The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

“What should we start with!”

Hwang Seoyoung exclaimed, slamming her book down as soon as we entered the dormitory.

“Let’s start with the third period. The internal medicine professors make easy questions, and we’ve already looked at acupuncture and regulations for the exams so far.”

Our class representative said, opening her book.

“Oh, are we starting already? I ordered pizza. Let’s just eat this first…”

“We can cover half of it before the pizza arrives.”

I sat down Hwang Seoyoung, who was trying to stray from the start, and quickly briefed them on the important parts.

It wasn’t too difficult since I had already studied the national exam questions from the past five years, and on top of that, I had reviewed the previous notes from our school professors for the graduation exam.

“This isn’t a part that comes up often in the national exam, but Professor Jin really likes it, so you need to memorize it.”

“Ah, I remember this. I got it wrong on last semester’s final exam too!”

While neither of them had completely neglected their studies, I quickly caught the parts they had studied insufficiently and glossed over.

“How do you explain it better than all the classes we’ve taken throughout the professional program?”

“Even if you praise me like that, nothing will come of it.”

“No, I really couldn’t memorize this no matter how hard I tried. But when you gave an example of how you treated it, I understood right away!”

Ahem, despite appearances, I am someone who raised a medical pavilion. Unlike professors who put even the best students to sleep, I taught medical arts to those who couldn’t even read.

I shrugged and continued the lesson.

I had intended to help with just one or two of the most difficult subjects, but as we went on, I got into it and the lecture continued even after the pizza arrived.

◆◇◆◇◆

The exam period passes faster than any other time.

As always, studying is a continuation of similar days.

I, who had planned to hang out with them for just a day or two and then focus on studying alone, ended up spending several days with my classmates. I scolded the two who couldn’t even concentrate for 6 hours a day and made them study in various ways.

‘I have to keep it up until the end!’

Now, there were less than 10 hours left until the graduation exam.

On the last day, it’s only natural to review the entire scope alone.

I carefully read through the content I had organized so far in the library.

‘I memorized all the herbal characteristics yesterday, so I just need to review the confusing gynecology prescriptions.’

I could have skimmed over it, but thanks to getting fired up with Jo Haneul, studying it again in modern terms seemed like it would be quite helpful later.

I maximized my concentration and finished memorizing.

‘I should go to the convenience store, eat a chocolate, and take a short nap.’

I could just pull an all-nighter, but to maintain peak condition, I should probably get some shut-eye, right?

Intending to get some fresh air before returning to the dormitory, I packed all my things and left the library.

I exited the campus through the main gate and looked for a convenience store that was open late.

But two familiar-looking cars were blocking the middle of the road.

“Huh?”

One was a blue Porsche. It was the same model as the car that had nearly hit Jung Gwangsu last time.

“It must be the same car? Wow… after driving like that, they ended up in an accident after all.”

The blue Porsche had plowed into the left rear side of a white car, and both cars were stuck in the middle of the road.

Judging by the shape, it seemed the Porsche on the right had hit the white car that had started first from the left while they were both trying to make a right turn at the same time.

“But why aren’t they moving out of the way?”

It was strange that they weren’t moving despite clearly obstructing traffic, so I suddenly worried if someone might be injured.

I approached the two cars, suppressing my presence.

“I’m going to sue!”

A booming voice was heard from behind the Porsche.

A large, burly man was grabbing the collar of a very familiar figure and shouting.

‘Why is Jo Haneul here?’

I tilted my head and listened to their conversation.

◆◇◆◇◆

A little before the accident.

“Damn, I should have just taken the exam with my usual skills, why did I try to study?”

Jo Haneul downed whiskey at his regular bar.

He had already memorized the parts Hwang Sanghun had marked for studying, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at the textbooks or notes from the beginning.

‘I wonder if Han Yeowon has looked at everything? She can’t memorize it all anyway, crudely looking from the first page like that, no wonder she can’t be the top student every time.’

Kim Mingyu and Lee Cheoljin are the same. They won’t fail even if they just look at the important parts moderately, so why are they trying so hard?

He sent messages to his friends to come out, but even after an hour, no one had read them.

“Don’t tell me they’re planning to pull an all-nighter?”

Jo Haneul stared at his phone in displeasure. After turning the screen on and off several times, contemplating, he got up from his seat irritably.

“I should just go to sleep. I’m not even getting drunk today.”

Whether it was because it was the night before the exam, he just couldn’t shake off his unease.

He was going to win anyway, so why was his chest so unnecessarily tight?

Jo Haneul paid his bill with an uneasy feeling and got into his car.

“Hmm~”

Humming along to the song playing from the speakers, he started to enjoy the drive, and his mood improved a bit.

‘Should I go see the ocean instead of going home? Does it take more than an hour?’

As the thought suddenly struck him, he turned on his navigation app to search for Eurwangni Beach in Incheon.

“Huh? What?”

Suddenly, a car shot out from the right.

Crash!

And before he could turn the wheel, they collided. Not wearing a seatbelt, his body jerked and hit the steering wheel.

“Shit, what the hell?”

Jo Haneul cursed without realizing it. His chest stung where it had hit, and his head was foggy.

‘What just happened?’

But he quickly calmed down.

It wasn’t his first time in a traffic accident. If he calmly called the insurance company… oh, he had been drinking.

‘I have to settle this somehow. If I get caught this time, my license will be revoked.’

He held his throbbing head and recalled what had just happened.

He was trying to make a right turn, but a blue car was stopped in the rightmost lane. So he had sped up, intending to make the right turn first from the adjacent lane.

But that blue car had hit him even after seeing him start.

‘Wasn’t it stationary?’

It seemed he hadn’t checked properly because he was looking at the navigation.

‘Who’s at fault in this situation? Fifty-fifty? But I went first and they hit me, isn’t it failure to keep a proper lookout?’

He tried to think positively, but it seemed his fault would likely be judged higher.

‘Settlement, there’s no choice but to settle.’

Having made that judgment, Jo Haneul immediately rolled down his window.

The other person had already opened their door and was approaching.

With a large build and tattoos on both arms, he looked like a gangster.

“Don’t you know how to use your eyes when you drive?”

Sure enough, the man with the big voice yelled.

‘Driving around in a fancy sports car all decked out, just looking at him you can tell he’s some upstart car enthusiast punk.’

Cold sweat ran down his back, but Jo Haneul didn’t lose out in the initial confrontation and responded calmly.

“I, I’m sorry.”

If they started arguing about who was right or wrong, he would be at a clear disadvantage.

‘Even if it’s a foreign car, a sports car isn’t cheap. If I cause another accident… Mom will kill me.’

Jo Haneul got out of the car and bowed deeply.

And he subtly turned his head to check the car’s brand.

‘Shit, is it really a Porsche? Not just a badge stuck on?’

From that moment, his lips began to tremble.

‘No, this is ridiculous. It can’t be, right?’

With both his parents uninterested in cars, he didn’t know what a real Porsche looked like.

It seemed to look different from the Porsche Hwang Sanghun had given him a ride in before, but there must be more than one model.

He wanted to quickly search it up, but the man was threateningly closing the distance.

“Let’s not do this, since it seems I made a mistake, how about I just pay for the repairs cleanly…”

Jo Haneul spoke obsequiously, but the Porsche owner strode towards him.

“Aargh!”

He wasn’t going to use brute force.

The Porsche owner suddenly grabbed his own neck and screamed.

He had begun his method acting.

“What are you going to do? My neck won’t turn!”

Jo Haneul swallowed hard.

‘Stay calm. Stay calm. His goal must be money anyway.’

He thought about the budget he could personally manage without catching his mother’s eye, then spoke politely.

“You must be shocked, right? May I take a look?”

The man didn’t stop him. Jo Haneul used both hands to try turning the man’s neck.

“It’s not moving at all!”

It was true. The range of motion was less than 30 degrees.

The man panicked even more, and Jo Haneul’s forehead was drenched in sweat.

“It, it’s not broken, is it? I’m going to sue!”

It didn’t seem to be acting anymore. The hand gripping his collar was trembling. The Porsche owner was genuinely afraid.

“Absolutely not. It’s just a sprain. It’s called whiplash injury, where the ligaments and soft tissues… damn it, the muscles can get stiff like that.”

Jo Haneul, reciting what he had crammed into his head while studying for the exam, cut his explanation short. Would this low-level human understand even if he explained?

“Here, this muscle is stiff, that’s why. If you get a few acupuncture needles, it’ll get better.”

Has this person never had a stiff neck in his life? Even Jo Haneul himself often had a stiff neck the day after heavy drinking.

Come to think of it, on the first day of Professor Lee Minseok’s class, Jo Haneul’s neck wouldn’t turn either, and Han Yeowon had answered that it was because of the levator scapulae.

“Really? Can you fix it?”

The Porsche owner’s attitude softened a bit.

– I will insert needles into Fengchi and Quyuan, which are located near the origin and insertion points of the levator scapulae you mentioned earlier, as well as Jianjing and Jianzhen to loosen the levator scapulae. After checking for tenderness, I would also treat the trapezius, sternocleidomastoid, supraspinatus, and infraspinatus muscles.

He clearly remembered the acupoints Han Yeowon had recited that day. In fact, during that class, when Hwang Sanghun had inserted needles in a few places, his neck had immediately moved.

‘She even showed off on the plane, what’s so hard about this for me?’

Confidence welled up that he could do it.

Treat him, and settle this cleanly.

“Yes. I’ll treat you! I’m the top student at Korea University’s College of Korean Medicine, you know?”

“Oh?”

The man’s eyes widened at the mention of Korea University.

Whew, there should be at least one needle rolling around in my bag, right?

Searching through it, he found a pack of needles he had been carrying around to prepare for Professor Lee Minseok’s practical exam.

“Here, if I just loosen up a few spots, you’ll feel better right away. I’ll make it as painless as possible. Let’s have you sit down for a moment.”

The Porsche owner nodded… or tried to, but couldn’t move, so he just clutched his neck again.

Genuinely afraid that it might never turn again, he obediently sat in the driver’s seat as Jo Haneul indicated.

Jo Haneul gently pressed the muscles, searching for the landmark points.

‘Fengchi is… below the occipital bone, behind the mastoid process, in the depression between the outer edge of the trapezius muscle.’

He had inserted a needle here before on a classmate who had a headache.

Jo Haneul slowly inserted the needle.

“Ow!”

“I, I’ll be quick.”

The man’s shouting made his hand keep shaking, but he somehow managed to insert needles into the four acupoints he remembered.

“Try turning it now.”

Then he said. Praying it would move even a little.

“……”

“Ah…”

“It’s not moving at all!”

But the man’s neck didn’t budge an inch. It was the same when Jo Haneul tried to turn it.

‘Is it because I only inserted four? Was the stimulation too weak? He’d probably make a fuss if I tried twirling and thrusting… Should I check other muscle tender points… What if I fail again?’

Jo Haneul panicked too.

If he did anything more here and it went wrong, it seemed like it would be impossible to fix.

This is really nothing. He’d get better right away if he went to any Korean medicine clinic! Even as he thought that, he felt intense self-loathing for not being able to treat him.

‘I should have practiced more when the others said they were in pain.’

Jo Haneul squeezed his eyes shut.

At this point, there was only one option left.

“Tomorrow, there’s a place called Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic Gangnam Branch, it’s my mom’s hospital…”

“Oh my~ I thought you were doing something, but in the end, it’s the mom card?”

But someone interrupted his words.

With a click of the tongue, someone with an annoying face walked out.