Friday morning felt odd to Himchan. Starting with the fact that he woke up on his own. Keeping his eyes closed, he rubbed his face on his pillow. He planned on laying there and relaxing until his alarm clock decided to wake him up like every morning. Then he heard a noise that made him open his eyes and look over real fast. He saw that Micha was already awake and sitting by her bags with some toys.
"Micha." he said and quickly sat up.
She spared him a little glance before turning away and resuming to play with her toys.
He swallowed thickly, aware of how ironic it was that at this moment, this tiny girl was the scariest thing in the world to him. He took a deep breath before standing up and walking over to her.
"Hey Micha." he started as he knelt down by her. Then he opened his mouth but a lump in his throat made no words come out. "I... Uh... Um..." His brain refused to work and he couldn't think of what to say to her.
"I'm hungry." she said, interrupting his incoherent thoughts.
He blinked at her a few times as his mouth opened and closed. "Uh... You want... cinnamon oatmeal?" he finally asked.
A smile formed on her face. "Yes."
"Uh... Yeah. Yeah, okay." he stammered. Then he watched as Micha turned away from him and pushed a car around the floor while making car noises.
He opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself. She was smiling and seemed happy enough at this moment. Did he want to ruin that right now by bringing up last night?
He sat there for a few more seconds before standing up, dismissing an awkward conversation with her. He started to go to the kitchen but something on the floor made him stop. He eyed the metal lunchbox next to her in surprise. She had been sleeping with it every night but she left it in the bed during the day. So it was odd to see her with it again.
"Guess today is going to be an odd day." he thought and went to the kitchen.
He prepared a bowl of oatmeal for her and when it was finished, he made sure to sprinkle some cinnamon in it. He lightly blew on it as he stirred the cinnamon before setting it on the table.
"It's still hot so let it cool down a bit." he instructed her.
"Okay." she replied from where she was sitting and continued playing.
He observed her some more as she grabbed a dinosaur with her other hand. The dinosaur stomped on the ground and roared at the car. Then the car drove away while screaming with the dinosaur chasing it. The dinosaur caught the car and proceeded to stomp on it, complete with crushing noises.
"That's normal right?" he questioned while raising an eyebrow. He shook his head and went back to the kitchen. "I need coffee." he muttered.

The day went by without incident which made him feel, again, very odd. Also reinforcing his belief that he had no idea what he was doing. He couldn't tell if she was actually alright or not. With the horrible things he said last night, she shouldn't be but he also didn't want to risk bringing it up to her. It was like he was walking on glass.
"Here you go." he said as he placed her peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of her.
She grabbed a slice and instantly took a bite of it. Knowing she was going to ask for more juice, he took her cup and rinsed it out before adding more to it.
"I want juice."
"Yep." He screwed the lid back on and took it to her.
She took a long drink before taking another bite of her sandwich. As she ate, he debated on what to fix himself for lunch. Then his phone signaled a text message and he checked it. His manager confirmed the time of the photoshoot for the day which caused a sinking feeling in his stomach.
He glanced up from his phone to look at Micha. She was good enough in the grocery store after he threatened to leave, she shouldn't be too bad at his job right?
He set his phone down on the counter and walked over to her. He leaned on the table so they were at the same eye level. "Hey, I have to go in to work today and I'm going to take you with me."
"Really?" she asked with a mouthful of food. She was clearly intrigued though.
"Don't talk with food in your mouth." he admonished before getting back on subject. "Promise me you'll be on your best behavior."
She chewed for a bit before swallowing. "Okay." she replied and then took a drink of her juice.
"I'm seriously Micha." he stressed, hoping she fully understood him. "Please."
"Ookkaayyyy." she groaned with much exaggeration and a hint of an attitude in her voice.
Every time she had done that before it had gotten on his nerves. Now it actually made him feel relieved as a small smile formed on his face. "Now that's normal."

He spent ten minutes getting himself ready and twenty minutes getting her ready. Finally they were out the door though and he drove over to the studio where the photoshoot was being held.
Holding her hand, he lead her through the building as several people greeted him and gave her curious looks. He politely greeted them back but didn't offer any explanation as to who she was. She was oblivious to the people staring at her as well as her eyes darted everywhere. He could tell she was in awe at everything with her wide eyes and he was slightly amused at that.
They entered the sitting room and were greeted by more people before all eyes landed on the little girl.
"Himchan, who is this?" the makeup artist asked him.
"Um... This is... She's... This is Micha." he sheepishly stammered.
"Hi Micha. It's nice to meet you." she said with a bright smile.
Micha squeezed his hand a little tighter as she partially hid herself behind him. There was a tiny, shy smile on her face though.
"Aww she's being shy." the lady stated with giggle.
"Yeah." he agreed and then his lips. "I'm sorry for asking a favor of you but do you think you could..."
She shared a look with the woman who styles his hair and they both nodded. "Of course we'll watch her for you."
He let out a breath of relief. "Thank you so much." He leaned down and pried his hand free. "Go sit on the couch while I work." he told Micha before ushering her towards the couch.
She did as she was told and climbed on to the couch. Her gaze still wandered everywhere, taking in everything in the room.
He grabbed the first set of clothes off of the rack and went into the changing room. He dressed as quickly as possible before emerging and walking across the room. He sat in one of the chairs in front of the mirror and the two ladies went to work.
"So Himchan," the hair stylist said, "I didn't know you had a kid."
He felt himself blush a bit and took a deep breath. "Neither did I." he quietly confessed.
"Oh." they both uttered in surprise.
"So where is her mom?" the makeup artist questioned.
"Well... That's why she's with me. Her mom is..." he trailed off as he stole a glance of Micha in the mirror who was watching them with interest. He didn't want to say that word again in front of her.
Their hands paused for a moment before resuming their work, obviously grasping the situation.
"That poor child." the hair stylist commented in a hushed whisper.
"She's just temporarily staying with me until her grandparents come for her." he informed the two women. "Then she'll be living with them."
"Really?" the makeup artist asked with a hint of confusion as she added some finishing touches.
The question surprised him for a bit but the lady dismissed it before he could question her.
"You're ready." she told him and took a step back.
He stood up and checked his reflection in the mirror. "Perfect like always." he complimented them as they chuckled. Then he made his way to the door but stopped and turned to Micha. "You be good and listen to them, okay?"
"Okay." she said, eagerly nodding her head.
He hesitated for a bit, worried about leaving her alone and if she really was going to behave. But then he heard the photographer calling for him and he had no choice except to hope for the best.

The hours ticked by as he had photo after photo taken of him. Then they would re-do the lighting and take a few more, trying to get the best shots. He checked on Micha ever time he had to change his clothes which brought laughter from the two ladies who were keeping her occupied.
When he was under the lights though, he forced himself to not think about her. Keeping his mind on the job instead so there weren't any distractions. Then he noticed something off to the side and he quickly glanced over. Micha was standing here and watching him.
He blinked in surprise before the sound of the camera caught his attention. He quickly focused back on his job and continued posing. He couldn't help but steal a few glances over at her though. He noticed that her hair was curled and the was a light trace of makeup on her face.
"How about before we break for food, we take a few pictures of you and your daughter?" the photographer suddenly asked.
His mouth dropped slightly open. "Huh?"
"She is your daughter, right?" he asked before smiling at Micha. "Go on sweetie." he said and waved at her to step in front of the camera.
Himchan watched as she pressed her lips together and fidgeted nervously. She looked at him and then at everyone else. He glanced around as well and noticed how many people were watching her.
"It's okay Micha. Come here." he said and indicated for her to join him.
She made her way to his side and blinked from the heavy lighting.
"Can you smile so I can take a pretty picture of you?" the photographer asked as he knelt in front of the girl and brought his camera up.
Suddenly there was an instant transformation and Himchan's eyes widened in shock. He watched as Micha put her hands on her hips and smiled while striking a model's pose. The studio was filled with laughter as everyone watched the scene in amusement.
"She is definitely your daughter isn't she?" the photographer chuckled and took a few more pictures. Then he stood up and indicated to Himchan. "Pick her up."
He hesitated to fulfill the request but eventually he reached down and took the girl in his arms. She grabbed a hold of him to steady herself before giving her attention back to the camera. Himchan kept his attention on her though as he held her tightly, making sure she wouldn't fall. This was the first time he picked her up wasn't it? He seemed odd, holding her like this.
"Today really is an odd day." he amusingly thought as a smile crept on his face.
Micha turned her head to look at him and he saw a smile on her face as well. Then she turned back towards the photographer and Himchan turned his head as well. A couple more pictures and then they called out a break to eat.