Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 224

#Extra Story 6: Boy Geun-uk (2)

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s just kids playing around.”

“Still, our child was wrong to hurt your precious son. We’ll cover the hospital bill…”

“Getting a cast is part of growing up, right?”

Hospital waiting room.

Both sets of parents exchanged greetings.

Geun-uk’s parents were effortlessly cool, even in this situation.

Meanwhile, Ryuk Jung-deok’s parents were quite imposing. Even bowing their heads in apology, they seemed incredibly tall and stern.

Jung-deok’s father tugged hard on his son’s ear, scolding him.

“You rascal, apologize properly!”

“I’m sorry. I just playfully bumped him; I didn’t know he’d go flying all the way to the edge of the universe.”

“You! Can’t you apologize with some sincerity?”

*Thwack!*

Ryuk Jung-deok got hit on the back of the head.

Meanwhile, Geun-uk was groaning, lying on the waiting room sofa.

He only rolled down a rice paddy ridge, but somehow his shoulder dislocated and his leg bone cracked!

He felt like being so frail was the worst thing in the world at that moment.

‘Ugh, I’m dying… Where am I…?’

Geun-uk groaned and looked around.

Somehow, he had been loaded into a car and rushed to a hospital in the city.

After a quick initial examination, he had X-rays taken and was now waiting for treatment.

But…

The atmosphere here was unsettling.

—Aaaagh!

A patient’s scream echoed from inside the treatment room.

—Owaaaah! Card-deuk!

The sound of a chainsaw echoed from somewhere on the opposite side. (Likely a cast saw, used to remove casts.)

It was just the sound of cutting a cast, but it sounded terrifying to Geun-uk.

As a young patient visiting an orthopedic clinic for the first time, he couldn’t help but be frightened.

“Kim Geun-uk, please come in!”

When his name was called, Geun-uk was helped up and hesitantly entered the examination room.

The doctor was an old man.

His hair was as white as if it had been frosted, and there wasn’t much of it left.

Nevertheless, the expression ‘stooped old man’ didn’t suit him at all.

He sat straighter and more upright than most young people.

He pushed up his glasses, checked the X-ray, and asked bluntly.

“You rolled, huh?”

“Yes?”

“Where did you roll to end up like this? Doesn’t seem like a high place; did you fall down a rice paddy ridge?”

“Oh… Y-yes, that’s right.”

Geun-uk’s eyes widened.

Was he a shaman instead of a doctor?

It was amazing how he could guess the situation just by looking at the X-ray.

The doctor smiled wryly, as if he expected it.

“Heh heh heh… We’ll have to fix your shoulder first. Can you feel sensation when I touch here?”

“Yes.”

“Then the axillary nerve is okay. Heave-ho~”

The doctor got up from his seat.

Then, he had Geun-uk lie down on the bed and climbed on top of him.

“As time flows on~”

The doctor hummed an unknown tune.

At the same time, he naturally pushed Geun-uk’s armpit with his foot and grabbed his arm with both hands.

It was like a wrestling pose.

Geun-uk was startled. Contrary to his appearance, the doctor’s grip was incredibly strong.

‘W-what kind of grandpa is this strong?’

Is this old man a quack?

Is he trying to break my arm for sure?

A million thoughts ran through his head.

Regardless, the doctor hummed and squeezed hard.

“Okay, the bone is going in~ Heave-ho!”

“Uwaaaagh! Save me!”

—Thud!

A huge sound was heard.

“Huh?”

Geun-uk blinked.

The dislocated shoulder magically snapped back into place and became normal!

The arm, which he couldn’t move even 1cm until just now, began to move freely.

For a moment, it was such a strange feeling that he forgot the pain in his leg.

How could he put the invisible bone in exactly at once?

“W-wow…”

While Geun-uk was marveling, the doctor chuckled and came down from the bed.

“Put a cast on your leg and go.”

“Do I have to?”

“You have to so the bone heals well. Weight is put on the leg, so the shape can be deformed if you’re not careful. Heh heh heh.”

“I already get teased for being weak… If I get a cast, I’ll be labeled as the weakling from the beginning of middle school.”

Geun-uk made a tearful face.

Geun-uk was more worried about his school life than the immediate pain.

The doctor laughed and replied.

“No. You should be proud!”

“Why would I be proud of a cracked bone? It’s like advertising that I’m weak.”

“Originally, bones get stronger when they break… In the process of bone healing, something called callus [a bony deposit formed around a healing fracture] comes out… This makes the bone even stronger. Heh heh heh.”

Looking at the X-ray of his leg, the doctor continued to explain.

“The human body, when damaged appropriately, can actually become stronger as it recovers. So being injured isn’t something to be ashamed of; it’s a process of becoming stronger~ That’s what I’m saying.”

“Oh…”

It was persuasive.

Should I call it a change of perspective?

After listening to the explanation, he didn’t think that hurting his bone was such a bad thing.

Besides, maybe it was just his imagination, but the pain felt much less than before.

After getting a cast in the plaster room, Jang Pal-bong said.

“Okay, the treatment is all done!”

“Thank you.”

“Come again in 2 weeks! You have to see my face steadily until the bone heals!”

“Yes!”

Geun-uk nodded.

To be honest, he was suspicious until just now. He wondered if it was okay to be treated by such an old grandfather.

But after receiving treatment, he now had confidence in him.

‘He’s a cool grandpa.’

Doctor Jang Pal-bong.

That was his first meeting with him…

Later, it was also the most memorable meeting in Geun-uk’s childhood.

* * *

This place was quite famous in the village where Geun-uk lived.

It was because of Director Jang Pal-bong’s skills.

Every neighborhood has a well-known famous doctor, and Jang Pal-bong was one of them.

To exaggerate a bit, there was even a saying that patients who crawled in would walk out after going through Jang Pal-bong’s hands.

Thanks to that, the hospital was always crowded with elderly people with discomfort somewhere in their bodies.

“Teacher Jang Pal-bong is really amazing.”

“Oh, don’t even mention it.”

“He’s a master doctor, a master doctor.”

“Teacher, don’t go anywhere else! You have to stay in this neighborhood!”

The patients’ trust in him was almost like faith.

Should I call it Jang Pal-bong Church?

Whenever the elderly said that, Jang Pal-bong would laugh and answer.

“Where would I go? Don’t get too hurt. Getting hurt when you’re old is painful and sad!”

A total of 6 weeks of treatment.

Geun-uk regularly visited the hospital for treatment.

He took X-rays to check if there was a fracture dislocation, and to check if callus was coming out well and bone union was in progress.

During that time, Geun-uk was able to become quite close to Jang Pal-bong.

It was enough time for him to become the youngest member of the .

“Teacher!”

“Huh? What’s that in your hand?”

“It’s red ginseng extract that was at home!”

“Hey, why are you bringing me what your parents should eat? I wonder whose troublemaker you are!”

“Hehehe.”

Geun-uk smiled awkwardly.

His unique bright personality and sociability.

The crazy sociability that would later be evaluated as ‘can become friends with anyone in 5 minutes’ was innate from childhood.

“Teacher, by the way, I have a question! How old do people grow until?”

At the sudden question, Jang Pal-bong pushed up his glasses and asked back.

“Why, are you worried that you won’t grow taller?”

“Yes, I’m the same height as I was in elementary school… I’m wondering if I won’t grow forever.”

“Have you ever heard of bone age?”

“Bone age?”

“Yes.”

Jang Pal-bong nodded and explained.

“It literally means the age of the bone, and it’s different from the actual age. Some people are 13 years old, but their bone age is 11 years old, so they can grow a lot.”

“Wow! Can you tell right away just by looking at the picture?”

“Is it amazing?”

“Yes.”

“The human body is amazing. Especially when it comes to your own body, the more you know, the more interesting it is. Heh heh heh.”

Geun-uk’s eyes lit up.

Certainly, he hated his body when he looked in the mirror…

The feeling of looking at it with an X-ray is a bit different.

His body, which he hated until yesterday, is starting to get better little by little.

Looking at it from a medical point of view, the ‘human body’ feels amazing and wonderful.

Maybe this was the first time he felt attracted to the profession of a doctor.

“You can grow more in the future, so eat well and sleep well! Get along well with your friends at school too.”

“Yes. Thank you!”

“Don’t get hurt and come again! You!”

Jang Pal-bong laughed and sent Geun-uk out.

6 weeks of treatment.

He thought that would be the last meeting.

He thought he wouldn’t have to go to the orthopedic clinic for a while…

Two months later.

For some reason, Geun-uk was lying in the examination room again.

“Why are you here again?”

“Hehe.”

Geun-uk scratched his head awkwardly.

This time it was his ankle.

Jang Pal-bong, who was carefully looking at the X-ray, clicked his tongue.

“Soccer, huh.”

“How did you know?”

“You, I can tell right away. What other way do you get hurt like this at your age other than soccer? Those who can’t even kick a ball only run around.”

“Ah, what can I do when a tackle suddenly comes in.”

Geun-uk grumbled in a resentful voice.

The culprit was Ryuk Jung-deok again.

He had grown even bigger in the meantime.

Believing only in his size, he flew violently around the playground, causing a series of injuries.

In the end, Geun-uk ended up in the hospital again because of Ryuk Jung-deok…

At this time, Geun-uk’s parents couldn’t help but get angry.

—What? It’s that kid again?

—It’s too much! I’m going to go find this kid’s parents right now…!

But Geun-uk stopped those parents.

What should I say?

It was a matter of pride.

Rather than relying on his parents, he wanted to solve this problem more fundamentally.

“Teacher, I’m going to build my body.”

“What?”

“I started exercising to get bigger.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t even think about building your body and fighting; just study hard.”

“I’m studying hard! I don’t want to be ignored by others.”

“You, take care of your injured ankle!”

“I’m going to build my upper body first. Do you want to see?”

Geun-uk opened his school bag and took out a heavy dumbbell.

“Huh?”

Jang Pal-bong’s eyes widened.

What?.

Why is he carrying that around?

But the embarrassment was just the beginning.

“Hot, two! Hot, two!” (Likely a mispronunciation of “Hup, two!” a common weightlifting cadence)

Jang Pal-bong, who saw Geun-uk’s dumbbell exercise, jumped up and was greatly shocked.

“You, who does strength training in that posture?”

“Isn’t this how you do it?”

“And why are you putting heavy dumbbells in your school bag!”

“I saw it in a comic book… If you carry heavy things around and release the seal, you suddenly become strong…”

“Ah, oh my. My back neck!”

Jang Pal-bong grabbed the back of his neck and groaned.

How to learn exercise from exercisers?

It’s very simple. Do the wrong exercise in front of their eyes.

If you do that, you can learn exercise much more effectively than asking them to teach you.

“Stop it right now! That’s not exercise, it’s labor!”

Doctor Jang Pal-bong.

He couldn’t stand to see a patient ruin his body.

Especially if the other person was a growing child.

His clear voice echoed in the examination room.

“I’ll teach you properly, so learn from me for sure, you!”

Boy Geun-uk.

He unintentionally stimulated Jang Pal-bong…

Later, Geun-uk would recall this time as a turning point in his life.