Chapter 38
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Rival in Disguise
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That day, until business hours ended, not a single patient showed up at the Haneul Clinic Busan branch.
At the opening, there had been at least ten new patients a day, but now it was down to just one or two. Even the few returning patients with reservations had canceled at the last minute.
Choo Miyoung ground her teeth and headed home.
At any rate, with so much free time on her hands, she'd managed to gather quite a bit of information on Seongsu Clinic.
First off, the owner had changed only a few months ago.
The previous owner of Seongsu Clinic, as far as she knew, was an elderly man who had opened his practice in Seoul's Seongsu-dong, then moved down to Busan to be with his children. He'd been running the clinic half-heartedly, practically retired.
At first, that approach had probably kept things afloat.
But over the past decade or so, clinics had sprouted up like mushrooms around the station, pushing Seongsu Clinic deep into the red. In the end, he'd sold it for a song.
To a naive twenty-something female doctor who clearly knew nothing about picking a good location.
"Han Yeowon... What the hell is this girl?"
The old owner had occasionally posted on oriental medicine community forums, but Han Yeowon had zero activity.
The only thing that came up in portal searches was an ancient local news article about her overcoming hardship to get into university on a full scholarship.
No trace of her promoting herself as a doctor on blogs or Instagram. Not even a whiff of advertising.
She hadn't even bothered posting photos or a resume on the official blog. That said it all.
A classic case of a fresh grad pulling out a loan on pure bravado, with nothing to back it up. Top of her class, sure, so she was probably book-smart. But real patients were nothing like textbooks.
"Doesn't look all that different from me."
Maybe she'd just gotten lucky with some meds?
If so, no real cause for worry.
[Go to Seongsu Clinic! I got my postpartum tonic there, and all the pain in my fingers and toes vanished.]
[Four acupuncture sessions at Seongsu Clinic cured my migraine that nothing else could touch.]
[Can't believe I never knew about this place. My kid's ankle had been hurting for years—other places said it was growing pains, no fix. But they did chuna, stepped on it, cracked it right back, and it was fine on the spot!]
Instead of paid ads declaring sponsorship, it looked like she'd been seeding mom cafes directly.
Stuff like that could backfire tenfold if it got exposed as fake.
Miyoung could just use her old cafe IDs to post a few "tried it on recommendation, zero effect" reviews, and everyone else would pile on with similar testimonies.
Monday morning.
Choo Miyoung arrived at Seongsu Clinic right at opening time.
Getting there early to snoop was a plus, but she couldn't fathom why they opened at 7 a.m.
Who besides someone with an agenda like hers would show up at this hour?
"Hello~."
She snapped a photo of the sign for proof of visit, then pushed open the clinic door.
"Gasp!"
But the moment she stepped into the waiting room, she froze in shock, clapping a hand over her gaping mouth.
Were there tons of patients waiting since 6:50?
That was part of it. Her own clinic barely saw ten all day lately, but here five were already waiting bright and early.
'Why of all times, now!'
But what really startled her far more was someone else.
In one corner of the waiting room sat Jeong Inseong, poring over a workbook.
"I'll help with check-in. First time here?"
"B-bathroom emergency! Just a sec!"
Miyoung bolted into the women's restroom. She knew her face was the memorable type.
God, she couldn't risk the embarrassment of bumping into a patient she'd failed to treat while spying on a rival clinic!
As long as she slipped out after he went into treatment, no one would spot her. But what if their paths crossed?
She needed something to hide her face...
Luckily, her bag had plenty of spare masks tumbling around. And there was even a pair of influencer-sponsored sunglasses she'd forgotten shoving in there.
"Perfect!"
A bit over-the-top, maybe, but her face was fully concealed now. Miyoung grinned at her reflection, thoroughly pleased.
"Ma'am! You building a shit mountain in there? How long you gonna hog it?"
"S-sorry~."
...There was only one stall in the women's restroom.
Miyoung squeaked an apology to the grandma and scurried out.
'Alright, let's see just how good you really are!'
I headed straight to the treatment room upon arrival and checked on Chaerira, who'd been the first to check in and wait.
Though I'd only briefly reduced her shoulder dislocation and treated it that day, the qi I'd infused had done its work perfectly. It was as good as new, no different from uninjured.
"Looks like no issues. I'll treat you right away. Gotta head out soon, right?"
"Yes, Director! Thank you!"
The prelims had wrapped up with the game I'd watched on Saturday, but semis were today and finals tomorrow.
"Fighting today too!"
I swiftly placed needles in the same spots as halftime, then returned to the consultation room.
Couldn't watch the weekday games, but I'd treat her as best as possible here and cheer her on in spirit.
"Everyone else is in physical therapy... Huh?"
"Choo Miyoung, please come to the treatment room."
A new patient had checked in during the short time I'd been treating Chaerira.
Choo Miyoung? Sounded familiar.
Before I could place the name, the treatment room door swung open.
"Ah! ...H-hello!"
Sunglasses. Mask.
The very picture of someone screaming "I'm suspicious."
It was the owner of the Haneul Clinic Busan branch I'd scouted not long ago.
'Ugh, did I really go to Haneul looking like this?'
My face burned as if mirror-treated.
"Hello?"
Contrary to my thoughts, Choo Miyoung greeted me brightly.
I played dumb right back, staying calm as I began the interview.
"What's bothering you?"
"My jaw joint."
Jaw joint, huh. Tricky area.
Here to see how I treat it?
"How long has it been?"
"A little over a year. Seems to have gotten worse with stress."
Hard to see with the mask, but her jaw skewed slightly left when opening her mouth.
Not 100% faking it, like when I'd visited her place.
"Over a year means you've tried other treatments?"
"Oh, yes. Went to Shinchim Clinic near the station for a while, but no improvement."
Shinchim Clinic? I'd glimpsed it while scouting Haneul.
Right across the main road from Haneul Busan branch, prime station-adjacent spot.
'No way she actually got treated there. Why bring it up?'
Maybe just naming a tough case, but her shaky voice felt off.
As I typed her responses, I habitually glanced at her hands.
'Master always said to check hands, even outside of fights...'
Running solo, patients had flipped out on me before.
After relying on the Tang family estate, I'd thought threats gone, but Master's many grudges had spillover.
Even so, modern Korean patients usually rested fidgety hands on desks or laps.
'Hm?'
Miyoung had her hand jammed in her jacket pocket, clutching her phone tight.
Not weird on its own, but she'd flipped it so the speaker faced out of the pocket?
'Recording?'
Playing an interesting game, huh?
What good would a recording do? Planning to stir trouble by badmouthing Shinchim? To strangers, no less.
"Ahh. Jaw joint issues are a systemic condition—no quick fixes. Let me check. Remove your mask and lie down."
In Jeong Inseong's case, his mom had pushed herbs, so I'd had to comment. Normally, I never opined on other clinics' diagnoses.
Especially knowing this felt like a trap. I kept my words sparse.
"...Yes."
Her eyes flickered behind the sunglasses. Whatever had her so anxious, she bit down hard, staring at me.
"Open your mouth."
I placed my hand on the jaw joint opening and instructed her to part her lips.
Click. Click.
A distinct popping sound came at just over 70% opening.
Definite problem.
I examined everything: the mandible and temporal bone forming the joint, connecting ligaments and tendons, tooth occlusion, even cervical spine alignment.
Then I gave my diagnosis.
"Mild congenital malocclusion, but you grind or clench under stress, right?"
She'd been doing it up until moments ago.
"Overuse caused inflammation... and the disc has slipped slightly forward."
"Jaw disc?"
"Yes. It protrudes forward, then snaps back into place when you close, making the click."
Not a day or two old.
She said a year, but the clicking or pain started then—the issue began much earlier.
Early treatment could've fixed inflammation with a few needles, but with disc displacement and structural changes, it was thorny. She'd probably ignored it, unable to self-fix.
"So, what now?"
Normally, I'd start with acupuncture to ease inflammation and relax muscles.
Of course, that's the plan—slowly reduce inflammation and relax muscles with needles. Even chuna would be gentle.
'Maybe scare her a little?'
But suspecting some scheme, aggressive treatment tempted me more.
I grinned and pulled out disposable gloves.
"I'll use chuna to reposition the jaw joint and C2 vertebrae. The clicking will stop temporarily as it realigns, but if you keep the habits, it'll return—so ongoing treatment needed."
"You can fix it right now?"
She looked up at me, eyes brimming with doubt.
Heh, don't doubt.
Thanks to brawling murim folk daily, I'd realigned every bone from head to toe.
"Yes. The adjustment sound might startle you. Won't hurt much."
Without pause, I slipped my thumb into her mouth.
"Eek!"
I pried open the stuck joint, then pressed and released the hyper-tense muscles.
Finger on displaced C2, I tilted her neck back, pushed her head leftward with my other hand for side-bending.
Time to straighten that twisted neck.
Crack.
In a flash, soft tissue adhesions released, and the C2 vertebra popped back into place.
"Sit up."
Took under ten seconds.
I helped her off the bed and had her open her mouth again.
"Try opening. Should feel much smoother."
She blinked, cautiously parting her lips.
That spot always hurt without care before.
"Ah~."
But her jaw felt entirely different from moments ago.
"Ah-. Ah? Ah!"
"How's that? Any catching?"
Doubt had filled her eyes before treatment; now shock painted her face.
"H-how? No sound?"
Suddenly freed from chronic nagging pain, she gaped wide with no hitch.