II. Characters

"Alright, first thing! We’re going to do something fun," Yongsun said. "Sit up. Sit up, sit up, sit up. Before we can start writing, we will have to create your characters, and then we will go into the setting and plot." She pulled and kneaded and threw Byulyi's arm across her body until the younger woman finally complied with a groan. "Come on, Byul, this is your story. You should be excited!"

Byulyi frowned. "I am, but what do you mean ‘before we can start writing’? Can’t all of that stuff just happen as we go?”

Yongsun shot her a pointed look. “Am I the teacher, or are you the teacher?”

“Aish, this power is going to go to your head, unnie.”

“Just sit up,” Yongsun huffed.

"Okay, okay," Byul resigned with a sigh. "Let's make our characters. That should be easy. It's like an MMO."

Yongsun shook her head. "Making a character isn't just picking a face and a hairstyle and clothes. It can be a part of it, but it's definitely not all of it. Your characters need to feel human, and I've seen the girls you like to make in your MMOs…they do not look human."

Byulyi's eyes went wide. "Unnie! I thought you liked my bearskin barbarian."

"Realistically, those strips of fur would never support s of her size," Yongsun replied, making a face. "She could end up with a lot of back pain. That would be an interesting development in her story though, wouldn't you think?"

"I don't know if I want to write about a barbarian with big s and back problems. I feel like that would be a very short-lived adventure," Byulyi said with a grin.

"I'd read that though."

"Me too."

They shared a laugh until they forgot what they were laughing about, but continued anyway. As Yongsun wiped a tear from her eye, she was happy to see Byulyi relaxed for the first time that evening. The note paper from the beginning laid forgotten beside them, but Byulyi's hand on her knee was warm and her mind was blank for a brief moment.

Byulyi scooted closer so their knees were touching, and Yongsun managed to just catch the barest whiff of her shampoo. "Alright, unnie, let's do this properly,” Byulyi said, leaning into Yongsun’s side. “Let's make some characters!"

Yongsun clapped. "Let's pick someone we know in real life. That will be easier."

Byulyi thought for a moment, then blushed. "What about us?"

"Both of us?"

"Yeah. Is that bad?" Byulyi asked, her teeth gently tugging at the edge of her lip.

"N-no, of course not. But I don't know if you should write about yourself. I think you will always end up inserting yourself into the story somehow, so it might be more fun to pick someone you kind of know, or think you know. Or even several people you know. It's a better creative exercise, I think. If you want me in your story, then maybe you can write about just me, or me with someone e--"

"No!"

Yongsun stared. Byulyi turned an even brighter shade of pink. "I-I mean," she stammered, "it's fine. We don't have to write about you. Or me. What about Wheein and Hyejin?"

A mischievous smile spread across Yongsun's lips. "They'll kill us."

Byulyi shrugged. "That's what they get for being so gross all the time."

"Alright good. Pass me the paper, and we can write this down. Thanks. Okay, let’s go with the first thing you said. They're both gross. What does that mean, and why are they like this?"

Byulyi handed Yongsun the pencil and made a face. "That's easy. They're always all over each other. They're always holding hands, holding…whatever they can. And they're always sneaking off when they don't think we noticed. Wheein used to be more embarrassed, but now they both have no shame."

Yongsun scribbled furiously, the tip of her tongue poking out in deep concentration. "Okay, good. Why is Wheein like this now? What changed?"

"I guess Hyejin is persuasive?" Byulyi shrugged. "And, well, there was that time when they fought about it, and I guess in the end, Wheein decided to try and be brave. I guess? I don't really know the details. All I know is that they’re a bit too brave now."

"Mmmhmm, good, good. This is a great start. Now who do you want to be your protagonist?"

"Both of them?"

"Third person limited or third person omniscient?"

"Unnie, I don't know what those words mean."

Yongsun paused, studied the blank look on Byulyi’s face for a moment, and scribbled two haphazard stick people on the note paper, adding a mole on one, and the slight curve of a dimple on the other. She said, gesturing to her drawings, "There are three points of view: first, second, and third. Most of the time, you'll be writing in first or third. First means that you use 'I' and you're literally in the mind and body of the character. Third means you're watching them from afar, so you'll probably use he or she or they."

Byulyi raised a brow. "I've never really thought about this before."

"And now you know," Yongsun said, holding two fingers up in a victorious pose. Poking the figure with the mole, she continued, "Let's say you want Hyejin as your protagonist and you want to write a…romance story."

Byulyi raised her hand. "Can she be the barbarian? Can we write a fantasy? I get enough Hyejin and Wheein action in my everyday life."

Yongsun blinked. "Uh, yeah, sure, why not? Fantasy is a pretty complicated genre but, ah, let's just go with it for now." She quickly added two strips of ragged fur onto the Hyejin's stick figure. "Okay, moving on. If you're writing a first-person story, you're going to get every thought. I don't know about you, but Hyejin is uncensored enough. First-person Barbarian Hyejin would probably have a different pattern of speech, a lot of weird and crazy thoughts, and maybe even a bunch of different tangents in her thinking, so this means that we might potentially have what’s called an unreliable narrator. What she says, might not always reflect what’s happening in the story. For example, let's say our Hyejin has just met Wheein, who is, I don't know, an elf…archer…person. What will she say?"

"Holy ing , that's the hottest thing I've ever seen ever, and I can't even handle it right now. She's talking to me but all I want to do is--"

"Okay, Byul, calm down. This is going to get graphic really fast."

Byulyi chuckled, and poked Hyejin's drawing. "It's Hyejin. Barbarian Hyejin."

"You're right. I don't know what I was hoping for," Yongsun said, shaking her head. "Now, while Hyejin is having a hormonal meltdown, what is happening in the world of the story? Even though it's first person, you still need to keep in mind the 'real world,' or else you'll lose track of your own story, especially if you're immersed in a crazy mind like Barbarian Hyejin's. So what is Wheein doing?"

"She's probably trying not to freak out because Hyejin is literally panting in front of her, and she's just…I don't know, asking for directions?"

Yongsun ripped off another piece of paper and folded it into thirds. In the first box, she scribbled out Wheein's confused face, bordered by erratic question marks. "This," she said, "is the magic of first-person. Everything we see or hear or feel is from Hyejin's point of view. So! When we consider Hyejin's mind versus the 'real world,' you might end up with two disconnected perspectives. Our unreliable narrator can rant as long as she wants about how cute Wheein is, but in reality--"

"Unnie! Don’t you dare!"

Yongsun threw her hands up defensively. "What? I wasn't going to say anything!"

"You were going to doubt Wheepup's cuteness! Hyejin will come out of the sky and slam you into the ground."

"It was just an example!" She rolled her eyes at Byulyi's pointed look. "Well, you get the picture. Ready for third-person?"

Byulyi nodded.

Yongsun scratched out two identical pictures of Wheein and Hyejin standing side by side in each of the remaining two boxes. "These are both third-person," she explained, brushing a finger across the two boxes. "In this one, if you want to write a third-person omniscient story, the narrator will know everyone's thoughts." She drew in thought bubbles above their heads, and filled it in as she spoke. "Let's have Hyejin think…"

"What a cutie!" Byulyi offered.  

Yongsun sighed, but complied. "And Wheein?"

"What a y weirdo."

"I'm a little worried about the kind of story you want to write, Byul."

Byulyi laughed, and took the pencil from Yongsun's hand, their fingers brushing lightly as she did. "I'm guessing this is third-person limited, where we only get one person's thoughts? Maybe Hyejin is thinking, wow, what a beauty!" Byul paused to fill in the thought bubble. "But she can't really figure out what Wheein is thinking, so the reader won't know either. Right, unnie? Unnie?"

Yongsun snapped her attention up from Byulyi's finger to her eyes. "Y-yeah," she said, rubbing her forearm, "that's right. So…depending on what you use, you'll…grow your characters quite differently, I think. It depends how much you want your readers to know too, and how much truth you want to give them. Sometimes people might start with a character sketch where you describe the character before you dive into the story. Just so you know how your characters will react, you know? You don’t have to put it all out there right away, but when you have it in your head, it’s easier to withhold the truth and create some suspense."

Byulyi paused to let the words sink in before lifting up the pencil to the paper. "I guess,” she murmured, “Hyejin will be...pretty? Kind of intense? She'd be a good warrior too. And smart. She might come off as a crazy person to Wheein, but she maybe she’s just nervous deep down?"

Yongsun peered over at Byulyi's short list and smiled. "That's a start. Why don't you put the barbarian behind for a little bit and try to describe Hyejin as you know her."

"In real life?"

"Yeah."

"She's…an amazing singer. She works really hard. Good at housework, and stuff. Takes really good care of you. Would be a really good wife, but she'll bite you if you say it to her face. I guess she can be childish sometimes too, but only because you spoil her, unnie."

"I do not!"

"Yes you do. More than anybody else. You spoil her rotten."

"I spoil you and Wheein too," Yongsun huffed.

"It's not the same. You can't deny that you spoil Hyejin a lot more."

"Byul-ah, jealousy doesn't look good on you."

"W-What? I'm not jealous,” she added hurriedly. “I'm just saying that...that...aish, let's go back to Hyejin. Stop snickering, unnie. You’re distracting me. Okay, she’s, um, she's...really strong and fierce, but she has a soft heart too. She's shy with new people, and she hates doing aegyo and stuff. Doesn’t think she’s cute, so she hides behind all that y stuff, but really, she isn’t fooling anybody…Mm, I don't know how to write all of this down," Byulyi said, scratching her head with the top of her pencil eraser.

"That’s okay," Yongsun said. "It's up to you. These ideas are all great anyway. Writing it down is just one way of helping you organize who she is as a person in your mind. Since we both know Hyejin, we might have different interpretations.”

“That’s true. I don’t spoil her nearly as much.”

“Aish, that again. Anyway if you’re clear about what you want, then it’ll help you dig a little deeper. It's more compelling that way, I guess, and it’s easier for people to empathize if she's more human. The key, I find, is to ask a lot of 'why' questions. Why is she shy around new people? Why is she childish sometimes? Why and when do the two different personalities--headstrong and fierce versus vulnerable and kind--kick in? I mean, humans are complicated. Even if she's the kind of human who is really weird around pretty girls and wears nothing but a strip of fur."

Byulyi sighed and gently knocked the side of her head against Yongsun’s. “This is impossible, unnie. Like you said, humans are complicated. I don’t think we even know ourselves that well.”

Yongsun laughed. “You’re right,” she replied with a shrug. “We don’t. And I think that’s why a lot of us write. Because we want to figure it out, you know? We will probably never go up against a bear in our lives, but Barbarian Hyejin might, and based on the personality traits and the backstory that we give her, we might be able to predict how she will react. What do you think she would do, Byul? And why?”

Byulyi pulled back, brow raised. “In the bear situation?”

“Yeah.”

“Is Wheein here?”

“Ah! Good thinking! Why do you ask?”

Byulyi shrugged. “Depending on who’s watching, she would probably react differently. Anyone would, right?”

Yongsun flipped the paper over and drew a line down the middle. On the left side, she drew a box with a circle for a head, two smaller circles for ears, and labelled it “bear.” Stick Hyejin and stick Wheein stood off to the side, ready for action. She repeated the bear drawing on the other side of the box, and handed the sheet of paper to Byulyi. “You’re right,” she said, “What do you think Hyejin is going to do with the bear while Wheein is watching?”

Byulyi gave this some thought. She scrunched her nose and replied slowly and carefully: “Doesn’t that depend on what the bear is doing as well? On the one hand, if the bear is dangerous, Hyejin might jump in and protect Wheein, but, ah, she might fight the bear anyway to show off. Or maybe she is actually very gentle and the bear is her friend that she rescued when it was a cub. I can see that too. So maybe she wants to impress Wheein with her gentle side, you know? Or maybe Wheein, who is a lost elf, wants to kill the bear because it looks dangerous, but Hyejin steps in because the bear is innocent. That way, Wheein will see her just and brave side, and she’ll know that Hyejin isn’t just about impressing girls. Aish, the more I think about it the more possibilities there seem to be. I don’t know, unnie, there are so many things that can happen in this scene!”

Yongsun reached around and threw an arm around Byulyi’s shoulder. “Byul-ah, congratulations,” she said with a prolonged sigh. “Now you’re understanding the struggle of a writer. There are a lot of scenarios that can happen depending on…well, everything. But, you know, the possibilities are finite. There are a lot, but technically, there are only a certain number of possibilities that would make logical sense depending on your preconceived ideas about your character.”

“So…in the scenario with Hyejin and the bear, she can’t…suddenly go to space, for example.  Is that what you mean?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Unless you can justify it, but I don’t know if you want to go through the logistics of rocket science in this medieval fantasy era just so Hyejin can go to space, you know? You can be creative, of course, but at some point, your readers might be confused, or you might create a bunch of loopholes and you don’t want that. This kind of goes back to purpose too. What are you expecting to achieve with Hyejin going into space?”

Byulyi grinned. “Hyejin the y space barbarian?”

Yongsun playfully slapped her across the shoulder. “Yah! I’m serious!” she cried, though her expression quickly gave way to a wide smile.

“Seriously then,” Byulyi said, poking the bear drawing with her pencil, “you’re saying that there are some things that would make no sense for Hyejin to do because of who she is as a barbarian weirdo. Like, while Wheein is watching, she probably won’t…I don’t know, hug the bear for no reason? Ah, but she might if I’d set it up beforehand, wouldn’t she? Like if it’s her pet bear for whatever reason. Because she’s so badass she’d have a pet bear...named Seulgi. Do you think Irene-unnie would be mad?”

“Probably,” Yongsun chuckled, “but she’d secretly love it.”

“Especially if you throw a collar on, I’m sure.”

“Byul-ah!”  

But Yongsun gestured for the pencil, which Byulyi quickly placed into her open palm, and drew a collar on the bear anyway. Underneath, she labelled Seulgi’s name. “Happy?”

“Not as happy as Irene-unnie would be,” Byulyi snickered. “Wait, let me take a picture and send it to her. Okay...um...sent! Alright, I’m ready. Go on, unnie.”

“As I was saying,” Yongsun continued, absentmindedly drawing light circles around the bear, “Previous scenarios might give you extra possibilities. This is why planning and drafts are important, but I won't get into that right now. Maybe, like you said, Hyejin rescued this bear many years ago, so while Wheein was shocked to see the bear, Hyejin would have been excited to embrace an old friend. And, ah, you know, you don’t have to share this information with the reader. This is what I meant by withholding truth. You know that she rescued this bear, but the reader might be learning this information the same time that Wheein does.”

“That would be…a pretty interesting twist if we were writing in third-person…um, what’s that called again? Third person…”

“Limited. Yes. If the story was in Wheein’s point of view, this would be an interesting turn of events.”

“What about character development?” Byulyi asked. “It seems like there are a lot of stuff I should know about the character beforehand, but characters never stay the same forever. At least, I don’t think they do. Should they?”

Yongsun tucked her hand beneath her chin and furrowed her brows. “No, you’re right,” she said, “characters can change. In most stories they do. I personally think every good protagonist should be dynamic rather than static—change rather than stay the same, but it can also be really powerful if your character learns nothing at all from their experience. I think...one of the things to remember as well is that nothing is ever set in stone, so don’t stress yourself out about these details. It’s your story, and you can manipulate it however you want. You can always go back and change the way she reacts and acts, so, yes, planning helps, but don’t stick too closely to your plans. I find that boxes the story in.”

“Do personalities ever just develop on their own? Based on these actions and reactions and stuff?”

“Oh yes! Of course! I often surprise myself how different my intentions are compared to the finished products. That’s why I think editing that plays a much bigger role than writing sometimes, but we can talk about that later.”

Byulyi nodded, then pointed to the other side of the page. “Were you going to draw what happens if Hyejin was by herself?”

“Yeah, but I think you get it.”

Byulyi groaned, dropped the paper and pencil onto the floor, and stretched. Yongsun stood, stretched her legs, and resumed her seat beside Byulyi. “This is crazy, unnie,” Byulyi said, wrapping her arms around Yongsun’s shoulder and burying her head in the crook of her neck. “We’ve been talking about this for an hour, and I haven’t even started this story. All we’ve got is ty Barbarian Hyejin and a bear.”

“I can’t say that was my first choice,” Yongsun said. She laughed, the gentle vibrations in sending a wave of warmth through Byulyi’s body. Byulyi could feel her fingers absentmindedly running through the fringe of her hair along her back. The shiver in her spine and the warmth in her cheek sent a tangle of feelings rising into her heart, and she wanted to stay like this forever. But she pulled away at Yongsun’s first sign of discomfort, and immediately missed the softness.

Yongsun cleared . “Do you…want to order dinner before we continue?”