My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 97

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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 97

I had no intention of rejecting Faye’s outstretched hand of reconciliation.
Of course, what she had done to Aemerus because of her ex-boyfriend was unsettling….
But she was still young, and I understood that people could act foolishly or even do crazy things over matters of the heart.
If Faye was genuinely reflecting on her mistakes, that was enough for me.
After all, thanks to her warning me to be careful when posting on social media, I had managed to pass through immigration without any trouble.
But this was….
“You’re not actually dating, right? Tell me you’re not.”
Faye demanded an answer again, her face utterly disbelieving.
She seemed completely oblivious to the growing whispers around us.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t reconcile with her after all.’
I touched my throbbing head and glanced sideways at Aemerus.
When our eyes met, Aemerus lowered his gaze.
As if he already knew what I would answer.
“Well….”
It was a question with a predetermined answer.
After all, it was I who had first asked him never to show any signs of dating at school.
I wrinkled my nose and fiddled with my earrings.
Everything Aemerus had given me so far had been exactly to my taste.
Headphones, roses, chocolate, and earrings.
And that sweet first kiss.
I recalled what I had given him in return.
‘A gat?’
It was certainly expensive….
But did Aemerus truly like it?
As I pondered this, I suddenly realized something.
I had given Jessie an expensive watch on a whim, and given Aemerus a gat simply because I thought it suited him.
Those gifts were merely for my own satisfaction.
But what Aemerus truly desired was something different, and now I understood what it was.
“Yes.”
I boldly took Aemerus’s hand.
Aemerus, who had been drooping with his long lashes lowered, looked up at me in surprise.
I met his hopeful gaze and drove the point home.
“We’re dating. We haven’t been for long. You’ll congratulate us, right?”
“Huh? Oh, oh. I see. So you two are actually dating.”
Faye, who had been pressing for an answer, was caught off guard when I readily admitted it.
Faye swallowed hard and turned to look at Aemerus.
“I’m really sorry about what happened before. I don’t even use DM on social media much anymore.”
“It’s fine. I’ve already forgotten about it.”
She had no idea that Faye had played a significant role in bringing Aemerus and me closer together.
He tore his gaze away from Faye and looked back at me.
He wanted to savor this moment a little longer—the moment I had acknowledged him as my boyfriend through my own words.
“Well, anyway, I’ll gratefully accept the flowers. Thank you, Faye.”
At my words, which were gradually wrapping up the conversation, Faye scratched her head.
“Oh, right. It’s not really my place to say, but you should probably change your locker password too.”
As Faye turned to leave, I called out to her back.
“If the group chat is still active, invite me!”
Faye answered with a smile instead.
I, who had been fiddling with the bouquet she left behind, asked Aemerus.
“Should we head to study hall now?”
“Yeah.”
“Wait. Before that, I should put the flowers back in my locker. I can’t walk around holding them like this.”
“Let’s do that.”
Aemerus had a faint smile playing at his lips, his cheeks slightly flushed.
He seemed ready to agree with whatever I said.
‘Is he really that happy?’
I gazed at him for a moment, then smiled and shook my head.
Even as I did, the whispers surrounding us showed no signs of dying down.
It was exactly what I had worried about.
I occasionally heard Jessie’s name mentioned, but I didn’t mind.
‘It’s my own fault for wanting to get someone as handsome as Aemerus without paying any price.’
From the moment I decided to date him, I should have accepted the jealousy and envy of those around me.
‘Anyway, I’ll graduate in May. Just endure it for a few more months.’
With that thought, there was nothing to fear.
Compared to how nervous I had been before dating him, I was accepting the situation calmly.
‘Now that I’ve actually done it, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal.’
Watching Aemerus smile with his eyes every time our gazes met, I had no regrets.
We were facing each other and smiling.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your nice time together, but may I borrow you for a moment?”
The person who suddenly wedged between us was a member of the Student Council.
“We’re collecting messages for the yearbook. Would you mind writing something now?”
“Oh.”
Under each graduation photo, students could leave a short message of their choice.
Many students wrote serious mottos or famous quotes, but some deliberately wrote funny ones.
“Aemerus, do you want to write first?”
“No. You go first.”
So be it.
Having received the suggestion, I picked up my pen and fell into thought.
Surprisingly, a decent sentence came to me quickly.
I wrote without hesitation.
「There are no eternal secrets in this world.」
My unrequited love for Jessie, and eventually dating Aemerus after all the twists and turns.
It was all destined to be revealed someday.
I set down my pen with a smile on my face.

Epilogue

Aemerus’s prom proposal was as composed and quiet as his personality.
It happened in the middle of dinner at a nice Restaurant.
“Harry.”
“Hmm?”
“Will you go to prom with me?”
At his unusually formal request, I burst into laughter.
“What was I thinking? You were so nervous I thought you were about to propose.”
Seeing my laughter ease his tension, Aemerus shot back playfully.
“Then should we count this as a proposal instead of a prom invitation?”
“Without a ring?”
“Ah….”
Watching Aemerus say something silly, I giggled.
I liked that it wasn’t a flashy prom proposal with all the noise and elaborate gifts like everyone else’s.
Besides, I still had the pearl earrings he’d given me just a few months ago.
“I’ll go to prom with you. But I need more time to think about marriage.”
Even at my teasing words delivered with feigned seriousness, Aemerus simply smiled brightly with joy.

***

May had arrived before I knew it, and today was the long-awaited prom.
I stood before the mirror in a royal blue off-shoulder dress, checking my appearance.
Around my neck hung a pearl necklace gifted by Aemerus’s Grandmother, and pearl earrings from Aemerus adorned my ears.
[Our daughter looks absolutely stunning.]
My mother gazed endlessly at my dress, marveling at it.
Yet I easily noticed that her eyes kept drifting toward the pearl necklace.
What lingered in her gaze was a hint of disappointment.
[The pearl necklace suits you beautifully too.]
Since Aemerus’s Grandmother had given the necklace only to me, it made sense that my mother might feel a bit left out.
I turned to face my mother and made a fuss over it.
[Oh, I think it would look even better on the elegant Kim Su-mi than on me?]
[Don’t bother with empty flattery. Your grandmother knows that too—that’s why she gave it to you, not me.]
Watching my mother pout, I suppressed my laughter internally.
No matter how old one grows, it seems a daughter’s heart still yearns to be petulant before her mother.
I linked my arm with my mother’s and gazed at our reflection together.
For a moment, I glimpsed the tender image of Aemerus’s Grandmother and my mother sharing such a moment long ago.
[Would Grandmother have given this to me alone? Of course she thought ahead—she gave it so we could share it together.]
[Is that so?]
[That’s exactly it.]
At my words, my mother’s heart softened immediately.
[You’re right. Soo-young is so jealous about everything. If I were the only one she gave a necklace to, she’d throw a fit, asking why she and her sister were being treated differently. She never thinks about her own age.]
Hearing my mother’s words, I chuckled.
I knew well that despite what she said, the two of them were best friends who called each other once a week.
[No matter that she’s my younger sister, I don’t know when she’ll ever mature—and she’s already had two children.]
My mother’s expression, clicking her tongue, had become noticeably brighter than before.
[Now that I think about it, it’s right that Lili wears the necklace. Something like this doesn’t suit me.]
[Don’t say that—you can wear it when an important occasion comes up later.]
[An important occasion? When? When you and Aemerus have your first meeting with both families?]
[Mom….]
I rolled my eyes and sighed.
Ever since I revealed that I was dating Aemerus, my parents had teased me whenever they got the chance.
[By the way, do Americans do family meetings too?]
[Oh my, look at her. Are you planning to marry Aemerus?]
My mother only stopped her mischievous teasing after I pouted.
[Aemerus really is something else.]
I was wondering whether the expression “something else” was even appropriate for an American when it happened.
Ding dong.
The doorbell rang.
My mother glanced at the clock and gave my shoulder a light nudge with a laugh.
[Your boyfriend must be here.]
How stunning would Aemerus look, dressed up for the party?
My heart began to race, pounding faster and faster.

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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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