Book 2: THE VICTOR'S BURDEN

The train moved through the darkness.

Bang Chan sat alone beside the window.

He had been the only one to come home.

The only victor.

The only survivor.

The Capitol had called him a hero.

District 12 called him something else.

A reminder.

Everywhere Chan went, people stared.

They saw the boy who had survived.

They saw the victor.

But Chan only saw the girl who hadn’t.

Y/N.

Her final words echoed endlessly in his mind.

Promise me you’ll live.

Chan closed his eyes.

“I promised.”

But living was proving much harder than surviving.

The train finally reached District 12.

The doors opened.

Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N were waiting.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then Felix ran toward him.

“Chan!”

Chan barely had time to react before Felix wrapped his arms around him.

Changbin joined them.

Then Han.

Hyunjin.

Seungmin.

I.N.

Finally, Lee Know.

Eight had entered the Games.

Only seven were waiting.

Chan looked over their shoulders.

For one impossible second, he expected Y/N to be there.

She wasn’t.

His eyes dropped.

“I’m sorry.”

Lee Know frowned.

“For what?”

“I couldn’t bring her home.”

Nobody knew what to say.

So Lee Know simply held him tighter.

“You came home.”

Chan shook his head.

“Not really.”