In Case of Fire, Burn This First

Strange Atmospheres

Two months went by. Kyungsoo continued his violence against the canvas. But he appended it with bombing and burning out against walls, buses, train carriages, and soon, unbelievably enough, highway signs, billboards, and overpasses.

After narrowly dodging the night watch or sometimes cops, with them hot on his heels as he lugged his bag full of spray-paint cans along, he thought about joining a crew, with its camaraderie and facade of safety. But he ultimately decided against it. He worked best alone.

His friends tagged along with him, sometimes. Chanyeol more infrequently than the others, because heading out with an intoxicated friend with inborn zero coordination was more of a liability than an asset. Having different sets of eyes seemed to be helpful, but after barely escaping getting nabbed one bad night near Cubao Expo, he learned in no uncertain terms that it was safer to be on his own.

Kyungsoo also made secret of the riskier places he painted. His friends would lose all of their shit and some once they see him balancing on overpass beams and parapets, and would likely haul him off to a high-security mental institution to be locked up for life. He planned around the nights he knew they'd vacate for other pursuits. He told no one about those plans. He staked out the places he'd mark for hours with only a sketchbook for entertainment. He took his pre-existing secretiveness to the next level. It disturbed even himself, the way he could speak to them without flinching. As if he wasn't a wanted criminal by now, a notorious name the authorities still couldn't put a face to.

His most prized possession now was his black book: containing sketches of his illicit, more elaborate pieces---misshapen before they could be painted into life. It mustn't fall into the wrong hands, so he rarely used it in other people's presence and sketched only when there were no other eyes standing watch. He went as far as putting a lock on it. In a secret compartment beneath his dresser was a shoebox containing photos of his works, arranged by date and held together with a rubber band, each one a piece of damning evidence.

He furtively browsed discussion websites and oftentimes, though new to the scene, the graffiti writer known as "D.O." was brought up, photos of his pieces uploaded by benchers, because he had left his mark all over the city. He indiscriminately painted fires over unremarkable walls saying "post no bill" and spotless commercial surfaces alike like a dog raising a hind leg to piss. He also had several large-scale illegal pieces in heavily-trafficked areas, setting fire to respectable establishments for all to see.

Faceless online commenters thought it was his way of sublimating his pyromaniacal urges without real firestarting. No buildings were harmed in the making of this piece. They jokingly dubbed him adventurous , ballsy , and, bluntly enough, suicidal .

Kyungsoo couldn't agree more. But at first, he kept out of anyone's way as much as possible. This didn't last for long. Someone slashed his piece, and then another, and another. That was a definitive declaration of war. So he tried to seek out the graff writer who ruined his pieces and found him by burning the guy's distinct style (key words: wildstyle 3-D hanzi with a crown perched on the first character, interesting color schemes) and preferred haunt (Cubao) into his memory. He didn't have anyone at hand to ask about the characters. It must be a good thing. For all the fight they stoked in him, he dreaded knowing what they meant.

The weeks-long standoff ended, at least for a while, when Kyungsoo created a daring burner that must have surely put the guy's work to shame---it was strategically positioned on the highly visible outer wall of the derelict Coronet Theatre along Aurora Boulevard. It treated commuters to an eyeful of large, illusionistic fires, breaking out of the building by melting down its walls.

It made the morning news. It took online forums by storm, got the local precinct buzzing, and definitely put a bounty on D.O.'s head because apparently, the Coronet was a rotting relic from Cubao's movie theater boom in the 60's. Kyungsoo wasn't suspected in the least by his friends even if the style and subject matter were dead giveaways (key words: painterly, fires of all types), because Kyungsoo wouldn't have stuck out his neck for the stupidest things, right?