Taehyung focus

"Konnichiwa!" Taehyung greeted the man behind the counter of the antiquarian bookshop, ruffling the snowflakes out of his deep-blue hair. The man looked up with one eye, then lowered it back onto the brittle book in his hands, hiding his disinterest behind a fringe of outgrown grayish-black strands. He probably thought that Taehyung and Jungkook were just another pair of curious tourists who would only take a look but buy nothing.

Taehyung, however, was grateful for being ignored. It gave him and his novice the freedom to roam around in silence without some talkative bookworm annoying them with too many questions. Well, not them; for some reason it was only Taehyung getting bothered by the people while Jungkook just received some nervous side glances. Since the younger had opened a fitness club with his boyfriend he had become even more of a muscle pig what caused his black shirts to stretch over his chest and bicep in an intimidating display of physical power. No one would guess that under that hard surface he hid artistic talent and an angel's voice. But Taehyung had seen those and successfully had offered the younger to become his mentor, so whenever a new job came in, Jungkook took some days off from the studio to visit him and be introduced to the art of forgery and conning.

"Off with you, young padawan! You know your quest," Taehyung stated theatrically and vanished in-between the narrow bookshelves, diving into the scent of warm paper and dust.

When one wanted to forge bonds, like they were about to, one needed the right paper. Said paper had to be not only from the right time, but also from the right country, showing the time-based method of producing it and traces of the environment like radioactivity or special materials used. Normally Taehyung would send Yoongi out to find him the right material, just like back in the day for An Azalea, but Taehyung praised himself to be a teacher of the old kind and wanted to show Jungkook the very roots of his profession.

And that meant raiding Japanese antiquarian bookstores for books printed around 1930 to 1940. The content of the books was irrelevant; it could range from fairy tales over science scriptures to stallion novels. What they wanted was a book with intact 'lining' in the front and the back because that slightly thicker, empty first and last sheet, when separated gently from the cover and the book body, was the perfect basis for forging documents. It was from the right time and place, making it easy to pass the scrutinizing eye of modern test methods and was also thick enough to withstand some stretching or cleaning if necessary.

So, for the last two weeks, Jungkook and him had been roaming the island for shops like this one, buying every book printed around the time of world war two. In the process, he was polishing the younger's school Japanese by making him talk to shop assistants and waiters so that when they would meet their customer to receive the original war bond (the muster for making the copies), Jungkook would be able to handle the deal. It was, compared to other task of his profession, an enjoyable journey.

A glance through the gaps in the crammed shelfs showed him Jungkook's concentrated face while the black-haired scanned through every single book that looked like it had potential. He was a good student, diligent and capable. Taehyung smiled before he continued his own search.

To evaluate quality by touch was a given in his line of profession. Whether it was the fabric for a canvas, the stone for a statue, or the paper for a drawing it did not matter. There was something fundamental about a touch. By touching you could understand and connect to the material you were working with. Paper alone had so many factettes that Taehyung was not sure if he could teach them all to Jungkook; sometimes he was not even sure how he made his decision on whether a sheet was good or bad, he just knew.

He knew which surfaces were best for water-based colors and which for oil colors, how thick a sheet of paper had to be to give it a water sign, or how fine the granularity of the cotton fiber was based on how the torn edges felt. Paper and handling paper were a whole field of science and he wished that he could teach them all to his student, but with the fitness club needing constant attendance of the main trainer, he probably would only be able to convey a fragment of the knowledge.

Taehyung's silent musing was interrupted brutally by the dramatic first strokes of Beethoven's fifth symphony being blared through the little store by his phone. The shop owner gave him a displeased stare through the gray fringe but said nothing. Probably because of the big black human frame in the back of the shop, but Taehyung still felt like he owed the books some respect, so he pressed his findings into Jungkook's arms and went for the exit.

"Gomen nasai," he mumbled when he hurried past the counter on his way out, and "Moshi, moshi?" when he answered the call, not noticing that the caller was Korean.

"Senpai!" a normally gravel voice screeched in a deafeningly high pitch, making Taehyung drop his phone in shock. He almost cursed.

Minnie Mint beamed at him from the screen when he picked it up again.

"You're not funny," he deadpanned once calm and collected again and began to walk up and down the sidewalk to defeat the freezing air that sneaked into the sleeves of his coat.

"I think I am," Yoongi replied and Taehyung could hear the grin in his lover's voice. Idiot.

A short but heavy silence filled the line before his boyfriend continued.

"We have a problem," Yoongi stated, sounding honestly concerned.

"Hm," Taehyung just hummed, waiting for some details. He had learned to stop himself from panicking whenever Yoongi claimed there was a problem because most times it was something like 'We ran out of wine' or 'I can't find the Porsche keys'.

"Guess who visited me today," his boyfriend said, and Taehyung rolled his eyes.

"Yoongi, I'm freezing my toes off right now. Just talk," he whined and buried his free hand in his coat pocket. There had to be some unused heat packs.

"Where are you?" his lover asked confused.

"Sapporo," Taehyung answered curtly, watching his breath form a little white puff in the chilly air.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh... It's so cold my teeth are hurting when I laugh," he exaggerated and stuck his tongue out to catch an exceptionally big snowflake. Jungkook had been sad that he had seen the first snow without Jimin, but Taehyung had dragged him out nevertheless to have the first taste of winter. He did not care who was with him on the first snow, it just had to be celebrated properly with a good meal and some Christmassy music.

"I'll kiss it better once you're back," Yoongi mumbled quietly and Taehyung chuckled when he imagined how his boyfriend cringed at his own saccharine words. His lover truly was not made for sweet talk.

"Mark your words," he cheered lightly and grinned, coldness all forgotten. "So, who's the mysterious visitor?"

Yoongi took a deep breath on the other side of the line before he, with a hint of distaste, said, "Namjoon."

Taehyung almost dropped his phone again.

Three years. For three years they had not heard one single word of Kim Namjoon, but now he suddenly stepped into their life again? Taehyung was not sure what he was supposed to feel. There was happiness, sure, but there was anger too, because that ignorant bum had vanished like smoke the day they had parted. The withdrawal of his portion of the job money was the last thing they had seen of him before he literally had disappeared. His Kakao, his Naver, his Facebook. All gone. Even his credit card trace had vanished after some months. Namjoon had become a ghost. Combined with Yoongi mentioning a problem, that fact -apart from anger- also stirred fear in Taehyung's stomach, but he forced himself to remember the tall man's gentle smile and demeanor, making himself believe in their former friendship.

"Tae? Are you still there?" Yoongi asked and shook Taehyung out of his internal conflict.

"Yeah," he mumbled, "Yeah, I'm here. Why did he come?"

"Let's say, something really important has been stolen, and he needs us to get it back," Yoongi explained, and after a pause added, "For his boss, not for him. Otherwise I wouldn't bother."

What seemed to be a careless little afterthought was, in fact, what peaked Taehyung's interest. It was strange for his boyfriend to care about any stranger, powerful or not. "Who's his boss?" he demanded to know, eyebrows furrowed.

"Well... our Joonie now works for the KFC," was all the older said.

Taehyung understood nothing. "The fast food chain?" he asked, feeling slightly dumb. How did Namjoon end up working for a fast food restaurant? Had they ruined him that much?

"No, Tae, not the fast food chain. The KFC. Korean. Facility. Control. The ones catching bullets for the president," Yoongi explained, sounding a tiny bit annoyed. "They're like the fucking Men in Black. No face, no trace, all black everything."

Wait! So, Namjoon's boss was the president?

It became exceedingly hard for Taehyung not to curse his lungs out. "Wow. WOW!" was all he could press out after some seconds, running his hand through his hair like a hurricane while trying to wrap his mind around the situation. So, basically the president of Korea had hired them to get back something that had been stolen from him. The president! Hired them! Some conmen!

A slightly crazed laughter left his lips when the severity of the situation unfolded in front of him. "Holy moly! How did that happen? Why us? What does he need?" he rambled, not sure if he was laughing from happiness or growing anxiety.

"Apparently it's about some secret documents from the presidential safe," Yoongi said, sounding much calmer than he should.

"Since when do you know?" Taehyung asked and tried to calm down to face the trouble head-on.

"Since this morning. I already rolled it through my head several times and-"

"Of course, you did," Taehyung interrupted him and laughed again, feeling lightheaded. What else to expect of a man like Min Yoongi? "Who do you think it was?"

"There are about three people in this country who could and would pull a stunt like this," the older replied.

"Who's the one most likely to do it?" Taehyung asked, knowing Yoongi had a very clear suspicion of who was crazy enough to break into the Blue House and crack the presidential safe.

He could hear his lover breath heavily before the raspy voice said, "Do Kyungsoo."

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I hope everyone of you knows Do Kyungsoo (D.O.) of Exo.