My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 53

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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 53

In truth, even as I asked the question, I had already reached a conclusion.
That Aemerus had never felt anything special for any girl in his life.
Unlike Jessie, he didn’t even meet girls.
Most tellingly, he hadn’t even found a partner for Homecoming.
“Really? Truly?”
My jaw dropped.
Had he been harboring feelings for someone all this time, which was why he showed no interest in other girls?
Perhaps she attended a different school.
After all, Aemerus seemed to have connections with wealthy heirs who could easily attend Wharton School.
‘It never made sense in the first place that someone like Aemerus attended Riverside School.’
Even if gaining admission to Wharton School was harder than threading a camel through the eye of a needle, it would have been entirely possible for him.
‘Who could she be? That lucky girl….’
I had only known Aemerus properly for a few months.
Yet through everything that had happened between us, I had become certain that he was truly a good man.
Just today, hadn’t he protected me from that strange man?
He was already so dependable as a friend—I couldn’t even imagine how much better he’d be as a boyfriend.
“Yes. Truly.”
Aemerus met my gaze and spoke.
“Who is she? Do I know her? I’m not trying to pry or anything…. When did you start feeling this way?”
I asked carefully, worried I might seem like I was interrogating him.
But there was no way I could simply not ask.
I was far too curious to just let it pass!
“At elementary school summer camp.”
“Elementary school summer camp?”
Now that I thought about it, Aemerus’s mother had also mentioned summer camp….
Was there really something that happened back then?
Since we both attended elementary schools under the Riverside Foundation, we would have gone to camp together.
There was a strong possibility that Aemerus’s ‘her’ was someone I knew.
“I saw a certain girl there.”
Moonlight streaming through the window softly illuminated Aemerus’s face.
Beneath the ethereal glow, his lake-like green eyes blinked gently as he gazed at her.
I found myself unable to look away from his eyes, as if falling under a spell.
“I’d never seen a girl so brave in my entire life.”
Brave? Then it definitely wasn’t me.
I even felt a twinge of disappointment.
‘Wait. Disappointment?’
Harry felt a chill run down her spine at the thought that had carelessly crossed her mind.
‘Did I really just wish for Aemerus to like me?’
It was utterly absurd.
Here she was, harboring feelings for Jessie, yet wishing for Aemerus to develop feelings for her.
What kind of twisted logic was that?
Worse still, Aemerus already knew that she had feelings for Jessie.
Lost in her own confusion, Harry hadn’t even noticed that the distance between her and Aemerus had narrowed considerably.
Touch. Only when something soft brushed against the tip of her nose did she awaken like someone pulled from a dream, suddenly aware of his presence.
“Wh—?”
What just touched my nose?
She looked up at Aemerus with eyes full of disbelief.
They were so close that their reflections mirrored in each other’s pupils.
“Did you… did you just kiss me?”
My heart was racing wildly, my head spinning, my mind completely scattered.
Even asking a single question, my voice trembled like a bleating goat.
Not just my voice—my entire body was shaking.
I couldn’t tell if I was afraid of him or afraid of having my heart completely captured by him.
I wanted to run away.
Yet at the same time, I desperately hoped he would catch me if I tried to flee.
Horrified by my own contradictions, I couldn’t bring myself to actually run.
“I wouldn’t exactly call that a kiss.”
Aemerus let out a soft chuckle at the question Harry had barely managed to voice.
Then his hand slowly swept through her hair.
“You know, Harry. I’ve always…”
With each word that left his lips, my mouth felt like it was burning from the inside.
What was he trying to say?
That the girl who had given him that special feeling was actually me all along?
But how could that possibly be?
How could it…
I gazed desperately into Aemerus’s eyes as if the answer lay there.
But his gaze was directed elsewhere.
At my lips.
‘Aemerus might kiss me.’
I don’t know what happened at summer camp or what words he left unfinished.
But I was certain of one thing—he was about to kiss me.
‘Should I close my eyes or keep them open?’
I would have known if I’d ever kissed anyone before!
If I’d known things would come to this with him, I would have studied up beforehand.
Here I was, about to be thrown into the real thing with absolutely no prior knowledge.
Looking back, I could have chosen to reject Aemerus, but that option hadn’t even occurred to me at the time.
As if kissing him were the natural course of things.
‘What do I do!’
Aemerus lowered his long lashes halfway and tilted his head at an angle.
Our tense lips were about to meet.
Aemerus’s breath tickled my skin.
All I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat.
“…!”
Just then, Harry’s phone on the table vibrated loudly.
A sigh escaped me—whether from relief or disappointment at the interrupted kiss, I couldn’t tell.
“Looks like a call came in.”
Harry slipped away from Aemerus and stood up from her seat.
If the noise continued, it might wake Robin, who was sleeping soundly.
As I moved to answer it, my hand was suddenly grabbed.
“Don’t answer it.”
“….”
“Don’t answer if it’s JJ. Please.”
Please. Aemerus’s voice as he added that word was fragile as glass on the verge of shattering.
He looked pitiful, like a dog clinging to its owner, begging not to be abandoned.
“…It might not even be a call from Jessie.”
That was all Harry could say to him.
She carefully extracted herself from Aemerus’s grip.
Since he hadn’t been holding her arm tightly from the start, she freed herself without difficulty.
‘What if it is a call from Jessie?’
My heart raced the entire way to get my phone.
‘Should I answer it?’
When Aemerus was asking me like that, did I really need to answer right now?
Couldn’t I just call Jessie back after he returned to his room?
‘But when will I be able to contact Jessie again….’
Of course, since it was Thanksgiving, Jessie would probably rest through the weekend too, but he might be busy meeting other women.
‘But Aemerus….’
My heart swung back and forth like a pendulum.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to make a decision.
Harry checked the caller ID on her phone screen and let out a relieved breath.
“It’s my parents. I can answer this one, right?”
Aemerus nodded in response.
“I don’t know why I’m asking for your permission….”
Harry shook her head and answered the call.
The moment she picked up, her mother’s words came pouring out rapidly.
-Lili? Why are you answering so late? Have you had dinner?
“Yes, I had dinner and was resting for a moment.”
Harry glanced at Aemerus and deliberately answered in English out of consideration for him.
No matter how well he spoke Korean, perfect comprehension would be difficult.
Even for a brief moment, I didn’t want him to feel left out.
-What about Robin?
“He’s asleep.”
-Already?
“He didn’t sleep on the plane, and he didn’t nap either.”
Mother burst into laughter.
-He didn’t bother you, did he?
“It was fine. Except for how he insisted on not taking off that cowboy hat.”
-He’s picking up all those pointless habits from his father.
“Everyone says I inherited all my flaws from Dad.”
Aemerus let out a soft laugh, following Harry’s giggles.
Whether he was laughing at the conversation or simply laughing on his own was unclear.
-You’re not running short on spending money, are you? I heard things are quite expensive there.
“No, I have plenty left.”
Harry hadn’t even opened her wallet today.
Aemerus had paid for everything—lunch, and even the hat Robin wore.
-Good. If you run out later, just tell me. And don’t forget to ask him how much the plane ticket was. Understood?
Ah, the plane ticket. Right, that existed.
So much had happened in a single day that I’d forgotten about it.
“Yes, I understand.”
After briefly informing Mother about tomorrow’s schedule, I ended the call.
Yet Harry couldn’t immediately return to her seat and lingered awkwardly.
The realization that she’d almost kissed him struck her anew.
‘Have you lost your mind, Harry!’
How could she have nearly kissed Aemerus while Jessie was around?
Of course, Jessie and she were merely friends, but…
It was Jessie who had pushed her to befriend Aemerus in the first place, but…
Regardless, kissing him was utterly absurd.
A sense of guilt, as though she were betraying Jessie, washed over her.
Even if they had fought, this wasn’t right.
“Um, Aemerus. Would you mind heading back to your room now?”
What expression was Aemerus wearing as he looked at her now?
Was it a look of disbelief? Or was he angry?
I was afraid to find out.
“It’s getting late, and I’m tired too, so I want to get some rest.”
Harry couldn’t bring herself to even look in Aemerus’s direction.
In the suffocating silence, she felt him rise from the sofa.

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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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