#sm:talk

5. FIVE HEADCANONS ABOUT:

Mental Health.

O1. While Sunwoo doesn’t have any psychological disorders that are massively disruptive to their lifestyle, they do exhibit signs of mild narcissism and characteristics of OCD.

Sexual Orientation. 

O2. Sunwoo identifies as pansexual and demisexual. They feel sexual attraction once they have a close emotional bond with someone, and that someone can be anyone regardless of gender.

Their Appearance. 

O3. Their appearance is one of the things they take the most care and pride in. They don’t make a large effort to look flashy, but they like to have an unique flare to their style no matter where they’re going. For work they make ‘business-casual’ attire look formal. For casual gatherings, it might be comfortable but it also looks ridiculously coordinated and cool. They’ve picked up their tricks from looking through countless fashion mags while cataloguing at the library but fashion is a general interest of theirs. Especially since California is a lively state with an infinite pace of styles.

History of their name.

O4. It is one of the Seong family traditions that the parents pick the name of their firstborn grandchild, so Sunwoo’s grandparents chose their name as they’re his mother’s firstborn. Sunwoo’s grandparents chose the name because it sounded mighty and powerful for a boy. But the tradition is also why Sunwoo cracks jokes about how their little brother gets away with getting a generalized name. Sean is the name they chose to generally introduce themselves to people as.

O5. As for their tag name “Sol”, Sunwoo adopted the name during their time doing community service when serving as a volunteer at the library. They became obsessed with mythology and studying the different types of it. The name Sol was always associated with the sun, much like their own name was. On top of that, they embrace the name even more because of its interchange of pronunciation between the word “soul” ( which they feel all art speaks from + calling themselves the ‘soul’ of Pico ) and Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and a homage to their roots.

4. FOUR HEADCANONS ABOUT:

Academics.

O1. After graduating high school, Sunwoo jumps in to study at UCLA. At the age of 20 after interning at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, they complete their two year program and receive their master’s degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS) with special concentrations in academics, reference, and user services.

Favorite Things. 

Three things Sunwoo cannot function too far without: 

O2. Diet Coca Cola ( they’re always seen with one. It’s a pretty unhealthy habit they’re busy trying to break. )

O3. a nice watch ( they love having matching watches to go with their outfits )

O4. and a fidget spinner. ( Sunwoo enjoys spinning them when he’s idle at work or in deep thought. They can do a few tricks. Their little brother turned them onto these after leaving a few at his apartment by accident. )

3. THREE HEADCANONS ABOUT:

 Languages spoken.

O1. Sunwoo can speak in English, Korean, and Spanish fluently. They started to pick up Spanish from friends as a teen and chose to completely commit to learning the language when they noticed a need for speakers during their time doing community service work at the library. Between learning Mandarin and Spanish, both predominant languages in the community, Sunwoo opt for Spanish not only for the need but also? They quietly enjoy the shock of people have when an Asian begins fluently speaks the language.

Home life. 

O2. Sunwoo was raised in a single-parent home, since their dad walked out on their family when they turned 17. He went off to marry another woman and began a family of his own and Sunwoo resents him for it. Otherwise, Sunwoo’s mom and his baby brother, Mason are their world and he would do anything for them. He was quick to readjust his more reckless behavior to be a better role model for Mason after their dad left. He moved out from their home in the Pico District to an apartment Downtown when they were 21. 

Ethnicity/Culture. 

O3. Though they were born in America they’re not shy in embracing their Korean heritage and roots. They’re very proud and appreciative of their culture and though Mason doesn’t appreciate it as deeply as Sunwoo does, they’re glad that their mother didn’t shy away from sharing and raising her boys around it despite it being in a different country.

2. TWO HEADCANONS ABOUT:

Favorite Food. 

O2.  Sunwoo loves loves loves pizza. If pizza is mentioned you could make them budge on close to anything. There are so many types of pizza and pizza combinations in the world you can never ever get bored.

Their Workplace.

O1. The library is their home away from home. They’ve been working at the Main Branch in the head reference librarian in the reference department for five years. Their desk and workspace is very neat. They have a two art prints and photos of them and their family framed around their desk. There’s also a small personal collection of their favorite philosophy books on display, a small desk plant, and a glass dragon egg for display simply for the aesthetic. They make sure their desk always remains neat and clean.

1. ONE HEADCANON ABOUT:

Defining moment + A Goal.

O1. It was a impromptu, spur of the moment visit back to the neighborhoods of Pico one day. They were pretty upset over something, and if you asked Sunwoo now, they still couldn’t tell you what it was exactly. All they knew was the only way to make themselves feel better was the comfort food served in a local corner store they used to frequent so often as a kid. It was a hotspot among many in the neighborhood and the family that ran it was always friendly and there was no way you could be mad once interacting with them. 

Except when Sunwoo arrived, the corner store was shut down and instead had an obnoxious sign nailed outside the building about a reconstruction for a new shopping center instead. Sunwoo was baffled, wondering how many people knew, knowing the closure had to be fresh because there were a handful of people in their contacts that would’ve told them of any premeditated closures. They wondered if the family had much of a warning, as Sunwoo knew for years the business was how they made their living. The entire situation ignited a blazing fire with them. The projects of building around Pico wasn’t new per say, but this was too close to home. For a shopping center? For who’s benefit? It hit too close to home. It was too close to someone else’s home. 

After days of digging, reconstructing the story on the closure, hearing more stories of displacement, and reading into the million dollar projects that would be appearing in the area of Pico over the next few years, Sunwoo’s kindled anger had become an entire firestorm.

Those they said they did, the city didn’t really care. The “betterment” of the district was at the expense of the people who lived there their entire lives. Sunwoo was one of those people. No matter how far they moved, Pico was always home. 

Despite being better in the eyes of the law, serving the community to dismiss older incidents of graffiti tagging as a teen, Sunwoo picked up some old spray cans. They came back to the corner store, now sad and deserted, and went at the sign that showcased the pristine future shopping center: ‘F*CK YOU’.

It was aggressive, it was all rage, it was relieving. But it could be better. They could be better. It was start of a war, but not the one Sunwoo could see themselves continuing. Their noise couldn’t be bleak and dark like most taggers resorted to. It had to be bright. It had to paint the town, it had to speak loud and illuminate Pico to prove to Santa Monica it was something worth saving. 

Minjoon moved to America a little over 12 years ago with his family, a little after the family’s ‘scandal’ came to public attention. The Song-Lee family weren’t strangers to rumours before then, the most popular being that Lee Jisun’s partner, whom she has already had one child with, had been having an affair with Song Sarang and when both women discovered the other truth, after they had both fallen pregnant to him, they left him and moved from Hanan to Seoul together to support each other after what he’d put them through. Many people who worked closely with Sarang and Jisun easily swept the obvious under the mat as long as it wasn’t public information that they had to outright deny. Friends and colleagues of both women were happy to pretend to believe the obvious lie about their living situation when the truth of the matter was that they had been in a secret but loving relationship since their teens.

Minjoon was the middle child of three boys although he and his younger brother Minho were affectionately dubbed ‘The Twins’ by their mothers, their births only being weeks apart. The Twins and their older brother, Dohan, were spoken to in regards to doing their best to keep the secret exactly that. Of course they had also been told that it couldn’t be helped if it came out, they were only children after all. Minjoon, however, was petrified of saying the wrong thing and made the decision to keep his mouth shut whenever he wasn’t at home. Minho then took his taciturn brother under his wing – made sure he was included by his friends when Joonie refused to make his own. They assumed he was a friend of the Lee’s, always with one of them and simply just shy. This was until his anxiety became worse as he became older, to the point where he’d start screaming whenever anyone touched him as his automatic response. He became more and more withdrawn, more and more terrified of other people – students and teachers were all an equal threat to his otherwise happy life.

Dinner time at the Song-Lee residence was the first time that Joonie’s family was together during the day; it was the first time during the day that anyone saw him relax and even smile because he wasn’t capable of doing or saying the wrong thing – his family was whole and nothing could take that from him. Joonie felt at peace, he felt comforted and when he wanted to prolong that feeling, he found the best way to do so was take part in making the meal, following clear instructions he couldn’t get wrong and even then, burnt food wasn’t going to drive his family apart. Even after Minjoon developed a love for food and cooking, his moms were growing ever more concerned about how detached he’d made himself from his peers; locking himself in his room whenever his family members had anyone over and refusing to go out with Minho and his friends, opting to stay locked away from them all and read recipe books instead.

The first decision about helping him came in the form of therapy and even after he’d been made aware that the doctor knew his moms were partners, he still refused to talk about them. After hearing that no progress could be made, Jisun and Sarang made the decision to move away somewhere they would be more accepted, somewhere Joonie wouldn’t panic about mentioning his family to anyone and somewhere they could finally get him the help he needed. It took years and several therapists after they arrived in America but Minjoon was able to grow into his own happy, albeit still slightly nervous person. It wasn’t surprising when he pursued his passion for food all the way to NYU, still finding comfort in cooking that easily became a passion.