Mudoo - Chapter 14

Other than Park Doona, the three of them exchanged looks like they’d planned it. But none of them spoke — each for a different reason.

Seula had no idea how to comfort a ghost who’d just realized she was dead. Kang Tae-shin stayed quiet in case he lost the spirit he’d worked so hard to catch. And the reaper looked like she’d lost her words because, really, what ghost didn’t know they were dead?

“W-Why me? I-I didn’t do anything wrong! All I did was work hard — why am I dead?!”

Park Doona clenched her fists and screamed. Dark smoke started rising from her feet.

“Whoa, whoa, hey! You can’t be doing that. Relax. Breathe. Okay?”

The reaper shot out a hand, trying to calm her down. But the smoke only thickened, wrapping around Park Doona until she was shrouded in it.

The reaper scowled like she’d just bitten into something sour.

“See? This is why I say we need to send them off before the grudges get worse. Ugh. Can’t catch a break.”

She dug inside her cloak and pulled out a scroll and — of all things — a bright pink wireless mic.

Why does she have that?

Seula gawked at the mic like it was an alien artifact, but the reaper didn’t give her time to wonder.

“Hey, babe — hold this for me.”

She shoved the mic at Seula, who awkwardly held it up to the reaper’s mouth. The reaper cleared her throat and started reading from the scroll.

“Deceased: Park Doona. Time of death: 20XX, XX month, X day, 2:41 a.m. Cause of death: acute heart attack due to overwork. It’s a long story, but blah blah blah, cross the Samdocheon River, get judged seven times till your forty-ninth day ceremony, you know the drill.”

The second she finished, the scroll burst into flames and crumbled into black ash. The dark smoke around Park Doona scattered into the wind along with it.

The reaper stuffed the mic back into her cloak and added,

“Hard to believe, but you already had a funeral. They searched everywhere for your spirit. No one knew you were stuck there this whole time.”

Park Doona just stared at the ground, empty, as if she didn’t have the strength to cry anymore. Seeing that, the reaper’s expression softened for the first time.

“I’d let you say goodbye to your family and wrap things up if we had time, but… you’ve been stuck so long, you’re cutting it close. Even if we leave right now, we’re barely on time.”

Park Doona didn’t move an inch. The reaper shot Seula and Kang Tae-shin a silent help me look. They both pretended not to notice, so she covered her mouth with one hand and whispered,

“…What do I do now?”

“How should we know?”

Seula whispered right back, just loud enough for the reaper to hear.

Kang Tae-shin watched Park Doona for a moment, then pulled something from his coat and stepped forward.

“Want a smoke?”

It was a cigarette.

Park Doona sniffled and nodded. Kang Tae-shin placed it between her lips and flicked his lighter.

She inhaled deeply — so deep her cheeks hollowed out — and the tip glowed orange as the paper burned. She slowly exhaled, smoke curling around her like a final sigh.

Seula, Kang Tae-shin, and the reaper stayed silent until she finished the whole thing.

“…I’ll go now.”

Park Doona flicked the last ash off the filter, like she was brushing off the last pieces of regret stuck to her.

“Ready?”

The reaper stretched her arms, cracked her neck, then yawned as she turned to Park Doona.

“Wait.”

This time, it was Kang Tae-shin who blocked the reaper’s path. She blinked, surprised.

“What is it, babe? Got business with me?”

“There’s something else in there.”

He pointed his chin back at the building. The reaper’s eyes flicked that way, then rolled in an exaggerated circle as she clicked her tongue.

“That’s a job for the Evil Spirit Task Force. Not my department.”

She even shrugged, like she couldn’t care less.

“But hey, good luck. It’ll take them ages to clear it out — the world’s full of nasty stuff lately, you know?”

At the words Evil Spirit Task Force, Seula’s lips twitched into a strained line.

So there really was something else in there?

— ‘I saw a woman… She looked terrifying… She smiled at me… like she was so happy…’

Park Doona’s frightened words came back to her. So that was the evil spirit?

Seula wanted to ask, but Park Doona had already steeled herself. She looked ready to leave. What good would it do to scare her more now? There was nothing Seula could do anyway.

“I’m off then. See you around, babe. You too, cutie.”

The reaper linked arms with Park Doona and wagged her fingers at Seula and Kang Tae-shin.

Seula forced the fakest smile of her life in reply — she really, really hoped they’d never meet again.

Just like that, the reaper and Park Doona vanished. All that remained was the faint, bitter smell of cigarette smoke drifting on the dawn breeze.

***

“Hey! You gonna sleep forever or what?!”

Seula jerked awake, rubbing her eyes as a loud yell rang out. A moment later, she heard Dong-gil scratching the door with his fat little paw.

“The sun’s already up, up, up!”

Of course it was — she’d collapsed into bed just before dawn, completely wiped out.

Half-opening her eyes, Seula fumbled for her phone, checked the time, then slammed her face back into her pillow with an annoyed groan.

“It’s only eight-thirty!”

Seula groaned. He said the sun was up like it was already noon! Clearly, the talking dog still hadn’t figured out how to tell time.

“Laziness… laziness is the original sin, you know!”

Dong-gil kept scratching the door with his dull little paw, refusing to give up.

Seula had never had anyone nag her in her life — she never imagined her first nagging would come from a dog.

In the end, she dragged a hand down her face, stomped over, and yanked the door open.

“Just wait till you fall asleep. You’re dead.”

She bared her teeth at Dong-gil, then stormed into the bathroom.

***

“I feed you, give you a warm bed, and even pay you.”

Kang Tae-shin’s soft voice drifted over as Seula sat curled up in a rocking chair by the fireplace, reading a book. He was leaning lazily against the doorway, looking annoyingly smug.

“So tell me — what do you give me in return?”

Seula flinched. No matter how you spun it, she was completely living off Kang Tae-shin right now. She scratched her cheek, feeling it get oddly warm, and racked her brain for an answer.

“You said I have a talent, remember?”

Thank god she thought of something.

“That smell that attracts stray spirits. You need it, don’t you?”

Kang Tae-shin let out a short laugh, like he couldn’t believe her. He crossed the room and perched on the sofa next to her chair.

“And you were very useful last night, weren’t you?”

When he’d suddenly told her to split up on the 32nd floor of that office building, she’d nearly lost it. Getting trapped in that back room? She still didn’t know how she’d made it through.

She could barely believe she’d talked to a ghost — and met a reaper dressed like some edgy idol.

“Take me with you next time! Take me too!”

Dong-gil burst in from the yard, paws muddy, tail wagging like crazy.

Well, she still couldn’t believe she was living with a talking dog either.

“A dog should stay home and guard the house.”

Kang Tae-shin shot Dong-gil an indifferent glance as he spoke.

Of course, that set Dong-gil off. He started hopping around in circles, ears twitching like he’d just been gravely insulted.

“You don’t know my worth! You don’t know my true worth!”

Seula had no idea what Dong-gil’s “worth” actually was — but honestly, she didn’t want to get tangled up in this weird world any deeper than she already was.

All she wanted was for Kang Tae-shin to fix her sight for good someday — and seal up her spiritual eye again. She’d help him out until then, but that was it.

Well… maybe she did want a bit more. Like… enough money to finally get her own place.

When she’d checked her bank account that morning, she’d nearly choked. If I do this job ten more times, I could even buy my own apartment. Okay, she’d still need a loan — but still!

Seula pulled her blanket all the way up to her chin and pictured a rosy future. A little apartment, just big enough for herself and a cat she’d adopt from a shelter. Cozy and quiet. Perfect.

So why was it so cold…?

It was winter, so being cold made sense. But she’d been sitting in front of the fireplace for ages, the floor was warm, and the fire was crackling nicely — she should have been toasty by now.

Something felt off.

Her eyelids got heavy, her vision started to blur. She could barely make out Kang Tae-shin bickering with Dong-gil, who was now barking his head off — but their voices faded until they sounded far, far away.