SERIES FINALE, PART 1: It's not late yet.

The clouds covered Seoul's sky as the three men were sitting down, ready to eat something in that restaurant. Jaekyung wasn't hungry, as his stomach still felt closed up from the idea of Dan leaving his side forever. What would he do in his mornings when he woke up and he didn't hear him downstairs already cooking for him? Or in the gym, watching him from afar waiting for his help? What would his body do in those nights when he longs for human touch of the man that has forever ingrained himself in his skin and heart? He remembered a time where that wouldn't have mattered, where if he was left without him he could've just found another one to satisfy his own need, but that time was gone. For how long has he been smitten with Dan before noticing? No one, not even himself, is sure. All he knew was that Dan was going away soon, probably with Daehyun by his side, and he wasn't sure how well he was going to handle seeing them in the gym together, if Dan even kept on working in the gym now that their debt is covered. Is it possible that Dan never liked him? That he just pretended for two years that he could even feel attracted to a beast like him as long as he had his needs met? How could he?

Coach Namwook ate a piece of beef, paying close attention to the man in front of him, and then towards coach Yosep, wondering if both of them were looking at the same cocky man from the gym, who now looked almost as gray as the sky outside, with not a thought behind those eyes that could be deciphered from just a guess. Jaekyung was acting differently ever since the fight with Booker, after months of improvement. Coach Namwook cleared his throat, and prepared to talk about the elephant in the room.

"So, Jaekyung... I've noticed you're training hard lately... so hard you broke another bag." He expressed, eating a little bit of danmuji while staring at Jaekyung.

"They're not that expensive, hyung, maybe we should buy premium ones if these ones keep breaking." Scoffed the fighter, stealing a piece of beef from the plate as his coaches were looking at each other.

"Those ARE the premium ones, Jaekyung... but you break them as if they were made of paper... You've been training hard, are you resting too? Rest is an important part of exercising too..." Said the coach, remembering the words he once said to an old pupil a long time ago. "I've noticed you're going to the gym everyday again, morning, afternoon and night since the fight with Booker... the Doc and I can't be more serious with this: your joints, your shoulder, they still need to rest, and so does your knee from months ago..."

"I can't lose, and it definitely won't be against Booker... I work hard..."

"The most dangerous thing a fighter can do in a fight is to not be focused, Jaekyung. You weren't focused last time, and it almost cost you a fight. If you don't work your mind as hard as your body, you could get seriously hurt, or worse!"

"True." Said Yosep, taking his attention back to his plate, eating another piece of gyeran-mari.

"Jaekyung, we've been working for years now... I know you're reserved and I respect that, but if there's something bothering you so much that puts your performance and life at risk, you need to tell us. Or we'll have to start skipping fights until you're in your zone. I'm not going to let you risk your life like that, Jaekyung..."

Jaekyung was quite surprised to see his hyung talk to him like that. He often got reprimanded, congratulated, and instructed by him, but concern was new, at least for the fighter. It must be serious if his coach was proposing to skip fights in order for him to rest, thing that didn't made sense at all with his own work ethic. He swallowed some saliva, now being cornered by both of his coaches, who were staring at him and waited for an answer.

"I'm not skipping any fights. I've never backed out before and I'm not starting now."

"Fine, but you're not fighting if you're not focused, and there's something keeping you distracted."

"Or someone..." Commented Yosep, looking at Jaekyung "When I fought with my ex-girlfriend, my performance wasn't the same."

"And you know what he did? He talked about it with me, his friend... now, I'm not saying you have to tell me, you can if you feel comfortable, but you have to tell someone about this. What about Doctor Dan? I know you guys are close..."

"I don't talk with him as of now..."

Both coaches widened their eyes in surprise, looking at each other and then at Jaekyung. Since when?

"Did you guys had a... disagreement?"

"Perhaps a fight." Said Yosep, eating some rice with kimchi.

"I think he's moving somewhere else, with Daehyun." Jaekyung blurted, crossing his arms in his chest.

A question mark seemed to appear in between both coaches, who just stared at each other confused. Moving out of an apartment shouldn't be that big of a deal for Jaekyung, as far as they were concerned Dan didn't even pay for rent there, and Jaekyung never really worried about money. Coach Namwook looked at Jaekyung intrigued, putting down his utensils.

"You think?"

"Why? Did any of them told you anything? Because apparently I'm the last to know of this thing."

"So did Dan told you he's moving out, or you think he's moving out? Did Daehyun told you anything?"

"... No."

"So you jumped to that conclusion based on what? If Daehyun or Dan were to move anytime soon, they would've let us know; its personal information that the paycheck needs."

"It is?"

"Yes. When you told us Dan moved in with you two years ago we had to update that info in the system so his pay wouldn't be directed to his old house."

"So they haven't told you anything?"

"No." Said Yosep, stuffing his mouth with something else.

That was odd. Jaekyung was sure Dan was going to tell him that he was moving out, but he's responsible enough to let his coaches know first. He laid his back in the chair, and massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to make sense of this. So if Dan wasn't telling him that he's moving, what was he going to say before he shut him down? Did he just made a mistake by leaving Dan in the apartment? Coach Namwook looked at Jaekyung and adopted another position: his back relaxed, he put his hands in the table for Jaekyung to see, and looked at him in the eyes.

"Jaekyung... is there a reason why it bothers you so much that Dan would move out with Daehyun?" He asked looking at him, above his glasses, while Yosep simply kept on eating, pretending he wasn't listening as he quietly grabbed his phone. Jaekyung looked at him sharply, almost panicked, as if he just got caught with a secret no one but himself knew.

"Should there be a reason?" He answered, trying to keep his guard up.

"No, not at all, but if it bothers you..."

"Huh, would you look at that. Dan just messaged me that he's moving." Lied Yosep, looking at his phone and then straight at Jaekyung, wanting to see his reaction

"Where?! With Daehyun?! Daehyun, son of a bitch, next time I see him I swear..." He clenched his teeth, tensing his back and grabbed the arm rests with strength, only to stop himself once the fun smirk in Yosep's face revealed his true intentions.

"So... is there something bothering you, Jaekyung?" Asked once again Namwook, holding back some laughter. He had him right where he wanted and knew that if, for any reason, Jaekyung felt ashamed or intimidated, it was over. "Remember, it's okay to talk about this stuff... especially if it could save your life on the ring by not keeping you distracted. I'm not just your coach, Jaekyung. I see you as a son, and I worry about you."

Jaekyung felt caught, as if a bucket of cold water fell over him. The rain clouds outside had darkened, warning him of the incoming storm as he was faced with having to explain his feelings to his coaches. Why is this so embarrassing? It shouldn't be that bad, can it? But what if...? There's a reason he hasn't told anything of this to them or Team Black. Team Black, while good fighters, had the risk of spilling the truth, especially Potato or Daehyun who aren't quite known for their secrecy. And regarding Namwook and Yosep... They were his coaches, yes, but also his bosses at the end of the day. What if they didn't took the news of the jinx and the whole deal with Dan as good as he wanted? What if they didn't accepted that he had feelings for Dan? What if they did something against Dan?

He was rich and famous, plus his family was well respected so he wouldn't be easily blacklisted. But Dan? He had been blacklisted once, that's how they met in the first place, but a second time might destroy his career for good. And then he would really hate him, for evermore. He was between a rock and a hard place now, and for the first time in a while fear settled in his heart. Fear for what could happen to him when he confessed to them, and fear for involving Dan in the aftermath of his confession. He swallowed some saliva, took a deep breath, and looking straight at his hyung, revealed his truth.

"I have feelings for Kim Dan."

He closed his eyes, waiting for the reprimand, the disappointment, the shame, but he only heard a chuckle. He was laughing at him? He just confessed what he felt, and he's laughing? Where was the punch in the gut? The shame of being this way? The shame of falling in love? He opened his eyes immediately hoping to find a judgmental stare from part of his coaches, but all he found was Coach Yosep giving Namwook a ₩1000 bill, while Namwook celebrated his victory. He raised an eyebrow, looking at his hyung.

"What is this supposed to mean?" He crossed his arms.

"Oh, Coach Yosep and I had a bet of when you were going to tell us."

"It's a bet two years in the process." Said Yosep, eating a little more of japchae.

"Since when? Since Dan started working for us?"

"Not really, maybe a month or so after that... we were in Busan for the first fight against Booker..." Coach Namwook scratched his chin, trying to remember. "Let's just say lockers are not exactly quiet..."

Jaekyung's face turned a bright red, completely ashamed.

"Then you told us you guys were living together... and the stares you guys gave each other in front of everyone..." continued Yosep.

"So we just bet when you were going to tell us. Yosep said you wouldn't, I said you would tell us, and I won." He flaunted the bill happily.

Jaekyung was not completely understanding this reaction: Where were the screams, the disappointment? The anger? If something, it seemed that the coach looked more upset about the broken boxing bag than about him having feelings for his own doctor. The fighter was a little bit concerned, swallowing some saliva as he listened to his coach just being as cheerful as usual.

"You're not... angry? Upset? You're not going to drop me?"

That comment almost made Namwook choke in his own breath, looking at Jaekyung straight in the eye. He raised his eyebrow, quite surprised really. Dropping Joo Jaekyung just because of that? He might need a criminal case involved if he ever was going to drop him, but love?

"Have you lost your mind? You're in love, not a murderer. And he's a good kid too, you've improved in a lot of aspects ever since he joined us... Did you told him already?"

Tell him? Tell Kim Dan about how he felt? He was a dick just seconds before leaving the house, why would Dan want to listen to him or even think of reciprocating his feelings? He swallowed saliva, and shook his head slowly to the sides. There's no need to tell him, he would never feel the same: he had hurt him so much over the last two years, he owed him. He owed him so much more than any money he ever loaned Dan. His coach looked at him surprised.

"Jaekyung, you need to let him know how you're feeling..."

"Does it matter? It's not like he likes me anyway. He was with me because..."

"He owed you money." Said Namwook. Jaekyung was perplexed, how did he knew? He never told him, and any electronic trace of their agreement was cleaned however it was needed. There was no reason, no way of him knowing unless... "Dan told me. It slipped out, you were getting checked by the paramedics after the incident with your knee... It's not my place to tell you everything he told me, or tell you what to do, but I do think you two need to talk... Jaekyung, not everything in life is fighting. You deserve rest, and you deserve to be loved... you are deserving of that, even if you can't believe it yourself. You have to tell him before it gets too late."

Jaekyung looked at his coach, trying to find any kind of mockery in his eyes, see if he's joking. How could someone like him ever deserve someone like Dan? But he only had sincerity. They had the sincerity of a father he never had in them, and for a moment he trusted his words. After all, Coach Namwook is of the few people that have never betrayed him, and here he was, telling him he deserved good things like Dan. If someone like Namwook could see that, maybe he wasn't so wrong. He looked outside to the street, where the raindrops were falling down to the pavement and the people in the street were taking out their umbrellas, wanting to cover themselves from the rain. He got up from the chair, looked at his coaches and after thanking for the meal and his advice, he sprinted outside, running towards his apartment as the rain poured down. It wasn't late yet.

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we're so close to the ending <3 thank u for being here ily so so so so much