Mudoo - Chapter 73

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Something was slamming against the wooden gate hard enough to make the whole thing shake. But no matter how loud or desperate it sounded, the gate didn’t budge—it stayed firmly shut.

Seula lay sprawled in the middle of the living room, dragged there like a rag doll. Her wrists and ankles felt as if they were bound tight, leaving her completely immobile. The evil spirits that had been upstairs now floated down and surrounded her. There were five of them in total.

“We warned you.”
“Yeah, we did. You’re the ones who ignored it.”
“How dare you barge in here?”
“Why do you keep tormenting us?”
“You broke the rules. Now you need to be punished.”
“That’s right. You need to be punished.”

They cackled among themselves, voices overlapping in a creepy chorus. Seula could only roll her eyes toward the direction of the sound, her body frozen.

Still, she refused to panic. Thank god she’d shoved Kang Tae-shin away from the gate earlier. If he’d been the one dragged in instead… the thought alone made her bl00d run cold.

She’d heard that the longer a spirit wandered without a body, the duller its intelligence became. But these bastards seemed clever enough to toy with her. A dry, bitter laugh escaped her lips.

“Did she just laugh?”
“Yeah, she did.”
“You think we’re funny?”
“Guess she hasn’t realized how screwed she is.”

Seula exhaled slowly. “So what are you planning to do with me?”

The spirits exchanged glances, whispering to each other again.

“You talking to us?”
“Looks like it.”
“What do you think we’re gonna do? We’re gonna eat you.”

Their shrill laughter cut through the air like nails on glass. One of them climbed onto her body and pressed its forehead to hers. A rotten stench hit her nose so hard she gagged. She tried to jerk her head away.

“Her spirit’s still strong… I can’t get inside her.”

The spirit on top of her hissed at the others.

“Then knock her out.”
“Told you we should’ve smashed her head into the wall earlier.”
“Then you do it.”

Another one yanked her by the hair, jerking her upper body upright.

“Agh!”

The sheer force of it made her scalp scream. It dragged her across the floor and slammed her head into the wall. Her vision flickered black.

Seula clenched her teeth and held on. Then—crack!—her head hit the wall again. The pain was blinding, but she refused to pass out.

“She’s not fainting.”
“Guess she’s got a thick skull. Hahaha!”

They crept closer again, oozing toward her like shadows. She could feel something warm trickling down from her forehead—bl00d. Seula bit her lip and glared back, her eyes sharp and defiant.

“She’s not scared. Boring.”
“Yeah, I wanted to see her terrified face.”
“That’s the fun part.”
“Exactly. Fear makes it better.”

Get it together, Woo Seula. There’s always a way out. There has to be.

Smash! The one gripping her hair slammed her head into the wall again. A pale, veiny face filled her vision.

“She’s getting anxious.”
“She’s scared she won’t make it out.”
“Of course she is. No one leaves this place—not even in death.”

Don’t show fear. Don’t pass out. Don’t let your guard down. Seula steadied her breath and wiped the panic from her face. The pounding in her head—she told herself it was nothing but an illusion. Then—

Crash!

A brick flew through the large window, shattering the glass into pieces. Every single spirit turned its head at once.

Now! Seula gathered what little strength she had left and bolted toward the entrance.

“Ah!”

But she didn’t make it far. Something grabbed her ankle and yanked her back down. She hit the floor hard, dragged across it like a lifeless doll.

“Nice try.”
“Yeah, but it didn’t work.”
“Told you, no one gets out.”

Her breath came out ragged and heavy. Her body felt three times heavier than usual—drenched in the oppressive chill of dark energy.

“Goddammit. This is… seriously fucked up.”

Then, a blur—something massive leapt through the broken window. A blade sliced through the air. In one clean motion, two of the spirits standing by her head were decapitated, their bodies dissolving into dust before they even hit the floor. The others shrieked and scattered in every direction.

“Knowing how dangerous this place is, how could you let your guard down like that?”

Seula blinked up at him, dazed. “I thought you’d come sooner.”

Kang Tae-shin dropped to one knee beside her. His thumb brushed over the cut on her forehead, his face filled with an unfamiliar expression—something raw, something she’d never seen before. He hesitated, then sighed softly.

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Doesn’t even hurt.”

“Can you walk?”

“It’s just a cut on my forehead, not a broken leg.”

He slipped an arm under hers and lifted her up, steadying her by the waist.

“You really don’t have to hold me like this.”

“Too late. I’m taking the chance to get a little closer.”

A crooked grin tugged at his lips. Seula shot him a look, about to retort—when a black shadow lunged at them from the front.

Tae-shin’s hand moved faster than thought. He swung the blade down, slicing through it cleanly. The spirit split in two and disintegrated into ashes mid-air.

Seula caught her breath, her pulse pounding in her ears. The reminder hit hard: you couldn’t afford to relax, not even for a second.

“Two left,” Tae-shin whispered close to her ear.

One was hanging upside down from the ceiling, the other guarding the front entrance. Even after watching their companions vanish into nothing, they were still grinning wide—as if the game had only just begun.

Without taking his eyes off them, Tae-shin murmured, “I’ll throw my knife at the one by the entrance. When I do, you run. Don’t look back.”

“Then what about you—”

“I’ll handle the other one. Just open the gate first. I can’t leave if it’s still shut.”

Seula shut her eyes for a moment, exhaling shakily. Fear twisted in her chest—fear that he wouldn’t make it out. That the man who came to save her would be the one left behind.n But she had no choice except to trust him.

She tensed her legs, nodded once. Tae-shin hurled the knife toward the spirit by the door—and the moment his hand pushed her forward, she sprinted with everything she had.

The blade struck true. The spirit’s throat split open, its form scattering like ash in the wind.

“Told you—no one leaves here!”

The last spirit snatched the knife from the wall and charged at Tae-shin.

“—!”

Seula, almost at the entrance, turned back—and froze.

The knife was buried deep in Tae-shin’s chest, just below his collarbone. The red tassel on the hilt swayed helplessly.

Her vision spun. Her knees nearly gave out.

“No…”

“Don’t,” Tae-shin rasped, his voice weak but firm. “Don’t come closer.”

Bl00d spread through his shirt in dark waves, soaking everything red. Seula covered her mouth, shaking. Her mind went blank—she couldn’t even remember what he’d whispered to her just moments ago.

“There’s still one left,” he muttered.

“No! Don’t—!”

But it was too late. Tae-shin gritted his teeth, yanked the knife out of his own chest, and lunged. Bl00d gushed out in thick, violent spurts, but his strike was merciless—driving the blade straight into the last spirit’s heart.

The creature’s face twisted grotesquely as black veins burst across its skin. Then it exploded into a cloud of dark bl00d and vanished.

“Tae-shin!”

Something inside her snapped back into focus. Seula rushed forward and caught him just as his body collapsed. She laid him down carefully, pressing both hands hard against the wound on his chest.

“Don’t talk. Don’t move. If I can just stop the bleeding, you’ll be fine. You’ll be okay—”

Tae-shin’s hand rose weakly and wrapped around her wrist. His touch was warm—too warm. It spread through her veins like a thread of fire, wrapping around her whole body.

Seula’s breath hitched. He wasn’t healing himself—he was pouring what remained of his energy into her, washing away the lingering stench of death that still clung to her.

“What are you doing?!” she cried. “I told you not to move!”

Tears filled her eyes. Tae-shin’s thumb gently brushed against the pulse on her wrist.

“I told you…” His voice was low, faint. “No matter what happens… don’t come looking for me again.”

Seula’s eyes widened.

That line—she’d heard it before. Back in Cheonghae-dong, right before everything went to hell.