She stood in front of the building, hand in her pocket and the other clutching her ice cream. The warm summer air blew at her fringes, and she squinted as she looked up to the two-story structure. A little bit dilapidated but still modern-ish compared to the other adjacent buildings, the office of "Jeollanam-do Chinese Daycare Center" stood out like a sore thumb compared to the traditional style of the surrounding neighborhood.

Amber sighed as she popped the rest of the ice cream cone in .

In the end, Auntie Rose still managed to coax her into agreeing to this. Ironically enough, with an endless supply of ice cream for the whole summer.

"It's just a part-time thing.  Just teaching primary level Math, English, Science in basic mandarin." Auntie Rose had said. "The daycare needs more instructors, and since you're not really doing anything, this is the perfect job you. It's either that or help me with the farm."

Amber protested. "I'm not even that good with children. What if I lose my temper and end up making one cry?"

"No you won't, and anyway it's just a little bit of tutoring."

"I still think this is a bad idea."

"It's a nice summer activity. Come on, I'll buy you ice cream every day?"

Auntie Rose smiled at her, warm and expectant. She sighed.

It wasn’t really a half-bad idea. And truthfully speaking, she really wasn’t doing anything for the rest of the summer. She thought about it, one other hot day of summer doing nothing; and she cringed.

It really wouldn’t hurt to try, wouldn’t it? So she reluctantly nodded her head.

"But if I traumatize a kid you're one to blame."

Aunt Rose clapped her hands together in triumph, flashing her a warm grin. "Don't worry, the other teachers won’t leave you alone. And by the way, classes start tomorrow." She hands Amber a flyer with the address of the center scrawled at the bottom. "Look for Zhou mi, he's the principal there. Tell him Rose-jie sent you."

And now here she is, entering the brightly lit corridors of “Jeollanam-do Chinese Daycare Center”. She turned her head from side to side, past colorful doors, trying to locate the principal's office. Finally, she found the door labeled 'Zhou mi gege, Principal' in mandarin. She knocked on the door, answered by a distant "Come in." spoken in perfect mandarin.

Zhou mi gege turned out to be a lanky man in his late twenties, with a bowl-shaped haircut and legs that go on forever. When Amber entered his office, he was sitting behind a wooden desk strewn with paper works and an old personal computer. The wall on his right was littered with children’s drawings, all bright colors and hardened lines. There were stick figures, suns, skies and mountains, drawn with the innocent eyes of a child. Zhou mi saw her staring at the drawings, and let out a low laugh.

"The kids made them for me, I saved every single one of them. Aren't they pretty?" He directed a bright smile towards her, asking her in perfect mandarin. Amber is suddenly reminded of soft hearted giants in the wilderness.

"You must be Yi Yun, I'm Zhou mi. It's nice to finally meet you, after all the stories jie has told us about you."

"Auntie Rose has talked about me?" She flinched a little at her awkward m