The Mannequin - Minsung

one hundred two

The past two weeks... Minho's been left by himself. Too often.

Mrs. Hwang helped Jisung get a bank account last week. She put some money in there for him. Jisung was beyond excited to show Minho.

"This is my bank card— look! I can tap it and then it goes beep! And I just buy things— yes, I know! I can't buy everything! The bank teller told me I need to make more money first and then I can spend more!"

Another time, Jisung went back home embracing two fruit plushies. "Minho, look! I won these from an arcade! They're so cute!"

Minho smiled at that. But deep down... he wished he could've got to take part in whatever they were doing. Because honestly. Staying at home. Alone. Working. Is boring. And lonely.

He hasn't quite... caught up. With the stuff Jisung's been doing lately.

There were two times that... Jisung looked like he cried. But it didn't seem like... it was immediately before arriving home. More like sometime... during the time he was out.

But when Minho asked, Jisung answered with a huge smile.

"I'm great! I'm learning a lot and the Hwangs help me! It's great!"

Minho thought, that's right. If he's with the Hwangs... it's okay. They know how to look after him. They know what to do. 

Jisung wants to learn. Wants to figure things out himself. That's probably why he doesn't even ask Minho much recently. About what something is. What something means.

But that's okay, right? Jisung's quick. He's smart. Maybe before, he needed guidance. A lot of it. But maybe now he doesn't. Or... he has other people to ask. Which is okay too.

Jisung just gets really interested. In new things. Experiences. He's just discovering what he likes. What he doesn't like.

Minho chuckles. Rubs his neck.

A few months ago... Jisung saw a scene of a character giving his lover hickeys. Minho ended up with several a day.

Minho thought it was really cute.

But he had to cover up in the gym. He got stared at a lot.

Then Jisung just kinda... forgot about it. His interest changed for a while. He got engrossed in fantasy romances. It was after he got a library card.

The first fantasy romance he discovered was 'Tangled'.

"Ummm... Why's this guy climbing the tower using the girl's hair? Don't they have a very looong ladder or something?"

Now, of course... he's back to the comics. Obsessed with looking at drawings of sex scenes more closely... by enlarging them...

Minho shakes his head. Laughs. 

That's right. At least Jisung's not home doing that.

- - -

- - - - - -

Minho lunges for his phone. He had placed it far away. To keep him focused. But it's not Jisung calling him. It's just... work...

Barely an hour later, his phone rings again. He groans.

"I already agreed!" He says out loud. Gets up. Stomps to the couch. But it's Hyunjin this time. His heart jumps. "O-Oh! Hello? Hyunjin?"

"Hey... so, uh, I'm bringing Jisung home now because mom had to leave early, okay? He'll be there in thirty minutes or something."

"Wait, what? I mean, sure, but— is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah. It's fine. Just, you know."

"Hyunjin nooooo don't tell him now!"

"Oh— okay, sorry. Yeah, see you soon, Minho!"

Minho frowns. He heard Jisung's voice. 

What does he not want to tell Minho?

To be continued...

What Jisung actually doesn't want to tell Minho:

"jEoGiYo nOoNa hOkShI nAmJaChInGu iSsEoYo"