Predator Alert chapter 14

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Pyo Yoontae’s black ears reappeared from his head.

Then, they slowly disappeared again, at a very slow pace.

It was the first time Jeongseo had seen anyone hide their ears so gradually.

The black ears seemed to melt away slowly on top of his hair, eventually disappearing completely.

“Now, do you understand how it feels?”

As Pyo Yoontae straightened up, Jeongseo, now feeling confident after the revelation, nodded vigorously.

Seeing it with his own eyes, he finally grasped the concept.

“I think I get it!”

Ears were like ice cream, Jeongseo thought.

They melted away just like ice cream exposed to the scorching sun.

Visualizing melting ice cream in his mind, Jeongseo squeezed his eyes shut again.

Then, he felt something on top of his head, as if it was melting and seeping in.

‘It worked!’

When Jeongseo opened his eyes again, Pyo Yoontae was covering his mouth with one hand for some reason.

A bad feeling washed over him, so he reached up to touch his head, only to find that one ear had gone in, but the other was still sticking out.

“Even I can’t do that…”

“That’s pretty impressive, Jeongseo,” Pyo Yoontae said with a smirk as he playfully flicked the right ear that had stuck out like a lone horn, then burst out laughing.

Jeongseo felt utterly humiliated and wronged.

“Why can’t I do it? I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Pyo Yoontae replied nonchalantly to Jeongseo’s gloomy mutterings, “Well, at least you only have one ear left to hide. Before, you couldn’t hide any.”

“That’s true…”

“Now that there’s only one left, you’ll get it soon. Let’s head back inside.”

Pyo Yoontae stood up from the bench first.

The way he spoke so casually, without a hint of sympathy, made it seem like Jeongseo would really be able to hide both ears soon.

It had been almost a month since Pyo Yoontae transferred to their school.

While he couldn’t say that Pyo Yoontae had the best personality, Jeongseo didn’t think he was all that bad either.

Moreover, since Pyo Yoontae had rescinded his declaration of not associating with “Predators,” there was no longer any reason for Jeongseo not to be friends with him.

“What are you doing?”

Pyo Yoontae turned around after taking a few steps ahead.

Only then did Jeongseo suddenly stand up, causing his hidden ear to pop back out.

“So, we’re friends now, right?”

Again, it wasn’t a question but a confirmed statement.

Jeongseo’s cheeks were flushed, and his voice was full of excitement.

Pyo Yoontae didn’t reply, only nodded his chin.

That gesture felt like a confirmation, making Jeongseo feel as if he was floating on air.

He had made his first friend of the same age.

Jeongseo hurriedly ran to stand beside Pyo Yoontae and grinned.

‘But now that we’re friends, what should I do for him?’

Pyo Yoontae, who was much taller than him, was better at almost everything.

He was better at hiding his ears, studying, and even sports.

He had been the best in the class at the standing long jump.

Jeongseo clung to Pyo Yoontae’s side, wrapping his arms around him as they walked.

Despite his large size, Pyo Yoontae didn’t walk very fast, he had to slow down a bit to match his pace.

When they reached the entrance of the gym, Jeongseo had an idea of how he could help Pyo Yoontae.

It was to find him his first love.

“Yoontae, trust me.”

Jeongseo suddenly blurted out, slapping Pyo Yoontae’s waist.

Just as Pyo Yoontae was about to ask what he meant, the gym teacher walked in.

“Alright, let’s do some exercises before we finish the class! The class president of Class 5, lead the exercises!”

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“Seo Jeongseo and Pyo Yoontae are close?”

That’s what students would say when asked about their relationship nowadays.

Their homeroom teacher, who had said they would switch seats in April, decided to keep the current arrangement, saying it wasn’t bad.

So, Jeongseo and Yoontae continued to sit at the last desk in the first row.

Pyo Yoontae stared blankly at the plant cells drawn on the blackboard.

He had already finished all the high school courses through private tutoring, so everything being taught was already familiar to him.

There was a small tearing sound, and a piece of paper was slid onto his desk.

Pyo Yoontae, resting his chin on his hand, lowered his eyes to read it.

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If you keep resting your chin like that, your face will become asymmetrical.

---

The handwriting was round and neat, just like Jeongseo’s. Pyo Yoontae glanced at it indifferently before picking up a pen to write back.

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Your face is already asymmetrical, Jeongseo.

---

When he sent the note back, Jeongseo hurriedly grabbed it.

Upon reading it, Jeongseo’s face turned pale with shock.

Though Jeongseo’s face was mostly symmetrical, there was one small asymmetry—a tiny dot just under his right lip.

But Jeongseo was unaware of this, so he rubbed his cheeks, mouthing the word ‘Really?’ to Pyo Yoontae.

Pyo Yoontae grinned mischievously and nodded.

Then, clenching his fist, he whispered, “Should I give you a massage?”

“What’s a massage…?”

“It’s something that aligns your face, want me to do it?”

Jeongseo, not completely oblivious, noticed the glint in Pyo Yoontae’s eyes.

He also knew that whenever Pyo Yoontae smiled like that, he was up to no good.

He knew he should refuse, but the curiosity about what ‘massage’ meant was too strong.

In the end, he lost to his curiosity.

“Okay, do it.”

As soon as he agreed, a large fist came hurtling towards his face.

Only then did Jeongseo realize he had been tricked again, but it was too late to dodge.

Anticipating the pain, he squeezed his eyes shut, but instead of a punch, he felt a light pressure on his cheek.

Jeongseo opened his eyes in surprise, only to see Pyo Yoontae gently rubbing his cheek with his fist.

His still-chubby cheeks squished under the pressure and then sprang back into place.

“Is this… a massage?”

“No, if you got a real massage, Jeongseo, you’d be crying your eyes out.”

Pyo Yoontae pressed Jeongseo’s cheek a couple more times before letting go.

Despite the gentle pressure, Jeongseo’s cheek turned red.

Rubbing his cheek, Jeongseo tilted his head in confusion.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Since it was the fourth period, most of the students in the class quickly stood up.

Today, it was Class 4’s turn to be first in line for lunch.

Pyo Yoontae stood up, but Jeongseo remained seated.

Pyo Yoontae frowned and grabbed Jeongseo’s arm.

“Class 2 is almost last today, so just eat with me.”

After the joint gym class, Jeongseo and Pyo Yoontae had naturally started eating lunch together.

In truth, it was because Pyo Yoontae had ditched Lee Hyunsoo’s group.

“But, Yoontae, Hyunsoo is looking at us,” Jeongseo said, pointing to the back of the classroom, where Hyunsoo was peeking in with a pitiful expression.

“You’re going to ditch us even though we’re not last? Pyo Yoontae is so cold-hearted…”

Pyo Yoontae replied, “He should have picked the side with the least kids.”

Jeongseo couldn’t help but agree with that.

Hyunsoo briefly opened his mouth to speak as he watched Jeongseo stand up, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

Instead, he just glared sullenly at Pyo Yoontae.

By this time, the other students had already lined up, leaving Pyo Yoontae and Jeongseo at the very end of Class 4’s line.

“Hyunsoo waited for us when we were fourth in line…”

Jeongseo glanced back at the end of the line.

Even though they weren’t close, the fact that Jeongseo kept worrying about Hyunsoo annoyed Pyo Yoontae.

“Are you not satisfied with just me, Jeongseo? Do you like Hyunsoo?”

“N-No! It’s not like that. I just used to eat with them, that’s all.”

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it.”

Pyo Yoontae’s genuine lack of interest left Jeongseo feeling a bit strange.

They seemed to get along well, but was it possible that Pyo Yoontae preferred being with him over Hyunsoo?

Feeling his heart race for some reason, Jeongseo slightly lowered his head.

“Stop worrying and bring up something else. Let’s move forward first.”

Pyo Yoontae moved a little closer to Jeongseo, grabbing his shoulders and turning him around.

The scent that drifted to his nose was cool. And it was soft.

It was a scent Jeongseo wanted to keep smelling, but there was something ticklish about it, so he quickly changed the subject.

“So, you said that your first love was that classmate. Don’t you know what they look like?”

As they finally entered the cafeteria and picked up their utensils and trays, Pyo Yoontae raised one eyebrow.

Jeongseo had been discreetly asking Pyo Yoontae questions lately, trying to figure out who his first love was.

So far, he had learned that they were a ‘small animal-person,’ ‘probably had white fur,’ and ‘had a personality that did whatever they wanted.’

But is it normal to describe your first love as someone who does whatever they want?

Jeongseo tilted his head, moving to the side.

The smell of spicy pork bulgogi hit him, making his mouth water.

“Jeongseo, you’ve been awfully interested in me lately. Do you like me?”

“Huh? Not at all! Thank you!”

Pyo Yoontae’s expression turned stern as he glared at Jeongseo, but Jeongseo simply nodded to the lunch lady while receiving his bean sprout soup.

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