In the temporary Oh household, the elder of the two, Oh Serin, was the first to wake up on the early Tuesday morning. Sitting up in bed, she lightly slapped herself awake and almost systematically, she felt herself push back the blankets that were in her way. Trudging across the hallway to the same white door she saw every morning, Serin loudly knocked in attempts to wake her younger brother.

    "Hey, Oh Sehun. Wake up. I'm not gonna tell you twice." 

    On her way down the stairs, she tied her hair in a ponytail, not caring whether there were flyaways sticking about. There were other important matters before she would dress up for work; the matter being breakfast. She entered the kitchen that was rather too large for even a family of four, let alone two.

    "Oh Sehun! I'm not making your breakfast for you, so you better come if you don't want to starve!" she shouted. 

    Soon enough, she heard the dragging steps of her younger brother down the stairs.

    "Ugh, why did you have to fire the housekeeper? Would save thirty minutes of my sleep." he squinted his eyes at the unfamiliar brightness of the room while scratching his disheveled hair at the same time. Serin sighed. He was such a kid sometimes.

    "I don't need Father to be watching my every move through a housekeeper. If he's concerned about what I'm doing, he should call me personally." Serin turned away to gulp down a cup of orange juice. 

    "I still think that was unnecessary." Sehun crinkled his nose before stepping foot downstairs. Walking into the kitchen, he gathered milk and his favorite cereal. "Can you pass me a bowl and a spoon? You're closer to it than I am."

    Without saying a word, she passed them to him and the kitchen was once again filled with silence. Maybe it was because Serin normally didn't eat breakfast or it could have been that Sehun was in the process of chugging his food down right then and there. But Serin awkwardly coughed and immediately regret it after.

    "I'm going to go get ready. You should hurry as well." she looked at him once before heading back up the stairs. Sehun stared at her retreating figure and sighed, his hands noiselessly finding their way onto the ombre necklace around his neck.

    "Today, I'm going to be teaching you all about something that will hopefully not be a sensitive topic to some of you." Serin scanned the room as fourty pairs of eyes stared back at her, not daring to make a sound. 

    "As you know, Anomalies have been around for the past centuries now. Everyone one of you sitting here know about them, but it's only a part of it." she paused. "Ah, before that, does anyone in here not know what an Anomaly is?" The room stayed silent. "Okay then. Moving on."
    
    She traveled to the center of the room and faced the students again. "No scientists have figured out how this species, should I say, came to be. Of course, they're trying to search for answers, but so far, all they've come up with are hypothesis yet to be proven. All we know is that they exist and they are far more different than any of us." 

    Luhan's heart skipped a beat at her last word. 

    "Anomalies. On the outside, they look as human as everyone of you sitting here; you wouldn't be able to tell if an Anomaly was sitting here in this classroom, right next to you." Serin inwardly snorted, "but of course, it would be a ridiculous idea. Here at our school, we do not accept Anomalies whatsoever."

    Luhan slowly raised his hands. 

    "Yes, Luhan?"

    "Why is it that everybody hates the Anomalies?" Luhan asked carefully, trying not to show his frustration.

    Serin studied him. "Let me ask. Do you know someone close to you who is an Anomaly?" 

    He paused. "Yes," was his answer. 

    It's me. I'm the one that everybody despises, no, would despise.

    Luhan knew the answer to his question. He knew too well. After all, he had lived the answer his whole life. Years and years of practice, trying to control his other form. Every day, having to hide his identity. Always having to be cautious of every word that escaped his lips. Luhan had spent the majority of his life, struggling physically and mentally to try twice as hard to be like the other human beings.
    
    Yet, Luhan wanted to hear it again. Because if he heard it again and again, maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't hurt too much anymore. That's what he'd been trying to do these past years anyways.

    "Then I'll rephrase what you said. It's not true that everyone dislikes the Anomalies. Yes, it's true that many do try to avoid them today but there was a time when Anomalies were respected. I will be getting to that soon. Is that a good enough answer for you?" Serin blinked.

    "Yes." Luhan whispered, before awkwardly clearing his throat. "Thank you." 

    "Where was I?" Serin mumbled.

    "The part where a high-class school like us doesn't accept beasts like Anomalies." someone commented. The class snickered, except for Luhan and Boram, which surprised Luhan. 

    She's not laughing like the rest of the class. Does that mean...

    "That's enough. Seeing how you all act, it's not very high-class." Serin shushed the class. "As I was saying, Anomalies are indeed different. You all know that an Anomaly has a different form other than their human form. Some common examples would be a fox, tiger, bear, or even a dog. A rare form, on the other hand, would be a wolf." That caught Luhan by surprise. He had never heard anything about that from his father, and his father wasn't one to hide him from anything related to him. Was it something that even his father didn't know about? 

    "Back when the first Anomaly was discovered in the sixteenth century, everyone was amazed at the fact that this human, or what seemed to be human, had supernatural abilities. After about a year, many scientists gathered together and decided to breed more of the Anomalies. Cruel, don't you think? But that's not what they thought at the time. The people all saw it as a noble cause. However, as the scientists were studying these generations of Anomalies, there was a catch. Can anyone tell me what it was?"

    A student raised her hand. "Yes, Hyesoon?" Serin pointed out.

    "That not all of the children were Anomalies?" the young girl replied hesitantly.

    "You're actually correct." Serin smiled softly. "They saw that only female Anomalies would pass down the traits of an Anomaly down to their offspring. Male Anomalies didn't. So it would have been interesting if the first Anomaly we found was to be a male. Then, scientifically, he would have been the very first and last Anomaly, but it was a female Anomaly, which is why the traits were passed down. Soon enough, the population of the Anomalies spread and take note that during that time, Anomalies were still considered as a Citizen."

    Another student slowly raised his hands. "Have there been any Anomalies who were Royals?"

    Serin pursed her lips. "Yes and no. As Anomalies began spreading throughout, eventually, they were enlisted in the army in high positions, therefore, yes, they were technically considered Royals. Everyone thought that enlisting Anomalies as soldiers would be beneficial for them, and yes, they were right because as I mentioned, Anomalies have supernatural abilities."

    "As time passed, though, they began seeing how brutal war had become. Much more blood was shed and many Anomaly were practically wiped out. Citizens were attacked by enemy Anomalies, and the nation was under absolute chaos." The class was silent.

    "After seeing that Anomalies were more of a danger than a vessel, the King and his Officials ruled that they be exiled. Then about two centuries after being exiled, they were allowed to come back, but were no longer to be called Citizens. That's why today, there are three titles: Royals, Citizens, and Anomalies. Of course, Anomalies being the lowest."

    "I also said no was because back then and even today, it is quite impossible for a Royal and an Anomaly to 'mate,' if I may. Royal blood marries Royal blood, and Anomalies mate with Anomalies. It has been like that ever since and it will continue to be like so." As Serin finished her words, she saw two students whispering in the corner of the room. "Hyunsoo, Kwangjoo, what is it?"

    "It's um, nothing." Hyunsoo fidgeted, smiling sheepishly. "I was just asking him something. I'm sorry if I interrupted you."

    "No, it's fine. I was just wondering what 'question' you had. I might be able to answer it." Serin smiled coldly.

    "Well, I was just saying... I know someone who is a Citizen but she married an Anomaly... so..." he trailed off.

    "I've heard of several cases like that as well, but it's not very common. See, Anomalies are also different in the sense that they are born with a specific other. They would live their life to search for their mate, and when they do finally find each other, they immediately would know."  

    Luhan slightly looked over at Boram, or in other words, his mate. Luhan frowned. He knew she was the one, but she didn't seem to be thinking the same, otherwise she would have recognized him when they met at school. Thinking back, when he had approached her in his wolf form, he thought she had recognized him as her own because she wasn't backing away, but now he realized he was wrong. Did that mean she wasn't an Anomaly just like him? Was she a Citizen?

    "My whole life, there were high expectations of me so I couldn't really express myself because I had to watch what I said or did."

    Luhan had been so sure about Boram. That everything would end up perfectly.

    But now, he was just confused about everything.