Chapter 3- HBTR Labs

"Yes, mother."

"And here, put this band-aid on, don't draw unnecessary attention."

After handing the band-aid Myung-hee took out of the glove compartment to give Jin-woo, she watched him put it before she turned away, not giving her son any more attention. Looking at the time on her watch, she cursed before she sped off into traffic. A few honks were heard as she cut some people off.

Jin-woo turned and slowly walked up to the gates about to enter the school, but someone suddenly appeared next to him and wrapped their hand around his shoulders.

Turning his head, Jin-woo saw a youth around his age who had dyed blond hair with a pierced right ear.

"Can you not cling to me?" Jin-woo said.

The boy called Seong turned his gaze away from a few females in front to look at Jin-woo.

"Wow, you look like shit Jin. What? Did you not get enough sleep because you were nervous about starting high school?"

Seong said before he made a "tsk tsk" sound.

"Come on Jin, what's so bad about starting high school? It's the start of a new chapter in our adolescent lives."

While saying that Seong got close to Jin-woo's face despite being half a head shorter and waved his hand at the high school as if to present it to him.

The school's name was seen at the top of its entrance spelling Itaewon Stars High. The road leading towards the campus with the cherry blossoms trees on the sides painted a picturesque scenery.

"And then there's that."

Seong's hand suddenly dipped as he motioned to the few girls walking some distance away.

"Three, two, one…"

As Seong counted down and at the exact moment he reached zero, a wind suddenly blew through the area and lifted the girls' skirts slightly.

With a perverted look on his face, Seong released a sigh filled with contentment.

"Short skirts, I'm telling you high school is the best. But damn it, all the girls are wearing shorts underneath or wearable leggings cause it's still so fucking cold."

As Seong said that he secured the scarf around his neck more tightly.

Jin-woo looked around at the girls causally before he moved forward. Though he couldn't help but comment.

"I guess you're right, but it's March so the cold season is just about to end."

A few girls who were walking by suddenly turned to Jin-woo and looked at him strangely before talking in hush whispers among themselves.

Jin-woo felt Seong's hand tighten around his shoulders.

"Don't pay those western blondes any mind, they're always gossiping even when there's nothing to gossip about."

Seong said referring to the immaculate blonde hair the girls were rocking. Though said girls were local students.

The school wasn't an international one, but foreign students were more common here than in most schools in this district.

Jin-woo headed for the high school's auditorium from memory as he had been to the school briefly for the Entrance Exams. Itaewon Stars High Entrance Ceremony was being held there and the two chatted while moving with the crowd of first-year students. Though Seong was the one mostly doing the talking.

....

Myung-hee drove beyond the speed limit towards her work. Other drivers honked their car horns and tried not to furiously roar at her car as she dangerously cut them off. Her car looked like it belonged to someone of a certain status.

It took around forty minutes for Myung-hee to reach her workplace. She passed through a security check with several armed guards after showing her ID and then drove to her designated parking spot outside.

Quickly gathering her handbag and fixing her hair and make-up in the rearview mirror, she flew out of her car.

Her destination was the main building of this facility that had both the Korean name and the English name, Human Biology, and Technology Research Labs, or HBTR, written on a sign next to the entrance; the English name being a bit bigger might be a factor that showed it was a company from overseas.

While walking up the ramp to the entrance, Myung-hee searched through her bag to see if she brought the envelope. Seeing the brown envelope neatly tucked into a corner, she smiled and then focused on entering through the sliding door, to which she immediately received greetings.

"Oh, good morning Mrs. Lee."

"Good morning Mrs. Lee."

"Good…"

Several people in white lab coats rushed to greet her with a bow.

Myung-hee nodded and took the initiative to step past them in the line and toward the decontaminated checkpoint.

Stepping inside the glass chamber, Myung-hee had her hair whipped about as streams of white puffs blew from various muzzles inside.

With a green light and a ding, the chamber doors opened, allowing her to continue her way inside the building.

However, as she was walking off, one of the few security guards near the chamber stopped her and said.

"Wait Miss, your bag hasn't been checked as yet."

Myung-hee froze upon hearing that.

Turning around, she saw the person who asked was a new guard she hadn't seen before. He was young, around his early twenties.

Myung-hee frowned, she wasn't going to hand over her bag when that item was inside.

As she was thinking of something to get out of being searched, another security guard nearby, a black middle-aged man, saw this and immediately interrupted the young man.

"No Mrs. Lee, you don't have to do that. Sorry for keeping up your time, you can go on ahead."

Myung-hee, hearing this, sighed in her heart but nodded casually at that security guard as she said.

"It's fine, Jimmy."

She then turned around and walked away.

After she left, the security guard named Jimmy turned to the young man and said.

"Look kid, I'm in charge of your training so I'll tell you this, there is an unspoken rule between us guards that trivial checks like that for people like her are unnecessary. You don't want to upset someone like that here for something so minor and then get fired, okay?"

The young man hearing this nodded his head and said.

"Yes, sir."

However, he then asked after a moment.

"Sir, who is she?"

Jimmy, who had looked away, turned back to him and responded.

"She's the assistant of the Lab Chief, but I heard she's more of a partner to her than an assistant. But those might be rumors. Either way, be careful next time."

A surprised expression appeared on the young man's face. He hadn't expected the person he stopped to be someone with such an important position in the facility. He couldn't help but be worried now.