* * *

As Pyo Yoontae came to a halt, Jeongseo also paused in his steps.

Kim Woosik’s eyes widened at the sudden finger pointed at him, but there was no one around him.

Pyo Yoontae scanned Kim Woosik, who stood silent, with a slow, meticulous gaze.

“Judging by that filthy mouth always running, I bet the person behind it is just as noisy.”

“What did you just say…?”

“If you’re helpless alone and can’t do anything, it’s clear you’re not a predator. And that tacky spot on your head—that’s not dyed, is it?”

Kim Woosik’s face turned crimson as he instinctively covered the reddish section of his bangs.

Tilting his head slightly, Pyo Yoontae spoke.

“A chicken, huh.”

Kim Woosik gasped.

He had guessed correctly. In truth, it was evident that Kim Woosik was a chicken just by his appearance.

His crest was so obvious that there was no way to miss it.

Pyo Yoontae glanced at Jeongseo. …It seemed Jeongseo genuinely hadn’t known.

He was watching Kim Woosik with wide, round eyes.

“Now that I think about it.”

Pyo Yoontae slung an arm over Jeongseo’s shoulder and leaned forward, adopting a stance that, with his cast-covered foot propped up, made him look like a menacing gangster from a back alley.

Not just any low-level thug, but one who, if encountered, might be found as a corpse the next day.

“Weasels are known to be pretty good at catching chickens. Is that why you freak out whenever you see Jeongseo?”

Kim Woosik flinched.

Seeing his reaction, Jeongseo’s eyes glimmered sharply, and a brown tail emerged and lazily swayed in the air.

“I could catch 40 chickens in a single night.”

“What do you mean 40? Weasels are so stealthy and quick; if they wanted to, they could catch 100 in an instant.”

The two predators fixed their relentless gaze on the frozen Kim Woosik.

It was only then that he noticed Jeongseo’s rounded ears, swaying tail, and the glint of sharp teeth.

In modern times, even predators attacking or killing other shapeshifters was considered a serious crime.

So, the current generation of shapeshifters had never truly experienced the terror of a natural enemy.

Instinctively, Kim Woosik wanted to flee from the small figure before him, but too many people were watching him in the gym.

If he ran now, he’d be branded an irredeemable coward.

Rumors would spread that he had been so scared of someone he had bullied that he fled.

Swallowing hard, Kim Woosik shouted defiantly.

“W-what are you saying? You can’t do anything in reality! And your language towards your senior is so damn disrespectful!”

Despite the harsh curses mixed in, neither Jeongseo nor Pyo Yoontae reacted at all.

Jeongseo tucked his tail back in, turned around with a dismissive air, and said,

“See you later, Kim Woosik sunbae.”

Pyo Yoontae, leaning on Jeongseo, waved casually as they exited the gym.

It was clearly meant to provoke, but Kim Woosik could do nothing. “See you later” meant during dodgeball.

“Damn it… What can he even do?”

As he recalled Jeongseo’s warning tone, Kim Woosik felt a chill down his spine and rubbed his neck nervously.

It seemed like So Jeongseo had found his confidence with the black panther by his side.

Alone, he was nothing. In dodgeball, although Jeongseo had some skills, he wasn’t particularly outstanding.

He was good at hitting targets but wasn’t an aggressive player overall.

Grumbling inwardly about Jeongseo, Kim Woosik stomped out of the gym.

❀•°❀°•❀

Two minutes before the dodgeball finals began, Jeongseo approached the students of Class 4.

“Hey, if you guys can take down at least two of their players, would you be okay with being eliminated?”

At his discreet suggestion, the students nodded.

They had already discussed this with Jeongseo beforehand, and the opposing team, Class 3-1, had a reputation for being rough and hot-tempered, which intimidated the students a bit.

During dodgeball matches, they threw the ball so hard and recklessly that even spectators felt the pain.

Thanking the students for agreeing, Jeongseo entered the court with them.

Ha Sumin, standing beside him, asked quietly,

“But can you win on your own?”

Though Ha Sumin knew Jeongseo’s skills well, the fact that their opponents were upperclassmen made him wonder if there might be any hesitation.

“Yeah, I’m better.”

Jeongseo’s answer was without a hint of doubt.

Realizing his concern was unfounded, Ha Sumin awkwardly cheered him on.

The whistle blew, signaling the start of the match, and the ball fell into the hands of the third-year students.

As expected, the third-years threw the ball wildly, forcing Jeongseo’s classmates to dodge frantically.

Kim Woosik approached the player wearing number 4, who was throwing the ball recklessly, and whispered,

“Hey, take out that guy with the ears first.”

But number 4, whose stress from entrance exams had peaked, scowled fiercely.

“What? Do I look like your lackey?”

Kim Woosik cursed inwardly but held his tongue.

It turned out he didn’t need to say anything.

The third-years’ aggressive play quickly whittled down Jeongseo’s team.

Three out of eight players were already out, and Kim Woosik thought it would be over soon.

Number 4 hurled the ball hard at Jeongseo.

Thinking it was impossible for him to dodge, Kim Woosik prepared to smirk, but his expectations were shattered.

Jeongseo caught the ball with ease.

Kim Woosik was momentarily taken aback, but when Jeongseo passed the ball to another teammate instead of attacking, he relaxed.

But as the ball moved back into Jeongseo’s court, two players on the third-year team were suddenly knocked out.

They had been too focused on attacking and got caught off guard.

‘What the… damn it.’

Kim Woosik felt a sense of dread, which was only reinforced when the ball returned to the third-year side and, soon after, Jeongseo’s team began losing more players one by one.

Number 4, still throwing with brute force, clenched his teeth as even more of his teammates fell.

“Damn weaklings. Dropping like flies. Boring.”

He flung the ball without aiming, and Ha Sumin, standing next to Jeongseo, was struck and eliminated.

Now, only Jeongseo remained on the court.

With a momentary sense of relief, Kim Woosik relaxed and shouted mockingly at Jeongseo.

“Hey, your team is so boring! You know that?”

Number 4, holding the ball, threw it lazily, letting it fall near Jeongseo’s feet without any real intent.

He threw it so carelessly that the ball just dropped at Jeongseo’s feet, making Woosik gasp in shock.

“Hey, are you crazy? What are you doing?!”

“Today’s just been a total drag. That guy can’t even throw the ball properly, so what does it matter? It’s the last game; let’s have some fun before we go.”

Was that it?

Woosik tried to calm down, recalling how Jeongseo had never stepped up before, but he couldn’t shake off a feeling of foreboding.

In the meantime, Jeongseo picked up the ball at his feet, and at the same moment, a tail popped out.

Number 4 waved his hand as if challenging him to throw.

“Hey, that guy’s showing his tail…!”

With a speed that seemed impossible for a rubber ball, it flew towards number 4, hitting him in the stomach before bouncing away.

The rebounding ball was quickly grabbed by the Class 4 outfielder and passed directly to Jeongseo.

Woosik’s focus wavered, and everything unfolded in an instant.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack—the rapid sounds started to make the kids beside Woosik disappear one by one.

It was finally the weasel’s time.

With his eyes wide, Woosik looked across.

Each time Jeongseo hit someone, the ball bounced back, and the outfielders swiftly retrieved it and passed it back to Jeongseo.

The speed and timing were so perfectly synchronized that Woosik couldn’t even think about intercepting the ball in the middle.

“Is Seo Jeongseo really that agile and good at throwing the ball?”

Kim Woosik wished all of this was just a dream he was having during a quick nap.

Kim Woosik wasn’t the only one who couldn’t believe the current situation.

Everyone except for Classes 2-4 and 2-5 stared at Jeongseo with eyes full of shock.

“…Was he always like that?”

When Lee Hyunsoo, who was sitting next to Pyo Yoontae, pointed at Jeongseo, astonished by the scene, Yoontae nodded nonchalantly.

“…Is he even human?”

“No, he’s more like a weasel.”

At Pyo Yoontae’s indifferent response, Lee Hyunsoo was momentarily speechless and resolved not to get on Jeongseo’s bad side.

Known for his playful nature, Hyunsoo could quickly distinguish between people who could take a joke and those who couldn’t, based on his experience.

Seo Jeongseo… was someone he thought could be treated lightly.

With his gentle appearance and mild personality, Hyunsoo had assumed Jeongseo was the perfect target for teasing, but that was a mistake.

With four minutes left until the end of the dodgeball game, only Kim Woosik and Jeongseo remained inside the line.

Number 4, who had been the first to be hit by Jeongseo’s throw, was still staring at him, stunned, before shouting out loud.

“Hey, Kim Woosik! If you lose, you’re dead meat!”

* * *