I grew up as a BlacKorean kid in conservative Colorado; never Black enough for some, never Korean enough for others. I didn’t talk much. I followed rules. I learned early that control kept you safe, and silence was rewarded. But beneath that silence was rage, confusion, and fear. SQUAD comes from that place.

 

It’s a story about boys who are asked to lead before they’re allowed to feel. About a military subculture that trains discipline but avoids emotion. It follows Lucius, a JROTC cadet who thinks holding it all together will protect him until the cracks start showing in his squad, his family, and himself.

 

I wanted to explore how masculinity, grief, and command intersect when you grow up with few resources and fewer emotional outlets. Squad is a story about what happens when the warning signs of violence go ignored. It’s about how young men and women carry expectations of strength without permission to break.