Seung-min has never qualified as normal, not in any sense. He's a rather eccentric person; his mannerisms are strange and his personality is the type that you could never forget. He's a cheerful, social person who's absolutely shameless; dare him to pole dance against a tree in the middle of camp, and he'd do it with his head held high. Seung-min seems to have no inhibition; he's not afraid to be who he wants to be and doesn't care if society judges him.

You can't be Hermes' son without a little mischievousness. Seung-min is a prankster at heart; sure, he might joke around with some pick-up lines for a little fun, but Seung-min loves a true, full-blown prank, and appreciates someone who is playful enough to keep up with him. Despite this though, Seung-min is also aware of people's limits, and makes sure not to cross the line.

In general, Seung-min is a pretty light-hearted kid. He tends to be friendly and get along with just about anyone. Seung-min has many friendships, but he has only a small amount of friends who he's truly close with, and if Seung-min caught someone even looking at them the wrong way, then boy, they better be ready to go through the ringer. Seung-min is deeply protective of the people he truly holds near and dear to his heart. He lost the two people he adored the most in the past, and Seung-min won't let that happen with anyone else he grows close to.

Despite Seung-min's dominant cheerful, shameless side, there's also a deeper, more serious side to him that usually shows up through his sincerity. Seung-min is a pained soul, and despite his mischievous disposition and legitimately positive outlook on life, there is a melancholic part of his heart that has taken a permanent spot in his life after his two best friends left. Seung-min may be a trickster, but if you think that he's an inconsiderate, shallow person who doesn't know what pain's like, you couldn't possibly be more wrong.

Keun Seung-min (pronunciation: KUHN SUHNG-meen; hangul: 근승민; hanja: 斤蠅敏) had two best friends in his life who he absolutely adored beyond comprehension. One was Aloisia Leitzke, referred to as Lois, a sharp-eyed half German, half Korean girl who could roast Seung-min fluently in nine languages, and the other was Choi Yong-jun, a Korean boy from the other side of Seung-min's hometown who was exactly two days, seven hours, six minutes, and twenty-seven seconds younger than him, and the subject of his puppy love. Both were short, savage, and the strongest people Seung-min could name.

The Sehnsucht he feels for them is stronger than any other emotion in the world.

Seung-min had always been a rather hyperactive, eccentric child. He was the type who would fanboy shamelessly over his favorite K-pop group (read: Big Bang) one moment, and be daydreaming about American churros the next. Seung-min never stays on one topic. Nothing in Daegu had ever had ever held his lingering attention before Yong-jun and Lois. It was a week before his tenth birthday when he met the two of them; Yong-jun had just moved to Seung-min's neighborhood and his parents, conveniently, had adopted an orphaned Lois one month before. Seung-min walked up to them for a superficial reason: he thought Yong-jun was pretty. Lois was too, but she wasn't the one Seung-min developed a crush on. Sure, Lois' eyes were a captivating swirl of smoldering amber and forest green, but Yong-jun's rounder and more ethereal features won Seung-min over. The two were sitting in the corner of the classroom, not looking at each other but staying within a three foot proximity. They had introduced themselves quietly at the beginning of class - it turned out Lois had skipped a grade. After that, no one else paid them any heed, but Seung-min approached them brightly, inviting both of them to a small birthday party he was going to have at his grandparents' farm.

At first, their brutal rejection had pained Seung-min. He didn't let it show, but the two new kids made harsh words hurt more than they should've. Seung-min kept his boxy smile on his face, and told them they could come if they changed their minds.

"Seung-min, did you meet the new children? I believe their names are Yong-jun and Lois."

"Yeah, I invited them to my birthday party next week! The others don't like them, eomma, but they just seem like people who don't let others push them around. Don't worry, I'll be their friend!"

"... your father would be proud, Seung-min ah."

"... really?"

Yong-jun and Lois came to Seung-min's birthday party. They didn't immediately hit it off; their friendship was the type that snuck into their lives over time until one day, the three of them finally realized it was there.

Seung-min was friendly with everybody, but he rarely developed true friendships with anyone. Yong-jun's rare gummy smile and Lois' slightly perverted jokes she only reserved for those closest to her kept Seung-min by their side for six years.

Yong-jun and Lois were always there... until one day, they disappeared like they never existed. Yong-jun had leukemia; his parents grew neglectful over the years as their relationship weakened, and Yong-jun didn't get any help at all. He did a brilliant job of hiding it, but Seung-min and Lois knew something was wrong; the former couldn't pinpoint it.

It was Seung-min's sixteenth birthday; he was waiting for Yong-jun and Lois to come to his house like they always did for the last five years, but they never came. Seung-min gave them a day to redeem themselves. He was confused; they never skipped each other's birthdays. After that one day, on Yong-jun's birthday, Seung-min went to his house as usual. His parents let him in without a word. Seung-min didn't know what was going on, until he headed upstairs. There he found Lois and Yong-jun, sitting in the latter's bed as they stared blankly at a burning candle; vanilla essence, the scent Yong-jun had been so fond of. Yong-jun looked horrible, like the spirit of death itself. He could barely keep his eyes open as he muttered a German phrase to Lois. Yong-jun then turned to Seung-min, who was frozen in shock.

"I'm sorry. Goodbye."

Yong-jun died on his sixteenth birthday. Seung-min cried for three months, and then some. Lois just dipped her head in respect before moving on in life, like she was used to tragedy and pain. She was never the emotional type; Seung-min thought that she was always the strong one out of the three of them.

On Lois' fifteenth birthday, Seung-min trudged on over to her home. He was still grieving, but he refused to neglect his other best friend. When he got there, it was four in the morning; Lois liked to get up early, so Seung-min and Yong-jun did so to on her birthday, just to respect her preferences. Seung-min let himself in quietly, making sure not to wake up Lois' adoptive parents. As he walked upstairs, he received a series of texts from none other than Lois herself.

Life is hard, Seung-minnie. So please, tell me that I was brilliant. Tell me that I worked hard. Tell me that I was enough for you, for Yong-jun, for everybody.

I'm a cruel person, Seung-min oppa. So, so cruel. Please fulfill my one request: do not blame yourself. It was never your fault. It was mine for being weak. Do not lose heart, do not lose your soul, you are so much stronger than I am. Was.

You do not deserve what I'm about to do to you.

Goodbye, oppa.

Seung-min ran. He ran upstairs, he didn't care who he woke up. He screamed when he saw Lois' body, a rope tightened around her neck. He screamed when they took him away, he screamed when he was given a shock blanket. He screamed when he realized, it was November 26th, Lois had killed herself on her birthday, like how Yong-jun died from cancer on his.

Lois was so, so cruel, but Seung-min could never hate her.

All he could do was continue, do as she asked. He did not lose heart, because she told him not to. Seung-min followed Lois' last instructions to a tee. The pain never lessened, but over time, Seung-min grew stronger.

One day, the pain came back, and Seung-min could not take it. He had the pills, no one was around. He raised his hand to his mouth when a man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his wrist. The man was Hermes, Seung-min was later told. His father.

Hermes told him that if Seung-min didn't kill himself, that if he bore through the pain like he had for over half a year, he would be happy when he saw Yong-jun and Lois in the Underworld. Seung-min was almost there, Hermes told him. Seung-min had almost healed. Just a little further, and then the pain would be a burden that Seung-min wouldn't be hindered by no longer.

Hermes sent Seung-min to Camp Athens. He thrived there, because despite what Seung-min went through and what he could possibly go through in the future, he was still a cheerful, bright kid deep down. He escaped depression, and he was going to live life to the fullest. For Lois, his best friend. For Yong-jun, the love he was never able to confess to.