[cis woman and she/her] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [LORETTA "LORE" YOON]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [ADELINE RUDOLPH]. You must be the [TWENTY-EIGHT] year old [BRIDAL CONSULTANT @ CHAPEL BOUTIQUE]. Word is you’re [GENUINE] but can also be a bit [TRUSTING] and your favorite song is [EXTRA BY JEON SOMI]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [AURORA BAY DRIVE]. I’m sure you’ll love it!
FULL NAME: Loretta Yoon
NICKNAME(S): Lore
AGE: Twenty-Eight
GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cis Woman & She/Her
SEXUAL & ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Heterosexual & Heteroromantic
BIRTH PLACE: Hong Kong, China
BIRTHDAY: 14 July
ZODIAC: Cancer
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: It's complicated with @jamesonxcassidy
HEIGHT: 5'9"
OCCUPATION: Bridal Consultant @ Chapel Boutique
EDUCATION: High School, Bachelor's in Business (Aurora Bay College)
NEIGHBORHOOD: Aurora Bay Drive
ARRIVAL IN TOWN: 2004 — 22 Years Ago
PARENTS: Seon Yoon (Father) — Alive, Elisabeth Yoon (Mother) — Living
SIBLINGS: Jae Yoon (Older Brother) — Alive, Haneul Yoon (Younger Brother) — Alive
CHILDREN: Emma Cassidy
PETS: White cat named Luna
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Korean, English, German
BIOGRAPHY !
Seon Yoon and Elisabeth Meyer met through their parents—who both worked in the same industry in their respective countries. The two of them were encouraged to court each other by their parents who didn't outright force them to marry, but also didn't give them much of a choice in the matter. Although the two of them never fell in love, they did have a mutual respect for each other and grew to care about each other. Loretta was the second child born to her parents, having an older brother and a younger brother. Loretta's older brother has always been her father's favorite child due to his interest in the family business. Despite having a younger brother, Lore is the baby of her family.
For the first five years of her life living in Hong Kong, spending her summers in German with her mother's family. Because of all the traveling she did, Loretta grew up learning Korean, German, English, and a bit of Cantonese. The family eventually moved to America where her dad wanted to work and expand their business into the American market. They moved to Aurora Bay because her father did not want to raise his children in Los Angeles. The family settled in Aurora Bay Drive and Lore's dad worked in Los Angeles, spending most weekends in town. Lore's mother was more of an involved parents, making sure that her children were all doing well.
Loretta grew up liking school, especially since her parents were harsh on her getting good grades. She was the quiet kid in the back of the room who really didn't have many friends, but always had a book in her hand only so she wouldn't have to talk to her classmates. For the most part, Lore felt invisible in life. She didn't mind the feeling of being invisible however because she loved getting to watch people without them really bothering her. She spent a lot of her childhood as a normal, well adjusted child. Lore still spent most of her summers in Germany with her mom's family, which also attributed to her lack of friends as a kid. Lore didn't care about a lack of friends because she had her brothers at home who were close in age. For the most part, her childhood was relatively boring.
Everything changed for Lore in high school. She came back from her summer in Germany looking a lot less like the mousey girl she'd always been and was now someone less awkward around other people. Loretta became someone who suddenly had a bunch of people who wanted to be her friend. While Lore didn't like being the center of attention, she didn't mind having new friends. School became more important to her and Loretta thrived in high school. Tutoring Jameson Cassidy was supposed to only be something to pad her college resume. She didn't really have an opinion on him, although everyone else around her seemed to. Lore never listened to what people said about another person. She never thought that they'd fall in love either, but it happened. Her life changed for the better because of him and she was determined to make people believe there was good in him, despite the past. Her parents were skeptical at first, but over the years they grew to like him well enough.
After graduating high school, Loretta opted to go to school in Aurora Bay, as it felt like home and she didn't want to leave the life she'd started to build in town. When incidents started happening all over town that pointed to Jameson, Lore knew she had to do something to help. She did her best to help figure out what was going on because she knew it wasn't him. Of course, the story ended up tragically, when Jameson's confrontation gone wrong ended in manslaughter. She was devastated because she knew it was an accident, but it didn't matter and she had to watch him go to prison. Lore couldn't find it in her to break off the relationship, but it was sort of unspoken that it was over.
At the young age of 21, Loretta found herself pregnant with no boyfriend. Thankfully, she had already chosen Aurora Bay College to study at and she got herself through college with the help of her family, majoring in fashion and business. Because of Emma, she has decided to stay in Aurora Bay. She got a job as a consultant at the bridal shop, still a romantic at heart, despite everything. Lore lives in her parent's guest house and has established her life in town. The past few years have been tough, but Loretta has a lot of support from her parents, even if they were angry at first. But with Jameson being out of jail, life has gotten complicated. Especially since her parents have been pushing her to get married to the son of an Korean business partner they've been trying to work with for the last couple of years. Thus far, Loretta has managed to keep them off her back about it for the most part, but she knows they're about to start pushing, especially since he showed up in town at the beginning of the summer. She still loves Jameson and dreams of a life with them as a family. She's been avoiding Jameson aside from their coparenting activities.
HEADCANONS !
Lore has a box of letters that she wrote to Jameson when he was in prison but she never sent any of them. They're in a hat box in her closet. Sometimes when she's feeling upset, she'll take them out and read them. There's a total of 262. One for every week he was gone, plus two more.
🥒 Cucumber - Do they have any strange eating habits/methods? (Ex: Dipping fries in their milkshake, eating Kitkats like a regular chocolate bar, etc)
"No, not really. I've never been a picky eater and will eat pretty much anything. I've always just eaten what's put in front of me the way it's put in front of me. My brother puts ketchup in his mac and cheese."
Jameson should have known that his life was never going to go the way he wanted it to. He could have tried to escape it all he wanted but he was a Cassidy and nothing good happened for Cassidy’s. He just hoped Emerson and Emma could break the curse. He could fix things as much as possible now but there was always that lingering ghost of the past. Why he had to miss so many years of his daughter’s life and why him and Lore were estranged. He couldn’t go back but he can try to fix things going forward
“ I’ll read all of them” perhaps not in that moment but that night he would. He missed her all those years and he wanted a glimpse of her life had been like. What it had been like raising Emma as a baby. “ I think the fear of the fact that I knew I was going away made things more heightened “ he admitted with the accidental pregnancy that brought Emma into the world.he never regretted her a single day. He just regretted the time he lost. “ well I’ve made plenty of them. In all my years I’ve made a lot of mistakes but never when it came to how much I loved you. I’m sorry I was so softly to get ahold of when I was gone “ he admitted further. He had put a distance between them on some level but most of it hadn’t been his fault.
However his optimism that had been bubbling just below the surface sunk the moment Lore revealed the truth about her parents. About how even after all this time he would never be the person they would let their daughter be with. “ I guess they don’t want me at my worst “ he noted before turning his head a moment to try to put his thoughts in order. “Are you going to do it?” He wanted to be more delicate but the revelation stunned him and he had to know @loreyoon
Lore didn't care about the past. She never had. She listened to her heart and while her mom often told her that she had a bleeding heart, it meant that she had room for more people. Even though her parents hadn't been thrilled that she fell in love with Jameson, they hadn't said anything to her face about it. They'd been relatively supportive. And then everything fell apart and her parents weren't cruel to her, but they'd set expectations for her next partner. Instead of following those, Lore focused on her daughter. She wanted the best for Emma, even if it meant that she didn't think about her parent's expectations.
"You don't have to. Most of them are me talking about how much I missed you." They were less of coherent thoughts and more her emotions. She wished that she'd been brave enough to say those words to him a long time ago, that she'd been honest. "You've never made any mistakes with me." But that wasn't true. They'd been tiptoeing around each other for so long that she didn't know how he felt. "You weren't difficult to get ahold of. I mean I updated you on the important stuff." But her own emotions? She kept those close to her heart. Sometimes she thought that if she wrote them down and didn't send them that she'd get over him and move on with her life. She'd long since realized that was never going to happen.
She sat back on the couch, expecting the truth to hit hard, but she didn't want this to be the end of things between them. Lore needed to tell him the truth. While she wanted to be with him, Lore wanted her parents to be in Emma's life. They were good grandparents. She had told her parents that she'd consider it, if they found someone well suited for her. The problem with that was that no one would ever match up to who she loved. Her parents had to know that. The pressure they'd put on her in the last few months. They wanted to send her away actually. But that's not what she wanted and she made it clear that she would absolutely not separate Emma from her family. Lore reached out and put her hand over his. "I haven't told them no because I'm afraid of what they'll do when I tell them I won't do it." She thankfully had enough people in her corner that would be there for her. Tobias, Emerson, Darcy. Lore knew that they would be supportive. Yet there was a comfort in her lifestyle, parts of her life she wasn't ready to change yet.
"It doesn't matter what they want. It matters what I want." She squeezed his hand. "I never once stopped thinking about what my future would look like without you in it. I've never doubted you for even a second. I want us, but I'm also not ready to stand up to my parents yet and tell them how I feel. I know they aren't going to be happy with me." She knew that was not going to be a great conversation either way. "I only want to get married once and I can't picture looking down the aisle to see anyone other than you and I'm sorry that's a lot to say right now with everything else going on, but it's true. You were always my future Jameson." She hoped that wasn't enough to scare him away, but if it was then she'd accept it. She'd be heartbroken, but she'd accept it. There was always a chance, always hope. Even if everything was complicated and sometimes it would be easier to consider what her parents were asking of her.
"Does a childhood romance count if you still love the person? I don't think it does. I never had any interest in dating anyone until I met Jameson. And I've not met anyone since that's made me question if that love was anything other than true."
The more Jameson let out about his feelings the more he regretted not saying anything earlier. He’d already wasted five years behind bars and the he proceeded to waste even more time once he got out. Deep down he knew he waited because he needed to get his shit together. A recently released convict without anything stable in his life was the last thing he needed to be; especially when it came to trying to be the person Lore deserved to have in her life. He didn’t feel worthy of her even now but he couldn’t keep lying to himself. He loved her. He always loved her. He would always love her.
“ can I look at them ?” He asked gesturing to the letters to see if he was able to open them in front of her. If she wanted it to be done in private though he’d respect that. “ I would have wanted to know all that. I wasn’t trying to get you pregnant before I was sent away. But I’m glad we have Emma “ Jameson admitted before the big question hung in the air and he let out a sigh. Where did he even begin? “Because I went to prison and you deserved better than waiting ten years for me “ they knew now he was released in half that time but it was still a long wait. “ and when I got out I just was in a bad place and I needed to get my shit together and I didn’t want to throw that at you. I love you and I always have but that doesn’t mean I was always good for you. I was worried I truly fucked up this time and that you wouldn’t want me back “ @loreyoon
Lore didn't like to show negative emotions. She liked to pretend that everything was okay. For years she was hiding behind a happy, content face. Her life wasn't what she imagined as a little girl and she wasn't upset about it, but she was upset that she let herself not tell her feelings. She couldn't know how he felt. Lore could only think what kind of pain he'd been in all these years. She had different pains, hide different emotions.
"Yeah, they're yours." They were never meant for her. They were meant to be read. Eventually. Though Lore couldn't ever thought about sending them. "I know you weren't. It was just the two of us being young and in love." Lore would never call Emma a mistake. She was glad they had a daughter. "You were always bigger than the mistakes you've made. I've made my own." Lore sat back in her seat and sighed. "I wanted you at your worst." But that was only part of the truth. She'd let her mom convince her that he wasn't any good, that she was better off marrying someone they picked for her. Lore did love Jameson, through everything even if she allowed her mom to get inside her head. "My mom and dad want me to marry someone else." They never said it was a stipulation for staying in their guest house, but Lore knew they wouldn't be happy if she got back together with Jameson. She didn't know how far they'd go to stop this.
"Cute. My daughter's almost eight now." That felt so strange to say. She didn't mind people talking about their kids because she did the same thing too. She figured most parents were probably the same way about their children.
"That makes sense. I find I remember things more when I have to physically write them down. My phone lists never get completed." Paper lists might be harder to keep track of location wise, but Lore did prefer them. She wasn't sure about the no smart phone thing because she did like facetime.
"Nice to meet you Louie." She laughed at the name thing. "I was named after my great grandmother. Unfortunately the only daughter and the only one in my family without a Korean name." Her brothers had been named after other family members.
Even she had to agree that people would jump through hoops for a relationship and she wasn't one of those people. Some would argue that it was the way that Jordan and Silas both were but she was adamant that it was just them and neither of them would act the same with anyone else. "When you know someone is a loser, it's time for you to jump ship and go find someone else." The only time she could see that being difficult was if there were children but even then, she didn't believe that should be a reason for anyone to stay. "You should and get back to me. I'll give you my number so we can keep in touch." Jordan was all about finding friends, especially if they could offer something to her outside of a friendship. It wasn't like she was using them because she wasn't above giving free drinks whenever she was working. "Have you thought about a dress you'd want? You must have one in mind. Mermaid?"
There were plenty of brides to be that came into her work that she absolutely would not like outside the four walls of the boutique. Honestly there were days when she felt depressed about having to work around people happy to be getting married when her love live was so strange. "Yeah, well a lot of people want to get married because they don't think they'll find anything better." That's kind of how her parents thought Lore should be doing. "My parents had an arranged marriage, but they liked each other well enough." Lore wasn't like that. She wanted to marry one person. "I'll look into it this week and get back to you," she smiled softly. "Not really. I used to think about my wedding all the time, but not anymore. I think it's because my love life is kind of complicated."
When Lore told her mom she was pregnant, she thought her mom would be really upset about the situation, but her mom immediately accepted it. She helped renovate the guest house for Lore and planned everything. She was there at every doctor's appointment and the birth.
"Of course! I'm always thinking of fun things to do with her. Gotta keep my crown as best auntie after all." Emerson told her with a grin as she leaned over and wrapped her arm around Emma's shoulders and pressed multiple kisses along her head. "And I've definitely been excited too! It's long overdue." As she spoke Emerson settled into her seat, taking a sip of water as she smiled down at her niece before she looked back to Lore. "I'm good! Things at the store are going well, and everything with the flower festival was great. And things with Felix are really good too." Her voice softened as she said it, her smile widening. "And you? How um...how are things going with Jamie?"
"Yeah, same here. And I love getting to spend time as a family." As strange as everything was, Lore was very confident that Emerson and Jameson were part of her family. Even if her parents didn't want her to think about them that way. "It really is! I've been so busy with work now that the holidays are over. Lots of post-Valentine's proposal wedding planning is happening." She scrunched her nose. "Oh, that's good!" She didn't know what bad would be at the bookstore, but she probably didn't want ot know. "Uh," she blushed. "We're doing okay. I mean... I, uh, have admitted to some things."
"Oh... how come?" Lorna paused, realising she might have been overstepping. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that." She said, shaking her hand in front of her. "I think co-parenting is good though, it's nice she can have the best of both worlds. I'm sure she's better off for just having you both around. Do your parents dote on her just as much?"
"No, it's okay." Lore bit the inside of her cheek. Honestly, she wasn't completely sure how she felt about everything in her life. "It is. I miss her when she's not with me." And honestly, Lore wanted them to be together. "My dad lives in LA most of the time, but my mom spoils her constantly. I'm teaching her to speak Korean and my mom is teaching her German." Lore didn't know too much German.
Jameson knew that there was no going back to how things were. They weren’t the same couple of teens who had met because he needed a tutor. He’d made a lot of mistakes and paid the price for it all. He lost a lot of time to be with the woman in front of him and to be the partner she deserved. He couldn’t change anything from before but why he could do was start over. To acknowledge they weren’t the same it something new and hopefully still compatible. He really wanted to try.
He was grateful for the coffee cup to distract him as he tried to ground himself more and sort of make sure everything was going to be okay. When she pulled out the letters Jameson nearly dropped the cup. How many had she wrote him and never sent? What was in all of them. “ you did?” He asked looking at the stack and wising he’d got them while in prison. They would have made the time he spent away feel not so far. But he’d been so stubborn back then. He didn’t want lore to just wait forever for him because he had no idea when he was getting out. But those letters would have been a lifeline. “ shit” he replied biting inside of his cheek as he went to open one and glance over it. The cup long forgotten in the counter as he skimmed over the words. “ I never stopped loving you lore. And I don’t want to love any one else “ @loreyoon
As much as she wished that their lives had been different, they had Emma and that was the most important thing out of everything. She wished that the two of them could have something similar to what they had before though she wasn't sure what that would look like. Still, she hadn't thought about dating anyone else. Lore didn't love anyone else and was sure she was going to love him for the rest of her life.
Most of the letters were about little things, what she did that week. She never sent them because she didn't think it would help. It was mostly a journal for herself. "There's a lot about how I was feeling after I found out I was going to have a baby." She'd been so nervous and terrified. While she updated him on the important stuff, her feelings weren't part of those updates. These were her emotions all written out. "Why didn't you say anything?" She had so much she was still keeping from him, like how her parents felt about all of this and how they wanted her to marry someone else, but this was more important.
"And there's the key," Jordan says with a nod of her head. It would work on her and she isn't ashamed of admitting it as well. If she was wearing a white dress and being thrown compliments left and right — with the right amount of alcohol — she'd probably leave on a high with a few dresses. The worse part would probably be the alterations but she doubted that the salesrep would be present for that. "You're right. At least I get some level of entertainment. Plus, I get the gossip and I've used that shit to get some good things. Someone admitted he was cheating once. I met him out at the store while he was buying things for his wife and after a very short conversation behind the swim suit sections, he paid for my shopping spree." It was a good day and she still wore that one bra she'd gotten that day. "Well, maybe your friends do too. And we're friends, right? I'm hoping my boyfriend gets his shit together soon, maybe you can ask and see."
Lore wasn't one of those people that got jealous of her friends for getting married or engaged. She loved seeing her friends happy. It did however make her think of her own love life and how complicated everything was. Of course it wasn't anyone's fault outright and she could probably solve her problems if she wanted to, but she was nervous and scared to admit her feelings outright when there were a lot of problems that she knew could arise if something went wrong. There was more at stake than her own feelings. "It's amazing the lengths people will go to to not break up with someone," she huffed. Some people were so disappointing. "I'll ask next time I work. Hopefully he does." Lore didn't know how long it would be before she got engaged, but she had thought it would have happened by now. Her parents were pushing with her dad's new business partner, but neither of them really seemed interested in that. And she hadn't told anyone about that.
Need to lie about her butt looking smaller? Didn't people want their butt to look bigger? They read ads for ways to do that or saw them. But maybe that was just targeting those who did want that and they were minority. "No okay, that makes more sense, I guess. They love it a thousand other ways except for that one part. Lie to put them at ease, I can get that," Not that Tobias stood with a harsh stance on any of it. Especially not with other's lives. They did what they pleased. "How's life besides work? The kid, the house and home and family and such?"
Lore knew her job was not for everyone. She tried to do her best to make customers as happy as possible. After all, it was their special day. She wanted them to look their best, but she wasn't going to side with a customer's family over a customer, even if the family was right. "What matters in my job more is the bride. If their family doesn't like the dress, but they do... then that's all that matters to me." Lore wished that more people understood that. "It's all fine. School is so close to being over and I'm really excited to have the summer with my kid. Family's... I don't know. Lots going on."
