The Trials of Neo City [WINWIN • YUTA]

🖤 17. Iris 🖤

Sicheng ran down the halls frantically. He, Yeonjun, and Lay had split up to find Renjun. His brother had simply disappeared and Sicheng was worried about him.

He raced down the empty hall, noticing that this one seemed abandoned. There were no stylists, no tributes, no officials or hosts anywhere. Just linoleum tiles and dim lights, with closed doors lining the whole corridor.

Except for one, which was cracked open ever so slightly. Sicheng paused in his tracks to hear sobs and heavy breathing. He opened the door slowly and carefully, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Renjun!" Sicheng gasped, seeing his brother curled up in a closet, face streaked with dried tears. The boy sniffled and looked up in surprise, before gasping and slinking further into the darkness.

"Go away!" Renjun argued, though his voice betrayed him. He didn't really want to be alone, but didn't want to face Sicheng after what had happened earlier.

Sicheng paused, taking in the silence of the hallway. He looked at his brother and sighed.

"I'm really sorry for losing it earlier. I'm not... I'm just tense. That doesn't make what I did okay. I just... you really shouldn't provoke the Capitol, Jun." Sicheng cautiously and slowly approached the teen on the floor, who sat with his legs to his chest and his head down. "Between the axe thing and this... I'm afraid of what's gonna happen."

"I know. I'm so sorry, I can't keep my mouth shut. And now mom's probably in danger and District Seven's going to feel the consequences and I-" Renjun stopped rambling to swallow the lump forming in his throat, choking him up. "It's all my fault. I fucked up."

"Jun..." Sicheng but his lip, trying to think of the most delicate way to put this. "You didn't fuck up. You made a mistake and got angry... and that's natural. They can't expect you to be okay with this."

"But they do. Winnie... I'm so sorry. I wish I could go back, I'm so-" a hiccup ripped through Renjun's voice. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. I... people are probably in danger now. It's my- it's my fault, I'm so stupid!"

Sicheng kept his mouth shut, but rubbed the back of his brother's scalp gently. He couldn't say he wasn't angry and incredibly worried that the Capitol might retaliate, but he also didn't want to make Renjun feel any worse. Renjun knew he messed up, so Sicheng didn't feel any need to reiterate it.

"There's a banquet." Sicheng reminded delicately, sitting down next to him. It was another dinner put on for the tributes to make alliances and learn about each other.

A last supper of sorts.

"I'm not hungry." Renjun sniffled, wiping his eyes frantically. "God, I look stupid anyways."

"Crying isn't stupid. Neither is making a mistake. All we can do now is move on." Sicheng shut his eyes tightly and tried to digest his own advice, but couldn't.

Renjun's tiny frame curled closer into Sicheng's, eyes puffy and exhausted from his long day out. Yeonjun and Lay were probably looking for the both of them, but that wasn't what Sicheng really cared about right now.

Right now, he needed to comfort his brother. His brother who very well could die in a matter of hours. His brother who he may never see again. His brother who he may never play hide-and-seek with in the woods, ever again.

His heart nearly broke thinking about a life without Renjun, his baby brother. Reality was closing in faster than either of them could register.

"Winnie?"

"Yeah, Jun."

Renjun's eyes welled up with new, fresh tears as he sleepily shut them. Sicheng held his brother tight, reminded again of how small, how young he is. A kid, a child who didn't deserve this. A kid who was scared and didn't wanna admit it. The two sat in silence, holding on to each other for a little while longer, before Renjun's whisper filled the small room again.

"Winnie, I wanna go home." Renjun's voice was sadder and more desperate than Sicheng had ever heard it. Sicheng's heart broke, reality sinking in further.

This was it. There was no escaping their fates. They'd either die in the arena or come out victorious, but there was no way both of them could exist together after tonight.

Sicheng held his baby brother, shutting his eyes tightly. Renjun pushed his face into Sicheng's shoulder, sobbing now. Sicheng's own eyes welled up with tears, feeling the despair looming above them.

"I do too, Jun."