Chapter 3

Miko is preparing breakfast with the help of Brent and Will. They are talking about May's funeral when they heard a loud thud. They stopped whatever they are doing and look at each other.

"Oh, my!

"Fuck!"

"Gulf!"

They all yelled at the same time. They run upstairs to Gulf's bedroom. Gulf is not there so they check the bathroom and to their horror, they saw their friend lying down lifeless with his blood.

Miko and Will paled and frozen to where they are standing. Brent is the one who runs towards him.

"Fuck, Gulf! What did you do?!" Brent said while covering the cut with a hand towel.

"Damn it! You two! Snapped out of it and help me if you want to save Gulf!" He shouted.

The two finally got their senses back.

"Will, get the car. Miko, help me with him." Brent instructed.

They took Gulf to the hospital. They were instructed to wait. Will is crying while Miko is trembling. Brent is trying to stay strong and focus, for all of them.

"Should we tell him?" Miko suddenly asked. Brent looks at him.

"No," he simpered.

"But he needs to know," Miko answered.

"I said, no!" Brent said loudly.

"Babe, I think Miko is right," Will said

"If we tell him then what? He will come for him. Isn't he had enough? Look what he did. If we tell him, he will surely come to get him. It will be too much for Gulf. Let him rest first. When he is mentally stable, we will come clean." Brent stated.

"But-

"No buts, Miko. We swore to protect him. We should focus on his well-being first. We almost fail," Brent made his point clear.

Miko rubs his face in frustration. After hours of waiting, the doctor finally came out.

"How is he, doc?" Brent asked.

"He's fine. he lost too much blood but he's fine now. He needs to rest. Is he suffering from some mental illness to do this?" The doctor asked.

"He just lost his mother yesterday," Brent answered.

"Then I guess he didn't take it well. If that's the case, make sure to not leave him alone. If he has no other family aside from his mother, I suggest you let him stay with you. He needs support. Let him feel that he is not alone and he still has you three," The doctor said.

"He will be transferred in a private room. You can wait for him there," The doctor added. They thanked the doctor.

"I'll go get his things and also some clothes for the both of you. Oh, I will pack our breakfast too." Miko said.

"Thank you and take care," Brent said. Miko left and the two went to Gulf's room.

"He'll be fine, right?" Will asked.

"Don't worry, babe. He'll be fine. I know he will," Brent assured his lover.

-----------------

After two days

-----------------

Shion is at his office busy with paper works. Someone entered his room and he didn't even look up until a folder was dropped on his desk.

"What the fuck, Zeke?!"

"Look at it first,"

He rolled his eyes. Opening the folder, he paled. He looks up to Zeke and the latter nods. It was a report about Gulf's suicide attempt.

"This happened two days ago," he said while reading.

"I got to know it earlier when I went to their school. His friends filed a leave of absence because his mother died. Then, when I asked someone to check on him, that's what I got." Zeke explained.

"Is he okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Mn, physically, his wound is healing but mentally, I don't know. I secretly went there and heard his friends talking. They said Gulf is not talking to them. He's either nodding yes or shaking his head no. Also, he's not even crying. Well, I heard he broke down on the day his mother died but after fainting..." Zeke shakes his head.

"It must be hard for him."

"That is for sure. And oh! I talked to one of the nurses. She said her mother left a key for him. Maybe there's some secret that he discovered that's why and about his mom's funeral, he didn't ask anything about it. That made his friends worry more," Zeke added.

Shion stared at him.

"What?" Zeke asked confused.

"Aren't you too nosy?" Shion asked raising his eyebrow.

Zeke chuckled. "I did it for you, bro. I just helped you to get some info about your donna. You're too shy for a mafia don." Zeke teased him.

"Whatever. Get out," he said. Zeke just laughed and yelled 'You're welcome'.

Shion put the folder in his safe drawer and left the office. He went to his car.

'I'm coming for you, baby.'

 ****

                      

"Fuck! Where the hell did he go?" Miko muttered panicking.

"How did he escape? Miko, you're supposed to look after him!" Brent exclaimed.

"I just went to the bathroom!" Miko defended.

"You didn't hear the door opened?" Brent spats back.

"I thought it was you and Will!" he argued back.

"Oy, enough! Let's just find him. I don't think he left the hospital," William said stopping the two from arguing.

They were about to leave when the door opened...

"Oh, sorry. The door is partly opened so..." Shion said looking around the room.

"He's not here, Mr.Jensen," Brent answered his silent question.

"What do you mean?" the CEO frowned.

"He escaped because the supposed guardian didn't pay attention to what he's guarding," Brent said glaring at Miko.

"I'm sorry, okay!" Miko yelled before leaving.

"Tsk! Can you stop blaming Miko? No one knows what's inside Gulf's head. Do you think Miko likes what happened?" Will said then followed Miko to search for Gulf.

Brent sighed.

"It's okay, you're just worried," Shion said. Brent looks at him and nods slowly. "I can help if it's okay." he offered.

Brent smiled. "Thank you. We need all the help." Shion nods before leaving.

He stopped in front of the lift to think. Since the hospital is owned by his family, he knew some places that a patient might visit when they want some alone time.

He arrived at the top floor.

He starts looking around to find Gulf. At the far end part of the garden, he saw a figure sitting. He slowly approaches the figure.

"Gulf?" he called softly when he was standing in front of the person. The person looks up and tears are rolling down his face. He stands up abruptly and hugs him.

Shion was taken aback but he hugs back the crying man.

*sobs*

"She, she left me," Gulf said between his cries.

"Shh, it's okay. Cry it all out. It's okay," Shion said rubbing the younger's back who is clinging to him as his life depends on the man.

Gulf doesn't know why but it felt right to be in this man's arms. Shion guided him to sit back. Gulf is still clinging to him. Because of it, the CEO decided to let Gulf sits on his lap. Gulf buried his face on the crook of Shion's neck.

"There, there. You're good. You're okay," he said calming Gulf. Somehow, Gulf finally calmed down.

Shion moves Gulf's face away from his neck to face him. Holding the sides of his neck just under the jaw, he examined Gulf's face.

"No, it's okay," he said shifting his one hand on Gulf's waist when he tried to get up.

"Look at your face, so red and puffy," he said making Gulf's face redder making the CEO chuckled.

"Can you tell me why you decided to ran away and scared the hell out of your friends?"

Gulf smiled a little. "I didn't mean to scare them. I just... I just wanted to breathe." he answered looking down.

"Hm. So, did you breathe enough?" Shion asked smiling.

Gulf shyly nodded. Shion helps him to stand up slowly and gently reached for Gulf's wrist where the cut is. Gulf stiffened by the touch.

"Don't worry. I'm not gonna asked you why you did it. And I'm not gonna judge you why you did it but, I could only hope and wish that you'll never do it again. No matter how hard it is for you, you should always remember that there are people who truly care for you and I'm one of them." Shion said with utmost sincerity.

Gulf teared up because he can feel the genuineness of every word that came out from the older's mouth. He hugs him again. Brent, Miko, and Will witnessed everything. The way he broke down the walls of their friend and how Gulf acts around him, they know that their friend needs this man. They left the two and head back to Gulf's room.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Brent apologized.

"It's okay. I understand. If I were you, it could've been worst," Miko said laughing.

"But guys, is it okay to leave Gulf with a stranger?" Will asked.

"He's not a stranger, babe and we all know it," Brent said.

"Oh right," Will remembered.

****

                       

Gulf is back in his room and sitting on the bed being scolded like a kid.

"Seriously, Guppie, why did you escape, huh? Do you know how stressed I am? I am stressed, man. Very stressed!" Miko exclaimed.

"Sorry. I just want to get some fresh air," Gulf said softly. He knows it's best not to argue when Miko is in mama mode. Gulf looks at Brent and Will for help but the two are enjoying his misery. Shion is just watching him fondly. Gulf is pouting cutely.

"Oho~ don't try using your special weapon on me!" Miko said.

"Just accept your defeat, Miko. You know no one can resist that pout. Look at Mr.J," Will said laughing. The said man coughs covering his embarrassment.

"Oh right, I remember, what brings you here, Mr.J?" Brent asked.

They all turned to him and wait for him to answer.

"Well, I heard from your school what happened so, I came to visit," he answered and they nodded at him.

"Guys, I'm hungry," Gulf said.

"Of course you are. You haven't eaten anything yet. Let's go and get some food. Uhm, Mr. J, can you accompany him for a while?" Miko asked.

"Sure, no problem." Shion smiled.

After the trio left, Shion sits beside Gulf.

"Penny for your thought?" He asked when he noticed that Gulf is spacing out.

Gulf smiled a little "You already gave me so much money."

"You deserved that reward for your hard work," Shion said softly.

"Hm, isn't your company being generous enough? I mean, your company shouldered our tuition fees and other miscellaneous. Plus the allowances. Us scholars having good grades is our only way to thank your generosity." Gulf said. For him, achieving good grades is a way of showing gratitude to his benefactor and being rewarded by it? He thought it's too much.

Shion is smiling listening to him. This kid is not like other people who are after the money. He can see that Gulf is studying to have a brighter future. And because of that, for him, Gulf truly deserved everything his company gave him.

"So, should I take it back?" the CEO joked. Gulf chuckled lightly.

"It's okay if you want to. But it will be not exactly 500,000. I already donated half of it," he said. Shion looks at him in amazement.

"You are really one of a kind. Kids your age, I bet they already spent it somewhere," 

"I'm not like them."

"And I'm glad about it."

They are staring at each other when they heard someone cleared his throat.

"Food?" Brent said showing the plastic bags. They invited their visitor to eat with them. Shion left after Gulf fell asleep. The trio thanked him.

Brent, Will, and Miko are sitting on the sofa...

"What do you think of him?" asked Miko.

"I think he's sincere," Will answered.

"Do you think he knew about Gulf?" Miko asked again.

"I don't know. Let's watch him first," Brent answered.

"Let's just keep our guard up. We don't know what's ahead of us," he added

"True. Let's do our job well," Will said.

They stopped talking and try to get some sleep.

'Who are you guys, really?'