The day Joo Jaekyung realized he loved Kim Dan

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."