My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 7

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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 7

“Who am I?”
Robin, who had stubbornly refused to speak English until now, let loose a playful voice.
-It’s Robin. It’s been so long.
“See? You remembered me.”
-How could I forget?
“Then why haven’t you come to see me?”
Harry watched her younger brother pout at Jessie and couldn’t help but smile at the hopelessness of it all.
She felt nothing but gratitude toward Jessie for accepting her brother’s complaints without showing a hint of annoyance.
-I was planning to visit you soon anyway. Guess we were thinking the same thing.
“Liar. You’re coming to see Liri, not me. I know everything.”
-Really? You know absolutely everything, Robin?
“Yep. I know Liri bought a dress today, and I even know what color it is.”
This traitor!
I never expected Robin to spill my secrets like that.
Harry’s eyes widened as she snatched the phone from the traitor’s hands.
“Hey, why?”
“Why don’t you just tell him the color of my underwear too?”
“You told me to call him!”
Robin stomped his feet in protest, but Harry didn’t relent.
If Jessie hadn’t stopped her, she would have scolded him far more sharply.
-Liri, don’t be too hard on Robin. I asked him first anyway.
“…If my brother’s manners are ruined, it’ll be entirely your fault.”
Half of it was a joke, and the other half was serious.
At her pointed remark, Jessie let out a low chuckle.
-Isn’t it unfair to put all the responsibility of raising him on me? Robin is our child, so you have responsibility too, Liri.
“What are you even talking about?”
At his words—our child—Harry’s face grew hot.
I could only hope my younger brother wouldn’t notice my flushed cheeks.
-I was joking. No matter what anyone says, Robin is your parents’ son.
I felt foolish for getting worked up over a joke he’d thrown out so casually.
After all, he probably made the same kind of teasing remarks to Julia.
Deflated, Harry returned the phone to her brother.
My naive younger brother chattered away happily, oblivious to the turmoil in my heart.
“Jessie, when are you going to play with me?”
-Once you listen well to your parents and eat properly.
“I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m not falling for that anymore.”
I’ll definitely come see you tomorrow.
I’ll really make sure to come next week.
Once Father’s treatment ends, once Mother recovers enough to move around….
Robin, long accustomed to Jessie postponing promises with such excuses, no longer fell for them easily.
-How about we spend Halloween together?
“Really?”
-Yeah. We said we’d do the Batman and Robin costume last year but never did.
Robin was utterly captivated by superheroes, and among them, Batman and Robin was his favorite.
He cast Jessie in the role of Batman and himself as Robin.
“I thought you’d forgotten!”
-I remember everything, I’m telling you.
Of course, Robin bounced with joy.
“You’re serious this time, right? If you lie again, I really won’t forgive you.”
-Don’t worry. I’m listening well to what you say. We can only play together if you give permission.
“Got it!”
Robin sprang from the bed with such energy, as if he’d never been lying there listlessly.
“Sister, what should I do first?”
“Go to the kitchen and help Mom with dinner preparations.”
“Okay! Jessie, see you on Halloween!”
My younger brother, brimming with excitement, hurried off to help Mother.
Seeing my brother so full of life after so long, I couldn’t help but smile softly.
Harry climbed the stairs to her room on the second floor, expressing gratitude.
“Thanks as always, Jessie.”
-No, I should be thanking you. For caring about me like this.
Harry laughed bitterly.
Whether it was me or Robin—we both seemed utterly smitten with Jessie. Perhaps it ran in the family.
“But are you really sure? You’re busy—I don’t want you overextending yourself.”
Or maybe not. If he has time to date other women, then he must have some free time.
As I waited for Jessie’s answer, anxiety tightened my chest.
I almost wished he were so swamped with work that he couldn’t breathe.
No time to see Harry and Robin—and no time to see other women either….
Not a thought befitting someone whose younger brother had just regained his spirits.
-A day for Halloween should be fine. By the way, have you already bought a dress for homecoming?
“Oh, yeah. It just happened that way.”
-I wanted to pick it out for you myself.
“No, you’re busy enough as it is.”
At that, he sighed.
-No matter how busy I am, I always have time for you.
When Jessie spoke to me so tenderly, I wanted to ask.
As a friend? Or as a lover?
But the answer she desired would never come from his lips.
Harry, worrying her lower lip between her teeth, forced out a laugh.
“I know.”
-…That’s all that matters.
Soon Jessie changed the subject.
-Anyway, think about what costume you’re wearing for Halloween. Harley Quinn would be great, or Catwoman too.
“Me too?”
-What, you want me to dress as Batman and have you skip out? Absolutely not.
Harry burst into laughter.
“Got it. I’ll think about what to wear.”
-Yeah.
She was about to wrap up the call.
In her heart, she wanted to hold onto him and never let go, but she couldn’t act on it.
-Oh, by the way.
Before hanging up, Jessie asked.
“Hm?”
-Who did you go dress shopping with today?
It felt strange that Jessie would ask such a question.
It was almost like a boyfriend checking up on his girlfriend, wasn’t it?
‘It’s probably just my imagination.’
It couldn’t be—not from Jessie, who was with another woman and might still be with her even now.
Even as she thought this, Harry harbored a small hope.
“I went with Aemerus.”
How would he react? Would he be jealous?
The mere thought of him feeling jealous made her heart race.
-Oh, Aemerus.
But the thrill didn’t last long.
‘What am I even thinking…!’
At the plainness of Jessie’s voice, her rationality snapped back into place.
-You two have gotten close. I’m really glad.
“Um, yeah. Hey, I think I should hang up now.”
-Oh? Okay. Let’s talk again later.
Overwhelmed by belated embarrassment, Harry hurried to end the call.
“Please, stop acting like an idiot. Jessie doesn’t like me. He doesn’t.”
Harry agonized and writhed in distress, pulling at her hair until her younger sibling called her down for dinner.

***

The next morning.
I arrived to pick up Aemerus as promised.
Since I’d driven him home the day before, finding the way wasn’t difficult.
I parked in the same spot as yesterday and sent him a message through social media.
We still hadn’t exchanged phone numbers.
“I’m here.
Come out when you’re ready.”
Aemerus’s house was located on Park Avenue, even within the Upper East Side where the wealthy gathered.
It was a neighborhood filled with buildings far more luxurious than the one my family lived in.
“I didn’t really need to come pick him up.”
Playing chauffeur for a rich kid I wasn’t even close to—not Jessie, but some stranger—left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“I should at least pick some music.”
I was selecting something appropriately upbeat to avoid awkward silence during the drive.
Knock, knock.
Aemerus appeared with the sound of tapping on the window and climbed into the passenger seat.
“Good morning. Did you wait long?”
“Not really.”
As I waited for Aemerus to fasten his seatbelt, I was startled when a tumbler suddenly appeared in front of me.
“What’s this?”
“Coffee.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Since I had to pick up Aemerus, I’d woken earlier than usual, and I desperately needed coffee.
So I took it, but…
‘I’ll have to wash the tumbler and return it.’
I couldn’t exactly wash it at school and give it back. That meant I’d have to see him again tomorrow.
‘There’s no helping it.’
Drawn in by the rich aroma of coffee, I’d already taken a sip.
I resigned myself to it, placed the tumbler in the cup holder, and started driving.
Contrary to my expectation that silence would fill the ride to school, Aemerus spoke to me.
“Is something wrong?”
“Huh?”
“You look like you’re worried about something.”
Was it that obvious? Enough for someone I wasn’t even close to notice.
I touched my face with an embarrassed expression.
Truth was, I’d tossed and turned all night thinking about Jessie.
But I couldn’t exactly tell Aemerus the truth about that.
“It’s because of my brother.”
“Your brother?”
Not that it was perfect timing, but there was another worry I had.
“I have a younger brother. I’m not sure if he’s having trouble adapting to the United States or just doesn’t like it. He keeps refusing to speak English and won’t make friends.”
Aemerus watched her in silence.
His gaze seemed to ask whether she, too, was unwilling to make friends, and Harry bristled at the implication.
“Don’t look at me like that, would you? At least I had Jessie as a friend!”
“Fine, let’s leave it at that.”
What could she do if he refused to acknowledge it?
Harry glanced away from Aemerus before continuing.
It was a worry she had never confided to anyone, afraid of burdening Jessie, who was already struggling.
Yet now that she had voiced it to someone—anyone—she felt an unexpected lightness in her chest.
“Next year I’ll be at the age where I should enter elementary school, but at this rate, there’s no solution. I might have to go back to Korea.”
“…Go back to Korea?”
At his unusually grave tone, she turned to see Aemerus’s profile, rigid and taut.

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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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