The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 30

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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 30

Kim Jinsang, who came 5 minutes before closing time, had chief complaints of shoulder and arm pain.

Originally it was just slightly stiff when sitting for long periods, but without any trigger, it had severely worsened since last night and he couldn’t sleep.

After a brief history taking and physical examination, I reached a conclusion.

“Feeling the muscles, it doesn’t seem like an acute muscle spasm. Even though you felt it suddenly became painful, repeated micro-injuries from prolonged strain could manifest as pain, and there’s also a possibility of disc problems.”

“Yes.”

“It doesn’t seem like frozen shoulder or a rotator cuff tear, so don’t worry too much. Let’s see how it progresses with treatment. Today I’ll calm it down a bit with acupuncture, so come back early tomorrow morning. We start at 7 o’clock, so you can see me before work. If it’s too difficult at night, don’t endure it and take Western pain medication too.”

“Yes.”

He had a talent for making conversation partners uncomfortable with his curt way of speaking.

“Time is tight, so I’ll just get acupuncture right away.”

I immediately had him remove his upper garment and placed needles in the painful areas.

He kept wincing, but fortunately he didn’t get angry about not receiving physical therapy.

“It’s a bit better. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

Kim Jinsang must have been busy too, as he threw down money and left the clinic just 4 minutes after entering.

“Phew, I would have gone crazy if he had made a fuss about not getting better. Thank you, Director.”

“Not at all. You were startled when that person suddenly yelled, weren’t you?”

“Well, it used to happen occasionally before. I was wondering if it would be better to kick out such a troublemaker, but it was resolved well thanks to your excellent skills, Director.”

Seo Inae said with a grin.

Even if I work overtime, I should respect the staff’s quitting time.

“Good work today too. Rest well and see you tomorrow.”

“Yes~ Have a safe trip home!”

She finished processing payment for the last patient and shut down the computer.

Seo Inae went to her night part-time job, and I went to spy on Haneul Clinic as we went our separate ways.

“Oh, here it is.”

Haneul Clinic Busan branch was located in a prime location with a very eye-catching sign. This must be what they call a good location, right?

Looking at their website earlier, their treatment categories had become much more diverse.

The Haneul Clinic in my memory was a franchise specializing in skin conditions like atopic dermatitis, but now that field was just one of many tabs.

It had transformed into a network that did anything profitable – diet as the main focus, skin beauty, chronic fatigue, pain patients, and so on.

“…Hello? You’re a patient… right?”

As I entered, the desk staff asked cautiously.

Why are they looking at a patient so suspiciously? We have plenty of people who come to our clinic wearing masks too.

“Of course. I twisted my ankle on the way here. Can I register?”

“Ah… Yes! Is this your first visit? Please fill out this registration form and wait a moment!”

The waiting room was surprisingly empty.

It was three times larger than our clinic with four massage chairs, but there wasn’t a single person.

Having evening hours until 9 PM means targeting office workers who finish work at 6 or 7, and isn’t this supposed to be the busiest time? Seeing only one staff member at the desk, it seemed today wasn’t particularly empty either.

‘Oh, treatment case studies.’

Even to my untrained eye, the interior was very neat, and various materials were beautifully displayed on the desk.

Among them, I had already read Director Choi Eunhee’s books long ago, so I picked up the treatment case studies.

‘UV treatment combined with herbal medicine improved psoriasis… They must have bought UV machines too. Wow, atopic dermatitis improved this much?’

Photos taken monthly during several months of treatment programs and handwritten thank-you notes from patients at the end. It was enough to inspire confidence.

‘Oh, so this is in-clinic advertising.’

As I flipped through pages speed-reading the case studies, I caught one sentence in a letter from a patient whose facial flushing had improved.

– Thank you so much! Thanks to you, Director, I’m finally free from my boss nagging about whether I came to work drunk. I’m so fortunate that there’s a renowned doctor like you in Cheonan.

Cheonan? Cheonan City in South Chungcheong Province?

Searching online, there was indeed a Haneul Clinic branch in Cheonan, and looking at the reviews, it was a clinic with as many reviews as the Gangnam main branch.

‘Did they collect cases from all over the country?’

If there’s academic exchange between them and they treat patients the same way, it might not matter in the end. But by including handwritten letters rather than printed ones, it was perfect for making people think these were the local director’s achievements.

So this is how they advertise.

“Hanyewon, we’ll escort you to the examination room~.”

Shortly after, the desk called my name. I closed the book, stood up, and followed the staff.

– Korean Medicine Doctor Chu Miyoung

Perhaps because the commercial building itself was large, the examination room and desk were twice the size of mine, and the nameplate was as large and fancy as a major corporation chairman’s.

“Wow… you’re so beautiful.”

I sat in the chair with mixed feelings, but the moment I saw the director’s face, it slipped out of my mouth involuntarily.

What, is she Miss Korea?

Naturally, the treatment case studies I thought would be authentic turned out to use cases from other branches, but the beauty I was certain must have been Photoshopped was not a bit inferior to the photos on the website.

A small face with distinct features and full makeup. She could appear on TV right now without any problem.

“Oh my~ Thank you!”

Chu Miyoung welcomed me with a bright greeting.

“You sprained your ankle?”

“Ah, yes. I twisted it slightly while coming down from the mountain, and I thought acupuncture might help.”

“You came at such a perfect time~!”

Her energy level was somewhat excessive as she conducted the examination. She smiled brightly while examining my ankle.

“Does it hurt when I press here?”

“No, it’s a little more toward the front than there.”

“Is it here?”

“Ah, yes.”

I nodded when Chu Miyoung pressed the Qiuxu acupoint. It’s the hollow area slightly forward from directly below the outer ankle bone, the most commonly painful spot when you sprain your ankle.

“There’s a tear in the anterior talofibular ligament. The swelling… isn’t too severe, but if you leave it untreated, it could become serious, so you need proper treatment.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Come in every day until I say you’re okay. You’ll need about a month of treatment.”

I had pretended to have moderate tenderness in my perfectly fine ankle, and Chu Miyoung immediately set a treatment period of one month.

Of course, ankle sprains can sometimes require a month of treatment when severe. That’s when the ligaments are severely torn, blood vessels rupture, and there’s extensive bruising and swelling.

“I see. It must be worse than I thought.”

Since I hadn’t come here to pick a fight, I smiled and agreed.

How would a typical patient react? Would they say okay and then stop coming once they felt better? They might go to another hospital with diagnostic equipment.

Or maybe since the doctor was pretty, they’d keep coming just to see her face.

“I’ll guide you to the treatment room~.”

Without any particular medical history taking, I was moved to the treatment room.

Twenty beds? They sure had a lot set up. Though only 2 patients were lying down.

I noticed there was also a separate skin care room, but there was no sign of activity there at all.

‘Having 3 patients in treatment at once isn’t bad, but it’s questionable for such excessive treatment practices. The rent here must be twice as expensive as our clinic.’

They even did two types of physical therapy. ICT (Interferential Current Therapy) and TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) were performed in sequence, and over 10 cupping cups were attached densely to my leg.

‘They installed all this equipment on every bed? They must have plenty of money.’

While I was secretly searching for equipment prices, Chu Miyoung came in.

“Oh my, are you interested in skincare or diet?”

On the wall beside the bed I had turned toward, there were explanations about skincare beauty packages and diet packages. I had actually been looking at my phone, but since I was curious about how they conducted package consultations, I pretended and nodded.

“Ah, yes. I’m a bit concerned about my pores.”

I recited what my senior student often muttered while looking in the mirror.

“Oh come on~ your skin doesn’t need any more work.”

Ugh. Did I go too far? Am I being too obvious about coming here to spy?

Actually, ever since I opened the Conception and Governing Vessels, my skin had been spotlessly clean without a single blemish.

“Haha, is that so.”

“How about a diet program? Many celebrities use our programs too.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Just earlier, someone who lost 20kg in 3 months and is managing yo-yo effects came by! If you’re interested, get an InBody check before you go.”

“Thank you. I’ll think about it next time.”

Ohhh. So this is how they make money.

‘Actually, diet and skincare are interests of virtually all women. Since diet is easier than pore management, did they push that direction?’

Throwing it out there like that would create interest even where there was none.

Honestly, recommending diet to me when I clearly had a healthy, athletic build was a bit much, but who knows if I might bring a friend?

Casually throwing it out there like that without being offensive was quite a decent marketing strategy.

“Let’s treat your ankle properly first~. Have you had acupuncture before?”

“Yes.”

The acupuncture treatment was unremarkable.

I also listened to conversations with other patients, but there wasn’t anything particularly special.

Just speaking with slightly higher energy than I do.

‘Hmm, the only thing worth referencing might be putting clinic advertisements on the beds?’

The gains were less than expected, I thought as I finished treatment and left the treatment room.

Someone was making a complaint in the consultation room in one corner of the waiting area.

“Nothing has improved at all so far!”

Wow, complaint handling!

Isn’t this exactly what I should learn from a franchise?

Since the only staff member who should handle billing was there responding to the complaint, I could sit in the waiting area and eavesdrop on the conversation.

‘It would have been awkward to go through with the diet package consultation, so this worked out well.’

They wouldn’t leave complaint handling to regular staff, so was this a manager-level person?

I was very curious about the professional’s skills.

“You took photos at the beginning, didn’t you? He’s been taking herbal medicine for a month and a half, but nothing has changed. My son’s forehead area has actually gotten worse, and you want him to take it for 2 more months?”

“Initially, the director set about a 6-month treatment period, and you paid for 3 months first. In situations where not much time has passed, results often don’t appear immediately.”

Ah?

“But there should be some improvement. *Sigh*, what’s done is done, but please refund at least the remaining 1 month’s worth.”

“Since you paid with a 3-month package discount, if you get a refund, regular prices will apply and your refund will be 40,000 won.”

“What?!”

Ah…

I’ve been through that before at a gym…

“I explained it to you at the beginning, and you agreed to the terms.”

I could roughly guess what was happening.

They slip in such terms in tiny print, then refuse any refund requests no matter what. It was a method used by every industry that does package sales.

“Ha, haa…!”

“If you want, I can refund you the 40,000 won. There are other patients waiting outside, so please decide quickly.”

That would make anyone angry.

In my case, when I was twenty, I even applied for mediation at the Consumer Protection Agency but failed to get a refund, and since then I never buy anything in packages.

The patient eventually gave up on the refund, and I finished paying and left Haneul Clinic.

“Tsk, there wasn’t much to learn.”

Anyway, even without going to such extremes, most people are grateful when they see results and don’t really think the money was wasted.

If they don’t see results but it’s really because time is needed, just explain it well. If I can’t convince them, that’s also my lack of ability.

Of course, very occasionally there are crazy people who take all the prescribed medicine, get treated, and then demand a refund.

‘In those cases, I’d use force… ah, but that would be big trouble here, right?’

Well, maybe I could just release a bit of killing intent?

Setting the policy like that and making such terms wasn’t my style.

“Let’s take it slow~. There are people who appreciate me!”

In my experience, there were far more people who tried their best to repay kindness somehow than trash who acted unreasonably.

Of course, most of them bring patients not for my sake, but for the sake of acquaintances who received my treatment and want to be treated.

Anyway, if you put your heart into it, it eventually gets through.

“I should continue doing consultations and treatments the way I always have.”

I finished my exploration of Haneul Clinic and returned home.

And three days later.

That very patient I saw at Haneul Clinic came to my clinic together with none other than my first believer, Grandmother Heo Sunnam.

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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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