The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

Exactly two weeks after his initial visit, Myung Jun-sik said he wanted to get a prescription.

One of my predictions was correct, and one was wrong.

“Doctor, how do you know even things I haven’t mentioned? I never imagined my erectile dysfunction would suddenly improve!”

What I had guessed correctly was that he had erectile dysfunction and that his recovery from it would lead to a need for medication.

“It’s all connected. Since the treatment direction is the same, it naturally improves.”

“Thank you so much. Thanks to you, I can now stand tall both at work and at home.”

“Ahaha…”

“Honey!”

What I had gotten wrong was who would be taking the medicine.

“So I wanted to get some tonic medicine for my wife too, that’s why I brought her along.”

“I told you to take it yourself, really…”

“I’ll take it too. When I get my performance bonus after this project goes well. Ah, because my back got better, I’ve been able to work hard, and things at work are going very well.”

“That’s really something to celebrate.”

Myung Jun-sik asked for a tonic prescription for his wife, saying he hadn’t appreciated how much she had been suffering. He had resented her for not understanding his pain and suspecting him, but as it turned out, his wife had been hurting just as much as he had.

Indeed, when I examined his wife, she showed strong symptoms of hwa-byung (anger syndrome), and her metabolism was out of balance.

“Let’s do as you suggested. We’ll prescribe the tonic for your wife first, and Myung Jun-sik-nim, you continue with the Yukmijihwang insurance medication for now. When you can afford it, it would be good to switch to a deer antler tonic. This is just my recommendation as a Korean medicine doctor, the choice is ultimately up to the patient.”

“Yes, thank you!”

The couple made their payment with satisfaction and left hand in hand.

“Wow… When I first saw him, I thought he was someone living in fear, but he’s actually quite sweet, isn’t he?”

“Indeed.”

Chu Mi-young and I smiled contentedly as we watched their retreating figures.

Truly, it was immensely satisfying to see a family find peace.

Today, Myung Jun-sik only got a prescription for his wife, but other patients were waiting for me.

I went around the treatment room inserting acupuncture needles, and Chu Mi-young followed me, constantly taking notes.

From seemingly meaningless comments to acupuncture point locations.

We’d need some unusual patients to come in for me to show her something different, but since Myung Jun-sik, similar patients had been lining up on the days Chu Mi-young observed.

People with stiff necks, tweaked backs, or knee arthritis.

By now, she should be familiar with treating common musculoskeletal patients, so I had her practice Chuna techniques while showing her how I treated them.

“Yu-hee-ssi, could I borrow your back for a moment?”

“What?! Oh, for Chuna practice. Of course, I’d be happy to!”

“Be gentle with the staff, like you would with patients. You can be as firm as you want with me.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

At first, her subjects were me and the staff, and to help her get used to various body types, I also asked for understanding from friendly patients.

“Kim Mal-ja-nim, please don’t leave just yet. I have a favor to ask, could you come to the consultation room for a moment?”

“You need me, Doctor? What could it be?”

I discreetly called some suitably healthy patients with good personalities into the consultation room and made a proposal.

I asked if they would mind receiving Chuna from a doctor I was teaching. Of course, with the mention that it would be free, not a single one of them refused.

Chu Mi-young was able to practice on more than 10 people a day.

“Oh, is this patient a regular too?”

Thirty minutes before closing time.

The names of two people, presumably the last patients of the day, appeared on the program as they checked in.

Clicking on the name opened a window showing their treatment history. The calendar in the upper right corner of the screen had dates colored in for their visits, with at least three dates marked each week, and some weeks they came every day.

So Chu Mi-young expected she might be able to practice Chuna on this patient too.

“Ah, this person is a bit…”

“Oh… Are they difficult?”

Based on their track record so far, that didn’t seem to be the case. They didn’t seem like the type to cause a fuss if asked for some practice.

But it was also true that it wasn’t as easy to make the proposal as it was with the grandma and grandpa who constantly bantered with us.

“Patient Kim Jin-sang has lived up to his name by being difficult once, even though he was in a lot of pain, and Park Seon-yun-ssi… well, he’s completely healed. I was about to tell him he doesn’t need to come anymore.”

Chu Mi-young nodded without raising any objections to my judgment.

“Since you’re here late, we’ll go straight to acupuncture without physical therapy.”

“Yes, please.”

As closing time was approaching, the desk staff called me right away.

The two men undressed in an instant, and I opened the curtain to Park Seon-yun’s bed first.

“Hello, Park Seon-yun-nim.”

“Hello, Doctor.”

When I greeted him, Park Seon-yun, who was lying face down, nodded with his usual neat smile.

“How’s your sacrum feeling today?”

“It’s good.”

“If the initial pain was a 10, how much would you say is left?”

“Hmm… almost 0?”

Zero? I thought he’d at least say 1 or 2.

I often ask this question when treatment is prolonged, but it’s rare for a patient to answer that they’re not in pain at all.

Naturally, most people don’t enjoy having needles stuck in their bodies.

While elderly people who have done manual labor for years always feel stiff and continue treatment regularly, younger patients who were temporarily in pain due to an injury tend to stop coming as soon as the pain reduces a little.

“Let me press on it. How does it feel?”

“It doesn’t feel like anything.”

In cases like Park Seon-yun’s where ligaments or tendons are injured, I advise continuing treatment along with rest when there’s pain even at rest or during daily activities like walking. It’s also generally good to treat when there’s pain upon passive bending or stretching.

But pain when pressed is somewhat ambiguous. Of course, treatment helps, but since it can naturally take months for ligaments to recover 100%, it’s okay to wait for natural improvement with rest if there’s no significant strain in daily life.

But even the pressure pain is gone?

“You can finish treatment after today if you’d like.”

There’s no particular energy stagnation, and it’s not unreasonable to say that not only has the inflammation been treated, but the ligaments and muscles have recovered as well.

Continuing treatment beyond this point would be wasteful of his body’s natural recovery ability.

“Ah…”

But despite being declared fully recovered, Park Seon-yun’s reaction wasn’t very positive.

What’s this? Does he enjoy getting acupuncture after all? He was so afraid of pain at first.

Is he a pervert? Should I chase him away?

“Your back will stiffen if you sit for long periods, so just come in once in a while when you feel a bit uncomfortable.”

…I had such thoughts briefly, but basically, all office workers get stiff necks or backs.

It’s practically impossible for someone to sit in perfect posture while working.

Even the best posture causes strain if maintained for too long, and it’s not common to have an environment where you can get up and stretch every 20-30 minutes.

“Yes…”

Perhaps because I had slightly backtracked from what sounded like a declaration of expulsion, Park Seon-yun’s face relaxed.

But it was still difficult to read what he was thinking.

‘What on earth does he want?’

I couldn’t figure it out at all.

Generally, the purpose of patients coming to a hospital is obviously ‘treatment’, but there are occasionally those who go around to various places or feign illness to achieve separate goals, knowing they won’t get better.

But even the latter group at least pretends to be in pain or says they’re fine now but coming for maintenance purposes.

However, Park Seon-yun was a strange patient who explicitly said he had no pain while still insistently showing up at the clinic.

At first, I suspected he might be trying to make a business proposal, but there was no hint of that, and he had taken no action since I gave him my business card. He would quietly check in, receive acupuncture, and occasionally leave gifts at the front desk.

‘Gifts at the desk… Ah! Could he be interested in Yu-hee?’

Why didn’t I think of this plausible guess earlier?

Is he coming every day to see her face, even though he flinches every time he gets acupuncture? Unexpectedly romantic?

‘If that’s the case, there’s no need to chase him away… No, wait. Take this opportunity to ask for her number properly. You can’t keep coming to the clinic forever, can you? Meet separately on weekends from now on!’

While having all sorts of thoughts, I diligently inserted acupuncture needles into Park Seon-yun’s back and sacrum. Since he wouldn’t be coming for a while, I found and loosened stiff areas throughout his lower body, from his back to his buttocks and legs.

“Ungh.”

“Ah, right there! Just a little more.”

Even after hearing it many times, he really holds back his groans intensely.

“Um, Doctor.”

As I finished inserting the needles and my hands stopped, Park Seon-yun spoke up, panting as if he had just finished a marathon.

“Yes~. What is it?”

“Is it possible…”

Even then, Park Seon-yun hesitated for a long time. Since the only patient waiting was Kim Jin-sang anyway, I leisurely waited for his words.

Does this guy have some unspeakable worry like testicular pain too?

He’s not that old yet… Age? Wait. He’s not old enough for kidney deficiency back pain, but he is in his 30s.

Come to think of it, Seol Yu-hee is in her early 20s. Is that why he’s been hesitating all this time?

“Do you have something on your mind?”

I can’t solve it if Seol Yu-hee says no, but I can at least listen. I gestured by bending down to bring my ear closer to his face.

I even had Chu Mi-young, who had been quietly observing, move away and closed the curtain.

Only then did Park Seon-yun open his mouth.

“Is it possible, that!”

“Yes. Feel free to speak.”

After opening and closing his mouth several times, hesitating.

“…Do you also do diet pills?”

He finally managed to say.

“Pardon?”

I unconsciously let out a stupid sound, dumbfounded.

While I don’t particularly pay attention to social cues in daily life, I have quite a bit of experience when it comes to dealing with patients.

What Park Seon-yun was about to say was definitely not this.

Why would he hesitate so much to ask about diet pills?

“Of course. But I don’t think you particularly need them.”

“My cousin sister asked me to inquire. She asked me to get her some after hearing how quickly my back recovered at the Korean medicine clinic.”

“Is it difficult for her to come directly?”

“Yes. She’s in Seoul.”

Hmm.

It didn’t seem like an outright lie. If he was going to lie to come to the clinic, it would have been much better to say his sacrum still hurt.

There probably is an acquaintance who actually inquired about diet pills.

‘Should I probe further about what he was originally going to say?’

But after all that setup, it would be a bit much to coldly reject a request for help with love or business.

Having quickly organized my thoughts, I put aside my intuition and simply answered his question as a Korean medicine doctor.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t prescribe without face-to-face consultations. We need to diagnose whether the body is in a condition to use diet pills, and consistent management is necessary with follow-ups every two weeks at most. I recommend getting a prescription from a nearby Korean medicine clinic.”

“Ah… I see. I’ll tell her that.”

Park Seon-yun’s eyes darted back and forth. He said he understood with a face full of lingering attachment.

Leaving him be, I moved to the next bed to give acupuncture to Kim Jin-sang, who said his back was stiff today.

As expected, these two were the last patients of the day.

A moment later, Park Seon-yun finished his treatment, paid at the desk without a word, and left.

‘Will he not come anymore?’

It’s natural for a frequent patient to stop coming after treatment, but I felt a tiny bit of regret.

Of course, having experienced this hundreds of times, I didn’t dwell on thoughts of Park Seon-yun for long.

But a month later, contrary to that fleeting regret, I saw him again.

Park Seon-yun had come to the clinic with a woman.