I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 44

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

The Healer of the Divine Waters
#44
“Ah…!”
I blinked.
I recalled something Detective Jin had said before.
She’d mentioned that the feeling of contempt smells like cold metal.
It seems admiration and goodwill manifest as different scents.
‘Citrus….’
Without meaning to, a faint smile tugged at my lips.
That’s when Detective Jin spoke again.
“Director Koh, are you finished with the treatment?”
“Yes. I was just about to place the needles and leave.”
“You came with me this morning, and now you’re back again separately. Aren’t you overexerting yourself?”
I shook my head.
“I want to return Sua’s mother to her as quickly as possible. And if Miso recovers faster, we can catch the perpetrators of the assault sooner.”
Jin Do-gyeong let out a laugh tinged with a sigh and shook her head back and forth.
“Baek Eun-ho was right.”
“What?”
“Based on your nature, Director, if a patient is right in front of you, you’d exhaust every bit of your energy to heal them, even if it meant collapsing yourself.”
Her gaze lingered on my face for a long moment.
“Both Detective Jo and I are grateful for how quickly we’re improving thanks to you… but I’m worried that you look exhausted lately.”
“Oh, come on. I’m a practitioner of oriental medicine—I know how to take care of my own health.”
I smiled and waved it off.
Jin Do-gyeong made a soft sound and wore an uncertain expression.
“I’m uneasy about it, really.”
* * *
That evening, I returned to the Baek Myo Clinic.
Saturdays only had morning consultations; the clinic closed in the afternoon.
That’s why I’d stopped by Miso’s room once more.
Though in front of Detective Jin, I’d pretended to be fine, acting as if nothing was wrong.
‘To be honest, I’ve been a bit tired lately.’
Miso and Detective Jin.
The energy I was spending on treating both of them was substantial, and on top of that, the clinic had been packed every single day.
The moment I shut the clinic door and stepped into the entryway, Alfred approached and tilted his head up.
[Yeonhui. Did you return safely?]
“Yeah. I’m exhausted. I think I’ll turn in early tonight.”
I answered while removing my shoes.
Alfred studied my face closely, then spoke.
[But Yeonhui, your face looks quite flushed.]
“Hm?”
I brought the back of my hand to my cheek.
“I do feel a bit warm… Maybe it’s the summer heat.”
[Today’s heat has been rather unusual. Perhaps you should operate that strange machine that blows cold air at night as well?]
“What? The air conditioner?”
Alfred wagged his tail hopefully.
I responded immediately.
“No way! It’s nighttime—what do I need air conditioning for? Opening the window is plenty cool. Or I can just sit in front of the fan.”
Alfred looked at me with clear displeasure and slapped his tail against the floor.
Pretending not to notice, I headed to the bathroom a bit earlier than usual.
The reflection in the mirror was noticeably different from my usual self.
My cheeks were flushed, and my eyes drooped drowsily.
‘Ugh… I need to get to bed soon.’
As an introvert, I recharge by lying in bed alone.
But today I’d met a lot of people and been outside quite a bit.
In other words, my carefully rationed social energy was completely depleted!
‘Let me shower quickly, lie down, scroll on my phone for a bit, and then sleep.’
That time before bed, lying on my mattress watching web novels or web comics until I drift off naturally—that’s the best.
Splooooosh—
I forced my body to move and finished the shower, then stood before the bathroom mirror.
My body felt as heavy as water-soaked cotton, and my mind moved sluggishly like an overheated computer.
But then.
‘Huh…?’
While blow-drying my wet hair, I felt something strange.
My hands wouldn’t respond properly.
My fingers moved sluggishly, as if they weren’t my own.
The next moment.
Clang!
The blow dryer slipped from my grip and clattered to the bathroom floor.
I reflexively tried to brace myself, but my legs wouldn’t obey.
The world tilted.
The tile floor…
was approaching very slowly, yet inexorably.
‘Why… what…?’
My thoughts wouldn’t flow smoothly.
I should have been alarmed, but I couldn’t even scream.
‘Falling…’
That was all the observation I could manage.
It was strange.
My body should have collided hard with the floor by now.
Excruciating pain should have followed.
But it didn’t hurt at all.
Instead.
Crack—
Something shattered near my left wrist.
I lay on my side on the bathroom floor, gazing blankly at the ceiling.
“…Huh?”
Why doesn’t it hurt?
That thought came first.
As I rolled my eyes slowly, I saw jade fragments scattered across the floor.
The central bead of the bracelet was broken.
Only then, a beat too late, did I remember.
‘This bracelet… it protects against physical impact.’
Eun-ho said he’d come if it broke.
And here I’d summoned him in the middle of the night with this clumsy mistake… He’d probably have plenty to say about it…
But even that thought took time to form.
It felt important, but nothing quite registered right now.
‘Ah… I don’t even know anymore.’
My body felt glued to the floor like chewing gum.
My limbs had no strength whatsoever.
My forehead felt hot—or maybe it didn’t.
‘Why am I so… drowsy…’
My eyelids closed of their own accord.
Even the cold, hard texture of the tile floor barely registered.
‘Just a little… rest my eyes…’
In that moment, a shadow dimly filled my vision.
“Koh Yeonhui!”
Someone called my name.
It was a familiar voice.
“What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
It was an urgent cry.
But it sounded distant, as if I were hearing it underwater.
‘Ah, it’s Eun-ho…’
The moment that thought crossed my mind.
I stopped thinking altogether and fell into darkness where I lay.
* * *
I dreamed.
It’s a dream that repeats whenever my condition is poor.
In the dream, I was seventeen years old in my school uniform.
And I could see my mother’s back ahead of me.
“Mom, where are you going?”
Mother walked straight ahead without looking back.
I chased after her.
“Mom, why are you leaving without a word? Huh?”
No matter how much I called, she never turned around.
It was strange.
I was running at full speed, yet the distance only grew wider.
“Mom… Did I do something wrong?”
Words tumbled out in a rush between gasps for breath.
“Is it because raising me alone is too hard? Are you exhausted, and you just want to let go of everything and leave?”
“….”
“Are you regretting the marriage you made against your family’s wishes? Are you going back because you miss your original family?”
“….”
There was no answer.
I nearly sobbed as I cried out desperately.
“Mom, I won’t be a bother. I’ll do everything myself.”
“You don’t have to pay for my academy fees. I’ll study on my own.”
“I’ll do all the housework. I’ll do it well, I promise.”
I couldn’t tell if those words reached her ears.
But because I couldn’t bear to lose her.
“So please don’t go, okay?”
My voice finally broke as I screamed.
“I have no one but you! Being left alone in this world terrifies me! Mom, please!”
But my mother’s figure grew distant and hazy, and finally vanished altogether.
* * *
“…Ah!”
I gasped sharply and opened my eyes.
My heart was racing.
Looking around, I was in my room, in my own bed.
The clock showed only a few minutes had passed.
‘I must have passed out for a moment.’
It was then.
Alfred suddenly sprang up from my stomach and yowled in an indignant voice: “Meow!”
“Alfred, I scared you? I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
I was reaching out to stroke his back.
When I felt a presence beside the bed.
I turned my head in surprise, and there sat Baek Eun-ho, arms folded and legs crossed.
His expression was utterly fierce.
“Teacher Koh. Is a short life your dream? Is fainting your hobby?”
“…Hehe.”
Come to think of it, that was my third fainting spell in front of Eun-ho.
I tried to laugh it off awkwardly, but Eun-ho grew serious.
“This isn’t something you can laugh off. Teacher, your body is on fire right now.”
At those words, I reflexively brought my hand to my forehead.
It was hot.
More than hot—it was absolutely burning.
“Wow, it really is. This might be over 40 degrees?”
My voice grew weak and hoarse before I could finish the sentence.
Baek Eun-ho laughed in disbelief.
Alfred also sensed my condition and growled, “Hiss!”
“Joking? Over 40 degrees? You talk about yourself like it’s someone else’s problem?”
“It’s not.”
I answered in what I thought was a serious tone.
“If it were someone else, I’d run diagnostics quickly, find the cause—check inflammatory markers and infection status, and if it’s just a simple fever cold, I’d prescribe Yin-Returning Decoction or Siler and Platycodon Decoction—”
“And here you are, knowing all that so well!”
Suddenly Eun-ho cut me off.

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