ROBERTSON, JiUk

Z is confident and playful, the hurt from his past hidden behind dark brown, sparkling eyes. He's quiet despite being confident, often lost in thought or found typing away on his phone or writing in a notebook. He usually doesn't falter from this confident, happy aura, but a main trigger, a hand raised as if to hit him, can bring him down into a sobbing mess. If triggered, he'll become weak, sobbing silently as well as regaining a stutter. He doesn't normally face this side of himself anymore, trying to remain happy and a good boy. He's respectful, caring, responsible, and pure of heart, with a bit of a coy, sassy, playful side.


JiUk was born to a Caucasian father and Korean mother. He went through his childhood pretty normally, going to a Christian school just outside the Modesto City limit. He continuously had parent-teacher conferences as well as personal prayer sessions as he kept wanting to "play with girl toys," as the teacher put it.
By middle school, JiUk, or "Z," as he went by now, realized he was gay. But he knew being in Christian schooling, he'd have to hide it. This didn't stop him in eighth grade, when he caught another boy quickly hiding a gay porn magazine. Z promised not to tell, revealing he was also gay. They formed an unlikely friendship, originally not having much in common besides they both went to Christian school and they both were gay. The boy's name was Xavier Confortola, and they quickly learned Xavier's parents were much more understanding of gays than anyone at their school, or what Z feared his parents would be like. The began a relationship their freshman year, keeping it hidden from the prying eyes of the campus.
Their love was sweet, pure, thriving when at Xavier's house as his parents found the two "so adorable." However, it was not to last. In between their sophomore and junior year, some of their classmates found the two together. They ganged up on the two, beating them viciously and one boy even going as far as raping Z after Z suggested that people hate what they see in themselves. After forcing him to watch his boyfriend be raped, Xavier was hit with a baseball bat and never woke up again.
Z woke up in the hospital, bruised, sore, and weak-minded. His parents were furious instead of understanding, however, telling him it was what he deserved for being gay. They later came back to disown him. Xavier's parents, grieving for their own son and the intolerance he faced, wouldn't take it from Z's parents. They chewed Z's parent's out before telling the boy he'd have a place to stay with them for as long as he needed to, whether it was one day or the rest of his life.
After Z was released from the hospital, he did indeed move in with Xavier's family. He was facing nightmares, depression, suicidal tendencies, a stutter, and insomnia, but Alexa and Dave Confortola were nothing but patient with him, also helping him get in to see a counselor. By the time Z returned to school in the fall, the physical wounds were gone, but his heart was still wounded. He had lost his only friend. One look from his attackers on the first day caused Z to have a mental breakdown, and he was pulled out of the Christian school and sent to a regular public school. He had begun gaining weight soon after the accident, ballooning close to 350 lbs by the middle of his junior year. The therapist told him it was a way to build a shield, that it was unhealthy for him. Z realized later she was right, and began losing weight slowly. He's still a bit chubby, at 170 lbs, but he's definitely healthier than he had been.
Once he started public school, he saw something he hadn't ever seen before: a Gay-Straight Alliance club. He joined it after much hesitation, but doesn't regret any bit of it. He made close friends who accepted him for who he was, and his wounds began healing on their own, slowly. After a while, he even seemed to lose his stutter, though when he gets upset it will still rear it's ugly head.
Z just graduated from college with an English degree. While he works in an office, that's just his "day job" to maintain an income, and his true passion is slam poetry, beginning back during his days in the GSA club in high school.