The Price of Loving

by Hoeya

Summary:

HUNGER GAMES AU-

; When Kang Cheol's name is reaped in the 74th Hunger Games, Sae-Byeok is given no choice but to volunteer in his place.

The previous Victor of her district, and her mentor, Cho Sangwoo, wants nothing to do with her, despite having to train her.

And her male counterpart in these games? Seong Gi-hun, a middle aged man who seems to mistake himself for her father.

Alongside this, President Inho seems to have it out for her.

If she survives, it'll be a miracle. But with the help of her fellow tributes, it might not be so hard.

Notes:

SHORT///

I just wanted to get this first chapter out now so its a bit short. But the next chapters will be far longer.

I hope yall enjoy :))

Chapter 1: Chapter One

Honeyed morning light shines in the dusty windows of the small house on the outskirts of district twelve.
It casts little gold rays across the rumpled bed by the inner sill. Peeking through the slit in the too-short curtains.
Sae-byeok's lashes flutter, as she begins to stir.
Instinctively, she reaches for the other side of the bed.
It is empty, but the warmth there is not from the sun and she knows Cheol must have woken already but not long.
She rubs her eyes of sleep, and props herself up on her elbows.
Now that she is a little less disoriented, she can make out the voices of her mother and Cheol in the kitchen of their small house.
She sits up, her toes brushing the cool wood of the floor.
She stretches, arching her back and moving her ankles a little.
The scent of banana bread wafts in the open bedroom door, and she follows it into the dim, dank hall.
She tames her disheveled hair with her hands as she enters the kitchen.
Cheol is at the table, helping himself to his breakfast - consisting of half a large tomato, and one slice of banana bread.
They didn't have much to eat - and what they did have was scavenged or bargained for by Sae-byeok.
After their father had been shot for rebellious activities two years prior, and their mother had fallen ill, and their elder brother passed with plague, it had become her duty - but it was enough to survive off of.
"Good morning, little man." Sae-byeok murmurs, ruffling the ten year old's thick hair.
He huffs - but means nothing of it.
"Hi noona…"
She laughs, and approaches their mother.
"Morning, Aein. How did you sleep?"
"Well, mama…" She mumbles, leaning against the older woman, who chuckles and passes her a plate - plates which they carved a few years ago out of wood.
"Thank you, mama." She smiles sleepily, and staggers over to the table.
She picks at her tomato for a bit, watching the juices soak out onto the wood and staining it dark.
Cheol just munches happily on his, until his dark eyes fall on the window.
Outside, the sun is rising high.
"What time is it?" Sae-Byeok asks, hand over her mouth.
Her mother leans over the window, taking a glance at the makeshift clock device their father had made years ago.
"Almost time for the reaping." She sighs.
Sae-Byeok lowers her hand. Cheol stares at his plate.
They finish their food in a morose silence, and they both go to the shared bedroom to change.
The thin, cotton fabric of her dress is hardly any protection against the cold, despite it's calf-length.
Sae-Byeok sighs, and tightens the strings, wrapping them around her waist for extra security.
When she glances at Cheol, he's struggling with the buttons of his shirt.
"Oh, here little man..." She sighs, kneeling in front of him.
He swallows and his tiny hand grasps at hers.
"Noona..."
She looks up, as she fits the final little button in the final little slit.
"Hmm?"
"I had a dream last night. Where I was picked."
Her hands curve around his cherubic face.
"It's your first time. Your name is only in there once, I promise you'll be okay."
She holds him tight. He buries his face in her neck, inhaling her scent.
"I don't wanna die."
"You won't die, Cheol-ah, you'll be okay. We'll be okay."
"How many times is your name in there?" He whispers.
She stills.
"I'll be okay. We'll be okay." She tucks in his shirt for him, and presses her lips to his forehead.
He hugs her tight. Skinny little arms wrapping around her waist.
She only hopes she's right.

Chapter 2: Chapter Two

Summary:

The Reaping.

Rows and rows of district Twelve's legible stand neatly in the square.
Sae-byeok's eyes follow the crowd, searching, everyone knows this is being televised.
When her eyes meet those of her Cheol's, she quits fumbling with her sleeve, in hopes he would not notice her own nervousness.
Her name is in there what, fifty-six times by now?
She gives him a bright smile, and pleads he does not sFonit waver.
He seems to relax and return the smile.
A few more minutes pass, and the familiar eccentric voice of Han Minyeo - the woman who comes annually to announce the names of the reaping - resounds through the square.
As she crosses the stage, the only previous winner of the Hunger Games follows her at a slow pace.
A stern looking man, Cho Sangwoo, had won his own game about ten years ago - a killing machine, whne they announced him victor, he crossed the line into a figure that would never be the same again.
Rumors have ran that he never trains the tributes from district Twelve that follow him, that he cares naught for them.
Sae-byeok swallows.
Unlucky tributes.
Minyeo talks a bit - her distaste evident in her tone as she glances over the thousands of impoverished men, women and children before her. Even on television, the mockery that was district twelve could not be wholly respected. Especially by someone from the Capitol.
But at last, she moves over to the bowl, and clears her throat.
"Let's start with the men, shall we?" She hums, not expecting a response.
The whole square seems to hold their breath.
Her hand reaches into the bowl, swirls around, and at last she pinches up a slip of paper.
Cho Sangwoo steps a little closer.
"Our male tribute;" Scattered inhales all around as Han Minyeo clears her throat; "Kang Cheol."
Sae-byeok can't breath.
Her ears are ringing, the ground seems to crumble beneath her.
Her gaze zeroes in on Cheol, as he meets her eyes with blatant terror.
And she thinks fast, and she thinks of him and him only.
"I volunteer!" She screams, voice breaking as she sprints toward him, "I volunteer as tribute!"
Her knees buckle as her arms embrace him, clutching him with all her heart in desperation. Pleading, pathetic desperation.
Han Minyeo has gone still and silent, an odd look for the usual mad woman.
"Do we not usually…?" She turns to Sangwoo, hesitant.
"What difference does it make?" He hisses to her.
"Fine, fine…"
Cheol grasps at her dress
"No! Noona, you can't!" His big brown eyes flood with tears, and her own lip trembles as she's forced to letting him go.
"Let go of me, little man." She whispers. She whispers because she cannot bare to be harsh with him. "Please."
He does, and he turns his hands to cry into.
Sae-byeok avoids looking at him as she is marched up onto the stage.
Cho Sangwoo mutters a congratulations, but his eyes watch her movement.
"Now, we were supposed to have a male tribute there. But due to our female volunteer, we'll have to go for the male again." Han Minyeo sighs.
Sae-byeok stands silently, stiffly, on one side of her.
Her eyes fall on Cheol, then follow his own, to a young girl whose looking up at her with sad eyes.
"And what would be the name of our tribute?" Han Minyeo hands her the microphone.
"Kang Sae-byeok." She whispers, hardly audible.
"Kang Sae-byeok; I bet that was your brother, eh?"
She gives her a dark stare.
Han Minyeo slowly turns back to the crowd.
"Anyways," She sticks her hand back in the bowl. "Our male tribute is….Seong Gi-hun."
Sae-byeok tilts her head sideways as she examines the man from a distance.
When she recognises him, her heart drops.
She'd stolen from him.
And he clearly recognises her.
If the deep frown and suspicious eyes are anything to go by.
It had been about two weeks ago, not long.
They'd been running particularly low, and Sae-byeok had been starving. Enough so she hadn't the strength to hunt with her stolen pocketknife.
She'd been lying near a mudpatch in the rain, trying to find warm shelter to die in, a little too far from home. And he'd fallen asleep by his open window, food in hand.
A stupid thing to do, really. Especially in a place like this.
So when he'd woken with his sandwich eaten and a teenager raiding his pockets, he'd seemed to short circuit. Giving him time to register her face, and giving her time to run away with her newfound energy.
Now, he clambers the stage and stands on Han Minyeo's other side.
Sae-byeok watches Cho Sangwoo congratulate him, and she notices a tension around them.
They know each other.
Well shit.
She's well and truly fucked now.
Han Minyeo keeps talking, a bunch of nonsense into the microphone.
It doesn't take a fool to realise she just likes the sound of her own voice.
Near the end, she and Gi-hun are made to shake hands.
His are warm, large and calloused, hers are cold, nimble-fingered and scarred.
Then the national anthem plays, and the two are taken into custody.

The fancy little room they're taken to is polluted with tension.
Gi-hun stands near the door, assessing her as she stands by the window.
It's peaceful, almost.
Until he speaks.
"You."
She turns her head. Not quite looking at him, but acknowledging that he has spoken.
"I recognise that scar. You stole from me. That was you."
She swallows and gives him a blank look, hoping her baby face would coax him into pity.
Instead, he does something impulsive. And dumb.
He lunges at her.
She yelps as he knocks her to the ground, but she doesn't really try to defend herself as he attacks her.
Not until the doors open with a bang and peacekeepers pull them apart.
"Animals," Cho Sangwoo barks from his place in the doorway.
"Animal," She corrects, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
He pauses, looks her up and down, then continues.
"You are both my charges. If something like this happens again," He pushes his glasses back up his nose, "I can assure you the games will not be what kills you."
"Fine…but now what?" Gi-hun looks around.
"Visits. Short visits from family. Monitered. These will be your goodbyes."
With that, he guides Gi-hun into a seperate room, leaving Sae-byeok by herself.

As expected, Cheol visits.
Their mother too ill to leave the house.
"Hi noona..." He mumbles into her neck.
"Hello little man…so, I guess I'll be gone for awhile." She swallows.
"Don't leave. Please?"
Her heart breaks a little.
"It's only for a little while. Take care of Mama while I'm gone, okay?" She kisses his temple.
"You promise?"
"I promise."

Chapter 3

Okay okay not a real chapter (I'm working on it!)

But here's the list of which characters they're replacing from the original stories :33

 

Sae-Byeok: Katniss, obviously.

Cheol: Prim.

Gi-hun: Peeta (He's fatherly in this ver ofc)

Sangwoo: Haymitch

Minyeo: Effie

Inho | The Frontman - President Snow

Deok-su: Cato

Byeonggi: Clove

Ji-yeong: Rue (In a romantic context instead of sisterly)

Ali: Thresh

Junho: Cinna

No-eul: Glimmer

That's everyone as of now.

Chapter 4: Chapter Four

Summary:

Yayy a real Chapter ||

Even the train to the Capitol is luxurious.
Sae-Byeok sits at the opposing side of the compartment to the two men - Sangwoo and Gi-hun.
Her thoughts have been racing all morning.
Her goodbyes to Cheol had been short, and they'd boarded them onto this train without a second thought.
She wants nothing more than to go home to her mother. She knows she cannot.
She only hopes that Cheol doesn't blame himself for her predicament - she'd made that decision herself.
The train compartment is huge, with doors into even bigger chambered rooms. With a bedroom, dressing room and an unsuite with running water, hot and cold.
When the men don't speak to her after twenty minutes pass, she gets up and goes into the one deemed hers.
She takes a hot shower.
A really hot one, the kind she could never dream of having at home.
The kind she'd never even considered. Her usual showers with freezing. She always made sure that her mother and Cheol used the warm water, to keep them strong and healthy.
She showers so hot this time that when she gets out her skin is bright pink all over. Her fingertips are all wrinkly and her hair is slicked back.
She dresses in a plain grey shirt, a blue coat with teal details and plain trousers the colour of concrete.
Han Minyeo comes to collect her for supper, and they go through a narrow corridor into a dining room with polished panelled walls.
The table is ladled with delicate dishes.
Sangwoo and Gi-hun are already seated.
Sae-Byeok takes a better look at the two now.
Her counterpart tribute is roughly in his forties, with dark wavy hair that's grown out a bit long. He has the beginnings of a goatee, dark eyes that seem to gleam.
He's got a sort of golden energy around him, like a puppy that isn't quite sure what is going on, but is glad to be there.
Sangwoo, on the other hand.
Their mentor is around the same age, with short dark hair and glasses. He's got stern eyes, and a closed off demeanour.
Quite like her.
Except she won't be like him. She won't let other people die because of her own cynical views.
"Sir, sit." Minyeo waves her hand as she takes her own seat.
Sae-Byeok is stuck next to her.
The supper comes in courses. A thick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake.
Throughout the meal, Sangwoo reminds them not to stuff themselves.
They don't really listen, because they've never had food this good in their lives before. So much food. The best thing they can do between the present and the games is out on a few pounds, especially Sae-Byeok.
"Well... atleast they aren't pigs about it." Minyeo shrugs to Sangwoo, ignoring the fact that the two are right in front of her, "The pair last year ate everything with their hands like cavemen. I almost threw up."
The pair last year were two kids from the Seam who'd never, not one day of their lives, had enough to eat. And when they did have food, table manners were the last thing on their minds.
Gi-hun's table manners are shabby, but still polite. Sae-Byeok's father made sure all three of his children had excellent manners (she supposes that somehow pickpocketing is not mannerly).
But, she hates that comment enough to make a point of eating the rest of the meal with her fingers. Then wiping her hands on the tablecloth.
Now that the meal is finished, she's fighting to keep the food down. She notices that Gi-hun is looking a little green too, neither of their stomachs used to such a rich fare. But they're determined.
They go to another compartment to watch the recap of the reaping across the districts. They tru to stagger then through the day so a person could conceivably watch the whole thing live. But only people in the Capitol can really do that, since the reapings do not affect them.
One by one, they watch the other reapings. The names called, the volunteers stepping forward, or, more often, not. They examine the faces of their competitors. A few stand out in their mind.
A muscular man with a snake tattoo, a girl with blonde highlights and a glinting nose stud, a man with a doctor title who looks a little like Sangwoo, a woman with dark hair and a worn, tired face, a man with a kind face and brown skin.
Last of all, they show district 12.
Cheol being called, Sae-Byeok sprinting forward to to volunteer. You cannot kiss the fear and desperation in her voice as she hugs him tight, as if she's afraid no one will hear and they'll take him away from her forever.
But of course, they do hear.
And even just watching the recap, she sees Sangwoo's lip curl in disapproval. Trust a man like him to be sickened at any displays of even familial love.
The commentators aren't sure what to say about the crowds refusal to applaud.
Gi-hun's name is drawn and he quietly takes his place.
They shake hands, it cuts to the anthem and the programme ends.
"Well," Gi-hun swallows. "I'm gonna assume that was your brother. I forgot to ask earlier."
"Yeah," She mutters, "And if he gets harmed the whole fucking Capitol will burn to ashes."