Shin-Ae Yoo

> "*I've been taking hits from life for as long as I can remember, and I'm totally fine with it. I'll just keep moving forward for as long as I can. Maybe one day... Just maybe... I'll be okay once more.*"
>
> ― Shin-Ae reminds herself after being insulted.[source]
>
>

**Shin-Ae Yoo** is the titular protagonist of *I Love Yoo*. She is the daughter of Sim Han Yoo and the long lost sister of Shin-Hye.

Shin-Ae has been struggling to make or trust friends throughout her entire life, and had been explicitly close to Min-Hyuk Park,Maya Park, and Rika Lau. She has been trying her best to earn enough money to support her distressed father.

Her life took a turn when she met Yeong-Gi Hirahara and Kousuke Hirahara. She was initially annoyed at the two of them, but after the time they spent together, she grew a liking for the brothers and learned so much about being a nicer and trusting friend. She also made an alliance with a boy she rejected, and renewed a true friendship with Maya.

She currently works as an etiquette pupil at Hirahara Corp. and a cashier at WacDonald's. Shin-Ae is now focusing on what she wants for her future.

## Biography

### Background

> "*She walked away with my sister without explanation.*"
>
> ― Shin-ae Yoo[source]
>
>

In her early childhood Shin-Ae once used to live with both her sister, mother, and father. However, they are soon forced to separate because of unknown issues which resulted in Shin-Ae staying with her father while her sister stayed with their mother. This caused Shin-Ae great sadness and questioned her father if she was the cause of their separation to which he responded that it wasn’t her fault. It was then that she made a promise to herself to never cry again and stay strong no matter what happens. It is implied that whatever gossip the adults had of Shin-Ae’s mother and father separation had caused the kids at her school to bully her in elementary school. This continued up to middle school which earned her the status of a social outcast, however, Shin-Ae would never tell her father or her teacher as she feared she would be a burden on him and lied whenever he saw signs of it. She shows that she is fine even though deep inside she is hurting more and more than ever.

During this time Shin-Ae saw a foreign exchange student, Amy, being harassed by an upperclassman who wanted to manipulate her into doing his homework. Unable to stand by and watch another student be subject to the same treatment Shin-Ae demanded the boy leave Amy alone. Han, one of her bullies, sees this and pours a glass of water over Shin-Ae's head and leaves with the other boy. Shin-Ae then reminds her self to keep her composure and remain calm. After this, she finds a note from Amy thanking her for helping her out to which Shin-Ae is grateful for.

One day after walking home from school Shin-Ae noticed a trash bag that was moving and opened it to reveal a cat with bruises all over it. She decides to take it home and keep it in secret as her apartment rules don’t allow pets and her father was more of a dog person. Lil' Buddy, the name she gave the cat, was deemed as her only friend. It was a little after that when the bullying finally reached its peak when Shin-Ae brought Lil Buddy to school as there was going to be an inspection at her apartment that day. A group of male bullies, led by Han, noticed that Shin-Ae was hiding something in her backpack and tried to force her to let them see it. The fight escalated to the point where Shin-Ae finally lost her composure and attacked Han when he tried to put Lil Buddy in the trash. This lead to a parent conference in which Han was let off with no consequences due to his father's influence and Shin-Ae not having this incident put on her record via persuading from her teacher, Ms. Lee, who had noticed the signs of her being bullied. At home, Sim Han tried to console Shin-Ae by complimenting her skills and letting her keep the cat but Shin-Ae was too ashamed and berated herself for failing to keep her promise - deeming herself worthless.

 After this incident, Shin-Ae switched schools, after her father found a new job, and met the first friend she ever had, Alyssa Cho. Shin-Ae also met Maya and Min-Hyuk Park, as well as Rika Lau at her new school. At some point, whether before or after meeting Maya and the rest, she and Alyssa had a falling out which resulted in Shin-Ae falling off a 3-story balcony and going to the hospital. It is also rumored that during her time in middle school, Shin-Ae cheated during the science fair and copied a boy’s idea but lied about it, which resulted in everyone having negative opinions of her, except for Dieter.

## Appearance

Shin-Ae has straight auburn hair which falls slightly past her shoulders and bangs which primarily lay on the left side of her face. Her eyes are a moderate shade of red. She has a few scars along her hairline, which are first clearly visibly shown in Episode 9.

She also has pale skin and a petite frame. Aside from her school uniform, Shin-Ae's wardrobe consists mostly of loose-fitting tops that she often pairs with jeans or slacks. It can be said that her low-maintenance appearance is a testament to her down-to-earth nature.

As a child, she had short hair and wore boyish clothes, just like what she wears in the present.

According to Quimchee, her eye color was inherited from her Mother. She resembles her father in other ways.

## Personality

Shin-Ae is viewed as more of a tomboy in contrast to the other girls in her school. She is the type of person who has a large appetite for food and she enjoys a life of solitude. She has a negative view of romantic affairs due to the divorce of her parents and she acts unnervingly harsh when rejecting those who confess their feelings to her. Shin-Ae is very straight-forward, not afraid to speak her thoughts. She may sometimes also act ill-tempered, especially when it has something to do with her loved ones or food. Shin-Ae doesn't care when others insult her and usually ignores them but if they insult her loved ones, she turns very aggressive. Shin-Ae has a witty, sarcastic type of humor which she often expresses and she would be the mischievous one friend in the group, loving to prank other people.

However, Shin-Ae also seems to have another side to her. She can also act very kind and responsible, acting with sympathy for those who are suffering. Shin-Ae is also seen to act very joyously with a smile on her face when it comes to food and it makes her look more pleasant, according to Kousuke Hirahara.

## Relationships

### Yeong-Gi

Shin-Ae was suspicious of Yeong-Gi at first, but later on she feels more attached to him and wants to be a better friend. They're always teasing each other and they are friends. They later are confirmed to have feelings for each other.

They first met when she accidentally pours her orange soda on him, instead of his friend, who she was aiming for. She apologizes and tries to get the stain out of his uniform by punching it.

She runs into him again at his family's formal, where she drops her mask. Yeong-Gi picks it up. Afterwards he follows her and offers her a ride, she mistakes him for a pervert, and he tries to explain that he is not and wants to call her a cab and prank her friends, who had ditched her.

In Episode 5, he asks her to be his partner, for the prank, and she loudly slaps his hands and shouts "Heck Yeah!" He comes up with the idea of prank-calling Rika and May. Shin-Ae originally unimpressed, realizes the plan is better, but then quickly thinks it is going too far. Shin-Ae gets accosted by two men, and Yeong-Gi defends her. He then asks to have her drink. Unfortunately the drink was roofied by the two men from earlier. So Yeong-Gi passes out, and Shin-Ae takes him to the ER. After he is safe, and she has a terrible run in with Kousuke, she leaves.

In episode 10, she sees Yeong-Gi again at a bakery, where he asks to be friends. She is slightly suspicious of it, but says she will consider it.

In Episode 14, after she tells Maya about him, Maya sets up a blind date for Shin-Ae as payback. This causes the three to meet again.

In Episode 17, Yeong-Gi then follows her in the mall, and helps return a lost girl to her sister. They then exchange numbers.

In episode 20, They see each other again after school, where she goes to the arcade with him. He approaches her while she is reading a book, and offers to buy her a meal if she can beat anyone in a game. She ends up passing out, and he catches her.

After Kousuke comes to collect him, he tells Kousuke that if he gets Shin-Ae food, he will be cooperative for a week. This causes Yeong-Gi to start work.

In Episode 25, they run into each other at the Hirahara Corp, where Shin-Ae is thinking of applying. Kousuke invites her to lunch with the two of them. When both boys notice she is cold, they both take off their jackets. In Episode 27, Yeong-Gi puts his around her, and laughs at how 'smol' she looks. She refuses the jacket, but he decides to be cold with her.

In Episode 28, On the way home, she falls asleep in the car, and wakes up to something smelling nice. She sees that his jacket is around her. He walks her to the door, and tells her he hopes they can work together. She is concerned on why he would act so friendly if he has a girlfriend.

In Episode 37, they see each other again when he unexpectedly drops by when she is tutoring Soushi and Dieter. He joins for tutoring and pays her extra. She asks about his mom, assuming it is Yui, and he gets a shocked facial expression.

By Episode 43, they see each other again at WacDonalds, and he waits for her break. He tries to encourage her, but to her it comes off as strange. She confronts him on why he is being so nice even though he has a girlfriend. He tells her he was just trying to be a good friend. By Episode 44, they meet again later in the park by coincidence, and she tells him that she appreciates his efforts, but he is coming on too strong. He agrees to tone it down.

In Episode 49, he sees her next at the formal, where she is very upset and tired looking. He offers to do her makeup for her. He says he can learn via Woutube. They then get food and sit down on the floor at the formal. He and her get separated. He runs into her again and asks if they are friends. She says of course. He then introduces her to Alyssa, his girlfriend. She is shocked that Alyssa offers her to dance with him.

Starting in Episode 58, when she is drugged, he goes looking for her. He punches Sang-Chul in the face, and shouts 'Fried Chicken!' to distract her. She ends up falling with Kousuke catching her, and Nol catching his brother. Upon Yui's arrival, Yeong-Gi drops Kousuke. He then fell into water as well. He panics seeing Shin-Ae injured. He then gets arrested for possession of the vial, and assault. He then makes bail, and goes to bring the coats back to Kousuke and Shin-Ae. He sits outside her door. When she finds him, he runs to a balcony. She follows him. They talk and she cries.

Shin-Ae worries about him and calls him multiple times, but his phone is off while he is at a family meeting with the Kim's and Hirahara's. When he turns it back on, in Episode 73, he calls her back, and she asks if he is okay.

They see each other at work, and he encourages her to see Dieter. He also took the blame for her being late on her second day.

Later, in Episode 84, he is there when she calls Dieter about the intruder. He develops an allergic reaction to Lil'Buddy. He swats away her hand when she goes to check his temperature. She then leaves allergy medicine in his car for him.

In the Mid Season Recap, she says the following about Yeong-Gi: "That gigantic idiot. He's gotten on my nerves on plenty of occasions. I treated him poorly because of my own personal bias. But even after it all... from the start he always had my back... helped me through tough times... comforted me during one of my lowest moments... I'm sorry I have been unfair to you... you've proven to me that you are someone I can trust... I'm glad I gave you a chance"

In Episode 93, they see each other at the park again, and talk. She helps him pick up his earbud, and asks him to lower the music volume so he doesn't damage his ears.

When she sees him at WacDonalds after both her and his interview with Yu Jing, at the end of Episode 116, he tries to leave, attempting to avoid her. In Episode 117, she gets him to stay, and they talk, and she encourages him. She holds his hand, he reacts shocked and then tells her that he has a girlfriend. She says forget it, that she was just trying to be a good friend. He smiles and offers her a earbud to listen to his music.

Later that night when she is reflecting on it, her hands feel weird and she is embarrassed for saying 'You smell clean' to him.

### Kousuke Hirahara

Shin-Ae abhorred Kousuke Hirahara when she first met him because of how rudely he stole her tiramisu and insulted her harshly. After seeing the more pleasant side to him, Shin-Ae started to become more comfortable and opened up to Kousuke more. She is currently training to be his assistant. She still has conflict with him, left over from her over-hearing his conversation with Yeong-Gi, that has yet to be resolved.

He trips her in Episode 3 for her Tiramisu, and insults her in Episode 4, where she then throws a steak at his back. He meets her again at the hospital in Episode 7. Kousuke then thanks her for taking Nol to the hospital and not causing a scene, for this he tells her he owes her one favor.

Maya and Min-Hyuk set up a 'blind-date' for Shin-Ae with Kousuke and Nol. In episode 16, she apologizes on behalf of her friend, and Kousuke asks to learn more about her. He is curious as to why Yeong-Gi Hirahara is so fascinated with her. In Episodes 17, 18, and 19, after they part ways, and Kousuke sees a drink get poured on her, he reports it to security and buys her a replacement shirt and Q-Tips with the money she gave him.

In Episode 23, Nol asks Kousuke to buy Shin-Ae food, in exchange for Nol's cooperation for a week. Kousuke buys her street food, and slightly smiles looking at her eat. Shin-Ae assumes he wants some f the food, and after pressure he tries some. He then tells her that she looks better and more approachable when she is smiling. She is shocked to hear this and calls him a hypocrite since he is also always scowling.

After they run into each other at the Hirahara Corp in Episode 25, he is surprised and troubled to learn she applied for a job in customer service.

In Episode 26. He sees that Nol looks disappointing to leave her, so he invites her to come make the lunch less awkward. While talking alone with Kousuke, she confides about being separated from her sister, and Kousuke holds her hand. Nol enters to ask if he is interrupting anything, and he says nothing of importance. Shin-Ae shivers and both of the brothers take off their jacket.

In Episode 27, after Shin-Ae is confused as to why they both took off their jacket, Nol offers it to her. Kousuke Hirahara says he took his jacket off as a preventative measure against the grease. Kousuke looks uncomfortable with eating a burger, but Shin-Ae and Nol poke fun at it, so he takes a bite.

In Episode 32, after Mrs. Hirahara gives Shin-Ae her scarf, Kousuke tells her it looks decent on her. She later deletes this message from her phone.

In Episode 39, Mrs. Hirahara tricks Shin-Ae into coming to Kousuke's home for his birthday. In Episode 40 and 41 she has Shin-Ae unknowingly put on one of Kousuke's dress shirts to fluster him, which causes him much embarrassment, but he defends her and gets her stuff back. Shin-Ae is driven home by Kousuke , and she stops to buy him cake. He tells her "Kousuke. Call me Kousuke."

In Episode 46, after her father's sudden collapse, Shin-Ae contacts Kousuke Hirahara to use the 'favor' she owes him. Unknown to Shin-Ae, Yui intercepts the message. Yui tricks Shin-Ae into accepting a job, and then makes Shin-Ae think Kousuke will get in trouble for giving her the job. Shin-Ae panics thinking he will lose his job. This forces Shin-Ae to attend the Kim's Black and White formal.

Kousuke accidentally trips Shin-Ae at the formal, and he does not defend her. This causes Shin-Ae to be upset. Then, he invites her to dance.

Kousuke talks to Nol, telling him that he needs to limit his interactions with Shin-Ae because it will look bad for Nol and Alyssa.

Kousuke Hirahara is the first person to find Shin-Ae after she is drugged. She does not recognize him at first, but then after he pulls back his hair she does. She is very upset, and falls, but Kousuke catches her. Nol catches Kousuke , but then drops them both. Nol then falls.

At the hospital, Kousuke Hirahara waits in the room with Shin-Ae, and tells Nol to go home. He later witnesses Shin-Ae rip up the check in Yui's face. He is confused and asks her about what happened.

Later, they interact at Sunbucks, where they discuss the terms of her employment. They then go to Soo's store, where they buy appropriate work attire.

Shin-Ae has a terrible first day, and Kousuke Hirahara signs her up for etiquette classes.

In the Mid-Season Recap, she mentions regarding Kousuke Hirahara "I've been a victim of his hurtful words too often. But I've seen him act decent once in awhile. I get the feeling that he's out of the loop when it comes to certain things... Things that he's not used to...So I try to help...I'm sure that somewhere behind those awful words... there's a good person... misguided".

In Episode 90, Shin-Ae overhears Nol and Kousuke fighting over her, especially Kousuke saying she is unprofessional. She is very bothered by it. She decides to later invite Kousuke to Min-Hyuk's party, to a situation where he will be out of his element.

As of Episode 96, Kousuke is uneasy about what Yu Jing told Shin-Ae. He begins to act paranoid. This makes Shin-Ae uncomfortable.

In Episode 114, when Yu Jinginterviews Shin-Ae, Shin-Ae admits to trusting Yu Jing because of her trust in Kousuke .

In Episode 124, Shin-Ae received drunk phone calls intended for Nol.

### Dieter Becker-Wulff

Being just classmates at first, Dieter developed a crush on Shin-Ae, to which he confessed his feelings to her with a yellow tulip, in Episode 2. She rejected him immediately and was pulled away from him. Her friends, Rika and Maya told her that she was too harsh, and immediately after, Dieter walked into the same restaurant, dejected, with his friends. After Dieter's friend insulted Shin-Ae's friends, she threw a glass of orange soda towards him, but due to Yeong-Gi Hiraharastanding up, she hit him by mistake.

Despite him feeling upset for quite a while, he was thrilled and grateful when Shin-Ae talked to him and they agreed to be acquaintances, in Episode 19. In Episode 20, Shin-Ae was surprised and happy to overhear Dieter tell his friends that he is happy and okay with being just acquaintances with her. Shin-Ae and her friends later accompanied Dieter and his friends to an Arcade, in Episode 21.

Later in Episode 34, after Soushi prank-called Shin-Ae pretending to be Dieter, Dieter profusely apologized and asked her to tutor him and Soushi. Soushi told Dieter not to invite Yeong-Gi. In Episode 37, she arrived to tutor them and Yeong-Gi Hirahara arrived by accident and was tutored along with his two friends.

In Episode 77, Shin-Ae eventually invited Dieter to go to a theme park with her. He fainted when he heard her invitation, and in Episode 78, Shin-Ae sat with him in the school infirmary until he woke up.

When the two attended the amusement park, in Episode 80, he won her a stuffed teddy bear and told her about where he came from. Later, Shin-Ae confided to him about her fear of heights, and when Dieter noticed her being uncomfortable in a Ferris wheel, he held her hand saying 'Just a friend trying to comfort another". In Episode 81, Shin-Ae blushed looking at his hands and the two took pictures together. She asked him how to say Mr. Teddybear in German, to which she named the bear 'Herr Teddybär", to pay tribute to his homage. She then told him about her fear of heights and her relationship with her friends. She then boarded her bus, and from the window she sees a girl hugging Dieter, which is later revealed to be his sister, Leah.

In Episode 84, after Shin-Ae drops a phone call with Dieter due to an intruder, he calls her back and Shin-Ae asks him to come over to help her. Dieter called Yeong-Gi Hirahara and Soushi for help, and they helped get him to her house, and hid outside to support him. Shin-Ae noticed them due to Yeong-Gi's loud sneezing. After she informed them of the situation, they helped her open the door, to find an empty bathroom.

In the Mid Season Recap, she says about Dieter, "Some connections may have started rough... as it began with cold-hearted rejection... but I genuinely enjoyed his presence... I even went on a light-hearted date... after all that has happened, I almost forgot what it was like to enjoy myself... and I even got a little taste of what might be romance".

In Episode 95, Shin-Ae runs into Dieter at the mall, after her fight with Maya. He helps her to feel better and invites Shin-Ae to see a movie with him. She agrees and then realizes that Soushi, Kousuke, and Hansuke are coming with them.

In Episode 98, Dieter helps **Shin-Ae** out of the movie theatre, and the two go shopping together where he tells her about how he met Yeong-Gi. She picks out clothing that was nearly identical to the outfits that Yu Jing and Kousuke Hirahara wore previously, to which Dieter tells her that he asked her to pick out clothing that she liked, not what other people liked, and he dislikes the coat because he feels like he is concealing something.

In Episode 125, when Dieter accompanies Shin-Ae and Min-Hyuk to the hospital, he spots Shin-Hye. In Episode 126, after a brief conversation, he receives a letter to deliver to Shin-Ae.

According to Quimchee's CuriousCat, Dieter is the only character confirmed officially to have romantic feeling for Shin-Ae.

### Rika Lau

Shin-Ae and Rika are extremely close friends and often spend time with each other, both in and out of school. Since she's more of the 'caretaker' of the group, Rika is always there to help Shin-Ae or stop her when things are getting out of hand. Because of Rika and her father, Shin-Ae was able to go to the party which Yeong-Gi Hirahara and Kousuke Hirahara attended.

### Maya Park

Maya and Shin-Ae are good friends and often spend time with each other, both in and out of school. Both Maya and Shin-Ae tend to act without thinking or make rash decisions, and this commonly shared personality trait worsened their friendship by a little and put it at risk. Even then, Maya and Shin-Ae are still on good terms and enjoy having their time spent together.

### Soushi Toyoshima

Soushi and Shin-Ae are good friends and sometimes rivals when it comes to playing games. They are both filled with competitiveness and challenge each other to see who's better at certain things. Soushi is slightly more 'loud' and this frustrates Shin-Ae at times. They are both also struggling when it comes to certain parts of educations, Soushi with math and Shin-Ae with English and literature. Soushi is very close friends with Dieter and Yeong-Gi.

### Yui Hirahara

Shin-Ae feels extremely awkward around Mrs. Hirahara, especially because she thought that Mrs. Hirahara was Kousuke Hirahara dressed up as a woman. Despite getting nervous around her, Shin-Ae thinks that she looks utmost stunning and looks like someone on the cover of a fashion magazine. Mrs. Hirahara acts outwardly kind and welcoming towards Shin-Ae and stated that she wants Shin-Ae to be around Kousuke more often. Due to the incident in which Mrs. Hirahara tricked Shin-Ae into going to Kousuke's home to try to get her to "seduce" him, their relationship changed. Mrs. Hirahara has manipulated her multiple times, threatening her if she doesn't do what she wants, putting her in uncomfortable situations.

### Min-Hyuk Park

Shin-Ae and Min-Hyuk are best buddies. After Min-Hyuk parted to further his study in America, Shin-Ae often receives his text in the morning on a regular basis. They have their own unique way to greet each other to an extent where Maya Park, Min-Hyuk's sister, claimed their interaction made her cringe. They both share a big love for food. Shin-Ae's current favorite dream food is Chicago style deep dish pizza, ever since he sent her a photo of it, nevertheless, he also posted her a phone charm of Deep Dish pizza and a black headband with pizza print as gifts. Min-Hyuk cares very deeply for Shin-Ae, and worries about her a lot (as evidenced when he tells Maya that he's worried about her meeting Yeong-Gi).

## Quotes

* *"My father once told me: "Be Strong", so I started telling myself everything is going to be okay.*
* *"I just want to feel okay again. "Okay" is all I need"*
* (To Rika and Maya) *"You know what? Since they make good money, I'll be a stripper instead"*
* (To Rika and Maya, after she rejected Dieter) *"Rejection is rejection. I make no exceptions."*
* (To Rika and Maya, stating her reason why she is going to the party with them) *"Look, I'm only going for the food."*
* (Describing Kousuke Hirahara's appearance) *"Whoa, That hairstyle. He looks like... A Q-Tip."*
* (To Kousuke Hirahara) *"Oops. My Bad. I was aiming for my mouth, but I hit the asshole instead."*
* (To Yeong-Gi, trying to reject his help on pranking her friends) *"Alright. Look. Don't take this the wrong way but.. I couldn't care less whether you're the son of the Prime Minister or a random cashier at a food mart... **You're a human first...** and humans kinda suck."*
* *"All I wanted to do was eat and go home! Not this!!"*
* (On Kousuke Hirahara's vocabulary, thinking) *" 'Panda moan you' What? I don't get it... Panda moans? This guy must have weird fetishes"*
* (To Yeong-Gi, while trying to get away from Dieter, Kousuke Hirahara, and Soushi) *"I'm just trying to get away from the German boy, the Q-Tip man, and the ponytail that looks like he came from some water tribe..."*
* (Thinking) *"Oh no! Is it his uniform? I can't afford to replace that! I could barely even afford the donuts here! Oh, God... What if he's also talking about the Q-Tip's suit??? That $20,000 total!!! Should I sell one of my kidneys?"*

## Trivia

* Her MBTI type is INFP
* The lock screen's wallpaper of Shin-Ae's mobile phone is a picture of cats eating pie to show her love of cats.
* It is also shown that her passcode was the phone number of her favorite pizza place.
* In the comic dub of the series made by the YouTube Channel Sans Comic TV, Shin-Ae was voice acted by Abigail Turner. Unfortunately due to a copyright Strike by Webtoons, each episode of the Comic dub was taken down despite the fact that it was non-profit.
* Her favorite Halloween candies are Sour Skittles and Warheads
* If forced to choose between a tattoo and a piercing, she would pick a tattoo
* Her flower is a Dandelion
* Her lucky number is 5
* Her name was originally Yuki.
* Both her best and worst memories are from middle school
* Favorite childhood shows were Power Puff Girls, Blue's Clues, Clifford the Big Red Dog
* Favorite Christmas movie is Elf
* Would dress up as a hotdog for halloween.

## References

1. ↑ Episode 14
2. ↑ Episode 13
3. ↑ Episode 14
4. ↑ Episode 13
5. ↑ Episode 13