Who Do You Think You Are?
'Ugh, it looks bitter.'
That was Jia's first impression upon seeing the herbal medicine. It was a reaction befitting a ten-year-old, but having watched the doctor's sincere persuasion, she didn't voice her complaints and gulped down the first sip.
"Oh?"
It was surprisingly palatable. She had taken herbal medicine before, but this was different. It wasn't that it lacked bitterness, but there was something about it that clung to her palate, as if her tongue were welcoming the very nutrients her body craved.
Gulp, gulp.
Jia finished the medicine without any resistance. But immediately after, her entire body began to warm, and a wave of languor washed over her. It wasn't as if the pain had vanished entirely, but rather... how should she put it?
Her body, which had been so tense and hyper-sensitive to the slightest stimulation, felt like it was melting into a soft, heavy calm. It was as if...
"It feels like my nerves are falling asleep. Everything has gone quiet...!"
Watching Jia describe the sensation in her own childlike way, Kyungwoo reached out to touch her wrist again, resonating with her pain.
'...Her ability to express herself is incredible.'
She was exactly right. This sensation—as if the exposed nerve endings were being wrapped in a thick blanket to buffer the pain—was likely the effect of Achyranthes root, Dipsacus root, and Acanthopanax. And the wild ginseng, deer antler velvet, and astragalus, which tonify the qi and blood, were fueling the vital energy that had been dried up and withered from her long illness.
It would take a mountain of medicine to make that energy flow strongly enough to drive out the disease, but...
'To show such improvement after just one dose, given the severity of the condition.'
It was the combination of the wild ginseng Park Hee-dong had provided and the special ability granted by the Gamshin-tongmaek-rok to amplify the potency of medicinal herbs. Without either one of those, it wouldn't have been this effective so quickly.
"That's a relief. You must take it three times a day without missing a dose."
"Yes, Doctor!"
"Ma'am, the medicine was decocted according to Jia's age and weight, so please give her one pouch at a time. Just like now, make sure to warm it up."
Jia's mother, who seemed lost in thought after seeing her daughter's reaction, bowed her head.
"...Yes, Director. Thank you."
After finishing the acupuncture treatment and hanging the box of herbal medicine on the wheelchair, Jia's mother left with her daughter. Kyungwoo stretched his arms out wide.
Today, Kyungwoo felt a sensation similar to the time he first read the Gamshin-tongmaek-rok and had his abilities unlocked.
'It was hellishly difficult back then, but still... there were so many rewarding moments.'
The high schooler who jumped for joy, saying the Director had fixed him so he could go on his graduation trip. The pianist who had been ready to give up on the competition due to carpal tunnel syndrome, who shed tears of joy after intensive treatment, won a prize, and brought him tickets to her recital. The bride who had always tilted her head to one side due to torticollis, unable to take proper wedding photos, who sent him a picture of herself in a white wedding dress after treatment. And today, seeing Jia's reaction to the medicine.
As those moments surfaced, the burnout felt as if it were fading away.
'Should I increase the number of patients?'
Kyungwoo put his hands in his lab coat pockets and fiddled with the acupuncture needles that were always there.
Baejae-ri Bus Stop.
A large man who had taken a bus from Goesan-eup to Baejae-ri in Cheongcheon-myeon wiped the sweat from his brow.
'It's already September, why is it so hot?'
The man, debating whether to transfer buses or walk, saw the bus schedule with its 120-minute interval and simply started walking.
The scenery of the leisurely countryside. It was his first vacation in a long time. He could have taken his time to look around and breathe in the fresh air, but the man's eyes were filled only with impatience.
'Why on earth did this bastard Hyun Kyungwoo bury himself in such a remote countryside!'
His name was Hwang Jehyun. He was a classmate of Kyungwoo who had graduated from Gyeong-hyun University of Korean Medicine and become a specialist in acupuncture at the Gyeong-hyun University Korean Medicine Hospital. He had always been second best.
"Look, here comes 'Bean-Jehyun'."
"Today's the day the mock exam results come out, right? Hwang Jehyun, are you second place again?"
Even though he was the perennial runner-up, Hwang Jehyun felt more awe than rivalry toward Hyun Kyungwoo. Kyungwoo had displayed a maddening persistence throughout his school days. To give a simple example, when a professor once said, "The exact location of this acupuncture point is controversial in academia; I will give an A+ to anyone who figures it out," Hyun Kyungwoo had given up sleep for two weeks, analyzed 14 ancient texts and 32 modern papers, and written a 30-page report.
What was even more surprising was that he hadn't actually done it for the grade. That bastard, who was obsessed with original texts and ancient literature, had said he did it because it was fun.
That was when Hwang Jehyun had completely surrendered.
"Phew... I'll concede the top spot to you."
"It wasn't yours to begin with, so how can you concede it?"
He was an infuriating guy, but he was worthy of recognition. How much time had they spent together over the last ten years? During their clinical rotations, their internship, their time as residents in the acupuncture department where they suffered together—he had witnessed Kyungwoo's obsession with medical skill and his sincerity toward patients the whole time. That was why he had cheered for him even when Kyungwoo was succeeding in a large Korean medicine hospital in Gangnam.
'I will pave my own path.'
What he had chosen was the Ilchim (Single Needle) method. But just as all paths converge at a single point when they reach the pinnacle, if he could master the Ilchim method and become one of the top doctors in Korea, they would eventually cross paths.
"Hyun Kyungwoo's only rival is Hwang Jehyun, the master of the single needle."
Hwang Jehyun had even sketched out such a shonen-manga-like future for himself... but then he heard the news that Kyungwoo had quit the Daeo Korean Medicine Hospital and gone into hiding.
Ding.
And then, silence again. He had to be content with the fact that he had at least received a reply, assuming it wasn't the worst-case scenario. But after the class reunion last week, he couldn't hold back and pressed Kyungwoo again. After obtaining the address that the other party had reluctantly provided, Hwang Jehyun immediately took a day off. On a Friday, when a clinic would normally be at its busiest, Jehyun walked through the quiet countryside, drenched in sweat. He arrived at the Hyenin Oriental Hospital after walking for 40 minutes under the scorching sun.
"Hey, Hyun Kyungwoo!"
"You really came?"
Hyun Kyungwoo was lying flat on the bed in the Director's office.
"I have nothing better to do, coming all the way here."
It really didn't suit him. The guy who had spent all six years of medical school digging into nothing but Korean medicine, to the point where Jehyun thought his physical and mental stamina were monstrous, was now lying around in his office in the middle of the day. And there wasn't a single patient in the clinic.
'The guy who was so full of ambition...'
Why was he wasting his time in a place like this! 'Could it really be...' The gossipy speculation that someone had blurted out at the reunion, which had made his blood boil when he heard it. Surely that wasn't the truth, was it?
"What are you thinking about? Let's go buy some booze."
"It's still clinic hours."
"There are no more patients coming today. I didn't tell you to come, but since you're here, we should have a drink."
Hwang Jehyun looked at Kyungwoo's disheveled appearance with a complex heart.
"How is the Ilchim clinic?"
After dinner, they exchanged bottles of soju and a few bags of snacks.
"It's doable. Director Jeon Wang-hyuk is a true master."
"Is he that good?"
"If he inserts a single needle, legs that couldn't bend start to bend, and hunched backs straighten out."
Kyungwoo, having reaffirmed the significance of the Geunwon (Root) points through the tests of the Gamshin-tongmaek-rok, nodded without challenging Hwang Jehyun's words. But to Hwang Jehyun, that sight looked so unlike Hyun Kyungwoo that his heart felt heavy.
Hwang Jehyun, who had been pouring down several glasses of soju without any snacks, finally couldn't hold it in anymore and spoke.
"Hey, man. You weren't this kind of guy."
"What kind of guy?"
"You're the legend of Gyeong-hyun University, Hyun Kyungwoo. Hey, you bastard, damn it, who do you think you are?"
Hwang Jehyun's remarks gradually became more intense.
"Why did you quit the successful Korean medicine hospital? You went there because you had a goal."
Kyungwoo remained silent. In truth, he had nothing to say. He couldn't exactly say, "I found an ancient medical text, and ever since then, I've started resonating with patients' pain, and it hurts so much I wanted to die, so I quit."
"Do you... even know what the classmates are saying about you?"
Hwang Jehyun began to talk about the reunion from last week. One week ago, at the Gyeong-hyun University class of '10 reunion. The expressions of the classmates who entered the room of the high-end restaurant in Gangnam reflected the social gap that was already beginning to widen. Classmates who had opened their own clinics right after graduation and settled in. Classmates who had received branches of famous networks. The noses of those receiving monthly salaries in the tens of thousands at large hospitals were held high in arrogance.
In contrast, classmates who hadn't found jobs and were drifting between temporary positions to earn experience and part-time wages. The classmates who had opened clinics but were on the verge of closure, seeing fewer than ten patients a day, had a different tone in their voices.
"Really? Are you resting now? Our associate director quit, so we're looking for someone."
"Really? Should I send my resume?"
"Hmm... wouldn't it be uncomfortable if a classmate became a superior?"
"Hey, what are you talking about! No matter if we're classmates, when we work, I have to serve you as the representative director."
"Is that so? Then send it over."
While the tentative hierarchy was being established, a story about the person who had been the undisputed number one among them began to flow.
"What's Hyun Kyungwoo doing these days? He didn't come to the reunion today."
"Hey, didn't you hear the rumor? He quit Daeo at the end of last year."
"Really? Did he go somewhere else?"
"Well, our nurse used to work at Daeo, you know? She said his face kept getting worse and then he suddenly quit."
"Whoa... is he sick somewhere?"
But Lee Tae-young, who had been jealous of Kyungwoo since their school days, smirked and said,
"Didn't he cause a big accident?"
"Accident...?"
"He was always using needles aggressively and researching experimental acupuncture methods. He could have caused a medical accident. Maybe he's in the middle of a lawsuit, or the hospital held him responsible and told him to quit."
"Hey, no way."
"If he were seriously ill, one of us would have known. Seeing him go into hiding while keeping it quiet, that's exactly it, isn't it? Otherwise, how could he disappear so completely?"
Even though it was speculative rumor, it was persuasive because it was a case that actually happened often. Even though it was malicious backbiting, the reason everyone couldn't easily cut off Lee Tae-young's words was that he was doing quite well these days.
"So, it doesn't matter how good your school grades are. It's the real world that counts. He was acting so high and mighty—"
Hwang Jehyun couldn't take it anymore and jumped up.
"Hey, you bastard, stop praying for your classmate's downfall. Is that something you should be saying?"
"What did I do? I'm just saying we should all be careful because such cases happen."
Watching Lee Tae-young smirking, Hwang Jehyun had stormed out of the room.
"That bastard is acting like that, and you? Is it okay for you to be like this?"
Hwang Jehyun, getting increasingly drunk, slumped over and started rambling.
"Do you even know that? That bastard just got a branch of the Somyeong network."
Kyungwoo, who had been calm even while hearing the gossip, felt his eyes turn cold at the mention of the name 'Somyeong'.
"Are you really going to stay here like this? Were you the kind of guy to just collapse like this?"
"I haven't collapsed."
"Did you really cause an accident, or are you sick somewhere? You're buried in this countryside, and you don't even look like you have the will to see patients... Say something."
Hwang Jehyun, who had been pounding his chest like that, suddenly started snoring loudly. Kyungwoo, who had thrown a blanket over him, checked his watch and headed to the building next door.
4:00 AM.
Hwang Jehyun woke up with a parched throat.
'Where am I?'
An unfamiliar house. It was only after gulping down water from a plastic bottle left on the table that he remembered. He had come to find Hyun Kyungwoo and had drunk with him yesterday.
'What did I say?'
He only remembered shouting; the content was hazy. Well, what he had said was obvious. However... you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. In the end, no matter what he rambled about, it meant nothing if the other person didn't move.
'He ran so hard for ten years, did he really get burnout? But where did this guy go?'
The owner of the house wasn't inside at this hour. Hwang Jehyun, who had opened this room and that, opened the front gate and stepped outside.
'Whoa.'
Stars that looked like they would pour down. Watching them for a moment, he turned his head toward the clinic and discovered that the light in the Director's office was on.
'He's in the office at this hour?'
The side door of the clinic. Hwang Jehyun, who had entered through the door leading to the house and warehouse, walked down the dark clinic hallway.
Quietly... quietly...
Without realizing it, he muffled his footsteps. Arriving in front of the Director's office, Hwang Jehyun peered inside the office, where the door was slightly ajar and light was leaking out.
'What is that?'
A silent night. A Korean medicine doctor placing needles into his own body, one by one. He pulls them out. He places them. He pulls them out again and places them. The air was so dense that even the surrounding atmosphere seemed to hold its breath. The figure of a doctor striving endlessly toward perfection, wondering what he was trying to save.
Hwang Jehyun shuddered.
'Hyun Kyungwoo, you... you didn't run away, but were you preparing for the final strike to take that place?'
He remembered the day he found out about Hyun Kyungwoo's goal.
"Somyeong Oriental Clinic, it was originally my grandfather's."