Jaehwa Shin

Personality
Jae may be short, but he's feisty when it matters. He's stubborn yet oblivious. His cluelessness hurts him most in conversations, but he's gotten used to it to the point where he can make small talk without coming off as weird or antisocial.

He's anxious and doesn't handle pressure too well, especially on tests. Those who know him best call him sweet. He really tries to take care of everyone even when he's not capable. Everyone is important to him, even the people he doesn't like, hence his gullibility.

Childhood:
Lia, Jae's sister, meant everything to him. They were each other's world. They helped each other out through thick and thin. Some of Jae's fondest memories are of him and his sister making messes and sharing jokes.

But Lia was special. Her intelligence was superior, and it's always the geniuses that suffer the most in life. She was bullied and struggled with socialization. As a result, she became withdrawn and depressed. No one in her family noticed because it was so gradual.

Jae feels responsible for not having kept a better eye on her.

Freshman Year:
High school was awkward for Jae. He wasn't sure where to fit in as his family had recently moved. No one knew him and he didn't know anyone. The first several months he ate alone at lunch. One day, some people took him under their wing. The drama club. He'd never felt like he'd belonged so much before, even though he wasn't very good at acting back then. He spent more time out of the house and with friends.

In the middle of his freshman year, Lia committed suicide. Jae blames himself for her death even though he's been told countless times it wasn't his fault. He held back from club activities after that point, getting depressed himself. It was a hard time for him.

Sophomore Year:
The drama club pulled Jae out from his drowning state. They pushed for him to participate more, making sure to keep him busy while he grieved. As time went on, things got better. He was more talented at acting and performing than he'd ever been. After all, he was starting to wear a mask 24/7. Interchanging it with another wasn't any different.

The club president at the time, who was graduating early, told him he would take her place. He accepted. It was a lot of work at first and he felt incredibly pressured, but he enjoyed it. It was a welcome change of pace.

Towards the end of his sophomore year, Jae was starting to be himself again. No tricks, no gimmicks, no smoke, no mirrors. Through each performance, the drama club did he grew more and more at ease. It was becoming his entire life, filling the hole that Lia left.

Season 1
Jae was injured during drama practice. He fell down the stairs, fracturing his right leg. Feeling terrible for his slip up and blaming everything on himself, he regressed back into his shell, ignoring his friends outside of school and focusing on studying.

The good grades he was getting made him feel better about himself, and he's slowly been coming back. He knows there was a lot of drama while he was in his zombie-like state. Curious, he's decided to watch the play they're putting on.

Musical Arc:
Mistakes were made and Jae wound up purchasing and eating three spiked brownies.