Chapter 24: Treating a Thief [3] "No, you idiot. What do you take me for?"
After reassuring the tearful Dolseok, Kanghyeok stepped out of the room.
Though his way of reassuring him seemed somewhat off.
"Young Master."
Even with his hands and feet tied, Dolseok desperately called after Kanghyeok.
"Just go to sleep. I'm not going to do anything bad."
Kanghyeok put on the gentlest smile he could.
Yeoni and Makbong, standing behind him, smiled in much the same way.
Because of the awkwardly bright moon, it only made them look even more sinister.
Smiling so slyly in the middle of the night.
They looked no different from a band of thieves.
"Oh dear…"
Dolseok pressed a hand to his forehead and made a tearful face.
"Come on, I told you I'm going to treat the Gyosu's daughter."
"At this hour? Without the Gyosu knowing?"
"It's complicated. I'll explain it properly later. There's no time."
Kanghyeok closed the door right away.
From inside came Dolseok's lament.
"No, now you're just tying me up and leaving."
For a moment, Kanghyeok wondered if he should untie him, but then he shook his head.
He'll just make a fuss again.
The fool was so strong that they had even had to call in Makbong to subdue him.
Kanghyeok had no desire to go through that trouble again.
"Makbong, when can we head out?"
"Not yet. There are usually many patrols in the market."
"Mm."
He wanted to leave immediately, but there was waiting involved.
He did not mind waiting, but Dolseok's muttering from inside grated on him.
"Oh dear… poor Madam, what is she ever going to do?"
First, worrying pointlessly about Seungmun.
"I thought the Young Master was finally maturing, but now he's doing things he's never done before."
Then worrying about Kanghyeok too.
It was only when irritation was starting to rise in him that Makbong finally nodded.
"Now. Run diagonally from here as fast as you can and hide behind that wall."
"Now?"
"Yes. Young Master, you run first."
"Alright."
Kanghyeok dashed off with his house-call bag in hand.
It rattled because there was so much inside, but not enough to get in the way of running.
When he looked back, Yeoni and Makbong were following easily behind him.
"Alright, from here it's easy. Just follow me."
After saying that, Makbong started moving nonstop.
From one house wall to another.
Every time he stopped, a patrol passed by without fail.
That's a talent. A real talent.
He had said he went in and out of the widow village every day.
He really did move around Suwon at night as if it were his own front room.
"Is this the place?"
Makbong pointed at a thatched house.
It looked rather shabby for the home of a Junior Sixth Rank official.
Fittingly enough, the wall was also very low.
Kanghyeok was so tall that if he merely stood on tiptoe, he could almost see right inside.
The single horse tied nearby confirmed that this had to be the place.
"Yes, this is it. She seems to be in that room over there."
Kanghyeok pointed to the room where the woman was.
Yeoni and Makbong were too short to see anything.
They simply took his word for it.
"Then I'll go over first."
Yeoni stamped her feet a few times, then leapt over the wall from where she stood.
She was so light on her feet that she made almost no sound.
"Now come over."
"Right. But… how did you get over that so easily?"
Now that he was actually trying to climb it, the wall seemed fairly high.
While Kanghyeok hesitated, Makbong bent down and offered his back.
"Step on my back and go."
"Uh, is that alright?"
"Yes."
"Alright."
Since he was offering on his own, refusing would almost have been rude.
Kanghyeok lightly stepped on Makbong's back.
Apparently he was heavier than expected, because Makbong let out a groan.
"Ugh."
It would not do to waste Makbong's suffering.
Kanghyeok practically kicked off his back and barely managed to get over the wall.
It was not too difficult because Yeoni helped steady him at the end.
"Ugh."
The groan came from Makbong on the other side.
"Now I'm coming over too. Hup."
A man much heavier than Kanghyeok vaulted over in one go.
Though he made more noise than Yeoni had.
Lowering his voice as much as possible, he whispered,
"There isn't even a single ant in this house."
"They probably don't even have money to hire people."
If they had that kind of money, they would have changed houses first.
"That's true. That gentleman's clothes were especially shabby."
Yeoni muttered as she recalled Changgwon from earlier that day.
Her own clothes were in just as poor a state.
"Alright, then let's go in."
"But will this really be alright? What if she screams…"
"Don't worry. I can make something up and she won't know."
The medicine he had given the woman earlier was no ordinary one.
Its effect was so strong that even Sun-sin had fallen asleep during surgery.
Even now, she was probably sleeping without any awareness because of that medicine.
If a sturdy man could be knocked out by it so easily, what chance did a woman have of enduring it?
"Still…"
"I said not to worry."
Kanghyeok answered with a hint of irritation, then carefully opened the woman's door.
Lately, whenever I tell people not to worry, they only worry more.
At the hospital, it had been the opposite.
A few people practically treated Kanghyeok like a god, and that had only made things harder for him.
The hospital director was a perfect example.
Sure enough, the moment he opened the door, loud snoring could be heard.
"Whew, it stinks."
Makbong pinched his nose shut.
It was a little better than before, but the smell was still awful.
Kanghyeok shook his head and entered the room.
"As expected, the medicine I gave her earlier wasn't nearly enough. Yeoni, come in."
"Uh… yes, Young Master."
Yeoni hesitated, then followed him.
"Makbong, if anything happens outside, tell me right away."
"Yes, I'll keep watch properly."
"Good. I'm counting on you. Don't fall asleep."
"I'm usually awake at this hour anyway. Heh."
Makbong nodded briskly.
The laugh attached to the end sounded strangely lewd.
Lewd or not, he's reliable.
With Makbong handling the outside, it was time to begin the treatment in earnest.
The room was so dark that it seemed you would not recognize a face even if it were right in front of you.
Though we're going to light the lamp.
There was no harm in being careful.
Kanghyeok hid himself behind Yeoni and whispered,
"Now, you're the one who'll touch her directly."
"Whew… yes."
"Light the lamp first."
"Yes."
Yeoni lit the lamp set in one corner of the room.
It was incomparably dimmer than the lamp in Kanghyeok's room.
"Why is this so dark?"
"They must be using castor oil. Your household uses whale oil, Young Master."
"Whale? I use whale?"
"Yes. It's extremely expensive."
So even the oil used in lamps came in cheap and expensive kinds.
He had never known that.
That old man… he grumbles, but he takes care of me in every detail.
Everything used in the clinic had been provided by Seungmun.
He had even apparently supplied the highest-grade lamp oil, just in case it might help.
Well, if he hears I recited a poem well, he'll probably be pleased.
He was not his real father, but even so, that counted as filial piety, did it not?
Bringing that shameless thought to a close, Kanghyeok looked around the room.
Even if the light was cheap, it was still light, and he could see roughly enough.
There are… a lot of books.
Not only books, but paintings were hung here and there as well.
The woman clearly seemed to have very refined tastes.
Not that it mattered much.
Kanghyeok stopped looking around and whispered to Yeoni.
"Now let down your hair, so even if she wakes up, she won't be too startled."
"Yes."
Kanghyeok's warm breath tickled Yeoni's ear.
Her face reddened as she untied the topknot she had forcibly bound up.
Her hair, soft as silk, cascaded down.
Oh.
It gave off a completely different impression from how she had looked when the Pyeonsu had collapsed before.
She's pretty. Feels like I've seen a face like that somewhere.
There was no way to know where.
Maybe she resembled some actress or other.
"This is much better. Anyway, let's look at the foot."
"Uh… yes."
Yeoni carefully pulled back the blanket.
The foul smell grew even stronger.
So strong it made him want to throw open the door at once.
"Ugh…"
Yeoni turned her head and covered her nose with one hand.
Meanwhile, Kanghyeok began examining the wound in detail.
As expected, the wound in the foot has turned bad. Mm…
He had guessed as much from Changgwon's age, but the woman was very young.
Even with her face swollen from illness, her skin was still fine and delicate.
Doesn't seem like she had any preexisting illness.
It was not easy for an ordinary wound to worsen to this extent.
There was a high chance that something was still embedded inside her foot.
Hm.
He had to make a decision.
She may wake up, though.
Still, he thought he could probably make something up.
As long as Kanghyeok stayed hidden behind Yeoni.
"Yeoni, can you feel her forehead?"
"What? Yes. Oh my, it's burning."
"Right?"
High fever, plus sedatives.
Whatever. Let's do it. If worse comes to worst, we run.
She would not remember properly anyway.
Kanghyeok took out a mosquito forceps and tweezers from his bag and handed them to Yeoni.
"See the wound on the sole of her foot?"
"Yes."
"Can you probe it with this? There's probably something in there."
"What? But what if she wakes up…"
"Make something up. You can do it, right? It's fine if I'm not seen. And if you put your topknot back up, no one will recognize you either."
Kanghyeok kept whispering into Yeoni's ear.
With Kanghyeok's scent and his warm breath added together, it felt strangely unsettling.
The sleeping woman under the influence of the medicine was not nearly as distracted as Yeoni was.
"Uh… alright."
"Good. Just do exactly as I tell you."
"Yes."
"Turn it slightly to the right, that's it. There."
Yeoni carefully began probing into the sole of the woman's foot.
"Mm."
Perhaps because of the pain, the woman started to stir.
Startled, Yeoni turned around, but Kanghyeok only nodded.
"It's alright, it's alright."
"Whew."
Taking a deep breath, Yeoni pushed the mosquito forceps into the sole of the foot.
"Ah. There really is something there."
"Right? Try to grab it."
"Yes, yes."
A mosquito forceps was one of the most effective tools for catching and holding something small.
It had fine serrations, and it could lock as well, making it perfect for a situation like this.
"I think I've got it."
"Oh. Good. I can see it. Pull it out."
"Yes."
It seemed Yeoni had shaken off her nervousness, perhaps because she was excited at having actually done something.
Slk.
When she pulled on the forceps, a discolored needle came out with a clean sound.
Judging by its shape, when it had first become lodged there, someone must have tried to pull it out and snapped off the tip.
No wonder her leg swelled this badly with something like that stuck inside.
The wound had turned red and inflamed.
It was obvious she would have to take antibiotics for quite some time.
"It's done. Will this make her better?"
"Yes, well done. Really well done."
With a warm smile, Kanghyeok patted Yeoni on the head.
"This is the first time I've ever helped heal someone."
"It's my first time doing it like this too."
"Will she recover quickly?"
"Her leg still looks manageable. She probably won't have to lose it. That's a relief."
Now all they had to do was get out.
But then the woman, who had kept her eyes closed until now, suddenly opened them.
"Who are you?"
"Oh."
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