Nurse Park Geumja sat at the reception desk with a cup of coffee. The waiting room was quiet today, as always.
She turned on YouTube on her phone. When Director Jeong had been here, such a thing would have been unthinkable, but these days she was so bored that she occasionally watched YouTube like this.
The videos she enjoyed were cooking, childcare, and animal-related content. She opened YouTube as usual, and the algorithm gods recommended a new video.
“Huh, I know this one.”
The child’s face floating in the thumbnail looked familiar. Park Geumja quickly tapped the screen.
The video started ordinarily.
‘Hello, this is Bomin’s Family! Today we came to Gangwon-do for some exciting rafting with our family.’
After the father’s cheerful voice, cute six-year-old Bomin appeared on screen. Raging river water flowing fiercely was captured in the background behind her brightly smiling face.
Rafting scenes continued, showing the family enjoying themselves as they were splashed by water. But soon the screen shook, and the father’s rough breathing as he ran desperately was picked up by the microphone.
‘Bomin, are you okay? Show me your hand!’
The atmosphere inside the video suddenly grew urgent. Bomin sniffled and raised her right hand. A torn wound about 3cm long was visible on her palm. Blood was flowing from it.
The father’s narration.
‘Bomin got hurt. It wasn’t a major injury, but since she was cut by a rusty steel plate, we were a bit worried. We searched for a nearby hospital and went there.’
The next cut showed the old signboard of a rural clinic.
‘Geumsan Clinic.’
Park Geumja, who had been watching with her heart pounding, almost let out a cheer aloud. It was her 22nd year working at Geumsan Clinic. Seeing it filmed in such a popular YouTube video made her feel as good as if her own family had become famous.
Park Geumja expected that she would appear soon, but the next frame showed a young, handsome doctor.
“Our director was this handsome?”
To the point that even Park Geumja was startled, Gang Taeho looked great on camera. He looked as handsome as Lee Hajun, who played a doctor in the recently popular medical drama [An Extraordinary Doctor’s Life].
“Let’s see. Bomin hurt her hand?”
The handsome doctor spoke softly and skillfully treated the wound.
‘Bomin is bravely holding up well.’
The doctor’s face shown on screen was glowing so brightly that she wondered if a filter had been applied. His appearance while treating her was kind, overflowing with consideration, and even sublime.
Subtitles appeared at the bottom of the screen.
‘Everyone, don’t be surprised. This wasn’t the end. The real story began after this.’
After the wound treatment was finished, the handsome doctor casually spoke to the parents.
‘Does the child have atopy?’
The parents nodded in surprise.
‘Yes. We’ve been going to every hospital we could find for atopy treatment for two years, but it won’t heal. We’ve used steroid ointments and tried every folk remedy possible.’
The doctor fell into thought for a moment, then opened his mouth as if having made up his mind.
‘In my opinion, Bomin’s skin condition is not simply “atopy,” but a rare disease called neotopic inflammatory skin disease. The reason steroid ointments alone were ineffective is also because of that.’
‘Then does that mean it can be treated?’
‘Yes. It’s a very rare disease, so it won’t be easy, but let’s do our best to try.’
A calm, confident doctor. No matter who looked at him, he gave off an impression of overflowing trustworthiness.
The video cut back to the family having returned home. Bomin’s mother spoke in front of the camera.
‘Today marks exactly three days since we started applying the ointment. As you all know, Bomin always used to wake up crying because of the itching every night.’
The mother’s choked-up voice filled the screen.
‘But last night, for the first time, for the first time since she was born, Bomin slept deeply through the night. Her skin has also become unbelievably clean.’
The video showed Bomin’s peaceful sleeping face. Finally, subtitles quietly rose.
‘He was the benefactor of our family, a true doctor-god.’
The comment section heated up instantly, and she could see the view count rising in real time.
Nurse Park Geumja forgot the coffee she was drinking, her mouth hanging open as she scrolled down the comment section.
“Oh my goodness!”
Just then, the door to Geumsan Clinic burst open. Two people entered boldly, snorting like angry rhinos.
They were the village headman Jang Minseok and his son Jang Byeongu.
***
Knock, knock.
“Doctor, the headman has arrived······.”
Before Nurse Park Geumja could even finish speaking, Jang Minseok burst open the examination room door and entered. His son Jang Byeongu followed him inside.
Taeho tried to guess the reason for the sudden visit from the Jang father and son.
‘Could it be because of that Eco Resource Center?’
Taeho hid his inner thoughts and asked indifferently.
“What brings you here?”
The headman plopped down in front of Taeho and demanded as if picking a fight.
“I heard you’ve been poking around everywhere lately. What the hell are you doing snooping around other people’s businesses?”
“Snooping around? I’ve gone out to get some fresh air. Is it a problem that I went near the abandoned mine?”
Before he could even finish speaking, the headman slammed his fist down on Taeho’s desk.
Bang! The desk shook.
“You took pictures too, didn’t you? I don’t know what scheme you’re up to, but a little punk like you isn’t someone who can stick his nose in this.”
The headman delivered a threat.
‘He still has that habit of scaring people like a thug before getting to the point.’
Taeho even smiled as he spoke leisurely.
“I am a doctor who must take responsibility for my patients’ health. I am the village’s only doctor. Naturally, if it’s something related to the health of the village residents, I must step in.”
“Health? What health?”
“Do you know that place called the eco-friendly Eco Resource Center is not eco-friendly at all? And what kind of damage it could do to the village?”
“Hmph, nonsense!”
Seeing the headman’s attitude, Taeho became certain that the headman knew everything and was covering it up.
‘To think he would sacrifice the village for his own gain—he’s a worse person than I thought.’
Jang Byeongu stood behind his father, glaring at Taeho with clenched teeth.
Back when they left the village in middle school, that bastard Taeho had only been tall and scrawny. But the guy who returned as a doctor now had a much better build.
‘What the hell did he eat in Seoul?’
Jang Byeongu was subtly comparing his own biceps to Taeho’s. He had planned to start by throwing a punch when they entered, but honestly, he wasn’t so sure now.
The headman leaned back slowly, sneering at Taeho.
“You don’t know how things work around here yet, do ya? That’s a business bringing big money to our village. If you oppose the business alone, it won’t be the business that has problems—it’s gonna be you first.”
“Problems? I heard you’re already spreading rumors that I’m a quack. On what basis are you doing that?”
Taeho asked as if truly curious.
The headman narrowed his eyes like a lizard.
“Hmph, you’d best not even dream of putting down roots in this neighborhood. The sooner you leave, the better it’s gonna be for you.”
The headman snorted, stood up from his seat, and walked out of the examination room.
Jang Byeongu stopped as he tried to follow his father out the door. He looked Taeho up and down and said,
“You work out?”
“What?”
When Taeho asked back, Jang Byeongu waved his hand dismissively.
“Hmph, forget it. Punk.”
The father and son left Geumsan Clinic.
“Byeongu.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Contact the Geumsan Youth Association, the Women’s Association, the Elderly Association, and the Development Committee. Ah, don’t forget the Saemaul Leaders’ Association either.”
“What should I tell them?”
“From now on, if anyone is caught hanging around Geumsan Clinic, tell them they definitely won’t be able to live decently in this village.”
“Yes.”
“Hah, I’ve been village headman for 20 years. Seems I can’t even dig out one rolling stone.”
The headman smiled a triumphant smile.
***
But contrary to the headman’s threats, a crowd began bustling in front of Geumsan Clinic early the next morning. The clinic hadn’t even opened yet, but the road in front of the door was packed with luxury sedans and SUVs.
Even the village residents were peering at the clinic, wondering if something big had happened.
“Doctor, there are cars lined up outside.”
Nurse Park Geumja couldn’t hide her surprise as she looked out the window.
“It’s good to have more patients, but at this rate, I’m not sure if we can handle them properly.”
The people in line were all holding up smartphones and filming.
Pharmacist Gu Hyejeong of Boram Pharmacy, who had been opening the pharmacy door, rushed inside.
“Dr. Taeho! What is going on? Everyone says they came to see you. It’s chaos, something about a ‘Miracle Rural Doctor’!”
“‘Miracle Rural Doctor’?”
When Taeho asked, Park Geumja answered.
“Director. The people in line said the ‘Miracle Rural Doctor’ video on YouTube has already surpassed a million views. So they came with their friends.”
For a moment, Taeho’s mind went blank. He already knew that the video of Bomin, his second patient, had been uploaded to YouTube—he had heard it from Nurse Park Geumja yesterday. But he hadn’t expected the video to have such a huge impact.
Looking outside, people who had gotten out of luxury cars had even brought folding chairs and were standing in line.
“If this many city people come, it’s a jackpot. What if we run out of medicine? I need to place an order right away.”
Gu Hyejeong said brightly and ran back to the pharmacy.
The sudden surge in patients was clearly an opportunity. But at the same time, he worried that it would strain the clinic’s system.
Even now, the tension among the people waiting in line was no joke.
Finally, Taeho opened the door of Geumsan Clinic and came out.
“Wow! It’s the Miracle Doctor!”
Someone shouted, and people simultaneously raised their phones to take pictures.
“Thank you all for coming this far. First, let’s start with registration···”
But Taeho’s words were quickly drowned out by the uproar.
“Doctor, see me first!”
“We’ve been waiting since dawn!”
“I happened to watch YouTube, and a video popped up about a child whose atopy improved in a week.”
“I also found out through that channel and came.”
“I just wanted to give it a try.”
Taeho was practically pushed inside and began seeing patients.
Diverse groups of patients lined up—young parents holding children rarely seen in the village, women in their twenties, and more. Their common trait was that the majority appeared to be financially well-off.
It would take money to drive all the way to a rural hospital like this on a weekday, not even a weekend.
‘At this rate, it looks less like a rural hospital and more like a famous Gangnam clinic.’
Taeho was bewildered at first, but he thought that perhaps he could pay off his debts quickly.
The busiest person at Geumsan Clinic was Nurse Park Geumja. She hadn’t accumulated 22 years of experience for nothing; she displayed her skills like a fish in water.
With Taeho’s permission, she first called her cousins who were hanging out at home. Since they had nursing assistant certifications, she told them to come work part-time for now.
Then she handed out numbered tickets to the lined-up patients in turn, divided the waiting room by sections, and created an atopy patient classification chart.
“Alright, please tell me your name and briefly any previous medical history or medication use. We’ll adjust the order to avoid any confusion!”
Park Geumja organized the waiting room with a clear and firm voice.
“This side is for children with severe inflammatory reactions, that side is for the adult patient group.”
As the treatment process was systematized like triage at a large general hospital, the chaotic atmosphere gradually settled. Park Geumja also provided guidance to prevent conflicts among the patients.
Taeho felt relieved seeing Park Geumja like that.
‘When the tide comes in, build the harbor.’