It certainly felt like a marvelous day to Solar. The sun was out in full force, the skies were clear, and there was a refreshing breeze accompanying her as she left her parked car and walked into the airport.

Today was only to be a simple meeting. It was indeed a shame that this mandatory gathering had been planned during her rare week off, but she was much too elated to care at the moment.

This was all accredited to the vase, of course. The one sitting safe and sound, and at home. It's rightful home.

It had been a little painful, however, to part with that $2000. Quite unfortunate that she couldn't quell her nagging conscience that had forced her hand to drop that envelope in exchange for the vase.

Conscience. As if 69 deserved something as sweet as that. Those sharp cheekbones popped up in her mind again as she scoffed. It was getting a little ridiculous, she thought, of how often the woman's y jawline made its presence in her thoughts.

Absolutely ridiculous. But Solar couldn't help eagerly imagining the creases and wrinkles of confusion that must have made a presence this morning. Besmirching that cold beauty's flawless face.

And there was her imagination acting up again. She jiggled her shoulders in irritation and raised her wrist to her nose.

Mmm. Peach. It truly was an addicting scent. She could feel waves of calm pulse through her body. Now she was reasonably calm enough to deal with work.

“Solar! Why are you just standing there blankly? The meeting room is this way!” Kyungri jumped and waved in her peripheral vision. “Hurry!”

The unknowing, foolish smile on her face slid off. She sped up her pace and hastened to the briefing room, right behind Kyungri.

“You’re late.” A wry smile accompanied the reprimand on her boss’ face.

Solar nodded in embarrassment before sitting down in one of the few remaining empty seats. Luckily for her, Basick was a laidback boss.

“Well, it’ll be a short briefing anyways. Just a discussion about recent customer feedback.” He shuffled some papers before him.

As he began droning on about the importance of maintaining friendly attitudes no matter the customer response, Solar began to zone out, staring at the blank white wall behind Basick.

Bzzz. Basick’s phone lit up as it vibrated. He looked at the caller ID, frowned, then rejected the call.

Solar paid it no mind. She wasn't being the most attentive employee at the moment. Beef noodle soup or black bean noodles for lunch? She was having quite a difficult time deciding, and her empty stomach rumbled in anticipation.

Basick's phone buzzed again and the annoyance in his face became more visible. He sighed and picked up his phone.

“I'll be right back. Need to respond to this real quick.”

He stepped out of the room. Solar’s ears perked up as the door clicked close behind him.

She whispered to Kyungri, “What happened?”

The other girl slapped her lightly on the shoulder and chastised her. “Seriously, Solar, what's with you today? You've been off, but like, in a good way. Something got you on cloud nine? And what's up with that new perfume you're using?”

“Am I really being that weird? And what do you think about this new perfume? ” She tapped the table in thought. She didn't feel too different. Just confident, triumphant even. A grin slowly made its way up her face again. Hah. Lame 69.

“See!” exclaimed Kyungri.

“See what.”

“You're smiling like a fool again,” accused the girl.

“I am not.”

“Yep. You are. Don't try to hide it.”

Solar swatted away the hand that was pointing at her now stern lips. “Sheesh. Why don't you concentrate on more important things. Like,” she scanned the projected PowerPoint slide, “how to deal with complaints about crying toddlers.”

Kyungri scoffed, “Don't you try and pretend you were listening to any of that earlier. I saw you spacing out.” She propped her chin on her hand as she wriggled in her seat, ready to interrogate Solar.

Solar groaned as she saw the glint of interest light deep within the brown orbs of her long time friend. Once Kyungri started, there was no stopping her until she had every last bit of information out. A useful wingwoman, but those skills of hers were a terror to be experienced personally. You never knew when you'd slip up.

“So what is it? Or maybe, who is it?”

“I keep telling you -- oh look Basick's back!”

Never had Solar been so excited to see her boss. She turned to smirk at Kyungri, who gave her a scowl that seemed to promise her of a future interrogation. No matter though. Solar would escape once the meeting ended. Her black bean noodles were waiting for her.

She turned back toward the front. At that moment, she nearly bounced out there and then.

69. Tall, y 69. Confident, arrogant 69. Suit and tie, 69.

What the . Solar's internal alarm screamed at her to escape, to escape the pair of amused, slanted eyes that she was sure followed her the moment 69 came in behind Basick.

But no. None of the 50 escape plans running through her head ever made an appearance. But somehow, she had the very luck to have Kyungri notice her reaction to 69. So now she had 2 wicked grins trained on her from either end. Problem upon problem just continued to pile up.

Basick didn't even bother explaining anything either. She could only stare forward incredulously and stiffly as 69 sauntered over and sat down behind her and Kyungri. Though her boss resumed his speech, all of her senses were focused on the girl behind her.

Like how the crinkling of cloth seemed especially loud as 69 crossed one leg over the other and folded her arms neatly on top of her thighs.

Like how 69’s breathing was so steady and rhythmic while hers was that of a little girl running away from an axe murderer.

Like how she felt a pair of eyes burn into her exposed neck when 69 inhaled sharply.

Like how dried up when 69’s own peach fragrance drifted past. She turned her head slightly when Kyungri nudged her and gestured to her nose. Apparently she wasn't the only one to notice.

Great. One more thing to explain to her near hyperventilating friend, who was not so subtly pointing between her and 69. She kicked Kyungri in the shin, satisfied with the low yelp she gave in return.

A low cough behind her unfortunately washed away that brief moment of happiness. She had forgotten that 69 could see everything. That girl was really out to ruin every bit of her life.

As Basick closed up his speech, Solar was still pondering her options.

She could make a run for it the moment the meeting was over. But that would leave Kyungri and 69 together in one room. Knowing Kyungri, the girl would probably confront 69 herself out of curiosity. She was afraid of what Kyungri would spill. Anything could be incriminating.

It was way too much of a coincidence that 69 had come to confront her the day after the theft. The clues could have pointed to her But there was no way 69 had any hard evidence.

Gloves and fingerprints? Check. Unmarked, untraceable bills? Check. Security camera avoidance and disguise? Check.

There shouldn't be a need to be so worried, she thought. She placed her hand over her chest to calm her unsteady heart. Stealing a peek at 69’s face, she  couldn’t help but feel a tad bit disappointed when the latter's attention was focused not on her, but on Basick's last words.

“That'll be all,” rumbled Basick. Chairs scraped against the floor as their owners stood up.

“Eh ~ Solar--”

“Excuse me, Solar--”

Solar ran.

---

She did not slow down until she was in the parking lot, panting from the exertion of her high speed getaway. She really ought to work out a bit more. The few hundred meter dash had left her gasping like a fish out of water.

Surely, this --

“Solar?”

Her muscles nearly tore from the speed at which she snapped her head around. She gaped at the easy but brisk walk 69 was approaching her with. It was rather infuriating, considering her own struggle earlier.

She fumbled around her purse and her whole body grew cold when she tried to wrap her trembling fingers around the keys. A string of curses flew out of as she fought to fit the key into the car lock. In her haste, she had forgotten about the electronic lock. Stupid her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw 69 up her pace to a slow jog. And then to a manic dash when she finally wrenched the car door open.

An immovable hand stopped her from slamming it closed.

“Solar.”

Goddamn 69. Not even out of breath. The suit was still ironed to perfection without a single wrinkle. Every strand of that golden brown hair fell perfectly on either side of her cheeky face.

Meanwhile, Solar got a glimpse of her own face in her rearview mirror. She almost gagged on shock and shame at the scraggly dark locks that were plastered to her sweaty forehead.

She coughed away from 69’s direction as she answered. Hopefully the girl wouldn't notice her secretive attempts to make herself look presentable. Or maybe she did want 69 to notice her. All her thoughts were jumbled at the moment.

“Y-Yes? H-How do you know my name?”

Moonbyul bit her lip to stop the laugh from escaping. Solar's attempt at nonchalance was tragic to say the least. “We met at the auction.”

“O-Oh that's right!” Her head bobbed furiously, dislodging the clumps of hair she had painstakingly tucked behind her ear earlier. Damn it. “You’re…”

It wasn't like she would call the woman 69 again to her face.

“Yeah. I'm the one who bought the vase. Remember?”

'I don't care’ she wanted to scream. She just wanted 69’s name. Instead, she politely nodded, withholding a growl of annoyance, and said, “Yes. The vase. It wasn't the best first meeting, I would say. I had really wanted the vase.”

Moonbyul paused. “I lost the vase.”

Solar gasped. She hadn't expected 69 to be so blunt and forward. She had certainly not expected the theft to be mentioned so early in the conversation either.

Moonbyul too was quite surprised. Solar’s shock was too real. For a minute there, she second guessed herself, something she rarely did as a detective. In fact, if she hadn't seen the very image of Solar herself on the security cam that night, she would be quite doubtful.

So Solar wanted to play it off. Ok. Two could play this game.

Moonbyul shook her head gravely and said, “I was also very surprised this morning. A vase that I hadn't even owned for a whole day just disappeared right under my nose.”

“That's terrible!” Even Solar wanted to shoot herself at how disgustingly and deceptively those words came out .

“I know right? Who would even do that? Steal a simple vase? A $2100 vase. When there was a painting worth half a million sitting right above it?”

Her eyes nearly bulging out their sockets, Solar didn't respond at first. She couldn't. It was reasonably quite hard to, considering what she had just heard. 69 was a lot more loaded than she had originally thought.

“M-Maybe the thief didn't know that.”

“Must not have. Expensive art is often overlooked. Hidden gems of beauty, wouldn't you say?”

Solar felt mesmerized by the eyes that stared deep into her own. 69’s last sentence brought out a faint flush in her cheeks.

No, she must not fall into this trap any longer. She always had a terrible habit of getting distracted. The longer this went on, the greater the chance she'd accidentally let something slip. Talking with Kyungri was the same. It always felt as though her secrets were pried away one by one.

Squaring her shoulders, she demanded, “But what does all this have to do with me?”

“You're suspect number one.” Well actually, the undeniable criminal. Moonbyul kept that thought to herself.

“W-What? W-Why?” she sputtered.

“You seemed to have the greatest amount of interest in the vase.”

“That doesn't mean I would steal it!”

“Oh? How so?”

“Does this,” Solar gestured to her worn, secondhand car, “look like what someone who could pull off a heist like that would own?”

“Maybe. Honda Civics are quite inconspicuous.”

“Oh my god. Are you still going on about that theory of yours? Where I'm a con artist?” Solar’s cheek twitched and her grip on the steering wheel tightened. Somehow, the thought of 69 looking down upon her as she had done back at the auction house irked her.

However, when she had her emotions in check and looked at 69 again, she was pleasantly surprised to see not a scowl of disdain, but a grin that even reached the crescents of 69’s eyes. Cute. So 69 had this side to her as well.

“Not a con artist. I'll acknowledge that, Miss Flight Attendant.” Moonbyul chuckled at Solar's blush. “Shame to not see you in uniform, however.”

“W-What do you mean shame--”

Moonbyul took the opportunity while Solar was flustered to hasten to the other side and let herself into the passenger seat.

“What are you doing 69!”

Moonby nearly choked. “69…”

Solar rested her forehead against the steering wheel so 69 could not see the shame painted across her cheeks. Breathe in. And out. And in--

“Hello? Solar?”

69 really had to ruin everything didn't she. Even a  simple breathing exercise. Solar raised her head to glare at the girl seated next to her.

“What do you think you're doing in my car.”

“Talking to you.”

“What's there to talk about?”

“My vase, of course.”

“I told you I didn't have anything to do with that!”

“Well I'm curious about what you mentioned earlier.”

“W-What did I say?” Solar felt her pulse race once more. Had she let her fluctuating emotions blind her? 69 was smirking far too confidently next to her.

Moonbyul raised an eyebrow, stomach cramping from the amusement she was trying to hold in. Solar's face was truly a sight to behold at the moment. Maybe she'd let the worry stew between Solar's steaming, beet-red ears for a bit longer. It had been a while since she'd had this much fun.

“Say something,” Solar continued in a firmer tone.

Oh, so Solar had some cheek in her. Moonbyul nodded in satisfaction. The chase wouldn't be fun otherwise.

The chase? The surprising thought burrowed itself into her mind. Since when had she decided this would be a chase?

Moonbyul had originally planned to meet Solar and demand the vase back. Threaten her a bit if necessary. She felt a little bad for the girl, who had obviously thought she had been doing so well the night before. Poor, deluded thing.

But talking with the girl was truly a different experience. So much sass, so much denial. Not the annoying, guiltless arguments she often encountered in cases. Solar had a refreshing aura of innocence around her. Stupid innocence, maybe. But it was still enticing.

Moonbyul wanted to talk more with the girl.

“A heist like this.”

“Sorry?”

“That's what you said earlier.”

“Um yeah, but what does that have to do with--”

“That phrase implies that you have an idea of what my house and its security is like.” It was a bit of a stretch, Moonbyul knew. She was grasping at straws for excuses.

“I-I just thought that since you were rich looking, you'd have lots of security.”

“You’ll have to do better than that to convince me.”

“So what do you want me to do then?” Solar smacked the side of the steering wheel in frustration. Her black bean noodle future was looking more and more bleak.

“Let's talk more. Someplace else, someplace more accommodating than your stuffy car. How about a meal?”

Solar was about to argue when she saw the determination in 69’s eyes. It would probably be safer to not piss off the girl who literally held her future in her hands. Who knew how powerful 69 really was? And maybe this chance could give her insight into what 69 already knew.

Moonbyul’s tense face relaxed as Solar stuck her key in and the ignition. Ignoring the little mutterings of 'if you have problems with my stuffy old car then you should just leave’, she rolled down the windows and let the breeze blow across her face.

As Solar pulled out of the airport parking lot, she passed by Kyungri and made accidental eye contact.

Now she would have to deal with explaining why she and 69 were driving away together the next time they met.

But first, she would have to work hard to deceive 69 so the next time they did meet, it would not be behind bars.

Forgive me for any errors in writing or format. Dealing with aff editor on mobile is rather difficult. I'll fix it later. Fixed.

Thanks for reading!