Predator Alert chapter 3

As he rubbed his head against the blanket, he tried to recall Pyo Yoontae’s face.

But there was no way he could forget such a tall, handsome black panther if he had seen him before.

Was it just his imagination? he pondered for a moment, but soon the thought slipped away.

The small, 10-centimeter-long weasel stretched his front paws and yawned, his tiny tongue poking out.

Smacking his lips, he glanced at the clock on the wall.

It was almost time for dinner.

‘Maybe I should take a nap first and then cook.’

Lately, school had been more exhausting than usual, likely because of Pyo Yoontae.

The small weasel blinked his eyes sleepily and soon drifted off to sleep.

‘Ah, I need to feed the chickens…’

And just like that, Jeongseo fell into a deep sleep.

It wasn’t until late at night, in front of the warm electric blanket and stove, that he finally woke up.

Only then did he rush to feed the chickens.

Jeongseo tiptoed into the chicken coop, hoping not to disturb the sleeping chickens, but the moment he poured the feed, the startled chickens all swarmed him.

Even as the angry rooster pecked at his shin, he nonchalantly stole an egg from the hen and returned home.

It was a slightly lonely but peaceful life.

He didn’t particularly want to go to school, but his mom insisted he at least finish high school. So, he decided to attend just until then.

As Jeongseo ate the boiled egg he had stolen, he absentmindedly fiddled with his ears.

When he focused hard enough, his ears retracted, but his tail popped out at the same time.

“…Other people manage to hide theirs just fine.”

With a sigh, Jeongseo pulled his tail out through the cut in his pants.

If he didn’t do this, it would get crushed and hurt.

He carefully smoothed out the fur sticking out through the hole.

‘Why do you always have your ears out? Trying to look cute? Or are you just a little kid who can’t hide them yet?’

The teasing voice echoed in his mind again, making his mood sour.

Maybe he should just leave his tail out instead.

But tails were much more troublesome than ears.

Sometimes, he’d bump into people with it, or accidentally knock things over if he wasn’t careful.

There were even some kids worse than Pyo Yoontae at school who used to pull on his tail back when he was in first grade.

The memory made his so angry that the fur on his brown tail puffed up.

“I miss Grandma.”

Jeongseo mumbled softly.

Even when he was in human form with his ears and tail out, his grandmother would always sit beside him, ruffling his hair.

‘Oh dear, you still can’t hide your ears and tail? You better hide them tight before someone snatches you up, you cute little thing.’

The gentle voice he remembered so clearly made Jeongseo’s puffed-up tail relax.

As his grandmother always worried, walking around with his ears and tail out was not a good thing.

It had already been two years since his grandmother passed away, but Jeongseo still couldn’t hide his ears and tail.

The only progress he had made was being able to hide one of them at a time.

°❀•°❀°•❀°

“Jeongseo, you don’t seem like someone who has any friends.”

It was quiet, and then the first words hit right where it hurt.

The science lab had only four large desks, so everyone had to sit in groups.

Since no one had sat next to him, Pyo Yoontae, who came in last, naturally took the seat beside him.

As he looked at the handouts the class president had given out, Jeongseo turned his head to glare at him.

“You don’t have any friends either.”

“I just don’t make friends.”

At his shameless remark, Jeongseo let out a scoffing laugh.

He doesn’t make friends? More like he couldn’t.

It had already been two weeks since Pyo Yoontae transferred in.

Since his first-day declaration, “Predators, don’t talk to me,” he had ignored every word spoken to him by the predator shapeshifters, and Jeongseo had already heard several gossiping about him.

“You probably don’t have any friends because of your bad personality.”

He snapped back and turned his back to him, showing him the round back of his head.

His head was so small it seemed like it would fit in one hand.

Pyo Yoontae felt an urge to bite down on his twitching ears out of frustration.

Maybe it was because he was still young, but a boy like this would be eaten alive if he were among real predators. There was something about his that naturally drew people in.

He told himself to stop messing with him, but whenever he saw those perky ears and that small, round face, he felt an odd urge to tease him, or even play a mean trick on her. He didn’t consider himself particularly playful, but he realized that he simply hadn’t found someone worth teasing until now.

Pyo Yoontae stared stubbornly at the small back of Jeongseo’s head before slowly curling his lips into a smirk. He slyly draped an arm over Jeongseo’s shoulder and whispered into his ear.

“Then why don’t you befriend the nasty loser?”

He deliberately breathed heavily into Jeongseo’s ear, causing Jeongseo to flinch as his right ear twitched.

Startled, Jeongseo blushed deeply and pushed Pyo Yoontae away.

“I-I don’t befriend nasty people.”

The strange sensation lingering in his ear made Jeongseo repeatedly shiver.

His small, plump lips tightened, and even the small mole below the corner of his mouth twitched with his expression.

The gaze of the bright yellow beast lingered ominously on the mole near Jeongseo’s lips.

Pyo Yoontae felt an almost irresistible urge to torment him, especially because of how perfectly Jeongseo’s reaction suited his taste.

It was an instinct he couldn’t deny.

°❀•°❀°•❀°

In the past, it wasn’t that Pyo Yoontae didn’t have friends; he simply chose not to make any.

Recently, however, he began talking to a few of the other kids.

Most of them were herbivores, like deer, roe deer, and rabbits.

“Hey, Pyo Yoontae! Wanna hit the snack bar after math class?”

A dog hybrid, who occasionally crossed paths with Pyo Yoontae in the hallway, entered the classroom energetically.

Ah, he was the only one who was a dog.

His name was… probably Lee Hyunsoo? Pyo Yoontae couldn’t quite remember, he only know that he was a dog.

Hyunsoo approached Pyo Yoontae without hesitation, chatting away. But wasn’t a dog supposed to be a predator?

Still, it wasn’t exactly a herbivore either, which made things a bit confusing.

Though Pyo Yoontae didn’t smile much, he didn’t seem to push the kid away either.

But still, dogs eat meat too, don’t they?

Of course, there were hardly any hybrids who didn’t eat meat.

Even herbivores casually picked up meat dishes when in human form.

Jeongseo watched Hyunsoo, who was chatting with Pyo Yoontae, with disapproval.

He often disappeared during breaks—was he making friends during those times?

As various thoughts ran through Jeongseo’s mind, Hyunsoo glanced awkwardly in his direction.

Jeongseo, with his brown eyes raised, flared his nostrils in irritation.

It was clear that something about this situation didn’t sit well with Hyunsoo, who blinked his black eyes before opening his mouth to speak.

“The test is about to start. Shouldn’t you be heading back?”

At Pyo Yoontae’s words, Hyunsoo awkwardly replied, “Oh, right,” and left the classroom.

As soon as Hyunsoo disappeared, Pyo Yoontae turned his attention to Jeongseo, who clearly looked upset.

“Seems like the nasty loser made a friend, but the plain loser is still all alone, huh?”

Who’s the nasty loser now? Pyo Yoontae’s eyes narrowed, as if to ask.

Jeongseo’s face turned beet red as his tail suddenly popped out with a ripping sound.

The puffed-up tail wagged furiously in the air, unable to contain his agitation.

“I heard weasels are supposed to have really bad tempers. Is that true?”

Pyo Yoontae’s teasing tone was unmistakable, which made Jeongseo snap back.

“I’m not that bad-tempered! People avoid me because I’m a fierce predator, not because they don’t like me!”

“Oh, a fierce predator?”

Pyo Yoontae looked Jeongseo up and down before chuckling mischievously.

“And you said you wouldn’t talk to predators, right? Then why do you keep talking to me? Just stop.”

Watching the small, snarling weasel, Pyo Yoontae smirked arrogantly.

“You better watch out for fierce predators like Jeongseo.”

Unfortunately, their desks were separated because of the mock exam, so Pyo Yoontae leaned forward as much as he could across the gap.

“I’m a nasty loser, remember? What if someone bullies me? Will you protect me?”

A sharp canine tooth gleamed between his slyly grinning lips, so close that it sent a shiver down Jeongseo’s spine.

He abruptly stood up.

“…No way.”

Jeongseo quickly walked toward the back of the classroom, his tail swishing through the air.

“Where are you going, Jeongseo?”

Not wanting to hear the teasing tone, Jeongseo pressed his ears down and tried to leave the classroom.

“Jeongseo, the test is about to start. Sit down.”

“Yes, sir.”

At the teacher’s scolding, Jeongseo reluctantly returned to his seat.

‘I was going to fix my pants before lunch…’

Jeongseo had lost count of how many times he had secretly sewn his pants in the bathroom because of Pyo Yoontae.

His once relatively peaceful life had completely fallen apart since that guy transferred in.

Jeongseo glared at Pyo Yoontae, but he just grinned and mouthed something.

‘Your underwear is so cute, Jeongseo.’

Jeongseo’s face turned bright red as he hurriedly covered the area around his tail with his hand.

That perverted jerk!

Not only was Pyo Yoontae mean and ill-mannered, but he was also a pervert.