“It's just around the corner.” Sehun said while looking at her phone, her voice slightly trembling, and not because of the cold. The way she clung to Minho's arm made it clear how nervous she was.

 

“It will be fine.” Minho tried to comfort.

“What if nobody will like me?” Sehun nibbled on her lower lip. “If even there, nobody will like me?”

“I don't think so.” He tried to encourage her. “If it's a bust, we'll just try another event.”

“Really? You would do that for me?”

“Of course. The right guy for you is out there. We just have to find him.”

 

They turned into a small alley and stopped in front of a big iron door. Sehun rang the doorbell.

A big, muscular guy with a buzz cut, wearing a tight black T-shirt opened the door. “Password?”

“Carnal Christmas.” Sehun said confidently, and they were immediately let inside.

Minho started to get second thoughts. 'Carnal Christmas?' What kind of a creepy password was this?

 

After leaving their coats at the service in the lobby, they stepped into the bar. It surprised Minho how normal everything was. It looked like a regular bar, albeit a bit more fancy than his usual sport bars. There were Christmas decorations all around, mostly golden and red. Somehow Minho had been expecting people to be ing each other in every corner, but everyone was wearing proper clothes, and nothing lewd seemed to be going on, but maybe they were too early.

 

“What... ehm... do you want to do?” He asked, starting to feel awkward.

“Maybe... start with a drink?”

 

They sat down by the bar.

“Hey, gorgeous, what can I offer you.” The bartender was dressed up as a Christmas elf with a red and green hat, wearing a flashy green shirt and tight red shorts.

Sehun giggled at the compliment. “One Hugo, thanks.”

“A beer for me.” Minho said once the guy looked at him.

 

The smile on her face made it clear that most of Sehun's nervousness had been replaced by excitement. She looked around, pursing her lips. Minho followed her gaze. The bar was quite big, and even though they were early it was already half-full.

 

The people were more diverse than Minho had expected. While he had been preparing himself for a room full of leather clad gimps, most were normal looking people. Of course there were a few queer couples, but most couples seemed to be normal heteroual couples, both young adults and middle aged people. Still, Minho felt out of place. He wasn't the type for this sort of a party. But at least Sehun seemed happy. Hopefully this would be good for her, she had always been the wilder out of the two of them.

 

“So what's your type?”

“Huh?” Minho looked back at his overly cheerful friend.

“I mean for men? What kind of men are you into? I know your taste in women, but for men I have no idea.”

“So what's my taste in women?” Minho asked, mainly to avoid the other question.

“Classical beauties, sophisticated and unproblematic.”

“Unproblematic? What does that even mean?”

“I said what I said. But more importantly, what's your taste in men?”

“I... don't really know. I don't think I have a type. It's not like that.”

“Then what do you to?”

“Sehun. Don't be crude.”

“If this isn't the place to be crude, then I don't know where is.” She took a sip of her cocktail. “But when you watch... ehm inspiring... material, what attracts you? Tall guys, short? Bulky? Skinny? Chubby? Hairy? Young? Mature?”

“I don't know. It's not like I think about this a lot, just when I'm drunk, it just comes out...  sometimes. And it's not so specific.

“Hmm... But out of all the guys in here, who would you want to sleep with? If you had to?”

Looking around, Minho felt his face getting warmer, and his stomach too. There were so many men here, and it felt strange to look at them as possible partners, he never looked at men like that. Most of them were probably straight anyway, but the thought of kissing another man, touching him, his chest and his arms and lower, made Minho feel strangely. But it was not like any specific man stood out. Maybe it was truly abstract, this small but perpetuating desire to experience something ual with a man. For whatever reason the thought of it turned him on, while he wasn't directly ually attracted to real life men.

 

“Oh wow.” Sehun's voice trembled, and she placed his hand on her heart. “Oh my.”

“What?”

“I think I just saw the iest man I have ever seen. Wow.”

“Who?” Minho turned around, to try and see the man she was referring to.

“Don't! You're being too obvious.” 

“Which one was he?” There had been several men there.

“The handsome one in the gray suits.”

This time, Minho tried to be more subtle when he looked back. “Yeah, he's handsome. Maybe you should talk to him?”

“No... he's too... much. He probably won't like me.”

“You don't know until you try.”

Out of reflex, Minho looked back again. It was true that the guy was classically handsome, but he looked a bit cold and stuck up, and his suits seemed expensive. Also, he was tiny. Probably less that 170 cm. But Minho knew better than to mention that. He never really understood why Sehun was so attracted to short guys, given her own height issues. Yes, she was tall, but it was not impossible to find taller men. But when he had asked she had frowned, and stated that being tall was just fundamentally uny, complaining about way too long limbs and trollish, clumsy movements. Probably her hatred of her own height had some effects here, Minho suspected.

 

“Oh, god. He's coming over!” She said in a hushed tone. “Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Act normal.”

Honestly, Minho didn't even know what that meant in this situation, but he straightened up and did his best to not act weird.

“Hey sweetheart.” The man said smoothly, focusing only on Sehun.

“Hey.” She giggled, obviously liking the attention.

“Is it your first time here?”

“Yes.”

“And this is your...” He looked at Minho.

“Fiance.” She lied quickly. “Choi Minho.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, I'm Kim Junmyeon. And your lovely fiancee?”

“Oh Sehun.” She introduced herself quickly, and smiled.

The guy smiled back at her, and offered: “Do you guys maybe want to join me and my husband for some drinks?”

“Uhm...” Sehun looked at Minho, and he nodded lightly. “Yes, that would be nice, thank you.” 

Junmyeon led the way, and Sehun used the opportunity to side-elbow Minho and whisper. “He has a husband! How perfect.”

Minho didn't say anything, but secretly rolled his eyes. He was not going to have with some guy, just because Sehun was attracted to his husband.

 

They went to a back room and stopped by a guy sitting alone in a booth. The guy in the gray suits introduced his husband as Lee Jinki, and then they all sat down.

 

It was a half circle couch made of red leather, Sehun and Junmyeon sat together at the center while Minho and the husband sat at opposite ends. 

 

It was awkward. That was the only way to describe it. Sehun and the guy were openly flirting, while Minho was just sitting there, awkwardly sipping on his bottle of beer. He tried reminding himself that it was great that Sehun had managed to pick up a guy (in under fifteen minutes, no less). This would be great for her. But Minho still kind of wished he didn't have to be involved, the idea of spending the night in the gym sounded like heaven right about now.

 

“Oh no, your drink is out.” Junmyeon suddenly said to Sehun. “Let me buy you a new one.”

“Thank you.”

“The bartender is an artist, you will have to  see him in action.” 

The husband stood up, allowing them to pass, and then the two of them left.

 

That was beyond awkward, and Minho wanted to leave. But he wasn't sure if leaving the premise would ruin Sehun's chances, since apparently they were a package deal, and sitting alone at the bar didn't really sound much better.

 

“You don't need to look so scared, I don't bite.” The husband said gently. His voice was kind of melodic and surprisingly soothing, and Minho relaxed a little and smiled.

For the first time, he took a closer look at the husband. He seemed like a regular guy, not at all like the erts Minho expected to see here. And he did seem like an odd fit to his husband. Contrary to his husband's flashy suits, he was just wearing a green T-shirt, that Minho now realized had a cartoon picture of a reindeer with a bright red nose. An odd choice for a place like this.

 

“Let me guess, coming here was your girlfriend's idea?”

“That obvious?'

“Yes, kinda.” The guy laughed, and his smile was broad, strangely infectious, so Minho found himself smiling back.

“If you don't mind me asking, you don't seem particularly jealous that your girlfriend was flirting with another man?”

“No. Not at all.” He answered automatically.

Jinki tilted his head. “Most newcomers are.”

 

Honestly, Minho just wanted to tell the truth, that they were only friends so there was nothing to be jealous about. Lying wasn't his style, but coming clean would get them kicked out, so he stayed as close to the truth as he could.

“I just want her to be happy. Sehun has been through a lot lately so she deserves some fun.”

“You don't need to worry, Junmyeon will treat her well, he's a complete gentleman.”

“Thanks, that's good to know.”

Minho noticed that the guy consistently used female pronouns about her, without effort. Even after her surgeries it was still quite obvious that she was trans, because of her height and her broad shoulders, making many people awkward in interacting with her or talking about her. But this guy effortlessly treated her like a regular woman, which made Minho like him more.

 

Jinki took a sip. “So what did your girlfriend have in mind for this event? Partner swap? Joining another couple?”

“Nothing like that.” Minho wanted to make that clear, he didn't want to get this guy's hopes up because he was starting to like talking to him. “I just think she could use some male validation right now.” 

Very subtly, Jinki raised his eyebrows. “And she wanted you to stand by and wait while that happened?”

“No.” Minho realized how badly that made Sehun sound. “She wants me to... get something off my bucket list before I turn 25.”

“And when do you turn 25?”

“Next week.”

“That doesn't give you a lot of time.” Jinki laughed. “When exactly is your birthday?”

“9th.”

“Funny. Mine is on the 14th of December.”

“Really?” That was a cute coincidence, that their birthdays were so close.

“But I'm turning a bit more than 25.” He smiled.

“How much more?”

“Thirty.”

Minho was surprised, he looked so sweet and innocent he had expected them to be the same age.

 

Their conversation was interrupted when a waiter, also dressed in a ty elf custom, came to take Jinki's glass and Minho's empty beer bottle.

“Can I get you guys something else?”

“Just my usual.” 

“Another beer please.”

Now that the elf custom was not hidden behind the bar, it was more obvious how tight his elf shorts were, and that his shirt was kind of a crop top. The outfit reminded Minho that he was at a positive event, whatever that meant.

 

Once he had left, Minho admitted:

“Honestly, I expected this to be far more lewd.”

But Jinki just smiled and said casually: “There are back rooms.”

“Back r-rooms?”

“Yes, with people having , both oral and with penetration, and one-on-one.”

“Right now?” The thought made him feel warm in a strange way.

“Yes. So whatever your kink is, I'm sure they have it.”

Awkwardly, Minho wiped the sweat forming on his temple. “It's not really that. Not really a kink.”

“So... what was it, that you wanted to cross off your bucket list? If you don't mind me asking?”

“It's not...”

Minho was a bit torn, on one hand it was private, but on the other this guy was just very calm and easy to talk to. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to open up a bit about this mess, to someone neutral, someone he would never see again. And maybe it made sense to talk to a gay person. Maybe he could even give him some advice.

 

Still he was not completely relaxed about confiding in a stranger, so he started with:

“Uhm... Sehun wanted me to... try... with another man.” As soon as he said it he regretted sharing something so deeply personal, but at the same time he felt kind of relieved to say it out loud, somehow that made it less serious.

“Ah, does she want to watch?”

“What? No.” Without being able to control it, his face turned into a disgusted frown. He really could not think anything could be less y than Sehun watching him having .

“It's a common kink, women wanting to see their partners with another man.” Jinki shrugged. “It's not a big deal. Everyone has kinks.”

Minho was not sure that was true, but said in a softer voice. “No, she doesn't want to watch.”

“Then why does she want you to do it?”

“Because...” He swallowed, realizing that he had painted himself into a corner, and he had no option but to tell the truth. “Because... I sometimes think about it, so she thinks I should get it out of my system.”

Jinki looked at him sharply, and the glint in his eyes was unmistakable, like he was suddenly considering him as a ual partner. But still, he answered in a very casual tone: “Maybe you should.”

Minho felt himself blushing. He was torn, because he wanted to be honest, but he suspected that if he did, this man would lose interest in talking to him.

“The truth is, that I'm not sure I actually want to...”

 

Right at that moment, when their conversation was getting interesting, they were interrupted by the waiter dressed like a Christmas elf. 

“So here are your drinks.” He had a small round tray in one hand, and with the other he picked a small toy fishing rod from the back pocket of his shorts. But instead of a fish, some herbs were hanging at the end of it. He held it over their heads. 

“What do we have here? A mistletoe!”

Jinki sighed. “Kibum-ah, don't be a child.”

“You know the rules, if you want your drinks you have to succumb to the power of the mistletoe.”

Shaking his head, Jinki looked at Minho, and smiled a little, indicating that he thought this was silly. 

 

Feeling the complete opposite of silly, Minho stared back at him in panic. Surely this man didn't expect them to kiss? They barely even knew each other. He was about to object to this nonsense, when Jinki's gaze dropped down to his lips. Simultaneously, Minho's heart dropped down to his stomach. This couldn't be happening.

 

But Jinki started moving closer to him, slowly. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second, and then Minho just knew that it would happen, and there was no way to stop it. Jinki's gaze ended back on Minho's lips, and he moved closer, and closer, until ever so gently his plump lips were pressed against Minho's.