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Chapter 06
The Final Blow
“Why isn’t this client coming?”
Da-sol was waiting for a scheduled customer.
But even after twenty minutes, no one showed up. Calls went unanswered.
She had confirmed the appointment the day before, and even sent a reminder text an hour ago.
Thirty minutes passed. She tried calling again. Still no answer.
She had to accept it.
No-show.
A customer who books an appointment and simply doesn’t come.
As a one-person business, Da-sol could only groom at most three to five pets a day. Even one missing appointment meant a significant loss in income.
Ding.
While she was trying to suppress her rising irritation, the shop phone rang. She grabbed it almost aggressively.
“Hello, Solsol Pet Salon.”
- You animal abuser. How dare someone like you run a business in this neighborhood? You should shut down immediately!
“Excuse me? What are you talking about…?”
- Don’t act innocent. You made a dog feel depressed and emotionally unstable!
“Are you a customer who visited our shop? Did something go wrong?”
- Why would I go to a place like that? Stop pretending. That bichon is depressed now because of you. You disgusting woman. Just wait and see how well your business does.
Click.
The woman shouted sharply and hung up.
What was that supposed to mean?
Da-sol stared at the phone in a daze. She was being cursed at by a stranger over a situation she didn’t even know about.
A canceled appointment… and now bizarre phone calls.
Sigh.
She let out a long breath.
Ding—
The phone rang again.
Similar calls followed. A different voice this time—a young woman, then a man, and later a middle-aged woman.
A total of four calls.
All of them said the same thing: that “Solsol Pet Salon” groomers were animal abusers.
Something felt wrong.
Da-sol sat at the desk and searched her shop name online.
At first, nothing came up.
Feeling uneasy, she searched using initials instead.
She quickly found a post in an online community—and on social media.
[My dog was groomed at ㅅㅅ ㅍ ㅅㄹ and has been showing strange symptoms ever since. At first, he became withdrawn, and now he barely eats and seems depressed. He shakes and hides in corners. The grooming was also overpriced. They claimed to have fixed pricing, but the actual cost was completely different. It’s a bichon frisé, but I can’t believe it was that expensive. When I complained, the owner insulted me and even threatened to sue me for business obstruction. Please do NOT go there.]
Da-sol’s mouth fell open.
It felt like the blood in her body was boiling away.
People were asking in the comments where the shop was located. The original poster kindly replied via private messages, spreading the information one by one.
She immediately knew who it was.
The owner of “Seol-hee.”
Ah. So that’s why the appointment was canceled and they never came.
She thought about calling to confront them, but there was no proof—only intuition.
She swallowed her frustration and drank cold water repeatedly.
Meanwhile, at the Prosecutors’ Office
At a restaurant near the prosecutor’s office, Ji-hyuk, Sang-geun, and Hye-won were sitting together.
The three worked in elite departments often called the “flower of the prosecution.”
Ji-hyuk and Sang-geun were in the Violent Crimes Division, while Hye-won was in the Public Security Division.
They had been friends since university and met twice a month for meals outside work.
It was a kind of rule. Today’s restaurant had been strongly chosen by Sang-geun—a 50-year-old traditional beef soup restaurant.
Ji-hyuk and Hye-won didn’t talk much about personal matters. They only spoke a lot when discussing work-related disagreements. Sang-geun, on the other hand, always talked about personal things.
They seemed mismatched on paper, but they actually got along surprisingly well.
Sang-geun spoke first in his rough voice.
“I found a new clinic for Garam recently. Turns out it’s that animal hospital near our office.”
Garam was Sang-geun’s pet dog—a curly brown poodle.
“Here? Why didn’t you go somewhere near your home?” Hye-won asked.
“It’s famous.”
Hye-won let out a laugh, and Ji-hyuk rubbed his temple.
“I went on my day off. The doctor was good. He looked like a real dog doctor. The only downside is there’s always a long wait.”
“You won’t even go to a hospital near your house when you’re sick, but you came all the way here on your day off?” Ji-hyuk replied.
Sang-geun—the muscular guy who avoided hospitals at all costs, making up every excuse to avoid injections—had traveled 30 minutes just because it was famous.
To Ji-hyuk and Hye-won, who had never raised dogs, his logic was incomprehensible.
“Enjoy your meal.”
A steaming bowl of beef soup was served.
“Finally! Let’s eat. Anyway, I need to groom Garam too. I don’t have time. Criminals never take days off.”
“Forget the hospital—why not just go somewhere closer to your house?”
“Garam is timid. We can’t just take him anywhere. I’ve tried a few places, but they weren’t good. Poodles need proper care.”
Said the man who kept his own hair in a military buzz cut because he was too lazy.
“Isn’t there a pet grooming shop next to the prosecutor’s office? Ji-hyuk, that place. Have you tried it?”
Hye-won made a grappling gesture as she asked.
Sang-geun replied calmly.
“Oh, that place. Actually, I only found out there was even a grooming shop there recently because of a case. So I looked it up.”
He shook his head.
“But sometimes there are animal abuse cases in grooming shops.”
He leaned in, speaking passionately.
There had been cases where groomers hit dogs for not obeying, or even strangled them until they died because they wouldn’t stay still.
“They say those places exist more often than you think.”
Then he mentioned a post he had seen online.
“A bichon that was groomed there developed depression. Even separation anxiety.”
“Evidence?” Ji-hyuk asked flatly.
“Huh?”
“Evidence.”
“There’s no evidence. Just someone’s experience. But it was very detailed.”
“Any medical records? Veterinary opinion? Behavioral comparison before and after grooming?”
Ji-hyuk spoke calmly.
Sang-geun avoided his gaze.
“…No.”
“And you’re a prosecutor?”
Ji-hyuk’s sharp stare made him look away.
Hye-won laughed quietly.
“The chief of the Violent Crimes Division said you’re the type who completely separates work and personal life. At work, you’re a prosecutor—but outside, you’re basically a ‘rumor man.’”
Sang-geun awkwardly laughed and shoved a spoonful of soup into his mouth.
“Things like this do happen sometimes. Right, Hye-won?”
He tried to appeal to her. She ignored him.
“If the owner was truly wronged, there would at least be a receipt or medical note. Without evidence of causation, it’s just personal opinion.”
Sang-geun coughed.
“Well, yeah.”
“You should hear the other side too. Animals have many variables.”
At Ji-hyuk’s calm voice, Sang-geun scratched his neck.
“You spread unverified claims with a business name attached, and that can be defamation or obstruction of business for the groomer.”
“I know…”
“Yet you’re influenced by something like that? And you’re a prosecutor?”
Sang-geun wiped his face with his hand.
“Hey… when it comes to your own kid, it’s different. People get emotional.”
That was his excuse.
Then Hye-won delivered the final blow.
“Then Prosecutor Kim Sang-geun, you should pay for today’s meal with all that emotion.”
Ji-hyuk silently raised his glass in victory.
Thinking of the owner of the pet salon.
