The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 168

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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 168

 

He had worked as an intern at the University-affiliated Traditional Korean Medicine Hospital for a year, and it had been over a year since he became vice director.

 

There were quite a few patients who specifically sought out Hwang Sanghun.

 

By now, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had more than established himself.

 

Yet he still didn’t understand why patients liked him.

 

He couldn’t lead with charisma and ability like Hanyewon, his colleague and clinic director.

 

Was it because he still lacked experience? Or because his studies were insufficient? He was cautious about distinguishing conditions that could definitely be cured, and hesitant to make guarantees.

 

Though he did his best in treatment, he rejoiced and felt relieved each time a patient recovered.

 

Approaching every patient as one human being to another and becoming close with them, like the newly arrived Director Lee Ahreum.

 

This was one of the treatment styles Hwang Sanghun ideally aspired to, but he wasn’t skilled at small talk either.

 

He simply did his best in his position and tried to always treat patients kindly.

 

But his smiles and comments sometimes felt mechanical.

 

Nevertheless, there were always patients who liked Hwang Sanghun.

 

“You’re dressed up nicely today?”

 

There were many grandmothers who relieved the burden of small talk with simple comments.

 

“Oh, there’s a small event in the neighborhood~.”

 

He would often learn what role they played in neighborhood festivals, how long they’d been doing it, and even what companies the grandchildren of their fellow participants worked for.

 

Lee Hiwon was one of those patients.

 

“Oh my~ My shoulders are so tense~.”

 

She first came for muscle pain, which was resolved in just two treatments.

 

Then a few weeks later, she visited again with similar symptoms.

 

It was a common pattern among office workers and others who frequently experienced muscle tension.

 

“Doctor~ Could you please put some needles in my stomach today~. I’m having trouble digesting~.”

 

One day she requested digestive treatment.

 

“Your shoulders get tense frequently, so you must have high physical tension.”

 

Hwang Sanghun examined her thoroughly during the follow-up visit.

 

He massaged her shoulders and palpated the trapezius muscle, and while having her lie down for abdominal examination, he also pressed the danzhong point, which is both a diagnostic and treatment point for hwabyeong.

 

“Ugh.”

 

“You must be under a lot of stress.”

 

It was somewhat of a routine comment.

 

Just acknowledging it helped them grow a little closer.

 

But Lee Hiwon’s eyes welled up with tears at those words.

 

“Actually, my husband had another affair~.”

 

Hwang Sanghun was very flustered.

 

Usually patients would just nod in agreement, but he hadn’t expected her to suddenly share such personal information.

 

“That must be very painful. How agonizing it must be when your spouse betrays your trust…”

 

“Yes. Really… We’ve lived together for decades, but there’s still more hurt to be had~”

 

Hwang Sanghun couldn’t respond properly.

 

He managed to offer a few words of comfort and silently handed her tissues.

 

Even so, the patient smiled and thanked him.

 

“Actually, he had affairs twice when we were young too. The first time he absolutely denied it, so even though I knew, I pretended not to know and let it pass, but the second time I saw it with my own eyes.”

 

And from then on, Lee Hiwon often shared personal stories.

 

“I went to see his mistress and talked to her nicely~. I asked her to break up with him since he was a family man with an elementary school child. Fortunately, she understood~ My husband also apologized~ Things were quiet for a few years after that. Well, even if I lost trust in him as a husband, I thought we still had some kind of comradeship left for raising our child safely.”

 

“Even though you say that, how your heart must have been burning inside…”

 

Of course, he didn’t understand 100%.

 

But he tried to.

 

Considering the patient was in her 60s, both forgiving adultery and deciding on divorce would have been completely different from now.

 

“I guess it was quiet because there was no woman willing to meet him during that time. He retired, so I thought now we’d live happily enjoying hobbies together! But he had another affair in his hiking group!”

 

Sometimes she would pound her chest saying she was going crazy.

 

“It must have been very difficult. …Whatever I say probably won’t be much comfort.”

 

“Oh~ Thank you for listening. I’m being foolish~”

 

“Please speak freely. I’ll help you feel as comfortable as possible, within what I can do.”

 

“Thank you. Today please work on my neck and shoulders~. I have a headache too.”

 

Her painful areas often changed.

 

Usually it was neck and shoulders, headaches, or poor digestion.

 

Some days it got worse and she said breathing felt stuffy and her heart raced.

 

While not clear signs of panic disorder like anticipatory anxiety, her body was visibly deteriorating.

 

“What have I been living for~ What is my life…”

 

Her depression was severe too.

 

She said food didn’t go down well either.

 

“Would taking medicine help a little?”

 

Then she requested herbal medicine consultation, saying she wanted to try medication first.

 

“The symptoms will subside, but as long as there’s a clear stress factor, relapse or worsening is likely. I’m sorry I can’t tell you I’ll cure you completely.”

 

Hwang Sanghun spoke honestly.

 

“I know that too. I don’t expect a complete recovery, so… please take care of me.”

 

Fortunately, the medication effects appeared relatively quickly.

 

The heart palpitations disappeared right away, and she said her digestion had definitely improved.

 

Taking medication and coming in faithfully for acupuncture treatment every day Hwang Sanghun worked, her condition gradually improved.

 

“I think I’ve improved about 70 percent.”

 

How many days had it been since she rejoiced in her recovery?

 

“Now he’s just openly staying out overnight! I think he knows that I know and am pretending not to!”

 

Lee Hiwon bit her lips and expressed her anger.

 

At the same time, her symptoms worsened to almost the same level as when treatment began.

 

‘Just get divorced.’

 

The words he wanted to say rose up to his throat.

 

Even if alimony was only a few thousand, since they’d been married for quite a while, if she received property division, she could probably get a small house.

 

He’d also heard they each bought an apartment in their own names for retirement preparation.

 

If she collected rent while doing some side work, life wouldn’t be too difficult.

 

Of course, that was Hwang Sanghun’s thinking.

 

There were probably many reasons why Lee Hiwon, the person involved, hadn’t decided on divorce.

 

She might fear others’ gazes more than her heart rotting away watching her cheating husband.

 

There might be economic circumstances she hadn’t told him about.

 

‘I spoke easily to my friend, but…’

 

Once when Kim Minggyu’s ex-girlfriend, who was a college classmate, had cheated, everyone unanimously told him to break up immediately.

 

But from a doctor-patient standpoint, how far was it okay to intervene in private life?

 

‘Should I try saying something?’

 

As person to person, if he approached with sincerity…

 

It seemed right to tell her to get divorced, or at least separated.

 

‘No, just helping with physical symptoms.’

 

But he couldn’t be certain that divorce was 100% the right choice in the current situation.

 

He kept thinking it might be crossing the line for a mere attending physician to recommend it.

 

In the end, Hwang Sanghun, who had been agonizing alone.

 

“I want to tell her to just get divorced… but is it okay to say something like this?”

 

He ended up consulting with Hanyewon.

 

* * *

 

“Ah, this is really not an easy problem.”

 

What kind of bastard does that?

 

Not only divorce, but even saying a curse word like that felt awkward.

 

Not only was there little chance she’d make a decision just because a doctor said so, but there was a very high possibility she’d be offended and the rapport would break.

 

“There’s no right answer, but if it were me, I’d say it.”

 

But regardless of the outcome, if there was a way to improve things, pushing as hard as possible was my style.

 

Multiple chronic diseases were involved with physical and mental stress from external circumstances.

 

There were far more uncontrollable factors.

 

For instance, there would be no way to handle something like grief from a family member’s death.

 

Quitting jobs, independence, divorce – these were all difficult problems to approach easily.

 

But anyway, getting divorced and finding freedom would be much better than living with the source of anger in the same house.

 

“Her husband looks down on her, so that attitude comes out… Tsk, she needs to collect evidence and ambush him when he least expects it.”

 

“But she’s never directly said she wants a divorce. She might just want to lament.”

 

“That’s possible, but if that’s the case, there’s no reason to listen to her lamenting either.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Knowing current medical history and social history for medical treatment was important.

 

But listening to stories endlessly wasn’t a doctor’s job, was it?

 

The tools a Korean Medicine Doctor could use were limited.

 

The range of medications a psychiatrist could use was also defined.

 

Psychological counseling was also a process of accepting one’s emotions and moving toward correcting behavior through cognitive behavioral therapy, not just listening endlessly.

 

It was good to put in effort hoping to help even a little… but honestly, in that situation, as long as the spouse’s affair continued, there wouldn’t be much change.

 

“Say as much as you can, and if she chooses to stay as is, there’s nothing you can do. Just treat her as much as possible to help with symptoms like you’ve been doing.”

 

“…I see.”

 

“If it’s awkward to say it outright, just say something like ‘you’d need to get divorced to get better, but I can’t strongly recommend it’ and watch her reaction. That’s how I start when recommending taking leave or quitting jobs.”

 

“Got it. Thanks.”

 

Ugh, just hearing the story makes me angry.

 

I only thought she was a shy person, but she had such circumstances.

 

I really hope she makes a decision.

 

“Ah, should I try talking to her? Have her come once saying you’re busy and transfer the treatment to me, I’ll try building rapport.”

 

“No. I can’t trouble you that much. It’s a problem I need to overcome someday too… and the patient is relying on me a lot right now, so I think it’s better if I talk to her.”

 

That’s true.

 

Since she’s been coming here for months specifically on the days when Hwang Sanghun provides treatment, she probably won’t easily open her heart to someone else.

 

“Alright. Try talking to her properly. Actually, even if you think about it this seriously, there’s a high chance she won’t be offended and will just laugh it off.”

 

Hwang Sanghun nodded.

 

And a few hours later.

 

Ms. Lee Hiwon came to the clinic today as usual.

 

Normally I wouldn’t pay much attention to who came upstairs.

 

But my mind kept wandering there, so I opened the patient’s chart and drummed on my desk.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, in the 4th floor treatment room.

 

“Hello, how are your headaches today?”

 

Hwang Sanghun started the conversation as usual, asking about symptom changes and her condition.

 

“They were fine… but I got so angry because of my husband that I came again. He’s annoying even when he’s right in front of me, and I get even angrier when he stays out overnight.”

 

Ms. Lee Hiwon’s response was even more intense than before.

 

Hwang Sanghun steeled himself and opened his mouth.

 

“I’ve thought about this a lot, and I’m saying this very carefully.”

 

“Oh, yes, yes.”

 

“To get better, I think you ultimately need to eliminate the source of your anger.”

 

Even as he spoke, he kept worrying about how she would react.

 

“You want me to kill my husband?”

 

The patient’s reaction was much more intense than expected.

 

“Oh, no. Divorce.”

 

“Ah, ah, right! Divorce! …I’m sorry. I’ve been imagining stabbing him repeatedly! Oh, of course it’s just imagination!”

 

…I thought she was a gentle person, but she must be very angry.

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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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