Taehyung comes out from the red curtain alone, unlike the tall bald man he entered with. "That's taken care of."

"Where's Mr. Bill??" Teddy asks.

"He's taking a nap."

I look at him with a mixture of confusion and worry, making him furrow his eyebrows at me.

"What? Lilo he's just unconscious."

"Oh—"

"Do you think I'm some animal?"

"Huh? N-no I didn't say anything—"

"Whatever, just drop it." He brushes it off tensely and looks away from me. I press back a frown.

"Okay so now what?" Winter shrugs.

Taehyung turns to Teddy with his hand out. "Where's the key card?"

"Huh?"

"...The key card? You said you found a key card we could use to break into Lim."

"Nooo I meant some guy called up earlier for a private dance and he'll have a key card! He's coming later this evening."

"You've got to be kidding me." Hoseok breathes out.

"Okay whatever, we'll just pickpocket him. Do you remember the guy's name?"

"Yeah it was on the VIP list! Something like KB? No wait, JB?"

My eyes roll back. "Perfect."

"Looks like this'll be a little tougher than a simple pickpocket." Jimin sighs. Taehyung pinches his chin. "Teddy, do you have someone here who knows the ins and outs? A co-manager maybe?"

She does a long hum and rotates her head. One of her coworkers walks past in a robe and Teddy immediately yanks her by the arm. "Swan will know!"

"Uh.., who are these people Honey?" The girl asks Teddy in confusion.

We all look at Teddy and she shrugs. "What? It's my other name. Ya know, Teddy... Honey..."

Taehyung shakes his head and turns to the woman. "Lim Jaebum is visiting tonight. Do you know who his dancer is?"

"I'm his dancer." She replies. "He's coming by at 8pm, probably will bring some friends."

"In this room?

"Yeah, there's a card room next door and one downstairs but these walls are thin, next door can hear everything."

"We'll have to take out any crew before the performance is over. Are there any air vents in these rooms?"

"Several."

"Good. I know how to make tear gas, Hoseok, you can help me. We need Jaebum to be vulnerable in case anything goes down."

"Once they notice the gas, won't they just run out and alert him though?" I ask.

"...Jimin?"

"Don't worry, I have the perfect distraction." He smiles.

"And the room next door?"

"I'll handle them." Winter nods.

"Thanks. And thank you Swan."

"I'll let you guys know if I get any updates." The woman walks off.

Taehyung turns to Teddy and rests a hand on her shoulder with a serious expression. Her eyes widen and lips shrink. "Teddy... I have a very important role for you." He speaks clearly. "It's the most important role."

"What is it?"

"I need you to be Jaebum's dancer and pickpocket him."

I hold onto his arm, "Whoa, don't you think that's a little pressurizing?"

"No no, I-I can do it." She nods nervously.

"Don't be nervous Ted. I believe in you."

"And after all of this... I get to come home with you guys?"

"Of course." Taehyung nods as if it weren't even a question.

"Okay! Then I'll do it."

"Wait, what about me?" Jungkook comes back. "I want a role too."

"Jungkook... You uh..." Taehyung looks around, trying to come up with a fake role.

"Your job is to be the lookout downstairs. You know, pose as a card player and stuff."

"Cool."

"Then it's settled. When Jaebum arrives we'll conduct the plan."

Taehyung seems awfully calm since we met up with Teddy... It almost raises the question as to why he was so unphased to see her. It's almost like he expected her to take this route... And somehow she knows all about the Lim key card?

"What's wrong?" He notices my expression. I look at the others who have turned to each other before pulling Taehyung away by the arm.

"Hey chill, what is it?"

"Just how exactly does Teddy know about Jaebum and the key card?"

Taehyung's face pauses for a moment before he shakes his head. "I don't know what you mean."

"...You're lying. You put her in this place, didn't you? You placed her into this job so you could conduct this plan later on."

He looks to his side and exhales. "Okay yes. Jaebum comes here often and we needed someone on the inside."

"What??" Jimin enters the conversation despite Taehyung trying to keep his words at a whisper.

"Jimin—"

"Are you insane? She can't work here with that creep!"

"Yeah Tae. Don't you see that she's uncomfortable here? She's a 16-year-old stripper. You can't put your own friends in front of our situation. That's not fair."

"Guys look, after tonight she'll never have to come back here, okay? I would never place her here if it meant she'd be in danger. We'll take her in with us and she'll never see this place again. It's just seven more hours."

"Seven more hours." Jimin points, "And then she stays out of this whole scheme."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ❄️

"Whoa is that my client?? He's hot!" Teddy whispers and points from behind the curtain.

I turn in the direction of her finger and slack my shoulders. Crap, he's here.

"He may be hot but he's a cold-blooded murderer. So make sure to be careful."

"Do you see him yet?" Tae asks into the phone.

"Yeah he just came."

"Good. Jaebum's got a team of about six in the room next door, hopefully Winter can keep them distracted. Hoseok and I are behind the wall of the room downstairs working on some gas since they're the biggest threat."

"Why is that?"

"There's like, 40 guard's in there with guns. We just need Jimin to distract the room for about ten minutes, so make sure Teddy can hold off Jaebum long enough."

I nod and tell Teddy, "Taehyung says you'll need to dance for about ten minutes."

"Okay."

Jaebum gets in his seat alongside the guard at his side. I look at Teddy and hug her. "Thanks for doing this. All you've got to do is act seductive for a couple of minutes. We're counting on you."

She returns a trusting fist and steps through the curtains.

—AUTHOR'S POV—

Teddy quickly puts on a confident face as she struts towards the man. It doesn't take Jaebum long to lean forward in his seat and sweep his tongue over his lower lip, fingers rubbing at his chin.

As she approaches him, she tosses a leg over his thigh and uses the other to yank his tie forward.

"You don't look like my usual Swan..." He grins.

"Swan's out sick." She whispers and leans beside his ear before glancing at the guard beside him. "Wasn't this supposed to be a private dance? What's with the brute?"

"Can't be too careful nowadays... Is that a problem?"

"No problem... I like a challenge."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ❄️

"I win."

"You've got to be kidding. I clearly put the card down first."

"Yeah yeah, that's always the case with you ain't it Frankie?"

"Whatever, we'll play again later. Should we go check on the boss?" One of the suited men asks, making his partners nod.

Just when they're about to rise from their seats, someone takes the empty one.

Winters' eyes are dark and mysterious beyond the smoky shadow, her dark dress revealing sweet cleavage and long hair waved for the first time to hang over one shoulder. The guards immediately goggle at her without even realizing they were slowly sitting back in their seats.

"You boys don't wanna play me?" She pinches the tip of her finger and draws off the long glove. They all fall into her smirking dark lipstick as if they were hypnotized and with exchanged looks,  sit back down to bring out cards.

Winter enjoys the sight of their poor tactics due to the fact that they were too busy gawking at her to concentrate on the game. Finally one speaks up. "What's your name beautiful?"

"Hmph." She reaches over to place down a card. Her eyes pin into his like a feline.

"Beat me and you'll find out."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ❄️

"Alright, Winter and Teddy have already started. Pass the container."

Hoseok passes him one of the containers, letting Taehyung tuck his mask behind his ears and fill it with bromoacetone. There's a silence for a while until Hoseok asks,

"...Lilo still doesn't know that you're turning yourself in, does she?"

He doesn't break away from his handwork and sighs.

"Nope. When we said we'd tell the truth earlier she went ballistic, so I said I'd think of something else. I'll tell her the truth once she's ready."

"Well she's going to blow a fuse when she finds ou—"

"Gah!" Taehyung's arm twitches, making him spill the powder on his hand. He quickly sweeps it off before it can burn.

"Whoa, you okay dude—?"

"I'm fine." He snaps.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ❄️

The room downstairs is larger and filled with men in black suits. Jungkook plays obliviously at one of the tables despite not knowing how to play.

"Go fish! This means I win money, right?"

The table of crooks share scowls. "This is poker dumbass. You already lost 20 minutes ago."

"Oh..." Jungkook's shoulders slack. "Best out of three."

Jimin enters in a puffy bomb-proof suit that stands out like a sore thumb. Bulletproof vests shield his front and back while his face is protected behind the face shield. In his hand lies a briefcase with a keypad on it.

He stands by the door but frowns when everyone is oblivious to his entrance.

Coughing into his fist, he raises his arm. "Ah, excuse me—!"

Everyone instantly points guns at him and he stumbles back. Jungkook's eyes bulge and lips shrink.

"Whoa whoa wait! I heard there would be a game tonight so I thought I'd drop off a little present."

"What is it?" One of the guards nudges his chin with his gun still held high.

Jimin raises his eyebrows and moves his hand down mockingly. "...Is it not obvious? It's a bomb!"

"Oh shit! A bomb?!" Jungkook peddles back, not recognizing Jimins voice through the modifier. The older just sighs and shakes his head.

"And it's no use shooting me. This suit is bulletproof, not to mention it's built to withstand any blast." Jimin crouches and sets the timer on the 'bomb' to ten minutes.

"But there is a way for you to disarm this bomb."

"Or we could just blow your brains out here..."

"You can try. But shoot me or escape this room, and this thing blows."

"So how do we disarm it then tough guy? Hm?" Another guard shouts.

"The only way to deactivate this bomb is to enter a four-digit code on the keypad."

Two of the guards look at each other. "...And what's the code?"

A proud grin grows on Jimin's face before he clears his throat.

"The pallid beach mouse can give birth every four weeks. Assuming we start with two mice, and that the size of an average little is twelve mice, and that they are equally split male to female... hooow many pallid beach mice would we have at the end... of one year?"

The guards all look at each other in confusion, some unconsciously lowering their weapons as they furrow their eyebrows.

"The answer to that riddle is, the code. You have..... 9 minutes and 24 seconds."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ❄️

Teddy rests a hand on Jaebum's shoulder and continues to dance. He only tilts his head at her body and licks his lips.

"...How old are you baby girl?"

"However old you want me to be."

"Well you have a baby face. I like that." He tilts forward. Teddy rests her knee on the chair's arm and snakes her arm towards his pocket, but he leans back and she misses her mark—

"It's too bad I have a girlfriend."

"A girlfriend?"

"Mmm..." He nods.

Teddy gets behind the chair and runs her hands down his chest, whispering in his ear, "What's she like?"

He scoffs a smirk.

"Smart... Attractive... Dead..."

"D-dead?" Teddy can't hide her expression as she slyly lowers her hand into his right pocket, only to feel that it's empty. She mimes a curse to herself.

"Figuratively speaking of course. Although... Don't you find that people are most beautiful once they're gone? There's something criminally attractive about their vulnerability."

"I mean, sure..." Teddy lowers her head beside his.  Even though it breaks the rules, she begins to ride her tongue up Jaebum's neck while patting his other pocket, but it's empty. It must be in his inner pockets.

"Do that again baby..."

Teddy licks his neck again and fluffs his jacket lightly.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ❄️

"Two minutes left! You hear that? Two minutes until this thing eXpLoDeS." Jimin announces loud enough for Taehyung and Hoseok to hear through the walls.

"Alright, we're almost done..." Taehyung tells Hoseok, making him reply, "Those ogres will never figure it out—"

"I know the answer!" Jungkook raises his hand.

Jimin's eyes widen before he leans to the side and shakes his head.

"Uh... Nope. Don't think you do sir."

"I swear I know this! My high school zoology class is made me do a report on it!"

"Uhhh, let's just TAKE A FULL MINUTE SHALL WE? You know, REALLY think about it."

"I don't need to! I know the answer— The pallid beach mouse is extinct! It disappeared in 1959! The number you have at the end of the year zero. The number is zero!"

The guards stare at Jimin who shuts his eyes, exhales and slumps his head.

One of the armed men motions forward while Jimin takes a few steps back. He crouches down and punches in four zero's, making the briefcase blink from red to green.

"Oh crap."

"Jimin what's going on??"

"The bomb plan failed, do it now!" He shouts.

The room fills with smoke not a second too soon. After attempting a few rounds the guards all cough and hold their faces with chokes reams.

Jimin quickly opens the briefcase and pulls out a spare gas mask to hook to Jungkook's face, but that doesn't stop him from smacking the younger in the head. "The ONE time you're good at puzzles!"

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ❄️

"Come one Ted... Almost there." Lilo whispers from behind the curtain.

"Hey! You little shit!"

Teddy's boss storms out from the room Taehyung knocked him out in and marches over to Lilo. She immediately steps back with wide eyes.

"What was that?" Jaebum tilts. Teddy quickly straddles his lap and pinches his jacket. "I don't hear anything?"

The guard at Jaebum's side raises an eyebrow and reaches for his gun.

"You think you can just waltz into my strip club and order my dancers around?!"

"T-Taehyung—?" She yelps into the phone before the man swings a punch and she ducks, making him crash into the equipment. Jaebum and his guard jump at the noise. Just as he stands up and takes out his gun, Teddy successfully swipes the key card from his inner pocket.

"Wait here baby."

"T-there's nothing back there!"

"Shit Lilo, get out of there."

Lilo hurries down the backstage corridor just as Jaebum approaches the curtain. Teddy and the guard spot her running through the other curtain and just when he's about to alert him, Teddy jumps on his back, covering his muffling mouth while he tries to shake her off.

Gunshots flare around the room every time he blindly tries firing at Teddy but she continues to grunt and beat her fist onto him.

"HONEY WHAT IS THE MEANING OF—?!" Teddy's boss runs out angrily but then is shot in the head by the guard.

Her mouth gapes.

"Uh oh..... Does this mean I'm fired? —Aah!" The guard flips her onto the ground.

She turns on her back and a gun is pointed in her face.

*BANG!*

Blood splatters on Teddy's face when the guard collapses next to her, revealing Winter with a gun.

"Winter! Y-you..."

"I could hear everything from next door. Quick, let's go before this place becomes a gun range."

"W-wait, Lilo!"

"What?"

"Jaebum went after Lilo!"

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 🌙

Lilo pushes strippers out of the way the faster she sprints down the carpet. They all look with scowls and confusion before Jaebum follows behind with gunshots. The girls shortly scream with ducked heads.

"Shit shit shit..."

Suddenly, she's pulled into a private dance room through the beaded curtain. It's incredibly dark with the exception of pink and purple lava lamps, slow music and a couch. She looks up and barely makes out Taehyung's features as he pushes a finger to his lips and pulls her onto his lap.

"J-Jaebum—"

"I know." He grabs her face and smashes his lips onto hers.

The bead curtain rattles harshly when Jaebum looks into the room only to find what he thinks is a stripper giving someone a private dance. With a growl, he leaves.

Taehyung breaks the kiss shortly after. "Right, let's meet the others at the car before he comes back."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 🌙
—LILO'S POV—

As soon as we get home, Teddy takes a deep gasp and runs around the foyer.

"Oh my gosh, THIS is where you guys have been staying??? No way it's like a penthouse! This sure meets the crummy motel I was staying in! Look at this, ya got plants and mirrors and vases and Ooo ooo, what's in the fridge??" She dashes to the kitchen.

Taehyung sighs and locks the door behind us while I only chuckle.

"I can't believe we pulled that off." Jungkook puts his hands on his hips. Jimin's eyes bulge and head turns to him in slow motion.

"You guys did good. Thanks."

"Anytime Tae. I'll help with any plan if it'll get Winter into another one of these dresses." Jungkook caresses her exposed back.

"YOU GUYS HAVE A POOL TOO? NO WAY!" Teddy shouts from the backyard, her mouth stuffed with food. I go to collect her, "You can't be so loud Ted, we don't want neighbors to hear."

"Come, I'll show you to your room." Hoseok tells her.

She follows upstairs with her arms full of snacks, me following behind since I'm going to my room. Hoseok points to the door that's just opposite Taehyung and I's.

"This is usually the guest room but since you live here now, it's all yours."

"Thanks! Uh...?"

"Hoseok."

"Hoseok." She repeats cutely. "Thank you Hoseok."

—LATE NIGHT—

I was going to wait for Taehyung to come to bed but my tiredness got the best of me. With my cheek sunk into the pillow, my eyes squint open when I hear a noise in the room.

I see Taehyung going through the drawer in an all-black outfit, including black hair that was green this morning, blue yesterday and peach the day before.

I close my eyes again and let my mouth pull a lazy smile.

"Psst. Tae."

"Yeah?"

"Come to bed. It's late."

"Ah... I would but I'm heading out."

My eyes open fully. "Out? Where?"

He turns to hold the keycard between his fingers. "Hoseok and I are breaking into Lim's company, remember?"

"Well yeah but I didn't think you'd do it so soon. Can't you go tomorrow?"

He smiles and leans down to cup my face and kiss my forehead.

"It's better we move along with things quickly. This situation is already crazy as it is."

"Hmm... Okay. But at least give me ten minutes before you go." I stroke his arm softly. He gives a  tiger-like stare and I can't help but bite my lip.

He focuses on my lips before they lock and my tongue rolls into his mouth. I force him to hover over me by pulling on his arm, his knee raising onto the bed. Taehyung runs a hand down my waist while his lips take a quick stop at my neck and lick. My hand slides underneath his black turtleneck to get a feel of his skin. And he said turtlenecks aren't sexy...

His tongue rolls back into mine and I hitch a breath—

"Whatya' guys doing?"

"—GAH!!!" We both jump, Taehyung falling off the bed entirely. Teddy stands right beside to us with her arms crossed over her pillow.

"T-Teddy don't do that! H-How'd you get in here?!"

"You left your door open. You and Bossman were making out again..." She giggles.

Taehyung rubs his back as he regains posture. "Is there something you need?"

"...My room is dark. I'm scared to sleep in there alone."

"Can't you turn the lamp on?"

"Nooo I don't wanna sleep alone! It's scary."

"Ok look, you can sleep in here with Lilo."

"What about you?"

"Hoseok and I won't be back until the morning anyway, so you guys can spend the night."

"Really?! Yay! Our first real girl's sleepover, so exciting!" Teddy leaps into the bed, making the mattress bounce. I chuckle and kiss Taehyung on the lips. "Come back safe. Love you."

"Love you too. Goodnight Li."

Yeah sorry to end it there, this chapter was more so for humor coz things'll start to get very dark... I feel like I say that a lot but I really mean it here sklsjksk 💜