My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 50
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 50
We decided to have lunch at the Hotel Lounge.
It was a choice made with consideration for Harry and Robin’s stamina, both exhausted from traveling all day since dawn.
The brief encounter with the Huntingtons had drained me somewhat.
Harry was completely captivated by the view of the Lake visible from the Lounge.
“I think I could live here for the rest of my life.”
I, who had been inwardly anxious about having semi-forced her to come, finally smiled with ease.
“If you’d come in December, it would have been even better. You can ice skate on the Lake then.”
“Really?”
Robin’s eyes widened in wonder.
“Yeah. Really.”
“What if I fall in the water?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. The ice here is solid because it’s so cold.”
“Wow!”
I chuckled at Robin’s exclamation and turned to Harry.
“This place is beautiful even in summer. It’s cool too.”
Harry gazed at the snow-capped mountains reflected in the Lake and let out a wistful sigh.
“You’re right. It must be really beautiful in summer too.”
“…If you’d like, I’ll invite you again next summer.”
It was a sincere invitation I’d mustered the courage to offer, but Harry simply smiled as if she thought I was just being polite.
“Now that I think about it, Aemerus, you look so much like your father.”
She spoke as if the thought had just occurred to her, finally tearing her gaze from the window and twirling pasta onto her fork.
“Especially your hair.”
Ben, my Uncle, had the same dark hair with that particular texture, as did my father.
My mother, on the other hand, was blonde.
“My older brother does too.”
Harry was startled by my casual remark.
“…You have an older brother?”
“I’m not sure why that’s so surprising.”
I laughed at her reaction, my tone deflating slightly.
“You’ve never mentioned your brother before. So naturally, I assumed you were an only child.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“He’s practically nonexistent. My brother is in the Navy, so he spends more than half the year at sea.”
“I see…”
I was gradually learning things about Aemerus one by one, piece by piece.
‘Was Aemerus lonely growing up?’
The Huntingtons appeared wealthy but extremely busy.
Even Thanksgiving, a holiday meant to be spent with family, became just another occasion for him to entertain guests.
His relationship with his older brother seemed equally distant.
Harry’s thoughts had reached that point when she suddenly froze.
‘Get a grip. How dare I pity Aemerus.’
Who was pitying whom, exactly?
It was equally ridiculous to hastily assume the nature of his family relationships based on fragmented glimpses.
My mind was spinning so frantically that I didn’t even notice my phone ringing.
“Harry, I think you got a text.”
Only after Aemerus pointed it out did I realize my phone existed.
Wondering if it might be from my parents, I immediately set down my fork and checked.
Aemerus, who had been carefully observing my expression, casually asked in passing.
“JJ?”
“No, Faye. She’s wishing me a happy Thanksgiving.”
“Ah.”
I was relieved for only a moment that the person who texted me was Faye, not Jessie.
Aemerus’s brow furrowed slightly.
“She seems way too obsessed with you.”
“Faye?”
I was too busy typing a reply to Faye, wishing her a happy Thanksgiving too, to notice how serious Aemerus’s expression had become.
“Does she maybe like you?”
“What?”
At his absurd speculation, I burst out laughing.
“Faye has a boyfriend she’s been dating for a long time. She’s just looking out for me because we’re both Asian.”
Only after hearing that Faye had a boyfriend did Aemerus finally relax his expression.
‘Wait, wasn’t Faye’s boyfriend also a hockey player like Aemerus?’
That’s what I vaguely remembered hearing before.
I had forgotten because Faye’s boyfriend wasn’t particularly notable on the Hockey Team.
If her boyfriend spent every game on the bench, it would be natural for her resentment to be directed at Aemerus.
“Since it just occurred to me, I’ll ask….”
After finishing my text, I set down my phone and glanced at Robin.
He was contentedly eating french fries without the slightest hesitation, despite being in an unfamiliar place.
I pushed a cola toward Robin and lowered my voice to ask discreetly.
“Is he still contacting you?”
I deliberately omitted the subject, being mindful of Robin sitting beside me.
Still, Aemerus immediately understood the question was about the stalker.
“No. I’d forgotten about it until you asked.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“He’s probably busy celebrating Thanksgiving too.”
A stalker taking a holiday break—it was ridiculous.
I let out a scoff and picked up my fork, focusing on my pasta.
Right, I didn’t want to spoil this beautiful place by dwelling on thoughts of a stalker.
Aemerus must feel the same way, wouldn’t he?
“How long does it take to reach the Observation Deck?”
Harry smoothly changed the subject as if nothing had happened.
“It won’t take long. About thirty minutes? Though with the snow piled up now, it might take a bit longer.”
“That’s closer than I expected.”
It was a distance Robin could easily walk.
If needed, I could always carry him on my back.
“I finished my meal!”
Just then, Robin announced proudly.
He’d been quiet while the two of us talked, apparently focused on eating.
“Good job.”
“Let’s go see the lake, hurry!”
“I know, just wait a moment.”
True to his Korean heritage, Robin had an impatient temperament.
The two of us hurried through lunch, unable to resist Robin’s urging.
It was just after Aemerus finished eating and took Robin to the Restroom that I stepped away briefly.
“Are you traveling alone?”
Someone spoke to Harry, who was selecting photos to send to her parents.
Harry turned her head to see who had addressed me.
It was a middle-aged man wearing a pale green knit sweater and beige cotton pants.
‘What is this?’
Though I found it odd, I answered his question anyway.
“No. I came with my family.”
“I see. I came with my family as well.”
“…?”
I couldn’t understand what he wanted or why he’d started this conversation.
Even as Harry grew puzzled, the man silently raked his eyes up and down her body.
It was becoming unpleasant, like he was appraising merchandise on display.
“Your dark eyes are truly beautiful. You look like a princess from a foreign land.”
“What….”
The sudden compliment was far from welcome—it sent chills down my spine.
The way he looked at me carried an overlay of sexual fantasy directed at East Asian women, which made it feel even more unsettling.
‘I should leave.’
Here, I was just a tourist, and I couldn’t trust that local police would thoroughly protect a tourist who’d be gone in a few days anyway.
It was better to slip away than to cause unnecessary trouble.
As I reached for my phone and stood to leave, the man grabbed my wrist.
“Just a moment. I only want to talk.”
“My companions are waiting for me.”
“Then at least take this.”
The man held out a business card.
“I’d like to become good friends with you.”
Seeing the business card with the man’s name, title, and contact information, I was left speechless.
‘Does this man have no fear?’
Frankly, she could report today’s incident to the company listed on the card.
I couldn’t fathom where his confidence came from.
As Harry simply stared at the card and stood there blankly, the man pressed again.
“I know women always need money. I’m more than happy to help.”
As for money, Harry’s parents were already earning plenty.
What infuriated me even more was the man’s unnecessarily courteous demeanor.
His condescending gaze, as if bestowing some grand favor, made my blood boil.
I was about to shout that I didn’t need such help.
“Ugh!”
A hand suddenly shot out and twisted the man’s arm backward.
Startled, Harry stumbled back, but upon recognizing the familiar face, her guard dropped.
“What business do you have with my girlfriend?”
My girlfriend?
Harry’s mouth fell open at such a brazen lie, but she wasn’t oblivious enough to correct the facts here.
“What? You said you came with family!”
The man raged even as Aemerus held him, furious that Harry had deceived him.
It was the height of absurdity—he was the one in the wrong.
Then Aemerus shamelessly added another lie.
“Of course, my family came too. If my girlfriend’s parents see you, they’ll drag you straight to the Police Station. She’s still a minor, after all.”
Harry decided not to mention that she’d be an adult in a month.
“M-minor? I didn’t know! I really didn’t!”
“Now that you do, get out.”
Aemerus released his grip on the man.
Shoved by his forceful strength, the man fell flat on his backside.
“I’ll take the business card, Steven Hawk. I hope you’ll exercise restraint and refrain from contacting the police.”
Aemerus actually pocketed the man’s business card and turned back to Harry.
“Are you alright?”
“Huh? Um… Where’s Robin?”
“I’m right here.”
Without knowing when he’d appeared, Robin stood directly behind her.
Harry embraced Robin and calmed her racing heart.
‘My girlfriend?’
His words kept echoing in my mind.
Even though I knew it was merely a lie.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————