When it comes to the game of playing hard-to-get, no other player is as elusive—or as slippery—as the nomadic German- Brazilian mannequin Fabian Fink. Following her footprints in Facebook and a few online leads, PAOLO R. REYES eventually pins her down—and discovers that this traffic-stopping 21-year-old is more than just a fugitive object of desire

Her lips are just pure and simple indecent, so full and succulent that they could drip. Her honey-tanned complexion, a throwback to the bronzed bonitas of her homeland, an unrippled cup of cappuccino. Her seductive ivory smile—non-surgical perfection. Her constantly searching eyes, like the vaporous pools of a spring, are inviting and alert.

Then there’s that physiognomic similarity to Penélope Cruz—minus the shrill, nasal voice and annoying accent.

Oh, and that name: Fabian Fink. As you roll the lazy syllables in your mouth, and let the alliterate letters swirl around your tongue, it seems pure cinematic invention.

Even bundled up against the elements of a nippy Guangzhou night—black, body-hugging sweater, knitted crimson scarf, hair bunched into a messy bouquet—Fabian has the lust-inducing ability to damn a monastery to hell. And best of all, she’s made in Brazil.

There she was, a few inches away from my face, all five inches her of masterfully chiseled figure, caged within the four corners of my 10-inch Skype video-window.

“You know that movie? The one with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. I got to know Jackie in Paris. He’s such a funny person and a very nice guy.”

The video lagged from time to time (“My internet connection here in China is so baaad!” she grumbled in her best English), and her words tumble out terribly quick, but never rushed. Even if her sentences come skidding around corners, they never screech. Every so often, she punctuates everything with a delightful laugh, and she butterflies rabidly from subject to subject.

Imprisoned inside my computer screen, she looks like a blue-feathered Spix Macaw, whose rare sighting and single piercing cry could spur armies of activists to seize their traps, tranquilize the elusive bird of prey, and adopt the winged creature for their own professional amusement and peace of mind.

Fabian has more than a few similarities to the endangered Amazonian parrot, of course.

Before Rogue was able to pin her down in the Cantonese capital, where she’s busy baring her flesh for underwear catalogues, the nomadic model went M.I.A. after leaving the Philippines during the holidays. Solving the mystery of her whereabouts turned out to be a healthy exercise in online stalking—via social networks, that is.

And Fabian’s life was no open (Face)book, apparently.

Her private profile, open only to the “France” network (which we immediately joined to gain access), was decidedly sparse, devoid of any useless clutter that would label her—in Facebook-speak—as The Application Junkie (those who possess every application known to man, perhaps due to their unfortunate lack of friends and a surplus of time), The Drunk (easily identified based on the ratio of their photo comments from 3 A.M. to 5 A.M., and whose POSTS ARE ALWAYS IN ALL CAPS or spelld wrogn), The Status Abuser (for whom Facebook Mobile was the greatest invention of the 21st century), or The Comment Whore (no comment).

But a brief scan through her Wall, Photo, and Info tabs did reveal that she was: a very light eater (she’s a member of the “Dieting IS Eating!” group), barely legal (she turns 22 a day after Valentine’s), fanatically religious (“My god your hand is where my heart belongs, you took all my pain and erased every stain,” “JESUS U ARE MY EVERYTHING,” “Judge by results, not by intentions . . . God thanks for all!!!” were some of her status posts), a jet setter (Southeast Asia’s aspiring Top Models seem equally puzzled as to her location—Paris? Milan? Boracay?), always destined to be a model (check out her baby album, “Babezinha”—you’ll understand why), and “in a relationship” (her recently tagged PDA photos—along with the translated text of the Portuguese comments below them—paint a thousand words).

Fabi, as she has been appropriately Nicknamed more than once, may also “obtain an important career promotion soon” (according to the sage advice of her Chinese Zodiac feed on January 11) and has many Sexy Friends (most of which are men, unfortunately, but inebriated photos with her Seoul-based amiga, Heloisa, prove otherwise.)

But a week and a few anxiety attacks later, Fabian—by way of a cryptic, run-on reply on Facebook (“I’m so sorry i was busy i’m in china doing 3-4 jobs a day so the only chance i can talk to u is in the night time pls add me and il talk to u tom night”)—finally made contact with the perennially deadline-plagued Rogue.

It was as if sunlight had sparked through chinks in the rainforest canopy, illuminating the wild, black-beaked creature camouflaged by shadows and muted greens.

“I keep some parts of body as they should be: private. I especially don’t like showing my bottom, my behind. But if it’s for a good magazine—like Rogue!—or for a good campaign, why not?”

And when her frustratingly choppy image finally made a digital apparition on my desktop, it’s like the clouds parted to reveal a slice of heaven—in this case, an angel who looked like she stepped straight out of a Victoria’s Secret catalogue.

Where in the world is Fabian Fink?
Guangzhou, China. It’s craaazy! I have like three to four modeling jobs a day. But it’s not a country I want to stay for a very long time—maybe just until the market is busy.

My friend Google tells me you were, at one point, based in Paris as an IMG model?
Yes! Your friend is right. (laughs) I was living in Paris for almost two years, managed by IMG Models. After that, I decided to try my luck in Asia—Thailand, Korea, Philippines, now China. But plan to move to New York soon and work with IMG there. New York would be much better for me I think.

You’ve been trotting the globe since you were a teenager. And you’re only 21!
(laughs) I’ve lived in many, many countries, but there is no one place that was the most special for me. But I enjoyed my time in Paris and Milan the most. While I was there, came out in the cover of [French women’s accessories magazine] Enjoy and won the Milano FPR Ford model competition. The energy, the atmosphere—especially if you are young and in the fashion industry—is very inspiring.

All these big cities must be a far cry from your hometown of Sete Quedas? Did I get that right?
Oh, yes. Sete Quedas—that means Seven Falls in English, in case you didn’t know—is a very small town in Mato Grosso do Sul. But I really love that place. All my family is there, and my mom will always be there, so it will always be home for me.

I’ve been told by Mark [Nicdao] that it was your mom who got you into modeling.
I am living the dream of my beautiful mother, who is a photographer back home. She was the one who encouraged me. I was only four years old when I already knew what I wanted to be. And I told her that. You see, at my age, she wanted to be a model and travel the world. But I think she’s very happy that her daughter can live that dream for her.

Your last name is Fink. So I’m taking a wild guess that your father is German and your mom, Brazilian?
Close, but no. (laughs) My family is of German descent. My mom was born in Brazil but my grandfather is from Germany. There are many German-Brazilians in the south of my country, like Japanese-Brazilians. We are a huge community.

Like Gisele Bündchen and Gustavo Kuerten, the tennis player.
Yes! We are a very mixed race—very much like the Philippines! (laughs) But I feel more Brazilian of course.

I noticed from your Facebook profile that your birthday falls on February 15 . . .
I’m turning  22! I was really planning to go back to Brazil, or to Manila. I just love it there. Boracay is amazing. But I’ve been booked for so many shoots here in Guangzhou and it’s now impossible to leave by that time. I’ll just have to be patient.

And your birthday is a day after Valentine’s. A girl like you must have plans.
(laughs) Do not tell anyone, but I’m planning to get away for a few days. I’m planning a trip to the Maldives with my love, my boyfriend.

Even bundled up against the elements of a nippy Guangzhou night—black, body-hugging sweater, knitted crimson scarf, hair bunched into a messy bouquet—Fabian has the lust-inducing ability to damn a monastery to hell.

It seems like a natural trajectory for every model to graduate to the movies or TV.
I was part of the cast for a movie in Paris. But the scene did not come out because of my broken English! (laughs) I want to try auditioning again soon. Hopefully in the future, when I try it out in New York.

Wait. What was the title of this French film?
No, it was an American movie that came out in 2007—Rush Hour 3. They were shooting all around the city in July that year. You know that movie? The one with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. I got to know Jackie in Paris. He’s such a funny person and a very nice guy.

What projects are you working on now?
All I can say is I’ve been in China for exactly 45 days and I’ve done 76 jobs already. Most of what I’ve been doing is underwear for catalogues, print ads, and TV commercials.

You don’t seem shy about baring some skin.
Well, as long as I keep some parts of body as they should be: private. (laughs) I especially don’t like showing my bottom, my behind. But if it’s for a good magazine—like Rogue!—or for a good campaign, why not?

Has anyone ever told you have a striking resemblance to Spanish actress Penélope Cruz?
Funny that you say that, everyone in Paris and Milan would say the same thing. (laughs) But I think my accent is more sexy, no?