Tryst With The Devil - Noblesse: Frankenstein

3.the school

The group parks their vehicle in the parking lot behind Ye Ran High. It is a short walk to the gate of the school. The gates of the school are not opened yet. They are here early to meet the chairman and discuss the action plan of the day. As they approach the gate, they see three figures on the other side, walking towards them. They open the gate and look at the group for a while. Dr Baltimore steps forward.

The three men are all wearing suits and an armband with something written in the Korean language. 'Ye Ran High Special Security', Dr Casa whispers to her comrades. She is familiar with the language. The group is impressed. This must be the first educational institute they had seen with a dedicated security force. They have guards at their university as well however they are quite...lenient.

Ira looks at the guards. They are quite tall, each with a different demeanour. There is one with dark bowl cut hair, who has a cheerful appearance. The other one, with long purple hair, has an expressionless but calm face. The last one, however, with grey hair falling over a side of his face, is glaring at the group.

"Hello," the dark-haired man speaks to Dr Baltimore, "Are you, Dr Baltimore?"

"Yes. This is my team. We have an appointment with the chairman."

"Of course. This way please."

The group is led through the passage between the school grounds. The campus is very big, even for a high school, the school ground meets up to Olympic standards. It is well maintained and looked after by an old man, presumably the janitor, sweeping the leaves fallen on the ground as they pass. They enter the main building that is about five floors high. "This building is the size of our lecture complexes", Dr Casa admits, looking around in awe "Is this really just a high school?!". However, Ira is amiss again. She can feel a strange vibe coming from the man leading them and two men behind them. It is identical to the Chairman's.

It's not real. Shake it off.

They are brought to a door. 'Chairman's office', it says. The dark haired man knocks twice on the door. "Come in", the chairman says from inside. The man opens the door and enters it first. "Boss, Dr Baltimore and his team are here." The chairman closes a file and pulls out another. He adjusts his glasses. "Send them in, Tao".

Dr Baltimore and his group steps in. He exchanges a formal greeting with the chairman. The chairman and Dr Baltimore discuss the file that has their schedules in the respective classrooms. The rest of the group is gathered in the back. The security guards are with them. The dark-haired cheerful guy, apparently named Tao, is busy looking at his phone. The purple haired one is attentively listening to the chairman, and conversing with the guests once in a while. The third one is standing isolated from the group. He is standing very erect, conscious of the company around him. He is occasionally looking at the group through the corner of his eye.

"Yes, yes. Alright then. Here is the schedule. The classrooms are assigned next to your names. I hope you don't have any trouble during your work." The chairman says, handing the file to Dr Baltimore.

"Thank you, Mr Frankenstein. I shall see you after the day." Dr Baltimore shakes his hand.

Tao, who was surveying the school through his phone, notifies that the students have started to enter the school. "Alright. Tao, show Dr Baltimore's team the classrooms. Takio and M21, guard the gate." The two nod their heads and leave the office. "This way", Tao says as he ushers the group out of the office.

There are five people in the group. Dr Baltimore and Dr Casa are senior scientists with their two associates, also senior to Ira. The two are higher in rank only because they joined before Ira. They usually just help the three with paperwork. Dr Baltimore shares the schedule with his colleagues. Ira is assigned to evaluate third-year students in the first session. She walks towards her assigned classroom. The news is already out among the students about the 'scouting program' as they stare expectantly at Ira as she walks into the classroom. Their teacher gives them a brief introduction to the program. None of the students is listening to him anyway. They are all looking at the new person in front of them.