I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 26
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
She had become a doctor of Eastern medicine for the spiritually gifted.
#26
‘Could it be…?’
Kim Sun-mi swallowed hard and clenched and unclenched her fingers.
Once. Then again.
“……!”
The next moment, she looked down at both hands in amazement.
No cracking sound, no dull ache.
The joints that had been swollen yesterday had visibly subsided.
“My goodness…….”
Her fingers moved with an almost unbelievable lightness.
The sharp pain she’d felt every time she held a cup just yesterday had clearly vanished.
“How is this possible?”
She sprang out of bed.
Still bewildered, she held her hand out into the empty air and stretched it slowly.
Her fingers moved smoothly in the morning sunlight.
It truly didn’t hurt.
“……This can’t be real.”
An astonished voice escaped her.
She hurriedly dressed and rushed to Baek Myeo Dang.
“Yeon-hee!”
“Aunt? Is something wrong?”
Go Yeon-hee, in the middle of preparing for her practice, looked up in surprise.
Kim Sun-mi breathed heavily and extended both hands.
“Look at this, Yeon-hee! My hands don’t hurt! The swelling went down for real!”
She kept clenching and unclenching her fingers.
“Until yesterday I could barely lift a single cup, and now—it’s like magic. I’m completely fine.”
Yeon-hee’s eyes widened.
A soft smile spread across her face.
“I’m so glad, Aunt. If you come two more times and the effect holds, you won’t have to close the Cafe, right?”
Sun-mi’s words caught for a moment, then she burst out laughing.
“Of course! As long as my hands are fine, there’s no reason to stop working.”
Her gaze, filled with wonder, turned toward Yeon-hee.
Sun-mi herself was utterly astonished by this miraculous change, yet Yeon-hee remained composed, as if she had always known it would turn out this way.
That made Yeon-hee seem even more impressive.
‘She’s grown into such a remarkable doctor…….’
As Kim Sun-mi marveled inwardly, Yeon-hee smiled and spoke.
“By the way, Aunt, do you have time this evening? I’d like to make japchae for you—as repayment for that pajeon.”
“Of course! If our Yeon-hee is making it, anything would be wonderful!”
Sun-mi nodded readily.
The exhilaration of being free from persistent pain, the relief that she could continue running her beloved Cafe.
Added to that were gratitude and pride in Yeon-hee, and her heart felt boundlessly warm.
* * *
After dinner that evening.
Sun-mi headed back to the Cafe, saying that “The Crimson Shadow” was about to air.
She was so delighted to be free of pain that she smiled throughout the meal—it was heartwarming to watch.
I gazed out at the courtyard of Baek Myeo Dang, where moonlight rested quietly.
A soft hum escaped me naturally.
‘I’m so relieved the Herbal Acupuncture Treatment worked.’
And infusing my own Spiritual Energy into it without reservation seemed to have been effective.
Thanks to that, I nearly collapsed from Spiritual Energy depletion by the end of practice yesterday…….
But at least Aunt felt much better, so it was truly worthwhile.
I was swinging my legs from where I sat on the veranda when—
“Doctor!”
The sound of knocking at Baek Myeo Dang’s gate startled me, and I looked up.
The unexpected visitor was none other than Yang Si-heon.
His breathing was ragged, and his usually neat hair was slightly disheveled.
‘What kind of day is this?’
First Aunt, now Si-heon.
Two patients I’d been intensively treating were rushing to call my name.
For someone always so composed, seeing him this urgent was a first.
“Si-heon? Is something wrong? You didn’t even call ahead.”
As I guided him to the waiting area and asked with concern, he sat on the sofa and caught his breath before speaking.
“I called several times, but you didn’t answer. You said I could come anytime, didn’t you?”
I hurriedly checked my phone.
Five missed calls.
Oh no. I didn’t notice with all the cooking.
“I’m sorry. I was eating and didn’t see it. But what’s the matter?”
The next instant.
I flinched and drew back slightly.
The light in Si-heon’s eyes looking at me was intensely bright.
“Last night, I—.”
“Yes?”
He clenched his fists.
After swallowing once, he spoke in a tone of disbelief.
“I slept deeply. For the first time in years.”
“…….”
“I didn’t even know I was asleep. I didn’t wake once until morning.”
Wait. That’s all it was?
I let out a relieved laugh.
“That’s wonderful. The medicine must be working.”
“Exactly. I need more of that medication. A lot more.”
He leaned forward with earnest eyes—it was almost obsessive.
Instead of answering directly, I redirected the conversation.
“By the way, aren’t you curious what that medicine is?”
“I am. Very curious. How on earth is something like this possible?”
I left him on the sofa and retrieved my medical charts.
“I diagnosed your insomnia as Liver Qi Stagnation Transforming to Fire and prescribed Modified Free Wanderer Powder.”
“Liver what?”
“Liver Qi Stagnation Transforming to Fire. Your anger and suppressed feelings have accumulated for so long they’ve become heat.”
Si-heon’s expression hardened.
“……Anger?”
“Yes. You’ll probably say you feel nothing, but you need to look closely at your own emotions. Without resolving your suppressed feelings, there’s no real cure.”
My sharp advice left him speechless.
After a moment.
He broke the silence, speaking in a defiant tone.
“I truly feel nothing. Acting is just a job to me now.”
I studied him for a moment, then shook my head.
“That won’t do.”
“What?”
“Isn’t ‘The Crimson Shadow’ airing right now? Si-heon, will you come somewhere with me for a bit?”
“Where?”
“To meet a fan.”
* * *
Taking a bewildered Si-heon with me, I hurried straight to Aunt’s Cafe.
The Cafe was surrounded by warm lighting, looking quite cozy.
Through the window I could see the TV on by the counter as usual, and “The Crimson Shadow” was airing.
Aunt was completely absorbed in the drama, her eyes shining.
— You were my forbidden thing, and my salvation.
As Si-heon on screen delivered the mournful line, Aunt’s eyes reddened at once.
Then in the next scene she burst out laughing.
Laughing, then crying, Aunt was completely lost in the world of the drama.
I smiled softly and approached the counter.
“Aunt, come outside for a moment.”
“Hm? Yeon-hee, what’s all this?”
Aunt was caught off guard and dragged outside to the front yard by my arm.
When I grinned and glanced toward the corner of the yard, Aunt followed my gaze and her eyes went wide.
Standing awkwardly in the corner was Yang Si-heon!
A sharp shriek pierced the night.
“What? Who is this… Oh my God, oh my God! Yang Si-heon?! I’m not dreaming right now, am I, Yeon-hee?”
It took Sun-mi a considerable moment to fully accept reality.
Once she composed herself, she broke into a wide, flustered smile.
“Si-heon! I’m such a fan! Your dramas lately are the highlight of my life. I always cheer for you.”
“……Thank you.”
Si-heon smiled awkwardly.
After the impromptu fan meeting.
We headed back to Baek Myeo Dang.
The night air was cool, and the streetlamp light cast our long shadows on the path.
“How was that?”
I asked quietly.
“That acting you said meant nothing to you—people laugh and cry because of it. And you heard that drama is the joy of her life these days.”
“…….”
Si-heon stopped walking abruptly.
Beneath the streetlamp, his hazel eyes flickered slightly.
I spoke gently.
“You’re someone who heals people’s hearts. I want you to remember that.”
A long silence fell.
Si-heon looked at my face without speaking.
His eyes were still dark, but a small glimmer dwelt within them.
* * *
It was late at night.
Yang Si-heon stood in front of his parents’ house.
Beyond the curtains of the Country House windows, light from the living room seeped out faintly.
Suddenly, he remembered the moment Go Yeon-hee had led him to meet Kim Sun-mi, the Cafe owner.
His longtime fan seemed almost radiantly happy to meet him.
For a moment, he had been genuinely startled.
It had been so long since he’d met a fan who asked for nothing and was purely delighted.
— “Oppa! Look here! Wave your hand one more time!”
— “An autograph! Sign here for me!”
— “Are you seeing anyone these days? Are you dating one of your co-stars?”
The endless cascade of excessive demands and interest, as if it were only natural.
He accepted it as inevitable for a public figure, yet somewhere inside he felt suffocated.
So at some point, he had deliberately begun to distance himself from fans.
Just as a buyer doesn’t consider the merchandise’s feelings, the merchandise owes the buyer nothing.
But that one shy question—”Are you eating well?”—had made a corner of his heart resound.
Yes, there were fans like that. People who genuinely cared for him, simply because they loved his acting.
Having been reminded of that, he found the courage to come here tonight.
“Phew.”
After exhaling deeply.
He turned the handle of the front door.
His childhood home was unchanged.
A neatly organized entrance, a spotless living room, and shelves filled with various acting-related trophies.
“Si-heon, what brings you here at this hour without even calling?”
His mother looked up from the end of the living room.
She was in her pajamas, and steam rose gently from the cup in her hand.
Then the door to the master bedroom opened, and a low, heavy voice rang out.
“What’s this? You, the one who won’t come no matter how much we ask.”
His father.
Despite the late hour, he still wore a neat shirt, and a script was in his hand.
Si-heon walked deliberately into the center of the living room.
“Father, Mother. Let’s talk about something.”
He looked at each parent in turn.
“About the day Choco died.”
A short silence fell.
The air itself seemed to freeze.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————