When Sunghoon wakes up, he finds Eunbi puttering quietly around the living room.

"Good morning, are you heading down for breakfast?" He asks, causing the escort to jump and turn to look at him sheepishly.

"Oh no, dear. I've already eaten— it's back to the infirmary with me."

Sunghoon glances at the door opposite of his, "How is she doing?

"About the same as she was. She keeps muttering the same words and won't stop fidgeting. I hope she'll be alright before the games..."

While Eunbi gives a pensive look, Sunghoon escapes to the elevator, thankfully picking up no one else by the time he reaches the ground floor.

The dining hall is quiet today, and even the careers don't seem to be exchanging loud conversation— perhaps they are in a bad mood.

Jongseong waves him over to his table, and Sunghoon makes his way over, glancing shortly at the rest of the room.

Riki, Sunoo, and some of the mentors from the other districts are talking in the corner of the room far away from the other tributes. Jungwon and Jaeyun are sipping coffee closer to the training center in a heated debate. Heeseung is nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning, Jongseong. How was your sleep?" Sunghoon asks, smiling briefly at the avox who follows him to the table and places his food down in front of him.

"Pretty good, I would say. I took a walk before heading back to the apartment and it was very relaxing."

They eat in silence for a few minutes before Sunghoon swallows back a particularly nasty bit of fruit, "How have your tributes been coming along?"

"They've been fine. Not the best, not the worst." Jongseong shrugs, handing over his now empty plate to one of the passing avoxes.

"Do you know what you're going to be practicing today?"

Sunghoon contemplates, head resting on his palms, "Not entirely sure. I might brush up on throwing knives and survival tactics. I still can't make a reliable fire."

Jongseong hums in acknowledgement, and the two of them sit together until the doors to the training center open up. Sunghoon notices that Heeseung still hasn't arrived by the time they do.

He feverishly greets Seon when they enter together, and they decide to start off at the sword station at the latter's request.

"So, do you think your main weapon is going to be a sword?" Sunghoon asks casually as they hit their weapons against each other in a mock fight.

"Not sure. I was told not to spend too much time on whatever weapon I choose— I assume they told you the same thing. But how are we supposed to get enough practice to be good at it if we can't spend the time on it now?" Seon asks absentmindedly, stabbing one of the dummies behind him.

"Yeah, they did." Sunghoon hums, spinning the weapon around in his hands.

"Have you even tried out your weapon of choice yet?" Seon asks, leaving a long gash in the plastic.

Sunghoon jabs the air, "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you that, would it?"

The younger one smiles, "It seems like you've uncovered my tricks."

The two do some more mock sparring, and eventually move on from the station about an hour later. Sunghoon looks briefly at the spectating section and still sees no sign of Heeseung.

Odd .

"Should we try out shelter making?" Sunghoon suggests, pointing to the abandoned station close to the ropes course.

"Why not, we'll probably need it if we want to have a base camp." Seon shrugs, turning to the station and greeting the instructor who merely points to the materials on the ground.

The lesson is comprehensive, if not ridiculously boring. By the time they get a pile of leaves and sticks in a formidable and standing shelter, it is already time for lunch.

Thanking the instructor, the two of them exit to the dining hall for lunch.

All the mentors are now sitting at the same table, which they both gravitate towards before Sunoo calls them over. Heeseung is still missing from the group.

"Are you guys enjoying your shelter building?" Jongseong chuckles, putting some of his meat on Sunghoon's plate.

"I mean, it's useful, right?" Seon says defensively, picking up his utensils.

"It really depends on what arena you get, but I wouldn't settle down anywhere for too long." Jaeyun warns.

"You'll get caught off-guard if someone realizes you're camping there— especially if it's the careers." Jungwon adds, taking a sip of his water.

"Be sure to try out the edible plants and throwing knives again." Sunoo chirps, taking a big bite of his food.

"Will do." Sunghoon responds, starting to eat some of his lunch.

Sunoo and Riki chatter between each other while the rest of the table finishes up their plates.

"Where's Heeseung, by the way?" Seon asks the question that seems to have been on most of the table's minds.

"No clue." Jungwon admits, interlocking his fingers.

"Maybe he has a hangover from last night?" Riki suggests from the opposite end of the table.

"I've seen him drink two bottles of wine in one sitting before. He doesn't get hungover." Jongseong disputes, glancing towards the entrance of the dining hall.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon, don't worry." Jaeyun smiles.

No one mentions Heeseung again for the rest of their lunch, but all the mentors seem to be equally on edge by the time their table is cleared.

"Don't forget: throwing knives, plant identification, and survival skills." Jungwon pats him on the shoulder a little too forcefully when they get up.

Sunghoon nods and follows Seon back into the monochrome training center, making a beeline towards the throwing knives.

They are still the same as he remembers, and he tosses one carefully between both of his hands before lining it up with one of the targets.

Him and Seon throw their knives simultaneously and they embed into the thighs of the dummies.

"It really was beginner's luck, huh?" Seon laughs, spinning another which lands loosely on its right shoulder.

"I guess so." Sunghoon humors him, his next knife landing in the dummy's lower abdomen.

They throw a full belt of knives before speaking again, "Have you considered what you're going to do for your interview yet?"

Sunghoon turns to face him, "No, actually. I'm not a ruthless person, nor can I feign weakness because of the rest of the tributes..."

He trails off to throw another knife that lands just under the throat. He smiles subconsciously.

"Maybe I'll just pose as your average everyday person— I'm sure the Capitol citizens would still eat it up. Hopefully Sunoo can give me some better suggestions."

Seon hurls the final knife on his belt. "You're really lucky to be working with your mentors. It's like you have someone specializing in everything important helping you out."

Sunghoon indeed thinks about that a lot, "I am for sure. There's really nothing special about me anyway, I'm pretty sure they just admired my courage for volunteering."

They go to retrieve their knives, "Well perhaps courage is what sets everyone here apart."

"Should we—" Sunghoon turns around only to run directly into someone.

"Watch where you're going, Park." K barks, causing Seon to look over from where he is gathering his knives.

Sunghoon twitches. He really doesn't want to make enemies, especially with one of the only capable tributes in the arena, but it seems like fate has him taking that path anyway.

"Cat got your tongue? Maybe all the coddling has made you go soft." K clicks his tongue, standing up taller if even possible.

He towers over him.

"Can't stand up for yourself either. It would be a shame if I were to kill you. Would you prefer to go out with a sword or a knife?"

Sunghoon has nothing to say to him.

"How'd you even get all the mentors on your side, huh?" K seems to be monologuing, and if Sunghoon thought the careers were in a bad mood earlier he can certainly tell that they are now.

"Doing them some sort of favors, Park? There's nothing special about... speak up ." He snaps, and Sunghoon shrinks in his place.

He can feel Seon lingering behind him perfectly still, and it seems like both of them feel frozen in place.

The doors of the training room open quietly in the background but fall on mostly deaf ears.

"God, the less you talk the more you piss me off. Say something , Park, godammit!"

In the blink of an eye he reaches back for a loose knife at the top of the rack, and is already bringing the weapon down on him when a hand shoots out to grab his offensive arm.

At first Sunghoon thinks it's Seon, who has finally unfrozen from his spot, but he quickly stumbles back when he recognizes Heeseung— who disarms K of the weapon immediately and shoves him into a headlock.

"Stand down." Heeseung says calmly, although K is practically shaking in his grasp.

"I'm going to kill you, Park. I'm going to kill you! " K seethes while two peacekeepers come in to escort him out of the room— Heeseung never releasing the hold he has on the boy.

Sunghoon remains frozen in place, all eyes in the stiflingly quiet room are drawn on him.

"I am so sorry, Sunghoon." Seon apologizes after what feels like eons of silence, "I should've stepped in but I froze."

Sunghoon reaches out to touch his shoulder in a daze, "It's okay... I wouldn't know what to do either. Let's just... work on identifying plants."

The room takes on an eerie silence, with the only sounds resonating through the room being the weapons clattering on the floor, and the sounds of footsteps on the concrete.

Seon and Sunghoon don't exchange conversation for the rest of the afternoon, only standing beside each other as they attempt the plant identification for the second time.

Perhaps it was because Sunghoon was distracted by his earlier confrontation with K, but he is absolutely terrible at matching plants during the session. He consistently gets the same plants wrong and matches others in categories that make no sense. He even misidentifies nightlock.

When the tributes exit the training center for the night, Heeseung is outside the doors waiting for him. K is nowhere in sight.

"We're having dinner together tonight." He smiles, and although it should be a proposition it sounds more like a statement.

Heeseung's arm finds a way around Sunghoon's shoulder, and he guides the boy out of the dining hall.

Sunghoon turns slightly and waves goodbye to Seon, who waves shortly back before going to sit down at one of the dining room tables.

It feels like everyone's eyes are on him as they leave, but Sunghoon pretends not to notice and convinces him it's just his anxiety speaking. They step into the elevator together.

"Quite a show you put on tonight." Heeseung comments, arm still pressed up against him.

"I wasn't trying to." Sunghoon mumbles, avoiding looking at the older and instead watching the floor numbers increase on the holographic screen.

"Well, I suppose it can't be avoided. K is a very confrontational boy." He pulls out two sets of utensils from his pocket when the elevator opens to a familiar hallway.

Heeseung pulls him in closer if at all possible and whispers, "Be a doll and throw this knife into the far left corner of the roof."

Sunghoon feels him slip a pair of utensils into his hand, and he gives the mentor a questioning look before he opens the doors to the roof.

As soon as they step out, Sunghoon flings the knife into the corner he was directed to, and Heeseung tuts from beside him, "Darling, what was that for? Now you don't have a knife. There's no need to act out."

His voice is extremely loud, and Sunghoon feels the need to defend himself but he only looks on in confusion. So focused on the knife, he barely notices the beautifully decorated table in the middle of the open space.

He decides to sit on the side of the table that allows him to see the mentor as he crosses the roof to pick the knife back up.

"Doll, you broke it. Now we're going to have to share mine." He frowns as he picks up the knife, still speaking in an extremely loud voice.

Just as Sunghoon is about to ask if he's alright, Heeseung turns at an ungodly speed and hurls the knife at the pole he looked at funny during their talk on the roof a few nights prior.

A chip of some sort goes flying above the rails after the knife makes its impact. Sunghoon is stunned.

"Now that I've dealt with that, we can talk freely." Heeseung sounds relieved, but Sunghoon is still gawking when he sits down in front of him.

"Was it a microphone?" Sunghoon eventually asks when he sets the other utensils at the table.

"There was a camera and a microphone. I don't care if they watch us eating dinner, but I would prefer it if they don't hear what I have to say." Heeseung says calmly, pouring Sunghoon some water into his glass.

"How did you even notice it was there?" Sunghoon asks, watching the older cut up his steak with his own knife since he had thrown his own earlier.

"Call it a sixth sense." He says humorously, placing the cut slices of meat onto his plate.

"Anyway, I wanted to discuss a few things. The first being our private session, the second being visiting etiquette, and the third being K."

Sunghoon nods, thanking him for cutting up his meal and taking a sip of the water beside him.

"You said you were good with bows— that's good. I'm experienced in them too." Heeseung comments, pouring himself a glass of wine.

"Tomorrow, depending on how good you are, we will be going over shooting and knives. We have about an hour to ourselves in the training facility, so I'll just have to go over technique with you and figure out something that will impress the judges." Sunghoon nods along, watching the older enjoy his meal.

"I don't doubt that you'll get a higher score than most of the other tributes. The only real contenders are from the first few districts, you, and Seon." He hums.

"You shouldn't underestimate anyone. You should know that best." Sunghoon reminds him, as if he himself didn't pretend to be completely useless then go on to kill almost ten people.

"You misunderstand me, Sunghoon. I don't underestimate anyone, I just know that there's no one else worth your time in the arena." Heeseung says rather bluntly, continuing to eat his meal.

"Also, I wouldn't put too much faith in Seon." He continues, pointing his fork at him, "Not like I expect you to think differently, but f he couldn't help you back in the training center I wouldn't put it past him to run away as soon as you're in real danger."

Sunghoon sighs, "I was thinking about that, but I don't want to go in there without a partner if K is going to be hunting me down."

"Just don't get too attached. I don't want that boy to be your downfall." He says seriously, taking a sip of his wine.

"I'll try not to." Sunghoon swallows.

"Aside from that, about our outing with Sunoo and Jongseong tomorrow night." Heeseung adds, looking out at the city.

"Sunoo got special permission to take you out because... well, Sunoo is Sunoo. He can do anything he pleases. You just need to know some ground rules before we take you out into the city."

Sunghoon agrees, finishing his plate and pushing it to the side to give the elder his full attention.

"You're a celebrity right now. We're celebrities. Capitol citizens are going to gawk and maybe even touch or prod depending on how out of touch they are. I wouldn't do anything that could ruin your public reputation before your interview, so I want you to stay by us at all times while we're walking to the museum."

Heeseung reaches out a hand and places it atop of his, "Everything you say can and will be recorded. I'm not sure how much we can control that, so please be careful of anything you say unless one of us gives you the go ahead to talk freely."

Sunghoon nods, feeling his face go red at the contact, "Yeah, I get all of that. Basically don't speak unless spoken to."

"If that's what works for you, do that." Heeseung hums.

"And then on the note of K, there's something I need you to see. Preferably during his evaluation session in two days. I'll come and get you, so be ready."

It looks like Heeseung wants to tell him something else but he stops himself, smiling widely instead which startles the younger, "Hey Sunghoon, there's a Capitol drone flying twenty feet behind you right now— I think they're wondering why the audio cut out."

The older stands up, circling around the table to help him up as well, "I'll see you tomorrow, Sunghoon. Good luck, and may the all too precarious odds be ever in your favor."