The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

I displayed a slight, very slight hint of presence.

Though I may not be an absolute master, I had seen and heard quite a bit following my teacher.

They say even a temple dog can recite poetry after three years, so I could at least emit something akin to an aura.

I was already annoyed that he had circled around before sitting down so late, and I didn’t want to deal with Jo Haneul on top of that. I thought if I gave off an unapproachable atmosphere, he’d leave.

‘Why did he freeze up like that?’

Despite his appearance, was he weak-willed? Contrary to my expectations, Jo Haneul neither approached nor left, remaining frozen for quite some time.

“Uh, um.”

Even when spoken to, he was in poor shape.

Snap!

I snapped my fingers in front of Jo Haneul’s face.

“Are you hypnotized or something? Get a grip.”

“Ahem, ahem!”

Only then did he come to his senses and smooth his hair.

I took Jo Haneul outside the reading room.

“You were so confident until a few days ago, but have you changed your mind? Decided to study diligently as usual?”

“I’m always diligent.”

“A diligent person yesterday… never mind.”

I started to say something but swallowed my words. However, Jo Haneul wasn’t oblivious. He realized I was about to mention Professor Lee Minseok’s class and blushed.

“Anyway, I can learn all that stuff in just a few hours before the exam!”

“I’m sure you can. Who’s saying otherwise?”

I shrugged. I was well aware that Jo Haneul’s memorization skills were far superior to mine. Even from the snippets I overheard in the classroom, he seemed to know everything the professor emphasized on the day of the exam, despite knowing nothing until three days before.

No matter how many past exam questions he got from seniors or how well Hwang Sanghun summarized the classes for him, he couldn’t digest it in such a short time without being smart himself.

“Why are you studying so obsessively?”

“Well…”

I couldn’t exactly answer that I was in real danger of not graduating or passing the national exam if I didn’t do this.

To become a great doctor? No. Just a few days ago, I had blabbed with my own mouth that I’d realized true learning wasn’t in books.

“Actually, I’m curious too. What does it matter to you whether I study or not? Why do you dislike me so much?”

I asked the fundamental question.

“Who says I dislike…”

“Don’t dodge the question. There must be a reason you’re acting this way towards me. Is it something like you don’t like how I look, or that I’m rude?”

“……”

Jo Haneul just stared with bloodshot eyes, taking his time. Why hadn’t I asked this until now?

‘It’s not like I don’t have a guess.’

At first, I might have been afraid to hear negative things about myself. At some point, disliking each other became too natural.

“It’s funny to see someone with nothing to their name thinking they’re on the same level just because they attend the same school, burning with competitive spirit.”

“Huh…?”

But Jo Haneul’s answer was beyond what I had imagined.

“Do you think you’ll amount to anything even if you work hard and become the top student? Even if you get into a hospital, they won’t teach you anything that makes money.”

“I suppose so. Who does their residency for the money?”

“Then what, are you aiming for a professor position? If so, you should have been following professors around instead of studying.”

Jo Haneul forced a smile. The look in his eyes as he crossed his arms and looked down at me was truly oppressive.

If it were the old me… no, even in the past, I don’t think I would have been hurt by such words and cried at home.

“I just wanted to let you know your place early on because it was pitiful to see you struggling for something impossible. But you keep trying to overcome it, and the more ambitious you are, the harder it’ll be for you.”

“My place, you say.”

“Even if you somehow became a professor, which you won’t, nothing would change for someone like you.”

I tried to listen seriously, but I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Good heavens, he disliked me just because I tried to compete?

‘And here I thought I might have annoyed him too much during group projects in pre-med!’

I thought there might be something I had done wrong, or some misunderstanding. I thought I might have made mistakes when I was desperately clinging to A+ grades because I needed the scholarship, when I lacked peace of mind.

“That’s interesting. If your mother had known her place, you wouldn’t have even made it to Korean medicine school.”

“…What?”

“I personally respect Director Choi Eunhee, so I’ve looked up all her interview articles and TV appearances.”

“You looked up my mother’s interviews?”

“Director Choi Eunhee said she refused her parents’ advice to get married after graduating middle school, ran away to Seoul, worked in a factory, and then studied late to become a Korean medicine doctor. Oh, is that a made-up story?”

“That’s…”

It probably isn’t. Unlike Jo Haneul, Choi Eunhee, the CEO of the Sky Korean Medicine Clinic network, was quite proud of her self-made success.

“You’re 31 this year, right? You’re 6 years older than me, so did you take the exam four times, excluding military service? Do you think you would have received so much support if Director Choi Eunhee hadn’t been so successful?”

“Are you picking on my mother now?”

“You’re the one who brought up knowing one’s place. Your mother did it, so why can’t I?”

“Ha, haha! You, you’re much stupider than I thought!”

“Just say I have big dreams.”

I smiled brightly. In truth, I only thought about enjoying life and living leisurely now, but I had already amassed more gold than his mother.

“You’re saying that because you haven’t seen it yourself. My mom is a genius. A demon when it comes to money.”

“Judging by her investment in a son like you, it doesn’t seem that way.”

“Hey!”

Jo Haneul shouted. Did I say something wrong?

Seeing how she insisted on making her eldest son study to inherit the clinic, she seemed quite affectionate.

“Ah, forget it. Whether I’ll be more successful than Director Choi Eunhee or not, we’ll see at the class reunion in 20 years. As for whether I’ll beat Jo Haneul this semester, we only have a few months left.”

“Fine, let’s see you try.”

Jo Haneul glared at me with blazing eyes.

Hmm… did I go too far?

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be going now. Make sure to apologize properly when you lose!”

Whatever! Let him tremble with anger if he wants.

If Jo Haneul studies hard to try to beat me, it would be good for his future patients, wouldn’t it?

I’ll be the one winning anyway.

◆◇◆◇◆

School, library, and dormitory.

About two weeks passed in this peaceful routine of going back and forth between the same places.

Today’s morning class was on regulations, and there was nothing scheduled for the afternoon.

“Yeowon, Professor Lee Minseok says he wants to see you for a moment!”

As I was about to leave the classroom for the library as usual, our class representative caught me.

“Huh? Should I go up?”

I asked, pointing my finger upwards.

Did he want me to come to the professor’s office upstairs?

“He says to come to the hospital.”

The class representative showed me her phone. It seemed Professor Lee Minseok didn’t have any classes at school today.

“Just Yeowon? Do you know what it’s about?”

“If the professor had business, he would come here.”

I didn’t say anything, but Hwang Sanghun and Hwang Seoyoung, the cousin siblings, chimed in unnecessarily. I could understand Seoyoung, but what business was it of Hwang Sanghun’s?

“I don’t know what it’s about. He just said to come now.”

Not just me, but Hwang Sanghun and Hwang Seoyoung also checked the class representative’s phone. The text message only contained what she had just said.

“I’ll find out when I get there, I guess.”

I said nonchalantly.

“Let me go with you.”

But out of nowhere, Hwang Sanghun spoke as if he was going to come along.

“Why, Sanghun oppa?”

“Oh, I have a question for the professor.”

“Can’t you ask during the next class?”

I asked without thinking, but Hwang Sanghun couldn’t answer and just moved his mouth.

“Hey, hey, hey! What question? Let’s go drink instead.”

Jo Haneul suddenly hugged Hwang Sanghun and dragged him away. Kim Mingyu and Lee Cheoljin also clung to them, whispering something. I could probably hear if I opened my qi sense, but I wasn’t curious at all.

“I’ll be back after I go.”

Even Hwang Seoyoung looked at me suspiciously, but I shook them off and went to the hospital alone.

‘Why are they acting like that?’

Judging by how he hadn’t spoken to me once since handing over the answer key last time, it didn’t seem like he suddenly wanted to become friends with me.

Hwang Sanghun probably wants to apply to the hospital to become a professor, just like Jo Haneul?

‘Is he trying to keep me in check, thinking I’m getting close to the professor? Or is he trying to get close without going through Jo Haneul?’

I came up with a few hypotheses, but with his personality, it seemed like it would be better not to meet separately. Though I used to be even stiffer than Hwang Sanghun.

“Hello, Professor?”

Now, with experience, I’ve become quite smooth.

I entered the office and greeted politely.

“You came quickly.”

“What’s the matter?”

Contrary to my expectation that he had called me without much thought, Professor Lee Minseok’s face was very serious.

The professor gestured towards the computer, so I went inside the desk and approached his side.

“You’ve met patient Jung Gwangsu, haven’t you?”

Huh? I wondered what this was about.

We had already had the class related to that case a few days ago. He had picked another student’s assignment as exemplary and hadn’t commented on mine, so I thought he didn’t like it?

“Yes. Actually, I met him by chance on the street the other day.”

Since there was nothing to hide, I answered honestly.

“Did the patient consult you about his illness? How much do you know?”

“I helped him when he almost got hit by a car. I heard about his family situation while calming him down. I don’t know much more about his illness than what’s written in the chart.”

Professor Lee Minseok frowned. Click, click click. He typed on the keyboard and flipped through the chart. Then he pulled up Jung Gwangsu’s daily admission records.

“He was originally quite a problematic patient. He would smuggle alcohol into the ward, leave the hospital without permission. He also refused herbal medicine prescriptions.”

“Ah, I see.”

Was it that bad? He had just seemed like an ordinary, timid middle-aged man to me.

“But the week before last, he suddenly said he would take the medicine. So I prescribed it.”

“That’s good.”

“For the first 2-3 days after starting the medication, his progress was very good.”

Professor Lee Minseok continued, hovering the mouse cursor over the admission record.

“But from the fourth day, side effects appeared. Constipation wasn’t a big deal, so I let it be, but his digestion got worse and he developed a feeling of heat rising.”

“Ah…?”

Are you saying there were side effects from the prescription I recommended?

“What prescription did you use? Jeonggi Cheonhyang-tang? Tongmyeong-igi-tang?”

TN: “Jeonggi Cheonhyang-tang” is a soup or broth that aims to enhance vital energy and overall health, incorporating ingredients that are believed to have a pleasant aroma and beneficial effects.

“Tongmyeong-igi-tang” is as a medicinal soup designed to clear or remove something, likely referring to toxins or ailments in the body. It’s used in traditional Korean medicine for its therapeutic effects, but the exact recipe and intended benefits can vary based on the specific ingredients and the condition being treated.

“That’s what you wrote in your assignment.”

I had answered that if I had to prescribe for a month, as most modern Korean medicine clinics do, I would use Tongmyeong-igi-tang, which lowers the fire of the liver and gallbladder while also tonifying the kidneys, to comprehensively treat various symptoms including the main complaint of tinnitus.

In Murim, we usually decocted medicine for 3-4 days at a time, and if such a prescription was possible for an inpatient, I wrote that I would first give Jeonggi Cheonhyang-tang for about 3 days to release the stagnant qi, then based on the response, use a prescription to lower heart fire, and finally tonify the deficiency once the severe tinnitus that prevented sleep had diminished.

“I first prescribed Bojungikgi-tang combined with Yukmiji-hwang-tang.”

“Huh, wasn’t the stagnation too severe to use a tonic from the start? He screamed as soon as I touched his Tanzhong point.”

Professor Lee Minseok winked at my words.

‘So you didn’t do as I said.’

Well, this was the opinion of just an ordinary student, not Han Yeowon with a cringe-worthy title.

This is a school, not a medical pavilion, and he’s not my disciple, so there was no reason for him to write prescriptions as I said.

‘Bojungikgi-tang and Yukmiji-hwang-tang are really good tonics, but…’

TN: “Bojungikgi-tang” is a medicinal soup designed to tonify and strengthen the body’s vital energy. It’s used to boost overall health, improve vitality, and support recovery from illness or fatigue.

“Yukmiji-hwang-tang” is a medicinal soup that uses a blend of six key herbal ingredients to nourish and strengthen the body. It is often used to support overall health and address specific health concerns according to traditional Korean medicine.

The medicine Professor Lee Minseok prescribed for Jung Gwangsu was almost synonymous with tonic herbs.

As people age, most become deficient. Whatever the symptoms, if you first tonify the spleen and stomach with Bojungikgi-tang, they’ll eat better, their stamina will improve, and they’ll generally feel better than before. For elderly patients with poor appetite, it could be considered a medicine that would score at least 70 points no matter what. I would have even prepared it in advance to give to elderly patients when they came.

‘Still, you should distinguish between deficiency and excess.’

Although it’s a safe medicine, it can sometimes cause side effects if given to people with good physique and a lot of heat.

In Jung Gwangsu’s case, he didn’t appear excess at all and was quite old, so it seemed he had made a misjudgment.

Even so, the fire was quite clear… Tsk, he tried to play it too safe.

“The first three days, the effect was very good. But when I increased the dose, side effects appeared after that.”

Professor Lee Minseok said.

Finally, I thought I understood what had happened.

‘You thought it was the right prescription and even increased the dose! It wasn’t the medicine that made him better.’

I had loosened Jung Gwangsu’s Tanzhong point and channeled a bit of energy while pressing his acupoints. That effect had lasted for a few days and helped him accept the medicine. Not knowing that I had intervened separately, he could only misunderstand it as the effect of the medicine.

“So what did you do?”

“I suspected he might have drunk alcohol. I wondered if he had been fine all along because he had temporarily quit drinking.”

I gaped in disbelief. Surely he didn’t scold him?

After all my coaxing and persuading to get him in the mood for treatment!

“That could be possible. Did he say he drank?”

“No. He insisted absolutely not, and mentioned Han Yeowon student.”

“Ah…?”

“I changed the prescription to Jeonggi Cheonhyang-tang, giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

Oh, at least he didn’t make the worst choice. I asked out of curiosity.

“Did it work?”

“I’ve never seen an effect appear in just one day like this before. All the symptoms that I wasn’t sure were side effects or not disappeared completely, and he said even his tinnitus reduced a bit.”

“That must be psychological, right? Tinnitus that has progressed to hearing loss can’t improve all at once.”

“I suppose so. But he slept without alcohol.”

“…That’s good.”

I smiled brightly, rubbing my chest in relief.

Hearing news of Jung Gwangsu like this truly put my mind at ease.

It’s not like I was 100% confident in my prescription either. Since he wasn’t my patient, I couldn’t be sure if the prescription would be given as intended.

Although it took a few days of detour, it was really fortunate that it had a great effect.

“Who advised you?”

But unlike me, who was simply happy about the patient’s improvement, Professor Lee Minseok crossed his arms and stared at me.

“If you didn’t receive advice, just say so. Was it entirely your own idea?”