Hunger | A Jikook Hunger Games AU

̶̶̶̶ «̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ «̶ ̶̶̶ Chapter Twenty-Three ̶ ̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ »̶ ̶̶̶

"It's cloudy today."

Yoongi nods, sipping his coffee. "Fall is right around the corner."

"This was Jimin's favorite weather," Jungkook reveals. "Slightly overcast, but still warm. He loved working outside...being with his cows. He was so good at his job. Life was so simple back then..."

It was mid-September now. Jungkook's eighteenth birthday had come and gone, but Jungkook didn't celebrate. Time no longer made sense to the boy. Since the end of The Hunger Games, Jungkook had just been in limbo. It had been two months...or maybe even longer than that? He just wasn't sure.

The love of his life died in his arms.

Yoongi came into his home every morning to drink coffee and chat. They were next-door neighbors now in the victors' village. There were a few other people littered around the gated neighborhood—past victors and their families. But Jungkook hasn't really spoken to them.

The female victor was quite sickly—Yoongi told him her family were making preparations to find new housing once she passed, as they would no longer be allowed to live in the lavish home once the victor was dead. The other male tribute, on the other hand, while middle-aged and healthy, was simply just recluse, refusing to talk to anyone, or really even leave his home. Yoongi told Jungkook that he had only ever seen him picking up groceries that were delivered to him off his front porch, before quickly slamming his front door.

Yoongi's parents lived in the house next door along with their son. Jungkook had met them a few times, but he wasn't a great house guest in his state, so he didn't spend much time in their presence.

They were incredibly impoverished before Yoongi won The Games three years back. Yoongi's father sheared sheep for a perpetually disgruntled employer, and his mother mended clothing for little pay. Their son winning The Games was a massive lifestyle change—but they lived modestly despite the wealth their son accumulated.

Jungkook's family, however opted to stay in the home Jungkook grew up in. They were comfortable enough with their lives—Jungkook had always been taught to be grateful that his childhood wasn't worse, because it absolutely could have been. The fact that they almost always had food on the table was enough for them. They also didn't want to move into a village built by the people that killed their elder son. Jungkook understood...but he was lonely.

He didn't want to live at his parents' house with them though. He didn't want them to have to see the version of their son that came back from The Games. The things they had loved about Jungkook had died the second Jimin did. They visited him often, of course, bringing well wishes from neighbors, and some of Jungkook's favorite foods—though using the money Jungkook gave them. But despite the immense love Jungkook felt from them, he always felt a pit in his chest when they came by, knowing how terrible it must be watching their son be like this. When he looked at his parents these days...all he felt was guilt.

He felt the same about Jihyun. He and Jihyun had become a bit closer since Jungkook had returned—as close as people could get in Jungkook's state. They were mostly bonding over grief...it was the epitome of trauma bonding. He came to Jungkook's home once a week, sometimes twice. Occasionally, Jihyun would ask for advice, like how one could go back to living a semi-normal life with your older brother dying so young...but Jungkook struggled to answer.

How could he give advice when he could barely live himself?

When Junghyun died, it was devastating. He spent the first week or so continuously crying, unable to eat. He grew up quite fast in the subsequent months. After a while, the sharp, intense grief turned into a dull ache that always lingered, but was able to be ignored if Jungkook was distracted with good things within his life.