The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 48

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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 48

It was a more luxurious restaurant than I had expected. When was the last time I ate at a restaurant with private rooms? I think this might be the first time since returning to the modern world.

Jeong Inseong and his mother, who had arrived first, spotted me entering and waved their hands.

“Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule. I should start with expressing my gratitude. Thanks to you, my son’s skin has become really clean and clear, and he did very well on the college entrance exam thanks to the medicine you carefully prescribed.”

“Inseong worked hard for it.”

The skin improvement was indeed thanks to me, but the college entrance exam was entirely due to Jeong Inseong’s own efforts.

His mother had asked me to prescribe something that would help with studying right before the exam, but a slight increase in concentration alone doesn’t improve grades.

I had tried making Chongmyeongtang and similar modified prescriptions when I was in school too… but in the end, if you don’t sit at your desk yourself, you just end up playing games with better concentration.

“Actually, his exam scores were much higher than his practice test scores. So much so that he’s not even attending any of the early admission interviews we had categorized as reach, target, and safety schools.”

“Oh… Congratulations.”

The legendary regular admission jackpot I’d only heard about? I thought it was an urban myth, but it actually exists. Among my peers, we were grateful if our scores came out similar to our practice tests.

“So now we need to apply for regular admission, and suddenly my son says he wants to go to Korean medicine school. And he actually has the scores to get in too.”

“Ah.”

“But it’s a career path he had never considered before, so it was sudden for me… I took the liberty of asking for your consultation.”

It was indeed the matter I had expected.

Unless he was planning to become a Korean medicine doctor, why would they seek me out when there are admission counseling experts available?

“You had no interest before, but became interested while receiving treatment this time?”

I asked Jeong Inseong carefully.

Since this consultation might determine a young man’s future, it required considerable caution.

I had never done career counseling in the modern world, but when I was with the Sichuan Dang Family, I had occasionally listened to branch family children who wanted to quit martial arts training and devote themselves to the Medical Institute.

Since I was 100% satisfied with my profession, I had strongly recommended it unconditionally back then, but many children changed their minds within just a few months.

‘I’m not sure if the clinic was the problem, or if Master’s strictness was the issue.’

Within the Tang Family, they could just apologize profusely and return to their original training, but wouldn’t it be quite troublesome to realize after entering university that it doesn’t suit your aptitude?

“Yes. Originally, I thought just getting into Seoul National, Yonsei, or Korea University would be a huge success. But suddenly I got scores that could get me into Korean University…”

And then Korean medicine school suddenly popped up.

Jeong Inseong, who had been listening to the conversation, interrupted his mother and stated his own position.

“That was Mom’s goal, and I didn’t really think much about it. I didn’t particularly want to do engineering, but I didn’t dislike it either, so I just filled out the early admission applications as I was told.”

That’s how most high school seniors are. More than half of my classmates were probably the same.

“Finding something you want to do is a good thing in itself.”

“Inseong’s father and grandmother said the same thing. They congratulated him on finding something he likes and said they hope he succeeds. But honestly, what would the kid know? He’s only had a few consultations with the Clinic Director.”

“That’s why we arranged this meeting.”

“Yes. I don’t know much about other professions, so I can’t give sufficient advice, but if you have any questions, I’ll tell you anything. Please use it as reference and also listen to people working in engineering fields.”

“Yes, yes. We should do that! Thank you so much.”

As soon as I said I would tell them anything they were curious about, a barrage of questions from both of them poured out.

“What do you learn in university?”

“What are the difficult aspects of being a Korean medicine doctor? Have you ever regretted it, Clinic Director?”

These were the student’s questions.

“How much do you earn when you first get a job?”

“What percentage of your classmates have parents who are Korean medicine doctors?”

“What’s the median income for clinic owners? May I also ask about the investment costs when opening a clinic?”

The parent was, as expected, very interested in money.

I told them all the facts as they were.

“You graduated less than a year ago, Clinic Director?!”

When my career was mentioned during this, Jeong Inseong’s mother’s jaw dropped.

If she had heard this before deciding on treatment, she would have been quite suspicious. But now that everything was cured, it didn’t matter.

“Can you treat patients this excellently just by being faithful to school studies? Did you perhaps learn secret prescriptions elsewhere?”

She asked me while gulping down the wine that had been poured.

Seeing her startle and cover her mouth shortly after, she seemed so surprised that she mistook wine for water.

‘Secret prescriptions.’

It was a term I’d been hearing quite frequently lately. Just a few days ago, Park Seon-yun had also said something about not trying to dig for secret prescriptions.

‘Ordinary people seem to think there are secret prescriptions for herbal medicine.’

My prescriptions were nothing like that. I simply combined over 300 types of herbal medicines as needed, and since they varied slightly each time according to the patient and symptoms, there were no secret prescriptions that unconditionally cured specific diseases.

Even martial arts manuals require applying appropriate techniques in appropriate situations, so what could a single medicine combination accomplish?

While the Sichuan Dang Family had the Invisible Poison for killing, there was no elixir of immortality for healing.

Instead, thousands of years of effort to provide the best treatment are compiled in various medical texts, so prescriptions for treating acne can be found in both the Donguibogam and Korean Oriental Medicine Dermatology textbooks, which could be considered fortunate.

“I studied very hard. I graduated as valedictorian. And I did visit various other Korean medicine clinics for observation while in school.”

“Did you have many connections?”

“No. I just shamelessly went and asked them to teach me, and there were often kind-hearted people who accepted.”

I had indeed visited various Korean medicine clinics even before suddenly falling into the martial arts world. In that world, I had to work even harder since I couldn’t even order medicinal herbs with internet clicks without establishing trade routes.

“Oh my… This is troubling. Our son is shy, so he probably couldn’t do that.”

“You don’t need to go to unfamiliar places to do that – there are many excellent professors. I was just being a bit excessive. It would be nice if you could inherit 50 years of parental experience, but there’s no need to deify that too much. Anyway, if you pass the exams and graduate from school, you’ll have all the basic skills.”

“Yes.”

She nodded, but Jeong Inseong’s mother didn’t seem to agree much.

She might have accepted it if she had come to me from the beginning, but it was probably because Chu Miyoung had failed in treatment just before.

“Don’t worry too much. I may have impulsively opened my clinic, but usually people go through training or work as associate directors first. If it comes to it, you could work with me for a while after graduation? By then, I’ll probably have expanded the clinic quite a bit.”

“Oh my! Would it really be okay to ask such a favor?”

Jeong Inseong’s mother clasped her hands together and beamed with joy.

It seemed this was exactly what she had wanted to hear.

“Ah, Mom. I haven’t even been admitted yet…”

It was a bit, no, quite an early job request.

Jeong Inseong was embarrassed and tried to stop his mother, but if he grew up steadily like this, it wouldn’t be bad for me either.

Hiring even one nursing assistant was so difficult, so how much more so would finding an associate Korean medicine doctor be? If Inseong could be somewhat verified, I would welcome him with open arms.

‘Another prospective associate director and branch manager has been added.’

I grinned and patted Jeong Inseong’s shoulder.

I hoped he would study well at school and come back.

“Think carefully about whether it suits your aptitude before choosing your major, but don’t worry about things like job placement or studying. If you just bring me your license, I can take responsibility and make sure you survive anywhere in the country.”

“…!”

Had he been concerned that I might feel burdened, rather than stopping his mother because he disliked her making a fuss?

Jeong Inseong was deeply moved by my bold words.

Good, although there were still six long years left, as long as he didn’t get enslaved by the school, it seemed he would come under my wing.

“I had asked for this consultation hoping to get even light advice, but thank you so much for saying all this. I think I’ll be able to make a good decision thanks to you.”

Jeong Inseong’s mother was very satisfied and downed her wine.

This time it wasn’t a mistake. She downed all the remaining wine in one shot and then picked up the bill.

‘How much did it come to?’

I was startled by the amount I glimpsed, but she was already taking out her card.

“Of course we should treat you.”

Come to think of it, Grandmother Heo Sunnam was quite wealthy too, right? Since I had made the effort to provide consultation, it should be fine to accept this much of a treat.

“Ahaha, it was delicious.”

* * *

I finished the luxurious dinner and returned home.

After cooking for myself every day in my studio apartment, it felt good to dine out at a nice place for the first time in a while.

I think we ate something too expensive, but was that okay?

‘No wait. Can I afford to spend that much too?’

I hadn’t spent unnecessary money for months while living with debt, but I had a feeling that by now the minus sign (-) in front of my bank account balance might have disappeared.

I opened the banking app for the first time in a very long while.

“Ugh…!”

Before opening the clinic, I checked daily to see my balance decreasing from repeated in-game purchases and food delivery, but after opening, I rarely opened the app since seeing the negative balance only made me feel worse.

I had mostly quit gaming anyway, and usually cooked my own meals.

So did that mean money wasn’t going out? Of course it was going out much more.

Just when I thought some bills had accumulated, something would break and clinic expenses would constantly go out.

However, since I spent money where I should and didn’t spend where I shouldn’t, whether I checked or not, nothing would change.

“Wow!”

I had expected that I might have paid off all my debts, but there was actually an 8-digit number displayed.

“Hehe.”

What’s this about, my heart feels warm.

I hadn’t invested big money in things like key money or interior costs like Chu Miyoung did from the start. But seeing my balance go from negative to positive after paying deposits and facility key money made me very proud.

‘Should I move to an apartment like Director Chu? Since I got my license, maybe a car too…’

There were endless places to spend money. My thoughts naturally drifted to the two biggest expenses.

But I soon came to my senses.

Not a chance.

The number of patients and sales were continuously increasing, and at times like this, I needed to reinvest and expand.

If I hired even an associate director and salaries started going out, wouldn’t net profit actually decrease until things settled?

I didn’t want to create debt with a house or car first in an uncertain situation.

‘It won’t be too late even after Director Chu reopens and the second branch stabilizes!’

When the tutoring fees I receive every weekend accumulate as back payments, my balance will grow to 9 digits, even 10 digits, right?

Just as my clinic is doing well, Chu Miyoung’s skills and sales should also rise steadily.

One person trusted me and decided to relocate their clinic, and another person chose their entire career path.

I felt excited about the promising future while also feeling a slight sense of responsibility.

“Ah~ Everyone needs to do well!”

One person has a long way to go, and I need to quickly train Chu Miyoung and send her out as an expedition force.

And the very next day.

When I went to Chu Miyoung’s house for weekend tutoring, I heard very good news.

“Doctor! It worked out well. I think I’ll be able to transfer right away!”

Transfer the clinic? The progress is too fast.

Just a few days ago, she was talking with a lawyer about withdrawing from the Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic Network, wasn’t she?

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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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