The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 257
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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 257
I could call someone using the contact information they gave me, but there wasn’t any particularly hostile or threatening aura.
Well, how much could really be threatening to me anyway.
“Hello?”
I opened the door and greeted politely.
“Eek!”
The person outside jumped in surprise and stepped back.
They had been deliberately making footsteps and pacing around in the corridor, but apparently didn’t expect me to notice.
A woman wearing traditional Saudi clothing with flowing fabric.
I thought she seemed a bit short, but when she lifted her face, she looked quite young.
“A child?”
“I’m not a little kid!”
The unfamiliar girl pouted completely like a child, then belatedly introduced herself.
“I’m called Hasha. I’m the younger sister of Faisal, who invited you here. Wow… You’re Director Han Yewon, right?”
The girl who revealed her name as Hasha looked up at me with enchanted eyes.
Wait. If she’s Faisal’s younger sister.
“You were a princess?”
“I do carry the title of Amira.”
Princess.
Hasha was a student studying abroad in the United States, who had temporarily returned home to celebrate her grandfather’s birthday and heard lots of stories about me from her brother.
Originally she was supposed to return last week, but she stayed a few more days because she wanted to meet me.
“No, staying longer just because of me…?”
It was a choice I couldn’t quite understand.
What would a princess do by seeing me? It’s not like she could brag about it everywhere like with a famous celebrity.
Then…
“I was so curious because I heard you were the renowned doctor who cured my brother’s terrible headaches. But they wouldn’t let me into the banquet, saying it was for adults to talk…”
“So you came all the way here.”
I guess what was bound to come, came.
We weren’t the only royal guests staying here, so it wouldn’t have been too difficult for the princess to make excuses and come in.
But she could have met me formally on another day, yet she came this late at night, which means.
“Where does it hurt that brought you here?
There must be somewhere that needs discreet treatment, right?
Sigh, I suppose it’s fortunate that I’m bringing patients around rather than murder cases.
It’s not like I created this! She must have been sick from the beginning!
I bent down slightly to lower my gaze and carefully asked Hasha.
Would it be awkward to talk in the corridor? Should I bring her into the room?
“Ah.”
But she flinched and stepped back again.
“It’s not like that. I was just… really curious.”
Hasha’s eyes wavered, unable to find a place to settle.
Her hands hidden in long sleeves kept fidgeting constantly.
“…You’re saying there’s nowhere that hurts?”
“Yes, yes. There isn’t… Oh, then I shouldn’t, uh, I’m sorry.”
Though she was flustered and didn’t know what to do, her eyes that kept glancing at me sparkled brightly.
‘Can siblings have such different personalities?’
She was a very shy girl, but her eyes reminded me enough of Yang Jimin, who works part-time at our decoction room.
…Well, if she’s not a patient, that’s fortunate.
Since I had no intention of making things difficult for her, I smiled and lightened the mood.
“I see. Nice to meet you. But it seems a bit late today. Would you like to come again tomorrow morning? I’m going to tour how the Korean medicine department at the Royal Hospital operates – if you’re not busy, come along.”
“Ah!”
Hasha was very pleased with my suggestion.
“I don’t have any schedule. I’ll do that! I’ll guide you!”
She accepted immediately.
As if she really had no other purpose besides wanting to meet me, she blushed and nodded her head.
“I’ll come again tomorrow. It was nice meeting you!”
And Hasha disappeared as if running away.
Was she nervous about facing me?
Or did Hasha also sense the presence coming from the other end of the corridor?
‘Even in the past when I made house calls, the children would sometimes peek around curiously at the guest.’
Though it was unexpected for a princess to visit in a place where guests must come and go constantly.
She was quite a cute child.
* * *
The next day.
Kim Chunsik, Seo Inae, and I came out ready for sightseeing.
Park Seon-yun seemed to be handling work first with the company people who accompanied her, but since our official schedule only consisted of attending a one-day forum, we could use our time much more freely.
“This is Her Highness Princess Hasha bint Amir Al Saud, Prince Faisal’s younger sister. She would like to come along as a guide, would that be inconvenient for you?”
The interpreter assigned by Faisal’s side formally introduced Hasha to me and asked for my opinion.
It had already been discussed with me, and I had also informed Seo Inae and Kim Chunsik.
“Of course.”
“A princess is going around with us…”
The two readily agreed.
Hasha looked up at both Kim Chunsik and Seo Inae with eyes full of respect.
“Thank you. I really wanted to meet all of you!”
She wasn’t as socially adept as Yang Jimin, but because of that, her pure goodwill felt even more genuine.
But does she really have no ailments?
I examined Hasha from head to toe while moving to the tourist site.
‘She seems fine though…’
We had quite a bit of casual conversation in the vehicle, but I didn’t discover anything particularly strange.
“This is the Diriyah Historical Site, the first capital of the House of Saud.”
This was the place we came to because when asked beforehand if there was anywhere we wanted to go, I had said I was more interested in historical sites than shopping.
“We’re going to the Art Life District. This is where Saudi Arabian royalty resided in the 18th century. It’s characterized by traditional mud brick architecture in Najd style.”
“Oh.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.”
The originally assigned person gave the tour in Korean, and Hasha just nodded along with us.
All the buildings were earth-colored. It really felt like we had come to a desert city.
Not only the buildings, but we could also see various furniture, documents, weapons, and more in places set up as museums.
‘Is it here?’
Being a historical site, there were quite a lot of people.
In a place like this, it wouldn’t be strange for anyone to collapse at any time.
Didn’t Roberto appear in Italy just when I was about to give up on everything?
It doesn’t make sense to come all the way to Saudi Arabia and not have any emergency patients.
‘Come anytime.’
I prepared myself not to be surprised no matter what situation arose and looked around.
However.
No incidents occurred until we had toured almost all the historical sites and entered the traditional market.
“Nothing? Really nothing? There’s really nothing?”
“Are you looking for something?”
“No… it’s nothing.”
I pointed somewhat emptily at a handcrafted miniature sword.
“This looks nice. I’ll buy it.”
“You have good taste, Clinic Director! I’ll buy it for you!”
Hasha finally opened her mouth as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“Oh, all items that the Clinic Director purchases will be paid for by the Prince.”
“Eh…”
She was blocked by the interpreter.
“But I was going to buy it.”
“The Clinic Director has no need to take out any money at all. We’ll prepare it so you can take it right away.”
I had meant it as a request to just communicate with the merchant, but he was very firm.
Oh no. It didn’t matter at all whether I bought it or someone bought it for me, but I had unintentionally made the princess feel left out.
“Does Director Kim like pottery?”
“Oh, no. Let’s look around slowly.”
Kim Chunsik, feeling burdened, hurriedly put down the pottery.
“I’ll buy this.”
Seo Inae immediately held out Arabian perfume.
Mm, she’s definitely smart.
“This is Al Masmak Fortress.”
Shortly after, we moved to the next tourist site.
An earthen fortress of impressive scale.
Again, the guide’s elaborate explanations continued.
A fortress built by the previous Rashidi dynasty? The story of the founder of the House of Saud raiding the fortress with 40 warriors was quite impressive.
“This is the weapon the king used personally?”
“That’s right! You seem very interested in weapons, Clinic Director.”
Ahem, somehow I felt like Achilles choosing a sword alone among jewels.
“This is Al Nakheel Mall.”
The third place we visited was a massive shopping mall.
I had expected eating at a high-end restaurant, so I enjoyed the meal enthusiastically.
“Please choose some souvenirs.”
“Yes?”
“We’ll load it onto the private jet in advance, so don’t worry about weight or taxes.”
The guide and interpreter dropped us off in front of the luxury shop and said this.
“Ah, shall I explain the brands to you? Let me start with watches. First, Rolex, as you may have heard, boasts world-renowned precision and reputation…”
“No!”
I know what Rolex is too.
And I’ve never even thought about buying so much that I’d need to worry about weight.
“Did Prince Faisal tell you to buy luxury goods too?”
“Haha, if you’ve come to a shopping mall, wouldn’t it be proper to purchase appropriate souvenirs?”
I’d never heard of such propriety in my entire life.
Unlike the handcrafted items at the traditional market, this time even Seo Inae couldn’t handle it.
She looked at me and shook her head frantically.
“Thank you, but I’ll decline…”
“I’ll pick something that suits you!”
And Hasha beat me to it.
She linked arms with me as if she’d been waiting for this moment and dragged me into the store without any regard.
“Uh, uhh? Huh?”
In this place at least, she showed no shyness at all.
Hasha boldly held up dozens of clothes, bags, watches, jewelry, and more against me, recommending them.
“No, I’m really fine.”
…It wouldn’t be polite to refuse everything either.
The three of us could barely escape the shopping mall only after each picking out one piece of clothing.
I thought we came to eat, but this turned out to be a trap.
“Shouldn’t we start doing some work now?”
I was fine when we toured the ruins and fortress, but trying on dozens of bags at the shopping mall drained my energy.
Ugh, I don’t even change equipment this much in games.
“Ah, you want to see the Royal Hospital.”
Fortunately, the guide accepted my request.
Four Korean medicine doctors had come to three Royal Hospitals in Riyadh, and we decided to visit the closest one first.
“Huh? Is it already almost closing time?”
But the schedule at the hospital wasn’t very comfortable either.
Come to think of it, I had written this when posting the job announcement too, right? The hospitals here only operated until 4 PM.
“I thought I’d be able to see some patients…”
“Haha, we brought you here to treat you well, so how could we make you work? Please greet the Korean Medicine Department Director and the Hospital Director.”
Ehhh. Eeeehhh.
So they really want me to just play around for ten days without any medical practice?
The invitation wasn’t an excuse, and they weren’t asking me to treat patients while I was here?
“This is Director Han Yewon from Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic.”
“Hello.”
“Ah, we met before.”
The Korean Medicine Department Director who had reviewed applications and conducted brief interviews with me.
“How’s the work?”
“It’s wonderful. Ah, I can’t believe such a divine workplace exists. Working hours are half but the salary is more than double, and they provide all meals and accommodation. It couldn’t be better. Thank you so much for the introduction.”
He seemed very satisfied with life in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s not too busy?”
“Our hospital is just so-so for now. I heard the hospital where the royal family goes is the busiest? I need to work hard to gradually make it known to the general public too.”
“You’re working hard.”
“Oh my goodness! Aren’t you Professor Kim Chunsik? My word, Professor, you came together too!”
“Didn’t I open Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic Branch 3?”
“Ah… come to think of it, I heard the news at the alumni association. I’m sorry I couldn’t visit you, but I’m seeing you like this.”
Kim Chunsik encouraged his former student.
And I asked what I had been secretly curious about.
“How are the prepared medicine effects? The prescription volume seemed quite substantial.”
“They’re much better than other preparations I used in Korea. There’s almost no difference from decocted herbal medicine, or they might even be better.”
“That’s fortunate. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Hmm, …I’m not sure. I’ll ask if anything comes up.”
It’s fortunate that the preparations are good.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t really anything to do.
Except for the emergency room, they seemed to close sharply at 4 o’clock, so the patients were gradually decreasing too.
“Would you like to have dinner together?”
Should I eat and do some more sightseeing before going back?
“Director, is there something bothering you…?”
Hasha, who noticed my disappointment, asked, but I could only shake my head.
Eventually giving up my lingering hopes, I waited for the Korean medicine doctors and nurses to finish their treatments.
The two people who had been lying in the acupuncture room finished their treatment and got up.
Since they had closed registration, no new patients came even at this close-call time.
“Oh.”
And the moment I completely gave up on everything.
“Nurse, do you happen to have trouble with your ankle?”
I noticed that one nurse’s gait was slightly unstable.
“Oh, I’m Korean.”
She did appear to be Asian, but it was a hospital with many nurses from various countries around the world.
So when I asked the question in English, I got a response that she was from South Korea.
And she scratched her head as she spoke.
“It’s not my ankle, but I have some plantar fasciitis… It’s hard to stand.”
Eureka!
I finally found a patient.
“I’ll treat you!”
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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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