A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 521

Chapter 102: New Face (2)

“Let’s take a break over there,” Hwang Jung-hoon said, pointing to a temple nestled on the mountainside. Jun-hoo and Choi Jin-gu both nodded.

The sign at the entrance of the temple was inscribed with ‘Hyegumsa’ in Chinese characters.

The temple was quite small.

The main hall, where Buddhist teachings were preached and offerings were made, stood at the center, a small stone pagoda gracing its front.

Other buildings were scattered around in a seemingly random fashion.

Despite it being a weekend, there were very few visitors or worshippers.

A monk in robes was sweeping the courtyard in front of the main hall. The monk’s closely shaved head gleamed under the sunlight.

“Hello, Monk,” Hwang Jung-hoon said, offering the first greeting. The monk looked up at Hwang Jung-hoon.

There was no hint of wariness in his eyes.

It seemed he knew Hwang Jung-hoon.

“Welcome, Mr. Hwang. What brings you here with guests today?”

“Well, I have some business to take care of. Is it possible to see Monk Hyun-jong?”

“Try the servants’ quarters.”

“Thank you.”

The two men clasped their hands together in a brief farewell.

“Professor Hwang, do you believe in Buddhism?” Choi Jin-gu asked, a surprised expression on his face.

“Yes, I do. I’ve been going to temples with my parents since I was young, so it naturally became a part of my life. Professor Choi, do you have a religion?”

“No, I don’t. If there’s a religion that promises to send me straight to heaven, I’ll believe in that one.”

“To go to heaven, you have to have faith first, no matter what religion it is, right?”

“I just meant I’m irreligious.”

While the two men were talking, Jun-hoo was quietly observing the temple.

Jun-hoo was also irreligious.

But if he had to choose the most appealing religion, it would be Buddhism.

Perhaps it was because of his background in the Murim [martial arts world].

He had encountered many noble monks from the Shaolin Temple.

The person Jun-hoo respected most in the Murim was also the head abbot of the Shaolin Temple.

Abbot Ilmok.

He had only met him once, but the impression he left remained etched in Jun-hoo’s heart.

-Forgiveness is not for others. It is only for yourself.

-…….

-The only way to extinguish the flames of revenge burning in your heart is forgiveness. Nothing can stand before the sea of compassion.

This was the advice the abbot gave him when Jun-hoo confessed that he was tormented by his father’s enemy, Jeok Il-do.

In fact, the leader of the Murim Alliance had given similar advice.

But there was a profound sincerity in the abbot’s words.

It was as if the abbot exuded a benevolent aura that could even forgive the enemy who killed his father.

“Follow me.” At Hwang Jung-hoon’s words, Jun-hoo snapped back to reality.

After walking for about five minutes, they spotted a monk sitting on the porch of the servants’ quarters, knitting.

The monk appeared to be in his mid-40s.

He wore glasses and had a sharp, defined face.

As soon as the monk saw Jun-hoo’s group, his face tightened. He glared at them with undisguised hostility.

In that moment, Jun-hoo understood.

The reason why Hwang Jung-hoon had suggested taking another break at the temple, even though they had just rested.

The reason why he had only smiled awkwardly when asked if the pediatric neurosurgeon they were looking for was a recluse.

“Yong-hyun, it’s been a while.”

“Don’t call me by my secular name. I am Hyun-jong.”

That’s right.

The identity of the pediatric neurosurgeon that Hwang Jung-hoon was going to introduce was none other than a monk.

It never rains but it pours….

This was going to be a complicated situation.

* * *

“Seriously, Professor Hwang, are you out of your mind? How can you introduce a monk? Is a monk going to perform surgery!” Choi Jin-gu gesticulated wildly, criticizing Hwang Jung-hoon. His face was flushed red with frustration.

“Shh! He’ll hear you,” Hwang Jung-hoon said, raising a finger to his lips.

“Yong-hyun may be a monk now, but he was once the best pediatric neurosurgeon.”

“That’s in the past. Now he’s an ordained monk. How can we bring a monk to the hospital, unless he’s a recluse?”

Choi Jin-gu pounded his chest in frustration.

He shouldn’t have listened to Hwang Jung-hoon in the first place. Hwang Jung-hoon was a good person, but he lacked tact.

Choi Jin-gu was annoyed that he had climbed the mountain for nothing.

“Still, the chief [referring to Jun-hoo] would do anything, right?”

“Maybe if it’s hospital work. But this is a temple. He’s not healing patients here. Is the chief a psychologist?”

“Hmm. That’s troublesome.”

“Ugh! I’m in trouble because of Professor Hwang too,” Choi Jin-gu grumbled, pouting his lips.

* * *

While the two men were bickering.

Jun-hoo was facing Hyun-jong alone.

In the heavy, tense atmosphere, Hyun-jong was the first to speak. He asked in a wary voice.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Seo Jun-hoo, the chief of neurosurgery at Shinhwa University Hospital in Busan.”

“Why would such an important person be looking for me?”

Even as he answered, Hyun-jong’s hands were constantly moving as he stared straight at Jun-hoo.

He was meticulously sewing a tattered robe.

The hand movements were extraordinary.

The smooth rotation of the wrist.

The delicate and precise stitching.

The stitches, created by the left and right hands intertwined in a single rhythm, and so on.

Even with those trivial movements, Jun-hoo could easily discern Hyun-jong’s skill as a surgeon.

Perhaps that was why.

The desire to bring Hyun-jong back to the department grew stronger.

“Aren’t you going to speak?”

“I was momentarily distracted by your dazzling needlework. I’ll get straight to the point.”

Jun-hoo took a breath and continued.

“I need your help, Monk. Please come back to the hospital.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I’m a monk, not a doctor.”

“You were once a doctor.”

“If the secular world was such a happy place, would I have chosen the life of a monk?” Hyun-jong scoffed.

It was as if he was telling Jun-hoo not to even dream of persuading him.

Why did he, once called the rising star of the pediatric neurosurgery department, suddenly turn his back on the secular world?

A question he had forgotten, or perhaps lost, vividly flashed through his mind.

“Namo Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara [Homage to Amitabha Buddha, Hail to Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva].” Hyun-jong suddenly chanted a Buddhist prayer, rolling the prayer beads on his wrist.

At that moment, Jun-hoo clearly saw it.

The Chinese characters for the name ‘Jin-joo’ engraved on the prayer beads.

Strange.

It’s rare to engrave letters on prayer beads….

Could that name be a clue to uncovering Hyun-jong’s painful past?

Jun-hoo engraved the name Jin-joo in his heart.

“Hoo. Washing my contaminated ears has made me feel much better,” Hyun-jong said in a mocking tone.

“So, what did you come here for?”

“You know what I want, don’t you? Tell me how to change your mind.”

“Well, if you visit the temple every day for a hundred days without fail and perform 108 prostrations [a deep bow in which the forehead touches the ground, performed as an act of reverence], your mind might change.”

“Hey, let’s not abuse our power too much,” Choi Jin-gu, who had joined them at the servants’ quarters, raised his voice.

“Don’t you know how great Chief Seo is? He performs 5-6 surgeries a day. He rushes out of his house even on weekends if there’s an emergency surgery.”

Hwang Jung-hoon, who was next to Choi Jin-gu, tried to stop him, but Choi Jin-gu was adamant.

“But what? You want him to come every day and do 108 prostrations? Do you think words are everything?”

“You’re the foolish one!” Hyun-jong, who had been sitting on the porch, suddenly stood up.

Choi Jin-gu’s eyes widened at the scolding.

He didn’t expect Hyun-jong to react so fiercely.

“If you’re going to make an absurd request, you have to show an absurd amount of sincerity, don’t you?”

“…….”

“How dare you ask me, who has already devoted myself to Buddhism, to return to the hospital? Where else can you find such rudeness and disrespect?”

Choi Jin-gu realized he was right and backed down.

The atmosphere quickly shifted to Hyun-jong’s side.

Already captivated by something, Jun-hoo even admired Hyun-jong’s spirited appearance.

A surgeon should be fiery when necessary.

How else could they endure the harsh reality without passion?

“Monk Hyun-jong.”

“What is it?”

“Today is day one.”

“Pardon?”

“I said today is day one.” Jun-hoo didn’t bother to add an explanation.

He moved to the main hall, receiving the puzzled gazes of Choi Jin-gu, Hwang Jung-hoon, and Hyun-jong.

He performed 108 prostrations with a reverent attitude.

* * *

“The world is wide, and there are many oddballs.”

After Jun-hoo’s group left.

Hyun-jong was walking around the temple grounds to calm his confused mind. A boulder the size of a house had fallen into his tranquil heart.

The ripples were so strong that even chanting Buddhist scriptures and meditating did little to calm his mind.

The conversations he had with Jun-hoo clung to Hyun-jong like a sticky swamp.

He couldn’t shake them off.

This was why Hyun-jong disliked people and words from the secular world.

Step. Step.

After circling the courtyard several times, Hyun-jong left the temple and climbed the mountain path.

The sky he suddenly looked up at was like a black sea.

Unlike Seoul, he could count the stars twinkling in the night sky one by one with his fingers.

The solitude of the mountain village evening was soothed by the sound of starlings.

‘He certainly wasn’t an ordinary person.’

Hyun-jong recalled Jun-hoo.

About an hour ago.

He had moved to the office and searched for Jun-hoo on the turtle-like network [slow internet].

What is a true doctor?

The answer to that question was Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo had been active with brilliant skills since his residency and had devoted himself to patients and colleagues.

Among the articles he had found.

He couldn’t find a single negative comment about Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo was the Avalokiteshvara [Bodhisattva of Compassion] of the medical world.

He was clever enough to avoid gossip well.

And seeing that he had successfully led the epilepsy clinic recently, he seemed to have a great sense of reality.

So why did Jun-hoo look for him?

It was obvious if he thought about it.

In a situation where even pediatrics was struggling, pediatric neurosurgery couldn’t function properly.

They were so short-handed that they wanted to borrow even a cat’s paw [any available help].

But Hyun-jong didn’t have the slightest desire to return to the secular world.

The wounds he had suffered in the secular world were too deep.

He still hadn’t healed completely.

“Chief Monk, what brings you here?”

At the temple, Hyun-jong encountered the chief monk after finishing his walk.

The chief monk was small and skinny, but he was as solid as a pebble.

That’s why Hyun-jong always thought the chief monk was bigger than him.

“I heard there was a commotion during the day.”

“Ah…… An uninvited guest came. It was nothing much, and I sent him away after reasoning with him. It won’t interfere with my devotion to Buddhism.”

Hyun-jong said defensively.

The chief monk didn’t say anything. He simply pierced Hyun-jong with his profound gaze.

Hyun-jong couldn’t dare to meet his eyes.

He lowered his head.

“Are you still planning to deceive yourself?”

“What…… What do you mean?”

“You didn’t come to the temple to attain enlightenment. You simply ran away from the secular world.”

“That’s not true. I just want to be liberated by the Buddha’s teachings.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. Poor thing. How can you understand the Buddha’s mind when you can’t even understand your own mind? I’m only saying this now, but you’re a lost cause.”

Hyun-jong was stunned by the chief monk’s harsh criticism.