Dollargut Dream Department Store 0: The Story of Dollargut and the Shepherd Boy

Author Lee Mi-ye · Publisher Factory Nine · Published 2026-07-01 · ISBN 9791124575178

About the Book

"At last, Dollagoot's magical past is revealed!"
Before the current 'Dollagoot's Dream Department Store' came into existence,
the thrilling adventures and surprising secrets of a young Dollagoot.

Selling over 2 million copies and creating a 'Dream Department Store' syndrome, Lee Mi-ye's representative work, "Dollagoot's Dream Department Store," now culminates its grand and fantastical series with a prequel covering the stories before it. This new book is particularly significant as it solidifies the roots of the 'Dream Department Store' worldview and completes hidden puzzles. Among the many shops that sell dreams, 'Dollagoot's Dream Department Store' is a landmark and a time-honored dream shop, frequented by the most customers. Its owner, Dollagoot, treats every customer with sincerity and expertly prescribes dreams. What would he have been like in his younger, less experienced days?
This work, which depicts the origin of the current 'Dream Department Store' and the veiled youth of 'Dollagoot,' dramatically portrays the old, shabby shop from long ago and the adventures of a young, fresh-faced Dollagoot struggling and growing there. It invites readers into the astonishing story, long hidden, of how Dollagoot, respected by all, became the true owner of the Dream Department Store.

This story is a record from about 50 years ago, before Dollagoot inherited the shop from his parents. At that time, the name 'Dollagoot's Dream Department Store' did not exist; instead, people had long called the place 'The Third Disciple's Time-Honored Shop.' This story begins precisely at that point.
_ From the text

"What was the son's name of that house, again... Oh, Dollagoot!"
A vanished mother, immense debt, and insomnia.
A crisis for Dollagoot and the temptation of 'dangerous dreams'.

After his father passed away, Dollagoot was helping his mother run 'The Third Disciple's Time-Honored Shop.' One day, his mother suddenly disappeared. At just nineteen, he was left alone to guard the shop and search tirelessly for his mother's whereabouts. To make matters worse, it was revealed that his mother had borrowed a large sum of money with the shop as collateral before she vanished. If he couldn't repay the debt quickly, the shop itself was at risk. Moreover, he had a fatal weakness: severe insomnia. In a place where dreams and sleep were paramount, it was nearly impossible for Dollagoot to find a suitable job, and as the rumors spread, villagers began to shun him.
With his mother suddenly gone and the shop on the verge of being lost, Dollagoot was pushed to the brink. Then, a 'sheep-counting dream'—said to help anyone sleep soundly—came into his hands. In this dream, Dollagoot encountered a strange black sheep and a shepherd boy. The black sheep, claiming to be a wolf, made an enigmatic remark about knowing why Dollagoot couldn't sleep, then swallowed him whole. Dollagoot awoke with a gasp. Though it was an eerie and unpleasant dream, he was thrilled to have slept for over four hours for the first time in his life, and he found himself increasingly drawn to the temptation of dangerous dreams. However, following his mother's trail to Santa Claus's perennial snow-capped mountains, he discovered suspicious traces. Dollagoot began to worry if his mother was behind these dangerous dreams. Could she have created dangerous dreams to cure her son's insomnia? If so, why did she disappear, and where is she now?

The man turned his head to answer, then froze when he saw Dollagoot's face.
"Honey, don't come near! Take the kids and go far away. It's him. The son of the vanished Symphony's... 'The Third Disciple's Time-Honored Shop'!"
When the man shouted at his wife, she recoiled in surprise, covering her mouth with her sleeve. Dollagoot was unfazed. It had happened so often recently that it felt like a mundane greeting.
"It's okay. Insomnia isn't contagious. My friend, who's with me every day, falls asleep the moment his head hits the pillow."
_ From the text

"So sleep well. You'll have a very good dream."
Dollagoot's astonishing past and heartwarming secrets finally revealed.
The first and last story to mark the finale of a fantastical series.

From the stair shop on the steep hillside, the perennial snow-capped mountains where Santa Claus's funeral takes place, the vast plains within the 'sheep-counting dream,' to the paper house, the mysterious places Dollagoot visits in search of his disappeared mother, and the events that unfold there, make his journey all the more thrilling. While the previous work centered on episodes of customers visiting the department store every night, this prequel unfolds along a meticulously crafted, organic storyline, deepening the narrative. The fast-paced story, set within a solidly built unique world, offers readers an immersive experience that keeps their eyes glued to the pages. Furthermore, the unexpected appearance of familiar characters from 50 years ago presents readers who remember the previous work with the exciting joy of a hidden picture game.
The moment Dollagoot finally realizes the hidden reason for his inability to sleep and his surprising secret, he earns the right to be reborn as the true 'heir of the Third Disciple.' What enables him to stand tall amidst the whirlwind of truth is nothing but familial love and his sincere devotion to dreams. This also connects to the answer to the question "What is a dream?" that the 'Dream Department Store' series has posed for a long time.
Author Lee Mi-ye, through the prequel "Dollagoot's Dream Department Store 0: The Story of Dollagoot and the Shepherd Boy," which tells Dollagoot's magical journey of confronting his inner pain, turning crisis into opportunity, and becoming the owner of the Dream Department Store, does not merely list past anecdotes but shows us a deeper dimension of the world we loved. The author says, "Sleep is the only time to accept and restore myself," and wishes readers the blessing of gentle sleep every night, much like Dollagoot greets his customers. Although the story of the 'Dream Department Store' concludes here, the infinite world that truly begins the moment one closes their eyes will still remain.

It is not closing the door to a world, but rather, with the feeling of delivering a complete world into the hands of our readers, that I look back on this journey. I extend my deepest respect to all readers who have graciously accompanied me on this final step to discovering Dollagoot's roots.
_ From "Author's Note"

Table of Contents

Chapter 0: The Beginning of the Story
Chapter 1: The Harmonious Couple
Chapter 2: Dollagoot
Chapter 3: The Old Woman and the Blue Bundle
Chapter 4: The Sheep-Counting Dream
Chapter 5: Noctiluca with a Severed Tail
Chapter 6: Santa Claus's Funeral
Chapter 7: The Black Tree
Chapter 8: The Lying Shepherd Boy
Chapter 9: Mr. Marlon's Cheerful House
Chapter 10: The Last Inheritance

Author's Note