Predator Alert chapter 15

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Other students noticed Pyo Yoontae’s fierce expression and became cautious.

Meanwhile, Jeongseo, excited about eating, kept looking around as he continued the conversation.

“We’re friends, right? Friends help each other out.”

“Oh, really? Is that so?”

Over by the window, a group of third-year students stood up all at once.

Jeongseo immediately pointed to their seats. It seemed his focus was entirely on eating.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s sit over there.”

Jeongseo quickly sat down first, and Pyo Yoontae took the seat across from him.

“So, do you know what your first love looks like?”

Now that Jeongseo’s attention was back on Pyo Yoontae, he quickly wrapped some lettuce around meat and rice, added ssamjang, and stuffed it all into his mouth.

His cheeks puffed out as he chewed, his eyes never leaving Pyo Yoontae.

His ears twitched slightly, showing how much he was enjoying the food.

Pyo Yoontae looked at Jeongseo as if he couldn’t believe him, but he said nothing.

“I don’t remember well. They never really showed themselves properly, and they broke their promise and disappeared.”

“They broke a promise? That’s terrible. You must have felt awful.”

“Yeah, it was really shitty, Jeongseo.”

“Yeah, totally. They must have a pretty bad personality.”

My grandmother taught me that you must always keep your promises.

But they disappeared without keeping theirs, and to think that this person was Pyo Yoontae’s first love.

Pyo Yoontae must have a soft spot after all, Jeongseo thought as he slurped up his bean sprout soup.

A small animal-person, probably with white fur, a personality that does whatever they want, someone who didn’t keep their promise and disappeared—a bad person.

And Pyo Yoontae doesn’t even know what they look like?

Just as he was pondering all this, someone caught Jeongseo’s eye.

A student with curly white hair, the hamster-person class president from Class 5.

Jeongseo suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.

“Where are you going, Jeongseo? To the hallway?”

As soon as the class bell rang, Jeongseo sprang up from his seat.

During break times, he usually stayed in the classroom or looked out the window from the hallway.

Expecting the same this time, Pyo Yoontae also stood up, but Jeongseo urgently pressed down on his shoulder.

“No, I’m just going to the bathroom. I’ll be right back…”

Jeongseo rummaged in his pants pocket and placed an almond candy on Pyo Yoontae’s desk.

“Eat this while I’m gone!”

“…Does he think I’m a little kid or something?”

Pyo Yoontae couldn’t help but chuckle at the childish gesture, but Jeongseo was already rushing out of the classroom.

It seemed like he was in quite a hurry.

Pyo Yoontae fiddled with the candy before unwrapping it and popping it into his mouth.

The sweetness quickly spread across his tongue.

But Jeongseo, who had said he was going to the bathroom, had gone to Class 5 instead.

Peeking in through the back door, he scanned the room.

His head bobbing in and out like that naturally caught someone’s attention.

“Excuse me…”

A girl suddenly approached Jeongseo, who flinched and tensed up.

The girl, who had a bob haircut, gave a slightly awkward smile as she spoke.

“Are you looking for someone? I can call them for you.”

Surprised by his unexpectedly kind tone, Jeongseo immediately relaxed and nodded.

“Yeah, could you call your class president for me?”

“Oh, just a moment.”

The girl turned around right away.

“Hayan!”

Jeongseo was startled by how loud and sharp her voice was, completely different from when she spoke to him.

He hadn’t expected her voice to be so loud.

Despite the shout, Hayan remained seated at the front, his head down.

“Hey! I know you can hear me! Seo Jeongseo is looking for you!”

Finally, he lifted his head and turned around. His dark eyes, contrasting with his white hair, met Jeongseo’s gaze.

When Hayan pulled something out of his ear and stood up, the girl began to walk back to her seat.

“Thanks!”

Jeongseo’s cheerful thanks made both the girl and several nearby students freeze and stare at him.

When Hayan reached Jeongseo, the girl finally snapped out of it and gave him an awkward smile and a nod.

But Hayan’s voice, standing there like a replacement, was anything but friendly.

“What do you want?”

He was about a half a head taller than Jeongseo.

After facing Pyo Yoontae daily, being around someone of a similar height made it much more comfortable for him.

“Did you know Pyo Yoontae before?”

All eyes quickly turned to Hayan.

Frowning at the sudden question, Hayan wondered if Jeongseo was here to mess with him, but Jeongseo’s expression was nothing but sincere.

“What kind of nonsense is this? Let’s talk outside.”

Hayan grabbed Jeongseo’s arm and led him out of the classroom to the staircase landing at the end of the hallway. It was a secluded spot with no one around.

Hayan crossed his arms and glared at Jeongseo disapprovingly.

“Did Pyo Yoontae send you to pick a fight with me?”

“No! I just wanted to know if you knew each other…”

“Hah, is this because he thinks I’ll beat him in the midterms?”

It seemed that Hayan had no intention of listening to Jeongseo properly.

‘A personality that does whatever they want…’

The credibility of Pyo Yoontae’s description increased.

If Hayan really did have such a self-centered personality and disappeared without keeping his promise, it was easy to believe he could have met Pyo Yoontae in the past and then forgotten about it.

“There’s no way I’ll lose to someone who gets private tutoring…”

“So, do you often break promises?”

“…”

Hayan’s expression hardened in an instant.

Jeongseo, feeling that he might have actually started something this time, hurriedly tried to explain himself.

“No, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just heard that Yoontae’s first love doesn’t keep promises well, so…”

However, the more he spoke, the more Hayan’s expression went beyond stiffening and started to crumple.

As his excuses quickened, Jeongseo’s arms flailed in the air in panic.

“What did I, what? Pyo Yoontae what?”

There was so much disgust in his tone, expression, and everything else that Jeongseo realized he had really hit the wrong nerve.

Even if the Class 5 president was Yoontae’s first love, such a reaction would only leave scars.

Jeongseo waved his hands frantically, taking half a step back.

“I just thought you and Yoontae know each other, so I asked just in case. But I guess not!”

Contrary to his expectation that he would agree immediately, Hayan looked at his with a curious gaze.

He let out a sound, “Hm,” and then pulled up the corners of his lips.

“Seo Jeongseo.”

His face suddenly came close to hers, making his stumble back.

Hayan’s eyes were so dark that they reflected his startled face clearly.

“You’re close with that private education freak, right?”

“…Private education freak?”

“I mean Pyo Yoontae.”

“Oh.”

Jeongseo hesitated for a moment, then nodded his head.

“Then be close with me too.”

“…What?”

At the unexpected remark, Jeongseo blinked rapidly.

Hayan, taking his reaction as a yes, smiled in satisfaction and tried to place his hand on his shoulder, but it was impossible.

“I don’t befriend people with really nasty personalities. What should we do?”

Pyo Yoontae, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, pulled Jeongseo toward him.

Jeongseo looked up at him in surprise, while Hayan immediately frowned.

“What? Are you saying I have a bad personality?”

“No, it’s fucking filthy.”

“Your personality is way more fucked up. Hey, Seo Jeongseo, tell me, who’s worse, this private education freak or me?”

Hayan stared at him, ready to hit if he said he was worse.

Jeongseo had no idea why the situation had suddenly turned against him.

She looked up at Yoontae for help, but he too was gazing at his intensely.

Feeling the sharp stares from both the front and above, Jeongseo scrunched his face in frustration.

It felt like he was being unfairly blamed for something he hadn’t even done.

“Both of you suck!”

Jeongseo snapped, then left Yoontae behind and stormed off to the classroom.

Hayan stared in disbelief at his retreating figure for a moment, but Yoontae quickly followed him.

“Hey, but I’m still better than him, right? Jeongseo, are you really going to do this?”

“What the hell?”

Hayan was about to shout, but the bell rang, and he was left alone, fuming as he returned to class.

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“Are you heading straight home again, baby?”

“…I told you not to call me that!”

Jeongseo, packing his bag after school, glared at Yoontae.

They had become friends, but that didn’t mean Yoontae’s personality had improved.

He still took every chance to tease him.

“What’s so precious at home that you rush there every day? That’s why you don’t have friends.”

Jeongseo, who was about to leave the classroom, stopped in his tracks and turned around.

His face was full of anger, but unlike usual, he kept his mouth shut and glared at Yoontae.

Her brown eyes were burning with things left unsaid, and his cheeks were puffed out, but he just turned away and walked out of the classroom.

Not even a “You’re mean.”

Only then did Yoontae realize that the situation was more serious than he had thought.

He hurriedly ran out of the classroom.

“Ah, crap.”

He hadn’t been out long, but there was no trace of hm in the hallway.

He rushed to the shoe locker and found Jeongseo putting away his indoor shoes.

As soon as their eyes met, Jeongseo turned and ran for the entrance.

“No, Seo Jeongseo!”

Despite his small size, he was incredibly fast, and Yoontae chased after his without even changing into his sneakers, running in his slippers instead.

Jeongseo’s brown hair fluttered as he sprinted away.

“Student! It’s dangerous to run…!”

The security guard near the front gate tried to warn them, but was stunned by Yoontae, who passed by with such speed and size that it was overwhelming even in that brief moment.

Jeongseo, who had been running hard, glanced back and was shocked.

Yoontae had already closed the distance to less than a meter.

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