Chapter Text
Maybe it was the years of piano and guitar lessons as a child, or learning how to do delicate woodcarvings as a teenager that allowed Yoongi’s nimble fingers to work so swiftly. Maybe it was just natural talent. This was, after all, an art form unto itself. A good lift would be virtually undetectable, especially in crowds like these. And a man has to eat, Yoongi thinks to himself as he gently reaches two fingers into an unsuspecting tourist’s pocket and lifts their wallet before slipping it into his own jacket. Never slowing or wavering as he moves from person to person walking along the crowded sidewalk.
Yoongi startles slightly as someone shouts, “ATTENTION EVERYONE. THERE’S A PICKPOCKET. ATTENTION.”
A man’s booming voice echoes across the Myeongdong shopfronts, “WATCH YOUR WALLETS. THIS MAN IS A PICKPOCKET.”
“ah, shit.” Adrenaline floods his system as Yoongi turns to look at the person shouting… and promptly makes eye contact with the most beautiful man he’s ever seen. Tall, broad, ethereal, hair dyed a gentle shade of lavender that sharply contrasts the determined expression on his face.
“YES, THAT MAN. RIGHT THERE. THE ONE WITH MINT HAIR AND THE FANCY LEATHER JACKET. HE’S A PICKPOCKET.”
The lavender man continues shouting, his phone raised and recording as he walks towards the panicked cluster of tourists. Yoongi pulls his hand back, covering his face and quickly walking in the opposite direction. He doesn’t stop moving until he’s rounded several corners and ducked into an alley a safe distance away.
Damn that beautiful man and his ridiculous sense of justice. At least this isn’t a regular occurrence.
Yoongi is just going to have to be more careful.
The second time Yoongi sees Lavender Man is near Namdaemun market. Yoongi hasn’t even fully committed to lifting anything. He’s just scoping it out, weighing his options. It’s been a long week of entitled customers, minimal tips and skipped meals. After a few minutes of quiet observation, a group of designer handbags and expensive shoes saunters past, and he knows the opportunity is too good to pass up. He starts carefully pacing himself alongside the group, just out of arms reach.
Yoongi’s fingertips have hardly brushed the expensive leather before a familiar voice cries out, “A PICKPOCKET. LOOK OUT EVERYONE, THAT MINT-HAIRED MAN IS A PICKPOCKET.”
Yoongi has no choice but to turn on his heel and run.
Another market, another busy street in Seoul. “A PICKPOCKEEEET”
Different streets, different markets, different tourist spots. Yoongi is beginning to suspect that this “Angel of Justice,” as the internet had dubbed the man, has a personal vendetta.
Yoongi points emphatically with a soup spoon, “He’s literally my nemesis.”
“Oh my god. A nemesis. Hyung, don’t you feel like that’s a bit dramatic. You’re not even the only pickpocket he’s gone after. Yuna told me he yelled at her in the fish market just last week.”
“Hobi, you don’t understand. He made eye contact and called me the mint-haired man. I literally had to dye my hair again. This is personal.”
“I have to admit, the silver hair is really working for you. I’m surprised boss let you keep it blue as long as you did,” Hoseok says as he continues wiping down tables and collecting cups. “The internet really seems to like him.”
“Oh I saw,” Yoongi grumbles, “’The Angel of Justice.’ What kind of name is that anyway. What is this, a comic? He’s not some masked vigilante apprehending bank robbers. He’s literally just some guy yelling at petty thieves. How do you even get into something like that? Did he just get bored? Why is someone that hot even bothering with the rest of us?”
“…What?”
“You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed he’s hot. He looks like a model. Why is a model outing pickpockets. Doesn’t he have brand deals to shoot or commercials to film or something?”
“I feel like we’re getting off track here….”
“Hobi, he’s so beautiful it’s sickening. I literally want to puke just thinking about it.”
Hoseok’s rag pauses mid-swipe and he cocks his head, “Is this like a kink thing? A sexy heroes and villains kink thing? Because I’d like to know if I’m witnessing your enemies to lovers character arc here. Are you going to sexile me from the apartment? Because Joon’s cousin is in town right now and Jungkook and Jimin don’t have space in their dorm room.”
Yoongi’s mouth shuts with a click, “I’m sorry. I lost myself for a moment there. There are no lovers. Only enemies.”
“Hmm. That’s what they all say.”
The restaurant’s dining room is relatively silent save for the occasional clatter of silverware and dishes for while as the two continue cleaning. It isn’t until nearly the end of their shift when Yoongi turns to Hoseok with a feral grin.
“You know what. I am going to find this Angel of Justice. And I am going to win this little game he’s started.”
Yoongi didn’t mean to fall into a life of crime. If that’s what you want to call it. He prefers to think of it like an alternative cash flow. Everyone’s always saying to have multiple streams of income. And this helps him make the rent so he and Hoseok can afford to actually run the heating during the winter instead of freezing to death. Yoongi does what he has to do. He works two jobs and he does his best and sometimes its not enough. So who is some random, ridiculously beautiful, broad-shouldered Adonis to stand in the way of Yoongi’s well-being.
As it turns out, the Adonis has a name. Kim Seokjin.
A small online article had his name credited along with a video he’d uploaded calling out a thief in a shopping center. Kim Seokjin had very little online presence. No SNS besides the one account uploading videos. No real connections to link his real-world activities. Yoongi was going to have to be more creative.
It stood to reason that if Kim Seokjin was so good at finding pickpockets to catch, he would have to wait around in places where you might find such sticky fingers.
Yoongi shut his laptop, “And so the predator becomes the prey.”
“Hyung, are you sure this is a good idea,” Hoseok says as he walks into the room, “What if he turns you in or something?”
“Hoseok. I am the epitome of stealth. He’s not going to catch me.”
“He literally already did. Three times.” Hoseok gives Yoongi a flat look.
“Listen, those were sheer luck. There’s no way he’ll see me coming. This is foolproof.”
Hoseok snorts, “Foolproof, he says. Explain to me, Oh Great Criminal Mastermind.”
“Well I know he’s busted some of the thieves around some of the markets, but it seems like he mostly hangs around Myeongdong. I just have to wait around long enough for him to show up.”
“And then what?”
“And then I confront him.”
“For what exactly? Looking out for tourists?”
“I haven’t quite worked out my monologue yet, but I assure you. It will be cutting,” Yoongi crosses his arms with a huff.
“I’m sure.”
“I’m going to make him cry.”
“That seems excessive.”
“You’ve clearly never had a nemesis, Hobi. You wouldn’t understand.”
Hoseok starts moving towards the door of the apartment, “Mmmmkay. Well I’m heading over to Joon’s while you stalk the nice vigilante-“
“-nemesis,” Yoongi cuts in.
“Right, your nemesis. Anyway, Jungkook and Jimin are coming over after their classes, so if you get tired of making strangers cry, you can join us. We’re watching The Notebook and Blue Planet,” Hoseok pauses as he grabs his keys and slips his coat on, “not necessarily in that order.”
Yoongi decides to start at Olive Young. He’s brought a couple shopping bags and is carrying a cup of coffee to remain inconspicuous and blend in with the rest of the crowd. He picks the route that looks the most lucrative as a thief and begins to walk. He tries to keep a pace that will allow him to cover a large area, but still affords him a degree of invisibility. He’s not trying to get made so early in the game. And he’s not planning on lifting anything today – purely reconnaissance.
In his head, he’s got a few routes mapped out, depending on whether or not Kim Lavender Man Seokjin shows. As it turns out, it doesn’t take long before he hears distant cries of, “OH HO. A PICKPOCKET,” and Yoongi subtly adjusts his path.
As he rounds the corner, the first thing he notices is a petite woman covering her face with her hand and speed-walking in the opposite direction of a loud, obvious Kim Seokjin. The man is still shouting and directing attention to the pickpocket making a run for it. The second thing he notices, is a tall, thin, inconspicuous man keeping a very calculated distance away from Kim Seokjin as he subtly slips a wallet out of a woman’s purse. As the crowd seems to converge on their Angel of Justice, Yoongi notices the slight, almost imperceptible head nod between Seokjin and the thief. So quick that he thinks he’s imagined it until the apparent partner (in crime!!) makes his way though the crowd and safely away from Seokjin and the rest of his adoring fans.
Yoongi feels like a kid on Christmas. He shoots off a text to Hoseok before mentally reformulating all of his plans and deciding to tail Seokjin’s partner.
To: HobiHobi
I told you he wasn’t all that. I KNEW he was too good to be true. You owe me lamb skewers.