Somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea

Now on a flight from Egypt, Krystal and the remaining members of her crew had to land in Genoa before taking a train that would take them to Monaco. Krystal's seat was next to Rosé while Taehyung and Yeoh were sitting a row behind them.

Rosé stares out the window, trying her best to forget about Hyun Bin's death. Although their paths had only crossed briefly, there was a genuine connection between the two of them.

"Hey, you awake?" Rosé gives the woman next to her a gentle shake.

Krystal was woken up abruptly from her sleep. "Yeah, I am now."

"I was wondering," Rosé continues as Krystal rubs her eyes. "How could you afford all these expenses? You know, the new clothes, flight tickets and all."

"Well, because of my past experiences as a thief, I have made connections with some very influential people in the Bank of Korea." Krystal momentarily stretches before going on with her explanation.

"So, every time I work on a new score or a new target, those people would give me a loan that would cover all my spendings."

Rosé nods, and comes up with a follow-up question, "What if you fail to hit the target?"

"I always hit my target." Krystal confidently answers as she gets up from her seat. "I'm gonna go to the restroom for a sec."

Rosé smiles at Krystal before turning her head towards the plane window once again.

Struggling to walk in a straight line due to flight turbulence, Krystal holds onto seats as she walks down the aisle. How do flight attendants make it look so easy, she thought to herself as she tries to keep her balance.

When she reached the restroom at last, Krystal saw Taehyung standing on the opposite side of the door. Krystal proceeds to stand beside him, also waiting for her turn. The two remained quiet, but not for long.

Breaking the awkward silence, Krystal speaks up, "A penny for your thoughts." She said to Taehyung, who was staring at the ground while fiddling his fingers.

"It's my first doing something like this." Taehyung says while keeping his eyes on the ground.

"What? First time waiting to use the restroom?" Krystal joked and noticed the small chuckle that Taehyung had let out. "Nah seriously though, you're doing great." She knows that Taehyung was talking about their entire operation in general. It is perfectly normal to get nervous on your first heist, just like Krystal did when she first entered the crime world.

Taehyung lifts his head to Krystal with a smile carving on his face. It seems like Krystal has managed to reassure him enough to raise his spirits.

"Thanks."

Just as Taehyung said that the plane hit another turbulence, but this time Krystal failed to stay on her feet. She soon finds herself falling to the ground, and she braces for impact. But it never came.

Krystal opens her eyes, which had been shut reflexively, to see that she was now safe in Taehyung's arms. Taehyung had just managed to catch her before she hit the plane floor.

For a second, all of Krystal's thoughts escaped her mind. Her eyes were locked on Taehyung's, which were looking right back at her. Nothing crossed her mind; it was like all her burdens had been lifted from her shoulders, even if it was just for a moment. A strange feeling of warmth and comfort lingers through her body.

Krystal immediately gets back on her feet as she struggles to stand up straight.

"I'll just back to my seat," Krystal says as she composes herself. "Because someone seems to be taking a long time in the restroom." She raises her voice as a signal for the person in the restroom to get out.

After mouthing the word thanks to Taehyung, Krystal heads back to her seat. Taehyung simply nods in return.

As Krystal was passing through Yeoh's row of seats, she heard a voice directed right at her.

"Be careful," Yeoh, laying back on her seat with an eye mask on, said to Krystal. "He might break your heart."

How did she- Krystal thought, but she continues walking to her seat, only to see Rosé gawking at her. Krystal tried to ignore it and sits back down, but then she hears Rosé gasp in excitement.

"So, you do like him!" Rosé exclaims as she grabs Krystal's arm and shakes it.

"Get some rest, Rosé."

Krystal shuts her eye, but she asks herself the same thing.

--

Rome, Italy

Their plane landed at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome. The transit flight was supposed to take off just two hours after landing in Rome, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the gang were forced to sleep overnight in the city. Their postponed flight would only depart for Genoa on the next day.

Instead of going out to explore the city, Krystal decided for the others and her to go spread their legs inside the airport. Their current task is to find a spot for them to spend the night.

"My legs are killing me, Krystal." Rosé whines as she walks hand in hand with Krystal.

"I'm not one to complain," Taehyung says to Krystal from behind. "But I agree with Rosé, let's just sit here for a bit."

As he was talking, the group were walking by the airport benches. Krystal bites her lips while thinking about it and mumbles out a soft 'okay'. The others sigh in relief as they make their way to the bench.

Rosé uses her backpack as a pillow and lies down, almost taking up the entire four-seater bench. Yeoh scoots over Rose's legs as she leans back to the seat. Krystal and Taehyung sit on the opposite row of benches, which coincidentally face towards the entrance to a VIP lounge.

Krystal did not give it much thought at first, but then she feels a gentle tug on her sleeve.

"How much are you willing to bet that I can get us inside?" Taehyung whispers to Krystal while pointing to the lounge.

Krystal scoffs and replies, "Yeah like that would ever happen."

"I'm serious," Taehyung looked offended by her remark. "How much?"

"100 euros."

Right after Krystal places her bet, she watches in anticipation as Taehyung waddles towards the receptionist desk beside the lounge's entrance.

It seemed like nothing was happening at first, but then Krystal was stunned when the receptionist started to giggle. Krystal leans forward as the receptionist fiddles with her pen while occasionally gazing at Taehyung.

It was a surprise to Krystal, not because of Taehyung's attempt to flirt with the receptionist, but the fact that it was clearly working. Then the receptionist seemed to type something on her keyboard. A few seconds later, she whispers something into Taehyung's ears and the unthinkable happens.

"Alright then," Taehyung smiles at the receptionist before turning his attention to Krystal. "Let’s get into the lounge, shall we?"

Krystal stared at Taehyung in disbelieve as Rosé and Yeoh jumped off their seats and made their way into the lounge. When it was Krystal's turn, she gave Taehyung a short glare before entering. But before she could enter, she heard Taehyung say thanks, sweetheart to the receptionist. There was no reason for her to get jealous, but alas, she did.

Taehyung did an awkward jog to keep up with Krystal and taps her in the back.

"Told you I could do it."

Krystal takes out a one hundred euro note from her wallet and hands it to Taehyung, all while looking the other way.

"Just don't order anything!" Taehyung exclaims to the rest as he makes his way to a seat which was much comfier than the ones outside.

Krystal rests on a seat by the window, next to Yeoh.

For some reason, there was a burning sensation inside her. Krystal does not know why she should even feel that way; after all, Taehyung did what he had to do to ensure that they could at least rest in a more cosy and pleasant place. Plus, nothing was even going on between Taehyung and her. It makes no sense, no sense at all.

"I did warn you." A voice comes from Krystal's side.

She turns her head and sees Yeoh smirking while wiping her glasses.

"What are you on?" Krystal tries to act clueless, but she definitely understood what Yeoh meant.

"If you really like him," Yeoh finally turns her head to Krystal. "Just go and tell him that."

Even though she sees herself as a cold and distant person, Krystal could not help but scream inside her head. What is going on with me? Krystal thought as she failed to come up with a reply. Instead, she lets out a fake smile and her eyes wander across the room.

She literally had just met Taehyung, so there is no way that she had already developed feelings for him.

There's no such thing as 'love at first sight'

Suddenly, Krystal was interrupted from her internal monologue by a middle-aged woman. The woman has been screaming like a banshee, not to Krystal but to Yeoh.

"Michelle! I can't believe that I would meet you here!" The woman instantly pulls Yeoh up before giving her one of those fake hugs; few pats on the back that last merely seconds.

Krystal stared in confusion, which prompted Yeoh to conduct the routine 'introductory session'.

"Krystal, this is an old friend of mine, Go Doo Shim." Yeoh says as Krystal gets up from her seat and reaches her hand out for a handshake. "Go, this is Krystal. She's... uh..."

The woman gives Krystal a firm fingertip grab handshake. She then waits in anticipation for Yeoh to finish her sentence.

"She’s, my girlfriend."

Taehyung pops up behind the woman and is pulled into a big ol' hug against his will.

Once again, Krystal stood there in confusion. She never agreed to a fake relationship with Taehyung, but she decides to play along. Somehow, the word 'girlfriend' from Taehyung was like music to her ears.

"Oh wow, your favourite nephew finally has himself a girlfriend," The woman lets Taehyung out of her embrace. "And she's quite something."

As the woman starts to scan Krystal up and down, Taehyung takes his place beside Krystal and places his arm around her.

Krystal was stunned, but unfortunately that was not the end of it. Taehyung pulls her closer and follows up with a kiss on her cheeks.

That was the moment.

The moment where Krystal's thoughts escape her mind once again as the familiar sense of warmth and comfort makes their return.

"You alright honey?" Taehyung asks Krystal, whose cheeks have already begun to turn red.

"Ye- yea- I'm fine." Krystal stutters as she tries to regain her speech. She turns her attention to the woman and notices a heart-shaped ruby necklace around the woman's neck.

"Well then, I'm actually running a bit late," The woman looks to Yeoh before they exchange cheek kisses. "It's great meeting you all though."

The woman leaves the VIP lounge that they were all in after saying her final goodbyes. Just after she had left the room, Yeoh plops down on her seat and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"You despise her that much huh?" Krystal wiggles out of Taehyung's arm and takes a seat beside Yeoh.

"It's not just that," Yeoh answers as she turns to Krystal. "You saw the necklace that she was wearing?" Yeoh raises her voice as Krystal nods.

"She stole that from me."

Krystal turns her head to Taehyung, and he shrugs. Then, a train of thought arrives in Krystal's mind, and she turns back to Yeoh.

"So," Krystal says as she puts her hand together. "Let's go steal it back."

At that instant, Yeoh and Taehyung shared a look before simultaneously turning to Krystal. Just by looking at their faces, Krystal knows that they were in on the plan.

She then proceeds to smack Rosé, who was sleeping on the seat right behind her. Rosé looks at Krystal with only one eye open, all confused and bewildered.

Krystal, with a mischievous grin on her face, says to Rosé,

"Up for another heist?"