NOVEL NEXT Chapter 82 - Suki's Cafe
Inside the dressing room at SBC Broadcasting Station.
A woman in her 50s with short hair reaching her ears is getting her makeup done.
Examining her face in the mirror, the middle-aged woman grumbles.
“What’s with this sudden additional filming.”
It was Song Suki, the comedienne who hosts SBC’s popular variety show ‘Suki’s Cafe’.
She was popular for her ‘ajumma’ character that utilized her age and gender.
In other words, her concept was being thick-skinned and clingy.
The young woman doing her makeup tried to match Song Suki’s displeased mood.
“I know, right? Sister Suki is already so busy. Who’s the last-minute guest coming in?”
“I don’t know, some oriental medicine doctor? The one who was caught on the volleyball
broadcast recently.”
“Ah~ that person? Can an oriental medicine doctor do well on a variety show? I heard the
businessman last time was so good at talking.”
“I know. That young businessman was really entertaining, but turns out he was a con artist.
Well, with such a silver tongue, he must have been good at scamming too. The oriental
medicine doctor coming today seems too young to have many episodes besides volleyball.”
Song Suki snorted indifferently.
“Doctors are generally not good at talking, probably because they only study. We invite them for their expertise or to hear interesting stories, but I don’t have high hopes for him since he’s so young. And emergency medicine would have more interesting stories, but an oriental
medicine doctor? What more is there besides putting needles in sore backs?”
“You’re right, sister~. The writers must have been really desperate? To bring in someone like
that as a last-minute replacement.”
“Sigh, well. Let’s not expect too much from a last-minute guest. Wouldn’t it be enough if we
can just get some volleyball stories? And if we can draw out the story about his friendship
with that female idol, we should have the minimum content.”
The young woman put down the makeup brush she was holding.
“Sister Suki, it’s all done. Your makeup turned out really pretty today.”
“Thank you. Oh right, about that oriental medicine doctor boy. He’s pretty like a girl, isn’t he?
Will the viewers like that?”
“Sister, that style is quite popular these days.”
“Really? We ajummas (middle-aged women) prefer manly and dependable types, hoho.”
She didn’t have high expectations for the oriental medicine doctor guest she would meet
today.
Since the guests on this program are ordinary people, it’s important for the host to skillfully
draw out the entertainment.
It’s really appreciated when a guest with talent comes on, but unfortunately, this guy didn’t
seem like that.
I’ll just tease him a bit and then listen to some volleyball stories.
‘I shouldn’t expect much content today. We’ll have to fill in by editing the other guests’
segments longer.’
Song Suki thought indifferently like that.
She couldn’t imagine that in a few hours, she would be praising this oriental medicine doctor
to no end.
Nor that she would be so captivated by this guest that she would ask for his contact
information after filming.
* * *
Creeak.
I opened the door and entered the cafe.
The wind chime hanging on the door rings clearly.
“Welcome~.”
The energetic voice of a middle-aged woman.
Warm light bulbs illuminate the white walls and wooden tables and chairs.
With lush potted plants and cute decorations placed here and there.
Except for the cameras and staff surrounding the area, it looks just like a real cafe.
Well, it is. They actually rented a cafe inside the broadcasting station.
“Oh my~ Look who it is! It’s Joon, the pride of Subak-ri!”
The middle-aged woman with short hair smiles exaggeratedly.
Subak-ri is a nickname derived from ‘Subak-ssi’, the nickname for the broadcasting station
SBC.
The concept was that this cafe is located in a fictional quiet rural village called Subak-ri.
‘Hyung, don’t cry and do well. I heard Song Suki’s way with words is no joke.’
Ye Wonil’s words suddenly came to mind.
I’ve watched ‘Suki’s Cafe’ occasionally with my grandmother since it’s a show she likes.
Indeed, one of the entertaining elements was guests struggling after getting caught up in
Song Suki’s pace.
But I have no intention of letting that happen so easily today.
“Hey, you’ve grown so much~. I heard you became an oriental medicine doctor after going to university in Seoul? Do you remember Auntie Suki?”
Hmm, so that’s the concept.
They said the setting is made up on the spot, and there really was no given script.
I guess the situation is that I’ve returned to my hometown after moving to Seoul for university.
“Yes, hello. Have you been well, auntie?”
“Auntie’s been doing well running the cafe~! Sit down, sit down! What would you like to drink?
We have Americano, latte, juice, everything!”
“Then I’ll have an iced Americano, please.”
“You were so tiny and cute when you were young, when did you grow up so much? Hey, do
you remember that thing from when you were little?”
Song Suki kept talking non-stop while preparing the coffee.
What on earth is she trying to say? I’m getting a bit nervous.
“You used to wet your pants all the time and go around the neighborhood asking for salt. You
must have collected a whole sack of salt, right?”
“!”
Ugh. I can’t believe she’s throwing out such a setting…
I was dumbfounded, but I smiled calmly and shot back.
“Ah, that’s right. I used to always go around with Auntie Suki’s son back then.”
“Oh my! Is, is that so? My son did that too. My goodness.”
Well, I’m not going down alone.
She must have expected me to be embarrassed or get angry.
Song Suki looked slightly flustered, not expecting me to be so shameless, and made a second attempt.
“Hey, and you were famous for being a genius in the neighborhood. You always came in first
on every test. But there was that one time you didn’t get first place, and it turns out~.”
“??”
“There was a rumor, a rumor~ that your grades dropped because you were chasing after Soon
next door.”
Song Suki giggles as she hands me the coffee on a tray.
“Ah, so that’s how the rumor went.”
“Huh?”
“Actually, I delivered a love letter to Soon on behalf of your son. He said he was too shy to give it himself.”
“Oh my, oh my. That was my child too? Auntie didn’t know until now.” Song Suki blinks in bewilderment at my counterattack.
Seeing the writers laughing too, it seems I’ve managed to escape the trap well.
“Hey, anyway. What are you up to these days? I heard you became an oriental medicine
doctor.”
“I’m doing my internship at Hanbit University Hospital.”
“Oriental medicine doctors have internships too?”
“Of course. Oriental medicine doctors also have a specialist system. After graduating from
oriental medicine college and passing the national exam, you become a general practitioner. Then after entering a hospital and completing internship and residency, you become a specialist.”
“I see~, Auntie didn’t know that. I thought only Western doctors had specialists. What kind of
departments are there in oriental medicine?”
I counted off on my fingers as I listed the specialty departments.
“Internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, neuropsychiatry, rehabilitation,
ophthalmology-otolaryngology, dermatology, acupuncture and pain medicine, Sasang
constitutional medicine…”
“Really? Except for a few, it’s almost the same as Western medicine. Hey, then what’s the
most memorable patient you’ve seen?”
“Hmm… It was a young woman.”
So this is how they naturally transition to patient stories.
Inwardly impressed, I briefly brought up Ms. Kim Jin-ah’s story.
“Oh my! That’s such a relief. Auntie’s about to cry, how silly.”
Song Suki seemed genuinely impressed.
If even her reddening eyes were an act, it would be amazing.
She put a slice of cake on a plate and asked me:
“Don’t you have any other stories?”
As a comfortable atmosphere was created, stories started flowing smoothly.
A patient who actually had angina, not indigestion.
A cancer patient whose life expectancy increased after early detection of intestinal
A patient who cured carpal tunnel syndrome and won a gaming competition.
A mother who was healthily discharged after treating everything from pregnancy back pain
to postpartum pruritus, and so on.
“My goodness~ I didn’t know oriental medicine doctors treated such a variety of illnesses. I
only thought about treating sore backs or ankles. This is so interesting, kid.”
Song Suki listened to the stories with interest, adding exclamations here and there.
Come to think of it, I’ve met quite a lot of patients so far.
“But Auntie was so surprised watching TV recently, was that really you? You know, the person who appeared on the volleyball broadcast.”
“Yes, that was me.”
“Oh my, oh my, it really was you? How did you end up there?”
“I went there as the team doctor for a volleyball team called the Blue Whales.”
“Team doctor?”
“It’s someone who manages the players’ health, prevents injuries, and determines if they can
participate in games for a sports team.”
“I guess oriental medicine doctors do a lot of that kind of work too?”
“Of course. It’s very popular because treatments like chuna and acupuncture can be done
right on the spot. And there’s no worry about doping with those treatments.”
“Hey, then you must get a lot of this too?”
Song Suki made a gesture of counting money by rubbing her thumb and index finger.
“Not really. Overseas, being a team doctor is often a full-time job. But in Korea, we usually only
participate during competitions, and only get paid about enough for transportation. Plus, if I
close my clinic because of a competition, it’s actually a huge loss in terms of income.”
“Really? Then why do you do it?”
“Most people do it just because they love sports.”
“I see. Seeing our Joon grow up to be such an excellent oriental medicine doctor makes Auntie
so proud. The patients you’ve treated must be very grateful too.”
Then Song Suki suddenly smiled.
“So… Someone has something they want to say to you.”
“?”
A staff member appeared and handed over a tablet PC, then played a video.
I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at the familiar face in the playing video.
A wrinkled face in familiar blue training clothes. It was Coach Han Mi-young.
However, her usual charismatic appearance was nowhere to be seen, and she looked shy.
– Dr. Seon-Joon, hello. This is Han Mi-young.
The coach paused for a moment before continuing.
– As you know, my performance as a coach hasn’t been very good so far. So I was actually
planning to step down from the coaching position if the results of this KOVO Cup weren’t
good. But we achieved much better results than our goal.
“…!”
– I’m grateful to the players who believed in me and followed me, but… The one who gave real
strength to the players was you, Dr. Seon-Joon.
Looking back, there were many critical
moments that I don’t even want to think about what would have happened without you.
Really, thank you. You are a benefactor to our Blue Whales.
Coach Han Mi-young bowed her head towards the screen.
The short video ended like that.
“…”
I had only ever seen her confident and charismatic side.
For her to confess such difficult inner feelings and even bow her head like that.
My heart felt tight and I couldn’t easily open my mouth.
Song Suki watched the scene contentedly from the side before speaking to me.
“But there’s one more person who wants to greet you. They said they would come to this cafe
in person, I wonder when they’ll arrive?”
“In person?”
“Yes! You know, Soon who used to live next door to you when you were young.”
“??”
Soon?
Wasn’t that just part of the role-play?
While I was trying to make sense of it, the cafe door opened with a jingle.
“Hello~.”
“?!”
A woman with long straight hair in a white dress enters.
Song Suki smiles and gets up from her seat to greet her.
Recognizing who she is, my mouth fell open.