The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

I’ve seen quite a few patients with Bell’s palsy, or facial nerve paralysis.

While its prevalence isn’t particularly high, it’s immediately noticeable and affects the face, creating an urgent need for treatment.

One might ignore a slightly sore back, hoping it’ll get better on its own, but who would leave their mouth immobile and eye unable to close?

Almost all patients seek medical help immediately and try every available treatment.

This holds true both now and in the past.

People talk about modern society’s obsession with appearance, but the past was no less concerned.

Wasn’t appearance anked first among the four criteria for selecting talented individuals: appearance, speech, writing, and judgment?

Consequently, I’ve encountered and successfully treated many facial paralysis patients seeking care from the best physicians.

My reputation grew with each success.

Most facial paralysis cases are Bell’s palsy, and over 90% of these cases fully recover within six months.

Of course, some cases don’t fully heal and leave lasting effects.

These are cases where initial treatment was inadequate, or despite proper treatment, they were simply unlucky.

“Divine Physician, please! Isn’t there any way?”

As soon as I saw Chae Seong-gye, I recalled a young man.

A collateral descendant of the prestigious Peng family of Hebei who had passed the imperial examination in literature.

On the brink of starting his official career, he was struck with facial paralysis and tearfully searched for renowned physicians.

Ah, “tearfully” isn’t a metaphor here. His eye couldn’t close properly, so tears literally wouldn’t stop.

That fellow had wanted to meet me from the start and asked his family to make connections, but due to subtle power struggles between the great families at the time, the request never reached the Sichuan Tang family, and he missed the optimal treatment window.

If he had just come directly, I would have seen him immediately.

“It’s been almost a year…”

Since there were far fewer official positions than successful examination candidates anyway, delaying his entry into office due to illness wasn’t difficult.

He said he would stay in Sichuan to focus on treatment, and I searched for various treatment methods.

Initially, I used acupuncture, but recovery was slow.

Medicines to expel wind were useless after so much time had passed, and while I managed to help his eye close by relaxing the muscles.

But his twisted face stubbornly refused to return to normal.

I asked my master if there was any solution, but…

“Well, I’m not sure. Couldn’t you separate and reattach it like in bone-setting?”

…Isn’t that torture technique?

Naturally, I rejected that idea.

After considering various options, I thought of a treatment method I’d learned in modern times called thread embedding therapy.

‘The condition is quite similar to back then.’

The treatment goal of balancing the unbalanced facial muscles was the same.

Since his face looked normal when not moving, it was less twisted than the Peng family youth’s.

But it had been going on for much longer.

“Your sense of taste, smell, and touch are all normal, right?”

“That’s correct.”

All sensory nerves were fine.

“Open your mouth as wide as you can, say ‘Ah’.”

“Ah.”

“Ee.”

“Ee.”

After closely examining his motor nerve control and muscle condition, I found no completely misconnected areas.

“Fortunately, the nerve recovery itself is complete. The problem is that the muscles have stiffened in a twisted state and need readjustment.”

“I see.”

“Here, we’ll loosen the stiffened masseter muscle and area around the mouth with acupuncture and pharmacopuncture, and then use thread embedding to lift the sagging cheek muscle and jaw. With consistent treatment, we can balance it out.”

Chae Seong-gye’s left eye widened at my words.

Sadly, his right side only resulted in a grotesquely twisted forehead wrinkle.

“What is thread embedding?”

Chae Seong-gye asked.

“This is a thread-embedding needle. We attach a dissolving thread to the needle, then remove the needle while leaving the thread in place. It has the effect of continuously stimulating acupuncture points, but in this case, we’ll use it for lifting by supporting muscle fibers.”

“Ah, Dad! Didn’t Aunt get thread lifting done too? Because her jaw was sagging!”

While I mainly use it for pain treatment or supporting weakened muscles, as Chae Ri-ra mentioned, it’s also widely used on the face in Korean medicine clinics specializing in aesthetics. It’s even called “thread lifting.”

This was possible because it could increase skin regeneration and enhance elasticity.

“That’s right. It’s a similar principle.”

At first, I was skeptical about whether thread embedding therapy would be possible in Murim.

Making and inserting threads wouldn’t be difficult, but… how to make dissolving threads? And sterilization?

I didn’t have physics or chemistry knowledge beyond high school level.

But even if I couldn’t do it, the Tang family’s craftsmen could.

I merely provided the idea that dissolving threads were made from cow or sheep intestines in my former country.

The craftsmen, their competitive spirit ignited, quickly produced dissolving threads.

“Hahaha! How could the Tang family, who make formless poisons, fail to make mere threads?”

Even in such poor conditions, I, no, the Tang family craftsmen and I, succeeded.

“Thank you so much! Now I can hold my head high and enter the imperial court without shame. Ha ha ha!”

How refreshing the young man’s face looked as he laughed heartily.

My master waved his hand, telling me to send him away quickly, but I felt immensely proud.

“Will this treatment really cure this?”

Chae Seong-gye spoke. As he opened his mouth, his twisted face became even more noticeable, in contrast to his earlier efforts to minimize speech and maintain a solemn expression.

Of course, it won’t be easy.

While thread embedding can strengthen and support muscles, it doesn’t automatically balance the left and right sides.

If both sides were sagging due to aging, we could simply lift them symmetrically with bilateral needle insertion, but achieving balance by making the left side match the right is extremely challenging.

We’ll need to make fine adjustments using various lengths of threads.

“It’s hard to say it will be ‘cured.’ Achieving 100% symmetry is difficult. But I have managed to balance faces to 80-90% where the difference is not noticeable to the naked eye.”

“Ah!”

“Of course, the treatment period takes some time. You’ll need to consistently come for about six months. At first, you’ll feel changes, then there will be a plateau period. You’ll need patience during that time.”

Still, I was quite confident.

Having trained to finely control muscle fibers with inner energy even when throwing flying daggers, I could clearly see the problematic areas.

Given enough time, I could align almost everything except for areas where muscle function had irreversibly deteriorated.

“After living like this for 30 years, six months of treatment isn’t difficult.”

Chae Seong-gye said, touching the right side of his face.

His touching hand trembled slightly, suggesting a great deal of pent-up emotion, even if it didn’t show on his face.

“You must have been under a lot of stress all this time.”

“Hah… there’s no use complaining about it.”

Chae Seong-gye tilted his head back for a moment, reminiscing about the past.

“I was devastated when I failed what I thought would be my last attempt at the civil service exam, but what could I do? If I wanted to live, I had to find a job. Back then, honestly, it wasn’t that hard for college graduates to get employed. But with my face in this state, whenever I said anything in interviews, the interviewers would flinch. I still remember it vividly.”

“Dad…”

“Even when I proposed projects with my ideas, I couldn’t get near executive positions, let alone attend meetings with external personnel. Sigh, it was only when I reached a certain rank that they started calling me dignified for not speaking much.”

So that’s why he was so taciturn at first.

Chae Seong-gye continued, firmly pressing the masseter muscle I had pointed out earlier.

“You can’t imagine how much I regretted it. What was the point of looking at the sea, why did I go to Incheon that day? No, why did I even study for the civil service exam in the first place! At the very least, I should have sought treatment right away, instead of becoming a useless philosopher cooped up at home, unable to even die properly…”

“Dad, did you even consider suicide?”

“That’s ancient history. Everyone who fails the exam thinks about it at least once.”

Even Chae Ri-ra, hearing this part of the story for the first time, had tears welling up in her eyes.

Though I had only heard a brief account, it was enough to imagine the arduous life caused by facial paralysis sequelae.

I must treat him successfully, to show Chae Ri-ra her father’s brightly smiling face.

“So the treatment is just with acupuncture and this thread embedding? No medicine to take?”

“That’s right. It’s unnecessary for the purpose of shortening and balancing facial muscles. If you wish, I could prescribe something to promote recovery in a supplementary sense, but it’s not essential.”

“…I see.”

Chae Seong-gye twitched his left eye again and nodded.

“Do we start the treatment right away today?”

“Yes. We’ll do thread embedding once every two weeks starting today, and for acupuncture, the more frequent the better. Come at least twice a week.”

“Understood. I’ll come on the days you’re working, Director.”

“Great. Let’s head to the treatment room.”

◆◇◆◇◆

The daughter who had entered the consultation room together went to the waiting area, and Chae Seong-gye was guided to the innermost bed in the treatment room.

As treatments had backed up while I was consulting with Chae Seong-gye, he waited briefly with a hot compress while I inserted needles for a few other patients.

“Nurse~ Please bring one barbed thread and four regular 38mm threads!”

Unlike the others who received immediate acupuncture treatment, when it was Chae Seong-gye’s turn, I requested thread embedding materials from the staff.

But barbed thread?

There was no mention of that earlier. Didn’t I just say thread embedding?

Seeing his questioning look, I showed him two types of threads and explained.

“There are several types of thread embedding, and this one has barbs on the thread. It’s more effective for lifting.”

“…?!”

The 3cm thread I had shown in the consultation room was the regular type. The barbed one was more than twice as long, and true to its name… it really had barbs on the thread.

“You’re going to put this in my face?”

To be honest, I was scared.

Of course, I’d do it even if it hurt, but how could they insert something so long and terrifying-looking?

Shouldn’t they at least use anesthesia?

“Yes. It’ll be over quickly. Just a moment, this will be cold.”

I nodded and applied something to his face.

“Is it anesthetic cream?”

“It’s povidone, a disinfectant.”

Ah, the red medicine…

My hope for anesthesia was dashed.

“I’m going to insert it now. Relax your face.”

Before I could mentally prepare myself, a long needle pierced my face.

“…!”

Thread? This is supposed to be thread? Well, they did say it would be inserted with a needle.

With slight exaggeration, it felt like a vine covered in thorns was piercing through my face.

It felt like everything – muscles and all – was being crushed, but I couldn’t even scream for fear of something going wrong if I opened my mouth.

“…!”

“The barbed thread is done.”

I wiped away the blood.

What felt like an eternity had passed in an instant, and cold sweat was running down Chae Seong-gye’s face.

Compared to the first one, the regular thread embedding was a walk in the park.

It made me wince slightly, but it wasn’t unbearable.

“Now I’ll proceed with acupuncture.”

I inserted needles very densely, focusing on the areas I had identified as stiff.

This was more tolerable, as I had experienced it during previous treatment attempts.

“We’ll leave these in for 20 minutes. If it gets too uncomfortable, press the button!”

Then electrodes were connected to the inserted needles, and the electrical stimulation began.

Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.

The Korean medicine clinic I went to before didn’t set it this strong.

Is this really okay? Did I make the right choice coming here?

Of course, I trust my daughter, and her senior Kim Yi-jin too, but…

It felt like my face was being torn apart and reassembled.

But time passed, and after 20 minutes, I was released.

Of course, my jaw was still tingling.

“Did you wait long?”

As Chae Seong-gye came out, Chae Ri-ra, who had been looking at her phone, looked up.

“Oh? Dad.”

“Hmm?”

She jumped up, dropping the phone she was holding.

“Your face!”