All You Need Is Love II (MewGulf AU)

🌻Chapter 19

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"Who are you going to kill?"

If he made one wrong move, it would all be over.

Gulf couldn't let himself die here without understanding how he'd come to be in this position.

He tried not to get on Bright's nerves, tried to fight back his fear, and fought to speak as calmly and evenly as he could. "Are you planning to kill someone beside me?"

"Didn't you hear what I told you?"

"I heard. I just wanted to make sure."

Gulf's heart thudded audibly. He was sure Bright could feel the beats.

"Does Mew know you're going to kill someone?"

At the mention of Mew's name, Bright's entire body shuddered. His lips, which had curled in a thin line until then, pressed closed and deep wrinkles crisscrossed his forehead.

"Do you know what will happen if you kill someone without telling Mew?"

"Shut up! What do you know about it?"

There was a dull crack and an intense pain bloomed in Gilf's head. He didn't know what had happened.

His body sank into the sofa. He put a hand to the pain and felt something warm on his fingers. When he saw the red staining his fingertips, he knew his temple had been gashed.

"I think the boss will realize I'm right soon enough."

Gulf heard the clicking shift of metal gears as Bright turned the gun's barrel on him once again.

"I bet even you know about the chief's right-hand man."

"Uh---"

'He was like a son to the guy who was killed. His favorite.'

As Mew's words came back to Gulf, several different threads suddenly unified to tell one story. "But if you kill his murderer, then it does't matter what Mew does anymore." Mew was doing everything he could to avoid gang warfare, even while his own life was in danger.

"The boss is wrong," Bright's voice was quiet, "If we let the guy live no one will take our gang seriously. Even when one of our leaders is killed, the Koryu Alliance doesn't retaliate. If that got out, they won't just stop at killing the leaders. The boss and his father's lives would both be in danger. Th boss just doesn't get that."

The gun was cold as it pressed into Gulf's forehead.

If Bright tensed his finger just slightly, the gun would fire and Gulf's head would blown off.

He had never come this close to death before. But he couldn't quite connect to the terror that he might actually die here. Some part of him was looking at all of this objectively.

"He should understand the danger better than anyone. When he had his inheritance ceremony, he started to see what was going on. And he crushed all of the dangerous elements. He was merciless. He still is, more than anyone. He's the one in the most dangerous position, after the chief. I thought he was the only one who understood how I felt. But now---!"

Bright grind his teeth, glaring at Gulf with sharp eyes. Gulf felt an intense antagonism in his gaze.

"You're the reason Boss Mew changed!"

The words sent a chill down Gulf's spine.

"Me?" Gulf repeated quietly.

"He changed about six months ago."

Gulf's heart pounded. He had been reunited with Mew just around then.

"That bastard AA say's he's just showing the self-awareness and composure of being on top. But he's not. It's not because he's on top, it's because he's a coward. Only the strong survive in this life. It's eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Kill or be killed. I thought he understood that, but---now he says revenge only leads to more revenge. I never thought he'd say something like that. I can't let the guy who killed the old man keep living with out punishment. I can't do it!"

His voice was strained with emotion, squeezing Gulf's heart tight. The gun in his hands shook visibly.

"And then, even though he won't take revenge for us, when we ask him to get married for us he won't listen! He just ignores what his dad wants. What does the gang  even mean to him anymore?"

He turned back tos tare straight into Gulf's face.

"And it's all your fault."

Gulf cowered like a mouse before a snake. Bright's cold stare froze Gulf's soul.

"Why?"

"You're not gonna get out of this by playing dumb."

He grabbed Gulf's necktie with his free hand. "Did you spill anything to the boss?"

"No, I-I didn't say anything..."

Gulf choked as the tie pinched his throat.

"Just so you know, I'm not the only one who thinks Boss Mew's started acting weird. The other guys think he's lost his edge, too. They're getting upset. They don't understand what happened. But I do."

Bright brought his face close to Gulf's. The sweet scent of tobacco tickled his nostrils.

"You seduced him."

"No!"

"Yes, you did!"

Bright hit Gulf with the gun again, knocking him over.

"Nghh!" he must have hit his teeth that time---the taste of metal spread through Gulf's mouth.

"I thought the old man---the chief's right-hand man was important to Boss Mew. This guy killed someone who was like a parent to him---and if he lets him get away with that, he's not going to last long in this world. And it's not gonna stop with the boss. The entire Koryu Alliance is going to disappear."

Bright's vloce shook.

Gulf saw tha he was battling back the fury rising within him, struggling to contain the emotions that threatened to explode at any moment.

He wondered if Bright would turn the gun on himeself even as it pressed against his own forehead. He stared at Bright's face. The blood that dripped into a corner of his eye clouded his vision. But he couldn't look away for even a moment.

He wanted to see the man with his own eyes and hear with his own ears what Bright was going to do and say.

"But before that happens, I'm going to face him to see the truth. I think if I kill the guy myself and take you permanently out of boss life, that ought to wake him up."

Gulf could almost hear Bright's teeth grinding.

"I'll give you some time to think it over."

He lowered the gun from Gulf's forehead. "I'll comeback tomorrow at midnight. Meanwhile, you think about what you want to do."

He slipped the gun into a pocket inside his jacket.

"What do you want from me?"

"If you never show your face to Boss Mew again for the rest of your life, I'll let you live."

"No!"

"it's non-negotiable. You have two choices: either you leave the boss, or I kill you. You only get to decide which one you prefer."

He took the gun back out and pointed it at Gulf  "Like I said before, once you kill one person, it gets easier and easier. I don't care if you live or die. Try to get that through your skull."

Bright kicked the sofa Gulf was sitting on, then put his gun away and walked to the door. He slammed the heavy metal door shut after him, and his footsteps grew distant on the stairs.

TBC