The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 55

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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 55

“No, it’s strange. I can’t tell if she likes or dislikes getting acupuncture. She jumps and startles just from touching her erector spinae muscles, so how does she keep coming back?”

“That’s what I’m saying, hehe. Even when I tell her not to come, she keeps following along.”

Park Seseun, who had been laughing for a while, finally managed to speak.

The hypothesis that her cousin was a masochist seemed so funny to her that she was still covering her mouth and giggling.

“Have you ever received acupuncture before, Park Seseun?”

“Probably not. And unlike Seolyun, I absolutely don’t have those kinds of preferences, so please don’t make it hurt.”

“Of course. I’ll start gently first.”

I firmly closed the curtain and rolled up Park Seseun’s abdomen and limbs.

She said she had constipation, right?

Then I should start with Hegu, which is both one of the Four Gates acupoints and the source point of the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming.

Since I needed to provide minimal treatment without causing pain, I inserted needles in just two spots on her arms.

Hegu and Quchi.

Quchi is a position among the Large Intestine Meridian points that is particularly effective for promoting digestion and relieving constipation.

“Mmm… Oh my!”

As soon as I inserted needles in just those two spots, she burped.

Park Seseun covered her mouth with her palm and turned her head toward the wall.

If she was reacting this quickly, there was no need to place many needles on her lower limbs and abdomen.

I quickly needled Zusanli and Shangwan, Zhongwan, and Xiawan, which are the core points for digestive treatment.

“It doesn’t hurt at all, right?”

Park Seseun couldn’t answer.

Instead, clear evidence that her digestive system was moving manifested elsewhere.

Grumble.

Park Seseun’s face, which had only been slightly embarrassed when she burped, turned bright red.

“I, I…”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s evidence that the treatment is working well. It happens often.”

“Yes…”

Though I said it was fine, Park Seseun closed her eyes and fanned herself with the hand that didn’t have needles.

“I’ll apply some moxibustion to your lower abdomen. Just a moment…”

“No, mmph.”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Moxibustion won’t hurt at all and isn’t very hot either.”

“No, that’s not it! I got the signal.”

“Ah.”

I immediately removed all the needles. This was almost like brief needle therapy.

As soon as all the needles that had achieved their intended purpose were removed, Park Seseun jumped up and rushed to the restroom.

“You’re truly amazing.”

Chu Miyoung, who had been observing from a few steps away whenever Park Seseun received treatment, said.

“Oh, it was just a coincidence.”

I scratched my head. Even I couldn’t control bowel movements.

Since it didn’t seem like she would ask for more acupuncture, I returned to the examination room with only Chu Miyoung.

“The actress seems to really like the Clinic Director.”

Chu Miyoung said with a strange look that seemed mixed with jealousy.

“That’s right. At first it seemed like she was just relying on me, but lately she’s been itching to deliberately make everyday conversation.”

“Right?”

“Since she’s an actress, maybe she’s deliberately pretending to try to get close.”

“That’s going too far! She’s trying to get close because she likes you.”

It happened sometimes.

When you solve someone’s long-suffering problem with a snap, don’t you look somewhat cool?

Some want to repay you, some just admire you, and others develop feelings of affection.

Among them, some became friends and others didn’t, but I didn’t deliberately keep my distance. Until I met Cheonma.

“Clinic Director, I’ll be going now?”

“Yes, take care!”

Park Seseun, who had finished her business, knocked on the examination room door and said.

I got up to open the door thinking to say goodbye, but she was already running to the desk to pay.

It really is a common thing, so there’s no need to be that embarrassed.

Since she’d come again next week anyway, I didn’t try to stop her and returned to my chair without regret.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t observe until the end. But it looks like she’ll lose weight well as planned.”

Chu Miyoung said as she closed the notebook she had been writing in throughout.

It had already been over two months since I started tutoring her, so it was time to wrap up.

Today was the last day of observation.

Since clinic hours were also ending, I told Seo Inae and Seol Yuhui to leave work early, then sat facing Chu Miyoung.

“That’s right. We’ve built good rapport, and she’s following instructions well.”

She had envied my relationship with patients throughout her observation. She said she had never received a sincere thank-you gift. The occasional cookies people gave her all had ulterior motives?

In any case, rapport is quite important in medical settings. If patients are wary of doctors and hide things, even easily treatable conditions become complicated, right?

“She’s really losing weight in a healthy way. Correcting her eating patterns and treating her deteriorating digestive system has improved her complexion so much. Sigh… It really makes me reflect a lot.”

“Reflect? In what way?”

“When I was an associate director at the Cheonan Branch. Looking back now, there was a lot to learn there too, but I thought management was the manager’s job and wasn’t interested. I just recited memorized professional content. If I had paid more attention, they could have lost weight healthily.”

If you’re looking for specialized content, it’s much better to dig through textbooks or research papers. While access to such information was extremely limited in the past, the role of a doctor in modern times should never stop at mere delivery.

Since I’ve changed my mind now, I won’t say anything about it. In some sense, it was remarkable that she opened up such honest feelings to me, someone years younger than her.

Come to think of it, something was a bit strange.

My tutoring schedule that had been going on for just over two months was by no means easy. To make her learn as much as possible, I demanded not only preview and review, memorization, but also practical exercises and independent thinking, yet Chu Miyoung never voiced a single complaint.

Why was someone capable of doing this so helpless when she was at Haneul Clinic?

“Doctor, were you negative about dieting itself?”

“…Yes.”

“How on earth did you end up working at Haneul Clinic?”

“You’re right to ask. My seniors just said that looks are the greatest ability and unconditionally recommended I go to a beauty establishment… No wait, when I first got the job, I wasn’t negative about it! But the Director of Cheonan Branch told me to mention skin care and diet at least once to every patient who came in with any complaint, so I think that’s how it became like this.”

“The feeling of being a fraud by recommending unnecessary things?”

“Exactly! She said all women have needs for skin care and diet, but sigh…”

Chu Miyoung couldn’t continue speaking and shook her head.

It seemed just recalling the past caused her severe stress.

“I should have just quit quickly, but as I kept doing it, I got used to it… My parents told me to open my own practice with that… Who can I blame? It’s all my fault for trying to take the easy way.”

“That’s not entirely wrong either.”

“Right? It’s all my…”

“No. What the Director of Cheonan Branch said.”

Chu Miyoung just kept sighing deeply, but my thoughts were a bit different.

“Including men, almost all Koreans have needs for diet and skin care.”

We live in a world where the adult obesity rate is racing toward 40%.

Since ordinary office workers can’t receive help from dedicated nutritionists, housekeepers, and trainers like Park Seseun, it requires superhuman effort to escape the temptation of delivery apps, correct disrupted eating habits on their own, and exercise.

No one can deny the fact that there’s a need for easy and convenient weight loss.

“That’s true…”

And we shouldn’t criticize this as appearance-obsessed thinking.

Obesity actually causes many complications.

“Unconditionally recommending it to everyone is definitely not the right answer. Only mention it when you judge that weight loss is absolutely necessary, and when you think the benefits of weight loss are greater than the side effects that could occur from taking diet medication. Only when you consider cost-effectiveness and safety, and when you yourself would take the medication.”

Cases like Park Seseun, who slightly exceeded the obesity standard, could be considered ambiguous, but I was confident I could help her lose weight safely, so I gladly recommended medication.

“Personally, I think diet herbal medicine has a clear comparative advantage among various treatment methods when considering effectiveness, convenience, and price comprehensively.”

“…You’re right. I really think so too. I lacked both confidence and conviction.”

“It’s also true that your previous workplace put severe pressure on you, so don’t torment yourself too much with guilt. From now on, follow your own judgment.”

“Yes. I’ve really learned so much during this time.”

Chu Miyoung suddenly stood up from her chair and bowed deeply to me.

I had taught her a lot.

I taught her everything from various disease specifics that she said she forgot right after graduation to herbal formulations, and injected hundreds of clinical cases. Her acupuncture and chuna techniques wouldn’t fall behind anywhere either. Though she still lacked experience, I could see her gradually growing.

“I taught you well, and you’re doing well enough, so be confident when you go to Daegu too.”

“Thanks to you, I think I can do that now.”

Chu Miyoung smiled brightly. She used to always clench her teeth anxiously as if something was worrying her, but the more she studied, the inversely the frequency of this habit decreased.

“You’re going up today, right?”

“Yes. Though I’ll still come once a month. I’ll call you often too! I’ll still have many things to ask.”

“Contact me anytime.”

I had been 1.5 times busier getting patients’ understanding and providing chuna treatments.

And I spent almost all my weekday evenings and weekends for Chu Miyoung, so I barely played any games.

Having to make time every day was a bit bothersome, but now that she was actually leaving, I felt a little empty.

“I’ll work hard and earn a lot to send you plenty of money.”

Of course, positive emotions were much stronger.

A sense of achievement much greater than any decent game. Hadn’t I solved numerous chain quests and barely unlocked raid content?

I happily cheered for Chu Miyoung’s new clinic opening.

“Fighting.”

* * *

I thought I’d have more free time now that Chu Miyoung was gone, but during treatment hours, I still had no time to rest.

It was because word was gradually spreading and the number of patients had swelled to over 60 per day.

‘This isn’t a joke anymore, I really need to find an associate doctor soon.’

I didn’t have enough time to conduct thorough initial consultations. So far it was manageable with just longer waiting times, but if it increased any more, I’d have no choice but to lower the quality of treatment.

“How about introducing a reservation system? For things that take more than 10 minutes like initial consultations or medication consultations, we could lower the priority if there’s no reservation.”

“Ah, you’ve been waiting a long time, haven’t you? It must be inconvenient with so many people looking around.”

“Oh, I can just say I came for something else. I was thinking about the staff members who seem to be struggling.”

Park Seseun was right. When Seo Inae was directing from the center of the treatment room, things ran smoothly, but Seol Yuhui wasn’t adapting well to the suddenly increased number of patients.

“I’ll think about it. Thank you.”

The time had come to seriously consider system reform.

Meeting every week, Park Seseun and I had become quite close, close enough to offer advice without hesitation.

“How are you doing, Seseun? You’re not feeling tired or losing energy, are you?”

“I’m doing great. I increased cardio by 30 minutes as you advised, and my condition actually improved. Maybe because you put in a lot of tonic herbs, I feel sturdier than before.”

“That’s good to hear.”

After losing 6kg, her weight hadn’t moved for two weeks, causing some anxiety, but now she had passed through the plateau period too.

“Let’s check your InBody. Oh…!”

“55kg. Success.”

And finally, with a last-minute sprint, she succeeded in losing 9kg in 3 months.

“That’s wonderful! You’ve worked so hard all this time!”

She must have weighed herself at home first, as she didn’t seem surprised. Instead, she was simply delighted, beaming with a bright smile.

“It’s all thanks to you, Clinic Director. I was so scared I’d have to live with belly fat for the rest of my life. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to show a great appearance in my next movie too.”

“It worked out well because you put in the effort. Just take the remaining medicine twice a day to maintain your weight!”

“Yes. All this time, really….”

“It was tough, wasn’t it?”

“No. Meeting like this every week for check-ups and receiving praise for doing well actually made it enjoyable. I’m getting proper healing before going back to Busan.”

Park Seseun kept smiling brightly and bowed her head. It was natural for her to feel proud after achieving the goal she’d been working toward for 3 months.

I offered a few more words of congratulations before ending the consultation.

“Ah…!”

When Park Seseun opened the examination room door, Park Seon-yun, who had been lurking in the hallway, flinched in surprise.

Initially, he had come in for consultations together, but at some point Park Seseun had kicked him out, saying he was getting in the way.

Nevertheless, Park Seon-yun had consistently shown his face around here.

“Park Seon-yun.”

“Ah, yes.”

Does that guy know how suspicious he looks?

Seeing Park Seseun glaring at him with narrowed eyes, she must have told him at least once.

Despite having several opportunities to reveal his ulterior motives, he just kept repeating the act of receiving treatment and leaving without saying anything.

I couldn’t stand the frustration any longer.

“I have something I’m curious about.”

“Yes. Please go ahead.”

“Where exactly do your ulterior motives lie? Is it Teacher Seol Yuhui after all? Just ask her out on a date already!”

I asked him straight to the point.

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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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