I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 9
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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’d become a physician for Divine Beasts.
#9
On a holiday evening in June, the sunset painted the sky a deep crimson.
If I were my usual self, I would’ve been stroking Alfred while sipping herbal medicine brewed for the day,
buried in a book on the sofa or watching variety shows—that’s how I’d have spent my time.
The bus hummed forward.
But now I sat by the window of a moving bus, staring blankly at an unfamiliar cityscape.
‘My destination: Sangam World Cup Stadium.’
I lowered my gaze to my left wrist.
The Jade Bracelet Baek Eun-ho had given me yesterday gleamed softly.
I lifted my right hand unconsciously, touching the bead. It felt cool and smooth against my fingertips.
‘It’s strange wearing something I’ve never worn before…….’
I muttered under my breath.
Still, if it’s supposed to protect me, I should keep wearing it. My life is precious, after all.
But why of all places did she pick a soccer stadium?
Jeong Ra-bit
Unnie! There’s a soccer game tomorrow and our group is performing at halftime! Please come!
(bouncing rabbit emoji)
It was all because of the message Ra-bit had sent.
Ah, by the way—Ra-bit had asked if she could call me “unnie,” so I said yes.
What’s not to like about having such a cute and good-hearted younger friend?
‘But she said she’d introduce me to a Divine Beast patient. Why’d she call me to the stadium? Does she just want me to watch the performance?’
When I asked why, Ra-bit only laughed and said I’d understand once I got there.
I shrugged and looked back out the window.
The stadium roof had begun to appear beyond the tall buildings.
I’d hurriedly searched on my phone once I got on the bus—today was the World Cup Asian Qualifying Round.
‘And it’s a Korea-Japan match at that……!’
World Cup, halftime performance.
For someone like me who had no interest in idol stages or sports, these were unfamiliar words.
My life revolved around Baek Myo-dang and the neighborhood near Bukhansan—nowhere else.
Weekdays meant seeing patients and preparing medicinal herbs.
Weekends meant stopping by the neighborhood café or restaurant to chat with the owners before heading home—that was the extent of my world.
‘Though the internet’s going absolutely wild.’
I opened my phone again from the searches I’d been doing.
[Breaking News] Korea-Japan match kicks off tonight at 7 PM… “We can’t lose even if it kills us” Netizens fired up
[On Scene] “We will win” Red wave prepares street support campaign
[Analysis] Ma Yun-sang takes the field… Korea’s hope in soccer, will the Korea-Japan match go our way?
The comments section was a warzone.
-We absolutely have to beat Japan in this match!
-Korea possesses Ma Yun-sang lol
-With Ma Yun-sang we don’t even need to worry about Japan ㅋㅋ
Ma Yun-sang.
Korea’s representative striker.
Despite his youth, he was already called the next ace, a superstar whose name even I knew.
Even amid the chorus of support, dissenting voices stood out.
-Ma Yun-sang’s been off form lately, doesn’t look right
-Plus he’s got no manners. Recently a young fan asked for his autograph and he just scowled and walked past, someone took a photo
-Wow, already lost his initial passion ㅉㅉ
I tilted my head at the screen.
‘Hmm. Talented but temperamental, apparently.’
The bus had arrived at the plaza in front of the stadium.
Outside the window, crowds of people in matching red shirts flowed like a wave, and Taegeuk flags and cheering banners fluttered along every street.
“Wow……. It really is a festival.”
I felt a bit overwhelmed. I touched the bracelet once more and took a deep breath.
Then I got off the bus and headed toward the stadium.
* * *
“Go Yeon-hui, over here!”
As I approached the stadium entrance, Ra-bit’s manager from when she’d visited the clinic was waving from the doorway.
I followed her through the stadium corridor.
Today, one of the multipurpose rooms inside the stadium was being used as a temporary waiting room for the girl group Luna.
As we walked, the manager kept talking.
“Goodness, it seems Ra-bit really likes you, ma’am. She’s timid and shy, doesn’t usually warm up to people easily……. It’s amazing, really.”
“Is that so?”
I gave a light response with a smile, and she continued.
“Well, she suffered from knee pain for years and then it suddenly vanished—she must be thrilled. She’s a tough kid, kept it to herself, but she was struggling every time she took the stage.”
When I opened the door to the multipurpose room, it was set up like a dressing room inside.
Luna members were busy getting their makeup done and warming up their voices.
“Unnie!”
Ra-bit spotted me among the members and came running with a bright smile.
Cute. Ra-bit was adorable today, too.
In her excitement, rabbit ears bounced up from the top of her head.
“Thanks for inviting me.”
“No way! That’s nothing compared to what you’ve done. Thanks to you, I can bounce around like this without pain now, and the stairs don’t hurt anymore!”
“I’m glad.”
A smile bloomed unbidden across my face.
“But why did you call me today?”
Ra-bit hesitated for a moment, then let out a giggle.
“There’s a Divine Beast here who needs treatment too. Just like when you treated me, you might be able to find memory fragments, you know?”
“Is that so? Who’s the Divine Beast?”
“Follow me!”
I followed her down the stadium corridor.
The scenery shifted gradually, and soon we arrived at a spot at the end of a hallway near the locker rooms—
a blind spot with few people around.
The very corridor where the Korea National Team players wait!
My eyes widened involuntarily.
“You mean one of the players?”
“Yes. He was my childhood friend…….”
For a moment, something lonely flickered in Ra-bit’s eyes.
‘Why the past tense?’
The confusion was quickly drowned out by shock.
Just days ago, I’d been seeing only neighborhood patients.
My head spun.
‘A chaebol family, an idol, and now a national athlete……. Good grief. What is all this?’
Too many celebrities were descending upon my life all at once.
As I waited, tutting quietly, a massive figure pushed through the locker room door.
Then he approached us with long, purposeful strides, saying nothing.
“…….”
Ebony-black hair, intense eyes burning like coals. Bronzed skin and muscular arms.
His thighs were almost the size of a man’s head.
At a glance, he was an athlete with overwhelming physicality.
Taken aback, I opened my mouth reflexively.
“M-Ma Yun-sang?!”
Wait. Ma Yun-sang is a Divine Beast……!
At this point, I half-suspected every famous person in this country was a Divine Beast.
I turned to Ra-bit urgently.
“Um, Ra-bit. Which clan is Yun-sang from?”
Just as Ra-bit was about to answer, Ma Yun-sang cut her off tersely.
“Jeong Ra-bit. I told you not to contact me. That’s why I came out today.”
“Yun-sang…….”
“I’m cutting ties with that world. I’m going to live like a normal human, so stop pretending to know me.”
“You know that’s impossible. That way you’ll just end up isolated in both worlds.”
Ra-bit reached out toward Yun-sang, her eyes filled with concern.
“And your body’s been acting up again lately, hasn’t it? There’s a really skilled physician here—”
“I said enough!”
Smack!
Ma Yun-sang knocked her hand away roughly. The back of Ra-bit’s pale hand reddened.
I watched the two of them, reading the situation carefully.
‘What……? They hadn’t planned this. The patient is refusing treatment.’
Ra-bit withdrew her hand but pressed forward again.
“Yun-sang, please don’t be like that. Just try treatment once. This person is truly different.”
Ma Yun-sang looked me up and down, then sneered.
“A physician? This person?”
“Yes! You know how long I suffered with my knee, right? This person fixed it. Ma’am, is it okay if I tell him that?”
Ra-bit’s eyes turned toward me carefully.
I nodded quickly, saying it was fine.
“She’s a Purification practitioner of the Myo Clan bloodline.”
“……What?”
Ma Yun-sang’s eyes widened sharply.
But that expression quickly twisted into mockery.
“Please. My condition can’t be fixed even if the legendary Purification master Seol Un-hwa came herself. Let alone some greenhorn like this.”
“You really……!”
Ra-bit’s face flushed with indignation, as if she herself had been insulted.
Yun-sang shot back at her scornfully.
“That’s why I’m telling you not to waste your energy. I’m blocking your number after today.”
“Yun-sang!”
Ra-bit cried out, stopping him as he turned to leave.
“I understand how you feel. But isolating yourself like that won’t change anything!”
For a moment, Yun-sang’s eyes wavered.
He exhaled sharply with annoyance, then roughly ran his fingers through his hair.
Then he loomed over us threateningly.
“Jeong Ra-bit. What do you know, spouting off like that when you’re just Direct Bloodline?”
“……!!”
His massive frame, his eyes bloodshot with rage, his expression twisted with fury.
Looking at him like that, I honestly felt……fear, purely instinctive.
A deep humming resonated.
That was when it happened. The bracelet on my left wrist vibrated in harmony.
I lowered my gaze to my wrist unconsciously.
“……!!”
My breath caught short.
The central bead of the bracelet was clouding over.
And when I looked up, Ma Yun-sang’s hand before my eyes—
——it was no longer human.
His thick fingers had split open, revealing dull-gleaming, blunt hooves.
‘Wait. Rat, snake, horse. Those three were called the Fallen Beasts, weren’t they?’
Ice crawled down my spine.
Even so, the bracelet continued vibrating, a relentless warning.
Baek Eun-ho’s voice echoed in the back of my mind.
‘When a Fallen Beast is near, the bead will cloud over,’ he’d said.
“Ra-bit, get behind me!”
My body instinctively shrank back, but I gritted my teeth and planted myself in front of Ra-bit.
Ma Yun-sang’s smoldering eyes fixed upon me head-on.
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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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