Predator Alert chapter 29

* * *

Pyo Yoontae’s body jerked back as someone wedged themselves between us—it was none other than Hayan.

Startled, he blinked at him.

“There’s plenty of space here, but you’re blocking your friend’s view.”

Was he a mouse or something?

Pyo Yoontae, who had been smirking moments earlier, now scowled at Hayan, who glared right back.

The atmosphere between them chilled rapidly, and Jeongseo nervously shifted his gaze between the two. When he looked at Hayan, Jeongseo gasped.

“You bastard.”

Hayan’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

He muttered the insult under his breath, pushed past Pyo Yoontae, and stormed off.

Instinctively, Jeongseo started to follow him, but Pyo Yoontae grabbed his wrist.

“Where do you think you’re going, Jeongseo?”

“But Hayan just—”

Before he could finish, the bell rang, signaling the end of break.

“The bell rang, Jeongseo. Time to head back.”

Without loosening his grip, Pyo Yoontae led me toward the classroom. His hand around his wrist was firm, as though he wouldn’t let go.

When we arrived in class, he immediately understood why Hayan had been on the verge of tears.

On top of our desks lay their report cards, thinly sliced sheets of paper.

“How did you do, Jeongseo?”

Instead of looking at his own, Pyo Yoontae picked up Jeongseo’s, examining it with interest.

“Wow, you did well, Jeongseo. At this mousee, you might get into the fourth rank by finals.”

Despite his praise, Jeongseo’s eyes were fixed on Pyo Yoontae’s report card.

Every number was a ‘1’, even his rank in the grade.

Images of Hayan’s tearful face and the smile he had worn while confidently saying he’d succeed flashed through his mind.

Without a word, Jeongseo stared at Pyo Yoontae’s perfect scores.

He noticed and quietly pushed his report card away.

Finally, Jeongseo turned to look at him.

“Why did you…?”

Without answering, Pyo Yoontae rested his chin on his hand and turned his head away.

He looked dissatisfied, which only made me more curious.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I want to lock you up.”

His sudden words didn’t make any sense.

What did he mean by ‘locking him up’? What context was he supposed to take that in?

He wanted to ask what he meant, but the teacher walked in, cutting off the conversation.

°❀•°❀°•❀°

After walking Seobok and returning home, he stood in front of the mirror—in the form of a lesser weasel.

As he tilted his head this way and that, he glanced at his phone propped up against the wall.

On its screen was a picture of a lesser weasel.

Copying the posture of the lesser weasel in the picture, Jeongseo lifted one front paw while staring straight ahead.

“Yup yup.”

‘This is ridiculous!’

White belly, tiny paws, black-tipped tail.

No matter how much Jeongseo denied it, the resemblance was undeniable.

Jeongseo looked completely different from the regular weasel pictures online.

As he pressed his paws against the mirror, Jeongseo scrutinized every inch of his reflection.

His nose twitched, and he swished his tail, spinning in a circle to check himself from every angle.

As Jeongseo brought his face closer, the fog from his breath left little paw prints on the glass.

Jeongseo swiped to the next picture—a white lesser weasel leaping through the snow. He couldn’t deny it anymore. It was exactly the same as his winter form.

Even so, Jeongseo mimicked the jump from the picture.

His reflection in the mirror, aside from the color, was identical.

‘I’m… I’m a lesser weasel!’

This small body, the seasonal shedding—it wasn’t because he was just a weasel; he was a ‘lesser weasel’ all along.

‘I’m not weird after all!’

Suddenly elated, Jeongseo transformed back into his human form and called his mom.

After a few rings, she picked up.

“Mom!”

Yes, my baby?

“I’m not just a weasel—I think I’m a lesser weasel!”

…….

Expecting a quick response, Jeongseo was met with silence instead.

Was he too shocked to reply?

After a brief pause, she finally spoke.

…You didn’t know?

“…What?”

This time, Jeongseo was the one left speechless.

Jeongseo naturally assumed that his mother didn’t know.

Feeling flustered, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror while still gripping his phone.

His two brown eyes, staring at his bare body, trembled slightly.

“Mom… did you know all along?”

But why hadn’t he known?

Jeongseo tilted his head slightly, furrowing his brow.

Not long after, he heard his mother’s awkward laughter.

Oh, I thought you would’ve realized, since you and the weasel look so different just at a glance.

Jeongseo’s mouth opened slightly, and his tail twitched.

Ah, now that he thought about it, it was true.

He had never met a weasel-person, but had seen enough of them on media.

Some weasel-people were celebrities, and a long time ago, there was even a reality survival show called “Animal Expedition” where celebrity animal-people went into jungles and remote areas to survive, including a weasel-person.

Since it was a survival show, the surprised celebrities sometimes transformed into their original forms.

While he looked different from the weasel he had seen back then, at that time, Jeongseo didn’t doubt his identity in the slightest and had simply thought, “Well, the color’s just different.”

He hadn’t thought much about it and brushed it off, but now he realized he shouldn’t have.

Now understanding his true species, Jeongseo covered his mouth with one hand, gasping.

Then, he tilted his head again.

“But then, why is it that on documents like my passport, it just says ‘weasel’?”

That was the main reason he had never doubted his identity.

On all his documents—her ID, passport, and animal registration card—he was simply listed as a “weasel.”

Not a lesser weasel.

Well, it’s because lesser weasels are endangered. Lesser weasel-people are even rarer to find. In the past, there were some really awful crimes where rare animal-people were kidnapped and sold to other countries. So, for safety, we had you registered as just a weasel under the Rare Animal-Person Protection Law.

Wow, who would have thought there was such a backstory?

He was part of a rare species!

Jeongseo’s heart fluttered.

A thought popped into his mind, like the title of one of the web novels he enjoyed reading: “I Thought I Was Just a Regular Weasel, but I’m Actually an SSS-Rank Rare Weasel?”

He wanted to brag to Pyo Yoontae right away…

But don’t go around excitedly telling everyone, okay? Even though the law’s been strengthened and things are safer now, there are still some bad people out there. Don’t even tell your friends if you can help it.

Jeongseo hesitated for a moment but eventually agreed.

After hanging up, instead of getting dressed, he transformed back into his small weasel form and watched videos of lesser weasels on his phone.

The weasel on the screen, looking exactly like him, dashed confidently through the underbrush.

His black, beady eyes stayed glued to the screen for a long time, captivated by the lesser weasel.

°❀•°❀°•❀°

Little Jeongseo twitched his rounded ears and glanced at Pyo Yoontae.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, he hadn’t brought up the topic of lesser weasels again since that day.

It was as if he had forgotten their conversation, and the lack of any mention from him made Jeongseo even more anxious.

There was no way Pyo Yoontae could know he was a lesser weasel.

He had never shown his him shedding form, and all his documents only identified his as a regular weasel.

Still, from first period to third period, Jeongseo’s thoughts were filled with the fact that he was a lesser weasel and why Pyo Yoontae had suddenly brought it up in the first place.

When he glanced at his again, he met his bright yellow eyes.

Startled, he quickly turned his head forward.

Had he been staring too much?

Maybe!

Jeongseo resolved to stop acting suspicious, but it was already too late.

He could feel his intense gaze lingering on his profile.

In his peripheral vision, Pyo Yoontae had his chin propped up, his upper body completely turned toward him.

If he looked again and got caught, Pyo Yoontae would definitely press him for answers until he told his everything.

‘Just act like you don’t know. Play dumb!’

He kept his eyes forward, pretending not to notice anything, but there was one thing he didn’t realize: his brown ear had subtly tilted toward him.

His ears didn’t move much, so it was a slight turn, but nothing escaped Pyo Yoontae’s sharp observation.

He narrowed his eyes, staring intently at his profile.