The Mannequin - Minsung

one hundred six

As the party continued, the warm hum of chatter and laughter filled the room.

Minho glanced around, soaking it all in. It had been a while since he had all his closest friends together like this, and seeing them all there – joking, teasing, eating – made his heart swell.

His gaze landed on Jisung, who was still smiling nervously while trying to balance his plate on his lap.

Minho leaned in close, his voice soft. "You okay? I know meeting everyone all at once can be a bit... much."

Jisung looked up, meeting his eyes. "I'm okay. Just... they're all really cool. I'm kind of nervous."

Minho smiled. "You fit right in, Jisung. Trust me."

Jisung smiled and gave a small, appreciative nod.

The dinner proceeded with the clinking of glasses and the sounds of laughter filling the room.

Jisung, still a little shy but warmed by the energy around him, sat quietly by Minho's side.

He wasn't used to gatherings like this—his memories of social interactions were vague, pieced together from what he had observed during his life as a mannequin.

"How did you two meet, then?" Chan asked, breaking Jisung's thoughts. The table turned quiet, all eyes shifting toward Jisung and Minho.

Changbin leaned back in his chair, munching on a piece of garlic bread, his eyes still twinkling with curiosity.

"Yeah! When's this long story gonna happen?" He said through a mouthful of food, "I gotta know what it takes to deal with Minho on a daily basis."

Jisung laughed nervously, stealing a glance at Minho, who smiled reassuringly at him.

"M-Maybe later?" Jisung stammered, hoping the topic would drop soon.

Hyunjin, sitting on the opposite side of the table, was trying his best to look relaxed, but his fingers nervously drummed on the side of his glass.

What would they think if they found out that Jisung had once been just a mannequin? Would they even believe it?

The thought made his stomach churn.

"Hyunjin, you good?" Chan suddenly asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Hyunjin flinched, quickly forcing a laugh. "Yeah! I'm fine. Totally fine. Just, uh, enjoying the food."

"You sure?" Seungmin added, narrowing his eyes playfully. "You look like a constipated goat right now."

Hyunjin nearly choked on his drink. "A w-what— You know what, nevermind! It's nothing. Really!"

"Oh, come on! Stop it, you two. We wanna hear the tea!" Jeongin interrupted and rolled his eyes.

Minho hesitated for a second. His hand tightened just slightly around Jisung's. He hadn't exactly prepared a polished version of their "unusual" love story.

"Uh..." He began, laughing nervously. "It's a bit of an unusual story."

Seungmin raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Unusual is kind of your thing, isn't it, Minho?"