Chapter 80
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Competition Heats Up
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- Hehe, I knew Director Han would say something like that. Ever since you caught that stalker for me, I've been trying to live boldly, just like you!
Of course. Be confident wherever you go and do whatever you want.
As long as it's not dangerous.
If it had been a bet involving martial arts with Lee Han-sol, even I wouldn't have had a way to handle it, but something like skyrocketing sales? I could manage that no problem.
- But are you sure it'll be okay? I hear they have three directors over there. That means their sales are high enough to cover the salaries of two Korean medicine doctors with plenty left over. If you'd limited it to net profit, you might have had an advantage, but sales alone won't be easy.
- Yeah. With numbers like that, their monthly sales have to be at least 60 or 70 million won, right? If they sell a lot of herbal medicine, it could even top 100 million. Can a single-doctor clinic really pump up that much all of a sudden?
Kim Chunsik and Hwang Sanghun offered their pessimistic views.
- Th-that's true...? But they can't grow any more, right? I don't have anything set in stone yet, so I can try all sorts of things. Like making packages to pull in three months' worth of sales upfront!
Despite faltering under the weight of 100 million won, Chu Miyoung laid out what she'd been mulling over. It seemed she'd come up with her own strategies.
"You're right. We'll do packages with medicine and definitely with injections too. Oppa Sanghun, should we introduce them at our place too?"
- We can take our time with ours... Director Chu, are you really okay with seven days a week? Even six days wears me out more than I expected.
She'd insisted she was fine when he suggested cutting back to five, but now Hwang Sanghun was genuinely worried about Chu Miyoung's stamina.
That part was definitely a problem.
- It's just for a month, so I'll tough it out with tonics and sheer willpower!
Chu Miyoung championed mental fortitude, but...
Even by my judgment—the expert in this field—it was physically impossible for her to work seven days a week while maintaining top quality.
"I've got an even better idea."
What could it be?
"I'll go."
Someone whose stamina wouldn't be strained at all, even with the work!
- ...Pardon?
"Director Chu, you have Thursdays and Sundays off, right? Those are my days off too. If I cover for you, it fits perfectly, doesn't it?"
- You'd come all the way from Busan?
"It's just two hours by car."
I didn't have my own car yet, but I was planning to buy one soon anyway.
Time to hit up a used car lot tomorrow.
Now that the bet was on, we had to win, no matter what.
Skyrocketing sales? We'd throw every resource from the guild at it.
I boldly declared I'd handle the rotations.
It might be tough on Chu Miyoung's stamina, but for me, even driving plus work could be recovered with a single session of breath control and energy gathering.
This was exactly why I'd cut my schedule to four days a week early on!
Buying a car was something I'd been thinking about for a while.
Ever since renting one to meet Yoon Hanbyeol last time, I'd kept saying I should get one, but busyness had made me forget.
I don't need a car for commuting, but sometimes I have to go farther out like this, you know?
Now, the question was what car to buy.
"Just get something cheap and decent, right?"
Everyone I knew had something to say about my comment.
"If you're hitting the highway, no light cars! Too dangerous in an accident. At least go for an Avante!"
"Might as well get an SUV."
"First car should be a fully loaded new one. For value... hmm, maybe a Seltos."
Those were the opinions from Chu Miyoung, Hwang Sanghun, and Kim Chunsik.
"Add a bit more and get a Tucson instead?"
"I think the Sorento looks pretty!"
The staff chimed in too.
"You've got the money—go big with a Benz!"
"Nah, Benzes are everywhere now. For that ride quality, you need at least a Cayenne!"
Gwadae Unni and Hwang Seoyeong... yeah, ignore them.
Ride quality, my foot. If I had that kind of money, I'd invest in the clinic or buy a house.
I just went to a used car lot and bought a slightly over ten-year-old Avante.
Cheaper than I thought. Way less than the ultrasound machine? Should've bought one ages ago.
I finished transferring the title right away and sped off to Daegu.
There were still two weeks until the bet period started next month, but I wanted to get ahead by operating seven days a week early and building up patients who could only come on Sundays.
They wouldn't recognize my face, so I scouted in plain clothes, nothing suspicious.
As expected, the interior was ultra-luxurious, and patient numbers were a bit low for three doctors. Not as empty as when Chu Miyoung ran the Busan branch, though.
Had they lost a lot of patients lately?
Or maybe fewer acupuncture patients because so many were there for diet meds.
"I've put up ads everywhere saying we'll do daily treatments starting this week!"
Chu Miyoung had created posts on the Instagram and blog she managed, announcing Sunday treatments too.
Oh, she had her original personal account plus the Seongsu Clinic one made after catching the stalker and opening the Daegu branch—two in total. She used both, even the personal one with tons of followers.
For offline flyers, she hesitated a bit but stuck to banners and A-boards for now.
"But if we go this hard, what about Sundays after I leave?"
"Ah~ While setting up staff, I'm planning to hire another substitute director. There's a junior nearby on childcare leave looking for two days a week. When she comes, let her observe at Director Han's clinic too!"
No problem there.
Expansion would boost my income too, so I welcomed it fully.
Besides extending hours and ads, Chu Miyoung had enthusiastically planned various strategies.
"Whoa, that mom cafe post finally came down."
After reporting it for business interference and sending a certified letter, all comments vanished in one go. Right now, keeping them hidden was more profitable than fining them a few hundred thousand won.
She also created non-covered service package programs.
They'd always had a basic discount for three-month medicine prepays, but injections had been one-off payments until now.
She set up a system where long-term patients could buy 10 or 20 sessions at once for discounts—to pull next month's sales forward.
That wrapped up the two-week prep period.
I also made sure to show my face to Daegu patients.
Finally, the bet month arrived.
"I heard they do great chuna here—could it help my disc?"
"Absolutely. But for your condition, combining it with injections would manage pain much better."
"Oh, I saw the injections on Insta. Discounts for packages, right...? I'd probably need 20 for mine?"
"We don't approach discs as a full cure. Saying 10 or 20 sessions will heal it is nonsense. Imaging might show improvement sometimes, but often it doesn't change visibly. Still, 20 sessions of chuna and injections will definitely improve your pain."
Chuna is covered by insurance, so no discounts on fees, but prepayment is allowed. Bundling 20 chuna and injections prepaid applies the discount to the non-covered injections.
Patient response was way better than expected.
Some came from Insta or blog, and existing chuna patients with Chu Miyoung requested retroactive packages.
A week passed like that.
Sales doubled from when Chu Miyoung worked alone.
Factoring in higher labor costs, net profit wouldn't rise as much, but sales—the bet metric—exploded.
Some patients came for me, but Chu Miyoung did great too, and the prep strategies paid off.
"Hehe, at this rate, we'll win easy, right?"
Chu Miyoung grinned triumphantly at the spiking chart graph.
A fantastic start.
"Yeah. Seems like their patients are down instead. Aren't they doing anything?"
For people who'd posted manipulated bad reviews, they were weirdly quiet.
I'd expected flyers out front or ads in nearby apartments.
Nothing on their blog either, and the mom cafes they'd advertised on before... huh?
"What's this?"
An event post went up.
Worried about schemes, I'd joined all local cafes including that mom one—and three had identical posts.
On top of coffee gift icons, first-time patients got a frying pan just for a consultation.
"What is this, a real estate sales office? Even restaurants don't go this far!"
"...They're bleeding out this much?"
True, I never said not to. The only restriction was no defamation.
Unlike last time's outright illegal stuff, luring patients with gifts was iffy for punishment. They weren't discounting copays—just giving presents.
"They're going all-out since losing means game over tomorrow. Ugh, what do we do? Should we do something like that too?"
Chu Miyoung looked ready to bulk-order kitchenware on the spot.
But long-term, it'd just hurt us. Ruining the clinic's image for nothing?
"It's a chicken game. Let's watch for now."
Patients roped in like that come once and ghost.
Even if you dangle coins for reading novels or comics, they only keep paying if it's fun. How much more for needle pricks?
In the end, it takes skill and real treatment.
A few days passed.
Thankfully, Seongsu Clinic's patients didn't drop.
"Director, did you hear? The place next door is doing something weird."
"The frying pans? Yeah."
"That's only for first-timers. There's more. Receipt reviews? Tag them on Insta and they let you spin a roulette."
"...What's on the roulette?"
"I haven't gone, but all sorts. Pain relief patches most common, but they have Gyeongokgo too."
"They're giving out Gyeongokgo like that?"
"Yeah! I told them it's sketchy and not to go, but they went for the Gyeongokgo."
This was insane. What did they think Gyeongokgo was?
People often see famous herbal meds like Gongjindan and Gyeongokgo as health supplements.
They're safe long-term, broadly effective for deficiencies, and hyped in media.
Repackaged versions sell everywhere too.
But a Korean doc putting it in gacha? Come on!
Consult and prescribe as needed—that's basic decency. Selling as holiday gifts is bad enough; roulette? ROULETTE?
How would people see it as medicine if doctors do this?
"This can't go on."
"Right? They're fine taking losses, so we need an event too..."
Chu Miyoung fidgeted, gnashing her teeth before snapping out of it and shaking her head.
Trouble was trouble, but no damaging her newly fixed jaw.
And I had zero intention of fighting Haneul Clinic with the same tactics.
Besides not wanting to deal with treatment-avoiders, matching them wouldn't dominate.
"Ha... I didn't want to go this far."
I pulled out my trump card.
"Jumi-ssi, got a minute to talk?"