Chapter Text
Of the many things Dan had expected after his relationship with Jaekyung had come to an end, retaining his friendship with Yoongu wasn’t one of them. Actually, they had never been so close. The champion’s number one fanboy had done a total turnaround and now was as vocally displeased with the athlete, as he used to be his admirer.
It had taken him by surprise. How could he, a mere physical therapist with no achievements to his name, mean so much to the young man for him to turn his back on his idol? It made no sense.
And it wasn’t just him. After Dan submitted his resignation letter to Coach Namwook, he, Coach Yosep, and a couple of the athletes, insisted on keeping touch with him. Offering words of support and apologising for Jaekyung’s behaviour, yet again. It had meant a lot, and if it hadn’t been for Jaekyung, he would’ve gladly continued to collaborate with them.
No one had been in the room with them when Jaekyung exploded at him after losing his match and called him all sorts of names. For a second, Dan even thought he would grab him and slam him on the wall, like he had done to his ex-partner. But the fear subsided fast, because Jaekyung had grunted in pain after moving his shoulder too abruptly. He had instantly paled and almost stumbled.
All it took was that moment, for Dan to realise that Jaekyung wasn’t invincible, that he wasn’t all mighty. Seeing him gasp in pain like that, with fear in his eyes as he saw his career go up in flame. He pitied him.
He still did now, weeks later, he couldn’t help it. A part of him still loved him, unfortunately. But he had had enough, that incident that day had been the last straw.
Seeing the anger and confusion on the coaches faces as they barged in the room and came between them unlocked something. It validated his feeling that this wasn’t okay, that he didn’t deserve to be treated this way and could walk away.
Coach Namwook had taken him to the side, while Coash Yosep dealt with the athlete. After making sure he was okay, he had asked him if he wanted to press charges. Dan didn’t even need to consider it, he knew the answer already. No.
He had made up his mind, and he didn’t want to have anything to do with the man anymore. The sooner he was gone, the better it would be for him. The coach apologised for not seeing the signs sooner, but Dan didn’t hold him accountable. If there was anyone he was mad at, it was himself. How could he have let himself be treated like this? And for what?
Why was his body the only value people saw in him? Whether it was that superior from the hospital or Jaekyung, in the end, they had both tried to take advantage of him. And one of them had been successful.
Every time he thought back on what the champion had put him through, he realised a little more how fucked up it all was. He felt the burn in his throat as his eyes started watering. Why couldn’t he have fallen in love with someone else? Why couldn’t it have been Heesung, or even Yoongu? The ridiculous thought made him chuckle, shaking his sadness and pain away.
“ No, it feels right to have them as friends. ” He told himself, smiling as he glanced at the two people in question.
After making the decision to quit his job, Dan had called Heesung, asking him for help. The actor had been more than accommodating, letting him crash at his place, as he sorted his living and job situation out. The actor had come back a couple of days later with a proposal: He would advertise Dan’s services around him and help him build a client base.Which would then allow him to launch himself as a private therapist. In exchange, all Heesung asked was to take him as a patient.
It was all, so obviously, in his favour that he felt embarrassed to accept, but he trusted Heesung. There was no trap, just a friend trying to help another. And he didn’t want to face life on his own anymore. If he had given his trust to Jaekyung, he could give it to more deserving people.
He agreed and now, he lived in one of the guest bedrooms at Heesung's place. Currently, he was overseeing the physical health of Heesung and three fellow celebrities. It wasn’t a constant following, like it had been for Jaekyung, but it paid well and was much less taxing.
Yoongu had not been convinced by the arrangement at first. And maybe it was that he was a bit paranoid after falling to see the warning signs with Jaekyung, but he had been checking up on him regularly. Sometimes, he would even sleep over, making it feel like a dorm at Heesung’s place. An experience that Dan had never had the chance to have before but it turned out to be pretty fun.
The actor was often busy, but when he was there, they would watch shows, movies, or occupy themselves in silence in the same room. They took their meals together when possible and chatted comfortably as they did so. It had been a long time since Dan had shared a happy daily routine with someone. And here, he found something he hadn’t had since his grandma had been hospitalised.
The contrast with his life at Jaekyung’s place couldn't have been more obvious. Even in the nicer moments he shared with the champion, he had been on edge, unsure of when his mood would turn sour and why. Now that he was free of the mental burden of coexisting with Jaekyung, he felt light as a feather. So light, he sometimes was scared he would fly too far away from the ground.
And as sweet as life was here, he’d started saving money to find a place of his own. He didn’t want to impose too long on Heesung, but with the debt he still owed Jaekyung, it was not easy.
Thankfully, Yoongu had gotten him a shift at his part-time job, and the extra money helped a lot. The restaurant was well situated, and the owners were nice, allowing them to take the leftovers home and saving them the trouble of having to cook.
Even with his promises that he wouldn’t be a burden for long, Heesung had assured him it was fine. Actually, he encouraged him to stay as long as possible to save as much money and repay Jaekyung as soon as possible. Out of kindness, of course, but it wasn’t all. He had an ulterior motive.
A smile spread on Dan’s lips as he watched Yoongu furiously defend his carrot cutting skills, while Heesung looked at him tenderly, honey dripping from his eyes.
It was sort of unexpected, but apparently, Heesung was quite fond of the little potato. The latter didn’t seem to share the sentiment, but at least he didn’t take him for an unhinged maniac anymore. After four sleepovers, he had even conceded that the actor wasn’t so bad. But he still made Dan promise not to tell Heesung.
“What do you even know? You prick.” Yoongu was muttering under his breath as he aggressively cut the butternut. “Bet you have an issue with how I'm cutting this too, huh?!”
“Need some help?” Dan inquired.
“Why?!” Yoongu narrowed his eyes at him. “You don't think I can cook either?!”
“No, no!” He raised his hands to dispel the misunderstanding. “I just feel bad that I’m not helping out.”
“Hyung, you always cook, so let us do it this time.” Heesung smiled at him.
“Go sit down with him.” Yoongu brandished his knife. “You’re all up in my space, and I'm not taking responsibility if something happens to your face and you lose your job.”
“Why not?” Heesung grinned, resting his hands on each side of Yoongu, so that he was trapped.
“Are you picking up a fight?” The young man seethed, vein throbbing on his forehead.
Dan decided to intervene before anyone got stabbed. He grabbed Heesung and made him set the table.
The two might bicker all the time, but Dan could tell Yoongu didn’t dislike all the attention Heesung was giving him. At least, not as much as his attitude would have you believe.
To be honest, Dan thought they were cute, and it served him a well needed reality check. Because Yoongu and Heesung treated each other with far more respect, in whatever stage of relationship they were in, than Jaekyung had ever shown him. It stung, but at the same time, it comforted him in the fact that he had made the right decision for himself.
And while he knew he was doing much better, far away from the champion, he couldn’t help but worry about his injury. For all his flaws, Jaekyung was hard working and didn’t deserve to see his whole career go up in smoke in one instant.
“If only he had listened to me… ” He thought with regret. Hopefully, the man would recover and learn a lesson from the whole ordeal. Not that Dan believed for a second that he would. He knew him well enough now, to know there was no changing him. He wasn’t the type of person capable of self-reflecting. Case in point, he had accused him of being the cause of his injury. Still, he felt sorry, because Jaekyung’s biggest fear had come true. Just like Dan’s had.
Only for him, it had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Because he was able to realise he had friends to lean on, job prospects, and a whole life ahead of him. Things had reached such a low for him, things could only go up from there. But for the champion it was the opposite, he had been so high up, that he could only go down.
And Dan couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. If he was gone, and Team Black was still pissed off about the incident involving him, who could he rely on?
Yoongu kept telling him that he had brought it upon himself, and Dan knew he was right. So why did his heart throb at the thought of Jaekyung suffering alone?
The man had never shown him such grace, so why did he still care? It was like a curse, whether with or without the object of his affection, he was bound to suffer.
If he could redo one thing, erase one mistake he’d made, it would be falling in love with Joo Jaekyung.
A big hand landed on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. He looked up to see Heesung smiling down at him. But he could see the worry, beyond the smile.
“I must have been making a face again…”
He smiled back at the actor, and patted his hand, to reassure him he was fine.
It would take some time for it to be true, but he would get there.
He was sure of it.