I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 51
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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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I had become a physician to Divine Beasts.
#51
The startling news: Jin Do-gyeong’s patient’s ruptured shoulder muscle had healed completely.
While Oroji stood slack-jawed, her uncle’s voice crackled excitedly through the receiver.
– In all my years practicing medicine, I’ve never seen anything like this! It was clearly a six-week injury, but the recovery was impossibly fast!
“I… see.”
– I was so shocked that I asked directly—how on earth did you manage it?
Her uncle’s voice was flush with curiosity.
– Turns out the patient went to a traditional medicine clinic near Bukhansan and got better there. Is that you, Oroji? I was the one who connected you with that patient, after all.
Oroji felt a strange, inexplicable defeat settle over her, and her lips compressed slowly.
When she finally spoke, her words came out measured and precise.
“It wasn’t me.”
– What? But the patient said they went to a clinic near Bukhansan, so I naturally assumed it was you… So which clinic did they actually visit?
“…….”
After a brief silence, her uncle wound up the call.
– All right then. Thank you for your hard work today.
Click.
Even after the line went dead, Oroji stared at her phone for a long while.
Her reflection in the dark screen was twisted, distorted.
“……Don’t tell me.”
She lifted her head slowly and glared out the window.
Bukhansan. A neighborhood clinic. Impossibly rapid recovery.
Only one name fit that combination.
“Go Yeon-hee?”
At that name, something deep in her chest dropped with a thud.
My own father said recovery faster than six weeks would be difficult.
An injury that even Hua Tuo himself couldn’t heal.
‘So what on earth did she do?’
What trick did she pull to steal my patient away?
Oroji’s hands clenched into tight fists, her nails biting into her palms.
‘This is unbearable, unbearable…!’
She jumped to her feet and began pacing the clinic anxiously.
Fewer patients coming in, staff with nothing to do and idle.
This couldn’t continue.
‘I need to check directly whether it’s just summer vacation season thinning out patients, or if Baek Myodang is experiencing the same.’
But…
Her gaze wavered slightly.
How would she find out what was happening at Baek Myodang?
Going there herself to investigate would wound her pride, and besides, she couldn’t examine every corner thoroughly.
That was when.
A spark.
Light flashed across Oroji’s pupils.
‘I could send someone else instead of going myself.’
The corner of her red mouth curled upward.
Oroji reached over and pressed the intercom button on her desk.
“Kim Mi-jung, could you come to the director’s office for a moment?”
Moments later.
The office door opened cautiously.
“You called for me, director?”
A middle-aged nurse entered with a slight bow.
She was someone who had recently submitted her resume to Baek Myodang, only to be lured away when Oroji offered her more pay.
Oroji leaned back in her chair and slowly drew up the corners of her mouth.
“Kim, I have something I’d like you to do.”
“Yes? What would that be?”
“You know Baek Myodang, right? The clinic you submitted your resume to.”
Bewilderment flickered across Kim Mi-jung’s expression.
“……Yes, I do.”
Oroji tapped the desk with her finger. Tap. Tap.
“Go there and get a feel for the atmosphere of the clinic, would you?”
“The atmosphere?”
“How many patients they have, what kind of patients come in, what treatments they focus on, what’s selling well—everything.”
The nurse’s eyebrows knitted into a shape like the character eight.
“You want me to go there?”
She hesitated a moment, choosing her words carefully before venturing a soft protest.
“I had agreed to start working there but then canceled… It would be rather embarrassing to go back now.”
Oroji’s expression didn’t change.
“Really? But do I need to consider each staff member’s personal circumstances when assigning work?”
“No, that’s not what I meant—”
Kim Mi-jung glanced nervously before continuing.
“There are other staff members here besides me. And I’m not sure this sort of thing even falls under traditional medicine clinic duties…”
Oroji interlaced her fingers on the desk.
Then she spoke with cold precision.
“People only see what they know. The other staff don’t have as much clinical experience as you, and you have the most seniority, which is precisely why I’m asking you.”
Her lips curved upward in a smile, but her eyes held no warmth whatsoever.
“And if the director asks you to do something for the clinic’s operation, that is work. What else would it be?”
Kim Mi-jung’s mouth closed.
Oroji added coldly as a final word:
“Of course, you’re welcome to quit if you’d rather not.”
Kim Mi-jung lowered her head quietly and gave a small reply.
“……I understand.”
“Oh, and this is obviously confidential from the other staff, you know that, right? Now go.”
Click.
The door shut.
Alone in the clinic, Oroji leaned slowly back against her chair.
“Go Yeon-hee.”
She spoke that name aloud once more, her eyes narrowing with intensity.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never lose a battle.
“Whatever it takes, I’ll beat you.”
She immediately opened a file on her computer. Graphs and sales data filled the screen.
The click-clack of her keystrokes echoed through the room.
Oroji studied the data with a keen, burning gaze. The key to turning this around had to be hidden somewhere here.
‘My skills are flawless. Go Yeon-hee just got lucky meeting some celebrity patients and riding on the rumor mill.’
As Oroji combed through the data meticulously, she suddenly caught her breath.
A clever stratagem had occurred to her.
“Hehehehe.”
A low laugh escaped her lips.
That’s right. If a clinic thrives on reputation, then it can be destroyed by reputation too.
“Go Yeon-hee… Just wait a little longer. I’ll dry up your clinic’s patients to nothing.”
Ohohoho!
Oroji covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed, her lips twisting into a cruel smile.
* * *
Click.
As I locked the door to Baek Myodang, I tugged the handle once more to make sure the lock was secure.
The waiting room beyond the glass was completely empty.
The space that usually bustled with patients was quiet today.
“It feels strange seeing the clinic so empty like this.”
That quiet murmur slipped from my lips.
As I turned back after leaving through the gate, Baek Myodang’s wooden sign gleamed in the sunlight.
The heat of midsummer shimmered across the alley floor in wavering waves.
‘Okay. All set for departure!’
I adjusted the shoulder strap of my bag.
A cool short-sleeved shirt, loose-fitting pants, comfortable sneakers on my feet, and even a small carry-on.
That’s right.
Today was finally the day I was heading to Sokcho for a summer vacation and to visit the workshop of the Monkey Clan Divine Beasts.
I had one purpose: to enhance my necklace.
The Myoan Stone hanging around my neck glowed softly in the sunlight.
‘I wonder how much stronger it will become?’
That was when anticipation and tension intermingled and made my heart race.
“All set, Ms. Go?”
A familiar voice reached me.
When I turned, Baek Eun-ho stood in the alley before Baek Myodang, dressed in a black shirt, one hand tucked into his pocket.
Hair neatly brushed back, eyes cool and detached.
His presence always carried that chilling air that dampened one’s spirits.
“All set. Let’s go.”
I nodded and moved toward Eun-ho.
“So whether the necklace can be enhanced, and if so how long it will take—we’ll just have to see when we get there, right?”
“That’s right.”
He took my carry-on without fanfare as he spoke.
“We’ll need to examine the necklace directly before we can make a judgment.”
“The Monkey Clan Divine Beasts will fix it? What kind of people are they?”
I asked with bright eyes, my voice tinged with excitement.
Meeting a new Divine Beast was always something to look forward to.
But then.
“…….”
Eun-ho didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he lifted his free hand and brushed his bangs back once.
He seemed uncharacteristically hesitant.
At last, Eun-ho spoke.
“Ms. Go, please don’t be too hurt by what I’m about to tell you.”
“……What?”
Why did the atmosphere suddenly shift like this?
I blinked.
Eun-ho avoided my gaze slightly as he spoke.
“Divine Beasts have factions too.”
“Factions?”
“Broadly speaking, there are two: one centered on the Tiger Clan, and one centered on the Dragon Clan.”
“I see.”
This was clearly going to be a fairly serious explanation. I listened quietly.
Eun-ho continued.
“The Monkey Clan aligns with the Dragon Clan faction. The Dragon Clan has their base on the East Coast, you see. Since Sokcho is close to there, the Monkey Clan naturally ended up in that camp as well.”
I thought for a moment before asking.
“So relations between the Tiger Clan faction and the Dragon Clan faction aren’t very good? They fight each other when they meet and things like that?”
Eun-ho shook his head.
“Not to that degree. They’re the same Divine Beasts, and they need to stand united against Fallen Ones. It’s just… they pursue different methods, that’s all.”
I nodded quietly.
‘I see…’
Even excluding the three Fallen One families, there were nine Divine Beast families.
At that scale, factions forming wasn’t unusual at all.
I opened my mouth again.
“So to summarize: I’ve received a lot of help from the Baek Clan, so I’ll probably be seen as aligned with the Tiger Clan faction. The Monkey Clan is in the Dragon Clan faction, so they probably won’t be too keen on me, right?”
For a moment, Baek Eun-ho’s lips trembled as if struggling to answer.
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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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