The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

By the end of business hours that day, Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic’s Busan branch had no patients.

When they first opened, they used to have at least 10 new patients a day, but now it had dwindled to just one or two. Moreover, the few returning patients with appointments had canceled at the last minute.

Chu Miyoung gritted her teeth as she left work.

Nevertheless, thanks to having plenty of time, Chu Miyoung had gathered quite a bit of information about Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic.

First, the change in directors had occurred just a few months ago.

The previous director of Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic, as Chu Miyoung knew, was an elderly man who had once practiced in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, before moving to Busan to follow his children. He had been running the clinic in a lackadaisical manner, almost as if retired.

At first, even with such an approach, business might have been decent.

But over the course of 10 years, as Korean medicine clinics sprouted up like mushrooms near the station, Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic had nearly fallen into the red, and he had sold the clinic for a pittance.

To a naive female Korean medicine doctor in her twenties who had no idea how to choose a location.

“Han Yeowon… What’s her deal?”

While the previous director occasionally posted on Korean medicine community forums, Han Yeowon herself showed no such activity.

The only information available through portal searches was an ancient local news article about her overcoming a disadvantaged background to enter university on a scholarship.

There was no trace of her activities as a Korean medicine doctor or any advertisements on blogs, Instagram, or anywhere else.

She hadn’t even posted a photo or an impressive career history on the official blog, which said it all.

Isn’t she just a typical new graduate who opened a practice with nothing but guts and a loan? She might have been a good student to graduate at the top of her class, but real patients are completely different from textbooks.

“She doesn’t seem that different from me.”

Was it just a coincidence that the medicine worked well?

If so, there wasn’t much to worry about.

[Go to Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic! I got postpartum herbal medicine there, and all the pain in my fingers and toes completely disappeared.]

[My migraine that won’t go away with anything else was cured after four acupuncture sessions at Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic.]

[I don’t know why I didn’t know about this place earlier. My son had been complaining about ankle pain for years, and other places said it was growing pains with no solution. But here, they did some chuna manipulation, stepped on it somehow, and it got better right away with a pop! Can you believe it?]

It seems she’s working the mom cafes directly instead of properly advertising and disclosing paid promotions.

This kind of thing, if exposed as manipulation, can backfire several times over.

If she wrote a few posts using the cafe IDs she had purchased in advance, saying she went based on recommendations but saw no effect, others would likely chime in with similar testimonials.

Monday morning.

Chu Miyoung went to Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic right at opening time.

While it was good to have the opportunity to spy by opening early, she couldn’t understand why they opened at 7 AM.

Who would come at such an early hour unless they had a specific purpose like her?

“Hello~.”

After taking a picture of the sign to prove she had been there, Chu Miyoung opened the door and entered the clinic.

“Gasp!”

But as soon as she entered the waiting room, she covered her gaping mouth in shock.

Because many patients had been waiting since 6:50 AM?

That was partly true. While her clinic barely saw 10 patients all day recently, this clinic had 5 people waiting from early morning.

‘Why now of all times!’

But there was someone who surprised Chu Miyoung even more.

It was Jung In-sung, looking at a workbook in one corner of the waiting room.

“May I help you with registration? Is this your first visit?”

“I-I need to use the restroom urgently! Just a moment!”

Chu Miyoung hurriedly hid in the women’s restroom. She was well aware that her face was quite memorable.

Good heavens, she couldn’t create the embarrassing scene of running into a patient she failed to treat while spying on another clinic!

She could avoid being caught if she left after that patient entered the treatment room, but there was a chance their paths might cross.

Something to hide her face…

Fortunately, there were quite a few masks rolling around in her bag. Moreover, though she couldn’t remember when she had put it there, there was a pair of sunglasses she had received as a sponsorship when she was an influencer.

“Perfect!”

It might look a bit over the top, but this should completely cover her face. Chu Miyoung was quite satisfied as she looked in the mirror.

“Hey! Are you building a mountain of poop in there? How long are you going to hog it to yourself?”

“S-sorry~.”

…There was only one stall in the women’s restroom.

Chu Miyoung apologized to the grandma in a shrill voice as she exited the restroom.

‘Let’s see just how great you are!’

◆◇◆◇◆

As soon as I arrived at work, I went to the treatment room to check on Chae Ri-ra’s condition, who had been the first to register and was waiting.

Although I had only briefly treated her after reducing the subluxation that day, thanks to the appropriately infused energy, she was as good as new, as if she had never been injured.

“Fortunately, there’s no problem at all. I’ll treat you right away. You need to leave soon, right?”

“Yes, Doctor! Thank you!”

The preliminaries had ended with the game I watched on Saturday, but the semi-finals were today and the finals tomorrow.

“Fighting for today too!”

I quickly inserted needles in the same spots as during halftime and returned to the consultation room.

I can’t watch the weekday games, but I’ll do my best to treat her well here and cheer her on in spirit.

“Everyone else is getting physical therapy and… Hm?”

“Chu Miyoung-nim, I’ll show you to the consultation room.”

In the brief moment I was treating Chae Ri-ra, a new patient had registered.

Chu Miyoung? That name sounds familiar.

Before I could recall the owner of that name, the consultation room door opened.

“Ah! …Hello!”

Sunglasses and a mask.

An appearance that screamed “I’m suspicious!” to anyone who saw it.

It was the director of Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic’s Busan branch, whom I had spied on not long ago.

‘Ugh, did I go to Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic looking like this?’

My face suddenly felt hot as the mirror treatment took effect.

“Hello?”

Contrary to my thoughts, Chu Miyoung greeted me very cheerfully.

I too, pretending not to know anything, calmly began the consultation.

“What brings you here today?”

“My temporomandibular joint.”

TMJ, hmm. Not an easy area to treat.

Is she trying to see how I treat it?

“How long has it been bothering you?”

“A little over a year. I think it’s been getting worse with stress.”

Though it was hard to see because of the mask, her jaw tilted slightly to the left when she opened her mouth.

It didn’t seem to be 100% feigned illness, unlike when I had visited her clinic.

“Since it’s been over a year, have you received any other treatments?”

“Ah, yes. I was treated at Shinchin Korean Medicine Clinic in front of the station for a while, but it’s not getting better.”

Shinchin Korean Medicine Clinic? If it’s that place, I caught a glimpse of it when I went to check out Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic last time.

It was also right by the station, facing Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic’s Busan branch across the main road.

‘She probably didn’t actually receive treatment there, so why mention it?’

She might have simply mentioned another hospital’s name to imply it was difficult to treat, but the tremor in her voice was suspicious.

I looked at her hands habitually while typing her words.

‘Master always said to watch the hands, even when not in combat…’

There had been times when patients suddenly changed behavior when I was running the clinic alone.

After taking refuge with the Sichuan Tang Family, I thought there would be no threats, but I was still affected by the grudges held against my master, who had many enemies.

Even so, most patients in modern South Korea usually rest their hands on the desk or their knees, fidgeting.

‘Hm?’

Chu Miyoung had her hands in her jacket pockets, tightly gripping her phone.

This alone wouldn’t be too strange, but wasn’t she flipping the phone over and sticking the speaker part out of her pocket?

‘Is she recording?’

What an interesting thing to do.

What’s the point of recording? Was she planning to sow discord if I said something unfavorable about Shinchin Korean Medicine Clinic? It’s not like I know the people there anyway.

“Ah, I see. TMJ issues are a kind of systemic condition, so effects don’t appear in a short time. Let’s take a look at your condition. Take off your mask and lie down on the bed.”

In Jung In-sung’s case, I had to ramble on because his mother had thrust the herbal medicine at me, but usually, I don’t comment much on other clinics’ diagnoses.

Moreover, having clearly recognized this as a sort of trap, I was quite sparing with my words.

“…Okay.”

Chu Miyoung’s eyes wavered behind her sunglasses. Whatever made her so anxious and tense, she gritted her teeth and stared at me.

“Open your mouth, please.”

I placed my hand on the area where the temporomandibular joint opens and instructed her to open her mouth.

Click. Click.

Every time she opened her mouth just over 70%, there was a clicking sound.

There was definitely a problem.

I checked everything from the mandible and temporal bone that form the TMJ, to the connected ligaments and tendons, the dental occlusion pattern, and even the alignment of the cervical vertebrae.

Then I made my diagnosis.

“Your congenital malocclusion isn’t severe, but do you have a habit of clenching or grinding your teeth when stressed?”

Hadn’t she been clenching her teeth just moments ago?

“As a result, inflammation has developed due to overuse… and the disc has slightly prolapsed forward.”

“You mean a jaw disc?”

“Yes. When the disc is prolapsed forward like this, every time you close your mouth, it returns to its place, causing that clicking sound.”

This is definitely not a symptom that developed in just a day or two.

She said it had been a year, but that’s probably when the sound or pain started; the problem likely began much earlier.

If treatment had started when there was only inflammation, it would have improved with just a few acupuncture sessions, but if the disc has moved and caused structural changes, it’s quite tricky. She probably couldn’t fix it herself and left it untreated.

“So what should we do?”

Normally, I would have started by slowly reducing inflammation and relaxing muscles with acupuncture.

Of course, we should start by slowly reducing inflammation and relaxing muscles through acupuncture treatment. Even if we did chuna manipulation, I would have approached it gently.

‘Should I surprise her a little?’

But suspecting Chu Miyoung had some sort of ulterior motive, I was rather drawn to a more aggressive treatment.

I grinned as I took out disposable gloves.

“I’m going to use chuna to realign your TMJ and the second cervical vertebra. Temporarily, the clicking sound will stop as everything returns to its proper place, but if you continue your usual habits, it will quickly return, so you’ll need to continue treatment.”

“You can fix it right away?”

Chu Miyoung looked up at me with eyes full of doubt.

Tut-tut, don’t be so skeptical.

Thanks to the murim practitioners who fight day in and day out, there isn’t a bone I haven’t realigned from head to toe.

“Yes. You might be startled by the correction sound. It won’t hurt much.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than I inserted my thumb into Chu Miyoung’s mouth.

“Ugh!”

I opened the closed temporomandibular joint and simultaneously pressed to release the overtensed muscles.

Then, with my fingers on the misaligned second cervical vertebra, I had Chu Miyoung tilt her head back, and while pushing her head with my left hand, I applied a side bending force.

It was time to straighten the twisted neck.

Crack.

In an instant, the adhesions in the soft tissue released, and the misaligned second cervical vertebra returned to its proper position.

“Let’s sit up.”

It took less than 10 seconds.

I raised Chu Miyoung, who had been lying on the bed, and had her open her mouth again.

“Try opening your mouth. It should feel much more comfortable.”

Chu Miyoung blinked and cautiously opened her mouth.

After all, her jaw had been quite painful at a specific point where the sound always occurred if she wasn’t careful.

“Ah~.”

But the condition of her jaw was completely different from just moments ago.

“Ah-. Ah? Ah!”

“How does it feel? Is there any catching?”

Her eyes had been full of doubt before the treatment, but now her face showed astonishment.

“H-How come there’s no sound?”

Suddenly freed from the persistent mild pain she had endured for so long, she opened her mouth wide without any hindrance.