Predator Alert chapter 4

After the math test, Jeongseo hurriedly ran to the bathroom, covering his rear with one hand. He entered a stall, took off his pants, and pulled out a mini sewing kit with practiced ease.

Just as he was about to start sewing the tear, he noticed his pink trunks peeking out from under his school shirt.

‘Your underwear is so cute, Jeongseo.’

Of all days, why did he have to wear this color today…

It was one of the random pairs his mom had bought him.

Jeongseo’s face was still burning as he rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand.

Most of Jeongseo’s underwear had a slit for his tail, and his school pants originally had one too.

But since midway through his first year, there had been no need for his tail at school, so Jeongseo had clumsily sewn it shut.

However, because of Pyo Yoontae, his tail kept popping out, causing the seam to tear repeatedly.

And that’s how his underwear kept being exposed.

Jeongseo sighed as he carefully mended the slit in his pants before putting them back on.

“Do not come out anymore, okay?”

Jeongseo tapped the spot above his tailbone before finally heading to the cafeteria.

His class was fourth in line today, so he wasn’t too far behind the rest of his classmates.

As he stood in line with the other fifth-class students, he felt eyes on him but no one spoke to him, so he just leaned against the hallway window and looked outside.

The sky was cloudy, as if it might rain any moment.

“Hey, did you hear why Pyo Yoontae transferred here?”

The name that had been irritating him the most recently caught Jeongseo’s attention, and his small ears twitched.

“No, how would I know? Didn’t people say you shouldn’t even talk to him because he’s a damn predator? It’s so funny, he’s a predator too.”

The voice sounded sharp, and it was clear that the speaker didn’t like Pyo Yoontae either.

Jeongseo nodded slightly in agreement.

“You know Hyunsoo from Class 2? He’s been hanging out with Pyo Yoontae recently.”

“What? Hyunsoo? Isn’t he a retriever? Well, I guess dogs are omnivores, not predators.”

Jeongseo’s ears twitched noticeably. So, dogs are omnivores after all.

“Anyway, that’s not the important part. Since Hyunsoo’s been hanging out with Pyo Yoontae, he’s gotten a bit closer to him and asked why he came to this rural place.”

“Wow, really? Was he expelled for causing trouble?”

The one leading the conversation looked around cautiously before leaning in close to his friend’s ear.

Jeongseo leaned slightly in their direction as well.

“He’s here to find a mate.”

Jeongseo’s face, reflected faintly in the window, was utterly shocked.

They had whispered it softly, but with his animal ears out, Jeongseo heard it as if it were spoken right next to him.

“…No way, in this countryside town…? Why?”

“Beats me. But Minji says he seems to have a very specific type.”

“What’s his type?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but he’s been rejecting all the girls introduced to him. Minji thinks he has a very clear preference.”

The conversation was getting more intriguing. Pyo Yoontae’s type, huh…

Well, he probably didn’t like predators, so maybe herbivores or omnivores would be okay.

“If he’s hanging out with Hyunsoo, maybe he likes canines?”

“Wolves are canines too, but they’re carnivores, right?”

“…True. You’re close to Hyunsoo, right? Why don’t you ask him?”

“Oh, we just greet each other in passing. It’s so awkward when we’re together.”

“Ha, whoever ends up with Pyo Yoontae at this school is gonna hit the jackpot.”

Jeongseo also thought to himself that the statement was true.

Pyo Yoontae had a terrible personality, but he was undeniably a chaebol.

These days, the one who seemed to match well with Pyo Yoontae was that dog, Hyunsoo, right?

The only one who came to the class to talk was that Retriever.

Jeongseo thought about Lee Hyunsoo again.

Lee Hyunsoo was a large dog, so he wasn’t exactly small.

But since Pyo Yoontae was so big, Hyunsoo looked small when they were together.

He had light brown, soft-looking hair, and his eyes were round and black like well-polished stones.

A black panther and a retriever—though the combination was a bit unusual, it wasn’t all that bad.

Jeongseo was standing by the window, imagining Pyo Yoontae surrounded by all sorts of animals.

“Hey.”

Jeongseo jolted when a hand suddenly poked his arm.

He turned his head to see a boy with pure white, fluffy hair glaring at him.

“Move up. If you’re going to daydream, do it somewhere else.”

“Oh, sorry…”

It was the class president of Class 5.

He was the only one in the school with white hair, making him easy for Jeongseo to remember.

He also had a rare, pretty face.

Jeongseo stared at the class president for a moment.

“Move quickly.”

…Though his personality seemed a bit sharp, unlike his face.

Jeongseo quickly caught up with the person ahead.

What kind of animal was the class president of Class 5 again?

Jeongseo glanced back, locking eyes with the sharp, intelligent gaze behind glasses.

He didn’t know exactly what animal he was, but considering he was only slightly bigger than himself, the boy probably wasn’t a large animal.

Of course… depending on the person, even a tiger could have a human form smaller than Jeongseo.

“What are you staring at?”

“…”

Jeongseo wrinkled his nose for a moment but lowered his eyes, admitting his fault for not lining up properly.

It wasn’t really because he was scared.

After all, he’s about the same size as him…

°❀•°❀°•❀°

“Let’s go to the cafeteria. The school lunch is disgusting today.”

Lee Hyunsoo was poking at his rice with a spoon. The boy sitting across from him spoke up.

“Shut up and eat, you mutt.”

“Stop calling me a mutt, it’s really pissing me off.”

“Then what should I call a mutt if not a mutt, huh? Woof?”

And so, the two began a heated debate about what they should call each other.

Pyo Yoontae, sitting nearby, frowned slightly.

He didn’t like hanging out with annoying losers with bad personalities, so he started hanging out with the guys who bothered him for fun, but now it was just a hassle.

Still, it was quite amusing to see Seo Jeongseo’s face twitch every time he spoke to the other guys.

Pyo Yoontae was stirring his soup, which had little in it, when his gaze was drawn to a familiar figure entering the cafeteria.

Jeongseo had tucked in his tail and mended his pants, showing only his rounded ears through his brown hair.

‘So he went off right away to fix his pants, huh.’

Where did he sew up his pants?

Probably the bathroom.

Pyo Yoontae imagined Jeongseo squatting in a bathroom stall, pants down, threading a needle through the fabric.

He briefly recalled seeing his underwear earlier, which was embarrassingly pink, just like his own.

Pyo Yoontae completely put down his spoon and fixed his gaze on Seo Jeongseo.

“Lee Hyunsoo.”

“Huh?”

He was complaining about the bad food but was still eating it with gusto.

They say dogs eat even more when they’re starved—seems like it might be true.

“What exactly is Seo Jeongseo? Just a weasel?”

Lee Hyunsoo frowned, as if wondering why Pyo Yoontae was asking such a thing, but he answered anyway.

“Yeah, probably? I’m not sure either.”

“How can you not know? He’s been living here for a long time. There aren’t even many schools here.”

Because the population was small, Dan-gang High School was the only humanities high school in Dan-gang County, and there were only two middle schools in the county, with about three more in the surrounding area.

Elementary schools were at a similar level, so most of the kids at Dan-gang High School had been classmates since elementary and middle school.

‘Is Seo Jeongseo lying?’

But he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would lie about something like that.

“Seo Jeongseo probably didn’t attend elementary or middle school. I did hear there was a kid our age living in the mountains, and it’s probably him. He suddenly showed up in high school, so we aren’t really close.”

“…He didn’t attend elementary or middle school?”

Is that even possible?

Isn’t education compulsory?

Did he take the GED?

Pyo Yoontae narrowed his eyes at this unexpected information.

Is that why he doesn’t have any friends?

Though there’s been a whole year… but whether Seo Jeongseo had friends or not wasn’t really Pyo Yoontae’s concern.

Seo Jeongseo was eating alone.

Despite his small mouth, he was greedily piling sausage stir-fry onto his spoon, ready to shove it all in at once.

Even from a distance, Pyo Yoontae could glimpse the red tongue inside his gaping mouth.

It was a mouth that looked like it would want to bite something—maybe a finger… or something like that.

Even with Pyo Yoontae staring at him so intensely, Seo Jeongseo was oblivious, too focused on eating.

Just as Pyo Yoontae let out a small laugh and was about to stand up, someone spoke up.

“Hey, Yoontae. The one you’re looking for… is it really that kid?”

Everyone at the table could guess who “that kid” was referring to.

Everyone had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

Knowing this, Pyo Yoontae hesitated for a moment.

Originally, he had planned to bring that kid in as soon as he found him… but now, his eyes gleamed with a predator’s desire.

“I do like them tiny.”

Pyo Yoontae was the type who couldn’t rest until he got his hands on something he’d decided he wanted.

“But they have to be as white as snow.”

With that, Pyo Yoontae stood up and took his tray.

The table fell into silence after he left.

The surrounding tables did the same.

Pyo Yoontae had finally made his preference for a partner clear.

As the son of a conglomerate that wouldn’t fail for at least the next hundred years, a superior black panther shape-shifter, and an alpha, he was someone everyone would benefit from knowing.

Even more so if they became his partner.

Given even the slightest chance, everyone would be eyeing that spot.

At the table where Pyo Yoontae had been sitting, countless glances were exchanged.