I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 108

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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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A physician to the Divine Beasts
#108
The vision before Hae Gang-hyeok, Clan Head of the Hae Clan, began to blur.
A familiar kitchen scene flickered past his eyes.
A small boy—his youngest son—standing on a step stool before a counter that reached up to his chin.
“Father!”
Hae Seong-woo, not yet ten years old, beamed with childish delight.
“I made this!”
And beside him, two older brothers laughing brightly.
“This is delicious! Our little brother really is a genius!”
“Seong-woo, let your brother have a taste too!”
“The three of us should open a restaurant someday!”
A drop.
A tear traced down Hae Gang-hyeok’s cheek.
“……dear?”
His wife, sitting beside him, turned with a look of alarm.
Hae Gang-hyeok could only move his mouth silently, unable to speak for a long moment.
‘I’ve pushed them too hard.’
He had believed that pitting his sons against each other—that only the most talented would become heir—would drive them to grow.
But now he saw the cost. The most precious thing was slipping away.
In the name of competition, he had been slowly, quietly destroying the bond between brothers.
“Hm…….”
His wife, too, now had tears glistening in her eyes.
She, too, had recalled a similar memory.
“…….”
Hae Il-woo, the eldest, bowed his head low.
Hae Jung-woo, the second son, pressed his lips together in silence.
“Please, don’t be like this. That’s not why I cooked,” Hae Seong-woo said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
He laughed sheepishly.
“I just… I didn’t want to run away anymore. I wanted to really talk with my brothers, wanted us to be like we used to be…….”
It was Hae Il-woo, the eldest, who broke the silence first.
“Seong-woo. I’m sorry.”
Hae Il-woo gave a bitter smile.
“I didn’t hate you. I envied your talent… and I was jealous.”
Hae Jung-woo nodded quietly in agreement.
“So was I. The brighter you shone, the more anxious I became, and the more small I felt.”
As Hae Seong-woo stared at his brothers in confusion, they each offered a bitter laugh and spoke.
“But to think you’d actually set down your sword for us.”
“Fool. Who asked you to do that?”
“That’s not… I mean…….”
The corners of Hae Seong-woo’s eyes, too, had reddened.
After a moment, Clan Head Hae Gang-hyeok rose slowly from his seat. He looked at his three sons.
“I was wrong.”
At those words, all three brothers’ eyes widened.
“Father……!”
“Under the guise of naming an heir, I made you compete. That’s all I ever did.”
Hae Gang-hyeok drew a deep breath.
“But today, I finally understand. What truly nourishes a person is not the dish itself.”
His gaze turned toward his youngest son, and a smile crossed his lips.
“Seong-woo. This old fool has only just learned it—that food made with care for another’s heart is what truly satisfies.”
“…….”
“So I ask you again.”
Hae Gang-hyeok’s eyes had softened.
“Hae Seong-woo. Will you cook again?”
After a moment of silence.
Hae Seong-woo, suppressing his tears with difficulty, managed a smile.
“……Is it… truly alright for me to do so?”
“Hah. My boy. Why not?”
Hae Gang-hyeok burst into laughter.
“My youngest. How much you must have suffered all this time.”
At that signal, the Hae Clan Mistress wiped her tears and laughed.
Hae Il-woo clapped his younger brother on the shoulder, and Hae Jung-woo let out a quiet chuckle.
“Idiot.”
“Next time you try to run off alone, we won’t let you.”
Hae Seong-woo laughed and wiped his tears.
For the first time in a long while, laughter had returned to the Hae Clan’s dining table.
* * *
One day.
As usual, I’d come to the Hae Clan Main Estate, and as I was checking the pulse condition of the Hae Clan Mistress, my eyes widened.
‘What?’
The pulse condition had changed dramatically.
Just last week, her pulse had been thin and weakly flowing. Now it surged with newfound strength.
Opening my Spirit Eyes, I traced the meridian flow and was even more startled.
‘The vital energy of the Heart Meridian—which relates to the mind—has become far more stable!’
The Hae Clan Mistress’s complexion, too, had improved, and her cheeks had gained a fuller appearance.
More than anything, her eyes had changed. The worry that had weighed on her for nearly half a year seemed to have lifted considerably.
“Patient.”
I looked at her in amazement.
“Your condition has improved dramatically!”
Hae Gang-hyeok, the Clan Head, watching from the side, laughed heartily.
“Haha! I too have been most pleased of late. My wife’s condition has improved noticeably. It is entirely thanks to Director Go.”
The Hae Clan Mistress smiled brightly.
“Director. My appetite has returned.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. For the first time in ages, I’ve felt drawn to food. I even went to the kitchen on my own to see what was there. And now I can finish a whole bowl of rice without feeling uncomfortably full.”
Her voice was brimming with joy.
I felt the corners of my mouth lift as well.
“That’s wonderful news! But… what changed suddenly?”
At that, the couple exchanged a glance.
Both looked a touch embarrassed.
Hae Gang-hyeok cleared his throat.
“The truth is, we have named a new Clan Head.”
“Is that so? It’s Il-woo, then? Or Jung-woo?”
The Hae Clan Mistress, seeing my delighted surprise, smiled and shook her head.
“Neither. It’s Seong-woo.”
“……I beg your pardon?”
My eyes widened.
“The youngest, Seong-woo?”
Afterward, I heard the whole story.
How the three brothers had stood together in the kitchen for the first time in years. How Hae Seong-woo had found the courage to bare his heart. How his older brothers, belatedly, had grasped the sincerity of their youngest.
And how the family’s long-tangled knots had slowly, carefully begun to unravel.
By the time the tale was finished, I couldn’t help but smile.
‘It really has turned out well.’
In the end, Hae Seong-woo had faced himself, and become honest with his family.
I left the Inner Quarters after mentioning that we should continue the house visits just one or two more times before concluding treatment.
But then.
“Director Go!”
Someone waved from the direction of the Garden.
It was Hae Seong-woo.
With him were Hae Il-woo and Hae Jung-woo.
“Oh? You were all here?”
The three brothers bowed in unison, as if they had been waiting for me.
“Thank you so very much.”
“Pardon?”
I was taken aback.
Hae Seong-woo, the youngest, spoke first. A gentle smile crossed his face.
“Thanks to Director Go, my body recovered, and I found the courage I needed. If you hadn’t explained my condition that day, I would have kept running.”
Hae Il-woo spoke with quiet sincerity.
“We, too, have done much reflection. We failed to understand our youngest brother’s heart, and we failed to be the brothers we should have been.”
Hae Jung-woo gave a bitter smile.
“To be honest, I think our cooking was filled with nothing but the hunger to be recognized. We were feeding our own pride before we thought of those who would eat. Watching Seong-woo showed us what we lacked. We thank you for bringing us to our senses.”
He lowered his head slightly as he continued.
“It is because of you that our family has straightened itself out.”
I felt suddenly embarrassed and waved a hand.
“No, no. All I did was place some needles and prepare some Korean Herbal Medicine.”
“Haha. You are too modest.”
The three of them looked genuinely at ease.
Where once they’d seemed strained even in the same room, now they joked with each other naturally, laughed freely, and their eyes shone with ease.
‘Wait?’
A smile escaped me unbidden.
‘Come to think of it, I really am like the wolf from that children’s story about three little pigs?’
According to Ma Yun-sang’s description, I had made a dojo challenge at each of their homes in succession.
Just then, Hae Seong-woo laughed awkwardly.
“Director Go. As it happens… I’ve become the next Clan Head.”
I beamed.
“Congratulations! I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully, Seong-woo.”
Hae Seong-woo’s ears flushed red as he scratched the back of his head.
“Thank you. But that’s why… I can’t let you leave empty-handed.”
“Pardon?”
“Our household has prepared a gift for you.”
A moment later.
A servant carefully brought forth a wooden box.
When I opened it, my eyes widened.
“Oh my. What is this?”
“A family heirloom.”
Hae Seong-woo said with pride.
Inside the box, nestled in an earthenware jar, were soy sauce, soybean paste, and red chili paste.
“These are the preserves that have been passed down through our family for generations. They are true heirlooms—we do not share them lightly with anyone. But Director Go is an exception.”
The other brothers nodded in agreement.
“Please, accept them. And when they run out, do contact us. We will resupply them for you for life.”
“And our restaurants all offer you a Free Pass. No reservations needed—just come by anytime.”
The three Hae brothers added with utmost sincerity.
“There is nothing else we would not do for you.”
I stared at the jar set in bewilderment.
Such precious gifts, and they offer to do anything I might ask.
If there was something I could request of the Hae Clan…….
“Ah!”
That was when it struck me—the face of Dong-su from the Orphanage flashed through my mind.
Perhaps… perhaps this could work.
My eyes brightened as I looked at the three brothers.
“In that case… there is one thing I would like to ask.”

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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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