Forget-me-not

Cynthia

After a frozen winter, it all felt so alive, the hustle and bustle of Seoul. The backed up traffic from after work. The people walking downtown and going from one place to another. The puffy white clouds dolloped across the ocean blue sky like piles of whipped cream.

Cynthia was slumped back in the passenger's seat. After finding a dress for the surprise, Changbin's sister had bought her a pair of sandals to go with the dress. She was exhausted, but she didn't get much down time.

Changbin and Hyunjin instantly took her to a salon to get her hair done. Days ago, Cynthia had mentioned that her hair was getting so long that it was easily becoming tangled. When the hairdresser offered to give it a huge chop, Cynthia didn't fight it.

Hyunjin and Changbin didn't realize it until it was too late. One moment, they were glancing down at their phones and giggling at the band's group chat. The next moment, their jaws were practically on the floor. Cynthia's hair used to drape down her back in a silky caramel curtain. Now it was right above her shoulders.

When she finished, Changbin and Hyunjin were speechless. The natural waves had been blow dried after getting a deep conditioning. She looked lovely, but they weren't sure if Seungmin would manage to cope with the shock. Seungmin absolutely adored playing with Cynthia's hair.

After the salon, they took her to one of their makeup artist's houses to get her makeup done. The woman was lovely and Cynthia felt so taken care of. She couldn't help, but wonder if the makeup artist and Changbin had something going on because the pair kept exchanging looks and Changbin kept blushing.

After that was finished, Changbin and Hyunjin announced that they'd be taking her to her surprise destination. She didn't know where it was, but she was hoping that she wouldn't have to walk too much. Her body was exhausted and all she wanted to do was take a nap.

It was so easy to become tired ever since the accident. Her doctor said it was because her brain was still trying to repair itself, but she wasn't sure if that was true or not. Even when she was doing simple things, like flipping through the flower journal from Ki-woo, her brain could go into overdrive and begin to ache. Besides the initial memory loss, it was the worst thing she dealt with.

"Cynthia, are you listening?" Hyunjin asked. He pulled down the passenger side visor and glanced back at her. "Did you hear what I said?"

"What did you say?"

"I said you'll meet up with Seungmin."

"Okay."

Changbin frowned at her flat voice. "Are you not excited? I thought you liked Seungminnie and I thou-"

"I do. I really do, but I'm tired and I guess I'm a little worried. Is this a date? Is that why you wanted me in such a nice dress?"

"Uh...something like that."

"Sometimes I'm worried that he doesn't really like me anymore. Sometimes I think my brain is making things up and trying to calm me down. Do you know what I mean?"

"Woah, Seungmin loves you."

"Like a lot," Hyunjin interrupted. "You're the only one that I've ever seen that can make Seungmin turn into a puddle of slime. You physically make his heart beat faster and I know that for a fact. We were filming a video for a reality show and when you were brought up, his heart rate skyrocketed."

"It was very cute to watch."

Cynthia's own heart fluttered in her chest. Her hands rested on her knees and she leaned forward. "Did you really mean that or are you lying?"

"I swear on my mother's life, I'm not making that up."

The words soaked into Cynthia's brain and she frowned. Hyunjin noticed the sudden sadness and he jerked his head back in the seat. Glancing over the side of the seat, his eyes met hers. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but she didn't speak. Her eyes went to the window and she let her mind drift. Out of all the people she had met and been reunited with, her mother would not be one of them. Neither would her father, unfortunately. Death took them years ago and thinking about it soured her heart.

It was a bitter pill to swallow. She couldn't meet or speak to the people she used to call parents. She didn't know where they were buried either. Sure, she could have asked Seungmin, but it would have been a buzzkill conversation. There never seemed to be a good time to talk about it.

"What's she like?"

"What?"

"Your mother, what's she like?"

"She's hot and that's where he gets all his genetics from."

"Way to pay some respect to my father, you goon." Hyunjin shifted in his chair and shot a glare over at Changbin. "You stay far away from my mother."

"Hyunjinnie's mom is one of the nicest people that you'll ever meet. She makes deliciously filling food and she reminds me of my mom. My mom raised me into who I am today and I love her endlessly. Speaking of moms, if you're interested, maybe you can meet Seungmin's mom and his older sister again. Oh, you can see his dad too!"

"I knew Seungmin's family?"

Hyunjin nodded his head. "Yeah, you guys used to go on full family outings. It was super sweet and Seungmin always planned them. He knew that you missed your family a lot. He wanted you to have a family too. His parents treated you like a daughter."

"They even called you their daughter," Changbin added. "Seungmin's parents are amazing. All the guys have pretty decent parents. We've kind of morphed into a big giant blended family. Our families have siblings that are around the same age. Our parents talk to each other and whine about missing us."

"It's super sweet," he went on. "Sometimes we go over to each other's houses and eat. There's so much love between us all. It's a good thing to have and I wouldn't trade it for the world. No matter how much we bicker and tease each other, we're a family at the end of the day."

Hyunjin glanced back in the visor and frowned. "Wait, are you crying back there?"

"No," Cynthia sniffled, "it's just dust."

Changbin smiled, "makes you feel super warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?"

"Uh-huh."

"Welcome back to the family, Cynthia, we've all missed you."