The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 35
“Is this… for me?”
“Chirp!”
Yeo-ul thrust out his chest as though he’d been waiting for exactly this moment.
“A gift to celebrate me passing the Entrance Examination?”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
“Ha! Thank you.”
I held the pebble carefully and stroked Yeo-ul’s head.
“You picked out the prettiest one of all, didn’t you?”
“Chirrrp.”
Yeo-ul seemed tremendously pleased, rubbing his head vigorously against my palm.
……
But something felt oddly quiet beside me.
I turned to find Ryu-jin glowering at Yeo-ul with her lower lip jutting out.
“What’s wrong?”
“I stayed up all night making a Cheering Ribbon and packed snacks from this morning…”
Ryu-jin’s gaze fixed on the pebble resting in my palm.
“And she just gives a rock and gets all the affection.”
“Chirp!”
Yeo-ul bristled.
“What! It IS a rock!”
“Chirrrp!”
“She’s upset with me now, isn’t she!”
“I think it bothers her because you called it a rock.”
“Well, what else should I call it if it’s a rock!”
“Chirrrrrp!”
……It seemed Yeo-ul didn’t consider it merely a rock at all.
“You two really……”
I finally burst out laughing.
Ryu-jin, seeing me like that, broke into a bright smile and spread out the snacks she’d brought.
“Come now, try the snacks I brought right away. They’re truly delicious!”
Ryu-jin quickly popped a piece of Honey Candy into my mouth.
Crunch.
A sweet flavor bloomed across my tongue.
“Delicious, isn’t it?”
“Mm-hmm!”
“I told you? I picked out only the tastiest ones! Oh? Does an otter eat Honey Candy too?”
“Chirp-chirp.”
I glanced over to find Yeo-ul already nibbling on his own piece of Honey Candy, making satisfied little sounds as his nose twitched delightedly.
I laughed again.
“Hey, don’t eat that. It’s for me. You should have it.”
Ryu-jin continued pushing fruits and sweets toward me.
Then, all at once, she pouted.
“But you know…”
“Hmm?”
“Yesterday I was really sure my heart was going to stop.”
“Why?”
“When that patient suddenly went limp!”
Ryu-jin clutched her chest.
“I was certain something terrible was happening……”
“I was startled then too, to be honest.”
“That’s a lie.”
“It’s true.”
“You didn’t show it at all though.”
Ryu-jin spoke with a proud expression, as if it were her own achievement.
“You were so cool!”
“Chirp! (That’s right! Ryeong-hwa’s the best!)”
Embarrassed for no good reason, I grabbed a larger Honey Candy and a smaller one, stuffing them straight into Ryu-jin’s and Yeo-ul’s mouths.
“Stop talking about it, you two. Just eat this.”
“Mmph!”
“Isn’t it delicious?”
“Mm, mmm…….”
Ryu-jin nodded, her cheeks puffed out with food.
“Chirp!”
Yeo-ul bobbed her head vigorously too, her bead-like eyes twinkling.
The sight of it made me laugh again.
And so we spent a long while sharing fruit and honey candy together.
It was the first time since the Entrance Examination ended that I’d laughed and chattered without a worry in the world.
‘Right. I need to put the pebble somewhere safe so I don’t lose the gift Yeo-ul gave me.’
While opening the Mother-of-Pearl Box to store the pebble, the Sewing Kit I’d tucked inside caught my eye.
‘This time, I really must give it to him.’
Besides, I’d passed the Entrance Examination.
It would be a fitting day to thank Grandfather for having trusted me and allowing me to take the examination.
I picked up the last of the honey candy and quietly made my decision.
Tonight, I would visit Grandfather.
That very night.
As the people in Byeol-dang gradually withdrew and the surroundings grew peaceful,
I held the small Cloth Wrapping I’d prepared in advance against my chest.
Inside lay the Sewing Kit I’d bought long ago at the Marketplace.
I opened the door slightly and peered out. The Corridor was quiet.
‘Good.’
I slipped quietly outside. The cool night air brushed against my cheek.
Truth be told, there was no real need to choose such a late hour. I could have visited the Bon-dang anytime during the day.
But ever since the Entrance Examination ended, Grandfather had been surrounded by a constant stream of visitors.
Family members coming to offer congratulations, Elders and Physician Apprentices alike.
As Family Head, Grandfather had spent the entire day encircled by people. Presenting a gift in such company somehow felt wrong.
It seemed as though I were trying to win the Family Head’s favor in front of everyone…….
More than anything,
‘this wasn’t meant to be like that.’
I held the Cloth Wrapping close to my heart.
I simply wanted to express my gratitude to Grandfather—as his granddaughter—for having trusted and watched over me all this while.
‘This time, I truly must.’
I made my way quietly along the Corridor, bathed in moonlight, toward the Bon-dang.
A moment later,
as I drew near the Main Clinic, a faint glow seeped through a gap in the door.
‘He’s still here?’
It was already quite late.
Yet a low voice continued inside.
“Your pulse is weak. Don’t strain yourself for the time being.”
It was Grandfather’s voice.
I found myself stopping mid-step.
“I’ll prepare four days’ worth of medicine for you, and if you show no improvement after that, come back again.”
Soon I heard the patient and family offering their thanks repeatedly.
‘He’s been seeing patients even at this late hour.’
He didn’t return to the family often, but whenever he did, Grandfather was always busy tending to patients in the clinic.
I stood quietly beside the door, listening to the voices that filtered out from within.
“Don’t worry too much. The most important thing for now is to eat well and rest well.”
His voice was measured, yet steady.
Shortly after, the door opened and a man emerged, bowing repeatedly.
The stiffness in his face had lifted, replaced by a trace of relief.
I stood transfixed, watching him go.
‘Grandfather truly is extraordinary.’
It wasn’t merely superior medical skill. He possessed the power to make patients trust him, to put their minds at ease.
That wasn’t something one could easily acquire by reading a few medical texts.
‘I too…….’
I gently smoothed the Cloth Wrapping against my chest.
‘Someday, I want to become a physician like him.’
A physician who is the first person patients think of in their moment of pain and fear.
Someone to whom they can entrust their very life with confidence.
Perhaps the image of a physician I had vaguely held all along had, from the very beginning, resembled Grandfather.
That was when it happened.
“What are you doing there?”
“…!”
I startled and looked up.
Grandfather had finished with his patient and now stood in the doorway, regarding me.
“Ryeong-hwa. You’ve arrived—you might have announced yourself.”
“I was just…”
I clutched the cloth wrapping to my chest like someone caught red-handed.
“Will you come in?”
“Yes?”
“I was taking a brief rest.”
It was unexpected.
“I’ve been wanting to talk with you for a while.”
For a moment I went blank, then broke into a bright smile.
“Yes!”
I pattered after him into the clinic.
A subtle herbal fragrance brushed against the tip of my nose.
Books, herbal medicines, and acupuncture tools were arranged in neat order, and a door divided the patient consultation area from the inner chamber.
‘So this is… the Main Clinic.’
My eyes gleamed without my realizing it.
In my past life, I had briefly examined a patient in place of a Medical Practitioner, but that had been a small clinic attached to the Byeol-dang.
It was a place that primarily received patients with mild complaints, so the space was cramped and its furnishings sparse.
This was the first time I’d ever entered a clinic dedicated to proper patient care.
As I turned about excitedly, taking in every corner, Grandfather chuckled softly.
“So remarkable, is it?”
I nodded sheepishly.
“Yes… I’ve never been in the Main Clinic before.”
“Now that you’ve become a Physician Apprentice, you’ll be coming here often enough.”
“Really?”
“Of course. You’re a Physician Apprentice now—you’ll have plenty of reason to enter the clinic.”
Though it was an obvious thing to say, my heart quickened.
Until a moment ago it hadn’t felt quite real, but now it was beginning to sink in.
I truly had become a Physician Apprentice at the Yak-ryeong-ga.
Grandfather settled into a seat and asked me.
“So then.”
“Yes?”
“How does it feel, becoming a Physician Apprentice?”
“Well…”
I paused a moment, thinking, then smiled slightly.
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Not sure?”
“No. I’ve only just begun, after all.”
Grandfather’s eyebrows rose a touch.
“Because there’s so much I want to learn going forward.”
“Hmm.”
“I want to read pulses better, know more herbal medicines, learn acupuncture properly.”
As I spoke, my ambitions multiplied one by one.
“And later, I want to…”
I was about to say more when—
Bang!
The outer clinic door burst open roughly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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