Mudoo - Chapter 2

So the big dog’s name was Dong-gil.

The man handed Seula a cold glass of water, then filled a dog bowl with a mountain of kibble — almost like he was scooping rice. Dong-gil wagged his tail happily and crunched away at his food.

Inside, the house felt way bigger than it had looked from outside the gate. It was a traditional hanok shaped like a ㄷ, with a small garden that was obviously cared for with love.

Seula sipped her water and glanced around — when her eyes caught on something strange.

A peach tree, branches drooping under the weight of plump, ripe peaches.

Peaches? In early winter?

She tilted her head, puzzled — but her feet moved on their own, like something was pulling her closer.

Up close, the peaches looked glossy and perfectly round, so tempting her mouth watered. She wasn’t even someone who liked peaches that much — normally.

Just reach out. Pick one. Just take a bite. One crisp bite and your whole mouth will be filled with sweet juice. You’ll never taste anything like it again. If you miss it now, you’ll regret it forever.

A whisper curled in her ears — she couldn’t tell if it was her own voice or someone else’s.

Is this what Eve felt in front of the forbidden fruit? But this wasn’t Eden, and she wasn’t Eve. It was just… a peach.

Just one bite can’t hurt, right?

She swallowed the saliva gathering in her mouth and reached out — but before her fingers could touch the fruit, someone gently grabbed her wrist.

“We haven’t even introduced ourselves yet.”

“……”

“A bit fast, don’t you think?”

She snapped out of it and turned to look at him. The man still wore that relaxed smile on his lips.

“I’ll let you try that fruit — once we’re a bit closer.”

The whispering in her ear disappeared like it had never been there. She felt a chill run through her. She wasn’t the type to just pick someone’s fruit without asking. She’d been completely out of it for a second.

What was I even doing?

“I’m sorry. It just looked so good, I didn’t realize my hand moved on its own. But… peaches in winter?”

“I’m Kang Tae-shin.”

He cut her off mid-sentence and held out his hand for a shake.

Only then did it hit her — she’d walked right into this stranger’s house, didn’t know his name, and was drinking his water. A little rude, now that she thought about it.

Trying to hide her embarrassment, Seula shook his hand.

“I’m Woo Seula.”

As she pulled her hand back, Tae-shin’s eyes paused on the red rash covering her hand and wrist.

“Mudoo, huh?”

The exact same word the shaman had used made Seula’s eyes go round.

“The shaman said that too! But what exactly is Mudoo? You can fix it, right?”

Tae-shin gently rolled up her sleeve with his long fingers. Every spot he touched made her skin tingle a little — but she told herself it was just part of the checkup and stayed still, letting him see.

“How long has it been like this?”

“About a year. One morning, I just woke up, and my whole body was covered in these red patches.”

“Guess you disturbed the wrong place. What do you do for work? Construction?”

“I used to work for an NGO*. Not anymore, though…”

TL/N: *Non-Governmental Organization.

It wasn’t exactly construction, but she’d worked for a nonprofit that built new houses or fixed up old ones for people in need.

“That’s good work. Why’d you get fired?”

“Well, you know how it goes. The economy tanked, corporate sponsors pulled out, donations dropped — then came the layoffs. I just got caught up in it.”

His focus was so serious — almost solemn — that Seula couldn’t bring herself to say a word. If it weren’t for the fact that this wasn’t a hospital, she’d think she really was seeing a specialist. Her palms turned clammy with sweat as she waited for him to say something, anything — to give her some kind of answer.

After what felt like forever, Tae-shin finally let go of her arm and asked, almost lightly.

“What do you think I do for a living?”

That was exactly what Seula had wanted to ask him from the moment they’d met — so getting the question thrown back at her now made her freeze.

“Well… I don’t know. I mean, the shaman told me to come here, so… maybe a shaman, too?”

“Do you believe in shamans?”

“No.”

“Then why’d you go see Cheonwol Manshin?”

“Cheon… who?”

“The shaman who gave you my address.”

Oh. So that was her name. Cheonwol Manshin.

Seula chewed her lip, feeling pathetic for having to turn to folk magic like this just to get by.

“What was I supposed to do? I had to try something. Everyone said she was legit. The hospitals couldn’t tell me anything — and I can’t live like this forever. So I thought… I’d cling to whatever I could, even a shaman, even ghosts, anything.”

But even that ‘famous’ shaman had basically given up and passed her off to him instead. She’d done everything she could for a whole year, and still nothing — just thinking about it made her vision go blurry. Summers were the worst. The itching, the weeping sores, the burning — and on top of that, the stares from strangers. Even in the middle of a heatwave, she’d have to wear long sleeves, scarves, anything to cover her skin. She’d sweat buckets but couldn’t even roll her sleeves up.

“You can’t fix it either, can you, Kang Tae-shin? The shaman said it too. There’s no way a person can cure Mudoo.”

The word came out with a thin tremor. Desperation made her voice waver. The shaman had been her last resort — if this fell through too, where was she supposed to go next? There was nothing but blank darkness in front of her.

“Mudoo has a smell.”

The quiet tension in the air cracked as Kang Tae-shin suddenly spoke up.

“A… smell? You’re saying it smells?”

Startled, Seula lifted her rash-covered arm to her nose and sniffed at it.

Nothing. Not a whiff. If there was a smell, there was no way she wouldn’t have noticed. She’d scrubbed herself with every fancy body wash and lotion she could get her hands on. If anything, she probably smelled good, not… whatever he was talking about.

“People can’t smell it. It’s a scent that draws in restless spirits.”

Tae-shin added calmly, like he’d just mentioned the weather.

A smell people can’t smell… but ghosts can? Part of her wanted to scoff — does anyone actually believe this stuff? But she’d come this far. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving empty-handed. So she forced down her doubts and met his eyes.

His dark eyes were deep — so deep they seemed to swallow up every thought she had.

“So… what do I do?”

“Carry my scent on you.”

“Excuse me? How exactly do I… carry your scent?”

“Do you trust me?”

They’d just met today. She knew his name, his address, his dog’s name — and that was it. If she were normal, the obvious answer would be no. But somehow, the word wouldn’t come out.

Tae-shin stepped closer. One step was all it took to fill her vision with his broad chest. They were so close she could feel his breath brush her forehead.

There was a scent. Not perfume — not incense, either — just something unique, warm, and strangely familiar. Where have I smelled this before? It felt like something from a long, long time ago, buried deep in her memory.

While her head spun, Taeshin spread his arms wide — and pulled her into them.

“—Are you insane?!”

Seula yelped, squirming in his arms, her whole body stiff with shock.

“Aren’t you even embarrassed in front of Dong-gil?!”

Seula shoved him away with all her strength and glared up at him, her chest heaving.

“What is this — a scam? Mudoo, ghosts, what a joke. You’re in on it with that shaman, aren’t you?”

Taeshin actually backed off without a fight, covering his mouth with one hand as a quiet laugh slipped out.

“I’ll admit — this is a little embarrassing.”

“At least you know that! Who does this to someone they just met?!”

“What did I do wrong? You asked how you’re supposed to carry my scent — so I showed you.”

“You didn’t say it would involve… that!”

“Seeing is believing. Never heard of that?”

She didn’t break eye contact as she grabbed her scarf and angrily wrapped it around her neck, layer after layer. Then she spun on her heel and marched straight for the gate.

Tae-shin, left standing there looking like a villain caught in the act, muttered under his breath,

“You’ll be back.”

“Not a chance!”

“Next time, don’t expect me to be so nice.”

With that, Seula slammed the gate shut behind her. She didn’t look back once as she stormed down the steep hill.