My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 18

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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 18

‘Am I really that invisible?’
I had barely made it to the Ice Hockey Arena just before the match started, and Robin was entirely to blame.
Aemerus had said it would be fine if Robin came along to watch the game, so I’d made the mistake of asking Robin if he wanted to go with me.
That’s when my little brother started throwing a fit, insisting we stay home instead of going out.
It didn’t help that he’d found out about my meeting alone with Jessie last Wednesday—appeasing his wounded pride had been particularly difficult.
Having narrowly avoided being late, I spotted Aemerus searching the crowd on the ice and waved my hand.
‘I’m over here!’
I was too self-conscious to call out, so I could only flutter my hand pitifully, but Aemerus passed right by without seeing me.
‘This won’t do. I need to move closer to the front.’
I didn’t want to hear that I’d come all this way to the arena only to break my promise.
I searched for an empty seat and, spotting a suitable one, headed toward it.
“Excuse me, would it be alright if I sat here?”
My eyes widened as I checked if the seat was actually vacant.
“Faye?”
“Lili?”
Faye, who had been busily typing on her phone, was startled to see me.
She quickly turned off her phone screen and gestured to the seat beside her with her chin.
“Go ahead and sit. It’s empty. White people won’t even sit next to Asians anyway.”
Discrimination isn’t only expressed through slurs and derogatory remarks.
This subtle form of contempt was discrimination too.
“Well, look at that. Thanks to them, I—who arrived late—ended up with the best front-row seat. Thank you, you racists.”
Faye and the Chinese girl beside her burst into laughter at my cynical joke.
“Hi, I’m Nina. Faye told me about you.”
“Hi, Nina. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Are you here cheering for that white guy you’re always hanging around with?”
“He’s not my boyfriend…”
“Really?”
I was about to introduce Aemerus as “a friend’s friend” like I usually did, but I hesitated.
Wasn’t it time I called him my own friend?
“We’re just friends.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Nina didn’t look like she believed my claim that Aemerus and I were merely friends.
She tilted her head curiously, then smiled and changed the subject.
“Actually, Lili, I was a bit hurt by you. I thought maybe you were embarrassed to be seen with an Asian.”
See? I knew the kids would get the wrong idea.
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again.
“That’s really a misunderstanding….”
“Yeah. Now that I’ve seen you today, I get it. If you’d really done that, you wouldn’t have sat next to us. I won’t misunderstand anymore.”
“Thank you.”
After exchanging greetings with Nina, Harry turned her attention back to Faye.
She continued fidgeting with her phone, her movements betraying some underlying anxiety.
“Faye, is something wrong? If I’m making you uncomfortable….”
“Oh, no! It’s not that.”
With that, Faye hastily shoved her phone into her pocket.
‘She looked like she was messaging someone. Did she have a fight with her boyfriend?’
Recalling the phone screen she’d glimpsed before Faye hurriedly concealed it, Harry gave a small shrug.
“Anyway, it’s not because of you, so feel free to relax.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Harry smiled faintly, then turned her gaze toward the ice rink to search for Aemerus.
Perhaps because they were in the front row, Aemerus spotted her this time and broke into a radiant smile.
‘What’s with that smile?’
Even through his face mask, his smile was so vivid that Harry felt an unexpected flush of embarrassment.
Conscious of Faye and Nina’s unwavering stares from right beside her, she responded playfully by giving a thumbs-down gesture.
To her teasing reaction, Aemerus shook his head with that same bright smile, then turned toward the coach who was looking for him.
“Lili, weren’t you supposed to be here to cheer?”
“This is my cheering.”
At Harry’s brazen answer, Faye and Nina burst into laughter once more.
“Oh, there’s Atwood!”
Nina, who had been laughing, gestured as the opposing team’s players entered the arena.
At the familiar name, Harry’s gaze naturally shifted in that direction.
“Wow, they’re all pretty tall, probably because they’re from Minnesota. Impressive.”
Nina pulled out her phone camera and zoomed in, scrutinizing each player from the opposing team.
“Minnesota’s Atwood….”
Even the wolf symbol emblazoned on their uniforms—it was a combination Harry couldn’t possibly miss.
Atwood School from Minnesota.
Three years ago, the team that had dealt a devastating defeat to Riverside School, then considered the strongest in ice hockey.
Of course, that didn’t mean Harry harbored any particular ill will toward them.
After that crushing loss, there had been a major overhaul of the roster, which became the catalyst for Jessie, who had barely shed his rookie status at the time, to take on a key position.
“Look at them. They come to someone else’s home arena and they’re absolutely brimming with confidence?”
Nina kept her eyes fixed on the Minnesota players as she whistled softly.
Three years ago, the Minnesota team had beaten them, but because the venue rotated, they’d ended up playing away again.
Yet the Minnesota team showed no signs of intimidation—they seemed confident of another victory.
“I heard they even practice hockey on a lake back home. How could our pampered young gentlemen possibly compete with kids like that? All our boys do is complain about the ice and the equipment.”
Faye said with a sneer.
The fact that she’d come here to cheer for the match at all felt surprising.
“Oh, I like that number 7 player. I’m going to cheer for him.”
Nina had chosen to cheer for a player from Atwood, the opposing team, not Riverside.
‘They didn’t come to cheer—they came to watch us lose.’
Now that the mystery was solved, I let their conversation fade into the background as I observed Aemerus.
‘At least he looks in good condition.’
As the captain who had taken over after Jessie, the pressure he must be feeling was considerable.
More than anything, the weight of avenging that loss from three years ago had to be immense.
Even though I wasn’t the one competing, my hands grew cold with tension.
Yet watching Aemerus relay the coach’s instructions to the players, I could sense an almost casual composure emanating from him.
‘I thought once Jessie graduated, I wouldn’t have to feel this anxious anymore.’
Who could have known I’d end up praying that Aemerus wouldn’t get injured?
I let out a hollow laugh.
As the clock struck the hour, the music echoing through the arena gradually faded.
“It’s starting!”
Nina cried out, her voice brimming with anticipation.
Just as she said, players from both teams were converging toward center ice.
After the brief introductions, including the championship histories of Riverside School and Atwood School, concluded.
Only the centers from each team and the referee remained at center ice for the face-off.
The countless spectators filling the stands held their breath in unison, as if by agreement, their focus absolute.
‘Seizing the initiative at the start of the game is most crucial.’
I watched Aemerus with concern.
The Aemerus I remembered played with remarkable restraint.
Which was why he had less presence compared to Jessie.
As my worry deepened, the puck dropped from the referee’s hand.
Watching Aemerus intently, I caught the subtle shift that occurred the instant the puck fell.
Aemerus’s hand movement with his stick suddenly switched from forehand to backhand.
“…!”
It was a deceptively simple feint.
But in that moment when the opposing team’s center, having already calculated Aemerus’s hand position and stick angle, hesitated in confusion.
In less than five seconds, control of the puck had completely shifted to Aemerus.
“Woaaah!”
“Riverside!”
Did I just say Aemerus’s play was remarkably restrained?
I take that back.
“Ugh!”
Aemerus didn’t shy away from the rough physical battle, colliding with opposing players’ shoulders and bodies.
With explosive energy like an active volcano, he had already penetrated deep into the opposing team’s territory and fired the puck toward the goal.
Cheers erupted from the stands, but unfortunately the puck struck the goalpost and bounced away.
Nevertheless, Aemerus’s declaration had been clearly delivered to both the opposing team and the spectators.
Riverside School would not lose to Atwood School today.

***

“Wow…”
“Aemerus isn’t called the ace for nothing.”
Even Faye and Nina, who had come to witness Riverside School’s crushing defeat at the hands of Atwood School just as it had been three years ago, could no longer bring themselves to voice their criticisms.
“You enjoyed today’s match, didn’t you?”
At my words, Nina nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
“Right? I’m thinking of going to watch the next match too. Since we beat Minnesota today, the next one is… Texas?”
I was laughing at Nina’s excited speculation about what the Texas player might be like.
Suddenly, cheers and applause erupted from the surrounding crowd.
Startled, I turned around and saw Aemerus approaching from beyond the transparent barrier.
“Aemerus!”
Without thinking, I sprang to my feet and stood before him.
“Why did you come so late? I thought you weren’t coming.”
“Sorry, it was because of Robin.”
“It’s fine now that you’re here. Don’t leave—wait a moment.”
The match was over, so why was he asking me to wait? Did he have something to say?
Confused as I was, I nodded anyway.
I blamed it all on the lingering excitement from the thrilling match.

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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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