Okay, Shinkan

Epilogue

I wore a stylish deep green winter coat that had a furry hoodie. I un-buttoned it a little so I wouldn't get hot.

"You sit in the middle, Catalina, so the men are on either side of you."

The stage manager literally sat me down in a high middle stool. Daishinkan sat at my left and Karson on my right. Both dressed to impress in their own trench coats and stylish boots. We got ourselves mic'd and soon as they were hooked, Daishinkan began whispering into it. All I heard was static, like an airplane pilot would sound like over the intercom.

"Real mature, you guys." I embarrassingly pinch them at the same time. Though eventually they coerced me into into their little shenanigans. "Stop it!..all of you, STOP IT." Selena nearly beat us like little kids before returning behind the cameras.

I yawned very widely, quickly covering my mouth but it was too late. The yawning passed over to Daishinkan, then Karson. All covering our mouths half yawning we cackled at our synchronized moaning. There's the biggest proof that yawns are contagious.

NBC studios must be busy because Kate the interviewer rushed to her seat in front of the three of us. "Hello hello, I apologize. Are you guys ready?" She asked while tucking her papers on her lap. We all nod simultaneously. She gave the producers a thumbs up and the cameras went live.

"It is officially the 24th, which marks the final day of the Winter Olympic games. Joining me here are figure skating stars, Catalina Benitez, Karson Betancourt and Daishinkan Seong."

I smiled at Kate this time instead of the cameras. Makes it less awkward. "You guys absolutely killed your performances, congratulations on your victories. Karson, today you took home bronze for Panama in men's Biathlon."

"I'm super proud of myself, it was not easy participating in two very demanding events. I'll take that bronze any time." Karson responded confidently. "Would you change anything about that?"

"Absolutely not, I loved every second. The medals were earned with pulled muscles, ankle sprains, and the sweat on our foreheads. I'd do it all over again."

I winked at Karson for that great response. Kate then made eye contact with Daishinkan and crossed her leg, throwing out what she wants to talk about before a word was said. I chuckled to myself at the breath my Anime character took. "And you mr. Seong. I must say that the kiss you delivered has been viewed over three million times, with over forty thousand likes. What went through your head?" Kate enthusiastically asked.

Daishinkan lowered his head to hide his red face. I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning toward Karson tapping him on the legs to stop him from man spreading.

"If I'm being honest it took too long for me to actually make the move. I was so afraid while it was happening because I didn't know how Catalina would react. I really thought I'd be slapped. She just did so good, I couldn't wait." Daishinkan fidgeted like I did on my first interview.

I obviously make him nervous. My fingers found themselves tangling with Daishinkan. Kate noticed it, gesturing her next comment to me.  "There's a lot of broken hearts out there, think you can handle the thunder of owning South Korea's heartthrob?"

That made me laugh.  "South Korea is full of heartthrobs, and BTS is still available on the market. I got this one fair n square."

Daishinkan chuckled toothily, nodding his head like a parrot. "Catalina, you are such an inspiration, I thank you for showing that anything is possible no matter how small your chances or team are. Panama is proud of you, and you should always be proud of yourself."

"That means the world to me, thank you so much. Coming here changed my life forever, and I plan to continue down this path."

I couldn't continue to be serious, my smile broke through as I pointed to the cameras. "I'll be back."

"We'll be back." The men on either side of me said also pointing.

I Wrapped one arm around Karson and the other around Daishinkan.

I will come back to do this for sure.

¥

The evening came around, which means we were back at the Beijing National Stadium to attend the Closing ceremony.

All athletes were gathered around the track with their respective teams. I was dumbfounded as I watched the light show go on. I felt a weight on my shoulder as Karson's arm pulled me for a side hug. The other half of his body serving as the holder of the Panamanian flag.

"So, on a scale of one to one hundred, how would you rate your first Olympics?" He asks me as he gazes at the sky to the fireworks that had begun.

Shit if I was being honest I'd tell him 70 due to all the moments of sheer disappointment. But I'd be holding a grudge over something that would never be the way I wanted. "One hundred."

"Really?" He asked quite shocked. "Yep, it was wonderful. A hundred percent would do it all over again. It was life changing experience that deserves a full one hundred." My arm now reached around his waist to return the hug.

The colors in the night sky were nearly a psychedelic sight. Fireworks never looked so good.

"Scuse me I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

Stunned at the voice behind my back, offended, I whipped sharply at the person. "And why should I do that?" I said on the defensive. Thankfully it is Daishinkan that grinned at my attitude, "because you're distracting me."

"Ha, smooth, Seong. And they say romance is dead." Karson comments and continues to stare at the sky. "Did your team grant you permission for a drink of water? What are you doing here?"

"I stowed away."

More like slipped away...

"You really need to stop sneaking up on me. I was about to fight you." I shivered when Daishinkan slipped his arms around me from behind. Chin resting on my shoulder. "You wouldn't want to fight me, I'd knock your ass out without knocking your ass out."

"I find errors in your logic."

He tilted his head to look at me so I stared back. "I'll give you a demonstration later." He whispered, making my cheeks flare up. "Okay, Shinkan." I blessed his cheek with a gentle kiss before returning my sight to the amazing firework show above.

Who knew the King (the guru) of men's figure skating would make me an Olympic champion. Even better, make me his skating partner for life. I should have perfected his moves years ago if it had landed me in his arms earlier. But then my first Olympics would have been challenge-less.

I guess my mistakes really did help me improve. And next time I'll do it right.

Fin~