The Trials of Neo City [WINWIN • YUTA]

🖤 7. Maze In the Mirror 🖤

"Wake up! Oh my god, we're late to your meeting!" Lay groaned, Renjun stirring and kicking him in his waist. Sicheng, a much lighter sleeper, sat up in confusion.

"M-Meeting?" He asked, words slurred with grogginess. Lay smacked Renjun's leg and looked at the older brother worriedly.

"Yes. You're an hour late to meet Choi-ce! Get your brother awake and fix your hair, we're going now." He shot back, clearly upset by this. Sicheng quite literally rolled out of bed and fell to the hardwood with a thud. Renjun woke up, eyelids fluttering open and hissing at the sight of their mentor.

A van ride this time, they arrived with a bodyguard at a glass facility, tall like the tributes' hotel had been. Fancy Capitol people walked in and out of the building and Sicheng felt strangely conscious of what he was wearing. Drag gray slacks and an off-white dress shirt, brown and blonde hair slightly tousled.

Lay made them follow him through the facility and four different elevators before finding the east wing of the fifteenth floor. A man sat a reception desk, back facing the large glass window.

"Beomgyu? Are they in?"

"Yes, but they were debating getting dinner. Yeonjun convinced Binnie to stay and meet them." A man with long black hair looked from Lay to Renjun to Sicheng. His lipstick was deep black with rhinestones matching his earrings and Sicheng was simply in awe.

"Perfect. May we see them? Consultation things." Lay asked, Beomgyu typing something on a holographic board, like the one in District Seven's city hall. Sicheng had only been once, but was amazed when he saw the board as a child.

Beomgyu pointed them to a door and Lay thanked him, before opening the door carefully for Renjun and Sicheng. A moment of silence followed and Sicheng worried about the stylist. Would they be uptight? Mean? Serious? Not serious enough? Lacking style themself?

He looked around a room furnished with fluffy periwinkle sofas and white tables and chairs, beautiful lights hanging overhead like beads. The glass windows showed off the Capitol's beautiful city skyline and Sicheng was jealous in that moment that people woke up and simply saw the sight, as if it were nothing. Luxurious rugs and paintings adorned the walls, clothes and glitter draped over a few mannequins around the studio. Two flamboyant looking men looked at him, one nearly confused, one relieved, sitting across from each other on the sofas.

"Is that them? They're so adorable!" A man with pink hair streaked with blue and blue lip gloss to match squealed, running over to the brothers. He almost tripped in his expensive looking boots, the heel nearly making him trip. He wore a light pink sweater that exposed his stomach and jeans too large, yet stylish.

The taller man shook his head and placed his hands in his coat pocket, blue hair matching the deep sapphire of it. "Yeonjun! Please, they already might be overwhelmed! You must have had a rather... hard day." He sympathized, walking past the pink haired man and instead reaching a hand out to the brothers. "Poor things. I'm Soobin Choi. Half of Choi-ce. We're some of the best stylists in the Capitol, promise that."

The man with the pink hair stood behind Soobin. "Get it? Choi-ce? Because it's like 'choice', but it's our name? Oh, nevermind." The man frowned when the pun was lost on the brothers. "Anyways, I'm Yeonjun Choi."

Sicheng took his hand and didn't know how to respond. "Ah. Nice to meet you, I'm Sicheng. That's Renjun." He nodded to his brother. Pink hair (Yeonjun, was it?) decided to make his way back up and messed idly with Renjun's hair, picking at the split ends.

"Touch my hair and you die." Renjun warned, Yeonjun just cooing and still playing with the dark, long locks of thin hair.

"Aw! Binnie, doesn't he remind you of Tae? Oh, our sweet little Taehyun!" Yeonjun dramatically swooned, Renjun scowling. "You remind us of our son!"

"How fun." Renjun replied dryly, Soobin pulling Yeonjun away from the boys and shooting him a look.

Soobin looked to Lay. "I'm sorry. After what happened last year, he's been doing this toxic positivity thing, I'm sorry about that. I think he thinks if he smiles enough..." He pinched the bridge of his nose as Lay shook his head assuring him it was fine and that he understood. Sicheng looked on, confused. Soobin spoke again, explaining that all he had to do was have a few talks with the boys and take their measurements and they could be on their way. In the meantime, though, Soobin directed Lay to a mini-fridge in the room with a wink if he was thirsty.

"If it's okay with the two of you..." Soobin addressed the brothers and they both peeked up. "Yeonjun would like to speak to the youngest, and I would like to consult with you." He looked at Sicheng in his eyes, and the younger noticed the man's wide eyes seemed empty. Seemed distant, despite his smile that curved upwards, Sicheng trying not to stare at his deep dimples every time he did.

Sicheng nodded and Renjun huffed, Yeonjun jumping up and squealing, tugging on the youngest's arm and pulling him towards the periwinkle couches. Soobin rolled his eyes and motioned for Sicheng to follow him to another part of the studio, a room with more glass and two larger pink sofas, a singular sunset painting on the wall in between them.

"Do you have any ideas for your chariot costume?" Soobin asked quietly and suddenly this all became real to Sicheng. He was here as a tribute for the Games. He was to ride the streets in a costume to be shown off to the Capitol. He was to train and die within a week, the next week.

A sick feeling bubbled up as he shook his head, Soobin nodding and writing something down. Sicheng clutched as his abdomen thinking about the chariots. It was a tradition to be styled in your district's garb or a costume representing it. Representing what your district provides to the Capitol. The sick, sick Capitol people and their twisted tradition.

"No. Not at all..." His voice was shaky as he messed with his nails, pressing them against his thigh to avoid biting them.

"No idea? We've got a lot of work to do." Soobin chuckled, eyes becoming serious as he leaned across the table and placed his clipboard on his lap. "Now tell me, who is Sicheng Dong and what is District Seven to him?"