Predator Alert chapter 33

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Despite his reddened eyes, there were no tear tracks on Hayan’s cheeks.

Instead, unshed tears seemed ready to spill, and seeing this made Jeongseo feel even worse.

If the bell hadn’t rung, Jeongseo would have gone to him.

The fact that he didn’t still weighed heavily on him.

Being alone when you’re sad makes things worse.

After his grandmother passed away, Jeongseo spent weekends in Seoul with his family, or his mother and brother would visit.

He thought he had recovered while with them, but whenever he was alone, grief would unexpectedly surge like a giant wave, overwhelming him.

Without entering Class 4, Jeongseo hesitantly followed Hayan to the area near Class 5.

As Hayan remained silent, Jeongseo grew anxious.

Finally, Hayan leaned against the hallway wall, looking at Jeongseo.

“Why do you remember something like that? Just forget it.”

“But…”

“I was just upset. Mad at myself for losing to that jerk.”

“Though, to be honest, I was also furious at him,” Hayan added, rubbing his temple with his fingers.

“I’ve never lost the top spot, not just in my class but in the entire school, from elementary school until the first year of high school.”

“That’s incredible…!”

Having studied hard for the last exam, Jeongseo realized how difficult it was to rank high, and he was genuinely impressed.

Hayan noticed the admiration in Jeongseo’s eyes and, with a twitch of his cheek, crossed his arms.

“Well, I work hard, but I’m also naturally smart. Anyway, I thought I’d stay at the top until graduation, but then some guy who had all the private tutoring swooped in and took first place. It was even more infuriating than I expected. Honestly, I had a feeling it would happen. That jerk Pyo Yoontae barely pays attention in class, right?”

Is that really true?

Jeongseo, who barely paid attention in class himself, felt like Pyo Yoontae was doing just fine.

“No, Yoontae pays attention.”

“What are you talking about? Everyone knows you and he mess around during class.”

“Well… he still listens…”

Jeongseo tried to defend Yoontae, but Hayan snorted dismissively.

“What do you see in that jerk? Anyway, just forget what you saw that day. It’s embarrassing. As frustrating as it is, he wasn’t wrong. I won’t be competing in this school forever. When I go to university or out into the real world, I’ll meet even tougher competition. Just because I lost once, I’m not going to cry about it.”

Hayan’s hands, which were crossed over his chest, tightly gripped his arms as he trembled slightly, clearly angry.

He glared at the floor with a furrowed brow.

Jeongseo, unfamiliar with this kind of conversation, struggled to find the right words to say.

“And one more thing, though I don’t know if it even matters now, but no one in our class dislikes you. Sojeongseo.”

Hayan lifted his head, meeting Jeongseo’s eyes.

At first, Jeongseo didn’t understand.

No one dislikes me?

When he tilted his head in confusion, Hayan continued.

“Since first grade, no one has disliked you. Remember Shin Byungwoo from last year’s third-year class?”

Shin Byungwoo?

Jeongseo flinched at the name he hadn’t heard in a while.

Suddenly, a long-forgotten memory surfaced. It was from when he had just started high school.

Jeongseo had arrived at school early, too excited and nervous for his first day.

While wandering around the campus, he found himself near the dark and damp back of the gym.

“Hey, you.”

A voice called out, and when he turned around, a group of boys and girls, including Kim Woosik and, at the center, Shin Byungwoo, were staring at him.

The atmosphere felt unwelcoming, but since he had been spoken to, Jeongseo approached them, believing it rude to ignore someone.

Back then, he hadn’t yet learned to hide his tail, so its brown tip swayed lightly in the air.

“You called me?”

Jeongseo pointed at himself, and the casual way he spoke and his fearless approach caught them off guard.

Although he had a blue nametag, indicating he was a first-year student, none of them had seen his before.

This was odd, as they were familiar with most of the new students, except for the transfer, Shin Byungwoo.

They wondered if he was part of the same gang, but his small build and innocent face didn’t match the image.

Even while hunched over, the figure was large, but once fully upright, it appeared even more massive, leaving Jeongseo wide-eyed in surprise.

“I didn’t know people could be this big,” he thought.

As Shin Byungwoo approached, he noticed the same smell that the village chief always had.

Shin Byungwoo examined Jeongseo with a look that resembled a child seeing candy for the first time, licking his lips as if savoring the sight. Jeongseo felt a shiver run down his spine at the oddly sticky gaze. His tail, unable to hide his emotions, stiffened in response, which Shin Byungwoo noticed. Licking his lips as if about to speak, he finally opened his mouth.

“What’s your name?”

His voice was as deep as his size suggested. Jeongseo glanced down, thinking he must have forgotten his name tag, but there it was, pinned right to his chest.

“Maybe he didn’t see it because he’s so tall,” Jeongseo thought.

“I’m Seo Jeongseo. Are you… my senior? How old are you?”

Shin Byungwoo wasn’t wearing a name tag, so there was no way to tell his age.

Jeongseo had asked innocently, but a sudden curse erupted from behind him.

“You crazy bastard! Hey! What the hell class are you in? Who the hell do you think you are to speak informally like that, you little punk?”

“Shut your mouth. Did anyone ask you?”

Momentarily startled by the outburst, Jeongseo turned to see Shin Byungwoo frowning as he glanced back.

The one who had cursed, Jeongseo would later find out, was Kim Woosik.

But faced with Shin Byungwoo’s cold, menacing glare, Kim Woosik pouted but didn’t say another word, only turning away to smoke his cigarette.

At that moment, Jeongseo had a bad feeling. “I shouldn’t get involved with these people,” he thought and turned to leave.

Suddenly, his tail was grabbed.

“Ouch! That hurts!”

Shin Byungwoo had grabbed it so tightly that a sharp pain shot up his back, making Jeongseo frown. “Doesn’t he know it’s rude to grab someone’s tail like that?” he wondered angrily.

Noticing the annoyed look on Jeongseo’s face, Shin Byungwoo quickly released his tail and muttered defensively, “You were leaving before I was finished talking.”

“What else is there to say?”

After hesitating briefly, Shin Byungwoo said, “Seo Jeongseo, date me.”

Jeongseo froze.

The group behind Shin Byungwoo looked just as shocked, their expressions asking if they had heard correctly.

Jeongseo knew what “date me” meant, having often snuck peeks at the romance comics his older brother hid in their room.

But what had seemed sweet and romantic in the comics was confusing and absurd to hear in real life.

For a moment, his pupils shook with disbelief, and as Shin Byungwoo stepped closer, Jeongseo instinctively yelled,

“You smell just like the village chief, and I hate it!”

With that, Jeongseo bolted without looking back.

It was a vivid memory from his first day of school, but over time, as other events and days passed, it slowly faded.

Now, thinking back on it gave Jeongseo chills. He frowned, realizing he should have never gone behind the gym that day.

After that incident, while Shin Byungwoo himself hadn’t bothered his again, the boys who were with him had started picking on him.

But why was Shin Byungwoo’s name suddenly being brought up again?

“Did you know Kim Woosik was part of Shin Byungwoo’s group?”

“Yeah, I knew.”

Whenever Jeongseo got really angry, Kim Woosik would always bring up Shin Byungwoo’s name.

He’d threaten to bring Shin Byungwoo to beat Jeongseo up, but no matter how many times Jeongseo got revenge on Kim Woosik, Shin Byungwoo never actually came after him.

In fact, after that first day, Shin Byungwoo had mostly ignored him, leaving Kim Woosik and some third-year students to harass his instead.

Now that the third-years had graduated, the bullying had stopped, but back in his first year, Jeongseo had been so upset that he hated going to school.

“Back in our first year, Kim Woosik told everyone not to hang out with you.”

Jeongseo’s thoughts came to a sudden halt.

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