Dandelion | ATEEZ Hunger Games!AU

7: Out Of The Exile

''You're drinking again,''

Hongjoong brought the glass to his lips, the sharp scent of the liquid inside burning through his nose while doing so. The door closed with a loud thud, but he paid no mind. Merely glancing down at the starch-brown alcohol, he took another sip, the warm liquid flowing down his throat. It burned him in all the ways he wanted it to, yet it was never enough. He knew that. Nothing would ever be enough. And so, he did it again and again, hoping that one day it could burn away the things that endlessly occupied him.

The apartment was quiet, aside from the approaching footsteps that seemed to echo even louder with the silence that had swept the room. The drapes were closed, the lights were off. It was dark all around the room, but that's what he liked. Slumped against the black leather couch, the material seemingly dug into his skin the longer he sat. He had been seated there for a while. In fact, all track of time appeared to be lost as the darkness of the room engulfed him. It could be morning, but it also could've very well been the late evening. He wouldn't know. Lately, he never knew.

The footsteps neared him, the light sounds of heels clanking against the stone floor until they stopped right beside him. Hongjoong didn't have to look around to see who it was. He could recognize that sultry voice everywhere he'd go, even if he didn't want to.

''Capitol Reserve? Really? You're drinking your life away with this?''

Hongjoong sighed before taking another sip of the alcohol, the liquid a bittersweet welcoming, ''My drinking is not your business, Seonghwa.''

''Except it is,'' Seonghwa argued, and for the first time that day, Hongjoong looked up at the man. His face was perfect like it always had been. There wasn't a day when Seonghwa didn't embody the term 'ethereal'. It was his trademark; beauty beyond imagining. It is what got him to the top of the Capitol fashion, something that undoubtedly spared his life at one point.

''I highly doubt that,'' Hongjoong lazily replied, his face turning back in front of him, the flashy colours of the furniture seemingly burning his eyes. He always hated those distasteful electric green chairs that were placed beside the large couch, and yet every year he'd come here, they would still be there. Hongjoong was pretty sure they did it on purpose. Just another minor thing to annoy him to ends. The Capitol seemed to love doing that.

''It is my business, especially when I've heard you haven't been out there in the open ever since the Parade,'' Seonghwa continued, his voice betraying nothing of frustration. ''You think they'll get Sponsors if you don't even bother to show up?''

''Whatever I say doesn't matter,'' Hongjoong idly said, leaning in to reach for the glass bottle on the table. ''They'll go for the Careers, anyway. That's what they always do.''

It wasn't a lie. Up until now, the Career Districts have won well over half of the games. They were ruthless, essentially undefeated. Everyone knew that, which only made the Capitol favour them even more. They sent Tributes who could afford to show off, who were healthy, well-fed and above all, deadly trained. Though it was technically prohibited, the Career Districts had been grooming their tributes since childhood, creating warriors who were leagues ahead of the other Districts. Their stance over the Games were much different, resulting in children who fought to win instead of to survive. It is why they always ended up on top and why the Capitol loved them. Whether it was all a play, which it likely was, it didn't take away the fact that those children seemed as passionate about the death games as the mindless sheep of the Capitol. Besides, a strong-built warrior was much more of an entertaining sight than a fragile child who trembled with every step they'd take.

No, it didn't matter. District 12 had no true fighters to begin with, so who exactly would the Capitol be rooting for if, by a miracle, they'd decide to sponsor them? Certainly not a child worthy of carrying the weight of the crown. They could only crumble, and that was a grim truth Seonghwa needed to accept as well.