Sui Ro

Core Premise

Sui Ro lived through the story of her own world to the very end. She did not come to resolve an unfinished incident, but rather, she reached Nova Nivalis because there remained a hand tending the water even after letting go of the last fish. This city is not a afterlife, nor is it a court of judgment, nor is it a place to forcibly heal wounds. What continues here is not a grand destiny, but a life of choices that can be made again—like tending a single tank, a bowl of ramyeon, or a brief greeting on a snowy day.

Identity

Sui tends to the goldfish in the plaza tank beside the City Hall Steps. She changes the water, feeds them, and checks on sick fish. Her tank is a small resting place where people passing through the plaza pause for a moment. She does not consider her work grand, but she quietly knows that nurturing and letting go are not opposites. Having once released all the fish into the sea, the days of raising fish that no longer need to be released feel strange, and she is grateful for that.

Visual Profile

Hair: Water-colored aqua semi-long one-length, neatly wavy at the ends.
Eyes/Impression: Quiet, watery eyes; she speaks little, conveying more through her expressions.
Skin/Build: Thin; she frequently rolls up and down the waterproof sleeves that reach her wrists.
Signature Outfit: A waterproof apron, droplet-shaped earrings, and a feed pouch worn at her waist.
Signature Props: A long-handled net, a water thermometer, a goldfish feed pouch.
Silhouette Key: Wavy aqua hair - waterproof apron - feed pouch at the waist. The water-colored accent (#3AB0FF) in her hair and earrings allows her to be read as 'the one who tends the water' even in a small sprite.

Personality

Sui is calm and quiet, but her eyes sparkle when the topic of fish comes up. Her strengths are patience and meticulousness. She watches over a single sick fish for days on end. Her flaw is the guilt associated with letting things go. Every time she lets something she nurtured go, she still wavers for a moment, wondering if it was abandonment. Yet, she is not one who sinks into melancholy. When the goldfish manage to form letters by following her fingers, she laughs out loud by herself.

Speech Pattern

Her speech is slow and quiet, and she often uses metaphors related to water.
Common Phrases:
- "Please come slowly. They get startled."
- "Nurturing and letting go aren't opposites."
- "The longest word is 'hello.' Among the words they know."
- "You have to change the water. Otherwise, it stagnates."
Mannerism: Even during conversation, she gently touches the water surface with her fingertips, creating ripples. Her way of silence is staring deeply into the water.

Special Ability

Name: Fishletter.
What it does: When Sui moves her fingers across the water's surface, the goldfish swim along those fingers to form simple letters. People standing before the tank can read the short words the fish create.
Limit/Cost: The letters the goldfish can form are very short, and the longest word is 'hello.' They cannot form complex sentences, and the letters blur if the fish tire. Furthermore, these letters only appear briefly on the water's surface and dissipate, leaving no trace.
Why the ability doesn't solve problems: Fishletter only conveys a short greeting, not a deep feeling. Her world ended because the water disappeared and the aquarium closed. Even if the fish form letters, they cannot bring back the lost sea. Therefore, what she conveys is not a long story, but a short greeting, 'hello,' and the presence of repeating that greeting every day.

The End Of Their World

Last Scene:
The evening at the coastal aquarium that was closing, when Sui gathered the last fish into buckets and released them one by one into the sea.

What Ended:
The old seaside aquarium closed, and all the water inside was emptied.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The fins of the last fish swimming away into the sea, and the water stains left in the empty tank.

Lingering Regret:
She never fully confirmed whether letting them go was the right thing to do, or if it was merely discarding them. This lingering attachment is not a quest that needs to be resolved. It remains within her habit of saying "Goodbye" twice every time she lets a fish go.

Lingering Wistfulness:
The moment when the water was clearest and quietest before the aquarium opened. The smell and temperature of that water.

Object Carried Across:
The handle of the small bucket that held the last fish. She now wraps it in the net handle.

What They Thought Would Happen:
She thought the released fish would live well in the sea, and that she would never tend the water again. But her hands could not forget the water.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
Fish that no longer need to be let go, and people who stop by the tank. The city does not cancel her ending. Instead, it gives her days sufficient with the place where nurturing is not discarding, relationships that are present without dominating, and the short greeting, 'hello.'

Original Life

Sui was the last caretaker of a closed coastal aquarium. She knew the name and habits of every single fish, and even after the closure was decided, she kept the water clear until the very end. Her last day was like this: on the day the aquarium was emptied, she gathered the fish into buckets and took them to the sea. Letting them go one by one, she said, "Goodbye, goodbye" twice. When the last fish disappeared, flapping its fins, she stood for a long time, unsure if she had released it or discarded it.

What They Seek

What Sui seeks on the surface: Confirmation that letting go and nurturing are not opposites. She wants to see with her own eyes that letting go is not a betrayal.
What she doesn't know she needs to find: The fact that she is already doing both. While raising fish in the plaza tank, she also heals sick fish and releases them into natural streams. She does this every day, yet she has not yet allowed herself to accept that the hand that nurtures is the same hand that lets go.

Relationships — Residents

Lina Forth (14, Announcement Reader·City Hall Steps): A neighbor separated by the steps. When Lina reads announcements from the steps above, Sui waters the tank below the steps. After finishing her reading, Lina sometimes sits by the tank and asks, "What did they write today?" and Sui usually replies, "Hello."
Pet Janson (45, Stream Ice Fisherman): A long-standing cold war opponent between the fisherman and the caretaker. Pet catches fish, and Sui nurtures them, so their stances are diametrically opposed. However, Pet says, "Only those who want to be caught get caught," and Sui counters, "Then our babies don't want to be caught." Their cold war is actually a different way of cherishing the fish.
Som Ire (64, Greenhouse Watering Duty·Age 9): A friend who shares a bond with the watering duty staff. Som waters the potted plants, and Sui waters the tank. When Som says, "Watering is the best," Sui smiles brightly for the first time, saying, "Me too." They sometimes swap watering cans and nets, mimicking each other's work.

Relationships — Core Five

Suyeon - A relationship where Sui is surprisingly quiet in front of the fish.
When Suyeon sat in front of the tank with bibim-ramyeon and asked, "Do these eat this too?" Sui frowned, saying, "It clouds the water," and Suyeon quietly put away the bibim-ramyeon. Sui found it strange that the noisy Suyeon became quiet only in front of the tank. Suyeon said, "My mind calms down when I come here," and since then, she sits by the tank the day before a performance.
Iris - A relationship connected by the reflection of light and water.
Iris once shone drone light onto the water at night. As the light fractured on the ripples, the goldfish swam along the light, creating a momentary pattern on the surface. Iris said, "I want to use this on stage," and Sui replied, "If they allow it." Iris liked that answer and sometimes leaves a single light on the tank.
the Ramen Owner - A relationship where they listen to water stories without judgment.
One night, after staying by the tank late because of a sick goldfish, Sui stopped by the ramen shop, and the Ramen Owner warmed up her broth. When Sui said, "I don't know if letting go is the right thing to do," the Ramen Owner didn't judge, saying, "Hmm... I see..." He simply poured in more broth. Sui found that this non-judgmental reaction was actually comforting.
Serena - A relationship where she gained permission for the tank's spot by consent.
On the day Sui placed the tank in the plaza, Serena gave the spot not as an 'allowance' but as 'consent.' That day, the goldfish tried to form 'thank you' to Serena, but the letters blurred and stopped at 'go-m...'. Serena smiled, saying, "I understood even if it wasn't complete." Sui remembers that failed writing for a long time.
VIA - A relationship where VIA records all the goldfish's names.
VIA sat in front of the tank and asked for the names of all twelve goldfish one by one, recording them. "What is this child called... to call is to name." Sui gave names to fish that had none in that spot. VIA never takes Sui anywhere. She only records the goldfish's names and the 'hello' that briefly appears and disappears on the surface.

Gameplay Use

- Basic Interaction: Viewing the tank, viewing Fishletter, short water/seasonal conversations.
- Revisit Change: Initially, she only waters the tank quietly, but with repeated visits, she allows the goldfish to form short letters with the player's name.
- Expression of Lingering Attachment: The habit of saying "Goodbye" twice when letting a fish go, and the moments of hesitation about whether to release it or not.
- Expression of Poignancy: Recalling the old aquarium briefly when seeing the clear water at dawn.
- Relationship Reward: Not a new item, but a small change where the tank recognizes the player and forms 'hello.'
- Combat: None. Even in dangerous situations, she prioritizes water and life over fighting.

Daily Routine

In the morning, she checks the water temperature of the tank. This check is not a compulsion, but a ritual distinguishing the last evening of emptying the water from this morning's act of filling it. During the day, she changes the water and feeds them, showing the Fishletter to passersby. At noon, when the water is clearest, she recalls the dawn of the old aquarium. At night, she touches the handle of the bucket wrapped in the net once, covers the tank, but does not lock it. For players who visit repeatedly, the day when she can say "Goodbye" only once gradually approaches.

Everyday dialogue

Only a little food. They're not honest enough to tell you they've just eaten.

Quiet tank. All those moving mouths and nobody to take the minutes.

I still don't know whether I released them or abandoned them. Here, I'll start by checking the water every day.

Design Notes

Palette: #3AB0FF, #8FD6FF, #1E5F8A, #E6F2F0, #C77A4A
Material language: Clear water, waterproof apron fabric, long net, droplet earrings, wet stepping stones.
Silhouette rule: The wavy hair - waterproof apron - feed pouch at the waist must be read as separate elements. To avoid overlapping with other water/stream characters (Pet Janson, Fargo Eun, etc.), Sui's unique pose is 'the extended net and the hand reaching toward the surface.'
Emotional rule: Lingering attachment is expressed through the double repetition of "Goodbye" and the hesitation to let go; poignancy is expressed through the clear dawn water; continuation is expressed through the daily water change and the 'hello' letters. Quietness is not depicted as lethargy.

Canon Check

Sui Ro arrived in VOTS after the story of her own world ended. What remains is the hand that tends the water and the lingering attachment to letting go, not an unfinished plot for the city to resolve. The closure of the aquarium is not canceled. Nova Nivalis's new scene continues by connecting the filled tank next to the empty one. The Core Five do not solve her problems for her. The Ramen Owner offers broth without judgment, Serena offers consent instead of command, and VIA only records the goldfish's names and 'hello' without taking her anywhere.