Forget-me-not

Cynthia

'Do you think I'd make the neighbors mad if I screamed?' 

Cynthia sent the text message with a laugh. She was slung over the couch with her phone above her head. Flora was at work and she was home alone texting Hyunjin. Lately, he had been her only version of company. His response came a few seconds later. 

'Why are you going to scream?' 

Cynthia lowered the phone to her face. Her fingers were quick across the screen as she responded. 'I'm bored out of my mind. There's nothing to do here, so I feel like I'm going to pull my hair out. Any suggestions?' 

'Why don't you try to learn something or listen to music? There are videos online that teach you how to cook. You can practically learn anything thanks to the internet.' 

'I don't think I remember how to access the internet.' 

Over at the JYP studio, Hyunjin chuckled. He was in the canteen area taking his lunch break. He pulled up YouTube and typed in cooking videos. When he found a playlist of them, he copied the link and pulled up his text message thread with Cynthia. 

'There are multiple videos here. You probably shouldn't actually try to make any of these without the help of your friend, but you can watch them. Maybe they'll help with your memories or something.'  

When the link appeared, Cynthia clicked on it and her face lit up. The strand of videos was filled with a mixture of side dishes, main courses, and desserts. She clicked out of it and texted Hyunjin back. 

'Thank you! Is it too much to ask if you can recommend some good music? I'm not sure who I liked to listen to. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it's upbeat.' 

Hyunjin gasped at the text and grinned. He left the text thread and went to find one of his playlists. He picked the most upbeat one he had and sent it back to Cynthia. While he waited for her response, he picked up his sandwich and took a bite. 

Cynthia clicked the link open, but her eyebrows furrowed when a notification popped up to create an account. She pressed a few buttons and blanked when the site asked for her email address. After being unable to figure it out, she sent another text to Hyunjin. 

'How do I make an account? What's an email address? I don't think I understand how it works.' 

"Oh," Hyunjin mumbled out loud, "I didn't think of that." He let out a sigh and went onto YouTube again. After scrolling for a while, he found a playlist full of k-pop songs and sent it over to Cynthia. 

'Here you go, you can access this one. I'll help you set up an account later if you want to. It can be complex, so I can help walk you through it via phone call.' 

'Thank you!' 

'And while I'm thinking about it, this is my favorite band. You should watch their content and check them out. They make a variety of different music and I think you might enjoy it. Plus, they're funny.' 

Cynthia clicked the second YouTube link and was directed back to YouTube. She scrolled through the variety of videos and hummed softly. Randomly picking one, she clicked on a SKZ Code video. Within two minutes, she was laughing. She paused the video and went back to the text conversation with Hyunjin. 

'Who are these people and why does the one guy kind of look similar to you? Maybe? Kind of? His eyes look somewhat like yours. I've only seen you in a face mask, so I don't know what the rest of your face looks like.' 

'Would you freak out if I said that guy was me?'

Cynthia stared down at her phone in shock. Those videos each had millions of views. There was no way she accidentally stumbled into a famous k-pop idol. What were the odds of that? 

'Are you being serious? Is that really you? Oh my god.' 

'Surprise. Please don't freak out and please don't tell anyone. I enjoy being your friend and I don't want to have to get a new number.' 

'Yeah, I'll be sure to tell my plushie this evening.' 

'Wow you really are like Seungmin. Just so you're aware, the plushie will never believe you. You'll sound delusional.' 

'Who is Seungmin?' 

Hyunjin silently panicked as he glanced down at the phone. He bit down on his lip and went back to YouTube. After finding a compilation video of Seungmin being funny, he sent it to her. 

'Here you go. He's one of my bandmates and a good friend. He's really funny and I think you'll find him pretty enjoyable. I've gotta go do some stuff.' 

'I trust your taste. I'll go watch the videos you sent me. Have fun doing your band stuff. I'll talk to you later.' 

Cynthia let out a sigh and burrowed further into the couch. She got comfortable and started up the compilation video. It was the first time she had seen Seungmin's face since she was in her car accident.