**********

“Jung Yerin.”

The huge metal door opens as my name gets called. I walk in and the peacekeeper who fetched me stays behind. I look around and spot the gamemakers in the viewing deck protected by a force field. There are unfamiliar faces so the Capitol must’ve hired new and young ones. The previous gamemakers were quite good at managing the Games already, I wonder why they changed the people in charge.

Either way, they are all evil and Capitol’s pets.

“You may start.” One of them instructs. I just nod and proceed to grab a bow and then an arrow quiver similar to what I used hours ago.

After talking with Eunha earlier, I decided to just show my archery skills. Everyone knows my skills already so actually, it would be better to try something new. But I have no choice, this is the only weapon I mastered and I had no time to try and practice for other things.

I stand in the middle of the room and placed meters away from me are the standing targets. I load an arrow and start shooting. I’m doing the same thing as what I did earlier during the training. Only that, the room is bigger and the challenge is a lot more difficult. I roll over, jump, and duck as I try to avoid the attacks. I don’t know how I managed to give it my all considering I didn’t get enough rest last night. I just let myself get lost to the moment, forgetting the gamemakers and everything else.

As it ends, I hear faint claps. I turn to the gamemakers and see some of them in awe looking at me. I quietly roll my eyes and the door opens. I give the head gamemaker a glance and take my leave. He looks intimidating but I don’t really care about him. I don’t even know his name.

When I reach Twelve’s floor, I see Eunwoo and Eunha sitting in front of the screen in the living room. The scores will be announced right away but I can’t find the same excitement I felt two years ago. I don’t care about my score, nor anyone’s, nor SinB’s. I know I’m still in the process of accepting everything but I’m pretty convinced not to care about what will happen to her us anymore. I promised Eunha.

Eunwoo sees me first. “How was your session?” He asks and offers the seat beside him.

“It went fine, I guess.” I give them a small smile. Eunha looks at me with worry so I give her an assuring look. “I’m exhausted. I’ll go ahead to rest.”

Eunha sighs and nods while Eunwoo just gives me a silent approval. They know I don’t want to watch the broadcast. It’s literally written in my face and my aura screams so.

I reach my room and immediately slump my body on my bed. I realize, I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. Only water and the orange juice Eunha made for me. The stress must’ve distracted my stomach from acting up. I don’t have an appetite. I’d rather sleep than force myself to eat.

The anger from earlier has already vanished. But it left a heaviness in my chest that’s weighing me down. I don’t feel anything else except wanting to pass out and get rid of this depressing feeling. I want her words to stop ringing in my head at least for a moment.

The televised interview is scheduled tomorrow and one more night, I’ll be back in the Arena.

I want to talk to Yewon. I want to hear her calming voice and words. But I can’t and it’s making me feel worse. I regret not telling her everything about SinB. I know she somehow figured it out already but I want to let her know through my point of view. Maybe if I opened up to her, she could’ve given me words of wisdom like she always does whenever I have problems.

I miss my cousin. I can only hope she’s doing well and Moonbin keeps his words.

I release a deep breath as I close my eyes, my exhaustion turning into sleepiness. The physical and emotional stress I have caused me to easily drift away. I guess I won’t need any sleeping pills tonight.

---

“Eunha-ssi.”

Eunha and I look up as we hear a voice.

Sowon is standing by the doorway, clearly needing something. She gives me a glance and smiles at Eunha who’s standing beside me. They share a look and after a few seconds, Eunha is already excusing herself. I smile at her and tell her to enjoy the rest of the night. I almost chuckle seeing her blush so hard.

As they leave, I take a sip of my wine and place the glass on the balustrade. I’m in one of the Capitol’s terrace and the view here is just breathtaking as ever. But as I let myself be engrossed with its beauty, I almost jump as a pair of hands snakes around my waist. Before I know it, I’m already turned around and a pair of lips is already pouncing on mine.

Instantly, I hold her shoulder and push her away gently. “P-People can see us here.”

“Do I look like I care?” She asks, impatient. But as soon as she takes notice of the uncomfortable expression I have. She sighs and reaches for my hand.

I feel my head spinning as I feel her fingers entwine mine. She drags me inside the ballroom hall and into the corridors. She has this smile while running and pulling me and it’s making a huge commotion in my chest.

When we enter a room, she looks at me and her smile becomes playful. Her hand squeezes mine as she drags me again to sit on the sofa in the room. Then, she straddles me and my hands automatically hold her waist. She leans in and we kiss, slow and passionate. She always does that before proceeding to the real thing and no matter how many times she kisses me like that, it still makes me feel a lot. I guess she likes it slow at first. Well, it’s not like I’m complaining.

She begins placing soft kisses in my neck and I try to hold back a moan. As my body subconsciously arches, her hands expertly find the back zipper of my dress. She leans away and stares at how worked up I am. I see her her lips and it’s then I totally lost my rationality again.

---

I wake up to the knocking against my door. I groan and hold my head before standing up to shut whoever they are. But as I pull the doorknob, I’m greeted by beaming faces of my prep team. Joy, who’s in charge of making my dresses, lunges at me and almost chokes me with her hug.

She pulls away immediately and grins at me. “Are you ready to become a little more beautiful today?”

“You’re too early. I need more sleep, you know.”

“Well, it’s almost two in the afternoon already.” Two?! How long have I been sleeping? “Go shower. We have to dress you up before five.” She smiles and tells the others to stay in the living room while I prepare myself.

As they leave, I sit for a moment, remembering the dream I had. Or… should I consider it as a nightmare?

My subconscious is really playing hard with me huh. Last time, I was having nightmares of me and SinB in the Arena. This time, it makes me remember the things I’ve done with her before. Was it a wet dream? But I woke up before it can even progress to another level. Wait, why do I sound disappointed?

I shake my head, clearing my mind. I really need to control my mind and emotions. It’s hard but that’s what everyone wants. Even SinB tells me to be more competitive. And I hate feeling the frustration every time I remember it. I hate it that she doesn’t care.

I sigh and massage my still aching head. The televised interview is only hours away but surprisingly, I don’t feel nervous at all. Unlike two years ago, my lips almost trembled at the thought of speaking in front of a lot of people. Whatever happens, happens anyway. I’ll just go with the flow. After all, Heechul, the host, is good at making the atmosphere fun and away from trouble.

I release a breath and head to the bathroom. I need to get ready because Yewon will see me from home. That’s what matters the most for now. If she sees me doing just fine, she won’t be worried as much as she does.

---

“You look handsome and cool.” Joy whispers as I stare at myself in the mirror. “Yerin, you’re breathtaking."

My prep team has just finished making me look presentable. They didn’t do much but the light make up and blue highlights in my hair sure did wonders. Then, there’s my outfit Joy made for me. It’s all white except for the black short cape draped over my shoulder down to my waist. Unlike last time, I’m wearing pants. It’s high-waisted and the bottom hems are tucked in my white combat boots. The top compliments it perfectly. It’s a fitted turtleneck crop-top with only one sleeve that reaches my right elbow.

I look like a warrior.

“Thank you.” I whisper.

“It’s my pleasure.” Joy smiles through the mirror. “Eunha’s waiting for you outside. Off you go.”

I turn to face her and smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She just hums and pats me. I thank the others and take my leave.

As what Joy said, Eunha is standing by the door and she looks pretty with her cocktail dress. When she senses my presence, she turns and I almost laugh seeing her jaw drop. That is the same reaction I got when she saw me in my interview dress last time. I guess some things really never change.

As we head to the hall, Eunha comments about my outfit and compliments me. I just shrug it off and tell her to stop. It made her laugh but thankfully, she did stop. I was never comfortable receiving compliments. It makes me feel more inferior rather than boost my confidence.

We reach the backstage and she points to the door in my left. “You will be waiting there until your turn comes. Eunwoo will follow you once his prep team is done with him.” She hugs me and whispers an encouraging message before leaving. She’ll be watching together with the other escorts and prep teams right behind the VVIPs.

When I enter the room, the heads of the tributes turn to look at me almost at the same time. It's funny but I choose not to react. I sit on the nearest available seat as my eyes steal glances around. She's not here. She's the first tribute to be interviewed, I guess she's already on stage.

"Yerin."

I look up as a familiar voice interrupts my stillness in the corner. I give out a flat smile when our eyes meet. "Jackson."

The male tribute from One. SinB's uhh friend.

"SinB's already called. The interview is gonna start any minute now."

"I thought so."

There's a pause and then, he hums before speaking. "How does it feel to get an eleven?"

"Eleven?" I repeat but as he raises an eyebrow at me, I realize what he's talking about. My heart slowly swells in pride. I scored an eleven yesterday. I didn't expect that.

"You didn't watch the broadcast?" He asks and I just shrug. "Well, congrats. You scored the second highest among the tributes."

Second highest? So someone got a perfect score? No one has ever scored a twelve after the revival of the Games. This is history. Who might it be?

"It's SinB." He says, as if answering the question in my head. Then, he gives me an unsure smile before taking his leave to prepare.

I'm left in awe and amazement. I know SinB is one of the most skillful tributes among us but I didn't expect gamemakers would actually give a twelve. I've witnessed a lot of skillful and strong tributes before, they barely even got an eleven. I wonder what SinB did.

Eunwoo arrives just in time as the live broadcast starts. He smiles at me and I can hear faint squeals from other female tributes. I can't blame them, he looks handsome in his white suit and black cape. We have matching attires and as his female counterpart in district Twelve, I suddenly feel pressured about that. I know I look fine as well but his level is just god-like.

He sits beside me and I swear, I see the girl from Four giving me a sharp look. I laugh inwardly. We are literally going to be killing each other in the Arena tomorrow and she still has time to be possessive of her enemy. Sometimes, I just can’t understand how these fangirls think.

“Okay enough of that. I’m sure you all are excited to see the Tributes so let’s start the interview.”

I divert my attention to the wide screen in the middle. It’s finally starting.

“Let’s welcome. District One’s Asset, Hwang SinB!”

Her name gets called and I hold my breath as the camera turns to her direction. The crowd claps and even some are squealing. She has her blonde hair more curly than usual, her eyes glowing with the gray lenses, and her smile looks prettier than ever. She looks ethereal.

Her outfit is simple yet it looks breathtaking on her. She’s wearing a gray turtleneck top which is tucked in her short black leather skirt. In which, the sleeves of the turtleneck matches the color of her skirt. She’s wearing heels which is a rare sight. But what caught my attention the most is her necklace and its pendant. It’s a sword, for sure, but the end point has a shape. I can’t clearly recognize it but it looks beautifully weird.

“It’s been a while SinB. You still look as breathtaking as ever. Everyone knows that already though so we’ll be talking about other things tonight.”

SinB chuckles. Then, Heechul paus