Ansung was a town that took at least one day by walking from Suwon to reach.
If he had to come all the way to see Kanghyok, the governor must have had some urgent disease. But his arrogant attitude really sucked.
Kanghyok was so disappointed in him that he couldn’t even speak. But he had to be careful as the guy acted recklessly in his capacity as a petty governor.
“Dolsok.”
“Yes, master.”
“I wonder why the mayor has not come yet. Can you go and escort him here?”
“What?”
The mayor would regularly come to see Kanghyok on his own. Sometimes, he came twice a day after Kanghyok moved into the house in the market street.
“Just do as instructed!”
“Ugh… Yes, master.” Dolsok quickly pushed aside the petty officials and went out.
It was not Kanghyok alone who was dumbfounded by the governor’s sudden appearance. Yoni, who was taking care of the order of his patients’ treatments, was as perplexed.
“Please wait in line as our master is seeing a patient now.” And then she handed a treatment ticket to the governor.
Number 22 was marked on the ticket, which meant that the governor was the last in order. When he realized this, the governor became infuriated. A servant gave him a treatment ticket instead of the doctor greeting him!
With an angry face he asked a petty official, “What did this guy tell me?”
“He told you to wait…”
The governor slapped the official in the face strongly. “Hmph. These guys here still don’t get it. Give this man here a good scolding first.”
At his order, the petty officials quickly charged toward Yoni. However, they couldn’t catch her as she was so quick.
When he heard some noise outside, Kanghyok opened the door.
“Why the heck is there so much noise here? How dare you guys make disturbances here?”
As he was already done with treating his patient, Kanghyok tidied up his clothes.
“Stop it!” Then he slowly stood up and looked down.
The guy on the horse was a typical nobleman dressed in silk with a jade-decorated belt around his waist. His petty officers hid behind him. They seemed to appreciate his unexpected posture.
Some of them even dropped clubs, and Yoni, who ran around to avoid them, now stopped.
Even the governor seemed surprised at Kanghyok’s undaunted attitude. In all actuality, the governor was just assigned to Ansung. He only heard there was an excellent doctor in Suwon, but didn’t know who he was, so the governor turned arrogant again.
“You’re very rude. Do you know who I am?”
Chuckling at him, Kanghyok said, “You’re the governor of Ansung.”
“Yeah, that’s right. How dare you act rudely to me when you know that?”
“Granted that, do you know whose house this is?”
With an embarrassed look, the governor looked around.
At a glance, it was a typical house that was common in the market street. It was in a good location and very big, though.
“I have no idea, but how could you be so rude to me?” Though he rebuked Kanghyok harshly, obviously he restrained himself a bit.
The petty officials also put back the clubs into the waistbands of their trousers. In their eyes, the doctor standing on his own seemed far from an ordinary young man.
Kanghyok was now more confident as he began to see the mayor approaching nearer to him.
‘Let me buy more time then.’
Kanghyok said in a low voice, “This is the house of the mayor of Suwon, Yungil Kim.”
“Yungil Kim?”
As the governor of Ansung, he clearly knew the mayor’s name. Nominally, he was on an equal position as the chief of their respective jurisdiction, but in terms of the bureautic hierarchy, the governor was nothing compared to the mayor.
“How come you are seeing patients in the mayor’s residence?”
“Oh my god. You came here without knowing that I was treating patients in his house?”
Now that he mentioned it, that was true. The governor was impatient most of the time, so he forgot to check it before he came here. Though he regretted it belatedly, he really cared about saving his face.
“Do I have to know first whose house it is before I come here?” Hiding his embarrassment, the governor persisted stubbornly.
While he was arguing with Kanghyok, he heard someone approaching with servants.
“Clear the way! Here comes the mayor of Suwon!”
The governor looked at him with a surprised expression.
He noticed the mayor looked sullen.
“It’s been a while, milord.”
“What brings you here? And that, accompanied with the petty officials?”
“Oh, that’s because…”
“Are you going to make a commotion in my jurisdiction?”
“No, sir…”
“Then, are you here to break my house?”
The governor, who was still on a horse, was at a loss as to how to respond.
“Get off the horse first. How long do you want me to look up at you?”
“Sorry, milord.”
Passing by the governor coldly, the mayor headed straight for Kanghyok. “By the way, Kanghyok, do me a favor.”
“Yes, sir,” Kanghyok greeted him politely.
“Shall we come inside?” And the door was closed with a bang.
The governor, who got off the horse awkwardly, was pissed off.
‘Damn it. I received a waiting order number, but the mayor passed the line!’
Not caring a bit, the two inside began to talk.
It was a rule in Kanghyok’s examination room to have anybody waiting for their treatment in the order they arrived, regardless of their social status.
But there was an exception.
When the patient was too high in social position, Kanghyok had no choice but to ignore this rule and accept him.
In the case of the mayor, he always treated Kanghyok well regardless of the latter’s reputation. That’s why Kanghyok wanted to repay him as much.
Kanghyok asked in a sincere voice, “So, what else do you want from me?”
The mayor already took the day’s Viagra pill.
“Oh, nothing special. I was wondering if you can treat someone I know?”
“Of course, I can. Tell him to come anytime.”
The mayor clearly liked Kanghyok’s cool reply. “Thanks.”
“What kind of disease does he have?”
“Looks like he fell off a horse yesterday. I heard he broke his leg. Because of that, he failed in the civil exam, and he is pretty depressed now. He’s very good at martial arts.”
Leg fracture. Depending on the condition, he may need surgery. Moreover, he was skilled in martial arts, which required a very careful treatment. Is it possible to treat him here in old Korea?
‘I know I’m better than others.’
Shortly after, Kanghyok nodded.
“Got it. Let me treat him. I’m confident that he will get better treatment here than at any other doctor’s.”
“I can count on you, Kanghyok. I’ll let you know then.”