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They turned on Dan so quick! I guess they were stressed, but still! And Potato didn’t even defend him! Thanks for nothing, Tato.

Possible reasons for why no one stood up for Dan:

1. Jaekyung told Namwook and Yosep about the pictures but Dan never brought it up himself.
2. Dan and Jaekyung have clearly been on the rocks in front of Team Black, so they suspect something is amiss, especially after Jaekyung accused Dan right away.
3. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone has retaliated against Jaekyung for his shit attitude and it won’t be the last. It would be reasonable that Dan got fed up with how Jaekyung treats him in front of others.
4. Simply because Jaekyung pointed the finger at Dan first.

Honestly, none of that is very realistic. Especially since Dan was the one to take the fall last time. Obviously someone is trying to sabotage Jaekyung and there would be no reason for Dan to join them since it’s dangerous for him as well. It doesn’t make sense why they would turn on Dan like that. My guess is that something happened since Jaekyung’s birthday and it’s the second reason: Jaekyung and Dan have been more distant than ever at Team Black and the others have silently noticed.

Predictions if Jaekyung wins the match:

Worst case:
Dan is seen with or near King of MMA team or Director Choi. This would ruin him. There would be nothing Dan could say that could clear him, and no one would side with him since he never brought up the meeting with Director Choi and the ambiguous threats Choi made after Dan left. At the very least, his integrity would be questioned since he didn’t report the attempted sabotage to his employer. Telling them would’ve given Jaekyung and his managers time to devise a plan, interrogate the other team, and work through strategies to deal with dirty fighting (pretty sure Jaekyung could determine which tactics they might employ). Dan would instantly lose his job and be kicked out of Jaekyung’s house.

Best case:
1. Baek Junmin lets slip that he tried to sabotage Jaekyung and Dan gets a chance to defend himself to Namwook and Yosep. Dan is likely to be placed on temporary suspension while the spray case is investigated regardless, so he will probably either stay at Team Black or the hospital with his grandma.
2. Potato would vouch for Dan’s thoroughness, and argue in his favor and the other fighters would stand up for Dan and argue that sabotage is out of question based on his personality.
4. Dan will almost certainly go see his grandma after this and tell her about the issue. She would build him up and, while Dan’s at the hospital, he would learn something about F pharmaceuticals (remember: Director Choi has a hand in the industry and that is likely how the spray was created… plus there were the drug tests and blood draw from the shake and those were likely processed by F pharmaceuticals too). Director Choi might even be responsible for the hospital leaking Jaekyung’s information through the pharmaceutical company, and that female doctor Dan meets with could be allied with F pharmaceuticals and director Choi (maybe even Dan, if she learned about the accusations he faced at his previous hospital job). Dan could gather intel about the failed green drug that his grandma and others took, link it to F pharmaceuticals and report his findings to a news outlet (since, let’s face it, no one will take Dan at his word because his spine is about as strong as yarn and his reputation has been ruined twice over).
5. At this point, between the foot and the shoulder, Jaekyung won’t be able to fight for a while and might need surgery after the fight, which would limit his mobility for about 6 months (my boss, a tiny but tenacious old lady, just had a shoulder replacement and has been out of commission for over 6 months and won’t be able to fully lift her arm laterally for several more months, so a younger man might take less time but time is precious and limited for Jaekyung). For an athlete, that kind of down time could spell the end of a career.

I think the predictions for Jaekyung’s loss are anyone’s guess. Even Park Namwook can’t determine if Jaekyung would be able to pick himself up again (he said that a few chapters ago).

My guess:
Jaekyung will win the fight but the two protagonists will break up.
1. Dan will be placed on suspension and kicked out of Jaekyung’s house. I have no idea what will happen to the dresser, but I think Dan might sell it since his grandma will die and can’t enjoy it again. That would give him enough to get by for a short while. Maybe grandma didn’t tell him about an inheritance she left him? Doubtful but possible.
2. Dan will fall into despair but grandma or someone will say something that inspires him to search for ways to clear his name.
3. Jaekyung will get surgery and be out of commission for a while and Team Black will struggle during that time. Jaekyung will likely not want to return home for a long time, due to the memories created with Dan and the fact that he is no longer able to defend his title.
4. We’ll swing over to Choi Heesung and Potato, since the two are linked intrinsically to the main characters (Heesung cares about Dan, Potato cares about Jaekyung, both believe Dan could never do such a thing.)