As soon as Minho opened the front door of his apartment, he could hear the deafening sound of the TV, followed by an unenthusiastic shout from the living room:

“Welcome baaack!”

Taking off his shoes, Minho was still not completely used to living with someone, even if it was his best friend.

 

In the living room, Sehun was comfortable on the dark gray cushy couch, still in her pajamas, a flowery tank top and some girly shorts. Her feet were placed on the coffee table, toenails painted in a bright pink color.

“Did you manage to run your daily 100 km?” She asked while munching on some gummy bears.

“It's only 12 km, and yes.” He sat down next to her and reached for the remote control, lowering the volume by more than half.

“So now you feel all morally superior and stuff?”

Minho sighed. “No, but it wouldn't kill you to eat a vegetable every now and then. How you can live on only ramen and gummy bears, I will never understand.”

“They taste good.” Sehun said defiantly, reaching for another gummy bear.

He sighed again, but his friend just smiled cheekily.

 

For a second Minho tried getting caught up in the TV show. It was some period drama, it seemed, until a scene happened in Namsan tower, so probably there was a time traveling element?

 

After a while, Sehun rested her head on Minho's shoulder, snuggling up to him. Normally, she was quite open to skinship, but lately she had been extra needy. Maybe understandably so, since there had been a lot of changes in her life lately.

 

Still, Minho got a feeling it was more than that, so he asked:

“How was your date last night?”

“The worst.” Sehun's voice was pouty.

“Did you... tell him beforehand?”

“Yes... He was kind of reluctant and when he saw how tall I am, he completely freaked out and left.”

Minho's heart stung. “I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault.”

“I'm still sorry.”

Why did it have to be the height? Sehun was already too self conscious about her height. Her parents hadn't allowed her to take hormones to stop her growth, and once she turned 19, it still took over a year to go through the system and get the proper treatment. By then it was too late, she was already 183.5 cm, tall for a man, huge for a woman.

 

“My stupid legs.” She muttered quietly. “Wish I could cut them off.”

“Your legs are gorgeous. Other women would kill for them. That guy was a loser.”

Sehun didn't say anything, but wrapped his hands around Minho's arm.

 

Trying to get back to the TV, the main female character was now dressed like a man, running through a field with a large samurai group following her. None of this made any sense, and he was about to ask his friend for a clarification for the drama when Sehun spoke up:

“Minho-yah... Do you have any plans for tonight?”

“Nah... I was just thinking about going to the gym.”

“Again?”

“Yeah, upper body exercises. It's usually quiet on Saturday evenings, so it's perfect.”

“There's life outside the gym, you know?”

“I know.”

“It's been two months since you broke up. Maybe it's time to move on?”

Minho didn't say anything. In some ways it felt like only yesterday that his girlfriend of three years dumped him out of the blue. Their relationship had been the best. So easy and never any drama, and Minho had sincerely thought that this was the girl he was going to marry. But fate was cruel.

 

Raising herself up, Sehun looked at him and smiled sweetly. “How about we go out tonight? Have some fun?”

Something about that smile was suspiciously sweet, and Minho's internal alarm bells started ringing. “Like, to a bar?”

“Yes... or an event.”

“What kind of an event?”

“Just... you know... something fun... To get you out of the house.”

Her pitch was slightly higher than usually, making Minho suspicious. He loved his best friend to pieces but when she really wanted something, she could be a bit manipulative to get her way, and Minho knew her too well to be so easily fooled.

“Do you have an event in mind? Or we could just go to the neighborhood sports pub? There is always something going on there?”

Sehun made a face at that suggestion, but quickly turned sweet again. “Actually there is this one event...”

“What kind of event?” The longer she avoided answering, the more uneasy he felt.

“Just... some... event that Xiumin pointed me to.”

Xiumin was a new friend from Sehun's local trans women's support group, so Minho had only met her a couple of times. But that was still enough to know that this woman was a ert.

 

“What kind of an event?” He repeated, very aware of the fact that Sehun had still not answered his question.

“Just... a... ehm... Christmas event.”

“Christmas?” Minho tilted his head. “Like with children dancing around a Christmas tree?” That was not what he had expected.

“Not exactly... more like an... adult Christmas party.”

“That sounds like an .”

“Not an . Not exactly. More like... positive.”

“I'm not going to some party, Sehun, you know me. I'm so not the type.”

“But isn't that exactly the reason you should go?”

“What?”

“Since you were 15 years old, how much time have you spent single? Three days?”

“It's more than three days.”

“Fine. A few months? You are single now for more than a month for the first time in your adult life, so why not enjoy it? Try something outside the box?”

“I'm not an outside-the-box person.”

“But maybe you are?” Sehun moved so she was sitting crossed legged on the couch, facing him. She grabbed his hand and held it. “Remember last weekend when we got super drunk after watching that soccer game?”

“Yes.” That had been fun. Why couldn't they just do that instead of some weird party, stay at home and get wasted.

“Remember when we talked...”

Minho could see where this was going, and his face warmed.

“And when I asked you if you had a secret fantasy...”

“I thought you were to drunk to remember?” He genuinely blushed.

“I always remember everything.” His friend said cockily, and laughed a little, triumphantly.

“That was just drunk talk.”

“I don't think it was.” Her voice softened. “And so what if you want to try to sleep with a guy? That's nothing to be ashamed of.” Then she added cheekily: “I can certainly understand.”

“That's different. You're a girl.”

She rolled her eyes.

“What I mean is...” He cleared his throat, realizing that he was starting to sound like a homophobe. “It just... doesn't feel like anything I should want.”

“But you do want it?”

“I never should have told you this.” He looked down to his lap.

“Of course you should. I'm the best thing that ever happened to you. Without me you would never have any fun, and always just do what you are supposed to!”

He couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her cheekiness, and because she was right. Although she could be a handful, Sehun definitely was fun.

 

Her voice turned soft. “But from what I understood, you don't really want to date a man... just try the ?”

Frowning a little, Minho nodded, dating a man had never even crossed his mind, and it felt wrong, despite having those secret ual fantasies.

“So, what is a better opportunity than a party like this?”

Minho sighed, but couldn't help admiring Sehun's ability to push for the things she wanted.

“No. I'm being serious.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “We all know that you are going to start dating another girl before the year is over. Then you'll marry her, and then you won't have another chance until you outlive her with your stupid healthy living.”

“It's not stupid. Only eating ramen is insane.”

Sehun ignored his comment. “You really should get this off your bucket list while you are still young. You will never pick up a guy on your own, and it's also not fair to lead someone on if you don't want to date him. So a party like this is your only chance!”

“But what if... I don't see anyone I like?”

“Then you won't have . It's not a summoning.” She smiled a little, crookedly. “In any case, you can explore whether this is actually something you really want to act out, or if it's just one of those fantasies that are better kept only in the brain.”

 

Even though Minho wanted to fight it, Sehun's reasoning was starting to make sense. He still didn't understand why he had told her about this, it was not like he thought about this all the time. It was just a fantasy that sometimes slipped out, an itch that he wanted to know how would feel to scratch. But he wasn't really the gay type, so being faced with it in reality would probably make him realize that he didn't actually want it. This little fire could be put out, and then he could marry a woman without any thoughts of 'what if'.

 

He still wasn't ready to admit that Sehun was winning him over, so he asked:

“Why can't Xiumin go with you?”

Sehun's smile turned into slight pout. “She's going with her family to Busan for the week.”

Minho's heart stung, knowing that Sehun would never have a family trip like that, and he knew that she was thinking it too. His voice turned softer: “Or some other girl from the group?” They would probably be better at this than him.

“Because I want to go with you, and...”

“And. What?” Minho's spider sense started tingling.

“It's not really for single people.”

“What?”

“It's... sort of... a swingers thing. Only couples are allowed.”

“But we're not a couple.” Cold sweat started forming on Minho's forehead. He did not like where this was going.

“No, but we can easily pretend.”

“But that... wouldn't that mean that we would have to... sleep with each other?” He frowned at the thought.

“EW!” Sehun hit him on the shoulder. “Gross! Of course not. Ew. We'll just find other people to sleep with. Ew. Ew. Ew. Why would you even say that? Ew.”

“But swingers... doesn't that mean that both couples are... that everyone is participating in the same thing?”

“No. And. Ew. Why do you have to be this gross? Xiumin told me it's very flexible. We can just swap partners with some couple, or we can even just pick people from different couples. It's really not that strict, we can do what we want. Just why Minho?!? Ew!” She hit him on the shoulder again, this time harder.

“I don't think all those 'ews' were really necessary. Most women find me very attractive.”

“And don't you know it.” Sehun sighed. “I'm not saying you're ugly, I guess you're handsome in that generic sort of way... but I've known you since we were five. You're like my brother, so it's gross. Besides, you're really not my type, too tall, and bulky, and way, way too full of yourself, and...”

“Fine. Got it.” Minho really didn't need a detailed list of his flaws right now.

“And you've seen my balls, before I got rid of them. Ew. I could never be with someone who has seen my balls.” She shuddered.

“But... aren't you looking for a real boyfriend? This might not be the right place for that.” He added hesitantly, not wanting her to get her hopes up too high.

“I know that. But it's been like five months since I healed from my surgery, and I've had with like... two guys, and it wasn't even good.” She sighed and looked down to her lap, playing with her fingers. “It's not really going very well with the dating, everyone gets really intimidated... by the fact that I used to have balls... that I'm so freaking tall... and it doesn't make it easier now when I admit that I'm living with a male friend who is kind of traditionally handsome... They all just run away.”

Minho reached for her hand and held it. Everything was a mess. Once Sehun's parents had kicked her out, she had tried to live alone, but she wasn't really the type, and couldn't really afford it after spending all of her money on the surgery. Minho had also used most of his limited savings to support her, so it made sense that they lived together to save money. But he also got why men wouldn't want their girlfriend living with another man, even though it was strictly platonic.

 

Sehun shrugged, and looked up, meeting his eyes.

“I just want to have fun for one night, get rid of all the pressure. Xiumin says the atmosphere is really open, and judgment free, so maybe I will find someone that likes me.” She sounded hopeful. “And I still don't really know how to have in this body, so some practice will do me good.” She her puppy eyes, and looked at him pleadingly. “Please? You don't have to do anything there if you don't want to. It will just be a bit of fun.”

When she looked at him like that, it was impossible to say no, especially after everything she had been going through lately. And she was right, he really didn't have to do anything, he could just go there to support her. So against his better judgment he answered:

“Fine. We can go.”

With a happy shriek, she threw herself into his arms. “Thank you. Thank you, thank you.”

Laughing a little, Minho couldn't help getting infected by her enthusiasm, and he put his arms around her.

After a short silence, she added: “There is one more favor I need from you?”

“Of course there is.”

“Can you wear the leather shoes I bought you last Christmas?”

“Uhm... sure, but why?”

“The heel is kind of tall, so it makes you taller than me.”

“So that's why you gave them to me? So you would look shorter?”

“Not only.”

He laughed. “Fine, I can wear them.”

“Thank you. And I promise you'll have fun. I promise.”

“Sure.” Minho answered without any conviction, because he was pretty sure he would not. But it was too late to back out now.