Jay Kim

**Jericho "Jay" Kim** is a primary protagonist for Season 1. In the premiere episode, he refers to himself as the "abrasive muscle" of the group in the opening narration. In the first season, Jay is played by Tae Song.

Jay's abrasiveness is expressed in a multitude of ways, mainly in his aggressive dissatisfaction with the choices of his friends, namely their romantic choices.

## Biography

### Season One

Jay narrates our opening episode, introducing us to the majority of the cast. It's immediately obvious that he understands the negative side of how he and his friends see themselves. Challenging Ellington's confidence in his ability to get Zario a new man, Jay offers to clean Ellington's apartment for a month if he finds a better man, in addition to one hundred dollars.

It's revealed by Genie that Jay taught himself Korean.

We last see Jay behind the wheel of his car as he and Zario are on the highway, leaving Los Angeles.

### Season Two

It's revealed that Jay, unlike Zario, never returned to Los Angeles.

## Quotes

* *"Curses are real."*
* *"It smells like sharted dreams and cumdust in here."*
* *"Run away with me."*
* *"You're Timberlake and I'm Timbaland."*
* *"Okay, sure, you've got a million reasons not to go. But what reasons do you have to stay? What's keeping you here?"*
* *"It's weird, you know. There are times when it feels like life is falling apart on you. But for all that falling, it turns out that things might just be... falling into place."*

## Trivia

* Jay was originally conceived as a Black character, and his name was short for 'Jayzel.'

* Though never explicitly confirmed in Season 1, the character breakdown for auditioning actors made clear that Jay was a bisexual character. With Tae not returning for the second season, the plot was not fully fleshed out on camera, though the characters deal with the aftermath of the 'Jay-Zee' romance in several Season 2 episodes.
	+ His sexuality is cloaked with his friendship with Zario. It's never clear what he knows due to his relationship with Zario or based on his own experiences. He knows terms like "bussy" and amuses himself by teaching Zario how to say gay phrases in Korean.

* Out of all of the Dudes, only Jay and Zario are consistently called by nicknames. Fittingly, Jay uses nicknames as a sign of affection. He frequently mentions former girlfriends who have unique names, followed quickly by the name he called them. The other Dudes rarely seem to believe these outrageous names.
	+ In "The Dudes Make a Bet," he mentions taking a girl to his senior prom named Constellation who he called 'Connie.'
	+ In "They Call It Falling for a Reason," Jay tells a heartbreaking story about a former flame named Hurricane who he called 'Ricci.'
	+ In "Dem Genes," Jay and Genie talk about a girl named Chandelier who they called 'DeeDee' and dated simultaneously.
	+ In "Three Dinners," Jay briefly mentions to Oscar and Alexander about a girl named Tabernacle who he called 'Tabby,' though he doesn't get around to finishing the story.
	+ In "Tastes Like Finger," Eagle mentions Jay's former girlfriend 'Moni' and he refers to her as 'Desdimonifah.'
	+ Perhaps proving all of Jay's previous stories to be true, when Callie and Ellington are having sex in "Dude Dares," she reveals her full first name is Calligraphy.
	+ Interestingly, throughout the season, only Jay calls Zario by an additional nickname, 'Zee,' signifying their closeness (the only other man Jay calls by a nickname is his cousin Genie).
	+ Notably, Jay does call Marshall - another Season 1 gay character - by a nickname twice, in "Girls" ('Marshmallow') and in "Dude Dares" ('Marsh-swallows').
* Another plot point abandoned due to the character of Jay not returning in the second season is that Jay is a sex worker, specifically a male doumi. These are reasons Jay is typically seen drinking hard liquor early in the morning: it's not a breakfast drinking, but an after-work wind-down. This history is explored, however, in the first season novelization, which details the early days of the Jay and Zario friendship.

SEASON ONE