lydia jung wants nothing more than to just be left alone. she's an undergrad at caltech and she has the stars to figure out, the pathetic human chaos around her is something she wants to get away from as quickly as possibly. unfortunately for her, charlie ahn falls in love with her the first moment he sees her, striding purposefully across the campus in a pristine white lab coat. her hair is caught in a bun and she's wearing heels and there's a look in her eyes that just steals his breath away. he pursues her relentlessly for the better part of a year, and finally lydia gives in and accepts a date. and the rest is history, the two of them were inseperable after that. after graduation, the two spend a few years within california - lydia accepts an internship at nasa while charlie continues his education.

by the time charlie has finished his masters and is working on his ph.d studies, lydia decides that she is in fact ready to have children. she's never wanted them before but charlie has always wanted them and now that she had him by her side, she doesn't think it'll be too bad, to be a parent with him. jaehyun, named after charlie's father and affectionately called jae by all the family's american friends, is born on a bright and sunny july day, and the fireworks for the fourth of july light up the sky when lydia takes him home.

jaehyun spends the first twelve years of his life in america, a happy childhood. he's just as studious as people would expect the child of two astrophysicts to be, a bright-eyed but quiet baby that seems to soak in the world around him like he can't get enough. his first word is moon and his second word is star and he knows the words for 'twinkle twinkle' before he can say his abc's. the other kids in his class make fun of him for being a brainiac and a teacher's pet, but jaehyun never minded, too absorbed in his books and his scribbles.

the interest in photography begins when the family moves to seoul - lydia accepts a position at the korea aerospace research institute while charlie (now professionally called sungki, his legal birth name) becomes an adjunt professor at seoul national university. uncomfortable with korean and a little too americanized to fit properly with the proper korean kids, jaehyun needs an outlet for the way his new world is revolving around him. he finds it through the lens of a camera, where he can manipulate the view to his liking, where the act of playing around with focus and range and lighting quietens the chaos of the rest of the world that he can't understand.

jaehyun originally wants to go back overseas for school, longing for california beaches and american sensibilities, but is persuaded by his parents to remain in korea. he conceedes, but refuses to attend snu like his father wishes. instead, he chooses the university his grandfather graduated from, yonsei. he doesn't plan on rushing, and at first finds the entire thing silly, but in the way of all grand decisions, finds himself changing his mind for a pretty smile. jaehyun's never hidden the fact that he's gay, has been out for his entire life. it's been kept quiet in korea, due to differing views, but never really hidden. the boy in his comp 1 class is the first one korea that's given him that little... extra smile, something in the eyes that jaehyun recognizes in himself. once jaehyun realizes that he's going to rush agr, well, jaehyun finds himself doing the same. in a strange twist, jaehyun's bid is accepted and the boy's isn't, and the two never talk again.

despite the shallow way jaehyun starts his greek like, he ends up loving it more than he thought. it's the closest he's felt to being accepted in the time that he's been in korea, and he wouldn't trade the feeling for anything in the world.

• too skinny for his height, jaehyun constantly looks like a good wind will take him away. always perpetually cold, so cardigans are his best friend.

• though most people think jaehyun is cold and impersonal, he's actually just shy and a bit reserved. it doesn't help that once he opens his mouth he's sharp-tongued and bluntly honest, never quite having learned that graceful korean tact.

• decided to stay on campus at the agr house this year, despite being able to move. he likes being surrounded by brothers coming and going, and thinks he'd feel too lonely on his own.

• despite the fact that he tends to be quiet and keep to himself, jaehyun tends to be more physically affectionate than people would guess, though it's only reserved for the people he feels closest to.

• was an art major for his freshman year, because he felt that his interest in photography wasn't good enough to channel into a proper career. his mother talked sense into him really quickly and jaehyun changed majors in time for sophomore year.