My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 36

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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 36

Ding dong.
The doorbell chimed through the quiet house, even Robin’s whimpers having faded into silence.
Harry, who had been anxiously clutching her phone on the sofa, bolted upright and rushed toward the Foyer.
“Aemerus!”
“Hey.”
Despite having seen each other at School earlier that day, Aemerus greeted her warmly.
At the sight of that familiar face and the sound of that familiar voice, Harry felt her legs nearly give way with relief.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice, even though it’s Friday night. I didn’t mean to intrude on your evening….”
“I don’t mind. So what’s going on?”
“Come inside first. Let’s talk in here.”
I couldn’t leave Aemerus standing in the Foyer after he’d made time to rush over on a Friday night.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.
“Wait. Take off your shoes first.”
Unlike me in my hurry, Aemerus removed his shoes unhurriedly.
Harry’s House followed the Western custom of wearing shoes indoors like most American homes, but we were strict about keeping footwear separate.
And Aemerus, like someone frequently invited to this house, naturally changed into indoor slippers.
“Sorry, I was so frazzled.”
I rubbed my forehead, blaming myself for letting my mind race ahead.
Aemerus shrugged to indicate it was fine, then asked.
“By the way, where are you going for an interview?”
“Me? No. This is my Halloween costume.”
At the mention of a Halloween costume, Aemerus’s eyes narrowed.
I was wearing a white shirt and formal black attire.
The loose-fitting jacket and trousers made me look like a capable businesswoman.
“Is there a character like that…?”
If there were, I surely would have known about it.
Aemerus muttered blankly.
“There is. Batman’s butler, Alfred.”
“Ah…!”
“Jessie was Batman, anyway.”
I sat on the Living Room sofa, swept my hair back, and let out a long sigh.
“What happened?”
“You know Jessie was supposed to come today, right?”
“Yeah.”
Aemerus listened attentively while maintaining a comfortable distance beside me.
“But because of an actor named Lou Tournier, well, you wouldn’t know who that is anyway.”
Harry recalled that Aemerus had absolutely no interest in entertainment gossip, so she added more detailed explanation.
“He’s a male actor who became incredibly famous recently after appearing in a high school queer drama. He was trending on social media a few days ago. During a live broadcast with his friend, he said that playing a gay character was absolutely horrible, and that he finds the gay men who send him DMs disgusting.”
“…Is he intellectually deficient?”
It was one thing to think such things privately, but quite another to voice them aloud.
Especially for an actor—he should show at least minimal respect and responsibility toward the work he’d performed.
Even high school students like them understood that much.
“Well, the industry doesn’t punish infidelity, so Lou Tournier was just unlucky. The magazine editor who happened to assign him this cover shoot is gay.”
Whenever issues involving sexual minorities arose, this person always stepped forward to speak out—a figure of considerable influence.
“On the day of the shoot, that editor cut Lou Tournier and called Jessie instead. It’s an opportunity Jessie can’t afford to miss.”
It would be a shame to let slip such a golden opportunity—like winning the lottery.
And as a true friend, she ought to support his success.
“But Robin was really looking forward to Halloween. Jessie was supposed to be Batman, and Robin was going to be Batman’s sidekick Robin—he’s been talking about it all month.”
“And you’re Batman’s butler.”
Harry smiled faintly as Aemerus pointedly reminded her of her role.
But her smile vanished instantly, replaced by a sigh.
“Actually, Jessie canceling on today isn’t a one-time thing. Remember when I told you? He was supposed to teach me ice hockey but that fell through.”
Harry tried to count all the promises Jessie had broken, then gave up.
“I think Robin finally snapped from everything building up. He won’t answer Jessie’s calls, just locked himself in his room and cried for a while. He still hasn’t come out, and he hasn’t eaten dinner yet.”
Harry stared at Robin’s door, sealed shut like his heart, before suddenly turning back to Aemerus with a sheepish expression.
“Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Good. Let’s eat together. Maybe once we start eating, Robin will come out of his room….”
She’d already prepared two servings earlier, including one for Robin, so there was nothing extra to prepare.
She started to rise and head to the Kitchen, but Aemerus stopped her.
“Let me talk to him.”
“Huh?”
“Let me try talking to Robin. Even though I’m not Jessie.”
Where is Robin’s room?
At his question, Harry led the way. There was nothing to lose anyway.
Standing before Robin’s door in the First Floor Hallway, Aemerus cleared his throat.
Knock, knock.
Aemerus knocked and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Hi, Robin.”
But what came from his lips wasn’t English.
Though his pronunciation was somewhat clumsy, like a small child’s, it was unmistakably Korean.
Harry’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at him.
Aemerus met her gaze while continuing to speak toward the door.
“I’m Aemerus. It’s nice to meet you.”
Perhaps it was because of the Korean.
From inside the silent room came a sound of movement, and then the door swung open.
“Dancing King?”
Robin stared at Aemerus with the shocked expression of someone witnessing a cat speak human language.
“Sister, this guy speaks Korean.”
“He… he does?”
I had only just discovered that Aemerus could speak Korean.
‘Could he read it too?’
That time he was intently reading through my lyrics notebook—could that have been it?
Aemerus laughed, glancing between the brother and sister who wore identical expressions of astonishment.
“I’m the same as Harry. I can speak English, Spanish, and Korean.”
“Wow…!”
Wonder bloomed across Robin’s face, which had been etched with sadness just moments before.
He seemed to have momentarily forgotten that Jessie had stood him up.
Aemerus knelt down to meet Robin at eye level.
“It’s Halloween today. Let’s go trick-or-treating together.”
“But… Batman isn’t here…”
“I’ll be Batman. All you have to do is say the word.”
Robin hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Okay.”
“Good. Then let’s have dinner. Your sister’s been worried about you.”
“Mm.”
Robin rubbed his wet eyes and stretched out his arms, asking to be held.
Though the boy was quite heavy, Aemerus lifted him effortlessly and turned to look at me.
“Let’s go eat.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Aemerus, who spoke sentences that could have been textbook examples in a Korean language workbook.
“Who exactly are you?”
A wealthy heir, captain of the Hockey Team, fluent in Korean—what kind of man was he?
And now he’d even charmed Robin, who was infatuated with Jessie.
If he were the protagonist of a teen drama, he’d be criticized for having too many traits.
As if such a man could actually exist in this world.
“When did you even learn Korean? Do you have a favorite K-pop artist or something?”
Aemerus laughed awkwardly, as if my barrage of questions was somewhat burdensome.
“There’s… someone I like.”
“Oh!”
I wondered who exactly Aemerus’s favorite artist could be.
But noticing his embarrassment, I decided not to press him further.
The three of us moved to the Kitchen.
While eating our rather late dinner, Robin kept talking to Aemerus.
“By the way, why didn’t you speak Korean before?”
“My Korean pronunciation is still rough. That’s why I was embarrassed.”
At Aemerus’s answer, both Robin and I flinched slightly.
Of course, Harry’s reasons were entirely different from Robin’s.
She could guess why he’d brought up the subject in the first place.
“That’s not how it works!”
Robin’s face flushed crimson as he protested.
He was reacting as if it were his own problem, remembering the times he’d been teased for his poor English pronunciation.
“You have to keep speaking to improve!”
Robin’s expression shifted as he realized something about his own words.
That he couldn’t simply avoid things out of embarrassment.
“If anyone makes fun of how you speak, I’ll deal with them.”
“Okay. And if anyone teases you, Robin, tell me. I’ll handle it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
When Aemerus answered with conviction, Robin squirmed with delight.
“Now I finally have an older brother.”
Harry, who had been watching quietly, let out a soft laugh.
“Isn’t your sister enough? I’m hurt.”
“You don’t get it. Everyone but me has an older brother.”
Robin frowned, recalling the boys his own age he’d briefly hung around with before.
They’d all boasted so much about having older brothers.
Even during fights, when they started losing, they’d use their brothers as shields—it was infuriatingly annoying.
Robin had tried hard to claim Jessie as his older brother, but only received ridicule in return.
Jessie was always so busy he barely showed his face around.
As Robin continued eating with a satisfied expression, finally having obtained a real older brother, Harry reached under the table and gently tapped Aemerus’s foot.
At the light touch, Aemerus immediately turned to look at her.
Thank you.
She mouthed the words silently, and Aemerus smiled as if it were nothing.
His smile, which she’d seen countless times before, touched something deep within her chest this time.
‘I was right to ask Aemerus to come.’
Robin was so happy, and she herself….
Harry caught herself, startled by her own thoughts.
‘I may depend on Aemerus, but that doesn’t mean I like him that way.’
After all, her feelings for Jessie hadn’t changed.
“Lili, I’m done eating. Let’s go get candy.”
“Wait. Aemerus is still eating.”
“I’m finished too.”
She told herself that the smile that came to her face watching him hurry through his meal was simply gratitude and guilt.
Harry held firm to this belief.

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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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