A Strange Sensation
The emergency room fell silent.
The only sound was the intermittent, pained groaning of the patient. It was early evening, and with only one patient admitted so far, the oriental medicine hospital’s emergency room felt unnervingly still. The six or seven medical staff members held their breath, watching Kyungwoo’s procedure.
Naegwan (Inner Pass).
The luo-connecting point of the Hand Shaoyin Pericardium Meridian. It was a point known for regulating heart function, alleviating heart-related pain, and dispelling chest congestion. Its location was two chon above the wrist crease, between the palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis muscles. In oriental medicine, the distance from the elbow to the wrist is calculated as 12 chon. Since every patient’s arm length differs, one would normally survey the entire length of the joint before selecting the point near the 1/6 mark, but...
'Here!'
In this desperate situation, Kyungwoo’s senses instinctively targeted a single point. It felt as if a brilliant white star were sparking within that spot. Without even processing it in his mind, he reflexively plunged the needle in.
Thwip—
The patient, suffering from a myocardial infarction, was thrashing his limbs in agony. He was in no state to understand a request to stay still. So, Kyungwoo focused. Amidst the twisting movements of the arm, the tip of the needle doggedly pursued its target.
'Got it!'
The moment he felt the unmistakable deqi—the sensation of the needle hitting the mark—Kyungwoo poured his geukseong (polarity) into it to the limit.
Swoosh—
Even now, the patient’s pain was resonating within Kyungwoo. The feeling of an irregular, galloping heartbeat. The rising nausea. The sensation of the heart losing its function. These feelings were clearly being transmitted, but strangely, to the current Kyungwoo, they were merely being received as information. They no longer felt like obstacles hindering his movements or tormenting him.
'This isn't... enough!'
The flow of the blood vessels leading to the heart was completely blocked. No matter how much he expanded or contracted the geukseong, or how he tapped at it, it showed no signs of opening. The patient clutched his chest again, writhing in pain.
Kyungwoo shouted sharply, "Get the AED! And prepare to perform CPR immediately if cardiac arrest occurs!"
The heart hadn't stopped yet, but it was jumping even more irregularly than before. Kyungwoo desperately searched for a solution. 'If I can't break through with energy, I'll force the blood flow to move more violently!'
Taechung. Hyeolhae. Nogung.
He plunged needles into the blood-forming points and the points that dissolve congestion. Sweat dripped down his face. He slammed the geukseong circulating through his body into the acupoints, then the next, and the next!
No Gi-seung watched with a look of shock as Kyungwoo, lost in a trance, handled the needles as if they were extensions of his own fingertips. 'He didn't go to the countryside to rot... he's actually...!'
One of the quick-witted residents lifted a piece of gauze to wipe the sweat from Kyungwoo’s eyes. Finally, Kyungwoo pushed a needle into the Naegwan point on the opposite arm. Then, with a prayer in his heart, he performed a powerful thrusting and twisting motion.
'Break through!'
At that moment, the massive blood clot blocking the coronary artery could no longer withstand the intensified flow of blood and was swept away—
The patient gasped, inhaling deeply, and then exhaled.
"Huk! Haa— haa— haa—"
He panted greedily, as if trying to replenish his oxygen levels.
'It worked!'
The patient had barely cleared the hurdle. Kyungwoo’s legs gave out, and he staggered. With a hoarse voice, he instructed the residents, "Sipseon, Injung, Baekhoe. Needle them."
"Yes, sir!"
The residents, disciplined and alert, carried out his orders. No Gi-seung stood there blankly, watching the entire scene like an outsider.
'...He calmed a myocardial infarction with acupuncture?'
He simply could not believe what his eyes had just seen.
Wee-woo— Wee-woo—
The sound of an ambulance arrived from outside, accompanied by shouting and the noise of a stretcher being unloaded. The doors burst open, and paramedics ran in with a stretcher.
"Where is the patient!"
"He's lying over there."
The paramedics rushed toward the patient. However, the scene was unexpectedly calm, which left them bewildered.
"Sir, can you speak?"
"...Yes."
Though he looked exhausted, the patient answered clearly; he didn't seem to be in a critical emergency state at all.
"We heard when we got the call that the seizure started due to a myocardial infarction. Did it subside in the middle?"
"Yes... that doctor over there... with acupuncture..."
The patient pointed to the man in plain clothes sitting to the side. When the paramedic looked over, confused, the man spoke up.
"He had a myocardial infarction seizure, but he is stable now after treatment. However, he needs rapid care, so please take him immediately. He will likely need a stent or bypass surgery right away. You'll also need to address the embolus that broke off."
Even as he spoke, Kyungwoo felt a strange sensation. It was as if he hadn't just sensed the patient's pain, but had peered clearly into his entire physical state. 'What... did I just do?'
Professor In Gyeonghak, who had returned to the hospital after receiving a report of a problem in the emergency room, first checked the medical records and CCTV, then called for the emergency room nurse.
"What happened?"
Nurse Choi Yeon-ju recalled the situation she had witnessed. A fellow had made a fatal mistake. If Kyungwoo hadn't happened to visit the emergency room and discovered the patient's condition just in time...
"It almost became a case of medical malpractice. It could have easily... led to a death."
When a myocardial infarction occurs, one-third of patients die before reaching the hospital. It is a terrifying disease where the mortality rate reaches 5–10% even with proper treatment after arrival. At those words, In Gyeonghak’s face hardened.
"Are you certain it was a mistake?"
"Mr. No checked the ECG results and said there was nothing wrong. But Dr. Hyun Kyungwoo looked at the same thing and suspected a myocardial infarction."
"Did you bring the results?"
In Gyeonghak checked the results. It wasn't a typical case. He had to admit that Kyungwoo had a sharp eye for suspecting it based on this. However... if a patient had chest pain and a myocardial infarction couldn't be ruled out, the principle was to send it for interpretation even if it deviated only subtly from the norm—or even if it looked normal to his own eyes.
'How terrifying.'
Looking at the call logs, it was right before the seizure occurred on CCTV. It was fortunate the call went in first; if the call had come after the seizure, and the patient had been harmed, there would undoubtedly have been talk of accountability.
'Fortunately, that part shouldn't be a problem, but...'
That wasn't the reason In Gyeonghak had called Nurse Choi Yeon-ju. He had doubted his eyes after reading the subsequent medical records, and even replaying the CCTV, the poor image quality made it difficult to judge the situation clearly.
"It says here that the patient’s seizure subsided after Dr. Hyun Kyungwoo’s acupuncture treatment."
"Oh, yes! I was truly stunned. I never imagined I would witness such a scene!"
From that point on, Nurse Choi Yeon-ju’s tongue loosened.
"Even though Mr. No was trying to stop him, he pushed him aside and checked the patient’s pulse, and his expression suddenly changed. Then, he placed the needles so fast! His hands were barely visible!"
"And then?"
"The truly amazing thing was that even though the patient was in the middle of a seizure, he placed the needles in the exact right spots. Even while the patient was thrashing around! Even though we couldn't hold the patient down properly from the side! Then, at one point, the patient suddenly exhaled, and his complexion improved."
"...The seizure subsided?"
"According to the doctor, it wasn't cured. He just opened the blockage, and since his condition is still poor, he said surgery is the right move. The paramedics were dumbfounded when they heard that explanation, haha."
'He calmed a seizure... and even diagnosed the exact prognosis!'
In Gyeonghak sent the nurse away. He had heard a heroic tale about his prized pupil, but what made him feel more troubled than pleased was...
'That fool Gi-seung...'
Mistakes were one thing, but he was bothered by the behavior No Gi-seung had shown in an emergency situation. He agonized over it for a long time.
'What should I do... about Mr. No Gi-seung...'
The next day. Kyungwoo, who had spent the night at a hotel near the hospital, walked toward the Gyeong-hyun University Western Medicine Hospital building. He had heard that yesterday’s patient wanted to meet him.
'What is this about?'
It could be something bad. In modern society, the story of being stabbed in the back after risking one's life to save someone wasn't even a cliché worth laughing at. But he felt no fear. If he were going to ignore a patient in such a situation, what was the point of all that hard studying?
'Anyway... what was that sensation yesterday?'
A sense of unity, as if he and the patient had become one. He could clearly sense where the winding watercourses of the human body were blocked or overflowing, and his own hand placing the needles moved as quickly and sensitively as if it were equipped with sensors.
Thinking about it now, that was how it was. At first, he intended to perform the procedure with the goal of widening the meridian flow to the heart to minimize aftereffects. But at some point, as if led by something, he felt he could calm the seizure.
'If it had been normal... would that have been possible?'
It seemed he had been half out of his mind at the time. His memory was a bit hazy, too...
Slide—
"Are you the patient, Kim Jang-hyun? I heard you were looking for me."
The patient was lying in a private room. The family member next to him jumped up and bowed.
"Thank you, Doctor! They said you saved my husband."
The wife in her 50s had teary eyes, and the patient tried to lift his body from a reclining position.
"Please, stay lying down. Don't overexert yourself."
"Thank you, Doctor. I'm sorry to have made you come here when I can't even move."
The patient said he had undergone coronary stent surgery immediately after testing yesterday. It was fortunate. A narrowed coronary artery could block up again at any time.
The patient looked into Kyungwoo’s eyes and said, "They dismiss it as a coincidence here, saying you just got over the hurdle with acupuncture... but I felt it then. I felt like I was dying from the pain and the suffocation, but when a cool energy broke through and entered, I knew I would live."
Had he felt something as his gigam (energy sensitivity) was extremely activated during the emergency?
"I really wanted to thank you. Of course, I had the surgery, but the reason I can be this well is definitely thanks to you, Doctor."
As he was leaving after the visit, he received a call from Professor In Gyeonghak.
/You haven't left yet, have you? Come to the hospital now./
Kyungwoo turned his steps toward the oriental medicine hospital. A moment later, in Professor In’s office, Kyungwoo beat him to the punch before In Gyeonghak could speak.
"I just came from meeting the patient."
"The patient?"
"Yes. I don't think there will be any lawsuits or other headaches."
"...I see."
The conversation In Gyeonghak had with the hospital director that morning flashed through his mind. At first, Director Seong Jae-yeong had been furious, asking why an oriental medicine doctor who wasn't even affiliated with the hospital had interfered and made things complicated. But after calling in the nurses and interns and hearing the explanation of the situation, his mouth had snapped shut.
He still didn't seem to like that Kyungwoo had touched the patient, but since it would have been a disaster if Kyungwoo hadn't recognized the myocardial infarction, he couldn't say much.
"There shouldn't be any problems at the hospital either. In the end, you saved a person."
Professor In didn't bother relaying all the messy details. Instead, he placed a hand on his pupil’s shoulder.
"You did well."
Kyungwoo smiled and said, "By the way, Professor, has the rumor spread a bit?"
"What rumor?"
"If rumors spread that I properly treated a critical patient and everyone gets motivated, I think it might put a brake on the hospital director’s agenda."
'This kid, he heard.'
"Then, wouldn't you be able to take time off for your surgery, Professor?"
To his pupil, who was half-jokingly urging him to have the surgery, Professor In gave a bitter smile.
"I can only vacate my position once I've found a new fellow."
"Is Gi-seung... planning to leave?"
"...I could have covered for his mistake somehow. Since the patient wasn't harmed. But he said he couldn't take such obvious risks in that situation. I told him I couldn't keep an oriental medicine doctor like that as a pupil, let alone a colleague."
That was intended to give him one last chance. However, No Gi-seung had shouted, asking if he just wanted him to leave, and threw off his gown.
Kyungwoo, seeing his teacher’s despondent expression, said comfortingly, "...So you can have your surgery with peace of mind, I'll give it a try too."
"...?"
In Gyeonghak looked confused, but Kyungwoo changed the subject.
"Also, I'm planning to prepare some herbal medicine for you, so let me check your pulse again."
"Herbal medicine? I'm already taking what's brewed in the hospital pharmacy."
"Take the medicine I send you. I'll make sure it's prepared well."
In Gyeonghak simply thought of it as his pupil’s thoughtfulness and offered his wrist. But...
'Hmm...?'
Kyungwoo felt something strange.
'The pain and discomfort...'
He could feel them, but they didn't resonate fully. 'What is this? Is it because of yesterday’s strange experience?'
Thump— Thump—
His heart began to race. And of all places, he was currently in a hospital. The fastest way to confirm this feeling was...
"Um, Professor."
"Why? Did you find something other than the brain issue in my pulse?"
"That's not it... but would it be alright if I went down to the ward and checked the pulses of the patients just once?"