IASHCY 02

Chapter 02 ….

First Love, Unrequited Love

Harry’s first love was Jesse Jackson.

The day she first went to a baseball stadium after immigrating to America with her parents.

That was where Harry met Jesse.

The two of them chased after a home run ball that flew out from the field, and the one who grabbed it first was Jesse.

After fully enjoying his victory, Jesse turned toward Harry, who had been chasing the ball with him, and smiled brightly.

“I’ll give this to you.”

Bright sunlight poured down over the innocent boy wearing a baseball cap low over his forehead.

Hair more dazzling than the sunlight itself, golden blond and shining brilliantly, and blue eyes as clear as the summer sky—he looked exactly like a prince straight out of a fairy tale.

The moment she saw the beautiful boy’s smile, so beautiful it made her eyes sting—

A young girl falling in love was inevitable.

“Thank you.”

Harry was so shy that she barely managed to say thanks.

Holding the baseball like a precious treasure as she returned to her parents, her heart pounded so hard it hurt.

Seeing Harry’s face flushed red as if it might burst at any moment, her parents burst into laughter.

“Thank you for letting my daughter have the ball. What’s your name?”

Harry’s father, who simply found the children adorable, asked the boy’s name.

“Jesse. Jesse Jackson.”

As it turned out, Jesse was their next-door neighbor.

On top of that, he even attended the same elementary school as her.

Harry became convinced that Jesse was her destined person.

The two walked to school hand in hand every single day.

After meeting at the baseball stadium, their parents grew close as well, so the families often went camping together on weekends or traveled together.

School was the same. Everyone thought Harry was Jesse’s girlfriend, and in reality, his partner was always her.

The two were always together, and Harry never doubted that she would marry Jesse someday.

At least, not until they became high school students.

“My father has cancer.”

Jesse delivered the news with a relatively calm expression.

At that time, there was still hope.

Hope that his father would recover.

Hope that Jesse’s family would regain the ordinary life they once had.

But his misfortune was only beginning.

“I don’t even know what to do anymore.”

Jesse’s mother, who worked nights as a cleaner to earn hospital bills, got into a traffic accident on her way home from work.

She barely survived, but the bones in her legs had shattered so badly that she underwent multiple surgeries to piece them back together.

Even after the surgeries, the doctors could not guarantee she would ever walk on both legs again.

“I’m here for you, Jesse. I’ll do anything for you.”

Harry comforted him and quietly stayed by his side.

Harry’s parents also cared deeply for Jesse and pitied him, sometimes even paying the surgery fees themselves.

But it seemed that became a huge burden for Jesse.

He likely decided he could not spend his entire life relying on their kindness.

“I’m going to drop out of school.”

Jesse said he had received a modeling offer while working a serving job at Harry’s parents’ restaurant.

He said he could earn far more money by simply taking a few photos than by doing his current work.

Naturally, not only Harry but even the teachers at school were horrified and tried to stop him.

The high school they attended was one of the most prestigious private schools in New York, second only to Wharton School.

In the end, he chose to graduate early instead of dropping out entirely. It was possible because his grades were excellent.

“Lily, I’m worried about you.”

Even after graduating high school early ahead of the promise that they would someday attend the same university together, Jesse worried only about Harry.

And for good reason—Harry had no one she could really call a friend besides Jesse.

“Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m some freshman.”

Harry was already a senior in 12th grade.

She didn’t feel any need to make new friends.

But apparently Jesse thought differently.

Seeing as how he attached a new friend to her.

The first day of a new semester without Jesse.

Because she had always been together with him, his absence felt especially huge.

Passing through students greeting one another in the hallways, Harry turned up the volume on her headphones.

Everything irritated her.

The string of misfortunes happening only to Jesse.

The students laughing and chatting as if nothing was wrong even though Jesse was gone.

And her own situation—having to spend her final year of high school without Jesse.

She let out a deep sigh while organizing her locker when someone poked her repeatedly in the back.

“Hi.”

Startled, she turned around to see one of the few Asian girls in the school standing there.

“Hi.”

Harry paused her music and lowered her headphones, but she still couldn’t hide her confusion.

“What’s up?”

Thinking perhaps a teacher had called for her, she looked at the girl, who introduced herself.

“My name’s Faye. You’re Lily, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You seem alone. If you want, do you want to hang out with us?”

“Ah……”

Because there were so few Asian students at the school, they tended to stick closely together regardless of nationality.

Harry smiled and gently declined.

“I’m okay. I prefer being alone. Thanks for thinking of me.”

Faye shrugged.

“If you change your mind later, tell me anytime.”

“I will. See you in class.”

See, Jesse? There’s really nothing for you to worry about.

Harry spoke to Jesse in her heart as she finished organizing her locker.

After attending classes alone all day, lunchtime finally arrived.

She bought a sandwich and a drink from the cafeteria and sat at one of the outdoor tables.

That was when someone sat across from her without permission.

‘Faye?’

Harry looked up, ready to reassure her again that she truly was fine alone—then froze.

The person sitting before her was a huge guy, nearly twice Faye’s size.

“Hi.”

Nicely curled black hair.

And in contrast to it, sharp green eyes that carried a dangerous edge.

It was a face she knew well.

“Aymus Huntington?”

At the obvious surprise in her voice, he merely raised one thick eyebrow in greeting.

“How’ve you been?”

“So-so……”

Harry trailed off as she watched him naturally begin eating in front of her.

‘Are we even close enough to sit face-to-face and have lunch together?’

Absolutely not.

If anything, Aymus Huntington was closer to Jesse’s friend than hers.

Harry blankly watched him take a bite of the salmon sandwich—the exact same menu she had ordered—before finally coming to her senses.

“What are you doing?”

Despite her sharp question, Aymus answered casually.

“Eating lunch.”

“I mean, why are you eating here? There are plenty of other seats.”

Suddenly, he curled his lips into a grin.

If other girls saw it, they would probably make a huge fuss over how handsome he was, but Harry had long since become used to Jesse’s prince-like looks and remained indifferent.

That is—until Jesse’s name came out of his mouth.

“JJ asked me to.”

“Jesse……?”

JJ was the nickname used to distinguish Jesse from another girl at school with the same name.

But more importantly, Jesse asked him to do what exactly?

Harry couldn’t understand a single thing.

Even as she glared at him, clearly demanding an explanation, he calmly took another bite of his sandwich.

“He told me to make sure you wouldn’t be alone at school.”

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?”

Unable to believe Aymus, Harry immediately pulled out her phone and called Jesse.

Normally she tried not to disturb him and preferred texting instead of calling, but today she had no choice.

However, he didn’t answer.

Just as she was about to call again, a text arrived from him.

「Waiting for a shoot right now. Why?」

Honestly, she wanted to grab him and complain about what on earth he thought he was doing, but Jesse seemed busy, so she held back.

Instead, she simply asked what she needed to know.

「Did you ask Aymus to eat lunch with me?」

The reply came immediately.

「Yeah.」

Harry let out a deep sigh and dropped her phone onto the table somewhat irritably.

She had told him she was fine, told him not to worry, yet he still pulled something like this.

Jesse already carried so many responsibilities. The thought that she herself had become another burden to him made her chest feel heavy.

Aymus glanced sideways at her visibly fallen mood and shrugged.

“So I was telling the truth, right?”

“Yeah.”

Harry rubbed a hand over her face and let out a hollow laugh.

“Jesse did something unnecessary. I’m sorry you had to go along with his request, but I don’t need a friend to eat lunch with me.”

She truly didn’t need any friends besides Jesse.

At her words, Aymus laughed as if he agreed.

“That’s what it looks like to me too.”

“Right?”

At least she and Aymus seemed to understand each other somewhat.

Watching Harry nod enthusiastically, he laughed again.

“When JJ asked me to look after Harry, I asked him, ‘Sure. But which Harry?’ How was I supposed to know it was you?”

There were five people named Harry at this school. Four of them were boys.

Imagining how absurd it must have sounded for him to be asked to look after a grown girl made Harry laugh too.

“Anyway, you’ve seen that I’m perfectly fine, right? I can handle being alone, so you can go now.”

Harry picked up the sandwich she had briefly set down and tried to send him away.

Or rather, she tried—and failed.

“Well. That might be difficult.”

One day, Aymus suddenly inserted himself into the life of a girl secretly in love with her first love, Jesse.