Chapter One

I sat motionless on my chair as my mother braidsmy hair. I looked at the mirror in front of me. I see a girl. A girl with brown eyes and in those eyes, I see no fear.

That's right. No fear. I am not scared of anything. Of wild animals, Peacekeepers and I most definitely do not fear the Death Games when actually, I should. Once you get chosen for the Death Games there is no turning back. You'll be placed in an arena with 31 other kids where you will fight them until you die. Until they die. Until you are the only one standing. So why am I not scared of the games? Why am I not scared of dying? It's because I am already dead.

I might as well be. All I do everyday is hunt, which is illegal, and trade my games away for better ones. I also take care of my little sister, Sulli, and my mother. But me and my cousin, Minho, divided that responsibility between us. He hunts, I take care. Sometimes I hunt, then he takes care.

And he can handle doing that all by himself if I'm gone. He's twice as strong as me anyway. But still, I can't just dump all the respoinsibility on him. My thoughts were interrupted by my mother as she my hair saying, "You're beautiful." I looked up to her and smiled. My mother may be a humble woman but she's also a sad one. Ever since my father met with an accident, she changed. But still kept her smile.

"I wish I looked like you." Sulli mumbled loud enough for me to hear. I got off my chair and came over to her. I crouched down to her level and her hair.

"No, I wished I looked like you." I gave her a warm smile. I suddenly remembered my reason to live. My reason is Sulli. I vowed I would protect her when my father died. Not Minho. Me. I will never let anything bad happen to Sulli. Especially the damned games. Can you imagine? Sweet, innocent little Sulli who wouldn't hurt a fly forced to kill 31 other kidds with a weapon. Well, she wouldn't have to. She'd already be dead at the first day. As I hugged my little sister, the horn sounded, signalling it was time for the Reaping.

It was Sulli's first reaping since she turned 12 last month. Her name's only been in the glass ball once. While mine's been in the ball 20 times. It doesn't take a minute to figure out which one of us is going to the games.

As I released Sulli from the hug, she handed me something. A mockingjay pin. "To protect you." I accepted the pin and kissed her forehead gently.

"Thanks. We'd better get going." I led us out of the house where Minho was waiting for us. 

"How many times did you put your name in there?" I whispered to him.

"42." Minho noticed that my smile fell and swung an arm over my shoulder. "It's okay. I'm prepared."

As we got to the Hall of Justice, there was a security point that splitted into two rows. One for the boys and one for the girls. Minho went ahead to line up at the boy's row. I held Sulli's hand and started walking to the girl's when she pulled back, frightened. She saw what the Peacekeeper was doing. She was using some device to prick the fingers of the kids to confirm their identity. That already scared Sulli to death. I wouldn't blame her. It was her first time, anyway.

I pushed her lightly away from the crowd and crouched down to her level. "It's okay, Sulli. There's nothing to be afraid of. They're just going to prick your finger. Really, it doesn't hurt at all." Sulli nodded, sniffing. "Alright, let's go." I took her hand and led her to the queue.

When the Peacekeeper called out 'Next', Sulli hesitated. I patted her shoulder, telling her to go on and I would find her. She reluctantly walked towards the lady and held out her finger. She winced as the lady pricked her finger and smeared her blood on a sheet. The Peacekeeper nodded and told Sulli to go on as she motioned for me to come forward.

I held out my finger as the lady pricked it. It felt nothing to me. Not even an ant bite. I watched as Sulli made her way to the crowd and disappeared. There was no need for me to worry since I'll find her later after the Reaping. But I have to admit I am a little worried that either my name or Sulli's is going to be pulled out of the ball. If it was Sulli's then she'll be in trouble since she would have absolutely no chance in the arena. If it were me, I might not make it out alive and Sulli and my mother will be all Minho's responsibility.

Speaking of Minho, I turned my head to the boy's side and saw him staring at me. He mouthed a few words to me which I couldn't catch. Minho must've noticed I didn't understand him because he started pointing in front of me. I turned my head and saw Sulli way further in the front. At least I knew where she was. I was about to turn back to Minho to mouth a thank you when a lady dressed in a outfit ridiculous tapped the microphone to get everyone's attention.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome! Happy Death Games and may the odds be ever in your favor! Now, the time has come to select one courageous young man and woman for the honor of representing District 6 in the 74th annual Death Games!" How in the world did she manage to make that sound like a good thing?

"As usual, ladies first." The badly dressed lady went over to the glass bowl which held all the girls names. 20 of the small pieces of papers has my name on them. I guess the odds aren't exactly in my favour. I should say the same thing about Minho, too.

Her finger swirled in the bowl holding the papers holding the names of the girls. She picked one up and I could feel the girls around me holding their breathes. I was sure as hell that the name on the paper couldn't be Choi Sulli.

I was right. Because when the lady called out the name on the paper, it wasn't Choi Sulli.

It was Choi Sooyoung.

The girls and guys around me gasped and stared at me. Some of them were breathing a sigh of relieve. I did, too. Because the lady didn't call out Sulli's name.

I walked out of the crowd that I was in and the Peacekeepers led me to the stage. I didn't feel anything but relieve. As I was about to go on stage, Sulli rushed out and hugged me from behind, her tears staining my dress. I turned around, crouched down and hugged her.

It was only for a minute before the Peacekeepers pulled me away. Sulli was left screaming my name. She tried to run to me but Minho came out of his crowd and pulled her away. I walked onto stage with the lady asking me to come closer. "Come on, come on." She led me by the shoulders to the microphone.

"And now, for the boys." She walked over to the glass bowl full of the names of boys. 42 of the papers held Minho's name. If I got chosen, there's a high possibility of him getting chosen too. The lady's finger swirled in the bowl of papers and pulled out one. She read the name and I was baffled. How could Minho be so lucky? The odds were definitely in his damned favours. But the name she had just read. I know that name. "Xi Luhan? Where are you?" The lady called out again. Xi Luhan... I scanned the crowd of boys. This guy whom I'm sure is Xi Luhan walked out of the crowd and towards the stage.

Now, I remember. He'smy locker buddy at school. We don't talk that much, though. Actually, we don't talk at all. He would just throw me side glances and I'd ignore it and we'd both just walk away.

Xi Luhan looked like the type of person who wouldn't last a day in the arena, to me.

He was petrified as he stood beside the lady. "Well, there you have it. Our tributes: Xi Luhan and Choi Sooyoung!" Not a single soul appluads. I caught sight of my mom and Sulli. Sulli was crying as my mom held her. I saw Minho, too. His face has pain written all over it.

The lady looked from Luhan to me. "Well go on, you two. Shake hands." Luhan faces me and holds out his hand. I hold out mine too. We shake our hands and he stares at me for a small moment before the lady breaks us apart. "Happy Death Games and may the odds be ever in your favour." Hearing her say again makes me want to throw a punch into her face. She leads me and Luhan away from the stage and into the Justice building.

I wait impatiently at the room they locked in me in. I fiddled with my fingers when the door burst open. "You have 3 minutes." The Peacekeeper says as Sulli and mother came running in.

Sulli ran straight into my welcoming arms. "Sulli, Sulli. Listen to me. Listen." I crouch down to her level. "Don't take anymore food and water from them. I don't want your name to be in there so many times. All you need to do is to be a good girl while I'm away. You can make money off your goat's milk. Minho will take care of you, so don't worry. Okay? Promise me you'll be good."

Sulli nods and sniffs. "But you have to promise that'll come home."

I nod. "I will. I promise." I hugged her once more then walked over to my mother. "Mom..." She grabs me and locks me in her hug.

"You'll win, Sooyoung. I know you will."

The Peacekeeper barges in. "Your 3 minutes are over."

Sulli grabs me. "No!"

"Sulli, Sulli."

"No!" She screams. The Peacekeeper pries her off of me.

"I promise, Sulli!" The door closes with a bang. Seconds later, it opens and I'm trapped in Minho's hug.

"I won't say goodbye because I know you're coming back." He releases me. 

"What if I don't? What if I die?"

Minho shakes his head furiously. "No. You won't die. At least, not so easily. You're strong, Sooyoung." 

"Just... Just promise me that if I don't make it back, you'll take care of them." 

He nods. "I promise."

The Peacekeeper barges in again. "Your 3 minutes are up."

"I'll see you later, Sooyoung, okay?"

And those were the last words Minho said to me before I was dragged into a train taking me to the Capitol. Taking me to the arena.  Taking me to death.

So I really hope you found the story somewhat interesting so far. But if you've seen the Hunger Games you probably found boring. It's okay. Just letting you know that it's not going to entirely follow the Hunger Games. So yeah, I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to check out the next chapter when it's posted. :)

Big thanks to mentrachan for subscribing and commenting. You're the first one. :)