“Oh, goddamn, it’s cold,” Solbin whined once she stepped out of the office building, shuddering as she buried her tired face into her gloved hands and yawned. Even working as an intern was hectic, although she supposed she was fortunate to have such a nice and understanding boss who did not make her do even one minute of overtime work. Her classmate and colleague, Sehun, on the other hand, did not have the same luck. His fault for procrastinating shamelessly during office hours.

All of Solbin’s exhaustion — unlike the thickening snow — melted away once she saw Yixing on the other side of the road. There was nothing like meeting up with a childhood friend for dinner that brightened Solbin’s mood. She could not wait; she was so. ing. Hungry.

“Xing! What are we going to eat?” Solbin asked, patting her growling stomach as if that could prevent it from digesting itself.

“Anything that pleases your appetite will please mine! So long as we don’t go to that hotel again…” Yixing stated wryly, and instantly Solbin winced at the traumatic memory as well.

“Right, definitely not,” she agreed, fishing out her phone from one of her pockets to scroll through all the coupons she had been saving. “Let’s go to the newly opened steakhouse, shall we? I can get a discount on that one, and it’s not too far away from the dessert place you said you’d take me to.”

“Ooh, that steakhouse? I would’ve thought you’d save that one for Baekhyun,” he remarked, his lips in sweet anticipation of the meal he was about to devour.

“Why would I save anything for him?” She forced a small chuckle.

He shrugged. “Just feels to me like it’s somewhere you’d wanna visit with someone you like. It’s known for its romantic atmosphere after all, isn’t it? So many couples —”

“But he and I are not a couple,” she declared emphatically. “I swear, you want me to get together with him more than I want me to get together with him.”

“And you want me to get back into dating again more than I want it,” he laughed.

“That I do indeed! You have any idea how long it’s been since you last went on a proper date?”

“I think it was back in…2011? No, wait, that w—”

“My point exactly.” She threw a pointed look at him, but it also carried a mysterious tinge of glee. He caught on without difficulty.

“And what exactly are you up to again this time?” He asked, following her up the dimly lit stairs to find the steakhouse. It seemed like he had little sense of direction whereas she was taking the lead, but he was definitely not a meek little lamb, for she had never, not even once, successfully orchestrated a date for him — he had always found a way out of it. It was almost as if he was avoidant of dating, treated it as some sort of a crisis to be averted at all costs, but there was no reason, really, for him to feel that way. His counter-attempts, however, did nothing to deter her.

Once they were seated and had ordered their food, she began to explain. “I know you have a type, Yixing.”

“I do?” He looked up at her, absentmindedly fiddling with his cutlery and napkin.

She nodded confidently. “You don’t usually like boys, but when you do, you like them tall, ridiculously attractive, and Chinese.”

He snorted. “Where are you getting all this information from?”

Deep inside, though, he could not agree more with her hypothesis. His heart began to beat faster as he thought about the hottie he had met last week, and he had not been able to get the guy out of his mind ever since. Technically, they were not even properly acquainted. He did not even know the guy’s name and they were probably never going to cross paths again. All he knew was that this nameless hottie must have walked right out of one of Yixing’s wet dreams.

“Doesn’t matter. And don’t deny it. Your heart wants what it wants,” she decreed. “So I met this amazing guy. He’s also interning with me at the office. He’s got the broadest shoulders and when I first met him I thought he must be a model of some sort. Seriously, he can make the corridor between the pantry and the washroom his very own runway. And did I mention he’s tall? Here, I’ve a selfie with him. His name is Sehun. Cute, right? He’s just your type, and hella gay,” she smirked and slid her phone across the table to him.

“Wow,” said Yixing, looking enticed and impressed.

“Yeah? Looks like someone you’d fancy making out with?” Solbin winked and poked Yixing in wicked amusement.

“Hush. Stop exposing me. He’s Korean?” He prodded.

“Half-Korean, half-Chinese,” she revealed, swiping right on her phone. “Which is why I wanted to show this to you. There’s a Chinese New Year party next week. It’s near where you live, so I don’t wanna hear any excuses from you.”

“Next week? But I’ve got a —”

“Uh-uh. Now normally I don’t care for parties, but if I have to drag you there myself, I wi