I lived in Bucheon, but grew up in Seoul. I looked fully Korean, even though my mom wasn't. My dad's genes were the more dominant. So here I am, a 24-year-old woman with a stable job as a make-up artist/hairstylist picking up a blonde haired-blue eyed girl. She was wearing a pink sequined tank-top with a dark pink crop over it. And a frilly hot pink tutu. She looked younger than her age.

Her supervisor had me sign papers to show that indeed, I had picked her up and now she was my responsibility. For no less than a week. And her parents said if she liked it in Korea she could stay longer. They didn't even ask me.

"Kim, I want ice cream!" she said after hugging me. We hadn't seen each other in a while. Oh, she was too cute. I couldn't be annoyed for too long around her. I grasped her hand firmly to ensure she didn't get lost in the bustling crowd of business men and waiting families.  I also picked up her two full-sized really heavy luggages. She definitely wasn't planning on staying for just a week.

I took her down to the basement parking lot. We got in my car and I made her put on her seat belt. I stopped at my favorite place in all of Seoul, the ice cream shop right in front of my dad's old apartment. The owner was old and he was still working there, even after all those years. When I walked in and the doorbells chimed, he looked up with a smile.

"How's my little Kimmy doing?" he said in his deep, gruffy voice. "And who's this you've brought with you?" He spoke in Korean and little Jessica didn't understand what he was saying.

Jessica was hiding behind me as Mr. Park got out from behind the counter to give me a hug. He looked around playfully. "Where did she go?" he said in a heavily accented English.

"I'm right here!" came a voice behind me. She must've recognized the language now because she wasn't usually the shy type.

Mr. Park bent down to be at the same level as her and she peeked her head out from her little shelter. She saw his large round face and bushy white moustache and laughed. She wasn't trying to be rude, she just didn't