Hearts on Hire (Completed)

A Silver Lining

It was around noon when Mew woke up and saw Gulf nodding off beside his bed. For few seconds he was puzzled but then the events from last night came back to him and he shuddered in fear letting out a squeak that alerted Gulf. He woke up instantly and was by Mew's side in an instant.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything? Did something happen? Did you've a nightmare? Is anything troubling you?" Gulf bombarded him with questions voice dripping with concern.

Mew giggled, "Too many questions."

"Take your time answering them."

"I'm okay. I don't need anything. I just remembered last night."

"You don't have to worry about that anymore. I'll handle it."

"I'm sorry for bothering you. I ju-"

Gulf cut him off, "Mew, you're never a bother. I'm sorry if I ever gave you that impression. I was upset because of our fight."

"That's okay. It was my fault anyway. Thanks for helping me. I think I should leave now."

"You're naive if you think I'll let you."

"Huh?" To be honest that kinda made Mew's heart flutter a bit not that he was going to admit it.

"Mew, I'm not leaving you alone until we deal with this situation. So you need to tell me everything."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we are going to my house for now."

"But my brothers-"

"I already talked with Kit."

"WHAT?"

"Don't worry. I didn't tell him about last night. I'll leave it upto you to tell them. I just texted him saying you are staying with Off."

Mew visibly relaxed, "Oh okay."

"Get changed. I'll get you discharged."

From hospital to Gulf's house, he had been constantly fussing over Mew. Asking him whether he was okay or not, not letting him even walk, he carried him to the car and then to his house making Mew blush deep red.

"I can walk. I'm not that sick."

"No, you aren't walking yet. What if you faint? You're still weak."

Mew rolled his eyes at that. It was useless arguing with Gulf. He always got his way. Mew was seated on the couch while Gulf was cooking for him though he had insisted he was fine but Gulf wouldn't listen claiming he was too thin. Mew knew he had lost quite a lot of weight. Lots of his clothes didn't fit him anymore. Lewis and his gang made him feel self conscious about his weight and even though he didn't want to let it get to him, it did.

Gulf came back with delicious food and started feeding Mew though the latter protested but to no avail.

"I think I had enough."

"No, you haven't even eaten half of it, Mew."

"I'm full."

"You aren't moving from here until you finish it."

"But-"

"Mew. Eat it now."

There was something about Gulf's voice right now that made Mew want to obey him. After he had finished his meal, Gulf told him to sleep more to recover faster.

"Why aren't you asking me about last night?"

"I'm waiting for you to open up on your own. I don't want to push you."

"Will you save me, Gulf?"

"Save you? Bub, I'll kill anyone who dares to look wrong at you."

Those words warmed him and he decided to tell Gulf everything. As he recounted how the bullying had started, he could see Gulf's hands forming fists. The anger was evident on his face and the way he tensed up when Mew told him about last night, it was obvious how much he cared about Mew.

"Why didn't you tell your brothers?"

"I didn't want to drag them into this. They threatened to bully Sarawat too and Kit could get in trouble at his job."

"Mew, I think you should let them know. Now you've me so no one is going to harm you or your brothers."

"It's j-"

"Mew, they deserve to know. They are your family and though you are doing this just to protect, it'll hurt them tremendously when they'll come to know the truth later. Don't push them away because you're afraid they'll get hurt. I won't let that happen."

"Why do you care so much about them? "

"Because you do. Whoever is important to you is important to me as well. I heard Wayo and Sarawat are friends."

"What?"

"Wayo told me. He likes you a lot and was bummed when I told him we broke up. He got talking to Sarawat and they instantly connected. No one would dare touch Sarawat because of Wayo. My baby brother may look like a harmless little angel but trust me he's nothing short of devil when provoked."

"Oh."

"As for Kit, I already asked Pha to forward me his resume and your brother is quite talented. I would love if he'll agree to work at my company. Tell him to apply. "

"Kit doesn't like asking for favour."

"It's not a favour. He'll have to go through normal recruitment procedure like everyone else. And trust me I don't take my business lightly. I hardly care if the candidate is from influential background or not. I'm quite thorough in hiring my employees."

"I'll talk to him."

"As for Lewis and his friends, I'll handle them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm bub."

Mew didn't want to admit but whenever Gulf called him bub he felt butterflies in his tummy, "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. It kinda started because of me. Had I not made that ridiculous offer to you-"

"It's not your fault. Please don't ever think that."

"So can we now talk about your thighs."

"Huh? What? Why?"

"I know about cutting."

Mew bowed his head in shame. He knew they were ugly and Gulf had seen them. He must be disgusted by him.

"There you go again overthinking it. It's fine, Mew. We'll talk about them when you are ready. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I'm going to pay a visit to your principal tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Those teachers are just as much responsible for this as the students. They should have protected you but instead they pushed you away. I'll teach them how a decent human behave."

"Would that be okay?"

"I'm Gulf Kanawut, bub. Everything I do is okay whether people like it or not."

Mew giggled at that, "I don't know what I'll do without you."

"You'll never have to find out."

"What does that make us?"

"Whatever you want us to be. Friends? Boyfriends? Acquaintances? You can worry about all that later. Don't think too much right now. Mew, just focus on yourself for now. Just because I'm helping you doesn't mean you've to do anything in return. You can take your time figuring out everything. I'll still be here."

"Really?"

"Really."