The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 325

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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 325

Alain Carong was the oldest member of the French national team, a veteran player participating in the Olympics for the third time.

She was the power forward responsible for the team’s offense.

“Let’s have a good game.”

“Yeah. Let’s do our best in the Olympic spirit.”

“Of course… Hey, hey!”

“What? I was encouraging you.”

She was also responsible for verbal attacks with her sharp tongue.

A habit from her youth days.

Her teammates also disliked Allin’s provocations as unsportsmanlike, but Allin scoffed at them.

If a few words could shake the opponent’s mentality, that’s an advantage, right? Does good manners put food on the table?

‘At this rate, we might not even make it to the main tournament.’

The news back home had been talking as if the women’s basketball team would naturally bring home medals.

But unfortunately, they got off to a bad start by losing to Spain in their very first game.

Fortunately, Brazil beat Spain, so all three teams now had one win each.

France needed to beat South Korea this time to safely advance to the main tournament.

“South Korea isn’t the team we used to know. The more I watch their game footage, the more chills I get.”

“Kim? What is this player exactly? She’s playing a completely different sport by herself!”

Even when all the teammates should be joining forces and burning with motivation, some had already lost morale before the game even started.

“Look at the Basketball World Cup and rankings. South Korea is the weakest team in Group A. Even if Kim’s individual skills are good, this is her first appearance, right? The previous two games might have gone according to Korea’s tactics, but their mentality can’t be good. If things don’t go their way even a little, they’ll get shaken and flustered.”

Allin hyped up the tension even more than usual.

“Let’s increase the pace, to the point where they can’t keep up.”

“But we’re in a hurry too?”

“The more unexpected situations arise, the more advantageous it is for us with experience!”

She encouraged her teammates and deliberately led the game roughly.

Prepared for physical exhaustion, she charged like crazy from the first quarter.

‘What? Where did this comet come from?’

But the game didn’t go as Allin had thought.

Somehow, Allin was able to get the ball a lot at the height she was confident in.

But the ball possession rate wasn’t coming out as expected.

Lee and Jang had naturally calm personalities, and she knew their skills.

But Kim seemed to know no panic despite having almost no international game experience.

‘Still, it’s okay. We can still turn it around. Even if we lose, we can get second place by point difference…’

Allin was desperate.

And equally impatient.

Thud.

Then a mistake happened.

‘Damn it!’

Allin was as careful with her play as she was foul-mouthed.

She was a player who committed overwhelmingly fewer fouls than average.

But this physical contact was clearly Allin’s fault.

Unfortunately, Jang lost her balance and fell.

‘Calf muscle rupture?’

A situation unfolded where she had to go straight to the hospital.

Since everyone knew it was an accidental occurrence, the referee ruled it as a single foul.

‘This is ridiculous. I wanted to settle it with skill and tactics, not something like this.’

Overwhelming guilt rushed over her.

“Oh… if the center is out, it should be manageable, right?”

“The substitute Myeong is also making her first appearance. We have even less information than on Kim.”

“Allin, how’s your stamina? Please continue the aggressive paint battles like before. Anyway, she probably can’t handle it as well as Jang.”

The more her teammates optimistically modified their tactics regarding Jang’s substitution, the more her chest ached.

This was absolutely, absolutely not what she had wanted.

If it turned out like this, even winning wouldn’t feel right.

Beep-.

But regardless of Allin’s feelings, the game started.

Her body moved quickly as she had trained.

When a pass came, she would receive it…

Smack!

‘Huh?’

No, she should have received it, but Kim stole it from her.

Swoosh!

When an opportunity came, she would shoot to score… or should have.

Tap!

Myeong deflected it and the ball went to Kim.

‘What the hell!’

Clearly Kim had been around the middle of the court just moments ago, but as if she had teleported, she rushed under the basket and seized a scoring opportunity.

‘I couldn’t keep up?’

Allin had exceptionally wide vision.

She was a player who went beyond following the flow to dominating and leading it.

Thwack.

But Kim Ijin blocked Allin’s vision at every crucial moment.

‘I can’t see!’

She even disrupted the hand signal system.

“Rebound!”

Even in height, which she was most confident about.

Though she thought they jumped almost simultaneously, Kim stole the ball from her.

‘This overwhelming…?’

Had Allin gotten caught up in Kim’s pace?

No, she hadn’t.

Though her mood had briefly soured when Jang got injured, she was displaying 100% of her abilities.

It was her peak performance, full condition capacity.

Nevertheless, every time, every moment, she fell just short of Kim by a hand’s width.

“Huff, huff, huff…”

By the final quarter, she was gasping as if her heart would burst.

It was thanks to running around without saving anything for later since the first quarter.

But Kim ran across the court until the end with a completely composed face.

She did seem quite tired though.

Swoosh!

The moment Kim shot the final buzzer beater.

Something like a golden phantom seemed to flash behind the basketball.

“It was… a good game…”

Allin had done her best.

And she felt the insurmountable wall.

* * *

Throughout watching the game, I kept fidgeting with my sleeves.

‘Is this okay? It should be okay, right?’

Of course the satisfaction was 95, but about 5 percent doubt of whether this was acceptable made me constantly anxious.

I flinched every time Kim Ijin’s jumping ability exceeded the limits of ordinary people.

Fortunately, besides me, there was no one in the audience stands who was sensitive to energy.

Kim Ijin undoubtedly played a magnificent game.

Myeong Seonju also reliably guarded under the basket.

“3 wins means advancing to the main tournament!”

Lee Sora high-fived the exhausted collapsed players while cheering.

Even while everyone was gasping from exhaustion, they didn’t spare expressing their joy.

“I’d say we gave them quite a shock, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course. There’s no room for argument. It was really cool.”

When I patted Kim Ijin’s head, she looked very proud.

“Rest for a moment.”

While the players caught their breath, I contacted the staff who had followed Jang Mingyeong.

It seemed they had set up at the Saudi Royal Hospital so that if any player was transported there, all examinations and treatments could proceed immediately.

Just then, treatment had finished and Jang Mingyeong took the phone.

– Ah, it’s fortunate that the Clinic Director discovered it right away. It was internal bleeding! They’re amazed asking how you knew when nothing showed on the outside, you know? But they drained it immediately and the bleeding stopped well too!

“I see. It’s fortunate the bleeding stopped without problems. Will you be hospitalized today?”

– Nah. They said if I don’t use it and leave it alone, it’ll heal, so whatever. I’ll just go to the Athletes’ Village and get acupuncture from the Clinic Director~.

Well, since the muscle wasn’t completely torn, that should be fine.

The exhausted players gathered themselves and moved to the Athletes’ Village, so the timing worked out perfectly.

“You’re here!”

Jang Mingyeong was lying in the medical center, icing first.

Just like when she left during the game earlier, there wasn’t much visible swelling or bruising to the naked eye.

“Is it okay to get acupuncture right away?”

“It depends on the situation, but it should be fine.”

While I’m cautious during acute inflammatory stages when swelling and worsening are at their peak, Jang Mingyeong’s case was okay.

I treated Jang Mingyeong’s calf by injecting a 25mm herbal needle into the rupture site.

“Wow, you give injections directly in the calf too.”

“Min Kyeong Older Sister, are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”

“Actually, if I stay still it doesn’t hurt at all. It throbs a bit when I walk though.”

Since there was no need to return home immediately, and no intention to do so either.

Jang Mingyeong decided to receive acupuncture from me daily and sit on the bench depending on the situation.

“I can’t run though?”

“I know too! Even if I can’t play, I still want to watch.”

After checking the overall condition of the basketball team players,

I also treated several athletes from other sports who came at scheduled times.

“I’ll leave tomorrow to you. Oh my… if I had known there would be so many patients, I wouldn’t have bought the tickets.”

When the treatment was almost over, the senior Korean Medicine Doctor who was with me asked for my understanding.

While he had stayed at his post today even when I went to the game as team doctor, tomorrow he was going to watch a soccer match.

“Of course. I have my own schedule too, so don’t worry about it.”

“Haha, but having over twenty people come in one day is unprecedented, so I’m flustered.”

I scratched my head.

“…It might be because of me.”

“No, no. I meant it in a good way. Then I’ll ask you to handle tomorrow.”

Even with 20 to 30 people, seeing over 50 patients was routine at the clinic.

The athletes from other sports were all first-time patients, so it took a bit more time, but it wasn’t difficult.

As I continued treating patients, the day passed by in an instant.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“I’ll be counting on you tomorrow.”

The next day, I had an appointment outside.

After checking the basketball national team players’ condition early in the morning, I immediately left the Athletes’ Village.

I was going to watch the flag football finals with Sasha Rian.

“What’s flag football?”

Sasha Rian had suggested it, and it matched my schedule so we came to watch,

but I actually didn’t know much about what kind of sport it was.

“Think of it as American football minus the physical contact. Do you know American football rules?”

Since Sasha showed me videos and explained the rules, I nodded and listened attentively.

Ah, since it’s like American football, I guess the United States is the best at it?

When buying tickets, we couldn’t have known which teams would make it to the finals, but today’s final was between the United States and Canada.

I thought “I see” and sat down in the audience stands.

Anyway, today was more about hanging out with Sasha Rian than watching the game.

Since our country wasn’t playing, I cheered for the United States together with Sasha.

‘The game is more gentle than I thought.’

This was my first time seeing flag football, but isn’t American football originally famous for being extremely intense?

Maybe because I had watched Shaolin basketball two days ago, it felt like a very gentle and mild sport.

‘Hmm?’

Meanwhile, the footwork of the biggest player seemed a bit strange.

Something… it looked like he was twisting to avoid stepping on the outer part of his forefoot.

‘Does his ankle hurt? No, it seems like his sole. If it’s that position…’

As I was staring intently at one player, Sasha Rian touched my shoulder with a meaningful smile.

“Doctor, do you like that player?”

Since I wasn’t really watching his performance, I scratched my head.

“Ah, there’s something that caught my attention.”

“He’s handsome, right?”

“Is he?”

I was focused on his footwork so I didn’t notice, but hearing that out of the blue, his features did seem distinct.

“Actually, he’s my ex.”

“Ex?”

“Ex-boyfriend.”

I was momentarily speechless, moving my lips like I was buffering.

Ah, this is so American!

For a Hollywood star from the most liberal part of America, coming to watch an ex-lover’s game would be nothing.

“By any chance, was the soccer player the paparazzi mentioned also…”

“No~ That friend is pure friendship!”

Is my mindset too conservative?

This would be strange even by modern South Korean standards, right?

While I was confused, Sasha’s ex-boyfriend performed reasonably well,

and the United States was strong.

But in today’s game, Canada was stronger.

“No way, they’re losing this? It’s not like they’re running with brakes instead of flags!”

The award ceremony began, and Canada’s national anthem echoed.

Sasha, who was angry at first, was giggling at some point.

“I should tease Gilbert when I meet him. Wow, the United States couldn’t win the flag football championship!”

Is this like losing in taekwondo to a neighboring country’s athlete?

I didn’t really understand, but I played along.

“I’m annoyed, so let’s go shopping! I’ll flex for you!”

After the game ended, we enjoyed shopping.

We also visited new restaurants using the recommendation list I received when I came here to have fun before.

Since Sasha said she would pay for everything, I ordered the dishes I was curious about without any burden.

After we finished ordering and the appetizers began to arrive.

“Oh, Clinic Director.”

“Yes?”

“Sorry, but could you call Gilbert over for a moment?”

Sasha Rian asked for permission.

“Who’s Gilbert?”

“The flag football player you were watching earlier. My ex-boyfriend!”

Ah, that player with the strange footwork.

“Why, does his foot hurt?”

When I asked, Sasha raised both arms with an exaggerated gesture and looked shocked.

“Can you read minds too?”

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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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