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Chapter: 04
For a moment, I could only stare blankly at Baek Eunho, unable to understand what he meant.
Sitting on the edge of a chair, he leaned forward slightly and explained again.
“That’s a medium that lets you channel your spiritual energy. You exhausted all your power while treating my father, so it was only natural that you collapsed.”
“…What?”
At that moment, it all clicked.
‘Ah… so that’s why I’ve been so exhausted every time I finished acupuncture lately.’
I had thought I was just mentally drained from getting caught up in all these absurd situations.
But it had actually been affecting my body.
So from now on… my healing abilities would improve, but in exchange, this thing called spiritual energy would be consumed.
“Then what am I supposed to do? I can’t keep passing out every time I perform acupuncture.”
“Don’t worry. The Divine Beast’s power grows the more it’s used. The more patients you heal, the stronger you’ll become.”
Just as Baek Eunho finished reassuring me…
The hospital room door opened, followed by the sound of an electric wheelchair.
“Chairman!”
Everyone immediately stood.
Chairman Baek Hojung entered in his wheelchair, wearing a faint but warm smile.
“Doctor Go Yeonhee.”
He spoke in a calm yet unmistakably firm voice.
“Thank you. You are truly the savior who saved my life.”
“Oh, it was nothing.”
Completely flustered, I waved my hands.
The next instant, every member of the White Tiger Clan around us wagged their tails enthusiastically as they began speaking one after another.
“Doctor Go, thank you so much!”
“You saved our Chairman. You’re the benefactor of our entire clan.”
“The White Tiger Family will never forget this kindness!”
Someone grabbed my hand with tears in their eyes.
“Please forgive us for being so rude earlier. We sincerely apologize.”
“We were so anxious that we weren’t thinking straight…”
Others repeatedly bowed until their backs were almost perfectly horizontal.
With countless tiger tails swaying before my eyes, I started feeling dizzy.
‘Wow… this is seriously overwhelming…!’
Pull yourself together.
Out of habit, I rubbed the Cat’s Eye Stone hanging from my necklace before asking,
“I still don’t understand any of this. How did the Chairman end up in that condition?”
“How much do you already know, Doctor Go?”
“Well… I know there are twelve Divine Beasts that protect the world. Spiritual energy is good, while corrupted energy is bad.”
After hearing my honest answer, the Chairman nodded with a small smile.
“That’s correct. However, there are those who abandoned that sacred duty in pursuit of selfish desires. We call them the Fallen. The Rat, Snake, and Horse Clans—they are the ones.”
His expression grew solemn.
Though his body had yet to fully recover, his voice still carried undeniable authority.
“They seek to steal the spiritual energy of other Divine Beasts in order to become gods. The spiritual energy possessed by the direct bloodline is especially powerful, so those descendants have become their primary targets.”
“They’re after spiritual energy?”
“They developed forbidden sorcery to forcibly extract spiritual energy while injecting corrupted energy into their victims, erasing the very existence of a Divine Beast. Their goal is to eliminate the other clans one by one.”
I unconsciously swallowed.
Chairman Baek continued in a bitter voice.
“The problem is that once spiritual energy is severely damaged, it cannot recover naturally. The only ones capable of purifying and healing it are the Myo Clan—the Purifiers. But everyone believed the Myo Clan had been wiped out. Especially the direct-bloodline women… we thought none of them remained.”
His gaze settled on me.
“…Yet you are one of the survivors.”
“But that’s strange. If you’re from the Myo Clan, why don’t you have ears or a tail? You just look human.”
Baek Eunho folded his arms and chimed in.
I shrugged.
“I guess it’s because my father was human.”
“Oh. That explains it.”
The Chairman nodded in understanding.
A moment later, Baek Eunho frowned.
“But… you said my father isn’t completely cured yet?”
“There’s still black energy around his heart. I can see it.”
I answered firmly.
The Chairman rubbed his chest as he spoke quietly.
“Hmm… it does still feel heavy and painful. To remove it completely, we’ll have to find the one who cast the forbidden sorcery on me and destroy its source.”
“Father, did you see who it was?”
“…No. I don’t remember anything from the moment I was abducted. I only remember walking toward the company’s underground parking garage.”
“So until we catch that damn Fallen bastard, you’ll need regular treatments.”
Clicking his tongue in irritation, Baek Eunho turned toward me and ordered matter-of-factly,
“Go Yeonhee, you heard him. Make time for us from now on.”
“Hold on. I have one condition.”
“Money? We can pay you as much as—”
I lifted my chin and crossed my arms.
“Not money. Why do you keep speaking informally to me when we’ve only just met? You’re the one asking for a favor, aren’t you? From now on, address me respectfully as ‘Doctor Go Yeonhee.'”
“…!!!”
Baek Eunho’s eyes widened.
The members of the White Tiger Clan burst into laughter, and even the bodyguards turned away to hide their smiles.
Chairman Baek laughed heartily.
“Eunho, you really need to work on that temper of yours. This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone put you in your place.”
“Tch.”
Baek Eunho grumbled as he looked away.
I folded my arms even tighter.
“Go ahead. Ask me again.”
“…Please.”
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
“…Doctor Go Yeonhee. Please.”
Only then did I grin and uncross my arms.
“Good. Your son leaves a lot to be desired, Chairman, but since you’re such a gentleman, I’ll accept your request.”
“Hey, you…!”
As Baek Eunho glared at me with reddened cheeks, the Chairman slapped his knee and roared with laughter.
“Hahaha! Thank you, Doctor Go. I’ll never forget this kindness, and I’ll repay it for years to come.”
Then, Chairman Baek suddenly raised one hand.
A moment later, an attendant quietly approached carrying a palm-sized black leather case.
The Chairman accepted it before handing it to me.
“This is today’s house-call fee. Inside is a VIP Free Pass card.”
“A Free Pass?”
“It grants unrestricted access to all businesses under the White Tiger Group—our resorts, luxury dining establishments, department stores, airlines, and more.”
I stared blankly at the case before muttering,
“This is way too much for a single acupuncture treatment.”
“Not at all. I told you—you saved my life. My life isn’t worth so little.”
After hesitating briefly, I bowed my head.
“Then I’ll gratefully accept it, Chairman.”
“Haha. That’s more like it.”
With everything finally settled, I left the hospital room.
Glancing back at the luxurious private suite, I asked Baek Eunho,
“Wait… did you actually rent this private room just because of me? It must cost hundreds a day…”
“What else was I supposed to do? We needed a bed.”
His casual answer left me speechless.
…These people have a completely different sense of money than I do.
He talked about it as casually as buying a plastic umbrella at a convenience store.
Just then, the doctors from earlier approached me.
“Did you really stop the patient’s convulsions with acupuncture? Are you actually a traditional Korean medicine doctor?”
“What exactly did you do?”
“Ah, yes. It’s an emergency acupuncture treatment used for strokes. I was still being cautious, but thankfully he responded well.”
When I answered modestly, the doctors stared at me with wide eyes, as though I were some legendary master of medicine.
After they finally dispersed…
Baek Eunho spoke again.
“But you… I mean, Doctor Go… you’re in danger now.”
This guy.
I told him to speak respectfully, and he upgraded from “you” to “Doctor Go.”
Still…
Danger?
I frowned and looked up at him.
“What?”
“My father looks completely recovered on the outside now. That means the Fallen will learn that you exist. Once they do, you’ll be the first person they try to eliminate.”
“Because you’re the biggest obstacle to their plans.”
Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me…!
I knew this was going to happen!
Barely suppressing the urge to grab Baek Eunho by the collar and shake him violently, I shouted,
“W-What did you say?! Then what am I supposed to do?!”
“Relax. We can’t afford to lose you either, so we’ll protect you. But first, we need to find out exactly how capable you are. That way we can plan our strategy.”
Baek Eunho gestured toward the hospital lounge with his chin.
“Which brings me to my question… can you treat another patient too?”
I blankly followed his gaze.
There was no one there.
Only the large television screen, where Lunar’s popular member Jeong Rabit was giving an acceptance speech after winning first place on a music show.
Just as I was about to ask where this supposed patient was—
‘Huh?’
Only then did I notice something strange.
Above Jeong Rabit’s head on the screen…
There was something long and upright.
My eyes widened in shock.
‘…What the heck?! Rabbit ears?!’
