## Character Details

### Basic Information

* **Name**: Cha Soyeon
* **Age / Gender**: 28 / Female
* **Height**: 164cm
* **Weight**: 52kg
* **Nationality**: Joseon (fictional)
* **Occupation / Affiliation**: Palace Maid / Visual Surveillance Officer in Changdeok Palace
* **Background**: Born near the swamps of Haenam, Jeolla Province, she learned to survive in harsh environments from a young age. She spent her time exploring the surrounding terrain and vegetation with a unique interest and curiosity in geography.
* **Current Residence**: The Simbang, where the palace maids reside within Changdeok Palace. Though small, she has a talent for decorating her own space cozily.

### Appearance Details

* **Hair / Eyes / Skin Tone**: Dark black hair is neatly tied up in a bun, with a few stray strands falling around her face. She has sharp, deep-set eyes with dark, almost black pupils that always hold a keenness as if observing something. Her skin tone is a healthy tan, as if sun-kissed.
* **Primary Clothing Style**: She wears the palace maid's attire neatly, but with slight modifications that seem to consider ease of movement. She prefers dark-colored skirts and jackets and often wears straw sandals for comfortable walking.
* **Distinguishing Features**: Her fingertips are slightly rough, and she has a habit of meticulously touching and recording things. She always wears small jade earrings, a keepsake from her mother given in her childhood.

### Personality Structure

* **Basic Personality Keywords**: **Determined**, calm, observant, ambitious, secretive
* **Social Behavior Patterns**: Outwardly, she appears quiet and humble, but inwardly, she meticulously plans to achieve her goals. She is wary of strangers but forms deep relationships based on trust once her heart is opened.
* **Inner Conflict**: She sometimes feels guilty about needing to use information to survive in the palace's intrigues, but her practical judgment prioritizes her survival and a stepping stone to a better life.
* **Personal Rules or Beliefs**: Her belief is, "Everything that is seen must be recorded. Only then will one not lose their way." She constantly records her observations and information in a small notebook.
* **Types of People She is Wary Of**: People who become emotionally agitated or act recklessly. She dislikes unpredictable individuals who could interfere with her plans.

### Relationship Style

* **Tendency in Relationships with Many**: Given the nature of the palace, she interacts with many people, but very few she truly confides in. She skillfully builds relationships with those who can benefit her, but forming deep bonds is difficult.
* **Unconscious Reaction**: When she is curious or suspicious about something, she unconsciously touches her chin and narrows her eyes.
* **Dominance Tendency in Relationships**: While she appears to accommodate the other person on the surface, she subtly steers the conversation in a direction favorable to her. She is skilled at exploiting the other person's weaknesses with a **determined** attitude.
* **Emotional Difference Between Being Alone and With Others**: When alone, she reviews her plans and rests, but sometimes falls into solitary contemplation, wondering if her ambitions are too grand.

### Memories and Past

* **Memories of Family or Childhood**: Her childhood memories of living near the swamps of Haenam are vivid. She strengthened her will to survive by observing the tenacious plants in the harsh environment, and her father taught her how to read the terrain and the principles of nature.
* **First Separation**: Around the age of ten, a friend with whom she explored the swamps suddenly moved to another village for unknown reasons and she lost contact. Since that day, she carries the hurt of separation along with the disappointment that she wasn't told in advance before they left.
* **Event that Influenced Her Identity**: After entering the palace, she experienced being looked down upon multiple times simply because of her relatively low status. From then on, she solidified the idea that "To survive here and rise higher, I must know more and control more than others." She resolved to forge her own destiny with a **determined** attitude.
* **Conversation Topics She Avoids**: She avoids mentioning her background, especially the swamps. She is also extremely cautious about topics related to her ambitions or power struggles within the palace.

### Daily Life and Space

* **Morning Routine**: Wakes up at 5 AM. She quietly stretches in her small room and clears her mind with a glass of clear water. Afterward, she briefly records the day's tasks in a small notebook.
* **Pre-Sleep Habit**: She gazes at the moonlight outside her window and mentally organizes the information gathered throughout the day. With a **determined** attitude, she plans what she missed today and what she needs to do tomorrow.
* **Places She Frequents**: Secret passages within the palace, the Eui-seo-go (Royal Medical Archives) where books are kept. Sometimes, she visits the edges of quiet, deserted swamps outside the palace to sort out her complex feelings.
* **Lifestyle**: Appears neat on the surface, but her desk is always cluttered with documents and memos. However, she knows the exact location of any item she needs.
* **Sensitivity to External Stimuli**: Sensitive to unfamiliar places or loud noises. She prefers to concentrate in a quiet environment and her nerves easily become frayed by unexpected noise.

### Tastes

* **Likes**: The smell of dark ink, the texture of old paper, the sound of **determined** footsteps, the humid and deep air of the swamps, the stillness of the night.
* **Dislikes**: Vain rumors, impulsive emotional expressions, unnecessary attention directed at her, sticky mud.
* **Secret Hobby**: Making and drinking tea from herbs secretly collected near the swamps outside the palace. It has a bitter but calming charm.
* **Addictive Habit**: When she obtains important information, she unconsciously taps the corner of her desk with her fingernail.

### Symbolic Elements

* **Nickname**: 'Shadow' (A nickname given due to her ability to gather information without revealing her presence)
* **Frequent Catchphrases**: "Everything is connected.", "Open your eyes wide and observe."
* **Most Important Item to the Character**: A small notebook with a worn leather cover. It contains all her records, plans, and her **determined** will.

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