The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 133

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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 133

Hwang Sanghun, who had carefully observed even Lee Ahreum’s acupuncture treatment, said to me.

“I reflected on myself. I should also treat patients with that much passion…”

“No. You’re doing great as you are, oppa. There should be calm types too.”

I told you to watch how the newbie does it, so why are you reflecting on yourself?

While there might be differences in preference, there was just as much demand for serious and calm types of traditional Korean medicine doctors as there was for passionate types, so it didn’t matter at all.

“Were you okay when you gave the patient acupuncture? You weren’t nervous?”

“Yeah. He did just as well as when he works with us. He’d be ready for real cases right away. He’s adapting much faster than I did when I was an intern, stumbling around and getting scolded.”

No, it’s just that interns have too much work to do.

“Good. Keep looking out for me from now on!”

It was fortunate in many ways to have Hwang Sang-hoon, someone he could trust and rely on.

Hwang Sanghun and I were comfortable since we’re peers, but there are probably things that would be difficult for Arum to ask the CEO directly.

Hwang Sang-hoon will do a good job mediating.

“Uh, uh.”

But a moment later.

Wasn’t there a patient named Jo Su-young who had finished treatment looking around in the hallway?

“Are you looking for something?”

In case there are any complaints, let me go and handle it right away.

“Oh, my neck can turn properly now. The doctor who treated me was so good to me that I wanted to thank him… but if you’re busy, that’s okay!”

He seemed moved by Lee Areum’s passionate determination to make him better.

I called out to Lee Areum, who would be catching her breath after finishing her medical examination.

Lee Areum was also startled, but.

“Oh my, what a relief! You’ll be able to sleep peacefully tonight!”

“Thank you. It’s thanks to you.”

“If you have any discomfort again, come see me right away!”

After hearing Jo Suyoung’s request, he made a big fuss and was delighted.

After the patient left, Hwang Sang-hoon also provided feedback.

“I was way too hyped up, wasn’t I?”

“No, it was fine. Being passionate about patient care and showing good empathy are great strengths. As long as you don’t become mechanical, it’s excellent. Let’s actually build on that aspect.”

Lee Areum was deeply moved.

“Thank you! I’ll work hard so as not to be a burden to you both!”

Several more times after that.

Sometimes I asked for permission, and sometimes I naturally observed Lee Areum’s medical consultations in secret.

Once, I was even caught secretly watching through the curtains as they administered acupuncture.

Lee Areum remained very calm and didn’t make a sound.

That was an excellent response.

Did I hide my presence for nothing? That must have been even more startling.

It was just a small incident where I got startled when I turned around to get a new one after the acupuncture needle happened to bend.

“Director, Ms. Seong Mi-rim says her elbow isn’t getting better, so I was wondering if I could….”

“Tennis elbow takes a long time to heal. Don’t worry and keep up with the treatment consistently.”

Though I had many fears due to my lack of experience.

“Have confidence and keep at it. Don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t get better right away. Some conditions naturally take a week or a month of treatment, and sometimes they improve once you get home.”

“Yes! I’ll make sure to keep track of the treatment period and provide guidance on the prognosis!”

“…Just keep doing what you’re doing now. Patients can see when you’re giving your best effort.”

After I offered a few words of encouragement, he immediately became fired up with enthusiasm.

Hmm, you need to have that kind of side to you at first.

The more fearful you are, the more you study, and the knowledge gained during those initial 2-3 years of clinical practice, combined with accumulated experience, becomes the foundation for a lifetime of patient care.

Lee Areum grew by absorbing the advice I casually offered like a sponge.

Not only that, but I also became very close with the employees.

“Teachers~ Can I eat with you too~?”

Don’t you also eat meals with your employees?

Hwang Sang-hoon and I were eating lunch in the examination room… His friendliness was unbelievable.

“Director Areum, it’s E, right?”

“Yes. I’m an ENFP!”

“Wow, our oriental medicine clinic finally has three E’s!”

“How is it three people?”

“Me and Teacher Yuhee!”

“Teacher Yuhee was an E? And the head director is an I?”

There’s no way I’m an E, right?

While clearing away the finished food, I overheard that Gong Nari and I seemed to have good chemistry.

I hope Iarum does well too, since she also has no connections in Busan.

A few weeks later.

The interior construction has been completed.

I moved all the luggage to the 3rd floor as originally planned, and for now, I arranged for Hwang Sanghun and Lee Ahreum to each use one examination room on the 4th floor.

Then, when Lee Ahreum’s patients increase, I could open the 3rd floor treatment room even on days when I’m not here, right?

“I’ll direct new patients to you for a while, so take your time building up your patient base. Don’t worry about things like sales just because you have few patients in the beginning. Just treat each patient with care.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

“I won’t leave you alone, so if any problems arise or you have questions, don’t hesitate to find me or Clinic Director Hwang. If necessary, just call me.”

With Lee Ahreum joining this time, Hwang Sanghun decided to reduce his work days to five days a week.

And when Lee Ahreum also works five days a week, we could operate with a constant two-person system even if I only work four days.

“Do you have any particular day you’d like to take off?”

“I’ll take whatever day is left!”

Lee Ahreum answered energetically.

“I’d like to take off one day between Saturday or Sunday. Any weekday is fine with me. I’ll rest on less busy days.”

Hwang Sanghun said he’d take off one weekend day.

Taking weekdays off had many advantages too… but honestly, I also needed weekends if I wanted to go to Seoul or handle various matters.

After all, most people take weekends off.

“I’ll work weekends! Clinic Director, you take Sundays off!”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“Yes, I don’t have any friends in Busan anyway.”

…Don’t I feel too sorry about this?

I had asked Hwang Sanghun to work weekends before, but receiving such consideration with those bright, respectful eyes made my conscience prick.

“Then let’s do that. But take off Monday and Friday, the busiest weekdays, instead.”

But I accepted it.

As a network representative, I might occasionally have weekend work, so it was unavoidable.

Hwang Sanghun would take off Wednesday and Saturday, and I decided to take off Tuesday and Thursday instead of taking three days off.

“Would it be okay for Yu Hee to handle the front desk permanently? We’ve been rotating until now, but it would be good to have one person dedicated to the 3rd floor…”

With the system change, the staff’s work schedules needed slight adjustments too.

The work hours themselves wouldn’t change, but the space would double on days when I work.

‘Let’s try it first, and if we can’t manage, I’ll have to hire one more person.’

So I gathered the staff for discussion, and Seol Yuhui cautiously raised her hand.

“Ah, is it burdensome to keep handling the front desk?”

She had said the front desk was quite tiring since you had to constantly talk with patients, even though it wasn’t physically demanding.

Still, maybe because she was an E-type, Seol Yuhui and Gong Nari seemed relatively comfortable with it.

Indeed, giving more work to someone just because they’re good at it was too much…

“Actually, I was going to ask if I could reduce my work hours a bit. If it’s not possible, then it can’t be helped.”

“Huh?”

But Seol Yuhui brought up something I hadn’t expected.

“What’s the matter?”

Surely she’s not trying to get a second job like Seo Inae…

No, my thoughts went in a strange direction because of Seo Inae. People don’t usually think about second jobs.

If she wanted to earn more money, she’d ask to increase her work hours like Gong Nari.

Did she get a boyfriend? Or maybe studying?

“I… actually never properly experienced high school or college life.”

“Ah, that’s right. Because you were sick.”

“You said there were years when you almost couldn’t meet the attendance requirements, right?”

Gong Nari, who was listening nearby, also expressed sympathy.

It was a miracle that she lived past twenty with Guumjeolmaek.

Collapsing at school and lying in the nurse’s office or leaving early was routine.

There must have been countless times she missed school for days due to hospitalization.

“Thanks to the Clinic Director, I’ve become so much healthier! I never thought I could live like this. But, so… I have a little… desire to go back to school…”

Seol Yuhui trailed off shyly.

School.

Twelve years of elementary through high school, and up to sixteen years including college.

Korean citizens who faithfully completed this process would have no regrets left.

But if she spent that time in hospitals, it wouldn’t be strange to harbor dreams of ‘ordinary’ school life.

“You want to go back to college?”

“Yes… Actually, I collapsed and couldn’t even take the college entrance exam.”

“What?!”

“You mean you couldn’t take it at all?”

Jin Minjeong and Seo Inae were shocked.

Taking the college entrance exam is terrible enough, but to study and then be unable to take it due to illness?

How could there be such an unfair situation.

“Haha, it’s not that shocking. I couldn’t study hard anyway since I’d get dizzy after sitting at a desk for just two or three hours.”

“Still!”

“What to do… Why didn’t you try again the next year?”

“I thought retaking would be the same. I just went somewhere that didn’t require college entrance exam scores at all. I barely experienced college life anyway.”

“Oh my, that’s right. That must be so disappointing.”

“Fighting! I’ll cheer for you! Yu Hee is smart, so you’ll be able to get into a good college!”

Jin Minjeong and Gong Nari held Seol Yuhui’s hands tightly and cheered her on.

“Now that my body is fine, without making excuses about being sick…”

“It wasn’t an excuse, you were really very sick!”

“I want to study as hard as possible and test what the best college I can get into is. And I want to properly experience college studies and life too.”

From what she was saying, it seemed she hadn’t done poorly in school either.

With Guumjeolmaek, wouldn’t she naturally be smart too? At least her sense for handling various situations at the Oriental Medicine Clinic was excellent.

Her academic intelligence probably wasn’t bad either.

“For that reason, of course we should make time for you!”

“I’m sorry for making such a difficult request during this complicated time of changing our system. I want to work for a long time and repay your kindness, but I thought it would be more troublesome to bring it up later.”

“Not at all! You should try everything you want to do. Yu Hee staying healthy and doing well is rewarding for me too!”

Wait, don’t tell me she’s asking to reduce her work hours while saying she wants to repay my kindness?

Even studying full-time wouldn’t be enough, right?

“If you feel too sorry to quit, please speak comfortably about it. If you’re going to do it, you should see it through to the end!”

“Oh, it’s not that! …I want to work and study without being a burden to my parents. I think it would be refreshing too… But if my being part-time would be more troublesome…”

“Absolutely not! Having you work even a little is good!”

“Thank you so much for being so considerate.”

Part-time or whatever, it’s definitely better to have her here.

Talent like Seol Yuhui isn’t easy to find. Anyway, I can just hire someone new to match the remaining hours.

“If anyone else wants to adjust their hours or has a preferred area, please let me know.”

“I’d like to increase mine…”

“Teacher Inae, if you increase any more, it’ll violate labor laws.”

“Tch.”

I simply ignored Seo Inae’s request.

But another person raised her hand.

She was our Oriental Medicine Clinic’s only working mom.

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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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