A competent doctor can cure everything

The rehearsal room was located in the basement of a small building in front of the hospital.

Even though I passed by this place every day, I never knew it existed.

Going down to the basement, my first impression was that the layout felt oddly similar to a karaoke room.

‘If what Heo Son-Hwi told me is right… this must be the room.’

I stopped in front of a door with a room number written on it.

From inside, a loud noise could be heard.

Even though the door seemed thick, the sound seemed to pierce right through as if there was no soundproofing.

‘Looks like they’re practicing. Should I wait a bit?’

Taking advantage of a brief pause in the noise, I knocked on the door.

Soon after, the door swung open.

“Yo! Mr. Seon! Welcome!”

Heo Son-Hwi bowed exaggeratedly like a butler, bending his waist and folding his arms at a 90-degree angle.

The small room was cramped with all sorts of instruments and equipment, making it feel even narrower.

A drum set was positioned in the center, with guitars, keyboards, and bass arranged on either side.

“Hello….”

While greeting them and casually scanning the members’ faces, I suddenly widened my eyes.

The bassist was Heo Son-Hwi, and the guitarist was Yang Gi-Tae, a first-year pediatric resident at Yangbang Children’s Hospital.

I also recognized the female vocalist holding the microphone, although not very well.

She was a senior resident in the Korean Medicine Psychiatry department at the same hospital.

But that wasn’t what surprised me.

“Wow~ My goodness. Look who it is!”

A short woman with messy, wild hair stood in front of the keyboard.

It was Jeong Daun, an obstetrics fellow.

“Isn’t this our cute little intern?”

“You’re a member of HanRak too, Professor?”

“Yup, I play the keyboard. Who would’ve thought I’d run into our cute intern here?”

She waved both hands enthusiastically, clearly delighted to see me.

“Why haven’t I seen you around the hospital lately?”

“I just got back from vacation.”

“Oh, really? …Did you spend it with your girlfriend?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Ah, right? Of course, you don’t, huh?”

“?”

What’s with the ‘Of course, you don’t’?

Isn’t she just like Hyun-Seung, being a bit strange?

“Is this the intern Jeong Daun always praises so much?”

I turned toward the raspy voice and saw a tiger-like man with graying hair standing at the drums.

He looked somewhat familiar too.

‘Where have I seen him before?’

Judging by his appearance and the aura he exuded, it was clear he was a professor.

“Yes, Director. He’s the one who cured my stomachaches whenever I went into the operating room. And remember the daughter of the café owner on the first floor? She got great treatment for her early menopause, thanks to this intern diagnosing her condition.”

“Our Dr. Seon is the treasure of the Korean Medicine ward and a highly promising, genius-level intern, Director.”

Jeong Daun and Heo Son-Hwi responded to him enthusiastically.

At the mention of the title “Director,” the man chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.

“Don’t call me Director. Just call me hyung or sunbae. We’re all part of the Han-Rak family, aren’t we?”

Director? Not Professor?

Suddenly, I remembered where I’d seen his face before.

‘The Medical Center Director of Hanbit University…!’

He wasn’t just any professor but ‘Professor Myung Moon-Do’, a renowned neurology professor and the current Director of the Medical Center.

As the Director of the Medical Center, he outranked even the heads of the Korean and Western Medicine hospitals.

In short, he held the highest position in the hospital hierarchy.

I had seen his face numerous times in news interviews or at hospital events.

“Well then… Oh, Drummer Hyung~.”

True to his eccentric nature, Heo Son-Hwi addressed the Medical Center Director as casually as if he were just another bandmate.

While I was the only one startled by this, the others laughed it off as if they were used to it.

“All right, enough chit-chat. Let’s get back to practice. The performance isn’t far off now.”

Director Myung gestured toward me.

“Hey, intern, do you know much about rock music?”

“I know some famous songs.”

“Even if it’s loud, bear with it and listen carefully. If you pay attention, you’ll start to hear harmony amidst the chaos. Once you hear that, you’ll never escape the allure of band music.”

Director Myung grinned confidently.

I went to sit on a chair in the corner, and soon the rehearsal resumed.

“Hey, Gi-Tae, wasn’t the guitar too loud just now?”

“Director, I think the drum beat slowed down a bit at the start of the second verse.”

After each song, the members passionately exchanged unfiltered feedback.

Here, they treated one another as equal members of the band, with no sense of hospital hierarchy.

It felt refreshingly different, and just as I was enjoying the vibe, Yang Gi-Tae struck up a conversation with me.

“Do you know how to play any instruments?”

“No, not really.”

“Then why not try learning the guitar? With your looks, if you could play the guitar, you’d probably be super popular.”

“…?”

“Oh, right. Want to see something cool?”

Suddenly, Yang Gi-Tae grabbed Heo Son-Hwi’s bass guitar and held it.

He pressed the strings with his left hand while strumming with a pick in his right.

A deep, resonant sound flowed from the bass amp.

“Did you know that if you can play the guitar, you can easily play the bass too? On a guitar, you have to press at least three strings at the same time, but with a bass, you only play one string. So, if you’re going to learn, go for the guitar—it’s cooler.”

This prompted jeers from the group.

“Ugh, Gi-Tae, you jerk. Can’t stand your guitar snobbery.”

“Hey! Keyboards are cool too, and so are drums and bass!”

As everyone laughed, I glanced at one person.

“……”

Heo Son-Hwi, usually always grinning, was the only one not laughing.

—

After the practice ended, Heo Son-Hwi and I headed to a café.

At the crosswalk, we ran into Medical Center Director Myung Moon-Do.

“Where are you two off to?”

“Oh, Drummer Hyung! We’re heading to the café to plan out a research paper!”

Out of nowhere, an unexpected comment came from his lips.

“Lucky.”

“Pardon?”

“I mean your parents are lucky. They must be so proud to have raised you to become such respectable Korean Medicine doctors.”

A faintly bitter smile appeared on Director Myung’s face.

“I thought my son would follow in my footsteps and get into a prestigious school like Hanbit University’s medical school.”

Just then, the traffic light turned green.

The Director gave us a small wave before disappearing across the street.

“Alright then, take care.”

We watched his back as he walked away before crossing the street ourselves.

Heo Son-Hwi slowly began to speak.

“You know about the rumors surrounding Director Myung, right?”

“I don’t.”

“Ah… well, I guess interns wouldn’t know. Never mind then.”

“?”

I wondered why he stopped mid-sentence, but I didn’t press him further.

We walked silently until we arrived at the café.

A short while later:

“Alright~. So, let’s divide the tasks like this.”

Heo Son-Hwi set down his pen with a satisfied look.

The paper in front of us was filled with a chaotic plan for writing the research paper.

“I’ll start by getting research approval from the hospital IRB, and then Mr. Sun, you’ll request raw data from the PR team.”

“Got it. After that, I’ll review the data and filter out what’s usable before running it through the statistical program.”

“Wait, do you even know how to use a statistical program? I barely know how to use it.”

“Dr. Shim Ji-Seop said he’d help.”

“Oh~ nice, nice. Perfect!”

With the planning done, Heo Son-Hwi relaxed, leaning back in his chair and draping his arm over the backrest.

“So, Mr. Seon~. What did you think of the band practice?”

“It was fun. I understood what the Director meant.”

“Oh-ho. Did you discover the harmony?”

At my response, Heo Son-Hwi’s eyes lit up as he leaned forward eagerly.

“Once someone experiences the joy of playing in a band, they might take breaks, but they’ll never quit for good.”

“The joy of playing in a band?”

“The thrill of layering sounds in perfect rhythm until everything bursts into harmony! Especially on stage, it’s such a rush. Back when I was an intern, I’d stay up late practicing bass, even falling asleep hugging it.”

The idea of continuing to practice bass despite the exhausting life of an intern revealed Heo Son-Hwi’s passion for music.

“You must really love being in a band.”

“Of course! It’s so much fun. Being in a band is like building a house. The drums are the foundation, and the vocals, guitar, and keyboard decorate the exterior—building the roof, painting the walls beautifully.”

“What about the bass?”

Without thinking, I asked. Heo Son-Hwi scratched his head and pondered the question seriously.

“Hmm… It’s hard to define bass in just one word. It’s like a rhythm instrument, like drums, but also carries melodies. So… maybe it’s like the cement that connects the structure and the exterior materials?”

“I see.”

“I know. Bass isn’t exactly a flashy instrument. But once you fall for it, its charm is incredible. It sets the mood of the song, provides solid rhythm, and harmonizes with melodic instruments.”

“It was my first time listening to a band performance up close, and the deep bass tones were really impressive.”

“Right?!”

At my comment, Heo Son-Hwi’s face lit up with excitement.

Then he said something completely unexpected.

“It’s a silly comparison, but I sometimes think bass is like Korean traditional medicine.”

“Korean medicine?”

“If you think of the band as representing all of medicine. Modern Korean medicine doesn’t have surgical fields anymore, so it lacks the flashy appeal of saving lives in an instant. But it has its own unique role, creating synergy with other departments in Western medicine. You know, something like that.”

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, uncharacteristically shy.

“Ah, forget it. That was embarrassing. Just pretend I never said it.”

“No, it was cool.”

“Really?”

It seems even someone like him has serious thoughts now and then.

Honestly, I liked this side of him better than his usual playful demeanor.

—

After parting ways with my senior, I returned to the apartment complex late at night.

‘Min-hwa might still be waiting for me.’

I had told him to sleep first, but he usually waited up to see me come home.

As I passed the playground and approached my building, something happened.

“?”

Two shadows brushed past me quickly.

It was dark, but they appeared to be a middle-aged man and woman.

Both were frantically looking around as if searching for something.

“Ah! It’s you!”

The man noticed me and exclaimed in surprise.

The streetlamp illuminated his face.

“Director Myung?”

“You live here too?”

The woman beside him, presumably his wife, tugged anxiously at his arm.

“Honey, if you know him, ask him to help us.”

“This is a family matter. We shouldn’t involve others.”

“Do you think this is the time to worry about that?”

What’s going on? Did they lose a pet?

“I’ll help too.”

“Well… We’re looking for a boy. A high school sophomore, about this tall, slim build. He should be wearing a white T-shirt and black track pants. His name is Myung Kyu-Beom.”

“He left without saying anything and suddenly disappeared. His phone is still in his room. I’m sorry to ask this when we’ve just met, but could you please help us?”

“If you find him, call this number.”

After exchanging phone numbers with the director, the three of us split up to search.

Though I joined the search, I couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled.

“Is it really that shocking for a high school sophomore to disappear? It’s not like he’s a first grader.”

Perhaps he had just gone to the convenience store nearby.

Still, I figured there must be a reason for their reaction, so I silently searched the apartment complex.

“Hmm.”

The problem was, this place was massive.

Wandering aimlessly wouldn’t get me anywhere.

“This isn’t working.”

If I were a high school sophomore suddenly leaving home, where would I go?

Somewhere to sit, take a breather, and clear my head, perhaps?

At this hour, the shops and community center in the complex were all closed.

“Then maybe someplace where he could sit for a while…”

My eyes drifted toward a particular spot.

And not long after—

“I knew it.”

I spotted the back of a boy sitting on a swing at the playground.

As he weakly kicked the ground, the swing chains creaked mournfully.

I approached him slowly.

“Are you Myung Kyu-Beom?”

The boy turned his head toward me.

But his next action left me utterly shocked.

“!”

In that moment, I understood why his parents were so desperately searching for him.