#e2f

It felt like the first time, being back together for one last hurrah. Yue and Jooheon, international art thieves, had just pulled off their final sting. Sitting back in the passenger seat of the getaway vehicle, Yue smiles over at her partner in crime, reminiscing on their first meeting.

“Remember when we used to hate each other?” She grinned over at Jooheon.

He chuckled, “Yeah. I couldn’t stand you.”

“You were in my way,” she laughed.

“But we wouldn’t have gotten so close if I wasn’t.” He laughed, and Yue nodded in agreement, recalling the memory.

~flashback~

They both had come to the same art gala with one intention in mind: steal the featured piece, valued at five million euros. Though it wasn’t the most valuable painting they could steal, two million was nothing to sneeze at.

They both had the same idea in mind—create a distraction and while everyone was in a panic, steal the piece and get away cleanly. That didn’t happen though.

Jooheon had started a small fire outside the view of the security cameras right before Yue cut the power. They both approached the painting as the building was being evacuated. Under the veil of darkness, Jooheon snatched the painting from the wall, before Yue could reach it. She could see a man’s shadow retreating with her prize, so she followed him quietly, waiting for the right moment to confront him and take what was hers.

As Jooheon escaped to the back alley of the building, slipping the painting into a protective bag, Yue approached him, a hand on the dagger strapped to her thigh beneath the slit in the skirt of her dress. She didn’t want to use it, but she knew better than to hesitate against a violent opponent.

“I think you have something of mine,” she said calmly, one hand held out as if he would hand it over easily.

The man turned around, one eyebrow raised in surprise. “And I think you’re mistaken.”

Yue chuckled bitterly. “You wouldn’t have gotten this far if I hadn’t cut the power. The painting belongs to me. Hand it over.”

He raised his brows at her. “Excuse me? If I hadn’t started the fire, security wouldn’t have been so preoccupied getting everyone out of the building. I’ll be keeping this.” He patted the bag carrying the painting, giving Yue a smirk and turning on his heels to make his escape.

Yue followed him hastily, looking around each corner as she went to make sure no one was around. “That painting belongs to me! Now, hand it over, you thick-headed ass!” She hissed quietly in case anyone could hear them.

He stopped immediately and turned to look at her. “No,” he stated simply. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to escape before anyone realizes what’s missing, wouldn’t you?”

He continued walking down the winding alleyways, and Yue was hot on his trail. She wasn’t letting him leave with that painting!

Finally, he came to a rather inconspicuous vehicle, and pulled out his keys to pop the trunk. He placed the painting safely in the false bottom of the trunk, covering it and then locking the trunk. Yue looked around quickly, checking for any cameras.

“Are you coming or not?” The man’s voice broke the eerily quiet atmosphere of the alley.

“You want me to come with you?” She asked skeptically.

“I have a feeling you’ll track me down either way,” he pointed out, opening the car door and gesturing to the passenger side, “so are you coming?”

Yue bit her lip—she didn’t know this guy, but she couldn’t let the painting out of her sight. Against her better judgement, she pulled the passenger side door open and climbed inside. She sat in the passenger seat, buckled in safely as he pulled out of the alleyway.

“I’m Jooheon,” he spoke suddenly, eyes focused on the road.

“And?” She replied curtly.

“And it would be nice if you to introduce yourself, too,” he chuckled.

He’s a smart ass, Yue thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

“I’m Yue,” she said simply.

“So… is this your first time running into a rival thief?” He asked sarcastically.

Yue didn’t even dignify it with a response. What a dumb question—of course it wasn’t her first time. She wouldn’t have confronted him if it was.

“Because this is the twelfth time I’ve had to deal with a fellow thief,” he stated. “And I’m sure the two of us could come to some sort of agreement, where we both profit… and we both go home without slit throats.”

There was a hint of amusement in his voice, causing Yue to look up at the man, who had his eye on the knife strapped to her thigh.

She scoffed, “For the record, I would have made it quick and painless.”

He chuckled darkly. “Of course.”

Yue peeked over at him, noticing a dimple in his cheek. She ran her hands through her hair. “What are you proposing?”

“An even split,” he shrugged.

“A split?” She repeated, one eyebrow raised incredulously.

He shrugged again, “Yep. You’re obviously not going away empty handed, and I’m not letting you have the entire profit. We both had a hand in the theft; we both deserve a reward. Wouldn’t you agree?”

She pondered it. It almost seemed like he was just trying to get her off his back, and she was wary of being double-crossed. They were thieves after all.

“And no catch?” She asked him, skepticism lacing her voice.

“No catch!” He said definitively. “I take half, you take half, and we go our separate ways—hopefully never to run into each other again.”

Yue gnawed on her lip for a while. She couldn’t risk him taking the entire profit and leaving her with nothing, but he seemed pretty trustworthy. I mean, he could have killed her to get her out of his way, and he has done that. She was prepared to fatally wound him if necessary, but he has made no aggressive motions toward her at all.

“Okay,” she said carefully. “It’s a deal. Two point five million for you, two point five for me. I can agree to that. It’s better than nothing.”

She looked over at him briefly, narrowing her eyes at him as he didn’t try to say anything more.

“I still don’t trust you, though,” she muttered.

He snickered at that. “I mean I am a thief so you’d be naive and stupid to trust me entirely. Just know that I don’t trust you either.” He turned and gave her an oddly fond smile. “I do like you, though. You’re really funny, and just downright honest.”

Yue remained quiet, with an expression of stone as she stared out the passenger side window. She did feel a little flattered hearing him say it, but she’d be damned if she was going to show that kind of vulnerability.

~present~

And many more stolen paintings later, they were still together, even closer than either of them would have imagined.

Yue looked over fondly at Jooheon again. Recalling the memory of their first encounter, it made her feel very nostalgic.

“Since this is our last heist, I just want you to know,” she began, feeling suddenly nervous. “I don’t want to lose touch with you. I want to stay with you for as long as you’ll let me.”

Jooheon smiled, looking over at her happily. “Forever sounds good,” he remarked.

She nodded in agreement, “forever it is, then.”