A competent doctor can cure everything

‘Oh no.’

An incident on the first day of volunteering.

I was the first to rush out of the room.

The other executives of Class 4 followed behind me.

That person…’

Outside, a tall, thin elderly man was clutching his chest and gasping for air.

His red bandana and black cargo pants looked familiar.

“Grandfather Gil-young.”

“Oh my! Doctor, please come quickly and take a look.”

Next to him, his wife was anxiously pacing back and forth with a worried expression.

“Where and how are you feeling unwell?”

“My chest hurts and it’s hard to breathe.”

The grandfather’s posture was hunched, likely due to chest pain.

He kept coughing as well.

I quickly used my stethoscope to check the grandfather’s lung sounds.

One lung had significantly reduced breath sounds compared to the other side.

“When did this start?”

“About an hour after getting acupuncture here…”

“What should we do? It’s because of the acupuncture, right? Do we need to go to the emergency room?”

The grandmother looked at us with a mix of worry and anger on her face.

The students just glanced at each other nervously, unable to respond.

That’s when the president, Geum Sujong, spoke up.

“Who did this person’s acupuncture today?”

Sa Taeryong quietly raised his hand.

“…It was me.”

“Where did you insert the needles?”

“He said his neck hurt, so I did the back of the neck and shoulders.”

Sujong let out a big sigh, then muttered quietly but clearly:

“Hah… The needle must have punctured the lung and caused a pneumothorax. This is a medical accident.”

“Pneumothorax? How will you take responsibility for this? Aiyoo, this is why you shouldn’t get acupuncture from students.”

Hearing those words, the grandmother’s emotions gradually turned to anger.

Sujong stuck close to the grandmother’s side and apologized profusely:

“I’m so sorry. That friend of mine made a mistake. The supervising oriental medicine doctor must have been too busy to watch properly.”

I stared at the guy in disbelief.

At first glance, it sounded like he was admitting fault and apologizing quickly. But….

‘He’s basically saying it’s their fault and I’m not to blame.”

How can he say that when the cause isn’t even clear yet? What does that make our position?

Some club president he is, throwing people under the bus like that.

And his next words were even more outrageous.

“Our senior oriental medicine doctor will take responsibility and resolve this.”

Despite his apologetic act, his eyes seemed strangely pleased.

Resolve it? Sure, I’ll do that.

‘But let’s get the facts straight first.’

Right now, I can already see the future where Grandfather Gil-young will be fine within a week.

I spoke up firmly.

“This is not a medical accident.”

“What did you say? Didn’t that student just say it’s pneumothorax!”

The grandmother shouted sharply, as if my words sounded like an excuse.

But her momentum soon faltered at my following explanation.

“Based on the shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, and decreased breath sounds on auscultation, it is indeed pneumothorax. However, this pneumothorax is not due to needle damage, but is spontaneous pneumothorax.”

“Spontaneous pneumothorax?”

“It often occurs in tall, thin men, especially smokers. Grandfather Gil-young, you still smoke a lot these days, right?”

“Well… that’s true.”

The grandmother readily agreed.

I then turned to Taeryong.

“Clinic Director Sa Taeryong.”

“Yes.”

I deliberately used honorifics while questioning Taeryong.

Taeryong also answered in a formal tone, as if responding to a reporter’s question at an official event.

“What gauge needle did you use and which acupoints did you needle?”

“I used 30×30 (0.30x30mm diameter and length) needles on acupoints like Jianjing (GB21). Feishu (BL13), and Xinshu (BL15) on the shoulders and upper back.”

Jianjing is located at the center of the trapezius muscle on the shoulder.

Feishu and Xinshu are located on either side of the spine on the back, so they are also called Back-shu points using the character for “back”.

“What needling method did you use for Jianjing and the Back-shu points?”

“For Jianjing, I used transverse needling in a pinch-roll state, and for the Back-shu points, I used oblique needling rather than perpendicular insertion.”

Fortunately, the word “pinch-roll” came out of Taeryong’s mouth.

Pinch-roll refers to the act of pinching and lifting the skin or muscle with your fingers.

‘When needling shoulder points like Jianjing, it’s important to pinch-roll the trapezius muscle to avoid puncturing the lung.’

It’s also important that he used “oblique needling” rather than perpendicular insertion for the Back-shu points.

If you insert a 3cm needle at an angle, it will penetrate less deeply into the body.

Thanks to Taeryong mentioning all the key terms, my argument gained more strength.

“Then there was nothing wrong with the needling process. Without further ado, let’s go to the hospital and confirm with test results. I’m certain there will be no signs of needle damage or needle fragments.”

“R-really?”

“Moreover, if it were pneumothorax caused by needling, symptoms would have appeared during needling, or at the latest within 10 minutes after removing the needles. Anyway, regardless of the cause, I’ll take you to the hospital now.”

Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, the grandmother’s face showed only worry instead of anger.

“It’s not something serious for my husband, is it?”

“If the pneumothorax isn’t severe, the air in the chest cavity will be absorbed naturally and heal on its own. In such cases, there’s no need for hospitalization – just resting is good. Don’t worry too much, and please get in my car.”

I supported Grandfather Gil-young while turning to Wonil.

“Wonil.”

“Yes, hyung. I’ll stay here, so go ahead.”

Hearing the guy’s reliable response, I left the lodging with the elderly couple.

After Seon-Joon left for the hospital with the grandfather…

Sa Taeryong called out to Geum Sujong, who was quietly trying to leave.

“Hey, Geum Sujong.”

“Come here for a sec.”

Sujong flinched at Taeryong’s sharp gaze, which he had never seen before.

“What is it?”

“You… Haven’t you done something wrong? Besides wrongly accusing an innocent person just now.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t.”

Though he pretended to be nonchalant, Sujong’s eyes wavered.

Taeryong didn’t back down and pressed Sujong.

“Oh really? Then you wouldn’t mind if I say it out loud here?”

“…Let’s go outside first.”

Sujong lowered his voice and led the way.

As the two fourth-year students formed an ominous atmosphere, the remaining students. whispered curiously.

“What’s going on? Why are the seniors like that?”

“Alright, alright, it’s late so everyone go in!”

Ye Wonil herded the students into their rooms like sheep.

Meanwhile, the shadows of two people were cast in the front yard of the lodging.

Sa Taeryong glared at Sujong with his arms crossed before speaking.

“Did you misuse the club funds?”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

At that, Taeryong roughly shoved a piece of paper towards him.

It was a credit card receipt.

“Why did you go to a hotel buffet with the club membership card? Didn’t you just go to a buffet with your girlfriend not long ago? Was that with the club funds? You, who bragged about having a lot of money, why did you do that? Is the club fee a joke to you?”

Sujong checked it and suddenly fell silent.

“And are you really out of your mind? You stayed quiet when a junior was unjustly scolded earlier, but now you’re running your mouth? Without even hearing the full story, you just assume it’s my fault?”

“…I thought it was obviously your mistake.”

“Let’s say it is. Are you going to drag in the senior acupuncturist who took the time to come here? What, is the senior acupuncturist who didn’t supervise properly going to take responsibility? Is that something you should be saying as the president?”

“Ugh….”

Sujong, who had always thought of Taeryong as easy to deal with, shrank back at his intensity.

Taeryong, looking at Sujong, spoke with a determined voice.

“Listen… I was going to quietly ask you about this after the service, but I can’t do that anymore. You don’t deserve to be president.”

“Taeryong, I was wrong. Can’t we just let this slide quietly? I’ll quickly replenish the club funds.”

Taeryong shook his head at Sujong, who was startled and clasped his hands together.

“No. I can’t just let it go. If you want to confess and voluntarily leave the club, should I reveal it for you?”

As expected, the conclusion in the emergency room was a spontaneous pneumothorax.

They said, as I predicted, that there was no need for hospitalization and that he could be treated at home.

However, when I returned in the early morning, something surprising had happened within the club.

“What? Geum Sujong decided to leave the club?”

“Yes, hyung!”

“He misused the club funds?”

“They say so!”

“And now Taeryong is the new president?”

“That’s right!”

The news I heard from Wonil was truly astonishing.

What on earth had happened overnight?

Sujong suddenly confessed his sins to the members and announced he would leave the club.

And the vacant presidency was unanimously taken over by Taeryong.

“So Geum Sujong must have been subtly sidelining Taeryong all along.

Geum Sujong, who usually had such a loud voice, had been quietly sulking all night.

Then, in the morning, he quietly disappeared, getting into a foreign car that had come to pick him up.

I smacked my lips.

‘I was planning to call him separately to talk after returning from the emergency room, but it seems the situation within the club has already been resolved.

And… Taeryong was, as I expected, a good candidate for president.

He began to run the club fairly and rationally, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“Let’s have the acupuncture sessions done by the department heads taking turns each day.”

“Sure!”

The next day, as soon as the sun rose, the senior center was filled with patients.

With a shortage of hands, one of the fourth-year students had dropped out, so Wonil and I decided to flexibly assist with treatments and acupuncture.

However, an unexpected guest came to see me.

“Hello, teacher.”

“Dongsoo!”

“Did Dongsoo come?”

It was little Dongsoo, who had come with his mom.

His mom said she came to let him see her son while getting acupuncture.

As I patted Dongsoo’s head, I could hear the surprised voices of the students nearby.

“Wow, that senior can smile like that?”

“He surprisingly plays well with kids.”

Hey, I can hear you all.

What do you think of me?

Ignoring the whispers of the juniors, I treated Dongsoo’s mom with acupuncture.

But then Dongsoo piped up.

“Dongsoo, let’s go home now. You have homework to do.”

“Eeeh. I want to play more with Hyung Joon!”

Even after his mom finished her acupuncture, he wouldn’t leave my side.

“Teacher! Please tell him that to become an acupuncturist, he needs to do his homework well and read a lot of books from a young age. His dream is to be an acupuncturist.”

Dongsoo’s mom whispered, winking at me.

I also gently reassured Dongsoo, who was tightly gripping my gown.

“Dongsoo, you need to go home and do your homework quickly. That way, you can become an acupuncturist and meet your brother again.”

“Waaah.”

Dongsoo pouted his lips but finally let go of my gown.

As I smiled at him, Dongsoo’s mom seemed to remember something and added.

“Teacher, but recently Dongsoo has been waking up suddenly at night and screaming. Is this a problem?”

“Does he sweat, breathe heavily, thrash around, or seem scared when that happens? And does he not remember what happened the night before?”

“Yes, that’s right. How did you know?”

I explained to Dongsoo’s mom, who looked surprised.

“That’s called night terrors. When that happens, don’t panic and try to stabilize his body. Explain to Dongsoo that night terrors aren’t harmful and that they will soon go away.”

“Night terrors….”

“Avoid stimulating TV shows before bed, and remove any breakable or dangerous items from around his sleeping area. If there’s no specific cause, the symptoms should go away soon. But if it doesn’t resolve, come to our hospital. We treat night terrors in the pediatric acupuncture department.”

“Got it. I was worried, but hearing that puts my mind at ease.”

After teaching her, I saw Dongsoo and his mom off.

However, the expression of Taeryong, who was doing acupuncture beside me, was strange.

“Senior Seon-Joon! You’re really amazing.”

“Hmm?”

“You know so much, and your affection for the patients is palpable. Your expression is completely different when you’re with patients.”

What on earth is my expression usually like?

At this point, I think I need to reflect on myself.

“Senior, thank you for trusting me last night. I was really touched!”

“It’s thanks to you sticking to the principles and doing the acupuncture properly.”

“No, senior. I found my life’s goal as of yesterday.”

“?”

That kid. His eyes seem a bit off, doesn’t it?

It’s summer, but I suddenly feel a chill.

“I want to become an acupuncturist like you! A skilled one with great character. Please wait a little. I’ll become a junior you can be proud of and I’ll definitely see you at the hospital next year! So I can learn a lot from you!”

Please don’t.

Seeing Taeryong’s overly sparkling eyes makes me feel a bit dizzy.

Somehow, I have a feeling that if this kid comes in as an intern next year, it’s going to be quite exhausting.