collapsed onto the bed with a sigh of relief, somehow they had made it home unscathed. The two laid there for a few minutes, exchanging laughter and talking nonsense before Hwa-Young's eyelids began to droop, drifting her off into a peaceful slumber. Just as Zen was about to rest his eyes, he heard the creak of the front door slowly open. The first thought to cross his mind was Seno and Tae returning home from a late night out themselves, however he soon heard voices that he did not recognise. He jolted upright in the bed, nudging Hwa-Young as he did so in an attempt to release her from her sleep. His attempt failed, all Zen could get out of her was a mutter of something incoherent from her semi-conscious self. Zen slowly and carefully tiptoed out of the bed and headed over to his closet, arming himself with a baseball bat he kept hidden just in case of a scenario like this, at this point he had sobered up real quick and was ready for anything. The sound of glass shattering echoed through the house, causing Hwa-Young to suddenly jolt out of the bed and crash onto the floor with a loud thud. Zen grimaced, he knew that this had alerted them as the voices went deafeningly silent and the familiar sound of the stairs creaking were now audible as whoever was in the house began to head upstairs. Zen tightened his grip onto the bat's handle, readying himself at the door for whatever he was about to face. Hwa-Young stumbled over to the door herself, still confused about what was currently unfolding while still being extremely disoriented from her previous alcohol consumption. Suddenly, the door burst open, knocking Hwa-Young to the ground as several masked men rushed into the room yelling and roaring. Zen did not hesitate and swung his bat forwards, managing to connect a powerful blow into one of the men's heads, causing his body to slump to the ground. He prepared himself for another swing but was soon tackled to the ground as his bat was ripped from his grasp. Hwa-Young soon recuperated from her fall and clambered to her feet, rushing forwards and trying to pull the men off Zen, however in her drunken state she showed no results. One of the masked men yanked her back as the one that had clutched the bat from Zen stepped forward, thrusting the bat directly into her temple, her body instantly going limp. Seeing this, Zen was overcome with a fit of rage and managed to force himself back up onto his feet and charged towards the individual with the bat; However, he was outnumbered and overpowered by the group and soon himself was knocked unconscious. The men turned out to be the group that had chased Tae previously from the scene of Seno stealing one of their luxury cars. One of them had witnessed the two brothers head into the house after parking up the stolen car on the driveway, confirming the address on where they resided. The men continued to search the house for Seno, but there was no sign of him so they soon retreated back to their vehicles and sped off, leaving Zen and Hwa-Young sprawled out on the floor of their bedroom. After several minutes, Zen creeped his eyes open to be met with a blurred vision. A sharp pain radiated from his head as he tried to move, but his body felt heavy and sluggish, as though he was moving through water. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he slowly came to his senses and noticed he was laid on the floor of his bedroom. The room was in disarray, furniture was overturned and blood was scattered across the floor. Slowly but surely, his memory came flooding back to him and he instantly turned his attention to Hwa-Young who was still laying limp on the ground. Using all the strength he had left, he crawled his way over to assess her injuries, half of her face being disfigured from the brutal attack she had endured from the men. It soon came to his realisation that Hwa-Young was not going to get back up, she was no longer breathing, and he felt around her body for a pulse but it could not be found. Zen's heart sank as he realised the full extent of what had just occurred, he spiralled into the depths of his emotions as the deep sensation of grief and loss crushed his shoulders as he fell into an uncontrollable wave of wailing. He looked around the room, trying to get his bearings through the tears that had filled his eyes. He saw the blurry silhouette of his phone resting on the bed and crawled over to it, his hands trembling as he found difficulty in picking his phone up. Eventually, he managed to pick it up and dialled 119 and begged for help as he wept over Hwa-Young's lifeless body. Chapter Ⅴ - The Aftermath A week had passed since the incident, and the two brothers were finally allowed to return home after being in the hospital for Tae to recover from his wound. When they finally arrived back at their house, they were met with the sight of their father sitting on the porch, a large bottle of whiskey in his hand that was almost empty. He looked up as they approached him, a stream of tears flowing down his face as he lifted the whiskey bottle up to his mouth and took another mouth full of alcohol. "Where's Mom?" Seno asked, his voice trembling as he looked upon his father with dismay. Zen took another swig of the alcohol and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. "She's gone," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "She left us." Seno and Tae stared at him in disbelief. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Why would their mother just get up and leave after so many years? Tae followed with the question "What happened?" with his voice low as he stared towards the ground, too afraid to make eye contact with his weeping father. Zen shook his head. "I don't know," he croaked, "She just... left. I woke up one morning, and she was gone. No note, no nothing. Just... gone." He couldn't find the guts to tell his sons she was killed, he didn't want them to carry his burden of suffering and decided upon lying in an attempt to keep his son's emotions intact. Seno and Tae exchanged a glance of disbelief, they both were puzzled on why their mother would just leave them abruptly after so many years of living happily together under the same roof. They both sat down beside their father on the porch, trying to comfort him as tears of their own soon formed in their eyes. The weight of emotions hung heavily in the air as they all shared the remaining whiskey amongst themselves, the news of their mother leaving still not fully being processed in their minds as they stared blankly at the morning sky. After the traumatic event of Hwa-Young's death, Zen was left feeling shattered and broken. The loss of his beloved wife was too much for him to bear, and he soon found himself consumed by grief that he drowned out with heavy use of alcohol. He blamed it on himself, he never quit thinking on what he could have done differently, how he could have protected her better to prevent the tragedy of her death from happening. Zen withdrew from the world, shutting himself off from all the people he knew, and spent most of his days consuming alcohol while staring blankly at the television screen or the empty space where Hwa-Young used to sit. He would drink and drink himself into a stupor, drowning out his sorrows in whiskey. He would drink himself to sleep, even then his pain wouldn't be relieved as he relived the events that unfolded that night on repeat. His PTSD grew stronger and he pushed away anyone who attempted to help him or comfort him, often lashing out at his sons while in his drunken state. As for Seno, the sudden disappearance of his mother filled him with rage, confusion and a sensation of loss. He couldn't understand why his mother had left them and he couldn't accept the possibility of her never returning again. His sadness turned into anger and frustration, and he found himself getting into trouble more often than he did prior. Seno began to act out, constantly returning home with a bruised and cut face from the various fights he would land himself into everyday. He was angry at the world and himself and he no longer cared about the consequences of his actions. For the majority of his teenage years, he was in and out of jail and got himself a reputation for being a ruthless and cold-hearted individual. Tae was the more sensitive of the two brothers, and took his mother's absence particularly hard. He began to withdraw into himself, spending hours alone in his room and not wanting to come out or engage with anyone. When Seno would ask Tae to join him, he would always refuse and rather isolate himself in his room with his door locked. Skipping school was a regular occurrence for Tae now, he would rather stay in bed all day and sleep, or sit and watch television with his father while they both drank a heavy load of alcohol. He could not fathom why his mother would disappear on them, and he too spiralled downwards into a pit of sadness and isolation. Chapter Ⅵ - Back To Square One Soon enough, all the family's savings were put towards fuelling Zen's alcoholic tendencies and continually bailing Seno from jail, and the loss of Zen's job contributed to the financial difficulties the family was facing. They were struggling to afford the bills for their house, and as they kept piling up and becoming more difficult to pay, the family began to look for a way out. After many years of cutting communication with his parents, Zen attempted to reach out and try to borrow some money from his wealthy parents. They saw what Zen had become, a broken down alcoholic with two failing sons, and they were disgusted. They refused to give Zen any money and shut the door on him, leaving him stranded in his own crisis. The family became extremely desperate, and this is when they considered moving to Himera, a city on the coast of Italy where they had some family members reside. With some research, they learnt the cost of living over there was far lower than Seoul, and they planned on a fresh start with their heads screwed on tightly. It wasn't an easy decision to make, the family had lived in Seoul for years, and they had roots there. But they knew that staying in their current situation was not an option, and they were on the brink of being homeless in the slums Zen once ventured. And so they made the difficult choice and left the city of Seoul behind and to start anew in Himera. It wasn't an easy transition, and many challenges confronted them but they were determined to make it work. Only time will tell on where this decision would lead Zen Minori...