Mida Rowen

Core Premise

Before coming to VOTS, Mida Rowen lived out the story of her own world until her last delivery. She did not come to resolve unfinished events, but rather because she held onto the sensation of examining newborns and the cries from the battlefield even after receiving her last baby. VOTS is not an afterlife, nor is it a court of judgment, nor is it a hospital that forcibly heals wounds. What continues here is not a grand destiny, but small lives that can be chosen again—a meal, a morning greeting, a wrongly delivered item, a short conversation on a snowy day. Her world ended, and that fact is not canceled. Only a new dawn continues beside it.

Identity

Mida Rowen is a midwife who goes out at night to receive babies. When a mother calls, she rushes to any alley with her examination bag. Her job is to assist the moment a new life comes into the world. Her function is not decoration, but labor necessary for the city. She does not pry into the mothers' stories, nor does she rush or judge the birth. She simply knows with her eyes when the baby will 'come out,' and quietly prepares according to that rhythm.

Visual Profile

Her hair is a low bun of black hair mixed with silver strands, and she always wears a white headscarf over it. Her eyes are deep and warm dark brown, and fine wrinkles form around her eyes when she smiles. Her skin is fair, suited for night work, and her hands are large, firm, and warm. Her physique is sturdy and stable. Her signature item is a worn, large leather examination bag, inside which are sterile cloths, thread and scissors, and a small blanket. Her attire consists of a dark gray dress suitable for rolling up the sleeves, an apron, and a warming shawl over it. Her representative props are that examination bag and the white muslin blanket used to first wrap the baby. The core of her silhouette is the white headscarf, the low bun, and the large, heavy examination bag. The accent color, rose-like, is present in the apron knot and the blanket's edges, signaling to those who read the 'baby receiver' in the dawn sprites.

Personality

Mida Rowen is calm and steady, but beneath that calmness lies a sorrow she has held onto for a long time. Though she appears to be a midwife who never wavers no matter what, deep down, she has long carried the knowledge that the first cries of the babies from the battlefield were cries of farewell. Her strength is that her hands do not tremble even in urgent moments, and her flaw is that even when her own body is exhausted, she cannot refuse a call. She is not someone who only carries tragedy. When a newborn opens its eyes, her eyes smile without her realizing it, and she finds joy in warming herself with a bowl of ramyeon after finishing a dawn examination. The habit of being the last midwife at a field hospital remains, so she always moves her hands prepared for the worst, but now what her hands receive are not babies from war, but babies from a peaceful city.

Speech Pattern

Her tone is low and warm, leisurely as if reassuring the mothers. Frequent phrases: "It's okay, breathe slowly.", "Your eyes are smiling first. It's coming soon.", "Hold my hand. You are here.", "It's okay to cry, everyone cries.", "This time... I want to see the first smile." Her verbal tic is saying "in about half a day" when estimating a baby's time, while touching her own eyes. Her method of silence is organizing her examination bag. When her heart grows heavy or old memories surface, instead of speaking, she refolds the sterile cloths and thread inside the bag. That repetition is how she manages her emotions.

Special Ability

Ability Name: 'The Eyes Smile First.' Her eyes know first when the baby to be born will come into the world. The margin of error is about half a day, and she expresses this as "the eyes smiling first." As the baby approaches, a smile naturally spreads across her eyes. The limits and costs are clear—she only knows the time of birth; she cannot hasten or delay that time, nor can she take the mother's pain for herself. This ability only helps with preparation; it does not bring life forth or prevent death. Just because her eyes smile does not mean every birth is safe. The city's rules remain the same. The babies lost in the battlefield do not return through her hands, and she only helps the birth, not guaranteeing life.

The End Of Their World

Last Scene:
On the dawn the armistice was declared, Mida received the last baby in the field hospital tent. Hearing the baby's first cry overlapping with the distant sound of the armistice signal, she wrapped the baby in a white blanket.

What Ended:
The long war in her world ended, and her life as a field midwife receiving babies while following the battlefields came to a complete end.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The closed eyes of the newborn baby, and the dawn light of the armistice spreading outside the tent.

Lingering Regret:
The first cries of the babies she received were always in war, and she never saw those babies grow up and smile. There were many lives she only received and saw off. This regret is not a quest that VOTS must resolve. It quietly remains at her fingertips, only speaking when Mida wishes, and without changing the choices of others.

Lingering Wistfulness:
The warmth when wrapping the newly received baby in a white blanket, and that short, overwhelming silence of the dawn that filled the tent with the first cry.

Object Carried Across:
A single white muslin blanket used to first wrap the baby. It is neither a world relic nor a magical tool. It is tangible proof and a personal mark connecting the dawn of the battlefield to the ramyeon alley of now.

What They Thought Would Happen:
She believed that after the war, she would receive babies in a comfortable place, but her world ended before that.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
It allows her to see the first smile, not just the first cry. The babies she received in this city grow up and smile, and she sees those smiles by their side. VOTS does not cancel her ending. Instead, alongside the fact that it ended, it gives her new lives to receive, relationships that are by her side but not dominant, and the choice to welcome them into the world without owning them.

Original Life

Mida Rowen was the last midwife at a field hospital in a war zone. Following the areas of shelling, babies were born even during evacuations, and she received those babies. Her job was to welcome the newest lives into the world in the most dangerous places, and she did that for a long time, without wavering. On her last day, this is what happened. At dawn, as the armistice was declared, she held the hand of the last mother inside a tent. While the armistice signal sounded in the distance, the baby was born, and she wrapped the baby in a white blanket while hearing that first cry. And without seeing how that baby would grow in a world where the war had ended, she left the tent with only one blanket.

What They Seek

What she outwardly seeks: To see the first smile, not just the first cry. She doesn't just receive babies; she wants to see them smile as they grow up.What she seeks but doesn't know: That it is possible in this city. The city slowly lets her know that the babies she received here grow up and smile, and that she can see those smiles.

Relationships — Residents

- Yunho Vale (06, ramyeon regular/former teacher): A conversation partner at dawn. When Mida finishes an examination and meets Yunho in the ramyeon alley while he is staying up all night, they share short conversations about the dawn as former teacher and night worker. Yunho talks about the children's names, and Mida talks about the children's first cries.
- Yupa Sel (42, alley herbal tea vendor/Snowfield Alley): They exchange herbs. When Mida asks Yupa for a soothing tea for a mother, Yupa listens to the symptoms, as if hearing a cough, and composes the tea. Both know that it is 'relief, not cure.'
- Berta Mum (28, bathhouse owner/Steamed-Glass Bathhouse Alley): They entrust postpartum bathing to each other. When Mida sends a mother whose baby she received to Berta's bathhouse, Berta's warm water eases the mother's scars without pain. They recognize each other's 'warm hands.'

Relationships — Core Five

Suyeon - They meet on the dawn examination path. When Suyeon returns after night practice, and Mida passes through the alley with her examination bag, they exchange nods. Once, when Suyeon asked, "Isn't that bag heavy?" Mida smiled and replied, "Even if it's heavy, this is a bag going to meet a new person." Suyeon likes that phrase, and since then, she tries to carry the bag for Mida.
Iris - They share the examination path as the light of the night stage. On nights when Iris performs, the alley brightens with drone lights, making Mida's path to the examination route bright. Mida said, "Thanks to you, the dawn path isn't dark." Iris casually replied, "It wasn't turned on just to light the way you go," and since then, she flies one more drone lower over the alley at the ramyeon place. Mida doesn't ask about the turned-off drones.
the Ramen Owner - They keep the broth warm after the dawn calls. When Mida returns to the ramyeon alley after a night of examinations, the ramyeon shop light is still on, and the broth is kept warm. The owner places a bowl down with no judgment or comfort, saying, "Hmm... I see..." Mida warms her cold hands in that broth and quietly says, "Today, I saw a first smile," and the owner writes that down in the ledger.
Serena - They discuss the 'city's first baby.' The day Mida received her first baby in this city, Serena heard the news at City Hall Steps and approached Mida. Serena said, "This is the first baby born in this city," and Mida replied, "It's not just receiving; I can see it growing, right?" Serena offered no command or congratulatory proclamation, only saying, "Thank you for keeping that place."
VIA - They record the baby's name and first cry. VIA records the first cry of the baby Mida received on a note by the door. When Mida asks, "How do you write a cry?" VIA replies, "The first cry does not disappear... it remains." VIA neither takes the baby nor rushes the mother. Nothing is taken away; only the record that a new life has arrived remains.

Gameplay Use

- Basic Interaction: Short conversations in the dawn alley, stories of examinations, stories of first cries and first smiles.
- Revisit Changes: On the first visit, she responds only as a calm midwife; on repeated visits, she gradually reveals her feelings about the babies from the battlefield and the first smiles. She remembers what was said before but does not fix it as a conclusion without the other party's permission.
- Expression of Regret: The repetition of refolding her examination bag when the story of only receiving and seeing off comes up, and the trailing off of words at "the first smile-".
- Expression of Poignancy: Sensory dialogue about the warmth of the white blanket, the silence of the first cry, and the dawn light of the armistice.
- Relationship Reward: Not new items, but small changes where she gets to see the babies she received grow and smile.
- Combat: None. Even in dangerous situations, her function is to safely care for the mother and baby and reassure people.
- Player Choice: Assist with the examination, wait for the dawn together, carry the bag, visit again.

Daily Routine

During the day, she inspects her examination bag and refolds sterile cloths and thread. This inspection is not a compulsion, but a small ritual that separates the dawn of the battlefield from the dawn of now. When a call comes, whether it is night or dawn, she rushes out with her bag, quietly preparing while gauging the time of the baby to be born with her eyes. When the baby is born, she wraps it in a white blanket and feels her own eyes smile first. After the examination ends at dawn, she returns to the ramyeon alley to warm herself in the heated broth. Then, she briefly recalls the babies from the battlefield and overlays them with the warmth of the baby she just received. As she visits repeatedly, the desire for the first smile grows through her calmness. Even if they become very close, she does not grant her the reward of returning to the battlefield. Instead, a change occurs where she gets to see the babies she received grow and smile together.

Everyday dialogue

Breathe slowly. That's it, with me. You're doing far better than the adults pacing outside.

What a strong cry. Introduced yourself before we even got to your name.

Come by when the smiles begin. This time I'd like to see what follows that first crying face.

Design Notes

Palette: #B56576, #2E2A33, #E7DCE0, #6E5560, #C9A88F
Material language: Worn leather examination bag, white muslin blanket, sterile cloths, white headscarf on a low bun, rough fur of the warming shawl.
Silhouette rule: The white headscarf, low bun, and large, heavy examination bag must be read separately and not overlap with the representative forms of other characters.
Emotional rule: It is not concluded with a single 'tragic expression.' Regret is shown through the gesture of refolding the bag, poignancy through the warmth of the white blanket, and continuation through the new life received every day.

Canon Check

Mida Rowen arrived in VOTS after the war in her world ended. What remains is the regret of not seeing the first smile and the poignancy of the silence of the first cry; these are not unfinished plots that VOTS must resolve. Her ability only knows the time of birth and cannot bring life forth; Serena was grateful for keeping her place instead of issuing commands or proclamations regarding the first baby; and VIA neither takes the baby nor rushes the mother, only leaving the first cry as a record. The new dawn of Nova Nivalis does not erase her ended battlefield; it quietly continues beside it.