Chapter 246
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 246
Chapter Title: The Falcon Lingers
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The falcon stayed at our house for two more days.
But it only properly rested in the room I prepared for it for one day. Once it regained a bit of energy, it perched on the tallest tree in our garden.
Therapeutically speaking, a warmer spot would have been better, but it didn't seem like the kind of creature that could stay indoors for long.
Was it the first day, gripped by the fear that it might die like this, that it actually listened to me?
Anyway, it took its medicine well.
Whenever I paced in front of the garden at the appointed time, it would flutter down with a rustle and poke out its beak.
It seemed to sense for itself how much it recovered after taking the medicine and getting acupuncture.
- Kyu! Kyuuu!
Whether it felt the bursts of energy with each needle insertion, Cheongsol would cling tightly to my leg every time I treated it.
"Want to try acupuncture too?"
- Kyuuuuk!
It hated the needles, though.
Why? It stings a little going in, but it feels refreshing once they're in.
The little one seemed satisfied just feeling the energy from contact, as it would snuggle up to me after treatment.
A few days later.
- Kyuk! Kyuuk!
Cheongsol brought me a gift.
As repayment for treating its friend, apparently.
...It was sand ginseng, no less. Three roots of it.
Like most plants Cheongsol had brought me so far, it carried a considerable amount of spiritual energy.
"No way! If you had something like this, you should've brought it sooner!"
Not the kind of thing you say to someone—no, some creature—that brought you a gift.
But I couldn't hold back the cry that burst from my lips.
If I'd had spiritual medicine like this sand ginseng, treating the falcon would've been so much easier!
Sand ginseng is one of the Five Ginsengs—along with ginseng, black ginseng, red sage, and bitter ginseng—known to be extremely good for the bronchi.
It replenishes fluids to moisten the lungs, clears heat, removes phlegm, and is used for dry throat, dry cough, phlegm, dyspnea, asthma... In short, it's insanely good for respiratory immunity.
- Kyuuuuk!
Cheongsol protested.
- Kkiiiii!
The falcon let out a somewhat high-pitched cry, though it was unclear whose side it was on.
"Sorry, my bad... Thank you. Let's all share it."
I took the sand ginseng to the kitchen and gave it a light prep.
Not a proper slicing for drying, just washing off impurities and cutting it into bite-sized pieces.
"Here."
I wondered if the carnivorous falcon would eat it, but this one seemed to know it was a spiritual item.
It had refused even chicken porridge once it perked up a bit, yet it snapped up the sand ginseng eagerly, recognizing the good stuff.
"This should get you past the crisis. Your mucus condition and energy levels are clearly in recovery mode now. With something like spiritual medicine on top, no worries left."
When we first met, the illness was in full swing, but now its activity level had definitely picked up.
Its feathers had a healthy sheen, and above all, its breathing had improved markedly.
"Even if you're still a bit weak, rest up and you'll be fine. You can feel it too, right? You're free to go wherever you want."
It lived on cliffs and seashores, from what I heard, so our garden probably wasn't the ideal spot to linger.
A human patient might need more time, but I declared the treatment over.
- Ki— Kukukuku—
Unlike its previous weak peeps, the falcon gave a smooth, steady cry.
I might never understand falcon language, but I interpreted it myself.
It had to be something like "thanks for everything, take care."
Huh?
- Kkiik.
I told you to go?
- Kyuuk.
Right after this, the falcon was supposed to soar majestically into the high skies.
Instead, it settled back onto that—admittedly tallest—tree in our garden.
Was it planning to stick around?
Of course, that tree was the biggest and tallest garden tree around this suburban house.
But it was still too low for a peregrine falcon to nest in, wasn't it?
"...I can't keep feeding you if you stay there."
I'd buy nuts for Cheongsol now and then.
I didn't stop it from cuddling up much either.
But I couldn't procure food for a raptor.
A quick search while nursing it revealed it ate small animals... Buying frozen birds or mice to feed it felt wrong. It should hunt for itself!
- Flutter flutter!
The falcon flapped its wings as if it couldn't care less.
For real? On that tree?
"..."
I glared at it for a good while, then went back inside.
It probably wouldn't come indoors anymore, so I disinfected the room I'd lent it for the night.
No more meds from me, and once it had no business here, it'd go its own way, right?
And the next day.
I went to work and came back to find the falcon gone.
"Won't go when I tell you to go, but leaves without a goodbye like this?"
I felt a tiny bit relieved yet wistful.
- Kkii!
- Kyuuk!
Was it using our house tree as its playground with Cheongsol?
"...Cool... Looks so majestic..."
It reappeared in no time.
- Kkik!
It flapped its wings happily whenever it saw me, but that was it.
"Don't you have anything for me?"
- Flutter flutter!
Cheongsol brought good items sometimes, but what about this one?
Sasha's words weren't entirely off-base. In folktales, don't birds repay kindness for healing?
Maybe not magpies.
Ah, of course, I didn't mean bringing its own food like Cheongsol.
If it brought a mouse or sparrow, that'd be a problem.
"Whatever. Sigh, maybe it'll help someday."
Come to think of it, my master wanted to raise a falcon.
If we'd met in the martial world, I could've gone falcon-hunting.
Nothing like that possible in modern times, so I decided to leave it be.
Meanwhile.
The secret letters with Sasha continued for a while.
While she was in Korea, it was almost daily; on my days off, we'd exchange several in a day since I replied right away.
[I can feel my dantian filling with inner energy! The medicine and travel are smoothly restoring my body and mind. Glad I came to Korea.]
We talked health.
[Love the ondol karaoke rooms. Going almost every day lately.]
Like a Westerner praising kotatsu in front of a Japanese person.
[Glad you found a hobby. But no one recognizes you singing in karaoke?]
[Oh, caught several times, of course. I'd be offended if they didn't!]
I learned she was enjoying the attention wandering Seoul.
Coming to Korea wasn't a secret.
[No more dizziness when singing?]
[Oh, right. Totally forgot. None at all! Most of those symptoms I mentioned before are gone. Hmm, just low appetite and constipation left?]
[Blood deficiency constipation, so no purgatives like rhubarb. I'll increase angelica in the next batch to nourish blood and moisten.]
[Do whatever you think best, Director!]
Over 80% symptom improvement, so I decided the second round would be the finale.
Last consult via phone.
Medicine to be shipped to the US.
- Booked a flight home next week. Thanks for keeping up with me all this time.
Her gloom had cleared right up, and Sasha burst into cheerful laughter.
"No problem. Helped my English a ton too."
- Really?
"Of course!"
- Then, can I keep emailing even after I'm back in the US? Pen pals with my Korean doctor... So romantic.
Couldn't pinpoint her idea of romance, but I said sure.
This might even get me free phone English practice.
On the promised day, Sasha boarded her flight.
"Director! Sasha Lian's dating Lee Piljeon Chairman!"
"...What're you talking about?"
The very next day, I heard something weird from Gong Nari.
Lee Piljeon Chairman? Sounded like a middle-aged Korean guy in his 50s.
A quick search confirmed: a chaebol chairman from our country.
Everyone knew the company name, even if not his.
"Nooo, all that Korea travel lately? Turns out she has a boyfriend here. They were at the airport same day! How'd they meet? Ugh, Sasha's too good for him!"
...No. Not that guy.
Totally wrong.
How big an age gap? The guy's got kids!
Common sense: same day at airport was coincidence!
"Tha.t's... rea.lly... some.thing."
I couldn't flat-out deny it and just squeaked awkwardly.
Come to think of it, Sasha Lian had all sorts of scandals trailing her.
This time, various rumors; clicking one showed a roundup of past dating rumors.
From Hollywood actors to US political and business bigwigs—any celeb not rumored would've been the odd one out.
[What happened while I was in the air? This popularity! Ranks in the top 5 baseless dating rumors so far.]
Sasha, just arrived in the US, was baffled too.
She'd never heard of this chairman before, and over half her past rumors were fake.
Celeb life, she said.
I just laughed and asked about the long flight.
[Very comfortable. Great for lying down, diverse menu too. Gotta fly Korean airlines next time.]
Ah, right, first class.
After returning to the US, Sasha got busy, so we couldn't exchange emails as often as during her trip.
I couldn't reply on workdays either, so frequency dropped, but the pen-pal thing continued.
- Director, it's done! Just prescribe and bill now!
Word from Park Seonyoon too.
She'd said not to worry but subtly fretted; the certification process went smoothly, and it was proudly listed for insurance-covered formulations.
In Korea, the Ministry of Health and Welfare sets standards for insurance-covered prescriptions, publicizing product names, companies, dosages, and payment caps.
PK launched 56 insurance-eligible formulations first.
Overseas prescriptions would grow, but Korean demand overwhelmingly favored insured meds.
All Seongsu Clinic branches adopted them.
Dozens of other clinics inquired via the external decoction room.
Saudi worker confirmed, shipped bulk to match treatment start.
'Tch, hope we break even.'
Park had pitched the business plan so confidently we collaborated, but I still wondered if we'd recoup R&D costs.
With price caps on prescriptions and pricey premium herbs, margins per script were slim.
Even at our clinic, where we should push them most, I preferred custom prescriptions.
'Old habits die hard—unless it's off-the-shelf cold meds or muscle relaxants, I want to brew custom even if it takes time.'
What if we don't use them enough?
I'd worried a bit when introducing.
They say when the student is ready, the master appears?
Once the formulations were ready, a patient who needed them showed up.
"Director, I'm going crazy. Third month now—periods twice a month. Not super painful, but it's so gross and annoying. Half the month bleeding!"
A frequent menstruation patient I hadn't seen in ages.
"Friend from work recommended you. Can acupuncture fix this? Juyeon said you're an amazing doctor."
She'd stated upfront she wasn't well-off and pricey herbal meds were a burden.
"Let's take it slow, hear your story, and diagnose. Periods always irregular?"
I calmly asked, eyeing her pale complexion.