I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 5
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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 doctor for Divine Beasts
#5
My room on the second floor of Baekmuodang.
By the window, there’s a bench-like seat where you can sit.
It’s a space my mother made for me by hand when I was young.
‘I used to envy the protagonists in foreign films sitting by windows reading books or gazing outside in a daze, so she made this for me.’
It’s my favorite place in Baekmuodang.
But at the same time, it’s where I miss my mother most painfully.
Still, whenever I have something on my mind, I always sit here.
Because looking down at the garden from here, my worries would melt away like snow.
“…….”
Today was no different.
The night I returned from treating the chairman of Baekho Group, I sat on the window bench sipping warm cocoa.
The moonlit garden. Summer’s lush green leaves trembled gently in the breeze.
“Let’s see here.”
I set down the mug and picked up my phone instead.
Then I searched for “Lunar Jung Ra Bit” on YouTube.
‘My patient starting tomorrow. A Rabbit Clan Divine Beast.’
Just then, light paw steps approached, and…….
Hop.
Alfred leaped gracefully onto my lap and settled down.
[Yeon Hee. What are you doing right now?]
“This person… well, this Divine Beast is coming to our clinic tomorrow. I’m doing some research beforehand. I’m completely clueless about the idol world, honestly.”
I stroked Alfred’s back with one hand while scrolling with the other.
YouTube was full of Jung Ra Bit’s videos.
A petite frame, fair skin, lanky build. Yet her cheeks were rosy pink and adorably plump.
‘According to her profile, she’s in her early twenties. If she wore a school uniform, I’d believe she was a student.’
On top of that, those sparkling big eyes and long lashes.
If Baek Eun Ho was a tiger, then Jung Ra Bit was truly just like a rabbit.
Moreover, in several videos, a stubby tail or perked-up rabbit ears would suddenly peek through.
Of course, ordinary people seemed not to notice—her bandmates showed no surprise whatsoever.
“But when do Divine Beasts show their tails and ears like that?”
I tilted my head in curiosity.
Alfred swished his tail lightly as he answered.
[In everyday life, we hide ourselves in human form. But if we wish, we can reveal certain parts. When emotions run high or the body grows exhausted, our true form leaks through.]
“Oh…….”
I nodded, then glanced down at Alfred.
“By the way, Alfred. You’re a Cat Clan Divine Beast, right? When you take human form, you turn into some cranky old man, don’t you?”
Ugh. Just imagining it made me terribly sad.
My adorable furry friend!
I stopped petting him and frowned, and Alfred opened his eyes wide with a wounded expression.
[You, you fool……! I am not of the Cat Clan! I am a creature of spiritual essence among animals. My lineage has served the Cat Clan throughout the ages. My true form is not some insignificant cat like this, but a magnificent, imposing figure!]
“Sure, sure~ I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
So the thing I’m petting right now isn’t an old man, then?
Phew, what a relief.
Reassured, I petted Alfred and clicked on a video with high view counts.
「Jung Ra Bit: The Tea on Almost Flunking Her Debut?!」
In the talk show video, Jung Ra Bit spoke with a shy smile.
– I thought I had no talent, so there was even a time I ran out of the company during a rainstorm wanting to quit. Though in the end, they caught me and brought me back. Hehe.
– No, but Jung Ra Bit! You’re the main dancer of Lunar now, and you’re one of the most popular members! So how did you overcome it?
– I thought there was nothing but hard work. I dieted harder, increased my practice time…….
I clicked my tongue.
“The world’s full of delicious food and yet she just eats vegetables. I’m telling you, idols live more like rabbits than actual rabbits do.”
As Jung Ra Bit laughed embarrassedly in the video, those around her praised her as a “true practice junkie.”
She seemed humble and naive in character.
It was quite different from the glamorous, ultra-cool idol image I’d imagined.
“So what exactly is wrong with Jung Ra Bit?”
[Didn’t the next leader of the Tiger Clan tell you?]
“The next leader? Ah, you mean Baek Eun Ho. Well, he said it was a test and wouldn’t tell me.”
I scrunched my nose thinking of his arrogant face.
“He really does have a rotten personality, doesn’t he? Acting like he’s some king of beasts…… Well, he actually is a tiger, but still.”
Grumbling, I turned my attention back to the phone.
The next video was a fancam from a live performance.
With a cute, charming face, she danced powerfully on stage.
Her waist bent sharply, then rose smoothly with core strength, and power radiated from her fingertips to her toes.
“Wow……! She’s going to blow out every joint doing that.”
[Don’t worry. Rabbit Clan Divine Beasts naturally excel in agility and nimbleness. That’s why their kind has always produced many dancers.]
“Still, that’s something…… She’s transcended human limits.”
Then I happened to watch a vlog video.
Jung Ra Bit and her members had gone to a film premiere, and after the end credits rolled, everyone started to get up and leave.
Everyone was busy hurrying out, but Jung Ra Bit alone bent her waist and paused for a moment.
– Jung Ra Bit! Come on!
– Oh, yeah!
She quickly straightened up and rushed after them.
In that moment, my eyes lit up.
“……Hmm? I think I might know what’s wrong with Jung Ra Bit.”
[Hmm? You mean her back is hurting?]
“No. The problem isn’t her back. I’ll need to see her in person to know the details.”
Alfred was impressed.
[To figure it out just from this—remarkable. Well, your mother was an excellent Purifier and a skilled physician, after all.]
That moment.
Suddenly, a chill ran through me as if cold water had been poured over my head.
I hugged my knees and spoke curtly.
“What good does that do? My mother left me alone anyway.”
[Yeon Hee…….]
Alfred called out to me quietly.
“Never mind. I should get some sleep.”
I got up from the window seat, turned off the light, and threw myself onto the bed, pulling the blanket over my head.
Tonight, the moonlight through the window felt colder than ever.
* * *
The next morning.
Jung Ra Bit sat in the back seat of the van driven by her Manager, gazing out the window.
The car was driving along the slopes of Bukhansan, having left Seoul’s outer edges behind.
Today’s destination was the clinic recommended by Baek Eun Ho of the Tiger Clan.
“What’s it called? ……Baekmuodang Korean Medicine Hospital?”
The Manager at the wheel tilted her head and muttered.
“I mean, why would Director Baek recommend such a remote place? I looked it up and the clinic director doesn’t have much of a background. Looks like she just opened her clinic right after graduating from Korean medicine school.”
“Really?”
“Plus, she works alone without a single staff member. There are barely any reviews…… Literally just a small neighborhood clinic. What kind of trust would you have in a place like that?”
Jung Ra Bit laughed awkwardly and shrugged.
“But Director Baek strongly recommended it…… Let’s just give it a try, noona.”
The girl group Lunar belongs to Baekho Entertainment.
On the surface, it’s an ordinary entertainment agency, but in reality, it’s a subsidiary of a major corporation operated by the Tiger Clan.
And Jung Ra Bit herself was a Rabbit Clan Divine Beast living hidden among humans.
‘Actually, the clinic director is half-human, half-cat—a Purifier with Cat Clan bloodline. But I absolutely can’t tell the human Manager about that.’
As Jung Ra Bit watched the scenery outside change from apartment complexes to mountainsides, she made a quiet vow.
The Manager glanced at her and asked.
“Jung Ra Bit, your illness is so long-standing, isn’t it? And it’s an occupational disease too. Didn’t all those famous doctors say you can’t cure it until you retire from being an idol?”
Jung Ra Bit nodded.
“Yeah…… That’s true. But since she’s a Korean medicine doctor, maybe she’ll say something different from the Western doctors.”
“But we already went to a Korean medicine hospital. That famous one in Gangnam. That ridiculously expensive…… what was it called? O Hui Korean Medicine Hospital? We went there for months, and there was barely any improvement. Even the director and his daughter, the female director, kept coming to check on you, but nothing changed.”
Jung Ra Bit bit her lips for a moment.
“……That’s true. There wasn’t much improvement.”
So there weren’t high expectations for this visit either.
The thought flickered—maybe someone with Cat Clan bloodline could show different results…….
But she shook her head.
‘I wasn’t cursed. It’s just a simple occupational disease. Even a Purifier won’t have much of a solution for that.’
At best, she’d probably just say the same thing as the other doctors—that she needed to take a break from practicing.
The car had climbed a winding path.
Old hanoks lined the way outside, and brilliant early summer morning sunlight shattered against the tiled roofs.
Jung Ra Bit gazed out the window with a bitter look in her eyes.
“I guess…… I shouldn’t expect much.”
As she murmured to herself, the Manager stopped the car.
“This must be it? I see ‘Baekmuodang Korean Medicine Hospital’ written on the hanok gate.”
Jung Ra Bit took a deep breath and got out of the car.
Then she glanced over Baekmuodang with eyes holding no great expectations.
* * *
Ding—.
The small bell above the clinic door chimed clearly, and the idol Jung Ra Bit and someone who appeared to be her Manager entered.
“Welcome. You’re Jung Ra Bit, aren’t you?”
I led them directly to the consultation room.
Jung Ra Bit in person was even more delicate than on screen.
Fair skin, rosy cheeks, those large eyes.
‘Wow, she really does look just like a rabbit. Adorable!’
But despite her cute appearance, her expression was polite yet distant.
The Manager, too, swept her cold eyes across the consultation room and crossed her arms dismissively.
Even without words, I could feel that she had no faith in me whatsoever.
‘Hmm. This is going to be a problem.’
It’s a fundamental truth—in a patient’s first meeting with a doctor, the physician must demonstrate competence, or else the patient won’t follow through with treatment properly.
I decided to put on a calm, kindly smile, playing as if I knew nothing special.
“Director Baek mentioned that you’ve been suffering from a chronic illness.”
“Yes. So over the years I’ve visited all kinds of hospitals. I’ve seen many famous doctors too. Actually, I didn’t really plan to come here either.”
But since Director Baek recommended it…… The Manager tapped her nails dismissively, her tone noncommittal.
At that, Jung Ra Bit also shrugged lightly.
“Um, so Director Yeon Hee, you don’t need to feel pressured. After all, my illness is something that will only heal if I retire…… “.
I cut off her words and spoke calmly.
“Your knees hurt, don’t they?”
“……!”
In that instant, both the Manager’s and Jung Ra Bit’s eyes widened simultaneously.
“Oh, no… I haven’t told you anything yet, so how……?”
Jung Ra Bit’s previously distant gaze swiftly shifted to shock, then amazement.
Twitch!
At the same moment, rabbit ears popped up on top of her head.
‘Heh.’
I found it so cute I almost laughed out loud, but I held it in.
I crossed my arms, leaned back in my chair, and continued matter-of-factly.
“Your knees feel weak when you dance, right? Going up and down stairs makes them ache, so you have to stop and rest for a moment. When you kneel and stand up, your joints feel like they’re creaking.”
Jung Ra Bit’s face turned bright red instantly.
“H, h, how……how did you know all that……?”
“Is it possible someone told you beforehand?”
The Manager’s eyes widened too, unable to hide her bewilderment.
I smiled slyly and shook my head.
“No. I just see it right away. And I know how to fix it too.”
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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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