My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 10

I ignored the sensation of every hair on my body standing on end and focused solely on tying the bow tie.
Yet the weight of his gaze against my skin felt overwhelmingly vivid.
Though he hadn’t reached out his hand, it felt as though he were caressing me.
And then there was that distinctive fragrance of his.
As his unique scent—unmistakable from anyone else’s—grew more concentrated, my nose began to tingle as if a sneeze were imminent.
‘Why is he staring like that?’
Was it surprising that a woman knew how to tie a bow tie?
Or perhaps….
The moment I glanced upward, our eyes met.
“Why?”
“Just because.”
His unexpectedly bland answer eased my tension, and I let out a small laugh.
After a beat, Aemerus caught me off guard with his next words.
“I was just thinking you probably tied JJ’s bow tie too.”
Again.
Aemerus was bringing up Jessie out of nowhere.
I couldn’t fathom his intention in doing this repeatedly.
‘Is he actually not that close with Jessie?’
Perhaps that’s why he kept comparing me to Jessie and seemed to be keeping him in check.
I was looking up at Aemerus with a slight frown when—
From beside us came the click of a camera shutter.
“You two look perfect together.”
“Mom….”
Just moments ago, the camera had been in Father’s hands.
Somehow, Mother was now photographing the two of us.
“What? There’s nothing wrong with what I said.”
“Mom, please….”
“I’ve only ever seen you glued to Jessie, so it’s refreshing to see you with another boy.”
At Mother’s words, I pressed my forehead, and Aemerus chuckled softly.
Thanks to that, Mother became even more pleased with herself.
“See? Aemerus likes it too.”
“…Please just take the photo quickly.”
I wanted to escape this moment as soon as possible.
I posed frantically for the camera, unsure whether I was laughing or crying.
There was no time to even check how the photos turned out.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Have fun out there!”
I grabbed Aemerus by the wrist and fled the house as if my life depended on it.
“So where are we going?”
I asked Aemerus while releasing my grip on his wrist, only to have him recapture it immediately.
“You’ll see when we get there.”
“….”
“Just get in the car.”
If this turns out to be boring, that’s on you.
I shot Aemerus a glare before climbing into the vehicle.
It wouldn’t have mattered if he took me somewhere strange.
At least I’d have another complaint to air to Jessie later.
I heard Aemerus walk around the hood and settle into the driver’s seat, but I stubbornly kept my gaze fixed beyond the window.
No matter what I did with him today, I was determined not to enjoy a single moment of it.

***

While other students headed to the School Auditorium to enjoy the Homecoming Party, Aemerus and I arrived at a Live Club nestled in the Downtown Alley.
“You want me to go in there?”
It was clearly not the sort of place high school students frequented.
Aemerus reassured me as I hesitated at the entrance.
“It’s fine. My uncle owns this place.”
“That’s not….”
That’s not even the issue right now.
My head began to throb, so I squeezed my eyes shut.
After taking a deep breath, I made my decision.
“Fine, let’s go in.”
I’d come this far—there was no turning back now.
With the mindset of at least seeing what the inside looked like, I stepped through the club doors.
“What do you think? Better than it looks, right?”
Infuriatingly, Aemerus was right.
Despite the shabby exterior, the interior was immaculate, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.
On the stage at the far end of the club, a guitarist was belting out an upbeat country song, while patrons held drinks in their hands and sang along.
“They’ve even got a mechanical bull here.”
Aemerus whispered the information conspiratorially into my ear as I surveyed the club.
‘As if that’s some grand revelation.’
Though exasperated, I played along with him.
“You should’ve told me sooner. I would’ve changed into different clothes.”
“I’d bet money you won’t last even a minute before you’re thrown off.”
I rose to Aemerus’s mocking challenge, ready to prove him wrong.
Just as I was about to fire back, someone approached us with a friendly greeting.
“Hey there, handsome. What brings you to this neck of the woods?”
“Uncle.”
Aemerus greeted his uncle with a fist bump, then introduced me.
“This is Harry Lee. Harry, this is my uncle, Ben Huntington.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“You too. It’s great to meet you.”
As I shook hands with Ben, I couldn’t help but smile to myself.
Both Ben and Aemerus had the same coarse black hair.
‘It must run in the family.’
I’d never met Aemerus’s father, but I felt certain I’d recognize him if I passed him on the street.
“But what’s a beauty like you doing with my nephew? Did you commit some crime and get sentenced to community service or something?”
“Is that really something you should be saying, Uncle?”
I burst out laughing at the bickering between the two men.
My earlier declaration that a day without Jessie wasn’t enjoyable seemed utterly hollow now.
“I haven’t done anything wrong. Aemerus said he’d show me a good time, so I came along.”
At my answer, Ben playfully raised an eyebrow.
“Then why are you here? Are you dumping me and asking me to entertain you instead?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Of everyone I know, you’re the least fun.”
Aemerus delivered the cutting remark without batting an eye.
“You little brat….”
Ben, who had already been dumped by his ex-girlfriends for being too serious and boring, took the hit hard.
Reeling from the blow, he quickly changed the subject.
“Pick a drink. What’ll you have?”
Aemerus glanced at me, signaling that I should order first.
Unsure what was on the menu, I hesitated, but Aemerus ordered for both of us.
“Two root beer floats, please.”
My eyes widened.
Despite its name, a root beer float—a non-alcoholic root beer topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream—happened to be my absolute favorite drink.
“Root beer float? Come on. You just drink water.”
Ben shot that at Aemerus but smiled kindly at me.
“I’ll bring them right over. Make yourself comfortable.”
“Thank you.”
“Split personality, I swear.”
Aemerus grumbled at Ben’s back as he headed off to make the drinks.
“I didn’t know you liked root beer.”
I wasn’t upset that he’d ordered for me without asking.
I would have ordered the same thing anyway.
What struck me was discovering a common interest with Aemerus, someone who seemed to have nothing in common with me.
Aemerus slowly turned to face me.
“Really?”
His response came back slightly delayed.
But Harry, lost in thought, didn’t notice anything particularly strange about it.
“Come to think of it, you only eat salmon sandwiches for lunch too, don’t you? Our tastes are pretty similar.”
“What a coincidence.”
Aemerus said this with a smile.
For some reason, he looked like someone who didn’t want to talk about this subject any further.
‘Does he dislike having things in common with me?’
I thought we’d gotten fairly close, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
‘He’s really impossible to read.’
One moment he seems to consider me a friend, and the next moment he doesn’t.
Now that I think about it, I was already uncertain whether Aemerus was truly close with Jessie in the first place.
Suddenly, I became curious about this boy named Aemerus Huntington.
I also needed something to occupy myself with so I wouldn’t think about Jessie, who had stood me up.
“You seem pretty close with your uncle.”
She asked this while seated at a table positioned a reasonable distance from the stage.
Aemerus shrugged.
“Aren’t you?”
“Not really. All my relatives are in Korea anyway.”
“Ah….”
He wore an apologetic expression, as if he hadn’t considered that possibility.
“It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize. It wasn’t even a slip of the tongue.”
At Harry’s words, he nodded and tapped his fingers against the table.
When I stopped talking, thinking he was concentrating on the music, he turned the tables and asked me a question instead.
“You mentioned before that your younger brother wanted to go back to Korea.”
“Something along those lines, anyway.”
“What about you? If you could attend university in Korea, would you want to go back?”
“Hmm….”
It was a question I’d never seriously considered before, so it felt unfamiliar.
Harry, thinking seriously about it, shook her head.
“No.”
Jessie—even in the same New York, it’s hard to see his face once.
But if I went to Korea, the time we spent calling and messaging would gradually decrease, and eventually our friendship would naturally fade and wear away.
“I’m going to stay here.”
Hearing her answer, Aemerus unclenched his tightly clenched fist and leaned back against his chair.
“I see.”
For someone who had asked the question first, it was a remarkably insincere response.
I was glaring at him, wondering why he’d asked in the first place, when Ben appeared with drinks.
“Why’s the mood like this? Did you two fight already?”
“It’s not like that,” Harry denied.
But Ben didn’t look like he believed her at all.
He smacked Aemerus on the back.
“Just participate in the couples dance competition later. Don’t sit around moping on such a fine day and ruin the atmosphere of the shop.”
“…What competition?”
I’d gone to such lengths to avoid the Homecoming Party, and now they wanted me to dance here too?
Harry furrowed her brow.
“By the way, first place comes with an incredible prize.”
But Ben’s additional remark piqued my interest slightly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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