My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 116

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

Side Story Episode 11

The next morning.
Aemerus woke Harry before leaving as promised.
“Lili, I’m heading out.”
Though it was early, Harry rose feeling remarkably refreshed—the cold medicine she’d taken the night before and her deep sleep had worked wonders.
“You’re leaving already…?”
“Yes. I want to depart with plenty of time. Go back to sleep.”
“No, I’m already awake.”
Harry had no classes today.
She refused Aemerus’s gentle attempts to tuck her back in and determinedly rose from bed.
“Let me at least make you some coffee before you go.”
“Okay.”
Aemerus felt the same reluctance to part ways.
So he didn’t protest when she offered to prepare his coffee.
The two exchanged pleasantries about the night as they descended the second-floor stairs.
“How are you feeling?”
“Much better. Thank you. Did you sleep well yesterday?”
“Yes. This place is so much nicer than my dormitory. I slept wonderfully.”
Harry giggled at his response.
“Doesn’t it feel inconvenient having a roommate after living alone?”
“It depends on who the roommate is.”
Aemerus paused mid-descent and pulled Harry into his embrace.
“If you were my roommate, I would never have left the dormitory.”
As he kissed her cheek, Harry giggled, tickled by the gesture.
“Things might feel different once we actually live together.”
“Even if they do, I think marriage is about adapting to each other.”
Suddenly, his expression turned serious.
“Were you serious yesterday about looking into wedding venues? You weren’t just saying it?”
“What wedding venue?”
Harry feigned innocence, pretending to remember nothing.
Aemerus’s face fell as though the sky itself had collapsed.
Seeing his reaction was more dramatic than expected, Harry quickly abandoned her teasing and rushed to console him.
“I was just joking. Of course I was serious.”
“I thought my heart had stopped…”
Only after receiving kisses on both cheeks did Aemerus finally relax.
It took Harry twice as long as usual to reach the kitchen, where she inserted a capsule into the coffee machine.
As the coffee brewed into the tumbler, Aemerus embraced her from behind.
He pressed his lips repeatedly against her neck, whimpering softly.
“I don’t want to go… I should have just enrolled at NYU too.”
“What on earth are you saying? Get a grip, Aemerus.”
Was he still half-asleep? Could he really drive like this?
At Harry’s barrage of questions, Aemerus chuckled low.
“I need to attend school diligently so I can graduate quickly and marry you.”
“Right. I’m marrying you.”
Once she soothed him with talk of marriage, Aemerus finally relented.
“Come to think of it, what about a house? I wouldn’t mind a small apartment.”
Harry murmured absently.
In the early morning hour, their conversation drifted wherever consciousness led.
“Robin told us we absolutely have to move out.”
“Huh?”
“He said he doesn’t want another person nagging him on top of everything else.”
At Aemerus’s words, Harry burst into laughter.
“Anyone listening would think I’m some relentless nag. Is telling you not to procrastinate on homework and to do it on time nagging? That’s just what you’re supposed to do.”
“I like hearing you nag me.”
Aemerus rubbed his face against the nape of her neck as he spoke.
“…So that basically confirms you are nagging, then.”
Harry smacked her lips ruefully.
“Do you two talk like that when I’m not around?”
“Robin keeps urging me to marry you whenever he sees me.”
“That’s funny.”
While they giggled, the coffee finished brewing.
Harry screwed the lid tightly on the tumbler and handed it to Aemerus.
“Drive safely.”
“You go get more sleep.”
“No. Since I’m up early, I’m going to feed Robin and send him off to school.”
“You seem better, but don’t push yourself, okay? Rest well at least until today.”
“I will.”
“I’ll come by again this weekend. It’s still cold, so don’t go outside.”
“Ugh, more nagging. So this is how Robin felt.”
At Harry’s grumbling, Aemerus laughed.
“That’s because I love you.”
“I know. I love you too.”
The two embraced at the foyer before parting ways.
Despite Aemerus’s instruction not to come outside, Harry waved enthusiastically from the living room window.
Aemerus reciprocated with the hand holding the tumbler before getting into his car.
Even after his black Range Rover disappeared from view, my heart felt unexpectedly full—unlike usual.
It was because I knew he would return to me again.
“I need to finish everything on my end before then.”
Harry stretched languidly, her arms extending above her head.
Thanks to the inspiration Aemerus had provided yesterday, the lyrics seemed to be flowing beautifully.

***

The weekend arrived once more.
Fully recovered, Harry set out on a date with Aemerus in peak condition.
The two of them enjoyed dinner at an elegant restaurant, then visited Ben’s Live Club for the first time in ages.
“You two again?”
Ben greeted them warmly, though he pretended to grumble good-naturedly.
“You mentioned there’s a Dance Competition today? We absolutely couldn’t miss it.”
I had been disappointed about leaving empty-handed from the last prom.
Aemerus must have remembered that, because he had tipped me off about this competition being held.
“Don’t go overboard, alright? If you two keep this up, my other customers might break a bone. Same drinks as last time?”
“Yes.”
“Have a seat.”
A moment later, Ben returned with two root beer floats.
While waiting for the Dance Competition to begin, the two of them sipped their drinks and conversed.
Since Aemerus was majoring in economics and Harry in business administration, they had plenty of common ground.
As a result, they talked continuously throughout dinner without running out of things to discuss.
“I’m so relieved Dad gave up on the meal kit business.”
“Has he completely abandoned the idea?”
“Yes. For one thing, it’s not easy to supply to large supermarkets. And even if we did direct sales, there are limits to transporting frozen foods. Just imagine if a customer ate spoiled food due to poor handling in transit…”
Harry sighed deeply.
“Instead, he’s thinking about opening a cooking class now.”
“A cooking class? So your parents would be teaching Korean cuisine?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds promising.”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
Harry’s voice carried a note of complaint.
“I told him it would be good to assess the exact demand before opening the class, and he went ahead and asked me to look into it.”
My parents were getting older, and they couldn’t run the restaurant forever.
So finding new revenue streams was certainly necessary.
But I was still just an undergraduate!
‘A business venture doesn’t require just pocket change.’
Knowing that my words carried significant financial weight, the pressure felt immense.
Of course, my parents were trusting me with this, which made it even more daunting.
Seeing Harry pout, Aemerus let out a soft laugh.
“Would it ease your mind if you thought of it as the price your parents are paying for your tuition?”
Harry quickly agreed with Aemerus’s words.
“Tuition fees… yes, tuition is incredibly expensive. No matter how much I try to be filial to my parents, it’s never enough.”
Seeing Harry nod with understanding, Aemerus gently offered a suggestion.
“If you need advice about business, why don’t we arrange a separate meeting with my father?”
Mr. Huntington was a renowned investor, but he also offered paid consulting to entrepreneurs.
Aemerus himself was planning to learn his father’s work alongside his older brother.
“Would that really be okay? Your father is incredibly busy.”
“You’re going to be family soon, so of course it’s fine.”
At Aemerus’s affectionate words, Harry squeezed his hand and smiled.
“Thank you. I’ll ask my dad about it too. Honestly, I’ve been stressed wondering if my proposal to my parents was off the mark.”
Harry exhaled deeply once more.
“How are you planning to conduct market research?”
“For now, I’m thinking of holding a free one-day class to see how many people sign up. For promotion, I’ll post flyers inside the restaurant and make announcements on social media…”
As the two exchanged serious thoughts, the music stopped and Ben took the microphone.
“We’re about to begin the Dance Competition, a tradition steeped in history! Couples interested in participating, please come up to the stage right now.”
“Let’s go.”
Thrilled at the prospect of winning, Harry grabbed Aemerus’s hand and climbed onto the stage.
Even though the prize was just a Dancing Queen cowboy hat…
Since Robin and even her mother had been eyeing it, she thought it would be nice to give one to them this time.
“Before we officially begin the competition, we’ll have a time for introductions. Starting from the left, please introduce yourselves one by one.”
While waiting for their turn, my heart raced with anticipation.
It was a pleasant kind of nervousness.
As I exchanged smiles with Aemerus, our hands clasped together, it became our turn.
“This is quite a young couple.”
“Yes, we’re college students.”
Ben acted as if he and Aemerus weren’t relatives, just as he had before.
“Your faces look familiar though?”
Unexpectedly, someone from the regular crowd at the club recognized them.
Ben responded without hesitation.
“Last year’s competition champions. They’ve come to raid my wallet again.”
“Ask them if they’re still just friends!”
At someone’s shout, laughter erupted from the audience seating.
Ben chuckled and asked Aemerus.
“When you two won last year, you said you were ‘just’ friends. How about now?”
“We’re in a serious relationship.”
Aemerus’s answer drew cheers.
“I knew it!”
“You two kept insisting you were just friends until the very end.”
Harry laughed sheepishly.

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