"You ready?"

Jisun pulls her hair back into a ponytail and straightens her dress, glancing at her brother in the mirror. "Just give me a sec, okay? If I'm going to be going to the Capitol, I have to look nice."

Her words send chills down Namjoon's spine. "You won't. I'll make sure of that."

"Whatever." She sticks out her tongue at him. "Let's just go."

As they emerge from their apartment, Namjoon sees his neighbor, Yoongi, locking his door. "Hey," Yoongi said, falling in step with them. "You ready?"

This is Yoongi's last year in the Reaping. Namjoon can't help but envy him; he still has one more year. "Yeah, I mean, what's the chance, right? One in hundreds, maybe a thousand."

Jisun starts to protest that 'no, there's more like eight hundred', but Yoongi only nods. Namjoon can tell that he's worried, and honestly, he is too. It's true that their names being picked are only one chance in a thousand, but still, if they get chosen, there's no going back. District 3 no longer allows volunteers, not after the fiasco a couple of years ago where some kid died.

"It's okay," Jisun reassures them, bounding up to the sign-in table. "Like you said, it's going to be a slim chance. Afterwards, we can all go out for pizza! I'll pay," she tells Namjoon. "I got a job on campus!"

Despite his worries, Namjoon chuckles and ruffles her hair, eliciting a squeal. "I can't let my little sister pay. Go 'head and line up, I'll see you later."

He and Yoongi head their separate ways, and Namjoon tries to purge his worries about getting Reaped. Jisun's right, the chance is so rare that it's unrealistic. There are over a hundred 18-year-olds just in his region; there's bound to be across the district. He takes a seat, right next someone called Hyunwook, and waits.

"Hey," Hyunwook greets cheerfully. He doesn't seem worried about anything at all. "You know what I'm gonna do if they call my name?"

Namjoon's so startled he can't even say anything. "What?" he finally manages. Hyunwook grins, holding out a hand.

"I'm gonna get up there and tell 'em to 'emselves!" He slaps Namjoon's shoulder and dissolves into laughter. Despite the clear insult to the Capitol, Namjoon can't help but let out a laugh. Maybe it's the nerves.

The mayor and a young-looking man with dark hair step up. Namjoon doesn't recognize the man, but he assumes that it's probably the mentor for this year. His eyes scan the crowd, and he meets Namjoon's eyes briefly. Namjoon starts, looking down at his hands. It's only now that he realizes they're shaking.

Now that he's had a moment to calm down, Namjoon does recognize the mentor. He doesn't really know the him, but according to the people around him, he's not such a great dude. Can't teach, mostly, and ed over last year's male tribute, Jaehyun, by not managing his sponsor deals correctly. It's sort of sad; one would think that a victor would do anything to help his tributes win, but maybe sometimes reality gets in the way.

"People of District 3," the mayor says into the mic, his voice monotonous and bland. "We welcome you on this special day. The Hunger Games, originally a tradition from the faraway country of Panem, was adopted in order to show the devastating effects of a divided country. Since Supreme Leader Taeyang united Greater Asia, we have not had such a division since the Great War. The Games, then, act as a warning for us to remain united, lest we turn upon each other and lose this hard-earned peace."

Namjoon gets bored somewhere around the third paragraph - the Decree is longer than a ing textbook - until the mentor steps up to the microphone. "We will now be choosing the tribute." He reaches into the glass ball with his left hand, swirling around the slips of paper before taking one out. "Kim Namjoon."

What?

All Namjoon can see is white, a blank void stretching out in front of him. He can register screaming, a hand on his shoulder shaking him, and knows that he's supposed to go up to the stage. Suddenly, everything zooms in again in great detail, and Namjoon is hyperaware of Hyunwook helping him up, hand on his arm, hissing, "Pull yourself together, man. You can't die out there, and if you want a chance, you definitely can't die now."

"Namjoon!" someone shrieks from behind, and Namjoon whips around to find Peacekeepers restraining his sister. Her hair flies in a messy tangle around her, and Yoongi pulls her back. "Namjoon!"

I'll be okay, he tries to say, but before he even gets a chance, the mentor is tugging on his arm, urging him to come onstage before anything else happens. "Any words?" he asks, voice low.

Blindly, Namjoon turns to the crowd, taking the microphone in his hand. "I..." His voice squeaks, and he clears his throat. "I'll make it back. I don't know how, but I will."

sorry it was so short hnrjgsd i didn't know what else to say lmao. i also didn't really know how to portray his ~emotions~ uwu so i just made him numb. cameos from jaehyun and hyunwook, because their creators were glad to work with me to change their characters completely! on a side note, my school is ing me up with not updating my invoice u g h