I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 30
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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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She had become a doctor of Oriental medicine for the spirits.
#30
A few days later.
I was posting another nursing assistant wanted ad, my fingers raking through my hair in frustration.
Then I started venting about the hiring difficulties in the group chat with my classmates from the Oriental medicine program.
They were among the few precious friends who bothered to keep company with a homebody like me.
Kyungsin University Oriental Medicine Class XX Beautiful Trio 3
Gyu-ri
Oh my. Yeon-hee must be really upset. 🙁
But honestly, that happens all the time. Some people just ghost and quit without even saying goodbye……!
Han-na
I mean, nursing assistants sometimes just coordinate not to show up all at once, you know?
Gyu-ri
Really? That actually happens……?
Han-na
Yeah, and don’t ask me how I know. I wish I didn’t. That day the head director and I had to cover for all of them… I thought I’d die ㅠㅠ
Gyu-ri
(tear emoji)
Han-na
Anyway, our Yeon-hee’s been doing it alone this whole time, so hiring someone for the first time must be shocking. Hang in there!
Good grief.
I was reading through the messages, shaking my head, when
suddenly the conversation took an unexpected turn.
Kyungsin University Oriental Medicine Class XX Beautiful Trio 3
Han-na
But Yeon-hee, you’re doing really well lately~~~? Everyone’s talking about you online? The beautiful genius Oriental medicine doctor!
Gyu-ri
Oh! I saw that too! ><
I bet O Ro-ji saw it too. Honestly, I think she's probably feeling pretty bitter about it…….
Han-na
I mean, she's been dying to catch up to our Yeon-hee since before. It's so annoying.
These two were really saying something, weren't they?
I laughed and sent a reply.
Kyungsin University Oriental Medicine Class XX Beautiful Trio 3
What are you talking about? Why would O Ro-ji, the heir to such a big hospital, care about me?
But that was that very same afternoon.
Ding—
The bell on the clinic door chimed lightly.
"Welcome… oh?"
I looked up automatically as I greeted them, but my words trailed off.
A young woman stood in the entrance.
Refined chestnut waves, lustrous silk blouse, ankle-length skirt. Her outfit screamed expensive at a glance.
Her makeup was flawless too, and she carried a luxury box with ribbon in her hand.
"So this is it? That clinic of yours, Yeon-hee."
……And she had an elegant, graceful tone to match.
"O Ro-ji?"
"Hi, Yeon-hee. It's been a while. Your clinic is so simple and charming."
She glanced around the interior, then gave a light nod.
It was O Ro-ji, a classmate from Kyungsin University's Oriental Medicine program.
The sole heir to O-hwi Korean Medicine Hospital, a large chain clinic spanning the entire nation.
'Now that I think about it, La-bit-i said when she first came to Baekmiodang, she'd been treated at that hospital for a few months.'
I remembered it vividly because I'd felt embarrassed that the treatment hadn't helped much.
But during our university days, O Ro-ji and I hadn't been particularly close.
So her sudden appearance like this was unexpected.
'Honestly, it feels a bit awkward.'
Just then, she smiled the way I imagined O Ro-ji would and held out the box she was carrying.
"I opened a clinic nearby. This is opening tteok."
"Huh? You opened your own clinic?"
I reached out my hand in surprise, asking the question.
"Weren't you working at the main branch in Gangnam with your father?"
"Ha ha. Things just turned out this way, I guess."
She gave a light shrug.
"Oh, that's right."
O Ro-ji suddenly covered her mouth with her hand as she spoke.
"A nurse I hired recently canceled her acceptance at another clinic and rushed to come work at our hospital. Turns out it was your clinic, didn't it?"
She furrowed her elegant brows with what seemed like regret.
"I'm sorry about that. I offered her such good terms. It seems like she… compared the two of us."
What? So that's what happened?
"Ah, so that's how it was. Well, at least she went somewhere better with better conditions!"
So it wasn't because of anything bad that she couldn't come.
I clapped my hands lightly and laughed it off.
O Ro-ji's expression suddenly grew subtly stiff.
"……Anyway."
She lifted her chin slightly.
"We might run into each other often. Well then."
As she turned to leave, the door bell chimed again.
Just then, Alfred poked his face out from behind the counter and complained.
[Yeon-hee. What manner of woman is that? Her words held thorns, and her eyes carried mockery. That comment about the nurse—it was surely intentional.]
I waved my hand dismissively.
"Come on. Why would O Ro-ji have any reason to do that to me? She even brought opening tteok. She's a good person."
Alfred thumped his tail on the ground and snorted.
[I see……. Perhaps it brings you peace of mind to think so.]
Hmm? I tilted my head in confusion.
* * *
As O Ro-ji left Baekmiodang, she turned her head to glare back at the clinic.
Even the wooden nameplate reading "Baekmiodang" at the entrance irritated her.
Go Yeon-hee.
Straight black hair, and that pure white complexion still unblemished by a single flaw.
Those eyes that lifted neatly, those clear pupils, that presence that drew people in without effort.
"……How infuriating."
For a moment, her true feelings slipped out of her mouth.
A word that didn't suit her graceful, refined tone at all.
'Still pretending to be innocent, playing the good girl.'
A resentful gleam flickered across O Ro-ji's eyes.
In truth, her opening a clinic in this neighborhood and stealing the nurse were no accidents.
During her time at Kyungsin University's Oriental Medicine program,
these were things she'd set out to do—all born from the memory of being constantly outpaced by Yeon-hee, except for one single time.
'I'm so furious. So, so furious!'
She herself, as the heir to O-hwi Korean Medicine Hospital, had received advanced instruction in Oriental medicine from her father since childhood, and during university she'd been able to focus purely on her studies.
Yet Go Yeon-hee, despite being an orphan, had managed to keep up with her studies while working part-time—and surpassed her.
Remembering it now, the resentment bubbled up again.
Her pale fists trembled slightly as they clenched.
'How could someone like Go Yeon-hee, who has nothing, be better than me? I can't accept it!'
All through university, she'd endured for six years with an aching heart.
After graduation, she'd tried hard to forget.
But recently, articles and comments she'd seen online shattered her peace of mind again.
-Does anyone know who the Oriental medicine doctor is who treated soccer player Ma Yun-sang? She's beautiful and incredibly skilled.
-I think actor Yang Si-heon has found his regular clinic?
The moment she saw those comments praising Yeon-hee, her pride crumbled, and she'd stormed straight into her father's office.
Of course, her father was thoroughly bewildered.
─ "What? O Ro-ji, opening your own clinic out of the blue? Now is the time for you to learn management under me and master the clinic system."
─ "Father."
She lifted her head and spoke clearly.
─ "But if I don't do this now, I'll spend my whole life thinking I was inferior to her. I'll show you that I can do this on my own strength."
─ "Good grief. So stubborn. You're my daughter, but really……."
Deep wrinkles formed in her father's brow.
After a long sigh, his gaze fell upon her with what seemed like resignation.
─ "Fine. Open your clinic. But I won't provide support. Do it entirely on your own strength."
─ "Thank you, Father!"
She'd embraced her father's neck.
She'd been satisfied to finally step onto this grand stage.
Of course, reality proved less glamorous than she'd imagined.
Building rent was far more expensive than expected, and interior design quotes gave her a headache.
Unlike at O-hwi Korean Medicine Hospital, she had no helping staff—she had to handle everything herself.
Still, O Ro-ji was confident.
'Go Yeon-hee, this time I'll make sure to see disappointment bloom across your face.'
She laughed to herself as she walked along Bukhansan Stone Wall Street.
Her mood soared just from imagining it.
High on her own excitement, O Ro-ji spread her arms wide and called out loudly.
"I'm going to absorb all the patients in this area, all your famous clients—every last one! Mwahahaha!"
Passersby who happened to be walking by jumped in surprise and turned their heads.
Unbothered, O Ro-ji smoothed down her skirt with an elegant hand and climbed onto the bicycle parked nearby.
She didn't have a driver's license yet, and the bus required multiple transfers.
She'd gone into debt from opening the clinic; a taxi was a luxury she couldn't afford.
In the end, the transportation she'd chosen was a bicycle.
"This time I'm going to win, Go Yeon-hee!"
Her cry scattered on the wind.
The bicycle squeaked as it disappeared down an alley.
* * *
Evening at Baekmiodang, as the sunset began to fade.
The sun set beyond the ridge of the mountain, casting long shadows across the yard.
That peculiar stillness that marked the end of the day, mingled with the sound of insects in the grass.
It was my favorite moment at Baekmiodang.
"Are you here, Doctor?"
That day too, after finishing all my consultations, I was enjoying the sunset glow in the yard when
beyond the gate, footsteps rang out and Baek Eun-ho's urgent voice reached me.
"Oh? Eun-ho. What's wrong?"
"I have something to tell you about the diary—."
He called out as he came into the yard.
"……?"
Then he stopped short and froze, his expression stricken at the sight that greeted him.
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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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