The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

An Ju-hee.

She was a maverick, often considered peculiar even among herbal pharmacists.

When she entered the herbal pharmacy program, she thought she’d be surrounded by others who loved herbal medicine as much as she did.

Instead, most students didn’t even know what a herbal pharmacist was and had just matched their grades, with a few whose families were pharmacists or Korean medicine doctors mixed in.

But An Ju-hee genuinely loved medicinal herbs since childhood.

Her first life memory was the scent of ginseng her father had acquired from somewhere.

At the time, An Ju-hee was so fascinated by ginseng that she ate all the roots he brought home and threw a tantrum for more.

Her mother tried to slip her some codonopsis, but the 4-year-old child threw a fit, insisting it was completely different.

“Ho ho, you shouldn’t eat so much ginseng.”

Worried there might be a health issue causing her to like ginseng so much, her parents took her to a Korean medicine clinic.

The doctor who checked her pulse said there wasn’t anything particularly wrong and handed her a few pieces of licorice.

“Wow!”

It was delicious. It was fascinating.

The sweet scent of licorice was as beautiful as ginseng.

Because she had been obsessed with medicinal herbs throughout her student years, An Ju-hee found the herbal pharmacy program courses incredibly interesting.

Pharmacology, prescriptionology, molecular biology.

She loved all perspectives on herbal medicine.

So she went on to complete her master’s and doctoral degrees.

The common type of research on which herbal medicines are effective for certain diseases slightly missed her interests.

An Ju-hee repeatedly conducted unprofitable research in her own way, such as literature studies tracing the origin plants of medicinal herbs (the original plants used as medicinal herbs and those with the same components and medicinal effects), or how certain characteristics strengthen or weaken effects, and so on.

But eventually, she had to graduate.

After submitting resumes here and there, she ended up getting a job at a Korean medicine pharmacy.

At her first job, the herbal pharmacist did everything from patient consultations to prescriptions and preparations.

Although she had learned a bit of Korean medicine diagnostics at school, to actually write prescriptions herself?

“Is it okay for us to do consultations?”

“It’s a gray area, but it’s not illegal. We have no choice. That’s how the system is set up.”

The herbal pharmacist system was originally created with the premise of separating herbal medicine prescribing and dispensing.

But unlike Western medicine, the Korean medicine field never fully separated consultations and medicines.

Korean medicine clinics also did preparation, and Korean medicine pharmacies also did consultations.

“Hmm.”

It felt dubious.

While she was confident she knew herbal medicines themselves better than anyone, she was lacking in many aspects of disease diagnosis.

Eventually, not long after, An Ju-hee decided to change jobs.

The salary was a bit lower, but it was a position solely responsible for preparation at a Korean medicine clinic.

“Why did you order Angelica from such an expensive place? It’s cheaper at E-Herb!”

“But the scent of this Angelica is too weak.”

“…Scent?”

“Yes. When the scent is like this, the tissue isn’t firm enough.”

“As long as the weight is right, what does that matter? Order from the cheaper place!”

“But if it’s this bland, there’s no point in adding Angelica to the prescription.”

“Just do as you’re told!”

She had no authority here at all.

The head director was obsessed with minimizing ingredient costs, insisting on using only the cheapest herbs.

She changed jobs again.

This resignation wasn’t voluntary.

Sometime later, she took a short-term part-time job at a pharmacy.

“Give me one painkiller, please.”

“Okay. That’ll be 3,000 won.”

Here, she couldn’t even see herbal medicines at all.

Where should I go?

Would a Korean medicine hospital be better?

I heard they often only manage herbs or handle decoction, but there were no openings.

Go back to school?

An Ju-hee’s research was outside the academic mainstream, and given her temperament, she didn’t think she could become a professor.

Get a job at a pharmaceutical company?

Wouldn’t that have even less freedom than a regular pharmacy or Korean medicine clinic?

There were quite a few places where she could work with a herbal pharmacist license.

But nowhere had what she wanted.

All she wanted was to prepare the herbs she loved in their best form, so why was there no place where she could do that?

For several years after graduation, An Ju-hee drifted aimlessly between various workplaces.

Working, getting fired.

Working again, blowing up in anger.

Sometimes quitting on her own.

She had been working at this current job for just over three months.

“You’re saying this Astragalus is top grade?”

“Yes. I was told it’s 5-year-old roots.”

“The scent doesn’t seem like 5-year roots. It tastes different when decocted too.”

“…Does 1-year and 5-year root taste different?”

“Of course. The taste is different, and the effect is different. Why else would we pay more for 5-year roots?”

She had another minor conflict with her employer.

“Well… I’m not sure. Just leave it be.”

“No, we paid a lot of money to order this specifically, but it might not be premium grade!”

“You said everything else except the Astragalus is fine. Let it go. We’re just paying for this company’s marketing and premium grade label anyway. There might be mistakes sometimes.”

“That’s unacceptable. I’ll go and confront them myself!”

An Ju-hee felt like she was going crazy with frustration.

Her employer told her to let it go, but she had to confirm right away if this Astragalus was really 5-year root.

So she came directly to the Korean branch of the Chinese company handling exports.

But it was no use.

They advertised that they manage everything as premium grade, but they wouldn’t even show her the warehouse.

“Is it so hard to show me the Astragalus before it’s sliced?!”

Seeing someone who seemed to be in a high position passing by, An Ju-hee raised her voice even louder.

If it’s coming in already sliced from China, at least show her that!

Having come this far, she had to confirm out of sheer stubbornness.

“……”

However, no matter how much she protested, the middle-aged man who looked like a high-ranking person paid no attention.

The only person who showed interest in An Ju-hee was the youngest-looking woman in the group.

Even so, she’d probably just glance over and leave…

“Excuse me, are you a herbal pharmacist? May I ask your name?”

But the woman broke away from her group and rushed over to An Ju-hee.

“Isn’t it polite to introduce yourself first before asking someone else’s name?”

An Ju-hee responded curtly.

She wasn’t in a good mood.

She had been shouting at the top of her lungs for a manager to come out and to let her see the warehouse, only to be refused, while the other side was getting a tour from high-ranking people.

“Ah, I’m sorry! I’m Han Yeowon, director of Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic!”

So she was a Korean medicine doctor.

The woman who introduced herself as Han Yeowon didn’t seem offended by An Ju-hee’s attitude at all, smiling brightly as she handed over her business card.

With such an approach, An Ju-hee had no choice but to reveal her name.

“I’m An Ju-hee, and yes, I’m a herbal pharmacist. I work at Choegohan Pharmacy, for now.”

“‘For now’?”

“Yes.”

There was no need to explain her life story in detail to an unknown Korean medicine doctor.

An Ju-hee closed her mouth.

“Could you spare me a little time? I have something I really want to talk to you about!”

Regardless. This woman didn’t seem to care at all how An Ju-hee responded.

Han Yeowon held An Ju-hee’s hands tightly as she spoke.

…Her eyes are sparkling?

It was very, extremely burdensome.

‘What does she know about me?’

An Ju-hee unconsciously took a step back.

Han Yeowon then took two steps forward, urging her to give her contact information.

Although she was wary, somehow it felt like looking in a mirror at herself when examining herbal medicines.

“Alright.”

An Ju-hee nodded without knowing what this was about.

◆◇◆◇◆

I excused myself to Park Seon-yun and the branch manager, and brought An Ju-hee to the warehouse.

The employee who had been blocking An Ju-hee’s protests looked somewhat perplexed, but after hearing her story, the branch manager gladly allowed her to check the inventory.

“It’s definitely 5-year root, right?”

The branch manager grinned, looking at me and Park Seon-yun rather than An Ju-hee.

It didn’t seem like he had hurriedly memorized content to guide Park Seon-yun’s visit, but it was surprising that someone of branch manager level was fully aware of inventory storage methods and conditions.

This was certainly impressive.

“…It is 5-year root. If you had shown me like this from the start, why did you say you couldn’t?”

An Ju-hee clicked her tongue even after confirming the thickness of the Astragalus.

I too had confirmed they were using 5-year Astragalus roots when passing through the storage area earlier.

I clearly remembered excluding it from the list of herbs to purchase because despite being 5-year roots, the energy they contained was minimal.

“You’ve confirmed it, right? Please leave now!”

It was the employee who had been blocking An Ju-hee outside.

It seemed that while the branch manager knew about the sliced state, this employee had blocked her without knowing and just following orders.

“…Alright.”

An Ju-hee left without a word.

There was nothing more to say since there was no problem according to the standard method of verifying the age of the roots.

I approached her and whispered quietly.

At a volume the branch manager and employee couldn’t hear.

“It’s 5-year root but worse than 1-year, right? I think it’s a bit strange too. Maybe there was a problem at the farm in the year they were grown? Climate or soil.”

An Ju-hee turned to look at me with a skeptical expression.

“But the rest of the herbs are good, so I’m thinking of contracting for some items. The Angelica, Liriope, and Poria are definitely top quality. On average, they’re all excellent.”

As soon as she heard this, An Ju-hee’s eyes lit up.

“You could tell that?”

Only then did An Ju-hee seem to take an interest in me.

“Let’s talk more in detail next time. I’ll contact you.”

“Okay. You said Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic, right? I’ll go there, so contact me as soon as possible.”

An Ju-hee left without even saying goodbye to the employee or branch manager.

The employee gritted his teeth, saying he’d complain to Choegohan Pharmacy… but getting fired might actually be better for her.

“Thank you for guiding us and granting our request. Now, let’s discuss the contract.”

I went into the building with Park Seon-yun and finalized the contract terms.

For now, we decided to purchase only a few items that were definitely top quality, and I also received a unit price list for additional herb purchases.

I discreetly mentioned the quality issue of the Astragalus to the branch manager.

“Branch Manager, the age of the Astragalus roots is correct, but it might be good to do a component analysis.”

Unlike the employee who had yelled at An Ju-hee earlier, Branch Manager Liu Wei simply nodded, saying he would check.

The price was better than the pharmaceutical company we had been dealing with, and Park Seon-yun reviewed the contract beside me, guaranteeing that the conditions matched those of his company.

I stamped the seal without hesitation.

“Thank you so much for taking the time today.”

“Haha, it’s nothing. I enjoyed going around together. I learned so much from Branch Manager Liu Wei and you, Director.”

I expressed my gratitude to Park Seon-yun once again.

Thanks to him, I not only contracted for good herbs at an excellent price, but also discovered a talent I had been desperately searching for.

“That herbal pharmacist from earlier, are you thinking of scouting her?”

“Yes.”

“…You must have really liked her? I’m a bit envious.”

“Ahaha, you’re joking.”

“Ahem, well, I’m glad I could be of help.”

You were incredibly helpful.

“If you ever need my help with anything, please let me know anytime!”

Delighted to have met An Ju-hee, I made a grand promise to Park Seon-yun.

◆◇◆◇◆

A few days later, An Ju-hee and I met in my consultation room.

Since my purpose was to recruit her, I had wanted to show my sincerity by going to her residence myself, but she insisted it would be more convenient to come for an interview at my workplace.

‘Is she eager to change jobs?’

Her answer that she was working at Choegohan Pharmacy “for now” did seem to indicate a desire to leave her current job.

An Ju-hee might also want to see the workplace, so I accepted her suggestion.

‘How did she distinguish the quality of the Astragalus? Does she know enough about other herbs as well?’

The feeling was certain. I generally trust my intuition.

But a verification process to confirm her abilities before hiring is necessary.

I was also curious about what she saw, since she couldn’t possibly sense qi like I can.

I wanted to ask why she wants to quit her previous job too.

So I can match the conditions she wants.

Her attitude is a bit, just a ti-iny bit off-putting, but a herbal pharmacist working in an external decoction room won’t have to see patients directly anyway.

That shouldn’t matter, right?

“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Han Yeowon, director of Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic. I asked to meet you because I have a few things I absolutely want to ask.”

I began the interview, sitting across from An Ju-hee.

“Ah, yes. I’m An Ju-hee. I don’t have an affiliation now.”

“…Did you quit and come?”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t quit because of you. …I told them it was 5-year root, and my employer got angry, asking why I was making trouble where there was none. I got fired.”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It happens often, so don’t worry about it.”

The fact that she was sitting with her arms crossed during the interview even after saying she was fired suggested this really wasn’t a rare occurrence.

Her personality is even more intense than I thought?

“I see. Then let me ask you some questions right away. How did you distinguish the quality of the Astragalus last time?”

“You can tell right away from the scent. Why don’t you know that?”

“The scent?”

“The taste is milder too. And when you eat it, the feeling of it spreading inside is different, you know?”

“Ah…”

“Don’t you know that too?”

R-really?

I don’t have the special ability to distinguish quality by scent.

Are you saying you can sense with your five senses what I perceive through qi?

“Excuse me, but could we do a little test?”

I swallowed hard.

I needed to confirm if she could definitely distinguish the quality of other herbs as well.