It was a typical morning as usual.

Kanghyok got up early, washed his face with warm water and had breakfast.

‘Is it because I eat the dishes that taste flat? This one, too, tastes good.'

He looked down at the rice bowl he just emptied.

He used to eat only half the bowl before, so it's a big progress in terms of his diet.

While he was taking a break on the main floor, somebody knocked on the door.

“Is anybody in?”

It was Makbong.

As Kang was waiting for patients, he quickly walked to the door.

But Dolsok was already ahead of him.

“Can I open the door, master?”

“Yes, he'll keep coming for the time being.”

“Wait a moment.”

As the door was pretty heavy, it was not that easy to open it.

Dolsok removed the latch and opened the door skillfully.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Well, I don't feel any pain in my arms at all.”

With a smile Dolsok pushed the door open.

Makbong and Yoni were standing there.

It was always Yoni who came forward first.

“Sir, how are you?”

Everybody knew Yoni was a woman.

But she was speaking in a male voice like before.

Though Kanghyok felt it awkward, he didn't point it out.

“How about your father's condition?”

“He's okay. All thanks to you. But he has not got up yet.”

“Good. How long can you stay here?”

She scratched her lower chin at his asking.

“We haven't yet decided on it. But as a big market is soon opened in a nearby village, we have no problem.”

“I see. Here you are. This is the pill for your father today.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Yoni strongly.

When she was about to leave, Kanghyok stopped her.

“Why are you in a hurry like that?”

“Do you have any direction for me?”

“Well, please do me a favor. I want you to find out something.”

Kanghyok spoke in a low voice.

“Yes, please. Tell me.”

Makbong nodded his head.

After hesitating for a moment, he said,

“When you happen to go to the market, or meet other people, can you ask them if they know about the Republic of Korea?”

“What?”

As the word was rather difficult for him to understand, Makbong tilted his head.

Kanghyok instantly learned from the start that Makbong was not that smart.

But Yoni nodded her head as if she read his mind.

“You mean ‘Republic of Korea,' right?”

“Yes.”

“Got it. Let me ask anybody I meet about that.”

“Don't overwork, though.”

“Don't worry, sir.”

“See you tomorrow then.”

“Yes, sir.”

Bowing to him, they disappeared into a dark alleyway.

Whenever he saw them, he felt they were pretty speedy.

‘I used to do some workout in modern Korea.'

Kanghyok looked at them with envy.

When he turned back, he saw the yard so barren.

‘When I get used to my life here, I need to bring some fitness equipment here.'

As he had to idle away here in old Korea, compared with his busy life in modern Korea, he was really bored out of his skull.

He couldn't afford to be stuck in the study and read books all day.

‘Shall I go to the examining room now?'

He felt he could kill time when he was there.

“Dolsok?”

“Yes, master.”

“Let's go to the examining room.”

“What? Ah, you mean the guest room, right?”

When he walked into the room, it was warm inside unlike yesterday.

Obviously Dolsok heated it before he came.

In one corner of the room was a basin with boiling water where steam was rising.

Kanghyok looked at with a pretty satisfied expression, but Dolsok found it just strange.

First of all, there was nothing like incense that Dolsok usually smelled in a doctor's house.

“Master, don't you need any medicinal herbs?”

“Medicinal herbs?”

“Yes, I can buy them at medicinal herbs stores in the market street.”

“Oh, let me see…”

Kanghyok conjured up his childhood memories.

The oriental clinic that he visited with his mother.

And the bitter herbal medicine that the doctor prescribed for him.

‘What was that medicinal herb?'

As he was little interested in oriental medicine, he knew little about medicinal herbs.

‘I don't know anything but harts horn.'

He didn't know about the effects of such medicine.

‘As I don't know anything about it, I can't prescribe it, either.'

Kanghyok looked down at the bag in his hand.

He felt he could cure any disease with the medicine in his bag.

“No thanks. I've got this.”

“Then, how about acupuncture?”

“Acupuncture?”

“Yes, acupuncture.”

Acupuncture.

Acupuncture is one of the traditional medicines that has proven effective. In the midst of the craze for alternative medicine, there came out lots of related papers on it. As a medical student, Kanghyok also read the papers with interest.

‘If you apply acupuncture on the infected area, it has an effect of dispersing the level of inflammation there.'

But he has never actually applied it.

“I don't need that. Don't bug me like that, Dolsok.”

“Oh, I just wanted to help you.”

“You don't have to worry. Do you know how many patients I treated so far?”

Dolsok seemed to think for a moment, hiding his sullen look.

‘Only two at the most'

How could he now know as his personal servant?

But he was quick-witted enough to hide his genuine feelings.

“How do I know?”

“At least several thousands. So, you just stand near me and learn. You should think it's an honor for you to work with me. Even foreign doctors are coming over to watch my surgery…”

Realizing he made a tongue slip, Kanghyok smacked his lips.

“Master, Sir Yop Huh is here.”

He saw Yop Huh last night.

‘Did he say he had backache?'

“Please have him come in.”

“Yes, sir.”

As soon as Kanghyok ordered, Yop Huh came in, ma.s.saging his back.

Dolsok quickly helped him to sit before Kanghyok.

“Good heavens! I'm so uncomfortable because of back pain.”

“Let me check it first.”

“Yea, this area….”

He lay on the bed, groaning with severe pain.

“You will feel hurt.”

Kanghyok pressed on that pain area of his back hard.

“Oh my G.o.d! It hurts!” he screamed.

“I'm feeling the pus here.”

“Pus? Can you cure it?”

“Not a problem. Though it hurts a lot, you will get better quite soon.”

“Please go ahead.”

After making him feel at ease, Kanghyok searched through the bag and took out a surgery set.

“Sir, you'll feel better after you feel hurt a bit.”

“Okay. Huk!”

Then Kanghyok applied an anesthetic injection into the pain area.

“Ugh… I feel burning in my back.”

“Are you feeling hurt?”

“Yea.”

“I'm not done yet.”

Kanghyok cut open the pus area with a scalpel.

The thick pus pooled inside came out.

Disgusting odor filled the room.

When Dolsok was about to press on his nostrils with fingers, Kanghyok shouted.

“What are you doing now? Wipe off this!”

“Oh, yes, sir.”

Dolsok wiped off the flowing pus with gauze.

The more pus came out, the better he felt because he could not feel the pain any more.

“I just feel I'm already cured.”

In the meantime Kanghyok was already done with st.i.tching the open wound.

“Now swallow this pill. Come back tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

Kanghyok gave him an anti-inflammatory, antacid pills and antibiotics.

“Thanks so much. I've brought several boxes of dried meat for your service.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“Goodbye for now.”

After Yop Huh left, Kanghyok treated several other patients.

Today alone, he treated dozens of patients.

Looking at a long line of patients outside, he shook his head and said,

“That's it today. Let's resume tomorrow.”

As if he waited for his order, Dolsok ran out and shouted,

“My master is too tired to treat you today. So, go back!”

Though there came out voices of complaints here and there, n.o.body couldn't make disturbances in the house of Sungmun.

So, he sent them back for the day.

But someone quickly ran into his house and came to the examining room.

Though Dolsok stopped him, it was too late.

“Hey, please let me in.”

“I can't do,” said Kanghyok.

What he hated most was preferential treatment.

But he changed his mind after confirming that stranger's face.

“Suwon mayor?”

“Shus.h.!.+”

“Please come inside.”

“Thanks.”

The mayor quickly came into the room.

After confirming that only Dolsok was in the room, the mayor said in a low voice,

“I'm so ashamed to say this to others, so I've come here…”

“Really? Just tell me about it.”

“n.o.body knows, but I've decided to come here as you're so good at treating patients.”

“Just tell me then.”

The mayor hesitated for a moment and then looked at his lower body.

“I can't get a good erection…”