“So here are his clothes and toys. Here’s his school bag. He can only watch for an hour or his eyes will get sore. His bedtime is 9:00, you can read a book or sing him a song so he could sleep. His school starts at around 8 in the morning and ends by around 11 so don’t forget to pick him up. He likes peanut butter and jelly as his snack so you should make that in advance. What else?”

“Dude can you chill out? I take care of him from time to time, I know what to do. Why did you bring so many clothes anyway? He’ll only stay here for two weeks!” I scolded my brother. 

He’ll be away for two weeks for a business meeting so I volunteered to take care of Damin.

“I’m sorry. I’m just really new to this single parent thing. If his mom was around last week she would have been the one to pack.” 

My brother sighed.

“Where is she anyway?”

“I heard that she’s back in Taiwan with her new boyfriend. She couldn’t come here because the guy is forbidding him to visit Damin.”

“That’s bull.”

“Yeh Shuhua, language! There’s a kid around you,” he scolded me.

“You didn’t hear anything that I said Damin, right?”

He smiled at me and shook his head. 

“See? He didn’t hear me.” I teased my brother. “Now why don’t you say goodbye to your dad and tell him to stop bothering us?” I carried Damin in my arms so that he could kiss his father goodbye.

“Damini behave, okay? I don’t want Shushu calling me to say that you’re not a good boy,” my brother said and kissed Damin on the forehead. Damin and I watch as my brother leaves the room while waving our hands.

“So what do you wanna do kid?”I said once the door closes. 

I put him down then kneeled so that we're at each other’s eye level.

“Can we go buy some ice cream?” He asked me. 

“Sure, let me just grab my wallet. We’ll eat dinner then I’d buy you ice cream,” I told him and went back to my room. He followed me to my bedroom.

“Shushu what do you do for a living?”

“I don’t work yet since I’m still finishing school.”

“What are you studying then?”

“Well since your grandma wants me to become a doctor I am studying to become one,” I told him while leading him back outside.

“You’re going to be called Dr. Shushu then!”

I laughed at his adorable statement. 

“Damini, you do realize that Shushu is not my real name right?” I asked him. 

“Well, I know that Baba calls you Yeh Shuhua sometimes when he’s mad but most of the time he calls you Shushu,” he replied.

“They’ll call me Dr. Yeh but Dr. Shushu sounds fun,” I joked and he seemed to like it because he laughed. 

“Now let’s get you some pizza for dinner then ice cream for dessert,” I held his hand as we left the apartment building.

“There’s this good pizza place near your school, do you wanna eat there?” I asked Damin. 

He cutely nodded while he hid his head inside his jacket. 

“Is it too cold for you? We can ask for delivery and I’d just buy you ice cream tomorrow,” I asked him after noticing his actions.

“I’m good, I really want to eat outside.”

“My brother must be really locking you inside your room while he does his paperwork.”

“He does but I understand that he needs to work harder after mama left.”

I rubbed his head playfully. He’s really a smart kid and I’m quite happy that even if he’s still young he understands his situation.

As we were about to get inside the restaurant Damin let go of my hand and rushed to some girl. He then started pulling her into my direction. , that’s the pretty girl I saw a week ago.

“Shushu this is my teacher!” Damini jumped in excitement as he introduced his teacher to me.

 “Hello Mrs. Yeh, I’m Seo Soojin,” she said in a really soft tone then bowed.

“Well for the record I’m not a Missus yet,” I told her with a chuckle. 

“But I thought you’re his mother, you two really look alike.” 

She looked flustered and I can’t help myself to laugh. 

“I get that a lot but he’s only my nephew. His dad is my brother so yeah,” I explained to her.

“I’m really sorry for my mistake then.”

“It’s okay…”

I didn’t know what to say next so I looked into Damin’s direction hoping he could sense something. He’s really good at this so I hope he understands my situation.

“Teacher, we’re just about to eat dinner. Would you like to come along? Shushu will pay for it!” He enthusiastically said. 

I slightly glared at him but he only gave me a toothy grin.

“I don’t think it is right for me to come along,” Soojin said. 

I quickly shook my head and said, “No, it’s okay if you come along. I won’t mind.”

“Well, maybe next time. It’s getting late and I still need to finish some lesson plans,” she declined again. 

I nodded my head and smiled.

“See you tomorrow Damini,” she smiled at Damin. “It was nice meeting you Ms. Yeh. It was fun finally seeing the Shushu, Damin talks about a lot while at school,” she looked at me before saying her goodbye.

“Let’s stuff you with some pizza while I interrogate you, young man,” I said and led him inside the establishment.

_____

“Is she the teacher down the street you were telling me about over the phone?” Damin asked. 

He’s been happily stuffing his little mouth with pepperoni pizza. I sat across him so that I could interrogate him properly. 

“You knew she was the one I told you about that’s why you introduced her to me!” I accused my 5-year old nephew.

“I had a hunch, there were a lot of pretty girls who work in our center. I mean there’s Ms. Cho, Ms. Jeon, Ms. Kwon and a bunch more. It’s kismet that I saw her leaving the school just as we’re about to eat,” Damin answered.

“You were planning to introduce me to every girl teacher you have!”

He nodded his head enthusiastically. 

“You’re such a brat sometimes,” I told him but he only laughed at me. “Aren’t you gonna ask stuff about Ms. Seo?” He asked.

“Ask what?”

“Like, does he have a boyfriend? How old is she? Where does she live? Is she gay?”

“Young man! Where did you learn to say the word ‘gay’?” I scolded him. 

“I hear Yuqi saying it all the time whenever I stay in your place so I asked her,” he answered.

“I should really scold her for that.”

“There is nothing wrong with me expanding my vocabulary,” he defended himself. “So aren’t you curious about Ms. Seo?” He asked yet again.

“Look, even if I do like her I don’t have any plans on pursuing her. I have med school to worry about. Then there’s the wrath of your grandparents once they find out I’m dating your teacher and finally my stupidity when it comes to dating.”

“I could help you with that!”

“Kid, you don’t even know how to read yet. How can I ask you to do my research paper?”

“Not about that!”

“You rarely see your grandparents so how can you explain stuff to them huh?”

“Shushu that’s not it either! Also it’s not like Ye Ye and Nai Nai would kill you. They’ve long accepted the fact that you’re gay!”

“Shut up kiddo.”

“Anyway what I’m trying to say here is that I can help you fix your stupidity when it comes to dating.”

“Damini, just finish your food so we can have that ice cream I promised you,” I said to shut him up.

_____

I woke up with someone screaming and bouncing on my bed.

“Shushu! I’m gonna be late for school! Wake up!!!”

After realizing that it was Damin, I quickly rolled off away from my sheets. It resulted in me falling off my bed. Damin is laughing hysterically while still bouncing off the bed.

“Wh-what time is it?”

I looked at my phone and saw that it’s only 6:30. I glared at the young man and tackled him onto the bed. I began tickling him without mercy and he squirms as he tries to fight me off.

“You brat!” 

“Yah Shushu!”

I only stopped tickling him once he’s almost out of breath. 

“Shushu, that was really mean.” 

He whined then pouted but I ignored his cute face.

“You’re the one who’s mean! I already fell and you just laughed at me.”

“But it was funny.”

“You really are like me. I used to do this to my dad.”

“Well you’re my Shushu after all!” 

He grinned and I pinched his nose just because he’s so cute. 

“Go brush your teeth and meet me outside. I’ll make pancakes so you better hurry.” 

He ran quickly to the bathroom while I went out to prepare his stuff.

Damin and I slept so late last night since he wanted to play video games. He was really cute when he begged me to let him play so we ended up eating junk foods and playing up until 11 in the evening. I’m a really bad babysitter but I’m the best aunt the kid could ever have. Other than the fact that I’m the only sibling my brother has.

There are still some mess from last night like a bag of chips on the couch and the game consoles on the floor.  I cleaned it up quickly then proceeded to do my task.

There’s a premade pancake batter in my ref courtesy of Minnie’s last visit. She made pancakes for herself leaving me with only a piece of bread and some jam the other day. I made the pancakes quite fast so I had a lot of time left to make his sandwiches and prepare for my 9:30 am class.

I went back to my room and saw that Damin is already dressed up in his uniform.

“Why did you take a bath without me?”

“My dad taught me that I should learn to take care of myself when he’s not around. I just did what he said,” Damin reasoned with a proud smile. 

“You could have slipped and hit your head!” I scolded him.

“I didn’t, so don’t worry. You should take a bath now by the way so we won’t be late,” Damin patted my leg then he walked out. 

I was left standing there for a few seconds but quickly gathered my bearings and took a bath.

When I got outside, Damin was by the table and he seemed to be waiting for me. I sat on the chair and signaled him to eat.

“I can’t pick you up till noon and I still have classes till three so you’d be alone for a while here or you can come with me to school,” I said after the first bite.

“I’d go to your school.”

“Cool, we’ll have lunch with my pals.”

“I can stay with Ms. Seo while you’re away and then we can invite her to lunch.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, let’s just eat with my friends at school.”

“But I want to teach you to be not stupid with love.”

I was almost done with my pancakes so I just stood up and shove my plate into the dishwasher instead of replying to him.

“Finish your milk so we can go.”

I said then handed him his bag. I grabbed mine too from the couch.

____

“Hello Ms. Yeh! Hello Damini!”

Ms. Seo greeted us by the door. I was quite surprised to see her but then I just shrugged it off.

“Hi Ms. Seo! Also, Shushu wants to say that you’re very pretty this morning.”

After hearing what Damin has to say I covered his mouth.

“Uh, please just ignore his weird antics but then you’re indeed looking good. Did you see your boyfriend this morning?”

“Smooth Shushu, smooth,” I heard Damin mumble.

“Thanks for the compliment Ms. Yeh but no. I didn’t see my boyfriend since I don’t have one.”

“Oh, I see. By the way I’d be picking up Damin an hour late since I have a class to attend until noon hope you can look after him?”

“No problem Ms. Yeh.”

“Thanks, Ms. Seo.”

I then faced Damin's direction. 

“You be a good boy or your dad will kill me. Call me when you need me. I’ll see you for lunch.” 

I patted his head.

“Bye Shushu!” 

Damin waved at me while Ms. Seo led him inside his classroom.

____

Noon came by and I’m really starving. Elkie bailed at meeting me for lunch. Yuqi is on a date with some chick she found on the internet. Somi is not answering my calls and I’m therefore left alone with my nephew for lunch.

I’m whistling to a song while I walk up to Damin’s classroom. I opened the door and was welcomed by the sight of Damin drawing on a piece of paper while Ms. Seo assisted him.

He probably noticed my presence because he suddenly screamed, “Shushu look at my drawing!”

“Hello Ms. Yeh,” Ms. Seo greeted me. I greeted her back before taking Damin’s stuff from his chair.

“Damin, let’s go feed you some fried chicken,” I offered him.

“Sure, let me just ask Ms. Seo if she wants to eat with us!” Damin looked at his teacher.

“Damin, I think she still has another session after this.”

I’m hoping she’d say yes but at the same time I’m hoping she’d decline like last night.

“Um, sure. Let me just pick my bag.”

I don’t know if it’s just me or she really did smile at me as she picked her bag up.

____

I decided to bring them to the chicken place a few blocks away from Damin’s school. They serve really good chicken and I’ve made friends with the owner after the sleepless nights I spent there. The walk was fine until Damin forced me to go closer to Ms. Seo’s side.

“Shushu, can you move a little more? I need my personal space.” 

Damin pushed me away harshly with his tiny hands. I ended up stumbling to the side a little bit and brushed my arms with Ms. Seo’s.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized.

“It’s okay, I’m used to Damin’s antics,” Ms. Seo said with her soft voice.

“Is this the place?” Ms. Seo asked once I abruptly stopped in front of a small shop. 

“It is.” 

I nodded enthusiastically before sliding the door open. One of the workers greeted me and I greeted her back.

“Should I get half and half?” I asked Soojin after we settled into the table. 

“Sure.” Ms. Seo smiled and I quickly called the worker who greeted me earlier.

“Hey Minnie!”

“Yo Shuhua!”

“I’ll order one serving of half and half. Two sodas and---“

I looked at Soojin for her to order her drink. 

“Give me soda too,” Ms. Seo said. 

“Okay so one serving of half and half then three sodas,” Minnie repeated.

“I’ll be back in 10 with your orders.” 

Minnie smiled and I smiled back at her. I befriended her after hanging around here too much. Her being a foreigner is an added bonus.

“You seem to be friends with the workers here Ms. Yeh,” Ms. Seo said while she looked around the place. 

“I’ve spent most of my nights here during college and now, med school. I’ve been here for years and they’re like family. Please just call me Shuhua too Ms. Seo,” I replied.

“Well if it’s Shuhua then…”

“Soojin it is.”

We smiled at each other before some kid suddenly started coughing. 

“Shushu can I go to the comfort room?” Damin looked at me. 

I nodded.