Predator Alert chapter 72

* * *

At the emergency room, Yoontae remained quiet.

He watched Jeongseo undergo simple examinations, his gaze fixed but silent.

When their eyes met, he would quickly look away.

His expression, almost blank, seemed to carry a hint of anger.

Jeongseo couldn’t decipher what Yoontae was thinking.

While Jeongseo sat on the hospital bed receiving an IV drip, the doctor approached.

“It’s not serious. You’re having a mild allergic reaction to the hair dye, so it’s best to avoid dyeing your hair in the future. Once you finish this IV, you’re good to go.”

“Alright…!”

An allergic reaction to hair dye—Jeongseo resigned himself to wearing hats if his hair turned white again in the future.

When they left the hospital, a sleek black sedan pulled up in front.

A man who appeared to be in his mid-30s rolled down the driver’s window and spoke.

“Jeongseo, you’re heading home, right? I’ll take the young master home first and then drop you off.”

Feeling guilty for inconveniencing the driver late at night on a holiday, Jeongseo bowed his head apologetically.

“Thank you so much, and I’m sorry for causing trouble!”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Just focus on getting better. Hop in.”

As Jeongseo reached for the back door, Yoontae, who had been silent until then, grabbed his wrist again.

“Stay at my place tonight.”

“At your place?”

Startled by the unexpected suggestion, Jeongseo looked up at Yoontae, wide-eyed.

He seemed serious, not joking.

While the idea of staying at Yoontae’s house normally would’ve been appealing, the strange atmosphere made Jeongseo hesitate.

Picking up on this hesitation, Yoontae added, “It’s unsettling to be alone on a night like this.

The hospital’s close by if anything happens.”

“That’s true…”

“I’ll take you home first thing in the morning. If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll wake you up for the first bus.”

Yoontae smiled, leaving Jeongseo no room to refuse.

With no valid excuse left, Jeongseo nodded reluctantly, though the thought of staying at Yoontae’s house wasn’t entirely unappealing.

Yoontae opened the car door and ushered Jeongseo in.

“Driver, please head to my house.”

“To the young master’s residence? Understood.”

The car left the hospital parking lot and quickly reached Yoontae’s residence, which was only a short walk from the hospital.

After thanking the driver once more, Jeongseo entered the building with Yoontae.

In the elevator, Yoontae pressed the button and said, “My mom’s home, but my room and hers are far apart, so don’t worry.”

“Oh, okay!”

Although Jeongseo had visited Yoontae’s house before, he had never met his mother.

He had even doubted whether she truly lived there.

Seeing her now was unexpected, and Jeongseo flinched at his reflection in the elevator mirror, startled by his white hair.

Yoontae hadn’t mentioned his hair even once, which made Jeongseo almost forget about it.

Why wasn’t he saying anything?

Did it simply not matter to him anymore?

Before he could think further, they arrived.

When Yoontae opened the door, a woman with the same jet-black hair and golden eyes as Yoontae stood near the shoe cabinet.

Despite these similarities, her aura was entirely different.

“This is my mom. This is Seo Jeongseo.”

After Yoontae’s brief introduction, Jeongseo quickly bowed.

“Hello! I’m Yoontae’s friend, Seo Jeongseo. I’m sorry for showing up unexpectedly!”

Pyo Yoontae’s mother, Han Jaehee, regarded Jeongseo with curious eyes.

His patchy white hair and fluffy appearance were oddly endearing.

“No worries at all. You’re Yoontae’s classmate, right?”

“Yes! We’re in the same class!”

Jaehee smiled.

Despite being the same age as Yoontae, Jeongseo’s small frame and delicate features made him seem like a younger sibling.

Han Jaehee kept staring intently at Jeongseo, making it difficult for him to move away from the doorway.

He awkwardly stood there until Pyo Yoontae grabbed Jeongseo’s wrist and pulled him closer.

“I’m exhausted, so I’ll head in now. Mom, you should get some rest too.”

“Oh, I kept you too long after you just came back from the ER. I’m sorry. Get plenty of rest, and let me know if you need anything.”

With a smile that seemed to say “don’t worry about me,” Han Jaehee left first.

The two of them headed to their room.

The sound of the door closing echoed unusually loud tonight.

The atmosphere was so quiet that it felt unbearable.

Just as Jeongseo opened his mouth to speak, Yoontae beat him to it.

“Jeongseo.”

“…Yeah?”

“Don’t you have something to tell me?”

At that moment, Jeongseo realized why Yoontae had been silent until now.

He’d waited to ask after cornering him in a place where escape was impossible!

A predator through and through.

Jeongseo glanced around—no way out, and Yoontae was blocking the door.

Resigned, Jeongseo gulped and turned to look at him.

Yoontae leaned against the door, staring straight at him.

“Actually… in winter, my fur turns white. I’m sorry I lied about it…”

Yoontae didn’t respond.

Jeongseo hesitated, sensing what Yoontae wanted, and finally admitted:

“And your first love… the one you’ve been looking for—it’s me. I don’t know who you thought it was, but you said you liked them, so…”

Jeongseo’s voice quivered, and tears began to well up in his eyes.

“So I thought there wasn’t any point in telling you. I didn’t want to drift apart from you…”

“Now you tell me.”

Yoontae strode over and pulled Jeongseo, whose nose had turned red, into a tight embrace.

Startled by the sudden hug, Jeongseo’s eyes widened, and his tears stopped in their tracks.

He couldn’t process what was happening.

“I was waiting for you to say it first. Do you know how hard it was for me? Why did you go to such lengths to hide it when you knew I’d figure it out?”

Yoontae’s reaction felt… like he already knew all along.

Was it just Jeongseo’s imagination?

Confused, he stared at Yoontae’s chest and wriggled in his arms.

When he tried to push him away, Yoontae easily stepped back.

Looking up, Jeongseo saw Yoontae wearing an expression of pure joy—one he’d never seen before.

“You… knew?”

“I told you the moment I saw you, Jeongseo.”

Jeongseo tilted his head in disbelief.

“Are you sure you didn’t mistake me for someone else? Then who were you talking about earlier?”

“It was you, Jeongseo.”

“But you said you couldn’t show them to me because I’d fall for them!”

“You can fall for yourself too, can’t you?”