Dragon Pearl

Captain Hwan is the main antagonist of the novel. Hwan is a tiger spirit, a species known for its dangerous nature, and accordingly, his voice is “low and rumbling with a hint of a growl in it” (115). Like Min, Captain Hwan lies and tricks people to get what he wants, but whereas Min ultimately does so to help others, Hwan does so only for himself. His ability to fool those around him speaks both to his skill as a liar and to his dedication to his goals. He would never have achieved the rank of captain without hard work and discipline, and given how strict the Space Forces are, it’s unlikely that his lies would have held up throughout his training and rise through the ranks. This suggests that the captain only decided to go after the Dragon Pearl fairly recently, implying that he was once a different person who pursued less harmful goals. At the end of the book, the ghosts force the captain to revert to his tiger form, but because he returns in the sequel, this implies that in the author’s universe, the effects of ghosts are not permanent.

Jun is Min’s brother. Before the beginning of the novel, Jun joined the Space Forces as a cadet, keeping his fox nature a secret. When the novel opens, Min learns that he has disappeared, and finding out what happened to him is one of Min’s main motivations throughout the book. Jun appears in ghost form in the last few chapters, but his essence is present from the story’s beginning through Min’s love for him and her desire to clear his name. The full story of how Jun ended up working with the captain is never provided, leaving the reader to piece it together from the story the ghosts tell in Chapter 31, which may or may not be the entire truth. In this way, Jun’s character offers the reader the ability to assign whatever details they want and become involved in the telling of the story in a way that giving Jun’s full backstory wouldn’t allow.

Jang is a cadet in the Space Forces. He dies during the mission in which Min is rescued from the mercenaries who have attacked the freighter she is aboard. As a ghost, Jang has longer hair than would be allowed in the Space Forces, which calls into question how death affects people in the story world. The longer hair suggests that Jang preferred this look to his physical appearance at the moment of his death. This detail suggests that people become their truest selves after death. Jang, like Jun, does not become vengeful like the other ghosts in the story, which he attributes to Min’s help in finding the cause of his death. Jang’s ability to remain himself demonstrates that all people have the power to choose what they will or will not become despite society’s expectations.

Sujin and Haneul are cadets in the Space Force. The two are rarely seen apart and mostly play the combined role of Jang’s friends and the people that Min betrays. In this way, they function as a unit throughout the novel. Separately, they represent other spirit types that inhabit the universe of the story. Sujin is a nonbinary goblin who possesses the ability to turn invisible with the use of a cap. Sujin is also talented with experiments, particularly with conjuring food from thin air, and this is reflected by the spork they wield as a wand to conjure snacks. Haneul is a dragon spirit, and her name means “sky,” which refers to her ability to control the weather. She is often surrounded by lightning, which becomes more erratic when she is agitated or scared. At the end of the book when the narrative reveals that these two have been working with the captain to track Min, Haneul places herself firmly on Min’s side while Sujin continues to side with the captain. This difference demonstrates Haneul’s stronger sense of right and wrong.

Nari is Min’s cousin; she has been estranged from the family for years. Long ago, Nari and Min’s mother ran Nari’s gambling den together, but Min’s mother quit, leaving Nari to continue on her own. Whereas Min’s mom is conservative in her approach to Charm, limiting its use in her family so they can appear respectable, Nari openly and unscrupulously uses Charm to persuade her customers to gamble more so that she will be able to collect more riches. Nari’s gambling den is the first place Min encounters in which Charm is used frequently, and although she leaves feeling like she has wronged Nari’s customers, she doesn’t realize how harmful Charm can truly be until the end of the novel.