A competent doctor can cure everything

In the end, the novel was not uploaded even past midnight.

Earlier that day, when Gyu-beom came in for acupuncture, he was in a very good mood. He proudly mentioned that the psychiatrist had said that it might be possible to lower his medication dosage.

‘After hearing that, I checked his future, and indeed, the dosage was reduced.’

I felt uneasy, but I thought it was just one of those days and went to bed.

However, when I checked the next morning, the novel was still on an unauthorized hiatus.

Gyu-beom was on an unscheduled break without any notice.

A bad feeling rose in me, and I hurried to work, immediately logging into the hospital’s EMR (electronic medical records).

‘!!’

As expected, the unauthorized hiatus was not a small issue.

The future I had seen in Gyu-beom’s chart was heading in the worst direction.

‘Damn it. When did the future change?’

Just yesterday, the chart had been filled with golden letters, but most of them had disappeared.

The only lines remaining were two:

– Symptoms worsened. The patient expressed disappointment over the slow progress.
– The patient refused treatment, temporarily suspending it.

‘What on earth happened?’

I was about to contact Gyu-beom immediately, but I managed to hold myself back.

He was supposed to come in for acupuncture this morning.

I checked the outpatient schedule in the EMR, and his name was still there.

‘He might still show up, so I’ll wait and see.’

Besides, there was nothing I could do for now.

He hadn’t no-showed yet, so I couldn’t call him beforehand to ask why he hadn’t arrived.

Whether Gyu-beom showed up or not, I had no choice but to wait until his scheduled appointment time.

“……”

With an uneasy heart, I went down from the ward to the outpatient department… but Gyu-beom didn’t show up.

As 5 minutes, then 10 minutes passed, the hope I had began to fade.

After 20 minutes, Gyu-beom still hadn’t appeared, so I was the one to speak up first to the professor.

“Professor, something seems to have happened with the patient, Gyu-beom. I’ll call the guardian.”

“Yeah, this is really strange. He’s never been late before.”

I found the mother’s contact information in the patient file and made the call.

As soon as Gyu-beom’s mother answered, she rushed into a stream of worried words.

– Doctor, I was actually just about to contact you. Gyu-beom has been acting strangely since yesterday. Was something wrong at the hospital yesterday?

“He was in a good mood until he received his acupuncture treatment yesterday.”

– Really? Then why is he like this? After coming back from the hospital, he’s been so down, not eating, and refusing to leave his room. His tics seem to have worsened again.

“Did you ask him what happened?”

– He said nothing happened, that he was just tired…

Professor So, who was listening from the side, offered advice.

“Let’s give it a day and see.”

“Okay…”

I answered, but I bit my lip, feeling uneasy.

Knowing the future, I knew that waiting and observing wouldn’t resolve the issue.

After taking a moment to organize my thoughts, I carefully began to speak.

“Professor, if Gyu-beom’s condition remains like this, and he ends up refusing treatment altogether, what should we do?”

“Ah… We must make sure that doesn’t happen. The treatment was going well, and it would be too wasteful to stop now.”

“His mother said his symptoms have worsened since yesterday. What do you think about adding this treatment to help with faster improvement?”

At my suggestion, Professor So’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Do you know about that? That’s a treatment method that someone who’s only been a resident for a few years wouldn’t usually know.”

“I learned about it while studying.”

“You must have studied it deeply. Of course, it’s good if you can. But that method requires active participation from the patient. Do you think that’s possible in the current situation?”

“I’ll meet with the patient and try to persuade them.”

The professor nodded heavily.

“Okay… If anyone can communicate with him, it’s probably you, since you’ve built a good rapport. If the patient’s condition doesn’t improve by tomorrow, I’ll leave it to you to persuade him.”

* * *

The day before.

“Mom, I’ll go by myself today.”

Gyu-beom shouted as he put on his sneakers by the front door.

He was on his way out to visit Hanbit University Hospital for a check-up.

“Are you sure, Gyu-beom?”

“Come on, I’m not a kid anymore. I’ll be fine.”

He was in a really good mood these days.

Since starting the traditional treatment, he felt a gradual improvement.

‘The tic impulses have definitely lessened.’

The frequency of tics during the day had also decreased.

Even when he had vocal tics, he didn’t shout out strange words as often as before.

For the first time, Gyu-beom felt hope that his tics might actually improve.

As he brightened up, his parents’ faces also lit up.

‘I feel good!’

The autumn sky was clear and blue without a cloud in sight, and the breeze was cool.

With light steps, he arrived at Hanbit University Hospital.

He was first going to the psychiatric department, followed by a visit to the traditional pediatric department.

“If things keep going like this, we can try reducing the medication dosage next week.”

“…! Really?”

The psychiatrist praised him, saying his symptoms had improved significantly.

Along with the joy, the first person that came to his mind wasn’t his parents, but someone else’s face.

It was the face of someone who was currently waiting for him in the traditional pediatric department.

“Hello, Mr. Myung Gyu-beom.”

“Hello, Dr. Seon-Joon.”

A pale face, dark blue hair, a calm voice.

The gaze behind the glasses seemed indifferent, but in reality, he was a warmer person than anyone Gyu-beom knew.

It was Dr. Seon-Joon from the traditional medicine department.

‘I want to call him ‘hyung’ (older brother), but since this is the hospital, I’ll hold back…!’

It was actually Dr. Seon who had led Gyu-beom to start traditional treatment in the first place.

More than that, the fact that he was a reader of Gyu-beom’s writing had created an incredibly strong bond between them.

‘At this point, I think we’re destined to be together!’

Without knowing Gyu-beom’s inner thoughts, Dr. Joon, while performing moxibustion, asked him.

“How’s your condition these days?”

“I’m feeling really good. Yesterday afternoon, I even went for a walk in the park near my house. And I came here by myself today! Oh, and I just came from the psychiatric department…”

Gyu-beom chattered excitedly, sharing whatever came to mind.

Despite the lack of a clear context, Dr. Joon listened attentively and smiled briefly.

“Good job.”

Wow. I got praised by him!

Gyu-beom wanted to celebrate, but he held it in.

Gyu-beom hoped that the day would come soon when he and Dr. Joon would become close, not as doctor and patient, but as brothers.

In his excitement, he unknowingly said the following:

“These days, I keep thinking about the things I want to do once my tics are completely gone. I’ve never felt like this before.”

At those words, Dr. Joon smiled even more brightly than before.

Of course, he quickly returned to his usual calm expression.

“I see. For example?”

“Well, first of all, I want to take the high school equivalency exam. As for college, I’m not really interested. I don’t think it would help me with what I want to do.”

“What is it that you want to do?”

“Um… I want to become a professional web novel writer.”

He said the last part in a soft, almost shy voice.

But Dr. Joon didn’t laugh and responded seriously.

“You can do it. Your stories are interesting.”

“Really?”

Gyu-beom, who had been smiling widely, suddenly looked downcast.

“But… I haven’t told my parents yet.”

“Why not?”

“Especially my dad, he would dislike it. He thinks things like comics and novels are a waste. When I was little, he found me reading comic books and threw them all away.”

“Hmm.”

After the treatment, Gyu-beom left the treatment room feeling lighter.

Talking with Dr. Joon had definitely been the most enjoyable part.

Lying with his eyes closed while receiving acupuncture made his mind feel at ease.

As he was heading home, Gyu-beom paused for a moment and then changed his mind.

‘Should I stop by Dad’s office?’

Normally, he wouldn’t have considered visiting at all.

He was worried that if he had a tic there, his dad would be embarrassed.

However, his dad’s attitude had changed a lot lately.

Encouraged by this, Gyu-beom made a bold decision.

‘If I tell him I came to the hospital by myself today and that I was told I could reduce my psychiatric medication, he’ll be happy, right?’

Since it was almost lunchtime, should he ask his dad to buy him something nice?

Wanting to surprise his dad, Gyu-beom headed to the outpatient neurology department without contacting him.

The area in front of the outpatient clinic was quiet since it was almost mealtime.

It seemed the nurses had gone for lunch, as there was no one at the reception desk.

‘Dad’s office is over there.’

He passed the reception desk and headed toward the office with the sign “Professor Myung Moon Do” on it.

The door to the office was slightly open.

Just as he was about to call out “Dad” and open the door.

“I heard my son scored a lot better on the September mock exam.”

“Oh, congratulations.”

He heard unfamiliar voices, and Gyu-beom froze in his tracks.

“I was worried if I could send my son to medical school, but I hope he does just as well on the real exam.”

“Wow, that’s impressive, Professor.”

There seemed to be other professors from the hospital.

As he was about to turn around, not wanting to interrupt the adults’ conversation, one word caught Gyu-beom’s attention.

“Ah, speaking of which, Professor Myung’s son is in high school now, isn’t he?”

Thud.

Hearing his own story, Gyu-beom’s heart skipped a beat.

His steps froze, and he couldn’t move.

“I’ve been away in another region for a few years, so it’s been a while since I heard about your son.”

The voice belonged to someone who didn’t seem to know much about Gyu-beom’s current situation.

“Back in middle school, he was always the top student in the whole school, so he’s probably doing well in high school too, right? Didn’t the professor always say he hoped his son would take over the family business?”

“Excuse me, Professor Kim. That conversation…”

“Ahem. Well, he was a good student.”

His father’s voice was thick with embarrassment and regret.

Gyu-beom couldn’t bear to hear more and fled the scene, almost as if running away.

In a daze, he didn’t even remember how he got home.

‘……’

He stumbled into his room and sat down at the computer to write his daily post, but his father’s disappointed voice echoed in his mind.

His father, ashamed of him.

His father, disappointed that he hadn’t become a doctor.

His father, who couldn’t talk about his son in front of others.

‘It’s nothing. I shouldn’t be overreacting…’

Trying to calm himself, Gyu-beom tried to shake off the thoughts.

But the thoughts kept coming, one after another.

Eventually, Gyu-beom turned off his computer and curled up on the bed.

“Gyu-beom, dinner’s ready.”

“I don’t want any.”

When his mom called for him to eat, he refused without even opening his door.

“Gyu-beom, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

Finally, sensing something was wrong, his mom entered his room.

As they argued, a sudden jolt ran through Gyu-beom.

Gyu-beom’s face contorted in pain. A tic had occurred in front of his mother.

It was the most severe tic he had had in a long time.

“I don’t want to! I don’t want to! Ugh! Ugh!”

And on top of that, he had a vocal tic, blurting out words. Both of them were taken aback, and the atmosphere became tense.

Soon, his mother tried her best to reassure him, acting as if nothing was wrong.

“Gyu-beom, it’s okay. There are bad days sometimes. You’ll feel better after you sleep.”

But the incident left Gyu-beom deeply shaken.

‘Is this how it’s going to go back to normal?’

In an instant, he felt like he had regressed to how things were before starting acupuncture treatment.

It felt like the tower he had painstakingly built had collapsed all at once.

The hope of recovery seemed as illusory as a mirage.

“……”

Gyu-beom stayed locked in his room.

He didn’t post any updates and took a break without any notice.

It was the first time he hadn’t posted the usual daily chapter of his novel.

“Gyu-beom, are you really not coming out?”

The next day, the tics continued to worsen, and Gyu-beom refused to leave his room.

He didn’t even go for his scheduled acupuncture treatment.

And then… evening came.

Knock, knock.

His mother knocked on his door.

“Gyu-beom.”

“I don’t want dinner.”

Wrapped tightly in his blanket, Gyu-beom didn’t budge.

“Seon-Joon came over to the house.”

“?!”

Only then did Gyu-beom suddenly sit up in bed.

What? Why is he at our house?

“Gyu-beom, let’s talk.”

And then came the calm voice from outside the door.

It was a voice Gyu-beom knew well.