Namjoon grabbed his car keys and sent the SMS to Taehyung. He wanted them to meet at a car dealer to get the vehicle for the mission, and Taehyung was a much better sweet talker than him. Maybe he could lower the prize.
An hour later, he parked in front of the ground of the dealer and left the car. Taehyung was already waiting at the entrance, waving at him when he saw him coming over, his rectangular smile displayed. He always reminded him of Alice's grinning cat, just a cute version. And he found that the cute face hid his dirty personality too well.
"Let's go in." The programmer tilted his head to the gateway.
When they reached the container that was used as office, they found the old, gray-haired dealer in front of it, sitting in a shabby armchair and reading the two days old newspaper.
"Good morning, young fellows. What can I do for ya?" He stood up, groaning. His trousers were baggy at the knees and the shirt was stained with yellow smudges. Did Namjoon worry about the price? This man did not seem to charge much. He looked more like he belonged on a scrapyard. Well, half of the cars looked like scrap metal. But he had had a reason to come to this place. It was standing out less.
Namjoon shook the man's hand and explained that they were searching a van big enough to transport about a ton of equipment for the 'photo studio'.
The man's face lit up, and he gestured them to follow him. After five minutes of walking, he stopped next to a seemingly brand-new black Ssangyong mini-van. The car was exceptionally ugly, but that was only to their advantage, for they would not stand out in traffic.
(This is actually a Mercedes, but I thought it was a Ssangyong, so I'll keep it at that.)
"As you can see, the seats are still inside. It was a big family's van. But it should be no problem for two young men to get those out and make some space for whatever equipment you need." Happy to be helpful, the dealer smiled at them.
"How much do you want for the car?" Namjoon would do a damn, telling the man that he thought the car must be new.
"20 million Won (17.6k $)?" He looked at them with big, hopeful eyes, which made the programmer's stomach twitch. He normally was not emphatically, but this old guy made him feel what must be pity. It was a strange feeling, he never had felt something like that before, and it was kind of sickening.
"Nope," Taehyung interfered, making the two others look at him. Namjoon was about to tell him off. How could he possibly try to lower the price much more? This car could not be a year old, and from what the black-haired knew those models cost about 57 million Won new. But the crimson continued.
"You will buy yourself an armchair that supports your back, plus a nice table for what you might call veranda. And you will buy a new closet. I cannot look at those clothes. 25 mills."
The dealer's eyes grew bigger and his mouth fell open. That for sure had been unexpected. But Namjoon would not intervene, for those were his exact thoughts. And let's be honest, he always could get more in the gambling rounds. Why those rich kids would still play with him, he did not understand, but as long as they would, he would continue to raid them.
"Ah-ahm, thank you," the old man stumbled, "would you like to pay in installments or-"
"We'll pay cash," the crimson interrupted him.
The man's eyebrows nearly reached the hairline. He gestured them to follow him. Back in the container, he got them the documents and the key. Namjoon placed the small, black case on the table and opened it, showing him the money. Carefully, as if he never had seen this much money at once, the man took out the discussed sum and closed the case again, turning it around, so the programmer could take the handle.
The black-haired looked at the papers, "Thank you very much. I guess the car has no owner right now, for it has no plates?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Perfect. We'll register it ourselves. Have an enjoyable day, and don't forget to buy new clothes. Appearance is everything in your business."
With that, the two left the container.
"You'll get the van and I'll wait for you at the gate," the black-haired instructed. Taehyung took the keys and turned to get their new car. A dirty smile played on the younger's lips. What was it with this guy? Was there even one hour without dirty thoughts?
"What's the grin for?"
"Nothing, I just wondered if you are this commanding in bed, too," the mathematician replied.
This guy was unbelievable. But he would do a damn explaining himself to the other. They were colleagues, not childhood friends, and he would keep it at that. If possible.
Jumping into his own car, Namjoon realized they had not checked on any possible flaws. What beginners... Well, he was a lucky guy. Let's see how much luck he got today. Fortunately, the way back showed that the car was flawless. It even seemed to have a good sound system included, judging from the crimson's moving lips. Namjoon watched the younger through his rearview mirror bobbing his head to the beats of the radio music. Time to get the barista. He pulled out his phone and sent a message with a time.
Yoongi felt the phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out. Just a time, like always. Sometimes Namjoon was a little too efficient. Well, his café would have to close before it even really opened. Over the last days this had happened often. Hopefully, he would get payed back for the loss. Fortunately, there were just a handful of customers. He left his place behind the counter and turned the sign on the door. There was enough time, so he did not have to ask his customers to leave.
Fifty minutes later, the last one left the café, and he could lock the door and get out. Cleaning would have to wait. Getting on his motor bike, he put on the helmet and started the engine. He had bought the vehicle after his last job, and he loved it. Driving a car was so boring compared with driving a motor bike. He would never change his black Kawasaki ninja for any car in the world, not even for the Ford GT he had a serious crush on.
When he arrived at Namjoon's, he sat in front of the door, throwing a grumpy look at anyone who looked at him in the wrong way. Could a man not sit on the threshold and have a smoke? Five minutes later, the other two eventually arrived and parked in front of him. Taehyung jumped out of a brand-new, black Ssangyong van. So, they had been buying the car for the mission. Nice choice, just a little too showy for his liking with the glossy, black paint.
"We need to get some things, and then we'll start prepping our car for the job," the black-haired greeted him.
"Have a nice day, too..." Why was Namjoon always that stressed?
"Yeah, whatever."
When they reached the top floor, Namjoon rushed into the second room, instructing them what to take down. With several cases (Yoongi saw the tool-kit, a welding machine, many paint cans and several more bags and little tools) they went back to the cars, putting everything into the van. Namjoon decided Yoongi would go with Taehyung in the Ssangyong. He would send them the route in case they lost each other in the traffic.
><
The drive had been a little longer than one and a half hour, and now they stood in front of an empty warehouse close to the port. Yoongi, once again had to admit that the programmer was damn well prepared. The taller jumped out of his car and opened the giant metal doors of the concrete building, so they could drive inside. Taehyung slowly drove inside, stopped the engine, and they left the car to get out all the items.
The whole building seemed to be built with concrete. Bare, gray walls surrounded them, and giant pillars supported the six-meter-high ceiling. The van would easily have fit inside four or five times in width, and on the backwall were some metal shelfs with canisters and cans. From what Yoongi could see, there was some engine oil, lubricant, acetone and other stuff you need to prep a car. The only light came through the four majestic windows on both sides of the gate. The glass was dulled from dirt and exhaust.
"So," the black-haired breathed out. It was strange seeing him in black jeans and a simple black t-shirt. Until today, Yoongi had just seen him in boxer briefs.
"First, we need to dismantle the inner. I've got two electrical screwdrivers, so Tae and I will take care of the backseats." A 'Yes, Sir' interrupted him and made the oldest roll his eyes on the crimson, "Min, could you take a look at the engine?"
"Will do," he said and walked around the car to open the hood. Let's see what they got.
Two hours later, all seats had been removed and the diesel had gotten some fresh engine oil. To Yoongi's delight, he had noticed it was a strong four-wheeler. And if he modified the turbocharger, he could gain a few more PS.
"Lunch!" the blonde heard the voice of the programmer echo through the room and wiggled out from under the car, where he had checked the propeller shaft. Namjoon had gone over to his car and had come back with three boxes of food.
The three sat in the back of the empty car and started munching happily. The noodles were cold already, but after crawling around under the car and getting his hands dirty on engine oil they tasted like the best meal he ever had. Chilling with the boys was something he liked very much. Tae always stopped eating to make them look at something he had spotted and found to be funny like some pattern of cracks in the window glass, or he talked about his thesis. The last thing was rather boring for the barista, because he did not understand what the two were talking about, but he like how Tae's face lit up when he spoke about it.
"Ya know," the blonde began when everyone was silent and eating, "You're the most fun team I ever worked with, plus you're crazy." He chuckled. "But seriously, I've done jobs with so many dumb people, even got shot once, 'cause of an incompetent gorilla, but you're the two smartest people I even met, and your professionalism, Namjoon, I appreciate that."
The crimson's rectangular grin popped up, and even the programmer had a small smile on his lips, staring into his box shyly.
"By the way, who's our gorilla? Half a ton doesn't move by itself," the blonde asked. Simultaneously, the two youngers flexed their biceps at him, and the youngest broke into laughter. These boys...
The rest of lunch time the barista tried to get Taehyung off him. The younger begged him to show him where he had gotten shot, his expression half worry half curiosity. But Yoongi would to a damn, baring his chest for the crimson. Finally, Namjoon threw the boxes into the garbage bag, they had placed next to the entrance, and clapped his hands to get their attention.
"Okay, next step. Get on the coveralls I brought, and get the respirators ready for using," the programmer said and went over to one of the plastic bags, they had brought from his apartment.
They climbed into the white coveralls and prepped the masks with filters, propping them up on their heads for further use. Then, Namjoon reached for what had looked like a rolled, white poster and handed it to Taehyung.
"Stick the letters to both sides of the van. They're the logo of a fake company for mold removal. Do it accurately! Min, we'll spray the windows black from the inside. Follow me!"
After his instructions, the black-haired grabbed two spray cans of black color and climbed inside the car.
"Can you bring tape and one of the big foils, Min?" the programmer's voice came from the van, and Yoongi grabbed the needed things after scanning through some bags, plus two spray cans for himself.
When he climbed into the vehicle, too, he handed everything over to the taller and sat down, watching the latter separate the driver's cabin from the rest of the load room to prevent coloring the seats and dashboard with the mist.
When the black-haired was done, they put on the respirators and started painting the windows. Yoongi was grateful for the mask. One could see the black particles in the air, and they would most definitely have suffocated themselves without a filter. Moreover, he was impressed by the quality of the spray. It took only one line to blacken the glass, no double treatment, no trickles that ran down the windows. They must have cost a little fortune. Ten minutes later, the sprayers opened the side door, which Taehyung had already prepped with the company's sign, and closed the trunk door to finish the back window. The driver won't be able to see anything through the rearview mirror anyway, for it would be blocked by the load.
Yoongi took a deep breath when he finally took off the mask.
"Why did this car have to be black?" he growled. Ssangyong's vans normally were white.
"Actually, that's to our advantage," the programmer said, wiping away the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve.
"Why?"
"You'll see tomorrow."
The barista rolled his eyes. Namjoon and his secrecy. If he had to point out the one thing about the black-haired he hated most, it would be his way of withholding information. And maybe his way of calling him Min. Why did he call Taehyung by his first name, by a nickname even, but him by his last name?
"Tae, are you done?" the black-haired stopped his train of thoughts.
"Yes."
"Perfect. The next step will take a little longer and needs precision." The programmer went over to the equipment once again, getting something that looked like an airbrush.
"We'll spray this special material on the whole car surface." He plugged in the paint can and the little can with the compressed nitrogen. Yes, definitely an airbrush. "There are two more. Get ready. Oh, and one thing: You won't see the color, so make sure you check against the light. You two start with the back, I'll prep the front windows with foil first."
Moments later, they stood at the back of the car, airbrush ready and masks on.
"Wait," Taehyung stopped the blonde and took off his mask again. "Joon! What's with the lights and bumpers?" the crimson shouted over the rustling of the foil. Joon? The oldest was baffled. Did he miss something? Wasn't Taehyung much younger than Namjoon?
"Shit, I forgot. Get some tape and cover them before you start spraying," the black-haired answered.
Ten minutes later, they eventually started painting. Namjoon had been right. There was only a glossy shine on the surface, no color. When they were done with the trunk lid, Namjoon joined in and they did the rest.
The sun already went down when they were done with everything, including getting off the tape and foil. Tired, they drove back to Namjoon's with the programmer's car, leaving the van behind.
Taehyung was asleep, when the black-haired turned around to Yoongi.
"We need two pairs of license plates."
Understanding, the oldest nodded. He would have to go shopping for his tool-kit anyway.
>><<