"Himchan." the quiet voice said as a finger poked his cheek.
"Yeah, yeah." he muttered and shifted on the couch. Even as he told himself to wake up, he felt himself drifting back to sleep.
"Himchan." the voice said, much louder this time.
He felt his body jerk a little as he finally woke up. He opened his eyes and saw Micha standing by him. "I'm awake. Cinnamon oatmeal."
"Okay." she said and then darted away. She kneeled on the floor and continued playing with her toys.
He stretched and sat up before rubbing his face. Then he heard his phone go off. He checked the text message from his manager and replied that he received the message. Standing up, he went to the kitchen and the calendar that was hanging on the fridge. He wrote in the time for the commercial shooting on the right day. Then he went ahead and crossed out the previous days.
"What day is?"
He glanced back and saw Micha standing in the kitchen.
"Well, it's Sunday." he answered. Then he pointed at the word. "See. Sun-day." he said, reading it out for her.
"Oh." she simply replied and fiddled with the toy in her hand.
He could tell something wasn't right and he crouched down in front of her. "What is it?"
She bit her bottom lip, hesitating. "Sunday is pancake day." she told him. The she looked down and in a voice barely louder than a whisper, she added, "Until mommy got sick."
He stared at her in surprise, not expecting her to be so open with him considering the past week. Then he swallowed and quickly stood up. He rummaged through a couple of cupboards before finding what he wanted. "Well look what I have." he said while forcing a smile on his face. He held up the box of pancake mix to show her. "Since it's Sunday, how about I make us pancakes for breakfast?"
A smile formed on her face as she lit up. "Yes!"
"Pancakes it is then." he agreed and put the box on the counter. He pulled out a mixing bowl when a thought crossed his mind. He turned back to her and gave her a curious look. "Let me guess, cinnamon pancakes?"
She threw her arms up in the air. "Yes, yes, yes!" she cheered while bouncing.
He chuckled at her behavior and made sure to set the bottle of cinnamon on the counter so he wouldn't forget it.

When he was done cooking, he set both plates on the table and then poured syrup over her pancakes.
"It's done." he called out to Micha.
She hurried over and climbed on the chair before grabbing her fork. He sat down in his own chair and poured some syrup for himself. As he grabbed his fork, he looked over at the girl and saw her struggling. She dug the fork in to the pancakes as she attempted to cut them but it wasn't working.
"Oh. Here." he said and stood up. He walked around the table and started to cut up her pancakes for her. "Sorry. I didn't think about it."
"It's okay." she told him and waited for him to finish.
When he was finished, he slid the plate back in front of her. Then he went back to his own seat. He picked his fork as he stole another glance at her. Instead of eating, the fork hovered in the air above her plate.
"Now what?" he questioned, wondering what else he didn't do or forgot.
She didn't answer him as she stared at the piece of pancake on her fork. Then she put it down and got off the chair.
"Micha, wha..." He trailed off as he watched her run to the couch.
She grabbed one of the couch pillows and then carried it to the table with her. She carefully climbed back on to the chair before setting the pillow on the table. She patted it before turning her attention to the food in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her fork and finally took her first bite.
He felt his shoulder droop, knowing that the cinnamon pancakes must be reminding her of her mom. If the day continued on like this, he knew it wouldn't be long before she had another meltdown. No matter how strong she was trying to be.
With a look down at his food, the did the first thing that came to his mind. He put some syrup on his cheek. "Hey Micha, do I have something on my face?"
She looked up at him and blinked a few times. "Yeah." she said with a tiny smile.
"Here?" he questioned. Then he stuck his tongue out and attempted to his other cheek.
Her eyes widened for a moment before she giggled. "No, there!" she instructed while pointing.
"Here?" He tried his chin.
She let out a laugh and bounced a little in her chair. "There!"
He lifted his napkin and pressed it on to his cheek so it stuck there. "Did I get it?"
She beat a fist on the table as she shrieked in laughter. He laughed with her and removed the napkin from his face. He started eating again when he caught her out of the corner of her eye. She had a mischievous smile as she put some syrup on her nose. Then she sat up and beamed at him.
"Oh! You got it on your nose." he accused with exaggerated surprise.
She laughed again and nodded her head. Then she continued eating as well.
He happily smiled as she earnestly ate without showing anymore signs of distress. He was able to distract her enough. "For now at least." he thought as he wondered about the rest of the day.
He racked his brain again as she surveyed his apartment. Besides for when he took her to work, she hadn't left the place.
"Hey," he said to catch her attention. "You want to go to the park today? It's Sunday so there might even be other kids there."
Her face lit up at the suggestion. "Yes!"
"Okay then." he told her. "We'll go after we finish eating. And after we wash our faces." he added, earning a giggle from the girl.

Himchan surveyed the chaos before him in shock. Everywhere he looked he saw another kid playing in the playground. The noise from all the children screaming didn't faze the various parents that were sitting on the benches.
"Uh... okay." he uttered as he knelt down. Micha looked at the other kids with interest before turning her attention to him. "Be careful and play nicely. Please." he told her.
"I will." she replied and looked at the playground equipment.
"Well... Okay then. Go on." he said and released her. She took off running and disappeared in to the crowd.
He stood up and managed to spot her a few times as she ran around. "Please, please, please do not let her start a fight with another kid." he silently begged.
Suddenly a kid ran past him, screaming like a banshee, with their mother chasing them and calling their name. He watched the strange scene in shock before looking for Micha again. He spotted her and saw that she already made a friend. The two girls held hands as they ran to the slide.
"Guess I didn't luck out that badly." he amusingly thought.
Taking an empty spot on one of the benches, he noticed the mothers smiling as they curiously eyed him. He smiled back and politely nodded his head before turning away from them.
He kept an eye on Micha as best as he could. Which also meant he saw the moments that made his heart skip a beat. When she jumped off of something or climbed high on the monkey bars. It was like his nerves was on a roller coaster as he worried about her getting hurt.
Then the moment he feared happened as she tripped and tumbled in to the sand. He made to go to her but stopped as he watched her sit up. Another kid came over to her and a few seconds later, Micha was back up and running again.
Letting out a breath of relief, he settled back in his seat. No wonder they say that children give parents grey hair. He pulled out his phone and occupied himself with it while still catching glimpses of her.
After a while though, he grew bored of that and put it back in his pocket. He looked around the park and decided to stretch his own legs for a bit. He stood up and went to the path that made a circle around the playground.
As he leisurely walked, he noticed several vendors with carts and selling various things. One in particular caught his attention and the things that were hanging from hooks. He checked on Micha real quick before walking over to the cart.
He grabbed the stuff animal and examined it. It was a little on the big side but it not so much that it would make it hard for her to carry around. The outer material was soft but as he squeezed it, he noticed how compact the inner stuffing was. As a final test, he held it up to his face and let out a small yell. It was sufficiently muffled and while it was a little small for him, her face would fit nicely.
He lowered his arms and nodded, satisfied. Then he looked over and saw a woman staring at him with an odd look. Feeling a blush creep on his face, he sheepishly smiled at her before going to pay for the toy.

He carried his purchase back to the playground, eager to see the look on her face when he shows it to her. The smile left his face though as he saw her standing off to the side with a little boy. They stood face to face and something seemed a bit off. He didn't have to think about it long though as he saw her bring her arm back. She punched him so hard, it sent him falling backwards.
"You have got to be kidding me." he thought as his mouth dropped open in shock.
Then he hurried over to them. "Micha, what..." He was surprised to see her crying.
They were joined just then by a woman. "What is going on?" the lady demanded as she picked her son up.
"He's being mean!" Micha declared angrily.
The woman seemed offended by the tone of Micha's voice as she looked down at her. "That is no way to behave."
"I'm sorry." he hurriedly apologized. Then he turned to Micha. "You shouldn't have punched.."
"He said my mommy is fat and ugly!" she cried. Then she glared at the boy. "And she's not!"
Himchan stared at her in shock once more as his shoulders dropped.
"That doesn't mean you punch people." the woman firmly stated before turning to Himchan. "Honestly, is this what you're teaching her?" Then she sneered a bit as she eyed him. "In fact, where is her mother? I'd rather deal with her."
He inhaled sharply before quickly covering Micha's ears with his hands. Then he was the one that was sneering at her. "Her mother just died so keep your stupid, ing comments to yourself."
Her eyes widened as she took a step back in surprise.
"As far as I'm concerned," he continued in a harsh tone. "Your child deserved it." Then he picked Micha up went to walk away but stopped. He faced the woman and gave her one last piece of his mind. "And if moms make the best parents, than why is your ty kid harassing little girls?"
The woman's face turned red as she tried to stutter out a reply. Himchan didn't wait for her though and walked away.
He carried Micha out of the playground and caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. "Did you just stick your tongue out at them?"
"No." she replied a little too quickly before pressing her lips together.
He let out a heavy sigh. "You scream at me, you hit me, and you throw things at me. But even then Micha, the worst thing you can ever do is lie to me."
Instantly she got a guilty look. "Yes."
"You know sticking your tongue out is a bad thing, right?" he questioned.
"Yes." she meekly replied and looked down.
"Good girl. This is for you." he said and offered her the stuff animal.
She seemed a bit surprise but a large grin quickly formed on her face as she took it. The she giggled and laid her head on his shoulder in a hug.