A competent doctor can cure everything

After completing the ultrasound, Ms. Jo Na-kyung decided to be discharged and continue her treatment as an outpatient.

This was thanks to her positive response to the intensive care she had been receiving.

“Dr. Seon-Joon, thank you! Truly, thank you so much!”

On her discharge day, I had to work up a sweat calming Ms. Na-kyung down as she shed tears once again.

Fortunately, this time, they were tears of joy.

And yet, she still hadn’t had a proper menstrual cycle.

“Hey, everyone. When Dr. Seon-Joon arrives, just give him everything!”

“But boss, I only ever drink iced Americanos anyway…”

“Whenever the doctor walks by, make sure to slip some cookies into his coat pocket. Got it?”

When I stopped by the café, I was treated like a VIP by Ms. Jo Na-kyung’s father.

He completely ignored my reassurances and seemed determined to buy out everything on the display shelves.

On top of that, today I also received a call from Ms. Jo Na-kyung’s boyfriend, Mr. Kim Sang-hoon.

“Doctor! I already owed you so much when I was hospitalized, and now you’ve even helped my girlfriend recover. I honestly don’t know how to thank you. Could I please treat you to dinner tonight?”

“No, that’s not necessary. I was just doing my job. Besides, I already have plans for tonight.”

“Then perhaps tomorrow…?”

“Actually, I’ll be starting my summer vacation tomorrow.”

Pressed by Mr. Sang-hoon’s insistence, I ended up revealing my vacation plans to him. Only then did he snap out of it and stop his pleas.

“Oh! My apologies. You’re taking a vacation a bit late, aren’t you? Are you going somewhere nice?”

When I mentioned the name of a rural village in South Gyeongsang Province, he was taken aback.

“What? You’re spending your vacation ‘there’?”

“Yes. I’ll be going for a medical volunteer program.”

“Doctor… are you some kind of Mother Teresa? Why are you doing medical volunteering even during your vacation? You should take it easy for once.”

Hearing the astonishment in his voice, I replied with nothing more than a brief chuckle.

‘If he found out my vacation actually started today and not tomorrow, he’d probably be even more surprised.’

So, why am I at the hospital?

Yesterday, I got a message from the leader of ‘Purple Angel’ saying she had started her period.

Since today is her second day of menstruation, Bri decided to come to the hospital this morning for acupuncture treatment.

After completing her session, I plan to head to the volunteer site with Ye-Wonil.

“Lee Yi-won offered to handle the acupuncture session for me after hearing the story.”

But it didn’t feel right to leave my patient in someone else’s care, and it’s not like acupuncture takes a long time anyway, so I decided to do it myself before heading out.

And that’s how I ended up at the hospital on the first day of my vacation.

I didn’t feel like explaining this entire story to the outpatient nurses, so I’ve been quietly hiding in the treatment room.

“Doctor!”

“Hello.”

Bri soon appeared in the treatment room, and her expression was incredibly bright.

Unlike her usually calm demeanor, she seemed quite excited.

“Doctor, the treatment is working! Normally, on the second day of my period, it would hurt so much it felt like someone was kicking me in the stomach, and I couldn’t even talk because of the pain. But now, while it still hurts, it’s bearable…! It’s amazing how much better it’s gotten after just a week of treatment.”

Even as Bri lay down on the bed to prepare for her acupuncture session, she kept talking nonstop.

“That’s a relief. Still, it’d be better to reduce the pain even more for today’s performance.”

“Even this much improvement already makes me feel like I can survive. I’ve written down everything you taught me—using a hot pack on my lower abdomen, pressing the Sanyinjiao point, avoiding certain foods, and the new tip you gave me yesterday…”

“Taking painkillers in advance.”

“Oh, right! I used to only take them after the pain started. I didn’t know I needed to take them ‘before’ it hurt.”

“Painkillers work by inhibiting the production of prostaglandins (PG), which cause uterine contractions. However, the presence of pain means PG has already been produced. Since painkillers don’t eliminate PG that’s already been made, it’s best to take them preemptively, as soon as you notice spotting.”

“I used to still have terrible pain even after taking painkillers, but this advice really helps. Thank you so much.”

After saying everything she wanted to, Bri seemed to calm down a bit. Then, she politely regained her composure and spoke in a calmer tone.

“Um, Doctor. If you have time this evening, would you come to watch our performance?”

“Oh, I…”

I deliberately avoided mentioning that I was on vacation, worried it might make her feel bad.

As I was trying to come up with an appropriate way to decline, the treatment room door creaked open from beyond the curtain.

“Hello? Is someone in here?”

A puzzled voice from one of the outpatient nurses followed.

She must have thought the room was empty but got startled upon seeing the curtain drawn around the bed.

“It’s me,” I replied.

When I stepped out from behind the curtain, the outpatient nurse saw me and raised her voice.

“Oh my, Dr. Seon-Joon! Isn’t your vacation starting today? Why are you here?”

“Well…”

I quickly explained the situation and sent the nurse on her way.

When I returned behind the curtain, Bri’s eyes were filled with guilt.

“Doctor, did you come in because of me even though you’re on vacation?”

“Acupuncture isn’t that difficult, so it’s fine.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were on vacation…”

“That’s because I didn’t tell you.”

To reassure the still-nervous leader, I added a few more words.

“If you’re pain-free and perform well on stage today, that’s the best vacation I could ask for.”

“Oh…”

It was just something I said to ease her guilt, but for some reason, Bri looked deeply moved.

“I think I understand why Mika likes you so much, Doctor. She’s usually picky about people, but she seems to trust Dr. Seon-Joon completely.”

“…Is that so?”

“You’re not only great at treatment, but… how should I put it? You have a way of making people feel at ease.”

Huh? Me, putting people at ease?

I’ve heard people comment plenty of times about how quiet I am or occasionally thank me for my care.

But hearing that I make people feel comfortable? That was a first. I blinked in mild confusion.

“I don’t think I’ve done anything particularly special for you.”

“No, you have. It meant a lot to me. I used to feel embarrassed during consultations, worrying I might seem dramatic about menstrual pain, which so many people go through. But you were always serious and attentive, like you genuinely understood how much I was hurting.

Also, most people just tell me not to feel pain, but you were the first to tell me it’s okay to be in pain.”

“……”

“Thank you. Just lying here getting acupuncture makes me feel calm and at ease. I think I’ll be able to perform well on stage today.”

Well, if you say so.

I didn’t mind hearing her heartfelt gratitude.
It’s a pretty refreshing start to my vacation.

—

A senior center in a rural village in South Gyeongsang Province.

This usually quiet place was bustling with activity today.

“Did you clean the treatment room?”

“Yeah! Be careful with that desk back there!”

The Hanbit University College of Korean Medicine’s volunteer group, ‘Hanbit Nuri,’ was hard at work transforming the senior center into a makeshift clinic.

“Ugh… who left this here? It’s in the way.”

Geum Sujong, the president of ‘Hanbit Nuri’ and a fourth-year medical student, frowned as he noticed a low desk cluttering the room.

Sujong had just narrowly avoided tripping over the low desk while stepping backward.

A junior sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

“Taeryong hyung told me to put it here…”

Hearing this, Sujong smacked the back of another male student walking by with a loud ‘thud’.

The sudden sound startled everyone nearby, but seeing Sujong’s smiling face, they relaxed and went back to work.

“Haha, Taeryong! Use some common sense, will you? You can’t leave this here.”

“Oh… uh, sorry about that,” replied the student called Taeryong, laughing awkwardly in his local dialect.

President Geum Sujong continued walking around the senior center, checking on the progress in each room.

“Have all the beds in the treatment room been set up?”

“Yes, president hyung. They’re almost done.”

The students were creating makeshift beds by covering foldable single mattresses with white cotton fabric.

One room was transformed into a treatment room filled with these temporary beds.

“The consultation and pharmacy rooms are all set too, right?”

Another room, with low desks covered in white fabric, was prepared as a consultation room.

In addition, there was a pharmacy room where herbal extracts (in powdered form) were packaged into medicine envelopes.

With that, the makeshift clinic was almost complete.

Two pre-med students, among the youngest members of the club, chatted as they headed out to throw away the trash.

“Consultations start tomorrow morning.”

“Ugh, I’m a little nervous!”

The Korean Medicine program is a six-year course—two years of pre-med (preparatory studies) and four years of professional coursework. Pre-med students are called “yekwa students,” while those in the main program are referred to as “bonkwa students.”

The overall atmosphere of the department is conservative, with a strict hierarchical structure. As a result, pre-med students often see fourth-year bonkwa students as senior experts who have mastered the principles of Korean medicine.

“What’s your role tomorrow?”

“I’m assigned to the pharmacy room. What about you?”

“Oh~ lucky you. I’m on the odd-jobs team tomorrow. Hey, don’t the seniors look so cool?”

“Totally. I’m nervous just working in the pharmacy—how do they manage to handle consultations?”

“I can’t wait to start performing acupuncture and seeing patients myself.”

The responsibility for diagnosing patients and determining treatment plans falls to the fourth-year bonkwa students.

Meanwhile, acupuncture and moxibustion procedures are handled by the third-year bonkwa students.

Below the fourth-year students, the pre-med students are mostly assigned to tasks like preliminary consultations (a quick check-up before the main treatment) or miscellaneous chores. The lower the year, the more likely they are to do tasks unrelated to actual medical care.

“Isn’t President Geum Sujong really amazing? Whether it’s acupuncture or herbal medicine, he knows everything.”

“Yeah, they say his family lives in Gangnam, and he’s got a golden spoon. So jealous. But, you know, that guy…”

“What, what?”

One of them lowered his voice, and the other followed suit, whispering.

“Doesn’t he only take care of his close friends and treat others differently?”

“Yeah, he likes to create factions, right? I heard he plays a lot of politics within the president’s team too.”

The student council of the club is made up of the highest-level students, typically fourth-year students from the main program.

Geum Sujong, the president of ‘Hanbit Nuri’, liked being in the spotlight. He also enjoyed using his power to manipulate others.

“Earlier, President Geum was subtly ignoring Taeryong and treating him poorly. It made me so uncomfortable.”

“Seriously? Taeryong is such a nice guy. When we were studying acupuncture points for our volunteer study group, I couldn’t remember them all by myself and had to stay behind. But he stayed with me and kept helping me until the end.”

As they threw the trash bags into the designated bin and turned to leave, a voice suddenly came from behind them.

“What are you talking about?”

When they turned around, President Geum Sujong was standing there, grinning.

‘Oh no.’

‘He didn’t hear, did he?’

The pre-med students hurriedly tried to change the subject.

“Oh, President Geum.”

“It’s nothing. By the way… which senior Korean Medicine doctors are coming today?”

As Geum Sujong narrowed his eyes, the pre-med students’ hearts raced.

However, Geum Sujong soon casually placed his arm around the shoulders of his juniors.

“Do you remember last year’s president, Ye Wonil? He and a few years above him, like Senior Seon-Joon.”

“Wow, isn’t Senior Seon-Joon the one who was caught on the volleyball broadcast?”

“Wow, I’m excited!”

The pre-med students, with no particular thought, expressed their excitement.

But then, Geum Sujong’s arm around their shoulders tightened.

“Still, he’s just an intern. He’ll probably be running errands at the hospital. As an intern, there’s not much difference from a fourth-year.”

“Ah, right. President, you’ll be a licensed doctor next year.”

After quickly agreeing with Geum Sujong, the pre-med students exchanged furtive glances.

‘President, he must be annoyed because his attention is being taken away, right?’

‘Yeah, it seems like it…’

‘He must not like Senior Seon-Joon.’

‘I guess. But, well, what’s the big deal?’

At that point, no one knew that during this very medical volunteer event, that “big deal” would happen.