graffiti //nct dream

introduction

Jaein cautiously walked through the quiet streets of her rundown neighborhood, she was on her way home after finishing another one of her artworks. The recent one being her favorite, it was a mix of blue and purple undertones, a statement, right up on the wall of the police station, a mural of a young boy, who had recently been found guilty of murder and sentenced to years in prison. His trial was controversial, but no one is safe from the law, even if they are innocent.

This was the first time Jaein risked so much for her graffiti, usually she stuck to spraying alleyways, or run down buildings, but this one needed to be seen by everyone. The boy, Jackson Wang, is a close friend of hers. He was loved by everyone in his community, until the police couldn't find any evidence on the murder of his little sister, and placed the blame on him.

She stayed alert, walking through her neighborhood at night was something she would never get used to. It was shady and many bad things happened in these alleys, this was because one of the local gangs, Neo, owned this "territory" and did all of their dirty work here. If Jaein had a choice, she wouldn't be living here, but her and her cousin only had enough to survive here, because the rent is extremely low.

Jaein moved in with her cousin, a few years ago; and with both of them in high school, they barely manage to get by. Sometimes, he surprised her, because every time she was sure there wasn't enough rent money, he would disappear for a day, and come back with more than he usually gets paid, along with a few cuts and bruises. Jaein never questioned him though, staying quiet, and grateful.

She was only two blocks away from her home when she started to notice footsteps behind her, but she maintained the same pace, frantically scanning for a fire escape to climb. As Jaein neared her house, she took a random right turn, not wanting her follower to know where she lived. There was nothing besides empty spray paint cans in her backpack, so she had nothing to defend herself with.

Up ahead was an alley, she knew it was dangerous and could possibly be a dead end but she was out of options.

The man watched with a smile as she turned into the alleyway. He quickly sprinted around the corner and was met with an empty dead end, the girl had disappeared. He froze, realizing this could be some kind of trap, he looked around cautiously, for anything she could be hiding behind, but found nothing. He sighed running a hand through his hair, and sprinted off, to where he had came from.

JAEINS POV
The hand around my mouth, and arm around my waist, released me once the man who was following me sprinted away below. I swiftly turned around to face the person who pulled me through a window, away from my stalker. I raised my arm in defense as I faced the figure, I couldn't quite make out their face in this dark room, all I could tell is that it is another man. Quickly, I backed away from him, looking him up and down, he was quite taller than me seeing as I'm a little on the short side.

He raised his hands up in surrender, and stepped into the light from the lamp post out side. He was wearing a mask that covered his mouth and nose, and a hoodie hung over his hair, All I could see were his eyes, I stared into them, trying to read his emotions, when surprisingly they upturned a little, a sign that he was smiling. Even though he wanted me to think he meant no harm, I still continued to back away. He sighed, seeing my cautious state, and began to speak.

"You can relax, I'm here to save you, not hurt you." He said softly, as if he would break me if he raised his voice.

He reached his hand out to me to stop me from backing away even more, but I shook my head, "If you aren't going to hurt me, can I leave?" I asked sharply, not letting my guard down. He stopped and lowered his hand sighing. "What a nice way of saying thank you." He chuckled, "At least let me walk you home, that guy and more could still be out there."

Does he think I'm stupid?

There is no way I will let him walk me home, he could be stalking me too, trying to gain my trust, he might want to know where I live, then I'll be putting Jaehyun in danger too. "No thanks" I scoffed. I turned and gently lowered myself out of the window he had pulled me through, dropping a few feet, to the ground gracefully.

I quickly started walking back to my house, praying he wouldn't follow me outside, but just to my luck I heard him softly hop out of the window, and jog to catch up with me. I start to quicken my pace, to escape the stubborn boy. If only I had payed attention I would've seen the man who I had thought left, coming at me from the side, with a knife.

"No!" I hear the boy shout at me from behind, I look up, meeting eyes with the man as he tore into my left thigh with his knife, a smile on his face the entire time.

I hit the pavement, hot tears running down my face as I gripped my leg. I wasn't focused on the man, or how the stubborn boy was holding him in a headlock. I was focused on the blood gushing through my jeans, I sucked in a breath and put pressure on the deep stab wound. I looked away from my bloody hands, starting to feeling nauseous. I watched as the boy dropped the mans limp body onto the concrete. He turned to me, eyes filled with worry.

"Holy shit" was the last thing I heard before I passed out from blood loss.