Two and half hours of driving in Leeteuk´s car. The latter was the only one talking because I was still angry at Heechul and opted to stay quiet and sulking. I swore to never see him again even if I had a chance. Another reason for my quietness was a little different. I kept check on where we were going, through which ways and how long it took from one turning to another. Not doing this on the way to Heechul´s house a week ago proved to be a mistake. My first escape was a pure guess and because of that one failure I suffered a lot. I´m talking about the knee injury that refused to heal due to the following happenings.

“Here we are,” Leeteuk announced when he turned right and the asphalt road disappeared in favour of gravel.

I looked to the front and already knew I wouldn´t like it here. Either there were many break outs or the kids inside were hard to handle because the security was no joke. I shivered seeing all that precaution and safety measures. Tall fence from sturdy concrete, trained guards at the gate and dogs tied to their doghouse. When the car stopped, I even hesitated to get off to be honest.

“I know what you are thinking, Hyukjae,” Leeteuk put his hand on my shoulder as we were standing at the main entrance, “but we need to protect you.” So the security isn´t against the people from the inside but from the outside? True, that makes sense. What I was even thinking? I relaxed and nodded.

“So, shall we go?” Leeteuk gave me his best smile and opened the huge wooden doors.

The hall was huge and old but I calmed down seeing that the inside of the building was quite lively. Judging from the uniforms, most of the people were students. Many of them stopped to look at the newcomer which made me feel a little uneasy. Talking to others was one thing but becoming the centre of attention was something completely different. I decided to stick to Leetetuk who began walking through one of the hallways. As we went around the school, more and more students started following us. I heard a few calls and whistles too. Luckily in a minute we dove into a big office.

“Ah, Jungsu-yah,” an older man came to greet us. I bowed politely, ninety degrees. “So this is Lee Hyukjae? What a good boy.”

“Seongsaeng-nim,” Leeteuk also bowed deeply and I was glad that I chose to be polite. It seems like even the head of ASC has respect of the elder. I better watch out then.

“Everything is prepared. You can help Hyukjae take his belongings to the dormitory and I will send in someone who will guide him around,” the headmaster shortly announced and although he was smiling, I could feel that his words would be absolute no matter what. If the kids here aren´t ordinary, I guess it´s natural for the headmaster to be a tough man.

“Alright,” Leeteuk smiled back, “but I will return. There is more I would like to discuss with you.” What an interesting display of powers. Seems like Leeteuk hyung is no weakling either, of course he knows how to stand his ground. It´s a pity I won´t be able to be here and hear their conversation. I´m desperate to learn about what exactly is going on.

Nevertheless fifteen minutes later I was sitting on a bed in a small room. Apart from the single bed, there was also a wardrobe and a table with chair. I was glad to have my own bathroom. But once again, that was probably given with my wings and all. I´m really becoming more curious about the others. Are we all those so called chimeras? And what does it even mean anyway? I bit my lip; I was nervous and a little scared. I didn´t know how tense I was until someone knocked on my door and I jumped startled. Calm down, Hyukjae, I told myself and went to open.

“Hi, my name is Lee Seunggi. I came to show you around the institute,” a nice looking guy greeted me as soon as I opened. But what made me surprised was the fact that Seunggi´s irises had the shape of a black minus and his tongue had a strange shape too. What´s that? Okay, man up, Hyukjae!

“H-Hello, I´m Lee Hyukjae,” I greeted awkwardly and hoped the nice boy wouldn´t feel offended by my surprised reaction.

“Nice to meet you!” Seunggi cheered and gestured for me to follow him. I closed the door behind me and hurried to join him only after locking it safely. Better be careful around here. “Can I be honest?” He asked me once I appeared by his side. “You look pretty much normal, Hyukjae.” What a strange remark I thought at that time but soon I realised the reason.

As we walked through the dormitory, dining room and school building, other inhabitants of the institute insisted on joining us. They were curious but mostly friendly so I had no reason to avoid them. But just like Lee Seunggi, almost all the students had visible animal like traits. A girl with long ears, horse tailed guy, a boy with two large holes in his uniform so the bird wings could move freely, a beauty covered with scales or a big guy with fur. Rarely anyone had human shaped eyes and I could count people that looked normal on one hand. And even those just like me weren´t ordinary.

“Seunggi? Can we take a break?” I stopped in the middle of our tour.

“Why? It´s not that big here,” he laughed. I gave him a fake smile to not look rude but inside I felt pretty much annoyed.

“To be honest, I got injured a few days ago and can´t walk long distances yet,” I answered but refused to give the details of my injury. I felt like the less they know the better. Especially about my weaknesses. I´m a careful person and although I´m smiling a lot today, I´m doing it out of calculation. Until I find out who is alright and what is safe to do or say, I´ll keep as low profile as possible.

“Oh, I´m sorry!” Seunggi felt apparently guilty for his joke. “Let´s rest in the cafeteria then, I´ll treat you to something small as a welcome gift!”

“Thank you,” I gave him a smile that was this time quite sincere. This person looks honest to me and if he buys me strawberry milk, I will consider trusting him.

“So? How do you like it here? It´s not much but it has some perks if you manage to find them,” Seunggi said once we were back in my room. He helped me unpack since my knee began hurting by the end of the tour, even if we had the break.

“I could imagine better places but it will do for the meantime,” I shrugged and Seunggi laughed.

“Actually I wonder how long we would be here. I will tell you something,” the pretty boy turned serious and his frog eyes made the atmosphere even eerier. “Everyone here is almost the same age; the biggest difference is three years. Isn´t it strange? You are also seventeen, right?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed and frowned at the received information. “Do the older ones not go away? I can imagine that you enter this place at a certain age. It´s possible, like in the educational system.”

“At first I thought so too but I found out,” he stopped and his eyes widened. Quite a scary sight taking into account his strange irises. “I´m talking too much.” He suddenly frowned and was about to leave.

“Wait!” I called after him. “Does it mean you know more than the others do?” Seunggi froze in his place and I knew I caught him. What luck, this guy is similar to me.

“Maybe?” Lee Seunggi faced me and his voice quieted. Is he possibly looking for an ally?

“Then you might be interested in what I have to say too,” I smirked and the look on the frog guy’s face gave him away. Lee Seunggi might be my source.

Asa! I told you there will be lots of new info. :) Thank you for reading, have a nice day! - PandaHero