Not even five minutes into the job and Junseo was already getting on my nerves.
"I told you to bring the old glass cutter," I hissed.
"Relax, hyung. This one's new. It's better."
Creek… creek…
The tool screeched against the window loud enough to wake the ancestors.
"Keep it low, you dumbo."
I leaned in, eyes narrowing through the spotless glass.
There it was—the beauty.
The reason we'd frozen our asses off on a rooftop at two in the morning.
And tonight, it was going to be ours.
Junseo peeked over my shoulder and snorted.
"Seriously, hyung… don't you think these people are kinda stupid? Showing off their treasure to the whole world and basically inviting us to steal it."
He finished cutting the glass and lifted the pane like it weighed nothing.
We slipped inside—silent, quick, practiced. Years of jobs will do that to you.
Our footsteps echoed faintly as we approached the pedestal.
A single diamond sat in a glass case, glowing under the cool security lights like it owned the place.
Junseo's eyes went round.
"Come here, baby… I'll keep you safe."
He reached out—already flirting with danger.
I caught his wrist.
"Yah. Careful."
"You really think they'd put a diamond like this in a simple glass box?"
Junseo blinked. "…It looked easy."
"Nothing expensive is ever easy," I muttered, circling the pedestal.
A faint blue light pulsed beneath the glass.
"There."
"Uh-oh," he crouched. "Digital alarm?"
"Mm."
Junseo threw his head back dramatically.
"We put the CCTV guard to sleep, tricked the other guards, froze our asses on the rooftop—only to be stuck with this?"
He crossed his arms, sulking like a kicked puppy.
"Aish… if you'd just accept using my tech, hyung, we could've finished this already."
I ignored him and reached into my jacket.
A small leather pouch.
Old. Scuffed. Reliable.
Junseo leaned closer, confused.
"…Hyung. We're not playing marbles right now, right?"
But he still took a few marbles, rolling them through his fingers like a kid.
I approached the pedestal.
This wasn't a system you hacked.
It was pressure-based—sensitive to the gram.
Touch the diamond directly, and the whole building would scream.
"Think," I whispered. "It only cares about weight."
Junseo blinked.
Oh.
Finally.
I placed one marble on the pedestal.
A soft click.
The red diode flickered—then stilled.
Another.
Another.
Slow. Balanced.
The marbles formed a ring around the gem, shimmering under the lights like frozen starlight.
Junseo held his breath.
"Is this… actually going to—"
"Shh."
Two more.
One final marble.
My gloved fingers slid beneath the diamond.
A heartbeat.
Lift.
The gem rose into my hand—cold, perfect, silent.
The pedestal didn't react.
Junseo whispered, "holy sh*t…"
I tucked the diamond safely away.
"Move. We're only safe when we're three rooftops away."
Junseo scrambled after me, still dazed.
"Hyung… old-fashioned thief my ass."
Outside the window, the night wind waited—cold, sharp, eager to freeze us again.
We climbed onto the rooftop, breath fogging into the air.
"Forest path," I said.
"Right. Quick in, quick out."
We dropped down behind the museum, slipping into the shadows.
The forest was close—dark, quiet, perfect for disappearing.
We'd taken barely ten steps when—
Crack.
Both of us froze.
Then came the low growl.
Grrrrrr…
Junseo whispered, "Hyung… please tell me that was your stomach."
A massive security dog stepped from the shadows.
"Oh," Junseo said weakly. "So one guard didn't go to sleep."
"Not one," I replied. "Four."
Right on cue, three more stepped out—eyes glowing like tiny, angry lanterns.
Junseo's voice cracked. "What now?"
I gave him the look—the one he hated.
"You know the drill."
His face collapsed.
"Hyung. No. Not that drill."
"One takes the diamond," I tapped my chest, "and the other lures the dogs."
Junseo stared at me with pure betrayal.
"Hyung… please. Switch roles."
"You're faster."
"I'm also allergic to teeth!"
The dogs growled again.
"Junseo," I said quietly, "you can do this."
"No, I cannot do this—"
"Okay then," I said, turning away, "I'll meet you later."
"HYUNG—!"
But the dogs moved first.
Junseo bolted into the trees, screaming,
"Aishhh—WHY ME? HYUNG I SWEAR IF I SURVIVE THIS—"
Branches snapped behind him.
Four furry missiles chased him through the woods.
I moved in the opposite direction—until his voice echoed again:
"HYUNG—THE TREES—WHY ARE THEY SUDDENLY TALL—"
Then a shriek.
"NOT MY HANDSOME FACE—!"
And then—
He farted sideways.
The dogs paused, confused.
He dashed into a narrow bush tunnel—
—and got stuck.
"HYUNG! I— I'M STUCK! HYUNG HELP—"
Of course.
I sighed and turned back.
There he was—caught in branches, flailing like laundry in a typhoon.
"Aish… come here."
I yanked him free—
—straight into three massive dogs waiting for us.
Behind us: thorny bushes.
Ahead: death with tails.
Junseo whimpered, "Hyung… I don't want to die ugly."
"No promises."
The first dog lunged.
I shoved Junseo aside and kicked up a spray of dirt.
Another leaped—Junseo shrieked like a dying kettle.
Grabbing a fallen branch, I swung it like a sword.
"YAH! Back off! I'm too broke to die!"
"Hyung! SAVE YOURSELF!" Junseo cried, crawling away.
"I ALWAYS save you, dumbass!"
Together we sprinted, hearts pounding.
I grabbed his wrist, yanked him over a fallen log—
The dogs slammed into it and tumbled in a barking pile.
Junseo collapsed against a tree.
"If I survive, I'm buying a cat."
I flicked his forehead.
"You're alive because of me. Again."
"That's why you're my hyung," he groaned. "My suffering older brother."
We walked until the forest thinned.
Just before leaving the treeline, I stopped.
Junseo immediately tensed.
"What? Dogs again? Please say no—"
I didn't answer.
Deep in the forest, the shadows… shifted.
Like someone was there.
Watching.
Listening.
My breath stalled.
Then nothing.
"Hyung?" he asked again.
I shook it off.
"Nothing. Let's go. Before sunrise."
We stepped out of the forest together, our footsteps swallowed by the night.
Another job done.
Another narrow escape.
Neither of us knowing that this diamond…
was about to drag us into a world far bigger than theft.