Rome, Italy

It was a breezy morning in Rome. Leaning against the wall outside of a small but fancy jewellery store were Krystal and Taehyung. Krystal glances at her pocket watch as its second hand keeps on ticking.

Just as the hand reaches the number 12 on the pocket watch, Rosé walks up to Krystal with both hands in her pocket.

"Told you it wouldn't take long." Rosé smirks as she hands a key to Krystal.

"Good job," Krystal says, taking the key and putting it in her pants pocket. "Now onto the next phase."

Rosé nods as she makes her way into the store. She approaches the store clerk, who was too busy rearranging the jewellery in the display case to notice her. Rosé lets out a gentle cough, and the clerk finally realised her presence.

"Buongiorno, signora. How may I help you today?"

Rosé takes off an obviously fake diamond ring from her ring finger and places it in front of the clerk. The clerk tries his best to contain his laughter but barely manages to keep it in as Rosé replies.

"I would like to get a price evaluation on my wedding ring," Rosé says as her eyes wander around the store, avoiding eye contact. "My husband left me for another woman, and I'd love nothing more than to get rid of the ring." 

Krystal and Taehyung watch Rosé's antics from outside. Although the acting is a bit much, it seems to be working for the time being. As the clerk puts all his attention on Rosé, Krystal signals to Taehyung, and the two of them make their way inside.

"I'll be with you in a moment." The clerk notifies Krystal while he is busy dealing with Rosé.

Playing her part, Rosé begins to throw a tantrum, serving as a distraction.

"Oh please help me, kind sir!" Rosé placed her hand on her forehead as she screamed. "What's the ring worth?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but this ring is a fake. I cannot-" The clerk tries to calm her down, but to no avail.

"How dare you?" She raises her voice and points at the clerk with anger in her eyes.

Krystal and Taehyung sneak into the backroom unnoticed, and the fiasco slowly fades away from their ears as they slowly shut the room door.

"Okay, Yeoh, lead the way." Krystal whispers, and a voice appears in her earpiece.

"So, according to this blueprint, it should be the first door to your right."

Both Krystal and Taehyung heard the voice through their own earpieces, respectively, as they began to make their move. To their initial surprise, the store's storage room was actually bigger than the jewellery display area. The two of them find themselves in a hallway with two doors on each side. Placing their faith in Yeoh, they head towards the first door on their right.

Krystal gets down on her knees in front of the doorknob. She then takes out her trusted lockpicks and is about to get to work when Taehyung suddenly interrupts.

"Are you sure that I should be here?" Krystal pauses her actions because of Taehyung's question. "I mean, I'm happy with being the getaway driver." 

"You told me that you're familiar with the necklace, right? I've only seen it once, so it would be better for you to be here just in case there are several similar-looking ruby necklaces in this room."

It was clear that Taehyung was awfully nervous, but he tried to maintain his cool as Krystal continued to pick on the doorknob. And then, the sweet clicking sound could be heard as Krystal successfully picks through the lock and pushes the door open.

As it turns out, Krystal was right. The room was filled with jewels, each in their own display box, except for a bunch of necklaces shoved into one glass tray. She knows that she could not pick Yeoh's necklace from that bunch by relying on her memory, which is why she dragged Taehyung along.

The two of them take their place by the tray and go through the necklaces one by one.

"How do you know that your necklace would be here, Yeoh?" Krystal asks as she lifts a necklace and places it out of the tray. "It's quite possible that she's been wearing them since yesterday."

"Well, that's Go Doo Shim for you. She likes to show off different accessories from her store every day."

"Very unprofessional if you ask me." Taehyung butts in on the conversation, and Krystal smirks in return.

As the minutes ticked by, the number of necklaces left in the tray was getting smaller. Krystal picks up yet another necklace, and a red ruby shines right at her.

"That's it. That's the one!" Taehyung shouts even before Krystal had managed to say anything.

She hands the necklace to Taehyung for him to get a closer look. Taehyung just gave it a short glance before smiling at Krystal as he slipped the necklace into his pocket. Just like an impulse, they begin to grab the other necklaces with the intention of putting them back into the glass tray.

But that was when the thief in Krystal kicked in.

"Let's just take them." She said to Taehyung, whose hands were also full of necklaces. The two shared a look, and they instantly filled their pockets with all the necklaces that could fit. The remaining ones were thrown back into the tray. Even after stealing some necklaces, the bunch that was left in the tray appears untouched, owing to the sheer number of necklaces in it.

Satisfied with their newly obtained riches, the two smile at each other. Krystal puts her hand up to Taehyung for a high five, and Taehyung gladly returns the favour. It was not part of the original plan, but hey, maybe beggars can be choosers.

Krystal gently presses her earpiece, "Rosé, we got the necklace."

There was a brief silence, but soon after, Rosé's voice could be heard through the earpiece.

"Yeah, about that," Krystal hears a slight tremble in the voice. "I got kicked out of the store for being, and I quote, 'too much of a Karen'. I'm now waiting across the road and the clerk is staring right at me from inside the store."

Krystal turns to Taehyung in disbelief, only to see Taehyung trying to hold in his laughter after hearing Rosé's explanation. It was not long until the man burst into laughter, which prompted Krystal to join in.

"Hey, I only did what you told me to!"

"And you did brilliantly, Rosé," Krystal says as she wipes the tears from her eyes."You think you can come up with one last diversion?"

"Fine, but you'll owe me for this."

Just as Krystal was about to reply, she and Taehyung heard a loud howl followed by the sound of quick footsteps, like someone was running. They slowly sneak out of the jewellery storage room and stand right behind the backroom door. Krystal pulled the door open slightly, and what she saw as she peeked through the opening was almost comical.

The clerk was frantically running out of the store while holding a broom. To add icing on the cake, he was not running from something but, instead, towards something.

And that something turns out to be Rosé, galloping along the pavement to get away from her pursuer.

"How's this for a diversion?!"

Krystal and Taehyung could not help but laugh as they watched Rosé pants as she ran for her life. Now that the coast is clear, the pair casually strolls through the store exit and heads in the opposite direction.

--

The gang was reunited at the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. Almost all of them were just chilling, waiting for their long-awaited flight to Genoa, with the exception of Rosé. She was absolutely knackered, lying on the cold marble tile while catching her breath.

She had explained to the rest that as soon as Krystal asked for a diversion, she tried to barge into the jewellery store without a second thought. The store clerk, whose eyes were locked on Rosé the entire time, picked up a broom and chased her away even before she had the chance to reach the front door.

Even though it has been nearly fifteen minutes since the chase, Rosé still struggles to stand up straight. Although she had had some time to cool down during the taxi ride back to the airport, the pickpocket found herself gasping for air.

"Why is it that whenever I'm with you," Rosé says, finally regaining the strength to speak. "I always end up running for my life?"

Krystal laughs, remembering that the first time she met Rosé, it did result in a pursuit.

"I'll try to cut out the 'chase' part in our next heist." She extends her arm to help Rosé up.

After Rosé finally got up from the floor with Krystal's help, Taehyung and Yeoh also got off their seats and stepped closer to the two women.

"I think we can check our luggage in now." Yeoh says to the group, not through an earpiece this time.

The four of them pick up their belongings and start to make their way to the check-in counter. As they were walking, Krystal noticed that Taehyung had been stealing glances at her while looking hesitant to speak.

"What's on your mind this time?" Krystal lowers her voice so that only Taehyung can hear the question.

"Thanks for bringing me along to the mission," Taehyung replies with the same low tone. "I really did enjoy the experience."

Krystal jokingly elbows Taehyung in the arm and smiles as she replies, "Don't mention it."

"Plus, I could actually use another partner in crime on the field." She adds, now in a louder tone.

"How sweet of you to take me as your partner."

Taehyung was clearly teasing her with that remark, and Krystal retaliates by letting out a fake laugh.

It may be a common term, but when Taehyung said it, Krystal felt an unusual weight to the term. Not just any partner, but her partner.

And just like that, she felt the now much more familiar sense running through her body, albeit only for a short while.

The sense of warmth and comfort.

A/N: Hey! I'm glad that you've read the story up until this chapter.

Tbh these last two chapters weren't in the draft, but I decided that since the gang was in Rome, it would be a shame to let the setting go to waste.

I hope that you're enjoying the story so far.

(P.S. Unlike Krystal, I can't promise that there would be no more chase scenes after this lol)