The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 145

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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 145

“On Grandmother’s memorial day, the whole family will be there, so I was planning to just drop by briefly two days later.”

“Ah.”

Were you close with Grandmother?

When I asked, Hwang Sanghun shook his head.

“It’s not like I have any great memories, but just… she made me fried eggs when I was little, and I kept thinking about that. Actually, if she were still alive, I probably wouldn’t have contacted her.”

“That’s understandable.”

“Old Man was so thorough about family events – not just memorial days, but birthdays and wedding anniversaries too. We’d all gather to listen to Old Man’s stories, but I haven’t gone once since I left home. This time Older Brother contacted me telling me to at least visit the grave, so I went.”

I could understand what kind of relationship it was.

I don’t keep in touch with relatives either, but if someone passed away, I’d probably visit at least once.

“So I was planning to just briefly drop by with Older Brother to pay respects at the grave.”

“But?”

“…Older Brother brought Father along.”

“Ah.”

“He gave a whole speech about how I must lack persistence to quit my residency training, so I was about to leave right away, but then he said something about how if I really can’t do the training, I should go into public health. He said he’d already made contacts for me to do a doctoral program at Johns Hopkins.”

Right. Old Man had said he really wanted to make Hwang Sanghun a professor.

To become a professor in clinical subjects like Korean internal medicine or Korean neuropsychiatry, residency training was absolutely essential.

The typical route was to do internship and residency at a hospital while simultaneously pursuing a doctoral program at school, then build part-time lecturer experience as a fellow while publishing various papers, and when a position opened up, enter through some competition.

However, non-clinical subjects like anatomy, pharmacology, physiology, pathology, or herbal medicine didn’t require clinical training for professorship.

Like departments outside the medical field, you just needed to prepare a doctoral degree and research achievements.

For fields like pharmacology and public health where research is more active overseas, foreign degrees are often more valued.

The public health and nutrition professor at my alma mater had also done their doctoral program in England and had experience at WHO.

It seemed like they wanted Hwang Sanghun to take that kind of route.

“He kept going on about how Old Man had prepared this for you… repeating the same story he told several times when I left home last time. I thought I was going to go crazy. Even when I said we’d already decided to end things with me leaving empty-handed, it didn’t get through to him at all. No matter how much I said I was living well, he kept trying to persuade me, but there was no evidence, no negotiation, just bullying. …Because that used to work before.”

Of course he would have refused since he’s extremely satisfied with his current life.

Just thinking about Father made him look horrified, and Hwang Sanghun shuddered.

“So what did you do?”

“I ran.”

“Ran? You met at the grave, so…”

“That place is kind of in the mountains. So we took a bus that comes once an hour to get up there, but when coming down, there was no car.”

“…”

“So I ran down.”

Hwang Sanghun grinned sheepishly.

“Thanks to the PT you made me do, I guess my stamina improved. Older Brother is a complete exercise monster, but thanks to that I managed to escape without getting caught.”

Wait, so you’re telling me you just filmed Running Man in the mountains?

Imagining it was absurd.

Three men in suits gathering together, Father scolding, Hwang Sanghun suddenly running away, and Older Brother chasing after him…

What interesting people.

“You went through a lot.”

“Really, it was so hard. I finally caught a taxi after running all the way down the mountain.”

“But don’t you feel regretful? It was a pretty good opportunity.”

“Not at all. I don’t have even the slightest desire to be at a school. I like things best the way they are now.”

I asked just in case, but Hwang Sanghun answered firmly.

“I’m going to work here for life.”

Any vice director who’s somewhat smart and quick would typically escape after at most a year of work to open their own practice.

For some reason, Hwang Sanghun seemed more anxious that I might tell him to leave.

“Yes, yes. Please do.”

If it were me, I would have opened my own practice as soon as I gained confidence… but everyone has different goals and different conditions that make them feel comfortable.

A trustworthy vice director like Hwang Sanghun was rare, so I was more than welcome to it.

“So, I have a favor to ask.”

His vacation was over and we’d done a brief handover.

I casually brought up the matter I’d been wanting to mention since before Hwang Sanghun took his annual leave.

“Would it be okay if I’m away for about ten days next time?”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“I want to try traveling to Europe.”

Since I’d already mentioned Chairman Ricci’s promise of free hotel accommodation, Hwang Sanghun easily connected it.

“If it’s something like that, of course it’s fine. Have you never been to Europe?”

“No. Going to China for practicum was my first and last time abroad.”

“You should definitely go. Even if you go for longer than ten days, I don’t mind.”

“I’ll go after this Clinic Director gets more familiar with things… but still, you’ll have to handle almost all the main responsibilities…”

“Don’t worry and just go.”

Hwang Sanghun smiled very reliably.

He’s not the type to feel anxious about the CEO being away, so why does he find opening his own practice burdensome?

Anyway, since he readily said it was fine, I felt at ease planning my trip.

Going with someone would be better than going alone, right?

Who should I contact?

Chu Miyoung suddenly came to mind, but she only has Daejin Director there, so there’s no way she could be away for ten whole days.

It’s not a business trip like Jeju Island was, and it might be uncomfortable for her to travel with me.

‘For something like this, I should definitely go with a friend.’

I sent a message to Hwangseoyeong.

She’s also busy, so I’m not sure if it’ll be possible. I heard last time that she was going to present a paper at a conference in Europe, but maybe she can’t take a long trip for vacation?

Even though Hwangje Korean Medicine Hospital hires more residents generously than university hospitals…

Well, if she says no, I’ll just go alone.

Hwangseoyeong didn’t respond until I finished my treatments that day.

The call finally came close to midnight.

– I love it! Let’s definitely go! I really want to go! How long has it been since we last met?

Fortunately, it was a positive response.

“Can you get the time off?”

– Yes, yes, I have lots of vacation days! I haven’t taken my holiday this year yet, so I can adjust it! Sunday to Sunday, about 8 days should be possible! Is your schedule okay?

“Yeah, Sanghun hyung said he’d gladly cover for me.”

– Wow! That’s awesome!

I explained to Hwangseoyeong the story about Chairman Ricci.

Since I could now use any Ricci Hotel location for free, we wouldn’t need to worry about accommodation costs.

And since I had made an acquaintance in Rome, I wanted to include Italy in our travel destinations if possible.

– Wow, you’re really doing well for yourself? An Italian tycoon, that’s crazy.

“It just happened to work out that way.”

– I knew you’d do well but… actually, I didn’t know. When you said you were opening a clinic there, I wondered if you were in your right mind, but somehow you’re drawing patients from all over the world with just your skills alone.

“Come on, that’s an exaggeration. This person was just a coincidence.”

– What coincidence! The person who introduced you was so moved beyond gratitude by your skills that it led to meeting an Italian tycoon!

Come to think of it, it started with Kim Jinsang. Because he brought Park Seon-yun, it led to a chain of connections through Park Seseun and Nam Hyeonjeong to Chairman Ricci.

Maybe with the other branch like Hyeon Jumi, but I don’t think anyone here was particularly moved?

Feeling embarrassed to receive more praise, I changed the subject.

“Anyway, with 7 nights and 8 days, it would be hard to visit multiple countries, right?”

– Oh, right. Just touring Italy down to the south, or about 2 countries like Italy and France would be appropriate. Sorry I can’t stay longer because of me~! If you can take more time off, go visit England or Switzerland too! Switzerland was my favorite!

I didn’t think that would be necessary.

Even though Hwang Sanghun said I could take longer, wouldn’t that just burden him more?

Just going on the trip would be enough.

It would also be comfortable to stick with Hwangseoyeong, who had traveled a lot.

“7 nights and 8 days is enough. Once your vacation is approved, let’s book flights and make plans.”

– Great! How is Sanghun oppa doing?

Since Hwangseoyeong asked about her cousin’s well-being, we briefly talked about Hwang Sanghun.

“Yeah. He says he’s really going to settle down there.”

– It must be really good then. Please take care of him~. Don’t forget about my position!

“Your grandfather apparently prepared a doctoral position in America, have you heard anything about it?”

– Oh, really?

I asked on a whim, but Hwangseoyeong seemed unaware.

– It’s more serious than I thought. We all gathered recently for Grandmother’s memorial day, you know? Grandfather kept sighing while holding onto Uncle. I guess he still hasn’t given up.

“Oh… What does he say to you?”

– My parents have been disappointing all the family’s expectations since long ago.

Indeed, that’s the best way to live comfortably.

Conversely, when a child who used to obediently listen well gets fed up at some point, they cut ties like that.

Talking with Hwangseoyeong after a long time and catching up, it quickly became dawn.

– You have to go to work tomorrow, right? Go to sleep quickly. I kept you up too long!

For me, it would be quick with energy circulation breathing, but it was indeed late, so I hung up without further ado.

* * *

And the next day.

“Good morning, Clinic Director.”

“Good morn… Huh?”

Jin Minjeong was standing awkwardly in front of the desk.

It wasn’t even her work day.

Did I mix up the schedule? I looked inside the desk area, but today was indeed her day off.

“Oh, she’s here for treatment.”

Seol Yuhui, who had arrived earlier and was sitting at the desk, said.

Jin Minjeong was holding her waist and smiling sheepishly.

“Where does it hurt? Did you get injured?”

She was fine until yesterday, but her standing posture was awkward.

If she got hurt after work, it would be either at the gym or at home.

“Looks like you pulled your back. Did you get hurt at the gym?”

“…Clinic Director, did you install cameras?”

When there’s nowhere else that could be hurt.

Jin Minjeong looked very surprised.

“How did you end up straining it?”

When I asked, Jin Minjeong’s face turned red.

“While doing deadlifts. The trainer told me not to be greedy with the weight and to take it slow… But when the Clinic Director said she lifts 400 for the big three…”

“How many kilos did you lift?”

“80 kilos.”

“Wow.”

Oh my, there are other things to copy!

How could she get competitive about deadlift weight?

80kg is the weight a healthy adult man would lift, isn’t it? For a woman to lift that much weight, she needs to spend considerable time building her body.

Seo Inae, Seol Yuhui, and Gong Nari had been receiving personal training for quite a while, but Jin Minjeong had just started exercising in earnest when Lee Ahreum came and the schedule was reorganized, so it was way too early.

Of course, the other three weren’t doing exercises aimed at increasing weight either, so they couldn’t lift 80kg.

As for me… I’m an exception.

“You’re not entering a powerlifting competition. The trainer must have explained it well, but low-intensity repetition is better for building muscular endurance. Do what suits your body.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry, but since you got injured like this…”

But Jin Minjeong’s expression was somehow strange.

“Do you perhaps have ambitions about building strength? Like wanting to enter competitions?”

“No, no! It’s absolutely not that!”

Jin Minjeong waved her hands, saying it absolutely wasn’t that.

“Until the Clinic Director told me I was… big-boned, I didn’t even know I had good bone structure. I’d seen stuff about the big three on the internet, but I naturally thought I couldn’t even lift 100. But when I actually followed what the trainer taught me, I could lift quite heavy weights, and muscles started developing…”

“Ah. You developed a challenger’s spirit as an athlete?”

“Oh, an athlete? An ajumma being presumptuous.”

“If you exercise, you’re an athlete!”

Seol Yuhui backed up my words.

Then Jin Minjeong nodded while looking embarrassed.

“That’s right. I should take good care of my body like an athlete. I can work tomorrow, right?”

Jin Minjeong still tapped her back in an uncomfortable posture.

“I need to examine you first. I’ll go change clothes, so come in after 5 minutes.”

Since we couldn’t keep chatting at the front desk forever, I went into the examination room and put on scrubs and a gown.

Then I had Jin Minjeong come in and examined the condition of her back.

“Stand up straight, and slowly try bending forward.”

The first step in back examination is checking range of motion.

“Ah, it hurts starting from here.”

Jin Minjeong immediately complained of pain when she bent about 30 degrees.

“Now try leaning back. And to the side like this, let’s try lateral bending.”

Leaning back was a bit better, but when bending to the side, she also pointed to her right lower back.

Just from this, I could roughly tell where the problem was.

“You feel resonance when you cough, right?”

Jin Minjeong, who had been pointing to her back with her face completely contorted, looked up.

“Gasp, how did you know?”

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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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