A competent doctor can cure everything

“Ah… I guess you didn’t know from your expression,” Lee Hyun-Seung said, glancing at me as he trailed off.

“Yes, so please tell me.”

“Hmm. Is it okay to say this? The patient, she was in a car accident.”

Leaning slightly over the table, the fellow whispered in a low voice, “She was hit by her guardian’s car.”

“Excuse me? Her guardian is….”

“Yeah, that loud-voiced father of hers.”

“……!”

What?

The perpetrator of the accident was her biological father?

I stared at Lee Hyun-Seung with my mouth agape, stunned.

At that moment, all the strange details I had noticed before started to come back to me.

So that’s why the patient reacted that way….

After pressing my temples for a moment, I finally spoke up.

“The chart only mentioned it was a car accident.”

“That’s not like a police report. The chart is based on the patient’s statement. If they just say it was a car accident, you wouldn’t know.”

“But how did you know, professor?”

“Well, this is something that some in Western medicine might know. Apparently, the patient mentioned it while under sedation.”

“…….”

Earlier, in front of me and her guardian, she claimed not to remember anything and said she was fine.

I’ll have to revisit this conversation when I have the chance.

As I kept my mouth shut, Lee Hyun-Seung waved his hand dismissively.

“Hey, why so serious? Just mention it casually to the attending physician and forget about it. The attending physician will take care of it.”

Hearing that advice, I realized there was something I hadn’t mentioned.

“Ah. I’m the attending physician.”

This time, Lee Hyun-Seung made a face similar to mine a moment ago.

“Hmm? You’re still an intern, right? Do interns serve as attending physicians in the Oriental medicine ward?”

“Not normally, but it just turned out that way.”

As I fumbled through my explanation, a look of admiration spread across the fellow’s face.

“Wow, an intern is already serving as an attending physician. Is that talent? You’ve been impressive since May,” he remarked.

“…….”

Talent… what?

This professor really has an exceptional vocabulary since the first time I met him.

As I stared at her face, Lee Hyun-Seung pouted defensively.

“What? What’s up?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. It just reminded me of that night when I almost got ‘messed up’ after visiting your office while on call.”

“Ha, right. That feels like ages ago.”

I reflected her expression back to her.

She laughed as she recalled that moment and then suddenly clapped her hands, as if realizing something.

“Ah! Speaking of which, I forgot that I promised to treat you to a meal last time.”

Hmm, did she?

I vaguely remembered something about it while eating a sandwich.

“Well, it’s okay.”

“No, really, I’ll make time for it soon.”

Sure, sure. I nodded casually and took a sip of my coffee.

I’m well aware that “let’s grab a meal” is a typical polite expression among Koreans.

As I raised my arm to drink the coffee, the flower in my coat pocket peeked out again.

“By the way, what’s the name of that flower?”

“I think I heard it’s called ‘gerbera’ earlier.”

“Really? Hold on.”

Lee Hyun-Seung pulled out his phone and searched for something, then exclaimed in surprise.

“Oh wow. You’re warm-hearted to your patients, despite how you look, huh?”

“Excuse me?”

“The meaning of the pink gerbera is ‘gratitude.’ You must be a good attending physician.”

“……!”

I glanced down at the Americano in my hand for a moment.

“Well, it’s probably just a coincidence.”

“Not a chance. Women pay attention to flower meanings when they give gifts. Plus, she’s a florist. She must have chosen it on purpose.”

“A good attending physician,” huh?

Gratitude is nice, but more than anything, the treatment needs to go well.

Suddenly, the flower in my pocket felt heavy.

“……”

I tilted my cup and crunched an ice cube.

With a slightly complicated feeling, I returned to the intern training room on the fifth floor.

The other interns were sprawled around the room.

Min-hwa waved at me from a corner where he was knitting.

He had recently taken up the hobby of making scrubbing pads.

With his pot lid-like hands holding a crochet hook, he looked like he was wielding a toothpick.

After waving back at Min-hwa, I placed the gerbera that Jin-ah gave me into my locker.

‘I should put this in my room later.’

Then I sat down in front of the computer and typed “Osartjeong” into the search bar.

As I hit the search button, a flurry of news articles appeared.

– “Hoyun University and a pharmaceutical company join forces to begin development of the domestic new drug ‘Osartjeong.’”

– “Based on a patented prescription by a professor at Hoyun University’s College of Korean Medicine, ‘Osartjeong’ shows efficacy in anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, as well as in osteoarthritis.”

– “Unlike traditional anti-inflammatory medications, it has no gastrointestinal side effects, allowing for long-term use.”

– “Osartjeong settles in with annual sales of 30 billion won, becoming a star product.”

In summary, the new drug developed from traditional medicine is selling well.

Nothing particularly strange seems to stand out.

Then the mouse cursor stopped at a certain word.

“Wait. Hoyun University?”

Hoyun University is the alma mater of my roommate, Go Min-hwa, and Choi Jin-seong, a third-year acupuncture student.

It seems that Shim Ji-seob also graduated from Hoyun University and completed a year of internship there.

Unconsciously, I turned my head sharply to look at Min-hwa.

He met my gaze with wide eyes, as if asking what was going on.

“Min-hwa.”

“Yes, hyung!”

“Can you take a look at this?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Min-hwa jumped up and came over, eagerly studying the computer screen.

“Oh, this… is a study conducted by one of our professors…”

“Do you know anything about it? I heard that senior Shim Ji-seob participated too.”

“Well, I’m not sure… other than what’s written here…”

Min-hwa scratched the back of his head and then exclaimed, “Oh!”

“Should I ask my classmates from Hoyun University if they know anything?”

“Can you do that?”

“Yes! Of course!”

“Seems like I keep asking you for favors, like with ticketing and everything.”

Now that I think about it, we had planned to study together while living with Min-hwa.

“Hmm. How about we start studying together during our shifts or on our days off?”

“Wow… that sounds great!”

I had been feeling like I didn’t learn enough while rotating through the acupuncture and digestive medicine departments.

Since I could only truly engage at the end of my time in the gastroenterology department, I was hoping to review in my spare time, and it would be perfect to do that with Min-hwa.

I nodded inwardly, pleased to see Min-hwa so excited.

* * *

The next day at 5 PM.

I pulled the usual ward cart and headed for Jin-ah’s hospital room.

However, only the patient and the caregiver were present, and the guardian was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing my puzzled expression, Jin-ah explained, “Dad had something to do today, so it’s just the caregiver here.”

I see. This was a perfect opportunity to talk to the patient.

Pretending to prepare the acupuncture, I turned and whispered to the caregiver, “Excuse me, I’d like to speak with the patient for a moment.”

“Oh? Sure. Should I step aside?”

The perceptive caregiver seemed to sense this was an extension of yesterday’s conversation and moved without hesitation.

“Jin-ah, I need to go get some new patient clothes,” she said.

“Ah? Okay, take your time~.”

As the unaware patient nodded, the caregiver quickly left the room.

The other patients nearby seemed focused on the TV and were not paying attention to us.

I gathered my thoughts and spoke up.

“Miss, I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday. If you don’t remember the accident and have other symptoms, it could be ‘post-traumatic stress disorder.’”

“…….”

She avoided my gaze and kept her mouth tightly closed.

“I’m sorry to bring up an uncomfortable topic, but as your physician, I can’t just let this go.”

After saying this, I waited without pressing further.

Finally, Jin-ah spoke.

“Doctor, I remember the day of the accident very well. I pretended not to remember in front of my dad yesterday.”

“Why?”

I feigned ignorance, and Jin-ah forced a weak smile.

“Haha… If I don’t say anything, I know you’ll keep worrying, right?”

“…….”

“The truth is, I was hit by my dad’s car. But he looks even more distressed than I do, so I can’t bring myself to say that I remember.”

Just as Lee Hyun-Seung said.

The patient slowly began to share what she remembered about that day.

“My mom passed away giving birth to me. The day of the accident was also the anniversary of her death, so we were supposed to visit her. While Dad went to get the car, I was waiting in the yard. The flowers blooming in the yard looked so beautiful that I wanted to add them to the bouquet for Mom. I was crouched down picking them when Dad was backing up and couldn’t see me…”

A horrific image came to mind, making me furrow my brows.

“At first, I was just grateful to be alive. How would Dad spend that day alone every year when both his wife and daughter share the same death anniversary? But I thought I would recover quickly, and now that I’m still lying here, I’m starting to feel scared. And what scares me even more is…”

She swallowed hard at this point.

“I’m afraid I’ll end up resenting my poor dad forever. I don’t want to hate him; it was just an unfortunate accident… But what if I can’t recover and end up hating him anyway?”

Tears began to stream down Jin-ah’s face as she finished her last words.

Seeing this made my heart sink.

Just then, the caregiver entered the room, humming a tune while holding a patient gown.

“I brought your patient gown~.”

“…….”

Noticing the tense atmosphere and Jin-ah’s tears, the caregiver seemed startled and fell silent.

Then, glancing at the gown in her hands, she awkwardly remarked, “Th-there’s a stain on this? I’ll have to go get another one.”

* * *

Even on my way to the Blue Whales’ outing after finishing Jin-ah’s treatment, I felt a knot in my stomach.

Why do bad people thrive while good people suffer?

If there really is a god…

‘No, that’s enough. Don’t get lost in pointless sentiments.’

I parked the car and let out a short breath.

In the end, all I can do is focus on providing the best treatment to help Jin-ah recover.

Besides, I have my patients here in the gym as well.

I steadied my mind and composure.

With one hand holding the herbal medicine box for player Ji Young-suuk and a medical bag slung over my opposite shoulder, I entered the gym.

But the atmosphere felt off.

‘?’

Last time, the gym was lively with the sound of bouncing balls and the shouts of players and coaches.

Now, the space was eerily quiet.

As I moved further in, I noticed the players were not practicing but gathered in a corner of the court.

They were whispering among themselves, and the mood was serious.

I could see a player sitting alone on a bench, her back turned to me.

‘The people standing in front of her…’

I spotted Coach Han Mi-young, her forehead in her hand, her expression twisted with concern.

Several coaches around her also wore downturned expressions, glancing anxiously at the coach.

“!”

A player, startled by the sound of my footsteps, turned around and jumped up from the bench.

It was Jeong Ho-jeong, the captain and ace of the Blue Whales.

Normally cheerful and spirited, she looked on the verge of tears now.

“Doctor!”

Hearing her call, I instinctively knew.

Here it comes.