“Goddamit,”

Special agent, Kim Ryeowook curses under his breath. Studying the flower petals in place, Ryeowook doesn’t even have to think twice to know who had been here. It’s him, it has always been him.

Lee Donghae.

Lee Donghae, the most wanted thief, has been the source of Ryeowook’s constant headache for almost a two years now. The strikingly handsome man is an exceptional thief, stealing over the most valuable items in museums without ever getting caught.

“Any fingerprints detected?” Ryeowook asks one of his agents only to receive a shake of head from the other agent.

“No, sir. There’s no trace of anything, except for the damn flower petals and… Well that rose.” His fellow agent points out to a single purple dyed rose laid out at the side of the stolen piece of painting.

Ryeowook shakes his head, annoyed. He walks over to the flower and bends down, slides his gloves on and picks it up. There’s a small card underneath the rose but Ryeowook’s not surprised. It’s all part of Donghae’s games. Inside, Ryeowook finds the criminal’s messy handwriting.

Always one step behind, Agent. But never fear, it’s always good to be fashionably late.

FYI, the new hairstyle really suit you, pretty boy.

Yours always,

LDH

Unconsciously, Ryeowook runs a hand through his newly dyed maroon hair but quickly brings his hand down when he realizes what he’s doing. He starts wondering how on earth could Donghae have known about his new hairstyle only to realize that maybe Donghae has been stalking him. Ryeowook shudders thinking of how creepy it is that Donghae is so close yet so far.

Ryeowook studies the flower petals scattered all over the floor again and wonders what kind of psycho leaves flower petals as his signature mark. But then again, why would a thief ever leave any kind of trace for the police. But Ryeowook knows too that Lee Donghae isn’t just any thief. He’s crazy, ridiculously smart and sneaky. He doesn’t leave a single trace behind except for his flower petals and the damn roses he leaves for Ryeowook. He leaves no mess, no dead bodies, no fingerprints or even footprints behind. The crime scene has always been spotless with wiped security tapes and disabled alarms.

“Impossible,” His partner huffs, “Not only did he steal a 10million dollar worth of a painting but he also leaves love letters for us.”

Ryeowook wants to correct his friend because clearly those love letters have always been for just him but he doesn’t feel the need to do so, it’s not like he’s proud of receiving them anyway. He turns to Kyuhyun, his assigned partner for Lee Donghae’s case, and hands him the rose that he’s carefully placed in a zip lock bag.

“Bring this in for evidence,” Ryeowook tells him, “Though I doubt we’ll find anything from it.”

“Damn right we won’t,” Kyuhyun sighs, shaking his head.

Once they were done with the investigations, Ryeowook and his team made their back to the station where he knew he’d have to deal with more annoying paperwork. Ryeowook huffs in frustration as he slides into the car. Just for one day, Ryeowook wonders when will Lee Donghae ever stop giving him such a hard time?

***

There’s never any connection to the paintings that Donghae steals. Ryeowook doesn’t know why he only steals paintings and as far as he’s concerned, Donghae doesn’t look like the type that would appreciate art in any form. Ryeowook has seen in in person only once but that one time had been enough to last a lifetime.

It happened about a year ago. At that time, Ryeowook hadn’t been able to put a name to the mysterious thief that kept leaving flower petals around. No one had been able to figure out who the thief was. It wasn’t until Ryeowook had successfully cornered him once, in an empty car park. Donghae had tripped over the stairs while trying to get away and for the first time, Ryeowook had managed to chase him.

Lee Donghae took his breath away. He was incredibly handsome with sharp facial features and deep chocolate eyes that matched his messy hair. But Ryeowook had to remember that this wasn’t just any handsome stranger, it was the thief he’s been trying to chase and catch, the thief that had broke into hundreds of museums and stole millions dollars’ worth of art pieces. When Donghae noticed that he was at a dead end, he turned around and faced Ryeowook with a charming smile.

“So we finally meet,” Donghae had said to Ryeowook that one day, his voice calm and deep. “It’s nice to finally meet the agent that’s so obsessed with me.”

“Put your hands up where I can see them!” Ryeowook ordered with his gun ready.

Donghae raised his hands in defeat, “Agent, why don’t we have a little chat first? I’ve been dying to meet you.”

“You wouldn’t have ran away every time if you’ve been dying to meet me.” Ryeowook answered.

“Ah, but where’s the fun in that?” Donghae grinned, “I bet you’re wondering what my name is.”

Ryeowook refused to answer and so Donghae continued, “Donghae, Lee Donghae. And what about you, pretty boy?”

Ryeowook felt himself growing red but refused to let whatever Donghae said affect him.

“How do I know if that’s your real name?” Ryeowook questioned, still very wary for the thief.

“Now, why would I ever lie to my favourite agent?” Donghae’s lips curled into an amused smirk, “Besides, I’d like you to know my name.”

“Why?”

“Because then it’d be easier for me to ask you on a date, wouldn’t it?”

Ryeowook scoffed, what a lunatic. He was getting arrested and yet he was still trying to flirt with the person arresting him.

“So what do you say Agent Kim, you, me and dinner?” Donghae winked, “I know you love cheesecakes.”

That caught Ryeowook off guard but he quickly caught himself before he got too distracted, “How did you know that?”

“Oh you just look like you’d appreciate very good desserts.” Donghae’s chocolate eyes shimmered playfully, “And I happen to be quite tasty if you’d like to give it a try.”

Ryeowook shook his head, he decided enough was enough. It was time to catch this thief once and for all, “Enough with this bull, Lee Donghae, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say-”

Before he could finish, there was a loud explosion coming from behind Ryeowook. Smoke started to fill up the carpark and Ryeowook ducked down. Before he knew it, Donghae had jumped over him and before disappearing off into the smoke, he turned and gave Ryeowook a playful wink.

“I’d like to stay and chat but I don’t feel like getting caught today,” Donghae shrugged casually, “Stay in touch alright? I’ll be sure to leave you gifts from now on, your pretty face deserves it.”

“In the meantime,” Donghae grinned and lowered himself, whispering right into Ryeowok’s ear before he disappeared, “Catch me if you can.”

That was the only time Ryeowook had met Donghae face-to-face. That was also how Ryeowook knew that the roses and cards were meant for him. From then on, Donghae had always left playful messages for him, sometimes teasing him for not being able to catch him and other times just complimenting on how he looked. The criminal flirted all the time and it made Ryeowook hate Donghae even more if that was possible.

“I’ll catch you someday, Lee Donghae.” Ryeowook swears under his breath as he studies his board, filled with pictures and information of Donghae.

A knock on the door disrupts his train of thought and he turns around, smiling warmly at his partner who hands him a mug of steaming coffee. Kyuhyun glances at the crime board before he turns to look at Ryeowook.

“Do you think we’ll ever catch him?” He asks.

Ryeowook nods, “We will, one day.”

“Someone’s confident?” Kyuhyun teases, “Anyway, we’re still on for tonight right?”

Ryeowook nods his head, “I haven’t met your parent in ages.”

Kyuhyun smiles warmly and tells Ryeowook that they’ve missed having him around. When Kyuhyun’s radio goes off, he tells Ryeowook that he’s needed at a crime scene downtown. Kyuhyun tells Ryeowook that he’ll be able to handle this alone since it’s most lightly just a silly complaint from an old lady about some loud and rowdy boys.

“I’ll see you later?” Kyuhyun asks and when Ryeowook nods, Kyuhyun quickly bends down and kisses Ryeowook’s cheeks before leaving.

Ryeowook smiles, hands rubbing his cheek where Kyuh