Original Sin (MewGulf AU)

🌻Chapter 26

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Nearly everyone was at work that evening in the editorial department and it was hectic. Bright's project was proceeding smoothly. Gulf had almost no corrections to make. Once the manuscript was compared to the proofreader's corrections, the work would be done except for the postscript and a profile.

Even though Gulf knew it showed bad manners, he checked his e-mail while sipping coffee from a mug in his other hand. He had several messages, one of which was from Bright. The e-mail was surprisingly short given its file size. The rest of the message was attached in a document file containing the postscript. Double-clicking on the subject line of the e-mail, Gulf's eyes leapt to the beginning of Bright's message.

After a standard greeting, Bright had jokingly added, "This concludes my work. I hope we can continue speaking frankly with each other," showing a glimpse of his true feelings.

It would not be an easy request to grant, though. Even then, Gulf's heart was prisoner to Mew. He couldn't imagine belonging to anyone but him. Besides, Mew and Bright occupied different position in his heart. They couldn't be compared.

If Bright were his lover, though, Gulf wouldn't have to suffer so much. Bright seemed kind and unusually selfless for his age. But most important of all was the lack of dark secrets, which made Bright's smile somehow healing.

Very soon after meeting Bright, the young man had become much more than a new author to Gulf. But Bright could never be more important than Mew.

Gulf had to give Bright a clear answer. When they spoke, Gulf had to make up his mind and give Bright an acceptable answer. The more he thought about it, the more depressed he wound up feeling. But his relationship with Mew was only getting distressingly worse.

Gulf's back was against the wall, but he had to laugh. He had challenged Mew to pool many times and continued to lose. Learning from Bright had only made the situation worse. Mew knew at once that he had been studying with someone other than Makihara and his anger flared up again. But some part of Gulf had been expecting Mew to see through him. The fact that Gulf hadn't cared at all was a sign of how desperate he had become.

"Hey, Gulf! Let's go get some grub. I know you haven't eaten yet."

Boat leaned over from the desk next to Gulf's, jolting Gulf on surprise. His thoughts interrupted, Gulf looked up. Makihara and the others were getting ready to leave. At that time of day, they'd be having either a late lunch or an early dinner.

"Sorry, I'm waiting for a phone call."

"Oh, okay. We'll send you some rations then. You want a little sushi or a sandwich?"

"No, that's okay. I'm not very hungry."

Gulf turned down the offer casually and Boat didn't pursue it. Gulf didn't want his psychological stress to interfere with his work, and in fact, he was more composed than usual. He didn't mind doing overtime since he couldn't find any other way to spend his time except to throw himself into his work. But something else inside Gulf was being exhausted. The more he thought about Bright or Mew, the more worn out he got.

"Hey again. Did you get your call?"

Looking up blearily, Gulf saw Boat's head poking in through the office door. He had gotten back much sooner than Gulf had expected. Gulf glanced down at his watch and saw that they hadn't even been gone for fifteen minutes.

"Not yet. But that was fast."

"I changed my mind, so I just bought some takeout. I got some for you, too."

Gulf didn't know what to say as Boat handed him a bowl of beef noodle soup with the words, "Your rations. The tea is self-serve."

"Thanks."