When the victors complain about how boring the tour day is, they aren't lying.

Just last night, Sunghoon met another mentor— Park Jongseong, victor of District Four. A very intimidating boy that Sunghoon would be able to identify as a victor, even if he was much nicer than his appearance suggested.

Jongseong brought them back to the District Seven apartment with Eunbi, and even enjoyed a nice dinner together with them. Minjeong even seemed invested in his stories and advice on the games.

Between forkfuls of food, he explains in specific detail the schedule of their stay, since the Capitol was never clear enough for anyone to understand. He is also the first to mention the coalition of mentors who have agreed to work with Sunghoon until the games ended.

The news came as a shock to him, seeing as he believed he didn't possess anything worth notice. Sure, he was a volunteer from an outlying district, but he had never picked up an axe in his life— and his survival skills were far from exemplary.

Learning just who would be helping him was an even bigger shock.

Sunghoon never really watched the games, even if he had to pretend to do so to appease the Capitol. His father argued that there was no purpose in watching their own kill each other on a big screen, and Sunghoon agreed with whatever his father would tell him. Pretending to be present was enough for the peacekeepers who were supposed to be overseeing them with sharp eyes.

He was never focused on the screen, and the projected video always fell on deaf ears and unfocused vision.

It is much harder to ignore the victors when they are standing right in front of you, however. Sunghoon almost vividly remembers every time the mentors who are now overseeing him stood in front of his district on the stage for their victory tours.

Last year was Nishimura Riki, victor from District Six— aged sixteen at the time they coincidentally locked eyes while he apologised for killing both tributes from their district. He left a sour impression on everyone after his departure, especially on the families whose children, siblings, and friends he killed.

The year before that was Yang Jungwon, victor from District Three. Sixteen at the time of his victory, he was at a heavy advantage in his games due to the nature of the arena which was centred around water.

And the year before him, Kim Sunoo. Sweetheart of District One, and arguably Sunghoon's favourite since his arrival. He won at fifteen, and has since been the Capitol's golden boy. According to Jongseong, he also holds the divine of fates and puppeteering. He was well known for convincing multiple tributes to kill themselves until he came out as the victor.

The Quarter Quell of 75 was viewed as an abomination by many, however the Capitol argued that the other deities also rebelled against the Thirteenth Divine. Sim Jaeyun, age sixteen, was the sole survivor out of a tribute pool of twenty four other divines.

The Capitol hoped that it would be an interesting battle, or so they, but that was not at all the case. After spiking the ever so tedious odds in his favour, Jaeyun was able to take out half of the competition without so much as leaving his pedestal.

The action didn't put him in the President's good books. He assumed that's why Jaeyun was under heavy surveillance wherever he went— always being flanked by at least two peacekeepers during his stays in the Capitol.

The year before that was Park Jongseong, District Four. As he had so proudly recalled, he beat two divines during his own games. Out of all the mentors, he seemed to enjoy killing the most, and it is a wonder that he wasn't a volunteer in the first place. He promised to give advice if Sunghoon ever wanted to take up hand-to-hand combat.

However, all weapon related inquiries should be brought up with Heeseung— and for good reason.

Lee Heeseung, victor of the 73rd Hunger Games— one in which many thought that he would be the first to die. Truthfully, no one expects a twelve year old to win. That idea was thrown out the window as soon as he strangled an eighteen year old to death at the cornucopia— and with every kill he made after that. He killed at least ten tributes before the final cannon sounded, all without a divine, so the Capitol says.

His games were so long ago that his victory tour was the only one Sunghoon couldn't remember.

Sunghoon will continue to wonder how he found himself under the care of six equally brutal victors in their own respects. He doesn't know why they all flocked to him, and he's not sure he really wants to know.

The next morning is quiet when he walks to breakfast with Jaeyun, who, as previously mentioned, is followed by two peacekeepers about a metre or two behind them.

To Sunghoon's most pleasant surprise, Jaeyun was actually quite pleasant to be around. When they sat down at their table he cracked multiple jokes and even inquired about the culture of District Seven since it had been years since his last visit. 

It made him miss home, but it also made him appreciate it even more.

Shortly after getting their food, they are joined by Eunbi, Minjeong, Sunoo, and the District One tributes, who sit as far away as possible from the rest of the group. Sunghoon notes that they are much more intimidating than they had originally appeared last night.

I should really watch the reaping tapes. Sunghoon concludes, knowing that he should be able to identify his competition before they are thrown head first into the arena.

Both of them are relatively stocky and built to perfection. It was obvious that they were career tributes, and with their experience and distrustful glares, Sunghoon guessed that they were probably planning how to kill him at that very second.

Throughout the breakfast discussions, no one mentions having a divine, which is probably good news for Sunghoon and the others tributes who already seem to be at a stark disadvantage.

However, you can't always trust word of mouth.

Whenever a divine was sent into the arena, it was almost guaranteed that they would win, so long as the ability pertained to something combative. The only problem this poses is that some keep quiet about it, and the unexpected burst of power was often too much for the unprepared competition to deal with.

The topic changes to what tour each district would be on later that afternoon. It was supposed to help the tributes get their bearing since the building was large, and they would be here for the next week and a half.

District Seven was paired with District Six and District Twelve, meaning he would also get to meet the Riki who Sunoo talked so highly about.

The District One tributes hardly spare him a glance after their initial encounter, and for that Sunghoon is grateful. He doesn't want to be on their radars more than he has to be before the games begin. He doesn't want people holding grudges against him before they are sent into a battle to the death.

"Hey, we should get going." A voice sounds from behind him, and Sunghoon turns to see a tall boy with two tributes standing stiffly behind him.

"Riki!" Sunoo cries in enthusiasm, almost knocking into Jaeyun to stand up and give him a hug.

"Calm down, I literally saw you last night." Riki grunts tiredly, despite clearly holding back a smile.

"We leave first so we should head out." He motions to Minjeong and Sunghoon, who both bid a short farewell to the rest of the table before following the three of them out.

They meet with the District Twelve mentor and tributes at the entrance of the dining room, and he takes in the extravagant outfit of the Capitol worker acting as their tour guide.

The building is understandably huge, and the tour takes an hour to get even half-way through the first floor— but to be fair, that may also be the result of the woman giving the longest possible narration for every inch of the hallway in front of them.

He isn't sure why they need to know what year the carpets were made in, or who the artists of each painting were, but he isn't in the position to question her.

Minjeong is chatting quietly with the girl from Six, and Sunghoon eventually lags behind the group to where Riki and his other tribute are walking. The boy introduces himself as Seon; they get along well.

"Does the training centre open tonight?" Seon inquires as they pass a giant marble statue of President Bang.

"No, there's orientation tomorrow morning to make sure you guys don't kill each other before you're supposed to." Riki deadpans, stretching as he walks.

"You really think people would do that?" Sunghoon asks absentmindedly, staring ahead at the rest of the group.

"Happened during my training period." Riki says bluntly, extending his arms to nudge them to hurry up.

"Someone absolutely destroyed a guy in the head with one of the weights. He had to go in for emergency surgery before the arena, and even then his face just wasn't the same."

A jolt of anxiety is sent down his spine.

"I believe everyone this year is relatively tame. I don't think you need to worry about fights breaking out beforehand. Either way, there's always a peacekeeper or mentor around to break something up before it gets too serious. The Capitol always likes a show." Riki sighs.

The tour continues for another two hours, taking brief glances at each District's apartment before being led around the main floor again. Something Sunghoon found odd, however, was when the guide told them that, "Now that the tribute parade is over, there's no need to be in the basement floors. Any tribute found there will be identified and punished accordingly."

So what was Heeseung doing down there? He wasn't lost, he found his way to the stage perfectly. So what was he doing?

The tour comes to an end once they loop back to the dining hall; Sunghoon is still lost in thought as they are shown the training room from outside the glass doors.

"Do you know what weapon you're going to use?" Seon asks, and Riki glares at him from behind as if telling him not to answer.

Sunghoon hesitates, "I haven't really used weapons before. I might try axes just because that's what is expected of me."

"Me neither. I think I'm going to try knives tomorrow— you know, the most likely weapon to be in the arena and all." Seon muses.

Riki clears his throat and puts an arm around him, "I think we should take our leave. You know, strategizing and stuff. It was nice meeting you Sunghoon— and may the odds be ever in your favour."

They disappear without another word, and Sunghoon decides that he'll use the rest of his free time to watch the reaping tapes and get a feel for the other tributes before he officially meets them all tomorrow.

He meets with District Eight's mentor in the elevator, and they have an awkward staredown before Sunghoon escapes to the floor below his.

Eunbi is waiting in the dining room, sipping on some tea while directing Sunghoon on how to use the projector from where she sits.

Capitol inventions were too confusing, Sunghoon concludes— and after dropping and breaking something that was probably very expensive, he eventually gets the projector to light up.

The screen on the table in front of him had neat folders that took him to everything he wanted to see. He taps on the file named "79th Reapings" and is taken to a video of District One.

The stage and surroundings were much more extravagant than that of District Seven, and the tributes looked the same as when he saw them that morning. Both were volunteers straight out of the academy, which came to no surprise, and they took the place of the two scrawny kids on the stage.

District Two is the same, and Sunghoon narrows his eyes when he sees the boy from yesterday. K. An odd name if I do say so myself.

Everyone else was a direct reaping, even in the usual career district of Four. Perhaps that's why he stood out so much from the beginning.

No one really intimidates Sunghoon outside of the first two districts, but he knows best that he shouldn't underestimate anyone— even the fourteen year old from District Eleven. When you let your guard down, it's that much easier to get overwhelmed.

Sunghoon stares blankly at the projector, wondering what else he can do in his free-time before dinner. The clock on the hologram reads that he still has two hours.

He scrolls mindlessly through the files until he stops at highlights for previous games.

No harm in looking for strategies.

He scrubs through Riki's first. He remembers this one the most clearly, and he barely flinches when he sees the boy slice through the neck of the two tributes from Seven as they were sleeping. The image was burned into his memory long ago.

Jungwon's arena resembled a sandy island surrounded by large mountains. Ropes were tied to allow tributes access to the rockier areas, and tsunami-like waves frequently crashed through the arena. Most of Jungwon's kills were from knocking tributes into the water since most couldn't swim. He also cut a rope that someone was trying to climb up, turning away before he could see the body hit the ground.

Sunoo was placed in an overgrown school. Destroyed by nature, they started in the auditorium and were given the option of staying inside with the possibility of setting off traps, or risk getting stuck under the acid rain outside. Sunoo didn't pick up a single weapon when Sunghoon was scrubbing through the video; all he did was move his hands and tributes would stab themselves in the head or chest. Sunghoon cringes when he watches someone hang themself off the bathroom ceiling.

Jake was placed in an open field surrounded by mountains, moors, and forest. His games only lasted three days because he made almost half the arena kill themselves instantly by stepping off their pedestals before the timer was up. He was the first to actually use a weapon. He wasn't the most skilled, but he killed off the career tributes instantly allowing him better odds at surviving.

Jongseong was in a desert. The lack of water, storms, and anything other than clear skies and dangerous heat was enough to make anyone go insane. There was a divine in his arena, but their ability wasn't developed enough to protect them from the boy's knives.

When Sunghoon went to play Heeseung's tape he's puzzled when the project shows up with an error; the visual on the screen turning red and simply displaying unavailable. He tried hitting a few buttons but nothing changed the outcome of the screen.

"Sunghoon, it's time for dinner." He hears Eunbi call to him from the elevator, so he gives the error message one last shifty glance before going to meet her in the foyer.

Minjeong still hasn't returned to the apartment after the tour, and her absence is noticed by the rest of the table.

This meal, Jongseong and the tributes from District Four join them at the table, but once again Sunghoon feels his eyes naturally drift away from them to avoid making unnecessary eye contact.

His gaze unknowingly lands on the table on the opposite end of the dining hall where District Two and Three were eating together; his eyes focusing on the back of the mentor he had met the day prior.

As if sensing that someone was staring, K turns from the intense discussion with his district partner and looks directly at him; Heeseung follows his lead shortly after.

Sunghoon turns back to his food, pretending he didn't just feel another chill down his spine.