My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 60

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

Chapter 60

Under Jessie’s penetrating gaze, I felt as though I’d been caught red-handed in an affair.
‘Robin, you really…!’
Robin was my beloved younger brother, but right now I wanted to throttle him.
Why on earth had he bragged about such unnecessary things to Jessie?
Of course, part of the blame fell on me for not explicitly swearing him to secrecy.
‘I never expected to run into Jessie right at the airport.’
I stole a furtive glance at Jessie, whose expression had hardened.
“Let me see it more closely.”
Jessie suddenly reached out, grasped my wrist, and examined the bracelet.
It was a simple bracelet made from twisted dark brown leather.
If one considered it merely a souvenir, it wasn’t entirely unattractive, but….
“I don’t think it suits you, Lili.”
Gold bracelets, or perhaps ones adorned with beads, would have suited me far better than leather.
“I know.”
I pulled my arm free from Jessie’s grip and answered sulkily.
I hadn’t chosen this bracelet with the intention of wearing it myself in the first place.
It was meant as a gift for Aemerus, but somehow we’d all ended up matching.
“Wouldn’t it be better to take it off?”
But when Jessie suggested I remove the bracelet, I shook my head.
“Later.”
Perhaps I’d grown fonder of the bracelet than I’d expected.
I didn’t feel like taking it off just yet.
Jessie fell silent as he watched me fidget with the bracelet.
Instead, he simply climbed into the car with a contemplative expression.
After driving from the airport, we finally arrived at the house.
“What a delicious smell!”
The moment I opened the entrance door, I inhaled deeply at the subtle aroma wafting through.
“Is it budae jjigae?”
“Yes. I thought you’d want it, so I prepared it. Just warm it up and you can eat right away.”
“Wow!”
I drifted toward the kitchen without even removing my coat.
Robin did the same.
“Should I cook the rice?”
“You two wash your hands first. And take off your outer clothes.”
I was shooed toward the restroom while rolling up my sleeves to help prepare the meal.
I carefully washed my hands, making sure no water touched the leather bracelet, then sat down at the table.
Jessie was with them as well.
“Come on, eat. You must have lived on bread the entire trip.”
My mother pushed the side dishes toward them as she spoke.
I giggled at her distinctly Korean conviction that bread wasn’t a proper meal.
“No, we had Korean food in the middle of the trip. Robin wanted it. And it turned out Aemerus had already researched a Korean Restaurant beforehand.”
“Oh, really?”
“How was the taste and price?”
Apparently, that was what mattered most to my parents.
“It was delicious. The price was reasonable too, just right. But it seemed a bit spicy for Aemerus.”
“I guess it’s a restaurant tailored to Korean palates?”
“No. Aemerus just can’t handle spicy food well.”
“His face turned really red.”
I shot Robin a look as he giggled, recalling that moment.
“You did too.”
“I’m still a baby.”
He only acts like a baby when it’s inconvenient for him.
While I shook my head in exasperation, my parents seemed to find Robin utterly adorable.
“Did anything else fun happen?”
“Yes.”
But most of it was something I couldn’t tell my parents about.
I couldn’t exactly mention at the dinner table that I’d done something like kissing Aemerus.
Robin answered on my behalf as I hesitated.
“Aemerus’s Older Brother taught me how to ice skate.”
“Ah, I think I saw that in the photos Lili sent. So Robin, are you skating well without falling now?”
“Yes. Aemerus’s Older Brother taught me really well.”
I didn’t notice that Aemerus’s name appeared in everything I said.
“But while I was learning to skate, some ugly guys tried to talk to Lili.”
“Huh? What did they say?”
“I don’t know. I got annoyed and called her Mom. Then they all ran away.”
“Good heavens…”
My parents burst out laughing.
“Well done, Robin. You protected your sister.”
“This little runt protecting someone.”
I snorted dismissively.
“I didn’t need Robin to step in anyway. Aemerus was pretending to be my boyfriend.”
“Haven’t you gotten awfully close to Aemerus, leaving me out?”
At Jessie’s remark, spoken quietly as he’d been eating, I felt a pang of embarrassment.
“It was just pretend, that’s all.”
Aemerus’s name came up several more times after that.
It was unavoidable, since I’d been attached to him throughout the entire trip.
“But you haven’t mentioned the Huntington Couple. Were they not with you?”
“Well… they seemed very busy with work.”
I rolled my eyes at Father’s pointed question.
Surely he wasn’t going to scold me for playing with just Aemerus and Robin without a guardian present?
Fortunately, my worry proved unfounded.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen an American work on Thanksgiving.”
“That must be why those people are so wealthy.”
Father nodded in agreement with Mother’s remark.
“Aemerus must have been lonely all this time. He doesn’t even have siblings to play with.”
“Actually, Aemerus has an older brother. He’s in the Navy, so he doesn’t come home much.”
“The Navy! Well, the Huntington Couple certainly don’t have to worry about their children.”
“No wonder those two always seemed so at ease.”
My parents seemed to envy the Huntington Couple less for their wealth and more for their well-raised children.
“I’m sorry for being a child who worries you.”
“If you understand, then study harder. Mom and Dad don’t even expect you to get into the Ivy League.”
Isn’t it unfair to nag while eating?
I pouted in displeasure and glanced at Jessie.
His expression had grown even worse than before.
“Jessie, what’s wrong?”
“I didn’t know Aemerus had an older brother.”
“What?”
Could it have been a secret?
My heart sank in an instant.
‘No, that can’t be. Aemerus would have told me from the start if it was supposed to be secret.’
Still, I decided I should text him about it later just to be safe.
“Lili. Could we talk for a moment after we finish eating?”
“Huh? Sure.”
I barely touched the rest of my meal, worrying about what I might have said wrong.
“Want to talk in my room?”
“That sounds good.”
Jessie and I each grabbed a root beer and headed up to the second floor.
“So what did you want to say?”
I asked from where I sat on the bed.
“Why the rush?”
Jessie pulled out the chair at the desk and sat down with a slight laugh.
But it didn’t seem like he was laughing because he was genuinely amused.
“You must have spent a lot of time with Aemerus, right?”
“Well, yes.”
“You’re not even denying it.”
“…”
In the past, Aemerus used to nitpick Jessie over every little thing.
Now the tables had turned—Jessie was the one finding fault with Aemerus.
‘This is uncomfortable.’
I was genuinely happy to see Jessie’s face after so long, but being interrogated like this made my chest tighten.
“Could you just tell me what this is about? I’ve been on a five-hour flight and I’m exhausted.”
“Fine. Since you’re tired, I’ll get straight to the point.”
Jessie dragged his chair closer to me.
“Lili, I’m worried about you.”
“Me? What about me?”
What could possibly be wrong with me?
I tilted my head in confusion.
“You’ve gotten way too close to Aemerus.”
Faced with Jessie’s utterly serious expression, I couldn’t even laugh.
“What’s wrong with that? You’re the one who told me to get along with Aemerus in the first place.”
“I didn’t expect you two to become this close.”
His words were so absurd that I couldn’t help but look foolish.
“Jessie… do you even realize what you’re saying right now?”
“I realize it perfectly. That’s exactly the problem.”
Jessie exhaled deeply and continued.
“Haven’t you noticed something strange? Don’t you think you’ve gotten close to Aemerus way too quickly? He’s definitely treating you well for some ulterior motive.”
“Not really.”
I couldn’t agree with his claim that I’d grown close to Aemerus at an unnatural pace.
We’d gradually become closer by spending Homecoming and Halloween night together.
There was no room for doubt about that.
“You really believe that? Is that why you gave Aemerus the birthday gift you were supposed to give me?”
“That’s…”
“I was hoping I was wrong. But it’s true, isn’t it?”
Jessie hadn’t asked the question with certainty.
He’d only probed tentatively, half-doubting, but apparently his suspicion was correct.
“I thought I’d misunderstood. Wasn’t that watch supposed to be returned?”
“…”
I fell silent.
There was nothing I could say to him.
To explain why the watch had gone to Aemerus, I would have to reveal that I’d harbored unrequited feelings for Jessie all this time.
Jessie gently took both my hands and met my eyes.
“Don’t misunderstand, Lili. I’m not blaming you.”
“…”
“I know you. Aemerus obviously pressured you, and you were too softhearted to refuse him.”
No. Jessie didn’t understand me at all.
I couldn’t let Aemerus take the blame for something he didn’t deserve.
“Jessie, actually….”
I struggled to part my lips, but Jessie promptly silenced me.
“You don’t need to defend him. Aemerus has always been gloomy since childhood. I should have been more careful.”
It was the first time I’d heard Jessie speak so harshly about anyone.
Seeing my confusion, Jessie made an earnest request.
“Lili, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your distance from Aemerus going forward.”

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