Chapter : 3. My Goodness
“…No, this is…”
Dasol searched for an excuse, then pressed her lips together.
The man was right about everything. Mongi had been the one completely harassing him.
“You’ll have to be more careful from now on. Small mistakes, if repeated, eventually become big problems.”
They said a person’s patience had a daily limit.
She knew she was the one at fault. But maybe because that earlier customer had already exhausted all her patience…
She felt wronged, too.
Before she knew it, the words slipped out.
“…I know I should apologize, but when you say it like that, it sounds like you’ve already decided I’m the kind of person who’d brush something like this off and end up causing trouble again. Honestly, it doesn’t feel very good to hear.”
“I didn’t say it to make you feel good.”
Dasol frowned as irritation surged inside her.
“Then did you say it to make me feel bad?”
“No. I’m simply stating what I see. It has nothing to do with emotions.”
Even though she knew she was in the wrong, the man’s calm, emotionless response somehow annoyed her even more.
She let out a quiet sigh and searched for something to say, but perhaps sensing the conversation was about to turn into an emotional argument, the man gave a slight nod of farewell and turned away.
“Wait.”
Her feelings were one thing.
She still had to see this through.
She would probably never meet him again, but wrong was wrong.
“Excuse me, at least let me pay for the dry cleaning—”
“It’s fine.”
He cut her off bluntly and strode away.
Calling after his retreating back, Dasol said,
“No, wait! At least take my business card—”
He never even looked back.
Watching the tall man with his broad shoulders disappear into the distance, Dasol let out a deep sigh.
Today had been nothing but bad luck.
A nightmare customer during the day, and now this unpleasant incident in the evening.
Of course, this time she had been the one at fault.
“Mongi, what was it about that guy that made you mount him and mark him? You’re a male too, aren’t you? Or did your competitive instincts kick in because you wanted to dominate him?”
The elderly Shih Tzu simply stuck out his tongue and panted pitifully.
“Phew. At least he didn’t kick you.”
After a brief pause, she muttered quietly,
“But he really was handsome. His personality wasn’t great, though. Right?”
Giving Mongi a good rub all over, Dasol resumed her walk.
This time she kept a firm grip on Mongi’s leash all the way to her grandmother’s house.
The next day.
A meeting had been called in the Chief Prosecutor’s office.
Jihyeok sat to the right of the Chief Prosecutor, whose expression was stern. Four other prosecutors were also present.
“Prosecutor Jang, give us the briefing.”
“We’ve identified a four-story building in a residential neighborhood as the headquarters of a drug distribution ring.”
Holding up a map of the area surrounding the Prosecutors’ Office, Jihyeok pointed to a specific location with his long index finger.
“Those crazy bastards. You’re saying it’s in a residential area not even that far from the Prosecutors’ Office? How did they avoid getting caught? Is that even possible?”
The Chief Prosecutor pushed his glasses up and asked.
“The commercial building sits along an eight-lane main road. There are no crosswalks or bus stops nearby, and the road connects directly to a bridge, so foot traffic is extremely low. Because of that, the area mainly consists of businesses people visit with a specific purpose—auto repair shops, vehicle tuning shops, interior design stores, and the like.”
Lowering the map and then raising it again, Jihyeok tapped the key location with his pen.
“This guitar academy on the fourth floor of this small building.”
“There was a music academy there? I drive through that road sometimes, and I’ve never noticed it.”
The Chief Prosecutor nodded in understanding.
“The suspect couldn’t identify the exact location, but it’s near the place he indicated. The unusually high percentage of adult male students, the convenience of transporting the goods inside guitar cases, and the fact that it’s the only business in the area that’s supposedly closed all suggest this is the most likely location.”
Prosecutor Jang Jihyeok and the police had already completed a thorough investigation.
Listening to Jihyeok’s logical deductions and convincing explanations, the Chief Prosecutor nodded repeatedly.
“We also questioned nearby residents, and several mentioned that the number of students at the academy had increased. That confirms it.”
Prosecutor Jang Jihyeok had transferred from the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division to the Violent Crimes Investigation Division in January of this year.
They had worked incredibly hard to bring him over.
The Chief Prosecutor’s face was filled with satisfaction.
“Prosecutor Jang, you’ll take command at the scene immediately. Prosecutor Park will go with you. We don’t know where those junkies might run, so watch yourselves.”
Solsol Pet Salon
Dasol was bathing a Pomeranian that had been groomed to look like a teddy bear.
She gently dried it with a towel before picking up the hair dryer.
“Ooooh. Such a good job, Bokshil.”
Her gentle voice spread warmly throughout the shop.
Whenever she groomed or bathed dogs, Dasol always called them by name, praised them, and talked to them.
It was both a personal rule and a belief she had developed over the years.
You could call it communication.
“Bokshil, it’s hard, isn’t it? Just hang in there a little longer. You’re such a pretty girl.”
As she dried the dog’s damp fur, she repeatedly called its name in a soft voice, comforting it.
Many dogs hated the drying process just as much as the bath itself.
Or rather—
They hated the giant machine.
Professional pet salon dryers produced deafening noise and unbelievably powerful airflow, so most dogs absolutely despised them.
Some growled as if facing a monster.
Others squealed in terror with tears streaming down their faces.
In the end…
After years of experience, Dasol had finally mastered the technique.
She gave the dog a treat, turned the dryer to a gentle setting, and slowly began from the back.
Then the sides.
The front came last.
She always kept the dryer as far away as possible.
It took longer, but because of that approach, the canine customers at Solsol Pet Salon rarely hated getting their fur dried.
Ding.
The bell above the shop door rang.
Poking her head out through the open doorway leading from the grooming room, Dasol looked toward the entrance.
It was Yumi, the nurse from the animal hospital next door—Dokgo Animal Hospital.
Sticking her backside out and bending forward, Yumi hurried inside.
“Dasol! Bathroom!”
“The hospital bathroom clogged again?”
“Yup!”
Grabbing the restroom key, Yumi dashed out.
A little while later, she returned, rubbing her stomach with an incredibly relieved expression.
“Whew… I thought I was going to die.”
“Your bathroom gets clogged all the time.”
“Ugh, it’s so annoying. I was about to use the men’s restroom, but a customer went in, so I had to run over here.”
Imagining the whole scene, Dasol laughed.
Yumi shook her head as if she didn’t even want to think about it anymore and unwrapped a piece of candy.
“Hey, did you hear about the commotion down the road earlier?”
“What commotion?”
Dasol replied while continuing to dry Bokshil’s fur with the low setting.
“One of our customers told me there were a bunch of police cars lined up along that eight-lane road.”
“There? Why?”
“I don’t know the details, but apparently a whole group of detectives got out.”
“Oh my. A robbery? A murder? Something like that?”
“The customer only stopped to look for a moment, but they said it had something to do with drugs.”
“Drugs? Oh my goodness… It’s just like a movie!”
Dasol immediately switched off the dryer and listened intently.
“So were they selling drugs there? Is there even a place like that around here?”
“How would I know? I’m not much of a detective. The customer said the officers went up to… a guitar academy, I think.”
“A guitar academy? Well, that makes sense. Those places usually have guitar signs on the windows, so nobody would think twice. And with the soundproofing, you wouldn’t hear anything either. Wow… that’s scary.”
A bright, intelligent gleam appeared in Dasol’s eyes as she naturally began piecing things together.
“Oh! That actually makes sense! As expected of Jin Dasol. They don’t call me ‘Sol-lock Holmes’ for nothing. I’m impressed by your detective skills.”
Clap. Clap.
Yumi applauded playfully.
“Anyway, they’ve got some nerve. The police station and the Prosecutors’ Office are both right around here.”
My goodness.
Wasn’t this exactly the kind of situation that happened in so many movies?
Even in the film To You, Who Are Afraid, there had been a scene where drug criminals fought the police near the café run by the female lead.
It was frightening…
But at the same time, it made her curious.
She was itching to search online to see whether it had already made the news.
Still, Bokshil had only just calmed down, and the drying was nearly finished.
She decided she’d look it up after she was done.
“They’ll have caught everyone by the time we go over there later, right?”
“Why? You want to see it for yourself?”
Dasol nodded.
Yumi chuckled.
“Well… since I went to the bathroom… Oh! Imagine if the suspect escaped and ran over here. Just like in a crime movie. Hehe. Anyway, I’d better get going. Have a good one.”
“You too.”
Dasol apologized to Bokshil for making her wait and gently patted her head.
Then she glanced at the clock on the wall.
4:30 p.m.
She smiled with satisfaction.
She was going to finish thirty minutes earlier than expected.
At that moment, a loud noise came from outside.
Tilting her head, Dasol assumed it was nothing important and switched the dryer back on.
A few moments later—
Ding.
The bell above the door rang.
Then came the sound of wood splintering…
Followed by the crash of something large hitting the floor.
Dasol immediately turned toward the entrance.
