A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 410

Chapter 79: An Unexpected Destination (5)

Shine University, first-floor lobby.

The once bustling place was now relatively quiet. There were hardly any patients sitting in the waiting area, and the number of patients going to and from the examination rooms had also decreased significantly.

Outpatient hours were over.

Jun-ho’s steps were headed toward the thoracic surgery outpatient clinic.

In front of Clinic Room 3.

Just seeing her face on the electronic display made Jun-ho’s heart swell.

A-yeong was smiling brightly in the display.

It felt like just yesterday she had obtained her resident license, but A-yeong was already a professor seeing outpatients.

Creak.

The clinic door opened.

A familiar face.

A face he had missed.

The face he loved appeared. Jun-ho and A-yeong’s eyes met.

Time seemed to stop just for the two of them.

Both of them were motionless.

Soon, without either knowing who moved first, they approached each other.

They shared an emotional embrace.

At this moment, words were unnecessary.

Jun-ho simply held A-yeong tightly.

Something hot welled up inside him. The tip of his nose tingled, and his eyes blurred.

He had promised himself long ago that he wouldn’t cry when he reunited with A-yeong.

But it wasn’t easy.

It wasn’t easy to contain the emotions that had burst forth.

After the deep embrace.

Jun-ho stepped back from A-yeong and looked at her.

Only then did it feel real that A-yeong was in front of him. It was a completely different sense of reality than having video calls.

A-yeong also seemed to be trying not to cry.

Her eyes were moist, and her cheeks were flushed.

“I’m sorry. Did you wait long?”

Jun-ho managed to say his first words.

The reason for their separation was entirely Jun-ho’s fault.

Because Jun-ho had left for the Mayo Clinic for his training.

Because he had been in the United States for seven years.

A-yeong must have been lonely because of Jun-ho’s decision. She didn’t show it, but she must have been in pain.

Thoracic surgery fellowship.

Becoming an assistant professor of thoracic surgery.

Jun-ho felt guilty for not being by A-yeong’s side during those difficult times.

Lovers should be…

…each other’s support and a place to lean on when things get tough.

“It’s true that I waited a long time, but you don’t need to be sorry.”

“Why…”

“Why should you be sorry to me for chasing your dreams? It’s something to be proud of.”

Perhaps she had regained her composure.

A faint smile appeared on A-yeong’s lips.

“I don’t want you to make the time I waited for you a time of apology. That’s all.”

A-yeong’s answer was clear.

It reminded him that A-yeong’s nickname in high school was “Smarty.”

Come to think of it, neither of them had changed much compared to before.

“…”

“…”

After a short conversation, a long silence began.

It wasn’t that they had nothing to say, but that they had too much to say.

It was a silence that came because they didn’t know where to start.

Jun-ho walked over to A-yeong and put his arm around her waist.

“Aren’t you hungry? Should we get something to eat?”

“Jun-ho, what do you want to eat?”

“The bread you like.”

A-yeong chuckled at Jun-ho’s words.

* * *

There was a large franchise bakery near the hospital. It also served drinks and had tables to sit at.

Thump!

A-yeong placed the tray on the table.

The tray was full of bread.

Jun-ho placed the drinks on the table.

The two sat down facing each other.

“Can you really eat all of this?”

Jun-ho stared alternately at the bread he had bought and at A-yeong with wide eyes.

A-yeong had chosen seven pieces of bread. There was also a slice of cake.

A-yeong’s nickname was “Bread Lover,” but…

…he didn’t think she had ever eaten this much bread before…

“This should be enough to fill me up.”

“Not enough to burst your stomach?”

“I’ve been thinking about becoming a YouTuber like you these days. A YouTuber specializing in bread and desserts.”

A-yeong said jokingly before becoming serious.

“Anyway…”

“What? Why are you glaring at me like that?”

“There you go again. You picked out a pizza bread with no nutritional value. If you come to a bakery, you should eat real bread.”

A-yeong went on a long rant.

A-yeong had been anti-pizza bread for a long time.

No, she was an extremist pizza bread force that didn’t recognize the existence of pizza bread.

A-yeong’s logic was this.

Pizza is pizza, and bread is bread.

Therefore, pizza bread is a monster that cannot exist.

But A-yeong still didn’t seem to know.

The reason why Jun-ho insisted on pizza bread.

Jun-ho didn’t really like pizza bread.

So why did he choose pizza bread…

…because he thought A-yeong’s expression when he chose pizza bread was cute.

He just wanted to tease A-yeong one more time.

“What are you talking about? It tastes good.”

Jun-ho said teasingly and took a bite of the pizza bread.

A-yeong, huffing and puffing, was still cute.

Yes, he could never give up this fun.

“Tsk! You’re back in the country, so I’ll have to give you some bread-based mental training soon.”

“Do whatever you want. Anyway, how does it feel to be a professor?”

“I thought it would be great to be a professor, but it’s not… The more I have to do, the greater my responsibility becomes.”

After speaking, A-yeong bit into the bread.

He wondered if A-yeong was eating so much bread because of stress.

Because the easiest way to relieve stress is to eat.

“Tell me if you’re having a hard time. I’ll listen to everything.”

“It’s okay. I’m doing well.”

“Of course, I know that. But there are a lot of things you can’t tell others, right?”

“I’ve been telling you everything I can’t tell others, Jun-ho?”

“I don’t think so either?”

Jun-ho smiled wryly and continued.

“There are things you couldn’t say because you were worried that I would be burdened while I was in the United States. I want to hear those things.”

Jun-ho hit A-yeong right on the mark.

For a moment, A-yeong’s movements stopped.

Just as A-yeong knew Jun-ho inside and out.

Jun-ho also knew A-yeong inside and out.

Given A-yeong’s personality, she probably hadn’t told Jun-ho even half of the things that had been difficult for her.

She must have thought that he would have a hard time if she told him all her worries and troubles.

“If you tell me about the hard times you had in the United States first, I’ll tell you.”

“I didn’t really have anything hard?”

“Liar. That can’t be true.”

A-yeong’s eyes narrowed.

“The hardest thing was not being able to see you and my family, and then there was some racism? But the racism was only there at first, and then it disappeared completely.”

“Really? That easily?”

“Because… I crushed them all with my skills.”

Jun-ho said with a smile on his face.

Unlimited stamina due to Qi Circulation [cultivation technique for energy].

Virtual surgical training by stimulating the optic nerve in the back of the head.

The amazing dexterity honed by the Howling Moon Twelve Hands and Jade Hand Preserving Flower Technique [martial arts techniques].

Various tests and improvisation using internal energy, etc.

Jun-ho chewed up and spat out the Mayo Clinic before returning home. So much so that he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“You know I’m not an ordinary person, right?”

Jun-ho looked around and spread out his palm.

Thump!

As if using telekinesis.

The glass was drawn into Jun-ho’s palm.

The principle of levitating objects.

Using the principle of moving objects with internal energy, Jun-ho grabbed the cup and took a sip of the drink.

A-yeong was the only person on Earth who knew that Jun-ho was from the Murim [martial arts world].

So he could use his internal energy with peace of mind.

“I’ll never get used to that.”

“I probably never will. Anyway, tell me your story, A-yeong. There’s a lot I want to hear.”

Jun-ho rested his chin on his hands and leaned toward A-yeong.

A-yeong nodded.

* * *

“Is that about it?”

After speaking, A-yeong drank the remaining coffee.

She suddenly stared at the wall clock in the store.

The current time was 8 o’clock.

So she had been talking alone for almost two hours.

A-yeong felt light and relieved after getting everything off her chest.

She could tell Jun-ho things she couldn’t tell her family.

She could tell Jun-ho things she couldn’t tell her colleagues.

Come to think of it, the relationship between lovers seemed mysterious. In some ways, it was more intimate than blood ties.

“Didn’t your ears hurt?”

A-yeong said apologetically.

She belatedly realized that she had monopolized the conversation too much.

“I hope you don’t make the story I treasured a story that hurt my ears.”

“Wow, you got me there.”

A-yeong chuckled.

Jun-ho had thrown back the words A-yeong had said earlier.

“You’ve worked hard so far, but you’ll have less trouble in the future. I guarantee it.”

“How?”

“First of all, I can solve the physical part 100 percent. I have a new martial art that I’ve learned, and I’ll show you.”

Jun-ho suddenly got up from his seat and approached A-yeong.

“Turn your back to me.”

“Okay.”

A-yeong did as Jun-ho told her.

She turned her back to Jun-ho, leaning against the back of the chair.

Jun-ho’s palm was placed on A-yeong’s shoulder blade.

‘This is…’

Something warm rushed into her heart. And as her heart beat, it radiated that energy throughout her body.

This feeling was like…

…it was similar to the feeling of contrast dye spreading throughout her body [a substance used in medical imaging to enhance visibility].

When Jun-ho took his hand off her shoulder blade.

An unknown vitality began to circulate from the top of her head to her toes.

Her mind became clear.

Her slightly bent back straightened on its own.

She had so much energy that she suddenly wanted to do health training for the first time in her life.

“What is this?”

“It’s called Internal Energy Infusion. It’s a martial art that sends internal energy to the heart.”

“Internal Energy Infusion?”

“Yeah. Usually, a master sends internal energy to the opponent’s blood vessels to restore their energy, but…”

“…”

“That takes too long. There are many eyes in modern times, so it can be suspicious.”

“…”

“So I changed the method. If I send internal energy to the heart, the heart circulates the internal energy throughout the body on its own.”

“…”

“This was actually discovered thanks to you, A-yeong.”

“Is it because I’m a thoracic surgeon?”

“Bingo!”

Jun-ho laughed cheerfully.

Jun-ho gave A-yeong the credit for Internal Energy Infusion, but A-yeong knew that the realization was entirely Jun-ho’s doing.

Jun-ho must have desperately pondered how to share his energy with patients, guardians, or fellow staff.

If it hadn’t been for that pondering, the amazing martial art of Internal Energy Infusion would not have been discovered.

“Internal Energy Infusion originally lasts about half a day, but I’ve improved it a bit over the years.”

“…”

“These days, the effect lasts about a day. If you get it from me once before work from now on, your body will never have a hard time.”

“…”

“And the parts of you that are mentally difficult will also get a lot better. I’m not going anywhere now. I’ll be in Korea no matter what.”

“…”

“I’ll always be by your side to listen to your stories.”

Jun-ho said in a warm voice.

He reached out and gently held A-yeong’s hands.

The fact that the person she loved was by her side.

The fact that she was receiving infinite love from that person.

The fact that she had a reliable support.

The fact that they would never be separated again.

Those many facts made A-yeong’s heart ache.

Was that why?

When they first reunited.

The tears she had been holding back burst out.

A-yeong lowered her head and sobbed.