Chapter 154
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: A Bustling Return
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After returning from a long vacation, a ton of patients were waiting for me.
Some shared their progress with Hwang Sanghun's treatments.
Others grumbled that they hadn't gotten care while waiting for me.
And some even handed me souvenirs, asking how my trip had gone.
By the time I'd exchanged greetings and reviewed their treatment histories, closing time had snuck up on us.
It was finally time for the video conference I'd been dying for.
"Everyone~ Guess what I brought back from Rome~!"
My heart had been racing even back in Paris, eager to share this.
A doctor from Italy was coming, and it looked like we'd be opening a Rome branch for me.
Just imagining it was exciting, right?
- Ooh, if I were still an active professor, I'd take her on as a grad student!
"Sorry, you'll have to settle for informal tutoring."
As expected, former professor Kim Chunsik was hooked.
- How about sending her to Professor Lee Minseok? Even in a grad program, she could audit classes or observe clinics under supervision, right?
"Oh?"
Not a bad idea at all.
The Italian doctor had just emailed asking about research labs.
I'd told her I'd check with my seniors once back in Korea and get back to her.
If she'd been into yin-yang and five elements like Chairman Rich, I'd have recommended the Korean physiology or classical texts departments.
But she wanted to open a practice and do clinical work.
- There's no one better than Professor Lee Minseok.
Kim Chunsik was right; professors like him were rare.
A clinical professor's role boils down to three things: seeing patients at the university hospital, doing research and publishing papers, and mentoring students.
And usually, mentoring gets pushed to the bottom of the list.
No one gets paid extra for great teaching, so professors just drone through PPT slides on autopilot.
Professors with Professor Lee Minseok's passion to equip students to stand on their own after graduation were... extremely rare.
"True. And since he's in the acupuncture department, she could do related research and observe clinics. Professor Lee would help out, right?"
- Of course! I know that guy well!
Yeah, they were pretty tight.
Professor Lee Minseok was the one who'd introduced me to Kim Chunsik.
- She'll be in Seoul, so we can have her join studies at our clinic sometimes. Can't let her see patients, but I could have her assist with practice. My back's been killing me anyway—perfect timing.
"Mind if I ask him?"
- Ha ha, ask? We could go old-school apprenticeship style. I'm pumped.
And just like that, we hatched a newbie training plan—without the newbie or Professor Lee even knowing.
Kim Chunsik was fired up to raise his last direct disciple.
Hmm, she won't bail once she gets to Korea, will she?
If she comes to Busan, I'll have to show her our decoction room.
- Wow, amazing. How do you go on vacation and come back with deals like this, Director?
"Pure coincidence."
- Rome branch and going global! I'm honored to be your second location!
Chu Miyoung beamed.
Come to think of it, hadn't I kickstarted this network thanks to her?
- Spot on. Lucky I jumped in early.
- Me too, me too!
Yu Kyung-hoon and Lee Areum chimed in.
Hwang Sanghun nodded quietly too.
"Speaking of which, we're already global thanks to Directors Yu and Jeon. Still getting lots of patients from China and Japan?"
Yu Kyung-hoon gazed into space with a faintly enlightened look.
- Yep. I'm learning Chinese, and Minji's on Japanese. Seems like they'll keep coming.
- A Japanese travel agency even reached out for a partnership. They'd bring package tour patients if we could support it.
"You didn't take it, did you?"
- No, we turned it down ourselves.
And then they dropped some absurd news.
Package tour clinic stops? What kind of thinking was that?
Wait, didn't some China tours include famous herbal shops?
Anyway, good call rejecting it.
- We're swamped with walk-ins as is. Word's out we treat sciatica well, so lots more coming for pharmacopuncture.
Unlike his tourist talk, Yu Kyung-hoon looked a bit flushed with excitement.
- Thinking of stacking cases for a paper. So, mind if we focus ads on that condition for a bit?
Ah, that... costume disease explanation thing.
For someone wary of tourists, he never missed a weekly upload.
"Go for it."
No issue with specializing a bit.
Why stop someone eager to treat sciatica and publish?
- Thanks. Might ask to refer some direct intros too.
- Count me in! Curious about long-needle pharmacopuncture results myself!
Kim Chunsik's eyes lit up at "paper."
- Even a case study would be fun. If patients pile up, maybe network-wide RCT? I'd love to join.
RCT—Randomized Controlled Trial.
Possible outside university hospitals?
Unlike case reports, setting up experimental and control groups sounded tough.
- From this paper? We could team up!
- Want me to make a sciatica poster?
- That'd be great, Director Chu!
The fired-up directors dove into case study prep.
RCT... I'd look into that later.
Never cared about research, but now I'm digging into all sorts.
"Director! Missed you!"
Kim Hye-young burst into the exam room, arms wide.
She didn't hug me, but it still startled me.
She'd been getting trapezius treatments right up to my Europe trip, but this level of closeness?
"How'd treatments with Director Hwang go?"
"Great! Down 2mm!"
That explained her good mood—solid trapezius progress.
Whether 2mm was noticeable, who knows.
"You measured with a ruler?"
"Yep! From the middle of my collarbone, tracking daily!"
"I see... Glad it's improving."
Kim Hye-young nodded, smiling ear to ear.
"But weirdly, if it all goes away, I might miss it."
"Pardon? Wasn't the stress bad?"
"Still bugs me, but this trapezius led to some good stuff."
Good stuff? No big negatives, but what good?
I tilted my head, puzzled.
"Got this super annoying complainer lately. Comes half-prepped every time—first forgets seal, next ID, then after issuing certs, needs health insurance statement for down payment loan and flips out like 'Why didn't you tell me?' How should I know?"
"Yeah... That's weird."
"So I'm fuming, shoulders tense, and think 'Not good,' slip off my cardigan."
Kim Hye-young paused, dramatically shedding her cardigan.
I laid her on the tuina bed, nodding curiously. Story seemed long—perfect for during treatment.
"They see the trapezius and freeze, right?"
"Ah?"
That much? Not scary face?
Anyway, she seemed thrilled, so I nodded without nitpicking.
"Whew, shrink trapezius, build back muscles, maybe add some biceps too."
Great conclusion.
Balanced development helps everywhere.
"Smart plan. Get strong, think bullies are one-punch chumps—stress gone."
"Haha! True!"
Spot on.
Trolls everywhere, but inner strength dictates stress.
Pre-martial arts, problem patients gave me headaches; now, nada.
"On that note, wish my boyfriend bulked up."
"Your boyfriend?"
"Ugh, insane turtle neck."
My hands were just relaxing her cervicals.
"Worse than yours?"
"Mine's nothing compared!"
Not as showy as her traps, but palpable by touch.
Bad for a young guy.
"But... he's terrified of needles. Can tuina alone fix it?"
Come to think, she feared needles too.
Birds of a feather?
"You thought I was scared!"
What, mind-reading?
"Not really scared! Bro—er, boyfriend—freaks if I touch him."
"That bad?"
She winced as I loosened her sternocleidomastoid, nodding yes.
"Hmm, tuina alone... possible, but not ideal."
Inefficient.
"Obvious turtle neck means head thrust forward, bad rounded shoulders."
"Yes! Me only at work; him 24/7!"
"Most comfy pose means neck, sternocleidomastoid here, pec minor shortened."
I pointed to her muscles as I spoke.
Hers had both issues too—she yelped silently.
"Massage loosens eventually with reps, but needles are way faster."
Poke, channel qi—done. Rubbing forever? Eons.
"Tuina plus stretches and exercise works, but... if he did that, no turtle neck."
"Right. Hates exercise, hates hates."
Figured.
Even bad posture, good muscles prevent structural shift.
Core keeps form solid.
"Bring him once. Drag him, I'll convince for needles."
Assess, maybe gym signup.
I said confidently.
"Really? Thanks! Dies to fix his slouch every time!"
Needle-phobes abound across eras.
Coaxing them my specialty.
Adults better than crying kids refusing.
I underestimated.
Never dreamed adult male whining extremes.