The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

The day before Myung Jun-sik visited the Korean medicine clinic.

“Manager, are you feeling unwell?”

A subordinate from the adjacent desk addressed him as he diligently worked at the company.

He was working while cradling his lower abdomen, suffering from pain in an unspeakable area.

Though the pain wasn’t excruciating, he found some relief by hunching over, which had apparently sparked concern among his colleagues.

“I’m fine. It’s just… my daughter insisted on eating malatang yesterday. I must have an upset stomach.”

While he was on relatively good terms with the inquiring employee, there were many female colleagues he wasn’t close with sitting right behind him. Unable to name the actual area of pain, he made up an excuse.

No, in truth, it wasn’t a matter of gender or closeness. Isn’t it a body part prone to misunderstandings, regardless of who you tell?

Even his wife had been alarmed when he mentioned his testicles hurting.

“What have you been up to? Our daughter is in high school!”

Recalling his wife’s tearful shout still made him want to cry.

At first, he couldn’t understand why she was angry. He thought he would be worried if his wife were in pain.

“What are you talking about? What could I have done? It just started hurting suddenly…”

“Oh, woe is me. How could you do this? How could you! When have I ever disappointed you? I’ve lived only for you and our daughter. When have I ever mistreated you! How could you get such a disease…! Who have you been fooling around with?”

“Absolutely not!”

His wife had suspected, no, was convinced of infidelity and a sexually transmitted disease.

Good heavens. For over 20 years since their youngest daughter was born, he had barely had any sexual relations, even with his wife.

Even until his 40s, he occasionally masturbated, but now it hardly even got erect, so he didn’t even do that anymore. What on earth was she suspecting him of? Never in his life had he felt so wrongly accused.

After barely managing to persuade his wife, who was in a frenzy about contacting lawyers and staying at her parents’ house, he went to the urologist.

He had even worried excessively, wondering if he might have actually contracted an STD from a public bathhouse or something, but fortunately, the test results came back clean.

“Such misunderstandings sometimes lead to unfortunate incidents, but there are many causes of testicular pain besides STDs. No STD pathogens were detected, so you can rest easy.”

“Ah…”

The urologist comforted Myung Jun-sik and soothed his wife.

He felt greatly relieved.

“The ultrasound doesn’t show any particular issues, and the inflammation levels aren’t very high. It seems to be epididymitis, which should improve with medication. Don’t worry too much.”

Myung Jun-sik diligently took the prescribed medicine.

After two weeks, the pain subsided.

He had been completely reassured. He thought it had ended as a minor incident, just as the doctor had said.

But soon after, the pain returned.

It was at a particularly inopportune time.

“Sob… Those bastards! After all I’ve done for the company! Let’s see how the project runs smoothly without me!”

“I know, right? What will our team do without you, sir…”

His closest colleague at work, who had been his mentor when he first joined the company, had been transferred to a provincial factory.

As the two were drowning their sorrows and anger with soju at a street food stall, that area started hurting as if possessed by a ghost.

Far from focusing on consoling his friend, he felt like he was going mad from the distraction of that area.

“Ugh… sir… sob…”

Tears welled up in his eyes. No, Myung Jun-sik outright wailed.

“I never knew you cared for me this much…”

He worried if he should go to a big hospital right away.

But the next day, it was fine again.

Was it just stress that had caused the pain?

While he was certainly saddened by what had happened to his close colleague, he was also under extreme stress, fearing for his own future as a perpetual manager.

Is it okay now, or not… Myung Jun-sik was preoccupied with that area all day long.

Though he rarely experienced such sudden stress as he had then, it started hurting again whenever he felt a little cold or something bothered him at work or home.

Now, even medication didn’t help.

While he never again experienced pain severe enough to bring tears to his eyes, he frequently felt discomfort akin to the urgency of needing the bathroom.

As he struggled to somehow reduce the pain, it had finally been noticed even at work.

“Does Manager Myung’s daughter like malatang too? My girls are always begging to go eat hot pot. I’m worried about their stomach health.”

“Haha… indeed. I wonder where such food came from.”

“Why? Malatang is delicious~ Do you both dislike spicy food?”

“It’s not that we dislike it, but at our age, our digestive abilities have declined so we can’t eat it.”

Moreover, it seemed he had chosen the wrong excuse.

As it happened to be lunchtime, his colleagues were engrossed in a conversation about malatang. Myung Jun-sik, lacking the energy to participate, tried to stand up. He would say he was going to the bathroom.

“Manager, if you often have stomach aches, you should try Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic upstairs!”

“A Korean medicine clinic?”

But just before he stood up, the colleague behind him brought up the topic of a Korean medicine clinic.

“Yes! They cured my indigestion from the last company dinner in one go, and my father’s irritable bowel syndrome of 40 years has almost completely healed after taking their herbal medicine.”

“Oh…”

Come to think of it, he used to visit Korean medicine clinics frequently in the past. Working a desk job and sitting for long hours often caused back pain. At some point, he had given up and stopped seeking treatment, but he remembered that acupuncture definitely helped alleviate his back pain.

“Ms. Cha, have you been to Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic too? I went there for wrist pain, and it got better right after getting acupuncture!”

“Is it that good? Maybe I should get a tonic for my mother too?”

“Oh~ Section Chief, you’re such a filial son~”

“I should take her there on the weekend.”

The colleague next to him was also intrigued by the younger employees’ conversation.

Perhaps this mysterious testicular pain could be treated too? Even if the pain just decreased a little, it would be fine. He wasn’t expecting much, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a consultation.

If he went on the weekend, he might run into Section Chief Jung. Besides, despite the STD being ruled out, his wife’s suspicions weren’t 100% cleared, so he didn’t really want to go out on the weekend anyway.

So Myung Jun-sik visited Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic early the next morning, before going to work.

◆◇◆◇◆

‘They didn’t mention a young female Korean medicine doctor!’

He had been quite embarrassed even when examined by a middle-aged male doctor at the urology clinic.

But now, not only was there a female doctor, but another person was standing behind her.

He managed to mention the area of pain with great difficulty. He felt like he would die of shame.

Should I leave now? There must be many Korean medicine clinics with male doctors.

They said this place was good, but…

The thought of having to lower his pants and show that area in front of two doctors made him break out in a cold sweat.

“I see. It must have been difficult to talk about. You made a good decision to seek treatment.”

“Yes…”

“I’ll treat you well. How long has it been?”

This is a disaster.

Myung Jun-sik squeezed his eyes shut. Having progressed this far in the conversation, he lacked the courage to say, “I can’t do this, I’m sorry,” and run away.

“It’s been almost three months since it first started hurting.”

He answered in a state of panic.

“That’s quite some time. There’s no external injury, right? Have you been to any other hospitals in the meantime?”

“Yes. I’ve never been injured. I had an STD test at a urology clinic, and they said it was definitely not that.”

“Any other tests or treatments?”

His face flushed. The doctor wasn’t asking about STDs, but wouldn’t he look guilty by bringing it up?

“Ah… I had a urine test, blood test, and ultrasound. They said the inflammation levels weren’t high, but it could be orchitis? Or epididymitis? It got better at first when I took medicine, but now it comes and goes even when I take it.”

Fortunately or unfortunately, no emotion could be read on the doctor’s face. She asked a few more questions in a rather mechanical manner while maintaining a faint smile. It seemed she was being considerate of him.

“When you look at it, are there any protruding veins or can you feel any?”

“Not particularly. It looks no different from before on the outside.”

“So it’s not varicocele. If you haven’t been injured, it’s probably not a rupture either. If it were testicular torsion, you’d have difficulty even walking in here… Let’s have you lie face down over there.”

So I have to show it after all.

Myung Jun-sik took the short walk to the bed, feeling like he was being led to a slaughterhouse.

Even though she was a doctor and he was a patient, his hands trembled as he tried to lower his pants.

“Hup.”

Just as he had finally steeled himself.

“You don’t need to lower your clothes.”

A voice like salvation reached his ears.

“Ah, really?”

Color returned to Myung Jun-sik’s face and voice.

“Yes. It’s probably not an issue with the testicles themselves. Just take off your shoes, get on the bed, and lie face down comfortably.”

Not a testicle problem? So I don’t have to show it?

He blinked and did as he was told, lying face down.

Soon, the Korean medicine doctor’s hand touched his back.

“I’m going to press on your spine. I’ll only palpate your back, so don’t worry, and let me know if it hurts.”

He didn’t mind her pressing his back as much as she wanted.

Myung Jun-sik nodded and answered.

“Okay. I understa– Urgh!”

However, the pain when she pressed was more intense than he had imagined. What’s more, even though she only pressed his back, he felt a tingling sensation all the way to his testicles.

“Oh, that’s the spot!”

“Did you feel a tingling or electric sensation?”

“Yes!”

“As I thought, a nerve is being compressed in your back.”

“Ah?”

Starting from the spine, pressure was applied to the surrounding muscles. Some areas felt refreshing, while others were extremely painful.

“Ow, that hurts there!”

“Yes. Your quadratus lumborum is also very tense… You’ve had back problems for a while, haven’t you?”

“For a long time. It’s been over 10 years.”

“You should have treated this properly. The back problem has now extended to testicular pain.”

The back was the problem?

“Isn’t back pain normal at this age?”

“It is to some extent, but it gets worse if left untreated, so you need to manage it well. Both your back pain and testicular pain get worse when you sit for long periods or when it’s cold, right?”

“Yes. It’s especially painful when I’m sitting at work.”

“When you stay in the same position for a long time, muscles stiffen and nerve compression worsens. You know where the spinal cord is, right?”

“Inside the spine, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. From there, spinal nerves branch out and extend throughout the body. But when your back stiffens, it gets pinched in the middle. A herniated disc can also compress nerves, but your symptoms aren’t typical of that.”

“Ah…”

He vaguely recalled a human body diagram from who knows when he had learned it. It made sense, as he sometimes experienced numbness in his legs along with back pain.

“We definitely need to treat your back. If you’re comfortable with it, acupuncture on the sensitized inguinal area would also help. You don’t need acupuncture directly on the testicles, so don’t worry.”

“Ah… that’s a relief.”

Myung Jun-sik was greatly relieved by the subsequent explanation of the treatment. Although he hadn’t really thought so, if he had to get acupuncture there, he would have run away immediately.

“We’ll do acupuncture like that, and if you’re very uncomfortable right now, we can also do Chuna to open up your back.”

“Ah, yes. Is that pressing and loosening like you just did?”

“That’s part of it. You need more muscle tension relief, and we’ll also correct your pelvis and spine.”

Even though she had only pressed a few times for diagnostic purposes, he already felt a bit better.

If she pressed a bit harder and his pelvis was put back in place, wouldn’t it feel even more comfortable?

“Yes. My posture isn’t good anyway, so please take care of it.”

Myung Jun-sik nodded willingly.

“…Huh?”

And the very next moment.

He regretted his decision.