For a fleeting moment, the soft cartilage of his nose was slightly squashed, but then a large hand gently cradled Jeongseo’s left cheek as their lips overlapped.
The unexpected kiss left Jeongseo startled, but soon, he squeezed his eyes shut and slowly parted his lips.
The tongue that had been lightly sucking and licking at his lips slipped in through that small gap.
It was slow yet relentless, as if exploring every inch of his mouth.
A shiver ran down Jeongseo’s fingertips and toes, and he instinctively clutched at Pyo Yoontae’s waist.
The deep, lingering scent of winter surrounded him, making his breath grow ragged.
“Ha… mmph…”
He pulled back slightly to catch his breath, but before he could get far, Pyo Yoontae pressed him back against the wall, completely cutting off his retreat.
Just before the back of his head touched the cold surface, Yoontae shielded it with his hand and then swept his tongue across the roof of Jeongseo’s mouth with a slow, deliberate motion.
“Hngh…!”
Right at that deeply curved spot just behind his upper front teeth, Yoontae applied gentle pressure, making Jeongseo flinch.
A faint sweetness filled the air as he unconsciously released pheromones.
Yoontae memorized every single reaction.
This was Jeongseo’s first and last time kissing someone—he wanted to make sure it was perfect.
Feeling Jeongseo’s chest rising and falling rapidly against his abdomen, Yoontae half-opened his eyes.
The way Jeongseo’s face flushed red, struggling to breathe properly through his nose while they kissed, was endearing.
And because of their significant height difference, Jeongseo’s head was tilted so far back it was about to strain—only then did Yoontae finally pull away.
“Haa… haa…”
Jeongseo gasped for air, his breath coming in sharp pants. Yoontae placed soft kisses on his forehead, eyelids, and cheeks before their eyes met.
The air between them was thick with mingled pheromones, and the look they exchanged was charged with an unmistakable heat.
Just as Yoontae leaned down to claim his lips again—
A small gurgle echoed in the space between them.
With their lips barely 0.2 centimeters apart, Yoontae froze.
Then, he let out a short laugh, unable to hold it in.
“…Oh. Jeongseo, you’re hungry.”
Mortified, Jeongseo flushed all the way down to his neck.
It made sense—he had woken up at five in the morning and even hiked up a mountain.
If anything, not being hungry would’ve been strange.
Still, the timing was awful, and he wished his stomach had a little more tact.
In a small, almost embarrassed voice, Jeongseo muttered, “…Yeah. I’m hungry.”
Yoontae, now completely abandoning the lingering tension between them, pulled out his phone to check the time.
It was nearly ten in the morning.
“Should we order something? Some places should be open by now.”
“Mmm.”
“Anything you’re craving?”
Yoontae guided Jeongseo to the couch and sat down beside him, their bodies pressed snugly together as they scrolled through his phone, discussing what to eat.
Even though they had ended up at universities close to each other, they weren’t in the same school.
Jeongseo had assumed he wouldn’t be able to see Yoontae as often as he did in high school, and that thought had left him feeling a little wistful.
As he watched Yoontae seriously debating between grilled pork belly and beef intestines for breakfast, Jeongseo found himself smiling.
Their eyes met, and Yoontae raised a questioning brow.
“What?”
Jeongseo shook his head with a soft laugh.
“Nothing. I just… I like this.”
Yoontae scoffed, muttering, “…What the hell,” but the corners of his lips twitched, barely holding back a smile.
The day before the semester started, Jeongseo felt oddly nervous.
The MoTube video playing on the TV barely registered in his mind.
Turning his gaze away from the screen, he looked down.
Yoontae was lying with his head resting on Jeongseo’s thigh, purring faintly as Jeongseo idly stroked his chin.
The tip of his black tail flicked lazily against the backrest of the couch.
Watching him, Jeongseo suddenly asked, “Yoontae, your classes start tomorrow too, right?”
At the sound of his voice, Yoontae’s black ears twitched.
Then, he rolled over and looked up at Jeongseo.
“Yeah, they do.”
“Aren’t you nervous?”
“Nervous?”
Yoontae looked like he had never even considered the possibility.
Now that Jeongseo thought about it, Yoontae was the kind of guy who had walked into a new school on the first day and said, ‘If you’re a wild beast, don’t talk to me.’
And then, true to his word, he ignored everyone.
It would probably be more surprising if someone like him did get nervous over something as trivial as starting college.
Deciding to change the subject, Jeongseo said, “I heard sports departments can be pretty strict with their hierarchy. Do you think ours will be like that?”
“There are some programs that are, yeah. But our school had an incident a while back, and things have been improving since then.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. But if anyone bothers you, let me know, Jeongseo.”
Yoontae reached up, wrapping his fingers around Jeongseo’s hand as he rubbed his chin against it.
Jeongseo nodded reassuringly.
“Mm! But if someone messes with me, I’ll just get back at them.”
For a brief moment, something fierce flashed in his bright eyes.
‘Of course…’
Even small, a weasel was still a weasel.
Jeongseo had grown up well-loved, making him naturally gentle, but the instincts remained.
Yoontae liked that about him.
The only issue was—if someone treated him well, Jeongseo would turn just as soft again.
And since this was a sports department… there would be plenty of students with strong physiques.
Maybe even others like Jeongseo—small but deceptively capable.
Most Alphas, though, were built big.
Yoontae quietly stared at him, deep in thought. Jeongseo tilted his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Jeongseo.”
Yoontae hesitated, uncharacteristically pausing before asking,
“You like me, don’t you?”
The sudden shift in conversation caught Jeongseo off guard.
But he answered honestly.
“Yeah, I like you.”
“And we’re dating now.”
They had never explicitly defined their relationship.
They had confessed their feelings, kissed, done things beyond kissing…
To Jeongseo, it was only natural to assume they were together.
Hearing it confirmed out loud, a sense of satisfaction swelled in his chest.
He nodded enthusiastically.
Seeing that, Yoontae murmured with a small smile,
“Then that’s enough. I like you too.”
For a brief moment, unsettling thoughts threatened to surface, but Yoontae pushed them away.
Jeongseo was someone who openly expressed his feelings.
Yoontae didn’t want to stifle that.
Back in high school, even as Jeongseo made more friends, in the end, he still liked Yoontae the most.
And that wouldn’t change.
The first class of the semester was ‘Introduction to Sports Science,’ a required major course.
Just as in high school, Jeongseo arrived early—8:30 for a 9 AM lecture—sitting in an empty classroom with an anxious heart.
Would he make friends this time?
Back in high school, he never quite managed to. His nerves began creeping in…
But within twenty minutes, that worry disappeared.
Among the predominantly large-built freshmen, one student stood out—small in stature yet famous for his incredible agility during the entrance exam.
Before Jeongseo even realized it, whispers had already spread about him.
And with his delicate features and approachable aura, it didn’t take long for his classmates to start striking up conversations.
“Oh, hey—weren’t you the one with white hair back then?”
Shin Junhee, who had taken the seat next to Jeongseo first, asked, “Because you shed fur in the winter?”
Junhee was a kangaroo beastkin who had taken the practical exam alongside Jeongseo.
With his striking white hair, he had stood out, making it easy to remember his face.
That’s why he was the first to strike up a conversation.
“Ah, I see. There are animals like that. Like rabbits?”
“No, I’m a weasel!”
There was no need to specify that he was a weasel, Seo Jeongseo just said he was a weasel.
At that, Junhee and the others around them showed expressions of mild surprise.
Junhee, in particular, looked the most bewildered as he asked again.
“A weasel? You? Seriously?”
Was it really that strange? Caught off guard, Jeongseo simply nodded.
A girl sitting in front of him exclaimed, “That’s so cool. I always thought weasels were kind of prickly. I guess that was just a stereotype.”
“Yeah, I mean, not all rabbits are timid either.”
Among beastkin, there were still subtle prejudices tied to different species.
Foxes were seen as cunning, dogs were considered sociable, cats were picky, snakes were ominous… and weasels were thought to have a vicious temper.
Moreover, weasels, foxes, and snakes often appeared as villains in movies and dramas, which had undoubtedly reinforced their negative image over time.
But that was just a stereotype.
In this globalized world, clinging to such outdated notions and judging people based on them was childish.
So, Jeongseo and his classmates quickly moved on to another topic.
However, Junhee alone remained with an odd expression.
Just as the lecture was about to begin, the back door of the lecture hall swung open roughly.
Turning to look, Jeongseo saw a man with dark brown hair enter.
He wasn’t particularly tall, and though his expressionless face made him seem a bit rough around the edges, his features were somewhat round.
For some reason, Jeongseo felt an odd sense of familiarity with him and stared at him intently.
Their eyes met.
Since the guy had entered this class, he was probably a fellow freshman.
Jeongseo was just about to greet him when—
Suddenly, the guy leaned forward, widened his eyes aggressively, and snapped,
“The fuck are you staring at? Wanna die?”
rude ahh bih, bro didn’t even do anything
I was gonna say it might be the guy who confessed to him back in their first year but with that attitude…nvm