Chapter 141
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Italian Gratitude
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this logged into the video conference.
This was the first time I had created a room for a purpose other than study sessions or operational meetings with the branch directors of Seongsu Clinic.
We decided on follow-up consultations once a month to determine whether to continue medication or end treatment. But since Paolo and his guardian had already returned to their home country, this was unavoidable.
I couldn't exactly insert an interpreter into a phone call either.
Minjeong and I opened the conference room thirty minutes before the scheduled time.
Not to make full preparations for the VIP or anything...
I had some consultation matters to discuss with her as well.
"Director, I figured it out!"
Even during our greetings, Minjeong's face was beaming brightly.
If she said she figured it out, it had to be the cause of her diarrhea.
For the first two weeks, she had tested wheat flour. After cutting out all the suspect foods I mentioned, she tried consuming wheat flour—bread, rice cakes, noodles, even spaghetti.
But her intestines showed no reaction whatsoever.
"Not wheat flour...?"
She had been convinced that food was the issue and fixated on wheat flour, so she looked utterly confused.
Was there a difference between spaghetti sold in Korea and the stuff in Italy?
Possible, but I prioritized the chance that it was some other food.
And for this week, I instructed her to cut out wheat flour and try milk instead.
"After drinking milk, my stomach started bubbling and gurgling the very next day! If it weren't for the medicine you gave me, I would've suffered for days! After the diarrhea calmed down, I tried cheese right away, and it was the same. Even risotto without pasta noodles did it!"
"That's enough testing. It's definitely dairy products."
Minjeong, who had been agonizing over the thought of giving up wheat flour forever, luckily nailed it on her second try.
No matter how accustomed to diarrhea she had become, attempting it three times was impressive.
"But that's surprising. In Korea, they give out milk in school lunches, so most people know if dairy is an issue."
"Oh, I've always hated milk, so I didn't know. I'd collect the school milk for a week and use it for a bath or something. I don't hate cheese, but back in Korea, I only ate it occasionally, so the diarrhea wasn't that frequent."
"I see. It's a shame, but cheese..."
"I'm so relieved it's not wheat flour. I'd rather live with diarrhea forever than give up bread and noodles!"
Minjeong grinned from ear to ear.
I had plenty to say about the dangers of what seemed like mild diarrhea, but since she seemed willing to cut out cheese, I didn't pile on.
"Good. At least it's not wheat flour incompatibility. Cheese... well, can you make pizza without cheese?"
"Of course! There are so many recipes. I'm just bummed I can't feed my husband pineapple pizza anymore. Maybe on a tortilla?"
"Ah."
"He said after hearing this, he'll expand his tomato and oil pasta recipes, so we'll have plenty of options!"
"That's fortunate."
"But Director, this means I have lactose intolerance, right? Separate from my constitution?"
Lactose intolerance.
It was the first thing that came to mind when someone said milk didn't agree with them.
A condition where the body doesn't produce enough lactase enzyme to break down lactose, affecting many who get diarrhea from milk.
"Hmm, since cheese bothers you too, it might not be straightforward lactose intolerance. For a definitive diagnosis, you could do a lactose tolerance test or stool acidity test..."
But processed products like cheese and yogurt often have reduced lactose and don't cause issues.
Milk allergy then? Mild cases might only cause diarrhea, but there'd usually be some skin symptoms at least once.
"Even if tests come back negative, some people just can't tolerate it. If it's lactose intolerance, gradually increasing intake might be fine, but I recommend avoiding it altogether."
"Ah, got it. What if there are other foods...?"
"I'll send you a file on foods that suit and don't suit Soeumin types. From what I see, your constitution isn't extremely biased, so you don't need to follow it strictly."
"Yes, thank you!"
She seemed very interested in constitutions, separate from her current diarrhea symptoms.
Should I have sent her to Branch 4? They'd be the experts on constitution consultations by now.
As we chatted about Minjeong and her husband's constitutions, Chairman Ricci knocked on the door.
Meaning he had requested to join the video conference.
"Oh, you're right on time."
"Oops, I've taken up too much of your time, Director. I'll accept the invite right away. Thank you so much! Without you, I'd have kept blaming innocent wheat flour!"
Minjeong rapid-fired her thanks and clicked to accept the invite.
Soon, Paolo and his father's faces appeared on screen.
"Hi Paolo~ Hello Chairman~"
And there was one more person.
A blonde middle-aged woman. Probably Paolo's mother.
No sooner had I thought that than she beamed and waved.
Not just her—the chairman's face was bright too.
From their reactions, there had clearly been remarkable improvement.
Tics during growth spurts often improved within a month or two anyway.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Paolo's mother! She says thanks to you, our son's illness is completely cured."
So she was the mother. 100% cured?
As Paolo's mother and Minjeong took turns speaking, I caught the chairman's lips twitching about twenty times.
Sensing he might burst out yelling that his son was so much better, I smiled and turned down the volume.
Click.
But the chairman just kept smiling, and Paolo's mic turned on.
"Thanks to the Korean doctor teacher, my nodding head is better. Really thankful."
"...!"
And he spoke in clear Korean.
Not like a typical foreigner saying 'kam-sahamnida' with a heavy accent.
"Oh my god, did you prepare that in advance? Practice?"
"Really thankful. Wanted to say it myself."
Paolo smiled shyly.
Wow, too cute.
The doll-like boy speaking so clearly melted my heart.
"Aigoo, so mature. Thank you for saying that; teacher appreciates it too."
Paolo grinned hearing my words relayed.
Did he know how adorable he looked?
No, not like the Tang family kids! Overlapping weirdos onto this pure child would be too cruel.
I composed myself.
"Ask if it's 100% gone, or if we take the start as 100, how much symptom remains."
I fulfilled my duty as a doctor.
Through Minjeong, the response was extremely positive.
"About 5% left. Once every day or two, if he consciously thinks about not doing it, he might nod, but the old urge to do it or go mad feeling is gone."
"We nailed the flow perfectly. That's great."
I'd expected as much, but seeing a happy patient always filled me with unadulterated joy.
"Can't check the pulse, but just from the face, the tension is gone. The liver qi stagnation and wood qi blockage I mentioned last time are fully cleared. Another month of calming the spirit—guiding the fire qi properly while nurturing—would be good."
Only then did Chairman Ricci open his itching mouth.
"Oh, of course we'll do that!"
...Turning up the volume to hear Paolo had been a mistake.
I flinched and pulled back from the monitor.
"It might be a hassle to take the meds, but let's push for one more month."
Paolo kept smiling even after hearing me.
"Not a hassle at all, and thanks to it, he can read books well now."
"Exercising well too?"
Paolo nodded.
"During walks, mixing walking and running, planning to gradually increase running time."
"Excellent. Keep managing like before. No issues from last inquiry, but mention any new changes."
Neither Paolo nor the chairman reported any.
Then the meds were already decided.
Medication guide... Leave it to An Juhee. Last time I asked her to use the five elements, and she made it like a perfect martial arts manual.
"No other questions? We'll wrap up today's consultation."
Paolo nodded quietly.
The chairman grinned broadly and rambled on at length.
Praise or well-wishes, probably. Maybe praise for Eastern medicine.
I waited calmly for him to finish.
But Minjeong's translation far exceeded my expectations.
"Chairman Ricci says he's truly grateful, and if you ever come to Europe, stay at any Rich Hotel anytime. He'll treat you as VVIP."
Eh?
"Th-the hotels in Italy?"
"No, all across Europe. About 300 branches."
"..."
What?
"He sent other gifts via international courier too, and plans to stay in touch. If you come to Rome, definitely contact him—he gave his personal number. No need to adjust schedules, but if not on a business trip, he'd love to meet in person..."
Wait, hold on.
I haven't even accepted the free hotel stay yet.
300? That's insane. Can't even fathom it.
Not just Italy—practically every major city in Europe?
Basically free travel across Europe?
"Ah, yes. Not sure when, but... I'll definitely say hi."
I'd received various tokens of gratitude before.
Even a merchant handing over gold bars outright.
So I'd been nonchalant about a painting, but this was new.
Treating the Martial Alliance Leader's son? Just a bunch of pointless recruitment offers!
Minjeong passed me the contact info from Chairman Ricci.
"I can't go anywhere in Europe, but if you travel and stop in Rome, I'll guide you around Rome and the Vatican!"
And she too looked forward to meeting again.
The video conference ended shortly after.
But my pounding heart didn't stop.
'Travel.'
Of course, it wasn't on my schedule at all.
Europe would require at least a week off, right? With patients pouring in daily, how could I be away over a week?
...That's what I'd have thought a few months ago.
Now I had I Areum.
Couldn't ask Hwang Sanghun to cover a full week without days off.
But if we alternated covering for each other?
Maybe a trip once in a while wouldn't hurt?
Especially with free hotels...!
So the next day.
I decided to sound out the two of them lightly.
If it seemed too hard, postpone it. Yeah.
"Yeowon, got a minute?"
"Sure. What's up?"
But Hwang Sanghun beat me to it.
"Can I take next-next week's Thu-Fri attached to annual leave?"
He usually took Wed and Sat off, so that made a 3-night 4-day trip.
"Ah, yeah! Where to?"
This was the first time Hwang Sanghun had chained days like this for leave.
No, he'd never taken it just to rest, right?
Always for continuing education or some association lecture.
But he shook his head bitterly.
"This year, thinking of visiting Grandma's grave on her death anniversary."
"Ah... Yeah, of course. Safe travels! Any reason is fine!"
He'd cut ties with parents and grandfather, but a deceased grandmother was different.
I comforted Hwang Sanghun and told him to use annual leave freely anytime. Even take a real break and meet Seoul friends.
And two weeks later.
We decided I'd handle Thursday with I Areum, and Friday solo.
"Director, you don't need to come...! Or I'll do Friday too!"
I Areum fretted unnecessarily, but our acupuncture speeds were worlds apart.
I could handle double patients on Friday no problem, but current I Areum would struggle even silently needling.
"No. Can't make Director I work harder because of Director Hwang's leave. Should hire someone else, but since it's me working, no worries. Use your leave whenever you want too!"
"Sorry...! I'll practice needling faster so you can trust me with it...!"
It's really fine.
I'm just abnormally fast; I Areum wasn't particularly slow.
Anyway, I came in Thursday.
And to handle any patients throwing fits looking for Hwang Sanghun, I took consultations on the fourth floor.
Troublemakers for one could be loyal customers elsewhere, and Hwang Sanghun had a knack for attracting them.
Like the Four Heavenly Kings grannies coming five days a week—they checked holiday notices and didn't show.
"Ah... Director Hwang Sanghun isn't here?"
But patients referred this way might miss blog or Instagram announcements.
A troubled voice came from the waiting room upon hearing he was out.
"Just see the doctor here today, then him next time. Mom, my arm really hurts."
"Tch, fine."
They decided to register.
Moments later, the chart showed a boy's name and age 14.
He entered with his somewhat prickly-faced mother.
"Sit here."
I seated the patient in front of me; the guardian naturally took the sofa behind.
She scanned me up and down, crossed her legs as if displeased, and spoke.
"My son does archery. His arm hurts."
Phew, she could be a physiognomist!
Good thing I came today.