Mudoo - Chapter 35

“The deceased, Yeo Heesoon.”

As the reaper called her real name, Geumhwa, who hadn’t moved a muscle until then, slowly lifted her head. She looked down at her own lifeless body lying in front of her with a face full of regret. She seemed to have a lot to say, but kept her mouth shut.

“Time of death, 20XX, X month X day, 5:58 p.m. Cause of death… huh? Why isn’t the cause of death showing up? Babe, take a look at this. What does it say?”

The reaper elbowed Seula and unfurled a scroll right in front of her face. But instead of Korean or Chinese characters, it was filled with bizarre hieroglyph-like symbols.

“How should I know? If you don’t get it, what makes you think I would?”

The reaper blinked a few times, holding the paper far away, then bringing it close to her face, before finally deciding to just wing it.

“Cause of death… Possession? Ghost sickness? Something like that, probably.”

After she finished reading the rest of the instructions on the scroll, it burst into flames and disappeared into a pile of black ash. The reaper shoved her wireless mic back into her coat and held out a hand to Geumhwa.

“Come on, get up. Time to go.”

Still hugging her knees on the ground, Geumhwa let out a soft sigh.

“I’m not the kind of person who deserves punishment even in the afterlife, am I?”

“Oof, feeling guilty, huh?”

“I’d rather wander the earth and fade away…”

“Don’t say crap like that! You’re gonna bring bad luck!” the reaper barked, cutting her off.

“Can’t you see I’m here to keep you from becoming a restless spirit? If I leave you be, you’ll roam the world, feeding off grudges, becoming a vengeful ghost, harming people, creating more vengeful ghosts, and those ghosts will make more ghosts, and then more ghosts and—damn it!”

The reaper flopped down beside her like a delinquent, eyes blazing.

“The more ghosts there are, the more work I get. Got it? So do me a favor and come quietly, yeah?”

Geumhwa glanced over at Seula. Her soul had lost all of its former energy—no longer just yin energy, but a completely drained, shabby spirit. Watching someone so full of life fall apart like that wasn’t easy.

Seula met her gaze calmly, then suddenly thought of something and turned to the reaper.

“What happens to her body if you take her soul? Won’t things get complicated if this becomes a murder case?”

She and Tae-shin were the last ones to see Geumhwa alive. If there was an investigation, there was no way they’d escape suspicion. Seula was already stressed out by the thought, but the reaper didn’t seem the least bit concerned.

“That’s the Aftermath Department’s problem. Tae-shin always whines about how annoying it is when the cops get involved.”

Basically, she was telling Seula to deal with it herself. Muttering under her breath, the reaper looked almost annoyed.

“First time I’ve seen a case like this—a ghost dying because of divine punishment or whatever. It’s so rare, even the underworld didn’t assign a proper cause of death. The scribes must’ve panicked.”

While grumbling, the reaper grabbed a rope and tied it tightly around Geumhwa’s wrists, then yanked her to her feet. She looked pathetic, like a criminal caught in the act.

“Now get up! If you stall any longer, you’re not getting off easy.”

It was the harshest tone Seula had ever heard from the reaper. Clearly, she hated having her workload pile up.

“If you don’t wanna get tangled up in police messes, you better run. I don’t have time to babysit you.”

Seula found it hard to tear her eyes away from Geumhwa’s body, but she forced herself to let go. They weren’t family. They weren’t even close. She wasn’t responsible for the body.

Still, handing over the dead always left her feeling bitter. Life really was fleeting, and the human body was nothing more than an empty shell.

With a final farewell, the reaper disappeared with Geumhwa.

Seula stood there for a moment, staring at the lifeless body left behind, then quickly got moving.

***

Footsteps echoed through the underground parking lot. Tae-shin walked through the dark, deserted space, heading to a spot as far as possible from the building’s entrance—a cramped corner where you couldn’t even park a car.

The stench was horrible. He hated how familiar it was—he’d smelled it a few times now.

“Back again, huh?”

The black mass darted away, only to reappear in the shape of a woman. With long, loose hair and a white funeral dress, she looked exactly like a ghost from a horror movie.

“Knowledge Industry Center near Hoseong Station, my home study, and now here.”

She used to be a vengeful spirit, driven by deep resentment. But after going around harming people and feeding off their negative energy, she had completely lost her original form and turned into something far worse—an evil spirit.

“You sure like chasing me around.”

“I told you we’d meet again.”

A red gleam flickered in her eyes. What had changed was the pressure she emitted—getting close to her felt like being crushed under double gravity. His body grew heavy, his head throbbed like it would split open.

The ghost noticed too, grinning as she stared at Tae-shin, who was trying hard to keep a straight face.

“Immortality isn’t all that, huh.”

“I’m just a guy who can’t die.”

As he replied, the ghost zipped right up to his face, close enough for their foreheads to touch. Her disgusting breath brushed against his skin, and a chilling air seeped into his clothes.

“I want that woman’s body. If I use her to eat the peaches of immortality, I can live forever, right?”

Whatever she said didn’t matter. He wasn’t listening.

When he’d brushed past the shaman Geumhwa in the banquet hall, he’d caught the ghost’s scent and felt that something bad was going to happen. But he hadn’t expected Seula to get dragged into it again.

Seula had stepped out to use the bathroom and hadn’t come back for a while. Just as he stood up to look for her, Cheonwol Manshin had handed him a talisman.

“It’s written with my bl00d. Keep it just in case.”

Years of serving a blind shaman during his childhood had taught him how to use talismans well enough.

But when he saw Seula pushed to the rooftop edge, being strangled by Geumhwa, rage exploded in him. His gut twisted so badly he wanted to strangle Geumhwa back.

Tae-shin kept his cool with sheer willpower. If he lost control now, Seula would be the one to get hurt.

He’d managed to pull the evil spirit away from her, but now it was circling him like a predator, slowly squeezing the life out of him.

“I love seeing that look of pain on your face. Your screams are like a siren’s song. Watching a body go limp after losing all will to live—gives me chills.”

She whispered in his ear. The pain was unbearable—like a sharp awl digging into his temples. His legs felt like they’d snap.

He fumbled at his chest and grabbed the charm the fox had given him. Seula had said it looked good with his outfit and made sure he wore it. Who would’ve guessed it’d actually come in handy?

He grabbed the ghost’s chin and forced her mouth open, then shoved the charm with the square talisman into it.

KAAAAAH! KAAAK! K-KACK!

The ghost’s eyes flew wide as she let out horrific sounds and vomited black bl00d. Smoke poured out from where the charm touched her insides. Her human form began to blur.

Her limbs vanished. Her face distorted. The figure melted back into a black mass, writhing against the charm that held her in place.

A damp, sticky wind blew through the garage. The ghost, torn apart and clinging to the air, finally scattered in the breeze and disappeared.

“……”

Only then did Tae-shin collapse to the ground, all strength gone. He wasn’t a god or a shaman. Trying to exorcise an evil spirit had drained every last ounce of his energy. His eyelids grew heavy. Even sitting up was too much now, and he slumped flat on the garage floor.

“Kang Tae-shin! Wake up!”

He heard Seula’s voice faintly in the distance. Slowly, he cracked open his eyes. Her face gradually came into focus. She was looking down at him, eyes swimming with worry. He couldn’t help but chuckle weakly.

“I can’t drive right now,” Tae-shin whispered with barely moving lips.

“Then… wanna rest a bit before we go?”