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LOZ 108
Contrary to Hunter's delusions, Joshua had treated her with a consistently plain attitude from the 10th grade until now. There were no hints at all that he wanted something more than friendship.
Aside from the fact that his biological sex was male, he was a best friend who had always been by her side through thick and thin, just like Chloe.
‘You're the fool, Hunter Hamilton.’
He truly knew nothing about love. It wasn't a problem that Jiyu didn't know men. She knew all too well what it felt like to perceive someone as a romantic interest.
The flutter that rose like a wave at a fleeting glance, the secret desire she didn't want anyone to discover, and the pain in her chest that spread every time she suppressed her swelling heart.
Jiyu had never felt that way about Joshua. Moreover, he was somewhat aware of the relationship between her and Hunter.
This was because, on a Saturday morning toward the end of the spring semester of their second year, Joshua had happened to witness her leaving Hunter's apartment with him.
They had been on their way to have brunch at a nearby diner. Jiyu had said she didn't want to go out for fear of being seen, but Hunter had been stubborn, so she had no choice.
Jiyu had her messy hair tied up haphazardly, and because the weather was chilly that day, she was wearing an oversized sweatshirt borrowed from him, emblazoned with the Columbia tennis team logo.
It was a look that made it easy to guess where she had slept, with whom, and whose clothes she was wearing.
The following Monday, after the morning lecture, while she was moving to the next classroom with a hot dog bought from a cart in front of the school, Joshua suddenly spoke up.
"I saw you coming out of Hunter Hamilton's apartment last Saturday morning."
Jiyu was so startled that she dropped the hot dog in her hand. Then, with a pale face, she stood there devastated, blinking her eyes, not knowing how to respond.
Joshua cleaned up the remains of the hot dog scattered on the ground, threw them in the trash, and turned back.
"I was a bit surprised. I didn't think you two would meet again after breaking up like that two years ago. Is it still a secret that you're dating?"
She couldn't reveal the truth to him as it was. Jiyu avoided his gaze and mumbled vaguely.
"...We're, we're not dating, it's just... there are some personal circumstances."
"......."
Her face flushed hot. She felt she knew what conclusion Joshua would draw about her relationship with Hunter.
She knew it was her own fault and that she had to bear the consequences. However, she felt ashamed and miserable that a vulnerability she had hoped a close friend wouldn't know had been exposed in this way.
Joshua, who had been staring at her silently, rubbed his face with his hand.
"Honestly, I don't get it. If you're not dating, why are you continuing... that kind of relationship with Hunter Hamilton? Is it perhaps because that prestigious family opposes you, or something like that?"
"......."
Jiyu bit her lip and kept her head low, unable to answer. Eventually, Joshua raised both hands.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to pry into your private life. It's just... this kind of thing seems so terribly unlike you. That's all."
Because Joshua went away for a year on an exchange student program the following semester, they didn't have the chance to discuss it further. After he returned, he acted as if it had never happened. She was incredibly grateful and relieved by that.
They finished their meal at a dim sum restaurant near the Natural History Museum and sprawled out in their chairs, drinking jasmine tea.
"I feel like my stomach is going to burst," Jiyu said, patting her stomach.
"Me too. That was a great meal, Ollie. Dessert is on me. I saw a bakery nearby on the way here that sells cookies the size of fists."
"You want to eat dessert too?"
As Jiyu looked at him with surprised eyes, he casually pointed to his side.
"Dessert always goes in here."
"Alright, then."
She chuckled and nodded.
While waiting for the check, she suddenly remembered that Joshua had introduced her to a date last month.
I wonder if it's going well. He said she attended Barnard University.
"Josh, how is Sophia doing?"
"Who?"
He blinked as if it were a name he was hearing for the first time.
"The person you introduced last month, the one who goes to Barnard..."
"Ah. That Sophia."
He snapped his fingers as if he had finally remembered and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, I'm sure she's doing fine?"
Joshua's dates repeatedly failed, unable to pass the hurdle of the third meeting.
With a deep sigh, Jiyu asked, "What was the reason this time?"
"I realized I don't want to kiss someone who doesn't understand who Isaac Asimov is, even after I tell them, and has no desire to know."
"Josh..."
She called his name as if soothing a young child.
"I'm kidding. I didn't even bring up Asimov because I was afraid she'd run away before we even started. Anyway, I got dumped again. She said I didn't seem very interested in her."
Just then, the waiter brought the check, and the conversation could not continue.
Leaving the dim sum restaurant, the two followed the scent of sweet cookies and entered a nearby bakery. They bought two fist-sized cookies, sat on a bench in front of the bakery, and shared them by splitting cookies of different flavors in half.
Taking large bites of the cookies and leaning back leisurely against the backrest, Joshua muttered, "Those are Aster School students. I wonder if they're on a field trip."
When Jiyu brushed off the crumbs that had fallen all over her clothes and looked up, she only saw the backs of girls in Aster School uniforms turning the opposite corner in a line.
At that moment, Josh suddenly reached out and brushed the corner of her mouth.
"You're like a child."
Jiyu glared at him, pushed his hand away, and wiped her mouth with a napkin. Then, she checked the time on her phone.
It was already two o'clock. There were only two hours left before Daisy's tutoring session started at four.
She hoped she could have some time to write, even if just for a little while, before that.
She sighed and stood up from the bench.
"Let's go, Josh. Time to work."
6:30 PM.
Jiyu finished the lesson 30 minutes later than usual because she was making flashcards for Daisy's Latin quiz. However, the hallway was unusually noisy today.
Jerard and Lauren were scheduled to leave for St. Barts this evening for a Valentine's Day weekend that coincided with their wedding anniversary, and they were expected to return Sunday evening. Since they had already taken their luggage when they left in the morning, it couldn't be them.
There was only one person who could make the staff of the Hamilton residence so tense.
"Unnie, it's noisy outside, so I think Hunter is here."
It seemed Daisy thought the same.
"I guess so..."
"Don't tell me Mom and Dad asked Hunter to come too? I'm thirteen now. I said I can sleep alone, so why is everyone making such a fuss?"
Daisy pouted, looking dissatisfied.
As soon as the Hamiltons planned their trip, they had asked if Jiyu could stay at home with Daisy this weekend. Jiyu had readily agreed and notified Hunter that she couldn't go to his apartment this week.
At that time, he had simply frowned and reluctantly agreed; there was no mention of him coming to the Hamilton residence.
"...It's dinner time, Daisy. Let's go out."
As Jiyu stood up, Daisy followed.
Sure enough, she saw Hunter's back as he strolled toward the room at the end of the hallway. In front of the dining room, Lisa, the general manager, was urgently giving instructions to Monique, the kitchen maid, and Lucia, the housekeeper, who then dispersed with quick steps.
Strangely, the staff found Hunter more intimidating than Jerard. Since he had moved out, whenever he stayed at the Hamilton residence, a tension akin to a visit from a VIP circulated among the staff.
It wasn't that he demanded anything specific or acted picky.
There was no need for that; even if he just strolled around in silence, everything in the Hamilton residence was naturally cut, bent, and unfolded to suit his convenience.
So, it was natural for the staff to be flustered by such a sudden visit.
'Would it kill him to give a heads-up before coming?'
As Jiyu and Daisy entered the dining room and took their seats, the door behind them swung open.
There was no need to look back to know who it was. A strangely fluttering, familiar, and refreshing scent wafted in first.
Hunter's room waited for its occasional owner, looking exactly as it did the summer he left. The housekeeper cleaned every day so that not a single speck of dust accumulated, and the laundry he left behind on the days he stayed was still washed with a high-end detergent that smelled like a rainy Central Park.
Whenever she smelled that scent, Jiyu felt as if she had returned to her teens.
The treehouse, Jinx, and kisses.
Her chest tightened when she thought of the days that would never return.
As soon as Hunter pulled out a chair and sat opposite Jiyu, Daisy chattered.
"Hunter, why are you sitting there? Your seat is here."
She pointed to the spot opposite her.
"Wherever I sit is my seat, munchkin."
He replied indifferently, crossing his arms and leaning against the back of the chair.
"Hmph, so arrogant. But why are you here? Did Mom ask you to come too? Seriously, what is wrong with everyone? Do they think I'm still a baby? This is annoying!"
Daisy, with her round cheeks still holding baby fat and soft fuzz, pouted.
Hunter gave a small smirk at her and then turned his gaze to Jiyu. He stared at her with languid, downcast eyes and greeted her with a tilt of his chin. Jiyu also briefly met his eyes and then quickly looked down.
Every time Hunter came to the Hamilton residence, her nerves were on edge, terrified that their relationship would be discovered by his family.
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