Chapter 19: TPMR

Chapter 19

Monday, 6:50 a.m.

Just which lunatic decided that this should be the opening hour?

Silently cursing some unknown person, I dragged myself to work before dawn.

Having lived as a model citizen in the Murim world, waking up early had never been a problem for me.

But there was a world of difference between getting up early for morning exercise, breakfast, and hobbies... and getting up early enough to prepare for a 7 a.m. workday.

Huh? There are patients already?

Not just one or two—four of them!

The moment I unlocked the clinic doors, my complaints vanished.

Normally, the staff member should've been the one greeting me with sleepy eyes. Instead, four patients had somehow arrived before the director himself and were waiting for the clinic to open.

Ever since business had picked up a little, the occasional elderly woman with no need for sleep would appear early in the morning, but...

Never this many.

"Good morning!"

I greeted them with a bright smile.

"Director, thank you so much!"

The two elderly women merely nodded from the sofa, but Kang Cheol-gyu shot to his feet and bowed deeply.

"Ah, honey!"

Yoo Min-ha tugged at his sleeve, quickly ending the scene, but it was enough to tell me everything I needed to know about her treatment results.

"Ms. Heo Soon-nam, Ms. Jeon Young-i, we'll head straight to the treatment room. Ms. Yoo Min-ha, let's have a consultation first."

As soon as the clock struck seven, my employee led the couple into the examination room.

"Good morning. Judging by the fact that you're here today, I assume your period started?"

I asked with a grin.

The expressions on both their faces had already given me the answer.

"Yes. It started last night."

Yoo Min-ha nodded.

"It was amazing. Honestly. This is the first time I've ever talked about getting my period so happily."

Based on the medical history she'd told me during her first visit, I could only imagine the stress she'd endured over the past twenty years.

Seeing the relief on her face made me happy too.

"So the medicine worked."

"Yes. Usually, I start suffering before the bleeding even begins, and on the first day I can't do anything at all. But last night? I felt completely fine."

"How about now?"

"Just a little sore."

"Let's put it on a scale. If your original pain was a ten, what would it be now?"

"One... no, maybe two. Around two."

She gently touched her abdomen as if trying to measure the discomfort herself.

"Did you take any painkillers?"

"No. I wanted an accurate diagnosis, so I didn't take any. Ah, though my husband insisted I use a hot pack as a precaution, so I did that last night."

I extended my hand to check her pulse, then paused.

Of course, whether she'd used a hot pack or not had nothing to do with my diagnosis.

"That's fine. You did the right thing."

I took her wrist and examined her pulse for a moment.

"Everything has stabilized nicely. The stagnation is almost completely gone, and your pulse has returned to normal."

She had improved tremendously.

The cold energy I'd found inside her before—something that shouldn't have existed after consuming the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng—had been reduced by more than half.

"As I said before, another month or two of treatment should be enough. If you feel uncomfortable, you can come straight to the clinic like today, or take painkillers if necessary."

"Yes!"

"We'll do that!"

Yoo Min-ha and Kang Cheol-gyu answered simultaneously.

The hostility they'd shown during their first visit was nowhere to be seen.

Like her husband, Min-ha's eyes now sparkled with life.

"Then..."

I was about to wrap up the consultation and send her to the treatment room.

If the results had been poor, I would've needed a long explanation. But in this case, all I had to do was continue the same prescription.

There wasn't much left to say.

"Um, Director."

Min-ha hesitated and called out to me.

"Was there some kind of problem?"

"No! Not at all!"

She shook her head vigorously.

Then she hesitated once more.

"I just... wanted to thank you. I hoped I'd improve a little, but I never imagined I'd recover this completely."

After struggling to find the words, she finally voiced her gratitude.

A faint shimmer of tears appeared in her eyes.

"Other than my husband, nobody believed me. My father would yell at me to tough it out. Doctors just stared at me with dead eyes and prescribed the same painkillers over and over. None of my friends had problems like mine, so..."

Her voice trembled.

"It was painful. And lonely."

When she spoke about work, she sounded close to tears.

Yet she never actually cried.

Instead, she grasped the hand Kang Cheol-gyu placed on her shoulder and smiled brightly.

"You've been through a lot."

"Yes. But now I feel like I can do anything. I can get a job, raise my child well..."

"You don't need to worry anymore."

Kang Cheol-gyu looked ready to stand and bow again, but I grabbed his arm and stopped him.

I wasn't his master.

Three formal bows would be a little excessive.

Still...

They really were a lovely couple.

Knowing I'd played even a small part in making their lives happier filled me with pride.

This is why I became a Korean medicine doctor.

After finishing Min-ha's consultation, I headed to the treatment room.

Like the couple, the elderly women had arrived early and were waiting patiently.

As I inserted acupuncture needles into their backs, we chatted.

"How's your back feeling?"

"Oh, much better after the acupuncture. It usually takes me two rest stops to get here, but today I only needed one."

"That's great."

"But maybe because I've started hiking again after all these years, my legs keep cramping."

"I'll treat your legs too."

Sigh. That tiny uphill slope really is a massive drawback.

Internally, I shed tears while maintaining a cheerful smile.

Still, patients were slowly—very, very slowly—increasing.

A few had transferred over from the neighborhood clinic where my first patient, Lee Jin-i, used to go.

Maybe today we'll finally hit ten patients?

Four patients had already come in first thing in the morning.

Maybe today would be the day.

Filled with a little hope, I went through my usual routine.

One patient at a time.

One every hour.

Slow and steady.

"Kim Yi-jin."

"Okay, I'll check you in."

Ten!

Exactly ten patients.

One hour before closing time, Kim Yi-jin walked through the door, allowing the clinic to reach double digits for the first time.

The moment her physical therapy ended, I hurried over.

"You're a bit later than usual today. Practice go well?"

"Yes. We won our scrimmage again."

A faint blush appeared on her face.

"How's the knee?"

"Fine. Doesn't hurt at all."

At this point, she was essentially healed.

Coming in for maintenance visits had to be a hassle, yet she never missed a single appointment.

"Every time I come here, I feel more energetic."

"Come by whenever you'd like."

By now, she'd grown completely accustomed to acupuncture and simply relaxed, enjoying the flow of energy entering her body.

"Oh, Director."

"Hm?"

"There's actually something I've been really curious about."

That was unusual.

Normally, she'd simply stare at my face while receiving treatment and then leave.

Today, she had a question.

"Go ahead."

"I saw the nurse from your clinic refilling drink vending machines at our school. Was it really her? Or does she have a twin sister or someone who looks exactly like her?"

"...What?"

And it wasn't even a question about her illness.

"Sometimes I see her late when practice runs long, so I thought she came after work. But I saw her again during lunch today."

What on earth was she talking about?

My employee was refilling vending machines?

At a school?

"Is that so? I honestly don't know. I'll ask her."

That was all I could say.

Because I genuinely had no idea.

Our clinic's only employee...

Had indeed disappeared during lunch today.

Actually, not just today.

Once or twice a week, she would leave during lunch and ask to receive her meal allowance separately.

I never thought much of it.

Lunch break was free time.

Maybe she just liked eating alone.

But vending machines?

"In-ae, Yi-jin said she saw you today—"

Curious, I stepped into the reception area.

"Ah! Y-yes, Director. Did you need me for something?"

Seo In-ae hurriedly clicked her mouse, trying to close whatever was on her screen.

"Hm? What were you doing?"

But in her panic, she fumbled.

And I caught a glimpse of an online store management page.

"U-uaaahhh!"

Why was she screaming?

Anyone would think she'd seen a monster.

I wasn't even planning to interrogate her.

Even though business had improved recently, we'd only seen ten patients today.

On average, we still only saw five or six a day.

Checking patients in, telling them to change clothes, assigning physical therapy, handling payments...

Even including cleaning, laundry, and watering the plants, her actual workload only amounted to one or two hours a day.

In a situation like this, demanding that she sit at the desk and stare blankly into space for the remaining hours would be torture.

At least I could cultivate my qi.

Most modern people would consider life without the internet a living hell.

"Why are you hiding it? It's fine. It's not like you're doing it in front of patients."

I genuinely didn't mind.

Today she'd simply been startled by my sudden appearance.

Up until now, she'd never neglected her duties even once.

I'd often seen her typing away at something whenever things were quiet, but the moment a patient arrived, she'd switch into professional mode without fail.

So I'd never bothered mentioning it.

"I'm sorry, Director. This was my mistake. It won't happen again during work hours."

Even so, Seo In-ae practically prostrated herself in apology.

Her apologies were impressively clean and efficient.

I shrugged.

"I was just curious. Yi-jin mentioned seeing you at her school today..."

"Pfft—kek! Cough! Cough!"

She wasn't even drinking water, but somehow managed to choke on her own saliva.

What was she so nervous about?

I hadn't released any killing intent like I'd done with Jo Ha-neul.

I'd been nothing but a gentle employer this entire time.

I honestly wasn't trying to scold her.

A coworker was spending her lunch breaks refilling vending machines at a nearby school.

How was I not supposed to ask about that?

"Come on, I'm not a bad person."

"W-well, that's..."

Yet every word I spoke made her shoulders twitch.

Come to think of it...

Maybe my tone had sounded a little too much like a Murim master interrogating a spy connected to the Demonic Cult.

"Is it a secret?"

"U-um, Director, just a moment. This is..."

Nope.

Time for a strategic retreat.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Relax. Really."

I backed off immediately.

The last thing I needed was to push her too hard and have her hand in a resignation letter.

Finding a nursing assistant willing to work at a clinic that opened at 7 a.m. wasn't exactly easy.

"Whew... Thank you for letting it go, Director. I'll work even harder from now on."

"You're already doing a great job."

The moment I stepped back, relief flooded her face.

As always, she gave the perfect model answer in her usual flat tone.

Of course...

That didn't make me any less curious.

"By the way, we've never had a staff dinner since opening the clinic, right? When would be a good time?"

Not because I wanted to interrogate her.

Absolutely not.

I just wanted us to get to know each other better.

After all...

So far, all we'd ever done was work together.