Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Court Rivals
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"What's this?"
Kim Jin-sang squinted at the syringe containing a tiny amount of medication.
The three students crowded around with curiosity too.
"It's bee venom therapy. We've refined and diluted bee venom, and it helps tremendously with pain relief and boosting the immune system. As you know, the pain comes from the shingles virus invading the nerves. Not only does it ease the pain, but it has antiviral effects too, making it the perfect treatment."
"What about the test?"
"It's poison at its core, so some people have severe allergies. Reactions can range from mild itching to dangerous anaphylaxis, and though the latter is rare, it can be life-threatening. That's why we always test with a tiny dose first."
"Ah... Yeah, do whatever. Poison or not, I don't care. My arm feels like it should be ripped off."
I injected 0.1cc into Kim Jin-sang's arm.
It's highly effective, but I don't use bee venom therapy unless it's truly necessary, like in his case.
...
On the other hand, my master would pull out the bee venom for anyone from the Tang family, no matter how minor the issue. In a world without epinephrine to counter plummeting blood pressure from anaphylaxis, I was horrified at first by her injecting raw bee venom willy-nilly.
-No child of our clan can't handle a little poison like this.
She truly was the ancestor of poison mastery.
"Seems fine. No itching or anything."
"Reactions can be delayed sometimes, so let's wait 10 minutes. You can lie on the bed if you'd like."
"Oh, then can I get some physical therapy for my back? Long drive's got it all knotted up..."
"Go ahead."
Kim Jin-sang bowed his waist once more before standing and heading out.
He gave an awkward nod to the three students hovering by the door.
"Take care~ Uh, see you in a bit?"
"Yeah."
Once he was gone, the three of us were left.
Having caused their little non-incident incident, they clasped their hands politely and watched me nervously.
"Heh heh..."
Good grief! Not third graders—these are high school seniors! In that other world, they'd have two kids by now!
Well, regular folk anyway. In the murim clans, even at forty, they'd still be treated like novice disciples.
"We were really worried."
"Sorry. That guy had a history of causing trouble, so we were on edge."
"What are we gonna do? The competition's right around the corner, and if something happens..."
"Better than the director getting hurt, right?!"
Their concern was touching.
Even if the odds of Kim Jin-sang actually touching a hair on my head in a fight were less than 0.1%.
"Just in case, from now on whenever that patient comes..."
"Hey, hey, the director's tougher than she looks. No need for that worry—let's get to treatment! Finish up quick so Ijin can train, and Inseong and Juyeon can hit the books!"
"Ugh."
"Yes."
"..."
Kim Ijin still looked worried, but she shut her mouth at the mention of training. With the nationals so close, she needed to get back at it.
I sent them to the treatment room and quickly needled each one.
Kim Ijin had her usual spots, Jeong Inseong was mercifully zit-free on his face today, and after checking Min Juyeon's pulse and needling a few points, the 10 minutes I'd mentioned to Kim Jin-sang had flown by.
"Alright, let's begin."
"Yes."
My solemn tone caught Kim Jin-sang off guard.
"It stings a bit."
"Pardon?"
I administered 0.1cc to the outer upper arm, where he'd complained of the worst pain.
"Ah..."
Just a little procedural discomfort at first.
"Ugh!"
"Uwaa!"
"Aaaah!"
Shoulder front and back. Chest. Back. Inner upper arm. Forearm. Every spot with blisters got 0.1cc of bee venom, unleashing screams.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
Kim Jin-sang finally let out a full yell.
"The director really is tough, huh? That old guy's toast if she jabs him with poison needles."
"Right~ Ijin, no need to worry when the director's the one with the needles!"
I overheard Jeong Inseong and Min Juyeon whispering.
"...Yeah."
Good, good. Relax, Kim Ijin—focus on training!
After writhing and screaming through the pain, Kim Jin-sang marveled at how much freer his arm felt once done.
He even said he wouldn't take vacation time anymore since deadlines left no room, and from next time, skip everything else for just bee venom.
"Sure. I can stay late after the staff leaves, so just get here before locking up."
If he behaves like today instead of his first visit chaos, of course!
Kim Jin-sang thanked me profusely and left the clinic, followed by the three students heading to school and home.
Fun with the kids buzzing around, but what a hectic day.
The National School Sports Festival—nationals for short—starts with regional qualifiers by province and metro city, sending one team each to the main event.
Busan had few schools with girls' basketball, so powerhouse Jungwoon High took the spot as expected.
Game day.
The Jungwoon High girls' basketball team boarded their chartered bus early and headed to the arena together.
Rotated yearly among cities, and luckily this year it was home turf in Busan.
"Captain~ How's your condition today?"
Second-year vice-captain Chae Rira asked. She'd kept the team together while Kim Ijin rested her injury.
"Peak."
"Hehe, same here. Feels like Lady Victory's smiling on us this time, right?"
Today too, she was pumping positive energy into every teammate.
If power forward Kim Ijin dominated scoring with her build, jumps, and shot accuracy, Chae Rira was the point guard directing the game and feeding her passes.
"Yeah."
"We're taking the title! Fighting!"
Her knack for uniting the team shone off-court too, earning unanimous votes from freshmen to seniors, coach and all.
"Ugh, but first round against Hwayeong High of all teams."
Someone always had to rain on the parade.
"Our captain's on fire lately! Myeong Seonju's no match!"
"...True."
"Ijin sunbae! Let's crush Hwayeong this time."
Ulsan Hwayeong High.
The rival that clashed with Jungwoon every nationals as Ulsan's rep.
Her freshman year, "rival" was a stretch. Hwayeong was the veteran powerhouse; Jungwoon scraped by qualifiers one in three times.
But last year.
Chae Rira locked starter spot with plays maximizing Kim Ijin, new coach Kang Cheolgyu drove intense training, rocketing Jungwoon to contender status.
"Qualifier or final—doesn't matter. Always give it your all."
Last nationals final, Hwayeong had blocked their win.
Jungwoon prepped revenge, but summer championships saw Kim Ijin's injury lead to a blowout loss.
This nationals was Kim Ijin's last shot to beat Hwayeong as a Jungwoon team.
"Ijin, Rira. Hey."
Sure enough.
Stepping off the bus, Hwayeong captain Myeong Seonju approached, twirling her hair like she'd been waiting.
"Hey."
"Long time!"
Kim Ijin greeted coolly; Chae Rira crossed her arms haughtily.
Kim Ijin didn't show it like Chae Rira, but she'd always found Myeong Seonju annoying.
Irritating, really. Same height, center position, marking Kim Ijin every game without fail.
From freshman practices to now, countless matchups, but Myeong Seonju always blocked her path stubbornly.
"Sucks drawing a top contender first round. No medals this time?"
"...We'll see who lucked out."
Myeong Seonju picked a fight straight off, but Kim Ijin stayed unfazed.
She didn't feel like losing at all.
"Knee all better? No excuses this time—let's go at it for real~"
Post-recovery, her condition was sky-high.
Coach said she could play pro first team now; she felt it too. Opponents moved in slow-mo during practices, and old footage of herself looked off.
"We'll deliver."
Chae Rira fired back, competitive fire blazing.
Sparks flew between them, but Kim Ijin brushed off the rivalry and went her way.
Athletes' lounge.
Uniform on, her phone buzzed.
[At the stands! Not sure if you'll check, but play your game. Fighting!]
Text from Han Yeowon, who'd gladly given her number despite the iffy ask.
'Gotta do great.'
With support here, time to shine.
Blood that dipped seeing Myeong Seonju's face surged back.
Winning was a given.
This was gonna be fun.
I closed the clinic a bit early Friday and attended the nationals opening with Seo In-ae.
She was thrilled some famous singer was performing and tagged along, but no way she'd skip Saturday shift for the game.
"Go alone or whatever!"
No tickets needed, but would it be empty?
A bit worried about awkwardly sitting without knowing basketball or anyone, but the stands were packed beyond expectation.
Busan hosting meant underclassmen mobilized as cheer squads.
"Makes sense—Suneung's a month out, so few seniors."
And two of those rare Jungwoon seniors were my patients.
They ditched classmates to cheer with me.
"Yeah. Lucky we got good seats anyway."
'No Suneung study?' nearly slipped out, but too naggy. Better zip it.
"Waaaaah!"
Teams entering.
Didn't notice at the clinic, but from stands, Kim Ijin looked incredibly cool. A sharp edge different from opening ceremony.
"Waaaaah~!"
I cheered with the students.
Kim Ijin glanced around, spotted me, and grinned wide.
Oh, why? Heart fluttering.
Tip-off time.
Ref's whistle—game on.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Whoosh!
Tip-off, Kim Ijin blew past the opponents for two points.
Like the Imperial Sword Form of the Nangong clan, unstoppable.
"Kyaaa! Go, go! Kim Ijin~!"
Min Juyeon screamed excitedly beside me; Jungwoon's momentum soared.
Didn't know basketball, but it was impressive.
Basketball, yet the intensity rivaled a blood-soaked novice disciple tournament.
"Ijin's killing it, right? Wow, seriously. Our ace is the best! She's my BFF~!"
Min Juyeon waved her sign nonstop, cheering endlessly.
As she said, Kim Ijin's dominance here was absolute. Even with their tall #5 glued to her, one-on-one was no contest—needed multiples.
"Ijin's great, but who's that #1? Owning the court."
"#1? Oh yeah~ Second-year Chae Rira! Ijin praises her as vice-captain tons."
When they ganged up, Kim Ijin's path blocked inevitably.
But our #1 snatched the ball like telepathy, slipping defense to feed it back.
Beep~
Whistle.
Minutes in, score 8-0.
"What's that?"
"Timeout. Coach calls to break momentum, huddle strategy. Two in first half, three second? Both sides."
"Ah~"
Nodded at Jeong Inseong's explanation. Huh, neat.
Teams huddled, whispered, game resumed.
Strategy shift: their #5 now stuck to our #1.
Kim Ijin's passes to #1 intercepted a few times, leading to their score.
Our timeout next.
Two non-Ijin/#1 subs, Kim Ijin passed to others instead.
Tactics evolved, game flowed.
"Go, go! Jungwoon! Go, go! Kim Ijin~!"
This is fun?
Heat built—cheers, action. Kim Ijin zipped, shooting. Two-pointers piled up satisfyingly.
Our #1, lingering alone by hoop, snagged the ball...!
"Go, go! Chae Rira~!"
Thought she'd pass to Ijin.
Instead, dribble-driven charge to the basket.
"Wha—huwaa!"
Boom!
Their #5, expecting a pass and lunging to steal, collided hard with our #1.
Size gap or charging momentum—whatever, their #5 stood dazed while our #1 flew back and crashed down.