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Ah. Office Christmas parties. The bane of Jihoon’s existence. Every December he anticipates with increasing grudge this celebration of all things bright and colorful. Sure, he can stand the tacky decorations and the repetitive Christmas songs, but what really irks him is as if everyone is required to be happy even though the cause for celebration is rather vague and barely justified (hardly anyone is Christian!).
Still, his business partners just love throwing these office parties, and majority vote has always been their rule. Office celebrations boost employees’ morale and promote camaraderie, Seungcheol said. Everyone loves free food and booze, Soonyoung said. So every year their small company will have a Thanksgiving party (fair enough), a Halloween party (the costumes can be fun, at least), and the supreme leader of all parties, the Christmas party.
There are a few unique things to a Christmas party that gets on Jihoon’s nerves. One thing is the party theme, which gets more unpredictable year by year. Unlike Halloween where he can easily get a pass by wearing his usual all-black clothes and asking Minghao for some eyeliner, for Christmas he has to wear something related to the theme or he will never hear the end of it from Soonyoung. This year’s theme is Hawaiian, and whoever thought of this theme must really want to make Jihoon’s life difficult. Sooner he has to get around to looking for an acceptable floral summer shirt behind rows and rows of winter clothes in department stores.
Another thing is Secret Santa. Every year it just gets harder for him to look for gifts for the person he picked. Granted, that they’re company is quite small and through years of working together he knows pretty much everyone, but for some reason the person he gets out of the fishbowl always has some obscure, unheard-of things in their wishlist, like that year when he got Junhui who wants some Chinese herbal tea that he only manage to buy after finally getting help from Minghao (that kid is seriously a savior).
This year is no different, it seems, as he stares at the name and the wishlist of the person he just picked. They are required to list down three wishes, all of which must cost at least 30,000 won, but this person just wrote in a single line: “3 personal coupons of your choiceJ”
What the hell are personal coupons? He frowns at the piece of paper as if that will answer his question.
The person he picked, Kim Mingyu, is the new set designer that they have employed just 3 months ago. Jihoon deosn’t really know him that well yet because as a video and sound editor, their functions do not mostly interact, but he sounds like someone who will come up with these sorts of things for his wishlist, from what Jihoon has surmised. The guy is young, just out of university, and is teeming with enthusiasm and fresh ideas, which is very helpful in his line of work. Jihoon is sure “personal coupons” are some other new things that the young guy knows or has learned.
“What’s with that face? Not happy with your Christmas baby?” Soonyoung asks him while shaking the fishbowl with the remaining folded pieces of paper.
“If I said yes, will you let me return this and get a new one?” Jihoon tries his luck.
“Nope! Rules are rules! No exchange unless you pick your own name. Why, who did you pick?”
“As if I’d tell you.” He folds the paper and puts it in his pocket.
“Well, if I’m your Christmas baby, I like colored briefs rather than white–“
“You put briefs in your wishlist?”
“Why not? I need new ones. It looks like you didn’t pick me but maybe you can tell the person who did if you get to know who they are.”
Well, Soonyoung caught him in that one. Jihoon just shrugs anyway.
“Well, I better go now,” Soonyoung says, walking out of his small working space. “And don’t forget the theme this year! It’s- “
“Hawaiian, I know. You’ve reminded me so many times.”
“Just making sure you remember, Jihoonie!” He gives Jihoon a finger gun before finally walking out.
Jihoon sighs. He pulls out Mingyu’s list out of his pocket. One week before the party and he already feels that it will be a major test of strength.
Five days before the party and everyone is actually talking excitedly about the upcoming event. Except Jihoon, of course.
He’s in their office pantry to get his afternoon coffee when he gets to hear excited conversations about who has Hawaiian-themed clothes and who has already shopped gifts for their Christmas baby.
“I have these tropical shirts that I wore for a summer vacation. I can finally use them again.” Seungkwan sounds excited.
“Good for you. I have ordered my outfit online as it is really hard to shop for them nowadays. I ordered my gift online as well. They’ll arrive just in time before the party.” Jisoo says.
Huh, online shopping. Jihoon takes a mental note. He wonders if he orders an outfit now it will arrive before the party.
“The wishlist you got must be pretty easy because they have it online.” Mingyu says. “I still don’t know what to buy as the list I got is not really specific.”
The nerve of this kid! He complains about the wishlist he picked not being specific when he himself wrote the most vague thing in his wishlist!
“Well, maybe you can ask from help from any of us? We know each other pretty well here and I’m sure it’s hard to pick gifts for people that you’ve only known for a few months.” Jisoo offers kindly.
“Thank you, Jisoo-hyung. But I really want to keep my Christmas baby a secret until the party.”
“Well, if you say so.”
Mug of coffee in hand, Jihoon walks out of the pantry and passes by the common lounge where these employees are having a break. They bow to him as a greeting and he bows back slightly. He makes a brief eye contact with Mingyu and the employee actually looks a bit… flustered?
He must be embarrassed about something, though what is it Jihoon cannot figure out. When he thinks about it he had always observed that the kid is nervous and clumsy whenever he visits their set during a shoot. Understandable given that he is a new employee, but he had never heard Seungcheol, their director, talk about it. In fact, almost everyone is talking about how easy it is to work and get along with the new set designer.
Weird, Jihoon thinks, but just shrugs it off. Jihoon sets down his coffee on his desk and gets back to work.
He completely forgets about the idea of shopping online for his Hawaiian outfit until the next day, when it comes to him while he is doing color adjustments in a video.
Jihoon frantically opens his browser and types in what he hopes are the right keywords that will bring the best results. Soon enough, he comes across a website that sells themed costumes that will deliver orders in 3 days for an express fee. The designs under Hawaiian theme range from decent to downright festive. Jihoon chooses the most subdued one in his size. The price, including the express shipping fee, is more than what he’d normally spend for something like this, but he thinks the convenience is worth it.
He checks out and begins processing his payment.
“Is that your outfit for the Christmas party?” Wonwoo asks from behind him. Jihoon shares the working space with his fellow video editor.
“Yeah. I don’t really have time to shop around anymore.” Jihoon answers while double-checking his payment details onscreen. “How about you? This website delivers orders in 3 days.”
“I already have my outfit.”
Jihoon turns to Wonwoo, surprised. “You, of all people?”
“Don’t be so surprised. But yeah, some people are really excited about this Christmas party, so I have no choice.” Wonwoo shrugs. “Anyway, how about your gift? Have you bought yours?”
“Well, my gift… I’m still not sure about what to get the person I picked, actually.”
“Well I hope I’m not that person because I might end up empty-handed during the party.”
“I’ll make sure to get it soon. I’m not a horrible person, Wonwoo.”
“Well, you better.”
Now that Jihoon has his outfit down and is now reminded of their Secret Santa, he gets back onscreen and opens another tab. There he types in: Personal coupons.
Several images come up, so he clicks on the images tab. Oh, oh.
So these are what personal coupons are.
Three days before the office party and Jihoon is still at a loss about his gift.
He spent much time the night before looking at samples and samples of personal coupons off the internet, his mind reeling because there’s just so many and not enough at the same time.
What he learned is that personal coupons are literally just coupons that entitle the receiver some specific personal favors from the giver, the details of which are specified. The samples mostly range from petty to demanding, and some are even rather… kinky, granted that those are Valentine personal coupons for lovers.
His dilemma now is what to put in those three personal coupons that he’s going to give. What could Kim Mingyu possibly want from him? What could he offer Mingyu that could actually be a gift to the young guy? Because as much as he pretends to not care about these things, Jihoon cannot and does not half-ass his gifts. It’s maybe one of the reasons why he hates Secret Santa; it gives him slight anxiety, making sure that the receiver will be truly happy and satisfied with his gift.
So he decided that his mission today is to find out information about Mingyu which could possibly give him an idea for the coupons.
He knows that there are no shoots on remote locations scheduled until the end of the year, so Seungcheol and the whole team will be in the office today. Great. Now he has to call Kim Mingyu over in his work space in the guise of something work-related. Maybe then he can initiate small talk and know something helpful about the guy. In his mind this plan is perfectly sound.
He dials the Creative Department. Someone answers after two rings. “Creative Department, good morning!”
It’s Soonyoung. “Uh, hi Soonyoung. It’s Jihoon.”
“Jihoon! What can I do for you?”
“I’m having a few problems with coloring the music video for Nu’est W- “
“What problems? Maybe I can help you.” Soonyoung replies eagerly.
“Uh, actually… It’s something about the set design.” He decides to cut short to what he needs, lest Soonyoung notice that he’s just making this all up. “Can you send the set designer in the editing room for a while?”
“You mean Kim Mingyu?”
“Oh, is that him? Uhh, send him in please. I just have a few questions.”
“Sure thing! He’ll be there in a while. Are you sure you don’t want to discuss it with me or- “
“It’s okay Soonyoung. Uh, thank you.”
“No problem! Just give me a call if- “
Jihoon drops the telephone before the call gets anymore longer. Dealing with Soonyoung is no different on the phone and in real life.
A few moments later and he hears a knock on the door.
“Come in.” He calls out, and Kim Mingyu enters, looking around the dark room. Wonwoo just turns his head at Mingyu but immediately goes back to his monitor, not saying anything.
“You called for me sunbae?” Mingyu asks, fidgeting slightly. He looks a little nervous, like Jihoon had always observed.
“Yeah. Uh… Have a seat. I just have a few questions about the music video for Nu’est W.”
“Okay.” Mingyu drags a seat near Jihoon so they could both look at Jihoon’s monitor.
An hour passes with Mingyu and him talking, and Jihoon learns nothing helpful at all.
He does learn that Mingyu is very knowledgeable and passionate in his job. He always answers Jihoon’s “problems” completely and with additional insight on how his ideas came about. The kid is obviously nervous at first, stopping because he thinks he must have talked too much, but after some encouraging nods from Jihoon, he evidently got more comfortable.
Still, Jihoon has not learned anything about Kim Mingyu’s personal life. Obviously his plan is not as sound as he thought, for he forgot that initiating small talks is something he does not do at all. Right now, he’s running out of any excuses to keep the set designer beside him.
“So the set colors should actually be brighter because of the concept. I can do that. Do you think adding a warm filter would also help?”
“That would look great I think,” Mingyu says. “Uh, sunbae?”
Jihoon turns from his monitor to Mingyu. “What is it? Actually, you can drop the sunbae. Just call me hyung.”
Mingyu’s eyes go surprisingly wide at that. “Really? But it will be really weird since you’re my senior.”
“Well, no one else calls me sunbae, so it’s actually kind of weird hearing that. When we started this company it’s kind of an unspoken agreement that we’ll be just casual with each other, since we’re all just friends.”
“Oh…” Mingyu nods and appears to think. “But why does the creative director insist that I call him Soonyoung-sajangnim?”
“Did he really?” Jihoon laughs. “He’s just tripping with you, typical Soonyoung. No one calls him sajangnim, right?”
“Yeah,” Mingyu agrees, but he still looks perplexed.
“Don’t mind him. He gets a kick out of playing with others like that.” Jihoon shakes his head. This kid actually looks like a lost puppy. Adorable. What.
“By the way, you were about to say something?”
“Uh, I was just gonna say… that’s a nice hoodie you have, hyung. Where did you buy it?”
“Oh, this?” Jihoon looks down at the hoodie that he’s wearing. It’s one of various black hoodies that he has in his closet. “I think it’s MYCT.”
“It looks, uh, cool. Do you always shop at MYCT?”
“Yeah. MYCT and 8 seconds. But I don’t really shop that much.” Jihoon knows that now that the conversation has turned into casual stuff, this is finally his chance to ask something. He racks his brain up for something, anything.
“What do you do in your free time?” Wow, real smooth, Jihoon.
Mingyu looks at him a little too long before answering. “I like to go out and try different restaurants. I love food. I actually cook myself, but just some really easy stuff.”
He must think I’m hitting on him or something, Jihoon thinks. Mingyu’s answer actually gives a lot of opening for Jihoon to ask more, and Jihoon thinks about it hard before finally saying: “That’s great. Oh, would you look at the time. I think we’re finally done here.”
Mingyu seems at a loss to this sudden dismissal. “Uh, are you sure, hyung?”
“Yeah. You’ve been really helpful. Thank you, Mingyu-yah.”
“No problem, hyung. Just… call me anytime you need help.”
“Sure thing. Just close the door on your way out.”
Jihoon waits until Mingyu gets out of their room before he buries his face on his hands, groaning and cursing out.
“Everything okay?” Wonwoo asks from his side of the room. “What happened with you and the kid?”
“Nothing.” Jihoon shrugs. Nothing. He got pretty much nothing of value during this whole time with Kim Mingyu.
One day before the Christmas party and Jihoon is about ready to die.
He has spent the whole yesterday analyzing what little he had learned about Mingyu the other day. He also thinks about all the things he had observed about Mingyu; his clothes, his shoes, his hair. He figures there’s something there somewhere that he can use.
So far, he came up with nothing.
He arrived at their office this morning and their receptionist and marketing assistant Chan gave him a package. It was the outfit he ordered, arriving on schedule.
He’s on break now, and he finds that as an excuse to walk around until he gets to the studio. He watches Mingyu and several others working. They are fixing the set for a studio shoot that will happen the day after the Christmas party. He observes as Mingyu arranges the furnitures and other set pieces before stepping out to see it from different angles. He discusses things with Soonyoung and Minghao from time to time.
Minghao. Now that he thought of it, the concept designer and stylist works with Mingyu most of the time, and seems to be the closest to the new employee. Jihoon wonders…
Later on, he catches Minghao while the boy is walking out of the studio.
“Hao. Do you have a moment?”
“Sure, hyung.”
“Do you mind if, uh, we talk somewhere else?”
“Of course.”
Jihoon walks with Minghao to the editing room, knowing that Wonwoo is on break like him. He pulls a seat for Minghao.
“So, it’s about the Secret Santa.”
Minghao smiles at him. “Ah, you need my help again? Who did you pick this time?”
Jihoon thanks the heavens for sending Minghao his way. The young man is very dependable and always eager to help. “It’s Mingyu.”
Minghao’s eyebrows raise and his smile turns to something like amusement, but he does not say anything and nods for Jihoon to continue.
“I’m really having a hard time with his gift. I’m asking for your help because I know you wouldn’t tell anyone and also because you seem to know him very well.”
“What’s on his wishlist?”
Jihoon takes out the folded paper from his pocket and gives it to Minghao. Minghao reads it and actually laughs.
“What a dork. It’s really like Mingyu to think of these things. He’s more of an action more than material things guy.” He looks up at Jihoon’s worried expression. “What’s the problem? This is actually easy, hyung.”
“Well, I don’t really know him that well so I can’t think of anything to put on the coupons! I was hoping you have some idea?”
“Didn’t you talk with Mingyu the other day?”
“How did you know that?”
“Mingyu told me. You must have learned something about him then, I’m sure.”
Jihoon recites the few trivia that he knew. “Well, he said he likes food and cooking. He goes out and tries different restaurants. That’s about it.”
“There it is. Make a coupon that says, ‘Try a new restaurant with Jihoon-hyung.’ ”
Jihoon looks at Minghao, confused. “But what exactly can he get from that? Isn’t this supposed to benefit him in some way? I’m sure he can go out and eat on his own…”
“Trust me, hyung. He’ll be very happy to have that coupon.” Minghao looks very sure, which makes Jihoon even more confused.
“But why?”
“Because,” Minghao pauses, looking very conflicted. “Don’t ever tell Mingyu I said this, hyung. He likes you.”
It takes a while before what Minghao means gets through Jihoon’s brain. “What?”
“Mingyu has a big fat crush on you. He’s gets really nervous whenever you’re around. He’s a mess, believe me. Good thing you don’t work closely together, or the poor guy’s not gonna get anything done.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“You should have seen him when he got back from the editing room the other day. He looks all high and happy the rest of the day, humming tunes and all that. He also keeps on muttering ‘Jihoon-hyung’ and giggling to himself after.”
“Wow.” Jihoon just says, trying to absorb everything that Minghao said.
“Well I guess you now know what to do, hyung.” Minghao stands up and heads to the door.
“Wait!” Jihoon calls out, and Minghao stops. “I still have 2 more coupons to fill-out.”
Minghao grins. “I’m sure Mingyu won’t mind two more dates with his Jihoon-hyung.”
Oh. “Uhh, thank you Minghao. You’re the best.”
“Anytime, hyung.”
D-Day. The day every employee of SVT, Inc. has been waiting for, in one way or another.
Employees can work during the morning only. Afterwards, everyone is given time to change into their themed outfit, and the party starts right at 12 pm.
The party is at their very own studio, with the set carefully covered and cordoned off. As always, the affair is hosted by Seungkwan and Soonyoung. Both went all-out with their Hawaiian outfit, sporting garlands and grass skirts.
Pretty much everyone also did well with their outfits, and Jihoon is glad he ordered his online for he’s sure anything he’ll be able to find himself while shopping will be far from appropriate.
They start off with games, of course, and Jihoon manages to sit out in every game by not drawing attention to himself. Nonetheless, almost everyone is eager to participate, and it was fun to watch Soonyoung and Seungcheol battle it out in Chubby Bunny. Soonyoung wins after managing to stuff 12 pieces of marshmallow inside his cheeks, looking very much like a hamster.
After the games comes lunchtime. Everyone is enjoying the feast when Soonyoung and Seungkwan suddenly come out with a cake while singing a happy birthday to Jisoo. Jisoo looks surprised but also slightly confused; after all, his birthday is actually still in 2 weeks.
“Now that everyone is full and sated, we’ll now get to my favorite portion of our Christmas party. What is it, Seungkwan-ah?”
“Didn’t we just eat? That’s your favorite portion.” Everyone laughs.
“Ah, well. Then this is my second favorite part.”
“That’s right. It’s time for Secret Santa! This year, you must describe your Christmas baby first before revealing his name.”
“And to get things rolling, I’ll start!” Soonyoung takes out his gift bag from behind him, decorated with very festive ribbons.
“My Christmas baby is someone who looks very serious and stone-faced at times, but is actually a soft marshmallow inside. I had a hard time keeping this a secret from you, but I guess I succeeded! This is for you, Wonwoo!”
Wonwoo looks very surprised, and stares blankly at Soonyoung as he receives the gift. Soonyoung looks like he just pulled the greatest trick. Wonwoo opens the bag and takes out new headphones, still in packaging. He actually looks really pleased, until he pulls out another item from the bag. A towel. He glances at Soonyoung, head tilted.
“Ah, that’s my other gift for you that’s not in your wishlist. It’s your own towel, so you won’t have to use mine everytime you come over.”
Everyone goes silent. Wonwoo closes his eyes and sighs.
Soonyoung and Wonwoo?! Now that Jihoon is aware, their outfits are actually of the same pattern, albeit of different shades. Now it makes sense how Wonwoo already has his outfit that early. Still, Soonyoung and Wonwoo?
Seungkwan clears his throat. “Looks like Soonyoung’s surprise for Wonwoo also surprised everyone. Well, ‘tis the time for more surprises! Wonwoo, describe your Christmas baby.” He hands the mic to Wonwoo.
“You’ll regret this later.” Wonwoo mutters to Soonyoung which the mic catches nonetheless. Soonyoung actually looks properly worried.
“The person I picked is someone who I think is very reliable. He’s a very hardworking and cheerful hyung who gives the best advice. This is for you, Jisoo-hyung.”
The Secret Santa goes on, with Jisoo giving his gift to Hansol, Hansol to Seungkwan, Seungkwan to Seungcheol, Seungcheol to Junhui, Junhui to Jeonghan, Jeonghan to Chan, Chan to Minghao, Minghao to Seokmin, and finally Seokmin to Soonyoung.
Soonyoung opens his gift from Seokmin and shouts in glee upon seeing the contents. He takes out a transparent box of briefs, with colors red, yellow, purple and green.
“I got you colorful ones just like you said!”
“Thank you bro!” Soonyoung hugs Seokmin tightly.
“Is that all? Did anyone have a gift already?” Seungkwan asks while looking around.
Jihoon of course still has not handed his gift, but he sees Mingyu raising his head before he is able to say so.
“Oh! Mingyu still has his gift! I wonder who his Christmas baby is?” Seungkwan wonders out loud.
Jihoon rolls his eyes. It must be obvious by now since he’s the only other one who has not gotten his gift. He glances at Mingyu, who he catches looking at him. The tall man blushes profusely and smiles.
“Well, let’s have a guess! Here Mingyu, describe to us your Christmas baby!” Soonyoung hands the mic to Mingyu.
Mingyu fidgets with the mic and the gift bag on his other hand.
“Uh, when I first got here and saw this hyung, I thought he’s really cool and handsome. He always looks so serious but as time went on, even if I don’t get to talk to him that much, I learned that he is really warm, kind, and also very hard-working. Still, I get really nervous whenever he’s around.” Mingyu laughs.
“However, when I was looking for my gifts I was having a really hard time, and I realized if I had known this hyung better, then it wouldn’t be this hard. So, even if I get really nervous around you, please know that this dongsaeng really wants to be closer to you. Jihoon-hyung.”
Is it really that hot in here? Jihoon thinks as he feels his face warm up. Everyone and most of all Mingyu is looking at him.
“Awww, our Jihoonie has a fanboy!” Soonyoung coos. “Come here, Jihoon-ah. Accept your dongsaeng’s heart.”
Jihoon, in his most appearingly reluctant way, gets to Mingyu and accepts the gift bag.
“Merry Christmas, hyung.” Mingyu tells him.
Jihoon opens the gift bag and sees several t-shirts, hats and masks from MYCT and 8 seconds. Jihoon barely remembers writing this things on his wishlist. Mingyu must have not been kidding when he said he had a hard time buying the gift as he bought different kinds to make sure.
“Thank you, Mingyu-ya.” Jihoon mutters. He takes out the envelope from his pocket and hands it quickly to Mingyu. “Uhh, this is my gift for you.”
Mingyu takes the envelope and opens it.
Seungkwan protests. “Wait wait! You didn’t even say anything about Mingyu!”
“I don’t think I need to.” Jihoon says and shrugs.
Mingyu reads through the three coupons inside and visibly lights up in happiness, smiling wide and eyes sparkling. He steps forward and quickly envelopes Jihoon into a hug.
“Wait wait. What’s happening? Why are they hugging?” Soonyoung asks.
“Thank you, hyung!” Mingyu says. “This is the best gift that I’ve ever received.”
“I’m glad you liked them.” Jihoon says against Mingyu’s chest. He doesn’t miss the wolf-whistles and squeals from people around them. “Uh, can you let me go now? Everyone’s going crazy.”
“O-oh.” Mingyu finally let’s go, looking quite embarrassed.
This kid is really like a puppy. A cute, adorable puppy. Jihoon reaches out to ruffle Mingyu’s hair. “Merry Christmas, kid.”
“What is in the envelope that made Mingyu so happy? Gift certificates?” Soonyoung asks.
“Just carry on with the party, Soonyoung.” Jihoon says.
“But I need to know! Mingyu, I’ll talk you later about this – “
“Leave Mingyu alone and I also won’t ask anything about you and Wonwoo.”
Soonyoung stops at that and grins. “Sure thing, Jihoon-ah.”
The last portion of the party is a karaoke for all. This part is still mostly for Seungkwan, Soonyoung and Seokmin who take turns hogging the machine while all others get to drink, eat snacks, and talk with one another.
Jihoon just enjoys his usual corner with a glass of beer and a corndog when Mingyu comes up to him.
“Hyung.”
“Yes, Mingyu?”
Mingyu hands him a coupon. “I’m wondering if you’re free tonight?”
Jihoon reads the coupon. Grocery shopping with Jihoon-hyung
“Why this one?”
“I’m thinking we could buy ingredients and I will cook for you in my apartment.” Mingyu smiles, tone slightly pleading.
Jihoon smiles. “Sounds great. We can leave together later after this.”
For the record, Jihoon still won’t go all out and say that he loves Christmas parties. This outfit is still too loud and he’s sure he will never use it again. He still had a hard time coming up with a gift for Secret Santa. But with how things are turning out, all the fuss and worry might just be worth it.