Y/N seemed to float across the dance floor, her simple black gown brushing the polished marble of the ballroom as she was spun delicately by her current masked dance partner. This was the fourth gentleman she’d had the “pleasure” of dancing with that evening, though he wasn’t quite as talkative as the first, as handsome as the second, or as elegant as the third. He was obviously a well trained dancer; most likely the son of people very high up on the social ladder who had instilled in him early on the basics expected of someone of his status.

       The city’s masquerade charity fundraiser was an annual event created by Mr. Park, a ridiculously wealthy and incredibly successful businessman that was worshiped by the entire city, and everyone who was anyone was always in attendance. There were millionaires and social ladder climbers galore among the brightly colored, twirling, politely laughing crowd; though Y/N was not a millionaire nor heiress nor the daughter of some up and coming  socialite. No, Y/N was born into a middle class family right in the heart of the city, living a comfortable enough life until she was thirteen years old.

       It was when she was thirteen that her parents left on a business trip and never returned. The accident, which had nearly broken Y/N, left her with a meager inheritance that went to her deadbeat uncle who was to hold onto it for “safe keeping” until she turned eighteen; though, he promptly spent every last dime on fueling his gambling habit.

       This left Y/N under the care of a family member she barely knew, let alone cared about, with zero money to her name. So, of course she did what any rational thirteen year old would have done. She ran away.

       She was alright for a few months, having “borrowed” a portion of what little money her uncle hadn’t squandered away, but she quickly realized that things were expensive. With her time at the juvenile shelter coming to an end with her approaching eighteenth birthday, Y/N started to explore her options. As a high school drop out, she didn’t have many options as far as employment went. Despite her attempts to study on her own whenever possible at the public library, employers just weren’t interested in anyone without some sort of formal education. With this limitation, Y/N turned to the only path left in her eyes. Pick-pocketing.

       Of course it was “immoral” but she saw no other viable options in sight, and with her eighteenth birthday looming over her she decided that it was time to put her childhood quirk to use. See, Y/N had a talent for having invisible hands. As a child she would swipe cookies right under her mother’s nose. She would also, as practice, take things from her classmates and then return them to their owners, all while they were none the wiser. Of course, the stakes were higher when it came to actually stealing, there were real consequences if she were to be caught, but if her early trial attempts were any indication, Y/N was a very good pickpocket.

       Thieving gave Y/N a way of survival, she only did it when she absolutely had to in order to pay the rent and buy a meager amount of groceries, but then came the day when Carmen got sick.

       Carmen S., Y/N had never learned her last name, was Y/N’s best friend in the juvenile shelter; they were inseparable and stuck up for each other when things got hairy. Carmen, unlike Y/N, had been placed into a foster home before she aged out of the shelter, and Y/N had been glad to see her friend happy; she expected Carmen to live a comfortable life with relatively no worries. Though, that all changed when she was diagnosed with cancer. Carmen’s foster parents were flooded with hospital bills and they were quickly in over their heads and were now at risk for losing their home. Y/N couldn’t stand to watch her friend lose it all after her lucky break, so she made it her mission to break her rule of stealing on a small scale just this once. Just this one and only time.

       Which is what led her to the masquerade, with her rented gown and borrowed mask (she had to look the part after all), she needed money. And fast.

       She tried to ignore her lightly sweating palms as she was spun around the twinkling, expensively decorated room. Thank God for the gloves that went with her dress, or she would be grossing poor Man #4 out. She never got nervous before a job, but this would be her biggest attempt of thievery yet, and the thought of one of the Richie Rich’s catching her attempting to snag a few of the glittering jewels dripping off of every inch of their attire made her heart take up permanent residence in .

       It was almost show time. Y/N had been swiping small objects throughout the night, a small brooch here and a watch or two there, but in exactly five minutes, as the clock struck midnight, the lights would be turned off so everyone could remove their masks for the “big reveal.” Y/N hoped to snatch what she could, with the darkness as her cover, and then quietly slip out of the building all together, sneaking to freedom before anyone could realize that they hadn’t simply misplaced their thousand dollar hair pin.

       The current song ended, but it was a long moment before the man released Y/N’s gloved hands. When he finally released her, she dropped him a quick curtsy and made her way to the edge of the makeshift stage that had been set up near the back of the ballroom. Earlier she had spotted what appeared to be an excellent target and he was currently making his way toward the stage; her eyes followed him the entire way as she made her way through the crowd. The boy, well really the young man, was handsome and he filled out his black and white pinstripe suit that just screamed expensive nicely, but what had really caught Y/N’s eye wasn’t his good looks, but his watch that had to be worth at least $250,000. If she could get her hands on that watch then she wouldn’t even need the other trinkets she had snagged.

       Y/N had expected the young man to stop when he reached the edge of the stage, but instead the crowd parted for him and he walked onto the platform. This piqued her curiosity on who the dark haired man could be, though it wasn’t until he turned around to face the crowd that she realized who she had just set as her next target.

Park Jimin. Of course Y/N had chosen the most high profile person in the room besides Mr. Park himself. Y/N had only seen him in the black and white newspaper clippings of the Daily Times, but there was no mistaking the face that was now surveying the crowd.

       ‘I’m an idiot… but I have to do this.’ Y/N thought as she continued to walk closer to the stage, regretting the fact that she had spotted the watch in the first place. If anyone was going to catch her tonight it would most likely be the young millionaire or one of his many security guards, but with her eye already on the quarter million dollar prize she didn’t see many better options.

       Park Jimin cleared his throat skillfully into the microphone, effectively silencing the room as every pair of eyes turned to face the expensive father and son pair on the stage. “Ladies and Gentlemen I’d like to thank you all for taking the time to-“ He continued to speak about the goal of the fundraiser that night and he thanked several of last year’s bigger contributors, but Y/N’s ears were closed to the words as she planned out her next steps. In less than a minute the lights would shut off and in the following minute of darkness she would have to make it to the stage, take the watch without the younger Park noticing, and slip out into the hall. It was a daunting task, but Y/N was up for the challenge. She hoped.

       “...And now for the part you’ve all been waiting for. In a few moments the clock will strike twelve and the lights will shut off for precisely one minute. I ask that during that time you all remove your masks for the “Big Reveal.” He paused and turned to the ginormous grandfather clock that stood beside him on the stage, “Ten, nine, eight,” He began to count down and soon the whole room was chanting with him. Y/N’s heart leaped at the sound of the countdown, and as she crept closer to the stage she wondered if she would really be able to pull this off.

       There was a sound like a lever being pulled and suddenly the large ballroom was plunged into darkness. Y/N leaped into action; she had already slipped her heels off in preparation, so she was a silent shadow among the excited shuffling and whispers of the party guests when she darted onto the stage.

       The carpeted stage was soft on her bare feet as she stepped lightly forward; she had honed her night vision years ago by exploring the juvenile shelter after the 9p.m. lights out, so it was no problem for her to locate the younger of the two Mr. Park’s on the stage. In the darkness she was able to make out the movement of him untying his mask, he made quick work of the ties and soon the it was dangling from his right hand. Y/N crept forward, confident in her silence as she neared his back. She reached down to his left wrist and her fingers brushed the cool surface of the watch with a feather touch.

       She had the clasp unhooked and was ready to let it slip off when the guard closest to Jimin conveniently bumped into him, but just as she pulled her hand back she felt fingers snatch her wrist.

       “You’re good, thief. Though next time you might want to choose a target that hasn’t been taught to look out for pickpockets since they were ten years old.” The mumbled words seemed to have no source, they were that quiet, but Y/N could feel the rumble of Jimin’s chest as he spoke.

       A cold sweat broke out on every inch of Y/N’s skin as she realized what his words meant. Y/N had been caught. She had been caught because she had made a mistake; of course someone as rich as him had to be hyper-aware of his surroundings.  She couldn’t move; all of her limbs seem to have frozen with the icy fear that clawed its way through her. This would be the end of Y/N. Carmen wouldn’t get the money for her medicine, her family was going to lose their house, Y/N was going to go to jail. Or maybe her punishment would be worse considering she just tried to rob the son of the wealthiest man in the city.

       The thoughts took over her mind and she forgot about the hundreds of people around her. She forgot about the time.

       She felt the fingers on her wrist tighten as they pulled her hand off the watch before they released her and moved to the back of her head. She nearly flinched, but Jimin’s hand was, oddly enough, just untying the ribbon holding her mask on. The mask fell and his hand moved to her waist, yanking her to his side just as the lights flicked back on.

       The sudden brightness was disorienting, but as soon as her eyes adjusted Y/N found herself staring into a pair of amber brown eyes. They didn’t hold the anger she expected, instead they looked intrigued. Y/N felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment now that she was confronted by her target face to face, and she opened to somehow try to find words that would get her out of this mess, but just as she started to speak the owner of the eyes smirked and turned to address the crowd.

       “There you have it everyone. We’re all unmasked now. I hope you’ll continue to get to know your fellow guests as you enjoy the remainder of the night. I’d like to thank you all again for supporting the Cancer Society Charity Ball.” Jimin concluded the speech with a blinding smile before his grip around her waist tightened and he forcefully led her off and around the stage. He then guided her through a huge mahogany door that brought them into a beautifully decorated room full of several couches and a large desk at the back of the room. He walked her toward the desk where he sat himself down and motioned for her to take a seat in the chair across from him.

       Y/N sat hesitantly, watching the man before her carefully. Frankly she was shocked he hadn’t thrown her out already, it was almost worse to be sitting here in front of him than she imagined jail would be.

       “Soooo…I guess you’ve had a lot of practice with pickpockets, huh?”