My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 12

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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 12

Aemerus lifted Harry effortlessly into the air, moving with the mechanical precision of a programmed automaton.
Rather than simply cradling her and setting her down as one might have seen elsewhere, he spun her in a complete circle right there on the spot.
The flourish of the choreography drew whistles from the audience.
“Youth really does have its advantages. No knee pain while dancing.”
“Back in my day, I could lift cheerleaders with one hand too.”
“Back then? I can still do it now.”
“Keep bragging like that and you’ll throw out your back—then you’ll come to your senses.”
While the patrons reminisced, Harry and Aemerus grew increasingly confident.
Having synchronized their movements, they now attempted something far bolder.
At Harry’s glance, he caught her again.
“Oh!”
“Look at them!”
Harry knelt on Aemerus’s left thigh, spinning with him in dizzying circles.
The performance was only possible because Aemerus held her waist firmly in place.
The audience erupted in cheers for them both.
Sensing the threat, the opposing team attempted to replicate the move but tumbled to the ground on their backsides instead.
“A mistake born from excessive focus on the competition. What a shame! At this rate, we’ll be racking up Hospital bills!”
Ben’s quip sent another wave of laughter through the crowd.
Contrary to Aemerus’s harsh assessment of him as boring, Ben was absolutely commanding on stage.
“Behold this adorable teenage couple!”
“We’re not a couple!”
Harry protested without missing a beat, even as she danced.
“Just friends, as they say. Let’s believe them.”
“‘For now’ friends. Yeah, sure.”
Regardless, the momentum had completely shifted in Harry and Aemerus’s favor.
‘We did it…!’
As the song ended, my chest swelled with accomplishment.
Harry gazed up at Aemerus with eyes brimming with emotion.
If the person beside me had been Jessie, I would have embraced him without hesitation, but since it was Aemerus, I found myself hesitating slightly.
‘We’re not the kind of people who embrace each other.’
I decided to keep the pride of this moment to myself.
Just as I turned to face forward again—
“…!”
Aemerus suddenly grasped my hand.
‘What—what is this?’
I looked at him in bewilderment, but he said nothing.
I simply took her hand and bowed at the waist like a musical actor receiving a curtain call.
Though I found myself bowing alongside him almost by accident, the applause cascading from the audience lifted my spirits despite myself.
“Phew, look at this energy. Isn’t it absolutely scorching?”
Ben sauntered to center stage, wiping his brow with exaggerated theatricality.
“I’d like to ask for another round of applause for all the participants who created such a magnificent performance.”
The applause showed no signs of stopping.
Harry and Aemerus exchanged handshakes with the rival team they’d battled fiercely against until the very end.
“Both couples performed beautifully, but we do need to declare a winner, don’t we?”
“We’re not a couple.”
Harry protested once more, but again, her words fell on deaf ears.
“Those of you who think the couple from the Bronx performed best, please give them your applause and cheers!”
The response was reasonably decent.
“Those of you who think the couple who are just friends performed best, please give them your applause and cheers!”
A noticeably louder roar filled the Country Music Club.
Someone even began loudly tapping their beer glass against the table.
“Excellent. It seems the winner is decided. Congratulations on your victory!”
I barely managed to stifle a delighted shriek.
Instead, Aemerus and I simply faced each other and quietly shared the joy of our triumph.
“Now, those of you who were eliminated, please vacate the stage.”
“That’s harsh!”
“If you didn’t want to leave the stage, you should have won the competition.”
Ben teasingly rubbed salt in the wound before proceeding to the awards ceremony I’d been so eagerly anticipating.
“These gifts are dedicated to the Dancing Queen and Dancing King who graced this evening.”
What Ben handed me was a cowboy hat engraved with the words “Dancing Queen.”
Conversely, the hat Aemerus received bore the inscription “Dancing King.”
‘This is… the prize?’
The shock was so profound that I hadn’t even noticed I was still holding Aemerus’s hand.
“And in addition to that…”
Ah, of course. The prize couldn’t possibly be just this, could it?
I hastily placed the hat on my head and looked toward Ben.
I had no idea that Aemerus was smirking at the sight of my eyes gleaming with anticipation.
“We’re presenting you with a coupon worth three hundred dollars to use at this club!”
“…”
“By the way, the coupon is valid only through the end of this year, so you’ll need to visit frequently to use it all. It would be even better if you brought other guests along.”
It was purely a promotional item for the club.
Compared to the relentless dancing that had left my lungs burning, it was a pathetically meager reward.
With a forced smile and gritted teeth, I leaned toward Aemerus’s ear and whispered.
“Did you know?”
“Know what?”
“Did you know the prize was going to be this?”
Aemerus merely shrugged his shoulders.
Yet I couldn’t believe he truly hadn’t known anything about it.
Surely he could have anticipated that the grand prize wouldn’t be anything particularly impressive?
And instead of giving me a heads-up beforehand, he simply danced along to my rhythm.
I was so flabbergasted my jaw dropped.
“Winning couple, please come this way for a commemorative photo.”
“We’re not a couple…”
My protest was ignored until the very end.
Only after taking a photo while wearing a cowboy hat and receiving a three-hundred-dollar gift certificate could I finally step down from the stage.
“We clearly won, yet it feels like we lost.”
At the sound of my half-dazed voice, Aemerus burst into laughter.
“At least you gained some honor.”
“Honor doesn’t put food on the table.”
As I grumbled about whether honor could feed me, Aemerus waved the gift certificate playfully in front of my face.
“Well, at least you can buy a drink with it.”
At his shameless reply, I let out a genuine laugh.
Seeing that I’d recovered somewhat, he casually asked.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“I know a place with great kebabs. Let’s go.”
“Now?”
“Yeah.”
I checked the time on my phone for a moment. It was already nine at night.
‘It’s rather late to be having dinner now…’
I’d skipped dinner because I was upset about Jessie, and after dancing as well, my stomach felt like it was touching my spine.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
After saying goodbye to Ben, we headed out of the Country Music Club.
Having worked up a sweat, the night breeze felt all the more refreshing.
“Wear this.”
Noticing me shivering, Aemerus took off his jacket and offered it to me.
“Is the Kebab Restaurant far from here?”
“No. It’s right ahead once we turn the corner.”
“Then you don’t need to give it to me.”
If the distance was short, I could endure this chill.
I tried to return the jacket to Aemerus, but he wouldn’t take it.
“You look cold.”
Since he said I looked cold, there was no point in being modest anymore.
I put on Aemerus’s jacket without complaint.
When Aemerus wore it, the length fit perfectly at his hips, but on me it was like a long coat.
‘Well, Aemerus is just as tall as Jessie after all.’
The ease with which he lifted her while dancing suggested considerable strength.
“Come to think of it, you’re quite the dancer. I was genuinely surprised when you lifted me earlier—it was so natural.”
At Harry’s admiration, Aemerus scratched his head.
“I’ve watched the Ice Dance Team practice sometimes.”
“Ah, I see.”
That explained his skill. Yet even as Harry accepted his answer, a question bloomed in her mind.
“But don’t hockey players and figure skaters use different ice rinks?”
“…Well, I suppose you can watch from the sidelines.”
“You’re not their parent. What reason would you have to watch there? Oh, so there’s a girl you like who does ice dancing?”
Whether impressed by Harry’s remarkable deductive reasoning or simply caught off guard, Aemerus said nothing.
“Who is she? If I know her, I can help things go well.”
Since the Riverside School Foundation specialized so heavily in ice sports, Harry had dabbled in figure skating herself as a child.
She knew the training facilities were kept separate, and she had some acquaintance with the girls she’d trained with.
“Never mind.”
“Why? I’m telling you I can help.”
Aemerus seemed to have decided to ignore her entirely, striding forward with his gaze fixed ahead.
‘He’s shy, I guess.’
Harry giggled and hurried after him.
“Oops!”
Of all days to wear high heels, her foot twisted slightly as she walked.
Aemerus turned and quickly stepped to her side, extending his arm.
‘Jessie used to do this too.’
A bittersweet smile crossed her face at the unbidden memory.
Whenever there was a party, Jessie always insisted on being her partner, so she was accustomed to receiving such courtesies.
“Take my arm.”
“Thanks, Jessie.”
The name tumbled out so naturally that Harry didn’t even realize her mistake.
Only after an awkward silence settled between them did she sense something amiss and looked up at Aemerus.
“My name isn’t Jessie.”
Did I just call Aemerus by Jessie’s name?

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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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