Christmas, as Sunggyu has been informed by everyone from Bora the accountant to the intimidating security guy Yongguk to crazy old Hyungdon-hyungnim in HR, is a time for couples. Well, bah, Sunggyu opines as he stomps through the dark, cold carpark to find his car. And also, humbug. 

Sunggyu could have sworn he parked his rust bucket vehicle on the fourth storey, near the emergency exit. However, he's done three laps of the fourth storey and hasn't spotted his baby anywhere. The cold is seeping into his shoes. Stupid shoes. Imitation leather knock offs that looked rather fancy if you didn't examine them too closely. They'd seemed like a good idea last month, when his department manager had been banging on about the male employees dressing sufficiently smartly. They didn't seem like a good idea now that he's losing feeling in his toes. 

"Maybe it's the next floor," he supposes. With frozen fingers he fumbles for his car keys and marches towards the stairs. He can try pressing unlock on each floor until he hears something. His car has to be somewhere in here. He's cold and tired and just a little stressed - no wonder he's misremembered where he parked. Not a problem at all. 

10 minutes later, Sunggyu is sitting on the stairwell between the 9th and 10th storey with his head in his hands. He's tried every floor to no avail. His car's gone walkabout. Knowing this place, he'll be surprised if all the security cameras were operational... He knows he needs to move - it's already after 10pm. But he's so drained and stressed and this stairwell, cold as it is, is a veritable sauna compared to teh rest of the carpark, where an icy wind direct from Siberia is singing through the barred, glassless windows. A moan erupts from Sunggyu's parched throat - part frustration and exhaustion, part shout of self-motivation to make himself go back out there, find the lift and somehow figure out wheich combination of buses will take him home the quickest. 

"Hey, man, are you OK?"

Sunggyu jumps out of his skin. He twists around, a hand flying to his face in a vain attempt to nonchalently hide his bright red cheeks, no longer flushed from just the cold. He had perhaps been a tad louder than he'd meant to be. 

"I'm.... Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry," he blabbers, getting to his feet and dusting down his trousers and flimsy jacket. 

"You sure? Something wrong?" the newcomer prods. He's a man, Sunggyu's age or a little younger. He's got straight black hair in a plain but expensive looking cut. He's wearing jeans, colourful trainers and a puffy down jacket. (Sunggyu wonders who the newcomers department manager is that he can be seen on company property dressed like that and not fearing for his job. Maybe he's new, Sunggyu guesses, Or simply dumb). He has a remarkable nose and large, un-chapped lips set in a concerned pout. Sunggyu sighs. 

"I can't seem to find my car. I don't know if I'm being stupid or if it got nicked. Say, are you a Seoulite?"

The newcomer nods. Immediately, he sweeps a finger across his forehead to fix the strands of his hair that fell out of place. 

"Maybe you can help me then. I haven't lived here long and I've always driven to work. I need to know which bus will get me home."

"Sure. Where are you living?"

Sunggyu names his district. The newcomer lets out a low whistle. 

"That's quite a way.I think you'll need to change buses... I could give you a ride?"

Sunggyu waves his hands in front of his chest. 

"No, no. I can't put you out."

"Don't worry about it. It'll add, like, 10 minutes to my journey and probably be 40 minutes shorter than a bus trip for you. Come on, it's my pleasure." 

Despite his hesitations, the strangers smile appears genuine. Sunggyu's hands drop to his sides. 

"Yeah, OK. That would be great. I'm going to do something for you in return though. What's your name, by the way?"

The stranger chuckles, holding the door open for Sunggyu to step through. 

"I'm Nam Woohyun. And you really don't need to worry about it. What else am I carrying the spare helmet around for, y'know?"

Sunggyu's eyes widen as he trots along beside Woohyun. Helmet? His visions of sinking into the passenger seat of a nice, warm car shatter more at ever step that reverberates in the icy, dark carpark. 

~.~

Woohyun tells Sunggyu to just hold on to the grip on the back and put his briefcase between them. He assures Sunggyu that the motorbike is perfectly safe and that there's nothing to be worried about. Sunggyu, not wanting to seem like a square  (and being desperate to get home as soon as possible), resolves to do as he's told. That resolve lasts until they get out of heavy traffic and Woohyun's able to pick up a bit of speed. 

The wind whips past them, grabbing at their clothes. Some of the narrow roads are like wind-tunnels and Sunggyu can feel the force of it on the bike. He cringes everytime a pedestrian walks out in front of them or a car door opens on to the road and Sunggyu's simple convinced there'll be an accident. He's clinging to Woohyun's shoulders with both hands at this stage. His briefcase is an uncomfortable lump pressing on his stomach and probably digging painfully into Woohyun's back. Likewise, Sunggyu glad Woohyun's puffy jacket is so thick. Otherwise he really feels he could draw blood with how tight his grip on the man's shoulders gets whenever they stop suddenly. 

Sunggyu thinks Woohyun's yelled a few things to him to be conversational. Unfortunately, even without the engine and the wind and the helmet muffling his voice, the sound of Sunggyu's heart pounding and his blood racing through his veins is making him deaf to most things right now. 

On the plus side, the fear and excitement means he's not feeling the cold so much anymore. (Woohyun's body heat is helping that matter too, but Sunggyu refuses to think about that. He's already embarrassed enough). 

Eventually, Woohyun sputters to a halt outside a church. Sunggyu takes a couple of deep, calming breaths before he notices that Woohyun's asking him something. 

"Sorry, what was that?" 

Woohyun twists around a little, one gloved hand resting on Sunggyu's bare one - that's still holding Woohyun's shoulder distrustfully. 

"I said, are we close? This is the area, right?" 

Sunggyu puts his visor up and scans the place. 

"I... yeah, actually. I know this church. I live, er, three streets that way." 

"Well, great. Almost there." 

Woohyun moves to start up again, but Sunggyu holds his arm to stop him. 

"Wait a sec." There's something about the heat between them and the way Sunggyu can feel the vibrations of the bike right from his toes to his fingertips. That or the sheer adrenaline is making him act quite unlike himself. "Have you eaten? Will you let me buy you food?" 

"Where's good around here?" Woohyun asks, already removing his helmet. Sunggyu ignores the note of surprise in Woohyun's voice. It's about 11pm and this area isn't exactly a happening party district with good restaurants on every corner. 

"If we go... Wait, let me see. If we go that way there's a street with a few places to eat. Auntie Cho makes beautiful manduguk, if you're into that." 

"I'm into it," Woohyun says with a laugh. He lightly slaps Sunggyu's thigh as a signal for him to get off. "Let's do it. I'll park Mimi first." 

Sunggyu hauls himself off, not without stumbling a little. He unclasps his helmet and pulls it off. Shutting his eyes tight, he stands as still as he can, slightly dizzy from the ride and not wanting to show it when Woohyun comes back. The cold air is not unpleasant on his tingling skin. 

~.~

Whilst Sunggyu is savouring the dregs of his broth, conversation flows easily. He's learned that Woohyun is a chef in the restaurant on the ground floor in the building housing Sunggyu's company. From the sounds of it, he's both overworked and low down the pecking order - so Sunggyu thinks they have something in common. He likes to sing, but can be persuaded not to sing by kindly hyungs who buy him beer. Sunggyu counts this as a small price to pay in order to not have one of Auntie Cho's sons toss he and Woohyun out for causing a disturbance. Having said that, he'd rather liked what he'd heard of Woohyun's singing, but is opting to keep that to himself for now. 

"So, is your bike called Mimi?"

Woohyun giggles. He's been doing that a lot. At first, Sunggyu thought the sound didn't fit the muscular, handsome man. After a few bursts of giggles, however, Sunggyu's stopped finding it strange. A little cute and a little annoying, but not so incongruous. 

"Do you like it? It's because she's my princess. She's demanding, but she's a cutie - it's like that." 

Sunggyu just nods, taking a sip of his beer. He can feel Woohyun's eyes on him. The man finished his food with immodest speed and has been slumped in the booth, nursing the beer Sunggyu bought him ever since. 

"You think I'm weird," Woohyun states. Sunggyu blinks down at him. 

"Huh? No, I don't." 

It seems as though they're engaged in a minor staring battle. Sunggyu can't tell what Woohyun's thinking and therefore decies he can't look away for fear of it being misunderstood. After too many seconds of awkwardness, a smirk spreads across Woohyun's face. 

"You so do. Don't lie, Sunggyu-sshi." 

"No, I don't!" Sunggyu defends himself, "I mean, I've never met someone who owns a motorbike before. For all I know they're all like you." 

Woohyun bursts out laughing at that - not giggles, but a deeper melodious sound. It makes warmth pool in Sunggyu's guts. He smiles secretly. Somehow, Auntie Cho's grubby restaurant has never felt so cosy.