The Mannequin - Minsung

two

Minho's neck hurts. Why is his pillow like this?

He moves his head to get more comfortable. It gets worse.

He then hears a faint sound. It's like... paper.

Oh no, is he sleeping on his sketchbook again?!

He should open his eyes. He might tear a page. Smudge a drawing. He doesn't want the mannequin's sketches ruined—

Wait... The mannequin!

Minho immediately opens his eyes. He sees the smooth floors of his living room. The space where the mannequin used to be... It's empty.

He hears it again. The sound of a page. Turning.

Confused, he slowly sits up. Shifts. He feels cold fear fill him.

From a distance, he sees the mannequin...

It's sitting with its back to him. It's bent over his large sketchbook.

Carefully... another page is turned.

Minho's heart is beating hard. He's not sure what to do.

The mannequin is unaware still. It holds up the sketchbook. Inspects it for a long minute. A soft sigh is released. Then another page is turned.

Minho blinks, then swallows hard. He's kind of scared.

Is he just dreaming?

He bites his own lip hard. It hurts.

Not dreaming.

Should he say something?

He was in the middle of thinking of something to say when the mannequin moved. It looked at him.

They both stared at each other with wide eyes.

It's crazy... but instead of screaming... freaking out... Minho focuses on the details of its eyes. Dark. Almond-like. They are round in surprise.

"Perfect," he whispers. They're perfect with the mannequin's features—

Suddenly, the mannequin screams. It falls back in surprise. It scrambles away, and its back hits the couch. 

Minho screams as well. He grabs the cushion on the floor and puts it in front of himself in defense.

The mannequin hugs itself, and its eyes squeeze shut.

"Wait!" Minho says and holds his hands up.

The mannequin opens its eyes again. It's terrified.

"Please..." It says. Its voice is soft. "D-Don't be scared of me..."

"Um, you're the one who's scared," Minho says.

He should be scared. He's staring at a mannequin. Or a live... man? That was a mannequin hours ago?

But the thing's now whimpering in fright?

"P-Please..." It stammers. "I won't hurt you."

Minho crosses his arms. "Okay, I believe that."

The mannequin blinks its teary eyes. "You do?"

"You really don't look like you could hurt me. Sorry."

Its eyes widen. Round. It gasps. "D-Don't hurt me, please!"

"Hurt you? Why the hell would I do that?"

"Y-You won't?"

"What the hell? Are you going to hurt me?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then why would I hurt you?"

"I don't know," it mumbles. "They did..."

Minho frowns. "Who's they?"

The mannequin bites its trembling lips. Its eyes are tearful again. It looks away. Minho stands where he is and watches it.

It's crazy. It really is. But he's not scared. He must be dreaming. But he thinks he's not. He's got a live mannequin. In his home. Who was probably stealing kisses. And it's scared of him.

"Um... are you hungry?" He asks. "Oh wait, do you even eat?"

The mannequin's eyes are round again. Stunned. "You'd give me food?"

Minho tilts his head to the side and shrugs. "Err... sure?"

The mannequin smiles widely. Then laughs happily. "Okay!"

And now it's Minho's turn to be stunned.

Who the fuck would be scared of this?

And who the fuck would hurt it?

To be continued...