Impasse

36. Focus

"That's wrong," Talay reprimands Kai for the umteenth time. "I said roundhouse and you did a front kick instead. And you usually have more power behind your jabs.The hell's with you today?"

Kai jaw clenches, and he forces a tight smile across his lips.

"Nothing," He resumes the fighter's stance, waiting for Talay to call out the next combo. "I'm good."

"You're not good." Talay puts a hand on his arm. "Two days ago you were out of your head cause your coffee got spiked. But that's not the reason you're out of it now."

After his discharge from the hospital this morning, the first thing Kai did was text Talay and see when they could meet at the gym. Since it was a Friday, Talay had to work during the day, but told Kai to meet him at the gym in the evening. Then, Kai had sent a LINE to Pepper, asking her to pick him up afterwards, and then Luca, to round out his plan for the rest of the evening.

Kai hadn't asked Jet for a ride to the gym. He took BTS instead. He feels a little guilty for avoiding his older brother, especially while their deal to spend as much time as possible together is still in place. But every time he saw Jet, Kai was tempted to divulge his secret, and he's still not sure that's something he wants to do. He'd rather go out with Pepper after he hit something that can't hit back. Like a punching bag.

Practicing Muay Thai has become easier. While he might not be ready for an actual sparring match with anyone other than Talay anytime soon, Kai can sense the changes in his body every time he trains. He's gained a little bit of muscle. His arms don't protest when he throws punches. His legs don't scream for mercy every time he runs or when his shins connect with one of the bags. He's got calluses on his knuckles instead of bruises, and he doesn't gasp for breath when he does drills.

Talay is still watching Kai with an expression of concern that doesn't quite fit on his monkey-like face. Today is the first time in a while that Talay yelled at him for not concentrating. Kai has a perfectly good reason for not concentrating, but he's not sure he wants to tell Talay that. Besides, Talay might already know about Jet's adoption and their parents' undercover operation already, so why rehash it?

"I said I'm good." Kai shakes Talay off, flexing his hands inside his gloves. He forces himself to focus. Right now, he's at the gym. Right now, nothing else matters but getting all his strikes right. Maybe this time he'd remember to strike with his elbow instead of jabbing again. "Same combo?"

Talay shakes his head, removing the training pads from his hands, and holding out a water bottle for Kai to take. "Take your gloves off, drink the water, and talk to me."

Rather than argue, Kai strips off his gloves and takes the water. "You're not going to tell me I look like a squirrel trying to solve a Rubik's cube?"

"That's cute," Talay smiles at him. "I might use it sometime. But don't try to change the subject. You're distracted because of your investigation into OmniVentures, right?"

"Yeah," If Talay insists on pushing then Kai won't bother to deny it. "I found something and I don't know what to do with it."

"Something about Chalam or something about Jet?" Talay sits down on one of the benches near the punching bags, silently inviting Kai to join him.

Kai shakes his head, putting the water down and pulling his gloves back on. "Same combo?"

"Kai." Talay pushes.

"Let me get some strikes right and I'll tell you whatever you want," Kai promises, if only to shut Talay up. "Same combo or a different one?"

"Let's try a different one." Talay's smile widens. "But not against bags or pads. This time, you're fighting me."