RUN

"Only thing I can do is run..." / "어차피 이것밖에 난 못해"

    Yukio favorite area was definitely Koenji. Everything was nice around here. The vintage shops, the alternative bars, the underground music... Of course, you could go to Shibuya if you wanted a pretence of unconventional culture... and lot of noises, tons of people... No, Koenji was more intimate. It was Yukio favorite playground. He enjoyed coming here and fool around with Masaki. Just like tonight. Yukio was resting against the wall, watching out the surroundings to make sure they won't get caught. Behind him, Masaki was equipped with a paint spray and was carefully drawing a sunny face on a wall in some very dark staircase of the street. That face was Masaki's signature, if he had to draw something, that would be the sunny face. Yukio's was a naruto. Sometimes he would draw it smiling, sometimes angry, or sad, according to his mood.
    It had been more than ten minutes since Yukio had lent the paint spray to Masaki, and he started to wonder when his friend will be done with his work of art. He started to feel impatient. He checked the clock : they had been here for more than twenty minutes, it was time to go. But he didn't want to rush Masaki. He would probably finish soon anyways.

    "Why are you so quiet ?" Masaki asked suddenly. He had stopped painting. Yukio wouldn't take the risk to face him, and therefore to turn his back to the street, but he could perfectly imagine his friend, his hand hanging, looking at his back, waiting for an answer. Masaki was a very caring friend, the type of person to get worried if Yukio was silent for too long -which happened quite often.
    Yukio shrugged. There was no particular reason. He started to feel...
    "I'm just tired. Would you hurry up ?" his tone was as grumpy as usual but he knew Masaki wouldn't pay much attention to it.
    The slight laugh of Masaki resonated in his ears, confirming his thought. Then, the paint spray again. Hopefully, that sunny face would be done soon. Then...

    "Hey !"
    Yukio turned around like someone had hit him on the back. Just fast enough to see a pocketlamp quickly going down the stairs. He got startled for a second, he really didn't think anyone would come by this side. Obviously, he was wrong.
    "Fuck." He cursed while grabbing Masaki's arm. "Run !" He shouted, already moving, followed by the metallic sound of the paint spray falling on the floor. They rushed out the staircases, Yukio didn't let go Masaki's arm before they got to the street, and they started running as fast as they could. The footsteps were so close behind them Yukio was already thinking of what would happened if they actually got caught. But the answer came fast : there was no other option than to not let this happen.
    "Stop !" Shouted one of the cops behind them. They both knew it was the last thing they should do. They sped up until the end of the street. All Yukio could hear was his heartbeat pounding in his ears. A few hundred meters away, the street separated in two smaller alleys. They were going to need to split. They exchanged a quick glance, like they did tenth of times before. Yukio could swear he saw a hint of a smile on Masaki's lip.
    "See you in fifteen !" He shouted, his breath short, before turning on the right. He sped up a little more. He got a bit disappointed when he heard only one set of footsteps behind him. He kind of hoped both cops would chase him. But Masaki will do great. He had to.

    Yukio kept turning left and right to lose the cop in the labyrinth of the streets. He kept running as fast as he could until he couldn't hear any footsteps behind him for more than three minutes. Then, he headed to their usual meeting point : Ochiai Park. Yukio let himself fall under a small tree and rested the back of his head on the trunk. His breath was so short, his chest moving so fast, he thought he would never recover from that run. He let a deep sigh out and checked the time on his phone. Masaki's road was a little longer than his, which meant he had just the time to smoke a cigarette before his friend arrived. Masaki hated when Yukio smoked in front of him, which happened quite often, and which inevitably led to some kind of remark. Yukio inhaled the first puff, trying to calm down from that adrenaline rush. When he got calmer, he felt a tiny bit of regret : their graffiti was almost over, but they probably will never have the audacity to go back and finish it. Yukio put out the end of his cigarette on the ground with an uneasy feeling. He checked the clock again. Why had Masaki not came back yet ?