The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 49

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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 49

It hadn’t been very long since I started weekend tutoring, but Chu Miyoung was keeping up well with what seemed like a rather fast pace.

Thanks to her memorizing homework better than anyone I’d ever taught, we were already nearing the end of our complete review of herbal medicine.

I didn’t know much about law, but the lawsuit seemed to be progressing well too.

The stalker had already been indicted and was awaiting his first trial date, and hadn’t she said she would sue regarding the network contract termination with Haneul Clinic, citing the headquarters’ breach of obligations?

“The trial couldn’t be over already – did you get a settlement offer?”

“Yes, yes! I just sent a certified letter and they said to just terminate without any penalty fees or separate settlement money! Oh, what a relief. If it weren’t for the lawyer, I would have lost twenty million won for sure.”

“That’s really fortunate. If you had to pay that money outright… just imagining it makes me cry tears of blood.”

“Ahaha, right.”

It was fortunate in many ways. She probably already had a lot of debt from this failed clinic opening, so this would reduce the burden somewhat.

“So you posted the transfer listing as soon as the termination was decided?”

Even so, that was fast. Was there someone like me who saw a post at the top of a transfer site and immediately flew over?

For Busan, the monthly rent was quite expensive too… no wait, from a general perspective, even a few hundred difference in monthly rent might be worth it for a location near the station.

“Yes. They told me to change the name and move locations immediately upon termination, so I put it up right away. Since I was going to relocate anyway, it’s better to get out quickly rather than change the sign and all that.”

“That makes sense.”

“So I posted it yesterday and fortunately someone immediately said they’d take over the lease, right? They came today, looked around, stamped their seal and left!”

Is it okay to proceed with a transfer at such lightning speed? …Come to think of it, I understood how my friends felt when I decided to open my clinic. I was pretty rushed too, yeah.

“That worked out well. Since you’re moving anyway, either go somewhere with lower rent, or go to a downtown area like Haeundae.”

“I’m planning to go to Daegu Dongseongno! Since you’re in Busan, it’s only natural to go to a different city!”

Daegu? That’s so random.

Our current locations could affect each other, but honestly, just a few stations away and the commercial districts don’t really overlap.

Of course, I also randomly came down to Busan, but from Cheonan to Busan, and now Daegu – what is this, a national tour?

“You don’t need to go that far. Do you have enough funds to open a clinic again?”

“Oh, yes! The cafe on the first floor of my father’s building failed to renew their lease, so I think I can move in there.”

I was worried she might have to work as an associate director for a while, but… your father’s building?

I wondered how she could open such a big clinic and still live in an apartment. Turns out her family was just well-off.

“Ah, so you’re from a wealthy family.”

“It’s not quite like that! My father used all his retirement money to buy one building, and the commercial rent is our entire income. So even if he waives the deposit, I still have to pay monthly rent.”

Hmm, I see. That must be quite burdensome.

Well, even though I said that, I wasn’t really jealous. If I keep earning, I’ll buy apartments and buildings too, right?

When I was a student, there were many people I envied, but once I had everything, I realized the futility of it all.

That’s why I didn’t need to check how much was left on my loan. It definitely wasn’t because it would hurt too much to look. Absolutely not!

“Why did you come to Busan in the first place when you had a building where you could open without a deposit?”

I was more curious about this than anything else.

If it was an area where business had collapsed, that would be understandable, but why come to an area with no connections when your parents have a building in a metropolitan downtown area?

Chu Miyoung readily explained the reason.

“I asked, but they said there was already a Haneul Clinic branch in Daegu, so they assigned me here.”

“…Ah.”

That was too much, really.

If they were going to assign locations, they could have at least chosen a good spot! Come to think of it, the Busan branch building probably isn’t owned by Director Choi Eunhee, the Cheonan branch director, or their families either, right? I was even becoming overly suspicious.

Anyway, that was all in the past now.

“Where is your father’s building?”

I asked while opening a map app. Although when I opened my clinic I only knew about feng shui perspectives, now I roughly understood good locations from a capitalist standpoint too. Thanks to Hwangseoyeong’s long lecture.

“Right here.”

“Oh.”

Chu Miyoung searched for a cafe and showed me the location. Judging by the many restaurants, cafes, and hospitals in the surrounding area, it seemed suitable for a location with high foot traffic as Hwangseoyeong had mentioned.

Moreover, on the same screen, just the next block over, there was Haneul Clinic Daegu Dongseongno Branch.

“It’s a head-to-head confrontation.”

“It is.”

We looked at each other and nodded. Chu Miyoung seemed a bit surprised, not knowing that another Haneul Clinic branch was this close. Not only that, but 365 Korean Medicine Clinic was also firmly positioned right across the street.

As much as it was a good location, fierce competition was also natural.

“You’re going there with the determination to make these places fail.”

I said, pointing to those two places.

“What? That’s going too far…”

“You’re jumping into a battlefield, so being prepared to die and to kill is basic. If you’re going to slack off because it’s your father’s building, it’s better not to do it at all.”

“…Yes.”

“You need to surpass these two clinics not only in their specialized fields, but in every area. Any patient who enters your clinic even once must never be able to go anywhere else.”

“Yes!”

Chu Miyoung’s voice gained considerable strength. Good, this is how my student should be. Since I was teaching her directly, I absolutely couldn’t bear to see her lose anywhere.

“Um, then could I ask to observe starting next week? The cafe in my father’s building is moving out the month after next, so I’ll have some free time. I’d like to see how you conduct examinations directly!”

“Of course. Two months is actually quite tight. Let’s have lessons every day from now on.”

To increase the tutoring fees I’d receive later, I had to teach as much as possible.

We’d built up enough determination for today, so I should save every second and get into the lesson.

“Let’s start with chuna therapy today. We can discuss medicine after patients come, and I can teach you that from a distance too. I’ll teach you basic techniques first, so it would be good for you to get familiar with them by practicing frequently with me and my staff.”

“Yes, thank you!”

Since we’d focused on herbal medicine, which forms the basis of prescriptions, for weekend tutoring so far, this was the first time for chuna therapy.

Chu Miyoung’s examination room definitely didn’t have a chuna bed, right? That meant she hadn’t done chuna therapy for over a year since opening, so I wondered how much she remembered from what she learned in school.

“Try doing a routine starting from the neck and lower back. I’ll correct anything that needs fixing and add useful techniques if I see any.”

Actually, I don’t perform chuna with set routines. I just achieve therapeutic effects with the minimum techniques necessary for treatment. As long as the patient recovers, what meaning would treatment time or performance have?

However, since I couldn’t teach Chu Miyoung master-level skills right away, the priority was to teach her routines that would be somewhat effective for each body part. After that, we could move on to specific theories by condition and displacement.

“Uh…”

But Chu Miyoung couldn’t do anything and just moved her lips. Even though I was lying face down on the floor, she hesitated without even placing her hands on me.

“You don’t know how to do any of it?”

“No…”

“Didn’t you learn at school? I’m not scolding you. You just don’t remember, right?”

She couldn’t answer again.

“Do the curricula vary a lot between schools…?”

“That’s part of it, and I graduated before chuna was covered by insurance, so I probably didn’t learn as much as you did, Director. It’s not that I didn’t do it at all, but I never thought I’d use it after graduation…”

“You didn’t practice.”

“Right. We didn’t even take exams on it.”

Chuna insurance coverage… was that 2019? With the 20-year gap in my memories, it was so long ago that it was hazy.

I hadn’t realized it because Chu Miyoung looked young for her age, but there was more of an age and class year difference than I thought.

“I’m from a pretty old class, aren’t I? After graduation I traveled around, and since getting hired I’ve only worked at Haneul Clinic, so it’s been several years already but I don’t know how to do anything.”

“You can learn now.”

Not knowing was fine. It might even be better than having developed bad habits.

Why would routines exist for no reason? Getting it into your hands was a separate issue anyway, and memorizing the sequence could be done within a day.

“You know how to check if the pelvis is misaligned, right?”

I hurried to teach her the basic techniques first.

“The, leg length alignment thing?”

“Yes. Try it on me once.”

“There’s no bed, so how do I do the drop…”

“The technique came first, then the machines. In the old days, they did everything with patients lying on wooden beds. Just try it. Check the leg length, and the side with the shorter leg has the pelvis lifted up. Put your hand on the PSIS there and… bang!”

She placed her hands awkwardly, but naturally Chu Miyoung couldn’t apply proper force.

I had Chu Miyoung lie face down and demonstrated.

“Make contact accurately here.”

“Yes.”

“Half-hearted rattling around is just for show. You need to correct it properly. Like this.”

Crack!

I put my body weight into my hands and pushed the pelvis down.

“Ugh!”

“This is a real drop.”

“You, you do it this hard?”

It’s real. Chinese chuna and overseas chiropractic all used to be done this way. How long would it take to correct anything by rattling with an automatic drop machine 20 times?

Having straightened spines with hand strength and internal energy for 20 years in a world without machines, using my hands felt much more comfortable.

“Try again. We have a long way to go. Learn this quickly and I’ll teach you straight back correction and… ah, how to release tension in the quadratus lumborum and erector spinae. Actually, for patients who come in pain, releasing muscles is more effective than correcting spinal alignment.”

There was a mountain of things to teach.

I was feeling rushed, but unlike studying where you could memorize things when told to, hands-on work wouldn’t progress as intended.

Was it because she didn’t usually exercise? Chu Miyoung couldn’t quite learn how to put her body weight into her arms.

In the end, Saturday passed without being able to teach several techniques, and the chuna routine lessons had to continue into Sunday.

* * *

A few days later.

Having quickly completed the transfer process and become unemployed, Chu Miyoung visited my clinic at opening time for observation.

“This is Director Chu Miyoung, who will be coming on Tuesdays and Thursdays for observation for a while.”

“Yes!”

I had worried it might be awkward to meet her former employer like this, but Seol Yuhui greeted her with a bright smile.

“The director of Haneul Clinic…?”

“Haha, former director of Haneul Clinic.”

“Director, what exactly have you been up to?”

Rather, Seo Inae’s expression became strange.

Ah, had I not mentioned that I was planning to open a second location? Come to think of it, it was thanks to Seo Inae’s advice to go see Haneul Clinic that this connection came about.

“That’s how it turned out.”

I condensed the whole story into this one sentence. The detailed story starting from the stalker could wait for another opportunity.

Right now it was time to prepare for treatment.

Shortly after, at exactly 7 o’clock, having set up all the computer programs, I sat comfortably in my chair, and Chu Miyoung stood straight behind me like a student, waiting for patients.

“A new patient just happened to come in.”

She would already be familiar with using charts, but I deliberately showed Chu Miyoung the screen once. It was to explain the treatment process before the patient came in.

“Huh?”

Normally, the pain area would appear where my cursor pointed. During registration, we ask once where it hurts and note the area as [neck] [shoulder, right lower back] [left ankle] and so on.

But what was written in that spot today was this:

[Says they will only speak to the director.]

This was a type of patient I’d never encountered before.

No, when I had called someone to observe, would such an unusual patient really come from the very start?

The patient’s name was Myeong Junsik. A 53-year-old male.

I brought the patient into the examination room having only grasped his name and age.

“Hello, Mr. Myeong Junsik. Please sit over here. What brings you in today? Where are you feeling discomfort?”

Just because it was my treatment didn’t mean there was anything special about my opening words.

Since I didn’t know where he was hurting, I had to ask that first.

But even at this utterly ordinary question, Myeong Junsik’s eyes trembled. He glanced at me, looked Chu Miyoung up and down behind me, then opened his mouth.

“Are there only female oriental medicine doctors here?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

He looked like he was considering whether to get up and leave right then.

“….”

It was quite an unfamiliar situation.

Before my reputation was known, I had only heard such dismissal for being a woman when dealing with third-rate thugs in the martial arts world. Naturally, there was no one who would dare speak carelessly on the Sichuan Tang Family’s territory, and even in modern times, I had never seen anyone rude enough to leave during treatment.

At most, grandmothers would throw out a comment like ‘Oh, a female clinic director?’

“Where are you feeling discomfort?”

I asked once more.

My tone was a bit more subdued than before.

Myeong Junsik seemed to sense the displeasure in my voice and flinched.

Then after fidgeting with his lips for a long while, he finally spoke in a voice barely above an ant’s crawl.

“Actually… my testicles hurt.”

Ah.

…Sorry for misunderstanding.

It was reasonable to look for a male oriental medicine doctor.

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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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