Chapter 198
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: You Can Reach Billboard Too!
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‘Ugh! How am I supposed to sort this out?’
I’d copy-pasted, and along with it came the author’s nicknames, post timestamps, phrases like ‘reply’ and ‘report’.
If it were just a few dozen, I’d delete them one by one, but doing it hundreds of times felt suffocating even before starting.
“Isn’t there some slick computer trick to handle this neatly?”
So, I asked Seo Ina and Gong Nari, the ones at our clinic somewhat familiar with IT.
Surely someone good with Excel would have a way?
“Ten thousand won an hour, and I’ll do it. Cash, please.”
……No one at our clinic knew how.
But with Seo Ina’s help, I managed to ship everything without a hitch.
Running a smart store really makes a difference.
Her assistance was invaluable through ordering the books, inspecting them, and completing the shipments.
We get a fair number of external decoction orders now, but shipping four-digit quantities at once was a first.
‘Still, nailed the first sales run without any major issues!’
Worried something might crop up, I checked my email and the community forums obsessively for days.
But there were no posts pointing out content errors or damaged copies.
Instead, heartfelt reviews poured in—far more thoughtful than the one- or two-line hopeful comments from before.
[Newbie doc here! Thanks to Director Han Yeowon, I prescribed with confidence!]
For instance, posts with my name in the title were impossible to ignore.
This one was about an elderly patient I’d been hesitating to prescribe strong meds for. After reading my book, they went with Liu Jun Zi Tang. They’d worried endlessly that the price wouldn’t match the effect if they pushed the meds, but the patient was so grateful it made them regret all the hesitation.
“Oh, worth the hassle of publishing.”
Overall reactions were positive.
[Picked it up on Director Han Yeowon’s recommendation...]
This one made me tense at first.
But it turned out they’d skimmed it for review, only to learn deeply from my precise grasp of each herb’s properties. Yeah, I learned from the best.
[There’s a reason Seongsu Clinic is blowing up.]
[Thinking of trying Seongsu Clinic’s external decoction service.]
[Everyone’s talking about Director Han Yeowon these days...]
Of course, with all the praise piling up,
[Isn’t the Seongsu Clinic viral hype getting out of hand?]
some grumblers emerged.
Eh, that’s just what happens when something blows up.
Anyway, no major issues for about a week.
Safe to print a second run.
With rave reviews flooding in, inquiries about extra orders piled up from those who missed the window.
‘Can’t pull this off again!’
We scraped by this time thanks to Seo Ina, but twice would be impossible.
Conveniently, a small publisher specializing in Korean medicine books reached out first, so we’re handling the second print and beyond with them.
My announcement of continuous sales within three months thrilled those who hadn’t bought yet.
[Any chance for lectures??]
[Please open an online class!]
……I thought these were just troll posts at first.
They kept popping up, though. And not all from the same person.
‘They really want lectures? From me?’
Sure, some doctors do side gigs lecturing.
But are my methods special enough for lectures?
I’m confident my prescriptions are above average.
Everything I can explain is already in the book…….
And my verbal delivery isn’t vastly superior to writing. Nope.
My acupuncture hits similar points as others.
The extra effectiveness? Can’t teach Qi Circulation Technique in a lecture!
So I mostly ignored it.
[Sent an email regarding the special lecture request. Please check.]
A message from Professor Lee Minseok.
‘……?’
Special lecture? What lecture?
I opened the email.
It matched the text summary exactly.
A one-hour special lecture on clinical practice for practitioners.
‘Come to think of it, we had these back in school.’
Some hosted by the school.
Professors sometimes used class time to bring in guests.
Or delegated parts of their curriculum. Or standalone topics, like this request from Professor Lee.
‘I owe Professor Lee a bit anyway.’
I could ignore random internet pleas into the void.
But a personal email from a friendly prof? Had to reply.
‘An alma mater special lecture should be fine, right?’
Plus, he’s taking over the Italian doctor starting next year.
Securing a grad student is good for him, sure. But letting me observe his research, classes, and clinic was a huge favor.
This much is only fair…….
- What’s with the agonizing? Just do it! The students would love an hour of you spilling tea on getting chummy with Melon Soda Horizon.
Consulting Hwang Seoyeong, whom I’d meet in Seoul soon, she shoved me forward: just close your eyes and go for it.
‘Yeah, just once. Should be no big deal.’
Decided. I emailed the professor accepting.
I was heading to Seoul soon anyway to meet the doctor, so I could swing by school for a quick lecture.
Luckily, Professor Lee accommodated my schedule.
Set the date for the doctor’s arrival, and I prepped a simple PPT and script in the meantime.
‘Finals week soon, so…… students won’t want anything heavy, right?’
After much deliberation, I entered the title.
A few days later.
If Hwang Sanghun were around, I could’ve taken two leisurely days. But cramming everything into my usual day off Thursday was tight.
Hit Seoul and met the doctor from Italy first thing.
Coming to Korea where he knows no one—gotta greet him at the airport!
“Hello, I’m Alessandro Lucarelli. Call me Sandro.”
Orange curly hair, a smattering of freckles, glasses.
Lacking clinical experience, or maybe the plaid shirt instead of a white coat.
Looked more model student than doctor.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Han Yeowon. Heard a lot about you from Chairman Ricci.”
“I’ve heard plenty about you too. Thanks for coming to the airport.”
His Korean was impressively fluent.
Obviously needed for Korean lectures, but I hadn’t expected this level of prep from overseas.
“Since you’re here on my intro, of course I’ll help however I can. If the advisor gives you grief, call me anytime.”
“Haha, thanks. Professor seems great. Post-interview, I bugged him with tons of admissions questions, and he answered every one kindly.”
Hmm, figures.
Securing a ‘slave’ means treating them well until the stamp’s set—no, until enrollment’s locked. Better warn him not to let his guard down. Sandro laughed like it was a fun joke.
“How’d you get into Korean medicine?”
Asked in the taxi to school. He scratched his head.
“Oh, saw a docu on acupuncture anesthesia years back. Thought it might be a good adjunct. Then at an earthquake site, seeing patients improve with acupuncture…… it was like a revelation. Found my path.”
“Right, you contributed to that earthquake PTSD paper.”
“Yeah. Studied everything accessible, visited Korean and Chinese docs in Italy. Fixed Mom’s knee and my skin too.”
“Ah.”
Skin treatment, huh?
Still freckled, and closer look showed some pigmented scars.
Noticing my gaze, Sandro smiled and touched his cheek.
“Super sensitive to UV. Teens were a nightmare.”
“Must’ve been rough.”
“Lucky me. Got this far, and now a chance to study in Korea. Gotta learn hard and treat patients back home.”
Incredible drive, even a sense of mission in his eyes.
I’d lumped him with Chairman Ricci, eclectic fan of Eastern culture, philosophy, art.
But Sandro was dead serious as a doctor.
“Here we are. This is the school.”
Second time back post-graduation, yet the vibe felt weird every time.
“Welcome!”
Professor Lee Minseok dashed to the parking lot to greet me and Sandro.
‘……?’
Why’s he beaming like that?
Not super close, but among times I’ve seen him, this was peak happiness.
Probably thrilled about diligent-looking Sandro joining as a grad student.
Come to think, he’d eyed me as his grad slave. Now I’d brought him a replacement—maybe a bit miffed.
“Thanks for coming.”
Not that he’d be that grateful… huh?
Thought it was for Sandro, but Professor Lee thanked me straight up.
“Pardon?”
“Bragged to the students about being pals with Director Han Yeowon. If you hadn’t come, I’d have lost face.”
“……?”
“Tons of students dying to see you.”
What the heck did he blab?
This wasn’t just filling a lecture slot?
Wanted to pry, but schedule was packed tight. No time.
Guided straight to the auditorium.
“Why not the fourth-year classroom? Isn’t this pre-exam clinical special lecture?”
“Told lower years they could join if interested. Tons signed up.”
Pardon?
Really? On purpose?
Right before finals, no exam questions from it.
Figured students would nap or cram.
Not mandatory, yet changed rooms for lower-year signups?
Professor Lee! What did you say……!
“Wow, the Seongsu Clinic director in the flesh.”
Blissfully clueless Sandro grinned.
After Professor Lee helped plug in my USB, they headed to the back row.
And I stepped onto the podium of a massive lecture hall packed with hundreds.
……Eyes sparkling with anticipation.
‘Oh crap. Should’ve prepped something legit and flashy!’
Too late.
Under hundreds of eager stares,
You Can Reach Billboard Too! ~The Legendary Beginning of Seongsu Clinic~
I opened the gag PPT.