Paris, France

|Three years ago|

This was the thing that she hated the most whenever it came to heists or the life of crime in general. There were a lot of things that Krystal could not stand; maggots, being sick, people that had long conversations in between sets while occupying gym equipment, but none compared to this. Standing at the opposite end of the stack of money was her heist member, Yoo Jae Suk, his pistol pointed straight at her.

Only she knew how deep her hatred for double-crossers was. That was why, instead of pleading to be spared, she found herself groaning, eyes rolling, not expressing a single ounce of fear. She soon realised that she had been acting too casually for someone whose life was in danger when the man across the stack cocked his pistol.

He was sweating. She sensed that he was on edge, even more than she was, which was funny since only one of them was armed, and, spoiler alert, it was not her.

"Your hand's shaking by the way," she said, her grin clear for the other person in the room to see. "Here I thought I was supposed to be the one pissing their pants."

"No-no, it's not." Jae Suk wiped the sweat on his forehead with his palm, shaking in his boots.

Krystal grinned and mumbled out a slow but long 'sure'. Behind her was nothing but the cold, hard metal wall of the bank's vault room. Robbing a bank may be cliche for those in this line of work, but it was a simple task for professional thieves like her. Her only way out was the vault door, gaping ajar behind Jae Suk. So, she was stuck for the time being inside the small room, examining its dull, bland, and grey structure.

The low temperature inside the vault did not bother her, especially since she was wearing two layers of clothes underneath her tight but moderately thick black turtleneck sweater. Its long sleeves successfully blocked the cold air from touching her skin. Her palms did not even sweat under her black, skin-tight leather gloves.

Jae Suk, on the other hand, only wore a single layer of black turtleneck, though his was visibly looser.Although there was no wind in the vault room, the man was still trembling. His shoulders were tense. Any shots that he released would definitely fail to hit the target. She would be foolish to not use this opportunity to her advantage. So, she stepped closer to the cash pile, which she had estimated to be worth at least 150,000 euros, and Jae Suk.

Contrary to popular belief, bank vaults were not always full of cash, forming piles that waited for robbers to take them away. Banks tend to keep their cash reserves low, opting for more secure alternatives to safeguard the money. There was a three-day period when near the outskirts of Paris, in its least visited district, a small bank would receive a huge sum of cash before having to transport it to the city centre. Krystal, along with two other heist members, had been planning for this robbery for weeks.

Alas, her plan was not to go smoothly since Jae Suk had decided to act like an idiot and wanted all the money to himself. He had thrown the duffel bags at her before pointing his pistol and forcing her to fill them up with the entire stack.

Krystal took a step forward, and Jae Suk took a step back while telling her to stop or he would shoot. She unheeded his warning and took another step; he did the same.

"I'm gonna shoot, I mean it!" The man started holding the pistol with both hands.

At that moment, her eyes strayed from the man as she looked to a spot above his shoulder. She began to smile, her hand playing with her neatly tied ponytail.

That must have baffled Jae Suk, judging by the look on his face. She saw him open his mouth, but before he could speak, a crowbar was struck into his head from behind. Thud, he landed on the chilly ground after one hit.

Krystal returned to his body and gave a few kicks to his stomach to check for consciousness. The man did not move a muscle, which meant that he was absolutely out cold. She turned her attention to the man holding the crowbar soon after. To her relief, it was her boyfriend, G-Dragon.

"Took you long enough, babe." She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You know me," he said as he cupped her face with his right hand, "always have to make a dramatic entrance."

She felt herself being pulled in for a kiss as G-Dragon placed his left hand on her back. Her body leaned against his and their lips met. Krystal tilted her head while the man's tongue slowly made its way into . His hand that was on her face slid down and stopped when it reached her neck.

Before she knew it, it became harder for her to breathe. She could feel the pain in her neck, but she did not want it gone. She liked it, and she liked it a lot. A muffled moan escaped her as the hand tightened around her neck. She grabbed her lover's hair, gently pulling it to signal her pleasure.

She did not want him to stop. She knew that he did not want to and would not stop. The rubbing motion on her backside made it even more exciting. Both his hands proceeded to squeeze two different parts of her body tighter.

The temperature in the vault room must have risen, because all she could feel was heat. The hand on her back slowly lifted her shirt, all three layers of it. At first, she thought about pushing it away; surely this was not the right place for that, but she stopped herself.

They were in the city of love, after all.

--

|Present day|

If you don't visit the Eiffel Tower, have you even been to France?

Rosé said something along that line just as their car arrived in Paris. That is why, instead of meeting Krystal's contact to get their new passports, the gang finds themselves having a lovely night stroll through the Champ de Mars, a park in which the Eiffel Tower is located.

Sparkly lights fill the park, the iron tower shining the brightest. There are no stars in the sky, probably too shy to make an entrance due to the intense illumination on the ground. All across the large, free green space, there are people sitting on the grass, chilling and chatting. Every nook and cranny of the park is alive, each with its own story. Manicured gardens decorated with flowers provide quiet little corners for anyone that wants to escape from the crowd. The view of buildings that are supposedly within reach is partly blocked by the trees. Street performers, including musicians, mimes, and magicians, scattered across the park trail, attracting the eyes of passers-by.

Krystal, walking two steps behind the rest of the group, cannot help but laugh as a magician makes a gesture towards her, as if inviting her closer. Not falling for that again, she thought as she politely declines by gently shaking her head.

Now, right in the centre of one of the many bridges above the Seine River, the gang pauses their strolling. Krystal leans against the old bridge barrier, inhaling the breezy night air. A cruise filled with music and wine passes through the river, disappearing under her heels. It then pops up on the other side of the bridge as the music slowly fades away. As the bubbles and waves disappear, the water turns calm, and she spots her reflection smiling back at her.

She takes a moment to soak up the spectacular view before glancing at the four people beside her. Her heist members, her crew, her family. There was no way she could have predicted that this little group, the one she assembled for what seemed like a simple heist, would become so dear to her.

A sigh is exhaled. She presses her lips together right after. It is such a bittersweet feeling knowing that this 'family' is not built to last. They are simply on borrowed time, because as soon as Cleopatra's Staff is in their hands, she knows that they will go their separate ways.

The artefacts that they have gathered are worth a few million dollars, enough for each one of them to start a new life. There is no way that Yeoh would still be running a small appraisal store. Hyun Bin never stays in one place for too long. He will leave Korea again to go after new scores. Rosé will finally have enough money to move her sick mother and three little sisters out of downtown Incheon. Taehyung could afford to...

Her mind goes blank. The realisation hits her; she does not know a thing about Taehyung. For someone she is madly in love with, the fact that his family name is still a mystery to her is outright embarrassing. Her jaw naturally drops as she rubs the back of her neck, dumbfounded by the sudden realisation. She lets out a single laugh while the gape of her jaws remains wide, perhaps too wide because she feels a light tap on her left shoulder.

She turns to the left, and she sees Yeoh, Hyun Bin, and Rosé chattering amongst themselves. Which is odd since the person standing closest to her, Yeoh, is an arm's length away. Maybe Yeoh had teasingly poked her before quickly edging further from the spot she was standing in. Her head turns to the right, and merely inches from her face is Taehyung's, inhaling the same air as her.

Seeing him up close like that startled her. She shrieks as she springs backwards out of reflex. She trips on her own feet, making her lose balance. Her hand slips away from the bridge barrier, but something manages to grab her arm before her back hits the ground. In an instant, she is pulled up by the man that was right in her face seconds ago.

The man does not even attempt to hide his laughter as he pulls her up. She smacks him in the arm as a response. She shifts her body away from the man, leaning against the barrier once more.

"I'm so sorry, didn't mean to surprise you like that." Taehyung finally utters something, but only after composing himself from all the laughter.

"You should be," Krystal said, facing the river, "you almost killed me."

Taehyung snickers for a second before leaning forward as well. The grin on his face is visible from the corner of her eye.

"What's up? I saw your jaw dropped just now."

Oh no. Someone did see her. To make matters worse, that someone is also the reason she was gawking in the first place. How she wishes that somebody would kick her in the back of the head, instantly knocking her out. Maybe she will wake up in her Incheon apartment with this conversation being nothing but a dream. A nightmare, to be more precise.

"It's- uh- nothing. I do that in my free time, it's kinda like a hobby."

If the writers of the Oxford Dictionary need an example for the word 'brain-dead', that sentence should definitely be considered. She gives herself the biggest facepalm ever in her mind. Gawking as a hobby? Definitely not something that anyone with an IQ higher than 70 would do. Taehyung does not seem to mind, though, if his chuckle at her reply is anything to go by.

"Well, if you enjoy doing it, then who am I to judge?" He raises his arm in surrender.

Krystal nudges him as he places his elbows on the barrier, his shoulder rubbing against hers. Another cruise passes through the river, this time carrying more people than the earlier one. Once that cruise too is out of sight, the man next to her speaks again.

"So, what Rosé said on the way here, was it true?"

Rosé said a lot of things during the ride, but Krystal understood exactly what he was talking about. She assumed Taehyung was aware that the person she 'fancies' was actually him, but it appears that she was mistaken.

"Maybe. Would it hurt you if it was?" She teases him in the hopes of eliciting a reaction.

"No."

It did not.

"But I'd like to know about it. I don't know if you noticed, but I almost kissed you back in Monaco. I just want you to know that I wouldn't have done that if I knew that you were already in love with someone."

Of course I noticed, Krystal feel her jaws tense up, especially since I leaned in for the kiss first.

"I admit that I haven't known you for that long, but I am certain that any guy that gets the chance to be with you will be the luckiest and happiest guy in the world."

There are a million things that she wants to say. All the different renditions of 'I love you', each with its own tone and pronunciation, right at the tip of her tongue. Unfortunately, none of them made their way out of . Instead, the only response she can come up with is:

"You really think so?"

"Yes. Only if that guy can keep up with all the chases, gunshots, fights, and crazy ex-boyfriends in your life, of course."

She breaks into laughter, her eyes latching onto the radiant smile on Taehyung's face. Gosh, that smile, the one that always manages to stop her from thinking straight every single time. His eyes would often crinkle too, as they are now. The ed light blue floral shirt that he has on suits him so much. The blank tee underneath matches the white in his smile.

She runs her fingers through her hair; it ends just a little past her shoulders. She tucks a part of them behind her ear and feels her chest turn heavy.

"I haven't told anyone about this and I'm not sure if you even want to hear about it, but, for what felt like an eternity, I was on the verge of death." Krystal faces the Seine, unable to look at Taehyung while she speaks.

"I was lying on the floor and on top of me was G-Dragon, hands around my throat as he choked me. I could feel my soul slowly leaving my body, and it was terrifying. Traumatising. I remember thinking 'this is it', that his face would be the last thing I see before I take my final breath. I didn't want to die, not yet at least."

Trying to stop herself from tearing up, she shut her eyes as tightly as she could. Her chest gets heavier, and she feels a huge lump in .

"But now I realise that that was the perfect time to die. I have no one. My death wouldn't make anyone weep, and that's the way it should be. I'm nothing but a criminal. Every morning, the only thing I look forward to, the only thing that motivates me, is the next heist, robbery, or score. So, it doesn't matter whether I'm in love with someone or not, because this life, my life, is not made for lovers."

An arm wraps around her and tears begin to flow out of her eyes. She rests her head on Taehyung's shoulder, the man holding her tight. She sobs as Taehyung  her hair, his touch bringing warmth and comfort, the sensation that she has been craving to feel again.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She hears Rosé's voice, much closer this time.

The girl's fingers must have intertwined with hers because her hand no longer feels cold. She opens her eyes and sees Rosé right beside her, looking at her with loving eyes. Yeoh and Hyun Bin stand close too, albeit a few steps behind the pickpocket.

"Whatever it is, we're here for you." Rosé lets go of their intertwined hands before embracing her, arms squeezing her body.

"Yeah, all of us. We're all here." Hyun Bin is the next to join in, hugging not only Krystal but Rosé and Taehyung as well.

Rosé grabs onto Yeoh's arm and pulls her into the group hug. The woman looks reluctant at first, but she quickly resigns, although she keeps her arms by her side.

Tears run down Krystal’s cheeks again, but not out of sorrow anymore. She feels loved, something that she has not felt in a while. Another cruise passes, the people on it staring at her with confused looks.

But she does not mind because the only people she cares about, the people she loves, are in the hug. Since nearly losing her life, she already knows that she loves them very much.

Now she knows that they love her too.