Chapter 161
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: A Doctor's Long-Awaited Return
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Im Sucheol was a man who had lived his entire 45 years in a frenzy of activity.
During his school days, he studied relentlessly with the goal of lifting his family out of hardship. After getting into university, he helped out with his parents' business in every spare moment.
While others struggled just to keep up with studies and ended up repeating years, Im Sucheol earned scholarships while taking on all sorts of odd jobs in his free time.
After graduation, like most male Korean medicine doctors, he planned to serve his military duty as a public health doctor and then open his own practice.
But during those three years as a public health doctor, he became deeply involved in his parents' business.
Before he knew it, he was handling more work than his father, who was the company president.
"If you leave, Sucheol, we'll have to hire three or four more people. They won't work as hard as you... Things are going well—why not stick around? I'll hand the business over to you."
"I have no desire to take it over."
"Then help out for just one or two more years. Until we get established."
Twenty years ago, there were only a handful of Korean medicine universities. Back then, the expected income for a new practitioner was far higher than it is now.
Even accounting for that, the business was booming. Which meant there was an overwhelming amount of work.
Could his father, the president, hold things together if Im Sucheol stepped away?
His father had already failed at several ventures before Im Sucheol got involved. He was certain the business would collapse in under a year.
What started as a plan to help his parents for just one or two years before opening his practice had stretched into fifteen.
After much discussion, his company decided to sell its management rights to a mid-sized firm eager to acquire them on favorable terms.
His parents were getting on in years and had no more attachments.
Im Sucheol wanted to spend the rest of his life as a Korean medicine doctor.
When he shared this story with his mentor, the professor clicked his tongue, saying a man in his forties still had as many years ahead as he'd already lived.
But Im Sucheol was dead serious.
He had always aspired to practice medicine, and he'd graduated ages ago.
Even while running the business, he never let his skills rust—he'd occasionally take pulse diagnostics or attend lectures.
Finally realizing his long-held dream, he threw himself into preparations for opening his clinic.
Business was all he'd ever done, and since all his classmates from residency had already opened practices, getting advice was easy.
"You've made plenty of money already! Just do the bare minimum."
"If that was my plan, I wouldn't have opened a clinic in the first place."
"It's guys like you, full of ambition, that make it tough for the rest of us..."
He meticulously handled everything: scouting locations, interior design, hiring staff, setting up systems, and marketing.
If he'd planned to slack off like his friends suggested, he never could have managed the business in the first place.
And if he'd had the mindset of taking it easy after doing his part, he could have lived comfortably off rental income and dividends.
In any case, he opened his clinic.
Unlike the warnings from his classmates about how tough the field was, patients came in droves.
The neighborhood had many factory workers doing manual labor, so acupuncture patients were plentiful.
And those who wanted herbal remedies were always thrilled with tonics like Ssanghwa Tang or modified Bojungikgi Tang, saying it gave them a real energy boost.
On the other hand,
Im Sucheol's ability to focus solely on work for so long wouldn't have been possible without his family's support.
Even with a housemaid, having a child meant there were plenty of parental duties.
So, as a modest way to repay them, he suggested his wife and mother-in-law take a month-long overseas trip.
"If Eunyoung wants something specific, head to the side dish shop by the playground. On weekends, run an extra load of laundry, and... what else? I'll change the academy contact to yours, so pick up if they call..."
He realized there were more household details to manage than he'd thought.
And,
"Dad, I don't have any short-sleeves? Can I wear yours?"
"No way! I mean, how many outfit changes a day? You're sweating buckets like this?"
He learned just how neglectful he'd been toward his daughter.
Im Sucheol was horrified to see her changing into fresh outdoor clothes three times a day.
Sure, it was summer, but this much?
Im Sucheol himself had a hot, sweaty constitution.
Growing up in the countryside as a kid, he'd run around in just shorts and jump into a stream when it got too hot.
Even now, he sweated a lot, so he showered frequently and used deodorant.
"Even like this, are you still hot? You know... feeling stuffy, parched like you're burning up?"
"Not burning up, but I always crave cold water, right?"
But his daughter's condition was even worse.
Unlike his own childhood, she couldn't just strip down and dive into a stream.
It wasn't a disease per se, but she clearly needed treatment.
'For excess heat with yin deficiency, Okbyeongpungsan or Danggiyukhwangtang... No, that's not it. This is clearly not deficiency sweat.'
Formulas he'd memorized rote for the national exam flashed through his mind, but calmly analyzing, he needed to differentiate deficiency from excess first.
For excess heat, White Tiger Decoction? Zhuye Shigaotang? Something in that family?
"Ugh, it tastes awful!"
"It'll ease the heat and discomfort. Try to bear it."
So he prescribed White Tiger Decoction for his daughter.
"How's it now? If the initial heat was a 10, what's it at?"
"10."
"Really 10? No change at all?"
"Um... 9.5?"
But subjectively, and from observing her sweat,
there was no real improvement.
'Did I misdiagnose? Should I have her take it longer?'
Im Sucheol was tormented by doubt.
'I thought my skills were solid... Have I just been seeing similar patients and getting lucky?'
He pondered from every angle, but the more he thought, the more lost he felt.
'Unlike textbooks, maybe herbals aren't effective for excess heat symptoms? Was targeting sweat the issue? But Shanghan Lun is full of these prescriptions.'
Im Sucheol had always practiced with confidence.
But failing to treat his own child cast a shadow over his other patients.
'This patient would improve with Guipi Tang! ...Would they? What if not? I can't even cure my daughter... Sigh, they'd probably recover better with another doctor. Opening a practice was a mistake...'
His self-esteem plummeted day by day.
He considered trying other formulas,
but while he'd experiment on himself, he couldn't treat his daughter like a guinea pig.
What if it failed again? She might doubt her dad's abilities!
"Professor, could you take a look at my daughter's symptoms just once...?"
At this rate, he wouldn't be able to focus on work, so he resorted to a desperate measure.
Contacting his mentor, protocol be damned.
- Hmm, even I think White Tiger should help some.
"Really? Then why... Should we try longer?"
- Do you use an external decoction service? Or decoct in-house?
"Oh, we don't dispense that much volume, so we don't have the setup."
Then Professor Kim Chunsik gave unexpected advice.
- Even with the right prescription, several factors could reduce efficacy. Lifestyle habits, chronicity... First, source top-quality gypsum and retry?
He'd thought outsourcing to an external service was economical despite the hassle and cost.
But quality variations in herbs could affect results.
- Back at the university hospital, switching herbal suppliers tanked the effects once.
"Ah...? Where do you get the best stuff?"
- Ahem, that's the issue. You can't judge by taste like our director or head herbalist...
Should he switch services?
They'd send samples if asked, but distinguishing quality visually like fruit or veggies seemed unlikely.
Especially gypsum—just white powder!
- You've got money, right?
Professor Kim Chunsik, who'd been pondering with him, spoke up.
"Not short on it, but...?"
- Didn't I join the Seongsu Clinic network? The head office director's in Busan right now. Their decoction specialist is top-notch, and the director's skills are reliable—best to have them prepare it.
"Oh, of course I'd pay for the meds."
Instead of a decoction service, he recommended a clinic.
While there, get the diagnosis double-checked; if confirmed, use their in-house decoction.
Im Sucheol readily agreed.
Who else but Professor Kim Chunsik, vouching for nationwide top quality? No reason to hesitate.
He promised to visit soon with his daughter.
Having finished his explanation, Im Sucheol let out a deep sigh.
"My clinical experience may be limited, but I was certain it was a White Tiger Decoction case for my child. I thought it fit the textbook perfectly, as you said."
His thought process in selecting the prescription wasn't much different from mine.
If the diagnosis was correct, tweaking one or two adjunct herbs wouldn't make or break it.
There might be a gap between 70 and 75 points, but it should still work.
"Did you follow the original formula? Gypsum 20g, Anemarrhena 8g?"
"I started with less gypsum, but research said it doesn't extract well, so I went up to 12g."
"Hm..."
But if the main herb's potency wasn't fully extracted, that changed everything.
"I get being cautious with a young child. But edible gypsum is FDA-approved as safe, with a daily max of 8.5g. And since much evaporates during decoction—not ingested raw—you can use it more aggressively than you'd think."
Decoction means weighing herbs into an extraction bag, boiling, and squeezing out the liquid.
Especially mineral herbs like gypsum—putting in 20g per dose doesn't mean you get 20g in the broth.
Of course, it's intimidating.
Animal remedies like scorpions or minerals like gypsum look dangerous in large amounts at a glance.
With your own child, and so young, the worry multiplies.
I was the same at first.
Until I saw them toss a handful of centipedes into a cauldron at the Sichuan Tang family estate...
- Y-you really put this in?
- Nothing beats it for back pain.
- If I had to choose between chronic back pain or medicine with centipedes, I'd pick the pain.
- That's why we don't tell patients what's in it.
- ...
Of course, in Korea, I've never used scorpions or centipedes, but gypsum, native copper, magnetite—I've used them when needed.
Especially gypsum; it's irreplaceable for excess heat patients.
"Ah, so dosage was the issue? Professor Kim said to try higher-quality gypsum."
"Quality, or rather potency differences affect dosage. Did you bring any of the decoction?"
It's not that lower potency means poor quality.
Herbs just carry the energy suited to their environment.
Im Sucheol hesitated before pulling out a pouch.
He'd brought it, but clearly had his doubts.
"You can really taste the quality?"
"Haha."
I just laughed it off.
Thanks to Chu Miyeong spreading the word, branch directors knew of this ability, but it was natural they'd find it odd.
Even I was amazed watching An Juhui judge herb quality with her five senses alone.
"Hm, 12g per dose? It's weaker than expected. Even at 20g, you'd have needed 30g for the desired effect."
"That much?"
"Eunyoung's interior heat is severe. For these symptoms, even 40g extraction wouldn't be overkill."
Im Sucheol was stunned.
Herbs are typically dosed around 4g per pack; double digits already felt excessive.
"Do you ever double White Tiger Decoction?"
"If needed."
I reassured him.
"I mentioned 30g because of the iffy potency here. Ours won't need that much—we'll stick to 20g original. We'll add modifiers too, so no worries."
"Ah, I'm not worried. Professor Kim recommended you."
His nodding eyes twitched slightly.
"Doctor!"
Then Im Eunyoung spoke up.
Ah, I'd talked too much with the guardian.
"This'll make it cooler, right? Can I have cold water too?"
Unlike her doctor dad, the patient was more focused on daily management.
"Lukewarm water's best. Your insides feel stuffy, but sudden cooling shocks the system."
"...Dad said cold water constricts blood vessels and told me not to."
Asking me right beside her dad left Im Sucheol a bit flustered.
"Exactly. Sudden shifts from hot to cold startle the organs too."
"Tch."
"The medicine will ease that stuffiness a lot. Eunyoung, do you like exercise?"
I alternated glances between Im Eunyoung and Im Sucheol as I asked.
"She does."
"I do judo!"
"Good choice. When you sweat, don't just sit in AC—vent it out as much as possible."
"Yes, got it."
Not quite South Sea Sun Palace martial arts, but any martial art helps dissipate yang energy.
Im Sucheol and Im Eunyoung both nodded.
"Will the red face improve too?"
"Yes."
"Dad said it would..."
"It's the process of cooling the heat. After this treatment, you'll see noticeable change. You can handle a bit of bitterness, right?"
One failed round had made her skeptical.
"Let's do acupuncture too. You'll feel the difference for sure."
It didn't matter.
Maximize yang dissipation with needles, and a week of meds would bring immediate, tangible results.