Wednesday morning and an annoying sound pierced through Himchan's skull. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut as he shifted on the couch but the noise persisted. Then he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He turned his head as he opened his eyes, squinting them because of the morning light.
"Himchan." whined the little girl as she shook him again.
It took a few moments for his mind to process and the events of yesterday came back to him. "Micha." he groggily groaned and closed his eyes again. "What do you want?"
"I'm hungry." she replied.
Another groan escaped him as he tried to get comfortable again. "Five more minutes."
"I'mmm hhuuunnnngrryyyyyyy!" she loudly whined with a lot of exaggeration.
"Breathe. Breathe." He rubbed his face before sitting up. "Alright, alright. I'm awake." Even though he felt much less than awake.
He stood up and started to head to the kitchen when a sharp pain in his foot caused him to let out a yell. He quickly put all his weight on his other foot as he lifted the injured foot to see the toy he had stepped on. Then his eyes widened as he scanned the floor and saw toys everyone.
"What are you doing?!" he demanded as he stared incredulously at the huge mess.
"Playing." she nonchalantly said and shrugged her shoulders.
He took a deep breath so he wouldn't yell but there was an edge to his voice still. "Clean this mess up. Now."
She stomped her foot and balled her hands in to fists. "But I'm hungry!"
"Breathe. Breathe." he reminded himself. "You have to wait for me to cook it anyways so clean up your toys while you're waiting."
Another stomp of her foot but she finally bent over to pick up the toy he stepped on. She went around and grabbed a few more toys before her arms were full. Then she went over to her designated corner and dropped them on the floor by the now empty bag.
He let that particular mess go since they would be piled in one spot and he didn't have to worry about stepping on anymore. That was part of parenting right? Choosing your battles. He went to the kitchen and started to think about what to cook.
"I want cinimin oatmeal."
He turned around to face her and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Cinniman oatmeal." she repeated while changing the pronunciation slightly.
"Cinnamon oatmeal?" he asked her.
She eagerly nodded her head and bounced a bit.
He opened one of the pantry cupboards and pulled out the box of oatmeal. "I don't have any cinnamon flavored oatmeal." he told her as he looked at the box. "Just plain."
"You add the cinimin." she said and held up her hand. She shook her fist, making it look like she was sprinkling some from a bottle.
Himchan set the oatmeal on the counter and opened a second cupboard. He looked through the assortment of spice bottles but didn't find the one in demand. "No cinnamon. Do you just want some plain oatmeal?"
"I want cinimin oatmeal!" she shouted defiantly.
"Oh not this again." he grumbled under his breath as he lightly hit his forehead on the cupboard. It was way to early in the day and he hadn't even had any coffee yet. He put the oatmeal box back in the cupboard and opened the fridge instead. "I'll make us some eggs."
"I don't like eggs."
He turned his head and gave her a small glare of disbelief. "You ate the eggs in the fried rice yesterday."
Her reply was to sit on the floor, cross her arms, and glare at him.
He rolled his eyes at her behavior. "We're having eggs and that's final. If you don't eat them, then you can starve for all I care."
Micha continued to sit there while pouting so Himchan was the one to ignore her this time. He set about cooking scrambled eggs with diced meat in it. When it was finished, he separated it between two plates. He added a fork to each plate before carrying them to the table.
He sat down and began eating while she stayed on the floor. After a little bit though, she slowly stood up. She dragged her feet all the way to the table before climbing on to the chair.
As he took another bite of his food, he watched as she picked at hers. She was taking her time, and he was sure that was out of defiance, but at least she was eating. He made a mental note of the 'eat-or-starve' strategy in case he needed to do it again in the future.

Once Himchan was done with his breakfast, he cleaned his plate and the pan he used to cook. He eyed the little girl still at the table. She had eaten about half of her food but appeared to still be working on it.
He finished wiping the stove and counter down before tossing the rag aside. He went to the living room and turned the television on. He scrolled through the channels and found a movie he had been wanting to watch. When it appeared on the screen, he was greeted with some flashes of . His eyes widened and he hurriedly hit the button on the remote to change the channel. Then he quickly looked over at Micha but the girl was staring down at her plate.
He hid a sigh of relief that she didn't see it and then mentally smacked himself. He needed to pay attention to the ratings to avoid things like and violence with her here.
"Can I watch cartoons?"
He glanced at her and saw her sitting in the chair still. After yesterday though, he didn't want to exactly relinquish the tv just yet. "When you're done eating."
"I'm done." she promptly replied and dropped her fork noisily on to the plate.
Taking a deep breath, he amended what he said. "When you're done eating everything on your plate."
"But I'm not hungry!" she loudly complained.
"You didn't even finish your dinner from last night." he argued right back. "So you can eat all your breakfast."
"No!" she yelled and pushed the plate across the table.
He gritted his teeth and glared at her. "Then you can sit there all day."
She stuck her lips out in a pout as she crossed her arms. She settled back in the chair and repeatedly kicked her foot so it hit the table leg.
The incessant thud only aggravated him more and he snapped. Standing up, he angrily shouted, "Knock it off!"
She jumped a little as if she was startled and quickly stopped kicking the table. She kept the glare on her face though as she stared at him.
Ignoring her, he sat back down on the couch and closed his eyes. He held his head in his hands as he forced himself to breathe. "There is no way I can last a week like this."

A knock on the door broke him out of his thoughts and he went to answer it. When he opened the door, Yunseo smiled at him and held up two coffees.
"Surprise!" she stated. "Glad I caught you before you left for work today."
He blinked at her in confusion for a bit before shaking his head. "Ah, I forgot to message you. The photoshoot was canceled for today."
"Oh?" she replied curiously. "That's not like you to forget."
"Yeah, sorry." he sighed. "I just..."
"Something wrong?" she asked as she brushed past him and into the apartment. "You're not acting like... yourself." The last word trailed off as her gaze landed on Micha. Then she turned to Himchan and raised her eyebrows. "What's going on?"
"Uh..." he uttered. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. "Micha, can you go into the bedroom please." he said to the little girl.
She sat there for a little while, staring at Yunseo, before sliding off of the chair. Then she disappeared around the corner without a fight surprisingly.
"Who is she?" Yunseo asked as she sat on the couch.
Himchan walked around the coffee table to sit next to her and took the offered coffee gratefully. "She's mine apparently."
His girlfriend's mouth dropped open as she gaped at him. "What??"
"I didn't know until yesterday." he informed her. "A lawyer for my ex-girlfriend came by and told me."
"Wow." she uttered. "And you're sure that you're the father?"
He thought back to that summer years ago. The way his ex was and how much her personality enchanted him. "Yeah." he said. "She wouldn't lie about it." He his lips and swallowed. "I can't even think of a good reason why she didn't tell me. That's not like her either."
Yunseo scooted closer and placed a hand on his back in support. "Well where is she now? Can you ask her?"
He swallowed again and shook his head. "She's... gone." he quietly said while looking down at the floor. "That's why Micha's here."
"Oh..." she replied. "Oh no."
"Yeah." he agreed and pressed his lips together.
"But what are you going to do?" she questioned. "I mean... How are you going to be able to raise her?"
He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "Uh... I..."
"I just mean, with your job and all. The late nights." she quickly stated. "And you constantly go out of town for photoshoots and events. What about when she starts school? Your family doesn't live close by and daycares don't exactly do overnight. But if you keep pulling her out of school to travel with you, she'll fall behind."
Himchan nodded his head. "I know, I know." he told her. "I thought about all of that. That's why this is only temporary. The lawyer is working on contacting my ex's parents and have them take Micha."
Yunseo nodded her head as well. "That's good. I think that would be for the best too."
"Yeah." he dryly said as he leaned against the back of the couch, feeling guilty for losing his temper so much. "I really have no idea what I'm doing."
"Well, I don't know anything about kids either but I do know one thing." she said.
"Tell me. Please. I'm begging you." he said, causing her to giggle which brought a smile to his face.
She put a hand on his knee and leaned forward. In a hushed whisper, she said, "They always eavesdrop."
Himchan stared at her for a brief second before whipping around. He caught the barest sight of Micha peeking around the corner before the girl disappeared. Then there was a sound of footsteps that headed towards the bedroom.
"I'm losing my mind." he groaned and ran his fingers through his hair, tugging slightly.
Yunseo chuckled before grabbing his head and making him face her. Then she planted a light kiss on his lips. "Better?"
A small grin formed on his face. "Yes." he said before quickly moving forward and capturing her lips for a proper kiss.
She let him kiss her for a few moments and then pushed him away. "I have to go to work." She grabbed her coffee and stood up. "Good luck. You're going to need it."
He chuckled as he stood up as well. He walked her out of the apartment and stole one last kiss. After he closed the door, he turned around and surveyed his home. The pile of toys in the corner was nothing compared to the toys still scattered around the room. Plus the half-eaten breakfast on the table and the eggs that didn't quite make that littered her chair.
"This is going to be a long day." he muttered in defeat.