The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

No matter how much he cried out internally, Han Yeowon couldn’t read Hwang Sang-hoon’s mind.

Hwang Sang-hoon, feeling on the verge of tears, jotted down Yoo Mal-ja’s words.

“…I see. Let’s change positions. Oh Young-sook-nim.”

Though his mind was blank, he had to continue the consultation.

“My right shoulder and arm hurt.”

“Are you doing any strenuous activities?”

“Always. I work in a restaurant. Ah, really. I shouldn’t have believed my husband when he said he wouldn’t let me get my hands wet. After marrying him and moving to Busan, I’ve been washing dishes, chopping, cleaning vegetables for 40 years…”

Following the 37-year history of knee pain came the 40-year saga of shoulder ailments.

Still, being the second patient, he had developed a slight ability to filter out necessary information. About 80 percent was complaints about her husband, so there wasn’t much related to her shoulder.

“Next, I’ll see Son Chun-ja-nim.”

“Yes~”

The third patient sat down with a bright smile.

While the other three were also stealing glances at his face, Son Chun-ja was more blatant.

“Where are you experiencing pain?”

“Oh~ I don’t have any particular pain.”

“…Pardon?”

“Say something! You’re troubling the doctor!”

Thanks to Yoo Mal-ja’s interjection, Son Chun-ja managed to think of something that hurt.

“Ah, my shoulders and back are always stiff.”

“Since when… Never mind. I’ll treat you well.”

“Thank you! Oh my~ You’re so handsome.”

“…Yes…”

“Tall and handsome like my son!”

“Thank you.”

And finally, the last one.

“Kim Ok-soon-nim, where are you experiencing discomfort?”

“Everything hurts.”

“Could you tell me one by one?”

“My back, shoulders, knees, heels, calves, upper arms, knees…”

Kim Ok-soon was the final boss. Everything from head to toe hurt, she said.

Fortunately, he had encountered a few such patients while observing Han Yeowon.

Despite his frazzled mental state, natural responses flowed from his mouth.

“It would be difficult to treat everything at once. Where does it hurt the most?”

“My back. I went to another Korean medicine clinic yesterday for acupuncture, but it didn’t get better.”

“Let’s start with your back, then work on the rest gradually.”

Having barely finished the consultations, Hwang Sang-hoon’s mental strength was completely drained.

After sending the four to the treatment room, he sat dazed, staring at the hastily scribbled charts.

‘…What should I do?’

He felt utterly lost.

If Han Yeowon had seen these patients instead of him, could she have ended the pain they’d endured for 40 years?

Hwang Sang-hoon had no confidence that he could do better than the other clinics some of them had visited just the day before.

As their assigned doctor, he had to treat them somehow…

Knock knock.

The sound of someone knocking on the consultation room door broke his reverie.

“Yes, come in.”

“Hello~!”

The person who cheerfully opened the door and entered was none other than Han Yeowon.

“How did you manage to bring in four designated patients at once?! You’ve done so well!”

Completely oblivious to Hwang Sang-hoon’s inner turmoil, Han Yeowon praised him with a bright smile.

“I overheard bits of the consultation from outside. It must have been overwhelming with four of them, but you handled it calmly!”

She was outside?

Unable to offer empathy or comfort. Unable to formulate a treatment plan with the charisma Han Yeowon would have. Just sitting there like an idiot, listening.

Hearing her words, he felt something welling up in his chest.

“…Yeowon, what should I do?”

Hwang Sang-hoon barely held back tears, straining his eyes.

◆◇◆◇◆

While chatting with patients in the treatment room, I kept my ears wide open to Hwang Sang-hoon’s consultation room.

‘How does he handle it so well? When I first opened my clinic, I’d lose my composure and panic when martial artists caused trouble.’

Thinking back to my first couple of years still makes me shudder.

In that unfamiliar world, I wasn’t a young lady from a prestigious family, let alone a maid. In a place where I knew no one, all I could do was prepare medicines and perform acupuncture.

Would it have been better if I had experience in the modern world? As a young person starting my first career in the martial arts world, I was at a loss among such diverse patients.

Yet Hwang Sang-hoon was handling things smoothly as soon as he was given the job, even bringing in new patients without being asked. How admirable!

…Or so I thought.

Despite his outward calm, it seemed he had been struggling quite a bit internally.

“Don’t stress too much. These patients know their 40-year-old ailments won’t be cured in one go.”

While I always try my best to cure them, patients often know which conditions will improve and which won’t.

In reality, for ailments that have persisted for decades, it’s more about management. Such patients seek treatment to alleviate their pain slightly, and they try new clinics in hopes of finding relief.

If they do get better? That’s a jackpot, of course. No need to spend money on advertising.

“But you can treat them. You cured Heo Soon-nam-nim.”

“That’s… true.”

It’s too much to compare yourself to me when you’ve only just started independent practice after interning, not even a month in!

“You can ask me as you go along. These patients will likely come back tomorrow and the day after anyway.”

“…But I couldn’t give them confidence that I’d cure them?”

“You can do that when you go into the treatment room now.”

Honestly, I thought they’d probably show up tomorrow even if he just placed ten needles in the areas they complained about, but there was no need to dampen Hwang Sang-hoon’s enthusiastic spirit.

I instructed the reception desk via messenger to let me know when my patients arrived, then sat down next to Hwang Sang-hoon’s desk.

“You’ll help me?”

“Of course. What else is a Doctor for? Ask me anything, anytime. I’ll teach you everything I know.”

I had him open the charts and then formulated treatment plans for each patient.

“First, Yoo Mal-ja-nim.”

“Ah, she said her knee started hurting 37 years ago when she went to a temple with her mother-in-law…”

“That’s completely irrelevant to the treatment. It’s probably not even the real cause. But jot it down in the side note section and mention it later. She’ll be thrilled that you remembered.”

“Oh.”

Hwang Sang-hoon let out a short exclamation, as if he’d just realized something.

“How should we proceed with the treatment?”

I asked.

Though overwhelmed by the influx of talkative patients, he undoubtedly already knew the treatment methods.

“…I was so focused on taking notes that I didn’t properly assess her condition. I should check her range of motion and pressure points in the treatment room as usual.”

“Exactly. Press all the areas she mentioned pain in – the quadriceps tendon, patellar tendon, pes anserinus, iliotibial band, medial and lateral collateral ligaments, and so on. Apply pharmacopuncture to the most severe area. For regular acupuncture, you can treat all the points. Oh, and check her pelvis too.”

“Okay.”

“There’s no special method. It will definitely improve with consistent treatment. You’re just nervous because you haven’t treated chronic patients before. Trust me.”

Hwang Sang-hoon nodded solemnly.

He must have realized it wasn’t so daunting when broken down step by step.

“For Oh Young-sook-nim’s shoulder and arm, checking the joints and muscles should suffice for treatment.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“For Son Chun-ja-nim… loosen up the large muscles in her shoulders and back, then maybe Hegu and Taichong points? Just stimulate each meridian once.”

“Right. And she’ll probably complain about other pains during treatment.”

The truly challenging case was probably just one patient.

“What should we do about Kim Ok-soon-nim, who says her whole body hurts?”

“That can’t be cured with acupuncture alone.”

“…Huh?”

I had tried everything to cure such patients in the past, but most attempts ended without success. No matter how many acupoints beneficial for joints and muscles I stimulated, it wasn’t very effective.

“If you ask, she’ll probably say she has no appetite and can’t sleep properly. If you really want to treat her, you’ll need to prescribe tonics. When you get the chance, mention that she needs to take medicine to get better. If she seems unlikely to take it, just rotate acupuncture treatments on the areas she complains about. It will at least slightly reduce her pain.”

“I see…”

“Be careful not to have such patients come every day. Most complaints about dizziness or feeling drained after acupuncture come from patients like her with low energy. Treating beyond their recovery capacity can be too much for them.”

“As expected, your explanation is clear. Thank you for explaining so well.”

Hwang Sang-hoon nodded repeatedly while taking notes on what I said.

I patted his shoulder and stood up.

“There’s really no need to feel burdened. They probably just came to try it out, following Grandma Heo Soon-nam. If they don’t come back, assume they’re getting good treatment elsewhere. And if they keep coming… having such patients as fans can be quite reassuring. If anything goes wrong? I’ll cover for you, so don’t worry!”

“I’ll do my best.”

The moisture in Hwang Sang-hoon’s eyes had completely disappeared.

Only burning passion and confidence now shone brightly.

“Oh my~ Thank you! The director is so kind~”

As expected, the four grandmas welcomed Hwang Sang-hoon’s treatment with exaggerated enthusiasm.

◆◇◆◇◆

The next day.

“Hello, Director~”

“We’re back again!”

The quartet arrived even earlier than Grandma Heo Soon-nam, and even before Seo In-ae, who comes in at 6:30 AM.

“…You’re early. Please wait in the waiting room for a moment.”

“Of course~ Take your time getting ready!”

If Hwang Sang-hoon, who stays overnight at the clinic, hadn’t opened the door early, they would have had to stand outside the entrance.

“How are you feeling today?”

“My knee feels much better, so I came again.”

“It felt softer yesterday, but it started hurting again after I worked in the evening.”

“Oh my~ Coming in the morning, we can even see the director in his casual shirt~!”

“Please treat my back today.”

According to Grandma Heo Soon-nam, who showed up in the afternoon, it seemed the quartet was considering switching completely from their regular clinic.

“Such silliness at 60 and 70 years old! As soon as they left the clinic, they wouldn’t stop chattering about how handsome Director Hwang is!”

“It’s fortunate if they come often for treatment and get better, regardless of the reason.”

“Aish. Our director is the best! I told them to get treatment from our director! They won’t listen to me at all!”

“Director Hwang is excellent too~”

Grandma Heo Soon-nam was upset, but if everyone sought me out, what would be the point of hiring a vice-director?

I was very satisfied with Hwang Sang-hoon, who was more than fulfilling his role.

“Director~ We brought our older sister too~”

These elderly patients certainly showed high loyalty. As I expected, the quartet brought a new referral patient just two days after their first visit.

“Thank you for entrusting us. I’ll take good care of your sister as well.”

Moreover, Kim Ok-soon and Son Chun-ja expressed their intention to have herbal medicine prepared within a week.

“You were right, Director. I have no energy at all. Please prepare a good tonic for me.”

“Me too! I always feel drained during season changes. You said I should have medicine prepared in spring and fall, right?”

When they actually agreed to take medicine, Hwang Sang-hoon became confused once again… but of course, he overcame it with my help.

“Thanks, Yeowon. I don’t know what I would have done without you…”

Hwang Sang-hoon’s patient base grew steadily, and consequently, my bank account flourished.

Unlike before when I unconsciously avoided the banking app, nowadays my hobby was watching the steadily increasing balance.

◆◇◆◇◆

A month later.

As soon as Hwang Sang-hoon received his first paycheck, he moved out of the clinic accommodation.

“Director Hwang, could you please ask the Four Heavenly Kings to drink only one cup of tea a day?”

“…I understand.”

The community center quartet earned the nickname “Four Heavenly Kings” from the regular morning patients and staff.

“Thank you~! They simply won’t listen to us.”

“I’ll talk to them properly.”

At first, he seemed somewhat awkward in dealing with people and got caught up in the grandmas’ pace, but before long, he developed the mental fortitude to remain unfazed by most situations.

Indeed, it’s best for a novice to roll around in a slightly higher-level dungeon to feel comfortable.

I was completely at ease.

Even Chu Mi-young, who used to call every evening right after opening her clinic in Daegu, gradually reduced her calls.

We still spent three or four hours on weekends reviewing consultations, but unless there was an unusual patient requiring my advice, she could handle things on her own.

“I guess I don’t have to worry for a while now. I can take it easy until I save up more money for expansion or until Sang-hoon finishes his year and becomes independent.”

Thinking this, I opened the NewTube app for the first time in a while.

The algorithm first led me to Seo In-ae’s channel.

She was still uploading “good life” vlogs and earning modest revenue.

‘This girl is truly diligent.’

Apart from that, there were numerous motivation channels and game-related channels I used to watch around this time last year.

‘Ugh!’

Although the clinic opening had been successful overall, seeing a certain CEO’s face just put me in a bad mood, so I clicked “Not interested” repeatedly.

Then I browsed through gaming channels, looking for something new to play.

“Returning to the games I used to play would be too much with the inflation… Huh?”

At that moment, an unbelievable word caught my eye.

‘Central Plains Online?’

It’s out?

24 years… or 4 years ago in modern time, I had been waiting and waiting for this game since I first saw the PV.

A beloved martial arts world setting, stunning graphics, and high degree of freedom.

Originally scheduled for release 3 years ago, it had been repeatedly delayed due to various circumstances, to the point where people were cursing and asking if it was still in development.

Last year, while playing various games, there was no news at all, so I had lost all hope…

‘It officially launched last week!’

Goodness. How much work must I have been doing to not know about this?

I immediately jumped up, ready to download the game.

But I didn’t have a computer.

“…”

I couldn’t possibly use the clinic’s computer.

I immediately ordered a top-of-the-line gaming computer.

‘This is why I make money.’