My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 32

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

Chapter 32

I saw Jessie off at the Entrance.
“Be careful going in.”
“Yeah. Don’t stay up too late playing either.”
At Jessie’s words, I laughed and told him not to worry.
“I won’t. I have to go to School tomorrow too. Aemerus has Hockey practice.”
“Got it.”
“Will we only see each other at Halloween then?”
“I’ll come by if I have time before that.”
Jessie fell silent for a moment, gazing down at me, then suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Don’t have too much fun without me.”
His scent, sharp and piercing at the tip of my nose, made my heart stop for an instant.
The firmness of his embrace. The large hands drawing my waist close radiated such masculine warmth.
I held my breath, terrified he might hear my wildly racing heart, and forced myself to laugh casually.
“What are you talking about? It’s not playing around—it’s an academic consultation.”
“Right. If that’s what you say, then that’s what it is.”
Jessie released me with the expression of someone choosing to believe a lie they already knew.
“Now I’m really leaving. Don’t come outside—it’s cold.”
“Okay.”
Even after Jessie left, I stood before the closed door, breathing deeply for a long moment.
I had appeared composed in front of him, but inside, everything was chaos.
‘He asked me to tell him first if I ever started dating Aemerus.’
I already knew that Jessie didn’t see me as a romantic interest.
To him, I was simply a really good friend.
‘Could he be hoping I’ll work out with Aemerus? Is that why he introduced me to him?’
There was no other way to interpret what Jessie had said.
‘Even if we really did start dating, he would genuinely congratulate us….’
From that perspective, his visit today made sense.
To confirm just how close the two people he had brought together had become.
“Sigh.”
Unrequited love was not easy.
“Am I really that unattractive?”
So much so that Jessie would never see me as anything but a friend, not even if we died together?
I examined my reflection in the mirror hanging on the Entrance wall.
Deep brown hair, black eyes, a small nose.
An ordinary combination with nothing special about it.
If I hadn’t been Jessie’s neighbor living next door, I probably never would have become his friend.
I heaved a deep sigh, as if the ground itself might collapse beneath me, and returned to the Kitchen where Aemerus was waiting.
He was drinking my hot cocoa with such natural ease that it seemed entirely his own.
“What are you doing? Why are you drinking mine?”
In an instant, the restless anxiety I’d felt because of Jessie transformed into sheer bewilderment.
“You’re the one saying goodbye—why is it taking so long? I thought you were sending someone off to war.”
“What?”
“If it gets cold, it won’t taste good, so I was just drinking it for you.”
“How long could it possibly have taken… Give it back.”
I snatched the mug from Aemerus’s hands and sat down beside him.
“Let’s talk about Tyler. There’s really no possibility he’s your stalker? I know he has an alibi, of course.”
I turned over what Aemerus had said in my mind.
He’d mentioned that a message from the stalker had arrived even when he was with all the other players right before the Hockey Team match.
But there was a clear loophole in that.
“Messages can be scheduled, you know. He could have written the message beforehand and just set it to send later—deliberately trying to shake your focus right before the match.”
Aemerus, who had been listening intently with a serious expression, raised an objection.
Everyone has a motive for their actions.
“But Tyler has no reason to do that. He wants to become a professional player.”
There was no reason for him to deliberately sabotage the match by unsettling the team captain’s mental state.
I sighed and tapped my fingers against the table.
I’d thought I’d caught the culprit, but now I felt trapped in a labyrinth again.
“Then why did Tyler send Jessie that photo of us in the first place?”
“Ah, that’s….”
Aemerus knew the reason, but he hesitated as if reluctant to speak it aloud.
“Why? What is it?”
“It’s not exactly a pleasant story for you to hear.”
“Not knowing anything is worse.”
….
“Aemerus, just tell me.”
As I continued to press him, he finally relented and confessed.
“I’m not sure how it is among the girls, but among the guys, JJ is a bit… complicated.”
“Complicated?”
Aemerus scratched his eyebrow, looking troubled over how to explain it.
“There was a time when rumors spread that JJ was dropping out, and things were really bad. Some guys actually enjoyed watching his downfall.”
Aemerus didn’t name names specifically.
“But then JJ started doing well again as a model.”
“So they’re jealous.”
“That’s about it.”
It was the complete opposite of how the girls reacted to Jessie—with sympathy or admiration.
The competitive spirit that burns between boys of the same gender probably played a role too.
For me, who cared about Jessie, it certainly wasn’t a pleasant story to hear.
“So Tyler sending that photo to Jessie was a form of jealousy too. Like, ‘I’m stealing your friend away’ or something.”
Harry rested her chin in her palm, lost in thought.
She recalled the stalker’s messages to Aemerus one by one in her mind before speaking.
“But your stalker seemed to like Jessie.”
The stalker had belittled Aemerus by comparing him to Jessie, and as if that weren’t enough, had even brought up Harry’s name.
“Hmm… Tyler might not be the stalker after all. Let’s put him lower on the list for now.”
“Yeah.”
With the conversation seemingly wrapped up, Harry rose from her seat with the empty cup in hand.
After a quick rinse and placing it in the sink, she turned around only to lock eyes with Aemerus, who was staring at her blankly.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going home? Planning to sleep here?”
“Would that be okay?”
“It would not.”
Harry grabbed Aemerus’s arm and pulled, but he showed no signs of budging from his seat.
In fact, Aemerus didn’t move an inch.
Instead, he leisurely provoked her.
“Is that all you’ve got? Try harder.”
Spurred on by his taunting, Harry grunted and pulled with all her might, and Aemerus pretended to give in, finally moving.
‘Getting a guest to leave shouldn’t be this difficult.’
Though Harry glared at him after working up a sweat, he simply laughed with delight.
Before leaving, as he picked up his tailcoat jacket without forgetting, Harry remembered something and asked.
“Is the jacket in good condition? Do I need to buy you a new one?”
“It’s fine. Whoever did the cleaning must be quite skilled.”
“Thank goodness. It’s our family’s regular Laundry Shop. But they didn’t want to take it because it was expensive, so I even had to lie. I said it was my father’s—how could I not?”
“You lied about that?”
When Aemerus laughed, Harry became even more animated and chattered away.
“I think they knew it was a lie but just went along with it. The design isn’t something my father would wear anyway, and more importantly, my father isn’t nearly as slim as this.”
“Oh my.”
“What I just said is absolutely a secret from my father.”
“I can’t promise to keep it secret.”
“What?”
At Aemerus’s shameless remark, Harry gave his shoulder a light punch.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Believe whatever you want.”
“You’re really too much.”
The two, giggling, came to a stop at the Entrance.
“Are we executing our plan tomorrow right away?”
“Yes. We need to catch such a dangerous stalker as soon as possible.”
Harry nodded vigorously, insisting he trust only her.
“Let me know right away if you get any response from the stalker.”
“I will.”
“Be careful going in, and I’ll see you at School tomorrow.”
Once Aemerus left, the house fell silent.
“This day has been endless….”
Harry washed her weary body and changed into fresh clothes before stopping by Robin’s room.
She wanted to check if her younger brother was sleeping well.
“He’s sleeping without his blanket again.”
Harry, who had quietly opened the door so as not to wake Robin, shook her head in exasperation.
She was about to leave after pulling the blanket—which Robin had kicked off in his sleep—back over him.
[Sister.]
[Sorry, did I wake you?]
[No…. Where are Mom and Dad?]
[They’ll be home soon. Don’t worry and go back to sleep.]
Harry sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked Robin’s tousled hair.
[You must have had so much fun playing with Jessie today. You’ll have sweet dreams tonight.]
[Mm….]
Perhaps soothed by Harry’s cool touch—fresh from her shower—Robin smiled contentedly with his eyes closed.
[I also played with Dancing King. He gave me a cowboy hat and even let me try on his jacket?]
[You and that jacket of his…!]
I had told him not to wear other people’s clothes carelessly, but he went ahead anyway!
Aemerus hadn’t made a fuss about it, so I hadn’t noticed.
Since I couldn’t very well scold a sleeping child, Harry swallowed her irritation.
With his eyes closed, Robin couldn’t see Harry’s expression and chattered away happily.
[And he taught me Spanish too. Hola, buenas noches.]
“¡Guau! ¡Tú estás hablando español ahora!”
Robin, who had been reluctant to speak English, was now speaking Spanish!
Though it was only a simple greeting, it was remarkable progress.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Harry peppered Robin’s face with kisses, and he giggled and pushed her away.
[Sister, what did you just say to me?]
[It’s a secret.]
[Can I learn Spanish when I go to School too? Dancing King said he learned Spanish at School….]
[Of course. Absolutely. You’re going to become a Spanish expert.]
Pleased by Harry’s words, Robin giggled before drifting off to sleep with a smile still on his face.
‘I should thank Aemerus. I’ll buy him a meal next time.’
Had he remembered what I’d said about Robin?
As Harry thought of Aemerus, a smile remarkably similar to Robin’s appeared at the corners of her lips.

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