* * *

“You think you’ve found them?”

He repeated the question, wondering if he’d misheard, but the answer remained the same.

“Yeah, I think so. Almost.”

Jeongseo’s eyelids fluttered as he scanned Pyo Yoontae’s face, searching for any sign of a joke, a hint of anything suspicious.

But no matter how much he looked, he found nothing.

After a moment of hesitation, Jeongseo asked, “…Who is it?”

Could it be that Pyo Yoontae had figured out that Jeongseo was, in fact, a stoat?

Then again, even if he did know, that alone wouldn’t be conclusive proof that he was Yoontae’s first love.

After all, back then, Yoontae hadn’t even been able to tell what kind of animal Jeongseo was—he’d mistaken him for a rat.

As he waited for Yoontae’s response, Jeongseo’s mind raced through possible scenarios of how he would handle it if Yoontae found out he was his first love.

Should he reject any affectionate advances?

Should he ask if Yoontae could overlook his fur color, considering it was mostly brown for the year and not the “ideal” white?

All of Jeongseo’s attention was focused on Yoontae as he tilted his head and opened his mouth.

“That’s a secret.”

Jeongseo blinked rapidly, disarmed by the anticlimactic answer.

‘A secret?’

Why was he hiding it if Jeongseo was his first love?

Jeongseo tilted his head, puzzled, as a sudden thought occurred to him.

Could it be…he’s mistaken his first love for someone else?

All he knew was that Yoontae’s first love was a small animal shifter, with white fur, a stubborn personality, and someone Yoontae especially disliked being around.

That description reminded Jeongseo of…

“Hayan…?”

At Jeongseo’s whispered musing, Yoontae’s face scrunched up.

“What? Are you serious, Jeongseo?”

“Oh.”

Seeing Yoontae’s genuine distaste, Jeongseo scratched his neck sheepishly.

So it wasn’t Hayan after all.

Then who could it be?

He thought of other students Yoontae might be mistaking him for—there were plenty with light-colored hair, if not pure white.

And though he didn’t know all their personalities, he mulled over his options.

As Jeongseo pursed his lips in thought, Yoontae watched him, amused.

But his thoughts didn’t last long.

“Just tell me who it is! We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Jeongseo leaned toward Yoontae, eyes wide, demanding to know the identity of his first love.

Yoontae chuckled, his eyes crinkling.

“No way. What if Jeongseo falls for my first love instead?”

The ridiculous answer left Jeongseo speechless.

Here he was, standing right in front of Yoontae, yet he was wondering who Yoontae’s first love could be.

With a huff, Jeongseo turned his head sharply. Yoontae was impossible.

“What’s wrong, Jeongseo? Are you mad?”

“No, I’m not.”

Jeongseo replied curtly, turning even more toward the window.

But despite his words, his cheeks puffed out slightly, giving him away.

Was Yoontae that fond of this supposed first love he thought he’d found?

Jeongseo had only just realized he liked Yoontae yesterday, and hearing this now felt like a punch to the gut.

“…Do you still like this first love from your childhood?”

Jeongseo asked offhandedly, even though he already knew the answer.

He didn’t know the name or face, but he knew it was him.

“Yeah, I like them even more now.”

Yoontae’s answer was so straightforward that Jeongseo’s heart sank.

Maybe Yoontae’s first love wasn’t as important as he thought.

Maybe he just found someone who happened to fit his taste.

That whole day, Jeongseo’s mood remained gloomy.

He’d been trying to hide his feelings, but now he felt confident he could keep them hidden.

---

July

By July, the scorching heat was in full swing, with temperatures feeling close to 30°C.

“Damn air conditioner! They told us to clean the filter, so why isn’t it on yet?!”

A student in the back frantically pressed the air conditioner button, but the central control system didn’t respond.

Fans mounted on the side walls turned lazily, but they weren’t enough to cool off the heat-radiating teenagers.

Especially for animal shifters like Jeongseo, who couldn’t handle the heat, slumping over their desks was all they could manage.

Jeongseo fiddled with his water bottle, which he’d frozen before bringing it to school.

It was already melting, water droplets trickling down.

Glancing over, he noticed Yoontae didn’t seem fazed by the heat.

Come to think of it, he didn’t seem to get cold either.

Where did black panthers live again?

Jeongseo remembered a nature documentary about them.

The savanna—that’s it, he thought.

If he grew up in a hot region, shouldn’t he be more sensitive to the cold?

As he pressed his cheek against the cool desk, Jeongseo asked, “You’re not affected by heat or cold?”

“Well… I’m a dominant type.”

So dominant types were resilient to temperature?

Jeongseo looked up at Yoontae with envy.

He imagined being a dominant omega himself, one who didn’t feel heat or cold, but shook his head.

Non-dominant types had to deal with regular heat and rut cycles, and enduring longer and stronger seasons sounded exhausting.

Then, about eight minutes before break ended, the classroom door opened, and Ha Sumin announced, “Hey! They turned on the air conditioner in Class 2!”

Jeongseo’s ears perked up, and the others sprang to life.

“Why only for Class 2?”

“There’s a husky in that class, and they said it was for the student’s health!”

“Hey! Then let’s ask for ours to be turned on too! We also… we also…!”

A student looked around the room, searching for support but faltered.

There wasn’t a single student in Class 1 who suffered in the heat like a Siberian husky, and so they fell silent.

“Class rep, the teacher likes you. Could you ask them for us?”

The class rep, who had been studying quietly, looked up at Ha Sumin.

She was fanning herself, clearly feeling the heat, and soon stood up.

The class’s eyes shone with anticipation.

“I’ll ask, but don’t get your hopes up too high.”

Her tone suggested doubt, but the class couldn’t help but hold out hope.

After some time, she returned through the back door, and just as everyone was about to resign themselves to disappointment, a beeping sound filled the room, and cool air flowed from the ceiling.

Cheers erupted.

“The teacher said it’s so we can study hard for finals! And we’ll be self-studying in math!”

The class rep quieted the enthusiastic crowd as she took her seat, and Jeongseo, though not directly under the air conditioner, felt the cool air drifting his way.

Maybe he could get away with a nap during this self-study session.

Just as Jeongseo’s eyes began to close with the soothing coolness, he felt a tug on his shoulders.

His back straightened as he was pulled, and in an instant, the Calculus 1 textbook was spread open on his desk.

Turning to look, he saw Yoontae smiling at him.

“Time to study, Jeongseo. You must be really confident for finals.”

Despite the warm smile, there was no question in Yoontae’s eyes—if Jeongseo even thought about napping, that textbook might end up in his mouth.

‘I really… need to change seats…’

Maybe not forever, just for exam season.

Sniffling, Jeongseo gripped his pen.

“Step forward when your name is called.”

Two days before the end of the term, the report cards were handed out.

One by one, the students received theirs as they stepped forward.

When Jeongseo returned with his report card, Pyo Yoontae leaned over to get a glimpse, but Jeongseo quickly hid it.

Seeing this, Pyo Yoontae raised an eyebrow, and Jeongseo shook his head in response.

Just as Pyo Yoontae was about to ask why he was hiding it, the homeroom teacher tapped on the podium.

“Alright, everyone. Let’s focus for a moment.”

Reluctantly, Pyo Yoontae turned his attention to the front, all the while wondering why Jeongseo was being so secretive about his report card.

Could it be that his grades weren’t good?

But he’d done decently on the midterms, and he said his finals hadn’t gone badly either.

Although, now that he thought about it, Jeongseo hadn’t asked him to go over the practice test scores together this time, which had felt a little odd.

Did he bomb the finals?

While Pyo Yoontae was lost in these thoughts, homeroom ended.

As he turned back to Jeongseo, the moment finally came.

“Ta-da!”

With a beaming smile, Jeongseo held out his report card right in front of Pyo Yoontae’s face, catching him so off-guard that he couldn’t help but show his surprise.

* * *