I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 80

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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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The Physician of Divine Beasts
#80
On the surface, Yang Si-heon had always been gentle and gracious.
But beneath that smile lay a wall of extraordinary firmness.
An almost pathological indifference toward others.
He hadn’t always been this way.
As a child, Si-heon had opened his heart to people far more readily than he did now.
The same was true when his Precognitive Dream ability first manifested.
— “I should use this power to help the people around me!”
When he saw danger looming, he wanted to warn them. When he glimpsed a future where someone might be hurt, he wanted to prevent it.
But the results always went awry.
— “Because you said something like that, everything got twisted! It’s all your fault!”
If he revealed what the future held, problems arose from the revelation itself.
— “You knew and didn’t say anything? If you’d told me beforehand, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Conversely, if he stayed silent, resentment came anyway.
So he naturally began to distance himself from others. He treated them with adequate kindness, but offered nothing deeper.
‘It’s exhausting to get entangled with people anyway.’
As years accumulated, he barely invested deep care in anyone anymore, and rarely acted on another’s behalf.
Yet strangely, anything involving Go Yeon-hee kept catching his attention.
‘Why is that?’
Because she’d cured the severe Insomnia that had plagued him?
Because she’d perceived and articulated feelings even he hadn’t known he possessed?
Certainly, those were things to be grateful for.
But that alone didn’t fully explain it.
……
Yang Si-heon closed his eyes slowly, then opened them again.
He still didn’t know the reason.
But perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to spend some time watching.
Go Yeon-hee. And his own heart.
Meanwhile, PD Kang Tae-wook was still enthusiastically talking away.
“……and that’s why I’m really confident the footage will turn out great this time!”
Just then, Yang Si-heon slowly spoke.
“I’ll do it.”
“……Really? You mean it?!”
For a moment, Kang Tae-wook’s voice caught.
His eyes went wide as saucers.
He’d made the request, but honestly felt like he was reaching for a fruit he couldn’t quite grasp—he’d never expected an actual yes.
“Wait, I didn’t mishear you, did I? Yang Si-heon, you never do these kinds of shows!”
“I don’t, ordinarily.”
Si-heon smiled languidly.
“But this time seems like it might actually be fun.”
……
Color gradually returned to PD Kang’s bewildered face.
For whatever reason, he seemed thrilled at the fact of having landed such a megastar guest.
“Thank you so much! This is going to be huge. You can really look forward to it.”
Yang Si-heon nodded with a casual smile.
And he understood.
‘This is how it happens……’
A variable he hadn’t anticipated.
It was Go Yeon-hee.
* * *
After my conversation with Baek Eun-ho, I’d finalized my appearance on the broadcast.
One day, a call came in.
A familiar name lit up my phone screen. Yang Si-heon.
I answered immediately.
“Hello? Is this Si-heon?”
– Director Go.
A low, gentle voice came through the receiver.
– I heard you’re going on Doctor Inside.
“Oh, yes. That’s right. I got the offer and thought it over, then decided to do it.”
Then something occurred to me, and I asked back.
“But didn’t you say before that you saw a future where you appeared on that show? Are you actually going on?”
A brief laugh came through the phone.
– Yes. I’ve agreed to it as well.
“Wow.”
I was honestly a bit surprised.
“That’s unexpected. You said you don’t like variety shows. Why did you decide to do it?”
It was a genuine question.
But then there was a brief silence.
Soon after, Si-heon’s soft laughter came through the phone.
– Because of you, Director.
“……Pardon?”
Because of me?
What did that mean?
That he’s going on it because I am?
‘Why on earth?’
What connection is there between me appearing and him making an appearance?
As confusion swirled through my mind, Si-heon continued.
– The producers asked me what health issue I’d like to address on the show.
“Ah, I see.”
– Normally, I would’ve mentioned my Insomnia.
– But that’s much better now thanks to you. So I brought up a different symptom that developed more recently instead.
In that instant, I caught on.
Ah.
That meant.
The ‘health issue’ he’d told the producers about was going to be the central focus of this broadcast’s treatment.
And the fact that he’d taken the trouble to call me and bring this up……
I quickly drew the line.
“Oh, you don’t have to tell me in advance.”
The other end of the line went quiet for a moment.
– Are you sure?
Si-heon’s voice dropped slightly.
– Even knowing this much would give you a real advantage.
……
– Of course, I trust your skill. But I thought—why not use every card available to you?
His tone remained gentle, yet somehow serious.
– I heard another practitioner is appearing to create a rival dynamic. They’ll definitely be structuring the show around that director.
“Mm……”
– We’re in a disadvantaged position from the start.
Si-heon placed particular emphasis on the word “we.”
– So I just thought it might be better to secure what advantage we can.
I held the phone to my ear in silence for a moment.
Then I laughed softly.
“I’ll pass, even so.”
……
“This is like a test, in a way. Getting the test questions in advance feels like cheating.”
I added playfully.
“And I’m confident I can win without anything like that.”
After a brief silence, laughter came from the other end of the line.
– Ha. That’s very like you, Yeon-hee.
– ……Yes. Just stay the way you are going forward.
He added quietly.
– I’ll make sure you can be that way.
“……?”
I blinked in surprise.
What?
It was a loaded statement.
Almost like he was saying, ‘You stay clean. I’ll block everything else.’ ……
– Well, then. See you soon.
The call ended like that.
I furrowed my brow.
“Si-heon is impossible to read sometimes.”
I mean, he’s always kind and warm, but……
Even though he seems like a still lake on the surface, there’s no way to know what lies beneath.
Si-heon had a way of becoming more enigmatic the more you knew him.
‘Anyway, he bothered to call just to help me, so I should be grateful.’
I shrugged.
And looking down at my phone screen as it went dark, I smiled faintly.
* * *
The Doctor Inside Traditional Medicine Special.
PD Kang Tae-wook had staked everything on this episode.
Since he’d managed to bring in a massive guest like Yang Si-heon, he was determined to really make this one count.
The direction had already been set with the head writer.
‘Use Go Yeon-hee as a comparison point and shine the spotlight on Oroji.’
The filming sequence was structured as follows.
First, a preliminary shoot.
The production team would follow Yang Si-heon through his daily life and film.
‘In the process, we naturally reveal his health issue to viewers.’
Next came Oroji’s segment, where Oroji would conduct the treatment first.
Then, after an interval, they’d film Go Yeon-hee’s segment.
Finally, they’d do the main studio recording.
All cast members gathered in one place to watch Yang Si-heon’s daily-life VCR and both practitioners’ treatment VCRs together, have a discussion, and then reveal the final results.
‘To keep the early flow centered on Oroji, of course I need to structure it this way.’
From PD Kang Tae-wook’s perspective, the logic was clear.
Oroji was eager for the broadcast, had good speaking skills, and—above all—had the cachet of the Ohuui Oriental Medicine Hospital name.
So he’d deliberately positioned her as the first treatment provider.
In this type of competition, treating first was overwhelmingly advantageous.
‘If there’s any improvement at all in the first treatment, viewers absorb that directly.’
The second practitioner, meanwhile, was at a disadvantage.
Even genuine progress easily triggered responses like “Isn’t that just from the first treatment?” and the impact itself was diluted.
In other words, the broadcast structure was tilted toward Oroji from the start.
‘But viewers won’t think that far and will just assume Oroji is more skilled.’
Kang Tae-wook sipped his coffee without a second thought.
‘Push Oroji hard, build her up, tie in Director Ohuui too, and promote them as this mother-daughter practitioner dynamic.’
Go Yeon-hee will just get consumed as a comparison point—sorry about that.
That’s just how this business works.
When someone rises, someone else gets buried.
Kang Tae-wook thought about it all quite casually.
……At least, until that point.

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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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