Caged Slave (MewGulf AU)

🌻Chapter 32

🌻

It wasn't long before a horrible rumor that was making its way through the company came to Gulf's attention. On the way to deliver some bulletins to the General Affairs Department, he saw a group of female employees idly gossiping in the hall.

"Hey, did you hear? President Assistant AA is no longer engaged to President Ookawa's daughter!"

"Yeah, I never thought it would work out between him and a 20-year old college student."

"When they announced their engagement, there were a lot of disappointed people both inside and outside the company."

"I guess President Ookawa heard how badly AA treats women!"

"All he wanted was a promotion. What a loser!"

Gulf didn't mean to stop and listen, but the women were blocking his path and he couldn't help eavesdropping. He was shocked by what he heard.

'No way,' he thought.

But he couldn't quite discredit the rumors. If the young Erina Ookawa had figured out AA's true personality before they got married, then she was very fortunate.

'AA doesn't treat just women badly' he shrugged, an ironic smile on his face. Even if it was just gossip, there was no more trustworthy source of company information than the network of female Dai Tech employees. And even if the story was somewhat embellished, AA and Erina's engagement was definitely off.

'Whatever. It's got nothing to do with me.'

Yet Gulf couldn't help the little twinge of pleasure he felt. He coughed lightly, causing the women to turn their piercing gazes at him. Even though he had no interest in females, his cool facade always seemed to draw them to him.

"Mr. Kanawut? What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "Can I get through?"

Secretly overwhelmed, he kept a bland smile on his face and slipped away from their interested stares.

🌞

🌻

The next day, the plot thickened. Apparently, Erina hadn't broken the engagement---it had been done by AA himself.

"What?" Gulf said, his eyes wide open with shock. "The former president has an illegitimate son?"

'No way!'

In the short year and a half he had spent as the lowliest secretary on the presidential team, he had heard the former president lament the fact that he had no son to pass the reins to. Granted, that alone wasn't proof that President Ookawa didn't have a son hidden away somewhere that his wife didn't know about, but the very idea itself seemed ridiculous. If he did have a son why wouldn't he have named him before he died?

'I can't believe it.'

No matter how accurate the female employees gossip usually was, this time, Gulf was more than skeptical. But it made a little more sense when he considered that AA had broken off the engagement. If the president really did have a son, then power-hungry AA would have thought marrying Erina Ookawa was futile since he himself would never be in line for the postition.

While he debated what to believe, another more shocking rumor reached Gulf's ears.

In a split second, Gulf's cool facade crumbled in shock. "The president's son is...Mew?"

TBC