Forget-me-not

Seungmin

"One of the studio producers was on the way home when she found the cops towing her car off the side of the road." 

"Of course, they did." There was a bitterness in Flora's voice. Her jaw clenched and her narrowed eyes went back to Cynthia's face. 

Seungmin swallowed the beginning of a forming lump in his throat and stepped closer to Cynthia's bed. He let his eyes scan her face and her body. Besides being banged up, she was tucked beneath the safety of a blanket. Sunlight entered the room from a side window. The blinds had been opened by someone. 

He glanced at Flora and his eyes quickly went back to Cynthia. Flora and Cynthia had been friends for a handful of years. The pair were friends before Seungmin and Cynthia met. Flora had never liked Seungmin and she made it painfully obvious. 

Flora was close to Cynthia which was fine. However, ever since Cynthia and Seungmin began to date, Cynthia's life had changed for the worse. The privacy she once had disappeared. Once the fans learned about her, they wouldn't stop digging and stalking. Hate pages were formed and fans could be brutal. Some were fine, but others went over the line. 

"Did they tell you what happened to her?" Flora finally got out after a few moments of silence. 

"The nurse did, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was too worried about what I might see. I couldn't focus on her words." 

Flora had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Her fingers dug into her palms. "She hit the ground pretty hard and developed blunt force trauma to her brain. The doctors found a blood clot in her hippocampus. She was unconscious when they found her and she's been like this ever since, she's completely comatose." 

"They're treating that, right?" 

"Duh!" Flora's tone came out snarky. "They're giving her medication to try and thin the clot. They said if it doesn't work, they might have to surgically remove it." 

"Oh." Seungmin felt so defeated, he didn't even want to fight with her. Now wasn't the time or the place. He had only met Flora a handful of times and each time was under the supervision of Cynthia. It was the only way the pair could stand each other. 

Flora let go of Cynthia's wrist and pushed it back to her side. She mumbled something before she stood up and faced Seungmin. She pushed a few pieces of her hair back to reveal the missing tip of her earlobe. Three faint light pink lines ran from the apple of her cheek down her jaw; a harrowing reminder of the dog attack she survived a few months ago. 

Seungmin remembered comforting Cynthia when she was in shambles. Flora had been out on a walk when someone didn't have a leash on their dog. For whatever reason, it lunged at Flora and knocked her to the ground. Her screams and pleas did nothing to get the dog off of her. Not even the owner could get the dog to get off. Most of the injuries had healed, but the faint scars remained. 

"We need to have a talk in the hallway." Flora's eyes met Seungmin's and his stomach turned. Nothing good could come from this. 

After taking a final glance at Cynthia, he nodded and stepped out into the hallway. Flora followed along and shut the door behind the two of them. Seungmin's eyes met hers. "What's so important that we couldn't talk in the room?" 

"I don't want you here." 

"Excuse me?" 

"You heard me, Seungmin. I don't want you here. I don't care if you're dating Cynthia, you're not welcome here." 

"I have every right to be here! She's my girlfriend! You don't get to turn around and send me away just because you hate me." A wave of anger swept over him. Who did Flora think she was? 

Flora's voice raised, "you're the whole reason why she was in an accident to begin with!" Her arms crossed over her chest. Her lips puckered in a stern pout. 

"What the fuck are you talking about?" 

"See? You don't even know. A group of your sasaengs were the one to ram into the back of her car. They were chasing her and speeding. She was trying to get away and in their stupidity, they slammed into her." 

"Y-you're lying," Seungmin's voice broke a little. "Y-you can't possibly mean that I-" 

"You did. You and your insane fans caused this." Flora's eyes burned through him. "And you know what? She might not even remember you anyway. She might not remember me. The nurse said the blood clot is in the hippocampus. It stores all the memories, but they don't know how bad it'll be until she wakes up." 

Words couldn't come out of Seungmin's mouth anymore. His fans did this? Yes they were sasaengs, but they were his. He really was the cause of all of this. Flora's words were spat like daggers and they lodged directly into his heart. A searing pain began to fill his chest. 

"I always told her to dump you and stay away from you," Flora's voice came out as a whisper. More tears filled her eyes. "I was always terrified that something would happen and this is why. I was afraid for her constantly and, for once, I was right." 

"I know you love her, but you have to let her go. There's still a chance that something could happen. She could still die." 

"No," Seungmin shook his head. Tears began to fill his eyes. He hated crying, but this was too much. His heart couldn't take this. "No, she can't die, s-she just can't, she-" 

"And if she does," Flora's eyes met his again, "it'll be all your fault." 

The world seemed to tilt for Seungmin. His knees wobbled beneath him and threatened to give up holding him. Black dots began to fill his eyes like static. Every breath felt like it might be his last. "I-I've gotta go." 

"Seungmin?" 

His glassy eyes finally returned Flora's gaze. 

"Don't come back. I have your number and I'll text you updates, but for her sake and mine, don't come back." 

It killed him to leave. He never had a chance to say good-bye. The world froze around the two of them. He forced himself to nod his head. He always knew his fans could be an issue, but this was too far. How was he supposed to recover from this? 

Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. 

His steps were wobbly and unstable. It felt like he was stepping on glue traps. The bottom of his soles were sinking into the glue and it wasn't easily letting him go. His body went into autopilot mode at some point. 

Getting back to the waiting room was a struggle. Chan was sitting in one of the chairs waiting for him. His leg bounced nervously while he kept his eyes peeled for Seungmin. The moment he saw his teary eyes, he was up in an instant. 

"Seungmin?" His voice came out softly while he approached the younger member. "Are you alright?" His hands went to his shoulders. His eyes scanned his face with worry. 

"Hyung, I-" Seungmin couldn't explain. He collapsed in Chan's arms and began sobbing. His heart had cracked and now it was shattering into thousands of tiny shards. 

"Shh, it's alright, it's okay." Chan sank with him down onto the floor. He clutched onto him tightly, not once letting go. 

The nurses watched the interaction with pity in their eyes. Some of the other patients in the waiting room went silent at the sound of sobs. Chan's hand went to his back. He rubbed soft circles into his back trying to comfort him. 

Seungmin could only think one thought; the whole situation was his fault.