I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 93

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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 of Oriental Medicine for the Divine Beasts.
#93
The child holding the ball’s face darkened in an instant.
The child turned away, all energy drained from him.
“Lee Dong-su.”
This time, I called out to him.
“Would you come over for a moment?”
“No.”
Lee Dong-su answered immediately, his arms crossed.
“It won’t hurt. I just need to check your pulse.”
“I said no.”
The boy turned his head away entirely.
I looked toward Jo Mi-so with a troubled expression.
She too whispered softly, her face flustered.
“I think we should speak to the Sister separately after the consultation. It feels wrong for us outsiders to intrude between the children like this…”
“You’re right, aren’t you?”
A short while later, in the Director’s Office.
The Sister, having heard the whole story from me and Mi-so, let out a small sigh.
“I see. The truth is, Dong-su hasn’t adjusted to the Orphanage yet. He’s only been here about three months.”
“Ah…”
“At first, his parents said they were having financial difficulties and would only leave him temporarily.”
“They left him temporarily? There are cases like that?”
The Sister smiled bitterly at my question.
Her gaze turned toward something distant.
“It happens fairly often. Initially, his parents visited quite regularly. They called frequently too.”
But gradually, the visits became less frequent.
Then at some point, all contact stopped entirely.
My expression grew dark.
“What happened to Dong-su’s parents?”
“I don’t know.”
The Sister spoke quietly.
“Perhaps something urgent came up. Or perhaps…”
She couldn’t bring herself to finish.
My chest grew heavy too. The word “abandonment” had come to mind.
Meanwhile, Jo Mi-so’s face was flushed with anger.
“This is too cruel to Dong-su! If they’d left him with the Orphanage completely from the start, the child would have adapted well enough.”
As someone who had grown up in an Orphanage herself, she seemed to empathize with Dong-su’s feelings more keenly.
“How could the child accept it when contact comes and then cuts off? It’s nothing but cruel false hope!”
The Sister added quietly, turning to me.
“And… actually, there’s another problem with Dong-su.”
“Yes?”
“These days he cries and wakes up intensely every night. But he has no memory of it the next day.”
I blinked.
“He wakes up crying every night?”
“Yes. So the other children in his room haven’t been sleeping well, and the other staff members here haven’t slept properly for some time now.”
Ah.
I nodded.
No wonder the Sister and several of the children had dark circles under their eyes.
I straightened my posture and asked the Sister.
“Does this happen within one to three hours of him falling asleep?”
“Hmm… yes, it seems so.”
“He suddenly cries or screams, and in severe cases, he might even jump out of bed?”
“Oh my, yes.”
The Sister was startled.
“Sometimes he even runs through the hallway. Yet the next day, he has no memory of it.”
I nodded.
“From what you’re telling me, it doesn’t seem to be simple nightmares. I believe it’s Night Terrors.”
“Night Terrors? Is that different from nightmares?”
“Yes. Quite different. It occurs when the brain’s sleep-regulation abilities haven’t fully developed. Since the person isn’t fully awake, most of the time they have no memory of it when asked the next day.”
Both the Sister and Jo Mi-so looked surprised at the same time.
I continued my explanation.
“That’s why parents often misunderstand and think their child is deliberately misbehaving.”
“Ah…”
“In Oriental Medicine, we call it Pediatric Night Terrors, and it often occurs when children have been frightened or are experiencing significant anxiety.”
“That fits Dong-su perfectly. He does seem very anxious right now.”
Jo Mi-so spoke with a pitiful expression.
I nodded.
“Usually, this condition naturally disappears as the child grows. However, if it repeats for several months or longer and affects daily life, then it’s considered a condition requiring treatment.”
The Sister asked carefully.
“Then how is it treated?”
“First, we try to correct sleep habits. If it’s still severe, we might refer for pediatric psychiatry consultation.”
“Psychiatry? Do they use psychiatric medications?”
“Yes. Depending on the situation, sedatives or anti-anxiety medications might be used.”
“Oh dear…”
The Sister’s expression became complicated.
“To think that such a small child might need to take medications like that.”
“Of course, that’s not necessarily the case, and Herbal Medicine treatment is definitely worth considering.”
Hope flickered across the Sister’s face at my words.
She gazed at me with earnest eyes.
“Go Yeon-hee. Because Dong-su can’t sleep at night, he’s suffering, and all the other children and staff are exhausted. If you don’t mind, could you help us?”
I nodded.
“Understood. I’ll look into it.”
* * *
“Lee Dong-su.”
After leaving the Director’s Office.
I immediately sought him out and called to him as gently as possible.
“Just let me check your pulse for a moment.”
“No.”
“It won’t even take a minute.”
“I said no.”
“Why?”
Lee Dong-su stared at me sharply.
The skin around his eyes was flushed red.
“I’m not sick.”
“…”
“When Mom and Dad come back, everything will be fine, so why do you keep bothering me!”
His voice grew louder.
The other children nearby flinched.
The Sister approached carefully.
“Dong-su, please calm down…”
“No!”
Lee Dong-su stepped backward.
“I don’t like you either! I hate all of this!”
Whoosh.
The child spun around and started running.
“Dong-su!”
The Sister hurried after him.
After circling the Playground once, Dong-su hid behind the jungle gym before bolting again.
After a game of chase, the Sister finally managed to grab his arm.
“Let go!”
Lee Dong-su struggled.
“Dong-su!”
“Release me!”
He even made as if to bite the Sister’s hand.
“Oh my!”
Jo Mi-so cried out in shock.
Fortunately, he didn’t actually bite her, but the Sister had no choice but to release him.
Heaving for breath, tears welling in his eyes, Lee Dong-su cried out.
“I’m not an orphan!”
“…”
“My mom and dad said they were coming!”
Silence fell across the Playground.
The child ran into the building.
Bang!
The sound of the front door slamming echoed.
The Sister pressed her forehead wearily.
I watched the closed door silently.
‘What am I going to do about Dong-su…?’
The emotional wound seemed far more serious than I’d realized.
And this way, treating his Night Terrors seemed impossible from the start.
* * *
I walked through the Orphanage hallway with a sigh.
Jo Mi-so was following beside me.
From the Playground, I could still hear the laughter of children.
But my mood remained unsettled.
“Sigh…”
A sigh escaped me despite myself.
“What should we do about that child, Mi-so?”
“I know. It’s more serious than I thought.”
Jo Mi-so’s face was bitter too.
I nodded heavily and spoke.
“Dong-su is firmly convinced that his parents will come back. It seems like he’s being deliberately defensive because he’s afraid that belief will crumble.”
Jo Mi-so sighed softly.
“I feel so sorry for Dong-su.”
“Me too.”
I cast my gaze out the window.
One side of the Playground.
While the other children played ball far off, Dong-su sat alone on a bench.
I wanted so badly to treat his Night Terrors too…
“Director. There’s nothing more we can do. We’ve done what we could.”
Noticing my gaze, Jo Mi-so spoke as if to comfort me.
“We can’t forcibly restrain a child who refuses treatment and give him acupuncture or Herbal Medicine.”
She was right.
But something kept nagging at me. I didn’t want to simply leave Dong-su behind and go.
Then it happened.
Tap-tap-tap—
Hurried footsteps sounded from the opposite end of the hallway.
And before I could even step aside.
“Oh!”
I lightly collided with someone rushing toward me.
At the same moment, the bundle of papers he was holding scattered into the air.
Pristine white sheets danced across the hallway.
‘Ah…’
I lifted my head and blinked.
They weren’t just white paper.
Sheet Music.
Through the brilliant sunlight, the pages drifted slowly on the breeze.
For a moment, time seemed to slow.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!”
At the voice that came then, I turned my head blankly.
A man in a black Cassock stood before me.
Black hair slightly tousled, thin silver-rimmed Glasses.
A clear, gentle face.
“Are you hurt?”
But.
The way he fumbled with his askew Glasses, looking after my safety, was somehow…
‘The man seemed a bit careless.’
Thinking that, I belatedly opened my mouth.
“I’m fine.”
Then Jo Mi-so, beside me, whispered softly into my ear.
“Wow! A Priest as handsome as that. Truly humanity’s loss.”
I was at a loss for words.
‘Mi-so really is something else, even now.’
I laughed despite myself and bent down.
To help the Priest gather the fallen Sheet Music.
That’s when our fingertips touched.
“…!”
My heart suddenly sank.
My breath caught.
‘Why am I like this?’
Clearly, I’d just met this person for the first time.
Yet.
Strangely, a corner of my chest felt a prickling sensation.
‘It’s like meeting again something I forgot a very long time ago…’
That very moment.
Zing—
I quickly looked down at my necklace.
The Myoan Stone hanging around my neck began to glow with intense light.

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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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