An Azalea [AHS book 1]

- 3 -

Taehyung focus

Taehyung was on the hunt for their dancer, and currently he was visiting the third place where his person of interest could be at this hour of the day. He had already been at the dance studio and at the diner, and now he was walking down the stairs to the Itaewon subway station and welcomed the soothing coolness on his hot skin. When catchy hip-hop beats greeted him behind the next corner, he knew he was at his destination. Hope was out on the streets with his crew.

When he entered the platform, a big crowd stood around two street dancers who were having a dance battle. One of them was Jung Hoseok, talented dancer and passionate pocket thief. Yoongi and he had always hired the man when they had needed a sporty wingman. With his short pitch-black hair and the wide t-shirts and low hanging jeans Hoseok looked a little dangerous and intimidating, but their friend was always up for a joke and one of the calmest people Taehyung knew.

Deafening applause and whistling echoed through the tunnels when the battle was over and two other dancers began their competition. Attentively, Taehyung's eyes followed the yellow basecap.

Time to strike.

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The crew was packing up their sound system and the last spectators dissolved into the busy crowd when Taehyung watched his black-haired friend checking his pockets. He chuckled when he saw the confused and slightly panicked face of the dancer and walked over to him appreciatively slow to enjoy the picture a little longer.

"Being the thief doesn't mean you can't be robbed by anyone else," he mocked the older, holding up the two purses he had stolen from the other and that definitely did not belong to the street dancer. One was a plushy pink Luis Vuitton and the other a black and yellow leather model by Porsche. "By the way, can I have the black one after you emptied it?"

A wide smile lit up Hoseok's face and he stepped forward to hug Taehyung. "Tae, old friend!" The dancer let go and looked him up and down. "You still dress weird and you still think you're the smartest in the room."

Hoseok held up Taehyung's wallet with a smug smile.

"Open it," was all the gray-haired said to his friend.

The dancer furrowed his brows but did as he was told, finding it empty except for a white card with a phone number. "You bastard," he snarled but laughed.

Taehyung just grinned. He was the smartest in the room; he always made sure of that.

But he was not here to mock his friend. "I have a job for you. I need a dancer," he explained after they exchanged purses.

Hoseok's eyes lit up, and his next words were an excited whisper, "I feared to never hear that again, bro! Finally, there's an end to collecting purses. I could have opened a stand with those by now."

Taehyung snorted. He liked Hoseok. The man was uncomplicated and humorous. Someone to trust. Except with your wallet, but everyone had a weakness. "I'll text you a time and a place."

"Wait!" the black-haired stopped him from walking off, "You leaving already? Lemme get you at least a Matcha milk. You still like those?"

Taehyung glanced at his watch. Yoongi had promised to make dinner today, but he still had about an hour. "Okay, a milk it is."

Hoseok smiled happily and handed him the emptied Porsche wallet.

Twenty minutes later, they stood at the counter in Taehyung's favorite café and ordered a Matcha milk and an iced americano.

"Does Suga still drink that peppermint coffee?" Hoseok asked, paying the order and gesturing him to lead the way.

Taehyung decided to stay inside and sit down close to the air-conditioning. With a sigh he let himself fall on the long brown leather couch that ran along the walls of the café. "Yeah. He even made me like it," he reported. "Calls it poffee and even has invented a summer version with peppermint ice cream."