* * *
Hayan nearly cursed on reflex but barely held back, waving his hand in the air as if he didn’t even want to ask further.
Even Pyo Yoontae looked stunned at hearing himself described as cute and turned to Jeongseo for confirmation.
He wanted to be seen as cool.
“Okay, whatever. My point is, having ingrained stereotypes about different beastkin helps people process things faster when meeting someone new. Most people naturally take the easier path.”
Jeongseo listened carefully and nodded.
“So you’re saying I should just accept that and not let it get to me?”
Realizing that he also unconsciously judged others by their species made Jeongseo feel a little less conflicted.
It was still a bit confusing, though.
Hayan, his throat dry from talking so much, took a sip of his highball.
“Rather than just accepting it… Jeongseo, you just called Pyo Yoontae cute. Does that mean he’s not a black panther? That he’s not ‘black panther-like’?”
“No, Yoontae is a black panther.”
Before meeting Pyo Yoontae, Jeongseo’s image of a black panther was different.
While there were some similarities, there were far more differences.
Yoontae was unexpectedly jealous, playful, and talkative.
Though he had softened over time, his tone was still rough.
Even so, Jeongseo had never once thought that Yoontae wasn’t a black panther.
Because, at the end of the day, he was a black panther.
Saying otherwise wouldn’t make sense.
As Jeongseo let out a quiet “Oh,” Hayan continued.
“See? No matter what kind of image people have of black panthers, the fact that Pyo Yoontae is a black panther doesn’t change. So you don’t have to be swayed by people saying you’re ‘not weasel-like.’ Besides, even the most deeply rooted stereotypes break easily when people encounter counterexamples. Those guys who say that about you probably won’t keep saying it for long.”
“Except for the really stubborn ones,” Hayan added, scrunching his face in annoyance.
Jeongseo was genuinely impressed.
Thinking about it, his close friends never said he wasn’t “weasel-like.”
Even Shin Junhee, who had been the most shocked at first, no longer said things like “weasels are vicious” when talking about Nam Seungho, another weasel beastkin.
Realizing this, Jeongseo wondered why he had been so hung up on the opinions of people he wasn’t even that close to.
“Wow… Hayan, you’re a genius. I feel like all my worries just vanished! Thanks!”
“I’m no genius. Anyway, if you have that much energy to worry, put it into studying.”
Despite his blunt tone, the tips of Hayan’s ears had turned red.
Knowing him well enough now, Jeongseo recognized it as embarrassment and nodded.
Pyo Yoontae also quietly admired Hayan.
He was surprisingly good at talking things through.
At the same time, Pyo Yoontae felt a little inadequate for not realizing Jeongseo had been struggling with this.
Running his fingers through Jeongseo’s now-relaxed nape, Pyo Yoontae murmured,
“Being Jeongseo-like is the same as being weasel-like.”
“Yeah! Because I am a weasel.”
“If you ever have any worries, tell me too, Jeongseo. I’m really good at listening. Even if you talk for a hundred days straight, I won’t forget a single word.”
Jeongseo laughed, treating it as a joke, so Pyo Yoontae didn’t bother emphasizing that he was serious.
“I’m gonna go to the restroom for a sec.”
After Pyo Yoontae stood up, Jeongseo finally picked up his now-cold food while chatting with Hayan.
With the weight in his heart lifted, he realized he was hungry.
As Jeongseo and Hayan exchanged pleasantries and caught up, Hayan reached for the stir-fried bean sprouts with beef brisket but suddenly flinched.
A chilling presence swept over him, making him instinctively look up.
The face of Seo Jeongseo, who had been smiling just moments ago, was now stiff with tension.
Hayan, who had rarely seen Jeongseo genuinely angry, followed his gaze in confusion and turned around.
There stood Pyo Yoontae, along with a stranger gripping his forearm while holding out a phone.
It was obvious—someone was asking for Yoontae’s number.
When Hayan looked back at Jeongseo, he saw him glaring fiercely at the two of them.
Or rather, at the person persistently trying to talk to Yoontae, who was attempting to walk away.
His eyes were practically on fire.
“Jeongseo seems more indifferent than me. He doesn’t really care about what I do or who I befriend. Sometimes, it even feels like he wants me to hang out with others instead of him…”
Hayan suddenly recalled Yoontae’s words from just a few weeks ago.
As Yoontae frowned and returned to the table, Jeongseo immediately erased the dangerous look on his face and asked,
“Who was that? Someone you know?”
“No, just a random person. They suddenly asked for my number, and when I said no, they kept pestering me. Super annoying.”
Yoontae sat down, brushing off his forearm, and shot Jeongseo a playful grin.
“Our Jeongseo’s boyfriend is this popular. What are we going to do?”
“Yoontae’s always been popular. Even back in high school, there were tons of people who wanted to talk to you.”
Jeongseo said this while sulking, his eyes fixed on Yoontae’s arm.
Yoontae looked down at Jeongseo with clear dissatisfaction.
Watching this, Hayan muttered internally—these two are absolute idiots.
His lips twitched, but he decided not to intervene.
°❀•°❀°•❀°
Since not all of his classes overlapped with Park Doyoung’s, Jeongseo managed to avoid running into him for two days.
Doyoung did reach out, but Jeongseo had no desire to respond.
Besides, whenever he got home, Yoontae would demand his attention, insisting that he put away his phone and hang out with him instead—leaving him no time to reply even if he wanted to.
But that didn’t mean Jeongseo felt at ease at school.
Rumors were spreading like wildfire.
Some people he’d only exchanged greetings with a couple of times suddenly started asking if he was close with Pyo Yoontae.
A few were outright rude, asking if he was a secret illegitimate child of the Black Panther family.
With all the nonsense floating around, Jeongseo had to turn off his phone notifications.
The only reason he hadn’t exploded yet was thanks to his friends telling him to ignore it.
Honestly, it wasn’t the fact that strangers were approaching him that annoyed him the most—it was the realization that Yoontae was this popular that made him uncomfortable.
Some of his friends reassured him, saying that the gossip would die down on its own.
Since none of these people had been as persistent as Park Doyoung—no one had asked for Yoontae’s number or invited him to eat yet—Jeongseo was trying to let it slide.
But one thing was certain: Pyo Yoontae absolutely couldn’t come to his school again.
And if this much was happening at a school Yoontae didn’t even attend, what must things be like at Hanguk University, where he actually studied?
Feeling an unexpected surge of curiosity, Jeongseo picked up his phone and sent Yoontae a message: Are you in class?
Then, he opened the internet.
The moment he typed “Pyo Yoontae” into the search bar, autocomplete suggestions popped up underneath—”Hanguk University” and “Hanguk University admission.”
The search results were more extensive than expected, ranging from news articles to community posts.
Jeongseo tapped on a post that caught his eye.
[Black Panther P.Y.T. is in my school ]
Posted by: Anonymous | 20XX.XX.XX 01:12:35
Aren’t chaebol kids supposed to study abroad? Honestly, I didn’t believe the rumors when I first heard he applied to Hangu University, but damn, it’s true.;;;
Even crazier—I’m in the same department as him. If I become friends with Pyo Yoontae, I’m leveling up in life, right?
Comment Section:
[Anonymous 1: How does he look in real life?]
[⤷ Anonymous: Bro, I almost pissed myself when I first saw him. His face is god-tier. ;; He’s tall as hell and gives off crazy vibes. All hail God-tier Alpha, God Pyo Yoontae, God Black Panther.]
[⤷ Anonymous 1: LMAO, this dude is straight-up in love. simpㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[⤷ Anonymous 2: 😂😂😂😂😂 You’re not aiming to be his friend, you wanna be his spouse.]
[⤷ Anonymous: Please, just let me be his anything… hyung… But real talk, Pyo Yoontae always walks around scowling. He has no friends. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I haven’t even managed to say hi to him. ㅠ]
[Anonymous 4: Fucking hell, he’s smart too. Fucking bastard.]
[⤷ Anonymous 2: 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂]
[⤷ Anonymous 5: lmao dude’s cracking me up]
Jeongseo scrolled down, his mood souring at the crude comments.
But at the same time, he felt oddly relieved reading “he has no friends.”
Logically, he should be worried about Yoontae being alone, but instead, all he could think about was what had happened at the restaurant.
The person clinging to Yoontae’s arm.
The thought of something like that happening again, somewhere he couldn’t see, made Jeongseo’s stomach churn.
Just then—tap, tap—someone knocked on the desk in front of him.
* * *
