A Tiger Rolled Into My Life, Bringing Chaos With It - Chapter 29

The sky was gloomy.

Dark clouds clung together, forming a heavy ceiling overhead, while a slightly damp feeling mixed in with the breeze. The ambiguous weather, which seemed like it might rain or might not, frequently directed the gazes of many shifters toward the sky. The employees of the Grooming Shop, including Tinya, were no exception.

Should I go home? Or not? Go? Not go?

Pupu, who could predict the next day’s weather but not the exact time, kept glancing at the sky like his employees. It was awkward because whenever he was about to close, another customer would arrive.

Tinya, who had been idle since serving a small fox customer in the morning, was stretched out on a sofa near the window inside the container. With no customers for hours, her body naturally relaxed, and her head gradually dulled in the humid air.

When rainy days approach, the lowered air pressure typically causes shifters to display a languid excitement. In the past, her tight financial situation had suppressed her instincts, but these days, with her improved circumstances, she unconsciously surrendered to her hormones.

Just before becoming one with the sofa, Pupu’s voice flowed from the voice receiver built into the container.

(“Tinya. A customer requesting you has arrived. It’s a two-hour course, and they’ll be coming in 5 minutes, so get ready.”)

Tinya bolted upright. A customer? The current time was 3 PM. On a clear day, 3 PM customers wouldn’t be uncommon, but on such a cloudy day, this time slot was usually empty. A two-hour course meant a large species. With 5 PM being closing time, it was somewhat tight. Tinya hurriedly gathered her comb storage box and went out.

Just as she finished moving her supplies and setting up, the door opened. Through the dim outdoor light, a massive silhouette slowly revealed itself.

It was a male lion.

Solid shoulders nearly brushed the doorframe as he passed through. The eyes revealed beyond his mane were clear, unlike the cloudy weather, and his short, suppressed breath pressed heavily on the space, matching his size. Just by looking at him, Tinya momentarily froze from the sense of intimidation. The hair on her arms reflexively stood on end.

She quietly inhaled, trying to calm herself first. Though the face was unfamiliar, she could guess who it was.

‘So this is Leona’s brother.’

There was no other male lion who would seek out Tinya specifically. She walked calmly and greeted him respectfully.

“Hello. I’m Tinya, who will be serving you today…”

“Are you the Tinya my sister has been praising to no end?”

The voice that came back was strangely hostile. Deep yellow sclera and vertical black pupils within them gazed at her indifferently. Though he wasn’t glaring, it sent chills down her spine.

‘She said he wouldn’t harm me. Just don’t mention that he’s unpopular.’

Tinya recalled Leona’s words, clenching and unclenching her trembling hands to ease her tension. She carefully chose her words to avoid criticism and answered meekly.

“I’m honored that she spoke so highly of me. I’m the one who has received much help from Leona.”

“Seeing that she introduced me, so you could earn money, that’s not wrong.”

A tough customer. With such clients, it was better to quietly complete the work rather than engage in much conversation.

“I’m grateful. If it’s not presumptuous, may I guide you to your seat?”

“Go ahead.”

He lifted his head proudly. Even through her fear, Tinya noticed his terribly tangled mane. It had elasticity but was roughly intertwined, with foreign matter visible between the tightly curled strands. In some places, clumps of fur were matted together in multiple layers.

‘I should use a knot-specific tweezer comb rather than a wooden pin brush. The first course should start with moisture management.’

Seeing such a completely neglected state after a long time, her mind automatically organized the types of combs and cleansing routines. Switching to work mode seemed to slightly diminish her fear. Tinya took a deep breath and led the way.

And in one second, she snapped out of her delusion. What diminished fear? The lumbering footsteps behind her even triggered imaginary terror, making her knees tremble more. Tinya unconsciously quickened her pace.

“Y-you can sit here.”

Fortunately, they reached the mat quickly. She guided the male lion to the mat that she had cleaned after serving one customer. The lion took his seat with a careless thud. The wind went “whoosh,” and Tinya’s hair fluttered. She gulped. She hadn’t been this scared of a customer from the beginning since the tiger or bear customers.

“I was told I needed at least two hours for my size, so I booked it, but that doesn’t mean I actually want to spend the full two hours. I’m a very busy person.”

“Pardon? Then…”

“Cut it to 90 minutes or less.”

Tinya screamed internally. Saying his size required “at least two hours” meant that even two hours would be tight. But 90 minutes? She would have to skip several courses or leave some areas completely untouched.

“Um, if we do that, there might be parts that won’t be properly groomed.”

“I don’t care how it turns out. You’re only doing this as a favor to my sister, right? Just go through the motions. Only to the extent that fits 90 minutes. Understand?”

No matter what, she couldn’t do a sloppy job when Leona, a long-time regular, might see it. Moreover, since her reputation was at stake, poor results could spread bad rumors to other customers. But in front of the fierce-eyed lion, Tinya’s courage was far too small.

“…I understand.”

There was no choice. She had to put out the most urgent fire first. Since the mane was the most noticeable, that part at least needed the full course. The time for grooming his back would be reduced, but she had to accept that.

Tinya took out the prepared tweezer-type knot brush and carefully reached for his mane. The fur that touched her fingertips was, unlike its appearance, stiffened with several layers curled and stuck together all the way to the roots. To minimize irritation, Tinya gently separated the fur with her hands before starting to remove the knots.

As the brush moved through his fur, the male lion slightly turned his head.

“I don’t understand why anyone gets this done. If it weren’t for my sister, I would…”

Passing over his discontented muttering with an awkward smile, Tinya immediately moved to the next knot. The process of gradually untangling the tightly knotted fur with the tweezer brush was quite labor-intensive. Since the fur was close to his face, applying the wrong pressure could cause pain, so her fingertips became even more careful.

“How many times do you need to brush one mane?”

“It-it’s very tangled… And to give it shine, one brushing isn’t enough…”

“How tangled can it be? You’re in my way standing there, so finish quickly.”

“…Yes. I’ll finish as quickly as possible.”

The growling lion’s face was so frightening that Tinya had to use all her strength just to keep her hands from shaking. Inwardly repeating Leona’s words that he wouldn’t harm her, she barely managed to gather her composure. Fearing that even small movements might be criticized, her hand movements became even more respectful.

After sorting out the knots, she used a wooden pin brush to establish the overall flow, then carefully pressed with a dry towel to remove moisture. The groomed fur began to flow smoothly. Tinya lowered her head and dispensed finishing oil onto her hand. She let her hand glide along the direction of the mane’s grain several times, and finally brushed it once more to tidy any sharp ends.

Once the mane was roughly organized, more than 40 minutes had already passed. Tinya hurriedly moved to his back. To make the broad back shine in a short time, the best approach was to brush it once with a large comb and then with a denser medium-sized comb.

Tinya moved diligently. As the soft bristles swept across his back, the lion seemed to become drowsy and rested his chin on his front paws. His eyes slowly closed.

Had he fallen asleep briefly?

“Sir, we’re finished.”

At the quiet wake-up call, he opened his eyes with a start. When did he fall asleep? Displeased at having momentarily relaxed, he frowned. As he abruptly stood up, the mat shifted slightly. He turned his neck with a crack and shook his shoulders once.

“There’s a mirror if you’d like to check.”

“No need.”

Responding indifferently, he really left without even glancing at the mirror, lumbering outside.

“Thank you for coming. Please get home safely.”

There was no response to Tinya’s farewell.

Only after the lion’s body had completely disappeared from view did Tinya collapse into her seat. The corners of her mouth quietly turned up. This was somewhat different from a smile. It was a trace of relief that it was finally over and gratitude that it had concluded this well. The smell of oil remaining on her hands now strongly wafted up.

It had been a long time since she felt this tired. Perhaps because she couldn’t relax despite no direct threats, her body had been tense for the entire 90 minutes. Some part of her body would surely be stiff tomorrow.

Drop.

Something touched her forehead. Tinya looked up.

Drop, drop.

It had started raining. Tinya hurriedly gathered her combs and put them inside the container, then came back out to sweep up the fallen fur on the mat with a broom. The drizzle-like raindrops gradually soaked the ground.

When she quickly finished cleaning up the fur and went inside, parts of her clothes were wet. Brr. Tinya shook her body to dispel the moisture and moved the comb storage box onto the desk.

“After all that hard work, it just had to rain.”

How could it start raining right after she finished? Thinking about the carefully groomed mane getting completely soaked in the rain brought a wave of bitterness. The irony was that the lion himself probably wouldn’t even care.