The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 337

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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 337

Kim Ijin, who had pressed the doorbell, stood alone in front of the foyer.

“You came alone? Did you decide to have the other friends come separately?”

I had a strong feeling that wouldn’t be the case.

But I asked the question just in case.

“You told me to bring anyone I wanted to bring.”

“I did, didn’t I?”

“So I came alone.”

Kim Ijin said very confidently that she came because she wanted to come alone.

…Right, we already had a party together at the villa in Saudi Arabia.

If she brought her teammates, it would become a celebration for all the players, hmm.

As for bringing high school friends, contact probably became sparse after graduation!

“I prefer spending time intimately with the Clinic Director.”

Ah, a direct statement with no escape route.

It seems I still didn’t know Kim Ijin well enough.

“R-right. Welcome!”

As for the meat, if there’s leftover, we’ll eat it during company dinners!

I enthusiastically welcomed Kim Ijin, today’s main character.

Kim Ijin grinned and then said.

“And actually, I’m not completely alone.”

She led me to the car she came in.

I wondered if she had bought a car and looked at the exterior and interior, but it had signs of daily use, so it seemed like she had borrowed her parents’ car.

“Oh!”

What she wanted to show me wasn’t the car.

“You brought a puppy?”

There was a small puppy in the car seat in the back.

Come to think of it, there was a dog that Kim Ijin’s family kept. Its name was, uh, Choco?

I had treated its injured leg.

This one resembled Choco but was clearly much smaller in size.

“Did Choco have puppies?”

“Yes. She gave birth while I was at the Athletes’ Village, you know? It’s incredibly cute.”

Kim Ijin proudly beamed as she handed me the puppy.

It seemed less than half of Choco’s size, or no, maybe more than half? Like a miniature version of Choco, the small and cute puppy blinked its eyes and snuggled into my arms.

“Among the siblings, this one is the most well-behaved.”

When I asked if that’s why she brought only one, Kim Ijin answered that her cousin siblings had adopted two of them.

Well, raising many puppies at once would be difficult.

“What’s this one’s name?”

“Vanilla.”

“Ah.”

Since the mother is Choco, so Vanilla.

The fur was the same brown color, which felt incongruous yet cute.

It was cute, really cute.

…Suddenly I felt wronged.

Kim Ijin doesn’t seem to have much talent for naming either, does she?

“It’s so cute that I wanted to show it to the Clinic Director too. I brought it since it’s had all its shots. I wanted to let it become friends with Cheongsol too, but…”

Kim Ijin looked around, but those guys weren’t in the garden today.

I had prepared nuts infused with energy, wondering if they might show themselves today, but they really didn’t appear as if they had gone on some expedition.

“The friends I keep aren’t mine to control, so they only come when they feel like it. I haven’t seen them lately either.”

“Ah, that’s disappointing.”

If I had to continuously care for them like pet dogs or cats, it would have been difficult for me to raise them since I’m often away.

It’s convenient that they’re freeloaders who find their own food, but it’s a bit disappointing when they’re not around when I look for them like this.

Well, it’s not urgent, so I haven’t tried calling them until now.

But since Kim Ijin was also looking for Cheongsol, I tried releasing energy a few times like when she came before.

Last time, Cheongsol sensed the energy and came to find me, but I couldn’t tell how it would be this time.

If they’re not nearby, releasing energy would be useless.

“I tried calling them for now. But since the puppy is young, would it be okay for it to have contact with other animals?”

“I looked it up and it said dogs might attack chipmunks. But Vanilla is still young and has no aggression, so it should be fine.”

Hmm, what I was worried about was the opposite.

…Cheongsol is probably stronger than most adult dogs, so that side should be fine.

“Shall we start grilling the meat?”

As for the spirits, they’ll come if they come, and if not, then not.

People should enjoy the party, which was the original purpose.

I took the meat out of the refrigerator while giving Kim Ijin a tour of the house.

“Wow, you really got all new furniture custom-made.”

“Actually, I bought…”

I didn’t buy it; President Lee Mansu gave it as a gift.

…I was about to say that when I suddenly came to my senses.

It would be quite troublesome if Kim Ijin’s competitive spirit flared up from just a word or two of bragging.

“Mountain?”

“I was debating whether to buy it or not, but since I was buying one anyway, I got the full set. Ahaha.”

“The unified interior design looks cool.”

“Haha.”

After briefly showing off the refrigerator, I took out the meat and went to the yard.

Outside, the electric grill that Lee Mansu had given as a gift was ready as expected.

“I’ll put it on right away.”

It seemed she really did love beef, as Kim Ijin started grilling the meat without delay.

Perhaps because it was a brand name? It seemed to cook better than the grill I had hastily bought last time.

“Right after winning the gold medal during the interview, how could you pass it over to me!”

“I was waiting for that moment! Were you flustered?”

“Of course I was flustered.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not that I didn’t like it. I’m grateful and happy! But still, Lee Jin was the main character! Just mentioning me later would have been enough.”

It was a story we had told several times even in Saudi Arabia, but Kim Ijin seemed endlessly proud as her shoulders straightened with confidence.

When I pointed out her tremendous breakthrough ability, dunks, and other detailed performances during the games, Kim Ijin’s lips gradually curved upward.

-Arreung!

But Vanilla, who was being held in Kim Ijin’s arms, kept trying to escape.

“She seems to want to eat that.”

What the little one was looking at in the living room seemed to be nuts I had set aside to give to Cheongsori.

“They’re unseasoned, right?”

“Yes. I got them to give to Cheongsori, so they are… but can dogs eat them too?”

“She doesn’t have any allergies.”

When I quickly searched online, it said eating a little was fine but not particularly recommended.

– Arreung! Arreung!

When I held up the nuts to see if that’s what she wanted, Vanilla stretched out her paws and desperately wanted them.

Kim Ijin looked puzzled and broke off a piece of peanut to give her.

-Arreung!

Vanilla was very happy and ate it.

“I thought she wasn’t much of a glutton, but she really likes it.”

Kim Ijin found it interesting and handed the other half to Vanilla.

-Arrrreueung.

That was fine up to that point.

But Vanilla wasn’t satisfied with just one piece of peanut.

I had given her one thinking she wouldn’t find it very tasty, but it seemed to be unexpectedly to her liking.

“Stop eating that and have some meat. Or should I give you a dog chew?”

It was no use even when Kim Ijin and I tried to divert her attention to other food.

Nuts aren’t even a dog’s main food, so why would she want to eat peanuts when there’s beef right in front of her?

“Vanilla~ if you eat too much of this, your tummy will hurt. Let’s eat meat, okay?”

“No, this is really strange. I’ve never seen her covet nuts even when Mother is eating them at home.”

Kim Ijin sighed with regret, wondering if she had made her develop a taste for it by giving her that one piece.

“Ah, wait a moment.”

She didn’t originally like nuts?

…If that was the case, I had a suspicion.

Maybe what she liked wasn’t the nuts.

Whoosh!

I channeled my energy toward the meat I had set aside to give to Vanilla.

-Areung!

Then the little one didn’t even glance at the peanuts and rushed toward the meat.

“Huh?”

Kim Ijin thought it was fortunate, but I narrowed my eyes.

This little one hasn’t even been born that long, so what exactly?

Shwooong!

While we were having this argument, the sound of wind being cut came from the sky.

“Isn’t that Songgol?”

Kim Ijin greeted Songgol very warmly.

And not long after, Cheongsori also jumped down from a tree and approached us.

He wasn’t far away, so it seemed he had heard the signal.

– Kyuuu.

Cheongsori, whom I was meeting after quite a while, was very happy and hugged me.

-Kyup!

It recognized the nuts prepared for itself and stretched out its paw.

-Arreung!

But wait, it won’t let itself eat but gives them to Cheongsori?

…Vanilla stretched out its paw in a motion that looked like it was throwing a punch at Cheongsori.

-Kyuu! Kyuuuuu!

-Arrrrrreung!

Fortunately, Kim Ijin quickly intervened so it didn’t make contact.

Cheongsori protested intensely as if asking what this thing was.

“…Right. What could it be?”

I was equally bewildered.

Attempting an attack was one thing.

But there was a faint trace of spiritual power in that punching motion.

‘That’s impossible.’

Could it have learned how to handle power just from eating one peanut and some meat?

‘No, no. It’s been living at Lee Jin’s house continuously… Maybe it’s become something different from being accustomed to Lee Jin’s energy?’

It had only been living with Kim Ijin for a few weeks since returning to Korea.

Could something have happened just from being by her side…?

‘Could it be a genius like Lee Jin?’

Cheongsori and Vanilla bickered for quite a while.

– Kiii.

Songgol paid them no mind and ate the meat with dignity.

It seemed to prefer raw meat over what had been cooked for Vanilla.

Wait, hawks eat beef… No, this one brought bear gallbladder, so it’s already beyond the category of ordinary animals anyway.

Since Narrator’s House being filled with furniture was partly thanks to Songgol, I gladly served it plenty of meat.

“Oh, right. I called you guys because I had something to ask.”

I almost forgot because of Vanilla.

I needed to convey Sasha’s proposal to these guys.

“Hey guys, would it be okay if you became world-famous?”

I wasn’t sure how much they’d understand, but I explained Sasha Rian’s fame and the music video filming process.

– Kyuuk!

– Kiii!

“Clinic Director, can you communicate with them?”

“They don’t seem to dislike it, roughly speaking.”

Well, we can’t communicate 100%, but they seem to understand roughly, right?

Kim Ijin looked at me with slightly strange eyes, but honestly, Vanilla is stranger than the spiritual creatures!

-Arreung! Arreung! Arreung!

Even though I hadn’t called its name, Vanilla seemed to realize I was thinking about it and struggled enthusiastically.

“Vanilla seems to want to appear too.”

“What?”

I had no idea what she meant.

But Kim Ijin’s guess seemed quite plausible.

“…I’ll ask Sasha if that would be okay.”

I immediately took pictures of Songgol, Cheongsori, and Vanilla and sent them to Sasha.

Of course, since it was dawn in the United States, I didn’t get an immediate reply.

“I’ll let you know when I hear back.”

We ate the remaining meat and caught up to our hearts’ content.

– Kyuuk!

– Arrreung.

Meanwhile, Cheongsori succeeded in establishing hierarchy with Vanilla.

Vanilla ended up following Cheongsori around.

– Arrreung…

When it was time to go home, Vanilla looked at Cheongsori with great regret.

It had thrown a punch right after meeting.

Did it recognize the stronger one and change its attitude?

“Haha, come play again next time.”

“Yes.”

I was talking to Vanilla, but the answer came from Kim Ijin.

Lee Jin was really… so like Kim Ijin.

Swoosh swoosh.

Getting in the car while struggling with paws infused with spiritual power.

Vanilla’s future was also very promising.

* * *

After enjoying a weekend party with 2 people and 3 animals together, Monday morning dawned.

An email arrived from Sasha gladly welcoming Vanilla’s appearance.

She declared that she would create a music video tailored to our kids and even compose a song for them.

I sent back a reply asking her to let me know whenever the schedule was set.

And went to work at the clinic in a cheerful mood.

“Clinic Director, it’s been a while!”

In the afternoon, when patients were getting a bit sparse, a familiar face waved his hand.

“Mr. Kim Jaegyu, it really has been a long time, hasn’t it?”

He was a former physical education teacher who had been quite hot-tempered even after retirement.

But after coming to our clinic and even doing Taekkyeon, his personality had changed for the better—not exactly gentle, but anyway, reasonably improved.

“I couldn’t see you for a while because I went to the Olympics.”

“Yes. I occasionally came and received treatment from Director Lee or Dr. Hwang. I watched the Olympics on TV too, and it was really amazing! I even bragged to people around me that you were our clinic director.”

I felt embarrassed receiving praise when I wasn’t even the one who competed.

“The others too… oh, you came with a new patient today?”

Since Kim Jaegyu often came with Kim Jinsang and Lee Dajeong, I looked around the waiting room.

But today he was with a young boy who appeared to be around high school age.

His son perhaps? I didn’t think I’d seen him before.

“Ah, I’m teaching Taekkyeon in after-school classes these days, right? This is a student who’s learning there.”

Ah, so he was a student.

When attention turned to him, the student bowed his head politely.

Come to think of it, the timing was just right for after-school classes to be finished.

“Let’s meet in the examination room in a bit.”

If the teacher brought the student here urgently, it must be an urgent situation.

I returned to the examination room and waited briefly for the registration to be completed.

Ding.

Not long after, the student’s name appeared on the chart.

Im Seunghyun, a high school sophomore?

[I’ll see him right away.]

As soon as I sent the message, Jin Minjeong knocked on the door.

Im Seunghyun and Kim Jaegyu entered the examination room together.

“Where does it hurt?”

Though “arm” was written in the desk preliminary examination, shoulder, upper arm, elbow, and forearm are all commonly referred to as “arm.”

When I ask like this, patients usually point to where it hurts.

“Ah, since yesterday my arm suddenly won’t go up.”

Im Seunghyun grabbed his right upper arm with his left hand.

The area he pointed to was the deltoid muscle, but there was a possibility of problems not just with the deltoid but also the rotator cuff.

“Is there any trigger you can think of?”

To find the exact pain location, I’d need to do a physical examination, but the medical history came first.

I asked a simple question to record his present illness first.

“Hmm, is there nothing?”

Yes or no. It wasn’t a particularly difficult question.

If it got worse without any particular reason, that would be information in itself.

But Im Seunghyun couldn’t answer readily and kept hesitating.

“Tell him honestly. The clinic director won’t scold you.”

There seemed to be something.

With Kim Jaegyu pressing him too, Im Seunghyun scratched his head with his left hand and finally opened his mouth.

“Well, actually, the instructor at the martial arts school I attend gave me acupuncture.”

“What?”

“Not our Taekkyeon dojang, but there’s a martial arts academy this kid originally attends. He says he got acupuncture there.”

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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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