Chapter 251
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 251
Chapter Title: A Moment of Realization
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Gently massaging Lee Dajeong's shoulder caused her to release the tension from her muscles, letting them slump down.
"I'm... excited... aren't I?"
Wasn't her entire body too rigidly tense for her to claim she wasn't angry or worked up?
Realizing this, Lee Dajeong flinched once more.
"I really hate people who yell over the phone... but me..."
Lee Dajeong muttered softly to herself and thumped her chest.
"I'm sorry, Director. You're right, I am excited. I saw something about it being used in psychiatry and thought you were messing with me."
"That's understandable. Shall we take a look together?"
Fortunately, she quickly pulled herself together.
Her heart was beating a bit fast, but she'd managed her anger.
Was the excitement not fully subsided? Or was she intimidated into submission?
What Lee Dajeong showed me was an advertisement from another Korean medicine clinic.
Neurological issues - excitement, nervousness, anxiety symptoms!
Patients who get easily agitated and lash out verbally!
People with high stress, oversensitive nerves, and frequent irritation!
...It fits perfectly, doesn't it?
In Japan, it's widely used for dementia, epilepsy, and even hemiplegia, so I wondered if she'd seen some paper like that.
The benefits of Yi Gan San that Lee Dajeong showed me weren't far off from my goals.
"Oh, um, I'm not usually this quick to get excited."
She seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.
Her actions matched the description exactly!
Having this realization, Lee Dajeong stammered with her face even redder than before.
"Of course I know you're a refined person. We've had smooth conversations so far, right?"
"Y-yes... that's true."
I smiled and pointed to her smartphone screen.
"Gets angry easily. Or excited. It's translated from the Chinese term 'irritability'. Try looking at it in a broader sense. As a working adult, you don't express it because you shouldn't, but has there really been no anger bubbling inside?"
"Hmm..."
"You might not feel it. But the neural excitement has affected your muscles, hasn't it?"
Lee Dajeong avoided my eyes.
And flinched again at that realization.
Her wandering, circling gaze finally fixed on me.
At last, she admitted it.
"It's not anger, exactly, but there are a lot of things that get on my nerves. There are just so many people poking at them."
I nodded in empathy.
"But I've handled it well each time. I've put in a lot of effort not to turn into one of those clueless jerks."
"How do you relieve that stress?"
"When I'm working, there are too many irritating people to avoid, so I treat them like dust and ignore them. Drinking with friends and criticizing their personalities makes me feel better. For anyone irritating outside of work, I say everything I want to right away."
Hmm.
Hmmm.
Hmmmmm.
I usually side with the patient.
"Do you really think there's no problem with that stress-relief method?"
I swallowed hard.
But Lee Dajeong blinked with a face full of genuine confusion.
"What's the problem?"
Her voice was incredibly gentle, and her blinking eyes were the picture of innocence.
Her metacognition was this lacking?
I couldn't relay Park Siha's complaints, so I returned to the basics.
"You might think saying everything right away prevents stress buildup, but that's not true. You're constantly sharpening your nerves to do that."
"...?"
"You're always focused on who says something nerve-wracking, then elegantly firing back, right? Even secretly researching the perfect timing and words."
"Gasp, how did you know?"
It was something I'd heard several times during initial visits when noticing her jaw joint issues.
But this time, her surprise was greater than ever.
"That's not good for you or the listener."
There were plenty like this in the martial world.
Those who fought with their tongues instead of swords.
Their hallmark... they were incredibly good at sarcasm.
Subtly scratching at people to anger them, manipulating situations as they wanted, all without self-awareness.
And their endings all converged on one thing.
They died to those who ignored the verbal sparring and drew their swords without a word.
"I thought I was being considerate and phrasing it nicely for the listener..."
Was a loud, obnoxious customer who yelled more infuriating?
Or someone like Lee Dajeong, who nitpicked relentlessly, more infuriating?
There might be debate on which was worse, but no one liked either.
"Just because you don't raise your voice doesn't make it pleasant to hear. Did it make the listener feel good?"
"I'm giving them a chance to fix it."
"People seize opportunities themselves. I'm talking about feelings."
"It probably didn't feel good. That's why I point it out."
"Exactly. You're relieving your stress by making the other person uncomfortable. But does that really relieve your stress?"
"..."
I asked carefully, one by one, so it wouldn't feel like scolding.
Lee Dajeong paused again, deep in thought.
I gave her plenty of time for self-dialogue.
"Sometimes I say it and forget, but often I don't. Even things I said to doctors stick in my mind... I don't regret them, but I've made mistakes."
"Mistakes?"
"Siha said she had periods twice a month, and I accused her of lying. Ha, and here I am, getting mistaken for having a mental illness over my jaw joint and getting mad about it... You're right. I was angry then too."
"So there was an incident with Siha."
I nodded as if I knew nothing.
"Siha was the mature one for brushing it off, and I was petty for snapping."
...She didn't exactly brush it off maturely, but I didn't point that out.
"Yes. You shouldn't endure major harm done to you, but sometimes taking a small loss is the biggest gain. How about changing your stress-relief habits starting now?"
Lee Dajeong accepted without further argument.
"Yes..."
"As I said earlier, you're not a candidate for diagnosis or medication. It might help somewhat with the symptoms listed, but ingrained personality habits need self-correction."
I tapped the now-dark screen.
The medicine might ease hypersensitivity a bit, but if she kept her radar on high alert, it was pointless.
"I'll do that. I don't know how exactly, but... I'll try."
"Good thinking. When something happens, try stepping back one pace to view the situation."
My words felt too abstract upon saying them.
Think twice before speaking? Good for considering others, but it would heighten her sensitivity more.
"Experiment slowly with various things. Counseling's good, Tai Chi's good too..."
"Tai Chi?"
It popped into my mind suddenly.
Unlike Lee Dajeong, I had two patients who directly exploded in anger.
Hypertensive patients who yelled. Kim Jaegy u and Kim Jinsang had seen great results.
I casually mentioned there had been such cases.
"Well, it's not a place to fix personality, but trying any exercise is good, I think."
"That sounds fun. I'll look into it."
Lee Dajeong smiled brightly, showing interest.
Probably just polite words, like the "Thank you" call center reps tack on at the end.
Telling her the location now would burden her.
"Yes. Let's take it one step at a time. Starting with apologizing to Park Siha?"
"Yes, yes, I was planning to. Even if she doesn't accept it, apologizing will ease my mind... I'll try to be as magnanimous as you, Director."
Why bring me into this?
"Thank you so much for pointing out things I hadn't even noticed. You explained so kindly despite my weird misunderstanding... Really, compared to that dentist! No, no. I'll magnanimously forget that too. Even after saying my piece, I'm still mad."
"Yes. Just acknowledge the emotion and let it pass."
Anyway, she was on board, which was good.
I encouraged her future and patted her shoulder.
"Since you're here, how about some acupuncture before you go?"
"Sure!"
It wasn't her usual jaw joint treatment cycle, but frequent sessions weren't bad.
I wrapped up the consultation and sent Lee Dajeong to the treatment room.
Finishing treatment and stepping out, Lee Dajeong sighed in relief.
It had been scary.
But also reassuring somehow.
...His presence was incredibly commanding.
With her call center experience, Lee Dajeong was bound to get good at reading people.
Just from a "Hello" over the phone, she could tell if they were normal or a jerk.
Even a new hire's tone told her if they'd last or bolt today.
Yet the director felt utterly new.
Until yesterday, she'd seen him as kind and a good listener.
For an ordinary office worker like her, it was a charisma she'd never encountered.
'My heart's still pounding.'
Was it that scary?
Reflecting, there'd been no intimidating words. Quite the opposite—he'd been deeply concerned.
He'd probably be terrifying if truly angry, though.
As if enchanted, Lee Dajeong walked on.
'I can go in, right?'
She had a destination.
It had drawn her since first hearing about it.
So unlike her, that made her want to try it even more.
'First martial art since that brief Taekwondo at age seven...'
She'd arrived, so she might as well consult the dojo master before leaving.
Feeling awkward, Lee Dajeong cracked the door open slightly.
"Jerk! What's up after practice today?"
Ugh, this atmosphere was intimidating.
Practice had just ended, and the uncles were chatting loudly.
"Ah, Brother Kim. Lately my head's been foggy, so I'm thinking of visiting that clinic."
"Haha. Heading straight there after? I was gonna ask for a ride home. Wanna go together? My back's feeling stiff today."
"You will?"
Somehow, the conversation topic felt familiar.
Intuition told her these were the patients the director mentioned.
Loud voices like that. Normally, she really, really hated that type.
But their volume wasn't unpleasant at all.
They even felt like some kind of sages.
Maybe because of the Tai Chi uniforms?
"You two always rave about that clinic. Is it that good?"
"Ah! Of course!"
"It's amazing. Fixes everything perfectly, and the director's super cool. Haha. Brother, wanna join us?"
Eavesdropping on strangers sparked an inexplicable fondness.
Fondness? No, camaraderie?
She wanted to chat with them...
'Cool.'
Lee Dajeong's heart was still racing.
It had been like that since the clinic, so it wasn't the dojo's unfamiliarity.
'Ah!'
Suddenly, enlightenment struck.
Today was full of realizations.
'It wasn't scary—it was cool.'
Like during the consultation several times, heat rose to her face again.
"Uh, hey, there's a customer?"
"Oh, hello. First time here?"
Someone noticed Lee Dajeong hovering shyly.
"Ah, hello. I'm here for a membership consultation."
She greeted the master and others in her usual gentle tone.
And when she came to, she'd signed up for three months at the Tai Chi dojo.