Paper Thin Walls
Description
PAPER THIN
WALLS
WALLS
“The borders of our world are paper thin.”
Yao Mingming has surrendered to the universe, packing his life into a tiny apartment at the corner of the city. What he wants is peace and quiet so he can spend his days trying to forget and merely exist - breathing, eating, sleeping, passing through time listlessly and without purpose. What he gets is noise - every clatter and crash, every laugh and sigh, every footstep across the floor - that his neighbor makes as she carries on with living. He is alone with the noise and he of all people knows how it tells a story, each little sonic boom printing another letter on the white page. The pen calls out to him, ink running through his veins, and even though he's tried to stop the impulse, he can't stop the noise.
Li Suyin stops and casts a look at the blank wall. Her neighbor is always strangely quiet, save for the occasional inhale-exhale of sleep she hears deep in the night. For a fleeting moment, she wonders who he is. She wonders if he is really even there at all.
Characters
A 25-year-old writer under the pen name Chen Jianyu who comes back to China after a tragic accident overseas and stops authoring his critically acclaimed books. Although generally quiet and unsuspecting, an underlying restlessness characterizes him.
A 24-year-old art school graduate. She currently trains as an art museum guide but she likes to sketch and dreams of becoming a well known artist. She lives alone after her parents kicked her out for deciding to go to art school and her boyfriend has stopped returning her calls. Unlike typical cheery and optimistic down-on-her-luck heroines, she is disillusioned with the world and often retreats into herself and her art.
Mingming’s longtime friend and publicist. As a friend, he worries about Mingming’s well-being and happiness, but as a publicist, he concerns himself with the creation of his talent’s next novel after multiple queries on his whereabouts. He urges Mingming to continue writing as a means of therapy.
Suyin’s friend and a columnist for a well-known magazine. Her grace and confidence serve as a complement to Suyin’s clumsy and reserved personality but also is a source of envy. She is a fan of Chen Jianyu’s books.
A classmate of Mingming’s who he met while studying abroad in London. She, like Mingming, sought adventure and agreed to travel with him although she made it clear at the beginning she had no desire for a serious relationship. Nevertheless, Mingming harbored secret feelings for her and when she died in a car accident while they were touring South Korea, he blamed himself.
+AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hello everyone! Welcome to my second chaptered fanfic. This is an AU in which Mingming is a brooding writer hehe. I think the role suits him well because he's one of the quieter members. It's set about 8 years in the future though because the story I planned out wouldn't have really worked at his current age. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapters to come!
Layout by voiceless @ Daydreamer; lg. 2014.
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