My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 71

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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 71

Part 6. Beautiful Mistakes

Friday afternoon, the semifinal of the North American Youth League was underway.
After finishing school and changing into casual clothes, I headed toward the cafe where we’d agreed to meet.
“Why isn’t Jessie answering again? This is making me anxious.”
Jessie had already asked for my understanding, mentioning he might be a bit late today since he had commitments running late yesterday.
It was unavoidable—after all, I was the one who’d canceled our date, and we’d rescheduled for today.
I called Jessie but heard an automated voice informing me his phone was powered off. I sighed.
“I hope nothing’s happened.”
While Jessie often canceled plans, he’d never simply ghosted me like this before.
He was probably just too busy to charge his battery, right?
I checked the time on my phone.
Jessie might still show up late, so I’d wait for about thirty minutes—or maybe an hour.
If he didn’t arrive by then, I’d have to visit Jessie’s House.
Jessie had never invited me to his new place before.
But I knew the address, so finding it wouldn’t be a problem.
“While I wait, I might as well work on some lyrics.”
Once I’d sketched out a rough plan, my mood lightened considerably.
I pulled out the lyric notebook and pen I’d brought just in case from my bag.
I’d recently submitted my college application through early decision and was waiting for the results.
I’d also applied as a lyricist to an entertainment company in Korea, and I expected to hear back soon.
Until then, I planned to write lyrics casually as a hobby, just as my parents had suggested.
「One in the morning
Today, too, my mind is filled entirely with you
Sleep won’t come
There is only you

No, this still won’t be love.
No, this still won’t be love.”
I hummed softly along with the background music flowing from the cafe, jotting down lyrics as I went.
“Because you called me a friend
A really, really good friend, you said.”
I rubbed my temple with the end of my pen as the words continued to flow effortlessly.
“Why is every lyric I write about unrequited love?”
Just because my reality was that way didn’t mean my lyrics had to follow suit.
I wracked my brain trying to write lyrics about something other than unrequited love, but the result was disappointing.
“Even a kindergartener wouldn’t sing along to a song like that.”
I reached for my coffee, only to realize the cup was already empty.
After ordering a fresh one, I picked up my phone instead of my pen.
“Jessie still hasn’t contacted me.”
Had something actually happened?
I opened SNS just in case.
But Jessie’s account looked just as peaceful as it had yesterday.
“It’s not like a scandal broke…”
If something had happened, his comment section would be flooded by now.
I checked the time again.
I’d been waiting for Jessie for over thirty minutes already.
“Let me wait a bit longer.”
My stomach was starting to growl, but I held out, thinking I’d eat with Jessie later.
As I stretched in my seat, a live broadcast caught my eye.
It was a hockey semifinal match being held at Chicago United Center.
“I figured there’d be a live stream.”
I knew at least one of the Riverside School students who went to cheer would be broadcasting.
I pulled out my headphones from my bag and started playing the video.
The headphones were old and only worked in the right ear, but it was enough to feel the atmosphere.
-Go Lincoln! Go Lincoln!
Since it was their home arena, the cheers for Chicago’s Lincoln School were particularly loud.
Lincoln School had once been called a traditional powerhouse in ice hockey, but had struggled in recent years.
Making it to the semifinals was reason enough to expect great things.
‘We can’t let the momentum overwhelm us.’
If I could feel the pressure through my phone, the intensity in the arena would be even greater.
‘Maybe I should have just gone to cheer at the semifinal.’
Staying in New York meant I’d be watching Aemerus’s match anyway.
“Here’s your coffee order. Oh? Is the New York Hunters playing today?”
The barista who brought my fresh coffee made friendly conversation.
“No, not the Hunters. It’s a youth match.”
“Oh, my mistake. I didn’t know there was a match I wasn’t aware of.”
The clerk made a gesture of wiping their chest in relief.
They appeared to be a fan of the Hunters, New York’s professional ice hockey team.
Though it wasn’t a New York Hunters match, the clerk who had been watching the game footage with me couldn’t help but marvel.
“Oh, that player is really handsome.”
“…He’s wearing a helmet. How can you tell?”
“Of course. The cream rises to the top.”
It was a saying that just as cream floats to the surface of a beverage, superior people and exceptional talent inevitably reveal themselves.
It was quite interesting that the East had a similar saying—”a needle in a sack will eventually poke through.”
In any case, it was hardly surprising that the person in question was Aemerus.
I recognized him instantly from just the glimpse of those green eyes visible between his sturdy helmet and face shield.
“I hope your team wins.”
“Thank you.”
After the clerk who had offered their wishes departed, I put my headphones back on.
Had twenty minutes always felt this long?
I chewed on my straw and focused on the match.
I knew Aemerus’s playing style was unexpectedly rough, but today it seemed particularly intense.
Moreover, Tyler, the enforcer, was charging around like a colt with a broken tether.
It meant the opposing team was formidable.
-Get out of here, you stinking New York scum!
Amid the relentless jeers from the home team crowd, Riverside School steadily secured the first goal.
At last, the cheers from the Riverside supporters broke through the jeers.
-Aemerus is our ace!
A smile finally bloomed on my face as I watched anxiously.
Riverside School took a one-point lead as the first period ended.
A fifteen-minute break was given before the next match resumed.
‘It looks like our school will win.’
There’s a saying that a sports match isn’t over until it’s over, but I had a good feeling.
The problem was Jessie, though….
I turned off the broadcast and called Jessie again.
His phone was still off.
“Why are you making me worry like this?”
I sighed, gathered my things, and stood up.
I wanted nothing more than to watch the match to the end, but I couldn’t help myself—I was too worried about Jessie.
The clerk approached with the bill at my request and asked.
“Is the match already over?”
“No. I have somewhere I need to go.”
“Ah.”
After a brief exchange with the clerk, I left the cafe.
Since I hadn’t brought my car today, I took the subway toward Jessie’s House.
‘Jessie will have something to say if he finds out I took the subway.’
Accidents involving people being pushed onto subway tracks or being dragged down with someone’s plea to “die together” happened with unsettling frequency.
Especially in the neighborhood where Jessie lived, the security was poor enough that I’d been repeatedly warned never to use public transportation.
‘But it’s not even late at night.’
I rationalized the situation while keeping my guard up against my surroundings.
I hadn’t even put on headphones, prepared for any contingency.
After traveling for quite some time, I arrived at his house.
Ding dong.
While waiting after pressing the doorbell, my heart grew anxious.
‘What if Jessie’s parents don’t know where he is either?’
Since Jessie had only recently become an adult, disappearing for just one day wouldn’t warrant a missing person’s report.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Lili.”
“Lili?”
Todd, Jessie’s father, opened the door and welcomed her warmly.
He had lost considerable weight during his chemotherapy treatments, but his complexion didn’t look particularly poor.
“It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. My goodness, look at you! Caroline mentioned you’d changed your hairstyle, but she never said how wonderfully it suits you.”
“I’m sure I wouldn’t have left out a compliment like that.”
Caroline, limping slightly as she followed behind, playfully chided Todd.
“Come inside. This is your first time visiting since we moved, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It just happened that way….”
Were Todd and Caroline unaware that Jessie had gone silent?
I sat down at the kitchen table with them.
“Can I get you some tea? What would you like to drink?”
“Tea is fine, but… do you happen to know where Jessie is right now?”
“Jessie?”
Caroline tilted her head in confusion.
The words that followed from her lips shattered my heart completely.
“Jessie is sleeping in his room right now.”
“Sleeping?”
“Yes. He asked me to wake him at two o’clock, but he looked so exhausted that I just let him sleep. Don’t tell me you two had plans together?”
In that moment, I learned viscerally that when a person finds themselves in an absurdly bewildering situation, no words come out at all.

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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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