The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

“No, it’s strange, isn’t it? I can’t tell if he likes getting acupuncture or not. How does he keep coming when he startles at the slightest touch to his erector spinae?”

“That’s right, heh. He keeps following even when told not to come?”

Park Se-sun, after laughing for a while, finally managed to say.

Whether the hypothesis of her cousin being a masochist was that funny, she was still covering her mouth and chuckling.

“Have you ever had acupuncture, Park Se-sun-nim?”

“Probably not. And while I don’t know about Seon-yun, I absolutely don’t have that kind of preference, so please do it painlessly.”

“Of course. I’ll start gently first.”

I closed the curtain firmly and rolled up Park Se-sun’s abdomen, arms, and legs.

She said she had constipation, right?

Then I should start with Hegu (LI4), which is both one of the Four Gates points and the source point of the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming.

To provide minimal treatment without pain, I only inserted needles in two spots on the arm.

Hegu and Quchi.

Quchi (LI11) is particularly effective among the Large Intestine Meridian points for promoting digestion and relieving constipation.

“Urk… Oh my!”

As soon as I inserted just two needles, she burped.

Park Se-sun covered her mouth with her palm and turned her head towards the wall.

If there’s such a quick response, there’s no need to put many needles on the lower limbs and abdomen.

I quickly inserted needles into Zusanli (ST36), which is crucial for digestive treatment, and Shangwan (CV13), Zhongwan (CV12), and Xiawan (CV10).

“It doesn’t hurt at all, right?”

Park Se-sun couldn’t answer.

Instead, clear evidence of digestive movement manifested elsewhere.

Grooowl.

Park Se-sun’s face, which had only been slightly embarrassed when she burped, turned bright red.

“I, I…”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s proof that the treatment is working well. It’s quite common.”

“Yes…”

Although I said it was fine, Park Se-sun closed her eyes and fanned herself with the hand that didn’t have needles in it.

“I’ll apply some moxibustion to your lower abdomen. Just a moment…”

“No, eep.”

“Hm?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“Moxibustion won’t hurt at all and isn’t very hot.”

“No, that’s not it! I’ve got a signal!”

“Ah.”

I immediately removed all the needles. This was almost short-needle acupuncture.

As soon as all the needles that had achieved their purpose were removed, Park Se-sun jumped up and ran to the bathroom.

“You’re truly amazing, as always.”

Chu Mi-young, who had been observing from a few steps away whenever Park Se-sun received treatment, said.

“Oh, it’s just a coincidence.”

I scratched my head. Even I can’t control bowel movements, after all.

Since it didn’t seem like she would ask for acupuncture again, I returned to the consultation room with just Chu Mi-young.

“The actress seems to like you a lot, Doctor.”

Chu Mi-young said with a strange look in her eyes, as if tinged with jealousy.

“I suppose so. At first, it seemed like she was just relying on me, but lately she seems eager to share her daily life stories.”

“Right?”

“Being an actress, she might be pretending to get close on purpose.”

“That’s too much! She’s probably trying to get close because she likes you.”

This happened occasionally.

When you suddenly solve someone’s long-standing problem, don’t you look somewhat cool?

Some want to repay, some simply admire, and others develop feelings of affection.

Among them, some became friends and some didn’t, but I didn’t deliberately distance myself. At least, not until I met the Heavenly Demon Lord.

“Doctor, I’ll be going now?”

“Yes, take care!”

Park Se-sun, having finished her business, knocked on the consultation room door and said.

I stood up to at least say goodbye, but she had already fled to the front desk to pay.

It’s really a common occurrence, so there’s no need to be so embarrassed.

She’ll come back next week anyway, so I returned to my chair without lingering.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t see it through to the end. But I think she’ll lose weight well according to the goal.”

Chu Mi-young said, closing the notebook she had been writing in all along.

It’s been over two months since we started tutoring, so it’s time to wrap things up.

Today was the last day of her observation.

As consultation hours were also coming to an end, I told Seo In-ae and Seol Yu-hee to go home first, then sat across from Chu Mi-young.

“That’s right. We’ve built good rapport, and she’s following instructions well.”

Throughout her observation, she had envied my relationship with patients. She said she had never received a sincere thank-you gift, mentioning that those who occasionally handed her cookies all had ulterior motives.

Anyway, rapport is quite important in the medical field. If patients are wary of and hide things from their doctor, even easily treatable conditions can become complicated, can’t they?

“She’s really losing weight healthily. By correcting her eating patterns and treating her deteriorating digestive system, her complexion has improved a lot too. Sigh… It really makes me reflect a lot.”

“Reflect? In what way?”

“When I was the associate director at the Cheonan branch. Thinking back now, there was a lot to learn there too, but I thought management was the manager’s job and didn’t care, just reciting memorized professional content. If I had paid more attention, I could have helped people lose weight healthily.”

If you want to find professional content, it’s much better to search through textbooks or papers. In the past, access to such information might have been extremely limited, but in modern times, a doctor’s role should never be limited to just conveying information.

I won’t say anything now that she’s changed her mind. It was remarkable in a way that she was opening up so honestly to me, who was quite a bit younger.

Come to think of it, it was a bit strange.

The tutoring schedule I had maintained for just over two months was by no means easy. To ensure she learned as much as possible, I demanded not only preparation and review, but also memorization, practical exercises, and independent thinking, yet Chu Mi-young never voiced a single complaint.

How could someone capable of this have been so lethargic when she was at Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic?

“Doctor, were you perhaps negative about dieting itself?”

“…Yes.”

“How on earth did you end up working at Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic?”

“I wonder. My sunbaes just said that looks are the best qualification and recommended I go to a beauty clinic no matter what… No, I wasn’t negative about it when I first got the job! But the director of the Cheonan branch told me to mention skin and diet at least once to every patient who came in, no matter what they were there for, so I think that’s how it turned out.”

“Like feeling you were scamming people by recommending unnecessary things?”

“Exactly! He said all women have needs for skin care and dieting, but… ugh…”

Chu Mi-young shook her head, unable to continue.

It seemed even recalling the past was highly stressful for her.

“I should have just quit quickly, but as I kept doing it, I got used to it… My parents told me to open my own clinic with that… Who can I blame? It’s all my fault for trying to take the easy way out.”

“That’s not entirely wrong either.”

“Right? It’s all my…”

“No. I meant what the Cheonan branch director said.”

While Chu Mi-young just kept sighing heavily, my thoughts were a bit different.

“Including men, almost all Koreans have needs for diet and skin care.”

We’re in a world where the adult obesity rate is racing towards 40%.

Given that the average office worker can’t receive help from dedicated nutritionists, housekeepers, and trainers like Park Se-sun, it takes superhuman effort to break away from the temptation of delivery apps, correct disrupted eating habits on one’s own, and exercise.

No one can deny the fact that there’s a need for easy and convenient weight loss.

“That’s true…”

And it’s not something to criticize as lookism-driven thinking.

Obesity actually causes many complications.

“Of course, recommending it to everyone indiscriminately isn’t the right answer. Only mention it when, in your judgment, weight loss is absolutely necessary and the benefits of losing weight outweigh the potential side effects of taking diet medication. Only when you consider the cost-effectiveness and safety, and think you would take the medicine yourself.”

In cases like Park Se-sun’s where she just slightly exceeded the obesity criteria, it might be ambiguous, but I was confident in helping her lose weight safely, so I willingly recommended medication.

“Personally, I think diet herbal medicine has a clear comparative advantage among various treatments when considering effectiveness, convenience, and price comprehensively.”

“…You’re right. It really seems that way. I lacked both confidence and principles.”

“It’s true that your previous workplace put intense pressure on you, so don’t suffer too much from guilt. From now on, make judgments based on your own discretion.”

“Yes. I’ve learned so much during this time.”

Chu Mi-young suddenly stood up from her chair and bowed deeply to me.

I did teach her a lot.

I taught her all about various disease specifics and herbal prescriptions that she said she had forgotten right after graduating, and injected hundreds of clinical cases. Her acupuncture and Chuna techniques won’t fall behind anywhere either. Although she still lacks experience, I could see her growth potential.

“I taught you well, and you’re doing well enough, so be confident when you go to Daegu.”

“Thanks to you, I think I can do that now.”

Chu Mi-young smiled brightly. She used to often clench her teeth anxiously as if something was bothering her, but the frequency of this habit decreased inversely proportional to how much she studied.

“You’re leaving today, right?”

“Yes. But I’ll still come once a month. I’ll call you often too! I’m sure I’ll have a lot more questions.”

“Feel free to contact me anytime.”

I had been 1.5 times busier during this time, asking patients for understanding and demonstrating Chuna techniques.

And I spent almost all of my weekday evenings and weekends on Chu Mi-young, barely playing any games.

Having to make time every day was a bit troublesome, but now that she’s leaving, I felt a little empty.

“I’ll work hard and earn a lot, then transfer you plenty of money.”

Of course, the positive emotions far outweighed the negative ones.

A sense of achievement far greater than any decent game. Hadn’t I just unlocked expedition content after solving numerous linked quests?

I cheerfully supported Chu Mi-young’s new clinic opening.

“Fighting.”

◆◇◆◇◆

I thought I’d have more free time after Chu Mi-young left, but there was still no respite during consultation hours.

The number of patients had swelled to over 60 per day, perhaps due to growing word of mouth.

‘Now it’s not a joke, I really need to find an associate director soon.’

There wasn’t enough time for thorough initial consultations. So far, it had been manageable with long waiting times, but if it increased any further, the quality of care would inevitably decline.

“How about introducing an appointment system? For things that take more than 10 minutes, like initial consultations or medication counseling, we could lower the priority if there’s no appointment.”

“Ah, you’ve waited a long time, haven’t you? It must be uncomfortable with so many people recognizing you.”

“Oh, it’s fine for me. I can just say I’m here for something else if needed. I’m more concerned about the staff seeming overwhelmed.”

Park Se-sun was right. When Seo In-ae directed from the center of the treatment room, things ran smoothly, but Seol Yu-hee was struggling to adapt to the sudden increase in patient numbers.

“I’ll think about it. Thank you.”

It was time to seriously consider revamping the system.

Meeting every week, Park Se-sun and I had become quite close, reaching a relationship where we could freely offer advice.

“How are you doing, Se-sun-nim? Not feeling tired or drained?”

“I’m doing great. As you advised, I increased aerobic exercise by 30 minutes, and my condition has actually improved. Maybe because you’ve included a lot of tonic herbs, I feel stronger than before.”

“That’s good to hear.”

She had been anxious when her weight didn’t budge for two weeks after losing 6kg, but now she had passed that plateau.

“Let’s check your InBody. Oh…!”

“55kg. I did it.”

And finally, with a last sprint, she succeeded in losing 9kg in three months.

“That’s wonderful! You’ve worked so hard!”

She didn’t seem surprised, probably having checked her weight at home first. Instead, she beamed with pure joy.

“It’s all thanks to you, Doctor. I was so scared I might have to live with this belly fat forever. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to show a good image in my next movie too.”

“It’s because you put in the effort. Just take the remaining medicine twice a day to maintain, and you’ll be fine!”

“Yes. All this time, really…”

“It was hard, wasn’t it?”

“No. Meeting like this every week to check in, and you praising me for doing well, it was actually enjoyable. I’m going back having had a proper healing time in Busan.”

Park Se-sun kept smiling brightly as she bowed her head. It was natural to feel proud after achieving a goal she had been aiming for over three months.

I offered a few more words of congratulations before ending the consultation.

“Ah…!”

As Park Se-sun opened the consultation room door, Park Seon-yun, who had been peering down the corridor, flinched.

At first, he had come in for consultations together, but at some point, Park Se-sun had chased him out, saying he was interfering.

Despite this, Park Seon-yun consistently showed up.

“Park Seon-yun-nim.”

“Ah, yes.”

I wonder if that guy realizes how incredibly suspicious he looks?

Judging by how Park Se-sun was glaring at him with narrowed eyes, she must have said something to him at least once.

Despite having several opportunities to reveal his intentions, he kept repeating the act of receiving treatment and leaving without saying anything.

I couldn’t bear the frustration any longer.

“I have a question.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“Where exactly do your ulterior motives lie? Is it Seol Yu-hee-nim after all? Why don’t you just ask her out clearly?”

I asked him point-blank.