[name_f]Stella[/name_f] Hyeri Ko (22) is the last member of Vee and Solaire’s trio and the pre-law student. [name_f]Stella[/name_f] was born in the U.S, but she lived in [name_u]South[/name_u] Korea and attended an international school for 12 years. The school she attended followed the American school curriculum, and she made friends in the states through summer camps and the like, but college was the first time [name_f]Stella[/name_f] was fully immersed in American culture. Before she went to her university, Stella’s parents fretted over sending their only daughter abroad— they knew discrimination was rife, and they hated the idea of [name_f]Stella[/name_f] fending for herself. Fortunately, [name_f]Stella[/name_f] met Solaire at the orientation for international students, and the two have been inseparable since. Stella’s parents were quickly placated by Solaire’s presence, and they have expressed their gratitude many times that [name_f]Stella[/name_f] found someone who she could rely on.
Incredibly opinionated, outspoken, passionate, and, in her own words, annoying, [name_f]Stella[/name_f] becoming a lawyer was only the natural order of things. Her parents’ jokes that [name_f]Stella[/name_f] didn’t have a first word— she had a first sentence— come from a half-truth: [name_f]Stella[/name_f] grew up incredibly curious and questioned nearly everything around her, which was both precocious and irksome, depending on who you asked. Any time anyone tried arguing with [name_f]Stella[/name_f] in elementary got bombarded with facts, and [name_f]Stella[/name_f] was brought to the principal’s office a multitude of times for being “rude” to the other students. Her parents decided their daughter needed an outlet, so they enrolled her in a debate academy back in Seoul, and she won multiple awards up until her senior year. [name_f]Stella[/name_f] was also on her school’s debate team and placed in the top three during all four high school years. Mock trial was only a recent development— [name_f]Stella[/name_f] joined in her junior year— but she discovered she liked the format and decided she might try becoming a lawyer. [name_f]Stella[/name_f] graduated as salutatorian of her grade with high honours.
The reveal of Solaire’s crush was Stella’s fault. As Solaire described the boy in front of her two roommates, [name_f]Stella[/name_f] put her lawyer skills into action to find the poor boy’s Instagram (to Solaire’s awe, horror, and chagrin). [name_f]Stella[/name_f] hasn’t told Solaire this yet, but the boy she’s crushing on is Stella’s cousin and her favourite worst enemy. [name_f]Stella[/name_f] and her cousin are the closest things to siblings without being actually siblings (Stella is a day older than him), and she’s heard through the family grapevine that he’s crushing on someone, too. [name_f]Stella[/name_f] plans on figuring out who her cousin’s crush is— and it better be Solaire.
Stella’s aversion to crushes comes from severe commitment issues. The idea of the idyllic family has never appealed to her— she wants to work and marry her career, not end up with children and be forced to stay home. Solaire’s old friend, though, threw a wrench in those plans: [name_f]Stella[/name_f] found herself daydreaming about coming home to them after a long day of work. Stella’s got a good poker face in debating and trials, but she can’t lie to her closest friends— which means both Vee and Solaire now have ample material to tease [name_f]Stella[/name_f] with.