“Ah... I feel like I can finally breathe again!”
Jung Gwangsu pressed a hand against his chest and let out a relieved sigh.
His breathing had noticeably eased.
I checked a few more acupoints along his arms and legs, carefully regulating the stagnant qi.
Just enough.
Enough that he would wonder whether the improvement was real or merely his imagination.
The best treatments often worked that way.
“I suppose I should get going. Thank you for everything.”
Gesturing awkwardly toward the stack of napkins he'd used to wipe away his tears, Jung Gwangsu gave an embarrassed smile.
“Please don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're feeling better.”
The café owner answered brightly, but Jung Gwangsu's face was still slightly red as he rose from his seat.
“Next time I'll bring the people from my hospital room with me.”
“Haha, really, you don't have to.”
He looked ready to leave immediately, so I quickly moved to support him.
“You're heading back to the Korean Medicine Hospital, right? I'll walk you there.”
“I couldn't possibly trouble you that much.”
“I was heading there anyway. I need to see Professor Lee.”
“Ah. In that case...”
Together, we left the café.
Chewing on the complimentary chocolate the owner had given us, we crossed the same crosswalk where an accident had nearly occurred earlier.
Just across the street stood Korea University's Affiliated Korean Medicine Hospital.
“I'm going to think of today as the beginning of a new life. I'll quit drinking too.”
Just before entering his hospital room, Jung Gwangsu stopped and said the words with surprising conviction.
Whether he'd actually follow through remained to be seen.
But right now?
He meant every word.
“You will get better.”
I said it without hesitation.
Professor Lee Minseok would ultimately be responsible for his treatment, of course.
In a sense, that certainty was something only a student like me could afford.
Clenching both fists, I encouraged his newfound determination.
The body could change dramatically depending on the resolve of the mind.
“Thank you.”
After confirming that Jung Gwangsu had returned safely to his room, I headed toward Professor Lee's office.
“Professor Lee just left for afternoon rounds,” the receptionist informed me. “He asked me to hold onto his laptop for him.”
Perfect timing.
Or perhaps terrible timing.
“Then please take care of it for me.”
I'd literally just been upstairs in the inpatient ward.
Apparently we'd managed to miss each other.
After leaving the laptop with the front desk, I headed to the university library.
I should probably rewrite it from scratch.
Deleting an assignment I'd already finished felt wasteful.
But after meeting an actual patient, the report I'd written yesterday—filled with nothing but generic treatment protocols—suddenly seemed inadequate.
- The patient's Liver Qi stagnation must be resolved, and Heart Heat should be cleared.
Professor Lee seemed like the type who preferred musculoskeletal explanations.
Would he mark me down for writing something like this?
The image of him frowning while reading my report made me chuckle.
Still.
What else could I write?
For Jung Gwangsu, this really was the correct direction.
I carefully detailed what I believed to be the most effective acupuncture methods and herbal prescriptions.
After submitting the revised assignment, I opened the book I'd been reading the previous night.
At the same time.
Professor Lee Minseok returned from afternoon rounds only to find an unwelcome guest waiting for him.
His expression immediately soured.
“Hyung, why are you doing this to me?”
Jo Haneul had entered the office without permission and was lounging in the professor's chair with his legs crossed.
“Haneul? What brings you here without an appointment?”
“Are you really going to keep treating me like a stranger? Did my father do something to upset you?”
“Not particularly.”
Professor Lee shook his head and pointed toward the door.
“Would you mind getting out of my seat?”
In truth, Jo Haneul's father, Professor Jo Hoyoung, hadn't exactly been a saint.
He wasn't a terrible person.
But he certainly wasn't an easy advisor to work under.
Like many professors, he pushed his graduate students hard.
Writing papers often came with harsh criticism.
Personal errands weren't uncommon either.
Booking flights for the professor's family vacations had been annoying enough.
Being asked to pick up his drunk youngest son in the middle of the night or help with his vacation assignments had bordered on absurd.
Even so, Lee Minseok wasn't the type to hold grudges and take them out on a professor's child.
Does he think I work for his family?
If Haneul hadn't crossed the line today, they might have eventually become friendly.
After all, they had known each other for years.
“If it weren't for my father, you wouldn't be sitting in that chair.”
Technically speaking...
That wasn't entirely false.
Professor Jo was notorious for overworking his students.
But he also took care of his own.
His connections stretched across Korean medicine schools nationwide, and he regularly recommended his former students whenever positions became available.
Lee Minseok had been hired through normal channels.
Still, it would be difficult to claim Professor Jo's influence had played no role whatsoever.
“So what? Are you planning to complain to your father?”
Lee Minseok folded his arms.
“What exactly will you tell him? That one of his former students scolded you for not knowing the levator scapulae?”
“You think I won't? You're not even a tenured professor yet.”
“Interesting. Go ahead.”
A laugh escaped him before he could stop it.
Did this kid actually think he could get him fired?
Isn't he over thirty years old already?
This wasn't some elementary schooler who believed his dad was the strongest man in the world.
It was ridiculous.
A professor calling a department chair to recommend a former student?
Perfectly believable.
Demanding someone be fired because they embarrassed his son?
That was another matter entirely.
If the university were pathetic enough to allow that, I'd quit myself.
Lee Minseok had published more SCI-indexed papers than any other applicant.
He had ample teaching experience.
Most importantly, once he'd already been hired, he wasn't in a position where a few words from his former advisor could ruin him.
“Hyung, I'm not trying to fight.”
Haneul spread his hands.
“I just want to know if there's something bothering you. Maybe we should grab a drink after work and talk?”
“I don't drink.”
Lee Minseok sighed.
“And there's nothing bothering me. The only thing I want is for you to learn some manners and study harder.”
“Then maybe we should invite my father too—”
“Next time, make an appointment before coming.”
His voice turned ice-cold.
The dismissal was unmistakable.
Haneul reluctantly rose from the chair and finally left the office.
Getting my own chair back shouldn't be this difficult.
Lee Minseok dropped heavily into his seat.
He'd thought it was strange how cooperative every inpatient had been during rounds today.
Apparently all his bad luck had merely been waiting until afterward.
Click.
Click.
Still irritated, he opened his email out of habit.
Class had ended only a few hours ago.
Already, one student had submitted the assignment.
The same student who had turned in her report first yesterday.
Han Yeowon.
Her presentation had been flawless.
Her assignments were equally meticulous.
After only two classes, she'd already distinguished herself as diligent, proactive, and reliable.
The sort of student any professor would gladly recruit into graduate school.
If only Professor Jo's son were half as promising.
Without much thought, he opened the grading rubric and began reading.
Then he paused.
“Hm?”
He'd expected another textbook-perfect response.
Instead, the entire structure was different.
It felt less like a report written for a professor...
And more like guidance given from a mentor to a disciple.
As he read, one section stopped him cold.
- For a patient who has avoided hospitals for ten years, earning trust is more important than anything else.
Trust.
The word struck a nerve.
As a resident, he'd always assumed there was nothing he could do.
Now, as a professor, he had rationalized the issue differently.
He'd inherited the patient midway through treatment.
He was young.
Naturally some patients would be skeptical.
Even when assigning the section on patient education, he hadn't known what answer he was looking for himself.
Yet today—
The most troublesome patient on the ward had changed completely.
Jung Gwangsu, who usually looked at him with suspicion, had suddenly become cooperative.
Eager.
Willing to follow every instruction.
Asking detailed questions about his illness.
The way he suddenly asked for medication to help him quit drinking...
The report described Jung Gwangsu with uncanny precision.
As though the student had personally examined him.
No.
As though she'd looked directly into his heart.
Could it be...?
Lee Minseok returned to the beginning and began reading Han Yeowon's assignment again.
This time much more carefully.
“Damn it.”
Visiting Professor Lee had accomplished absolutely nothing.
Jo Haneul stormed out of the hospital, muttering curses under his breath.
The moment he stepped outside, he opened the class group chat.
[What are you idiots doing? Let's grab drinks.]
Nothing improved a foul mood quite like alcohol and friends.
Replies arrived almost immediately.
[Already home. Next time.]
[With my girlfriend lol.]
[Wish I couldㅠ My mom came up from the countryside today.]
Hwang Sanghoon.
Kim Mingyu.
Lee Cheoljin.
All three responded within a minute.
And none of their answers pleased him.
Then another message arrived.
[Hyung, are you still on campus? Can I ask a favor?]
[What.]
[Can you borrow a book for me? The one I've been waiting for finally got returned.]
On top of everything else, Sanghoon wanted him to go to the library.
Was he a personal errand boy now?
Haneul was about to refuse when another message appeared.
[Never mind. I'll get it tomorrow. Just don't start another fight with Yeowon and go home.]
[Han Yeowon?]
[Yeah. She's always studying in the library. Saw her yesterday too.]
That caught his attention.
Han Yeowon.
So it was Han Yeowon.
Ever since she'd bombed her exams during the first semester, she'd been keeping her head down.
Which had been satisfying to watch.
Lately, however, she had become increasingly irritating.
The image of her smug little smile instantly made his brow twitch.
Jo Haneul had disliked her since freshman orientation five years ago.
She didn't have influential parents.
She wasn't particularly exceptional.
Yet somehow she always carried herself with infuriating confidence.
Back then, he'd offered her a glass of wine.
"Hey, your name was Yeowon, right? Have a drink."
"What is it?"
"Romanée-Conti. Seventeen years old. Most people will never even see a bottle in their lives. A glass this size costs over a million won."
Normally the response would be immediate.
"Wow!"
"Really?"
"Thank you so much!"
"That's amazing!"
People admired expensive things.
And Haneul had spent his entire life surrounded by that admiration.
His classmates had been no different.
Except for one person.
"No thanks. I'm not interested."
Han Yeowon had refused.
"Come on, don't be like that. It's just a gift. Let's get to know each other."
"I don't particularly want to."
She'd humiliated him outright.
And afterward?
She never attended a single drinking party he organized.
Some female students openly dreamed of becoming Cinderella.
Others simply hoped proximity to him might lead to future employment opportunities.
At one point or another, everyone showed up.
Everyone except Han Yeowon.
Proud for someone with nothing.
Learning she was practically an orphan had only made him look down on her more.
The fact that she acted like his equal was laughable.
[LOL. Can't afford cafés, so she studies in the library instead?]
Typing as he walked, Haneul naturally changed direction toward the central library.
She'd talked so confidently about graduating at the top of the class.
As if she actually had something to rely on.
[Yeah lol. Guess she's scared. Already studying for graduation exams.]
[Don't start trouble. It'll end up on the university forums again.]
[LOL. Why would I care about that? Let them talk.]
He ignored Sanghoon's warning completely.
The guy was decent enough.
Just far too timid.
Intent on venting the frustration Professor Lee had caused him, Haneul entered the library.
Then immediately spotted her.
What the...? She's actually studying.
There weren't many students in the reading room.
Han Yeowon sat alone with a textbook on Internal Korean Medicine open before her.
Shouldn't she be reviewing past exams first?
Just as expected.
Unlike Haneul, who focused efficiently on important topics gathered from seniors and shared notes, Yeowon was plowing through entire textbooks the hard way.
No wonder she never ranked first.
He intended to walk over immediately.
Yet somehow...
He found himself pulling out a chair several rows away instead.
I'll laugh at her when she takes a break.
Maybe it was difficult to interrupt someone concentrating that intensely.
Normally Haneul wouldn't have cared.
But somehow her presence made him hesitate.
She'll stop in ten or twenty minutes anyway.
That was the longest he could imagine anyone studying continuously.
Then—
Twenty minutes passed.
Thirty.
An hour.
She's still not moving?
The clock completed one full revolution.
Is she even human?
Another revolution.
Wait. Is that really Han Yeowon? Not some robot?
A third.
And still she didn't move.
Not once.
Not even slightly.
“Why are you here?”
“WHAAAT?!”
Haneul nearly jumped out of his chair.
He'd been staring at the back of Yeowon's head with his mouth hanging open when her voice suddenly appeared beside him.
“Do you not know you're supposed to be quiet in a library?”
She spoke in a low whisper.
“W-Weren't you sitting over there just now?”
“...Did you fall asleep?”
Had he hallucinated?
He checked the clock.
Three and a half hours had somehow vanished.
“You definitely didn't come here to study.”
Yeowon tilted her head.
“Did you need something from me?”
