ʟᴜᴘɪɴ│ᴛᴋ [complete]

.44. ɪɴ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴡᴇ ᴄᴏʟʟᴇᴄᴛ ᴀ ғᴇᴡ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴘᴜᴢᴢʟᴇ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇs

The colours of the piece weren't particularly bold nor vibrant, yet Namjoon could not seem to be able to tear his eyes away from the painting hanging in front of him. Slightly frowning, he pointed at the only naked tree in the picture, which featured a total of four otherwise leafy saplings. "Don't you find it fascinating that the artist chose to focus on the dead tree, pushing the thriving ones away to the sides? What do you think it means?"

Taehyung let out an obnoxiously loud yawn before answering. "Not sure. It could be a warning of sorts."

Namjoon looked at him with amusement. "Keep going."

"Don't fall in line if you want to thrive. Embrace the life of an outcast."

"Not bad. Anything else?"

Tilting his neck to the side, Taehyung whined sleepily. "You've been staring at this piece for a solid eight minutes now. Why don't you tell me what it's about so we can finally move on?"

The young author turned to face his friend, smiling with empathy. "I almost feel sorry for having dragged you out today. I know you like art as much as I do and I thought you'd enjoy Schiele."

"Couldn't we have gone tomorrow? The Belvedere is open on Saturdays."

"Today is my last day in Vienna. I'm travelling to Prague first thing in the morning."

Eyes slightly droopy from lack of sleep, Taehyung nodded. "If that's the case, then I'm glad I got to see you before your departure."

Namjoon broke into a smile. "Me too. What a relief it was to finally hear from you after all this time! I'd have greeted you last night were it not for your arrival at an ungodly hour."

"Tell me about it. Did you know it takes thirteen hours to travel from Riomaggiore to Vienna by steamtrain? And it's not like we got to our hotel and went straight to bed. Well. We did go straight to bed but Jungkook was far from tired. The brat had slept through practically the whole trip! So he orders room service, at midnight! Can you believe it? And then he decides he wants cud—"

"I really don't need to hear what you did in bed last night, Tae."

A moue showed up on Taehyung's features. "What's the point of having a fiancé if I can't brag about him? Or his stamina?"

"See. That right there was TMI."

Something must have caught Taehyung's attention for he turned around to scan the exhibition hall before leaning toward the novelist. "Do you know you're being followed?"

Namjoon took a quick look behind his friend's shoulders and sure enough, he spotted a small crowd of familiar onlookers. "I know. It usually happens when I'm on tour. But they keep their distance, so I have no reason to call security."

"The downside of having your schedule broadcast to the world."

"Even when I travel incognito, they still manage to find me somehow."

Taehyung shifted his posture to better assess the not very discreet stalkers and briefly squinted at one particular silhouette.

"Recognize anyone?" asked Namjoon, observant.

Taehyung soon went back to his drowsy stance, slowly shaking his head. "It's nothing."

"Then how about we call it a day and go grab something to eat?"

The other instantly perked up at the prospect of food. "I'd love that. And we could even go shopping afterwards."

"Shopping? What for?"

"Must I remind you I need to find a ring for that fiancé you don't want me to mention?"

They stepped out of the white baroque edifice, and into its perfectly trimmed gardens. The sweet scent of nearby rose bushes filled their senses. It was a lovely day to be out and Namjoon couldn't help but note this was an ideal setting for a date. "You should bring Jungkook out here," he suggested, feeling a little responsible for the fact that the two lovebirds were presently apart.

Taehyung merely huffed. "He's busy."

"You don't seem too happy about it." Namjoon stating the obvious earned him a gentle shove.

"Considering we just got engaged, I don't particularly enjoy the idea of him spending more time with Jimin at the moment."

"The two pairing up again? What is this about?"

Taehyung tried to dismiss the thought with his hand. "Some missing paintings I gather."

"Oh yes, the stolen paintings! Surely you must admit the coincidences are rather conspicuous."

The other turned to face his friend, frowning. "Not you too! Has Jimin convinced you I was somehow involved?"

"What? No! Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, I'm surprised he hasn't put me on top of his suspect list."

"You?"

"Well, yes! Amsterdam, Paris, and then Venice. All cities on my book tour. And they're all missing a precious artwork."

♠

Back at the hotel, Jungkook was arriving at the same conclusion. "You do realize, Jimin, that these concurrences make you and Namjoon both perfect contenders for number one suspects in these cases."

Jimin could only sigh at the impeccable logic. "You know I couldn't pull off something like that. And Namjoon has plenty of alibis. He's been followed around by a group of fans this whole time. They could probably give you his daily schedule down to the minute."

"What about Taehyung's alibi? He's been kilometres away from these cities for the past three months!"

"But look at these signature cards, all three of them baring the letters A and L!"

Jimin's mulishness was beginning to get on Jungkook's nerves. "Did you forget that Kim Taehyung was never Arsène Lupin! He merely borrowed the moniker. Anyone could do the same."

"Not anyone can snatch a Monet from the Louvre."

Jungkook pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Will you please just apologize to him when you see him?"

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I'm asking you, as a friend, to trust me on this."

Jimin had finally cornered the detective. "I'll apologize to your fiancé on one condition."

Jungkook's voice was a little uncertain when he asked the reporter what he wished for in exchange for the amende honourable.

"I want privileged access to your wedding. As well as the exclusive story, of course."

"Deal."

—

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