The apartment was tiny. Barely enough room for the bed and the desk shoved against the wall.

Julian lay there for a long time, staring at the ceiling.

Then the horror hit.

Jesus Christ.

What the hell was wrong with him?

How had he almost done something like that to his boss?

Thank God he'd hung up in time.

Had he made any noise?

Julian wanted to die on the spot. Unfortunately, he still had work to finish.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

How had things turned into this?

He buried his face in the pillow for a few seconds, then forced himself upright and called Samuel back.

The line connected almost immediately.

"Sorry," Julian said quickly. "My phone slipped."

Silence.

A few seconds too long.

Then Samuel spoke again.

"Can you talk now?"

Julian swallowed.

"Yeah."

And just like that, they went back to discussing work.

Samuel's voice stayed calm and steady through the speaker.

Julian listened painfully carefully, guilt crawling all over him.

Only when cold air brushed against his stomach did he remember the mess he'd left himself in.

Samuel was talking to him completely normally.

Meanwhile Julian was sitting there in a skirt.

Heat rushed up his neck.

He grabbed tissues with one hand, trying to clean himself up while answering questions in the most professional voice he could manage.

"Got it."

"I'll revise that section."

"I'll send the updated version over right away."

When the conversation ended, Julian waited for Samuel to hang up first.

He didn't.

The room fell completely quiet.

The old air conditioner rattled softly overhead. Somewhere outside, faint Christmas music drifted through the night.

Julian's thumb hovered over the screen.

Then Samuel spoke again.

"Julian."

That low voice slid straight through the phone.

"Merry Christmas."

Julian froze.

Something hot twisted suddenly beneath his ribs.

He lowered his eyes toward the blanket tangled around his legs.

"You too," he said quietly. "Merry Christmas."

—

The next day, @WorkIsKillingMe uploaded a Christmas-themed video.

The boy in the video wore a red-and-white Christmas dress with the waist cut out, a gold bell hanging from his neck.

Reindeer mask.

Little antler headband.

Red ribbons tied around his wrists and thighs.

Like a present waiting to be unwrapped.

Julian had only meant to ride the holiday algorithm for a little extra traffic.

The video exploded almost immediately.

Likes. Shares. Comments flooding in nonstop.

[AHHHHH bondage play??? Spoil us.]

[Thank you for the meal. I'm eating GOOD tonight.]

[That waist??? Those legs??? God give me strength.]

[Wait… did he lose weight? He looks exhausted.]

[No because the thin stomach is making this way hotter.]

[You get me!!! One poke and he'd fold in half.]

[This account is crack. Please post more often.]

[If you like this, go watch Orca immediately.]

[ORCA POSTED A CHRISTMAS VIDEO TOO.]

[I just watched. Holy shit.]

[If these two ever collab I'll actually die.]

Julian had no idea what was happening.

The entire weekend disappeared into thesis revisions and project work.

By the time he opened social media again, it was already Monday afternoon.

Lunch break.

Sort of.

Samuel was taking him to an external meeting later, and Julian was waiting for the message telling him to leave.

He opened the app absentmindedly—

then froze.

The Christmas video had gone completely insane.

Over a hundred thousand likes.

Bookmarks and comments climbing by the second.

Julian's eyes lit up instinctively.

Then the smile vanished.

The comments weren't praise anymore.

They were ripping him apart.

[You were replying nonstop before. Funny how you suddenly disappeared once people called you out.]

[Orca's too classy to fight with clout-chasing nobodies like you.]

[Watched all your videos. You're thirsty as hell.]

[Selling content? Got a premium link too?]

[You really think Orca liking one post means he wants you? Delusional.]

Julian blinked at the screen.

What?

He was getting dragged?

Why?

A few more scrolls gave him the answer.

Orca.

Because Orca had uploaded a Christmas video too.

The title:

Unwrapping Gifts.

A luxury apartment door swung open.

Orca walked in carrying a Christmas box, dressed in a perfectly tailored three-piece suit.

The camera framed him from the chest down.

No face.

Never the face.

Still—

the body underneath the suit was impossible not to notice.

Broad chest.

Heavy shoulders.

The fabric stretched just enough to make people imagine the rest.

And his hands—

Jesus.

Long fingers. Pink knuckles. Veins shifting beneath pale skin while he untied the ribbon.

The comments had practically gone feral.

Julian's account and Orca's should've had nothing to do with each other.

Except both videos had Christmas gift themes.

Someone edited them together.

One video: the man unwrapping gifts.

The other: Julian tied up like one.

The chemistry was ridiculous.

The edit blew up instantly.

At first it was harmless.

Just fandom people shipping two creators together.

Then one of Orca's bigger fan accounts reposted screenshots and tagged Julian publicly.

@LittlePenguin: Sweetie, we're all Orca fans here. Clout chasing this hard is embarrassing.

LittlePenguin was basically internet royalty.

Rich family.

Luxury lifestyle content.

Designer shows overseas. VIP boutiques. Endless giveaways.

And very publicly obsessed with Orca.

The fans called him Orca's "main wife."

He seemed pretty proud of that title.

Orca himself never addressed fandom drama.

Which meant his fanbase was absolute war territory.

And LittlePenguin was notorious for going after anyone fans thought got "too close."

Unfortunately, @WorkIsKillingMe became the next target.

The narrative flipped instantly.

Now Julian wasn't just another creator.

He was apparently some manipulative little attention whore trying to seduce Orca for clout.

The comments got uglier fast.

[Only people on Penguin's level deserve Orca.]

[Who does this broke office worker think he is?]

[He literally built his account to bait Orca.]

Then came the evidence threads.

【Copying video themes】

Orca: Christmas gift unboxing.

@WorkIsKillingMe: turns himself into the gift.

【Copying aesthetics】

Orca posts luxury officewear.

@WorkIsKillingMe posts office outfits too.

【Copying dynamics】

Orca = famous internet Daddy.

@WorkIsKillingMe = broke pretty thing with "please save me" energy.

And apparently letting fans edit ship videos meant Julian was trying to turn Orca into his sugar daddy.

Some people tried defending him.

Didn't matter.

There were too many of them.

The dogpile kept growing.

Eventually the accusations evolved into complete insanity:

Why did Orca like your very first video if you weren't baiting him on purpose?

He never likes anyone's posts.

So why yours?

Obviously you planned this.

@WorkIsKillingMe: …Wait

@WorkIsKillingMe: I blocked him ages ago.

The replies exploded instantly.

[YOU WHAT???]

[YOU BLOCKED ORCA????]

[SCREENSHOT RIGHT NOW.]

Julian uploaded one calmly.

Blocked list included.

The comments short-circuited.

[WAIT WHY???]

Julian stared at the screen for two seconds.

Then typed:

Because I hate rich people showing off in my face.

[…]