Forget-me-not

Seungmin

Outside the complex, Seungmin looked side-to-side, but there was no sign of Cynthia. Between the rumble of traffic, he asked a couple standing near a car if they had seen a woman take off from the building. The pair looked at each other before they gestured to the sidewalk that led further into town.

Seungmin took off in a jog, desperate to catch up with Cynthia before something happened to her. His eyes scanned the sidewalk in front of him and he scanned the mirroring one across the street. The crowds were thinner than usual this morning. He couldn't have been more thankful for it.

"Seungmin!" A voice squealed in delight.

"Oh, fuck," he mumbled beneath his breath. Drawing any attention to himself was the last thing he wanted to do on the streets of Seoul. There were so many people, it wasn't hard to create a mob. He had nothing to hide any of his features with. The usual baseball cap or masks, they were gone.

Breathlessly, a younger fan rushed up to him. With rosy cheeks and sparkling umber eyes, she couldn't have been much older than sixteen. She grinned to reveal a dimple on the side of her cheek. "Hi! Can I take a selfie with you real quick?"

"I-I-" He didn't want to disappoint a fan, but he didn't want to lose Cynthia either. His eyes scanned the area again, hoping for a way out of this situation, but there wasn't one.

"I'm sorry, but can we make it quick? I'm looking for Cy-"

"Cynthia?" The girl's smile fell. "Did something happen between the two of you? She took off running towards the river not that long ago. Did you guys get into a fight?"

"What? No! No, there wasn't a fight!" His voice came out a bit harsher than he intended. Realizing it, he lowered his voice. "It's a complicated situation, but the two of us are alright. Just some personal matters that have been happening."

The girl nodded and pulled out her phone. She stepped beside Seungmin, pulled up her camera app, and held up a peace sign. Seungmin forced the corners of his mouth up into a smile. The pair posed before the girl stepped away and thanked him.

He let out a sigh of relief as they parted. He was glad she hadn't been an overbearing fan. Some of them didn't understand personal space or boundaries. His steps quickened along the pavement, hoping to catch up with Cynthia.

The trill of his phone going off in his back pocket caused his heart to sputter with hope. Maybe she had her old phone and managed to contact him. He picked up the phone, without looking at the caller information, and held it up to his ear. "Hello?"

"Seungmin? Seungmin, where are you?"

He recognized Cynthia's boss' raspy voice immediately. "I'm walking downtown and I'm a few shops away from yours. Is everything alright?"

"Cynthia just rushed by not that long ago in tears. I don't think she recognized me, she looked pretty startled. I tried to get her to stop." On the other end of the phone, Ki-woo gripped the edge of the counter to keep his balance. "She seemed to be really upset about something. She headed down to the river, but I'm not quick enough."

"That's alright, I'm heading there now."

"Oh, thank goodness! Please let me know if she's alright when you find her." Ki-woo's hand went to his silver cross around his neck. "She's like the granddaughter I never had, so please take good care of her. I know you always do." His fingers clutched onto the cross like it was his lifeline.

Seungmin began to jog again and maneuver through a denser crowd of people. He mumbled an apology when his elbow lightly caught someone in the ribs. A wave of disgruntled insults shot his way, but he ignored them. Now wasn't the time to get upset at a stranger. This was life or death to him.

"I see it. I have to cross a crosswalk and then I'll be at the river. I'll call you back when I'm finished."

"Good luck, son."

His mouth opened, but before he could respond, Ki-woo ended the call. His phone disconnected the call automatically with a quiet click. Ki-woo had never called him son before. Strangely, it made his heart flutter. It was nice to have someone like Ki-woo trust him. It made his heart feel warm and mushy.

Tossing the phone into his back pocket, he crossed the crosswalk. He hurried over the fresh cut grass and glanced around hoping to find some sign of Cynthia. Further back, there was an approaching couple with swinging hands, but they seemed to be too involved with one another to focus on their surroundings.

"Where are you, Cynthia?" He whispered beneath his breath, searching around the area. There was a dip along the edge of the riverbank. The green grass was too high to see up over it.

Cynthia did have a hobby of bird-watching at the river, so maybe if he found geese. He stepped closer with a frown continuing to scan the area. A flurry of panicked thoughts ran through his head. If she wasn't here, where was she?

His question was answered by a splash a few feet down.