mi-kyung and sung-hoon first met in college while they were both living in songpa, south korea. mi-kyung was a first generation korean american, who after sneaking out of home to go to a david bowie concert was sent to live with her aunt and uncle in songpa to shake the heathen out of her while she attended college. it's a legendary tale that gets passed around the buffet table, because no one usually has anything better to talk about other than the fact that mi-kyung and sung-hoon were both academic rivals and sworn enemies who somehow ended up falling love over a mutual interest in david bowie. by the time they were ready to graduate, they were no longer clamoring over each other for preferred grades, but were instead discussing the probablity of moving to america, coincidentally where a chunk of sung-hoon's family lived also. they were in love, they had many things to bond over such as their respective families shipping them off to relatives to verbally admonish the rebellious "american" nature out of them and english musicians and so shortly after graduation they both relocated to california.

five years after moving, marrying and settling back into life around extended family the yoos discovered they were expecting a child. it wasn't precisely planned, but they were settled into their comfortable office jobs and were earning well so the family wasn't panicked. a few months into the mi-kyung's pregnancy, however it became apparent that she would be expecting twins. the panic factor was turned up almost immediately. they were excited, of course but the prospect of having to safe proof the house against two pairs of grabbing hands caused the inner monica geller to snap in mi-kyung and the house was a neurotic well organized environment up until the twins were born.

ryong-hae and his sister were born three hours apart on the 10th of december in 1995. the 10th of december was a lucky day to sung-hoon because wayne's world had come out two years prior on that exact day and it had famously become his favorite movie. both children grew up attached at the hip, wearing matching clothing and latching on like leeches to their cousins and further extended family, but ryong-hae or "ro" as he became affectionately known by the children in his preschool who struggled to say his name was the more quiet of the twins. he wasn't shy, but he didn't often have anything to say and for the first three years of his life, ro's parents became convinced that he was a borderline mute. once introduced to art in school, his interests for any other form of learning quickly flew out the window. while his sister was fiesty and vibrant, ro was quiet and thoughtful. he listened to his friends and their problems, was a sage ear of wisdom for all his fellow six year olds but he did not flourish as a social butterfly. initially his parents were worried, but they didn't see any anxiety within him when he actually did socialize with other children and he was kind to his sister and cousins so their concern turned towards a quiet understanding that maybe their son was just an eighty year old six year old.

as ro grew older and taller, it became very apparent that he was struggling in school. while extremely talented in the art department, and somewhat innovative for a youth of his age he couldn't wrap his head around academics. it bothered him, and his family that his school was the type to brush such students under the carpet, but zoning restrictions meant that they didn't have much of a choice. he was assigned tutors and even his friends stepped into help, but the reality was that he often knew the content but tested poorly and didn't know how to apply what he knew into most scenarios. his parents were once again concerned. concerned because although his strength lay in art, they knew how difficult it was to make money with such a talent when the pool was already so populated. when he was sixteen years old they sent him away for one summer to stay at a family friend's in new york to work for a paper company. mi-kyung and sung-hoon were incredibly supportive parents and did not want him to feel as though he was being isolated, but rather explained to him in detail that they wanted him to have the most work experience he could muster in an economy that was gradually beginning to value young workers less and less. he returned from new york with a greater work ethic, and although it didn't improve his drive to excel with his grades the trip inspired him to work harder on his paintings. using the money he saved from working over the summer, he set up an exhibition at a small hall of his artwork and neglected to place emphasis on who he was or how old he was. to his surprise, the exhibition was somewhat a success and after being featured in a handful of small time art newsletters, he received his first commission.

still being in high school meant that commissions were far and few between, but there was hope in a future for his passion. however, during his final year of school one of his friends in his tight knit social circle passing away whilst on holiday with her family meant he graduated by the skin of his teeth, and his art took a hit. the social circle disintegrated, leaving behind only three people including himself and in between high school and college he refused to produce a single piece of art, finding no comfort in artistic release when the friend that had passed away had been the one to truly favor his work. ro wandered aimlessly from summer job to summer job, something which was of great concern to his parents that would only be alleviated once he started college and found a sense of purpose again.