#p: characters

[sevenpapercrowns]

seven paper crowns

great things collapse of their own weight for the gods do not let happy things grow forever.

[sevenpapercrowns]

han min joon

perfection belonged only to the gods, he read once. yet, the strive for perfection has always been a quiet devotion so religiously lived in the slightest of his habits. in every precise stroke of his pen across the rumpled page, every straightened valley of his wrinkled shirt, every proud, calculated step in his battered shoes — almost dignified, nearly perfect in every right. to appease the gods or to become them? appease, he whispered. become, it echoed.

[sevenpapercrowns]

kang hyeon woo

living has always been like this for him — with raised fists and a ready strike. every glance was a warning, every single word, a threat. neither unguarded nor weak in the pursuit of higher advantage. he wore his strength like armor; commanded like a ruthless weapon to the weak, presented as a humble offering to those in greater power. for he knew no greater safety than living among the gods, and in their grace, he will fight to stay. even if it meant being reduced to nothing more than a pawn.

[sevenpapercrowns]

song jung ki

hair brushed up neatly and chin tipped in a subtle challenge, he was the epitome of pride and strength. the slightest step earned him praise, the smallest smile elicited admiration. the roar of the crowd hung over him like a shadow – an heir blessed with the crown, a mighty king-to-be granted the fortune of an empire. but alone in the stillness, the mirror showed nothing more than a boy cursed with its weight.

[sevenpapercrowns]

song jae hwa

long has she accepted the circumstance of her birth – always second to her brother, spared nothing more than an afterthought. so she spent her days in the quiet, rigorously building, creating something worthy of so much as a second glance. heavy is the head that wears the crown, thank the heavens she does not bear it. but when the night echoes a deafening silence, she heard nothing else but the faintest whisper wishing that she did.

[sevenpapercrowns]

so mi sun

head up, shoulders back, and a charming smile freely given to anyone she would pass. every resounding step brimmed with confidence, like the world was her runway, and everyone else was simply there to watch. and watch they did. for she was beautiful in the way that sirens were — beguiling, ensnaring, and impossible to wake from.

[sevenpapercrowns]

yun chang hae

fingers gliding across the ivory, she let her hands tell the story; let a dead man’s cadence substitute the words caught between her teeth — a soft quivering melody, a frail whisper of another language only known to her. for she knew the words engraved within a thousand symphonies, but not the power to speak her own.