Forget-me-not

Cynthia

The gold was tarnished now. The once sparkling and radiant band was now rusted and banded around a monster. The glittering emerald had rotted in Cynthia's eyes. It might have been her engagement ring, but she didn't want it anymore. She didn't want to upset Seungmin, but it was worthless in her eyes.

She didn't want anything that had belonged to Flora anytime soon. It was too much to deal with now. Her sense of gravity had shifted and Flora was a toxin to her. She was suffocating and overbearing. Numbing her sense of independence and destroying everything about Cynthia that Cynthia had once loved.

Later that night, Cynthia sat silently on the living room couch nursing a cup of tea. Seungmin had offered to go to Flora and attempt to hunt down the ring, but she refused. If she was incredibly angry at Flora, she couldn't imagine how much she'd strike a fuse in Seungmin. It would have been pointless anyway since she didn't want the ring back.

"Can't sleep?" A distant voice stole her attention.

Cynthia glanced over and found Han standing beside the couch. She didn't remember him walking inside, but she didn't remember a lot of things either. She shrugged and sipped her tea. "Something like that, I guess."

"Want to talk about it?"

She sucked in a breath and sighed. Around her hands, the cup provided warmth for them. "I don't think so. I suppose I've gotten lost in a bunch of thoughts about life."

"Are you sure it's life and not the engagement ring situation?"

She chuckled, "is it that obvious?"

"Eh, only a little. If I were you, I'd be pretty upset about the situation too. I'm sorry, by the way. You've been through your own version of hell these past few months."

"It feels like it's never-ending."

"You could say that again." Han slipped beside her and dropped on the opposite side of the couch. The weight of his body briefly sent Cynthia up into the air. Her fingers tightened around her glass of tea.

"Why are you up?"

"I'm working on a song."

"I'm pretty sure you weren't here for dinner. Ever since the guys and I got home, I haven't seen you around. You live in the other dorm, right? What brings you back to this one?"

Han's lips pressed together before he glanced over at her. "Do you promise not to tell anyone?" She nodded. "Sometimes I come over to this dorm in the middle of the night to steal snacks. The guys sleep like rocks and I have a spare key. I sneak over, raid their cupboards for a few things, and then I disappear."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Probably like three months now. Chan and Changbin are on a health kick and they have demanded that we keep junk food away. I mean that sounds good and all, but sometimes a guy just wants some cookies and there's nothing wrong with that."

"If you're interested in cookies, Felix made some earlier."

"Really?" Han launched himself forward. He shoved himself off the couch and headed towards the kitchen. "Where?"

"I believe he left them in the microwave because he was going to bed and they were still warm. He wanted to keep them out of the open air. He's convinced that we have a secret rat problem."

Han paused halfway to the kitchen and a sheepish look fell across his face. His hand reached back and he lightly rubbed his neck. "That's crazy, I wonder how that happened."

"Yeah, I wonder."

The two made eye contact before a laugh escaped Han's lips. Cynthia snorted and doubled over, trying to keep her laughter inside, but it wasn't working. With shaky hands, she placed her half-consumed cup of coffee on the table. Afterwards, she got up and headed over to Han.

With quiet giggles, the pair headed over to the microwave. She opened it and handed a chocolate chip cookie over to Han. He tried to keep himself from laughing louder, but he was starting to fail. The bright red face and the giggles were causing Cynthia to lose her cool. A honk slipped out from the back of her throat.

Han's closed lips wobbled before he collapsed to his knees roaring with laughter. Cynthia shushed him profusely, but it was no use. A door flung open and heavy footsteps came rushing towards them. Han shoved a hand over his mouth, but it was too late.

"Aha!" Felix cried out as he lifted a light into the kitchen. "I've caught you rats!"

When he shined a bright flashlight into the faces of Han and Cynthia, the two instantly shut their eyes and held up their hands. Felix's eyes darted between them and a frown fell over his face. "Where are they? Where are the rats? I heard noises and I thought that the ra-"

Han toppled face first onto the floor clutching his stomach. The cookie in his hand had been reduced to crumbs. Chocolate chips stained his fingers and his body shook with laughter. Crumbs surrounded him and Cynthia's bubbly laughter soon followed. Felix's confusion and oblivious glances to each of them was making them laugh harder.

More footsteps followed and Lee Know appeared in a maroon bathrobe and a purple towel around his wet hair. "Do you all know what time it is? Do you see that clock?" He pointed across the room. "It's way after midnight and-" An eyebrow began to raise when he noticed the giant oversized flashlight in Felix's hands. "Yongbok, what is that?"

"I-I was just trying to catch rats, hyung."

"Rats?"

"Yeah, I think we have rats."

He sucked in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "Yongbok," he explained calmly while reopening his eyes. "The only rat around here is Han. He keeps coming in during the night and stealing snacks."

"Huh?"

"Wait, you knew?" Han's eyes widened in shock.

"Of course, I knew! You're so worried about snacks that you had no idea that a hidden camera had been installed during one night. I caught you one night and then the next and then the next."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Why would I need to? Don't you realize that your favorite snacks have been here for a reason? Isn't it strange how there's certain snacks you eat that nobody else in the dorm eats?"

"I didn't even realize it."

"Aw man," Felix's eyes trailed down to the cookie crumbs. "I really thought I was going to catch a rat."

"What were you going to do with it?" Cynthia asked.

He walked over to the small space beside the fridge and wall. Everyone watched him full of curiosity. He held up a bright neon green tube. "I got this humane trap. I was going to catch it and release it in Seungmin's room. He cheated the other day while we were playing video games and I want revenge."

"I don't think releasing a rat in Seungmin's room is very humane," Han countered. "That poor rat, who'd know what he'd do with it."

"Why do you think it'd be so bad? Maybe he'd befriend it and he-"

"Oh, Cynthia, you still have a lot to learn."

"Enough. We have early schedules tomorrow and you," Lee Know's eyes went to Cynthia, "have work." He jerked the flashlight from Felix's grip and shined it at all three of them. "Get out of here and scurry, rats. You know what cats do to rats?"

"I'll see you in the morning, Lee Know hyung!" Felix blurted out and he rushed back towards his room.

"I'm gonna head back to my dorm, but thanks for the snacks, you're a lifesaver!" Han grabbed another cookie from the microwave and rushed to the door. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to lock it."

Cynthia was left with her eyes squeezed shut. "Does that mean that cats and rats don't befriend each other?" Even behind her eyelids, the light was piercing.

"Cats eat rats."

"But what if the rats were nice and they just wanted a frie-"

"Cynthia, go to bed."