“So who did you pull for the Secret Santa?”

Choi SeungHyun wasn't known to be the most impulsive guy, around the office he was well liked but a little boring, more apt to finish his paperwork than knock-off early for a quick drink as the bars opened. Predictable, affable SeungHyun, nothing to worry about there, except he'd been bitten by a bug this holiday season.

Totally anonymous, that was what these gift exchanges done in corporate environments were like. You bought a gift and it was put into the pool, picked out and handed to whichever worker hadn't called in sick and was more than likely close enough to get it. Under those circumstances, who would know what they were getting and from whom? It wasn't like they were going to call his name from a loudspeaker when his present was pulled from the expectant pile, so what was there to worry about?

“Choi, I was talking to you.”

“Huh?" He'd been getting himself another coffee, back turned to the others around the table in the breakroom whilst he watched the darkened liquid drip into his cup with a sort of awaiting content.

“We were talking about the party tomorrow, are you going to come?” Pushing an errant strand of hair back behind his formidable ears, SeungHyun removed his mug and came over to join his co-workers.

“Of course.”

“Yeah, of course, can you imagine this guy missing a day of work?”

“I was sick in August.” He wasn't protesting because he minded their slight jibes, they were never in anything more than good fun and SeungHyun wasn't so dull as to misunderstand that, he just wanted to make sure that the record was set straight.

“Yeah, yeah, but what about the Secret Santa, who did you pull?”

Eyebrows furrowing slightly along his forehead, SeungHyun gave off a smile of indifferent confusion.

“What do you mean?” He drank his coffee black so there'd been no need for creamer, and everyone knew that the drip-filter maker had about as much heat to it as the current temperature outside, so there was no immediate danger in already taking a sip. Not until he had his request for an elaboration answered.

“Those labels we got, they had a name on them, didn't you see?” He was about to shake his head best he could with his lips still to the rim, one of the others seeing this as an opportunity to jump in and finish the setup for him.

“I saw, Choi got Kang DaeSung from human resources-” His normally quite dreary eyes suddenly shot wide open, the coffee he'd half ingested coming back on him as he seemed to choke before spitting it out onto the table.

It wasn't that he'd done something completely unanticipated, that was fine, it was that it was him whilst he was doing it that had caused the most of the disturbance amongst the others.

“...You okay?” He was coughing onto the back of his hand, eyelids seeming set on peeling back as far as they could whilst he did until he managed to find his voice again, albeit with a slightly raspy tone.

“H-how did you know it was mine?”

“They put your name underneath it when you handed it in-” When he brought his still dirtied hands to cover his face there was a brief exchange of looks. What could Choi SeungHyun possibly have to worry about if he was just giving a gift?

'A Handful of Pleasure; Tips for one' He'd found it in the bookstore, in the Self Help section whilst browsing for the exchange, it wasn't the kind of title anyone would think he would consider, let alone for giving to another person, but he'd thought they weren't going to be identified. How would he live it down now, that he'd bought a book on ion to have opened in front of all his peers? And to no other than Kang DaeSung. Kang DaeSung whom he'd admired since they met, Kang DaeSung who played squash on the weekends at the same club and displayed his wonderful arms and legs in white shorts and a polo shirt, Kang DaeSung who he'd briefly thought of buying a gift for anyway before shelving the idea as ridiculous and unthinkable because it would seem too obvious if he did it that way. At the time he'd been thinking of a hand cream or maybe a desk clock-oh god he wished he hadn't recalled the hand cream now because he'd unconsciously bought a book on pleasuring yourself for his crush and being reminded of this only made everything worse.

Dreams of coming in first and simply removing the present or replacing it were at the forefront of his mind, during the night these turning to somewhat more drastic thoughts of giving his two-weeks notice or burning down the building in order to avoid what could have so simply been worked around. Wasn't he supposed to be cautious? At least careful enough to have read the label instead of simply sticking it on with tape and forgetting about its existence? Surely he might have peeked at it once after pulling it out of the big bowl they would put candy in at Halloween for any visiting kids when their parents left early to pick them up after school, surely he should have registered the name that had been on the tip of his tongue on many occasions most likely pictured in the book he'd bought, or was he just stupid? Stressing it in the car on the way to work, the last day before the Christmas long weekend that started Friday and went until some time early January, SeungHyun suddenly felt his throat go dry when another possibility struck his mind. Maybe he had seen it...He was attracted to DaeSung, he was the first to admit it-not out loud of course. Had he maybe done this...on purpose?

To start the party off they were given paper hats and plastic cups, SeungHyun's eyes drawn to the table of gifts and feeling his usual ho-hum approach to social drinking decide to take an early vacation. He'd get drunk. That would make everything worse, sure, but at least then he wouldn't remember it. Just like fantasies of setting fire to the wastebasket this was just an imagined solution, something he would never do...until DaeSung walked into the room.

“Hi, SeungHyun.”

“Mh...” Drinking was a good idea, just like buying that book.

His hand was wrapped around something he hadn't been able to identify when it was handed to him, not much further luck coming to him once he'd wrestled it free of the paper and felt his inebriated eyebrows scrunching down. He'd given his thanks to the intern, feeling poorly of himself somewhere deep inside because of the way it had come out but there was no time to allow any further sober thoughts. There weren't many more gifts on the table, even in his state SeungHyun recognizing the black and green holly lined wrapping he'd used and feeling the urge to drink even more as the self-appointed office MC hovered above it.

“Kang DaeSung?” In all his perfection DaeSung was bringing his caramel body through the rest of the small crowd, smiling as always as he reached the table and had the time-bomb in disguise handed over, “This one's from Choi SeungHyun, he's-oh, right over there.” Sure, just twist the knife in further. It was his neighbor in the cubicles, and SeungHyun had thought they got along so well. For the moment, though, he'd just made a new enemy in the usually sort of tiresome man. Just like SeungHyun had made of himself because when he'd been pointed out he hadn't been able to help himself, lifting his arm and giving off a little wave that had DaeSung smiling in return. This was why drinking was best kept to being alone.

As DaeSung unwrapped the gift in a near careful way, balancing the book against his firm torso with a focused look, SeungHyun felt like throwing up or passing out. Or both. Any minute now and the man he was infatuated with would be humiliated in front of the whole office. He hadn't meant for it to end up this way, it was just a bit of harmless fun, a prank gone awry, nothing that DaeSung should have to suffer for.

“D-don't open it in front of everybody.” He was only bringing attention to himself with this talk, DaeSung giving him another look before rolling his eyes playfully and carrying on. Dropping the gift-wrap to the floor amongst the other wrinkled and scrunched offerings, his narrow eyes scanned over the cover before he let out an exclamation.

“A book, it's-oh, thank you, SeungHyun, it's just what I wanted.”

His ears felt like they were on fire, DaeSung holding up the mistake SeungHyun wished he could have blamed on alcohol as well in order for the rest of the employees to see and gaining a brief chorus of laughter. The mortification didn't last as long as he'd expected, the other man rejoining the crowd as the next person was called up and SeungHyun couldn't understand why he hadn't berated him. It was such a tasteless sense of humor-

“Thank you.”

“Oh...!” He nearly jumped from where he'd subconsciously begun to lean against the wall, too much booze and excitement bringing out an early reaction of sleep for it only being the middle of the day, “D-DaeSung, I-I-”

“It was very thoughtful,” At least he hadn't offended him, SeungHyun on the verge of apologizing for his lack of tact when he suddenly had DaeSung's lips pressed against his cheek. They were at the back of the room, nobody would have noticed and even if they did it wasn't too out of the ordinary, DaeSung had been drinking too, though not nearly as much, “Merry Christmas, SeungHyun”

“M-Merry Christmas...” His fingers were up and touching his cheek like he'd just been slapped, DaeSung smiling back at him in an opposite reaction to his expectations as he held his book underneath his arm like he intended to keep it, an alluring flush suddenly seeming visible in his wide cheeks.

“...Who knows?...maybe it'll come in handy...”