The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 62

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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 62

“Yewon, it’s too heavy! Put it down and start slowly with lighter weights…!”

“Member! You’ll get seriously hurt doing that!”

I lowered my body with 100kg on my shoulders. I confirmed in the mirror that I was properly taking a squat position with my knees bent at a right angle.

I thought I could lift it easily,

but I felt strong tension in my posterior muscles like my lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. It had more weight than I expected.

However, straightening my knees and standing up was completely possible.

“Hup!”

I slowly stood up.

“Quickly put it down… Huh?!”

“D-did you lift it?”

Jeon Yongjun’s face, which had been shouting anxiously, contorted.

Ah, when measuring the big three lifts, I could put it down right away.

Clang!

I vigorously lifted the barbell and placed it back in position.

“How did you…”

“How was my form? It was okay, right?”

“Uh, ah, uh.”

I asked Jeon Yongjun, but he who had said he would check my form couldn’t close his gaping mouth and kept stammering.

Was it really that surprising? I’ve seen women on YouTube hitting 500 for the big three. Of course, their visible muscles were incredible too.

Still, I’ve trained external martial arts, so I should be able to lift at least this much! The Flying Dagger style emphasized agility, so I didn’t build my body too much, but if I couldn’t even lift 100kg, how could I call myself a martial artist?

“You didn’t seem to see it properly. Let me add 20kg and try again.”

I put plates on both sides and got into position again.

And I performed the squat with ease.

“Huh, huuh…”

Jeon Yongjun was still unable to contain his shock, but unlike before, I could clearly feel his gaze examining my form.

“What kind of exercise have you done? You don’t seem to have a powerlifter’s body…”

“Sw… sword fighting, but my master made me train in various ways.”

I played dumb as always.

In my prime, I did all sorts of things. Running with heavy bracelets, moving stones.

I used to wonder why I had to do such things when throwing knives only weighed as much as needles, but in actual combat, everything proved useful.

“Ah…”

“Let me try adding 10kg more.”

“…Yes. Your form is absolutely flawless.”

I ended up squatting 130kg.

I felt like I could lift a bit more if I pushed myself, but since it had been a while since I handled heavy weights, I needed to control myself.

I continued with deadlifts and bench press.

Deadlift was 170kg. Bench press fell just short at 110kg.

410 total. Hmm, in my prime I could have easily hit 600.

Had I been too neglectful of external martial arts training since returning to modern times?

“You’re really amazing… If you can do this much, you could teach the staff directly…”

“Oh~ you’re too kind. I should learn properly from an expert!”

At least Jeon Yongjun expressed admiration, but Hwang Sanghun was completely dazed, stroking the weight plates.

I appreciated Jeon Yongjun’s praise, but if I dragged ordinary people into my routine, they would all die. I definitely needed someone with the skills to build their foundations step by step.

“Come on, if you work hard, you can lift like me too, so do your best starting today!”

“Uh… yeah… I’ll work hard.”

After encouraging Hwang Sanghun.

“Please start training this guy right away from today. Well then, I’ll be going now~.”

I left the gym, leaving behind the two men who still couldn’t close their mouths.

I planned to go up the mountain and train my external martial arts while I was at it.

“Can I really do it too?”

I faintly heard Hwang Sanghun asking Jeon Yongjun behind me.

Of course you can! I’ll make sure you do!

If you’re going to see 100 patients a day and boost sales, stamina is basic!

* * *

A few days after Hwang Sanghun started work.

A village community center in Busan.

Since Heo Sunnam had so many places she regularly visited, it had been quite a while since she came here.

“Oh my! My back!”

The person crying out about back pain was of course not Heo Sunnam.

Her back was practically reborn after meeting Director Han Yewon.

“It’s not even raining but my whole body aches. Oh my!”

The one pounding her back and getting angry was Kim Oksun, who had the loudest voice among the community center regulars.

“What are you doing that for? Go to a traditional medicine clinic and get some acupuncture.”

“I went yesterday too! If a few needle pricks could cure this, it would have been cured long ago! At 70, I should have realistic expectations, tsk…”

“Still, go! If you keep getting treatment, it’ll get somewhat better!”

Her friend Yu Malja recommended visiting the oriental medicine clinic, but Kim Oksun said it was useless and kept twisting her body.

“Where do you go? Try going to Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic where I go.”

Heo Sunnam, who had been quietly listening to their conversation and updating herself on village news, spoke up.

If it had been about something else, she wouldn’t have bothered to interfere, but once the topic of oriental medicine clinics came up, she couldn’t hold back.

Heo Sunnam had a kind of mission to inform everyone she met about the greatness of Director Han Yewon.

“Well, forget it. It’s bothersome. I went to the clinic yesterday, so I’ll go again in about three days.”

“Why wait three whole days? Just go every day!”

“That clinic talk again? Is that place really that good?”

Kim Oksun waved her hand dismissively saying it was bothersome, but Son Chunja, who was looking at herself in her phone’s mirror, showed interest.

“Have I mentioned it before?”

Heo Sunnam had promoted it endlessly at the dance academy, swimming academy, and hiking group she usually attended, but she didn’t realize she had mentioned it at the community center too. It had been quite a while since she last came here.

“You did. But we have our own places to go, so we haven’t been there yet.”

“Then hurry up and go! Can’t you see how straight my back is now?”

Heo Sunnam jumped up and proudly showed off her straight back to them.

Her curved back due to spinal stenosis had always been a complex, but now she could straighten it beautifully and dance – the joy was indescribable.

“That is quite amazing.”

“But how do you go there every day? Just getting up there takes forever.”

“I should go there sometime later. Would my shoulder get better too?”

“Hey, why go far when you already have a place you’re going to?”

“That’s true too. Wouldn’t the director I’ve been seeing know me better?”

Those were the words of Kim Oksun, Yu Malja, Oh Yeongsuk, Son Chunja, and Kim Oksun again, in that order.

“No, the place I go to is really different!”

Heo Sunnam strongly recommended Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic, but the four people’s reaction was still lukewarm.

It was natural since they didn’t really know how much Heo Sunnam’s back had hurt and how curved it had been in the first place.

“Come to think of it, there’s a handsome young oriental medicine doctor who came there.”

Just as she was feeling frustrated.

At Kim Deokbae’s words – Heo Sunnam’s boyfriend and one of the community center regulars – all four people turned their heads and focused their attention.

“Really?”

The first to react was Son Chunja, the only one among them wearing makeup and dressed in a one-piece dress.

“Oh, right. Our director is so good at treating patients that the place is bursting, so she hired a new oriental medicine doctor. Has it been about two weeks since he came?”

“So is he really handsome?”

“He’s quite tall and good-looking.”

“You should have mentioned that first!”

Son Chunja’s attitude, who had been the most indifferent, changed 180 degrees.

But why would the face of a male oriental medicine doctor who’s young enough to be her son, or even grandson, matter?

“Let’s go right now.”

She wouldn’t listen no matter how much Heo Sunnam recommended it, but at the mention of a handsome male doctor, she jumped up and ran to the shoe rack.

“Should we? I was planning to go there later anyway. My shoulder and arm hurt a bit.”

“You guys come too. What are you going to do just sitting here?”

“Well, my back has been hurting since earlier… let’s go, let’s go!”

“If we’re all going together, call a taxi! My knees hurt so I can’t walk all the way there!”

Oh Yeongsuk, Kim Oksun, and Yu Malja also agreed.

Heo Sunnam was dumbfounded and was about to say something.

“Just leave them be.”

But Kim Deokbae stopped her.

His logic was that Director Han Yewon wouldn’t dislike it if they brought new patients for whatever reason.

After all, it would be even better if they got better since they all had at least one ailment.

In the end, Heo Sunnam lamented about what kind of people these were, but pretended to be reluctantly persuaded and got into the taxi Son Chunja called.

She was planning to go to the clinic with Kim Deokbae anyway.

Thus, four people were added to the list of referral patients under Heo Sunnam’s chart.

* * *

“Ms. Heo Sunnam~ Hello~.”

Seol Yuhui’s cheerful greeting could be heard from the desk.

If it was Grandmother Heo Sunnam, Hwang Sanghun also knew her well as a regular patient.

He had exactly one chance to treat her, but received criticism that he wasn’t as good as Han Yewon.

Since it was an undeniable fact, he wasn’t particularly hurt by it.

‘That person will be seen by Yewon.’

It had already been two weeks since he started practicing after getting the job, but he still wasn’t fully adapted.

He would tense up each time someone registered at the desk, then calm down repeatedly upon confirming they were Han Yewon’s patients.

“Hello~.”

“Oh my, the interior here is clean and nice!”

“Do we register here? The four of us are first-time visitors!”

“It’s not as big as the place I used to go to.”

“Don’t you have massage chairs? Or hydrotherapy machines, or those vibrating beds you lie on?”

Four first-time patients?

Hwang Sanghun, who had relaxed at hearing Heo Sunnam’s name, immediately straightened his posture.

On days when they worked together, they had a system of splitting new patients in half. Unless there was a special request, referrals were also distributed, so there was a high chance he would see two of them.

‘They seem like difficult people. Will I be okay?’

Coming in and immediately talking loudly, comparing to other clinics. They were estimated to be quite high-difficulty patients. While Hanyewon would skillfully handle any type, Hwang Sanghun’s shoulders naturally tensed up.

“I’ll register you in order. Since there are two directors, two of you can go to the male director…”

“Me and Deokbae will get acupuncture from one director as usual, and register these four people all with Director Hwang.”

But suddenly, words like a bolt from the blue fell from outside.

Since it was Grandmother Heo Sunnam’s referral, it wasn’t that they would all see Hanyewon together, but him? Why specifically?

“You’ll have to wait a bit, is that okay?”

“It’s fine!”

“We have plenty of time~.”

“My back is killing me, can I be seen first?”

“Yes, if you just sit for a moment, one at a time…”

“No way. What’s there to wait for? Let’s all go in together!”

Seol Yuhui couldn’t control them.

If it had been quiet, Hanyewon might have come out to mediate, but she was in the treatment room giving acupuncture.

[I’ll see them all at once.]

There was no choice.

Hwang Sanghun messaged to let them all in at once.

They seemed ready to push their way in regardless. Though it was burdensome, it seemed better than continuing to put the staff in a difficult position by insisting on following the system.

“Then I’ll bring you all together.”

Heo Sunnam and her boyfriend went to the treatment room, while the four first-time patients all entered Hwang Sanghun’s examination room together.

“Ms. Yu Malja, please sit here first, and the other three please wait on the sofa for a moment.”

“Oh my, me first?”

Hwang Sanghun called the name of the first registered patient and pointed to the chair beside his desk.

Those who had been noisy at the desk about who would go first and where it hurt followed Hwang Sanghun’s instructions as meekly as gentle sheep.

‘I suppose this is the authority of a doctor’s coat after all.’

All four grandmothers quietly stared at Hwang Sanghun’s face.

He regained his composure and was able to begin the consultation calmly. If they stayed like this, it seemed he could treat them well.

“Ms. Yu Malja, what brings you here today? What’s bothering you?”

“Ah, I came because my knee hurts. It was hard even climbing up here.”

“When did it start bothering you?”

“35 years? No wait, it’s been 37 years!”

“Did you injure it, or is there a suspected cause?”

“There is! My mother-in-law used to drag me to that temple on the mountain, and that’s how this happened. What the monk said then was…”

But as Yu Malja’s 37-year history of knee pain began, Hwang Sanghun started feeling overwhelmed.

“…Back then, walking on flat ground was still okay, but as I got older, my knee kept aching and walking became difficult, so I eventually had surgery on the right one 15 years ago. The doctor said if the left one lasted 5 years, that would be doing well, but I didn’t want surgery so I just kept saying it hurt and have been living with it!”

“Didn’t this sister even take a taxi to come here today because of that?”

“Please treat me well. Nothing has worked, but I heard this place is really good, so I came as a last resort, thinking I’d be fooled one more time.”

“You’re so handsome, I’m sure you treat patients really well too. I’ll trust only you, Director!”

Asking him to treat a knee that no one had been able to fix for 37 years.

It was Hanyewon who had treated Grandmother Heo Sunnam’s back, but for some reason they were doing this to him.

But they definitely weren’t doing this to torment him.

The four grandmothers were looking at Hwang Sanghun with eyes full of expectation.

Hwang Sanghun smiled gently and nodded.

“Of course. I’ll treat you well.”

And in his mind, he desperately searched for someone.

‘Yewon… save me…’

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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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