Ok Taecyeon

I couldn't believe what the I just heard or what the hell I was seeing. Both Ewon and I sat down and listened to everything Troy Danvers was telling us about his meeting with Junho. My heart was aching like I'd been stabbed...or maybe it was my back that was hurting since that was where Junho planted the ing blade. I trusted him, I loved him as my friend and it hurt me to know he wanted to do something so devious to me. What the had I ever done to him to make him want to betray me like this?

"I never liked or trusted his ." Ewon said, slamming the photo of him and me ing on the cocktail table "That first photo was highly suspect. Even then, I wondered if he took it himself and tried to pretend like someone else did. That would explain why he got so defensive at the time."

Ewon made perfect sense. I sat back on the sofa and looked at Troy "So, are you here out of the kindness of your heart, or do you want something for this information? I mean, you've been stalking me for months, trying to get a scoop like this. Am I to believe you've grown a soul and a conscious?"

Troy sighed "Maybe I don't like what Junho's trying to do to you. Maybe...just maybe I have some integrity."

"Bull."

Troy frowned "I do have integrity."

"Since when? I find that hard to believe, not after the scandals you've been behind." I shot back.

"Maybe I have a conscious." 

I gave him the side-eye "This would be one hell of a story, though. MMA champion who's a closeted gay, dating an out reporter for Ringside Magazine. Why are you passing up on it?" I needed to know what his damn angle was. I was still trying to wrap my mind around Junho's betrayal, I didn't need any more surprises.

"I respect you, Taec." he turned to Ewon "I respect you, too. Maybe in the past, I did sell my soul for a story and made a lot of enemies."

"Ain't no "maybe" to it." Ewon clarified.

Troy huffed and sighed "Look, I'm trying to do the right thing here, give me a break."

I studied him, looking for any tale-tell signs that he was being anything but honest at the moment. So far, everything he said seemed genuine. I leaned forward, picking up the photo again, examining it "Son of a !" I snapped "All of those other photos he showed me, claiming some mysterious was sending them to me, was actually him." I turned to Ewon "You know, after we broke up, I didn't get any more photos, then as soon as we got back together, here came the photos again."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ewon asked.

I shrugged "I had just found out about it a few days before we got back together. At the time, it came with a blackmail note, but no contact info. I didn't give a anyway, because I had already made up my mind to be with you regardless." I turned to Troy "Thank you for letting us know, Troy. How did you know to come here?"

"Junho told me you were coming out here to see him. Wanted me to get some images, clearer images of you two together. I told him I would because I didn't want him going to anyone else with this story who would take him up on his offer." Troy looked at Ewon "He really doesn't like you."

"Like I give a ." Ewon stated "I hate him for what he's doing to Taec."

"I'm going to handle this ." I said, thinking that I was about to come out on my own terms, no one else's. I looked at Troy "Since you're freelance, would you be interested in taking our first official couple photos?"

Troy cocked both eyebrows "Are you serious? You want me to take your pictures?"

I looked at Ewon "What do you think?"

Ewon seemed to mull it over "I'm okay with it."

"Well, I'm honored, but who am I taking the photos for?" Troy asked "I mean, I'd like to get paid for these photos. My generosity only goes so far." 

I rolled my eyes "Ringside Magazine. It's the biggest sports publication out there. Ewon, you can write the story about our relationship and have it on the website's daily blog in a few hours." I wanted to grab this bull by the horns.

"Are you sure, baby?" Ewon asked "I mean, this is a really big move."

"I was sure about this move before I flew out here. All Junho's done is put a little fire under my ." I stated.

"Okay...well...if you're ready, I'm ready." Ewon said, giving me his support.

Knowing that my brother was all right with me being gay made coming out even easier. I was actually really looking forward to it "Okay, let's get dressed and you get your cameras ready."

Troy nodded "How soon will Ringside be able to pay me for these images?"

"True to nature." I taunted.

"Hey, you make a living beating people's asses. I make a living taking photos of celebs. But that doesn't mean I don't have a heart. I split a lot of the money I make off my photos and donate it to the local LGBT center for youths in Vegas." Troy explained.

I cocked an eyebrow "Are you gay?" 

"Maybe I am. Ever wonder why, out of all of my scandalous photos, I never outed anyone? Like I said, I have integrity. Now, I don't give a about some cheating on his wife or her husband. I'll expose them all day long." Troy said.

Now that I thought about it, he had never outed people. The magazine he worked for a lot seemed to have no problem with that. But they were a sleaze rag and I wasn't going to give them this exposé "You're right. Okay...fair enough. Are you ready?" I looked at Ewon. He was still fuming over the photo Junho had taken of us, but he nodded. We waited for Troy to return with his camera and told him to make himself at home...on the sofa. Ewon got him something to drink and we both left him alone to go get dressed.

"He better not get too nosy down there." I said as I slipped on my t-shirt.

"He's not going to find anything but family photos and nick-knacks, but let's not leave him down there too long, okay?" Ewon replied as he slipped on a pair of khakis.

I loved the way his looked in those pants. I was hoping to wake up to some afternoon nookie, not this bull, but I was about to put an end to this right now. There was one thing I wanted to talk to Ewon about before we went back downstairs.

"He did this because he's jealous of you." I said. 

"I know." Ewon finished buttoning the last button on his lilac shirt. Not many men could pull off that color and look damn good, but he could "I knew the moment I met him that he had an unhealthy attachment to you. I was highly suspicious of that first photo he brought to you. And when you broke up with me, I could see the happiness in his face as I walked out of the hotel."

It was all making sense to me now "I was so clueless about him. Listen, Ewon...baby, I've got to tell you something. Please try not to get mad."

Ewon froze "Please tell me you didn't him."

"No! Hell no."

Ewon exhaled deeply "Oh, thank goodness."

"It's just one night before we got back together, I was feeling really down and conflicted about what I wanted to do. He came over my house with wine and...well, we got pretty ed up. He tried to take that moment to make his move on me. I stopped him before it got too far and kicked him out. But when he did that, I knew for a fact that I wanted you in my life more than anything and I wasn't going to let anyone or anything stop me." I admitted, making my way closer to Ewon.

"What's too far?"

"Nothing happened." 

Ewon raised an eyebrow and looked at me straight in the eye "Not what I asked."

Oh ...there was that sass I loved "Some groping and he tried to me off, but I wouldn't let him. The whole thing was probably less than a minute before I put a stop to it. I sobered up pretty quickly, I'll tell you that."

"That slimy motherer, I knew he wanted my damn man!" Ewon growled.

Well, he was never going to get me. I took Ewon's face into my hands and kissed him "I love you so much."

"I know. I love you too." he said, smiling back up at me.

"Let's do this."

We returned to the living room where Troy was sitting on the sofa.

"About time...my curiosity was getting the better of me. I almost looked inside your bathroom cabinet." Troy teased, getting his camera ready.

"It's good that you didn't, nothing to see there anyway." Ewon said.

"Okay, how do you want to do this?" Troy asked, getting into his professional mode. 

“I figured one or two photos of us looking all couple-like should be good enough for the blog." I said.

Ewon nodded "That'll work. We'll pick the best out of the selection to feature. First, let me contact my boss."

I nodded and Ewon walked into the kitchen for some privacy while Troy and I talked.

"I had suspected you were gay." Troy said.

I arched an eyebrow "Oh really? Why?"

He shrugged "I'm not necessarily out and proud myself, but I'm also not hiding in the closet either. It's just no one is interested in taking pictures of me. Still, most athletes are always surrounded by women. Strippers, escorts, chicks at bars and parties. As famous as you are, you seemed to avoid all of that, but until Yeeun, you weren't with any woman. That's rare for an athlete, especially one as young and popular as you are. I know women must throw themselves at you."

"You could say that."

He nodded "Yeah, I know. Plus, the whole 'Yeeun and Taec' thing seemed contrived. People who wanted to believe the relationship was real, really ignored the signs. Not me, I have an eye for that sort of thing. The stiffness when she kissed you. The space between you two when you were together. It was like you weren't comfortable in your own skin when you had to be with her." Troy said.

I smirked "Yeeun and I are friends."

"Friends, not lovers. It was the lovers part you obviously had issues with." Troy shrugged again "Let's just say, I wasn't shocked when I saw the photo of you and Ewon. It was hot, though."

I growled and he laughed. Ewon returned with a huge smile on his face "My boss is stoked about this story. He's ready to run it for the evening edition on the blog. He wants us to do a quick story for the blog and a more in-depth one for the magazine. Oh, and he's willing to pay you top dollar for the images." Ewon looked at me "He's also willing to pay you for the exclusive interview."

"Well, far be it from me to turn that down."

Ewon nodded, then looked at Troy "He wants you to contact him." he gave Troy his boss's information.

"Cool." Troy said, making the call.

Ewon looked at me "You too." he gave me his cell with his boss' number ready for me to call.

This was all kinds of tedious to me. Normally, Junho handled all this, but I couldn't call him anymore. I contacted his boss and went over the details with him and settled on an amount that was pretty decent for this exposé. We had to work out the details, but when we did, both of us were satisfied. Finally, with the business end having been worked out for both Troy and I, he was ready to get started.

No doubt, Troy was happy with the deal he made for the number of photos Ringside wanted. Now it was time to pose. We took pictures sitting on the sofa, smiling and kissing for the camera...and each other. We took photos in the kitchen while Ewon made lunch and I hugged him from behind. We took photos of me kissing his neck while he smiled for the camera. It was very lovey-dovey, in your face kind of . But very tasteful, too.

Afterward, we sat down and picked out the best photos, then Ewon did what he did best and got those fingers to blazing over the keyboard. Troy left after lunch and for the first time ever, I didn't think he was so despicable. He seemed like a decent enough guy, which was odd considering he was a paparazzo.

I sat down, answering all of the questions Ewon asked me so that he could complete his short article. It was concise and to the point. I looked over his article, making only a few minor changes. It was perfect and conveyed exactly what I wanted it to. whoever didn't like me being gay. I was out, es, and I had never felt such freedom or happiness.

I called Jinyoung "I want to get rid of Junho." I said as soon as he answered the phone. 

"Hold on, what the ...what's going on?"

"You're right. I've got a lot to tell you. First off, I'm coming out in a blog post on Ringside Magazine at five this evening."

"Holy , kid. Is this what you call giving me a heads up?"

"Yeah."

"Remind me to put you through extra hard training when you get your narrow back to Vegas. Okay, so you're coming out tonight. I might close the gym up early to avoid the media sharks. Now, what is this bull about Junho?"

"This motherer has been playing us." I told Jinyoung about what Junho had done and he was pissed.

"That lowdown, dirty son of a !" Jinyoung roared. I let him rage for a few minutes because I knew how pissed he was. I was just as pissed when I found out "Let me deal with Junho." he said finally.

"I don't care about the contract I had with him. If he wants to try to take me to court on that ...I've got some dirt on him that might give him cause to not make a big deal out of us parting ways." I said.

"Luckily, the endorsement deals he worked out with you won't be affected. That was one thing I was always adamant about. It's probably why he was trying to get even closer to you. I can't believe this ." Jinyoung stated.

"I know. Listen, I have to call Yeeun and let her know. I just wanted to keep you updated."

"On some last minute , yeah. Be careful, kid."

"I will." I called Yeeun next, but got her voicemail. I left her a message letting her know that I was coming out. I also sent it via text. I turned to Ewon and he was closing his laptop.

"Okay, the story has been sent and we just have to sit back and wait for it to post." he said.

I was looking at him and loving everything about him. I felt so close and connected. Last night, being out on the town with him, not afraid of who might see us, was the best night of my life. That and the night he took me back.

"Well, we have dinner at my brother's tonight. What do we do with ourselves until then?" I asked with a wiggle of my eyebrows.

Ewon laughed and leaped into my arms, wrapping his legs around my waist. It took me by surprise, but I grabbed him and made sure to have my way with him on the sofa again, then we took it back to the bedroom for round two. After a short nap, we both woke up ready to see our article on Ringside's website. Ewon got his laptop and we refreshed the page over and over until it popped up.

"Holy ...this is really real." I said, beaming. I felt all kinds of butterflies fluttering around in my body because this was the biggest and most important thing I'd ever done publically. It didn't take long for the hits to start coming or the comments. Some were very positive, actually most were...but then there were plenty of haters making their opinions known. Still, an hour after the debut of the article, it had over a million hits and over three thousand comments. I was finally out.

My cell phone started ringing as well. I climbed out of bed and looked at it "Hey Jinyoung."

"'s hitting the fan, kid. Ask me why I decided to be your manager and head coach again?"

"Because you're a great guy with one hell of a soft spot."

"You give me more gray hair than my daughter - naw, I'm not going to tell that lie. But you're up there."

I laughed. I knew why, too. It was because he loved me like I was his own son "So, what's going on, Jinyoung?"

"I just got a phone call from the president of ETC. He's not happy that his Light-heavyweight Champ came out publically without giving him a heads up. I had to tell him you were impulsive and just barely let me know. I did let him know I had tried to warn him on your behalf, but he probably didn't listen to the message. Anyway, he's been filtering calls from the media about it since the article posted."

"Is he okay with it?" I asked. I mean, I cared because it was my livelihood, but I didn't care, because I was happy to be out.

"Ehh, hard to tell at this point, kid. He's just frustrated right now. He's probably concerned about how he's going to market your upcoming fight against Martinez."

"I'm sure a lot of gay men watch MMA." I said.

"Oh, no doubt. Watch and participate, but it's just not widely known...or accepted. There's a lot of testosterone in this sport. However, you knew that already. Just keep doing what you're doing. Keep training and we'll wade through it all. I just wanted to let you know to expect the media to be in your life a lot more, at least for a little while."

"Thanks for the heads up."

"Yeah, see...that's how it's done."

I laughed "Bye, Jinyoung."

"See ya, kid."

I looked at Ewon "I'm hungry. Ready to go to my brother's?" 

He nodded "Can't wait to meet your niece and nephew."

"You'll love them." Again, my cell started ringing. It was my brother "Hey."

"So you came out."

"News sure travels fast."

"Yeah, especially because of the media hounds camping outside my house for a story. I could have used a heads up, little bro."

Apparently, I at giving those "I'm sorry. Yeah, I should have told you. It just happened. I'm not going to let that stop me from seeing you, though."

"All right. Just know you're going to have to fight your way through them."

"I figured."

I ended the call with my brother, and Ewon and I got dressed. When I got to his house, I noticed a few media trucks camped in front on the street. I sighed.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea." Ewon worried. 

"What do you mean?" I was hoping he wasn't having second thoughts. It was too late for that.

"I hate that they're bringing your brother into this."

"That's why I hate the media. But maybe if we give them what they want, they'll leave them alone."

Ewon nodded and when we climbed out of my rental, they were on us with flashing lights and questions. I took Ewon's hand as I crossed the street to my brother's home, then turned to address them.

"All right, I'll answer just a few questions, then I would ask that you leave my brother's home. He doesn't know anything more than you." I said.

"Did you brother know you were coming out?" one of them asked.

"No. He's shocked."

"How long have you two been together?" another asked.

"Didn't you read the article posted?"

"Were you dating when you were with Yeeun?" came another silly question.

"Yes. Yeeun and I are still very good friends." 

"How do you think the public will feel having been deceived by you with your Yeeun ruse." a rude woman asked.

I looked at her "I stopped worrying about what the public thinks about who I'm dating when I decided to come out. I got tired of hiding who I really was because I was concerned about what everyone else would think. This is me. I'm the badass mothering MMA Light Heavyweight Champion who's gay and in a gay relationship with the love of my life. Take it or leave it. Now, goodnight."

I turned with Ewon's hand still in mine and we made our way into my brother's home. He'd been standing by the door, waiting for us to finish our "interview".

"Jesus, that's a circus out there." he said. We hugged and he hugged Ewon.

"I know. ing vultures." I snapped.

"Hey, language, bro, little ones are around."

I smiled "Speaking of...where are the munchkins?"

My brother led us into the dining room where the rest of the family were. Hugs and kisses were passed out and a great meal was eaten over a loving family conversation. Eventually, all of the media people were gone and we were really able to enjoy our time. I watched as Ewon played with my niece and nephew, he really did love kids. I did too. I hoped to have some one day. I thought we'd make wonderful parents. As for my brother and I, we needed our heart to heart, so we made our way to the backyard with two beers.

"So, how are you feeling?" Minjun asked me.

I took a swig of my beer and smiled "I feel good."

"You want to tell me why you didn't trust me?"

Okay, he was getting right to the point. That was how we were in this family. I looked at him "Because of how dad was. The things he would say made me too afraid to come out when I was younger. You seemed impressionable back then and I thought that you were still that way. I thought you wouldn't accept the fact that I was gay."

"Ahhhh, I see." Minjun nodded "Yeah, I was a teenager back then. I looked up to dad a lot, but after marrying Hyejeong and going off to college, I realized he was wrong about a lot of . I also realized that sure he didn't kick my out of the house when the truth about my real father came out but that doesn't change that he was a ty father. I took mom's last name, I made sure I'd never be that way with my own kids. I never want my children to be afraid to confide me in the way we were with dad. I never want my kids to ever question whether or not I love them. They'll just wake up and go to sleep knowing in their hearts that I do."

I nodded and smiled. My brother was an amazing father and one I inspired to be like "You're a great dad, Jun." 

"Thanks. Hyejeong's brother is gay...he came out at Christmas, to no one's surprise." Minjun said, laughing.

I laughed too. I'd only met Hyejeong's brother once, but he had more sugar in his tank than an ice cream truck. He was out long before he officially announced it.

Minjun wiped the tears from his eyes from laughing so hard "Ohhhhh, God... It was hilarious. Anyway, Hyejeong also helped me keep my mind open. So when I saw you parading around with Yeeun, I knew something was off. For as long as I'd known you, you were never into girls. Hyejeong was like, 'he's gay, baby'. Then you did the two interviews with Ewon and spoke so highly of him... I started putting two and two together. Ewon was out, you were in...in love, that is. I'm happy for you both, by the way."

I was grinning now "That means a lot to me."

He nodded and we clicked our beers together "And dad if he can't accept that, you hear me?"

I was shocked to hear Minjun say those words, but it made me love my brother ever more "I hear you."

"Good. Now, let's go back inside, these damn mosquitos are tearing me up." Minjun said, slapping his arm, killing one "Gotcha, !" 

I laughed and followed him back inside. This truly was the best time of my life.