Areum

Areum is the main character and first person narrator of the novel. When his parents, Mari and Daesu, are only 16, they become pregnant with Areum. While in the womb, Areum acquires a gradual awareness of the dynamics surrounding his birth, many of which are informed by retrospective storytelling. When Areum is born, he tries to be a good baby, to cry and sleep at the appropriate times. He feels both his mother and father's love for him.

When he is two, Areum's parents notice that something is wrong with him. They take him to the hospital and discover that he has a rare condition known as progeria. Progeria causes the youthful body to age at a rapid pace.

When Areum turns 16, everyone declares that he is a miracle. Most people with progeria do not reach, or live past, their sixteenth birthday. Despite everyone's exclamations, Areum does not see...