“Scholar Baik?” Governor’s eyebrows were raised with inquisitiveness.
There were only two Baiks in that place, and it must not be Seungmun. In that case, there was only one left… that Baik Ganghyuk, who was a notorious gangster in Suwon!
Ganghyuk was so notorious that even Governor General of Gyeonggi had heard of him He was the only one weakness of Seungmun, a famous scholar who had completed his office successfully.
And now he heard that THAT guy had skills to save one from the death?
He could not believe his ears.
“What? Baik Ganghyuk?” Governor General mentioned the name in surprise. Although he was a governor general, he was still behind Seungmun. Additionally, he was far younger than the latter. Therefore, it was very rude to mention his son like that.
“Ah, excuse me!”
“NO… No… Ganghyuk, is it Pyeonsu whom you saved yesterday?” Seungmun stammered out in surprise.
He had heard the details from the Gisaeng who was beside the Governor just now.When people fell like that, there was no hope for them to survive. That was common sense.
At that time, many noblemen were interested in medicine, and Seungmun was one of them. He read medical books and cured any sick servant he could.
As per the story from the Gisaeng, he was the incarnation of Hwata and Pyeongjak, the most famous Oriental doctors in China. Obviously, he could not hide the surprise he felt.
But, despite all the uproar and disbelief around him, Ganghyuk remained cool. ‘They make a fuss for nothing.’
When he was in the hospital, he cured such patients many times. Sometimes, he cured several patients like that in a day.
He stood up and answered. “Yes, father. I had treated him.”
“Eh!” Seungmun exclaimed in surprise, though that didn’t mean he wasn’t proud of him.
On the other hand, Governor and Governor General had different thoughts.
‘We cannot count on the Gisaeng. No.’
They thought that it must be significantly different from what she had told. It was especially for the Governor, who was proud of his medical skills and did not recognize Ganghyuk. He had met many famous doctors, but nobody was young like him.
However, there were different thoughts in the area. Most of the people who were not in the highest ranked seats looked at Ganghyuk with wonder; especially middle-aged people, who seemed to show a great interest.
After all, it was natural to have some discomforts in that age.
As expected, they all came to meet Ganghyuk after the performance.
“Long time no see, kid. I have had some back pain for a while. Could you treat it?”
“I sprained my ankle on the way here. Could you examine it?”
There were many requests of that kind, most of them from noblemen in the town. But, as they were noblemen, Ganghyuk could not examine them in the marketplace.
So, Ganghyuk answered to hold the horse by the reins. “If you can come visit my place, I will examine you. If there are sick people around you, you can bring them as well.”
“Oh! Do you really mean it? Okay then. I will visit you in no time.”
“I see. I shall take my leave then.”
…
Ganghyuk got on his horse to ride back home. It was awkward when he first rode it, but he had become somewhat accustomed to it already.
But, just as he was about to leave, Yeoni came to him along with Pyeonsu and Makbong.
“Sir, are you going now?”
“Yes, I am.”
“We did not show our gratitude yet. It is what we received from the government office. Please take it.”
With that having been said by Yeoni, Makbong put down a box with a grunt. In the box were marten and deer hides.
They were expensive and valuable things, so Seungmun laughed brightly.
“Ganghyuk, it is the reward for saving a person. Take it.”
“Ah, yes, Father. Thank you, but you have not fully recovered. You need to come to me every day for a while.”
“Yes, sir. We will stay here for many days with Pyeonsu for the consultation.”
“Okay. That’s good. Then, you can leave.”
“Okay, sir.”
They were all very happy right now, all except Dolseok, who now had to carry the heavy box. He could not ask the servant who held the reins of Seungmun’s horse after all. So, he had to carry it alone.
“Ach” Dolseok groaned, since the box was very heavy. But, he was very stout and strong, so he managed to follow the group without stumbling.
In the meantime, Seungmun looked back. Since he rode the horse very well, his body was not moving at all, even though he moved his upper body on the horse.
“Now, tell me the story. What happened yesterday? The Gisaeng told me that he was dead and then was resurrected by you.”
Ganghyuk told the story exactly as what happened.
“His heartbeat had stopped, and he might have almost been dead. I made his heart start beating again.”
“Really? How could you do that? Is that even possible?”
“If you know the principle, it is not really difficult, Father.”
“Oh! You have good skills indeed. I was surprised when you cured Okseok, but this is even more surprising. And here I thought that you only roamed around uselessly.”
What he wished Ganghyuk to do was to study and to take Gwageo, the highest-level state examination to recruit ranking officials in Joseon. But, he had already given up such vain hope after all the years.
This was why he was very happy with Ganghyuk now, since he had done something incredible for once.
“Father…”
“Yes?”
“I will examine patients from tomorrow. It is not convenient to do in my room.”
“Ah, yes! I will get a room prepared for that. Do not worry!”
“Thank you.”
Seungmun couldn’t help but show some excitement, since he was quite proud of his son. Dolseok, on the other side, also made a fuss as if he was the one who had done everything. “All the people who witnessed the incident will come. I think my master’s medical skills are beyond this world.”
“Do not exaggerate. Do not make a fuss and lead the horse properly.” Seungmun scolded Dolseok, although he enjoyed his comments.
As the mood was very amicable, Dolseok smiled rather than getting his tail down.
“Yes, yes, sir. Shee! Go away!”
Seungmun kept moving forward like that for a while and then called out, “Ganghyuk…”
“Yes, father?”
“It is good that you have good medical skills and knowledge. But, you must pay attention to Gwageo. Understood?”
Ganghyuk did not have any intention to study anything other than medicine. He had once memorized Chinese characters when he was in the calligraphy club, but it was all gone. As of now, all he could do was write his name and a few Chinese poems, and that was it.
‘But, I don’t want to cause any troubles here.”
Considering the circumstances, the original Ganghyuk must have been a gangster. So, it would be okay even if he pretended to study.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Hurry up!”
…
As soon as he arrived at home, Seungmun had the servants prepare a room in a separate building. As it was to be used as a clinic, he ordered the servants to clean it thoroughly. Dolseok called Ganghyuk after some preparation.
“Sir, have a look.”
“OK, I will see.”
Ganghyuk went to the other building while following Dolseok. It was empty, since it was the place normally used for guests.
“It is still cold because we have not heated it yet.”
“It’s fine,” Ganghyuk said as he went into the room. There were traces of the things that Seungmun had taken care of.
There were clean cushions and futon where patients could lie down. It might not be as good as a clinic in the city, but it is good enough to be a health office in the rural area.
“Good… It is good enough.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I will work here from tomorrow. Be prepared to assist me.”
“Eh? Me, too?”
“Yes, it will be good for you to learn medicine.”
“Ah!” Dolseok nodded with hesitation. He was a servant of Ganghyuk, so he could not reject any order of his. Furthermore, it was not a dangerous thing, so he thought that there would not be much harm in learning medicine.
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay, take a good rest today and go to bed early. We will be busy tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is the first day, so I guess there will not be many…”
“Nobody knows.”
When he was in the hospital, he was very popular, and even Member of Parliaments could not make a reservation easily.
‘Of course, I am not in that world. So, I should not expect such a thing here.”
But, in reality, that was all nonsense. Even the patients who had told him that they would come might not. But still, he wanted to be prepared thoroughly.
“Prepare two basins to boil water. I may need them when patients come.”
“Boiling water? I see.”
“Yes, I am leaving now to take a rest.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dolseok seemed to have pain in his arms because of the heavy box he had carried, so he was massaging his arms constantly.
“Dolseok…”
Just as he was about to leave, Dolseok stopped there on hearing the calm voice. He was very faithful originally, but he had become even more faithful after he saw Ganghyuk treating Okseok and Pyeongsu.
“Yes, sir?”
“Before going to bed, take it. Your arms will be better.”
Ganghyuk gave him an anti-inflammatory medicine and an antacid. Dolseok knew how precious they were, so he received them politely with both hands.
“Thank you, sir!”
“Yes, see you tomorrow.”
…
Ganghyuk stared at the sky while standing there for some time after Dolseok had left. It was not much different from that world he used to live in, except there were more stars, and they were brighter.
“Am I the only one brought here?’
It was a bizarre thing to be brought to another world. It might be that he was the only one. But, there could be others as well. It would be no harm to find out.
‘If the performers come tomorrow, I will ask them to investigate if there is anyone who knows about Korea.’
Since they were always moving around, they might actually be the best people to be given that mission. Anyway, he did not have much hope.
‘I will try to live a good life here for a while. I would like to see him smiling.’ Ganghyuk sighed while looking at the side where Seungmun used to rest. He felt some kind of affection, probably because Seunmgmun resembled his late father very much.
Thus, the upcoming day would be crucial. Hence, Ganghyuk hastily went to his room to try falling asleep.
…
“Governor…?”
“Hush, hush.”