Chapter 7: The Tightrope and the Swing [3] "Hm?"
Kanghyeok quickly straightened away from the wall.
"It seems something has happened."
Dolseok also narrowed his eyes and looked outside.
The members of the troupe, who had been sprawled around dead drunk, were now rushing in one after another.
Their mood was so vicious that if someone so much as met their eyes the wrong way, it looked like there would be hell to pay.
"They're rough people by nature, so it would be best to be careful."
Dolseok quietly shut the door again.
The soundproofing of Joseon-era rooms was crude beyond words, so whether the door was open or closed, the sounds from the next room came through clearly.
"Elder Pyeonsu! Open your eyes!"
"What in the world happened all of a sudden?!"
"Father! He's not breathing!"
Amid the deep male voices, a sharp woman's voice rang out.
Kanghyeok already knew there were women mixed in with the troupe.
What he had not known at all was that one of them was the leader's daughter.
Without realizing it, Kanghyeok began listening closely to the situation in the next room.
Dolseok pressed himself right up against the wall as well.
"Young master, it sounds like someone collapsed."
"Mm. It's the Pyeonsu, apparently."
"Oh no. They said they were supposed to perform at the Busa's residence tomorrow too. That's all ruined now. This won't just be overlooked."
"Someone is sick, and it won't be overlooked?"
"You think it's some ordinary family event? Master will be attending too. Not just the nearby yangban households, but even the surrounding gunsu, hyeollyeong, and hyeongam will probably all have been invited."
"Ah."
So it was a matter of the Busa's prestige.
Even if an ordinary hospital event went badly, there would be blame.
There was no need to say what that would mean for an event hosted by the Suwon Busa.
Kanghyeok looked down at the house-call bag still in his hand.
Should I at least go see the condition first…?
As Kanghyeok's hand twitched, Dolseok tensed as well.
"Young master, are you planning to go over there?"
"Can't I?"
At Kanghyeok's question, Dolseok fell silent for a moment.
Kanghyeok was not normally the type to meddle if he could help it.
If something looked likely to bring trouble on him, he preferred to avoid it.
This is Joseon, after all.
Who would dare lay a hand on a yangban?
And in broad daylight too, not some remote mountain village.
Dolseok's opinion was not all that different.
"It's not that you can't…"
This was Suwon, and the one making an appearance was a son of the Suwon Baek clan.
Seungmun was no longer in office, but the authority of a man who had once served as Daesaheon could not fade easily.
That was because his disciples still remained within the royal court.
Even now, nearby local magistrates sent him gifts almost every other day.
"Then let's go."
Gripping the house-call bag, Kanghyeok stepped out of the room.
Dolseok also got up reluctantly.
If the master was going, the servant could hardly stay behind.
The door was still flung wide open.
When they looked inside, people were throwing water, shaking shoulders, trying all sorts of things.
"Call a physician! A physician!"
It seemed the Eoreumsani had now given up pretending to be a man. She was shouting at the top of her sharp voice.
Whether it was because she had been wearing a mask or because of the situation, some strands of her hair were damp with sweat.
Among them were men howling in despair, their faces looking utterly defeated.
"He's already dead—what physician are you talking about! Ah, Elder!"
Kanghyeok cleared his throat and knocked on the door.
It was already open, so it meant nothing.
"Is everything alright in here?"
At the sudden unfamiliar voice, everyone turned wary.
"Who are you?"
The man who had been riding the swing so energetically stepped in front of Kanghyeok.
He was much shorter than Kanghyeok, but the muscles in his forearms and calves were no joke.
Since he had been wailing just moments ago, tears still shone in his eyes.
Dolseok hurriedly stepped between them.
"Ahem, ahem! How dare you stand like this before a son of the Suwon Baek clan!"
"What Baek clan?"
The man in front of them still did not back down.
But his force had weakened somewhat compared to before.
After all, this well-dressed man clearly looked like a yangban.
"Our young master is versed in medicine. He says he will take a look, so count it as an honor."
Dolseok looked around at the room with an air of authority.
To Kanghyeok, he looked every bit the lowborn servant he was, but it worked on the troupe.
Especially on the woman who performed as the Eoreumsani.
"Then are you a physician?"
That was something even Dolseok did not know.
Yesterday was the first time he had ever seen the young master practice medicine.
In truth, it was the first time he had ever seen him do anything useful at all.
"Mm."
Instead of answering, Dolseok merely let out a vague sound.
The one who answered was Kanghyeok himself.
He brushed aside the man standing before him and strode inside.
He was so solidly built that even the muscular man had to step aside at once.
"That's right. I am a physician."
With that, Kanghyeok went in and felt the collapsed man's neck.
Ordinarily, a physician would have checked the wrist, so the sight was unusual.
But no one dared interfere.
The loose, casual air Kanghyeok usually carried had suddenly gone taut.
No pulse…
If blood pressure was too low, the carotid pulse could be hard to feel.
In that case, you checked the femoral artery instead.
The one in the groin.
"What are you doing right now—"
The moment Kanghyeok reached near the man's groin, protest immediately rose.
Of course, it did not last long.
"Quiet. Damn."
Kanghyeok recalled the earlier performance, when this Pyeonsu had been injured.
He definitely took a blow to the chest with someone's head.
Thinking about it again, it had not been a light impact one could simply ignore.
"It's a cardiac problem. Now, strip off his upper clothes!"
"What…?"
"No more talk. Strip them off!"
The first to move was Dolseok.
Having witnessed Kanghyeok's miraculous medical skill only yesterday, he did not hesitate for even an instant.
"Yes, young master!"
"No, you wretches dare lay hands on Elder Pyeonsu's—"
"Shut up and help strip him too!"
"Uh… ah…"
Led by the Eoreumsani woman, several of the men began silently following Kanghyeok's orders.
It was not simply because he was a yangban.
The overwhelming confidence in his tone carried a strange power of persuasion.
"Hoo."
In an instant, the Pyeonsu's upper garments were removed.
A bluish bruise on his chest was exposed.
As Kanghyeok percussed the chest, he spoke to Dolseok.
"Dolseok, open the bag."
"Yes, young master."
From inside the bag, Kanghyeok took out a large syringe and a stethoscope.
Mm. Just as I thought.
The heart had not stopped completely.
It simply was not beating effectively.
Because blood had filled the sac surrounding the heart.
"Dolseok, hold the patient down tightly."
"What?"
Before Dolseok could even answer, Kanghyeok drove the needle straight into the Pyeonsu's chest.
Bright red blood immediately began filling the syringe.
The Eoreumsani let out a shout like a scream.
"Has this bastard gone mad?!"
But Kanghyeok paid no attention at all to the reactions around him.
Once he started working, he was not the sort to look back and forth.
"Dolseok, watch carefully and follow!"
"What?"
"This is how you save a life."
The blood pressing on the heart had been removed, but it still lacked the strength to beat properly.
Kanghyeok immediately began chest compressions.
It was called CPR, but to someone who did not know better, it looked almost like a method of killing.
Was it not a grown man pressing down on another man's chest with all his might?
Even the Eoreumsani woman now looked flustered.
But Kanghyeok did not care in the slightest about the reactions around him.
His focus was entirely on the patient's pulse.
"It still hasn't come back. This time, you do it."
"What? Me?"
"Yes. Press with your palm between the nipples. Keep your arms straight."
"Uh… yes, young master."
Even as he sensed the atmosphere growing uglier and uglier, Dolseok nodded.
Whatever happened, if this Pyeonsu did not wake up now, it felt as though he would really die.
Kanghyeok, as a yangban, would likely survive even if things went wrong, but he himself would not have much hope.
While Dolseok pressed down on the Pyeonsu's chest with the fear of death hanging over him, Kanghyeok began something even more astonishing.
"Hup."
Artificial respiration.
Unable to bear it any longer, the Eoreumsani woman grabbed Kanghyeok by the shoulder and tried to yank him back.
"You bastard! If he's dead, then he's dead—how dare you insult him like this!"
But even grown men could not withstand Kanghyeok's strength.
However tough she was, there was nothing she could do to him.
She only ended up clinging to his shoulder and shaking there.
Without sparing her even a glance, Kanghyeok shouted at Dolseok.
"Wait! Stop for a moment."
By now, men had surrounded Kanghyeok and Dolseok.
Some even held wooden clubs in their hands.
Swallowing hard, Dolseok answered,
"Yes, yes!"
Kanghyeok quietly checked the Pyeonsu's neck.
Then he nodded.
"For now, the worst has passed. He'll wake up soon."
At those words, Yeoni's eyes went round.
How could someone who was clearly dead wake up again?
While everyone stared only at Kanghyeok with baffled expressions, the man who had been on the swing struck his own palm with his club and said,
"Fine then, you bastards. Just you wait—if Pyeonsu doesn't get up…"
He was not the only one shooting fierce looks.
Every member of the gathered troupe was the same.
It seemed their respect for the Pyeonsu far outweighed their fear of a yangban.
Shuddering, Dolseok whispered to Kanghyeok,
"Young master, I don't think these people know fear at all."
"Don't worry. I guarantee it. He'll get better."
"Will he really…"
It was the first time Dolseok had learned that the words don't worry could be this worrying.
As he stood there, Dolseok silently prayed to ancestors whose names he did not even know.
Please, please.
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