Yixing dreams of joining the ranks of soldiers protecting the peace since he’s a small child. He’s his parents’ only child and his grandparents’ only grandchild; they’re nervous about sending him to the Capital by himself, but they put their trust in his trust in the school and its system. When he’s nine years old, he moves to the dorms and meets other children his age with similar dreams and beliefs.

Yixing fully expects to join the ranks of healers like his friends Kim Joonmyun, who has Lu Han the deer, and Kim Kibum, who has Lee Jinki the giant rabbit. They’re kind and nurturing, and Yixing thinks that fits him, too.

But he’s apparently alone in that thought, because he’s introduced to a shorter, compact shifter named Kim Minseok.