A competent doctor can cure everything

“Welcome. Is Soon busy being an idol?”

I was struck speechless seeing her big eyes and smiling face.

That Soon was Moon Deok-soon?

“My, how all the kids in this neighborhood grew up so well to appear on TV. Subak-ri must
have good soil~”

“That’s right, auntie. Hohoho.”

“Soon, I hear you’re making a comeback with a summer song soon?”

“Yes~. I’ll also be on ‘King of Singers’ on SBC.”

‘King of Singers’ is a program where singers perform live stages and viewers rank them
competitively.

Since it has very high ratings, it seems Purple Angel is appearing there to promote their comeback as well.

After greeting Song Suki, Mika looked at me with a grin.

“Oppa, long time no see.”

“Oh, oh? It has been a while.”

Mika’s surprise appearance flustered me for the first time during today’s filming.

The writers giggle seeing my dumbfounded face.

“When did you two last meet?”

“I had facial paralysis, so I was hospitalized at this oppa’s clinic and got acupuncture.”

“Oh my, I see~”

Mika eloquently explained how we first met.
Anyway, after that the filming concluded without any issues.

“Good work everyone!”

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

Only when I heard the staff’s closing greetings could I finally take a breather.

Just then, Song Suki approached with a smile in her eyes.

“Doctor, you must be tired today? Good work.”

“Not at all. It was fun thanks to you. My grandmother is a fan of this program and you, Ms. Song Suki.”

“My goodness, how can such a handsome person speak so beautifully too?”

She laughed cheerfully out loud.

“I didn’t expect today’s filming to be this fun either. Doctor, you speak well and have a lot of experience despite appearances. No, I really mean it. I think there will be a big reaction on the
viewer message boards when this airs.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course! I think you can look forward to the broadcast? Oh right, could I get your number? I
won’t bother you. I just want to know a skilled Korean medicine doctor.”

“My number?”

I ended up giving her my number as Song Suki naturally held out her phone.

She took back her phone with satisfaction and disappeared.

Just then, someone tapped my shoulder.

“Hello?”

I turned to see Mika smiling with an innocent face.

“How did our busy attending physician think to appear on something like this?”

Well… I didn’t want to at first, but I changed my mind after punching some numbers on a
calculator.

I thought it might help if I apply to be a national team doctor later.

In an age where people pay for advertising, why not get paid to appear?

“What about you, Mika? How did you end up here?”

“I was cast, of course. The writers must have seen the YouTube comments I wrote. It’s good
timing since we’re making a comeback too, so it’s killing two birds with one stone.”

How annoying that she didn’t say a word about appearing here.

I grumbled with irritation.

“You could have given me a heads up that you were coming.”

“But that wouldn’t be fun.”

“You must be busy because of the comeback. I’ll make sure to watch ‘King of Singers’ too.”

“Ugh. No, absolutely don’t watch that. Our stage is sure to be a disaster.”

I had said it out of courtesy, but Mika’s constantly smiling expression suddenly darkened.

Judging by how she sighed heavily, it didn’t seem to be a joke.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure if I should say this.”

“?”

What could it be that even the great Mika would hesitate like this?

She twirled her long hair with her finger and opened her mouth.

“It’s actually not about me, but our leader unnie (Sister). Listen and forget about it.”

The leader must be that blonde short-haired member called ‘Bri’.

“Unnie has really bad menstrual cramps. But unfortunately, next week’s live stage overlaps
with her period, so we’re all worried.”

“How bad is it?”

“Well… her face turns pale white and she can’t move because of the pain. Once or twice a
year she even collapses and has to be taken to the ER. She’s taken so many painkillers that
she’s even gotten stomach ulcers before.”

“Haven’t you tried getting treatment for that level of pain?”

“Of course we have. But the gynecologist said there’s no special problem and gave her
hormone medication, but she says she can’t take it because of the side effects. She gets
bloated, has irregular bleeding, feels nauseous…”

“You should have told me earlier. Korean medicine treats menstrual pain a lot.”

At that, Mika’s eyebrows drooped dejectedly.

“There’s a reason I didn’t tell you. I already suggested going to see Dr. Lee Seon-joon, but
unnie said she doesn’t want to.”

“Why?”

“She’s been to a famous Korean medicine hospital before, but the herbal medicine had no
effect.”

“…”

“Every month when this time comes, I get scared even though I’m not the one having my
period. But we can’t schedule our activities around unnie’s period either. Unnie performs on
stage while taking painkillers, but then she gets criticized for her attitude. It’s so upsetting.”

Hearing about the attitude controversy reminded me of the internet posts Go Min-hwa had
shown me before.

I heard she was criticized for having a bad expression and passive attitude at some event.

There were also many malicious comments asking if she wasn’t taking care of herself because an idol had gained weight.

‘So that was because of menstrual pain, and the weight gain was because her body swelled
from birth control pills.’

“If that’s the case, won’t next week’s live stage be difficult?”

“It’s not just difficult, I think it’ll be a 100% disaster… Plus, our concept is bright and cheerful,

so the choreography is intense and the song is upbeat, which will make unnie stand out even
more.”

“…”

I fell into thought for a moment.

Is this unnecessary meddling?

…But still, it doesn’t sit right with me to do nothing when someone is in pain.

I’ll consider it repaying Mika for her help so far.

“Let me talk to Bri for a bit. By video call.”

“What? No, it’s fine. I told you the herbal medicine didn’t work, right? Besides, there’s only a week left now.”

“One week before is the perfect time to treat menstrual pain.”

* * *

Purple Angel’s leader ‘Bri’ was answering the phone with a troubled face at their dorm.
The caller was the team’s maknae, Mika.

“Mika… I’ll just take painkillers and endure it.”

– Don’t do that, unnie~. This doctor is different, I’m telling you.

“I know he’s a good Korean medicine doctor, but even that famous Korean medicine hospital
couldn’t cure it.”

– Ah~ unnie. Trust me just this once. Okay? Just do one consultation. You suffer so much every
month too. It hurts me to see you in pain, unnie.

“…”

That was true.

Why does the menstrual cycle come around so quickly?

The thought of experiencing that unbearable pain again filled her with dread.

Sometimes she even resented being born a woman.

“Okay. Put him on then.”

– Unnie, but the doctor said to do a video call.

“Huh? O-okay. I’m ready.”

A video call?

Bri thought it was strange but obediently held up her phone.

Soon a familiar face appeared on the phone screen.

The bespectacled man still had a calm and sharp impression.

Judging by the background, it seemed to be inside Mika’s car.

– Hello. It’s been a while.

“Hello, doctor.”

Bri actually wasn’t happy about this call.
She had previously visited a famous Korean medicine hospital for menstrual pain and taken
herbal medicine for several months, but…

‘It seemed to get better the first month, but later the menstrual pain actually got worse.’

After that, she became wary of Korean medicine treatments for menstrual pain.

Plus… she knew Mika trusted and followed this doctor a lot.

She was worried that if it had no effect again, things might become awkward between Mika
and this doctor.

‘But who can stop Mika when she’s determined.’
She clearly said to just get a consultation.

So Bri planned to talk for a bit and then gently decline treatment, saying she’d think about it.

– I heard your menstrual pain is severe. When did it start?

“I think it’s always been bad since 1-2 years after my first period, but it seems to be getting worse recently. I even got checked at the gynecologist recently but they said it’s normal.”

– Is the pain there before your period starts, or does it start after your period begins?

“Hmm. It starts hurting in earnest a few hours after the bleeding begins.”

– What’s the nature of the pain? For example, is it sharp and stabbing, dull and heavy, mild,
etc. Please describe it freely.

“When it’s bad, it feels heavy like my lower abdomen is being squeezed, and towards the end of my period it changes to a mild pain.”

– What about the color of your menstrual blood? Is it dark and thick, or bright red and light?

“I think it’s more bright red and light.”

The Korean medicine doctor nodded as if he understood something, then continued his
questions.

– Is your menstrual cycle regular? And the amount of bleeding isn’t heavy?

“The cycle is regular. But what do you mean by heavy bleeding…?”

– Based on medium pads, using over 20 in one cycle is considered heavy. Or if the pad gets
completely soaked and needs changing every hour, that’s heavy too.

“Then I think it’s on the heavy side. For the first 3 days, medium pads aren’t enough so I use
overnight pads even during the day.”

These questions are quite thorough.

Bri was inwardly surprised.

Honestly, she didn’t expect a male doctor to ask in such detail, even mentioning medium pads.

– Do you see blood clots on the pads too?

“Yes, one or two each time I change pads.”

– How big are the clots? You can compare them to coin sizes.

“Hmm… About the size of a 100 won coin. Sometimes as big as a 500 won coin when they’re large.”

– Are there any other notable symptoms during your period? For example, severe mood
swings, breast swelling and pain, lower abdomen feeling cold, back pain, dizziness, heart
palpitations, etc.

“I do get dizzy and my heart pounds…”

As she answered the Korean medicine doctor’s questions, Bri felt increasingly strange.

“Um, doctor… Do you always ask in this much detail?”

– I’m sorry for bothering you when you’re busy, but diagnosis is the most important…

“Ah, no. That’s not what I meant. The Korean medicine hospital I went to before didn’t ask this thoroughly.”

Thinking her words were misunderstood, Bri hastily added an explanation.

The Korean medicine doctor was silent for a moment, then asked:

– …Was it perhaps Hwalin Hanbang Hospital?

“Yes, that’s right. I took herbal medicine there for about 3-4 months, but my menstrual pain
got worse over time so I stopped.”

– Did you only take herbal medicine? What about acupuncture?

“They didn’t tell me to get acupuncture.”
This time the man was silent for longer, then asked a strange question.

– Do you remember the taste of the herbal medicine you took there?

“Isn’t all herbal medicine bitter…?”

– Not necessarily. Though it’s not always the case, tonic-type medicines tend to be clear and
sweet. Anti-inflammatory medicines are yellow and very bitter. Blood stasis-removing medicines are bitter and dark in color.

Hearing that, Bri suddenly recalled something.

“Ah! I think that hospital said it was medicine to remove blood stasis too. The medicine was
dark and bitter with a slight spiciness.”

– Spicy and bitter…?

Muttering after Bri’s words, Lee Seon-Joon pushed up his glasses.

– It seems you likely took a medicine called ‘Gyejibongnyeong-hwan’ for a long time.

“Gyejibongnyeong-hwan?”

– It’s a representative Korean medicine for removing blood stasis. Blood stasis refers to a state where there are many impurities in the blood or poor circulation. So it’s prescribed for various conditions like menstrual pain, bruising from car accidents, venous circulation disorders, and so on. It’s an excellent medicine. However…

“?”

– It’s a medicine that someone like you shouldn’t take long-term.

Surprised by his words, Bri unconsciously raised her voice.

“Someone like me?”