Mudoo - Chapter 11

Part 2: The Backrooms

By the time Park Doona finished up and stepped out of the office, it was 02:30 in the morning.

She knew that by the time she got home, showered, and lay down, it’d be around 03:30— and the thought of getting barely four hours of sleep before waking up to shower and head straight back to work made her chest tighten. She let out a sigh without even realizing it.

How long am I supposed to keep living like this?

Almost as if answering her gloomy thoughts, the light fixtures lining the long hallway flickered. It wasn’t the first time the lights acted up when she worked late, so Doona didn’t think much of it and just stopped in front of the elevator.

She pressed the down button and waited, staring at the little red light indicating that the elevator was on its way up. But just then, the hallway lights gave a sharp pop — and went out all at once.

Startled, Doona glanced around. Except for the faint glow of the elevator button, everything was pitch black. The darkness wrapped around her so thick that she could barely see her own hand.

“What the heck… Don’t do this, seriously…”

A shiver crawled up her arms. She hugged herself and muttered to break the silence. The only thing she could hear was the hum of the elevator machinery somewhere above. Just to calm herself, she started humming a song.

Ding!

“—Twenty-seventh floor.”

The elevator doors opened, and for a second, it felt like she’d just met her savior. She rushed inside, stabbed the button for the lobby, and jabbed the door close button over and over.

Did this building always have a lights-out time?

She decided to ask the security guard at the front desk once she got down — they were supposed to be there 24/7. As she leaned back, she glanced up at the floor display.

It’d been nearly a year since she started commuting to and from this Hoseong Station Knowledge Industry Center, all 32 floors above ground and 5 basement levels of it. Back when she started, she’d liked the place well enough — nice building, lots of good restaurants nearby. But now, the endless workload was grinding her down.

Doona kneaded her stiff shoulder and silently begged the elevator to hurry. But instead of the lobby, the elevator slowly eased to a stop again, dinged, and the doors slid open.

“—Fourth floor.”

For a second, she felt oddly relieved — maybe she wasn’t the only one working this late. But beyond the open doors… There was no one.

Wait a sec. Did this building even have a fourth floor?

Some buildings skipped the number four, marking it ‘F’ instead, because of old superstitions. As far as she knew, this building did too.

Did I imagine that? Doona tilted her head and pressed the close button again. The doors shut with a soft whirr and the elevator started moving — only to stop and ding open once more.

“—Fourth floor.”

“What is this? Seriously…”

Annoyance mixed with unease in her voice as she mashed the close button again and again.

“—Fourth floor.”

But the elevator wouldn’t budge. Her fingertips started to tremble, and a cold chill crawled up her spine. She switched to the emergency call button.

Crackle— hiss— crackle.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

All she got from the speaker was static. Doona refused to give up — maybe someone could still hear her.

“Hello? The elevator’s stuck on the fourth floor. Can someone check—?”

Crackle— hiss— crackle.

“—Fourth floor.”

It was as if the elevator itself was telling her to get out. At least the hallway lights on this floor were still on. Pale light stretched down the empty corridor.

Should I just take the stairs?

She sure wasn’t fixing the elevator herself, and the call button was useless. She didn’t have much choice.

Taking a deep breath, Doona stepped out. The doors slid shut behind her, the glowing number 4 still shining above them. She glanced around — maybe she could just take another elevator? But every other one on this floor had a little sign: Under Maintenance.

“Oh, come on. You’ve got to be kidding me…”

Muttering under her breath, Doona clutched her phone tightly and started walking, looking for the emergency stairs.

Something felt off. She’d heard the competition to lease an office here was fierce, but the whole floor was empty. Maybe the superstition really did scare everyone off.

She actually found herself wishing there’d be someone else stuck working late, just one other light on. But there was nothing. No people. No sign that any office was ever occupied.

Then she heard it.

Click. Clack.

The faint sound of thin heels tapping on the hard floor.

Someone’s here? A person?

Relief washed over her fear for a moment. She quickened her pace toward the sound. When she turned the corner near the stairwell, she saw someone ahead — a woman in a neat suit, walking slowly in high heels.

Thank God!

Her whole body went limp with relief. She nearly burst into tears as she called out, her voice shaky.

“Excuse me! Wait up!”

The woman stopped in her tracks. She didn’t turn around immediately. Her long hair hid her face, but Doona could swear she saw the faint curve of a smile.

A cold shiver swept over her. Something about it felt wrong, but this wasn’t the time to be picky — she needed someone with her. She hurried to catch up to the woman standing there, waiting.

***

“Building a ‘back room’ when putting up a building isn’t that uncommon,” Kang Tae-shin said calmly as he steered the car. They were on their way to the Hoseong Station Knowledge Industry Center after stopping by Seula’s place to grab a few of her things.

“People do hold a ritual before breaking ground, but if the guardian spirit of the land is nasty, that alone doesn’t cut it. Sometimes they mess with the workers during construction, or cause trouble for the people using the building afterward.”

Seula just listened in silence, feeling her heartbeat quicken the closer they got to her first ‘work site.’

“If you make a back room, you’re basically setting aside a space for the spirit to stay. That way, the chance of anyone getting hurt drops significantly. Honestly, most buildings in the middle of Seoul probably have one.”

“That’s… that’s even scarier…”

The thought that all those ordinary buildings she walked into — department stores, shopping malls, hospitals, big corporate offices — might have hidden rooms where people never go made chills run down her spine.

“There’s nothing to be scared of.”

Kang Tae-shin’s mouth curved into a soft smile, clearly meant to reassure her. It didn’t help at all.

His sedan rolled smoothly into the ground-level parking lot of the Hoseong Station Knowledge Industry Center. The navigation voice announced they’d arrived right on cue.

Seula sat frozen in the passenger seat, like a statue, until Kang Tae-shin cut the engine and got out. He walked around the hood and yanked open her door.

“We’re here — you’re not getting out?”

Only then did Seula unbuckle her seatbelt, her face twisted into a helpless frown. She dragged her feet getting out of the car.

The building in front of her was massive. Three towering skyscrapers linked together — that was the Hoseong Station Knowledge Industry Center. Even though it was past ten at night, most of the stores on the first floor were still open, and lights poured from windows all over the complex. Clearly, plenty of people were still at their desks.

“Working late, huh. Did you do that too, back when you were still at your old job?” Kang Tae-shin asked casually, standing next to her and looking up at the building.

“Overtime was a must. Pulling an all-nighter was just a bonus,” Seula said, thinking back to her old workplace, where they were always short on staff and she had to do the work of three people. The only thing that kept her going was the pride that she was helping people in tough situations.

“But how do you even find a ghost in a place this big?” she asked, genuinely curious.

Kang Tae-shin looked down at her, arms folded.

“If I were alone, I’d waste a lot of time, probably.”

“…”

“But thanks to you, I’ll get to clock out early tonight.”

Before she could ask what he meant, he turned and started walking toward the lobby. Seula hurried to stick right behind him, grabbing the edge of his jacket without thinking.

Glancing back at her, Kang Tae-shin let out a short laugh and held out his hand.

“Want me to hold your hand?”