A competent doctor can cure everything

“Yes, Wonil.”

I playfully answered, finding it a bit funny that Wonil kept confusing the titles.

“Hyung, you’re really amazing. Do you know you’ve become quite famous in the ward? How did you do it?”

“Hmm, thanks to these glasses.”

When I answered seriously, he looked momentarily puzzled, then nodded and admired.

“Ah? Oh, so you mean studying so hard that it affects your vision? As expected, to become a good doctor, studying is essential!”

…Well, let’s go with that.

I smiled and brushed off his comment.

‘This is what I’ve figured out about these glasses so far.’

First, the golden letters appear on the chart only when wearing the glasses.

And the future I can see is about three days ahead.

It works with both paper charts and electronic charts on the computer.

‘But capturing the electronic chart or taking a photo of the paper chart with my phone didn’t work.’

It seems the glasses’ power only affects the ‘actual’ object itself.

What’s also amusing is that I can only see the charts of the patients I’m responsible for.

Charts of patients I don’t know are useless, even through the glasses.

‘Is it that only those I recognize as being in my care for treatment?’

Then what defines being “in treatment”?

I wanted to ask the glasses, but of course, they wouldn’t answer.

I guess I’ll have to figure this out gradually.

I didn’t only test the glasses on charts; I tried them on other objects too.

I looked at everything in the intern training room while wearing the glasses, but nothing happened.

In conclusion, these glasses seem to show the future.

…But only related to patients.

While thinking about this, Wonil spoke up again.

“Hyung, suspecting Gout is impressive, but I think the courage to tell the third-year resident is even more remarkable.”

Interns and third-year residents. The start and end of the hospital training stages.

It’s like a new recruit in the military pointing out a mistake to a seasoned sergeant.

“That’s true, but if I see something, I can’t just stay silent. At least when it comes to patients, I need to be forthright.”

I ended up giving a serious response without realizing it.

Even a liar is honest when it comes to medical treatment.

Even if it’s an embarrassing physical secret they can’t share with others.

That’s because they trust the doctor with their body.

‘So doctors must answer to the patient’s trust. Always be forthright and do your best.’

It felt like my father’s voice was ringing in my ears.

“Wow~! What’s up with you? You’re totally a wise quote generator!”

“I heard it somewhere too.”

I smiled at Wonil, who was being overly dramatic.

Naturally, thoughts of my father continued to come to mind.

Did my father also know the secret of these glasses?

‘…I can’t focus on the chart.’

“I’m going to get some water.”

I left the intern training room and headed to the ward’s water dispenser.

There, I unexpectedly ran into someone.

It was Choi Jin-seong, the third-year resident from the acupuncture department, filling his tumbler with water.

‘Oh, Jin-seong was on duty today too.’

I felt a bit awkward due to this morning’s events.

When the third-year resident glanced at me, I bowed my head in silence to greet him.

I wondered if he was looking for another chance to pick a fight, but he finished getting his water and turned away without a word.

‘Oh, maybe he’s not that petty after all.’

However, as I was filling up a paper cup with water from the dispenser, a hostile voice came from behind.

“Intern, you must be thrilled to have impressed the professor already, right?”

Turning around, I saw the third-year resident glaring at me.

“Don’t get too cocky about a lucky break. I’ll be watching to see how well you do from now on.”

Without waiting for my response, he walked off.

…Correction: He is indeed petty.

‘I should be careful to avoid getting entangled with him as much as possible.’

No matter how unpleasant he may be, it’s never good to be on the bad side of someone more senior.

I shrugged my shoulders and headed back to the intern training room.

* * *

“Sir, you’re being discharged soon, right?”

“Yes. Thank you, Intern. I’ll be leaving after receiving good treatment.”

“Why the hurry? You still need a bit more treatment.”

“I need to get back to work, haha.”

Kim Sang-hoon, the 26-year-old TA patient, was finishing his short hospital stay and preparing to leave.

The patient wanted to be discharged as quickly as possible due to work commitments.

Throughout this period, I had been checking Kim Sang-hoon’s future charts daily through my glasses.

Interestingly, once I identified the hidden diagnosis of gout and the patient began receiving appropriate treatment, the content of the future charts also changed.

‘In other words, if I intervene, I can change the future for patients.’

It was an encouraging discovery.

It was unfortunate that I wouldn’t be able to monitor the patient after discharge.

What particularly concerned me was the gout.

Although the Western medicine side suggested a recheck in three months…

‘If he doesn’t lose weight and change his lifestyle, the recheck results will inevitably be poor.’

As I administered cupping therapy to the patient’s ankle, I said,

“Sir, Gout is closely related to your diet. Especially, you must stop drinking beer.”

“Oh… Since I work late into the night, skipping dinner and then having a late-night snack with beer has become a habit…”

Seeing the patient making excuses as if confessing a crime made me feel a bit sorry for him.

“You mentioned you run your own business, right? Does that mean you work late hours?”

“Yes, my store closes at 9 PM, and sometimes even later.”

I was surprised by the late working hours, but I didn’t let it show and spoke as I normally would.

“Still, you need to take care of your health first. Eat healthily and exercise regularly.”

“Yes… I know, but it’s not easy to eat healthily and exercise. Working twelve hours a day and having a beer when I get home was my only comfort.”

I understood his point, though it wasn’t ideal.

As I was sympathizing with the patient’s situation, he asked me,

“Doctor, the Western doctors said we should decide on medication in three months, but is there any Chinese medicine we can do in the meantime?”

Although the diagnosis wasn’t confirmed, his health wasn’t completely sound.

In traditional Chinese medicine, such a state is referred to as “pre-disease” (未病).

For instance, it could be a pre-diabetic stage, pre-hypertension, or, like this patient.

“Usually, we treat such conditions with acupuncture, herbal injections, and traditional Chinese medicine.”

“How long does the treatment take, and what’s the cost?”

I explained to the patient based on what I knew.

Upon hearing the explanation, the patient’s face darkened again.

“I see. I would have to leave my store to go to the hospital… But I’ll try to come as much as I can.”

Even though the patient said they would try to come, it was clear that the time and cost issues were a burden.

Feeling uncomfortable, I busied myself by checking my phone, which had the timer for the cupping therapy set.

The patient glanced at my phone and spoke.

“Doctor, it looks like your phone screen is cracked?”

“Oh, I dropped it, but I haven’t had time to get it fixed. Actually, we can’t go outside the hospital during our first month.”

“Oh… Interns have it tough too.”

I felt a bit awkward when the patient, who was struggling themselves, expressed concern for me.

Leaving the patient’s room, I felt bitter.

Even while teaching the patient, my own words felt hollow.

Telling someone to live a healthy life regularly when they are struggling to make ends meet might be a luxury.

“I know very well how hard poverty can be.”

Is there something practical I can do?

I pondered, and then an idea came to mind.

“Will it arrive before the patient’s discharge if I order it now?”

* * *

“Yes, this is Intern Lee Seon Joon.”

A few days after Kim Sang-hoon’s discharge.

While I was busy working on the ward, I received a call from an unfamiliar extension number.

Although I didn’t know where it was from, I answered quickly and professionally, as an intern should.

“Right now? Understood.”

The caller was from an unexpected department.

After I hung up, a fellow intern next to me showed curiosity.

“Joon, what’s going on?”

“Oh, I got a call from the acupuncture and moxibustion department. Professor Kim wants me to come down to the outpatient clinic.”

“Really? For you? Why?”

I didn’t know either.

I shook my head.

The surprise was because interns are typically only responsible for ward patients.

Only higher-level residents are usually sent to the outpatient clinics.

“Did I make a mistake with the professor?”

I couldn’t think of a plausible reason.

I quickly stopped what I was doing and headed to the outpatient clinic.

“Professor, did you call for me?”

I knocked gently and entered the acupuncture and moxibustion outpatient clinic.

The professor was engaged in a conversation with someone.

“Oh, intern. Come on in.”

And the person they were talking to was none other than the patient, Kim Sang-hoon.

“This patient, who was recently discharged, came to the outpatient clinic and asked for you, Joon.”

“Me?”

“Yes! He has something he wants to give you.”

The patient handed over a paper bag as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Opening it, I found a smartphone package box inside.

“What is this?”

“Actually, I run a mobile phone store. When I saw that your phone screen was cracked, I brought a spare one from the store. It’s not the latest model, but…”

I was taken aback by the unexpected gift and tried to return the bag.

“Sir, it’s alright. I’ll accept only your kind intentions.”

“But you’re the first person like this. Please accept it without hesitation.”

The professor, who had been watching our exchange with a warm smile, intervened to mediate.

“Sir? Unfortunately, our hospital staff is prohibited from receiving gifts from patients. But I’m curious—how well did the intern treat you to deserve this?”

The patient’s eyes sparkled as he excitedly explained.

“This intern wrote down some acupressure points that are good for gout on the day I was discharged. And he also gave me an herbal ointment.”

“Ointment…?”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I interjected.

“Yes, Professor. I saw a paper suggesting that an external application made from the herb Go-san is effective for Gout, so I ordered an ointment from the herbal dispensary outside the hospital and gave it as a gift.”

“Why specifically an ointment? It’s not a common treatment for Gout.”

The professor showed great interest.

“Yes, but this patient mentioned he didn’t have time to visit the hospital. I thought of a treatment that could be done at home.”

“Considering the patient’s perspective….”

The professor nodded appreciatively at my response.

The patient, seizing the moment, playfully suggested to the professor.

“Professor, if the intern can’t receive the new phone, could you at least grant him permission to go out to have his broken phone repaired?”

The professor’s eyes widened.

“Eh? Permission to go out? Ah… is it the intern’s keep period now?”

During the first month of the internship, there was a hospital rule that required interns to stay and work at the hospital without any days off for the entire month.

The professor chuckled and asked me.

“Right, who is the chief resident now? I’ll have to talk to them about giving a day off to this outstanding intern.”

…What?

The situation took an unexpected turn.