He was trying to stay calm. He really was. But everything about the situation was aggravating him to no end. He swore he was on the brink of having a mental breakdown.
Everywhere he looked, he saw more boxes and things haphazardly placed in random locations. It was complete chaos instead of neat and orderly. He had been in such a rush to move to the new apartment, that he hadn't properly packed everything like he should have. Like he wanted to. He didn't have much of a choice though. The move to a two bedroom apartment had to be completed before today.
Grabbing another box that was on the counter, he ripped the tape off and opened the top. Then his shoulders dropped in disbelief as he stared in to the box. It was full of pictures in picture frames. The top one being one of the pictures from the first photoshoot he had taken Micha to.
"Why is this marked kitchen?" he muttered out loud, feeling a nervous twitch coming on.
He carefully pushed it aside before sliding another box towards him. He opened it and let out a breath of relief.
"Finally." he uttered and pulled out the coffee machine. He cleared out a space for it and plugged it in. Then he looked in the box and groaned. "Now where are the coffee filters?"
"Is it ready?" Micha asked as she entered the kitchen and went to sit at the table.
"Oh, yeah." he said and glanced around. He found the bowl of oatmeal he had prepared and carried it to the table. "Hurry and eat."
"Okay." she said and grabbed the spoon.
He took a deep breath as he surveyed the kitchen again. "You have your bag ready, right?"
"Yes. But.."
"And you're lunch money is already paid for." he continued, more talking to himself now as he rummaged in boxes for the coffee filters.
"You for.."
"I'll be done with work by the time you're released." he stated, moving on to another box.
"There's no.."
"Yes!" he exclaimed as he found the coffee filters. He set them by the machine and glanced around once more. "Coffee, coffee, coffee..." he chanted and started searching again.
"Daddy!" Micha finally screamed.
Instantly he stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "What??"
She held up her hand and shook it over her bowl. As if she was sprinkling something in to it.
"Oh!" he said and searched the cluttered counter. He found the bottle and quickly went over to her. "Sorry." he offered and added cinnamon to her oatmeal.
"It's okay." she happily assured him and stirred her food.
He moved towards the counter again but stopped. Then he turned around real fast to stare at her. "Wait. What did you call me?"
As she put the spoon in , she froze. Her eyes widened a little as she blushed. Then she suddenly dropped the spoon and jumped off the chair. "I'm gonna get dressed!" she called out as she ran down the hall to her own bedroom.
He stared after her for a moment. Then a big smile slowly formed on his face as he looked down at the bottle of cinnamon in his hand. He squeezed it tightly, feeling a tightness in his chest. What would his ex think if she heard that just now?
"I'm trying." he quietly said and ran his thumb over the lettering on the bottle.
Swallowing past a growing lump in his throat, he spied the discarded oatmeal on the table. Then he was frowning. "Hey! Get back here and eat!"

Holding Micha's hand, he lead her up the walkway towards the doors. She glanced around, seemingly both nervous and excited at the same time.
"Are you okay?" he asked her as he kneeled down.
She took a deep breath to calm herself before nodding her head. "Yeah."
He smiled at her. "Good. Now remember, you listen to your teacher and do what they say."
"I promise." she eagerly told him.
"And the other promise?" he questioned.
"To not punch anyone. Unless they are being really mean but give them a warning first." she evenly recited.
"At least I never have to worry about her being bullied." he amusingly thought. Then he quickly pulled out his phone. "Here, let me take a picture."
She put her hands on her hips and struck her signature model pose. He laughed and snapped the picture.
"Okay, one more." he told her. "Big smile."
She changed her pose as instructed and he took another picture.
"Perfect." he proclaimed before putting his phone away. Then he examined her in her school uniform. "You're first day of school." he uttered, in both disbelief and awe.
She gripped the straps of her backpack as she stood tall and beamed at him. He chuckled at her, making her giggle as well. Then the school bell rang, breaking their moment.
"Okay, you remember where your classroom is?" he asked as children ran past them.
"Yes." she assured him proudly.
"And then after school?"
"I stay in the playground with the teacher. I wait for you and don't go with anyone else." she told him.
He took a deep breath, feeling nervous now too. But he knew she was going to do fine. "Okay then." He leaned in and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Love you Micha."
She bit her bottom lip, fidgeting a little. Then she kissed his cheek. "Love you daddy."
She went to run away but he quickly grabbed her arm, stopping her and making her face him again.
"Say that again." he begged her.
She let out an exaggerated groan and rolled her eyes.
"Pleasseeee." he cutely whined.
She giggled before shyly looking down. "Love you daddy."
He could hear her say that all day and not get tired of it. Pulling her in for a grateful hug, he felt her arms wrap around his neck to hug him back.
"Love you Micha." he quietly said, not wanting to let her go. Eventually though, he did. Then she was gone.
She ran towards the front door and joined the crowd of kids waiting in line to enter the building. Before she disappeared through the door, she turned and waved at him. He waved back at her and then she was inside.
It was only then that he was aware of the looks directed towards him. The mothers that were standing by him were smiling happily at him. He even noticed a couple of gazes look down at his hand, as if they were searching for a wedding ring.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and politely nodded at all of them. Then he made his way to the car, chuckling and shaking his head.

As he sat in the driver's seat, he heard his phone start ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. Seeing the number and name that goes with it made his heart skip a beat. He stared at it in disbelief before looking away and swallowing. He took a couple of shaky breaths and then answered the phone.
"Hey." he greeted.
"Uh... hey." Yunseo replied. "Um... hi."
He closed his eyes and a small smile formed on his face. "Hi."
"I just wanted... Well... How..."
"We're both alive." he answered.
There was a pause before he heard her laugh, making his heart flutter. "That's good. That's really good." she told him.
"Today was her first day of school actually." he informed her. "I just got done dropping her off. And we moved to a new apartment. I managed to get one close to her school."
"That sounds nice." she said.
He his lips. "There was another 'first' today too. She called me daddy."
"Oh Himchan." she cooed. "That... That's so wonderful."
"Yeah. It is." he said.
Then neither of them said anything, causing an awkward silence.
He knew what he wanted to say but the idea made him sick. Well, the possible reaction made him sick. Yet with a little courage to do what you don't think you can do, the results could turn out to be the best thing in the world. Things like 'love you daddy'.
"Do you want to get some coffee this afternoon?" he asked her. "I'll have some time between the photoshoot and when I have to pick up Micha." Then he held his breath.
"I... I would like that."
He let the breath out in relief. "Great. The usual place."
"That sounds good. I have a meeting but I'll let you know when I'm on my way." she replied.
"Okay then." he said.
They said their goodbyes before hanging up. Then he let out a small cheer before laughing at himself. Maybe he really was going crazy.
He went to set his phone down and stopped. He quickly went to his photos and set one of new pictures of Micha in front of the school as his background. He smiled at the picture, eager to show it to Yunseo. If things went well on the date, maybe he could slowly bring them together. But only when they are both comfortable. Easing them in to it.
"That would be great." he thought and decided to talk to Micha about the possibility tonight.
As he started the car and headed to work, he thought that today was a very good day.