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Chapter: 15
The next morning.
From early in the morning, the scene in front of Baekmyodang was nothing short of spectacular.
A line of expensive black vehicles filed into the narrow alley one after another.
On either side of the front gate stood bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses, motionless as statues while keeping watch over the surroundings.
“What the heck? Are they filming a movie here today?”
Thanks to that, my little Korean medicine clinic became the center of every neighborhood resident’s curiosity.
And sitting side by side in the waiting room were Baek Eunho, Jeong Rabit, and Ma Yoonsang.
The heir to a chaebol conglomerate, a top idol, and a national athlete.
It was the kind of combination you rarely even saw in entertainment news.
My small, precious clinic…!
I buried my face in my hands inside the consultation room.
All I’d ever wanted was to live an ordinary life.
But somehow, at some point, my everyday life had drifted about a hundred million light-years away from anything ordinary.
“…Sigh.”
What’s the point of worrying? I should just treat my patients.
After writhing in silent misery for a while, I let out a long sigh and stood up.
It was time to perform acupuncture on the divine beast patients waiting outside.
A little while later…
“Thank you, unni!”
“I’ll be back after another great acupuncture session.”
Rabit and Yoonsang greeted me together before leaving the clinic, each carrying the box of herbal medicine I had prescribed.
Seeing how much lighter they looked was at least some consolation.
The problem was… Baek Eunho.
Why does his expression look so terrifying?
I stared at him with exhausted eyes.
Radiating an icy aura, he sat sprawled across one end of the waiting room sofa with one leg crossed over the other. The other patients didn’t even dare approach that side.
He looked fully prepared to occupy the waiting room for the entire day.
“Um… Director Go… Is something going on? Those men dressed all in black standing outside your gate are frightening.”
Eventually, the neighborhood patients who had come for treatment leaned in and whispered to me anxiously.
“I almost didn’t come today. But then I thought I had to get acupuncture from our Director Go, so I forced myself.”
“Director, did you borrow money from loan sharks or something? Are they watching you because they’re afraid you’ll run away without paying them back?”
My eyes widened, and I frantically waved my hands.
“Oh, no! Nothing like that! Loan sharks? Absolutely not.”
“Then who are those people? I seriously thought a movie was being filmed.”
“Well… I’ve started treating someone rather… famous. Those bodyguards are here to protect that person.”
Scratching my head awkwardly, I somehow managed to explain it away.
“Ohhh, so that’s what it is?”
“That’s more like it. Our clever Director Go would never borrow money from loan sharks.”
They laughed and let the matter go, but my mind remained troubled.
If this continued, the neighborhood patients might gradually stop coming altogether.
It really was giving me a headache.
Where on earth is my life headed?
Returning to the consultation room, I sank onto my chair with a heavy sigh.
In any case, I continued seeing patients as usual.
But just as Alfred had said, it really seemed like I was growing stronger.
I can see energy in ordinary patients now.
It wasn’t the brilliant golden light of the divine beasts’ spiritual energy.
Good energy appeared as a soft white glow, while bad energy looked like black ink.
So, to organize it…
The good energy was spiritual energy in divine beasts and vital energy in humans.
The bad energy was turbid energy.
Calling them that from now on would make things much simpler.
This makes diagnosis so much easier.
The power of my Spirit Eyes was incredible.
I could roughly tell what was wrong with a patient without asking about every single symptom.
It was especially effective with first-time patients.
“Oh dear…”
One day, a middle-aged woman I’d never seen before entered the clinic, groaning in discomfort.
Her complexion was yellowish, and she looked miserable.
As I carefully felt her pulse, I saw a mass of black energy gathered in her upper abdomen.
“Ma’am, your stomach feels bloated, and nothing you eat digests properly, does it?”
The woman’s eyes widened.
“Oh my! You figured that out just by checking my pulse? That’s amazing! I actually came down from hiking Bukhansan, ate something that upset my stomach, and got indigestion. The owner of a café at the foot of the mountain recommended this place.”
I smiled inwardly.
Her pulse also displayed the slippery pulse associated with acute indigestion—a smooth, rapid pulse that felt like rolling beads beneath the fingers.
But now I could also see with my own eyes that turbid energy had accumulated around her stomach.
At this rate, won’t I become famous as a miracle doctor?
It also seemed that my reserve of spiritual energy had increased considerably.
Just today, I’d treated two divine beast patients and nearly ten ordinary patients without collapsing from exhaustion.
That was tremendous progress.
After the patient left, I casually turned my head and spoke.
“I’ve really improved a lot, haven’t I, Alfred?”
[…]
“…Alfred?”
There was no answer.
I tilted my head.
Come to think of it, that old cat hadn’t shown himself even once today.
“Hmm.”
Shrugging, I opened the next patient’s chart.
He’d probably run off somewhere again, complaining that the tiger divine beast was draining all his energy.
He’d be back soon enough.
“…”
And yet, for some reason, I couldn’t focus on the chart.
A strange sense of foreboding lingered in my chest, refusing to go away.
By evening, after the last patient had left…
The courtyard of Baekmyodang slowly became bathed in the warm colors of sunset.
Leaning back in my chair, I pressed my fingers against my tired eyes.
Using my Spirit Eyes all day while treating patients had completely worn me out.
“Doctor Go. Pack your things.”
Before I knew it, Baek Eunho was standing at the consultation room door, speaking firmly.
His attendants stood neatly behind him.
He was about to take me back to his residence.
“We don’t have time. Hurry.”
“Okay, okay.”
Dragging my feet, I headed toward the herbal storage room.
As I selected herbs for tomorrow morning’s medicine, a wave of reality suddenly hit me.
How much longer am I supposed to keep living like this?
If my powers kept growing… if one day I even learned offensive techniques like the head of the Cat Clan…
Would I finally be able to protect myself without needing someone else’s protection?
Just then—
“Meow… meow…”
A faint cry drifted in on the breeze.
It was a pained, agonized sound.
My heart dropped, and my mind went completely blank.
“Alfred!”
Throwing the herbs in my hands onto the floor, I bolted out of the storage room.
Why… why had I only been worrying about myself?
I was selfish. An idiot.
They could have targeted Alfred too!
“Hello! Is anyone there?! Please help!”
With tears welling in my eyes, I ran across Baekmyodang.
Strangely, neither the bodyguards nor Baek Eunho were anywhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, Alfred’s cries continued.
Unable to stand still any longer, I rushed outside alone.
I was in such a panic that I hadn’t even taken off my doctor’s coat.
“Huff… huff…”
I had no idea how long I wandered through the alleys.
Alfred’s cries grew louder and louder, drawing me deeper inside.
After running until I could barely breathe, I eventually reached a dead-end alley far from Baekmyodang.
I stopped for a moment to catch my breath.
Then—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Suddenly, slow applause echoed nearby.
“You followed us all the way here. Excellent.”
“…?!”
Startled, I looked up.
A pale hand emerged from the darkness, long fingers clapping lazily.
In an instant, a group of figures wearing black robes surrounded me.
The slender man who had been applauding stepped calmly forward.
“What do you think? Quite convincing, wasn’t it? It’s a spell that preys upon your deepest anxieties until you’re no longer capable of rational thought. In other words… it bewitches you.”
His voice was chilling, like the hiss of a snake flicking its tongue.
My entire body froze.
Only then did I realize.
The voice of Alfred I’d heard…
It had all been a lie.
The man approached me with slow, leisurely steps.
“The modern world is so convenient. The internet can find almost any information you want.”
“…Ugh…”
“But something puzzled us. We heard there was a Korean medicine clinic around here, yet we couldn’t locate it at all. It must be protected by an incredibly powerful barrier. Ah… dragging you out here took quite a bit of effort.”
I clenched my teeth.
So that was why my necklace had remained completely silent.
If there had truly been a patient in danger—or Alfred had actually needed help—the necklace would certainly have guided me.
Only now did I realize that it hadn’t reacted at all this time.
Rustle.
I slipped my hand into my coat pocket and felt the pouch containing my acupuncture needles.
Gripping it tightly, I glared fiercely at the man.
Just come a little closer. I won’t go down without a fight.
If nothing else, I’ll stab your eyes.
But that was nothing more than wishful thinking from the perspective of an ordinary human.
“Oh, I like that expression.”
Beneath the hood of his robe, the corners of the man’s mouth stretched into a delighted grin.
“The prey with eyes like yours tastes the sweetest when swallowed whole.”
“…!”
“But unfortunately, today’s orders are to capture you alive.”
The man shrugged and casually raised one hand.
Whoosh!
Out of nowhere, a black arrow shot straight toward my heart.
They hadn’t even needed to come within striking distance.
Mom… Alfred…!
I cried out desperately in my heart.
Instinctively, I curled into myself and squeezed my eyes shut.
At that very moment—
The Cat’s Eye Stone necklace burst with brilliant light, resonating with something inside the breast pocket of my doctor’s coat.
Flash!
A blinding explosion of light erupted.
The arrow aimed at my heart struck the light, ricocheted away, and flew back toward the man who appeared to be their leader.
“What?!”
Even he flinched for an instant, though he made no effort to dodge.
With a casual wave of his hand, the arrow abruptly changed direction and shot harmlessly into the air.
Boom!
At the same time, a deafening explosion sent a massive cloud of dust billowing through the alley, completely obscuring my vision.
I was utterly stunned.
Staggering, I slowly pushed myself back to my feet.
What… what just happened…?
Carefully opening my eyes, I noticed something no bigger than a fingernail inside my coat pocket.
I hurriedly took it out.
The moment I saw it, my eyebrows shot upward.
The tiny, glittering object was the Baekho Group badge I had picked up the day Chairman Baek Hojung had collapsed.
