Mallory stood out front of the cafe she always met Zhen and Song Yi at. She was nervous, beyond nervous. What could Zhen possibly have to talk about? What was so urgent?

“Hey,” Song Yi’s voice was barely even a whisper as she moved to stand beside Mallory, who jumped in surprise. “You’re on edge too, huh?”

Mallory sighed. “I can’t figure out what could possibly be wrong.” She said, sliding her phone into her pocket and closing her eyes. “Ready to go in there?” She asked, and Song Yi nodded. Together, they took a step towards the cafe.

Zhen was seated in the far corner booth of the cafe with a cup in her hands. She was staring down at it. Mallory knew that this was going to be something terrible. The two sat down across from Zhen, who smiled brightly as the waitress moved over and handed a menu to each of the girls.

“I’ll have the largest iced caramel macchiato you can make. With extra caramel.” She said, handing her menu back to the waitress, who nodded and scurried away.

Zhen laughed. “Wow Mal,” She started, twisting the cup between her hands. “Indulging today?”

Mallory rolled her eyes. “Just spit it out Zhen. What’s going on?” She asked.

Both Zhen and Song Yi looked caught off guard, and Zhen didn’t say a word until the waitress came back and took Song Yi’s order. She then sighed and looked down at her cup again, her gloves fingers twitching around the cup, as if she wasn’t sure how to hold the cup anymore. “I was offered a serious opportunity.” She said simply.

Mallory and Song Yi nodded, staring at her impatiently.

“Leo’s parents asked me to be one of their photographers for their world tour. They’re going to the U.S. next month, and they asked me to come with them.” Both Mallory and Song Yi nodded again. “So… I’ve opted to quit my job with the modeling agency, and I’m going to start taking online courses again.”

Mallory bit her lip. “How long is this tour?”

“A year? Maybe more, we’re not sure yet. It all depends on what opportunities arise while we’re gone. But they asked that I… uh, that I join them until they retire.”

“Okay,” Song Yi said smoothly. “That’s great.”

Zhen nodded. “So I’m moving. And I’m not coming back to Korea.”

Now Mallory and Song Yi gasped. “Are you kidding me?” Song Yi asked. Zhen shook her head slowly.

“And the Shins are okay with this?”

Zhen nodded. “They gave me the go ahead.”

Mallory was seething. “You’re really going to do this?”

“Its a huge opportunity Mal,” Zhen said, shaking her head. “I want to get my career started already, and this is a great way to do it, okay?” She frowned. “I dont want to be stuck here, doing something I hate.”

Mallory scoffed. “So now you hate modeling.”

“I always did Mallory!” Zhen shouted. “Look at me! Really look at me!” She held her arms out at her sides. “I wear gloves everywhere I go. All my my clothes are either long sleeves or unrevealing. My pants are never tight, I never wear skirts or shorts without tights, and I hide my face behind a mask because I want to, not just for your blog!”

Mallory was stunned silent.

Zhen frowned. “I thought it was fun, but I was never, ever comfortable, and you know that.” She shook her head. “I’m tired of just following along. I’m ready to do things on my own, be my own person, follow my own dreams.”

It was at that precise mome