The Acupuncturist of the Sichuan Tang Clan Hits the Jackpot
Langley, Virginia. CIA Headquarters.
The door to Neil Campbell’s office, chief of SAC, flew open.
And of course the man who walked in without knocking was David Hoffman.
He pulled out a chair in front of the desk and settled into it at a lazy angle.
Campbell merely lifted his head enough to confirm who it was, then returned his eyes to the documents in front of him.
“Last week’s housewarming wasn’t bad. Didn’t expect McKinnon to bring whiskey, though.”
Hoffman opened with a light remark.
As always, Campbell replied in an even voice while moving his pen across the page.
“That was the first time I’d seen him do that. Lee must have impressed him more than usual.”
“Didn’t seem that way at first, but the guy has a strange knack for drawing people in. Interesting fellow.”
The small talk ended there.
Campbell set aside the finished folder, then opened a thin file drawer and slid a slim dossier across the desk toward Hoffman.
“We’ve picked up one of the money trails we’ve been tracing since the Prague job.”
The easy amusement faded from Hoffman’s face.
He took the file and slowly turned the first page.
“It’s in Italy, around Naples. A local mafia outfit’s been taking Russian funds and running weapons and drug distribution through them.”
“Hmm. That’s a pretty big one.”
Hoffman clicked his tongue as he skimmed the documents.
“This isn’t just a money-laundering front. It’s one of the SVR’s distribution hubs in Southern Europe. Cut this route, and you’ll choke off a big chunk of their Southern European funding and weapons pipeline.”
“So the mafia’s getting fatter on Russian money, and now they’ve got weapons and drugs on top of that. And the local police can’t touch them already.”
Hoffman set the file down on the desk and rubbed his chin.
“Messy.”
“Not the kind of thing you clean up neatly,” Campbell said flatly.
“Then McKinnon’s probably the right man for it.”
“That’s my assessment as well. From local recon through final extraction, he’s the fastest and surest option.”
Hoffman nodded, then seemed to remember something.
“Would be good if Lee could join him too.”
“I’m already sorting through a few assignments I can hand to Lee. I’ll add this one to the list.”
At that, Hoffman raised his eyebrows, interested.
Campbell added, “If Lee’s the backup, McKinnon won’t complain.”
“That Prague pairing wasn’t bad.”
Hoffman gave a snort of laughter and stood.
“How’s Lee been lately? Housewarming’s over. Guess it’s about time he started getting restless.”
“He says he’ll be opening his acupuncture clinic soon.”
“Ah. You mean that Korean medicine place.”
Hoffman reached for the doorknob, then paused and let out a dry laugh.
“What if that takes off and he decides he’s done with CIA work?”
“If that were the plan, he wouldn’t have come looking for us in the first place. In my view, this is his true calling.”
With Campbell’s confident answer, Hoffman nodded and left the office.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
March in Virginia.
The morning air was still cold, but the scenery made it clear winter was on its way out.
I left the house with light steps.
The walk from the townhouse down Main Street to the center of Clarendon was now a familiar route, one I’d taken every day for the past couple of months.
The trees along the street had started to pick up a faint green tint, and even the people heading to work early in the morning were dressed a little lighter.
I pushed open the door to my usual café on the corner by the main road and stepped inside.
The barista behind the counter saw me and immediately started making an Americano.
I greeted her lightly and handed over my card.
“Have a good day, Lee.”
“Thanks.”
I took the coffee and started walking again.
Turning the corner, I found the owner of the deli sandwich shop already sweeping the pavement in front of his store. He raised a hand high when he saw me.
“Hey, Lee! Opening day, right? Congrats!”
“Thanks. I’ll come by for lunch and get a sandwich.”
I gave him a brief wave and kept going.
The results of my Virginia licensing exam had arrived by mail last week. I’d passed, naturally.
That meant all the paperwork had finally been completed for me to work officially as a Korean medicine doctor in the United States.
On the first floor of the commercial building, a small sign hung above the glass door. It was written in both Korean and English.
Bon Acupuncture & Wellness
Bon Acupuncture & Wellness
It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t meant to be.
I stood on the sidewalk, looked up at the sign once, took a sip of coffee, and opened the door.
The waiting room and front desk were clean and orderly. Beyond that lay the treatment room, with a medicine cabinet filled along the wall with herbal ingredients.
I’d finished the cleaning and setup a few days ago, so there really wasn’t anything left to do.
“Hmm. Perfect.”
I nodded in satisfaction at the familiar bitter scent of medicinal herbs.
I slipped on my white coat, sat down at the desk in the treatment room, and turned on the computer.
Needless to say, there was no way a customer would be waiting on opening morning.
I’d posted a notice outside that the clinic operated strictly by appointment, and I hadn’t advertised anywhere else.
Still, I wasn’t anxious or worried.
I never intended to make a real living from this place in the first place. It was more of a cover for staying in the United States and a reason to receive medicinal supplies.
Dong-
Then a clear chime rang out from the waiting room.
I stood up, a little surprised.
When I stepped out of the treatment room, a Korean woman who looked to be in her thirties or forties was standing by the door.
She must have seen the door open from outside and come in on impulse.
“This is the opening day, right?”
She asked that, then froze when she noticed the sign on the wall beside the counter reading 100% Appointment Only.
“Oh my, this is by appointment? I just walked in without thinking. Should I make one and come back···?”
I walked out into the waiting room and answered quickly.
“No, it’s fine. It’s the first day, so come on in.”
Only then did the woman look slightly relieved and step inside.
An unexpected first patient.
“What brings you in today?”
I asked the woman, who was sitting across from me with the desk between us, in a relaxed tone.
She thought for a moment, then rubbed the back of her neck and opened her mouth.
“I was diagnosed with a cervical disc problem before. I also have terrible forward head posture··· the back of my neck through my shoulders keeps getting this sharp, pulling pain, and I can’t even sleep well at night. I’ve been going to hospitals and physical therapy for years, but it only helps for a moment. It never really gets better.”
She let out a small sigh.
“Hm. Can I see your hand?”
I placed my fingers on her wrist and gently checked her pulse.
At that moment, the flow of energy beneath the patient’s skin rose sharply in my mind.
The qi and blood below the neck are tightly knotted.
Long-term fatigue and bad posture had twisted the bones, the nerves, and the very channels of circulation into a rigid knot.
When that happened, the muscles stiffened, the posture warped even further, and the strain only piled up again as fatigue in the body.
“You’re definitely very stiff here. This area hurts the most, doesn’t it?”
The woman stared at me in shock, then nodded.
“Oh! Yes, that’s exactly it. That’s where it hurts the most.”
“Good. First, change into this and lie face down on the bed over here.”
The woman came back from the changing room wearing a treatment gown with an open back and carefully lay face down on the bed.
I disinfected the back of her neck and the area around her shoulders with alcohol swabs, then took out a long, thin silver needle.
First, the pair of Fengchi points at the back of the neck.
The instant my fingertips found the acupoints, I could feel dense knots of energy packed hard beneath them.
For something built up over years, it was surprisingly tough.
“This might sting.”
The needle pierced the skin and reached the point.
Next came Dazhui below the cervical vertebrae, then Jianjing on both shoulders.
Then Jianwaishu on the inner shoulders and Quchi on the outer elbows.
In all, nine needles took their places.
I brought my index and middle fingers together and rested them atop the needle at Fengchi, then slowly began to pour in my inner energy.
The force seeping through the needle struck the tangled knot of meridians it found beneath.
It was solid.
As expected of something that had been building for years, it didn’t budge after one or two impacts.
I drew on a little more internal force.
Crack.
Not literally, of course.
But it felt as though something tightly compacted under my fingertips had split open by a single layer.
The patient’s shoulder twitched faintly.
Good. It’s opening.
I moved my fingers to the next needle.
Dazhui. When I pushed my energy there, the blocked channel forced open and a path cleared.
Then Jianjing, Jianwaishu, Quchi. Each time I sent energy through, the hardened meridians were forcibly loosened.
Crack! Crack!
The moment the final knot shattered, the blocked qi and blood surged forward all at once, as if a dam had broken.
The woman’s back jolted hard once, and the hand that had been clenched into a fist slowly relaxed.
···Maybe I pushed a little too hard.
I lifted my fingers from the needle.
In the past, even placing a single needle like this would have left me drained, but thanks to all the ginseng I’d been taking, I had plenty of internal reserve to spare.
Ten minutes later, I removed the needles.
I gently wiped the puncture sites with alcohol swabs.
“All right, stand up and try moving your neck.”
At my words, the woman sat up with a doubtful expression.
“···Don’t you do physical therapy or anything like that?”
Her tone carried the clear implication that one needle session couldn’t possibly do much.
As she slowly turned her head left and right, her expression changed in a strange way.
“Huh?”
Then her eyes began to widen.
She rotated her neck in a full circle, tried bending it the other way, and even shrugged her shoulders.
“Ah···? Oh my?”
She stared at me with wide eyes.
“It doesn’t hurt. I don’t feel any of that sharp, stabbing pain at all!”
“I opened up the blocked areas. Don’t carry anything heavy for a while, and avoid postures that strain your neck. It’d be good if you came back in a week so we can check how you’re doing.”
I spoke calmly while tidying the alcohol swabs and used tools and giving her aftercare instructions.
But the patient’s reaction behind me was far bigger than I’d expected.
“Oh my, oh my! Doctor, this is amazing! It’s something that hadn’t gotten better no matter what I tried for years. Good heavens, it’s been so long since I could turn my head this smoothly!”
She kept rotating her neck, marveling over and over.
I gave her an awkward smile.
The effect is a little too good.
From now on, I’d need to send a little less force through and tune it to an appropriate level.
The patient, now dressed again, left the treatment room and said in an excited voice, “Doctor, I’m definitely coming back next week. Oh, but my husband’s back has been bothering him too. Could I bring him in as well?”
She was already making her next appointment.
I couldn’t help laughing and nodding.
“Of course. Just make an appointment and come in.”
After she paid, I handed her my business card at the counter.
As I watched her leave after saying goodbye, a faint, uneasy feeling flickered through me.
Well, at least the treatment went well.
I shook it off and tidied the table in the waiting room.
Back home, Kim Min-ji instinctively lifted a hand to the back of her neck.
Normally, the stiffness would have hit her before her hand even got there.
She turned her head sharply from side to side.
Her joints moved smoothly, without a creak or a pull.
“Oh my gosh, this is really amazing. How can it not hurt at all?”
Even now, she could hardly believe that pain she’d lived with for years had disappeared after one acupuncture treatment.
She rubbed her neck with a satisfied smile, then quickly pulled out her phone.
Information this good had to be shared. Otherwise, she’d burst.
With practiced fingers, she entered one of the local mom café groups she often visited and tapped the post button.
[Life Tip] [Review] I visited a newly opened Korean medicine clinic in Clarendon!!
Hello~ the weather’s finally getting warmer, haha.
I was passing through Clarendon today and saw a new Korean medicine clinic that had just opened, so I walked in like I was under a spell.
It was a young male doctor. He doesn’t talk much and has kind of a quiet vibe lol.
I’ve been struggling with forward head posture and a cervical disc problem for years.
The back of my neck through my shoulders kept getting sharp, stabbing pain, and I couldn’t even sleep properly ㅠㅠ
But after one acupuncture treatment there today, the pain vanished like it was a lie!!
The doctor told me to move around after about ten minutes, maybe? And seriously, I was back to normal??
I’ve been to more hospitals and clinics than I can count, and this was honestly my first time experiencing anything like it. It was so, so amazing!!!
They say it’s appointment only, and since it was opening day, there didn’t seem to be many people.
I’ve already booked myself for next week, and my husband has a bad back too, so I’m going to bring him as well haha.
If your shoulders or neck hurt, you should definitely go. Strong recommendation!!
Not even a few minutes after she posted, new comment notifications started popping up in rapid succession.
Kim Min-ji watched the real-time flood of comments and smiled with satisfaction.
Then she reached up and lightly rubbed her newly relieved neck one more time.
I hope business really takes off for him.
It had all started from nothing more than a casual, passing thought.
What she didn’t know was that, by that point, things had already begun to move beyond her imagination.