The various superheroes roamed past the father-son pair and Himjong tugged on his father’s hand. “Look! Superman just passed.”

            The two of them were at the annual comic convention and at Himjong’s insistence, he had dressed up like one of the anime characters that his son liked to watch. He had dyed his hair for the occasion and slicked it back far from his forehead. He also wore an immaculate white suit to convey the character.

            “Daddy, you look more like a superstar than an anime character.”

            Himchan grunted as he held on tightly to his son’s hand and tried to navigate the path. “Well, don’t be surprised if people come up to me asking for my signature then. Who knows, maybe one day the two of us will be famous.”

            Himjong himself was dressed as Pikachu. An old Pokemon character, Pikachu still garnered a lot of attention and was considered by all to be the classic. Himjong had grown up watching the show and when his mother offered to make his costume, he had no hesitation.

            The two of them wandered to the different booths to see the various fandoms and characters from books, comics and television series that were displayed. A particularly hairy Chubaka walked up to them and tried to scare Himjong.

            “Urgh, you electrifying fuzzball, you are no match against me!”

            Himjong laughed and squeezed his eyes shut, pretending to channel the monster’s electrical powers. “You’re more of a hairball than I am!”

            Himchan watched them play and kept away. It wasn’t his business to stop his son if he wanted to play but he would keep watch. A particularly busty and too exposed Sailor Moon approached him and he wrinkled his nose.

            “Who are you supposed to be?” She batted her lashes in a flirty manner and he shot a look at his son. The little boy was still playing, now a Digimon had joined them.

            He smiled as politely at the woman as he could as he racked his brains. Himjong had tried to drill into his head just who the character he was supposed to be was, but alas, he had forgotten. “I don’t quite know, actually.”

            “Is it a television character? Maybe a scientist from a science fiction series? Or maybe you’re a hero, a superhero.” She was sliding closer to him and it was getting to be too close for comfort. Himchan cleared his throat and tried to take another step back but the crowd was too dense. He could barely see Himjong except for Chubaka’s giant hairy head.

            She lowered a voice and for a split second Himchan thought that Sailor Moon was supposed to be an advocate for justice, not a leery woman desperate to pick someone up. “I think you’re a villain. A very y, very capable villain.”

            This was getting to be too much so he shook his head and cleared his throat. Very firmly, he informed her that he was married and had a son. “In fact, I think I need to keep an eye on him. Please enjoy your time here at the convention.” And he quickly hightailed it out of there.

            It was easy to locate Himjong and so he made his grand escape. Himchan took his son and steered him towards the more childlike displays. “Look, there are a lot more anime and cartoons here. Let’s stay with children, please.”

            Throughout the day, they explored the various crafts that people made, took pictures with actors, and yes, Himchan was misidentified as a celebrity himself multiple times until he kindly told them that they were mistaken.

            At the end of the day, however, he felt someone grab his arm and saw Sailor Moon lady staring at him. “Found ya again.”

            He extricated his arm from her grasp and smiled weakly. “Yes, I hope you enjoyed your time?”

            “Would have been more fun with you.”

            At this moment, Himjong looked up suspiciously. “Miss, can you let go of my daddy now?” He said it sweetly, with a bright, fake smile on his face. Where his son learned it from, Himchan could only guess.

            This startled her and she did let go. “Oh, didn’t see you there. How are you, you cute Pikachu.” She tried to pinch his cheeks and Himjong did something Himchan never expected. He cried.

            “Daddy, a strange lady wants to touch me, daddy!”

            Knowing this was his only escape, Himchan quickly swung Himjong in his arms and glared at her. “Excuse me, but I think you’ve done enough damage. Please, leave us alone and have a good day.”

            When Himjong was safely buckled into the passenger seat, Himchan looked at him. The tears had dried up within seconds of leaving the large convention. “How did you think of that?” he asked his son admiringly.

            Himjong winked and shrugged nonchalantly. “Just quick thinking on my part daddy.” And he gave a conspiratorial thumbs up back.

this is for MusicChibi

I'm sorry... class and lack of motivation has really me dry right now. Please forgive me as I get through this time