Mudoo - Chapter 57

Months passed. Spring, when everything comes back to life, had slipped away. Summer was over, along with the heavy monsoon rains that seemed like they’d punch through the rooftops. Now, it was just about the time autumn was settling in.

Dong-gil’s biggest worry these days was Kang Tae-shin—who, like before, was still someone he believed would soon return to normal life.

“Why the hell are you living like this? Why?” Hobun asked as Tae-shin, who had been so sick he needed nursing care, seemed to have come back to his senses once he started feeling better.

He ate his meals on time, went for walks with Dong-gil, and sometimes sank into the living room sofa to read a book.

But it didn’t last long before he crawled back into the guest room and lay motionless on the mandarin duck bed like a corpse.

After a few days, he’d come out again and live as usual. Then he’d hole up again in the guest room for days on end. Only Dong-gil, who lived with him, found every day confusing.

Today, as usual, Dong-gil shook the gaunt Tae-shin awake but clicked his tongue in frustration and left the room.

He flopped down on the porch, staring up at the gloomy sky. He wished the rain would finally stop.

Whenever he was lost in thought like this, memories of the past winter spent with Seula came flooding back.

From the shock Seula had when she first saw him speaking after his spiritual sight opened, to their peaceful trip to the winter sea, to the small daily moments they shared in this house.

“I miss her… I really miss her…” Dong-gil murmured softly.

If even he missed her this much, how much more did Tae-shin, who had shared warmth with Seula, feel? Donggil looked toward the guest room at the end of the long hallway and shook his head, clicking his tongue.

He wondered where Seula was living now, how she was doing. She had been deep in job hunting before leaving Cheonghae-dong—was she working at a company by now?

Suddenly, guilt stabbed Dong-gil’s heart, and he felt deeply troubled.

“It’s your fault, you know. You woke up the Mudoo, and you opened your spiritual sight all on your own! What are you going to do if Seula finds out the truth? What then?”

Seula left this place after overhearing what he had said to Tae-shin.

“What if she finds out you did all this thinking she was Yeo-ok? Even if Seula is the reincarnation of Yeo-ok, the Seula now wouldn’t understand anything. She wouldn’t understand!”

Was it really best, like Tae-shin said, that Seula never find out the truth? If she had, maybe Tae-shin wouldn’t have ended up like this.

Dong-gil let out a long sigh and rested his chin on his front paws.

So it was all because of me…

At that moment, Kang Tae-shin stumbled out of the guest room. Without even glancing at Dong-gil lying on the porch, he put on his shoes sitting on the doorstep.

“Where are you going all of a sudden? Where?” Dong-gil quickly followed behind, but Tae-shin didn’t respond. He seemed to have made up his mind where he was headed.

Without hesitation, he climbed the hill with long strides after stepping outside the main gate.

***

Sure enough, the drizzle turned into a downpour before long. The asphalt road quickly soaked through. Without an umbrella, Tae-shin walked on, ignoring the rain pelting him, brushing his face with his hand repeatedly to wipe away the drops obscuring his vision.

“Are you really going to Pungwolgak now? Why, why?” Donggil hurried along, asking over and over, but Tae-shin said nothing.

Dong-gil had no idea how Tae-shin expected him to react to this sudden decision. To be honest, Tae-shin didn’t have the energy left to anticipate anyone’s reaction.

His heart kept sinking into a dark abyss at random times, and his body grew so heavy he could barely move. He tried to pull himself together many times but realized it was beyond his control.

The large gate with a high peaked roof had a neat sign with the Chinese characters for “Pungwolgak.”

Still unable to figure out Tae-shin’s intention, Dong-gil looked between the gate of Pungwolgak and Tae-shin in confusion.

“Suddenly wanting to enjoy some culture and poetry? That can’t be it…”

Pungwolgak wasn’t a person but a place where spirits lingered in this world, composing poetry, enjoying music, and drinking.

Tae-shin, who didn’t enjoy mingling with others, had never come here of his own accord.

So it was no wonder Dong-gil was puzzled that Tae-shin, who had been lying in the guest room, suddenly got up and came to Pungwolgak by himself.

Tae-shin pushed the tightly closed door with one hand, and to his surprise, it opened easily.

Inside, the place was completely different from the outside world.

Outside, rain poured and clouds blocked the sun, but inside, the sky was clear with a bright full moon hanging high. There was no rain or cloud in sight.

The soft sound of a gayageum drifted through the air, mingling with clear laughter and quiet conversations.

An attendant dressed in traditional hanbok hurried out barefoot to greet them.

“Welcome. You seem to be a first-time visitor. May I ask what brings you here?”

Tae-shin must have looked suspicious to them—dressed in comfortable clothes from home and soaked from the rain.

Brushing the wet hair roughly with his hand, Tae-shin answered,

“I came to see Gangnim.”

“You mean Gangnim Chasa?”

“Yes.”

“Please wait a moment.”

The attendant seemed to check the situation through a radio. After a reply came from the other side, they began to guide Tae-shin and Dong-gil.

“Please this way.”

In the garden of Pungwolgak was a large pond where wild ducks lived. Crossing a wooden bridge over the pond revealed dozens of hanok-style houses.

But the attendant didn’t stop there—they kept walking along the path, which ended at a stone staircase.

Tae-shin and Dong-gil followed behind up the stone steps.

It was a large tavern-like place. A big fire blazed in the middle of the yard, surrounded by busy attendants carrying drinks and food.

Several wide platforms were set up, and various groups sat scattered around each platform.

Among them, Tae-shin spotted Gangnim, dressed in familiar clothes.

The attendant politely cupped their hands together, pointed to Gangnim’s location, and then left.

Tae-shin took a deep breath. Then he looked down at Dong-gil, who followed him. With a faint smile, he gently stroked Dong-gil’s head.

“Let’s go. Now.”

“Where exactly are you going?”

Tae-shin approached Gangnim and stood firmly in front of him. Gangnim, who had been laughing and drinking with a glass raised, blinked wide-eyed at Tae-shin.

“Wait, why are you here? What brings you?”

Without wasting time, Tae-shin got straight to the point.

“Take me to the afterlife.”

Clang! The cup in Gangnim’s hand dropped to the floor. The eyes of those drinking nearby turned sharply to the two of them.

Gangnim rolled his eyes, as if doubting what he’d heard, then asked,

“Sorry, I must have misheard. What did you say just now?”

“Take me to the afterlife.”

Tae-shin repeated the words clearly and forcefully, as if he didn’t want to say it three times.

Gangnim’s eyes snapped open wide, and he put a hand on Tae-shin’s shoulder.

“Do you realize what you’re saying? Taking your own life is unforgivable, even after death.”

“I’ve already lived enough.”

Tae-shin looked utterly exhausted. He had wrestled with many doubts before coming to this decision. He couldn’t live sanely anymore. This was the conclusion he had reached after a long struggle.

“You know well that if your name isn’t on the ledger of the dead, you can’t cross the Samdo River.”

“Take me to Yeomra.”

Gangnim opened his mouth but couldn’t say anything. Tae-shin repeated his request.

He had asked Gangnim to take him to the afterlife several times before when waiting endlessly for Yeo-ok, reaching his limit. Each time he was refused. Knowing this time would be no different, Tae-shin still held a shred of hope and came to see Gangnim again.

Even if he crossed the Samdo River, there were countless steps before reaching Yeomra. Meeting Yeomra with an immortal body was nearly impossible. Both Gangnim and Tae-shin knew this well. But if he couldn’t meet Yeomra, he would remain trapped in an endless cycle of fate, so Tae-shin had to try something.

As expected, Gangnim looked regretful and refused.

“Ha, but I’m just a mere driver…”

“Did you just say ‘Yeomra’?”

From a nearby platform beyond where they stood, someone interrupted Gangnim’s words. She took a sip from a brass bowl and looked at Tae-shin, her eyes sparkling.

“I am exactly the Yeomra you’re looking for. What business do you have in the afterlife?”

The drunk people sitting nearby quietly slipped away. Soon, only Tae-shin, Donggil, Gangnim, and Yeomra remained.