My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 2

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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 2

Part 1. First Love, Unrequited

My first love was Jessie Jackson.
It was the day I came to the United States with my parents and visited a Baseball Stadium for the first time.
That’s where I met Jessie.
We both chased after a home run ball that flew from the field, and Jessie was the one who caught it first.
Overflowing with joy, Jessie turned to look at me—the girl who had chased the ball alongside him—and flashed a radiant smile.
“I’ll give this to you.”
Bright sunlight poured down over the innocent boy wearing a baseball cap.
His golden hair gleamed even brighter than that sunlight, and his eyes—as clear and blue as a summer sky—were like a prince stepped straight out of a fairy tale.
The moment I saw that boy’s smile, so beautiful it made my eyes sting.
A young girl falling in love was inevitable.
“Thank you.”
I could barely manage those words, too shy to say anything more.
I clutched the baseball like a precious treasure and returned to my parents, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.
My parents burst into laughter when they saw my face, red as a tomato, looking ready to burst at any moment.
“Thank you for letting my daughter have the ball. What’s your name?”
My father, who found the children simply adorable, asked the boy his name.
“Jessie. Jessie Jackson.”
As it turned out, Jessie lived in the house right next to ours.
On top of that, he attended the same Elementary School as I did.
I was certain that Jessie was my destined one.
We held hands and walked to school together every day.
After our first meeting at the Baseball Stadium, our parents became close friends, and we went camping or traveling together every weekend.
It was the same at school. Everyone thought Jessie’s girlfriend was me, and in reality, his partner was always mine. We were inseparable, and I believed without a doubt that I would marry Jessie. Until we became High School students.
We were always together, and I never doubted that I would marry Jessie—not until we entered High School.
“My father has cancer.”
Jessie delivered the news with a relatively composed expression.
Until then, there was still hope.
Hope that his father would recover.
Hope that Jessie’s family would return to their ordinary life from before.
But his misfortune was only just beginning.
“I don’t know what to do anymore.”
Jessie’s mother, who worked as a cleaner every night to earn hospital bills, was hit by a car on her way home from work.
I barely escaped with my life, but I underwent multiple surgeries to realign the shattered bones in my legs.
Even after the surgeries, the doctors couldn’t guarantee I’d ever walk on both legs again.
“Listen, Jessie. I’ll do anything for you.”
Harry comforted him and quietly remained by his side.
Harry’s parents also cherished Jessie and felt sorry for him, covering his surgical expenses several times.
But it seemed that weighed heavily on Jessie.
He had decided he couldn’t spend his entire life depending on their charity.
“I’m thinking about dropping out of school.”
While working as a server at Harry’s parents’ Restaurant, Jessie said he’d received a modeling offer.
He claimed that taking just a few photographs would earn him far more money than his current job.
Naturally, not only Harry but his teachers were horrified and tried to dissuade him.
The High School they attended was the second-best private school in New York, after Wharton School.
In the end, he settled on graduating early instead. It was possible because his grades were excellent.
“Riri, I’m worried about you.”
Even after graduating High School ahead of schedule, abandoning the promise they’d made to attend the same university, Jessie’s only concern was Harry.
It made sense—Harry had no one she could call a friend besides Jessie.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m a freshman anymore.”
Harry was now a senior.
She didn’t feel the need to make new friends.
But Jessie seemed to think differently, judging by the way he’d introduced her to a new friend.

***

The first day of a new semester without Jessie.
Having always stuck by his side, his absence felt particularly acute.
Weaving through clusters of students exchanging greetings in the hallway, I turned up my headphones.
Everything felt unbearable.
The endless misfortunes befalling only Jessie.
The students laughing and chattering as if nothing were amiss without him.
My own fate—spending my final year at High School without Jessie.
I exhaled deeply while organizing my locker when someone tapped my shoulder.
“Hey there.”
I turned in surprise to find one of the few Asian girls at this school standing before me.
“Hi.”
I stopped the music and lowered my headphones, but couldn’t hide my confusion.
“What’s up?”
Wondering if a teacher had summoned me, I looked at her as she introduced herself.
“My name is Faye. You’re Harry, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You seem to be alone. Would you like to hang out with us?”
“Oh…”
Since Asian students were such a minority at this school, they tended to stick together regardless of nationality.
I smiled and politely declined.
“I’m fine, really. I prefer being alone. But thanks for thinking of me.”
Faye shrugged.
“If you change your mind anytime, just let me know.”
“I will. See you in class.”
See? Jessie, you don’t need to worry about me at all.
I spoke silently to Jessie in my mind as I finished organizing my locker.
After spending the entire day in classes alone, lunchtime finally arrived.
It was when I sat at an outdoor table with a sandwich and drink I’d purchased from the Cafeteria.
Someone had brazenly taken the seat across from me.
‘Faye?’
I looked up to tell her once more that I was perfectly fine being alone, then froze.
The person before me was a large boy—roughly twice Faye’s build.
“Hey.”
His black hair fell in attractive waves.
Yet his sharp green eyes held a piercing quality that contradicted his gentle appearance.
It was a face I recognized.
“Aemerus Huntington?”
At the evident shock in my voice, he responded with a slight raise of his thick brows.
“How have you been?”
“So-so…”
I trailed off as I watched Aemerus settle naturally across from me and begin eating.
‘Were we really the kind of people who should be sitting face-to-face sharing lunch?’
Absolutely not.
When it came down to it, Aemerus Huntington was closer to being Jessie’s friend than mine.
I found myself staring blankly at him as he took a bite of the salmon sandwich—the exact same meal I’d ordered—before snapping back to reality.
“What are you doing?”
Despite the sharp edge to my question, Aemerus replied with casual indifference.
“Eating lunch.”
“I mean, why are you eating lunch here? There are plenty of other seats.”
Suddenly, he curved his lips into a smirk.
Other girls would have made a fuss over how handsome he looked, but I’d grown so accustomed to Jessie’s prince-like appearance that I remained unmoved.
That is, until Jessie’s name actually came out of his mouth.
“JJ asked me to.”
“Jessie did…?”
JJ was the nickname we used for him to avoid confusion with another girl student named Jessie.
But Jessie asked him to? What on earth for?
Nothing made sense.
Even as I stared at him pointedly, demanding a proper explanation, he casually took another bite of his sandwich before responding.
“He asked me to keep an eye on you so you wouldn’t be alone at school.”
“That’s… that doesn’t make any sense.”
Unable to trust Aemerus’s words, I immediately pulled out my phone and called Jessie.
I usually preferred texting over calling to avoid bothering him, but today I had no choice.
However, he didn’t answer.
Just as I was about to call again, a text came through from him.
「I’m waiting for filming. What’s up?」
Part of me wanted to grab him and complain about what he’d done, but seeing how busy he was, I held back.
Instead, I kept my message brief.
「Did you ask Aemerus to have lunch with me?」
His confirmation came back immediately.
I exhaled deeply and set my phone down on the table with a hint of irritation.
I’d told him it was fine, that he didn’t need to worry, yet he went ahead and did this anyway.
With so much already on his plate, the thought that I’d become a burden to him made my chest feel heavy.
Noticing my sudden shift in mood, Aemerus shrugged slightly.
“I was right, wasn’t I?”
“Yeah.”
I dragged my palm across my face in a dry washing motion and let out a hollow laugh.
“Jessie did something pointless. I’m sorry you went out of your way to humor his request, but I don’t need a friend to eat lunch with.”
I truly didn’t need anyone but Jessie.
Aemerus chuckled as if he agreed with my sentiment.
“That’s what I thought too.”
“Right?”
At least Aemerus seemed to understand where I was coming from.
Seeing me nod vigorously in agreement, he laughed again.
“When JJ first asked me to look after Harry, I said, ‘Sure. But which Harry?’ I never imagined it was you.”
There were five Harrys in this school. Four of them were boys.
Imagining how bewildered he must have been at being asked to watch over a grown woman, I couldn’t help but laugh too.
“Anyway, you’ve seen I’m fine, so that’s that. I can manage on my own, so you can go.”
I picked up the sandwich I’d set down earlier and tried to shoo him away.
Or rather, I tried to shoo him away but failed.
“I don’t think so.”
Aemerus had suddenly inserted himself into my life—me, hopelessly in love with Jessie, my first love.

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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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