CIVILIAN . LEE, JAIME

FEMALE

BISEXUAL

TWENTY-FOUR

FEBRUARY 21ST 1988

AMERICAN

ENGLISH, KOREAN

JAY, JAYBIRD, JAYJAY

0.50

Civilian

n/a

n/a

9/17/13 by Jess

PRINCE

ALLISON CHEN

YES

CHARACTER NAME HERE from SERIES HERE

Upper class. Lives in graduate student housing at CalTech.

Student at California Institute of Technology: Unfortunately, she’s in her second year of her med-school in the Caltech Medical Center after graduating from MIT at twenty-two armed with a degree in Biomedical engineering.

Jaime's area of interest is Emergency Room Surgery. Her favourite cousin died on the surgery table and she's looking to reduce that statistic.

Car Enthusiast and Bike Owner: One of her part-time jobs was at a garage helping with the books and schedules, and she got curious. One thing led to another, she found herself under the underside of a car. She found the process of restoring akin to surgery, removing parts and improving things. Now she also slowly making a name for herself in the restoration business. She likes them vintage.

One day, she’ll own a Lamborghini Aventador and its 6.2 L L539 V12 engines. 0 to 62 miles in 2.5 seconds and over 180 top speed, 2-door coupé, 2-door roadster. Mid-engine, all wheel drive. 7-speed ISR Semi-automatic transmissions.

Until then, she’ll have to make sure her Kawasaki Ninja 300 with its 296cc fuel-injected engine stays polished, tinkered and well ridden.

When it comes to Jaime, her face is not the first thing you’ll notice. She’s not exactly conventionally pretty. It would be the sheer physicality of her body that will catch your eye. She’s toned, from all the garage work she has done, there’s a confidence in her 5’ 8” physique that alludes to someone who is very comfortable in her skin.

Hazel-eyed and black haired, she’s got a dimpled grin that guarantees mischief and a twinkle in her eyes which promises adventure. But no long lashes, no perfect nose. Her lips on the thinner side and slightly crooked. Her hair is long but messy, mostly in a haphazard bun. At times, you might even catch a glimpse of silver along the upper curve of her ears. She’s a fan of helix piercings, and she isn’t afraid to getting a few more just to affirm that love to the world.

Then there are her hands, callused, scarred and burned in places. Blue-collar hands. Blunt nails on long fingers that are long and delicate-looking once upon a time. Garage work tends to do that to you. If her mother had been around, she would have clicked her tongue in disapproval because apparently, those hands don’t belong to a lady. But who the hell decided that she was one?

Jaime dresses simply, a fan of jeans and tank tops that are comfortable and fitting. That ensemble would be paired with a pair of biker boots and if she’s taking her baby out for a ride, then she’ll have riding gloves on too. If she looks feels comfortable, then she looks good. If there’s an oil stain smeared on a bared shoulder, then so be it.

Nobody hired anyone else to be her stylist.

Oh, she doesn’t have a problem being naked either. Half the world has boobs, who hasn’t seen them? Quit kidding yourself.

Let’s start with the bad, because there’s plenty. Despite coming across as someone who is pretty darn carefree, there’s a hidden insecurity that partially drives her insane need for work. Her thirst for approval has gotten her into some trouble before.

And there’s an insatiable urge to push boundaries, to test limits, and sometimes… she goes too far.

Perhaps, one could even go ahead and call her cocky. She's confident with her hands and sure of what she wants. It can grate the wrong way. It’s been a while since she’s hit a low and the concept of tact occasionally eludes her. She’s not fond of apologizing either. And as much as pride is what got her through her earlier years with her head held high, the same pride might just be her downfall in the future.

There’s also a possessiveness to her character that is rarely seen, it would take someone who means a lot to trigger that trait. You can even call her selfish, but isn’t that human nature? Then again, it’s about extent.

And she’s not exactly a mild person.

Jaime is a private person, keeping most of her locked away and close to her heart because she is painfully aware of these flaws and is honestly terrified of scaring people away. Sometimes, she feels like a liar and the only place where she could be herself is in her garage-slash-haven. Perhaps there’s also a fear of commitment that stems from these insecurities. One-night stands aren't out of the question.

‘Protecting’ herself, so to speak, has caused a few lashing outs that she will always regret after. But once again, apologies just aren't really her thing. It can be linked to her fear of being wrong, making mistakes, because a mistake on the table could very well lead to a loss.

And there's also that voice in her head, the one that whispers, telling her she isn’t good enough, isn’t hardworking enough, isn’t inventive enough, isn’t interesting enough, too much trouble, and… just ain’t worth the time.

She’s had enough of disappointed looks and disapproving glances from her father, and she tells herself that she’s through with trying. As much as she’d declare she doesn’t care, it’s easy to tell what is the truth.

But dear old Pride will not let her admit to most.

On the flip side, she’s the girl who was friends with all of the boys because she was one of the bros. Unafraid to get down and dirty, she’ll fight for what she wants and not hold back at all. Jaime grew up with a disinterested father who was only concerned with grades and outward appearances, and a mother who has only the best, albeit, misplaced interests for her only daughter according to the gender stereotypes from the Fifties.

A misguided attempt for paternal attention pushed her academic efforts and she’s no genius, just a hardworking Asian girl. She wasn’t helping with the stereotypes but check her box of fucks, it’s damn small and hidden away. She knows how to work hard and it would be a cold day in hell if she didn’t give it all for something that is important to her.

Flirty, Jaime isn’t shy. The young woman was born an affectionate child, this merely translated into a charismatic personality. Inappropriate might be her middle name. Besides, rules are there for a reason: to be bent.

And you can interpret that in whichever way you want outside of medical protocols, though she would easily admit that some of which are stupid, like the one that prevents unmarried partners, especially gay couples, to enter the room if they weren't on the list or if their immediate family disapproves.

Some have found her to be slightly off her hinges, but hey, just because they aren’t on the same wavelength doesn’t mean anything else. They just couldn’t keep up with the pace, which can be admittedly brutal.

Heartbreakingly loyal, she will die for a person or a cause if she deems it right. She would love something or someone with all of her being; she is just as capable of hating with the same intensity. It would not be obvious, as it is a quiet sort of intensity that she will only show to a select few. But it’s difficult to reach to her at that level; however, it’s not impossible either.

Definitely not a leader, Jaime works best with someone in mind and it will be a hard task taming this stallion. But it will be worth it in the end.

A myriad of contradictions, this young woman would smile amusedly at the notion of true romantic love, the type that people die for and without. But in the deepest recesses of her self, Jaime wonders, knowing that it would be an honor to able to feel such depth of emotion for another person.

In a way, her goals in life are her greatest gifts and curse: Nothing is ever enough, someone will always lose their life. That statistic can always been improved, there’s always a better technique. Satisfaction to her is a fleeting phenomenon and she’s always going to be chasing after more knowledge and experience. But the guilt of loosing a patient stays on for much longer.

Infectious, gung-ho, determined and extroverted; it’s difficult to dislike Jaime at first glance. She’s a fun person. But beneath the layers is someone who has equated self-worth to her work and to her achievements. Her mind is constantly racing, going through medical procedures, running surgical simulations through her head… once she’s in the zone; good luck getting through to her.

If she weren’t getting more practice or working on a car, there would be a bone-deep unease threatening to overwhelm her. The concept of work is extremely important to her, as it’s a situation where she would always be focused, important, and relevant. When she’s working, she matters. It might be difficult to reconcile the two images of Jaime the adrenaline junkie and Jaime the future surgeon. But all one has to do is to follow her around for a day and they will realise that medicine is something she's never going to stop pursuing.

This girl is a workaholic and if she doesn’t stop to take a breath, she’s going to burn out one day. The clock’s ticking.

Early Life

Jaime Lee Hyun-Ri was born into a modest family in Santa Barbara to a manager heading IT department in a mid-sized firm and a dutiful housewife. Her difficult birth led to complications that saw to her mother’s inability to bear her father any children. Her father blames her for that and does not really try to connect with his daughter beyond the usual minimum. Jaime struggled with that until her mid-teens, grateful that she had chosen to throw herself into studies in order to get his attention instead of rebelling in a way that would have hurt her more than him.

All the awards and accolades merely got her a perfunctory pat on the head.

Her cousin on the other hand, her father's older brother's daughter, had been delighted, genuinely happy and proud of her niece. If there had been mishaps and failures, Lynn would have been first to know. The older woman, by a good fifteen years, had been the only one Jaime would act like her true age to.

She might have been a rumbustious child in the beginning but slowly, she quieted and developed a thirst for acknowledgement, always keeping her head down to make sure that she was the exemplary child that her parents could be proud of. Just so that her father would smile at her and say more than ten words without criticism. While her mother does cheer her on but the woman would never leave her husband’s side.

And sometimes, Jaime has days where she finds it hard-pressed to forgive her mother for not speaking up for her.

High School

It was when she turned thirteen that she realized her father would never give her the type of love that she craved from him. Especially when her baby brother was born into the world. Jason was a cute baby and her father thought so too.

Out of the blue, Lynn found herself in an accident while on her bike. Hit and run, the police report says, and she died from bleeding out on the surgery table. Jaime was devastated.

Between the birth of her baby brother and the death of her only confidante, there was just too many conflicting emotions, some of which made her feel disgusting. So Jaime resolved to make it on her own, and not rely on anyone else because she was the only one who wasn’t going to disappoint herself, and there was no one else to disappoint anyway.

This revelation led to part-time jobs, internships and mentorships that made her scarce around the house. She's been a barista, newspaper delivery girl, and a secretary of sorts in a garage in her last two years of high school. The stint in the garage led her to discover a love for cars.

She still kept her head down whenever she was at home and threw herself into studying, research and spending time at the hospital. She grew more distant and if her mother had worried, she wasn’t made aware of it. Though she makes an effort for Jason; her brother was an innocent and she couldn't say no to the chubby cheeks, bright browns and gap-toothed smile. Sure, he drools all over her sometimes when she picks him up out of her father's sight. But hey, he made her feel loved.

Jaime never felt such a need to get out but she knew she had to get through high school first and do what she could to prepare for the her next move. She feels guilty for eventually leaving her baby bother but she pushed herself to complete high school a year earlier and she made sure that she would gain early acceptance into her college of choice.

Jaime was hell-bent on gaining her independence.

Aftermath

The moment she stepped into the hallowed grounds of MIT, she felt free. There was no one that she had to answer to personally, the world was her oyster. Jaime threw herself into her new life, loving the fact that she had everything she needed in her workspace and garage, working as hard as she partied. She made a few friends, nothing substantial but there had been one girl, Emma who could have been a great friend today, had she not overdosed on a party drug someone cooked up in one of the school labs.

She had been one of the people who had pushed her to try, saying that everyone only lived once and therefore she should be more adventurous. And Emma, sweet, shy but brilliant Emma, did. It was harmless, everyone did it. Famous last words.

Her friend ended up on the floor, bleeding through her eyes, nose and mouth- there had been a combination of contaminated ecstasy and a mixture of amphetamines and it was over so quickly that she couldn't even do anything.

For the first time in years, she felt a guilt so overwhelming that she had locked herself up in her garage for two weeks straight after the funeral. Missed classes, she didn’t even work on anything at all. It would take another week or so for the young woman to pull herself together. Jaime swore off drugs and buckled down to complete her degree, graduating summa cum laude. After that, it was a flight to LA, where she will start her medical school experience in Pasadena. She choose the school because it would also mean that she could be closer to Jason.

Emma’s picture sits in her wallet now, alongside Jason and Lynn, reminding her everyday that there were people she needed.

The personality she now has was an amalgamation of coping mechanisms, reactions and facades that’s wrapped around a vulnerable core no one has seen in years. Not all is fake; she is who she is, vivacious and reckless at times. And she gets by, pretty well; living life as she wanted, meeting new people and experiencing the novel.

Jason texts and calls her all the time and she's grateful for it. She always make sure to visit on his birthday and send him presents for the holidays. She still calls in to check on just her mom, but the conversations are perfunctory. Just to tell her that she isn’t dead and talk about Jason. Her father never said a word about the lack of personal contact with him, so she just leaves him be. Why force it? The memory of her childhood will always cause a trickle of sadness but what’s done is done, and there’s no point revisiting the past.

Not when she’s just twenty-four.

But she supposed she has it pretty good, with alternative streams of income, a good interesting career that is her passion, and plenty of options to consider. Jaime is grateful for what she’s got, but hey, she worked damn hard for it and she’s never going to apologize for her choices.

Besides, she’s got her medical career ahead of her and the garage, that’s all she needs. Or so she thinks.