August, 2017 - Yonsei University, Seoul 

"...and so, Zhang Zhixian disappeared, and no one saw him again after the shipwreck off the coast of Taiwan," explained the lecturer, writing down her final thoughts on the whiteboard as she addressed the lecture theatre, "Would anyone in the class care to speculate why he escaped from the scrutiny of the scientific community when he did the world such a favour?"

Murmurs rose amongst the crammed hall of students as answers were tossed out amongst them, raised hands one after another- that he was ashamed of his work, that people could've been hunting him down to hold him hostage, or that he was simply despondent after returning with such an important discovery to only get ostracised once again, and at last, one hand shot up belonging to someone in one of the front row seats.

The woman stood up, brushing locks of her slightly-curled brown hair aside as her bicolored pupils (one blue and reflective, the other dark hazel) scanned the crowd of students before she spoke, trying to reorganise her thoughts.

"He faked his own death," she stated plainly with an air of finality, "Like some of you guys said, he was ashamed of what he did, so why wouldn't he do that?" The students turned to each other, murmurs once again taking over the initial hush of the crowd. A few mutters of 'of course she thinks she's right, she's a shifter' and 'only a shifter would think that they have the right to talk about their leader' could be caught amidst the noise, and the lecturer raised her hand once more to silence everyone.

"Your assignment of the week would be to delve into research of Zhang Zhixian, his work exploring the psychology of both humans and animals, as well as what led to his discovery and subsequent disappearance. I expect a thesis essay in APA format, along with an accompanying presentation of the question I posted you- what reason you feel he had disappeared and taken his research with him," the lecturer informed the group, and the chattering was soon replaced by the occasional grumbles rising from the crowd, "With that, class is dismissed."

Everyone rose, jostling past each other to leave before at last, the girl from before packing her items as others pushed through her to leave and it didn't take long for the theatre to thin out, leaving only her and the lecturer behind. The lecturer sighed, pinching her brows before beckoning her over, and she dutifully followed, bringing her bag with her.

"I understand your enthusiasm in the subject, Minkwan," explained the lecturer and Minkwan nodded attentively, still smiling slightly at the acknowledgment, "But you can't just speculate that major figures in shifter lore are 'still alive' just because you're one of them and feel they're indestructible because they're superhumans. Unless you come up with very conclusive evidence, I'd have to penalise you." Minkwan's face fell as the lecturer left, her blubbers of 'but's hanging in the subsequent silence as she finally trudged outside to her next venue, unable to refute the other's claims.

While she walked, Minkwan couldn't help but notice her own shadow following her- one of a strange, rabbitlike creature that she recognised as her secondary form, and one of the rare things that set her apart from the other humans. People whispered amongst themselves and dodged her, afraid of coming to physical contact, and she too kept her head down, afraid of causing trouble. She soon ran into another, bouncing off the other with a grunt as she opened her mouth to curse before she looked up, face lighting up at the appearance of the older man.

"What brings you here, uncle Gwangseob?" she asked as the man helped her up, and his noncommittal shrug answered nothing, "You don't even go outside most times."

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The man clenched his jaw at the insinuation- unlike the others who were warmly bundled up due to the winter season, he only wore a woollen trenchcoat over a blue turtleneck and long khaki slacks, and people occasionally cast him weird, concerned looks while he gestured for Minkwan to sit with him on a bench far outside, away from others. 

"Needed help with something only you can help with," he stated in a monotone, staring staunchly forward as he spoke, "You're the genius linguist here, not me." Gwangseob's motions seemed stiff, almost mechanical, and it was apparent that the color of his eyes was the same blue, reflective shade of Minkwan's left eye.

Minkwan took a seat beside him and immediately puffed her cheeks out at the sarcastic compliment, huffing softly as she folded her arms. "Well, you're the genuuuuuuuuis scientist between us. You don't need my help," she complained, but seemed taken by the prospect of travel, "What are we going to do this time? More robots?"

A scoff escaped Gwangseob, blinking twice at her brazenness at simply declaring this. "I didn't build you a bionic eye for no reason," he sighed, rolling his eyes, "We're going on a trip. Offshore Taiwan. I'm tracing a trail of Stuff for my own project. If we could rob the vault where it's being stored, I'd be set on my next project and powering this-" He paused to gesture at his body, opening his palm to show the unnatural lining of his fingers, "-for life."

This time, it was Minkwan's turn to scowl.

'Stuff' was the layman's term for sloshonium, a powerful radioactive substance that was usually used to power the shifters' neighborhoods and defense structures. Once laid down in a specific formation, contained sloshonium caches reacted with each other to create powerful forcefields that were impossible to breach by vehicles, and the shifters employed this to create stun guns and containment cells.

Sloshonium was also the power source of the shifters' main form of transportation- teleportation devices that they usually wore on their wrist as though they were smartwatches. By inputting the postal code of a specific place, a shifter could easily be teleported to the place with barely any cooldown depending on the distance (teleporting from country to country could power down the device for weeks), with only an occasional migraine and disorientation following the process. Due to the clutter of the consistent input, however, an overload could send one shifter to the inputted location of another shifter's and thus, some shifters continued to use public transportation for fear of being transported to some far-flung place. 

It was taboo to consider even stealing sloshonium, for it was known to be highly unstable and thus well-guarded by the leaders of the shifters after several disasters harvesting and handling sloshonium by enterprising shifters. By all counts, it was simply too difficult, and it was too much to risk the wrath of the Grandmasters: the military leaders of Area 36, the main base of operations for all shifters in South Korea. 

Gwangseob, however, was not a man to play by the rules, having once actively worked against the shifters in an attempt to gain their power. An inventor and businessman by trade, the man was soon taken to the Grandmasters after his failed coup and swiftly punished, maimed and hurled into exile in an orphanage where he was surrounded by the shifters he so despised.

When everyone had abandoned him when he had been reduced to a paralysed shell of his former self, Minkwan had been the only person to show him kindness, and Gwangseob was a man to return favours despite his apathy to all else. Even now, his consciousness piloted a robotic exoskeleton of another man, his physical body killed by shifters who were angered at his pardon, and to keep his current form going, he needed the sloshonium, which was a secret kept by most shifters away from the humans to prevent them from gaining the power to teleport. 

It was an understatement, however, to claim that Gwangseob had other plans for the sloshonium he so desired beyond his own needs, and Minkwan fingered the dogtag necklace around her neck before her eyes narrowed, realising what a trip to Taiwan could possibly mean for her thesis.

"Dad is going to be so pissed," she finally commented, frowning slightly and furrowing her brows at the suggestion. Chewing her lip for a few moments, she exhaled and gave a nod, looking once more towards Gwangseob. "When are we leaving?"