Original Sin (MewGulf AU)

🌞Chapter 27🌻

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Gulf's days passed in sleepless depression. If the fabled Mew Suppasit was thinking about marriage, the celebrity tabloids would probably be bursting with rumors about it. Gulf scrupulously checked the tabloid adds posted inside the subway, which had never interested him before, but Mew's name never seemed to be there.

It was becoming common gossip among editors, so he would have expected the press to pick it up. But maybe Mew was serious about it and he'd issue a gag order on the press in order to protect the girl.

Gulf just couldn't understand Mew's thinking. He'd said Gulf was all he wanted and promised that he'd give Gulf his heart.

Like a night sky obscured by heavy clouds, Gulf couldn't see the light. He no longer had the confidence to shore his heart up as it crumbled. He was scared of the possibility that he could confess his feelings to Mew and be rejected. But suffering alone wouldn't accomplish anything. Gulf had to put some effort to rectify things in case it was just a misunderstanding. As Bright pointed out, if they got together and talked, things might get better. But if Gulf ran, the situation would never improve.

Gulf decided he would do it that night. He would talk to Mew and lay his heart bare.

When Gulf got to the office, there were several sheets of faxed paper and some mail on his orderly desk. As he was going through them, his phone rang.

"Hello, pulp imprints division."

"Hello, this is Kurahashi. May I speak to Mister Gulf?"

"Speaking. It's good to hear from you again, sir."

"I'm calling about the proofs."

Kurahashi was an author who had debuted with Sozan Publishing three years earlier. During that time, he had steadily solidified his position as one of the core authors of their division.

"How is it going? Are you almost finished?"

"Well, about that. I was planning to drop it off tomorrow, but there's been a death in my wife's family. We have to rush out there right away, so I'm not going to be able to bring it in."

"It it's done, I can send a bike messenger out to pick it up."

Kurahashi's mistrust of post offices was famous in the department. Ever since they had lost a copy of his proofs, he had been extremely cautious.

"That would be great."

"I need a few minutes to call and arrange one."

Their company had a contract with a bike messenger company, so they would work something out. Gulf began the arrangements optimistically, but a problem came up, all the messengers were contracted until that night.

Gulf thought about picking up the package himself. But as the thought flickered through his mind, he remembered that he'd resolve to go see Mew that night. He deliberated for a moment about what to do, and then called Kurahashi back. "I'm sorry to ask you this," he began politely, "but could you take it to a store near you and have them deliver them?"

Kurahashi was hesitant to agree at first, but given the situation he didn't have much choice. Finally, he backed down.

Gulf could feel time flow discouraging slow that day. But still, focusing calmly on his work, the hour for visiting Mew arrived. Gulf wrote, 'went home, came at noon' on the office whiteboard, and then left the office.

What was he going to do? Obviously he couldn't blame Mew for everything. Breaking off his engagement and choosing his passion for Mew had been Gulf's own doing. Gulf recognized that even though Mew had made the first move, everything after that point had been Gulf's decision. He could not escape the responsibility for that.