Where Do Unused Characters Go?

I've been thinking about Noel, a character I created a few years ago, when I was first trying to write a novel. I got about 80 pages in and I could never find my way into the main character. I read portions of it in a writing class and the consensus was that it was pretty boring so I set it aside.

But the novel did have a few characters that I really liked. I miss them from time to time. I liked the protagonist's father very much, as well as the mother of the next door neighbor. But Noel, a washed up British musician who just emerged from his third marriage and his second bout of rehab, has really stayed with me. I recently went by a restaurant where I had him have a meal and I've been thinking about what he's been doing, as if he were a real person.

I feel bad that I was able to come up with intriguing people and not find a way to let others enjoy them like I have.