My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 90

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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 90

My heart pounded relentlessly in the suffocating silence that followed.
I couldn’t recall a time when Aemerus had ever frightened me quite like this.
-…Keep it a secret?
“Yes….”
-So I’m the one you’re ashamed of.
“No, no! That’s absolutely not it!”
How could I possibly be ashamed of having Aemerus as my boyfriend?
If anything, my pride would soar through the heavens.
I rushed to explain myself.
“It’s the exact opposite. You know you’re the most popular boy in our entire school right now, don’t you?”
-Well….
Aemerus trailed off as though he couldn’t agree.
My chest only grew heavier listening to him.
“Why do you think only Randy gets mentioned as an L candidate and my name never comes up? I’m the one who’s been attached to you every single day at school, not Randy.”
-Ah….
Aemerus seemed to finally grasp what I meant.
“The kids would rather you be gay than have you paired with me.”
-I hadn’t considered that. I’m sorry.
“No, you have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
I exhaled softly.
I felt guilty for pushing Aemerus so hard, and my own heart wasn’t at ease.
“To be honest, I’m scared. Even when I was just friends with Jessie, there were girls who would take their frustrations out on me.”
There was always at least one or two every semester.
Even when Jessie and I were together, some girls would deliberately ignore me and only address Jessie, speaking to him with exaggerated warmth.
At first, Jessie would gently remind them of my presence with a kind tone.
But after correcting them several times without success, he eventually began ignoring those girls in return.
Only then would he condescendingly acknowledge me with a word or two.
Being ignored was the least of it, though.
I shuddered recalling what I’d endured when I was alone without Jessie.
‘If it was that bad when I wasn’t even dating Jessie, I can’t even imagine what it would be like if I said I was dating Aemerus.’
At least graduation wasn’t far off—for that, I was infinitely grateful.
-I understand. We’ll keep our relationship a secret at school.
Unlike me, who had framed it as a hypothetical “if we were to date,” Aemerus spoke of it as an established fact.
I considered correcting him but decided against it.
-Is it okay if we reveal the truth in college?
“Of course!”
It didn’t matter if I revealed it anyway, since we’d be attending different universities.
No, I absolutely had to reveal it.
Unless I wanted to pretend I didn’t have a girlfriend and meet other girls!
“Hiding it now would be even stranger.”
-I agree.
Perhaps relieved that we no longer had to hide the fact that we were dating, Aemerus laughed softly.
But before I could savor his laughter, another noise intruded.
-Aemerus! I wondered where you went—so you snuck off here. Everyone, I found Aemerus!
-Oh, I should go.
“Yeah. Have fun.”
-It won’t be fun without you.
The corners of Harry’s mouth twitched upward.
Even if it was just words, it was nice to hear.
-Keep sending me pictures. I’ll be waiting.
“Okay.”
-Aemerus, who are you talking to? Your L?
The voice interrogating Aemerus was unmistakably Randy’s.
With his voice, the call ended.
‘It really should be fine to keep it secret…?’
There was nothing special I needed to do to keep the secret.
I just had to refrain from admitting that Aemerus and I were dating.
Of course, everyone was teasing Aemerus and Randy now, but it was obvious the novelty would wear off soon.
Besides, it would soon be time for regular university applications.
Shrugging my shoulders, I slipped my phone into my pocket and looked up.
My eyes met my parents’, who had been standing there for who knows how long.
[Ack!]
My parents grinned wickedly as they watched me shriek in surprise.
[W-what? You didn’t hear everything, did you? Why were you eavesdropping on my call?]
[You seemed to be having an important conversation, so we deliberately didn’t interrupt.]
[Soo-young will be here soon. Let’s head down.]
Soo-young was Harry’s aunt, and we had planned to visit Maternal Grandmother’s house together today.
[But you should have told me right away….]
[And yet you complain even though we waited patiently until your call ended.]
My parents seemed thoroughly delighted watching my first romance unfold.
With nothing to say in rebuttal, I pouted my lips and grabbed my luggage.
After checking out and waiting briefly in the Hotel Lobby, my aunt and uncle arrived shortly.
[Sister, I’m here. My goodness, Lili? Is that really you? When did you grow up so much? You’re already old enough to get married.]
[Married? Who says things like that these days? Our Lili hasn’t even gone to university yet.]
As Mother frowned and rebuked her, my aunt countered that it was just a customary greeting.
[Goodness, your mother scares me so much I can’t say anything. How are you doing, Robin?]
[Hello.]
[How cute. You were so young when I last saw you—I doubt you remember your aunt.]
After greeting her husband and cousins in turn, I climbed into the car.
Since Harry’s Parents didn’t currently own a vehicle, Harry’s Aunt and her husband had each driven their own cars to the Hotel Lobby and lent one to us.
After leaving Seoul, we decided to take a brief rest at a large Cafe in Yangsu-ri before heading to Maternal Grandmother’s House in Yangpyeong.
The adults gathered together, and the children sat at their own table.
While conversation flowed endlessly among the adults, an awkward atmosphere lingered over the table where I and my younger cousins sat.
Robin, who was being shy, went without saying.
As we awkwardly sipped our drinks, one of my cousins spoke first.
[Unnie, you said you live in New York, right? Do you like it there?]
[New York? Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it.]
Honestly, isn’t everywhere pretty much the same?
A second question came flying at me as I shrugged my shoulders.
[What about your boyfriend? Is he American too?]
[Is he handsome?]
My cousins were sisters a few years younger than me, and being in their teens, they were quite interested in romance.
At their question, I naturally thought of Aemerus and laughed awkwardly.
[He’s handsome, sure. But we’re not dating yet….]
[If you’re not dating yet, then you’re in the “samgwi” stage.]
[Serving him?]
But do people really use the word “serve” between lovers?
I tilted my head, not quite understanding what my cousins meant.
At my reaction, my cousin burst into giggles.
[Not serving—samgwi! Your boyfriend isn’t a king, so why would you serve him?]
[Ah, but you might not know this. It’s a word only used in Korea.]
[Though it’s actually a pretty old trend word….]
[I’m sorry you didn’t know, unnie….]
[It’s okay. I’m glad I learned about it now.]
They cheerfully explained that the stage before dating is called being in a “samgwi” relationship.
[I’m curious what your boyfriend looks like. Can you show us a photo?]
A photo—sure, why not.
I found a photo of Aemerus and me together on my phone and showed it to them.
They were mostly photos taken during a trip to Canada.
[Wow! No way!]
[His face is insane. This isn’t AI-enhanced, is it?]
My cousins couldn’t take their eyes off Aemerus’s face.
‘This is the natural reaction, after all.’
Aemerus had a tendency to belittle himself, perhaps due to trauma from being bullied as a child.
I swallowed my pity and smiled brightly.
[Robin knows his face. They’re close with each other too.]
“Really? Robin, does your older brother actually look like that in person?”
Robin, who had been swinging his legs and sipping apple juice, nodded.
“Aemerus’s older brother is handsome. And he’s good at hockey too.”
“His name is Aemerus?”
“Yeah. Aemerus Huntington.”
“Oh my goodness. Even his name is handsome….”
“Are there a lot of men like that when you go to New York?”
Harry rolled her eyes, lost in thought, and trailed off.
“Not exactly….”
But her already-excited cousins didn’t seem to hear her words very well.
They began pestering their parents with their whining.
“Mom, I want to go to America too. Send me to America.”
“You can’t say a single word in English, and now you suddenly want to go to America? Why don’t you tell everyone here how many points you got on English in the final exam?”
“Ugh, that last final exam was unfair! It’s not just me who got a low score!”
Watching her aunt and cousin bicker made me feel awkward.
When Harry’s eyes met her uncle’s, she smiled sheepishly and pretended to eat bread.
“Goodness, that girl. When I nagged her to study English, she wouldn’t listen, but now she’s saying something different.”
Harry’s aunt, who had been criticizing her daughter, broached the subject carefully.
“Anyway, being a parent is a sin. Since she wants to go so badly, maybe I should send her for a short while. I’ve actually been looking into short-term language programs.”
“Really?”
“What do you think, sister? Is it worth spending that much money to send her?”
Harry’s mother seemed to have much to say, but she chose her words carefully and said only one thing.
“Does English really need to be learned in America?”
“That’s true. I saw on the news recently that America is making a big fuss about catching illegal immigrants.”
Harry’s aunt clicked her tongue and asked.
“Are you and your husband okay? Going back and forth to Korea like this?”
“There’s nothing unusual about it.”
No one could have predicted that those words would become a harbinger of what was to come.

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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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