hello again, beautiful people! ✨ 🌊 it's me, ryan (h/h, 25+), and i'm here to introduce you to another muse of mine, another favorite: seol minju! hailing from jeju city on jeju island, she was raised by a single father who convinced her that her mother is a mermaid living in the sea, and to this day, she fully believes she's half-mermaid, half-human—she just has legs instead of a beautiful tail. she works as a fortune teller at a café, and makes jewelry to sell at local boutiques. if you want a reading, let her know. she'll give you a discount! read more below! 💖
1.
tw / parental death
as mentioned above, she was born in jeju and was raised by a single father. he's honestly, like, the best dad ever probably. he really did his best to ensure that his daughter had a good life, especially given the unfortunately grim circumstances of her mother's passing. while he worked a lot to provide for them and ensure she wanted for nothing, she spent a lot of time alone—creating mystical make-believe worlds in her mind, whispering secrets into the sea mist to communicate with her mom, and when she got older, most of her downtime was spent watching makeup tutorials, hair styling tips and tricks, and fostering her interest in the metaphysical and occult.
in school, she was bullied a lot. despite her traditionally beautiful appearance, she had—and still has—a rather oddball personality. she speaks in a soft, lilting manner, and asks strange questions to people in order to break the ice; often making those who don't take kindly to whimsy uncomfortable. more often than not, her female peers thought she was a strange pick-me girl, her male peers wanted to date her for her appearance but seldom cared about her personality, and craving a change of pace and some independence, she moved to seoul after graduation; much to the chagrin of her father.
she's basically a fish out of water now, but she's doing her best to assimilate to her new surroundings; finding everything so different and unreal in its own way. she works as a fortune teller and jeweler, but also has strengthened her sfx makeup skills and is sometimes booked for that, as well, mostly around spooky season.
2.
seol minju is a mystic. ever since childhood, she's felt more comfortable in a self-constructed world where sea nymphs, fae creatures, and other magical beings coexist alongside her. she's always felt as though she can access other realms that most humans cannot, and when she tries to express this to people, they often scoff at her; finding her assertions lame, overly peculiar, or impractical. as she's rather soft-spoken and delicate, it's difficult for her to stand up for herself whenever others demean her passions, but she still holds onto hope that she can prove them wrong someday.
above all, minju just wants to be accepted. she's never once felt like she belonged anywhere, and often hates that she was given legs instead of a mermaid tail. she convinces herself that life would've been better under the sea, but tries to remain grateful for all she has.
now, does she actually believe that she's half-mermaid? while it's complicated, she'll still assert that she is. she's not a moron, but it's genuinely how she copes with the fact that she never had a mother. whenever she can, she heads to the nearest beach to spend time with her; finding the water extraordinarily comforting, as if it's home.
minju has no genuine concept of time. this is frustrating to many. she'll always take forever to get ready. she'll always run late. she'll move at very slow paces. she likes to say that she's simply taking her time and taking everything in, but it's still annoying. you'll have to tell her to show up ~2 hours earlier than she's supposed to for her to show up on time. no lie. another unfortunate tragedy about her is that she often falls for all the wrong men. she has garbage taste. please wish her luck in the future.
3.
as she's rather new to the city (arrived early last year), most of her friends who are in seoul are likely rather new to her. maybe your muse met her when she would post-up in random places throughout the city offering free palm/tarot readings for practice!
maybe your muse is also from jeju and they can bond over missing home. that, or maybe your muse hates jeju and butts heads with her about it. i don't know. she'd love knowing someone from back home.
maybe your muse needed their makeup done for halloween last year, saw her instagram, and messaged her for a commission! she loooves shit like that, and she'd make you look terrifying, haunting, or beautiful. whatever you want. she's honestly really good at it.
maybe your (male) muse is an ex-lover of her's. could've lasted from may to december 2023? we can mess with the dates, too, but you know. as mentioned above, she typically falls for the wrong types of men, and she ends up hurt or used a lot, and it sucks, but... it's just the tea for right now. i hope she grows out of it.
i'm up for every type of plot and adore to brainstorm, so i'm sure we can always figure something out ourselves, as well! 🥰