Forget-me-not

Cynthia

Cynthia wasn't surprised when she reappeared in the foggy field. It was to be expected at this point. Instead of standing, she was laying on her back staring up at the gray sky. She shut her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. 

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A familiar voice asked. 

"Unless you're going to help me, you can go away, Seungmin." 

"Ouch." There was shuffling and then a plop as he sat down beside her. "You finally remembered who I was and now you're turning me away. That's a little cold, don't you think?" 

Cynthia kept her eyes shut. "Why does it matter? You're not real anyway. Not here in my dreams." 

"But I'm real in real life." 

"You said you were just my subconscious the last time we met." 

"Hmm, I guess I did say that, didn't I? Think of it this way, your subconscious knows some things even if your conscious self doesn't know anything. I'm sure that's confusing, but you understand it, right?" 

"What do you want?" Cynthia finally opened her eyes. Above her, Seungmin was sitting criss-cross and he curled over her face. The usual blur that had been hiding his identity had disappeared. She could see everything in full detail this time. 

Her eyes met his russet ones. The unfamiliar feeling of butterflies danced along the lining of her stomach. A corner of his mouth upturned into a smirk. "There you are, I knew you'd come around. You can't resist me even in dream format." 

"Are you always this full of yourself?" 

"Only around you." 

She rolled her eyes. 

"You know," he went on, "the old you would like this. You're definitely slightly different from your old self. Don't worry, you'll get used to me and then I can go back to being a usual pain in your ass." 

"If we were dating, I highly doubt you were a pain in my ass." 

There was a flash of something along his face. The smirk started to go away before it reappeared. Cynthia studied his face carefully. He finally pulled back, so she could sit up. When she did, the two of them stared at each other. They didn't need to speak because the silence did it for them. 

"I can't believe I'm dating a k-pop idol," Cynthia finally got out. 

"And I can't believe you didn't remember." 

The two of them stared at each other again before a cheesy grin appeared on Seungmin's face. Cynthia burst into a fit of laughter and covered her mouth with her hand. A rosy hue filled her cheeks. Seungmin's laugh followed and it felt normal. Despite everything, Cynthia felt like she had done this thousands of times before. 

Every time they made eye contact, the laughter continued. There wasn't much of a reason for it. When Seungmin started to catch his breath, Cynthia let out a strangled half-choke, half-shriek that made Seungmin burst into laughter again. 

The pair clutched their stomachs laughing. Cynthia shoved her hair back and waved her hand. "No more!" She got out through giggles. "I can't take it anymore." 

"I'm not even doing anything!" 

"You're laughing!" 

"So are you!" 

The banter made them fall into another fit of giggles. Cynthia buried her face into her hands. Seungmin smiled as he watched her. He had always liked the little habits she did, the tiny ones that were ignored by everyone else, they set a fire to his heart.