The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 201

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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 201

Bruise patients themselves were commonly seen at traditional Korean medicine clinics.

Elderly people could get large bruises all over their bodies from just one fall, and there were many people who unintentionally bumped into things here and there.

However, Han Hyeonsu’s bruises were severe in degree, narrow in range, and not around ligaments that commonly get twisted.

It was almost certain he had been hit.

Based on my experience seeing many patients who came to the Medical Institute after being hit with wooden swords and such, it wouldn’t be easy to cause this with just fists.

There was probably a blunt weapon involved.

Of course, accidents could happen at construction sites and such, but… what would a high school student be doing there?

Domestic violence or school violence were the first things that came to mind.

“Did this happen at home?”

If I spoke evasively and beat around the bush, the victim would be even more hesitant and ultimately unable to answer.

I looked Han Hyeonsu in the eyes and asked firmly.

“Pardon?”

But Han Hyeonsu blinked with a face that showed he had no idea what I was asking about.

It didn’t seem to be domestic violence.

“Then is it something from school?”

“What?”

“If you need help, please tell me. Even if it seems hopeless and unsolvable, you can escape the situation if public authority intervenes. Of course, if the student doesn’t want it, I won’t do anything, so even just opening up about it…”

“Ah, it’s not like that!”

Han Hyeonsu’s face contorted.

He shook his head as if disgusted.

“I wasn’t beaten like that. I’m good at fighting.”

And he seemed displeased, apparently his pride was hurt.

‘Huh? I’ve seen this somewhere before.’

A young master from a powerful family confident in his skills?

Like someone who defeated a monster in a one-on-one duel and came back, only to be embarrassed when his parents made a fuss asking where he got beaten up…

“You were fighting?”

Han Hyeonsu moved his lips a few times, then answered curtly.

“Is that important?”

“So you don’t need help?”

“Absolutely not. Nobody at our school can touch me. Same goes for other places.”

He smiled smugly as if proud of his fighting skills.

…Did he just get hit while fighting?

It was ambiguous whether I should intervene or not.

He might not be a victim, and it could be a situation where he threw ten punches and received one.

“I understand. Then I won’t ask any more questions and will just treat you. Since it’s necessary for treatment, please just tell me how many days it’s been and what you were hit with.”

I took a step back.

It would be better to observe slowly while treating him for now.

“It’s been a week, and um… I got hit by a phone.”

“I see.”

Since phones are also metal, it would be possible if you put a lot of force behind it.

It would be more convincing to say he got hit by a steel pipe.

I was suspicious but didn’t question it and wrote down Han Hyeonsu’s words.

“Since there are bruises on your chest area, this isn’t a problem that can be solved by just treating your back. We need to check if there are fractures in your sternum or ribs. Have you had an X-ray taken?”

“No, I came straight here.”

“How so?”

“I was just tapping my back a bit and my mom told me to come here.”

His mother seemed to be one of our patients.

Judging by his current attitude, he wouldn’t have told his parents about the fight, and his mother probably thought it was just a stiff back.

Hmm, he probably wouldn’t tell me who his mother is even if I asked, right?

“X-rays are basic for fracture diagnosis, and to see accurately, you’d need a CT scan. Let’s at least check with ultrasound first.”

“Okay.”

He complied obediently with diagnosis and treatment.

I carefully scanned the bruised areas, sternum, and ribs, but there were no major problems with the bones.

“I don’t see anything immediately. But there’s a possibility that slight cracks didn’t show up on the machine, so if there’s no improvement at all during treatment, tell your parents and get a CT scan.”

“Okay.”

Actually, even if ribs are cracked, there’s not much you can do about it.

Still, we need to check, don’t we?

Once bones are injured, the recovery time becomes several times longer.

“Your chest doesn’t hurt much?”

“It just hurts from the impact. My back hurts more.”

Since I had the ultrasound on, I scanned the back muscles and ligaments too.

Here, muscle tears and ligament damage were clearly visible.

I captured the parts where tears were clearly visible, then brought up a rib model on the computer.

“The ribs protect the thoracic cage like this – there’s the sternum in front on the chest side, and in back it connects with the thoracic vertebrae transverse processes to form joints. The direct impact was around here, the front of the ribs, but the shock was transmitted to the thoracic vertebrae.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I can see some tearing in the erector spinae muscles. I’ll treat the ligaments connecting the thoracic vertebrae and ribs too. If chest pain persists after your back improves, I’ll handle that separately.”

“Understood.”

Since it’s not related to breathing, the intercostal muscles are fine.

I confirmed the tenderness earlier, and treatment focusing on the erector spinae muscles visible on ultrasound should bring improvement.

“Let’s go to the treatment room.”

First, I proceeded with hot compress and physical therapy.

Then I positioned him for acupuncture treatment.

“Ugh.”

“Is it hard to lie face down?”

“Ah, yes. When it touches, it’s a bit…”

“Let’s just do the herbal injection and have you lie on your side.”

To accurately reach the transverse process, lying face down would have been safer.

After injecting the herbal medicine into the target ligament, I changed Han Hyeonsu’s position.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

From his back to shoulders, down to his waist.

I placed needles not only in the most problematic muscles, but also in all areas where he complained of tenderness.

In cases where impact is transmitted like this, various spots tend to stiffen up even if the muscles weren’t directly damaged.

“Is this your first time getting acupuncture?”

“I got it a few times when I was young.”

It sounds strange coming from a high school student.

Han Hyeonsu flinched and trembled but didn’t make any sounds.

After finishing the acupuncture treatment, I even did bloodletting cupping on the bruised areas and near the thoracic spine.

He frowned during the bloodletting, but he was a patient who endured it admirably well.

“You did great.”

“Thank you.”

Just from watching him get up, I could see he felt much more comfortable.

Han Hyeonsu must have felt it himself too, as his eyes widened greatly while moving his body around.

“Wow.”

Han Hyeonsu briefly exclaimed in admiration and bowed his head with a brightened face.

Hmm, he’s quite polite actually.

“Come a few more times until the pain completely disappears. It’s not simply stiffened muscles – some parts are torn, and even the ligaments are injured, so it’ll take several days.”

“Yes, I understand.”

He answered very well too.

* * *

When I first examined him, I had asked various questions with some hope.

I was worried he might not come back since Han Hyeonsu had shown signs of displeasure, but fortunately that didn’t happen.

He consistently visited once every 2-3 days to receive treatment.

“How are you feeling today?”

“Now I can run or twist my waist like this and it’s fine. It still hurts when pressed, but it seems to be getting better.”

Through treatment, the bruising had faded considerably, and his back pain had noticeably improved.

Both the sprain and muscle tears were healing smoothly.

“Are you doing well at school?”

“Yes.”

But we didn’t really become close.

Whenever I brought up slightly personal topics, he would clam up completely.

Hmm, I was quite confident in getting close to patients in my own way.

‘Did he really just get caught on camera while fighting with a friend?’

Of course, that was also a possibility.

He might just be too embarrassed to talk about it.

But thinking back to when I was in high school…

It was too long ago and my memory is hazy, but I don’t think we fought by hitting each other like elementary school kids?

Rather, I often heard about gang fights happening at neighboring schools.

My questions were answered a few days later.

Han Hyeonsu came to the clinic together with another male student.

“Hey, just tell him everything.”

“Uh, um.”

“Should I step out?”

“Uh… I’d appreciate that, um, thanks.”

The registered name was Yun Jeongmin. He was the same age as Han Hyeonsu.

They entered the examination room together, but Han Hyeonsu just bowed to me in greeting, asked for understanding, and immediately left.

“Um… Hello, Clinic Director. I heard you treated Hyeonsu well.”

Unlike the somewhat cocky Han Hyeonsu, Yun Jeongmin spoke very politely.

His voice was also quiet.

He fidgeted with his hands.

His eyes kept shaking without stopping.

He hadn’t said anything particular yet, but I intuitively realized.

‘This kid was being bullied.’

His uniform was different.

It wasn’t Jungun High School, but I seemed to have seen it occasionally, so it must be another school in this area.

I spoke without showing my thoughts.

“Yes, Hyeonsu’s injuries are almost completely healed. Were you injured around the same time, Jeongmin?”

“Uh… something like that.”

Yun Jeongmin avoided eye contact and scratched his head.

“It’s not as severe as Hyeonsu’s though.”

“Where is most uncomfortable for you?”

“Um, my shoulder. No wait, my arm. My elbow.”

“Let me take a look at your condition. Could you take off your coat and roll up your shirt?”

He took off his clothes as I instructed and rolled up his shirt.

‘…!’

As Yun Jeongmin had said, the bruises weren’t as severe as Han Hyeonsu’s.

But there were far more of them.

Counting both arms, there were over ten spots.

“Were you grabbed hard? Pulled around?”

Yun Jeongmin nodded slightly.

“Yes. I was never hit with a metal rod like Hyeonsu though.”

His voice trembled.

“A metal rod?”

“Oh, yes. A lead pipe, I think? About this big… Hyeonsu is okay, right?”

Yun Jeongmin, gesturing the size with both hands, was almost on the verge of tears.

I wanted to ask him!

Of course the bruises were healing, but what on earth had happened to cause such a situation?

“…Hyeonsu is healing well. If we continue treatment to the end like this, he’ll recover without any aftereffects.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

Yun Jeongmin let out a sigh of relief.

“I was scared, uh, worried that something terrible happened because of me. Thank you for treating him so well.”

“Why do you say it’s because of you, Jeongmin?”

Han Hyeonsu would clam up every time he tried to speak, but it seemed like Yun Jeongmin might answer.

“I, well… actually I haven’t been adapting well since starting high school. I couldn’t make friends… the kids I hung around with would make me do various things… and if I didn’t do them properly, they’d hit me too… Oh, not with pipes or anything, just with hands and feet…”

As expected, Yun Jeongmin opened up.

He was downplaying his own victimization, but it was clear he’d been subjected to group bullying.

To help him speak more comfortably, I quietly nodded.

“Hyeonsu and I were friends in middle school, but we went to different high schools so we didn’t see each other much. But we happened to meet at a PC bang and he saw me with those other kids… saw my arms… kept asking questions… then he came to my school.”

“He came to your school and fought with the students who were bullying you?”

Yun Jeongmin continued with an indescribable expression.

“Yes, Hyeonsu is really good at fighting. He was winning even though he was fighting four of them…”

He was proud of his friend at the same time.

“But, there are some rusty metal rods lying around the school, and someone swung one of those.”

His guilt was heavy.

It didn’t seem like something light like accidentally getting caught on a phone camera.

It was a much more serious blunt weapon attack than I’d thought.

“He got hit…”

“Yes. He got hit and fell down. But even then he got back up and took the pipe away. When he swung it once through the air, all the other kids ran away.”

He really was quite good at fighting it seemed.

He even managed to take the weapon away.

Come to think of it, aside from his chest, there weren’t any other notable bruises or even scrapes.

“After that, have the students come looking for Hyeonsu at his school, or continued bullying you, Jeongmin?”

But even so, I couldn’t completely put my mind at ease.

This wasn’t the martial arts world, so fights rarely resolved things cleanly.

There would likely be parts where adults needed to help.

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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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