All You Need Is Love II (MewGulf AU)

🌻Chapter 21

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The promised hour came and, right at midnight, Gulf heard a key rattle in the lock and the metal door swung open.

The man who appeared in the door surveyed the room. He wore dark sunglasses despite the hour and a black leather jacket. He pushed the door shut with his back and let out a sigh. He held the gun against his chest with one hand, and carried a duffel bag and a shopping bag from a convenience store in the other hand.

"Is someone chasing you?" Gulf asked.

Bright's body shuddered visibly. He looked as if he'd forgotten Gulf was there. Gulf could see how rattled he was even with his sunglasses covering his face, and didn't dare say another word.

"None of your business."

Bright took a quiet, deep breath, then casually pulled his sunglasses off and slipped them into his pocket. He flopped down at one of the desks. "I bet you're starving."

Before Gulf could answer, Bright rummaged inside the shopping bag and threw something at him. Two rice balls landed in front of him. Then Bright threw a plastic bottle of iced tea at him.

"There ya go."

Bright took a bowl of soba noodle soup out of the bag as well. He pulled back the lid and snapped his chospticks apart. They didn't break neatly and were of two different lengths, which gave him trouble as he began eating.

But, watching him out of the corner of his eye, Gulf saw that the reason he was having trouble was not simply becasue of his chopsticks. He was holding them very unnaturally.

The upper chopsticks crossed the lower and becasue of that, he could only hold a small amount of noodles at a time. As a result, he had to bring his face very close to the bowl to eat. This childlike way of eating made Gulf smile, just a bit.

"What?"

Noticing his stare, Bright turned to look at him dubiously. "Quit staring and eat."

"Sorry."

Gulf picked up one of the rice balls. As soon as he'd peeled back the plastic wrapper, he realized how hungry he was. He suddenly remembered that he hadn't eaten in a whole day. He took a big bite and instantly began salivating. He polished the first one off quickly and attacked the next.

Convenience store rice was pretty tasteless and, until now, Gulf had never really liked it. But for the first time he discovered how unbelievably delicious it could be when one was hungry.

He was thirsty, too. He guzzled down half the bottle of tea at once and finally began to feel alive again.

"You done?"

Bright walked over to him.

Gulf stayed seated on the sofa, cross-legged. He looked up into Bright's face. Bright pointed the gun at his upturned forehead.

"You ready?"

The mood that had dominated until only a moment before evaporated in a flash of tension. Gulf answered the quiet question with a nod.

"Then get out of here. Here's some compensation."

He dropped the duffel bag heavily in front of the sofa. "Don't go home for a while. And don't even think about contacting Boss. He's going to have a lot to deal with soon anyway."

"Did you get your revenge yet?"

"That's none of your business!"

A chill ran down Gulf's spine.

Bright brushed his hair out of his face agitatedly. "Not yet. But soon."

Gulf felt momentarily relieved at this information. There was still time.