Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 497

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 497
“To be precise, it’s not cutting but rather dotting—creating microscopic punctures. This produces an effect similar to dermabrasion while reducing side effects.”
“However, depending on the patient’s skin condition, there appear to be both advantages and disadvantages. We must adjust accordingly.”
It divided into ablative and non-ablative categories.
Back on Earth, a friend once asked me to review a paper he was writing on dermatology.
His dream was to complete the Tower of Life in Cheongdam.
Starting from the top: dermatology, cosmetic surgery, traditional medicine clinic, internal medicine, pediatrics… descending all the way down to a pharmacy on the first floor.
His family was already wealthy, and when his parents’ small building underwent redevelopment, they burned with ambition to place their son there, and he burned with the same fire.
That building’s location was Cheongdam.
‘He bought me a lot of meals.’
Especially with laser dermabrasion, the biggest issue was whether daily life would be disrupted afterward. Recovery time was also a factor.
I’d heard that reducing these was the key concern.
‘But these patients can’t do daily life to begin with.’
Forget employment—in this neighborhood, people with pockmark scars get pelted with stones just walking down the street.
The goal wasn’t to make good skin better, but to prevent patients from being lynched on the street and to have them accepted as members of the community.
“Hope… as I implement this, I find myself troubled as an examiner.”
“Master, this is precisely what saving lives means. There’s no need to agonize over what it means to save people with a blade.”
“I doubt the ancient sages would have called skin dermabrasion a method of saving lives.”
“It’s one form of it. Master, since you were born beautiful, you wouldn’t understand this suffering.”
“You speak as though you’ve suffered from acne.”
At those words, I felt a sting.
In my past life, I had an ordinary appearance.
I simply didn’t want to appear orphaned, so I always worried about dressing neatly, and even if not as much as others, I didn’t want to stand out negatively.
That’s why I always pressed my school uniform myself, and acne was… a quiet concern.
Eventually it disappeared naturally.
That habit remained even into adulthood, and I remembered always valuing cleanliness and proper dress.
Even if I didn’t change clothes every time, shouldn’t I at least wear them neatly?
If my skin looked dirty, it might make me appear poor, so I always applied at least sunscreen and lotion without fail.
I wanted to always smell pleasant, so I even searched for men’s fragrances.
Living so desperately that way, my classmates apparently never knew I was an orphan until I told them.
Master said to me:
“Sometimes you speak as though you’ve lived a life you never actually lived.”
“Ah… haha…”
“I won’t ask further.”
Master became perfectly skilled without even practicing a few times.
He practiced on animals first, then on volunteer medical staff. This way, the pockmarks on the staff members were gradually disappearing.
Next he planned to treat patients, but they all rushed forward wanting to be treated.
“You’re offering the procedure and paying us too? How is that possible?”
“If you could just change this face, I’d give my life. I could even sell my soul. Please… please…!”
They were all equally desperate people.
I calmly explained how far the progress had advanced, what the experimental results showed, and what side effects were anticipated.
However, those afflicted with smallpox had no reason to hesitate.
“Couldn’t you do it right now, Doctor? I was searching for rope to hang myself just yesterday. I don’t even ask for my body to be free of scars. If you could just restore my face, I would gladly serve as a slave for the rest of my life.”
“There’s no need for such talk. Let’s begin the treatment first. You’ll need to visit the Medical Guild regularly, and you must strictly follow the prescribed regimen.”
My Master, watching this exchange, fell silent.
Just as my Master had once taught me the true nature of the Black Dao, I was now teaching my Master the desperation of commoners.
The cold Master and the mad Disciple continued to teach each other, one lesson at a time.
It was a draw.
* * *
The skin regeneration was progressing far better than initially anticipated.
The patients still couldn’t understand why I was giving them money.
It was only natural.
In the medical practices of this era, treatment was conducted without going through such statistical experimental processes as a matter of course.
Modern medicine advanced by actively utilizing statistics and gathering clinical cases, but now… we simply treated.
Even Qin Shi Huang couldn’t know if mercury was truly beneficial, yet he consumed it because it supposedly granted immortality. His imperial physician didn’t conduct statistics or experiments with mercury either, yet administered it to the Emperor regardless.
In such an age, how well-regarded a doctor was served as the measure of whether they were a skilled physician.
But providing payment while undergoing a trial period was something difficult to comprehend.
“Oh my… the procedure went wonderfully. At this rate, you’ll recover your original appearance much faster than we initially expected, wouldn’t you?”
“Many people have already started speaking to me. Doctor… you can’t imagine how differently my family looks at me now. They even give me food now.”
‘…Well, that seems to be a family problem…’
But then again, even in modern times there are countless cases where families treat people worse than strangers, so it’s best to hold my tongue.
“Hehe, thanks to you, I even received some odd jobs at Pyo Guk.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Despite still having some discoloration, it was incomparable to how it had been before.
“While we’re at it, should we also remove the scars on your hands? The rest can be hidden by clothing.”
“Yes, please! Oh my!”
The patient suddenly began to weep mid-sentence.
“The Divine has helped me, and I’m living my life anew. Thank you. Thank you…”
My Master still didn’t fully understand this sentiment.
And that made sense.
Even if my Master had been born with an unattractive face, Oseng wouldn’t go anywhere, so it would simply be a matter of cutting down those who would scorn him.
But most of human affairs don’t work that way.
Restoring skin might be nothing to some, yet for others it freed them from a curse.
Perhaps it’s because a person’s inner self cannot be seen from the outside.
And why would anyone need to observe someone’s inner character while simply assigning them work?
“…No, I’m grateful that you came to me. Thanks to you, I’ve gained much confidence through the treatment. Please don’t have dark thoughts anymore.”
This was a patient who had even attempted suicide because of smallpox scars in the past.
Many would ask why someone would commit suicide over something so trivial.
But that’s something one cannot understand without being in their position.
He nodded.
“Absolutely not. How could I risk this face you’ve so carefully restored? I’d rather die.”
“Your hands too.”
“Haha… Yes, my hands will be clean as well.”
After tending to the patients and stepping outside, I suddenly noticed a strikingly beautiful woman approaching with a pipa cradled in her arms.
She spoke to me in a sultry voice.
“Gaga~♥”
“Yes?”
It must be Hyeon. Nothing surprising about that.
She wrapped her arm tightly around mine and spoke.
“Gaga, you have no idea how much this girl has missed you. Hangzhou is my hometown, and oh, my heart feels torn into a thousand, ten thousand pieces….”
Crash—
At that moment, I heard something break. Turning around, I saw Sama-hye looking back and forth between me and the cross-dressed Sama Hyeon.
Soon after, Sama-hye spoke.
“…Could it be… O… Older brother?”
‘Wow, even with a changed face, she recognized me.’
* * *
“Oh, I’m fine. Older brother used to cross-dress when performing Peking Opera anyway. Like The Tyrant and the Beauty….”
“Hehe, I’m a bit embarrassed~”
Her words said embarrassment, but her body moved with complete confidence.
“But why do you call Eun ‘Gaga’?”
“Because older brother gets flustered when I tease him like that~ But today he’s been so composed, I thought I should try a different approach.”
“But this is really amazing. Wow. You couldn’t do this kind of thing back then, could you?”
Sama-hye began hesitantly feeling her older brother’s bones and muscles.
“Hehe. Surprised?”
“Yeah. The skeletal structure is completely feminine? Even the muscles. How is this even possible?”
“Martial arts. I can alter muscles and bone structure to a certain degree~.”
“If you could’ve done this back then, we would’ve made a fortune.”
“Right?”
Normally, seeing one’s grown older brother in women’s clothing would shock anyone.
Why is her point of surprise so strange?
I never expected Sama-hye to be so composed, let alone shower me with admiration.
As my body stiffened in greater surprise, Sama Hyeon seized the moment and linked her arm through mine.
“Gaga~ Don’t you like how I look?”
“Hye… Could you tell your older brother to let go?”
At those words, Sama-hye giggled and linked her own arm through my other side.
“That’s right. Eun~ When are you planning to have the wedding with older brother~”
Since they were real siblings, their mimicry was deliberate and their speech patterns matched.
“You two, have mercy on me.”
At this rate, I’m nothing but a pushover.
* * *
A short while later.
After playfully bickering with the two siblings, I was finally able to guide Sama Hyeon to the tea room.
The two siblings giggled for quite some time, clearly delighted by the teasing.
Sama-hye in particular seemed excited, seeing her older brother for the first time in ages.
“So? How did you manage it, brother?”
Perhaps it was the effect of returning home.
Sama Hyeon seemed pleased by how much brighter Sama-hye had become, and he shared various stories with her.
“How could I just throw away money for a single rice cake? Your older brother wasn’t about to sit idle either~”
While the two of them chatted away, I mentioned I would fetch tea and deliberately excused myself from the room.
I deliberately took my time preparing the tea, giving the two of them space to reconnect.
After about an hour, when I returned, Sama-hye was startled and hastily wiped her eyes.
“Oh, Master!”
‘If I’d known this would happen, I should have stayed away longer…’
Sama Hyeon patted his sister’s back.
“Hye’s always been a crybaby since way back~ I bet she shed quite a few tears while studying at the Medical Guild.”
“That’s not true. I never cried once, did I?”
She asked me this while deliberately feigning anger.
‘Hmm, the Medical Guild’s evaluations of Sama-hye always did include [strong willpower].’
Seeing her brother after so long seemed to have loosened her tear ducts.
I said nothing further and instead offered this:
“I’ve brought some snacks to go with the tea. Would you like to eat? Since it’s cold out, I made sure they’re warm.”
“Yes, yes! Of course.”
What I set before Sama-hye and Sama Hyeon was something neither had ever heard of or seen in the Central Plains.
“What is this?”
“Uh… hot dog… no… uh… fried… corn… dog?”
I wasn’t sure what to call it.
It was simply a Korean-style cheese corn dog.
And a terribly unhealthy one at that—half cheese and half sausage inside, coated in rice batter, with sliced potatoes pressed into it as well.
Deep fried until golden, then rolled in sugar!
Drizzled generously with ketchup!
Truly an unhealthy yet delicious snack!
“You even drew pictures on them, Master?”
I’d drawn a fox on one with ketchup and a star on the other.
“One each for you two to share.”
“We eat this together with tea?”
“Yes. Since tea is bitter, snacks should be as sweet as possible.”
…Is this really a snack?
The two siblings exchanged a glance before Sama Hyeon shrugged naturally and took a bite first.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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