BASIC INFORMATION
Name: Kim Hye-Jin
Pronunciation- kim hyay-jin
Nicknames- Hyejinnie, Jin, Jinnie
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Pronouns- he/him
Species: Eastern Dragon
Ethnicity: Korean
Scent: hot springs; warm water, wet moss, earth & stone
Orientation: Asexual, Biromantic
Level: Mezzanine
Occupation: Nurse
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Height: Hyejin stands at 5'10'' and typically does not wear any heeled shoes that make him appear any taller.
Hair: Hyejin has long, dark brown, almost black, hair that he often parts in the middle, over his forehead, otherwise his bangs hang into his eyes. Normally he keeps it his natural, dark brown, but occasionally he can be seen dying it even darker till it's a deep ebony color, or to a lighter brown. On a day to day basis he doesn't really do much styling, besides brushing it and parting it. Sometimes he doesn't even do that.
Eyes: He has dark brown eyes, with flecks of light blue in them. Being part-human definitely has it's drawbacks, as he got his nearsightedness from his half-human father. Normally his eyes are hidden by a pair of round-rimmed glasses since he's typically too lazy to put in contacts.
Build: He has an average build for a man of his stature. His shoulders aren't overly wide, or narrow, and neither are his hips. His waist is a little on the smaller side but not by much. And he's decently toned, as he leads an active lifestyle but doesn't consciously work out.
Species Specific: Even though Jin is incapable of shifting, certain parts of his body are covered in navy blue scales, such as his hairline, tailbone, shoulder blades, ankles, wrists, certain spots underneath his chin and more.
Other Notes: Jin has a few tattoos. He has his son's name in hangul (하늘), in small black lettering - no bigger than a quarter - tattooed across his left clavicle. There's a gorgeous
tattoo of a forest that wraps around his ankle, that he got to cover up his soulmate mark. He has a circular
tattoo of a paper boat riding out a storm on the inside of his right bicep. And he also has a
tattoo on his left forearm of a wave, coming up out of a triangle.
ABILITIES & SPECIES INFO
Species: In contrast to their brethren from the west, Korean dragons represent water and agriculture rather than fire and destruction. They dwell in bodies of water, whether that be lakes, rivers, the ocean or mountain springs; Hyejin's family personally come from a long line of dragons that came from mountain hot springs. In their dragon form, they are long and python-like, with four limbs that have four claws each. Because Jin's father was half-human however, he is incapable of shifting into a dragon form, even if he does possess almost all the other attributes of his kind. Since he is reptilian in nature, and comes from a long line spring-dwellers, he is much more sensitive to the cold, and is naturally predisposed to like things a lot warmer.
Abilities:
-- Jin is incapable of shifting into a dragon form, however, he does still have patches of scales that cover certain parts of his body. These scales are tough and stronger than diamonds; they will deflect pretty much anything.
-- His skin is also slightly tougher than normal, even the parts untouched by scales, however, he is not bulletproof. It certainly is hard to make him bleed, for example, he has never gotten a paper cut, and couldn't get one if he tried, it just doesn't make him invincible.
-- The 'softest' parts of his body are protected by these scales. This includes the sides of his stomach, sides of his forehead (protecting the temporal artery), underneath his chin (over his jugular and pulse points), his inner thighs (protecting the femoral artery), and insides of his elbows and knees (protecting the brachial and popliteal arteries respectively). These scales also make appearances at other points of his body, particularly major joints like his wrists, tailbone, ankles, and shoulder blades.
-- Instead of breathing fire, he 'breathes' mist. While he can't control it once it's been formed, he can choose how thick he wants the vapor to be, as well as it's temperature. It's helpful if he ever needed to make a quick escape, as he can create an unnaturally thick fog to disappear into.
-- He can breathe this water vapor either through his mouth or nostrils; he typically chooses his mouth as it makes his nose run afterward, because of the added moisture, but he tends to unintentionally snort hot steam when extremely pissed off.
-- He can sense atmospheric changes, in pressure, temperature, and wind, and is adept at reading those 'signs' in order to interpret the weather. This is an ability common to Korean dragons, as a part of their brain has adapted to be able to sense these things.
-- He can also breathe underwater, is naturally predisposed as a very good swimmer despite little practice and can withstand great amounts of heat - although only when submerged in water. He can sit in a tub, with water hot enough to be boiling, however, he cannot do the same if he were sitting in a dry room that has caught fire.
-- He has incredible superhuman strength, the type that can lift a truck and bend steel. He is not as strong as a full-blooded dragon, however, as he cannot shift.
Weaknesses:
-- His toughened skin is really only helpful when it comes to small cuts. He can't get a papercut and it's hard for him to accidentally slice himself with a knife, but if someone were to actually try to stab him, for example, or shoot him, his toughened skin would not protect him from that. Unless that is, they were to have poor enough aim to go for the patches of skin that are covered in scales.
-- The skin where the scales meet normal skin can itch and chafe occasionally, especially if it gets too dried out.
-- Because of the state of his skin, Jin has trouble getting medical aide, particularly if he needed an IV or injection of some sort. Not all needles are strong enough to pierce his skin. Not only that, but the easiest points to access his arteries and veins (insides of his elbows, wrists, knees) are protected by scales that cannot be pierced by any means. This is also not ideal if he were to need surgery, particularly if they needed to access through his abdomen as they have limited space to work with, or if he were to need stitches.
-- Unlike most of his brethren, Jin does not have an extended lifespan - a fact made clear by the way his healing is not hindered in any way. Instead, he heals at a normal, almost human rate.
-- He has no immunity to fire or other such 'dry' heat.
-- His body has much greater demands for water, especially when he's been breathing mist or snorting steam, and becomes dehydrated much faster than a normal human. As his lungs and airways have adapted to breathe water, they are also prone to drying out if the air is too dry or he hasn't submerged himself in a while. He gets frequent nose bleeds and feels like his throat is on fire when this is the case. In his apartment he keeps humidifiers running 24/7 to mitigate this.
-- He also requires frequent hot baths. He won't dry out, per se, but it is definitely uncomfortable as his body is accustomed to a warm, wet environment. He finds it harder to stay warm, like he's chilled to the bone regardless of how many layers he's sporting, and feels as if his skin/scales are growing too tight for his frame.
PERSONALITY
Traits: altruistic, gentle, kind-hearted, stubborn, strong, sweet, emotional, eccentric, weird, optimistic, loud, lively, protective, paternalistic, loving, friendly, hardworking, control-freak, honest, supportive, perfectionist
Explanation: Hyejin is the epitome of the 'looks like a cinnamon roll and is actually a cinnamon roll' meme. He's an incredibly sweet, gentle and kind-hearted person, who's constantly bubbly and smiling. He's the type that wouldn't be able to hurt a fly. Actually, if he wasn't so terrified of spiders, he would probably capture and release them (as it is he usually panics and crushes them accidentally). Jin's a lover, not a fighter. He's always trying his best to help other people out, he considers it his life calling - that, and being a father. Being a father is actually such a big part of him now, though, that it would be impossible to talk about his personality and not mention it. He loves his son so much, and there's nothing he wants more in the world than to raise him right - he's constantly terrified of messing it up. And while he's a giant teddy bear, it should be noted, he can and will kick ass for his son, and his loved ones (but especially his son).
Likes: his son, spending time with his son, anything to do with his son, helping people, reading, tea, nice long baths, swimming, rainy days
Dislikes: the heat, coffee, messing up, a dirty house, being told what to do, Elysion & its ideals, the Department of Families, heteronormative/amanormative bullshit
BRIEF HISTORY
-- Jin grew up in a well-off Mezzanine family, as an only child. His half-dragon father is a doctor, his mother in sales.
-- Was brainwashed to believe in Elysion's heteronormative/amatormative ideals, and dreamed of meeting his soulmate one day. And then he actually
met Maggie.
-- They hit it off at a party during their sophomore year of college. Got drunk, fucked, and then compared soulmate tattoos. It was meant as a joke, except they actually matched.
-- They got married exactly one month later.
-- For two years, they tried to make it work, they really did. But they constantly fought, and every time they attempted to have sex, sober at least, it was strained and uncomfortable. Plus Maggie didn't want to have kids.
-- But it had to work, because they were
soulmates. Maggie was even more of a staunch believer in the system, and it was extremely difficult for her to wrap her head around. Often she took her frustration and confusion out on him.
-- Then Maggie got pregnant.
-- Maggie's immediate reaction was to want an abortion, which exploded into a huge argument between them, because Jin wanted kids.
Badly.
-- To make matters worse, around this time Jin walked in on Maggie having sex with a woman. He was heartbroken - of course he was, he
had loved her after all - however, a part of him had started to figure out that she was a lesbian, so he couldn't say he was surprised.
-- They ended up coming to an agreement - Maggie couldn't get a divorce because of her job, but they would stay separated. Maggie would have their child, and Jin would be his sole caretaker.
-- Luckily for them, the tenant in the apartment next door had moved out, so Maggie moved in.
-- A couple of months before the due date, Jin decided he didn't want their son ever going through what they did. He didn't want him getting a soulmate tattoo, or an ID chip. Maggie fought with him over it, however, in the end, she agreed. But she warned him she would not help him if it came back to bite him in the ass.
-- So they hid the birth. Given his medical background, he was able to help her through it, and they made it seem as if Maggie had lost the child.
-- Now Haneul is getting older, and nearly three years later, Jin is starting to regret such that decision; clearly he didn't think it through enough. He fears for his son's future because he can't keep him hidden forever.
EXTRA
-- Notable NPC: His three-year-old son, Haneul. Hannie is a wild little spit-fire - and by that, he often
literally spits fire. He inherited a lot of his mother's intensity, along with his father's eccentricity and they have no idea where he got his mischievous nature. He's able to shift into a dragon form - about the size of a house cat, currently - and while he looks a lot like his mother, he inherited his father's blue scales (although he's got a lot of golden flecks).
-- Jin is in the process of finishing his Nurse Practioner degree.
-- He and Haneul have a border collie named
Spaghetti, or Hetti for short. Hyejin objected to naming their dog after a type of pasta but he's a sucker for his son. Thus, Spaghetti was dubbed Spaghetti.
-- Hyejin works part-time as a nurse in quite a few different places, including the hospital in the Mezzanine district, but also various clinics in the area, as well as some clinics down in Terran. He also frequently works with the Department of Families clinic in his area at the end of the year, when they outsource medical professionals.