Alexandria, Egypt

I was dead.

For a brief moment, at least.

I felt the bullet hit me, falling backwards as a result of the impact. It hit me on the left side of my chest, and my shirt began to soak. Next thing I knew, I could feel the rough and coarse sand on my back while the sun nearly blinded my eyes. Afterwards, I heard a commotion, like a chase had ensued, as dust flew by my face. Screams could be heard in the distance, followed by gunshots.

At first, I wanted to get up. A battle ensued between my mind and my body, but I could not move even a finger. So, I made peace with it, my death, as the gears in my brain stopped turning.

My mind was empty, and everything faded to black. For some reason, the last thing that crossed my mind was the song 'I Want to Break Free' by Queen. I loved that song so much when I was a kid. Without any warning, the song stopped, and I was out for what felt like an eternity.

My heart skipped a beat.

Then it happened—my moment of resurrection. It was like I stared Death right in the eyes and laughed. Not today, Death, not today.

I rose from the dead, and the first thing I saw was G-Dragon, handing the Cleopatra's Staff to one of his henchmen. With my murder weapon in hand, he and nearly a dozen armed men went after Krystal and Rosé, while the staff was taken in the opposite direction. At that moment, I had a choice to make, and I chose to tail the man with the staff. Because I know that if anyone can escape the pursuit of an entire army, it's Krystal.

As I scrambled to my feet, I tapped on the bullet wound in my chest. There was a hole in my shirt pocket, so I poked my finger through that hole and out came the bullet. It immediately dawned on me that the liquid that had been soaking my shirt was not blood but drinking water instead. I pulled out the water canteen that was stored in that pocket and saw a dent on one side of it.

G-Dragon aimed for my heart, but I was saved by a water canteen that I bought on eBay. The bullet had failed to penetrate the other side of the metal canteen. It still hurt like hell though. Don't get it twisted, but that was how I defied death. That was how I, kinda like Freddy Mercury, broke free.

Anyway, I tailed the man with the staff until he reached an open-top Jeep Wrangler. Another man was already waiting by the vehicle when we got there. Mind you, I was trying to keep my distance to not get spotted, so I didn't hear everything that they talked about. What I did hear was the fact that G-Dragon had instructed them to bring the staff back to his warehouse in Seoul.

After they left, I went back to the pyramid and spent an entire day there. My burner phone ran out of battery, so I had no choice but to wait, hoping that someone would arrive to save me from dying of dehydration.

--

Nice, France

"And then what happened?" Rosé said, with full, munching on her potato chips.

Hyun Bin smiles and takes the entire bag of chips from Rosé. He takes a piece out before handing the bag back to her, but only after the girl begs for it and after Krystal threatens to shoot him again if he does not do so.

"Luckily, a group of American tourists visited the pyramid the next day. I sobbed to them about being robbed and left for dead. They bought the lie and even paid for my flight ticket here."

Krystal nods after listening to Hyun Bin's explanation. She might not show it, but she is thrilled to have him back in the fold. Well, she did run up to Hyun Bin and give him the biggest, tightest hug in the world after she first saw him. But besides that, she has been keeping her excitement to herself.

"Well, it's good to have you back," Taehyung said, sitting on the bench across from Hyun Bin.

Hyun Bin nods in return and is visibly startled when Rosé suddenly gives him a hug after that.

"We've missed you more than you know." Rosé grips the man tighter.

Krystal watches as Hyun Bin gives the girl a pat in the back before hugging her back. Then, a question pops up in her head. "How did you know to find us here?"

She waits as Hyun Bin takes a while to answer when Rosé cuts in.

"Did you track us through Snapchat, oppa?" The girl asked Hyun Bin, bewildering Krystal even more.

Rosé must have noticed the look on Krystal's face by the way she frantically tries to come up with an explanation.

"Well, here's the thing. Before we set off looking for Cleopatra's Staff in the pyramid, I told Hyun Bin to download Snapchat and taught him how to use the app. I downloaded it too, and we added each other as friends. He must have tracked us down through the Snap Map, right?"

Krystal shifts her attention from Rosé to Hyun Bin. The man quickly nods in agreement. She pinches the bridge of her nose, words escaping her.

"He didn't want to at first, so please don't take it out on him," Rosé adds, obviously trying to calm her down. "Yeoh joined in too!"

Like that makes it any better. Krystal lifts her head to look at Yeoh, but the woman only conjures up an awkward smile. She then turns to Taehyung, hoping at least someone other than her has some sense in them.

"Hey, don't look at me! I don't even have my own phone." He lifts his hands in surrender.

That is true. Krystal did not get the chance to give the getaway driver a burner phone, mainly because he was not in the initial heist plan.

"Look, we didn't use our real name and they can't track our phones anyway and-"

"That doesn't matter! Fake names or not, your actions could've compromised the entire mission, "Krystal gets off her seat while her eyes remain locked on Hyun Bin. "I understand this slip up coming from the others, but you, Hyun Bin, how could you be so careless?"

"I always cover my tracks, you know that, Krystal." Now it is Hyun Bin's turn to stand up as he inches closer to Krystal.

She shoots daggers at him; her jaw clenches reflexively. She cannot believe that someone as experienced as Hyun Bin could have done something like this. Letting the entire Snapchat world know about your whereabouts is definitely not in the 'Heist 101' book. She shuts her eyes, her fingers curling into fists as her blood boils.

After taking one last deep breath, Krystal her lips and lets out an audible exhale. She opens her eyes and begins to lay out a plan.

"We're gonna rent a car to go to Paris. I know someone there from a previous heist. She will give us new passports, phones, and some disguises to change our appearance, and then we'll take a plane back to Korea."

"I guess going back home doesn't sound so bad now," Taehyung said, leaning back in his seat. "Kinda miss Incheon to be honest."

"Who said anything about going to Incheon?" Krystal grins as the others fix their attention on her.

Taehyung bends forward, closer to Krystal, who is sitting in front of him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Hyun Bin said that the staff was taken back to Seoul, and I know that G-Dragon has a warehouse there."

The eyes that are fixed on her start to glow. She knows that they understand what she is getting at. Krystal then explains that the staff will be their final objective; once they get ahold of it, she will sell it off along with the green emerald and the treasure map. Although they will have the key to Norte Chico's treasures if they pull this off, the dangers that await them at the treasury are too great a task.

Yeoh backs up her point by mentioning that ancient civilisations, such as the Norte Chico, would often set up elaborate and deadly puzzles to keep their treasures secure. Many treasure hunters have died in search of lost fortunes like the one they are after. It did not take much convincing for Hyun Bin, Rosé, and Taehyung to forget about the treasury and focus on the current task at hand. Their mission now is to take the Cleopatra's Staff away from G-Dragon's possession.

After a long and tedious process that is car rental, the gang takes off to Paris. Taehyung is at the helm of their white 2019 Volkswagen Passat Estate, with Yeoh in the front passenger seat and Rosé taking the middle back seat, Krystal to her right and Hyun Bin to her left. Music plays on the radio as the car glides through the almost empty countryside roads of France.

Krystal takes in the sight from the window. The scenic landscape of Nice boasts its dispersed country cottages, each structure surrounded by expansive grass plains and vineyards. She can almost taste the crisp and sophisticated taste of wine as she catches glimpses of vignerons harvesting grapes from their plantations. As they steer further from the city, venturing into a sparsely populated region, she hears birds singing and sees trees dancing. The outline of a mountain range paints the skyline, where the earth and the sky meet, so close yet so far.

It was not her first time visiting the country, but she had never taken the time to indulge in the beauty that France has to offer. A truck drives past them, going in the opposite direction, its black smoke tainting the clear blue sky. As the smoke clears up, Krystal gapes at the sight of something that has only existed in her fantasy.

Purple, the only colour reaching into the horizon, well, not quite. It was lavender, and there was an endless supply of it as far as the eye could see. Puffy lavender bushes arranged in straight lines fill the boundless field. She gets goosebumps and her whole body tingles, eyes locked on the lavender field, its colour bursting right into her cornea. That is her favourite colour now, lavender.

She feels herself dozing off, only to be awakened from her slumber by Rosé. The girl mumbles something about 'being sorry' and 'don't stay mad', Krystal cannot hear clearly but gets the gist of it. She gives her eyes a gentle rub before turning to her left.

"...and yeah Krystal, that's why I believe that you should accept my apology." Rosé has her palms together and is giving Krystal puppy eyes.

Krystal wraps her arm around the younger girl's shoulder and pulls her closer. "Don't worry, I can never stay mad at you." She smiles at Rosé, who gives her an even bigger smile in return, before glaring at Hyun Bin. "But as for this guy? That's a whole different story."

Hyun Bin chuckles and replies, "I promise it won't happen again."

"You better keep your word, or I'll send you back to Death again. And you won't be laughing this time."

Ironically, everyone in the car bursts into laughter after hearing Krystal's sentence. She lets Rosé use her shoulder as a pillow while her eyelids start to feel heavy again. But it seems like a moment of peace is too much to ask for when her slumber gets interrupted once more.

"So, what made you change your mind?" Yeoh looks at her through the rear-view mirror. "About ending this 'adventure', I mean."

Her gaze falls onto the landscape, contemplating her decision. She glances at everyone inside the car, the people that she has begun to genuinely care about.

"I figured that leaving even a piece of the vault's key in G-Dragon's possession could lead him on a search for the emerald and map. So, if we take the staff from him and sell all the items to three separate buyers, it will certainly put a wrench in his plan. Presumably, years of research will go down the drain. "

"You despise your ex that much, huh?" As Taehyung said, his eyes remained on the road.

Krystal scoffs, offended by the fact that he even feels the need to ask. "More than you believe."

"Besides, I think Krystal here fancies someone else now." Rosé, whose head is still on her shoulder, speaks up. "Isn’t that right?" She gives Rosé a once-over, making the girl giggle.

She rolls her eyes, but she cannot stop herself from taking a little peep at Taehyung to see his reaction. She wonders if she has made her feelings for the man in the driver's seat too obvious. Once in a while, she would often catch herself getting lost in his eyes, but he could not have possibly noticed it.

Taehyung stays expressionless, making her panic because there can only be two possible explanations. Either he has already known about her embarrassing crush on him, or he has not and simply does not care about her love life. Some jealousy on his part could not hurt.

"Woah, that's news to me," Hyun Bin said, leaning in closer to Rosé, "would you mind filling this undead guy up?"

"I'd really like to, trust me, but it's not my secret to tell."

"Wha- there's no secret to begin with. She's just messing with you; don't worry about it." Her voice is steady and clear, unlike her racing, trembling heart.

The tremble slows down as she sees Hyun Bin nod. She assumes that the man has bought the lie. Rosé nods too, although while humming with the 'yeah sure' look on her face.

As if trying to expose her own lie, she takes a not-so-subtle look at Taehyung once again. To her surprise (or relief, or both), his lips are already curled. She accepts the fact that he definitely knows who Rosé was talking about.

I did try to kiss him after all, she thought, resting her head against the window. All she hopes for now is that Taehyung feels the same way about her. That, and for no one to interrupt her moment of peace for the rest of the journey. Or at least for the next fifteen minutes.

The car finally reaches the mountain range that seemed far-flung not too long ago. Tall trees thrive on the rocky mountains, keeping an eye on the entire province. Mediaeval buildings stood strong atop those mountains, providing a heavenly view for their residents. Once this adventure is over, she would love to come back to this place and visit all the eye-catching places and sights.

Oh, how could she forget? Interpol is still hot on her tail. Once the heat on her dies down, that would be the perfect time for her to return here. That way, she could actually enjoy sightseeing without having to watch her back every ten seconds. She forgets how relaxing the simple life of an accountant in Incheon can be. Some days can be mundane—that is a given—but at least no one would be aiming their gun at her.

However, she does enjoy the thrills and chills that come with the life of crime. Escaping the pursuit of a dozen men, stealing necklaces from old ladies, each day bringing something new.

She is conflicted, and she hates that feeling so much. She wishes that a fairy would appear in her dream, telling her which life to choose. But till then, she needs to decide, whether stealing the Cleopatra's Staff would be her final mission or not. She wants to escape from the shackles of the thoughts that are running through her mind.

She wants to break free.