Background Investigation 3
Clutching the 128-gig USB drive, she hopped into the car and sped off. There was only one road leading from the rural backroads to the town proper, so it wasn't long before fire trucks and police cars roared past in the opposite direction, hurtling toward the blaze with ferocious urgency. A fire in the mountains could erupt into a full-blown wildfire at any moment—they had to race there like madmen. Hot stares from the folks who got the rawest deal burned into her as she passed; she popped the last bite of croquette into her mouth.
"No spell to transfer the damage to some perp rotting in jail instead?"
Today, too, some violent crimes detective was probably stabbed and force-fed drugs, teetering on the edge of death. Firefighters were out there getting their skulls cracked by falling debris or buried alive when entrances collapsed—and all the while, human rights groups were busy whining about how poor the criminals were. Maybe that was just human nature. Which was exactly why this world was so damn entertaining.
"I gotta make sure I don't turn into one of those. Gotta live right. Right?"
Screech—
There was a little white puppy huddled in a doghouse at the edge of the yard, and she couldn't just leave it behind with no owner around. She snapped a collar on it and plopped it in the passenger seat. It whimpered whine, whine at first, startled by its sudden new owner, but it adapted quick, sniffing around the car curiously. Maybe a Jindo mix—the round face and those slightly aggrieved eyes were adorable. She'd laid down a thick towel just in case, and since it hadn't peed yet, it seemed housebroken enough. Not a purebred, but a mutt, from the looks of it.
"Aigoo, so cute."
Whine! It looked up at her face and let out a big yawn, as if answering. With all sorts of people milling about and no clear owner in sight, having just her face around must've been a relief. She cranked the AC to a comfortably cool temp, sunlight streamed in through the window, and the fluffy towel made for the perfect nap spot.
"Brought you along on a whim... Guess I could just keep you at the office."
She hadn't thought it through when she grabbed it, but now images of buying food, setting up a home, and walking it regularly flooded in, bringing a wave of hassle. Her employee downstairs, Hyeon-a, seemed like she'd handle it fine. Still, basic responsibility as the finder meant calling up an acquaintance's stray dog shelter. Better to let the pros decide than agonize solo.
—
"Whoa, where'd this puppy come from, trotting around like that?"
Well-rested from her vacation, her face practically glowing, Hyeon-a opened the door and peered down at the pup wandering the office with wide-eyed curiosity. In the drab office space, the cute dog stole all her attention from Seo-ah. It tensed briefly at the newcomer, then happily lolled out its tongue in greeting.
"Found it abandoned up in the mountains, so I brought it home. Name's Baek-gu—nice and simple."
"What a dad-joke name. Baek-gu, seriously."
"Rule of thumb: keep pet names short and sweet. Weird ones just confuse 'em."
"Psh, dogs are super smart. I hear they even pick up foreign languages overseas."
"All hype. If they could communicate just by talking, they'd still be lapdogs, not what they are."
"Aigoo, Baek-gu, cover your ears. Boss is badmouthing you."
She scooped up the fluffy white bundle, finally setting down her bags and sinking into the desk chair to boot up the computer. Cradling the furball, she gently stroked it while pulling up searches for dog treats and toys.
"Pup's pretty clean for a stray."
"Took it to the vet, got it bathed and all its shots."
"For real? Didn't peg you for the type, boss. Thought you'd dump it all on me."
"Was thinking about it. Feeding, treats, playtime—sounds like a drag."
"Then pay me hazard pay."
"Company card it is. Do that, and you're banned from petting it for life."
"Wow, what a monster boss. Don't grow up like her—stay pure and innocent, okay?"
She peppered kisses on the puppy's blinking face, then dove right into buying stuff without a second thought. All on the company dime, naturally. Office supplies came with stick coffee, as usual.
"Boss, you check our YouTube channel yet?"
"Nah, never watched it."
"Give it a peek. Not top trending, but it's blowing up in those communities."
"With what?"
"The shaman gig—spotting ghosts and finding missing people. Collab requests are pouring in already. Wanna hit up some abandoned house together?"
"Don't drag me into kid stuff. Doesn't help the agency, no pay either."
She brushed it off halfheartedly while digging into that cult from before. Similar doctrines, gods, other groups—anything pop up in the news? The so-called ocean of info turned up zilch.
"Still, a shoutout from big names boosts visibility. Could land us on broadcast TV if it pops off."
"TV's no biggie. Face out there, and we can't do our job."
She waved off Hyeon-a's starry eyes and scanned the transaction records tied to the cult. Besides the massive cash slush fund, money kept flowing out somewhere. Money laundering? But outflows to Japan didn't jibe. Not worth the deep dive on that alone—too tedious.
Propping her chin, she munched bread she'd bought earlier with her coffee when Hyeon-a's brother finally pushed open the office door after ages.
"I'm here."
Seo-ah and Hyeon-a had come in early; the manager arrived right on time, setting down Choco lattes for them—a thank-you for the family vacation and performance bonus.
He fired up his computer, shrugged off his light coat onto the chair back, then spotted the dog his sister was holding.
"What's with the dog?"
"Boss picked up a stray. Says it'll liven up the dreary office."
"...Huh. Alright."
The shedding fur was iffy, but since he rarely stuck around the office anyway, he let it slide. It reminded him a bit of the country dog back at his parents' hometown place—kinda cute.
"Maybe visit the folks after ages."
"Count me out. All I get there is nagging."
"Wasn't planning to drag you. That's why they keep saying get married already. Want me to hook you up?"
"Cop husbands never come home. Too damn risky."
"Athlete then? Got junior colleagues aplenty."
"Pass. The good ones are all taken."
Seo-ah eyed her employee, who looked at men like they'd sprout chicken feathers. Made her worry all her acquaintances would end up a spinster club. She still recoiled hard at the idea of birthing kids herself, but she was dead certain she'd dote on everyone else's.
From the vibe, though, that personal dream might stay just that.
"Boss, sent the files via email."
"Got 'em. Thanks."
He'd skipped what happened after his tail on the cult—didn't know. She'd whipped up a quick profile on the parents' basics, plus speculation on the celeb kid raking it in, and fired it straight to Father. No middlemen needed for their deal. Instant text back: received, well-organized, satisfied.
"Jumping straight into the next job after this?"
"Yeah. Seems forced marriages via matchmaking were big back in the day."
"Adultery again?"
"I screen out the messy ones, but they keep coming."
"Take a break if it's rough. You're solo-mobile as it is."
"Nah, my work, I handle it."
In a world where specs ruled all, ex-cop—detective no less—was perfect for the info biz. Long career meant connections everywhere for easy assists and solid results. Meant killer instincts on the legal-illegal line, too.
"If solo ops get burdensome, bring on one solid guy. We can swing that."
"I'll think it over."
Pretend all he wanted, going lone wolf was wearing thin. Past forty, infiltrating, surveilling, driving—it'd rack up the wear and tear. She ran the agency on her whims, but with a mega-corp backing her, no cash flow worries. Hence the generous bonuses.
She glanced at his sister, already scheming to film the pup for YouTube shorts.
"Hey, no new cases lined up, right?"
"Nope, nothing official."
YouTube buzz brought poke-and-prod collab pitches galore, but no real clients. Taking on ghost-hunt enthusiasts hawking gadgets for haunted houses? Personally dull. Building collapse seemed the real threat over spooks.