Forget-me-not

Seungmin

The guys were expecting an empty hallway. Perhaps, a person or two leaving their apartment or entering it. However, they weren't expecting to see the fiery red hair of Flora, at least, not yet. Screams tangled together and the three guys watched in shock until Hyunjin rushed into action. 

He sprinted down the hall and went directly towards the two people fighting. Flora was straddling someone and non-stop punching them. With twisted facial expressions and clenched teeth, her fists flew. 

Catching the memo, Chan and Seungmin finally hurried after him. All Hyunjin knew was anger as he grabbed the back of Flora's shirt and jerked her up. Flora snarled at the woman beneath her. 

Hyunjin's heart eased a little when he realized the woman wasn't Cynthia. Flora lunged back at the woman, but Hyunjin's fists were buried in the fabric cotton of her t-shirt. He jerked and the momentum shoved Flora back. Unable to catch her footing, Hyunjin's hands released and she hit the ground with a sharp yelp. 

"You crazy psychotic bitch!" The stranger cried. The pale skin along her face was covered in multiple maraschino cherry red patches. Scratches were bleeding and contoured a single cheekbone. "You're insane!" 

"What's going on?" Chan asked, glancing between the two women. "What happened here?" 

"Fuck off!" Flora hissed. She jerked forward and attempted to crawl back over towards the woman. She didn't get very far before Hyunjin shoved her back and straddled her. She swung a fist, but Hyunjin grabbed it. He shoved it beneath his knee, along with her other hand, and shook his head. 

"She attacked me! I didn't do anything wrong, I-" 

"Like hell you didn't! Stop lying!" 

As Chan and Hyunjin tried to get the story straight, Seungmin glanced over and realized a door was open. The small circular black panel inscribed with a gold number, towards the top of the wooden door, caused his heart to race. There was the number he had been looking for all along: 5-C. 

He glanced over his shoulder to check the scene behind him. Hyunjin still had a screaming Flora pinned down to the ground. Chan was attempting to reassure and comfort the other woman. One of her eyes was nearly swollen shut. 

He spun back around and gently nudged the door further open with his foot. So this was Flora's apartment? He couldn't see a ton from the doorway. The kitchen was off to the side and hidden by a wall, but he could see a bit of the living room. 

The edge of a black leather couch and some of the large TV screen that sat on an entertainment stand. A fuzzy beige rug spread out along the center of the floor. He wanted to go in and further examine things, but Chan was right, he didn't want to get arrested for trespassing. 

There was no sign of Cynthia, but there were a few pieces of paper on the floor. He leaned forward, pressing a hand along the entryway to support himself, and he squinted to no avail. He was too far away, he couldn't see what the papers contained. Feeling a bit defeated, he turned back to the mess behind him. 

"Let me go!" Flora cried. She wiggled beneath Hyunjin's long limbs, but he didn't budge. "Get off of me!" 

"You really think I'm just going to let you go after you assaulted..." He paused and glanced over his shoulder. "Ma'am what's your name?" 

"Hye-soo." 

"Right, so you assaulted Hye-soo," his eyes went back to Flora's. "You think I should let you go after that? You practically beat her to a bloody pulp and you still haven't given us a valid reason." 

"She's a bitch!" Flora shrieked. She squirmed again and slammed her head into the tiled floor. "Let go of me, you fucking cunt!" 

"Insult me all you want, I don't care. Your pathetic words mean nothing to me. Go ahead and scream louder, not a single person is going to help you out of this mess." 

"Can one of you call the cops?" Hye-soo asked. She ran a gentle finger over the bridge of her nose and winced. "I think she broke my nose." 

"Yeah, of course."

"Flora?" Seungmin broke the brief moment of silence. 

"Fuck you!" 

"Where's Cynthia?" 

The words stopped Flora in her tracks instantly. She sucked in a deep breath that interrupted into a sob. "I don't know! She left!" 

"And that's exactly why she attacked me. Cynthia said something about remembering things and Flora tried to stop her. I-I was just trying to help her and I-" 

"She's sick and she needs me! She needs me!" Flora shrieked. She squeezed her eyes shut and jerked her head back into the floor again. "She needs me! She needs me! She needs me! She-" 

The sudden loss of Cynthia was overwhelming. It finally settled in that Cynthia would not be coming back. She just assaulted a woman and that would likely lead to her arrest. If Cynthia told the cops what she knew, everything would fall apart entirely. It was over, it was all over. 

The pained mixture of a screech and a sob filled the air. Her body went limp with a fit of loud sobs. Hyunjin glanced down at her in confusion before he glanced back to look at Chan. All Chan could do was shrug. 

Cynthia was missing once again. Seungmin shut his eyes and attempted to calm his pounding heart with a deep breath. Somewhere in Seoul, Cynthia was all alone. He reopened his eyes and called out Chan's name. 

When Chan looked at him, he nodded because he already knew what Seungmin was planning to do. "Go ahead and go try to find her. If you can't find her and need help, call me. I'll get the guys to help you search while Hyunjin and I take care of this." Without another word, Seungmin took off hoping he could locate the love of his life. 

And this time, he had no intentions of letting her go.