The Earliest Available Appointment
When is the earliest available appointment?
My senses are as sharp as if I’d just been doused in ice-cold water. The sensation of the needle piercing the child’s delicate skin, passing through the thin layer of fat, and finally popping through the fascia is transmitted vividly to my fingertips.
Is it because of what happened last night...?
Truth be told, even if I hadn’t received the call, I had been planning to come by today. Last night, the third chapter of the Gamshin-tongmaek-rok had unlocked. It seemed the medical text was designed to teach me the "perfect treatment" for the cases I had resonated with each day.
If I treated Jia today, would I be able to find the optimal cure? The thought filled me with anticipation. But even just from yesterday’s acupuncture practice, it seemed to be helping. My tactile sensitivity had sharpened, and the acupoints for ankle sprains overlapped significantly with the ones I needed for Jia right now.
Slide—
It felt as if the needle were finding its own path. The reason Oriental medicine doctors prefer the expression "placing a needle" over "stabbing with a needle" is that when you place the needle into the exact acupoint with a clear, empty mind, it feels as if the needle is being sucked into its proper place.
Satisfied that it had settled in the right spot, the needle stood upright. I channeled the pain stimulus into it. Since her body was being swept by agonizing pain, I needed to provide enough to counter it.
"Ugh..."
The child twisted her body slightly, but that was a good sign.
"Do you feel a little better?"
Jia gave a small nod. I could see the tension in her face easing just a fraction.
I continued to seek out the next acupoints. Hyeonjong, Sam-eumgyo, Taegye. Each point felt more precise than it had yesterday. It was as if the flow of Qi inside her body were being mapped out on my fingertips.
Before long, beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I had finished inserting about twenty needles.
"You’re amazing, Jia. You’re a real big girl now."
Jia wore a faint smile, as if she felt she could breathe again. But because I could feel her pain exactly as she did, I knew the truth. The pain had subsided by about half, but for any other child, this level of agony would still be enough to have them screaming and crying.
Is this the limit for now...?
I set the needles down. I hoped that if I could complete the case study on CRPS tonight, I would be able to reduce her pain even further.
"Thank you, Doctor."
"Have you been out to see the world lately, Jia?"
"No. It’s too hot... and Mom worries."
I stroked the hair of the child who was looking up at me with bright, clear eyes.
"Mother, please let her get some fresh air at sunset occasionally. Managing stress is important, too."
"She’s so sensitive to external stimuli..."
"If she’s in pain, just call me right away, like you did today."
"Oh, no. You didn’t open this clinic because you wanted to, so how could we..."
The reason I had moved to this quiet rural village was that in a place with many people, it was hard to pretend I didn't see the patients I encountered. But here, I had ended up meeting Jia. A young child suffering from a disease where every day was agony, with no promise of recovery. After I treated her once, then twice, the village head had come to find me.
He was right. Even with a license, if I treated people privately without being affiliated with an institution, it would be difficult to receive legal protection if a problem arose.
Seeing the number of patients slowly increasing these days, I suspected it might have been the village head's scheme all along.
"Seeing Jia is fine. If she’s in pain, don't hesitate to contact me."
How could I turn away a child who was facing unbearable pain every single day, even during the short time I was working on her?
"See you at the clinic on Friday, Jia."
"Yes, Doctor!"
I stepped out of Jia’s house. The sweltering air of a midsummer evening wrapped around me. On the apricot tree in the yard, orange apricots were ripening, and some had already fallen to the ground.
They’ve ripened this much already.
Perhaps because of the excessive heat, the apricots had ripened earlier than usual, and they suddenly overlapped with the image of Jia. A child who had to bear the weight of pain too early in her young life.
"Director, please take these at least."
Jia’s mother held out a small basket filled with apricots.
"That’s quite alright."
"It’s just... I’m so grateful. Jia sleeps well on the nights she gets acupuncture."
I nodded silently and accepted the basket. It looked like I would have to pull another all-nighter tonight.
Although the book had tormented me so much yesterday, it had ultimately allowed me to treat Jia better, so I tried to feel grateful—but that lasted only a moment. I clicked the moxa torch on my desk in the director’s office.
"Should I really just burn this thing?"
I reread the chapter I had been studying.
"The root of complex pain exists beyond the surface of the muscles and bones, deep within.
To govern a condition where the Qi is disturbed and the meridians of the entire body are in chaos, the practitioner’s mind and body must reach a state of absolute stillness (Jing).
For perfect concentration, one must sit in one position for twelve hours of meditation, then, with eyes closed, find the exact acupoint to insert the needle."
"You want me to sit for 24 hours? What about food? The bathroom? Am I supposed to wear a diaper while I meditate?"
"However, if the practitioner’s level is low and they cannot control the desires of the flesh, there is a secondary method: revive the pain you have experienced, feel its source thoroughly for two hours, and then begin your practice."
"Hey! You’re an AI, right? You definitely changed your tune after hearing me complain!"
The book offered no reply. I let out a long, heavy sigh.
Feel that pain for two hours?
The feeling of skin tearing even if a piece of clothing brushed against it. The crushing pressure of not even being able to bear the weight of my own body. The sensation that my nerve endings were exposed to the outside air, hypersensitive to every stimulus in the world. That was the pain I had resonated with just a little while ago. The CRPS pain, already vicious, had flared up even more, so it was a miracle I had managed to keep my head and perform the acupuncture properly.
"No way! I’m not doing it! I’m not..."
Even as I shuddered, I knew. This was the reality for a child who experienced that pain every single day. In the end, I knew I would have no choice but to accept it.
"Fine! I’ll do it, you cursed piece of trash!"
As I cursed and reached my conclusion, the ancient book spat out the next sentence, as if it were proud of me.
"The will of a healer who truly embraces the patient’s suffering as their own is a virtue of the highest order; such a person shall surely be met with a great reward."
I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the Gamshin-tongmaek-rok. Instantly, a tidal wave of pain struck my entire body. The agony that started in my ankle surged through my knees, up my thighs, along my spine, and into the inside of my skull. It felt as if molten wax were flowing through my body.
"Ughhhhh!"
I gripped the desk. Even breathing was an ordeal.
I have to feel it... I have to feel this pain properly...
The pain was deep, so deep. Drip— drip— Cold sweat fell from my forehead. To forget the pain, I focused even more on diagnosing the symptoms. The meridians and collaterals of the Foot Taiyin Spleen channel passing through the affected area were turbid and enlarged. In contrast, the Foot Jueyin Liver channel, which governs the dispersal of Qi and the health of muscles and tendons, was extremely atrophied. And the Conception and Governing vessels.
Especially the Shenzhu and Mingmen points, which are so important for children that they are practically everything, are not functioning properly. Furthermore, the flow of the Lieque and Houxi points, which intersect with the Conception and Governing vessels among the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, is completely blocked.
At some point, my expression, which had been twisted like a demon’s, began to soften. It wasn't because the pain had lessened. It was because I had reached a state of near-selflessness, observing the pain boiling in my own body as if I were looking at a patient’s symptoms.
Is it over?
The feeling of the pain vanishing as if washed away was electrifying. The phantom pain for acupuncture practice still remained, but compared to before, it couldn't even be called pain.
With a clear mind, I picked up the needle.
The approach was backwards. I have to start from Shenzhu and Mingmen.
Hypersensitive pain is, in the end, a result of the body’s fundamental regulatory functions being set incorrectly. I finished inserting needles into fourteen acupoints. At first, the turbid energy that had covered my entire body and was broad in scope gradually diminished each time I successfully achieved Deqi at each point, but... the problem was that despite the completed acupuncture technique, 20% of the turbidity still remained unresolved.
So, it really isn't possible to cure it completely.
The taste in my mouth was bitter. With this technique, I could significantly reduce Jia’s pain, but it wasn't a fundamental cure. Would I be able to find a way when other chapters were unlocked in the future?
[You have completed a case study.]
The Gamshin-tongmaek-rok was now doing its "AI thing" without even trying to hide it.
"So that bastard was listening to everything."
[...A reward shall be granted. Are you suffering from pain resonance?
If the Righteous Qi is full, the Evil Qi cannot invade the body; therefore, the practitioner must first learn how to cultivate the body’s Righteous Qi.
The Absorption Method is a way to absorb the Righteous Qi of nature and store it within the body. Begin with nine deep breaths a day and gradually increase the frequency, ensuring every breath is natural and deep.
As you continue this, your Righteous Qi will become full, and you will reach a realm where you feel the pain but are not dominated by it.]
"Wait, you had something that good?"
Suddenly, my tone shifted to formal, polite speech.
However, the next day, the high regard I had briefly held for the ancient medical text returned to its original place.
"Hey, you should have told me the effect was agonizingly slow first!"
Now, I was pointing my finger at the book, spitting as I spoke, as if daring it to make an excuse. But the book had started its "book cosplay" again and offered no response.
"You little thug of a book!"
Yesterday, having acquired the Absorption Method as a reward, I had been excited and diligently practiced the method written in the book. Hoo— inhale! Hoo— inhale! But unlike the powerful effect I had expected, the result was... just the feeling of taking one sip of a Starbucks Americano? No, even weaker than that. Maybe the energy boost of a single grain of sugar from a Maxim Mocha Gold coffee mix?
"This is it?!"
I clicked the moxa torch with a flushed face. "I did this all night, and this is all I get?"
Maybe because it was paper, it didn't flinch when I threw it, but it seemed to be afraid of fire. The ancient text hurriedly spat out the next line.
"The gathering of Righteous Qi is like the quiet formation of dew; it is natural that you would find it difficult to feel its effect at first.
What can a single drop of dew change? But just as a thousand, ten thousand drops of dew gather to form a stream, and those streams gather to form a river, it is insignificant at first, but it accumulates and accumulates until its power becomes magnificent."
"Shut up! How long is that going to take!"
I held the torch to it again, and another line appeared.
"A-and, it is good for men."
"Huh?"
"It boosts a man’s vitality and has great efficacy in the arts of the bedroom."
The anger that had been surging suddenly subsided. Well, Righteous Qi meant Kidney Essence, and a man with solid Kidney Essence was bound to be strong...
Ahem—
You should have told me that from the start.
I set the torch down. Just then, Miyoung, who had arrived for work, knocked on the director’s office door.
"Director, were you researching all night again? All the appointments today are in the afternoon, so please go home and get some rest."
"No, I’ll just catch some shut-eye here. Please clean the office later."
"Yes, of course."
Miyoung stepped outside. In the morning, it’s time for a deep clean of the clinic!
Kyungwoo Oriental Clinic paid high wages for the amount of work required. Moreover, the Director’s noble skills always made her feel proud, so her job satisfaction was at its peak. However, Miyoung relieved her anxiety about not earning her keep because the number of patients was still low by working diligently.
Scrub, scrub—
Not only did she wipe away the daily dust, but she also detached each keycap from the computer keyboard to disinfect them and wiped the corners of the needle tray with cotton swabs. She was cleaning away excitedly when the phone rang.
"Yes, this is Kyungwoo Oriental Clinic."
"Hello. This is Yoon Gwan-woo, secretary to the Goesan County Governor."
"Yes— how can I help you?"
Yoon Gwan-woo was slightly taken aback. The County Governor held absolute authority within the county. Usually, when he called anywhere and revealed his title as the Governor’s aide, everyone would be surprised and bow down, but...
Are they acting defensively because they’re afraid it’s bad news?
In fact, he was calling for a good reason. One of the main campaign promises of the current Goesan County Governor, Song Ji-heon, was improving medical accessibility in medically underserved areas. To that end, he had significantly increased the budget for public health sub-centers. But a while ago, the Governor had been checking the list of hospitals and clinics in the county and discovered a newly opened Oriental clinic in a remote area.
"Why did they open here? Shouldn't we give them a subsidy so they don't close down? Tell them I’m going to visit once. If I go there, get a needle treatment, and take a photo to hang up, it’ll be great for publicity, so they’ll like it."
They don't know the Governor’s deep intentions yet...
Yoon Gwan-woo delivered the news that would make them happy.
"The Governor intends to visit for a consultation."
"Oh, the schedule is fully booked, so it will be difficult for the time being."
"...Excuse me?"
What was this? Surely the revenue was at the bottom... no, even if the revenue was incredible, the County Governor was saying he would visit?
"Then when is the earliest available appointment?"
"Let’s see. Six weeks from now?"
Yoon Gwan-woo dropped the phone.