Never Forgetting a Kindness

"You really should have brought something like this sooner."

"I didn't expect things to turn out this way... and I didn't want to be a burden, knowing how much you dislike it when the clinic gets too crowded..."

Despite the County Governor's hesitation, Gyeong-woo offered to perform acupuncture since he was already there. The Governor, delighted, practically skipped into the treatment room. Left alone in the waiting area with Park Miyoung, Gyeong-woo felt a strange sense of intimidation and hesitated.

'What in the world is up with that employee!'

After hearing the report from Grade 9 civil servant Jeong Seunghyeon about the site inspection, Yoon Gwan-woo couldn't hide his amazement. He had described the management state as nothing short of perfection. It was so flawless that the only thing they could even attempt to nitpick was the cleaning of the herbal medicine extractor.

And at the center of it all... stood this person.

'She looks naive, but she's no ordinary person. The way she didn't flinch and said everything she needed to say even in front of the County Governor...'

Just how much confidence did she have in her work to be this dignified? Whether the task was big or small, those who take pride in their work always shine.

Park Miyoung, with a look of immense satisfaction, polished the plaques until they were free of even a single speck of dust, then used pin-hooks to display them prominently behind the desk.

'Ugh...!'

It felt like they were blinding him. That dignified appearance, now basking in the reflected glory of the County Governor's commendation...

'But why... she treats the Governor himself so casually, yet she treasures his commendation like it's a holy relic?'

Still, she was a true native of Goesan. Setting aside her personal assessment of the Governor, she was clearly thrilled with the 'Goesan County ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Governor's Commendation.' As she wiped away her own fingerprints from the plaque she had just hung, a familiar sound echoed.

"Move aside...!"

County Governor Song bolted out of the treatment room again, sprinting toward the restroom. Park Miyoung ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quietly checked the remaining inventory of drain cleaner.

"Thank you for today as well, Director. Haha!"

"Take care on your way out."

"Please give some serious thought to that medical cooperation proposal."

"I'll be in touch."

As the two were talking, the clinic door opened and Bae Eun-dong, the village head of Baejae-ri, walked in.

"Gasp! Mr. Governor...?"

"Oh, were you the village head of Baejae-ri?"

The two were familiar with each other. When the Governor had visited the Cheongcheon-myeon athletic meet to offer encouragement, Village Head Bae had made sure to leave a lasting impression.

"What brings the Governor all the way out here?"

"It's such an excellent clinic, so I visited to present a commendation. Haha."

"My goodness... as expected, the Governor knows everything!"

Bae Eun-dong exclaimed in admiration. Even though the residents of Yongdeok-ri and Baejae-ri were keeping things quiet, it seemed nothing could escape the Governor's eyes.

Gyeong-woo asked, "Village Head, you don't have an appointment today. Why are you here?"

"I came to get my Gongjindan! That stuff is a real miracle worker, you know? It's well worth the high price!"

'Gongjindan??'

The Governor's ears perked up instantly.

"Can't you give me about 50 at once this time? I've got the money."

"We don't have that much in stock. I gave you 10 pills last time, right? Since it suits you well, just take 30 more for now. I'll go make some more before those run out."

"Ah, I see. Got it. Since I'm here, can I get some acupuncture too?"

"You got some the day before yesterday. Go to the public health branch and have Teacher Gong do it today."

"Alright."

Village Head Bae coolly paid and disappeared. The Governor, who had been lingering instead of leaving, asked Gyeong-woo cautiously.

"Director? Do you prescribe Gongjindan here as well? If there's any left, could I get a prescription too?"

"Hmm... I do have some, but..."

Gyeong-woo pondered. 'The leftovers were for me to take... well, I'll be going to make more soon anyway. And the Governor has helped me out with a lot of things so far...'

"I'll give you ten."

"Oh, by any chance, could twenty..."

"Ten."

It was a strange tug-of-war where the person with the goods was playing hard to get, and the buyer was begging to purchase them. Eventually, the Governor accepted the 10 pills with a hint of regret and asked carefully, "Then, the price is..."

On his first day of treatment, he had been terrified to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hear that the herbal acupuncture cost 5 million won. Of course, the actual price was only 10,000 won, and that had just been a roundabout way of asking for repairs to the Yongdeok-ri playground, but... perhaps that experience had left him traumatized, as he felt unnecessarily tense.

"It's 70,000 won per pill."

"Oh, I see."

It was expensive, of course, but considering it was musk-based Gongjindan, it was a reasonable price. County Governor Song, who had been prescribed Gongjindan several times before, accepted it easily and finished the purchase...

Once he was in his car.

'The price and the appearance aren't anything special... but I wonder if a doctor whose acupuncture is this special also makes special medicine...'

Perhaps because of Village Head Bae's "miracle worker" comment, he chewed and swallowed one pill with a sense of excitement.

And then...

"Uhh...?"

"Governor, is something wrong?"

Whoosh--

Suddenly, he felt energy circulating through his entire body. The body that had been drained of all strength from his recent bathroom ordeal was now filling with new power...?

To describe it, it felt like he might be able to have a "hot night" with his wife for the first time in nearly a decade...?

'This is only 70,000 won? That's insane!'

Just last week, he had been prescribed Gongjindan in Gangnam for 100,000 won per pill, and he hadn't felt even a quarter of this effect! While he was immensely satisfied, he also felt anxious.

'I want to buy more, but he probably won't sell them to me, right...?'

Yoon Gwan-woo started the car. Suddenly, a banner tied to a utility pole caught the Governor's eye.

'Wait! Director Hyun was very interested in the development of Yongdeok-ri, wasn't he?'

In reality, Gyeong-woo had just wanted the playground fixed quickly so he could take quiet naps, but County Governor Song had misinterpreted that as a "grand vision." The seven characters 'Yongdeok-ri Village Hall' were now clearly etched into his retina.

"Secretary Yoon! Let's go to the Yongdeok-ri Village Hall."

"The village hall, sir?"

"Turn the car around!"

Screech--

The car performed a U-turn.

After sending off the Governor and the village head, it was lunchtime. Gyeong-woo locked the door to his office, sat down, and began to interrogate the ancient medical text.

"Hey, you've been wiretapping me, haven't you?"

They say that if you snap at your husband that it's hard enough raising three sons without him, YouTube suddenly starts recommending 'Son TV' channels. It's a modern urban legend that if you mutter, "Plane tickets are so expensive," you suddenly start getting content on how to fold 100 different paper airplanes. It’s a situation that makes no sense unless someone is wiretapping your daily life—everyone has experienced it at least once.

But to have such suspicions about an old medical book, not even a smartphone...

"It's obvious. 'Oh, here's a new labor task. Sweet!' You were thinking that, weren't you?"

Gyeong-woo didn't even open the Gamshin-tongmaek-rok; he just pressed it.

"If I open the book, a new task will definitely pop up. You've probably cooked up another way for me to suffer, haven't you?"

Click-click-

The torch made a threatening sound.

"Just try writing some more nonsense."

Gyeong-woo opened the book. Chapter 5 was still undeciphered, but as he flipped back to the beginning, page by page...

Bingo.

Chapter 3, Gam-tong-sim-tam (Deep Exploration of Pain Resonance), which had originally only been deciphered up to the beginning. The first page had only been partially decoded, and the following pages contained the cases and acupoints Gyeong-woo had completed...

A newly deciphered section appeared in the middle of the first page.

"'Section 2,' my foot."

Seeing it written as if it were the original text, he was dumbfounded. "And what are you, a GM for Lineage? What is this, a 10x experience event?"

He was berating it fiercely, but in truth, his heart was stirred. 'The subsequent realm, huh...'

Hadn't he been debating whether or not to accept the Governor's proposal anyway? If he was going to do it, it was better to have some benefits.

"Hmm. Still, well, I'll consider it positively—"

At that moment, the Gamshin-tongmaek-rok, sensing Gyeong-woo's green light, quickly adjusted the difficulty.

"Ah, seriously, this book-bastard!!"

Gyeong-woo shouted. You really couldn't give this thing an inch. But satisfied with having said its piece, the Gamshin-tongmaek-rok offered no further response. All that remained was Gyeong-woo's decision.

A few days later, Yoon Gwan-woo visited the clinic.

"I am sincerely grateful for your cooperation, Director."

Gyeong-woo had decided to participate in the Goesan County Rare and Incurable Disease Support Project. However, he had set a precondition: one patient at a time, with a one-month cycle for seeing new patients. Gyeong-woo had already experienced burnout and quit his job after resonating with patients' pain until his own body and mind could no longer take it. He had no intention of repeating the same mistake out of mere enthusiasm. He intended to proceed only within the limits of what he could endure.

"I assumed there would be a dedicated department for this, but you came personally, Secretary?"

"The Governor asked me to handle it personally so that no situation would arise that might cause you any inconvenience, Director."

Yoon Gwan-woo pulled a document from his bag. "Also, I have a personal reason."

"A personal reason?"

"Honestly, I selected the first patient you will see out of my own personal bias."

'Ankylosing Spondylitis...'

It was an autoimmune disease that most commonly affected young men, typically appearing in their 20s or 30s. It caused inflammation in the spinal and sacroiliac joints, leading to pain and stiffness. It was characterized by the spine gradually hardening over time, and if left untreated, it could lead to a "bamboo spine," resulting in severe limitations on mobility.

'A difficult disease from the start.'

He had expected as much. If someone was selected for this county fund, they would likely be in a very serious condition and facing economic hardship as a result. He had already braced himself. But... he couldn't help the sweat forming on his palms. It was a disease he had seen many times during his residency. He knew all too well just how much pain the patient was in...

Gyeong-woo flipped through the documents, scanning the medical history and test results, and asked, "If it's a personal bias, is he an acquaintance?"

"Mr. Jinwon was a participant in the 'Goesan County Youth Rooting Project.' It was one of the core county projects pushed during our Governor's first term."

This project, which provided housing and settlement grants to encourage young people to settle in the countryside, had gained quite a bit of popularity in the news. Therefore, what Governor Song had worried about was minimizing the number of people just looking for a free ride. It was common for people to take the money, fulfill the mandatory residency period, and then bolt.

"But I saw true sincerity in Mr. Jinwon."

Yang Jinwon had once hit rock bottom and even lived as a homeless person. He had seen the project on the news, come to Goesan, and interviewed for the program looking like a beggar. Normally, he would have been rejected, but...

"The thing I respect most about our Governor is that he is truly excellent at judging people."

Jinwon had said he liked insects as a child ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and wanted to try beekeeping if he received the settlement grant. He had actually opened a beekeeping farm, worked diligently, and even sent the best honey to the Governor and Yoon Gwan-woo every holiday.

"You'll know when you meet him. He's a very pure and kind person. He never forgets a kindness."

Perhaps he had worked too hard to prove himself to those who had given him a chance. The incurable disease of Ankylosing Spondylitis had struck him down. "Even with that body... he says he can't quit beekeeping because he received the grant. Please, help him, Director."

"I will do my best."

At this point, Gyeong-woo didn't know. That this case would become his first 'faceless' YouTube appearance.