The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

“Lower… what?”

“The lower esophageal sphincter. It’s a muscle that blocks the area between the esophagus and stomach. Gastroesophageal reflux disease usually occurs when this muscle weakens or malfunctions.”

I pulled up an anatomical diagram on the computer and began my explanation.

Starting with the cause of gastroesophageal reflux disease.

“Ah, I think I’ve heard of that.”

“Since there’s no way to directly treat this muscle, standard Western medical treatment typically suppresses stomach acid production to minimize the substances that come up from the stomach. Acupuncture treatment can’t directly needle the lower esophageal sphincter… but it can indirectly aid recovery by redirecting the flow.”

All the way to treatment methods.

Song Won-jong nodded as if he understood.

“So is this different from the acupuncture treatments I’ve had so far?”

“You’ll need to come much more frequently. Until now, the goal was to prevent things from getting worse, but now let’s finish this cleanly with consecutive treatments.”

To be honest, it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t fully understand.

The acupuncture method itself won’t be that different from what we’ve done so far.

It’ll mostly be basic digestive treatment with a bit of energy manipulation.

But there is a need to refocus and increase the frequency of treatments.

Up until now, Song Won-jong had all but given up on his symptoms.

He essentially had no will to treat himself.

He was in agonizing pain but had to work, so he just came up sporadically to alleviate it a little.

Even I couldn’t guarantee that I could fundamentally solve his problem.

I had hinted that I might bid on the building, but that alone wasn’t enough for him to feel at ease.

“Yes! I’ll come up every day whenever I can find time. Please take good care of me until I’m completely cured.”

“I’ll make sure you can eat comfortably without any worries soon. Let’s go to the treatment room.”

“Okay!”

But now he felt assured that he would keep his assets.

Hoping that he would find the motivation to heal his body and live diligently again, I began inserting the needles.

◆◇◆◇◆

Tok. Tok. Tok. Tok.

Needles were inserted along the center line of his body, in his chest and abdomen.

Song Won-jong quietly received the acupuncture, breathing as the clinic director had first instructed him.

Was acupuncture always this refreshing? He felt he’d received treatment at this clinic at least ten times, but today especially, each needle seemed to extinguish the heat in his chest.

Shhh.

As the tension released, Song Won-jong closed his eyes.

“Finally, I’m opening my own restaurant!”

When he discovered this restaurant space was for sale, he thought it was destiny.

A commercial space perfectly matching his funds. Surprisingly cheap monthly rent.

Since it was previously a restaurant, there was no need to spend money on interior design, and because the previous owner had to leave for abroad urgently, there was no key money.

His parents had urged him to pay key money and enter a better location, but had they ever contributed even 1 million won, or even his cooking school tuition?

In a restaurant, taste is what matters.

Even if the location wasn’t perfect, he could dominate the neighborhood with his skills.

“Business isn’t as good as I thought…”

Of course, it wasn’t easy.

The rent was ridiculously cheap, and he worked 12 hours a day himself to minimize labor costs, so he wasn’t losing money, but customers weren’t flocking in as he had expected.

He didn’t think there was a problem with the location, as his parents had suggested.

The bakery on the first floor sold out of its main items every morning, and in the evenings, the road in front of the building was packed with parents coming to pick up their children from the academy on the third floor.

And the Korean medicine clinic on the fourth floor… he’d even seen people lining up on the stairs down to the first floor because there was no room in the waiting area.

“Location is just an excuse! Let’s improve our skills!”

Although his heart sank every time he saw the empty restaurant, he still tried to stay motivated.

He visited nearby popular restaurants to find things to learn and tried SNS marketing.

He rejoiced when the number of customers increased slightly and felt depressed when it decreased.

As he was living the ordinary life of a self-employed person…

“The building where you’re doing business is going up for auction?”

The despair he felt when he first heard that news.

“See, I told you something was off! The rent was too cheap!”

It was painful. It was agonizing.

He couldn’t hear the words of his worried family members at all.

50 million won. What kind of money was that 50 million won?

It was money he had barely managed to save while working at other people’s restaurants for years.

It was Song Won-jong’s long-cherished dream.

“Urgh!”

The thought of money made him nauseous.

Thinking that all that time, all those days he had lived looking only towards his dream would turn to bubbles, he couldn’t swallow his food.

What’s the point of eating anyway?

Song Won-jong had this thought for the first time in his life.

Eating had been his joy, and he had believed that bringing happiness to people through cooking was his life’s mission.

At some point, even the smell of food made him feel like throwing up.

Why did he like cooking, why did he get so excited about running a restaurant, only to end up in this terrible situation?

[Sir, you’ll return the deposit, right?]

[Building owner? Please contact me. Any time is fine.]

[What on earth does this mean? An auction?]

The building owner in his early 30s, the same age as Song Won-jong.

The man who had said he hoped the business would succeed, that he’d like Song Won-jong to stay in his building for 10 or 20 years.

When they signed the contract, Song Won-jong had secretly envied him. It seemed cool how he could speak so generously.

He had even dreamed that if his business really succeeded, he might be able to buy a building himself in 20 years.

That man had completely cut off contact.

All that was left for Song Won-jong was despair.

“Uweh, uweeeeh!”

The only person who reached out a hand to him in this state was…

“Are you okay? Why don’t you come up to the clinic for a moment and get some acupuncture? How can you work if you keep throwing up like this?”

The director of the Korean medicine clinic on the fourth floor.

“Ah… thank you.”

What difference would acupuncture make when he was about to lose 50 million won?

Even while thinking this, Song Won-jong couldn’t refuse the kindness.

“Kkuk. Kkeuk.”

And contrary to expectations.

Something changed.

The repeated vomiting stopped.

“Huh?”

He definitely felt like he could live.

After receiving treatment, food smells no longer felt nauseating.

“Cough, cough!”

So, rather, because of this, Song Won-jong reduced his visits to the upper floor.

Was it because he didn’t think about money when he was in excruciating pain?

Because he deserved punishment for making such a stupid mistake?

Even while knowing both were nonsensical.

He chose the pain that felt like he was burning up.

He spent days and weeks sleepless.

No position was comfortable to lie in.

Every food he ate made him retch.

“Failed to sell…”

Each time it failed to sell at the first and second auctions, Song Won-jong was stunned.

“Haha, ha. Is the Nakdong River water warm?”

He didn’t even want to check the third time.

“Song Won-jong-nim! Our director won the auction for the building! You don’t have to worry about anything now!”

It was miraculous news that came at that moment.

The director of the fourth-floor Korean medicine clinic really bought the building?

“If you’re going to move out, I’ll make up any shortfall in your deposit!”

Resolving all the money he thought he had lost.

“I’ll cure you completely with acupuncture treatment! Let’s finish this cleanly!”

Saying she would even calm this burning heat in his chest.

“Thank… thank you.”

The young man who had been ready to give up everything in an instant saw hope.

Tok. Tok. Tok. Tok.

The raging fire in his chest that seemed ready to burn his entire body slowly subsided.

A cool energy enveloped Song Won-jong’s body, circulating from head to toe.

The body that had been painful in any position was gone now.

Song Won-jong fell asleep more comfortably than ever before.

“I’m taking out the needles~”

The moment he got up after finishing the treatment, the pain that had been surging up from his solar plexus disappeared as if washed away.

The time of hardship that had seemed eternal had come to an end.

“Thank you, Director. I don’t know how to repay this kindness.”

“Oh my, that’s too much. I’m just doing what I need to do. Both as a Korean medicine doctor and as the new building owner.”

As the director suggested, Song Won-jong repeated acupuncture treatments daily.

He had heard that gastroesophageal reflux disease was quite difficult to cure.

Whether it was due to the director’s excellent skills or because he had changed his mindset, he received a declaration of complete recovery in less than ten treatments.

“Is it really okay for you to move out right away?”

They agreed that he would vacate the space as soon as the balance was paid and receive his full deposit back.

The director seemed to feel a bit sorry about making him leave, but Song Won-jong felt only relief.

Thanks to the director, his body had fully recovered. She had healed his mind just as much.

Now he just needed to build up his skills more.

“Of course. I continuously felt my inadequacies while working and going through this incident.”

The bakery, the academy, and the Korean medicine clinic were all calm, but only he had trembled in anxiety.

Was it because the money tied up in the deposit was all he had, and he lacked confidence in his skills?

“That’s not true.”

“Pardon?”

“There was nothing lacking in you, Song Won-jong-nim. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Ah…”

“You just had bad luck.”

“……”

The director of Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic washed away even Song Won-jong’s last bit of self-blame.

“Rest well, prepare thoroughly, and start anew. Next time, you’ll definitely succeed. Your dakgalbi is delicious, after all.”

“Uh, huh…”

“It’s a shame I won’t be able to eat it as often as before. Please let me know when you open your new place, okay?”

“Yes! And if I ever get sick again, I’ll definitely come here!”

“Haha, you shouldn’t have any reason to come to a hospital.”

Soon after, Song Won-jong completed his move-out.

The new building owner transferred the remaining deposit without delay.

It was impressive.

The crisis that had dragged him to hell posed no threat to this person at all.

Rather, she turned it into an opportunity to invest hundreds of millions of won.

‘Can I become like that too?’

Looking at his bank account now containing intact money.

Eating food that goes down comfortably.

Falling asleep easily no matter what position he lies in.

Song Won-jong found himself thinking of the new role model that had taken root in his heart.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Ah, it’s sad to see Song Won-jong-nim actually leaving.”

The staff expressed their regret at the departure of someone whose face had become familiar over the past few months.

“When you open your business again, let’s go there for a staff dinner.”

Song Won-jong moved all his belongings out on the originally set date.

Of course, I immediately transferred the amount short after he received his dividend from the building’s balance payment.

The bakery on the first floor was very pleased when I expressed my intention to renew their contract later, and the academy agreed to move out after slowly deciding on a new location. I was in no rush to use the third floor either, so I was fine with adjusting the timing.

“Yeowon, so are you going to use the second floor as a decoction room now?”

I nodded.

The purpose of the second floor had been decided from the beginning.

Until now, I had done all the decoctions directly within the clinic, and the directors of the second and third branches had been using external decoction rooms.

The plan was to set up a ‘Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic Affiliated External Decoction Room’ on the second floor and manage all the prescriptions from other branches myself.

“Yeah. I’m going to move the decoction room downstairs and add more treatment beds there.”

“Oh, weren’t you going to add a new consultation room? Didn’t you want to hire one more person?”

“That’s for when the academy on the third floor moves out and we renovate.”

“You’re going to make consultation rooms on the third floor? If you’re going to use a whole floor, wouldn’t it be better to set up inpatient rooms?”

The remaining issue was how to use the space left after moving the decoction room and the rest of the space on the third floor.

Of course, I had a rough idea in mind even before bidding.

And it’s not inpatient rooms.