Kwon Jin Ae (Also known as Jinni) was my name. Everyone always saw me as a beautiful girl and when I leave home, I am always scouted as the next big model.

You have the perfect 'S' line!

Your skin is so fair!

You have such an innocent look!

You're incredibly tall for a girl!

You have such great fashion sense!

You are smart!

That was what the people who scouted me always said. Unlike other girls who would grab the chance to become the next model, I declined every single offer. Working as a model was an 'honor' I'd have to refuse.

Being a model, you got so much money just to show off your looks. The only thing required was to be pretty or handsome. I wanted to prove myself not through my beauty, but through my efforts and if I wanted to do this, being a model was definitely NOT the way to go.

My mom passed away when I was young. My mom's life insurance money was plentiful for us and we saved as much as possible. Two years later my dad and I had moved to the United States due his work. He has been very caring and he provides me with a lot of freedom. My dad's job was to help load cargo and bring them to different markets.

I was still a student (2nd year) and I had many friends. Out of my friends, I was closest with my Korean friend, Mindy Choi.  We'd hang out every day.

"Mindy! Wait for me!" I said, shouting after her.

She giggled and turned around. "Jinni! Jinni! Look at the butterfly~ Isn't it beautiful?"

I caught up to her. "Mindy, you run so fast!"

She watched the butterfly flap it's wings and fly away.

"I wish I were a butterfly. Look how free they are!" she sighed and waved the butterfly goodbye.

Mindy was very cheerful all the time. At times, she acts like a little kid.

"Maybe in your next life, you will become a butterfly..." I said hopefully.

"Jinni~" she said, grabbing onto my arms. "I want to go get ice cream!"

I grabbed her hands. "Alright, let's go!"

I loved Mindy. She's always able to brighten my day, no matter how bad things got.

***

When we got to the ice cream parlor, Mindy ran in and got us both some ice cream.

"Vanilla! You're favorite!" she said gleefully, handing me my cone.

"Thanks, Mindy." She always knew what I wanted.

She had gotten herself some strawberry ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. She was busy eating her ice cream when a woman walked up to me.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice that you are very pretty." she said, greeting me.

"...Thanks? Um, may I ask who you are?" I questioned.

The lady laughed and held out her hand. "I'm Sarah Keinan. I've been scouting for the next hottest models and-"

I tugged on Mindy's shirt. She looked at me with her big eyes. "Jinni?"

"Let's go." I said, helping her up. 

Sarah Keinan walked after me. "Excuse me! Don't you want to become a model?"

Still holding on to Mindy's hand, i spin around and stated, "No I do not."

Sarah, dumbfounded, didn't come after me. Mindy and I walked to my house.

"Jinni? Again?" asked Mindy.

"Yeah. Sorry... these model scouters are really annoying."

Mindy shrugged and pointed at my house. "Let's go in?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

We walked in together and inside, we found my dad sitting at the kitchen table for me to return.

"Dad...?" I said slowly.

"Jinni? You're home... we need to talk." he replied quietly.

Mindy stared at my dad and I. I knew she could feel the tension building up.

"I should probably leave..." she said, slowly backing to the door.

I nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

She smiled. "Of course! Bye Jinni~"

She closed the door leaving my dad and I alone. I pulled up a chair and sat down.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I'm incredibly sorry Jinni... but we're moving back to Korea."