“I need your help.”

Daniel’s older sister rarely visited him in his humble apartment (usually it’s always him who shamelessly crashed onto her two floored house in the rich-people-neighborhood and raided her well stocked fridge). But everytime she does, she will always bring some sort of… nuisance with her.

Once she came holding a huge box and asked him to help her sort out her bills. (“Tax return is still five months away…” “I like to be prepared.”)

Then another time she came with her electric mixer and a load of baking ingredients. (“What the hell?” “My division’s having a bake-off competition. I need to practice but Jinki is doing his recordings and he shooed me out.”)

Today, she came in with a bundle in her arms and a gigantic suitcase in tow.

“What now…”

She sashayed past him with her bundle of joy and just automatically expected that Daniel will fetch her suitcase and follow her along. Her assumption was correct though. Even if he did let out a protesting whine, Daniel still took the unsurprisingly heavy suitcase and rolled it into his living room.

“If you want me to go with you to whatever holiday destination you’re going just to be Woojin’s live-in nanny, the answer is no.” After letting the concrete-box-on-a-wheel roll and stop right beside her leg, Daniel plopped down onto his sofa and crossed his arms in defiance.

“Not even if I tell you we’re going to Fiji?” She let out a laugh when she saw Daniel’s look of exasperation, before snooping her head low to coo at her little, one year old son, “look at uncle Dan, isn’t he just so stubborn like you??? My little dumplingggg.”

“Yena come on, just tell me what it is,” no matter how much he loves his sister, he just wanted her to drop whatever assignment she has to him and take the little human with her. Not that he hates babies per se, no, but Yena’s acts of being a disgustingly affectionate new mother is starting to grate on his nerves. Maybe it’s a very late onset of familial jealousy, maybe Daniel just never really clicked with her husband and the idea that they just so easily created a half-and-half chimera of Yena and him is making his skin crawl.

“I have to go on an emergency business trip, can you take care of Woojin?” He knew it. With how luck has been playing with him all his life, Daniel should’ve known what favour she’d ask from him after seeing little Woojin reaching out from his blankets, then the extremely overpacked suitcase, then the faint shimmering of sadness on her face. He should have known.

“Where’s Jinki in this picture?”

“He’s also away. Recordings. You know, doing his thing. In Japan.”

“Baby sitter?”

“Don’t trust them.”

“And you trust me?!”

Yena had to sharply shush Daniel down because his yell was getting too loud for Woojin’s soft, developing eardrum. As if her shush wasn’t loud also. And soft my , growing up around Jinki’s power belts will never, ever result in someone having a soft eardrum.

“You’re his uncle! A baby sitter is just… a stranger!” Not aware of Daniel’s shock and unwillingness to do whatever it is she was planning to do, she got up from the small ottoman she was sitting on and trusted Woojin to Daniel’s arm. Clueless, panicked arm. “I don’t trust strangers around my Woojin.”

But you trust a clumsy college student. Great logic you got there sis.

She dug around her mom-sized handbag and placed a soft blue notebook on Daniel’s coffee stained coffee table. From the numerous colourful tabs jutting out of its pages, Daniel knew it was less a notebook and more a comprehensive almanac of how to take care of a human baby. Complete with citations and a reference list at the last page of each chapters.

“Everything you need is in there, and I’ve packed all his clothes in separate labeled bags for each day. You’ll have to help me take out his food and formula from my car later, oh and I also got his pram. Diapers, toys, story books, all sorted out for a sev--five day stay. All good?”

Yena turned around and found two sets of eyes looking at him. Daniel’s were looking utterly terrified, and Woojin’s were looking utterly excited.

“Awww look! Woojin-ie can’t wait to play with uncle Dan, isn’t he?? Isn’t heeee.”

“Yena wait…” Daniel had to cut her cloyingly sweet baby talk because he believed that she didn’t understand how dire the situation she just put him in was. He couldn’t even move his body when he talks because he was so afraid that he’ll drop this extremely fragile being, “I can’t… you know I can’t… handle… babies.”

This was the rare time that his sister ever let out an understanding sigh and just for a moment let herself be completely centered in the present. She only ever used it in special occasions, because she knew, if she used it everyday, her life will be too easy for her. And where’s the challenge in that?

“You’ve been there since the day he was born, right?” She kneeled down in front of Daniel and let Woojin’s little hand grasp on her index finger, shaking it around and smiling when she heard him let out a bubbly laugh, “I even let you hold him first, before me, before Jinki. You know I trust you. Hmm, Euigeon-ie?”

Although, she didn’t allow Daniel the chance to be lulled into a false sense of security. With a sharp slap on his arm, she sprung herself back to her feet and spout out the last of her instructions (about which number is her cell and which is her hotel landline and which is his GP and which is her secretary, et cetera, et cetera) before she commanded Daniel to follow her out and help her haul in the other three crates of Woojin’s necessities.

“Don’t worry, Jinki will pick him up this Sunday!”

“You said he’s only going to be with me for five days!!”

Oops.

_ _ _ _ _

Day 1 - 10 AM

Seongwoo showed up at his door at 10 AM sharp. Just like usual.

He’s like Daniel’s milk man, his news boy, and his postman all rolled into one overly attractive package. Because he will show up at Daniel’s doorstep with all three of said item, day in and day out. (Although, the milk is interchangeable to anything that was missing in Daniel’s fridge.)

“So what, you’re a dad now?” Seongwoo immediately scooted down to little Woojin, who was sitting so nicely in his pram, and let out a long coo while Daniel disappeared behind the kitchen counter to set up some plates for the two of them.

“Don’t do that. You remind me of Yena and I don’t want to think about her right now.” The smell of freshly toasted bread wafted out from the brown paper bag that Seongwoo gave to him together with the carton of egg. No need to see the item to know what it was. Vietnamese pork rolls. “Aww, so sweet. You always know what I’m craving.”

“You texted me about it last night.” In no time, Seongwoo was hovering around him, enticed by the sound of serrated knife breaking through the crispy french bread.

“Can’t you just… go along with my fantasy that we’re telepathic for once.” Not wanting Seongwoo to ruin his handiwork, and to an extent, his only ability to do in the kitchen (and that is to cut sandwiches in half), Daniel waved him off while still holding the sharp knife on his hand. A sure way to get Seongwoo off his back.

Usually Seongwoo will still pitch in an attempt at being a food burglar, which Daniel secretly loves, even if it was just an extremely childish behaviour at best. Because then he get to chase Seongwoo off the kitchen and give his arm a potent slap, or give his bum a potent slap. So then, when he didn’t sense any further nagging from the other party, Daniel finally looked up from his cutting board to see what Seongwoo was up to.

“Are you fu- are you really serious.”

He saw Seongwoo kneeling in front of Woojin’s pram, holding a steering wheel toy on his left hand and his tried and trusted (and slightly outdated) camcorder on his right.

“You really are going to make my nephew a victim of your… vlogging hysteria.”

Seongwoo gave him a little pout before focusing his attention back to the screen of his camcorder, “just look at how cute he is. I already have a nice title for the series. ‘First time dads: one week trying to keep a one year old alive.’” he said it in one of his ‘idea pitch’ tone while waving the hand that held the steering wheel toy. It went off, and caused Woojin to let out a disgustingly cute giggle, “I can already see my subscriber count tripling from this.”

“You need consent from his parents and I bet my sister won’t,-”

“Look at it for yourself,” he didn’t let Daniel finish before sliding into the kitchen and shoving the screen of his phone up on Daniel’s nose. On it is a chat correspondence between Seongwoo and his sister.

‘Noona, while Woojin is staying with Danny,
is it okay if I feature him in my vlog channel?
-O.S.W’

‘Oh gosh yes!
Yes of course you can!
Please make him look cute, ok??
Jinki and I will miss him so much when we’re away,
watching a vlog of him will save our sanity TT.TT
-L.Y.N’

‘Aye of course I will!
You’re the best!

-O.S.W’

Daniel couldn’t believe it. Not only did he have to take care of a baby, now he’ll also take care of an overgrown, camcorder-holding, man baby, “how can you have my sister’s phone number…”

“She gave it to me,” Seongwoo mumbled out semi intelligibly as he munched through a mouthful of french bread and cilantro leaves, his food burglary attempt a success this time, “so she could spy on you.”

Daniel tried to make the sigh that escaped from his bitten lips to sound as if he was gravely mad. But Seongwoo gave him a wink, for no reason at all, and Daniel found his annoyance quickly simmering away. He still tried to channel his absent frustration on the bunch of banana he found inside Yena’s fresh fruit crate after remembering that Woojin still hasn’t gotten his snack, but it only made him look like an uncoordinated ape unsuccessfully trying to peel the fruit. Embarrassing.

Half a banana for his morning snack, cut up to bite size pieces, it said on the almanac. And half a banana it is.

“Oy! Dad number 2! What’s taking you so long with the breakfast? Is it so hard to cut up a sandwich?”

If that line found its way to Seongwoo’s final video edit, Daniel will half his banana. (It did make it in, and no, Daniel did not went through with his threat.)

_ _ _ _ _

Day 1 - 6 PM

“Can I spend the night? I want to film a sleeping Woojin, imagine how cuuuute.”

Silence.

“I will help change his diaper this time. And no, I won’t be just manning the wet wipey dispensary station. Promise.”

Silence.

“I will be the one to wake up in the middle of the night, like I ever sleep before 4 AM anyway, if he cried. I will also be the one to make his formula with one hand while juggling the wailing narwhal.”

Daniel finally sighed his defeat and that was all it took for Seongwoo to let out a loud hoot.

“Look! Even Woojin is happy.” He said while rolling on the floor, stopping in front of Woojin and holding both of his hands up in the air. Like a magician, happy with his trick.

The kid was clapping along to the children program playing on Daniel’s TV set, not to whatever it was that Seongwoo said. But he was too spent after trying to prepare a pasta dinner for three (the first time he ever done so in his life) and Daniel couldn’t find it in him a power to argue. So be it.

A/N: Ok so there'll be 7 chapters to this story hoohohohohohohoho
And yes, Woojin's dad in this story is Shinee's Onew I just picked a random singer with a 'Lee' surname :P