Chapter 187: This Is an Experiment [2]
Chapter 187: This Is an Experiment [2]
Before long, Dolseok and Makbong came to understand their situation all too well.
And they also came to understand why their outrageous master had come all the way here.
T-this lunatic... he really came here just to make us wear this?
Dolseok shook his head as he looked at Kang Hyeok standing squarely in the middle of the room and the pig intestine lying on the floor.
H-how am I supposed to use this...
If Kang Hyeok had simply tossed it at him without any explanation, Dolseok might actually have put it on.
After all, Dolseok was willing to follow most anything Kang Hyeok told him to do.
But the problem was that Dolseok knew far too well where this thing had originally come from.
After spending the last few days shitting blood to heal his precious little friend, he did not want to let it get treated like a piece of sundae.
This is driving me insane.
But it was not only the pig intestine that was making Dolseok lose his mind.
“Young Master, are we putting this on now?”
Makbong’s innocent-faced question was also a problem.
No, that bastard knows exactly what this is... ah, wait... could it be...
Looking more closely, Makbong’s eyes had already half lost their senses.
In other words, he had already passed beyond the normal state governed by his brain and entered the state of obeying the orders of his lower half.
At this point, he would probably do anything Kang Hyeok told him, so long as he could satisfy his immediate lust.
“Ah, no. You need to be more prepared first.”
Kang Hyeok glanced down at Makbong’s crotch and shook his head.
There was no sign of anything sticking out at all.
That would not do.
“Huh? But I’m ready.”
On the other hand, Makbong shrugged as if asking what nonsense Kang Hyeok was talking about.
That made Kang Hyeok tilt his head.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
Only then did Kang Hyeok begin rummaging through the pig intestines he had prepared in advance.
Then he picked out the smallest one and tossed it over again.
“Then try this one.”
“Hmm. How exactly do I put this on?”
“What do you mean, how can’t you do it?”
“It’s not working very well.”
Makbong turned away and struggled with it for quite a while.
But no matter how one looked at it, something seemed off, and soon he began scratching the back of his head.
In the end, Kang Hyeok had no choice but to step in himself.
“Ha... do I really have to do even this?”
For a moment, he wondered whether he should forget all about venereal disease prevention and just give up.
But some kind of historical sense of duty began pushing him hard in the back.
If venereal disease disappeared from Joseon...
Then history itself might change.
The lifespans of great figures would lengthen a little, and the lifespans of the common people would lengthen even more.
So this could become a great event, a mighty step forward for humanity.
The thought that he ought to endure a little discomfort began lifting its head.
Right. I’ll do it.
At last, biting down on his lower lip, Kang Hyeok strode forward.
The distance between him and Makbong was not far, so he reached him quickly.
“Hey, let me see.”
“Huh? Do I really have to show you this? Don’t tell me...”
Makbong trailed off, wondering whether Kang Hyeok meant to put it on for him personally.
He absolutely did not want that to happen.
If Kang Hyeok came any closer than this, he had already decided he would beat the hell out of him, master or no master, and he took a step back.
“You said you couldn’t do it. I’ll... I’ll show you a demonstration, so do it just like this.”
Kang Hyeok said this while shaking the large pig intestine he was holding in his hand.
Only then did Makbong relax and nod.
“Ah. I thought...”
“Now watch.”
“Eek.”
“What’s wrong?”
“N-no, nothing. Um... I respect you.”
Looking at Makbong, who had gone deathly pale and lowered his head deeply, Kang Hyeok shook his head.
Then he personally demonstrated how to put on the pig intestine.
It was a little difficult because the size was not quite right.
Still, surprisingly, pig intestine was elastic enough to hold up just fine.
“This is how you do it.”
“Ah, I see. Yes, yes.”
“You should be nodding while watching. Why are you only staring at the floor?”
“N-no. How could I dare... ah, I respect you.”
“Stop talking nonsense and put it on already.”
“Yes, yes, Young Mas— no, um. Boss.”
Makbong did not dare look head-on and only cast sidelong glances.
But despite that, he managed to put it on quite successfully.
With a satisfied smile, Kang Hyeok patted Makbong on the shoulder.
“All right, now do it.”
“Ah... yes.”
After dealing with Makbong, Kang Hyeok went straight over to Dolseok.
Dolseok took step after step backward with a face that said this, at least, he absolutely could not obey.
“No. Not this.”
“You bastard, just look at Makbong. He’s participating in the experiment so diligently.”
“He’s insane!”
“As far as I can tell, you’re insane too.”
“Who are you call— no. Never mind.”
Dolseok stopped himself halfway through the retort.
Because if he called a truly crazy man crazy, there was no telling what might happen.
Just look at those gleaming eyes.
Back in the old days, Kang Hyeok had been a bastard, sure, but he had never shown this kind of madness.
Ever since getting that strange bag, something about him had become odd.
As Dolseok kept retreating, something suddenly came flying and smacked into his face.
“Ow. What the—”
“Put it on.”
“No... Young Master, no matter what, you can’t just throw this at a man’s face—”
“Put it on.”
“Even if it is your order, Young Master, this is—”
“Put it on.”
He had negotiation skills that might have made even Kim Du-han cry.
After nearly dozens of relentless repetitions, Dolseok finally pulled down his pants.
Because at that point, he felt there was no hope of escaping this hell in one piece anyway.
“Put it on.”
“How...?”
“Haah. Hey, watch carefully.”
Once again, Kang Hyeok had to give the demonstration himself.
“Eek.”
“What now, you bastard?”
“N-no. I respect you.”
“Why does every bastard here keep talking about respect?”
After seeing that demonstration, Dolseok began silently following Kang Hyeok’s instructions with an attitude that had become visibly much more polite.
Thus Dolseok too finished his preparations, and soon the sortie began.
“Hmm.”
After sending the two test subjects off, Kang Hyeok moved some distance away and began measuring the time.
Of course, since he did not have a proper clock, all he could do was count in his head.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
To an outsider, it might have looked like a very slapdash experiment, but in fact Kang Hyeok’s ability to measure time was second to none.
Emergency surgery often came down to seconds. When would he ever have the luxury of glancing at a clock?
He was not even someone who wore a wristwatch because of concerns over infection.
So most surgeons naturally developed timing skills as accurate as a cheap clock.
“Sixty... hmm?”
Right as Kang Hyeok was counting around sixty seconds, something unexpected happened.
Dolseok began hurriedly getting dressed again.
Unable to hide his puzzlement, Kang Hyeok spoke.
“Hey, what are you doing, you bastard?”
“Uh... I’m done.”
“Done? Done with what?”
“This...”
“What?”
What was he, some kind of rabbit? How could he already be finished?
“Come here. Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Burning with embarrassment, Dolseok scampered over at once.
And indeed, looking at the pig intestine he had put on, it was already over.
“Wow... Dolseok, this is actually pretty serious.”
“Serious? It’s only because it’s been too long.”
“Hmm.”
Leaving behind Dolseok, who looked as if his life had just ended, Kang Hyeok began inspecting the pig intestine from every angle.
There was no stretched part, no torn part either.
At this point, I can say it’s safe enough.
Of course, the fact that it had been used for such a short time surely also played a role.
For a moment, Kang Hyeok took his eyes off the pig intestine and looked at Makbong.
He was still fully absorbed in the experiment.
I’ll have to check whether his is all right too.
At least that was something of a relief.
One of the two was normal.
“Hey, Dolseok.”
“Yes, yes.”
“When you did it with this on, was there anything different from usual?”
“Different?”
“Yeah. Like the sensation being worse.”
“No, nothing like that.”
“Oh.”
That was good news.
Kang Hyeok carefully wrote his observations into the book he had brought along at some point.
“Good. Dolseok, recover your strength for now.”
“Huh...?”
“What kind of experiment ends in a single round?”
“Hell...”
Praying desperately that this might be a joke, Dolseok slumped down where he stood.
But Kang Hyeok was not someone who babbled nonsense, and that day Dolseok ended up using three whole pig intestines.
Even so, he was still one of the lucky ones.
Makbong, who was much hardier, had to use a full five.
“Hey, are you two all right?”
Kang Hyeok looked at Dolseok and Makbong, who still showed no sign of getting up even though the sun was already high in the sky.
“Huff, huff.”
“Ugh...”
The two were too exhausted even to sleep.
They were just lying there however they had collapsed, panting for breath.
“So this is what happens to you because you overdid it a little for one day, huh?”
“What do you mean, one day... do you have any idea how long yesterday was?”
With what little strength he had left, Dolseok tried to protest Kang Hyeok’s scolding.
But Kang Hyeok completely neutralized that protest by reciting several bits of data.
It would probably be data he could use for the rest of their lives.
“Dolseok: round one, one minute. Round two, two minutes. Round three... failed.”
“F-failed? If you’d just given me a little more time...”
“What nonsense. You were the one who came running over begging me to let you stop. You can’t even stand up right now.”
Kang Hyeok pointed at Dolseok, who had been trying to sit up for some time now.
His trembling legs looked almost pitiful.
“You really need to do some lower-body exercises...”
Clicking his tongue sympathetically, Kang Hyeok then turned to Makbong’s data.
This side was vastly superior compared to Dolseok.
“Makbong: round one, twenty minutes. Rounds two, three, and four, thirty minutes. Round five, sixty minutes. Wow, you’re a real Kangsoe.”
“Th-thank you.”
Though he too was on the verge of collapse just like Dolseok, Makbong still bowed his head.
“Thanks to you, I got some pretty meaningful results. As for that bastard Dolseok... why does he even go to places like this?”
“B-because it feels good.”
“What on earth feels good about it? From where I’m standing, it looked like you only went through the motions and then it was over.”
“Only went through the motions...”
“The rabbit stays quiet now.”
After silencing the rabbit—or rather, Dolseok—Kang Hyeok ran his eyes down the experiment data.
Aside from Dolseok’s last one, none of them tore. That means it’s incredibly tough. If I can only manage mass production, this really will be huge.
Of course, there was something that had to come first.
Teaching people why they had to wear this at all.
That won’t be much of a problem.
Kang Hyeok was no mere wild man anymore.
He was Cheomjeong Baek Kang Hyeok of the Royal Medical Bureau.
That meant he now stood shoulder to shoulder with the legendary divine physician Heo Jun.
I should have a talk with Physician Heo sometime.
He would probably understand at once and support the effort with all his strength.
Because he was a born doctor.
As Kang Hyeok smiled in satisfaction at the thought, someone suddenly flung open the room door.
Assuming it was just another gisaeng, Kang Hyeok shot a sharp glare toward the doorway.
His blunt tone came with it.
“What.”
But the face peering in belonged to someone familiar.
It was Dongpa.
“M-Master!”
“Oh, it’s you. Long time no see.”
“I heard you had come to Hanyang, so I prepared a feast and waited, but you came straight here instead?”
“Ah... well... there was something urgent I had to take care of.”
“It seems you handled it well.”
Dongpa said this while looking around the chaotic room.
He seemed to have a pretty clear idea of what kind of business had been handled there.
“But why did you run all the way here? I would have gone on my own soon enough.”
“Ah, right. Look at me, losing my head.”
Dongpa smacked his forehead with a loud slap, then continued.
“Daegam Ryu Seong-ryong is here. He’s already been waiting quite a while.”