Forget-me-not

Seungmin

At first, it was five minutes that Cynthia was missing. Five slipped into ten and crept into fifteen and by the time twenty came around, Seungmin was silently panicking. Where did she go? Did something happen? 

He was used to catching her gaze in the practice room mirror. The guys were practicing another choreography for a new dance. She was content with her Nintendo Switch and Animal Crossing. He had even made sure that he packed her a small bag with some of her favorite snacks and drinks, so she had everything she needed. 

After struggling to keep up with the moves, he mentioned her disappearance to Chan and Chan waved him away to go find Cynthia. Wanting to make sure he searched properly, he viewed every room. His eyes went panel to panel in an attempt to spot her. 

When he finally did, his heart sank with relief. He stepped closer to the door, turned the metal knob, and stepped into the room. Cynthia's hair was sprawled out behind her head. Messy rusted waves tangled in multiple different directions. The creak of the door behind her caused her body to tense, but she didn't bother looking up. 

"Cynthia?" Seungmin spoke quietly, not wanting to frighten her. "Are you alright?" 

Hearing Seungmin's voice, she finally perked up a bit. Her head lifted and she sniffled. "I'm fine, I just got lost on the way back to the dance practice room. I couldn't find it and then I found this room." 

"Are you crying?" 

"No." 

"But you're sniffling and your eyes are watery." He walked over, pulled out a fabric patterned chair, and sat beside her. "What's going on? Is something bothering you?" 

She shoved her hands over her eyes and wiped her tears away with a few added sniffles. "It's not a big deal." 

"It's a big deal to me." He held out an open hand towards her. She eyed it with a frown. "You can tell me what's wrong." 

"I feel like a burden." 

"A burden?" 

She nodded with watery eyes and slipped her hand into Seungmin's. Warm slender fingers gently curled around the top of her palm. Her head drooped and she let out a final sniffle. 

"I feel like an idiot. I know you're all trying to help me, but I feel like a burden. I can't do anything without your help and it-" 

"You're not a burden to us." 

"O-one day," her voice wobbled, "Flora insinuated that I was a burden for people. I know I am and I'm trying really hard not to be. My brain won't do what I wish it would. I can't control it and it's killing me. I just want to remember things and it doesn't have to be huge. I keep getting confused about the left and right. They're only two directions and-" She cut off with the lump restricting her voice. If she continued, she was sure that she'd sob. 

It crushed his heart to see her like this. She'd never be a burden to him. Never. There was part of him that blamed himself for this situation. If he would have tried harder to rescue her, then maybe she wouldn't have felt this way. Maybe she wouldn't blame herself for the brain injury. It wasn't her fault, it was Flora's. 

"Do you want a hug?" 

Cynthia silently debated the question before she slowly nodded in agreement. Seungmin leaned closer and gently wrapped his arms around her body. She let her chin rest on his shoulder and let her eyes slip shut. Her arms wormed their way around his back and rested along his spine. 

He still smelled like the familiar scent of Puppym. It helped calm her nerves almost instantly. He stayed there hugging her, as if it was a way to suck out the poisonous sadness that lingered throughout her bloodstream. It was an awful thing to watch her go through. 

He finally spoke up after a bit of silence. "I'm so sorry that I left you with Flora. I should have rescued you sooner, but I was terrified. Flora threatened to take you away from me and I was afraid of that happening." 

"But why?" Cynthia's voice cracked. "Why would she do that? We were dating each other. Why would she do this? Why was she the cause of the accident?" 

Seungmin's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing her disheartening wails. He didn't know that Cynthia knew that Flora was behind everything. As far as he knew, Flora was a problem for Cynthia, but he couldn't believe that she knew about the origin of the accident.

"Why did I deserve this? Why did it have to happen to me? What did I do? W-what-" The lump in her throat grew. A strangled sob fell past her lips. Her body shook, engulfed in Seungmin's arms. "What did I do?" 

Seungmin's eyes shut as she sobbed. He thought things were going well after their conversation a few days ago. After kissing her and the admission that she wanted to attempt to rekindle what they once had. He didn't realize the extensive damage that lay beneath the surface level. 

Hurt was oozing out of every pore as she fell apart in his arms. All he could do was wrap his arms around her tighter. His chin went to the top of her head and he gently rocked her back and forth. "Nothing, nothing, you did nothing. You didn't deserve this, I'm sorry." 

Cynthia's fingers wrapped around the navy fabric of his sweater. He was still soaked in sweat from dancing, but she didn't care. She welcomed the warmth of his body with open arms because it was better than being alone. 

Right now, Seungmin wasn't sure if he trusted her and her thoughts while she was alone.