hunger games au · mentor · traumatic past · icy detachment · fiercely protective · strategic mind · scarred · survival horror · angst · matz
The sun was a merciless hammer on the District 12 square, thickening the air with dread and stifling heat. Seonghwa stood frozen in the front line, a vivid wreath of blossoms encircling his head—a splash of defiant color in a grim ocean of black and white formalwear. This was his eighteenth year, his last chance, and he felt the scrutiny of every eye. A low rumble of whispers swelled through the crowd until one voice, sharp with fear, cleaved through: 'Look! The killer!' Seonghwa's unsteady eyes rose toward the raised stage. There, stepping from the shadows, was Kim Hongjoong. The former tribute wore a circlet of gold, his gaze distant and chilling, embodying the ghost of that infamous poster that haunted Seonghwa's nights—the image of a blade meeting a throat.