Chapter 206
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Freshman Orientation
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15 minutes before OT began.
Seol Yuhee arrived at the Korean Medicine Building right on time and located the lecture hall.
She smoothly slid the door open.
Already, about half the students were seated inside, murmuring among themselves.
Oh no, have they all gotten friendly already? I should have come earlier!
The students seated near the door all turned their gazes toward Seol Yuhee.
"Hello?"
So she greeted them with her usual smile.
"……."
For a moment, a hush fell over the lecture hall.
Huh? Did I do something wrong?
The students stared intently at Seol Yuhee's face.
What? What did I mess up?
She had no idea, and her mind went completely blank.
Someone slipped in through the back door.
Ah! That's it—I came in through the front door without realizing!
She'd drawn unwanted attention!
Blushing, Seol Yuhee hurried to the very back row and sat down.
"Isn't that... no, isn't that friend one of our classmates?"
"Whoa……."
Ugh, so embarrassing!
"She's a freshman in the preliminary Korean medicine course, right?"
"Yes! That's Seol Yuhee! Nice to meet you!"
What? Do I not look like a Korean medicine student?
She answered the guy next to her, but for some reason, their conversation didn't flow normally.
"Welcome, new students!"
Soon after, the department chair professor appeared and gave a welcome speech.
Then came the curriculum overview, self-introductions, and first-semester course registration for freshmen.
Seol Yuhee took meticulous notes on the curriculum, determined not to miss a thing, and even jotted down notable traits from her classmates' introductions.
It was a habit for getting close to patients.
Good thing it's just the preliminary first-year first semester—the class hours aren't too bad!
Convinced she could handle both work and school, Seol Yuhee smiled in relief.
"Um…… wanna grab some food……?"
Lunchtime arrived before she knew it.
They rearranged their desks into groups and unpacked their lunches, but for some reason, the table where Seol Yuhee sat felt awkwardly quiet.
Why? Is it this silent? Is it because I'm older and it's awkward?
Outwardly, she wore the same smile she used at work, but inside, she was growing frantic.
Is it because of my entrance blunder? Or my age?
Gasp, or maybe because I'm mixed-race? It's not that obvious, though, right?
The clinic director had said over 10% of Korean medicine students entered later in life.
But Seol Yuhee, at 26, was the only one in that awkward in-between age.
There were four in their thirties, and the rest were fresh out of high school or had taken a gap year or two—making it hard to fit into any group.
What do I do!
Should I hang out with the younger kids?
Or the older ones in their thirties?
She glanced at the latter's table.
"Ah, I graduated from Yeonryeo University. You give off Korea University vibes, sis……."
"Oh my, how'd you know? Korea Uni, biotech major. We're only a year apart—speak comfortably."
"Really?"
They were huddled together, chatting about their prestigious university histories.
I-I can't join that!
And just like that, lunchtime ended without her making any friends.
Afternoon brought club introductions.
There were so many that looked fun.
She wanted to try a band, an orchestra sounded cool, traditional Korean music too…….
I guess I always wanted to learn an instrument.
It was a moment of self-discovery, but joining a club meant worrying even more about bonding with classmates.
Even with a healthy body, I'm…… ugh, making friends is so hard. The clinic staff have been so nice, I didn't realize!
She wasn't outgoing, but she thought she handled social situations decently.
But what if not?
What if her colleagues were just kind in saying she did well at work?
Seol Yuhee's thoughts drifted endlessly deep.
By the time boring club presentations ended, after-party time had arrived.
T-This time, I have to……!
Still, she fidgeted with her fingers and tagged along to the after-party.
"Yuhee! You're coming to the after-party too!"
As she pondered who to talk to, someone approached from behind and linked arms with her.
"Jimin, it's Yuhee unnie!"
"Oops, sorry! You look just like a saintess from a romance novel!!"
According to her self-introduction earlier, Yang Jimin, 20 years old.
Saintess? Does she like wuxia like the director?
The girl next to her was Lee Subin, 21. They seemed to know each other already.
"I've wanted to talk to you since you walked in! Unnie, you're so pretty!"
"Uh, um?"
"Are you mixed-race? Sorry if that's rude!"
"Yeah, Russian side. And you can drop the formal speech."
Yang Jimin had a big E energy. She felt a bit like Gong Nari.
No, 1.5 times more lively. ……Following her might help me make friends!
Seol Yuhee naturally stuck by her side and successfully formed a four-person table.
"Wowww! Amazing! You worked as a nursing assistant at a clinic while studying?"
She'd said to speak casually, but old habits died hard. Yang Jimin mixed in polite language while firing off questions.
Her bright, sparkling eyes reminded Seol Yuhee of a duck emoji.
Thanks to Yang Jimin hyping up even trivial things and clapping, Seol Yuhee could chat with the others too.
"It's all thanks to the director's consideration."
"Still! So cool!"
Maybe because she was fresh out of high school?
Just having work experience made her seem impressive.
"Impressive, right? I spent two years grinding at cram school just to barely scrape in."
The student who ended up at their table was Jin Doyul, 22.
His constant self-deprecating jokes left her unsure how to respond.
Anyway, Seol Yuhee successfully got phone numbers from all three at the table.
And soon, the drinks arrived.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
They toasted endlessly.
"Guys, aren't we drinking too much?"
"It's fine~. Cheers, unnie!"
"When else will we drink like this!"
Ughhh! So this is how the director felt at our last staff dinner!
It was nerve-wracking, but she couldn't rein in her classmates, who were barreling ahead like a runaway train.
"Uweeeek"
Sure enough, less than an hour after starting, people began collapsing.
Yang Jimin was one of them.
"I-I thought…… I could hold my liquor after 20 years of believing it.."
Surprisingly, she'd never touched alcohol before today.
I'm going crazy, for real.
Is this the boldness of twenty-year-olds? Can I even befriend them?
"Try some hangover relief pills."
Seol Yuhee handed over some pills the director had generously given her recently.
"It's called Daigeum Eumja. Same composition as Pyeongwi Powder, but with extra tangerine peel to help reverse the upward qi flow."
"Wow."
"I still can't do acupuncture well."
She also gave acupressure to points like Jianyu, Binao, and Quyuan that she'd learned over her shoulder.
"Ugh, urk!"
Every time Seol Yuhee pressed her back, Yang Jimin reacted dramatically, her hands trembling.
"Yang Jimin revived!"
Fortunately, it worked.
The pills took immediate effect, bringing her back to life in under 30 minutes.
"Just water from now on."
"Got it! But this stuff is amazing! I want to give some to my dad! Where'd you get it?"
"The director at my clinic gave it to me."
"Can I ask which clinic?"
"Seongsu Clinic."
After the not-quite-treatment, Yang Jimin relaxed a lot.
As Seol Yuhee answered her various questions again...
"Daaaaaaaamnnn!"
Yang Jimin's explosive reaction startled Seol Yuhee so much she nearly fell off her chair.
"Sorry! But wow! Busan, right? The main branch? Director Han Yeowon?"
"Huh? You know our director?"
"Of course!"
The moment Seongsu Clinic was mentioned, Yang Jimin's eyes sparkled twice as bright.
She'd been a fan of Hyun Jumi since middle school and learned about it from her Instagram posts, she said.
It'd gotten popular lately thanks to Melon Soda Horizon, but she'd dreamed of working there secretly even before that.
"I've heard of Seongsu Clinic too."
Jin Doyul didn't know the director's name but had heard of the clinic.
His father, a Korean medicine doctor, had told him not to work under him after graduation but to learn at a place like that.
"C-Can you... introduce me to the director just once……?"
Yang Jimin asked with sparkling eyes.
"I-Is that weird? Should I pretend to be a patient? Do I get colds?"
Worried it might cause trouble, she twisted her body fretfully.
Even this big-E friend shared some of Seol Yuhee's traits, sparking a bit of inner camaraderie.
"Our director would probably be happy to meet you. I'll ask."
For some reason, not just Yang Jimin but Jin Doyul and Lee Subin looked expectant too.
Gasp, what if she says no?
Only then did Seol Yuhee's anxiety flare up.
It wouldn't matter normally, but with Director Hwang Sanghun away, things were extra busy.
It wasn't an rude request, right?
Seol Yuhee returned from OT and cautiously requested a consultation, so I wondered what was up.
"They're your friends, Yuhee? By all means, come over!"
It was no trouble at all.
In fact, it was heartwarming.
The first semester hadn't even started, and she'd already made such eager friends.
One at a time could observe treatments, but three might crowd the patients.
"Thank you!"
Listening to her, it seemed they wanted to meet me more than anything.
Not a celebrity—what's so fascinating about the chief physician?
I didn't quite get it, but I happily agreed.
I even scheduled it for closing time.
But what should I talk about?
Treatment observation was straightforward, and when Lee Areum requested an interview, she brought a questionnaire.
But these were brand-new preliminary freshmen.
A few days later, the appointed day.
Can't redo Cheongsol's PPT, dang.
I pondered pulling out that sealed one, but luckily, one in the group was super energetic.
"Director! I've wanted to meet you! It's an honor!"
A fan of me, not a celebrity?
Where did this young kid pick up such flattery skills?
Answering Yang Jimin's questions kept the conversation nonstop.
"Wow, got it. Yes, yes—I'll study basic biology and chemistry hard!"
Like most underclassmen, her questions didn't stray far from my past lectures.
Yang Jimin nodded vigorously at even the obvious stuff, taking notes.
Her eyes sparkled intensely—flattering, or maybe a bit burdensome.
"So this is what Yuhee unnie does for work!"
No patients around, so I let them tour the clinic freely.
"Check out the decoction room while you're here."
It started as a normal decoction room, but somehow it was evolving into a mad scientist's lab.
I'd spared no support for An Juhee, so things kept piling up.
"Hiring?"
While touring, Yang Jimin spotted a memo on An Juhee's desk.
'Hiring!' scrawled hugely across an A4 sheet— if you could call it a memo.
She said she'd handle it herself, but still hasn't?
The part-timer helping with packaging had quit recently, so they needed someone new.
For the first one, she kept getting rejections until I found someone.
Lately too busy, she'd said she'd post the ad herself, but research and decoctions had delayed it.
I kept telling her she couldn't handle the workload alone.
"Looking for a nursing assistant? Need a license……?"
Yang Jimin asked.
"No, just a part-timer to help clean the decoction room and with packaging."
She'd asked a lot so far, so I answered without thinking.
"I'll apply!"
Yang Jimin shot her hand up, declaring her intent to join.
Hm? That's not what you'd expect.
It was mostly cleaning and packaging, really.
Seol Yuhee could observe treatments since she worked here, but this job was almost entirely in the decoction room.
Sure, there'd be things to learn, but…….
"School commute would be tough—how about coming separately to observe treatments later?"
I explained the duties in detail and suggested an alternative.
But her eyes didn't dim a bit.
"Give me any task, and I'll work like a dog!"
I really liked young people with this much drive and eagerness to learn on the job.
But I couldn't decide this role on my own.
An Juhee might faint if I brought her in.