The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12

“What should we start with!”

As soon as we entered the dormitory, Hwangseoyeong slammed her books down and shouted.

“Let’s start with the 3rd period subjects. The internal medicine professors give easy questions, and we’ve at least studied acupuncture and regulations for the previous exams.”

The senior student said while opening her book.

“Huh, starting already? I ordered pizza. Let’s just eat this first…”

“We can watch half of it before the pizza arrives.”

I sat down Hwang Seo-young, who was trying to go off on a tangent from the start, and quickly briefed her on the important parts.

It wasn’t too difficult since I had already studied five years’ worth of national exam questions, and on top of that, I had reviewed previous notes from our school’s professors for the graduation exam.

“This isn’t a part that usually comes up on the national exam, but Professor Jin really loves it, so you have to memorize it.”

“Oh, I remember this. I got it wrong on last year’s final exam too!”

Both of them hadn’t completely neglected their studies, but I quickly caught the areas where they had studied inadequately and moved on.

“How are you better at explaining this than all the classes I took in my major?”

“Even if you praise me like that, nothing’s going to come out of it.”

“No way. I seriously couldn’t memorize this no matter how hard I tried, but when you gave me examples of cases you treated, I got it right away!”

Ahem, I may not look like much, but I’ve trained medical students. Unlike those professors who put even the brightest students to sleep, I taught medicine to kids who couldn’t even read.

I shrugged and continued with the lesson.

I had only planned to help with one or two of the most difficult subjects, but I got into it and the tutoring continued even after the pizza arrived.

Time flies faster than ever during exam period.

As always, studying is a series of similar days.

I had planned to hang out with them for just a day or two before focusing on studying alone, but I ended up spending several days straight with my classmates. I scolded the two of them for not being able to concentrate even six hours a day and made them study this way and that.

‘I have to keep going until the very end!’

Now there are less than 10 hours left until the graduation exam.

On the last day, it’s only natural to review the entire scope by yourself.

I carefully read through the notes I had organized at the library.

‘I already memorized all the herbal medicine characteristics yesterday, so I just need to review the confusing gynecology prescriptions.’

I could have just glossed over it, but thanks to getting into it with Jo Haneul, studying it again with modern terminology seemed like it would be quite helpful later on.

I maximized my concentration and finished memorizing.

‘I’ll go to the convenience store, grab some chocolate, and then get some sleep.’

I don’t mind pulling an all-nighter, but I should probably get some sleep to stay in top condition, right?

I gathered all my things and left the library, planning to get some fresh air before returning to the dormitory.

I left campus through the main gate and looked for a convenience store that stayed open late.

However, two cars that looked familiar were blocking the middle of the road.

“Huh?”

One was a blue Porsche. It was the same model as the car that had nearly hit Mr. Jung Gwang-su last time.

“It’s probably the same car, right? Wow… they were driving so fast and ended up in an accident.”

The blue Porsche had crashed into the left rear of the white car, and both vehicles sat motionless in the middle of the road.

Based on the situation, it appeared that both vehicles were attempting to turn right simultaneously when the Porsche on the right side collided with the white car that had started turning first from the left side.

“But why aren’t you taking it off then?”

It was strange that they weren’t moving even though they were clearly obstructing traffic, so I suddenly became worried that someone might be injured.

I stealthily approached where the two cars were parked.

“I’m going to sue you!”

A loud sound came from behind the Porsche.

A large, burly man was grabbing a very familiar figure by the collar and shouting at him.

‘Why is Jo Haneul here?’

I tilted my head and listened intently to their conversation.

Just before the accident happened.

“Damn, you could just rely on your usual skills, why bother studying?”

Jo Haneul knocked back whiskey at his regular bar.

When it came to studying, he had already memorized all the parts Hwang Sang-hoon had highlighted for him, but starting from the beginning with textbooks or notes felt too daunting.

‘I wonder if Han Yeowon has read it all? She can’t even memorize it properly, but she stupidly starts from the first page every time – that’s why she never gets first place.’

Same goes for Kim Mingyu and Lee Cheoljin. They could avoid failing just by studying the moderately important parts, so I don’t know why they’re trying so hard.

I sent messages to my friends asking them to come out, but no one read them for over an hour.

“Are these guys seriously planning to stay up all night?”

Jo Haneul stared at his phone with dissatisfaction. After turning the screen on and off several times while deliberating, he stood up from his seat in frustration.

“I should just go to bed. I’m not even getting drunk today.”

Maybe it was because it was the night before the exam, but I was feeling nervous and couldn’t seem to lift my spirits.

He was obviously going to win anyway, so why was his chest feeling so stuffy and uncomfortable for no reason?

Cho Haneul paid the bill with an uneasy feeling and got into the car he had driven there.

“Hmm hmm~.”

Humming along to the song flowing from the speakers and enjoying the drive, his mood finally lifted somewhat.

‘Should I go see the ocean instead of going home? Does it take more than an hour?’

With this sudden thought, he turned on the navigation app and searched for Incheon Eulwangri Beach.

“Huh? Whoa?”

A car suddenly shot out from the right side.

CRASH!

And before he could even turn the steering wheel, they collided. Since he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, his body jerked violently and slammed into the steering wheel.

“Fuck, what the hell?”

Cho Haneul unconsciously spat out profanity. His chest ached from the impact, and his head felt dazed.

‘What just happened.’

But he quickly regained his composure.

This wasn’t his first traffic accident. If he calmly called the insurance company… oh wait, he had been drinking.

‘I have to settle this somehow. If I get caught this time, my license will be revoked.’

He held his throbbing head and replayed what had just happened.

He had been trying to make a right turn, but there was a blue car stopped in the rightmost lane. So he had sped up, planning to make the right turn first from the adjacent lane.

But that blue car had crashed into him even after seeing him start moving.

‘Wasn’t it stopped?’

He must not have checked properly because he was looking at the navigation.

‘In this case, whose fault is it? Fifty-fifty? Still, I went first and they hit me, isn’t that failure to watch ahead?’

He tried to think positively, but it seemed like his fault would likely be judged as higher.

‘Settlement, there’s no choice but settlement.’

Having made that judgment, Cho Haneul immediately rolled down his window.

The other person had already opened their door and was getting out to approach him.

With a large build and tattoos on both arms, he looked like a gangster.

“Don’t you watch where you’re going?”

Sure enough, the loud-mouthed guy started yelling aggressively.

‘Driving around in a bright blue sports car with all those modifications, he’s obviously some punk car-poor bastard.’

Cold sweat dripped down, but Cho Haneul didn’t get swept up in the intimidation and responded calmly.

“I, I’m sorry.”

If they argued about who was right or wrong, he would be clearly at a disadvantage.

‘Even if it’s a knockoff, a sports car isn’t cheap. If I cause another accident this time… Mom will kill me.’

Cho Haneul got out of the car completely and bowed his waist.

Then he sneakily turned his head to check the car’s emblem.

‘Fuck, is that really a Porsche? It’s not just a stuck-on emblem, right?’

From that moment, his lips began trembling.

‘No way, that’s ridiculous. It can’t be, right?’

Since both his parents had no interest in cars, he didn’t know what a real Porsche looked like.

It seemed different from the Porsche that Hwang Sanghun had given him a ride in before, but there probably wasn’t just one model.

He wanted to quickly search it up, but the man was closing the distance threateningly.

“Let’s not do this, I think I made a mistake, so let’s settle this cleanly with me paying for repairs…”

Cho Haneul spoke obsequiously, but the Porsche driver strode toward him.

“Ahhhhh!”

He wasn’t trying to use violence brutishly.

The Porsche driver suddenly grabbed his own neck and screamed.

He had started method acting.

“What are you going to do about this? My neck won’t turn!”

Cho Haneul gulped.

‘Stay calm. Let’s stay calm. His goal is probably money anyway.’

He thought about the budget he could operate personally without catching his mother’s attention, then spoke politely.

“You’re probably just shocked, right? May I take a look?”

The man didn’t stop him. Cho Haneul used both hands to try turning the man’s neck.

“It’s not moving at all!”

It was true. The range of motion didn’t even reach 30 degrees.

The man panicked even more, and Cho Haneul’s forehead also became drenched with sweat.

“It’s, it’s not broken, is it? I’m going to sue you!”

It didn’t seem like he was acting. The hand gripping the collar was trembling. The Porsche driver was genuinely terrified.

“Absolutely not. It’s just a strain. It’s called whiplash injury, where the ligaments and soft tissues… Damn, it can happen when muscles stiffen.”

Cho Haneul, who had been reciting the content he’d crammed into his head while studying for exams, cut himself off mid-sentence. Would this low-level person even understand if he explained it?

“Here, this muscle has stiffened up. A few acupuncture needles will fix it.”

Had this guy never had a stiff neck in his life? Even Cho Haneul’s neck would stiffen regularly the day after drinking too much.

Come to think of it, on the first day of Professor Lee Minseok’s class, Cho Haneul’s neck wouldn’t turn either, and Hanyewon had answered that it was because of the levator scapulae muscle.

“Really? You can fix it?”

The Porsche driver’s attitude softened a little.

– I will perform acupuncture on Pungji and Gokowon located around the origin and insertion points of the levator scapulae muscle you mentioned, as well as Gyeonwoesu and Gyeonjungsu to release the levator scapulae muscle. After checking for tenderness, I’ll also treat the trapezius, sternocleidomastoid, supraspinatus, and infraspinatus muscles.

He clearly remembered the acupoints Hanyewon had recited that day. In fact, during that class, when Hwang Sanghun had needled a few spots, his neck had moved immediately.

‘That guy even showed off on the airplane, so what can’t I do?’

Confidence that he could do it welled up inside him.

He’d treat him and settle this cleanly.

“Yes. I’ll treat you, no problem! I’m the top student at Korean University’s College of Oriental Medicine, you know?”

“Oh?”

His eyes widened at the mention of Korean University.

Phew, there should be at least one needle rolling around in my bag, right?

Searching through it, he found a pack of needles he’d been carrying around to prepare for Professor Lee Minseok’s practical exam.

“Here, if I just release a few spots, you’ll get better quickly. I’ll make it as painless as possible. Please sit down for a moment.”

The Porsche driver nodded his head… or tried to, but when it wouldn’t move, he grabbed his neck again.

Genuinely terrified that it might never turn again for the rest of his life, he obediently sat in the driver’s seat that Cho Haneul pointed to.

Cho Haneul gently pressed the muscles to find the landmark points.

‘Pungji is, let’s see, below the occipital bone, behind the mastoid process, in the depression between the outer edge of the trapezius muscle.’

He had tried placing needles here on a classmate who complained of headaches.

Cho Haneul slowly inserted the needle.

“Argh!”

“I’ll, I’ll be done quickly.”

The man’s screaming made his hands keep trembling, but he somehow managed to insert needles into the four acupoints he remembered.

“Try turning it now.”

He said, praying that it would move even a little.

“…”

“Ah…”

“It’s not moving at all!”

But the man’s neck didn’t budge. It was the same when Cho Haneul tried to turn it.

‘Is it because I only used four needles? Was the stimulation too weak? If I do lifting and thrusting manipulation, he’ll make a fuss about the pain, right? I should check other muscle tender points too… but what if I fail again?’

Cho Haneul also fell into a panic.

If he did something more here and it went wrong, it seemed like the situation would become completely unsalvageable.

This is really nothing serious. It would heal quickly at any oriental medicine clinic! Even as he thought this, he felt deep self-loathing for being unable to treat it.

‘I should have tried needling when the kids said they were in pain.’

Cho Haneul squeezed his eyes shut.

At this point, there was only one option left.

“Tomorrow, there’s Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic Gangnam Branch here, it’s the hospital my mother runs…”

“Oh my~ What have you been doing? In the end, it’s the mother lifeline?”

But someone interrupted his words.

With a tsk, tongue-clicking sound, someone with an annoying face walked out.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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