Forget-me-not

Cynthia

When Seungmin got up to pay, Cynthia felt awful. She apologized profusely, but Seungmin refused to hear any of it. He didn't want her to feel bad about the situation.

"Trust me, I have plenty of money, so don't worry about it. Spoiling you is one of my favorite things to do. You're not going to hurt my feelings." Seungmin's hand slipped into hers.

She sighed and let her shoulders drop. The warmth of his hand provided comfort, but she still felt bad. "I don't even know where my money is," she admitted.

"It should be in our bank. We have two separate accounts in a bank. You haven't used any of your money so-"

"Yeah, but Flora said she had my money and she was keeping it safe, supposedly."

Seungmin stopped in his tracks and whipped his head towards her. "She what? She...she was keeping your money safe?" Cynthia shrugged. "Where did she have it? You always kept your money stashed away in a sage green wallet."

"I don't know. I don't recall seeing one. Maybe I did, but with my memory, I'm clueless."

"I swear to god," he mumbled beneath his breath, "if she spent your money, god help her."

"You think she spent it?" The thought made her want to crumble. How was she supposed to do anything without her money? She couldn't even buy convenience store coffee without it.

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out. You don't have any plans tonight, do you?"

"Unless you count going home and playing Animal Crossing."

"You and that stupid game," Seungmin grumbled.

"It's not stupid! My villager is cute! If you joined me, you could come visit my village."

"I don't want any part of visiting your ugly virtual village."

"It's not ugly! Felix says it's prettier than his. He's been there and he-"

"Felix has been to your Animal Crossing village?"

"Yeah! I invited him and then I went to his village. He has a really cute house and-"

"I can't believe one of my friends is trying to seduce you via Animal Crossing."

"That's not what is happening!"

"First comes love and then comes marriage and then-"

"You jerk!" Cynthia huffed and stomped her foot. Her hands curled into fists and she crossed them over her chest. "I'm dating you! I don't want to date Felix!"

She looked absolutely adorable in his eyes. He missed pressing her buttons and making her mad. It was part of his infatuation with her. She looked so silly when she was angry. Her dark brows narrowed and her lips puckered in a pout of annoyance.

"That's great because Felix's video games would get more attention than his significant other."

"That's not a very nice assumption."

"You're right, he wouldn't even be able to pull a girl."

"Now you're just being mean. Are you always mean to your friends?" Seungmin smirked and she rolled her eyes. "Forget that I asked. There's nothing wrong with liking video games."

"Liking video games is an understatement."

"There's nothing wrong with loving them either. He'll just have to find someone that loves video games as much as him. The two of them can play video games and bake brownies and visit each other's Animal Crossing islands."

"That's difficult to do when every other gamer is also locked away in their house."

"They've gotta come outside at some point. Whoever he dates, he'll make a great boyfriend. Don't forget that I'm currently staying in his room." She frowned, "I feel bad about it."

"You know, you could always move into my room. It's not like we haven't shared a bed before. Besides, it's a lot like what you said earlier, you are dating me, remember?"

"Unfortunately," she whispered beneath her breath.

"I can hear, you know? My bed is big enough for the two of us. I promise that I'll keep myself to my own side of the bed and you can have the other side. It's big enough that we won't even be touching each other while we sleep. It's a huge king-sized mattress. I sleep like a king every single night."

"How charming."

The two continued to walk down the street and head back towards Seungmin's car. Dusk was starting to set upon them. The bright blue sky had been smeared with sunlight yellow and neon orange. The colors danced overhead as the sun dipped further and further away as the minutes continued passing.

By the time they got to Seungmin's car, they were still cracking jokes and laughing. That awkward silence had finally been brushed away. Cynthia was grinning and Seungmin kept cracking bad jokes. Seungmin opened the passenger door of his car and Cynthia slipped inside.

"Really though, do you have plans tonight?" Seungmin lingered in the open space between the car and the opened car door.

"No, why?"

"The cops have been wanting to talk to us about the whole situation with Flora. I know it must be overwhelming and a little scary, but they really need us to speak with a detective. They need to figure out what really went on and we'll mention your finances to them. Maybe they can talk to her and we can get your money back.

Cynthia's heart pounded faster. Her mouth went dry and she forced herself to swallow. "Do I have to talk to her?"

"Probably not, it's probably just an officer or two and the detective. I'll be there the entire time, I promise. I'm not going to leave you alone. Not even for a single second, okay?"

Time seemed to freeze for a brief moment. Her mind went to Flora and she couldn't help, but wonder what happened to her. Was she trapped in a small cell? Did she have her cell phone? What was jail truly like?

With a heart full of courage, she finally nodded an agreement.