Predator Alert chapter 31

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Jeongseo had experienced kissing before.

When he was young… with his mom, brother, dad, and grandma…

Normally, Pyo Yoontae would immediately accuse his of lying or tease his for pretending to know something he didn’t.

But surprisingly, he stayed quiet, making Jeongseo glance over at him.

His shoulders tensed up.

Pyo Yoontae’s expression had turned cold.

For a moment, Jeongseo was intimidated by the sudden shift in his mood.

Is he… mad? But what could have made Pyo Yoontae so angry?

As Jeongseo’s eyes darted in confusion, Pyo Yoontae abruptly turned his back, facing the opposite direction.

His behavior seemed sulky, and Jeongseo hesitated to ask his about it.

Just then, the school bell rang, and their punctual biology teacher walked into the classroom.

Talking during class meant immediate scolding, Seo Jeongseo couldn’t ask.

All he could do was silently watch Pyo Yoontae and replay the events in his mind.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out the reason for Pyo Yoontae’s behavior.

Time passed quickly as Jeongseo sat there, overthinking for 30 minutes.

Jeongseo finally came to a conclusion: This is bad.

He didn’t know why, but Pyo Yoontae seemed really angry.

It was obvious!

Usually, Pyo Yoontae kept his pheromones under control, only letting a faint trace linger, but during the entire class, there was a sharp, irritated scent—far stronger than usual.

It was the first time Jeongseo had sensed such pheromones from Pyo Yoontae.

For a moment, he thought it might be coming from someone else, but there weren’t many people like them in the classroom, and the winter-like scent was uniquely Pyo Yoontae’s.

Since pheromones don’t lie, Jeongseo knew Pyo Yoontae was genuinely upset.

It was always Pyo Yoontae who played around first, and Jeongseo who would get sulky.

But now, for the first time, Pyo Yoontae seemed truly angry.

‘What… what should I do?’

To make matters worse, Jeongseo didn’t even know the reason.

Despite Jeongseo’s growing anxiety, Pyo Yoontae didn’t look at his once, instead staring silently at the chalkboard.

Jeongseo had planned to ask as soon as break time arrived, but as soon as the bell rang, Pyo Yoontae quickly stood up and left the classroom.

He usually took Jeongseo with his everywhere, except to the restroom, Seo Jeongseo found the situation puzzling.

Maybe he went to the restroom, but even then, Pyo Yoontae wasn’t normally this cold.

Should he chase after him, or leave his alone?

Jeongseo couldn’t decide.

After a brief hesitation, Jeongseo finally stood up and followed Pyo Yoontae out of the classroom.

Fortunately, he spotted his heading down the stairs.

And he wasn’t even going to the restroom!

Without a second thought, Jeongseo hurried after him.

“Yoontae!”

Jeongseo called from behind, but Pyo Yoontae didn’t respond.

Jeongseo quickened his pace, and since Pyo Yoontae wasn’t walking particularly fast, he soon caught up.

“Yoontae.”

Pyo Yoontae kept his hands in his pockets, lips tightly sealed, eyes fixed forward.

He was headed to the school store.

Jeongseo hurried alongside, peeking up at Pyo Yoontae’s face and gently poking his arm.

Still no reaction.

Jeongseo grew even more anxious and finally grabbed Pyo Yoontae’s wrist.

“Did I do something wrong? Why are you… mad? I’m not good at figuring things out if you don’t tell me…”

‘We’re friends, aren’t we…?’

With his large eyes looking up at his desperately, Pyo Yoontae finally glanced at Jeongseo.

Standing near the store, he stared blankly at Jeongseo’s upset expression before asking,

“Seo Jeongseo, have you ever been in a relationship?”

Jeongseo tilted his head in confusion.

He’d asked why Pyo Yoontae was angry—what did dating have to do with it?

But Pyo Yoontae looked so serious that Jeongseo answered honestly.

“No, I haven’t! I didn’t even have any friends before you came.”

Since Jeongseo didn’t attend elementary or middle school, it was only natural he’d never dated.

And Pyo Yoontae knew Jeongseo hadn’t made any friends before high school, so why did he look so skeptical?

Was that so hard to believe?

Maybe Pyo Yoontae had dated so much that he found it hard to believe someone could still be single at eighteen.

Thinking about it that way, Jeongseo started feeling annoyed, too.

The two stood there staring at each other for a moment before Pyo Yoontae spoke.

“Then how do you know the difference between lips and fingers?”

“What do you mean, how do I know? Didn’t you ever kiss your mom or dad when you were little?”

Not understanding why he was being interrogated, Jeongseo raised his voice.

After a pause, Pyo Yoontae let out a quiet “Oh.”

It took about 10 seconds for Pyo Yoontae’s face to turn red from the neck up.

The stern expression on Pyo Yoontae’s face crumbled as he stared at Jeongseo in disbelief. “…What was I even thinking…” he mumbled, his neck flushing bright red.

Pyo Yoontae covered his nose with one hand and slung his arm over Jeongseo’s shoulder.

“What do you want to eat, Jeongseo?”

His voice had returned to its usual tone, completely different from the irritated one from earlier.

Jeongseo looked up, bewildered by the sudden change.

“Suddenly? Weren’t you mad at me?”

“…No, I wasn’t mad. Why would you have done anything wrong?”

What’s going on?

Jeongseo tilted his head, but he was relieved that Pyo Yoontae seemed to have calmed down.

He still wanted to know the reason, but asking too much would be rude.

Deciding to leave it for later, Jeongseo walked alongside Pyo Yoontae toward the school store.

The earlier tense atmosphere had completely disappeared.

“Jeongseo, want a drink?”

Pyo Yoontae grabbed two cans of soda from the fridge.

Jeongseo didn’t feel like refusing, so he nodded enthusiastically.

After paying at the counter, Pyo Yoontae handed Jeongseo one of the cans.

“Thanks!”

“Now let’s head back to class…”

Their eyes turned toward the store entrance, where Lee Hyunsoo and Kang Minji stood.

Hyunsoo, looking between Pyo Yoontae and Jeongseo, put his hands in his pockets and swaggered over.

“Man, it’s crazy hot today!”

Fanning himself, Hyunsoo gave Pyo Yoontae’s arm a playful shove.

“Yoontae, your precious friend might melt from the heat.”

Friend. Jeongseo naturally looked back and forth between Hyunsoo and Pyo Yoontae.

Pyo Yoontae had always said Jeongseo was his only friend, so was Hyunsoo not really his friend?

But they seemed so close…

Pyo Yoontae was about to ignore Hyunsoo’s interruption when he noticed Jeongseo watching his intently.

‘You always play around and act mean. Your personality is really bad.’

Today… He didn’t want to ruin his image further, especially after getting mad for no reason earlier.

With an irritated sigh, Pyo Yoontae tilted his chin in Hyunsoo’s direction.

“Pick whatever you want.”

“For real?”

Not expecting Pyo Yoontae to actually agree, Hyunsoo quickly grabbed a popsicle before he could change his mind.

“You too.”

Kang Minji, who had been lingering near the entrance, pointed to himself in surprise.

When Pyo Yoontae waved his over, he hesitantly grabbed a box of chocolate sticks.

“Wow, thanks, Yoontae!”

“Man, you’re the best! We’re friends for life now.”

The two of them cheered as they stood next to Pyo Yoontae, but Jeongseo watched quietly from a short distance away.

For some reason… He thought he understood what Pyo Yoontae had said before.

‘If I had more friends, I’d feel left out.’

Jeongseo still thought having more friends was better, but now, he couldn’t help wishing that he was Pyo Yoontae’s only friend.

Why did he dislike the idea of Pyo Yoontae having more friends?

Why did such selfish thoughts come to mind? Jeongseo couldn’t make sense of it.

Feeling uneasy, Jeongseo took a sip of his soda, the carbonation prickling his tongue and throat.

These days, the school event that Dangang High School students were most looking forward to was the sports festival.

Held over two days at the end of May, the event divided students into teams by color and hosted various competitions.

The class that won first place in the competition received a regional gift card worth a whopping 400,000 won as class funds, so most students were brimming with enthusiasm and energy for the festival.

Today was the day they would select the participants for each event.

Since their homeroom teacher’s subject spanned two class hours, the very understanding teacher generously allowed the entire two hours to be used for this meeting.

The class president stepped to the front and wrote the events in big letters on the blackboard:

• [Soccer/Mixed] 12 players, 4 substitutes – Total 16 people
• [Dodgeball/Mixed] 12 players, 2 substitutes – Total 14 people
• [Basketball/Mixed] 6 players, 3 substitutes – Total 9 people
• [Girls’ Badminton] 2 players, 1 substitute – Total 3 people
• [Boys’ Badminton] 2 players, 1 substitute – Total 3 people
• [Three-legged race/Mixed] 2 players, 1 substitute – Total 3 people
• [Group Jump Rope/Mixed] 10 players, 2 substitutes – Total 12 people
• [Tug-of-war/Mixed] All students participate, with teams adjusted for equal numbers.
• [Grade Relay/Mixed] 3 players, 1 substitute – Total 4 people

The teams were divided into five colors: white, green, red, blue, and black.

Each team was made up of one class from first grade, one from second grade, and one from third grade, assigned randomly.

Jeongseo’s class belonged to the green team, along with classes 1-1, 2-4, and 3-2.

Even though they were on the same team, each class had to compete in separate events, which made the two-day festival seem mouseher long.

“Okay, soccer is decided. Who wants to join for basketball?”

The class president went down the list, assigning players as students raised their hands.

Jeongseo quietly observed.

Glancing sideways, Jeongseo noticed Pyo Yoontae, who was also watching quietly, arms crossed.

“Aren’t you going to participate?” Jeongseo asked.

“Not really. I’m not into competitive stuff.”

That was surprising.

Pyo Yoontae seemed like someone who’d need to win at everything to feel satisfied.

But on second thought, he never really put his all into soccer or basketball during PE.

He just played enough to get by—not aiming for first place, but still doing well enough.

Maybe he was just naturally good at everything.

“What about you, Jeongseo? Aren’t you going to join?”

“Hmm… not really…” Jeongseo trailed off.

Pyo Yoontae uncrossed his arms and leaned in slightly, resting his arm on Jeongseo’s shoulder.

“But you want to, don’t you?”

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