🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 03
Oh My God
“…No, this is…”
Dasol searched for an excuse but ended up biting her lip instead.
The man was saying only things that were objectively correct. And Mongi was being completely overwhelmed anyway.
“You should be more careful going forward. Repeated small mistakes eventually lead to bigger problems.”
As if human patience had a fixed daily limit.
She definitely knew she was at fault, but maybe because she had already used up all her patience earlier, she felt unfairly treated.
Before she knew it, words slipped out on their own.
“…I’m sorry, but when you say it like that, it sounds like you’re assuming I’ll just brush off situations like this and cause harm again. It doesn’t feel good.”
“I didn’t say it to make you feel good.”
Her irritation flared up.
“Then are you saying it to make me feel bad?”
“No. I’m just stating what I see, regardless of emotion.”
Dasol found the man even more irritating because he answered in such a cold, matter-of-fact way despite knowing she was at fault.
She exhaled sharply, choosing her words carefully, but before the situation escalated emotionally, the man slightly bowed and turned away.
“Wait a moment.”
Feelings aside, she still needed to properly resolve this.
Even if they would never meet again, wrong was wrong.
“Hey, at least let me— I’ll pay for the cleaning fee—”
“No need.”
He cut her off bluntly and walked off without hesitation.
Dasol called after his retreating back.
“Hey, at least give me your business card—”
But he didn’t even look back.
Dasol let out a deep sigh as she watched his tall figure and broad shoulders disappear into the distance.
Today really wasn’t her day.
A troublesome customer during the day, and now this unfortunate incident in the evening.
Of course, this time she was the one at fault.
“Mongi, what did you like about that man so much that you even tried mounting and marking him? You’re a male too. Or was it a competitive instinct? Did you want to assert dominance?”
The elderly Shih Tzu, Mongi, only panted with his tongue hanging out.
“Phew. At least I didn’t kick you.”
After a brief pause, she muttered quietly.
“But he was really handsome. His personality sucks though, right?”
After gently rubbing Mongi, Dasol continued on her way, keeping a firm grip on his leash until she arrived at her grandmother’s house.
The Next Day
A meeting was called in the chief prosecutor’s office.
Jihyuk sat to the right of the stern-faced chief prosecutor, with four other prosecutors present.
“Senior Manager Jang, give the briefing.”
“There’s a four-story building in a residential area that we’ve identified as a drug distribution hub.”
Jihyuk pointed at a map near the prosecutor’s office with his index finger.
“Damn it. It’s barely even far from the prosecutor’s office, and it’s in a residential neighborhood? How did this go unnoticed? Is that even possible?”
The chief prosecutor pushed his glasses up forcefully.
“The building is on an eight-lane main road. There are no crosswalks or bus stops nearby, and it leads toward an overpass, so foot traffic is minimal. Because of this, it has developed into a niche commercial area—car repair shops, tuning garages, interior design stores—places you only go to with a purpose.”
Jihyuk lifted the map again and tapped the key area with a pen.
“The fourth floor of that small building is a guitar academy.”
“A music academy? I drive past that road sometimes and never noticed it.”
The chief prosecutor nodded as if it made sense.
“Although the suspect didn’t pinpoint it exactly, the nearby area matches. A higher proportion of adult male students, the ability to easily transport items in guitar cases, and the fact that it’s the only recently closed academy nearby—all of that suggests this is likely the place.”
Jang Jihyuk and the investigative team had already completed a solid preliminary investigation.
Listening to his seamless reasoning and justified conclusions, the chief prosecutor looked satisfied.
“Residents nearby also reported an increase in students, which supports this.”
Jang Jihyuk, recently transferred this January from the Anti-Corruption Division to the Violent Crimes Division, had been heavily recruited.
The chief prosecutor’s expression was full of satisfaction at having secured him.
“Senior Manager Jang, proceed with on-site command immediately. Prosecutor Park will accompany you. Drug users are unpredictable, so stay cautious.”
Solsol Pet Salon
Dasol was bathing a Pomeranian styled like a teddy bear.
She gently dried it with a towel and picked up the hairdryer.
“There we go, good job, our Bokshiri.”
Her gentle voice filled the shop softly.
Whenever she groomed or bathed dogs, she always called their names and spoke to them kindly.
It was a principle she had developed over years of working in this field.
A kind of communication.
“Bokshi, are you tired? Just a little longer. So pretty.”
While drying the wet fur, she repeatedly called its name in a soothing tone.
Many dogs hated being dried as much as being washed.
More precisely, they hated the large machine.
Professional grooming dryers roared with noise and blasted powerful air, enough to terrify most dogs.
Some growled as if facing a monster that eats dogs, others whimpered and even cried.
Over years of experience, Dasol eventually developed a method.
Giving treats and turning on a weak airflow, she started from the back and slowly moved her wrist.
Then sideways. The face last. Keeping the dryer as far away as possible.
It took longer, but dogs at “Solsol Pet Salon” rarely resisted it now.
Ding.
The shop door opened with a bell sound. Dasol peeked through the grooming area opening toward the entrance.
It was Yumi, a nurse from the veterinary clinic next door, “Doctor Kkodo Animal Hospital.”
Yumi rushed in with her body leaning forward and quick steps.
“Dasol, I need the bathroom.”
“Did your hospital bathroom get clogged again?”
“Yeahhh.”
Yumi grabbed the bathroom key and ran out again.
A short while later, she returned looking relieved, patting her stomach.
“Ahh, I thought I was going to die.”
“Your bathroom is always getting clogged.”
“It’s so annoying. I tried going to the men’s restroom, but there was a customer inside. So I ran here.”
Dasol laughed, imagining the scene. Yumi shook her head as if she didn’t want to think about it and popped a candy into her mouth.
“Hey, did you hear? There was chaos down below earlier.”
“What chaos?”
Dasol replied while lightly drying the dog’s fur.
“A customer at our clinic said there were several police cars lined up on that eight-lane road.”
“Right there? Why?”
“No idea. They said detectives came rushing out.”
“Wow. Robbery? Murder? Something like that?”
“The customer said they just looked around briefly and went up somewhere related to drugs or something.”
“Drugs? Wow, that’s insane…”
Dasol quickly turned off the dryer, ears perking up.
“So they’re selling drugs there? Is there even a place like that?”
“How would I know? My brain can’t solve that mystery.”
“The customer said something about a guitar academy? They went up there.”
“A guitar academy? Well, those places have guitar images on the windows, so it wouldn’t stand out. And it’s probably soundproof too, so no one would notice. Scary.”
Dasol naturally slipped into deduction mode, her eyes sharpening.
“Oh! That actually makes sense. As expected of Jindasol. ‘Sol-lock Holmes,’ huh? I’m impressed.”
Yumi clapped playfully.
“Still, they’ve got guts. With the police station and prosecutor’s office right nearby.”
Unbelievable.
It felt like something straight out of a movie.
Even in the film “To the Fearful You,” there was a scene where drug dealers operating near a café ended up clashing with the police.
It was both thrilling and frightening.
She felt a strong urge to check online to see if it had been reported in the news.
But Bokshiri’s grooming wasn’t finished yet, so she decided to wait.
“Do you think they’ll all be caught soon?”
“You want to go see it?”
Dasol nodded. Yumi chuckled.
“Well, I’m heading to the bathroom anyway… Oh! What if a suspect escapes and runs into this area? That would be insane. Like a crime movie. Haha. I should go. Take care.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Dasol apologized silently to Bokshiri and gently patted its head, then looked at the clock on the wall.
4:30 PM.
She was ahead of schedule by 30 minutes, which made her smile in satisfaction as she picked up the dryer again.
At that moment, a loud noise came from outside.
Dasol tilted her head, thinking it was nothing, and turned the dryer back on.
A moment later—
Ding.
The bell rang again, followed by the sound of something wooden breaking and a heavy object falling.
Dasol turned her head toward the entrance.
