Sunggyu has the sort of beautifully dull, relaxing weekend he feels he needed. The weather's drizzley and still icy cold so he barely leaves his flat. He spends most of his time sitting at the foot of his bed with his computer open and his guitar in his lap, composing or just teaching himself songs be his favourite bands. He doesn't perform or compose for anyone these days. In fact, the thought that he and his friends used to stand up in front of people (even if it was never more than a few dozen) and perform their hearts out is difficult for Sunggyu to wrap his head around these days. Nonetheless, playing and composing is still something that he can't live without.

He stays up late Sunday evening in order to research bus routes. The quickest route involves two transfers, but isn't so difficult as Woohyun had made him fear it would be. Putting this down to his A+ researching skills, Sunggyu gives himself a mental pat on the back Monday morning for managing to be seated at his desk 30 seconds before his boss strides into the office.

The fuzzy feeling of accomplishment doesn't last long before the daily grind sets in. That's not just the usual daily grind of reports and meetings with micro-managers and relaying information through the multitudinous disfunctional layers of this place. There's also the seasonal daily grind.

"I'm buying Jieun this necklace, but I can't choose between white gold or silver. Which do you think would make her look more radiant?"

"I found the perfect dress for our couple dance at the Christmas party. The problem is I need to drop two sizes to wear it. That's doable in a week - don't you agree, Sunggyu-sshi?"

"Did you hear about Hyunah, Manager Kim's secretary, and Jeon Jiyoon in HR? I heard they're going to Jeju. Going together. For Christmas."

"She's still a student, but she's in her last year. History. She's very pretty. She's funny. I'm sure you'll like her, Sunggyu-sshi."

Sunggyu blinks, waving his hands about vaguely to make Bora slow down long enough for him to process what's going on.

"What?" he says, intelligently.

"My dongsaeng, Hyolynnie. I've already told her all about you. She's looking forward to it." There's a touch of steely determination in Bora's expression that says she refuses to back down, that Sunggyu is going on a blind date whether he likes it or not. What Bora doesn't  realise is just what a stubbourn mule Kim Sunggyu can be when he feels like it. 

"Look, Bora-sshi, I appreciate the thought. I do. But I'm not interested in blind dates."

"I know you said you don't mind spending Christmas alone, but-" 

Fortunately, the boss chooses that moment to come snuffling out of his office, looking for signs of inefficiency. Thus Sunggyu is saved from another impassioned speech about how Christmas is a season for couples and how Bora's only trying to help him settle in and meet people and how it's not good to work too hard, neither for his health nor for management's expectations regarding everyone else's working habits. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sunggy is settling back into typing up the report hes working on when he hears a chair wheel closer to him. 

"Girls or guys?"

Sunggyu whips his head around. He stares blank-faced at Dongwoo, the IT guy with permed, too long, blond hair, strapped with glittery black bands. Sunggyu can't figure out how to respond. So he finds himself petrified. On the one hand, it wouldn't surprise his if Dongwoo, like himself, played for both teams. On the other hand, Sunggyu doesn't dare out himself - not in the middle of the open-plan office where anyone could be listening in. 

"Excuse me?" he manages. 

Dongwoo holds up his hands, 

"Hey, no judgement," he assures, voice even lower than before, "I'm just saying, if you're not into Bora's friend - and, by the way, I've met that Hyolyn-sshi. She's a hottie. If you're into , I advise you to respond to Bora in the affirmative next time. But if you're not, I know a couple of guys. Dance school buddies. Mostly pretty dumb, I'm not gonna lie to you. But you just tell me what you're into and Jang Dongwoo can totally hook you up. Don't want our Sunggyu-sshi alone for Christmas, do we?"

Sunggyu's spirit crumples in the face of Dongwoo's energetic, friendly smile. He lets out a groan as his face meets his palm. What is so difficult to understand about 'I'm not looking for a date'? 

~.~

At half past six, Sunggyu is staring dead-eyed at his computer screen. He's weighing up how many items he absolutely needs to complete and how soon (or not soon at all) he'll be able to leave. None of the figures on the screen are making sense anymore. A sort of quotidien despair rumbles inside him. No matter what he does right now, the result will be mediocre. And he's struggling to see the point of any of the tasks he's currently required to accomplish. But running away to drink beer and play his guitar is not one of his available options. 

"Hi!"

Sunggyu shakes himself out of a daze. A familiar face is standing a mere foot away, bashful smile and hand raised in an awkward greeting. This time he's wearing check trousers and a tanktop under a white chef's jacket. 

"Found you."

Ignoring the way he can feel blood rushing to his face, Sunggyu clears his throat. 

"Woohyun-sshi. Hello. What are you doing here?"

"What else? I thought I'd find out if you ever found your car."

"Oh, no... Hey, take a seat. Junho won't be back for a while," he offers, gesturing to a nearby vacant desk. Woohyun pulls over the desk chair, explaining that he's actually on break, so can only stay a few minutes. Sunggyu quickly recounts how he went to the police station to report the loss that lunch time. However, there'd been such a queue that, in the end, he'd had to dash back to work with nothing accomplished. 

"Well, when do you finish tonight?" Woohyun asks after hearing Sunggyu's story. Sunggyu gives his monitor a cold glare before finally making up his mind. 

"Eight. I'll be through by eight." 

A smile spreads across Woohyun's features. Sunggyu remembers the same smile. Tired eyes looking up at him last night in the booth at Auntie Cho's. His skin tingles. It's a strange sensation. Sunggyu puts it down to the remembered warmth of the greasy food in his gut and the restaurant in contrast to the frigid weather outside.

"I'm out at nine," Woohyun says, "What about going to the station and I'll pick you up from there?"

"I - yeah, OK. Wait. No. I'm putting you out too much, Woohyun-sshi."

"You're not putting me out at all. Give me your phone, Sunggyu-sshi."

Sunggyu hands it over with a quizzical look.

"In case anything comes up," Woohyun explains, saving his number in Sunggyu's contacts and ringing himself from Sunggyu's phone. Before Sunggyu has a chance to sort his feelings on this turn of events, Woohyun's done and bidding him goodbye.

"I'd best leave before Chef decides to dice me. See you later, Sunggyu-sshi."

When Woohyun, a figure in white, has swept out of the dull office (banging into a large plastic elf someone placed near the door for festivity's sake on his way) Sunggyu picks up his phone to check his contacts. He finds Woohyun saved as [Nam Woohyun =‿= ... btw cn i call you Hyung, Sunggyu-sshi??]. 

He looks up, contemplating this request - and really just contemplating this eccentric being called Nam Woohyun who has blown into his life. His gaze locks with Bora's for a moment, one of the handful of workers left in the office. He coughs and looks away, forcing himself to focus only on his monitor and the mundane tasks ahead of him. Bora's raised eyebrow and curious, pensive expression mean nothing. 

~.~

Sunggyu feels self-conscious hanging around a police station. He hasn't been near one since high-school. The police officers he spoke too were perfectly nice and promised that they'd check the car park's CCTV tomorrow and contact him with any information. But still, Sunggyu feels strange. Besides himself, there is a teenager who was caught shoplifting and a drunk foreigner who Sunggyu thinks is complaining because he's lost his passport. Sunggyu hopes Woohyun arrives soon. The chef said he'd be 15 minutes late and it's already been 20. 

"Sunggyu-sshi! Over here!"

He looks up to see Woohyun perched on his bike by the entrance, waving a plastic bag in the air. Sunggyu scurries over, rubbing his hands together for warmth. He's glad to leave behind the foreigner and the teenager, who've progressed to trying to pick a fight with each other. His cheap work shoes smack on the cold concrete. 

By way of greeting, Woohyun shoves the plastic bag under Sunggyu's nose. A delicious smell engulfs his senses. 

"Peace offering," Woohyun states, opening the bag to reveal yukjeon and  japchae. 

"I love you," Sunggyu quips. The hunger he'd been ignoring has just hit him full force in the gut. Woohyun giggles at him. 

"Where will we eat?" Sunggyu adds. 

Woohyun rubs his nape, directing his gaze to the food rather than Sunggyu. 

"Hm, I don't know. I didn't think that far ahead." With a small smile, he adds, "I just figured it was a safe bet you'd be famished too." 

"We could just eat at my place," Sunggyu blurts out. Part of Sunggyu is dying to know what it is about Woohyun that makes him just say things. Say them out loud. Eyeing the chef's expensive looking black jeans and that perfectly styled hair that seems to simply shift back into place when Woohyun takes his helmet off, Sunggyu amends, self-consciously,"It's kind of a hole. So only if you don't mind. Whatever's OK." 

"Let's go to yours then, Sunggyu-sshi."

Sunggyu meets Woohyun's gaze and discovers the chef beaming at him. He hops on the back, positioning himself and his briefcase the way he was told to yesterday. As Woohyun hands him the spare helmet, Sunggyu suddenly remembers something.

"Oh! By the way, you, er... You can."

"Hm?"

"That is to say, the, er... The question you put in my contacts. You can. If you want." Sunggyu mentally berates himself for stumbling over his words. It's not as if he's embarrassed over something so normal. That'd just be stupid.

"O-oh that! OK, Sunggyu-s... OK, Sunggyu-hyung."

This time, Sunggyu clasps on to the grip on the bike until his knuckles turn white and his fingers are numb from pain and cold.

~.~

Eating at Sunggyu's place goes well. Sunggyu's thankful he cleaned at the weekend, so it's reasonably tidy. (Although, considering how long he's spending at the office lately, he hasn't had much time to un-tidy it). He turns the heater on and they sit on his ugly blue couch with the food between them and Buzz playing on Sunggyu's laptop. Sunggyu finds out that Woohyun likes r'n'b, some rock and a lot of old balladeers. After Woohyun breaks into a verse of Coward - his voice just as rich and pleasant as Sunggyu remembered - Sunggyu's awfully tempted to dash to his bedroom to fetch his guitar. Of course he decides he's too shy for now. Instead they have fun perusing Sunggyu's extensive CD collection, which takes up much of the north wall of Sunggyu's poky flat.

Sunggyu also learns that Woohyun is indeed as poor as his job title suggests. Nor does he have loaded parents to buy him luxuries. It's simply that he lives with 5 room mates to split the rent and has chosen to spend on little else other than clothes, his hair and his Mimi.

"It's vain, right?" he says, showing a lop-sided smile as he digs around in the take-out containers. "I reckon it's OK. Since I'm young... And since I'm single. I've only got one person to spend money on. Do you know what I mean, Gyu-hyung?"

There's a self-deprecating, even melancholy, note to Woohyun's words. Sunggyu supposes the chef's fishing for a little comfort. However, the sudden appearance of the cute nickname throws Sunggyu for a loop. All of a sudden, he doesn't know how to respond at all. He may not know how his tongue works anymore. He simply hums encouragingly while poking at his food. He waits a moment, then mumbles something about refreshing their tea. As he pads to the kitchen, Sunggyu is, for some reason, much too aware of his joints and how they move and how the rilakkuma socks he pulled on that morning really don't go well with his black slacks. He could swear he hears Woohyun chuckling softly behind him.  

On an entirely and completely unrelated note, Sunggyu ponders seriously what it is that keeps making his face so hot. Maybe he's sick. It must be that.