Mudoo - Chapter 72

Kang Tae-shin and Woo Seula stepped through the gate into the front yard. Crunch. Twigs scattered across the ground snapped beneath their feet.

Seula carefully brushed the branches aside with the tip of her shoe—then froze. A large wooden board lay across the ground, splashed with red letters:

[DO NOT ENTER.]

Startled, she looked up at Tae-shin. He too tilted his head, gaze fixed on the splintered board. Her throat felt dry as she swallowed hard.

“It says… we shouldn’t go in,” she whispered.

“So, what? You planning to listen?”

Tae-shin raised a brow. If they were the type to stop at a warning sign, they wouldn’t have come this far. Still, she couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

“Maybe it’s better if I go in alone,” Seula murmured, “and bring the spirit out quickly.”

“Or better yet,” he countered, “I’ll go in alone. You stay outside with Dong-gil.”

When he made to step forward, Seula grabbed the hem of his coat. Tae-shin glanced down at her hand, then up at her face.

“You never listen, do you?”

He clicked his tongue and held out his palm to her.

“If you’re scared, hold on.”

Seula stared at his hand—large, broad, and steady.

‘Want me to hold your hand?’

The words echoed in her head—the same ones Tae-shin had said the first time they hunted a spirit together at the Hoseong Industrial Center. Back then, she’d taken his hand without hesitation. She’d been terrified of ghosts, unaccustomed to the world she could suddenly see. But that was then.

“I’m fine,” she said.

Her smile was awkward, but she forced it anyway and took the first step forward. Tae-shin followed closely behind, his presence pressing against her back.

The front door was gone—nothing left but a rectangular hole that might once have framed the entrance.

The moment they stepped inside, Seula had to stop and steady her breathing.

One ghost hung upside down from the ceiling. Another drifted along the wall, blocking the large window. A third poked its head out from what must’ve been the bathroom, silently watching.

Their bodies were mangled beyond recognition, skin so pale you could see the veins underneath. They all grinned—mouths slit wide—as though delighted by their guests.

“Something smells delicious.”
“They’re alive.”
“I want to live too.”
“Did you forget? We’re already dead.”
“Then we can do whatever we want, can’t we?”
“Of course.”

The air was thick with their hatred, their curses rippling like waves through the house. Seula didn’t need to ask—she knew. They were all vengeful spirits. Their laughter was a sharpened blade scraping across her skin.

Then—warmth. A hand rested on her shoulder. Tae-shin’s voice came low beside her ear.

“Let’s go. Don’t block the way.”

His arm slipped around her shoulders, gently guiding her forward. Seula forced her gaze away from the ghosts and followed his lead.

“Pretend you can’t see them, can’t hear them, can’t feel them,” he murmured. “Even a flicker of reaction and they’ll go wild.”

His breath brushed her ear, grounding her. Her heartbeat began to calm.

‘Pretend you can’t see, hear, or feel anything—just like before your spiritual sight opened.’

It was the same advice he’d given her when she first began to see ghosts.

‘But if it really scares you, come to me.’
‘…What?’
‘I’ll come get you this time.’

The memory of that moment tightened her chest with a dull ache. She missed that version of him—the one who said things like that. But now wasn’t the time for nostalgia.

The first floor held only the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. One glance covered the whole space. No sign of the spirit the reaper had mentioned. Seula’s gaze drifted toward the staircase near the entrance.

“We’ll have to go upstairs.”

When they returned to the foot of the stairs, Tae-shin spoke firmly.

“This is your last chance. Stay down here. I’ll bring the spirit down myself.”

But Seula wasn’t going to back down. She shook her head.

“I can sense it—the scent of mudoo draws the spirits out faster. Ordinary souls don’t like you, Tae-shin.”

“That was because of the peach tree’s energy. When Yeomra took my memories, he stripped that away too. Things are different now.”

“Even so…”

She tightened her grip on the hand still resting on her shoulder.

“I’m not letting you go alone.”

“Why? Because I’m a patient?”

His tone carried clear irritation. Seula nodded quietly. Sending Tae-shin off alone, memory lost and unstable, felt like letting a child wander near a riverbank. Staying close was safer—no matter what.

The vengeful spirits below were still watching, grinning with stretched mouths. Ignoring them, Seula began to climb the creaking wooden stairs.

Creak. Creak. The warped steps groaned beneath their feet. The second floor had two rooms. She peeked into the one nearest the stairs first.

“Nothing here.”

Tae-shin, right behind her like a bodyguard, murmured.

“Then it must be the other one.”

Her lips were dry as parchment. She licked them nervously and turned to the next room. The door was half open. The instant she pushed it wider, she froze.

Two vengeful spirits were darting madly between the floor and ceiling—shadows flashing through the air, slicing it apart with sharp, hissing sounds.

In the corner, leaning against the window frame, stood a man in a suit. When he turned, Seula saw tears streaking down his face.

“Please… get me out of here…”

His voice trembled, heavy with despair.

“I came here on a company retreat nearby… my team wanted to test our courage, so we came to this place…”

Seula slipped past the raging spirits and reached for his arm— But her hand grasped only empty air.

Her expression hardened. “We don’t have time for stories. Move. Now.”

“Even if I go out, they’ll just drag me back in. I’ve tried hundreds of times. It’s useless.”

At that, the room fell eerily silent. The spirits stopped mid-air, clinging to the ceiling and walls, their bloodshot eyes bulging as they stared at her. Their gazes gleamed with cruel amusement, like predators spotting fresh prey.

“You can’t just stay trapped here forever. Come on.”

She turned, and the spirit followed reluctantly, limbs hanging limp.

“It won’t work,” he muttered, “It never does…”

Seula led the way down the stairs, the ghost trailing her, Tae-shin bringing up the rear, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly.

They passed the living room, crossed the yard, and stepped over the wooden board that read DO NOT ENTER.

Dong-gil, who’d been waiting under the eaves, perked up immediately.

“It’s over, right? It’s over?”

Seula turned to confirm—both the suited spirit and Tae-shin had made it out. Relief washed through her, and she smiled faintly.

“Yeah. It’s over. Thank god it went faster than I thought.”

All that was left was to wait for the reaper to show up. So why did that uneasy feeling still linger? Maybe it was the air—the chill that wrapped around the abandoned house, thicker than before.

Tae-shin must’ve felt it too; he hadn’t relaxed even slightly. His eyes flicked to the ghost, then back to the house. He bit his lower lip.

“Doesn’t feel like it’s over yet.”

Seula shook her head, trying to brush the thought away. A feeling was just that—a feeling. No point feeding something that wasn’t real. She placed a hand on his back and nudged him away from the gate.

“No. It’s over. This job’s done. I’ll make sure the reaper knows it’s the las—”

And then—

A violent force yanked her hair back. Pain ripped across her scalp as she was dragged through the gate, back into the yard. No matter how she kicked or struggled, it was useless.

“Seula!”

“Seula! Seula!”

Her vision blurred. Tae-shin, Dong-gil, the suited ghost—all of them shrank away as the gate slammed shut with a deafening bang.