Love is Stronger than Blood (Snowdrop Oneshots)

75- the reaping

I just watched all of the hunger games movies, so here's a short hanmu version.

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District 12. July 4, 1400 hours. 72 years after the dark days.

The summer day was hot, but not unbearably so. Dust lifted in the breeze and swirled around the throng of young men and women gathering in the center of District 12. Lee Kangmu shuffled through the crowd, dressed in his best clothes– well, the ones that had the fewest rips and stains on them– while keeping a tight hold on his younger brother Gangsun's hand. Lee Gangsun, like most up-and-coming teenage boys who hadn't quite had the time to learn to appreciate quiet gestures and open affection from others yet, usually wouldn't be caught dead holding hands with anyone, much less his brother, with whom he loudly bickered with on an almost-daily basis, but today he clasped it tightly like his life depended on never letting go.

Kangmu, three years older than his brother at 18, pushed himself up on his tiptoes, just managing to catch a glimpse of his sister, little 12-year-old Kangsuk, or Suki as she was affectionately known by her family and everyone in their neighborhood, slowly making her way to the front of the line, where the officials were taking a drop of each child's blood for their records. Usually, Kanghwa, the oldest Lee child, would be there for her like Kangmu was for Gangsun, but last year Kanghwa had turned 19, thereby disqualifying her from the games. Her birthday celebration had been the biggest one Kangmu had ever seen. Their father, the town butcher, had been saving up for months to be able to buy an entire cake from the Mellarks' bakery. It was small, but it represented the family's little victory: the assurance that Kanghwa would never be sent to the Capitol to be made a spectacle out of before she died brutally. Now, only three Lee children remained in the drawing, and this was Kangmu's last year. He only had to make it through this final Reaping, and then he'd be safe, like his sister, who was watching anxiously with their parents from the sidelines, held back by a line of white-uniformed, gun-bearing Peacekeepers.

They made it past the records table and took their place amongst the pool of potential District 12 male tributes. The girls, including Suki, were across the square in front of the Mayor's mansion, separated by Peacekeepers and a small, bare aisle. Gangsun still hadn't let go of his hand, but Kangmu didn't mind.

Just think, he tried to calm his racing anxiety. It's not gonna be me. There are plenty of others here. Even with all the extra tesserae, it won't be me. I'm not the only one who put in multiple slips.

Usually, he and Kanghwa would split the tesserae names between them, but with Kanghwa out now, he had insisted on taking them all for himself. He wouldn't let Gangsun or Suki be entered in more times than they had to. It was his last year. He could make it. He always did. Just one more Reaping.

A woman in a sparkly dress, high heels, elaborate makeup and an even more ridiculous wig, tottered up to the standing microphone. It was the same woman every year, but Kangmu had never bothered to learn her name. She wore a bright smile, but he was sure she couldn't have actually been happy to be there. She greeted the crowd, going on her usual spiel about the meaning of the games, but Kangmu hardly listened. 

"And now for the drawing of this year's tributes from District 12!" the woman announced. "As always, ladies first."

She walked over to the giant glass bowl sitting on a stool to her left, reached a perfectly-manicured hand inside and drew out a single slip of paper. She walked back to the microphone and unfolded it, then paused. The crowd's breathing also collectively stopped until she spoke.

"Jang Hanna!"

A murmur went over the girls' side of the square, and a young woman was brought up to the stage. She wore a simple dark green dress and worn-through brown leather shoes. Her black hair spilled over her shoulders, but it couldn't hide the fact they were shaking as she stood before the entire district. Kangmu knew her— she lived just down the street with her parents, a seamstress and a coal miner. They'd talked a few times, not much, but Hanna had helped Suki learn to read when she had been having a bit more difficulty than usual. Kangmu glanced at Suki, her face paler than normal, as she watched her old tutor up on the stage. Like he did every year, he felt a pang of sorrow and anger. Hanna's life had just become another one of the Capitol's playthings. He thought he heard a woman screaming Hanna's name from the sidelines, though he didn't dare turn around and look.