Mudoo - Chapter 48

They say humans can be the cruelest of all—and it wasn’t wrong.

She had all but forgotten about the Mudoo curse, yet now the pain she’d suffered back then came rushing back, vivid and raw. Her whole body burning so hot she couldn’t bear to touch it, itching so badly she writhed in agony—only for it to vanish without warning. The red blotches mottling her skin had been enough to drain the life out of her with every glance.

A whole year she’d endured that strange, nameless skin disease.

Kang Tae-shin stood before Seula, face as calm as ever.

“The fish-shaped buns…”

She gave a short, incredulous laugh.

“You really have no shame.”

“Forget whatever Dong-gil said. Holding onto it won’t do you any good.”

“That’s exactly what you want, isn’t it?”

She had never once imagined all of this was Tae-shin’s doing—yet she’d been foolish enough to give him both her heart and her body. The betrayal made her shake. Her chest throbbed with rage-tinged grief.

“All this time, I must’ve been a joke to you. Watching me smile like an idiot, clueless, while you had me dancing in the palm of your hand… Was that fun for you?”

“Never.”

“Incredible. To lie so cleanly—your skin must be thick as a wall. For what? What did you get out of mocking me like this?”

Tae-shin tilted his head back and let out a long breath. She was the one suffocating, yet he wore the look of someone swallowing back his words.

“Seula.”

He reached for her. She jerked back, eyes sharp.

“Don’t touch me.”

“…”

“Don’t so much as lay a finger on me.”

Looking into his eyes, she couldn’t stop trembling—because she knew he was seeing not her, but Yeo-ok.

Whether she was Yeo-ok, or Yeo-ok’s reincarnation, she didn’t care.

For more than twenty years, she had clawed her way through life as Woo Seula—driven by a single determination to live shoulder-to-shoulder with ordinary people.

And now this man, Kang Tae-shin, had never once truly seen her. He’d been looking at Yeo-ok all along. The thought made her bl00d boil.

She turned to leave the house.

Bang!

The gate slammed shut with a deafening crack that made her shoulders jolt.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

His low voice slid past her ear.

“You only come to me when you need something. And when I’m no use to you anymore, you toss me aside without a second thought. That hasn’t changed.”

Seula gripped the gate handle and yanked with all her strength—but it didn’t budge.

“I’ve got limits too. Did you think you could just walk in and out of this place forever?”

“…Open it.”

Tae-shin’s footsteps crunched in the sand as he slowly approached her from behind.

“Open the gate!”

Her voice cracked, hoarse, splitting the air.

Tae-shin, unnervingly calm, reached over her and covered her hand on the latch.

“Behave…”

“…”

“…and I’ll open it again.”

Psycho. The curse hissed between her clenched teeth. Even the daggered glare she threw him didn’t make him flinch.

***

She tore herself from him and ran to the guest room, throwing herself under the blanket. Then she cried—loudly, ugly, as if pouring out every ounce of bottled-up misery. Hot tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.

“You bastard… You rotten bastard… You’ll get what’s coming to you…”

When had it started? When had she become a puppet dancing to Kang Tae-shin’s tune?

She remembered her first trip to Cheonghae-dong, address in hand from Cheonwol Mansin. Lost in the empty streets until she’d spotted him, holding Dong-gil’s leash, walking toward her. Was it then?

No. The Mudoo curse had begun long before that. So… when?

Only days ago, she’d thought of him as family. Now, realizing what he might have been doing behind her back, chills raced down her spine.

Knock, knock.

She froze. Held her breath.

The sliding door opened, and Tae-shin walked in, setting a small tray on the floor.

“Eat first.”

She turned her back to him, silent.

“You probably haven’t eaten all day.”

True enough—she’d been too focused on her interview to eat breakfast or lunch, and afterward, she’d had no appetite for dinner either.

But the fact that he knew this so well didn’t feel caring anymore. It felt invasive. Calculated.

She hated herself most of all—for falling for it, for falling for him.

“Get out.”

She didn’t look at him when she said it, low and flat. Silence. No sound of him leaving.

“I said get out. I can’t stand to look at you.”

He let out a sigh deep enough to bore into the floor. She could picture the faint furrow between his brows, the flick of his tongue wetting his lips, the way his dry hand would rake over his face.

“Eat first.”

“…”

“You can curse me, you can hit me—just eat first.”

His calm voice only made her angrier.

“I don’t want it. Take it away. Or let me leave this house.”

In two strides, he was at her side, yanking the blanket away. His hands gripped her shoulders, pulling her upright, pressing a spoon into her palm.

Kneeling in front of her, Tae-shin’s eyes were bloodshot.

“Don’t say that.”

“…?”

“Don’t act like you’re about to leave me.”

“I will.”

She met his gaze, unwavering. Her voice carried no doubt.

“You can lock me up, but I’ll still find a way out.”

“Seula.”

“I’m done being your fool.”

Something in his eyes flickered—turmoil slipping through before he gave a short, humorless laugh.

“How?”

“…?”

“How exactly will you escape? If I don’t want you to, you won’t even find this place. Leaving will be even harder.”

His voice was so cold it felt like it cut her skin. The words burrowed into her ear, leaving a dull ache in her chest.

“So eat. That’s the only thing you can do right now.”

Clang.

The spoon hit the tray, bounced, and rolled across the floor.

Seula closed her eyes, breathing slowly and deeply before speaking, voice steady.

“I’m not Yeo-ok.”

The look on Tae-shin’s face was one of quiet devastation—like a man pierced clean through. But she kept going.

“If I got cursed, if I came looking for you, if any of this happened just because I’m Yeo-ok—then undo it. Put it back the way it was.”

“….”

“This is so unfair.” Her eyes shimmered with tears.

“I’m not Yeo-ok, and yet I have to go through all this. It’s not fair.”

What hurt so much? Was it the injustice of suffering the Mudoo curse for no reason? The fear of her spiritual sight opening after meeting him? Or the realization that everything until now had been his doing?

Digging deeper, she found a truth she didn’t want to face—

From the very beginning, Kang Tae-shin had cared only for Yeo-ok. Only Yeo-ok.

The existence of Woo Seula had never mattered to him at all.

Turning her back on him, she pulled the blanket over herself again. Tae-shin stood there for a long time, watching, before finally leaving.

On the tray, the white rice and steaming stew sat untouched—slowly growing cold.