Chapter 238
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 238
Chapter Title: Seo In-ae's Sick Day
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"Director, you scared me!"
"Haha, sorry."
Seo In-ae patted her chest in relief.
She must have thought I'd popped out of nowhere because I'd hidden my presence too well.
It was my mistake to startle her this badly.
But it was also clear that her energy was faintly wavering.
"Sit down for now. Standing must be tough, right?"
"I'm fine......"
"Sit!"
Seo In-ae, who must have been struggling inside, sat in the chair without a word.
Her voice was hoarse, and she was shivering with chills—standing alone was draining all her energy.
"If you're feeling this bad, you should have said something and switched shifts. How could you keep working like this?"
So I gave her a light scolding.
"Come on, Director, you went on vacation. Someone had to hold down the fort and keep an eye on everything."
Her response overflowed with an absurd sense of responsibility.
Was she joking? Serious?
"And the only one to ask for a shift change right now is Teacher Seol Yu-hee, but she's probably swamped with schoolwork."
This is driving me crazy.
No wonder I'd felt like stopping by the clinic.
It was incredibly thoughtful of her, but why push herself that far when she was this sick?
"Ginseng absorption...... Now that I'm back, get some rest. Yu-hee teacher's not in exam season yet, so it'll be fine. If she's busy, I'll cover it."
"Huh? If the director's at the desk, patients will lose it demanding you treat them."
That's not the point right now!
"Whoa, In-ae teacher! That bad?"
As Seo In-ae and I bickered, Gong Nari burst out of the treatment room.
"Nari teacher, help me out. Let's get her laid down right now. Bed one's free, right?"
I quickly roped Gong Nari in, and together we grabbed Seo In-ae's arms.
"Director?"
"I'll set up the blanket! Want a hot pack too?"
Fortunately, the clinic wasn't slammed.
We immediately overpowered Seo In-ae and dragged her away from the desk.
"No, if you do this! What if patients suddenly flood in!"
Gong Nari swiftly prepped the bed and volunteered to bounce between the desk and treatment room for a bit.
- I'm coming right now!
Fortunately, Seol Yu-hee was home and said she'd head over immediately.
"Shift change is handled, so stop worrying. I'll grab some medicine—lie down for a bit."
Only then did Seo In-ae reluctantly pull the blanket around herself.
"Ah, Director...... This is...... No, phew. Sorry."
She kept mumbling to herself.
"What're you sorry for?"
"I didn't manage my health right and ended up burdening the clinic."
"Don't talk nonsense. Drink this."
"I asked Director Hwang earlier and took some Galgeun-tang."
I hauled out every cold remedy we had in stock and checked Seo In-ae's symptoms again.
We could custom-make other prescriptions, but cold meds needed to be ready to go.
Who'd accept it if we told a cold patient showing up tonight to pick up from the herbal pharmacy tomorrow and get delivery the day after?
They needed something to ease the pain right away.
"Ah, Galgeun-tang's solid."
Her body aches stood out most, so Hwang Sang-hun must have recommended it.
"Cold" was short for external pathogenic qi.
When outside pathogens hadn't penetrated inward yet and were lingering on the surface.
Gegji and Mahwang mainly released the exterior, while Galgeun and Jakyak acted like muscle relaxants on the body-ache pain, and Mahwang handled fever and pain relief too—that was Galgeun-tang.
Of course, it wasn't a perfect 100% match for Seo In-ae's symptoms.
Stock remedies had their limits.
Still, something with gyeolgyeong, yeonkyo, and parkha would've been ideal.
"Then take some Yeonkyo-san too. Your throat's rough."
I handed her an extra packet—might as well go all in.
"Thank you...."
Cold herbal formulas were incredibly varied.
We stocked basics like Gegji-tang, Gema-gakban-tang, Galgeun-tang, Samsogyun, Yeonkyo-san, Hyangso-san, Hyeonggae-yeonkyo-tang, So-cheongryong-tang, and Gumi-ganghwal-tang.
But if you customized them, you could fill a whole book and still not cover it all.
In fact, the Shanghan Lun—the foundational text still emphasized in Korean medicine school, establishing the framework for pattern-based treatment—was all about treating colds, flus, and epidemics.
Herbal medicine started with infectious diseases and evolved to cover internal injuries too.
"Feels way better. Time to get back to work."
After barely choking down the meds, Seo In-ae tried to get up again.
Of course, that was nonsense.
Even a steroid shot didn't kick in that fast.
"Teacher Seo In-ae! You sick?!"
Perfect timing—Seol Yu-hee arrived.
Her place was close, but she'd bolted over right after my call.
"Bad cold and body aches."
"Looks rough. Director put her down right away."
Gong Nari and Jin Min-jeong chimed in.
"Whaaaat? How? Where? Cold? Whole body shivering like that?"
Seol Yu-hee grabbed her hand in horror.
"Yeah. Some chills and aches. Standing was tough, so I lay down, but it's not a big deal."
"Gasp, teacher! Cold sweats too? Voice is shot, face pale as a ghost...... What do we do? Not turning into me back then, right? Director, In-ae teacher's okay?"
Seol Yu-hee's observational skills were downright impressive.
Wang, mun, mun, jeol, all naturally woven in.
"Just a cold—no need to freak. Still, rest today and tomorrow."
I reassured Seol Yu-hee while warning Seo In-ae.
"She'll get better?"
Even after laying her down, worry plastered Seol Yu-hee's face.
"We were right here and didn't notice. Ugh."
"In-ae teeeeacher. Early leave! No—go home now!"
Gong Nari and Jin Min-jeong piled on with Seol Yu-hee.
"I should've caught it."
"Sorry, teacher......! Must've been awful!"
Hwang Sang-hun and Lee A-reum emerged from their rooms at the commotion, joining the fuss.
The vibe was like Seo In-ae was on death's door, everyone gathering for last words.
Tricky situation.
I needed her to realize it wasn't minor.
But with everyone over-worrying, I had to reassure them too.
Cold's serious! But obviously curable! It's a cold! And Seo In-ae's young and healthy!
Getting that simple point across was surprisingly hard.
"Everyone back to your stations. Two patients still in treatment."
Seo In-ae barked first.
She was right—not swamped, but acupuncture patients remained. All this noise would distract them.
"Got it. I'll handle In-ae teacher, no worries. Bad cold—rough today, but three to seven days, she'll be fine."
Come to think of it, our clinic had almost...... no, zero sick leave swaps ever.
Seol Yu-hee's exams or Jin Min-jeong's kid being sick, sure—but personal illness? Never.
"You two are tanks, never sick. Normal folks get hit like this now and then."
"Huh? Really?"
"Hard to even stand......?"
Gong Nari and Jin Min-jeong, picked for their martial aptitude.
They hadn't been sick since early childhood, it seemed.
"Won't end up like me before?"
Seol Yu-hee, on the flip side, had been sick way too often.
Now super healthy—top 1%—she mistook her old frail self for "normal."
Three people crying tiger, and even baseline-healthy Hwang Sang-hun and Lee A-reum got spooked.
"I'm super healthy. Normal people crash with a cold or flu every three or four years!"
Seo In-ae laid out the truth earnestly.
"Exactly. Happens. She'll recover fine. ......If In-ae rests through tomorrow."
I said firmly.
"Pack three days' meds. Come the day after next; I'll brew fresh."
Seo In-ae stopped arguing and followed doctor's orders.
I shooed the others out, then told her to change and head home.
Sleeping at the clinic was fine, but home was better.
"Sorry. I'll rest up and be back."
Her legs wobbling badly.
I supported her all the way to the first floor.
"You'll trip and hurt yourself. Taxi."
"Money's a waste......"
"I'll cover it. Hop in."
"Fairness issue......"
"Forget it. I'll drive you."
She was still stubbornly arguing.
I ignored her and got her in the car.
"You're wiped. Seen tons of body-ache cases—your face says it all."
Modern clinics rarely saw respiratory epidemics, but in the murim world? Couldn't count.
Acute phase with that complexion—standing, even lying still would hurt.
"......Thank you."
Good thing I'd swung by the clinic today.
Without me dragging her out, she'd have powered through on sheer will.
Two or three more rough days ahead.
I buckled Seo In-ae into the passenger seat and headed to the address she'd given.
I said sleeping it off was fine, but she seemed too embarrassed and cracked several lame jokes.
"Ugh, sorry. Stressed out yanking my hair over bad inventory for days—ended up like this. Haha, so embarrassing."
Why keep apologizing?
Seo In-ae clicked her tongue at herself in self-reproach.
"No big deal. Like you said, getting sick occasionally is normal. That's what sick leave is for."
"Yep. Side gigs tolerated? Nowhere else. I'll recover fast and work my butt off."
Joke or for real? Hard to tell.
I'd told her before: nail clinic duties, and side hustles or her own biz were fine by me.
And she'd outperformed everyone so far.
"Gotta cut back on personal stuff. Bought a place now. Ngh. Smart stores sneakily demand attention."
"How many left? Convenience store quit, vending machine still one?"
"Yeah, smart store and vending. NewTube's half-abandoned."
I'd helped her hit monetization thresholds before, but ramping up to real revenue? Tough.
"No star charisma...... NewTube's for director types, boo hoo."
......We can skip that.
Quiet life beats fame drawing every weirdo.
Different goals, sure.
"Pretty anxious?"
I tossed the question her way.
"Huh?"
"Figured you craved massive business and investment wins, but something else feels bigger."
"Uh......?"
Seo In-ae tilted her head, lost.
"I looove money, though?"
Of course.
Earned and saved more than spent—suited her lifestyle.
But it was excessive.
Tried NewTube forever despite poor fit.
Inefficient stuff like convenience stores too.
How many ventures had she picked up?
Convenience gig, vending, share house, real estate auction study, smart store, NewTube. More? Probably stuff I didn't know.
Less "I want this" and more chasing anything profitable.
Never meddled in her capitalist drive before.
But time to nudge a direction.
"Just wanna be mega-rich?"
"Mm, yeah?"
"Specific goal? Fifty billion? Hundred? Gangnam pad? Thirty mil a month?"
"No? Nothing like that!"
She denied it flat-out.
Plenty mouth big dreams sans effort; she shook her head at daring such grandeur.
"I...... I just want...... a cozy home to crash, stable paycheck......"
Didn't she have that already?
Heard she bought an apartment with an elementary school attached last time.
"Is that so? Am I coming off anxious?"
I nodded gently.
Delicate topic, but had to address it now.
"Not saying one cold rewrites your life, but worth thinking about."
"......Yeah, been thinking lately—no real need to push this hard. Since the house."
"No need is obvious fact. Key's your desire, In-ae teacher."
Seo In-ae gaped at me.
"Desire......"
Face like she'd never considered it.
I got it. Been there.
Fresh-dropped in murim, survival only.
Why me? Gotta go this far? Thoughts like that? Couldn't run.
"Once cold clears, mull it deeper. Hustled years—time to reflect."
Her lips twitched nonstop.
Really? Anxious? Didn't crave mega-wealth? Mumbles.
No five- or ten-minute hazy epiphany.
"Take~ your time."
Signal stopped; I glanced over.
Energy still low, but her eyes shook with deep confusion.
"And if you wanna trim side stuff, tell me."
"Ah, sure."
My take might nail it—or miss.
True desire riches or anxiety escape? Unknown.
Bullseye or BS?
But I figured she'd hustled enough to face her unease.
And if stability was it—home, steady pay—
"If you wanna focus here over your biz, I'd love to give you a bigger role."
I wanted to offer another path.
Work that helped me more than anyone.