The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 378

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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 378

“Is there a patient or something?”

At the same time as Seo Inae’s question, I checked the car behind us through the rearview mirror.

A flashy blue foreign car.

Perhaps because the tinting was light, the driver was wearing sunglasses.

He was banging on the steering wheel, so even with half his face covered, I could tell he was angry.

“I don’t think that’s it. He’s alone.”

“Maybe he needs the restroom urgently…?”

“Could be. But even if I wanted to move aside, I can’t make a right turn right now.”

An elderly grandmother was still crossing the street, so I was waiting for her.

Seeing there were only a few seconds left on the green light, another pedestrian started running.

If I had started driving right after the grandmother passed, there would have been a risk of colliding with the pedestrian running behind her.

Following traffic laws, I waited until all pedestrians had crossed and the pedestrian signal changed from red to green.

It couldn’t have been more than 10 seconds.

Vrooom-.

I shifted the gear from neutral to drive and smoothly made a right turn, staying close to the right side.

The car behind me must have been quite urgent, because sure enough, it moved into the left lane beside me.

“Isn’t that not allowed?”

“It’s not allowed, but there are so many people who do that…”

The proper way would be to follow behind me in the rightmost lane for the right turn, then signal and move over one lane at a time.

But since moving directly into the adjacent lane wasn’t that uncommon, I reduced my speed to avoid confusion.

When dealing with such impatient drivers, defensive driving is the only option.

– Honk!

But this driver wasn’t just ordinarily impatient.

As he passed by my left side, he deliberately honked his horn again.

Since I had made the right turn after the pedestrian signal ended and the straight signal came on, there were no cars blocking his path in the third lane he was heading to.

Wondering what on earth was going on, I turned my head to look.

“Damn it! Are you deaf? Why aren’t you going faster, what are you dawdling for!”

The driver of the blue car rolled down his window and shouted.

“Is he really crazy…?”

Wow, I was in a good mood from returning to South Korea just moments ago.

And right after arriving, I’m seeing some strange guy with anger management issues?

“Clinic Director, please hold back!”

I had just muttered in disbelief.

But Seo Inae grabbed my arm with a truly urgent expression.

“No, I wasn’t really planning to fight either.”

It would look bad to avoid a fight that’s coming my way.

But it would also be strange to park on the shoulder of an 8-lane road and start throwing punches.

I had to drop off Seo Inae, and I needed to go home and rest too.

For various reasons, it wasn’t the right time or place, so I decided to ignore him.

Swoosh!

But the guy didn’t quietly go his own way.

Without even turning on his signal, he suddenly changed lanes and cut right in front of me.

Both in front of me and in front of him was completely empty, so if he needed to make a right turn at the next intersection, he could have easily sped up and leisurely moved to the fourth lane.

Honk!

I honked my horn as a warning.

“But that person seems to be doing this on purpose.”

I instinctively realized it wasn’t a mistake.

“What? You mean because I didn’t make that right turn quickly earlier?”

“That seems to be it, right?”

As if to confirm our suspicion, the blue car began driving threateningly.

When I moved to the third lane to avoid him, he cut in again to block my path.

Just when I thought he’d stop and drive away quickly, he suddenly slowed down drastically.

Anyone could see he was driving recklessly, trying to induce a rear-end collision.

I slowed down drastically and stopped, leaving about two hand-spans of distance.

“Sigh, this really won’t do…”

Since both cars had stopped, I was thinking of getting out to have a word with him.

But before I could even shift gears, the guy started driving again.

“Wh-what kind of crazy person is that?”

This time I couldn’t bring myself to say that there are originally many strange people here.

Even though I had lived in Busan for several years, which is famous for aggressive driving, this was my first time encountering such a weirdo.

When I overtook the blue car from my side,

this time he followed behind me, repeatedly performing the stunt of speeding up as if he’d crash into me, then suddenly slowing down.

Had he forgotten about the place he was originally rushing to?

Even when I made a U-turn, the guy followed my car.

“That bastard seems to be asking for a fight.”

I need to shake off that car first before I can go anywhere, whether to my destination or not.

“What are you planning to do?”

I abruptly turned off the navigation.

“I’ll definitely get you home safely. Don’t worry.”

Seo Inae stared at me intently.

She grabbed the handle and nodded resolutely.

“Alright. …Let’s go!”

Fortunately, Seo Inae trusted me completely.

For some reason, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

I opened my senses wide and sharpened my sight and hearing.

I identified all the vehicles in front, behind, left and right, as well as pedestrians on the sidewalk.

Then I pressed the accelerator.

It wasn’t downtown so there was no traffic jam, but it wasn’t the dead of night with no cars either.

I zigzagged between lanes, smoothly overtaking other cars and creating distance from the blue car.

But he didn’t give up.

Vrooooooom!

The blue car roared its engine loudly as it chased after me.

It was zigzagging and overtaking just like I had, but whether it was habit or not, every lane change was a dangerous cut-in.

– Beep!

– Beep beep!

Car horns blared from all directions.

“Isn’t this guy crazy!”

“Hey! Are you out of your mind!”

There were drivers rolling down their windows and cursing.

The blue car became even more enraged and chased me harder.

But on average, there were three cars between him and me in every lane.

Just then, the traffic light at the intersection ahead turned to allow straight and left turns, and U-turns were also permitted.

If I make a U-turn here, he’ll probably give up soon.

I leisurely reduced speed and turned the car around.

“Huh?”

But the blue car driver wasn’t just ordinarily crazy.

There were two cars behind me in the first lane waiting to turn left or make a U-turn.

Without even reaching the U-turn lane, he crossed the center line and made a U-turn alongside me.

Moreover, his speed was excessively fast.

Had he decided to crash regardless of fault ratios?

Had he mistakenly hit the accelerator when he should have braked?

At this rate, the car was going to crash into the driver’s seat side.

“Hold on tight to the handle!”

I slammed on the accelerator while

turning the steering wheel in the opposite direction.

Screeeech!

As soon as I dodged, I hit the brakes and

easily succeeded in stopping without collision.

Crash!

The blue car… ended up smashing into an electric pole.

“…Is, is that okay?”

Seo Inae seemed shocked as she clutched her chest and gasped for breath.

“I don’t know either. Please call the police. I’ll try calling 119.”

I hurriedly pulled over to the shoulder, then ran over while making the call.

Even though it was his own doing, I was still worried seeing such a big accident happen before my eyes.

The car hadn’t flipped over.

The airbags in a good foreign car should have deployed properly.

But still, couldn’t he suddenly have a heart attack?

– Yes, this is 119. Please tell us what you’d like to report.

“Someone crashed their car into an electric pole and there’s been a major accident. This is… I don’t know where this is. Could you track the phone location?”

– Please state the caller’s name and phone number.

I continued the conversation while running to check on the patient.

– Is the patient conscious right now?

Just as the paramedic asked the question, I arrived and was about to open the car door.

“Damn it! My baby with 68 months of installments left…!”

The driver opened the door himself and came out screaming.

“Ah, yes. Fortunately he’s conscious.”

His breathing seemed normal.

I couldn’t see any visible bleeding either.

Compared to the car’s completely destroyed bumper, the person seemed relatively okay.

“I’m sorry. I think I called too hastily. The car was half-destroyed so I thought something terrible had happened, but it seems like we don’t need an ambulance…”

“Kraaaaaaah!”

So when I stepped back and tried to withdraw the report.

The driver suddenly grabbed the back of his neck and collapsed.

“Call an ambulance right now!!!”

“…Tell me directly where it hurts.”

I handed him my phone.

Seeing how he walked out on his own and was shouting angrily, it didn’t seem like an emergency situation.

But since we did collide hard, there probably were some actual painful areas.

This was my first time experiencing a traffic accident, but I’ve treated many patients.

I’ve seen many cases where even when the car was fine, people hurt everywhere and had long-lasting aftereffects.

“That woman suddenly made a U-turn, so I crashed hard into the electric pole!”

“My chest hurts, my neck hurts, my back hurts, my wrists and elbows all hurt!”

The driver grabbed the phone and complained about his painful areas.

Whether they decided to dispatch or not, he smiled satisfactorily and returned the phone.

Just then, Seo Inae, who had finished reporting to the police, got out and tried to come this way.

But there was no need for her to see this unpleasant scene.

I made an X with my arms and pointed to my car, meaning she should wait in the car instead of coming over.

“Does your chest really hurt? Nothing like fragments got stuck in there, right?”

Still, since he was a patient for now, I was concerned.

I tried to check whether it was simple bruising or if there were other problems.

“Call the insurance company! This car costs over a hundred million!”

“You should call your insurance company, patient. More than that, I’m a Korean medicine doctor…”

I took out my business card and tried to give him at least a brief examination.

But he was busy taking out his phone and photographing his damaged car.

Well, it didn’t seem like anything serious would happen before the paramedics arrived.

I’d done what I could as a medical professional.

‘He’s probably going to make ridiculous claims.’

After confirming that the dashcam was working properly.

I also called my insurance company just in case.

Even though it was a non-contact accident, the staff said they would dispatch someone.

Eventually, paramedics, police officers, and staff from both insurance companies arrived sequentially.

The driver’s condition was so strange that I wondered if he might be drunk when the police tested him, but he hadn’t been drinking.

“So… you’re saying Mr. Oh Sangsoo was doing retaliatory driving and crashed into the electric pole by himself?”

“He even crossed the center line – this is a serious traffic accident.”

“What on earth made you chase the victim like this…”

“I’m the victim!”

When the police who grasped the situation frowned and said something, the driver shouted angrily.

Since he was furious, saying his back hurt terribly and seemed broken.

He gave only a brief statement and was immediately transported to the hospital.

“Will you also investigate the retaliatory driving? Do I need to file a separate complaint?”

“No. We heard about the accident circumstances, and we’ll cross-reference the dashcam with CCTV. Just drop by the station once when you have time to give a statement.”

The police officers said I could go with them now.

But I also wanted to rest first.

“I’ll see you next time. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes, yes. Can you drive? You’re a victim of retaliatory driving, but fortunately you don’t seem too shaken up.”

“I was startled, but not to the point where I can’t drive. Thank you for your concern.”

After finishing the traffic accident aftermath like that.

We finally arrived at Seo Inae’s house well over two hours later.

…That’s fine for me, but I should have given Seo Inae money to take a taxi.

“I won’t be able to fall asleep right away. My heart is still pounding… it was quite thrilling.”

Has she been influenced by me? Seo Inae chuckled, gave a thumbs up, and praised my driving skills.

“Still, get plenty of rest. See you the day after tomorrow.”

Anyway, although there was some commotion.

I arrived home safely.

I rested thoroughly with Cheongsori who welcomed me, and slept deeply until late the next day.

Originally, I had planned to rest for a day after returning home before going to work.

The next day, I stopped by the police station and finished giving my statement.

When I had time, I searched to see if fault could be recognized in non-contact traffic accidents.

Since the other party did everything that could be considered fault – sudden braking, sudden acceleration, sudden lane changes, excessive honking – I didn’t think I needed to worry.

“I can refuse both personal injury and property damage claims, right?”

I called the insurance company employee who had responded the day before to confirm.

– Don’t worry at all. You can think of it as an accident that has nothing to do with you, customer.

The staff reassured me that there was no problem.

– Is that person still contacting you continuously?

“No. I didn’t give him my number.”

– You did well. He keeps contacting me. I heard he was hospitalized at Hwangje Korean Medicine Hospital… He’ll have to bear the costs himself anyway. Well, since the retaliatory driving charges are so clear, he might beg for a settlement later?

And then, I heard unexpected news.

“Hwangje Korean Medicine Hospital? Is it the Busan branch?”

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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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