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Tatsumaru Kairi (辰丸海離) is a Japanese trainee and model under E-MIX Entertainment. He placed 4th on 60SPARK, and is a member of NEOFLARE.
History[]
Early Life[]
Tatsumaru Kairi was born on June 14th, 2006, in Tokyo, Japan. Not much is known about his early life, but Kairi has mentioned that his parents own a small restaurant, and that he has an older sister. Kairi has also mentioned that he used to spend a lot of time with a karaoke machine he owned.
Predebut[]
Modelling[]
In 2018, when Kairi was 12, his friends dared him to sign up for an open audition for young models for a popular fashion brand. As his parents' restaurant was a bit slow on business and his sister didn't have time for a job, Kairi took the dare seriously. He had no prior experience with modelling, let alone being on camera, but he spent weeks researching as much as he could on modelling.
At the auditions, Kairi recalls that there was a staff member that pointed right at him as soon as he walked into the lobby, and he was put in a seperate line with less people. Kairi was complimented directly by a few staff members during his test photoshoots, and received a callback almost immediately after he returned home. He was signed as an official model for the company a few weeks after.
This first modelling job had Kairi in a few photo advertisements for their new line of summer clothing. It was a small job, but Kairi's pay from it managed to help his parents buy new equipment for their restaurant's kitchen. Kairi stayed with this company for a few more months, doing small modelling jobs, before he got his first big job offer. He was to be the face of their new winter clothing line, as the company wanted to appeal to kids his age. Kairi didn't think much of it at first, doing the job like normal. He was used to being in advertisements that were full of other people, and that were seen in train stations, social media advertisements, and magazines. This was his first fully solo job, and it would be the company's main advertisement for the season, promoted wherever it could be. This was also Kairi's first time recording a commercial shoot.
That winter campaign was Kairi's big break. After the advertisements were released, Kairi immediately began receiving offers from other companies. Due to this overwhelming amount of interest in Kairi, he signed with an agency instead of staying with the one clothing company. As he was still a student, Kairi continued to prioritize his studies over his modelling. From the few shoots he now did every month, Kairi made a steady income, most of which he willingly donated into his parents' restaurant. He even did a shoot to promote the restaurant, which increased business a bit.
By the age of 14, Kairi was the face of teen fashion for several clothing companies. He switched to online school, as he would have to take long breaks for overseas shoots. During a shoot in South Korea, Kairi was invited to a small busking event for a K-Pop group. While watching the group, Kairi realized that he wanted to be able to sing and have fun like them. Modelling was more of just a job rather than something truly fun for Kairi, but singing had always been something Kairi considered fun.
E-MIX Entertainment[]
In 2021, Kairi decided that he wanted to try to become a K-Pop idol. Leaving his fame in Japan, he signed with E-MIX Entertainment as a model and a trainee. He signed around the same time as another popular trainee, Yoo Juhwa. The two of them bonded over their former overwhelming childhood fame.
Along with his training, Kairi continued to be a model. He wasn't offered as many jobs in South Korea as he was in Japan, but his online following was enough for him to find some good brands to be an ambassador for.
Personality[]
Kairi is a very calm, but bubbly person. Due to the stress of his job, Kairi's natural calmness is an asset. He doesn't get stressed easily, and his calm, steady nature calms the people around him as well. He doesn't get caught up in overthinking things, knowing that keeping a good mental state is important for his job. He tries his best to be nice to everyone around him, and will always offer a smile. As he is often in situations with new people, Kairi has found himself becoming much better at starting conversations. He never wants to make a bad first impression, no matter who he is meeting. Kairi strives to bring joy to everyone around him, but if it doesn't start that way, then Kairi feels like the relationship can never be properly fixed.
Kairi's biggest flaw is that he can be quite a pushover. He has a hard time saying no to people, wanting to stay on everyone's good sides. Kairi will find himself taking on things that are too much for him that he could have avoided by just saying no, and will overwork himself because of it. Kairi feels that if he doesn't please everybody, then he isn't a good person. He wants to fix this, but can't figure out how to.
Trivia[]
- Kairi's MBTI type is INFJ.
- His specialty is singing.
- Kairi is fluent in Japanese, and is learning English and Korean.
- He has a considerable following on Instagram where the company still allows him to post.
- Kairi looks up to many different artists, but has mentioned Sangwon, Haewon, Hyeonju, Hana, and Soobin as his main favourites.
- His favourite genre of music is pop songs.
- Kairi doesn't remember which group he saw busking when he first travelled to South Korea, but wants to find them someday and thank them.
- He really likes pink.
- Kairi's fashion sense can be described as casual chic.