My Unrequited Love Is an Absolute Secret - Chapter 99

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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 99

After sipping champagne and riding high on excitement, we arrived at the nearby Park.
The mere appearance of the elongated limousine was enough to draw attention.
When elegantly dressed men and women in formal attire stepped out, onlookers couldn’t help but stare openly.
“So this is what a star’s life looks like.”
“Being reduced to a spectacle?”
Someone deflated Tyler’s enthusiasm, which had been bubbling over like water finding its level.
Meanwhile, Harry took Aemerus’s hand and descended from the limousine.
“Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it.”
Aemerus carefully checked to ensure the hem of her dress wouldn’t catch, then closed the car door.
A photographer who had arrived early and was waiting approached them with a greeting.
“You’re the team from Riverside High School, correct?”
“Yes, the Ice Hockey Team.”
“Perfect. Let’s hurry while the sun is still up. First, let’s do a group photo.”
The moment we stepped out of the car, the photo shoot began without pause.
“Gentlemen, place your hands on your partner’s waist and smile affectionately!”
Among them were couples like Harry and Aemerus who were actually dating, but there were also quite a few who weren’t.
Those who had simply attended as prom partners felt awkward and didn’t know what to do.
“I don’t understand why everyone’s making such a fuss over something so trivial.”
Harry, who had been watching them with amusement, looked up at Aemerus.
It was a gesture seeking his consent, but she couldn’t help but be startled by what she saw.
“Are you okay? Your face is incredibly red.”
“…I’m fine, so please stop staring at me.”
Aemerus’s body, holding me from behind, was burning intensely hot.
Harry suppressed a giggle and turned her gaze back to face forward.
“Yes, your expression looks great! I’ll keep it just like this!”
After the group photo was finished, individual couple photos followed.
“In what order would you like to proceed?”
At the photographer’s question, everyone naturally turned to look at Aemerus.
Since Aemerus was the one who had hired the photographer, he had priority.
“What would you like to do?”
And Aemerus sought Harry’s opinion.
“Hmm… let’s take ours around the middle. If anyone wants to go first, feel free to.”
“Oh, then we’ll go first.”
Melissa, Randy’s partner, quickly raised her hand to claim the spot.
Not to be outdone, others hastily raised their hands as well.
Aemerus and I were scheduled to go third.
“Let’s pay close attention to what poses the other couples use.”
Aemerus nodded at my enthusiasm about making this a memorable photo, determined to capture a lifetime memory.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“Well… I suppose I am?”
Earlier, I hadn’t noticed because I was pressed against Aemerus, who radiated heat like a living furnace, but the wind was quite sharp.
Though it was May, the weather was still too cool for an off-shoulder dress and exposed arms.
“Wear my jacket.”
“Thank you.”
Aemerus removed his jacket and draped it over me.
His body heat still lingered in the fabric, keeping it warm.
Thanks to that, I didn’t shiver from the cold while waiting for our turn.
“Hmm, should we do something like that?”
I glanced at Aemerus while watching a couple exchange a light kiss, then shook my head firmly.
Despite his appearance, he was surprisingly shy, and I didn’t think he’d be comfortable with it.
Just moments ago, his face had flushed red when I merely wrapped my arms around his waist.
I could only think this way because I didn’t know what view he had from above, looking down at me in the off-shoulder dress.
“What if I lifted you up instead?”
Aemerus suggested after seeing me shake my head.
“You’d lift me?”
“Like when we danced together last year.”
“Oh.”
He was referring to when we competed together in a couples’ dance competition.
“Will the photo even turn out well…? It might look funny.”
“Let’s try it once, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll use a different pose.”
“Okay.”
After the wait, our turn finally came.
We’d already planned our poses by observing the couples before us, so the shoot progressed smoothly.
“Perfect, absolutely wonderful!”
Just as we’d discussed, Aemerus wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me effortlessly, drawing gasps of admiration from those around us.
My embarrassment lasted only a moment.
Looking at the results, I felt the embarrassment was worth it.
“It turned out amazing!”
“You two look like you’re in a wedding photoshoot.”
“Nathan, let’s do it like this too!”
“Huh? Y-yes.”
The next couple stepped in front of the camera after us.
After finishing the shoot, I rejoined the others with a sense of relief, as if I’d completed an assignment.
“Aemerus, could you come over here for a moment?”
The boys seemed to be planning to film something.
I sent Aemerus, who had been trailing behind me like a shadow, off to join the boys.
“Go on, hurry.”
“Got it. Keep wearing the jacket I gave you.”
As I leisurely surveyed my surroundings in the jacket Aemerus had draped over me, a girl caught my eye.
She was unfamiliar to me and looked unusually young.
I approached her, noticing how she stood apart from the other girls, isolated and out of place.
“Hey, you’re Tyler’s prom date, right? I’m Lili. My real name is Harry, but anyway… what’s your name?”
“Samantha.”
“Right, Samantha. So, are you and Tyler actually dating?”
Samantha looked at me with a guarded expression at my question.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Well…”
I tilted my head thoughtfully.
“Wouldn’t anyone be interested in a cute girl like you?”
“What?”
Samantha laughed as if she found it absurd.
Still, her guard seemed to have relaxed considerably.
“We’re not dating. I just agreed to be his prom date because apparently you can only go to prom if you have a partner. I’m only a freshman.”
Since prom was a party for graduating seniors, freshmen and sophomores couldn’t attend unless they were invited as someone’s date.
“What?”
“Is Tyler out of his mind?”
The girls who had been eavesdropping on our conversation were absolutely furious when they learned Samantha was only a freshman.
Apparently unprepared for such a strong reaction, Samantha added hastily with a flustered expression.
“But I’ll be a sophomore soon.”
“Not yet, you’re not!”
“I was wondering how Tyler managed to find a date!”
Tyler had approached the girls with considerable ambition to ask them to prom, but they had all rejected him.
The girls in his grade had been so worn down by his persistence that they had completely given up on him.
“And he went and tricked some innocent little girl into it!”
“I’m not really that naive…”
“The fact that you’re saying that proves you are!”
“Why are you the only freshman here? Any girl with any sense would reject Tyler, and the only reason you’re left is because you’re some clueless kid who doesn’t know how the world works.”
I moved to calm down the girls, who looked ready to grab Tyler by the collar right then and there.
“Come on, I’m angry too. But we don’t want to make Samantha’s first prom a terrible memory, do we?”
“…Of course not.”
Understanding the excitement of choosing a dress and applying lip gloss in anticipation of the party, they all quickly let their anger subside.
“Do your parents know you’re going to the party tonight?”
“Of course.”
“And they said they’d pick you up later?”
“Um…”
“That’s not happening!”
Casey let out a sharp cry as Samantha’s words trailed off.
Casey had a younger sister three years her junior.
Perhaps that’s why this didn’t feel like someone else’s problem to her.
“Tell your parents right now that they absolutely must pick you up at ten o’clock!”
“But Tyler said he’d drive me home… is it okay to suddenly change plans?”
Samantha asked hesitantly, gauging their reactions.
Only after witnessing the older girls’ responses did I realize how serious this situation truly was.
That’s when Melissa raised her hand.
“I’m heading home early today anyway. Come with me. If you use me as an excuse, Tyler won’t say much.”
“Tyler definitely is afraid of Melissa, that’s for sure.”
Unlike her partner Randy, Melissa was the type who didn’t enjoy jokes and took everything seriously.
I was incredibly curious how she’d ended up as Randy’s partner, but there was something far more pressing at hand, so I shelved my curiosity for now.
“Samantha, there’s something most important.”
“What is it?”
At my words, Samantha swallowed hard.
“If Tyler asks for physical contact you don’t want, never tolerate it. Tell him no immediately.”
“But what if he tells me to leave the party…”
Casey spoke with a snort.
“We’re here! You can just stay with us!”
“I’ll tell Randy to stick with Tyler too. If you find it too hard to refuse Tyler, just stay by my side.”
At Melissa’s words, Samantha hung her head low.
“…Thank you all so much.”
Samantha, looking as though she might cry at any moment, truly resembled a helpless chick.
As a result, the girls, myself included, huddled together protectively like mother hens guarding their young.
“Why did the mood suddenly change like this?”
The boys who returned from filming looked taken aback.
“I’m here.”
“Yeah. Welcome back.”
Even so, Aemerus promptly wedged himself into the spot beside me and sat down.

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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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