Chapter 3
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: How Did That Happen?
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"How did that happen?"
I can't exactly say that last night I got whisked away to a world straight out of a wuxia novel, where I became the disciple of a master known as the Poison Medicine Supreme.
I can't spill truths like gaining hands-on experience treating all sorts of patients there.
"You could do it too. Just the basic digestive acupoints we learned in school."
My only option was to play it off.
"The pulse!"
Of course, she wasn't letting it slide that easily.
Truth be told, hardly any students fresh out of Korean medicine school can diagnose solely from the pulse. Even in clinical practice, most doctors prioritize patient interviews over pulse reading—it's more of a reference tool, except for a rare few.
I hadn't been particularly versed in pulse diagnosis myself.
"My roommate gets indigestion a lot. After taking her pulse a few times, I got a feel for it. Yours matched exactly."
"You didn't study it on your own?"
"We've been stuck together all day—when would I have had time?"
I shrugged exaggeratedly. She seemed half-convinced, half-suspicious.
"Your complexion was pale just like hers when she's bloated, and I've treated her a few times before."
In reality, she had no choice but to buy it.
"Oh, over there."
Right on cue, someone was approaching from up ahead, so I quickly changed the subject.
Hwang Seoyeong turned to follow my gaze. It was the young flight attendant who'd been rushing around earlier.
"That was truly impressive. Thank you for your help."
Unlike before, she flashed a polished, professional smile and bowed deeply.
Her hands, which had clutched Kim Youngho in genuine worry moments ago, now held a bottle of wine.
"A small token of our appreciation—please enjoy it until we land in Incheon."
"Wait, this is from you?"
She let out a soft laugh, as if I'd cracked a good joke.
"It's a gift from the co-pilot. We were so relieved—we nearly turned the plane around over something so minor."
"Ah."
That made sense.
"Wow, thank you!"
Hwang Seoyeong, lounging in the aisle seat, snatched up the wine.
"We'll gladly accept."
I didn't bother refusing either. Compared to the massive losses from turning back, it was hardly extravagant.
Clink!
Hwang Seoyeong and I toasted our glasses.
Maybe it was the wine sipped mid-flight in a pinnacle of modern tech after twenty years away.
Or maybe because it was a reward for doing good. Either way, it tasted sweeter than ever.
A few hours later.
The plane touched down safely at Incheon Airport.
Amid a minor hiccup where Kim Youngho bowed deeply once more while we grabbed our luggage, I hopped straight into a taxi.
"Hooray! Home sweet home!"
The Korea I'd longed for in my dreams.
The moment I reached the dorm, I ordered chicken.
I'll check my bank balance tomorrow!
First things first—I devoured everything I'd been craving. Then I fired up the computer.
The internet was as vast and wonderful as ever, unchanged from before I left.
My cozy room, with its heater and humidifier, was small but no less than paradise.
I ate, slept, and played.
Before I knew it...
A week had flown by.
What? Why am I sitting in class?
Fourth-year undergrad, second semester. The first class of the new term had begun.
"Did you all study hard for the national exam over break?"
The professor walked in and immediately grilled the students.
Starting with exam talk right after vacation—professors, man.
National exam prep? Of course!
"To gauge your skills and give you a wake-up call, I've prepared a little quiz."
"Booo!"
...I'd forgotten it all.
Twenty years. Twenty whole years.
It's weirder if I could remember study material. Being able to read and write Korean fluently is only because I'm a genius!
"Before that, a quick moment. Han Yeowon, stand up."
I was grimacing and joining the boos when the professor suddenly called my name.
"...Yes?"
No way—a pop quiz question?
After all I'd been through, getting called on in class still made my heart race.
"As you all know, Han Yeowon and Hwang Seoyeong did their clinical rotation at a Chinese medicine university over break. But on the flight back, there was an emergency patient."
"Huh? No, it wasn't that serious..."
"She showed great judgment, diagnosing and treating a patient with acute indigestion. We can't skip hearing about it before the exam, right?"
"Yeeees!"
The class, desperate to delay the test, cheered loudly.
I whipped my head toward Hwang Seoyeong.
Only one person witnessed it—how did it reach the prof's ears?
I shot her a glare, but she just winked.
I got dragged up front and had to present how the diagnosis and treatment went down.
"Hmm, what if the pulse hadn't been clear? Myocardial infarction can cause abdominal muscle tension too, you know."
"Even then, I figured it was worth a shot—no harm in trying."
The professor and a few classmates listened intently to the case study, while most flipped through books half-heartedly. Right after announcing a test, it was no surprise.
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
The moment I finished, someone started applauding.
It was a male classmate we weren't close with. Then came half-hearted claps from the others, filling the room.
"...Thank you."
A wave of mortifying embarrassment hit me. I pressed my forehead and bowed awkwardly.
"Take a short break, then we'll do the exam."
Flip, flip, flip.
The second the professor left, dozens of books flew open. Probably skimming last semester's notes.
I couldn't even remember what subject he taught, so I slipped out without a second thought.
"Ugh, a test on the first day?"
"Hey, thanks to you, we got an extra hour. Herbal basics are notoriously brutal."
Hwang Seoyeong sidled up and chatted.
Herbology and Formulary, huh?
It covered herb properties, effects, and how to compound them into prescriptions.
Instead of spreading plane gossip, you could've warned me about that rumor!
If I'd known about a first-day test, I'd have studied instead of gaming for a week.
"Does this count toward our grade?"
I chugged ice water and asked Hwang Seoyeong. My face burned with shame, and my stomach churned.
"Of course it does. Even our ever-confident Han Yeowon is sweating it?"
The answer came from an unexpected source—the guy who'd clapped right after my presentation.
"Why pick a fight the second you see him, Haneul oppa?"
Hwang Seoyeong shot back.
Haneul oppa. The name dredged up a long-buried memory.
Jo Haneul, 31 years old.
A senior classmate who'd graduated elsewhere, studied for the college entrance exam during military service, and entered Korean medicine school later than most.
"Pick a fight? I was so inspired by your story. You could graduate right now."
He crossed his arms and said it.
Jo Haneul always nitpicked over nothing. God knows what rubbed him wrong—I couldn't fathom it.
He seemed to dislike me, so I just returned the favor.
"Yeah, well..."
"Lucky break this time, but what if it had been a heart attack? No license, and you drag the school's rep—and Korean medicine's—through the mud?"
He wasn't entirely wrong.
I'd sensed stagnant qi in his gut before even taking the pulse, faintly. Without that, I wouldn't have been 100% confident.
"Ooh, but didn't we make the school proud?"
I grinned and fired back, unperturbed.
"Yeah, didn't you hear the prof praising her?"
Hwang Seoyeong backing me up was par for the course, but Jo Haneul glared with jealous eyes.
Does he have a thing for Seoyeong?
"Treating one indigestion case and boom—you're a divine healer now?"
"Call me Divine Physician."
I just shrugged.
Secretly envying his brains while sniping back had been routine. But now, with some maturity, it just amused me.
Man, he's so childish.
We had plenty of reasons to clash.
Setting aside our grade rivalry for hospital residency spots, he was my polar opposite in every way.
I'd entered at 20 on active duty, among the youngest. Jo Haneul was the oldest at six years my senior.
My hobby? Gaming solo in my room. His? Partying with classmates, booze-ups galore, even treating profs to pricey liquor.
Yeah, we scrapped for top three spots, but while I poured my soul into every exam, this jerk aced them slacking off—smartass.
And unlike me with no money or connections, his dad was a prof at another Korean med school, and his mom ran the Haneul Clinic network... named after her precious eldest son.
Argh, the more I think, the more it pisses me off!
"Done talking? Go study. You're the one with time to spare."
"Ahh."
I tried wrapping it up casually, but Jo Haneul closed the gap.
He whispered so Hwang Seoyeong couldn't hear.
"Just worried a nobody like you will tarnish the school's name."
Hmm... Did I ever rise to such low-blow bait?
Probably.
I'd never been slick at trading barbs, and deep down, I envied his smarts.
He knew that full well.
"A nobody? What do you mean by that?"
I said it loud on purpose.
Swallowing it and seething alone? Not anymore.
"That's..."
Obviously mocking my lack of parents, but it didn't faze me now.
Jo Haneul looked flustered by my unusual pushback.
"...Y-You're just bad with people. Medicine's about reading patients, right? People are the foundation or whatever..."
His nonsense made me narrow my eyes.
"No one worries about my social skills like you do, oppa. After seeing the wide world abroad, I realized people matter more than a few extra book pages."
I nodded along, bullshitting right back.
Hwang Seoyeong's face screamed, What the hell are you two on about?
"So that's why you're giving up the top spot?"
Jo Haneul slung an arm over my shoulder.
Even now, he wouldn't quit. What a waste of years—or was he just a natural at mockery?
"Who knows..."
"Good thing you finally know your place."
He'd been mindful of Seoyeong earlier. Now? Straight-up scratching at me.
Top spot, that damn top spot.
It had been my Achilles' heel before getting dragged to the murim world.
Tuition felt like a fortune back then.
Really, it was the scholarship.
With parents as good as gone, I'd crashed with relatives through high school.
They didn't outright abuse me... but after twenty years, no urge to reunite.
No one to pay tuition, naturally.
Pride, who needs it.
When asked why I studied so hard, admitting it was for grade-based scholarships mortified me.
So I'd say I wanted internship and residency at our school's hospital post-grad.
Korea University's Korean medicine hospital was the top choice nationwide for interns, prioritizing grades. Sounded legit.
And yeah, I'd have taken it if possible.
In my cohort, me, Jo Haneul, and one other vied for it.
Yeah, he'd held first place till now.
Those rage-filled days burned fresh in memory.
I'd bombed the fourth-year first-semester finals, dropping to third.
I can pay tuition back anytime, and residency matters less now... but...
That was that.
I couldn't stomach losing to him.
Saying I'd ditched hospital dreams? Would just look like quitting.
"As if. Think a tiny grade gap will stump me?"
Game on—no reason to dodge.
It wasn't a huge lead; ace this semester, done.
I'd forgotten everything, sure, but September now, grad exams in November—over two months' buffer.
Not like topping a martial tournament; paper tests, piece of cake.
Stamina? I could outlast anyone, including Jo Haneul. Sixteen hours a day studying? Easy.
"Oho, declaration of war? That confident?"
Jo Haneul's eyes widened in delight. As if he'd clubbed all break—doubt he crammed secretly.
I just nodded. Bring the taunts; I'd take 'em.
"You bet."
Jo Haneul bolted back into the classroom like he'd been waiting.
"Hey, hey, Han Yeowon and I..."
Classmates stared bug-eyed at books pre-exam, but he ignored them and flung open the front door.
"Wow, since when do you talk back like that? No room to jump in. You okay? You always said ignoring him was best."
Hwang Seoyeong grabbed my arm worriedly, but I wasn't fazed.
At worst, bruised ego? Not life or death.
"Hm?"
A commotion at the front door made classmates peek up.
Some eyes curious, others annoyed.
All attention locked on Jo Haneul—
Ting-.
I flicked a coin into the room.
Argh, still annoying.
What? Nobody? School disgrace?
Time you took some yourself.
I'm no supreme master, but Master did teach me the basics of Tang Family coin throwing.