Chapter 46
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: A Fall from the Ladder
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Park Sunyoon and Kim Jinsang entered the consultation room side by side.
Unlike Kim Jinsang, who had a somewhat rough look about him, Park Sunyoon sported a neat parting with his hair swept two-to-eight, glasses perched on his nose, giving him a tidy impression.
One might expect it to come off as old-fashioned, but his bright complexion—or perhaps the high-end suit—lent him an air of refined elegance instead.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Park Sunyoon. Please have a seat here."
"Hello."
Park Sunyoon politely bowed at the waist before sitting in the chair beside the desk I'd indicated.
While he offered only the faintest smile, Kim Jinsang plopped down on the sofa I'd set aside for guardians and immediately launched into talk.
"Ah, Director. It's been a while. This is the young master I serve. He hurt his back two weeks ago, and it hasn't gotten any better, so I brought him here."
Kim Jinsang's shoulders tensed noticeably at the words "young master I serve."
Sigh, that was exactly how my disciples used to puff up whenever they name-dropped me or my master for clout. In any case, this "young master" must be someone important. I'd never seen Hwang Seoyeong or Hwang Sanghun with a personal chauffeur, so was he real chaebol royalty?
"How did the injury happen? Did you twist it awkwardly?"
I directed the question at Park Sunyoon. He pressed a hand to his right lower back and gave a wry smile.
"I fell from a high place."
"Pardon? How high?"
It was an unexpected answer. He looked every bit the white-collar office worker. What reason would he have to climb anywhere high?
"Not that high—just about half my height, a ladder in my study. I was reaching for a book and slipped."
"Ah, I see."
Park Sunyoon's cheeks flushed slightly as he spoke. Even a grown adult can misstep. No need to be embarrassed about it.
If anything, it was impressive to have a study with shelves so high you'd need a ladder.
"It's been two weeks already—have you tried any other treatments in the meantime?"
"Yes. I did physical therapy every day at the company clinic. X-rays showed no bone issues, but since there was no improvement, the doctor wrote a referral for an MRI. But Kim here said he knew a great Korean medicine clinic, so we came straight here."
"Good call."
I had Park Sunyoon stand and examined his back.
"Try arching it back, then bending forward."
"Ugh... It hurts a bit when I bend."
"Point to where it hurts."
Fortunately, the range of motion in his lumbar spine seemed fine.
The spot he indicated was near the right PSIS—Posterior Superior Iliac Spine—where the bone protruded sharply from the pelvis.
"Could you lie face down? Let me press along your spine first."
"Ah, sure. That's fine."
"How about here?"
"A little..."
"Here?"
"Ah!"
The moment I applied slight pressure medial to the PSIS, Park Sunyoon let out a groan. Just as I'd suspected from his initial indication, it was an issue with the sacroiliac ligament.
I pulled up a diagram on the computer showing the sacroiliac joint and its connecting ligaments.
"Here, below the lumbar vertebrae, that inverted triangular bone is the sacrum. Tough ligaments connect it to the ilium that forms the pelvis. Based on the tender spot, I suspect the problem is with the posterior sacroiliac ligament."
"Ah, yes."
"When you take an impact from falling from a height, the ligament stretches here, causing inflammation and possibly some tearing. An MRI would likely confirm it."
Park Sunyoon nodded, touching his own ilium.
"Right around here, yeah."
"The gluteal muscles are thick, so physical therapy doesn't stimulate deep enough. We'll use long needles to reach the ligament directly and promote recovery. We need to treat the surrounding swollen and tight muscles too."
"Ah..."
"It won't hurt that much. Any questions?"
"Kim said you used bee venom acupuncture and it worked wonders. Will I get that too?"
"It's not a bad choice if you want faster recovery. But if you're looking for something beyond standard acupuncture right now, I'd recommend fire needle therapy as the best option."
"You light it on fire?"
Park Sunyoon's eyes went wide.
"We insert the needle first, then heat it. It's excellent for acute sprains."
"...Sounds hot."
"It has to be somewhat hot to stimulate properly. We remove it before it gets too hot, so burns aren't a big risk."
It wasn't even that painful, but his eyes darted side to side in evident fear.
"If the pain during treatment is a concern, let's start with gentle, repeated standard acupuncture. If you'd already tried injections with no results, I'd push for fire needles from the start—but since you haven't really treated the ligament yet, we'll see how acupuncture goes first. If it doesn't work well, we can try other methods."
"Doesn't acupuncture hurt?"
"Have you tried it before?"
"I think I got some as a kid for growing pains, but I don't really remember."
Park Sunyoon looked down and scratched his head. No need to be embarrassed now—it was clear he really hated pain.
Unlike the elders who begged for a hundred needles, most young patients wanted the minimal, pain-free treatment, so it wasn't surprising.
"I'll make sure it doesn't hurt."
"Yes. Please take good care of me."
"Please take great care of our young master!"
I nodded to the beaming Park Sunyoon, then turned to Kim Jinsang.
"How's your arm doing, Mr. Kim Jinsang? It's been a while."
"Ah, I'm pretty much fully recovered. No more of those shooting pains."
"Glad to hear it."
Kim Jinsang rolled up his sleeve to his shoulder to show me. The blotchy blisters were completely gone visually, and he said the pain had vanished too.
"I tagged along since the young master was coming, haha. Driving a lot makes my back a bit stiff—could I get treatment for that today instead?"
"Of course. Let's do that."
After all that fuss back then, he'd healed even faster than expected. Hopefully, it was good news for our staff too.
I sent the two to the treatment room and jotted down a quick summary of the consultation.
A little later, while they were doing physical therapy, I saw a few other patients before heading to Park Sunyoon.
Armed with a 12cm long needle I hadn't used in quite a while.
'He won't complain this hurts too, will he?'
To fully release the sacroiliac joint, this was necessary—but flashing the needle might scare him.
Sure enough, as I pulled back the curtain, Park Sunyoon flinched while lying prone.
"Please lower your pants a bit more."
"Yes..."
I touched the spot where he'd reported pain earlier.
"This is the worst spot, right?"
"Yes, yes."
The severe stagnation of qi and blood made it easy to locate again.
I inserted the needle right at the PSIS, angling toward the posterior sacroiliac ligament.
I felt the sticky sensation unique to inflamed ligaments.
"Hngh...!"
"Does it hurt?"
"N-no. It feels cool. I just made a grandpa noise there."
I chuckled and manipulated the needle—thrusting and withdrawing. Each poke at the sticky points made him squeeze his eyes shut.
Just endure a little. This is how we break up the adhesions in the soft tissues and improve blood flow for recovery.
"Ah!"
When I pierced the stickiest spot, his voice pitch changed. As the pelvis loosened, his face went slack, and he let out a pleasurable groan.
I followed up by pressing the surrounding gluteals, stimulating the tense areas.
"Mm...!"
Poke. Poke. Poke.
"Heut!"
Poke. Poke. Poke. Swish!
"Ah... This feels so good. Eut, sorry."
Park Sunyoon craned his neck the wrong way, practically whimpering. His beet-red face was an attempt to hide it. Who knew if he hated pain or loved this.
Since I'd promised minimal needles, I wrapped up the insertion.
"Good job. All done. Just lie there and rest for a bit."
"Yes! Thank you."
He'd felt this much relief already—no need to worry. It would be effective enough without fire needles or bee venom.
I held his hand briefly to channel some energy for recovery as he lay there drained, then moved on to Kim Jinsang.
Park Sunyoon, who had shuffled awkwardly into the clinic, walked out of the treatment room with his back straight.
He'd always been sensitive to sensations since childhood and couldn't tolerate pain well.
Even following Kim's advice to try acupuncture, he'd been full of worries—but not only did it not hurt, it felt unbelievably refreshing.
And the effects showed immediately. He regretted not coming sooner.
'So this is what Grandpa meant by refreshing.'
His grandfather had always raved about hot baths feeling great and insisted weekly acupuncture kept the body clear.
He'd never understood what was so good about needles, but now his body felt practically reassembled.
From the moment he stepped forward, his back felt amazingly at ease.
The ilium wasn't 100% yet, but the nagging sensation while walking had halved.
At the desk, Kim Jinsang—who'd changed back into his clothes first—was settling the bill.
The staff handed back his card along with a packet of medicine.
"The director prescribed three packets. Take two today, one tomorrow morning, then come back for treatment."
Having received it before, Kim Jinsang tore one open and downed it right away.
But curiosity struck Park Sunyoon, so he asked the staff.
"Ah, yes. What kind of medicine is it?"
"It relaxes the muscles."
It wasn't the standard factory-sealed pharma packaging. Must be decocted in-house.
"What's in it?"
He checked front and back, but no ingredients were listed.
"Uh... Why don't you ask the director? Please wait a moment, and we'll escort you back to the consultation room."
The staff didn't seem to know.
He was inwardly curious, but if it was a secret recipe, he wouldn't pry. Park Sunyoon waved it off.
Click.
Evidently overhearing from inside, the director opened the door and answered as he stepped out.
"It's Paeony-Licorice Decoction. Boiled white peony root 16g and licorice 8g. Peony helps a lot with muscle relaxation and inflammation recovery."
"Ah, I see."
He recited the formula readily enough, but the director's gaze flicking between them didn't feel entirely friendly.
Had he earned some suspicion? Flustered, Park Sunyoon pulled a business card from his bag.
"Sorry if that was rude. I wasn't fishing for secret formulas or anything. I work at a pharma company, so I was just personally curious."
"Of course you'd be curious. I wasn't worried about that. Just... Never mind."
The director glanced at Kim Jinsang before taking the card.
"Oh?"
As with everyone else who'd seen it, the director's expression shifted upon reading the title.
[PK Biologics Director Park Sunyoon]
Park Sunyoon scratched his head sheepishly and gave a quick bow.
"Thanks to you, something that's plagued me for ages has improved dramatically. Let's have a meal sometime."