The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 13

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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 13

Should I leave him alone? Or should I help?

I wanted to watch Cho Haneul struggle a little longer, but I didn’t ponder for very long.

‘If I leave him like that, he’ll get worse. The patient isn’t at fault.’

I revealed myself and approached the two of them.

“Hm? Who are you?”

The Porsche driver turned around upon hearing my voice.

But as soon as I got close, such a strong smell of alcohol hit me that I had to cover my nose.

‘Wow, they were both drunk driving? How did two of the same kind end up in an accident together.’

At that moment, any sympathy I had for the Porsche driver completely disappeared, and I realized he was even more trash than Cho Haneul had thought.

“Let me take a look.”

Still, since I’d already stepped forward, I should at least provide treatment.

I firmly grasped the Porsche driver’s neck.

“Ah…?”

Without even asking for permission, I pressed on his neck and shoulders to check the condition of his muscles. Cho Haneul’s diagnosis wasn’t far off.

“What’s your name? And your age?”

“Lee Jongwoo, thirty-eight.”

“You don’t have any dizziness, headaches, nausea, or numbness, right?”

“No. I’m fine. Just my neck is a bit…”

Overwhelmed by my momentum, Lee Jongwoo obediently answered the questions checking his orientation and emergency symptoms.

Just like when Cho Haneul first examined him, his right range of motion was about 20 degrees, and he complained of neck pain even when flexing.

“Are you going to stick me again? Just now…”

Lee Jongwoo looked me over with eyes full of distrust. Since Cho Haneul had failed once, it was natural that his confidence in acupuncture had dropped.

“Just one needle and you’ll be able to turn right away.”

I spoke confidently.

I’d treated over a thousand patients who couldn’t turn their necks, without exaggeration.

Cho Haneul couldn’t bring himself to stop me or ask for help, just fidgeting restlessly.

He looked quite displeased, but also seemed to have some expectations.

“Alright.”

Lee Jongwoo squeezed his eyes shut.

I snatched the needle from Cho Haneul’s hand and targeted the spot I’d observed earlier.

It was slightly above the Shoulder Outer Point, the upper trigger point where the levator scapulae muscle was twisted. I confirmed it precisely both by the energy I felt and the induration when I touched it.

I pressed on both sides of the target area with my hands and flicked the needle in.

It quickly pierced the epidermis, and I pushed it in about 3cm.

I distinctly felt it pass through the trapezius muscle and reach the levator scapulae induration point.

“It doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“Huh, did you stick it in?”

Lee Jongwoo’s eyes widened.

The sensation was completely different from when Cho Haneul had inserted the needle earlier.

“Try turning it.”

I immediately withdrew the needle and had him move his neck.

He slowly moved his head, worried it might get stuck again like before.

Cho Haneul’s eyes also trembled up and down, left and right.

I was confident since I’d clearly felt the muscle relax under my fingertips, but he seemed worried that I might not have treated it sufficiently.

“Huh, huh! Huh!?”

The neck that couldn’t even turn 30 degrees just moments ago now swiveled nearly 80 degrees.

“It doesn’t even hurt! Crazy. What are you, Hua Tuo?”

Lee Jongwoo was extremely surprised and made a big fuss.

“Just an ordinary clinic doctor, no, traditional Korean medicine doctor… no wait, a traditional Korean medicine student.”

“Thank you!”

Then he grabbed my right hand and shook it vigorously. Unlike just moments ago when he was full of suspicion, he had become very friendly.

“…What did you do?”

Cho Haneul asked with his mouth agape. It was understandable that he’d be flustered since Lee Jongwoo’s neck, which wouldn’t budge when he tried, was immediately fixed.

“Your point selection was good, but it was too shallow. You probably didn’t even reach where you wanted to.”

I mercifully gave Cho Haneul some instruction.

“You just memorize from books, so you mark the surface landmarks but don’t know the depth. And how can you insert it so hesitantly while being so scared? You have to pierce the skin quickly for it not to hurt.”

“Ahh!”

But Cho Haneul said nothing, and Lee Jongwoo, who couldn’t have understood, exclaimed in admiration.

“Should I release all the other muscles too? It would get better if you rest for a few days.”

“As long as it doesn’t hurt like it did just now, that would be great!”

Before I knew it, his tone had become respectful.

Following the Small Intestine Meridian, I inserted needles into all the points: Shoulder Outer Shu (Jianwaishu), Curved Wall (Quyuan), Grasping the Wind (Bingfeng), Celestial Gathering (Tianzong), Upper Arm Shu (Naoshu), and Shoulder Chastity (Jianzhen).

Since Curved Wall (Quyuan), located at the superior angle of the scapula, was also a trigger point of the levator scapulae, I confirmed the needle touched the scapular spine before performing several lifting and thrusting manipulations.

Finally, I placed needles at Wind Pool (Fengchi) and Completion Bone (Wangu) behind the mastoid process.

“Wow! I feel even better than before the accident!”

“That’s fortunate.”

“I was terrified thinking my neck would never turn again for the rest of my life. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Lee Jongwoo was delighted, massaging his now-supple neck and shoulders.

I nodded as I listened to his thanks.

“Well, now that my neck is healed, I should slowly…”

But then, Cho Haneul glanced sideways at Lee Jongwoo and pointed to the car.

“Ah, it’s getting late too. Let’s talk about repair costs next time and for now…”

Lee Jongwoo was also trying to go along with him. After getting angry about filing lawsuits and such, it seemed his mood had improved now that his neck was healed.

“Hmm? You’re leaving?”

“We have to. There’s an exam tomorrow.”

Cho Haneul answered.

“Ah, should I give you a reward? My business card…”

Lee Jongwoo also said something ridiculous.

No way, did they think I was doing this to get paid for treatment?

Where do these guys get off pulling this nonsense.

The smell of alcohol was still wafting around both of them.

“I never said I would take you home, did I?”

I smiled slightly and placed my hand on Lee Jongwoo’s shoulder.

“Excuse me…?”

Behind him, colorful lights were approaching. Lee Jongwoo turned his head following my gaze.

“Uh, uhh?”

“Hey, Hanyewon!”

Cho Haneul burst into anger. Lee Jongwoo, who finally realized the situation, also trembled with shock.

“Eup.”

He covered his mouth with his hand.

But it was already far too late. I had called the police before even stepping forward to treat him.

‘They said there was an incident nearby, but they came later than I expected.’

I was worried there might be violence, but it would be perfect if they got arrested together.

“You’ve been drinking, haven’t you?”

“Uh, uhh…”

“It’s fortunate it was just you two who collided, but what if there had been pedestrians? You would have become murderers.”

“No, I didn’t drink much, but that guy over there…”

“Ah, shit!”

Cho Haneul vented his anger at the air and stomped his foot on the ground.

Lee Jongwoo pushed me aside and tried to get back in the car, but.

“Now, now, these busy police officers came all this way for us, so you should at least take a breathalyzer test before they go, shouldn’t you?”

“Urk…!”

With his wrist caught by me, he couldn’t move an inch.

I looked straight into the eyes of Lee Jongwoo and Cho Haneul and spoke. Just like Cheonma would.

“Stay right there. Accepting punishment obediently and reflecting is the wisest path.”

“Hiccup.”

Lee Jongwoo gasped, and Cho Haneul was startled out of his wits.

They looked completely overwhelmed.

‘Ha, even though I’ve lost a lot of my internal energy, intimidation tricks like this are still easy.’

It’s useless anyway, yet they’re trying to run away pathetically until the very end.

I crossed my arms and smirked.

Just then, the police got out of their car and approached us.

“We received a report and came!”

Indeed, for the sake of society, I should at least get these bastards’ licenses revoked.

* * *

The next day.

Cho Haneul arrived at school in a police car.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“Did he get in a fight or something?”

“Hey, no matter what… they’re saying it’s drunk driving.”

At a time when everyone should have been busy with last-minute studying, the exam hall buzzed with excitement over this rare piece of gossip.

“I searched it up and apparently he goes home first and then gets prosecuted in a few days? Did he cause a scene or something?”

“No way….”

Since I left right after handing him over to the police, I didn’t know, but did he really cause a commotion as soon as he came to his senses?

Hwangseoyeong, who had been eavesdropping on our classmates’ conversation, poked me in the ribs.

“It’s a repeat offense. His license will be revoked, and he’ll get fines or jail time too.”

“Did you hear that from Sanghun oppa?”

“Yeah.”

Wow. It seems he had the presence of mind to contact his friend even in all that chaos.

Click.

The door opened, and the main character of all the gossip appeared.

“….”

Silence fell over the bustling exam room.

Cho Haneul crossed the classroom with a slightly reddened face.

“Did you stay up all night? How’s your condition?”

I casually spoke to him as he passed by my side.

“…Fine.”

He barely managed to open his mouth with a voice that seemed to crawl out.

Unlike before when he looked down at me triumphantly, he looked completely deflated.

I wondered if he was still scared.

“Everyone is seated, so we’ll distribute the exam papers right away.”

The professor and teaching assistant who came in as proctors clicked their tongues and announced the start of the exam.

* * *

“Ahhhhhhh! It’s finally over!”

One of my classmates let out a cry of liberation. The graduation exam was finally over.

The result? Perfect, of course.

Thanks to memorizing even the most obscure parts of the textbooks, I could count the confusing questions in periods 3 and 4 on one hand.

“Should we go to the professors tomorrow to check our scores?”

As soon as the last exam ended, I quickly rushed to Cho Haneul’s seat.

Cho Haneul flinched and took a step back.

“Huh, no.”

“Hmm? Declaring defeat without even seeing the results?”

I took two steps closer and looked at him exactly like yesterday.

“Y-yeah. You probably did better.”

He looked back meaninglessly, but there was nowhere to run.

Cho Haneul answered with trembling lips.

“Hmm.”

It wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be. He was so scared that it felt like I was bullying a weakling.

“You should apologize, right? For what you said about my background last time.”

“I misspoke.”

Cho Haneul immediately bowed his head deeply.

“Geez! If you were going to tuck your tail between your legs like this!”

“…Sorry.”

Hwangseoyeong added a few more words on my behalf, but his combativeness had completely disappeared.

“Haneul, are you here? Aren’t you done yet?”

Just as I was wondering what to say to make this guy reflect and strive a little more.

Professor Lee Minseok opened the classroom door and entered.

Most students had left, so only Hwangseoyeong, Cho Haneul, and Hwang Sanghun watching from afar remained in the exam room besides me.

We all turned to look at the professor.

“It’s over… Can I leave?”

“You don’t need permission for that.”

I waved lightly.

I would check the grades when they came out, but I had won the exam. And I had received an apology too.

All my objectives had been achieved.

“Let’s go too.”

Everyone followed the professor out of the exam room.

Hwangseoyeong and I were planning to have an after-party, but since there was only one way out of the building anyway, we all headed to the parking lot together.

“Huh? Who’s that person?”

But on the way out, I spotted a woman.

“Why is Director Choi Eunhee here?”

I tilted my head in confusion.

“Who is that?”

“The general director of Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic Network.”

Cho Haneul’s mother was standing leaning against a Mercedes-Benz.

“Gasp!”

I wasn’t the only one surprised. As if he hadn’t called her, Cho Haneul clamped his mouth shut.

He froze up even more than when I had unleashed my killing intent yesterday.

“Phew…”

She stubbed out the cigarette she was smoking on the ground, then took out another cigarette and lit it.

“How do you know her? Do you know each other personally?”

“Not exactly. Um… I used to respect her quite a bit. You could say I came to Korean medicine school because of her.”

Now that I think about it, Director Choi Eunhee had come to do medical volunteer work in the rural village where I lived as a child. I was quite impressed at the time and even followed her to lectures.

Well, that’s all ancient history now.

“Really? You must have been greatly disappointed seeing Cho Haneul.”

“Not particularly. Respecting someone as a Korean medicine doctor and failing at raising a child’s character are separate matters.”

I had been a little, just a tiiiiiny bit envious before, but now I didn’t care at all.

‘He must be very loved.’

Had she come to resolve this drunk driving incident by assembling a team of luxury lawyers too?

However, things unfolded differently than I had expected.

Throughout the whispering between me and Hwangseoyeong from a distance, Director Choi Eunhee didn’t say a single word.

“I’ve brought him.”

The first person to speak was Professor Lee Minseok.

Even at his words, Director Choi Eunhee showed no reaction.

“Thank you. You may go now.”

Instead, a middle-aged man got out of the car she had been leaning against.

“Yes, Professor. I’ll contact you soon.”

Judging by his respectful manner, that person was Cho Hoyoung, Cho Haneul’s father and Lee Minseok’s supervising professor.

“How did Mother…”

“Tsk.”

Director Choi Eunhee irritably threw the cigarette she was smoking at Cho Haneul.

“Honey, that’s enough.”

Professor Cho Hoyoung said while picking up the cigarette butts his wife had smoked. Judging by the fact that there were quite a few, she must have been chain-smoking throughout Cho Haneul’s exam.

“Fine.”

Director Choi Eunhee nodded.

She calmly approached Cho Haneul.

Smack!

And slapped her son across the face.

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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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