Mudoo - Chapter 9

The sky had looked gloomy all day, and sure enough, raindrops were starting to fall.

“It’s raining. Didn’t bring an umbrella?”

Haejun popped open his small foldable umbrella as they stepped out of the café.

Slumped shoulders, empty hands — Seula hadn’t even thought to grab one. She’d only stopped by home to pick up her phone and wallet before running back out.

“Nope…”

“I’ll give you a ride. My car’s in the public lot.”

Seula quickly shook her head. She had zero intention of going back to her place tonight.

“It’s okay. I need to drop by somewhere first.”

“Without an umbrella? Where are you headed?”

She clamped her mouth shut. She couldn’t exactly say, I’m going back to Cheonghae-dong for no good reason.

She was about to say she’d just buy an umbrella at a convenience store when Haejun pulled her under his and nudged her forward.

“Just get in the car. I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”

Maybe it was the gloomy sky or the gathering dusk, but the streets felt like they were crawling with more “things” than usual.

At least she wasn’t alone this time. Just having a living, breathing person next to her calmed her down enough to follow obediently, staring at her feet as they walked to the car.

“Type in the address.”

Once they were inside, Haejun buckled up and handed over his phone.

Seula hesitated for a second, then typed in: Cheonghae-ro 118beon-gil 4.

When he took the phone back, Haejun frowned, puzzled.

“Cheonghae-dong? What are you doing all the way out there?”

It was a normal question for a friend to ask, but guilt made her brain spin faster.

“…A friend’s place.”

“Who?”

“Someone. A friend you don’t know.”

Haejun didn’t press. He just nodded, steering them smoothly out of the parking lot.

The ride to Cheonghae-dong was filled with idle chatter — about some headache of a case at the station, how his phone never stopped ringing even when he was off-duty, how crazy traffic was for this hour.

Seula kept nodding along but didn’t really hear him. Her mind was busy rehearsing how she’d beg Kang Tae-shin to let her crash at his place again tonight.

He’d probably think she was shameless. But wasn’t this his fault in the first place? If she’d never met him, she wouldn’t be seeing random ghosts, or too scared to sleep in her own house.

…Then again, if she hadn’t met him, the Mudoo wouldn’t have gone away either.

“Is this it?”

By the time Haejun asked, they were pulling up to the familiar alley.

Seula peeked outside, then nodded and started gathering her things.

“Yeah. Cars can’t go up from here. I’ll walk the rest.”

“At least take my umbrella. Don’t catch a cold again.”

She reached out to take it, but then she froze.

Right at the mouth of the alley stood a tall man, and beside him, a Jindo dog in a bright raincoat.

“If you’re really that scared, just come back to me. I’ll come pick you up today.”

Right before leaving Cheonghae-dong, Tae-shin had told her that.

Maybe she’d grown attached without realizing it — or maybe it was just the relief of knowing that nothing “unclean” came near him — but either way, Seula felt strangely glad to see him standing there.

“It’s fine, I don’t need the umbrella. Looks like I won’t get wet after all.”

“That guy, you know him?” Haejun asked, glancing at the man ahead.

“Yeah, he’s a friend. Thanks for the ride. See you soon!”

The second the car stopped at the alley, Seula unbuckled her seatbelt and scrambled out. She half-ran, half-dove under Tae-shin’s umbrella before the rain could soak her hair.

“How’d you know I was coming? Have you been waiting long?”

“You’re a scaredy-cat, scaredy-cat! Of course, we knew you’d come crawling back. I got my fur all dirty waiting for you, dirty, dirty!”

It wasn’t Tae-shin who answered but Dong-gil, looking deeply offended as he whined beside him.

Tae-shin himself just stood there, gripping the umbrella handle, his eyes fixed somewhere over her shoulder.

“…It’s a guy?”

Seula turned to see what he was staring at — and sure enough, Haejun was getting out of his car, umbrella in hand.

She hadn’t expected them to run into each other face-to-face like this, and panic flared up.

She hid her face behind Tae-shin’s shoulder and hissed out of the corner of her mouth, “Pretend you’re just my friend, okay? I’ll explain later.”

By then, Haejun was already standing in front of Tae-shin, putting on that polite, harmless smile as he offered his hand.

“I didn’t know the friend Seula mentioned was a guy. Nice to meet you — I’m Shin Haejun.”

Tae-shin glanced down at Seula with a cold look, then answered without bothering to shake the offered hand.

“As you can see, my hands are full.”

He held the umbrella in one hand and had the other stuffed deep in his pocket.

“…Kang Tae-shin,” he said, giving his name flatly.

Left hanging, Haejun gave a small awkward laugh and let his hand drop. Sla gave him a subtle shake of the head, basically begging him to just go, but Haejun, ever the detective, didn’t budge.

“I thought I knew all of Seula’s friends. Where’d you two meet? Or… is that too nosy of me?”

“Where’d you pick up a random human man like that, huh, huh?”

Once again, Dong-gil butted in before Tae-shin could answer, his fluffy face scrunched up with suspicion.

Seula quickly put a finger to her lips, worried Haejun might actually hear him this time.

“Shhh. Be good, Dong-gil. Quiet.”

Thankfully, Haejun just looked down at the dog wagging and barking and let out a chuckle.

“Cute dog you’ve got here.”

“Who’re you calling cute, you rude punk! Rude punk!” Dong-gil bristled and yapped louder, which finally made Tae-shin speak up.

“If Seula didn’t tell you anything about me, then I guess we’re not that close after all.”

The polite smile on Haejun’s face faltered for a moment.

When his eyes met Seula’s, she sent him the clearest signal she could muster: Please, just go. Don’t say anything weird.

But Haejun only narrowed his eyes, tilting his head a little.

“Hearing you say that just makes me more curious about what you two are.”

Tae-shin let out a soft scoff. “Let’s just say it’s… a complicated arrangement.”

“What kind of arrangement? Money?”

At that, Tae-shin actually gave a tiny, dismissive laugh through his nose. “Something deeper than—”

“Hey! You should go. You’re busy, right? I’ll call you later.”

Seula rushed to cut him off, making a phone gesture with her pinkie and thumb beside her ear.

“I’m off duty today, I’ve got all the time in the world.”

“Yeah, well, you look super busy to me.”

Haejun looked like he’d stick around for coffee if she let him, so Seula practically shoved him back toward his car.

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave you to… whatever this is. See you around, Mr. Kang.”

He got back in the driver’s seat, but even then, he kept glancing out suspiciously at Tae-shin through the window.

“‘See you around’? Hm. Can’t promise that.”

Tae-shin’s low reply got swallowed by the sound of rain drumming on the umbrella — thankfully, so Haejun didn’t catch it.

***

The moment they stepped through the gate, Seula’s face scrunched up, her voice sharp with annoyance.

“Why were you so cold just now? You could’ve at least pretended to be polite and shaken his hand.”

“Told you, didn’t I? Kang Tae-shin’s personality is trash. Trash, I said!”

Dong-gil had already dashed under the eaves to shake the rain from his fur, grumbling as he scratched behind his ear with a hind leg like it was no big deal.

Tae-shin stopped walking. He turned, his eyes cold as ever, looking down at Seula like he was about to deliver a verdict.

“There’s something you should remember when you come looking for me.”

Seula opened her mouth to snap back, but at that exact moment, the sky cracked open with a deafening roar. A flash of lightning stabbed the ground so close she flinched.

“Don’t you dare come back to me reeking of some other man.”

His voice was lower than usual — hard and resonant, like it vibrated straight through her bones. All the tiny hairs on her arms stood on end.

Seula’s pupils flickered in disbelief, but before she could gather her thoughts, Tae-shin dipped his head — so close his lips almost grazed her neck.

She froze as he breathed in deeply against her skin.

“Seems like nothing happened after all,” he murmured, his eyes half-lidded as he let the breath out. “I’ll overlook it. Just for today.”

She felt like she’d been tied up head to toe, held in place by the weight of his voice alone. When he finally straightened up and put a bit of distance between them, Seula sucked in a shaky breath like she’d just surfaced from underwater.

“You two done? Cut the crap already! Somebody peel this stupid raincoat off me!”

Dong-gil barked so loud it almost covered up his muttered curses.

Tae-shin folded the umbrella and walked right past Dong-gil without so much as a glance.

“You can work a smartphone with those paws — figure it out yourself. Don’t act your age for once, huh?”

Dong-gil bared his teeth at Tae-shin’s retreating back and let out a low, frustrated growl.