Chapter 4: It's Not Indigestion [3] Dolseok was not the only one blinking in disbelief.
The physician who had been shoved into the corner wore much the same expression.
He simply could not bring himself to say anything because of his pride.
The two of them only stared at Kanghyeok's mouth.
Kanghyeok set the severed appendix down on a piece of gauze.
Originally, it should have been only about as thick as a little finger, but now it was as thick as two fingers put together.
Kanghyeok looked back at the two men staring at him in silence.
How am I supposed to explain this?
He had given many lectures as a medical school professor at a young age.
But he had never once explained something to people with no basic knowledge at all.
I'll have to explain it at their level.
Lumping together Dolseok, a servant, and the physician, a son from a noble household, would have been quite insulting.
But from Kanghyeok's point of view, they were about the same.
Pointing at the appendix, he asked,
"How does this thing look to you?"
"It looks vicious."
It was Dolseok who answered.
As he said, the appendix did not look normal.
"That's right. This thing is why Okseok was in pain. I'll show you more clearly."
Kanghyeok used the scalpel that had cut open Okseok's abdomen and sliced along the side of the appendix.
At once, yellowish pus burst out. A foul smell quickly filled the room.
"Ugh. Young master, what in the world is that?"
Dolseok asked, covering his nose with his sleeve.
The physician also frowned deeply and covered his nose.
There's a bit of tissue that protrudes from the cecum called the appendix. It's thought to have something to do with immunity. Once it gets blocked, it doesn't recover well, so it easily becomes inflamed. That's what they call appendicitis. Usually it gets blocked because of stool…
Kanghyeok shook his head midway through the thought.
What's the point of explaining it like that?
Talking at length about things people do not understand is tedious.
He decided to gloss it over. Judging by the atmosphere, that seemed good enough.
"What else would it be? It's a bad bastard."
"I see. So it's a bad bastard."
Just like that, the appendix was neatly classified as a bad bastard.
Then the physician, who had looked lost the whole time, deliberately changed his expression.
He had to act as though he understood something if he wanted to save face.
"So it turns out the young master was expelling a harmful malign influence. I thought you only idled your days away, but you have mysterious gifts."
A harmful malign influence?
Kanghyeok felt a headache coming on.
Still, it was fortunate the man had understood it somehow.
If he started asking detailed questions, it would only become more troublesome.
Strictly speaking, a harmful malign influence also meant something bad, so it was not entirely wrong.
"Well…"
Kanghyeok paused for a moment and looked at the physician.
He was unsure whether to speak politely or casually.
Judging by the old man's tone, he does seem to be a yangban.
He settled on a vague neutral tone.
"That's right. This child is no longer in danger. He'll recover soon."
Using a way of speaking he never used in ordinary life felt as uncomfortable as having sand rolling around inside his mouth.
Fortunately, it seemed close enough. The physician showed no sign of discomfort.
"I understand."
"Also, I was sorry about earlier. Dolseok, you should apologize too. It was urgent."
"My apologies, sir."
The physician was more easygoing than expected.
He waved his hand and even smiled.
"It's fine. Don't trouble yourself over it."
Then he swung his sleeves and left Kanghyeok's house.
Before that, he did not forget to greet Seungmun.
He even refused the one seom of rice and ten sheets of paper Seungmun offered as his consultation fee.
"Kanghyeok did it all, Elder. You may stop worrying about your son now."
"Is that really true? That boy?"
"Yes. I did nothing."
He even left after offering praise.
He had been a quack, but at heart he was a decent fellow.
I feel a little bad.
He did feel bad, but he had no time to dwell on it.
Kanghyeok turned his attention back to Okseok.
He should take antibiotics for at least three days.
The appendix had almost burst.
There had been high fever, cold sweats, and tachycardia.
That suggested bacteria might already have entered the bloodstream.
He searched through the house-call bag and took out the antibiotic.
Meyact. About the best oral antibiotic you could ask for.
There were sixty tablets in total. Enough for fifteen days.
He took out four of them and handed them to Dolseok.
"Crush two of these, mix them with water, and give them to Okseok. Give him the rest tomorrow morning."
"Yes, young master."
Having just witnessed something so astonishing, Dolseok did not question him at all.
At least the urgent problem had been dealt with. Only then did Kanghyeok rise to his feet.
Because he had operated with the patient lying on the floor, his lower back and neck cracked loudly.
"Ugh."
As he let out a groan, Seungmun approached him.
His face was full of curiosity and concern.
"What has become of Okseok? Did you truly treat him, just as the physician said?"
"Yes, uh… Father. He should be fine now."
Seungmun leaned his head slightly and looked into the room.
Sure enough, Okseok's face looked far more peaceful than before.
"Well now. So you had a skill even I did not know about."
"It's nothing worth mentioning."
"No, no. I truly thought he was going to die. Seeing him sleep like that, I feel relieved. Yes, you must be tired too, so go and rest. You did well."
Seungmun patted Kanghyeok on the shoulder, then walked back toward the main quarters with his hands clasped behind his back.
Dolseok was too busy tending to Okseok.
For the first time since getting caught up in this strange situation, Kanghyeok was finally alone.
First, I need to find out where this is. If my guess is right…
Kanghyeok's face twisted badly.
If he had really returned to the past, it was the worst possible outcome.
The career and fame he had built in reality. And even the money he had carefully saved, modest though it was. He would lose all of it.
He quickly set off.
At least one fortunate thing was that Kanghyeok's house was fairly large.
In the confusion, he had not noticed before, but there were many servants going back and forth.
From what Kanghyeok had seen with his own eyes, there were easily more than twenty.
First, let's go outside.
He went straight out through the main gate.
Then he stood there for quite a while without taking another step.
People in old, shabby clothes moved about busily.
Most were dressed in white, though most of the cloth was stained and faded.
Kanghyeok understood instinctively.
As expected, this isn't some folk village.
As night deepened, suspicion became certainty.
This seemed to be Joseon itself, and nowhere else.
Damn, the stars are bright.
There seemed to be more stars in the sky now than he had seen in his entire life.
As darkness thickened, the sound of a bell rang from somewhere.
"Young master, please go inside now. The curfew bell has sounded."
Before he knew it, Dolseok had come up beside him.
A curfew bell. At the very least, it was a term Kanghyeok had never heard before.
He answered cautiously.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. If you run into the patrol officers, it will only be troublesome, won't it? The night air is still cold. Please go inside."
So the curfew bell must have been the bell announcing the nighttime curfew.
If so, he had no choice but to go back in obediently.
The room was heated in advance, and warm air filled it.
Rubbing his hands together, Dolseok spoke.
"Then sleep well, young master."
"Alright. You sleep well too."
"Yes, young master. This servant will take his leave now."
After sending Dolseok away, Kanghyeok lay down on the bedding.
Whether because his back was sore or because his mind was troubled, sleep did not come easily.
Before I came here, I met the chairman and did something…
But he could not remember it at all.
For now, I'll treat that boy Okseok and slowly think of a way forward.
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