Chapter 105
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: The Maverick Herbalist
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Ahn Joohee.
Even among herbalists, she was known as a true oddball.
When she first entered the Korean herbal medicine department, she had imagined it would be filled with people who loved herbs as much as she did.
But most of the students had just matched the grades without even knowing what a herbalist did. Only occasionally would someone with a family member who was a pharmacist or physician sneak in.
Yet Ahn Joohee had genuinely loved medicinal herbs since she was a child.
Her earliest memory in life was the scent of ginseng her father had somehow obtained.
At the time, little Ahn Joohee was so captivated by the ginseng root that she devoured every single one he brought home and threw a tantrum demanding more.
Her mother had slyly offered her some deodeok instead, but the four-year-old insisted it was completely different.
"Heh heh, you can't eat that much ginseng."
Worried that her unusual craving might indicate some health issue, her parents took her to a Korean medicine clinic.
The physician checked her pulse and said there was nothing wrong, handing over a few slices of licorice root.
"Wow!"
It was delicious. It was amazing.
The sweet aroma of the licorice was just as enchanting as the ginseng.
Throughout her school years, she remained immersed in medicinal herbs, so Ahn Joohee found the herbal medicine classes incredibly enjoyable.
Pharmacognosy, formulary studies, molecular biology—all perspectives on herbs thrilled her.
That's why she pursued both her master's and doctoral degrees.
The typical research like "this herb works for that disease" didn't quite align with her interests.
Ahn Joohee delved into literature on the origin plants of herbs (the plants used in Korean medicine and their originals with identical components and effects), or how efficacy strengthened or weakened based on certain traits... In her own way, she persisted with research that earned her no money.
But eventually, she had to graduate.
As she sent out resumes here and there, she ended up getting hired at a herbal pharmacy.
At her first job, the herbalist handled everything from patient consultations to prescribing and dispensing.
She had learned a bit of Korean diagnostic methods in school, but prescribing herself?
"Is it okay to do consultations?"
"It's a gray area, but not exactly forbidden. No choice—the system's like that."
The herbalist licensing system was originally designed assuming separation of diagnosis and dispensing.
But unlike Western medicine, in Korean medicine, they weren't separated at all.
Clinics dispensed herbs, and pharmacies did consultations.
"Hmm."
It felt off.
She was confident in herbs themselves more than anyone, but diagnosing diseases? She had plenty of gaps there.
In the end, Ahn Joohee decided to switch jobs not long after.
The pay was a bit lower, but it was a position at a clinic solely dedicated to dispensing.
"Why on earth did you order danggui from such an expensive supplier? It's way cheaper on A-Herb!"
"But this danggui here has such a weak aroma."
"...Aroma?"
"Yes. If the aroma is like this, the texture isn't firm enough."
"As long as the weight matches, who cares? Order from the cheap place!"
"But if it's this bland, what's the point of including danggui in the prescription?"
"Just do as you're told!"
Here, she had zero authority.
The head physician was obsessed only with minimizing material costs, insisting on the cheapest herbs.
She quit again.
This time, it wasn't entirely voluntary.
A while later, she took a short-term gig at a pharmacy.
"One painkiller, please."
"Sure. That's 3,000 won."
Here, she couldn't even touch herbs.
Where should she go?
A Korean medicine hospital maybe?
They mostly handled herb management or decoction, but no openings.
Back to school?
Her research strayed from the academic mainstream, and she didn't see herself becoming a professor with her personality.
A pharmaceutical company?
Probably even less freedom than regular pharmacies or clinics.
There were plenty of places hiring with a herbalist license.
But none matched what she wanted.
All she desired was to prepare beloved herbs in their best form. Why was that so impossible?
After graduation, for several years, Ahn Joohee drifted from job to job aimlessly.
Work, get fired.
Work again, snap in a fit of anger.
Quit on her own sometime.
She'd been at this latest job just over three months.
"This is top-grade astragalus?"
"Yes. They said it's five-year root."
"The aroma doesn't feel like five-year root. Even decocted and tasted, it's off."
"...Does one-year root taste different from five-year?"
"Of course. Flavor's different, effects too. Otherwise, why pay premium for five-year?"
She clashed with her employer over something trivial again.
"Hmm... I don't know. Just leave it."
"No, we paid extra for this, and it might not even be top-grade."
"You said everything else was fine except the astragalus. Let it slide. It's for the marketing value and that 'premium' label we buy. Mistakes happen."
"That makes no sense. I'll go complain myself!"
Ahn Joohee felt like she was going insane from frustration.
The boss said to let it go, but she had to verify if this astragalus was truly five-year root.
So she showed up in person at the Korean branch of the Chinese company handling exports.
But no dice.
They advertised as top-grade management, yet wouldn't even show the warehouse.
"Is it that hard to show the astragalus slices pre-processing?!"
Spotting someone who seemed high-ranking passing by, Ahn Joohee raised her voice even louder.
If it's processed into slices in China before import, at least show that!
Now that she was here, she'd check out of sheer stubbornness.
"..."
But no matter how much she protested, the middle-aged man who looked important ignored her.
The only one showing interest was the youngest-looking woman in his group.
She'd probably just glance and move on...
"Are you a herbalist? May I have your name?"
But the woman broke from the group and ran over to Ahn Joohee.
"If you want my name, give yours first—that's manners."
Ahn Joohee snapped curtly.
She wasn't in a good mood.
She'd been yelling for the person in charge to show the warehouse and got refused, while they got VIP treatment.
"Ah, sorry! I'm Han Yeowon, director of Seongsu Clinic!"
A physician, huh.
The woman introducing herself as Han Yeowon didn't take offense at Ahn Joohee's attitude. Instead, she beamed and handed over a business card.
With that, Ahn Joohee had no choice but to give her name.
"Ahn Joohee, herbalist. Working at Supreme Herbal Pharmacy—for now."
"'For now'?"
"Yes."
No need to spill her life story to a stranger physician.
Ahn Joohee shut her mouth.
"Could you spare me a little time? There's something I really want to discuss with you!"
Regardless. This woman didn't seem fazed by her reaction at all.
Han Yeowon grabbed both of Ahn Joohee's hands firmly.
...Her eyes were sparkling?
It was extremely, intensely overwhelming.
'What does she know about me?'
Ahn Joohee instinctively stepped back.
Han Yeowon advanced two steps, urging for her contact info.
She was wary, but it oddly felt like seeing her own reflection when appraising herbs.
"Alright."
Ahn Joohee nodded, not even knowing why.
I excused myself from Park Seonyoon and the branch chief, then brought Ahn Joohee to the warehouse.
The employee blocking her protest looked awkward, but after hearing her story, the branch chief readily permitted checking the stock.
"It's definitely five-year root, right?"
The branch chief grinned at me and Park Seonyoon, not Ahn Joohee.
Park Seonyoon hadn't seemed like she'd crammed the briefing on the way, yet the branch chief knew all about storage methods and conditions.
That was impressive.
"...It is five-year root. If you'd just shown it like this, why refuse?"
Ahn Joohee grumbled even after confirming the thickness.
I'd noticed the five-year astragalus passing the storage earlier too.
Its energy was so faint despite being five-year that I'd excluded it from our purchase list—I remembered clearly.
"Satisfied? Now get out!"
The employee who'd blocked her outside snapped.
The branch chief knew about the sliced state, so the employee must've blocked her blindly.
"...Got it."
Ahn Joohee left without a word.
The standard check by growth year showed no issue, so she had nothing more to say.
I approached her and whispered softly.
Loud enough only for her ears, not the branch chief or employee.
"Five-year root that's worse than one-year, right? Even I think it's off. Maybe something wrong with the farm that year? Climate or soil."
Ahn Joohee turned to me with a skeptical look.
"The other herbs are good, so maybe contract for select items. Danggui, ophiopogon, poria—definitely top-grade. Overall excellent."
Her eyes lit up at that.
"You noticed that?"
Only then did Ahn Joohee seem interested in me.
"Let's talk more details next time. I'll call."
"Okay. Seongsu Clinic, right? I'll head there, so contact me ASAP."
Ahn Joohee left without even greeting the employee or branch chief.
The employee gnashed his teeth about complaining to Supreme Herbal Pharmacy... but getting fired might be a blessing.
"Thanks for the tour and the favor. Shall we discuss the contract?"
I went into the office with Park Seonyoon and finalized terms.
Started with purchasing confirmed top-grade items only, got unit prices for adding others later.
Casually mentioned the astragalus quality to the branch chief.
"Branch Chief, the root age matches, but I'd check the component analysis."
Unlike the employee who'd yelled at Ahn Joohee earlier, Ryu Wei Branch Chief just nodded, saying he'd verify.
The prices beat our previous suppliers, and Park Seonyoon reviewed the contract, vouching it matched her company's terms.
I stamped without hesitation.
"Thank you so much for your time today."
"Haha, no problem. It was fun touring together. Learned a lot from Branch Chief Ryu Wei and Director Han."
I thanked Park Seonyoon again.
Thanks to her, we scored great herbs at killer prices, plus found the talent I'd been hunting.
"Planning to scout that herbalist?"
"Yes."
"...She must've really impressed you. Kinda jealous."
"Haha, you're joking."
"Ahem, glad I could help anyway."
More than helpful.
"If Director ever needs my help, just say the word!"
Buoyed by meeting Ahn Joohee, I tossed her a hearty promise.
A few days later, Ahn Joohee and I met in my consultation room.
I'd wanted to show sincerity by visiting her home for the scout, but she insisted coming to the workplace for the interview was easier.
'Eager to switch jobs?'
Her "for now" at Supreme Herbal Pharmacy suggested she wanted out.
She might want to see the workplace too, so I accepted.
'How did she distinguish the astragalus quality? Does she know other herbs that well?'
My gut feeling was spot on—I trust it.
But verification before hiring was needed.
She couldn't sense qi like me, so what did she see? Curious.
And why she wanted to leave her last job.
So I could match her conditions.
Her attitude was a bit—very prickly—but the herbalist in the external decoction room wouldn't see patients directly.
Should be fine.
"Let me greet you again. I'm Han Yeowon, director of Seongsu Clinic. I asked to meet because I have some questions."
I sat facing Ahn Joohee and began the interview.
"Ah, yes. I'm Ahn Joohee. No affiliation now."
"...You quit?"
"Don't worry, not because of you. ...I told him it was five-year root like you said, and he snapped about picking fights. Got fired."
"That's... regrettable."
"Happens often. Don't sweat it."
Fired yet arms crossed for the interview—like it was routine.
Her personality was even stronger than expected?
"Alright, straight to questions. How did you tell the astragalus quality last time?"
"The aroma gives it away. How don't you know?"
"Aroma?"
"Taste's weak too. And when you consume it, that inner whoosh feels different."
"Ahh..."
"You knew that too, Director?"
Uh, yeah?
No superpower to discern quality by aroma.
She perceived with her five senses what I felt with qi sense.
"If you don't mind, could we do a test?"
I swallowed hard.
Needed to confirm she could distinguish other herbs' quality too.