The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

I first met Choi Eunhee in middle school. You could say I came to admire her after a chance encounter during a medical volunteer event.

In high school, I deliberately attended her lectures and even took the subway to Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic’s Gangnam branch to receive treatment.

She seemed so impressive back then.

She treated my ankle sprain, which had been neglected for about six months due to lack of treatment, in one go. Her ability seemed so extraordinary.

Her concerned gaze and gentle smile left a lasting impression on me.

But now I’ve grown up.

I’ve acquired skills comparable to Choi Eunhee’s, and I’ve developed the discernment to recognize that her gentle smile isn’t entirely genuine.

‘Han Yeowon ‘young lady’, huh.’

Doctors generally address each other as “Director.” Even when Chief Directors address Deputy Directors, and didn’t Professor Lee Min-seok use honorifics even for students he taught?

So, to deliberately refer to me like I’m her son’s friend?

Her intention was transparent.

She wouldn’t acknowledge me as a fellow Korean medicine doctor or an equal competitor.

“I didn’t know you’d remember me as Haneul’s classmate. You must be very interested in your son’s friendships?”

I smirked as I countered Choi Eunhee’s words.

The current me wasn’t the type to get angry or hurt by such provocation.

“Well, no matter how busy I am, I should know about Yeowon.”

“What brings such a busy person all the way to Daegu? The bet between our branch director and Dr. Lee Han-sol ended yesterday. Is there something you’d like to say?”

“A bet?”

When I asked about the main point, Choi Eunhee feigned ignorance.

For a moment, I wondered if she was acting, but the very next instant, she fixed Lee Han-sol with an icy stare.

It seemed she really didn’t know.

“That… that’s nothing. More importantly, Director Choi, doesn’t the franchise contract state that if a branch director leaves, they can’t open a clinic within a certain distance?”

“Hmm?”

Lee Han-sol, under scrutiny, blurted out something irrelevant.

“That woman learned all of Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic’s techniques and maliciously opened a clinic right in front of ours! The head office needs to take strong measures!”

“I asked what the bet meant. What did you wager?”

But Choi Eunhee completely ignored Lee Han-sol’s words and inquired about the bet.

“Well, that…”

When Lee Han-sol couldn’t answer despite being given time…

“Dr. Park Jin-soo? Would you tell me?”

She called out the name of one of the two quiet Deputy Directors, the male one.

“Ah, well. Dr. Chu Mi-young from Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic confronted us about business interference and local cafe comments, then proposed a head-on competition. The loser would have to leave.”

He could have omitted the first part, but he conveyed the facts quite accurately.

Lee Han-sol’s expression turned grim, but Park Jin-soo trembled with a blank face.

“So that’s what happened. What did you bet on? Patient numbers?”

Choi Eunhee frowned as she looked at the roulette wheel and frying pans.

“Revenue.”

“Ah, I see. That’s why Yeowon and Chu Mi-young are here too.”

Choi Eunhee nodded, arms crossed.

“So, you lost to two people operating with one person at a time, while you had three people running two at a time.”

She looked at Lee Han-sol and the two Deputy Directors one by one.

The three flinched each time Choi Eunhee’s gaze fell on them.

“And after all that, you bring up the contract and ask me for help? Interesting.”

“……”

Lee Han-sol quietly lowered his eyes.

“Unfortunately, it’s difficult to argue based on that. While there is a clause prohibiting Deputy Directors from opening a clinic within a 10km radius for 3 years after resignation, there’s no clause regarding reopening after franchise termination. Of course, we prohibit the use of our advertisements or products.”

“But, but still…”

“And the contract has this clause: If a franchise branch director significantly damages the brand value of the head office through gross negligence, causing a boycott or comparable revenue damage, the contract will be terminated, and legal responsibility will be borne.”

Choi Eunhee calmly recited the contract clause.

Lee Han-sol suddenly raised his head at the word ‘termination’.

“Surely not.”

“If you search for Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic on the internet now, it’s all about Dr. Lee Han-sol. You wouldn’t argue that this isn’t gross negligence, would you?”

Was she going to cut him loose?

“I, I, I…!”

Thud. Choi Eunhee placed her hand on Lee Han-sol’s shoulder.

“The franchise contract will be terminated as of today. Since it’s come to this, let’s gracefully accept the outcome. You can’t do business here anymore anyway, right? Write an apology, lay low for a while, and then move to another area. Ah, of course, I won’t make you write the apology yourself. Our PR department will write and post it, so just hand over your various IDs.”

“……”

Although Lee Han-sol didn’t say a word, Choi Eunhee decided his fate as she pleased.

After saying everything she wanted to, she turned to look at me.

“I came to notify about that part, …and to see your face. A bet, how bold.”

I hadn’t exactly proposed the savage challenge, but I didn’t bother to explain.

In fact, there wasn’t time to.

Choi Eunhee once again flashed a bright smile and…

“Well then, see you again. Han Yeowon.”

With that, she left the clinic.

She didn’t even acknowledge the greetings from Chu Mi-young or Lee Han-sol.

Saying “see you again” specifically to me… I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time we’d clash like this.

“What an amusing person.”

I was the first to break the silence that fell over the clinic after she left.

“Wow, that was scary.”

Chu Mi-young clutched her chest and leaned on me.

The male Deputy Director on their side seemed to want to confide something to the female Deputy Director, but she wasn’t receptive at all.

To lose your job because your workplace collapsed like this. At least they’d get unemployment benefits, right?

Both their careers had taken an interesting turn. If they write “Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic Daegu Branch” on their resumes, everyone will know exactly who they are.

I turned my attention away from them and delivered an ultimatum to Lee Han-sol.

“You’ll close down, right? I’ll give you a month to handle it.”

“……”

“The news has spread throughout the Korean medicine community, so you won’t be able to sell it as a Korean medicine clinic. I recommend selling the equipment cheaply and transferring the space to someone in a different industry.”

“……”

“Why can’t you answer? Still can’t accept it?”

As I waved the monthly settlement statement and pressed for an answer once more…

“…I understand.”

Lee Han-sol finally gave a nod of acknowledgment.

A complete declaration of surrender. It was the end of a month-long war.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Dr. Han, thank you so much for all your hard work!”

Chu Mi-young hugged me with tears in her eyes as I was about to return to Busan after finishing consultations.

Whew! I felt great too. A savage knockout victory!

Lee Han-sol was completely beaten down, and both the Busan and Daegu branches of Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic were bustling with patients.

“You worked hard too, Dr. Chu! We’ve cleared away all the obstacles, so there’s nothing to worry about now!”

“Ah, really. Just thinking about when that Solomon’s seal tea villain first appeared makes me shudder. It’s finally disappearing before our eyes! Truly, I don’t know how I can ever repay you for this kindness, Director!”

Oh come on, it’s not such a big deal.

I was naturally taking my share of the work I did, and 10% of Chu Mi-young’s revenue, so there was no need to talk about repaying kindness.

I simply patted Chu Mi-young on the back, saying she had worked hard and done well.

“Now I need to spend about a month handing over and wrapping things up with the patients who come to see me. It’ll be busy transferring everything to that junior I mentioned before.”

“Yes! Even after you leave, we need to settle into the seven-day system well!”

Once the handover is complete and I return to working four days a week, I should have quite a bit of free time, right?

I’ve saved up a bit more investment money than I initially planned… It might be a good time to start the external herbal decoction business soon.

I had postponed it because it didn’t make financial sense to create a separate decoction room just for three branches.

With all the recent attention, questions about how to join the Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic network have been popping up occasionally on the Korean medicine doctor community.

Of course, judging by the lack of direct inquiries, it seemed like idle talk.

I didn’t have any immediate plans to significantly increase the number of branches either.

‘It’s not like I’ll die if I don’t create 10 franchise branches, so why rush?’

I’ll think about business expansion slowly…

“I’m here~”

“Good morning, Director! We have many waiting patients today too!”

For now, I need to focus on strengthening our foundation.

After wrapping up work and heading to Busan the next day, there were still many patients, and the staff looked quite exhausted.

It was understandable, as they had been working more than twice as hard as usual.

‘Hmm, at times like this, it’s got to be drinks! A celebratory dinner?’

I wanted to throw a party, inviting all the branch directors and staff, even Yoon Han-byeol who had helped, to celebrate our success.

But even getting four Korean medicine doctors together in one place was limited to video conferences.

Even if we tried to gather just our Busan staff…

“Isn’t there a KakaoTalk notification for waiting numbers? How many appointments do we have for the afternoon?”

“There are fourteen people ahead. You should be able to see them in about an hour and a half!”

I could see HP bars above the heads of the staff members trying their best to respond cheerfully. Their stamina had fallen below 20%.

In this situation, a company dinner risked having the opposite effect.

I decided to give special bonuses to the staff who had worked so hard.

“Kyaa! Director! I love you!”

Even before adding the word ‘special’, our clinic’s employment contract had quite diverse incentive clauses.

Of course, there were allowances for extended hours and such, and incentives based on patient numbers and revenue percentages, so all staff members were already receiving bonuses almost equal to their monthly salaries this month.

On top of that, I gave each person an additional 1 million won as a special bonus. In cash.

“Oh my, thank you so much!”

“Director, is it really okay for us to accept this?”

Seo In-ae and Gong Na-ri openly showed their joy, while Jin Min-jung and Hwang Sang-hoon awkwardly accepted the envelopes. Seol Yu-hee bit her lip, not knowing what to do.

“Of course. We had record-breaking revenue and patient numbers. Everyone worked really hard.”

“I pledge my loyalty.”

Seo In-ae playfully gave a salute.

“Yu-hee-ssi, were you okay? It must have been hectic with so many patients this time.”

After finishing the bonus distribution, I asked Seol Yu-hee.

Gong Na-ri and Jin Min-jung were hired for their martial arts potential from the start, and while Seo In-ae had an average physique, her mental strength was EX-rank.

But I had been worried about Seol Yu-hee, who had a weak body, though I hadn’t been able to look after her properly due to being so busy.

“Of course! I’ve become so much healthier from your treatments, Director! I didn’t collapse even once despite working like this!”

Seol Yu-hee rolled up her uniform sleeve to show off her muscles.

…Though there wasn’t much to show, of course.

Even with good medicine and PT, it’s not easy to train a body with Nine Yin Meridian Severance.

“That’s good to hear. Let’s have a consultation tomorrow, and I’ll prescribe your next medicine.”

“Yes!”

Seol Yu-hee beamed as she bowed to me, and Seo In-ae and Gong Na-ri also looked very happy, clutching their envelopes to their chests.

“Um, Director.”

Just then, Jin Min-jung, who had been quietly listening to my conversation with Seol Yu-hee, suddenly spoke up.

“Yes, what is it?”

“I was wondering if you could take a look at my son too?”