My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 68

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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 68

Jessie was certainly not pleased when I asked to cancel our date.
However, my voice had been so urgent in making the request, and his track record of me breaking promises to him was far too impressive for him to protest.
He had no choice but to agree to postpone our date.
“Which hospital should we go to? Do you have a regular one you go to?”
I asked from the driver’s seat as Aemerus sat in the passenger seat.
Aemerus was in no condition to drive.
He mentioned that he’d relied on Randy’s help yesterday and today as well.
“Let me just set the destination on the GPS.”
“Sure.”
Aemerus entered the hospital’s address into the GPS with his uninjured hand.
The GPS, which had rarely been used since I only commuted between home and school, began giving directions in its cheerful voice.
I followed the directions, but a belated worry suddenly struck me.
“But can we get treatment without an appointment? Should we go to the emergency room instead?”
In the United States, it was common to need an appointment and wait about a week to see a doctor at a hospital.
If the injury was severe or the situation urgent, treatment could be expedited, but Aemerus’s case wasn’t that serious.
“I have a hospital I go to regularly. I called ahead earlier to ask if they could see me, so it should be fine.”
Aemerus laughed reassuringly.
“What would you have done without me?”
“Right?”
Aemerus didn’t argue with my playful boasting.
He simply laughed obediently, as if everything I said was correct.
He had decided not to mention that taking a taxi was an option—at least not until I realized it myself.
We arrived at the hospital shortly after.
It was fortunate that it wasn’t yet rush hour, so traffic had been light.
“Aemerus Huntington.”
After checking in, my name was called without much waiting.
It seemed his claim about going to this hospital regularly was no exaggeration.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.”
Since I needed to drive him home, I planned to wait until his appointment was finished.
But left alone in the waiting room, I immediately regretted not following him.
All manner of worst-case scenarios flooded my mind.
“It’s nothing serious….”
At worst, a hairline fracture, a cast, missing the semifinals, and a drop in league standings—really nothing to worry about.
Even as I thought this, my blue school uniform skirt was crumpled in my grip.
“When did I ever start caring so much about our school’s honor?”
I thought that once Jessie graduated, I would no longer need to concern myself with the School Hockey Team.
If I hadn’t grown closer to Aemerus, I would have turned my attention away from it forever.
I was biting my lip anxiously when Aemerus emerged from the examination room.
“The X-ray imaging is this way.”
At the Nurse’s voice, I bolted up from my seat, then sat back down again.
I wondered why he was coming out so soon when he’d only just gone in.
Aemerus gave a short laugh at my reaction and headed off for the X-ray.
Another period of waiting began.
While I searched and read articles about wrist injuries in hockey players on my phone, Aemerus returned after finishing his X-ray.
“Sorry. Is the waiting getting boring?”
“No. That’s fine.”
As long as Aemerus received a clean diagnosis, I could endure any amount of tedium.
“What did the doctor say about your wrist?”
He had unwrapped the bandage he’d been wearing around his wrist to show the doctor.
‘It doesn’t look as bad as I thought it might be.’
When I’d seen it at school, it had definitely looked swollen, but now it seemed fine.
“When he palpated it, there was nothing unusual. He said we’d talk after the X-ray imaging.”
“I see….”
I was examining his hand carefully, clinging to a fragile hope, when it happened.
“Aemerus Huntington, please come into the examination room.”
At the Nurse’s call, this time I jumped up as well.
“Can I come with you?”
“Sure.”
Aemerus gave a light nod.
Following him into the examination room without hesitation, the Doctor looked slightly surprised.
“Your girlfriend? Worried and came along, I see.”
“….”
“Ah, yes. Haha.”
Since Aemerus didn’t particularly deny it, I simply played along as his girlfriend.
There were far more important matters at stake than proving we were merely friends.
“This is your wrist. Looking at the X-ray image, it appears clean with no signs of injury.”
I examined the X-ray image the Doctor displayed on the screen carefully.
Even to my untrained eye, there appeared to be nothing wrong.
“However, I’ve heard that hairline fractures are difficult to detect on X-rays.”
At Aemerus’s words, the Doctor adjusted his glasses in agreement.
“That’s true. If you continue to feel pain, we could immobilize it with a splint and retake images a week later, but….”
“The semifinals are next week. We don’t have the luxury of waiting a week.”
“Right, that’s what you said.”
The Doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he spoke.
“Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t recommend it, but given the situation, we have no choice. What about getting an MRI? It can show the bone condition far more precisely than an X-ray.”
I swallowed a quiet gasp.
An MRI scan? I’d thought an X-ray would be the end of it, but the situation was proving far more serious than I’d anticipated.
“The MRI will cost a fair amount, though. I know you came of age last summer, but it would be best to get your guardian’s consent first.”
“Understood.”
“Once you’ve made your decision, let the reception desk know. They’ll guide you through the necessary procedures.”
“Yes.”
We left the examination room with the added possibility of a hairline fracture in mind.
“How are we going to get guardian consent? Your parents are overseas, aren’t they?”
“There’s no help for it.”
Aemerus shrugged and pulled out his phone, dialing someone.
“Uncle, could you come to the Hospital for a bit?”

***

While Aemerus was getting his MRI, I waited outside.
‘That’s right. Aemerus has his Uncle. Why had I forgotten that?’
When he’d approached me with his injured wrist, I simply hadn’t thought that far ahead.
My eyes had been fixed only on his injured hand.
‘I didn’t need to be the one to help him at all.’
He could have just called a taxi.
The realization came too late, and I sank into gloom.
‘How foolish must I have looked in Aemerus’s eyes?’
As I berated myself, the sun began to set.
Patients waiting at the Hospital gradually filtered out, and the corridors grew quieter.
Then, at some point, footsteps echoed through the silent hallway.
I looked up to see Aemerus’s Uncle, Ben Huntington.
His black, coarse hair was tousled in the direction the wind had blown it, as if he’d rushed here after taking the call.
“You’re Harry, right? Your hairstyle changed so much I almost didn’t recognize you. How have you been?”
I smiled, running my fingers through my shortened hair.
“Yes, that’s me. How have you been, Ben?”
“I was doing fine until Aemerus called. What about that kid?”
“He’s still getting his MRI scan. It should be done soon.”
“I see. I already signed the consent form at the reception desk, but what’s going on? Is he injured badly enough to need an MRI?”
Ben had rushed here without hesitation after hearing Aemerus’s request, even forgoing the opening of his Country Music Club.
As I explained the situation in detail, he let out a relieved snort.
“It’s nothing serious then. When he said MRI, I thought he’d been in a car accident or something.”
“Ha… If that were the case, Aemerus wouldn’t have been able to call you himself.”
“You’ve got a point.”
Ben nodded.
“But this is the first time Aemerus has asked me for help with something. I thought it was a real emergency.”
“….”
“You know what Aemerus’s parents are like, don’t you?”
Ben leaned back in his chair and scratched his cheek.
“Objectively, they’re not bad parents at all. They have money, and they do care about their children.”
I couldn’t disagree with that assessment.
“But whenever their son actually needs them, they’re always absent. I’m certain those two have influenced why Aemerus doesn’t open up about what’s really going on inside him.”
Now that I thought about it, had I ever heard Aemerus’s true feelings?
Had he ever told me what worries he harbored in secret, alone?
Even the stalker incident was like that.
Until I discovered the stalker’s messages first, he kept it all to himself as a secret.
“He didn’t even mention being bullied at school when he was younger—he just endured it alone. That says everything.”
“….”
“That’s why I was surprised when I saw you. I never expected you’d come to the Hospital with Aemerus.”
Those words sounded as though I was someone special to him.
“Thank you, Harry.”
“No, I didn’t do anything.”
“Are you joking? You were there by Aemerus’s side.”
I managed to smile again.
As I laughed quietly along with Ben, one of his words suddenly tugged at my mind.
“Um, Ben.”
“Yeah?”
“About Aemerus being bullied—was that when he was in elementary school?”
When I met Aemerus’s mother before.
She had been trying to say something about an elementary school summer camp.
I looked at Ben and waited for his answer.

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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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