Just Trust Me and Get the Acupuncture

"Five million won...?"

Song Jiheon asked, unable to stop himself.

The fact that he didn't shout at the top of his lungs was a testament to his character and experience. He had visited many Korean medicine clinics in his time. It wasn't just because of his constipation; he often purchased Gongjindan whenever his stamina hit rock bottom during election season or when he needed that final push.

Gongjindan was known as the most expensive medicine in any clinic. Even that didn't cost more than 100,000 won per pill, yet this 1cc of medicine in a tiny syringe was 5 million won?

"Is it too expensive?"

"Huuuh... ahem."

Having already said what he said, he couldn't even bring himself to scold the man. Doubt began to creep in again. Was this guy a con artist who actually had some skill?

'Wait, did I just take a 5-million-won dump earlier?'

A sense of disillusionment washed over him, and the director, who had seemed like a saint just moments ago, suddenly looked like a swindler. Kyungwoo smiled brightly.

"If it's too expensive, you can pay in kind."

"In... kind?"

A moment later, after hearing about the playground issue in Yongdeok-ri, the county governor couldn't lift his head.

"The medical subsidy you mentioned—could we use it for this? It's important for injured people to get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠treated quickly, but it's even better if they don't get hurt in the first place."

"...I am ashamed. I had no idea there were so few places for the children to play..."

There were countless places in the county that needed funding. With a limited budget, repairing a playground in a small village that wasn't considered an immediate emergency was naturally pushed to the bottom of the priority list. But there was another reason for his shame.

'An outsider is more worried about this village than I, the Goesan County Governor, am.'

A Korean medicine doctor who was treating the residents of Goesan at a loss, asking for something that would benefit the children of Goesan in exchange for his miraculous treatment.

Children were the future of the county. With people leaving the rural areas and the population dwindling, they were struggling to attract young people by offering housing and settlement funds. Yet, they didn't even have a proper playground for the children to run around in.

"I will divert my own administrative expenses to ensure the playground is repaired quickly. And I will make this a guiding principle for my future policies. Thank you, Director."

Kyungwoo tilted his head at the governor's expression, which looked as if he had experienced a sudden enlightenment.

'I just wanted to take a nap in peace, but now it's a policy direction? Things seem to have escalated...'

Kyungwoo shrugged his shoulders.

After finishing the treatment, he walked out to the waiting room. Governor Song, looking embarrassed, mentioned the earlier incident to Miyoung.

"I... I'm sorry for the trouble you went through cleaning the restroom."

"That's my job."

Governor Song was impressed by Miyoung's expression, which showed not a hint of resentment.

'Like director, like employee...'

In truth, Miyoung really didn't think much of it. A patient had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠come to the clinic, and the director had healed them—that was a wonderful thing. Everything in the clinic, excluding diagnosis and treatment, was her responsibility. Therefore, she was simply doing her job!

"I... I'd like to make a follow-up appointment..."

However, on this point, she had clear reservations. Miyoung's expression turned into an impenetrable wall.

"You can come in four weeks from Thursday."

"Four weeks? Can't you make it a bit sooner?"

"That's already two weeks earlier than what I suggested this morning. We are fully booked until then."

It wasn't just a matter of slotting someone in because a spot opened up two weeks later. Miyoung scheduled appointments by considering the current symptoms and treatment stages of the local residents. Grandma Sunja came every three days; she had chronic cervical disc issues, so she would need to come for at least another two months. Jia needed to come twice a week without fail.

'There are first-time patients waiting, and this person just cut the line for a same-day visit!'

She sometimes squeezed in urgent patients when a spot opened, but she intended to apply the rules strictly to this man.

"But still, just a little bit more..."

"There are plenty of clinics and Korean medicine doctors in Goesan-eup, so please get treated nearby. The village residents come first."

Improving medical accessibility. It was his own campaign promise, so he couldn't even argue against it. Song Jiheon eventually admitted defeat and retreated with a lonely expression.

"I'll see you in four weeks..."

A few days later, construction on the playground at the Yongdeok-ri branch school began under the governor's special order. The children were running around, bursting with excitement.

"Wow! A new slide!"

"Whoa, they're changing the swing ropes too! Does that mean we can ride the swings now?"

Miyoung, watching the scene on her way to work, smiled contentedly and trotted toward the clinic. Kyungwoo was lounging in the director's office, just like any other day.

"It was you, wasn't it, Director?"

"What was?"

"The playground repairs. You asked the governor because you felt bad for the kids, right?"

"...Now I'll finally be able to take my nap in peace."

Miyoung smiled and began to clean. It was a morning no different from any other.

Yongdeok-ri Senior Center.

Compared to other villages, Yongdeok-ri had a relatively high population of young and middle-aged people, but the countryside was still the countryside. In this place, always filled with grandfathers and grandmothers, the hottest topic these days was the "Director Teacher."

"Don't you think his acupuncture skills have become even more miraculous lately?"

"You're right, sister. I had acupuncture two days ago for my 20-year chronic hip pain, and it still doesn't hurt."

"The needles used to be painful enough to make me cry, but it seems less so these days."

"Isn't that a bit of a shame? I actually like that tingling sensation; it feels so refreshing."

They hadn't been this favorable toward Kyungwoo's clinic from the start. It was a well-known fact how stingy rural people could be toward outsiders who moved into their neighborhood. But after Grandpa Jinwoo, who had scoffed at how much a young man could know about acupuncture, suffered a knockout defeat; and Grandma Sunja, who had haughtily stuck out her wrist and challenged him to "guess where it hurts," was completely overwhelmed; and after Uncle Doosik, who had been writhing in the middle of the night with appendicitis, was saved from peritonitis by the director's treatment—everyone realized the truth.

-Hey, book me an appointment for tomorrow too.

-Please come next week. There's no need for unnecessary over-treatment.

They weren't in a position to be stubborn anymore!

"Anyway, the Director settling in our village is a great blessing for Yongdeok-ri."

Everyone was nodding when the door to the senior center slid open. The person who appeared was Grandpa Mansu. His cheeks were puffed with stubbornness, and his eyes shone with a sharp glint. He held the top tier among the elders of Yongdeok-ri. That was because... he was the wealthiest farmer.

Thud-

The box he set down was filled with Pappi-Jibang.

"Mansu, what is all this?"

"My son, Sehyung, sent it. He said to share it with you all."

He was a man who had succeeded in the most important kind of farming—raising children!

"It's a luxury to have a doctor for a son."

"Sehyung was a snot-nosed kid when he was little; who would've thought he'd grow up to be so successful?"

"Did Sehyung buy this in Seoul and send it?"

"No, pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies keep giving him samples. They're piling up at my house, and I don't know what to do with them."

Everyone was busy stuffing a few boxes into their arms with envious faces, but Seong Mansu asked in a loud voice.

"I'm going to the orthopedic clinic in town today. Is anyone coming with me in my car?"

Everyone was silent. Grandpa Mansu frowned, as he seemed to know the reason.

"Don't tell me you're all not going to the orthopedic clinic because of that Korean medicine clinic?"

"Mansu, you should try going there once. It's not the kind of place you think it is."

"All Korean medicine clinics are the same. Real treatment is what you get at a hospital."

Ever since his son went to medical school, Grandpa Mansu had heard it until it was etched into his ears: "Father, don't go to those clinics and drink mysterious black water or let them stick needles in you. Traditional medicine is only alive because it had some use back in the day—" "That's not medicine! Don't go around saying such ignorant things. Especially when your son is a doctor!"

If you hear that from your proud family for over 20 years, you're bound to be brainwashed. Even if he sprained his back or ankle while farming, he would endure it with painkillers, and if that didn't work, he would go to the orthopedic clinic in town—he never, ever went to a Korean medicine clinic. But for the past few months, the villagers had been flocking to that clinic as if they were possessed...

"You've all been completely taken in; that Korean medicine doctor looks like a con artist no matter how I look at it."

"What? A con artist?"

A few people stood up in protest.

"Mansu, it doesn't matter if you don't go. Honestly, I didn't try to persuade you because it just makes it harder to get an appointment if one more person goes, but you shouldn't speak so carelessly about things you don't know."

"I agree. That's not right."

"Ah, no... why is everyone like this?"

Grandpa Mansu, flustered, shouted in anger and left the senior center.

"Damn it, they're being difficult even when I offer them a ride."

Park Chunsik, who was riding his cultivator down the road, saw him and stopped.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

"Ugh. Everyone's lost their minds over a con artist."

As Grandpa Mansu complained about what happened at the senior center, Park Chunsik listened to the end and said heavily,

"Brother, you can think whatever you want inside... but never show it if you run into the Teacher."

"...Huh?"

"If the Teacher gets his feelings hurt because of you and closes the clinic, you'll be the one who suffers."

Park Chunsik patted his back and drove off. Grandpa Mansu was incredibly annoyed. However, because Park Chunsik was the village head and a reliable younger brother who had helped him many times, he couldn't bring himself to curse and turned away.

"I'll go alone, I'll go alone!"

"My face keeps feeling a stinging sensation."

"Is once enough? You need to come consistently. Would you like to do some more physical therapy?"

"No. My son is a doctor, so I have plenty of this stuff at home."

"Wow, your son is a doctor? You've succeeded in raising your children."

He finished his round of bragging about his children again today and returned home with his medicine.

'Why do my ears and face feel so prickly...'

He returned home and went out to the field. Although he had retired from full-scale farming due to his age, he continued to work in the field as a hobby.

"This pretty carrot is for my Minju to eat so her skin becomes beautiful. This fresh lettuce is for Seonghun to eat so he grows up strong~ My daughter-in-law likes crisp cucumbers, and my son loved pumpkin porridge when he was little."

At these moments, Grandpa Mansu's sagging cheeks were filled not with stubbornness, but with love. His wife had passed away early. His son had built a family in Seoul. What joy was there for an old man living alone? His only joy was growing things like this to give to his family.

Just then, his phone rang.

"Oh my, what's this, my daughter-in-law?"

"Father, the young radish you sent this time. Did you really send it expecting me to make kimchi out of it?"

"Huh? Ah... no, that's..."

"Please don't send things like this. It's the same with the pumpkins you sent before. Who is going to peel and prepare these?"

"Sehyung liked pumpkin porridge so..."

"They sell everything at the mart. We just buy exactly what we need, already cleaned and prepared. Please, Father. The ones you sent before all rotted, and I threw them away by the box."

"...I see. I'm sorry."

The call ended abruptly. The carrots that were as pretty as jewels, the cucumbers he had carefully selected for their straight, beautiful shape—they were all things that would just rot and be thrown away.

Twitch-

One side of his face, which had been tingling and stiff since yesterday, suddenly felt worse. The sensation pulling from behind his ear to the back of his head intensified in an instant. Grandpa Mansu slumped down in the field. It felt like his mouth was being pulled crooked to one side.

"Th... what is this?"

Without realizing it, his hand went up to his face. The sensation in his right cheek ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was strange. Terror washed over him. His son would still be seeing patients, and he couldn't even bring himself to contact his daughter-in-law. He eventually called the village head.

"Pa... Park Chunsik."

[Brother? Is something wrong? Your speech sounds strange.]

"My fa... my mouth, my mouth is twisted-"

[I'm coming right now. Stay right there!]

Park Chunsik arrived and dragged him to Kyungwoo's clinic.

"I... I'm going to the ho... hospital!"

"Brother! I know you don't like Korean medicine clinics because your son is a doctor, but this is an emergency! Early treatment is most important for facial paralysis. Do you want to live the rest of your life with a twisted mouth?"

"Bu... but-"

"Just trust me and get the acupuncture once. Even Sehyung wouldn't have said that acupuncture makes things worse, even if he said it wasn't effective!"

"Still, I..."

"Just keep your mouth shut. I'll handle it, so don't say anything useless."

6:00 PM.

Park Miyoung, who was about to leave work, received a call from Park Chunsik and ran to Kyungwoo.

"Director, they say Grandpa Seong Mansu on the mountain path suddenly had his mouth twist; can you treat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him?"

Kyungwoo recalled him. He was the last patient among the village elders who had never once visited the clinic. Whenever he ran into him, the look in his eyes was always filled with suspicion.

"Yes, prepare the long needles."

But did it matter? He had no desire to prove himself, nor did he want to turn anyone away on purpose. However, since he had opened a clinic here, it was only natural for him to see emergency patients whose conditions would worsen if he didn't treat them immediately.

"Thank you, Teacher. At this hour when you're supposed to be off..."

"Come in."

Grandpa Mansu followed the village head, hesitating, and sat on the treatment bed. Kyungwoo picked up a long needle.

"Wh... why such a long needle on my fa..."

"This is a treatment method called Tu-ja. Clench your teeth."

As he clenched his teeth, his masseter muscle bulged.

"I will enter through the corner of your mouth and pierce through to here. Don't be surprised."

"Eh?"

Thud- Swish- Pop!

"Ugh..."

A sharp, electric pain spread across Seong Mansu's face.