Forget-me-not

Seungmin

He was used to Cynthia lingering around the band like a shadow; connected to them, but just out of reach. She'd spend hours sitting curled up on the leather couch in the back of the recording room. In the dance practice rooms, it was the same situation.

Most of the time, she was kept occupied by her Nintendo Switch or a book. Hyunjin had been letting her read some of his stuff. Quite a few books that he had, it was her who had recommended them in the beginning. No matter what she was doing, Seungmin had gotten used to it.

He was used to catching glimpses of her out of the corner of his eyes. He was used to taunting and teasing her. He was used to poking and prodding her; entering her space, distracting her, and capturing the warmth of those green eyes. However, it was gone now.

He knew that it wasn't going to last forever, but he missed it. This morning, he dropped Cynthia off at the flower shop. He swore that she could reach out if she needed anything because Ki-woo had his phone number. He promised that even if she was just tired, he'd stop what he was doing and come get her immediately.

He had already cleared it with Chan. Today, they were in the dance practice room going over what they already knew. They already knew the choreography for multiple other songs, but it was a good refresher. There were whispers floating around the upper management of a tour and the guys wanted to be one step ahead.

The upcoming album was already finished. All the choreography for each new song, the guys could do it in their sleep now. Day after day after day, they worked their asses off remembering each little move.

Before Seungmin knew what was happening, an arm slung across the back of his shoulders. Annoyed, he moved away and a soft huff came from behind him. "Seungmin!" Han whined.

"Don't touch me with those filthy hands of yours. I don't know where you've put those paws."

"I just washed them like two minutes ago after going to the bathroom."

"Proof?"

Han threw out his hands. "Here! Sniff them! They smell like aloe vera!"

His face scrunched up in disgust. Han continued to hold his hands out, but Seungmin shook his head. "What is wrong with you? I'm not sniffing your rat hands."

"Rat?"

"Did I stutter?"

"But I-"

"You were digging through the trash this morning and there's nothing more rat-like behavior then th-"

"Cut me some slack! I thought I threw my house keys away!"

"Did you?"

"No."

"Where were they?"

Han opened his mouth and then closed it. He shifted his weight onto his other foot and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, you see..." A soft chuckle fell from his lips. "It's funny that you say that because I-"

"They were still in your pocket, weren't they?"

"How'd you know?"

"Because that sounds like something you'd do, idiot."

A high-pitched shriek came from across the room. Both Han and Seungmin's heads snapped towards the sound. Hyunjin groaned as a proud Changbin waddled with his arms wrapped around Hyunjin's body. With his feet lifted from the air, Hyunjin's arms were pinned down to his sides and Changbin's giddy laughter filled the air.

"Hyung," Han chuckled, "what are you doing?"

"Look! I caught a ferret!"

Hyunjin's head dropped back and he yelled. Changbin's arms tightened around him and he shook him back and forth. Across the way, Lee Know's hands rubbed together. "What a perfect way to shove him in the air fryer."

"I didn't do anything! Don't even think about it!" Hyunjin squirmed. "I'm innocent!"

"Guilty of stupidity," Seungmin mumbled beneath his breath.

"I heard that!" Changbin cried out. "That's not very nice!"

Felix's head jerked from across the way. "That's not very nice?"

"That's not very nice!" Chan's thick Australian accent echoed.

"That's not very nice!" Felix continued.

One-by-one, it slowly began to affect the entire room. Like a group of syncing seagulls, the quote was thrown back and forth. Seungmin watched for a few moments until he disappeared out of the door and left them squawking behind him. Sure, it was funny, but it wasn't doing much to relieve the anxiety brewing in his gut.

He had been anxious before, but not like this. He was worried about Cynthia and he wasn't sure what was going to happen to her. He knew her boss was a great person and wouldn't hurt her. Flora was now out of the picture and being held in jail. That still didn't stop the anxiety from pouring in.

With his head down, he walked further and further away from the dance practice room and towards the break room. There was a water dispenser inside and he wanted to get himself some water before practice started. He still had about three minutes before they began.

He was about to turn into the room when his head perked up. Hurried footsteps rushed towards him. He glanced behind his shoulder, assuming that one of the guys were rushing after him, but they weren't there. He turned his head back towards the front and blinked in shock.

"Cynthia, what are you doing here?"

Her face was bright red and she was breathless. Ragged gasps spilt from her lips as her chest heaved. She gulped in fresh air and bent over to catch her breath. "We need," she inhaled, "to talk."

"How did you get here? Did you run here? Cynthia, the flower shop is nearly two miles away and you shoul-"

The next words out of her mouth caused his heart to freeze. He couldn't form words and his brain turned into mush. How the fuck did she know about that? Had she finally remembered that part?

All he could do was gulp before he responded.