Chapter 191
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Dinner Guest and Puppy Patient
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Eventually, Kim Ijin really did come to our house.
Her eyes were sparkling brightly as she waited right at closing time for the clinic.
"Is this my first time coming to the director's house?"
Kim Ijin was absolutely delighted.
Really, truly, incredibly so.
If I'd known she'd be this happy, I would've invited her much sooner.
"Right? You did come once for the housewarming with the staff, but you're the first friend I've met as a patient, Ijin."
"Friend...!"
Beep.
For a moment, it felt like words were floating above her head?
Kim Ijin was deeply moved.
'What is this? Romance drama dialogue?'
I suddenly got goosebumps and scratched my arms.
Hmm, we've met outside twice now—doesn't that make us friends?
"I happened to buy shabu-shabu ingredients, so wait in the living room for a bit."
She'd come all the way home, so I had to treat her well.
I usually just used meal kits, but I'd gone shopping properly for once.
I moved the pot to the dining table and quickly sliced vegetables into it.
"Wow, it smells so good."
Even after we got home and while the water boiled, Kim Ijin's face still glowed with emotion.
"I'm the only one who gets to eat food you prepare, right, Director?"
"Of course."
That would do.
The meat at staff dinners was grilled together, after all.
"How's the captain doing? Rehab going well?"
"Yes! They say she might even be able to play in games soon."
We shared updates over the meal.
"What about you, Ijin? That recording from last time... seems like you're practicing diligently."
I asked cautiously.
I'd thought her internal energy would build very slowly with occasional practice, but every time we met, the aura she gave off was different enough to startle me.
Why was her internal energy accumulating so well?
Power of the Heavenly Martial Body? Or was Kim Ijin devoting more time to training than I'd expected?
"Yes. Whenever I have a moment alone, I focus on my breathing. At first, there wasn't much change, but now it feels like my body is restructuring as it builds up... I even feel like I might advance to the next stage if I do well."
What?
I'd only given her the most basic breathing technique, and she was advancing stages on her own?
Planning to invent an ascending martial art or something?
No way!
"Ha, haha. I'll let you know when the time comes, so don't try to break through on your own."
I stopped Kim Ijin for now.
Sword techniques could be improvised by swinging and slashing around, but tampering with breathing methods could lead to disaster.
You could fall into qi deviation!
And even if she succeeded, that would be a problem.
Right now, it was just improving cardiopulmonary endurance and muscle stamina subtly.
But becoming a grandmaster would be trouble!
"Yes, Director."
Fortunately, Kim Ijin trusted my words without question.
Phew, saved the pro basketball ecosystem.
Thump! Tap-tap-tap!
As we finished eating, I sensed the chipmunk's presence outside the window.
"Director, there's knocking outside...?"
Kim Ijin asked, puzzled.
It wasn't a normal knock, and it wasn't coming from the front door.
"You don't hate animals, right? It's a chipmunk. It doesn't bite."
"I like them. I even have a dog. I've only seen chipmunks in the mountains, though."
I asked her permission and opened the window.
Then the chipmunk...
Whoosh!
Leapt with incredible power, landing right in Kim Ijin's arms.
"..."
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Kim Ijin.
What? It clung to me so stubbornly before, but now it prefers Ijin's energy?
The chipmunk nestled into her arms with dreamy eyes.
"Did it eat something weird?"
No. Maybe it was enjoying the special treat?
Since the energy texture was a bit different, perhaps it got hooked on Sichuan liquor and now drunk on cocktails.
"It visits often. Might as well say it practically lives here. It used to stay in the back mountain over there, but lately it's always rolling around in our yard."
"Ah, what's its name?"
Kim Ijin didn't push the chipmunk away.
She seemed pleased by its affection, smiling warmly as she stroked its fur.
Ooh, so cute!
"No specific name. I just call it the chipmunk."
"Huh."
"I tried giving it names, but it didn't like them."
As a spirit beast, it might have its own true name?
Anyway, it had to have lived much longer than me, maybe even named by someone from before I was born.
I'd tried several, but it never responded to new names.
Yet it acted all cute whenever I just called it "chipmunk."
"Really?"
Kim Ijin looked a bit disappointed.
"Hmm, chipmunk. That's weird."
But what could I do? It didn't like them.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the chipmunk tugged at Kim Ijin's sleeve.
"Huh?"
"It wants you to name it...?"
No way!
This guy understood human speech well and mimicked human-like nonverbal cues due to its nature.
But still, no way?
"You want a name?"
When Kim Ijin asked, the chipmunk...
Nodded.
'Hey!'
That was too much!
Nodding so openly in front of Kim Ijin, revealing its spirit nature?
And rejecting my names but asking her? Even worse!
"Maybe it didn't like the names you gave it, Director?"
"No way!"
"What did you name it?"
"Little Divine Dragon, Black Blood Divine Fist, Heavenly Mechanism Divine Scholar..."
I listed the three candidates, and Kim Ijin's face twisted dramatically.
"Why on earth... no, are you serious?"
"Why? They're cool, right?"
"...Even the director has his limits."
What?
Did it really not like my names?
I was matching them to my own nicknames with the "divine" character, you know?
I even dug through the dictionary to come up with them!
"Black Blood Divine Fist is really good, isn't it? It beats snakes and even does boxing."
"How about Cheongsol?"
Kim Ijin ignored me lightly and asked the chipmunk.
Cheongsol? What the heck!
Might as well call it Cheongseol or Squirrel.
-Chik! Chik-chik!
Surprisingly, the chipmunk nodded vigorously.
"...It likes it? For real?"
No, this can't be!
Honestly, anyone would think Little Divine Dragon or Black Blood Divine Fist was cooler, right?
Even the spirit beast owned by a Mount Hua Sect elder was named Great Harmony Immortal Child.
-Kyu-woook!
It seemed like the chipmunk was glaring at me, but probably just my imagination.
"Alright, Cheongsol... Got it. If that's your choice, no helping it."
I humbly accepted Kim Ijin's name.
Thanks to Cheongsol refusing to leave Kim Ijin's side, she ended up staying at our house pretty late.
"Can't I just sleep over?"
After visiting and dinner, she even tried for a sleepover.
"Didn't you say you have to head back early tomorrow? You should stop by home too."
"I went during the day..."
"Still. They'd worry if you stayed out."
It was still mid-season, and though she'd come to the clinic on the weekend, she had to leave tomorrow.
She needed time with her parents too—letting her sleep over felt a bit much.
"Next time, after your team wins the season, I'll invite you again."
I promised for later and put her in the car.
She didn't insist anymore and agreed to go home.
'Feels weird dropping by the clinic after work again.'
Kim Ijin's house was very close to the clinic.
"Hmm..."
Should I have just parked at the clinic?
Being evening, no spots were visible in the apartment complex.
Underground would be a hassle.
"I'll pull over briefly—want to get out here?"
"Huh?"
Kim Ijin, who was also looking for parking, jumped in surprise.
"Something happening outside?"
"Mom looks troubled by something."
In the direction she pointed, a dog was sitting.
And the middle-aged woman holding its leash stood beside it, at a loss.
"I'll park here—get out for now. I'll park underground and come back."
I gave up on surface parking cleanly and let Kim Ijin out.
When I came back up...
"What happened?"
Kim Ijin was hugging the dog awkwardly right there.
"Oh, hello. Director! I'm Ijin's mom. Sorry I couldn't greet you properly before."
"Mom took Choco out for a walk, but it suddenly sat down and wouldn't move, saying it's hurting somewhere."
I greeted Kim Ijin's mother and took the dog.
"I see. Let me take a quick look."
It was walking fine then suddenly sat?
Some reason it couldn't walk?
"Director, you handle animals too? Even the chipmunk...?"
I hadn't treated it—I'd saved its life another way.
"I can spot visible injuries. Not great with internal illnesses."
The dog that refused to walk was calm in my arms now, so leg issues were suspect first.
Like a thorn in the paw—easy fix.
I examined its legs carefully.
-Arf!
When I touched the hind leg, the quiet dog barked fiercely.
The right hind leg's kneecap was slightly swollen.
"Here it is."
Not severe, but comparing sides made it obvious—even Kim Ijin and her mom noticed.
"Oh dear, it jumped off the sofa the day before yesterday and whimpered a bit. Must've hurt then. What do we do? It's not broken, right?"
"If broken, it wouldn't have walked around for two days."
Same for dislocation—they'd have noticed immediately.
The energy felt fine; bones seemed okay.
"X-ray tomorrow would be good, but looks like a sprain for now. Not bad, but maybe aggravated on today's walk?"
"It ran so excitedly. My knees hurt just watching... Sigh, I should've noticed sooner."
"Same as my knee ligament issue?"
Kim Ijin's mom blamed herself, while Ijin looked at Choco pitifully.
-Whine...
"Yes. Seems like an ACL problem too. Poor thing, must hurt a lot."
"Ah..."
"Director, can you treat it?"
Kim Ijin asked me.
Not as bad as when sitting, but Choco's condition wasn't great.
Non-24-hour animal hospitals would be closed.
High chance it'd whimper all night without sleep.
"I can."
Of course, the Sichuan Tang family had dedicated horse physicians.
Mainly for family horses, but experts in snakes, insects, all animals.
So Master and I never delved into veterinary.
But wandering outside, I'd treated dogs and horses occasionally.
'Come to think, not many dogs.'
But dog knees are similar to humans.
Once I located it, acupoints were where energy gathered—good for makeshift treatment.
"Dogs get acupuncture too?"
Kim Ijin's mom asked, amazed.
"Yes. Dogs have acupoints like this, and plenty of animal hospitals do it now."
I'd searched ligament structures before; it was a vet acupuncturist's blog.
Showed them the dog acupoint chart below—they nodded.
"Could we ask you then? Too late for the hospital now..."
"Sure, I'll take a look. Legally vets do it, so don't say you got treated by a Korean medicine doctor tomorrow."
"Oh, of course."
Korean med school doesn't teach animal acupuncture at all.
Vet school touches on it lightly, not in-depth. Clinical herbal vets probably self-study.
"Then in the car briefly..."
"Come to our place for a bit. Can't see well in the dark."
Once I agreed, the worry eased from Kim Ijin's face a little.