Chapter 187
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: The Night Wailing Child
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Kim Shin-young was the owner of a kids' cafe and the mother of two children.
She hadn't received any specialized training, but her love for kids had kept her surrounded by them for years, even back in her salaried days.
This was already her second time raising a child.
Raising her firstborn daughter hadn't been easy, but when her second daughter, Shinbi, came along, she realized just how mild-mannered she'd been.
The first one had started sleeping through the night after just a month, nursed eagerly whenever she wanted, and happily played by herself with any toy handed to her.
Her second daughter, on the other hand, had been tricky right from the newborn stage.
Put the baby down after holding her, and she'd start fussing; she hardly slept at all.
What could you do when a child cried? Mom or Dad had no choice but to hold her all night, singing lullabies.
The first daughter had been sleeping soundly for thirty days by then, but the hoped-for "100-day miracle" disappointed the couple.
Most babies supposedly slept through around 100 days—anywhere from 40 to 120 days—yet Shinbi tormented her parents right up until she was nearly a year old.
Those grueling few years finally passed.
The first daughter entered elementary school, and the second started kindergarten.
They'd enrolled her in a friend's kindergarten the moment she turned five.
"Waaah!"
And soon, the family's nights turned into nightmares once more.
One day, the second daughter suddenly started crying and refusing to sleep.
"Shinbi, honey, what's wrong? What happened?"
Sometimes she woke twice or three times in a single night.
Other nights, she'd cling to her mom, whimpering.
Still others, she'd hide in the bathroom, sobbing quietly.
She'd even stand screaming in front of the master bedroom door.
"Did you have a bad dream? Mommy's right here. It's okay."
"Waaah... waaah..."
"Tell Daddy! Did a ghost come? Did a burglar break in? Daddy'll take care of it all!"
At first, both parents naturally jumped up to soothe her.
They figured it was a bad nightmare, something that would pass.
"Waaah! Mommy! Daddy!"
But it happened the next night, and the night after that, too.
"You go calm her down..."
"I'm tired too. I got up the last two nights."
Kim Shin-young and her husband started shoving the duty onto each other.
"Ah, so annoying!"
The firstborn daughter, woken by her little sister, finally snapped.
"Don't hit your sister!"
"Mom! She's always being such a pain!"
They'd thought it'd blow over, that she'd get better, but after more than two weeks, Kim Shin-young grew worried.
"Maybe Shinbi's not getting along with the other kids?"
She hesitated, not wanting to burden her, but consulted her friend, Shinbi's kindergarten teacher.
"Is she fighting with the kids or something stressful...?"
"Not at all. She's doing great, no issues."
But her friend shook her head.
There was no reason for her friend to lie to her.
And to Kim Shin-young's eyes, her daughter seemed perfectly fine during the day.
When playing with other kids at the cafe where she worked, there wasn't a shadow on her face.
"What on earth is going on...?"
"What?"
"Don't you remember anything? Is it sleepwalking or something?"
"I don't know!"
Of course, they'd taken her to the hospital too.
"No fever, and tests show nothing unusual. It's probably stress from starting kindergarten. Mild night crying is physiological, so check the psychological and environmental factors carefully."
Mild, to the doctor?
Did all kids go through this?
"If it's really tough, we can prescribe a sleep aid."
There wasn't much else they could do.
At best, cold medicine knocked her out enough to reduce three wake-ups to one or two.
"I can't get any work done at the office. Nearly fell asleep driving yesterday. This could lead to a serious accident."
Her husband even talked about renting a one-room near the office.
"What about me then?"
"You won't get fired. You can walk to work."
"...I'm going crazy here!"
It had been two months since the symptoms started.
As worry turned to irritation, anger, and now depression...
Her friend, the teacher, finally spoke up.
"Shin-young, how about taking her to a Korean medicine clinic? There's a new one that just opened in the central mall, Seongsu Clinic. They say they're really good with kids."
"A Korean medicine clinic?"
"Yeah. One kid in our class had terrible rhinitis, but after their meds, no more sniffing. Now half the class is carrying those herbal pouches."
Kim Shin-young booked an appointment right away.
"No convulsions, just crying. No fever... It's night crying, right?"
The doctor nodded calmly, listening to her story.
But sympathy for how tough it must be didn't ease her frustration with the child's bright smile.
"Night crying is diagnosed when crying more than three times at night persists over two weeks. Causes vary: environmental like too hot or cold, stress from parental fights or kindergarten relationships. Most common after big scares like car accidents. Physical issues like high fever, indigestion, mouth sores, or ear infections too."
He explained night crying in detail, but nothing rang a bell.
She was fine as could be at kindergarten and the cafe during the day.
"Mind if I talk to the child alone?"
After hearing Kim Shin-young out fully, the doctor requested a one-on-one with the girl.
Of course, she happily waited in the lounge.
Would he uncover something? Even Mom and the teacher didn't know.
"Did the child say anything?"
After about ten minutes, he sent the child out and Kim Shin-young asked eagerly.
"Not sure yet. She says she's fine, but... something seems off."
"Really?"
"Yes. Feels like she's hiding something."
"What could it be...?"
"Pushing now would backfire. We'll figure it out slowly during treatment."
No immediate answer, disappointingly.
Just a meaningful hint.
...Was her daughter really hiding something even from her mom?
"Let's start with standard symptomatic treatment for night crying and monitor. Prescribing Porong Pill and twice-weekly acupuncture. Think of it as a pediatric calming formula like a mild Qingxin Pill for restless, sensitive kids."
"Ah, got it. A month's worth?"
"Not for long-term. Two weeks first—watch progress, then custom decoction if needed. Even better if we open her up and find the psychological cause."
"Thank you."
"Must be so worrying. Our son threw tantrums for no reason sometimes; I get it. Hang in there a bit longer."
She'd thought words wouldn't help, but her depression lifted just a touch.
"Twice a week for treatment—can you make it?"
"Yes! I like the doctor!"
Against her fears, the acupuncture went smoothly.
Worried she'd fight the medicine, but no resistance to treatment was a relief.
Crying and carrying on at night, then smiling innocently by day like nothing happened?
Frustrating for the parents. Medically, quite an intriguing case.
- I hesitated on Yangsin Decoction but just gave Porong Pill. Hope that's okay.
Porong Pill's ingredients: musky ambergris, cinnabar, musk, realgar, and dragon's blood resin.
All potent stuff not in standard formulas.
Yangsin Decoction, by contrast, uses gentler herbs like ginseng, aconite, pinellia, and poria for clearing phlegm and calming the mind.
Same goal—settle frights and promote sleep—but for long-term, Yangsin's better.
I used both often.
Great for post-accident night crying like Seon Na-yeon mentioned, or everyday stress symptoms.
"You handled it well. If you can keep her coming for acupuncture, better to pinpoint the cause before prescribing."
- Director, any guesses on the cause?
Seon Na-yeon asked.
Feedback so far focused on process and meds; this was pretty vague.
'Hmm, similar experience?'
I'd treated plenty of night crying.
In modern times, pediatrics ruled it out first, but in the murim, febrile convulsions were common.
Beyond secondary cases, causes varied wildly.
From hypersensitive kids unable to sleep over a pea under the blanket.
To months of PTSD after watching a martial artist kill someone.
Some came knowing the cause; others I uncovered; some with no cause but responded to meds.
'Ah.'
Mulling it over, one case came to mind.
Not night crying exactly, but similarly mysterious origin.
"Director Seon, why not ask the child?"
- Of course I did, but...
"Not the patient. Your son, and the patient's older sister."
- My son?
"Kids get spooked by things we'd never imagine. To an elementary kid like your son, it's recent—might remember what scared them. Could be a ghost story circulating among the kids."
"Hmm?"
Quite the absurd incident, really.
- Divine Physician, the kid freaks out at dumplings, won't even try them.
A waiter from an inn near the Tang family estate brought the child.
No appetite, vomiting even forced food—I first thought spleen-stomach issue.
But GI remedies did nothing.
Nutrients improved color, but food refusal persisted.
Anorexia? Mental illness?
I pondered endlessly.
- Divine Physician, she told me alone some weird thing—okay to share?
A Tang collateral studying medicine casually solved it.
...Turned out, some house spread a rumor.
Usual "tiger takes naughty kids" didn't work?
They pointed to the grumpy-looking dumpling shop owner: "That uncle turns babies into dumplings and eats them."
Effective for keeping their own kid indoors at night, but the rumor spread, terrifying neighborhood children.
- Heavens! Sane? Can't discipline so instead spew nonsense? Horrific educationally, huge nuisance to the shop owner!
Switching to tell it as another patient's story, Seon Na-yeon was appalled.
"Shocked me too. Sounds ridiculous to us, but..."
Actually, not entirely impossible over there.
Happens very, very rarely.
So I even snuck to the shop to check.
100% false rumor, of course.
Not your average dumpling uncle—he was a justice league knight misunderstood for his fierce looks.
Ate dumplings heartily without mentioning the rumor.
"Kids stress over unexpected things."
- Ha... Got it. I'll look into that angle.
Seon Na-yeon nodded on screen.
Would she find out?
I was getting curious too.