hmm… this is a great question! (long yap sesh incoming probably 💔💔)
i think kojo’s feelings towards physical touch and such really faded during the events somewhere between step 1 and 2, as well as step 2 and 3.
during the time between step 1 and 2, the golden trio obviously still go to school. when starting at riverpeak high (iirc thats the name? also idk how american schools work but im p sure they mix middle school and secondary in one building) kojo is immediately seen as ‘weird’. for what reason? none other than not being a copy and paste of every other 6th grader 🙏😐 he gets beaten up a lot, and also at age 12/13 he and Qiu have a fight, like, an actual fight with fists and the whole shabang. kojo is one of the ppl qiu pushes away and ko cant understand why (jealousy) and tries to ask the other but they just end up fighting and kojo gives qiu a LIGHT concussion and qiu gives ko a broken nose and the scar on his lip.
during the time between step 2 and 3, things get a little more serious 😞😞 (sorry my son for the next things im abt to write) he’s still a loser, but the frauds (his classmates) can look to the side for like two seconds ‘cause kojo is on the school’s volleyball team! he’s their mvp and a striker + setter (kagehina lovechild), and usually the reason they win. he still gets bullied, but he’s pretty buff now and so only equally as strong ppl beat him up. erm, now the really not fun part (SORRY MY BBY IM SORRY 💔💔) kojo’s volleyball coach assistant is kinda really a weirdo 😐 she makes weird comments to him and such, and actually once tried to get him to do stuff he doesn’t want to, succeeded once w force 😐 (i think you can imagine what) mind you she’s a grown WOMAN; an ADULT. so yeah, also she actually stalked ko for a while before he told ppl and stuff 😞😞 (sorry my precious boy. not your fault your creator likes horror without the common horror elements (human behaviour.)
this didn’t really change his relationship with the women in his life whatsoever, he still loves them a lot. actually he finds a lot of comfort in them ❤️ kojo is a very lovely guy regardless and finds solace in his little qiuet times with tammy. (she was also the first person he told, along with his ma.)
for yu-ming… i havent really fleshed her out yet but i think i’d like for her to not have any TRAUMATIC events as big as kojo, but rather happy events that made her the cool, confident, charismatic, and loving girl she is today. she’s a loser lesbian for tammy, and likes to tinker and make stuff or yap about music facts surrounding cellists cuz tamarack plays one! she’s kind of like yuuji from jjk, or naruto from naruto! she’s a great cook and a pretty helpful person. she’s the type to help an old lady (dorothea) pass the street 💗💗