Chapter 25: Treating a Thief [4] The woman was looking straight at Kanghyeok.
Startled, Kanghyeok let out a string of awkward laughs.
"Oh."
Then he hurriedly hid behind Yeoni.
Damn it.
What was the point of hiding now that their eyes had already met?
The thought that he was utterly screwed made his vision go dark.
He desperately tried to force his brain down a happier line of thought, but there were not many happy possibilities.
That old man Jeong Changgwon and the old man at home are in a teacher-disciple relationship, so…
At best, marriage?
At least the woman was quite beautiful.
Even with her face this swollen, she still looks good enough.
He had wanted to live more freely, but it seemed all of that was ruined now.
While Kanghyeok was alone in his head, already picturing sons, grandsons, and daughters-in-law, the woman spoke again.
"I asked who you are."
Her tone was composed, yet firm.
She truly was worthy of being called Changgwon's daughter.
Even in such a muddled condition, she still had this much dignity.
"Say something."
At Kanghyeok's whisper, Yeoni flinched.
"Say what?"
"I don't know, just make something up."
Kanghyeok shrank farther behind Yeoni.
It was not much use, considering the difference in their size.
While he was trying to fold himself into hiding, the woman pointed at him.
"The person behind her. I asked who you are. If you do not answer now, I will scream."
It was painfully obvious whom she was pointing at.
Yeoni let out a sigh of relief and stepped aside.
"Young Master, say something."
"What am I supposed to say?"
"Just make something up."
He had definitely been the one who said that, but now that he was on the receiving end, it felt rather unpleasant.
After briefly reflecting on his own irresponsibility, Kanghyeok stepped forward.
"Mm. Me, you mean?"
"Yes."
At some point, the woman had already straightened her posture and was sitting properly upright.
Her clothes looked somewhat shabby, but the air she carried was no less imposing than that of any high official.
As expected of a Joseon old-school hardliner's daughter.
That damned old man must have raised his household with iron discipline.
At least she won't scream as long as I answer.
It seemed possible that he might still talk his way through this.
Kanghyeok kept clearing his throat and straightened his posture.
It was the very pose Seungmun sometimes adopted when receiving guests.
Since Kanghyeok himself was such an imposing man, it looked extremely convincing.
He did not look at all like someone who would sneak into a noblewoman's room.
"I am… Baek Kanghyeok."
Kanghyeok answered in a carefully polished voice, along with a suggestive gaze.
The lamplight, like a toilet lamp, was oddly flattering too.
Back when I was a professor, one look like this and they'd be utterly captivated.
Though the woman before him seemed different.
Without the slightest wavering, she spoke again.
"I see. Then what exactly brought you here?"
"Ah, well. Mm."
Kanghyeok fumbled for a moment, then remembered the needle he had pulled out earlier.
"Right. I came because of this."
"A needle?"
"That's right. If you look carefully, the middle part is broken."
The woman looked at the tip of the needle in Kanghyeok's hand.
Its color had faded somewhat, and it smelled musty, but it was clearly a needle.
"You are saying you came here to look for this?"
"That's not what I mean."
Just as one would expect from the daughter of a Joseon old-school hardliner, she was rigid to the extreme.
Kanghyeok shook his head and pointed at her foot.
"I mean this was stuck in there. That's why no matter what medicine you took, or what was done, you didn't get better."
"Ah."
After letting out a short groan, the woman looked down at her foot.
From the spot where the needle had been lodged, yellow pus and red-tinged blood were slowly oozing out.
Perhaps because of that, the pain was much less.
Only then did the woman realize that the man standing before her did not have an unfamiliar voice.
"You are the physician who came earlier this evening."
"That's right. That was me."
The woman tilted her head and glanced outside.
It was pitch-dark, deep in the middle of the night.
"But why did you return at such a late hour?"
"Because Elder Jeong Changgwon would not allow me to examine the patient directly."
"Then you came at this hour solely to treat me?"
"That's right."
"It seems to be curfew."
"Well, as long as I don't get caught, it doesn't matter."
Although that was not really something he ought to say when he had been plainly caught by the person herself.
"Mm."
The woman wiggled the toes of her right foot.
Perhaps some of the swelling had already gone down, because the movement looked much improved.
Whatever the circumstances, the fact remained that Kanghyeok had treated her.
Though it seemed the one who had actually laid hands on her was the unnamed woman beside him.
"I understand. Thank you for treating me."
Having grasped the situation, the woman bowed her head.
People of Joseon had a surprisingly cool side to them.
Kanghyeok waved both hands dismissively as he answered.
"No, no. I'm still in the middle of treating you."
"I already feel much better than before I went to sleep."
Even though she had taken a painkiller, the woman looked clear-headed.
At this point, it did not seem likely that she would suddenly scream.
Nor did it seem likely that this would become a problem later.
Since it's already come to this, should I just finish the treatment properly before leaving?
Who knew when he would ever get another chance to enter this room?
A house call in the dead of night while avoiding patrols.
Even for someone as fearless as Kanghyeok, once was enough.
"Then it would be better to finish the treatment properly."
"There is more to be done?"
"There's too much inflammation where the needle was lodged. I need to scrape some of it away. I couldn't do it earlier because I thought you might wake up, but now there's no need to worry about that."
"You are not thinking of doing it yourself, I trust."
A benefactor was a benefactor, but propriety was propriety.
Kanghyeok understood her concern completely.
There's that saying too, that men and women over seven should not even sit together.
He considered it complete nonsense, of course.
But this was Joseon.
"This person here will do it for you. As you can see, she is a woman."
"Yes, I'm a woman."
Yeoni awkwardly smiled as she brushed back her loose hair.
She was so used to wearing her hair in a topknot that letting it down looked strange on her.
Her face was rather tanned from always performing onstage, but that only made her look more attractive.
"Then that is fine."
The woman nodded and extended her foot.
In her straightforwardness, she already seemed far better than her father.
"Good. Yeon, open the bag again."
"Uh, yes."
Yeoni hurriedly opened the bag.
Kanghyeok took out cotton swabs and tweezers and handed them to her.
"You can do this, right?"
"Good grief."
She could hardly say in front of the patient that she could not.
All she could do was sigh.
"It's not difficult. Remove the dirty-looking bits from where you pulled out the needle earlier."
"With this?"
"Yes, and use the white one to probe around."
"Won't it hurt?"
And this was not just anywhere—it was the sole of the foot.
A place where any injury would be troublesome, and therefore especially sensitive.
Which also meant it would hurt that much more.
"It will. If it hurts too much, you can say so. There's no need to force yourself to endure it."
"I understand. However…"
"However?"
"You will need to hurry a little. My father coughs early in the morning."
"Oh."
Getting caught by the woman could be smoothed over like this.
But if they were caught by Changgwon?
At best, marriage. At worst, he might die on the spot.
"That won't do. Yeon, you heard her, right?"
"Yes, yes."
Yeoni had been dealing with people in the market for years already.
She had only seen Changgwon once yesterday, but that had been enough to size him up.
Kanghyeok might survive, but Yeoni and Makbong would almost certainly die.
At best, one beating. At worst, a straw mat or flogging.
Cold sweat began to bead and run down her skin.
"You endure well. Right, take that off. Probe there."
"What about this part?"
"That part… mm, that would hurt. Leave it. She'll be taking medicine anyway."
"Mm, yes, Young Master."
The woman was fairly patient.
And Yeoni's hands were skillful.
Thanks to that, they managed to treat the wound well enough without taking too long.
"You both did well. That's enough. Now stick this on her foot."
Kanghyeok handed Yeoni a piece of gauze coated with antibacterial ointment.
Yeoni affixed it to the foot with surprising competence.
"It's finished."
After giving the foot a rough final inspection, Kanghyeok rose.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but outside somehow seemed brighter than before.
If we stay any longer, this could really become a disaster.
Yeoni felt just as pressed for time.
"Then, Young Master, let's go."
"Right. You worked hard. And do not tell your father about this, no matter what."
The woman had enough sense for that much.
"Yes. Do not worry."
"Come to think of it, I treated you without even knowing your name."
Same with Yi Sun-sin—he kept forgetting to ask people's names.
Could this woman be some famous historical figure too?
Thinking over which notable figures with the surname Jeong he might know, Kanghyeok looked at the woman.
With a faint smile on her lips, she lowered her head.
"My greetings are late. My name is Jeong Yeoju."
"Yeoju."
Unfortunately, this time it was someone he did not know.
But this feels strange.
The moment he heard the name Yeoju, it felt oddly familiar.
As though he had known it for a very long time.
Did I ever have a student with a name like that?
Kanghyeok soon shook his head.
There was no way he would fail to remember one of the very few female disciples he had.
"That's a good name. Anyway, we're leaving now. Go back to sleep. You'll recover faster that way."
"I understand. Please go safely. Thank you."
Just as he was leaving the room, he saw Yeoni twisting her hair back up.
Though calling it a topknot was a stretch—in that moment, it looked more like an upswept hairstyle.
Kanghyeok's heart thudded once again.
Looking at her like this, Yeoni feels familiar too.
It was strange.
To feel longing and familiarity while looking at women.
For someone as cool-headed as Kanghyeok had always been, it was nothing but bewildering.
Have I just been going without for too long?
Thinking back, ever since he had come to Joseon, he had not done it even once.
A few days ago, he had even had a wet dream.
As if he were some adolescent boy.
To wake up alone in the middle of the night with things all sticky.
If Dolseok had seen it, he would have laughed himself sick.
Right. That must be why.
While he was lost in thought, a groan came from below.
It was Makbong, pinned beneath Kanghyeok's foot.
"Y-Young Master, we have to get over now. This is starting to hurt…"
"Oh, oh. Sorry, sorry."
Kanghyeok sprang over the wall.
Makbong followed soon after.
Yeoni, who had already crossed, waved her hand with an annoyed expression.
"Are there already mosquitoes?"
"Uh, it's the patrol."
Makbong, who had come over last, hurriedly pulled Kanghyeok and Yeoni down.
Soon, two patrol officers passed by carrying torches.
After seeing them go by safely, Makbong let out a sigh.
"Young Master, what exactly is the reason you went through all this trouble just to treat her? Judging by it, that household did not seem worth much."
"Mm."
The answer did not come as easily as expected.
Of course, Kanghyeok did have an unusually strong pride as a doctor.
I don't like seeing a patient I've seen die. But still…
That did not mean he was the sort to disregard his own safety.
Looking back, he had climbed over the wall as if possessed, and even completed the treatment.
"I don't really know either. Maybe she was a lover of mine in a past life. We'll get caught at this rate, so let's go."
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