A competent doctor can cure everything - Chapter 70

There is a college student currently enrolled at Hanbit University.

She became a fan of volleyball after watching the women’s volleyball team perform well during the last Olympics.

Though the Olympics were over, she still wanted to watch more volleyball matches.

As a result, she naturally began supporting her local women’s volleyball team.

The team with a home stadium in her hometown of Seoul was the Blue Whales.

She started cheering without much thought, but the Blue Whales’ performance was far from impressive.

It turned out that the Blue Whales were a once-powerful team past its prime.

They had won championships in the past, but that was a distant memory.

Now, they were a team that played in the lower ranks.

“What? Did I pick the wrong team?”

But it was already too late for regrets.

Despite her frustration, she couldn’t let go of the Blue Whales.

It had become a love-hate relationship.

She needed someone to share her frustration with.

However, there were no friends around her who were as passionate about volleyball as she was.

Eventually, she joined a group chat for Blue Whales fans.

Her nickname was “Hanbit Univ. Volleyball Newbie.”

Then, one day, a piece of news came through the group chat.

“There’s going to be a KOVO Cup tournament in Suncheon this August?”

Volleyball is a sport that has a regular season from the fall to the spring.

The KOVO Cup is a short-term tournament that kicks off the regular season and showcases the skills teams have honed during the offseason.

The quiet group chat suddenly came to life after this new piece of information was thrown in.

Someone voiced their concerns.

[SpringVolleyballFan: “I’m worried about the first game ㅠ”]

[Serve-Ace: “Why worry? We’re playing White Stone, the team that finished last last year.”]

[SpringVolleyballFan: “No no, we can’t underestimate them. Their club gathered some good players and their foreign player is supposed to be amazing.”]

[SpringVolleyballFan: “On the other hand, our foreign player, Emma-chan, is… well, her jump is lower than expected and her form isn’t great. According to the staff, they say we shouldn’t have signed her.”]

[HoJeongHoJeong: “Oh no, what should we do… honestly, we only have Jeong Ho-jeong…” (disappointment emoji)]

[SpringVolleyballFan: “Jeong Ho-jeong is in bad shape too, apparently. She has to have shoulder surgery.”]

The group chat buzzed with news from someone who had quick access to information.

[HoJeongHoJeong: “What?! Does that mean we’re doomed? Why don’t we get some good players?!! Ugh, this is so frustrating!” (frustration emoji)]

[Serve-Ace: “They spend money bringing in players like Ji Young-sook, who should have retired already. She’s gotten slow after having kids and gaining weight.”]

[Serve-Ace: “Sigh… At this rate, we’re going to get embarrassed by White Stone too.”]

[SpringVolleyballFan: “So, are we all not going to try to book tickets for the KOVO Cup?”]

[HoJeongHoJeong: “Well, we should at least try to get tickets, right? Hehe.”]

[HoJeongHoJeong: “You never know… they might have made huge progress during the offseason…”]

[Serve-Ace: “Yeah. Let’s go watch the game and at least talk some trash, even if we lose.” Sigh.]

Even though everyone was pretending to be upset, they all attempted to buy tickets.

“Huh? Huh?!”

[Hanbit Univ. Volleyball Newbie: “I got my tickets!!”]

While all her friends in the group chat had failed to get tickets, she had successfully booked hers.

And, it just so happened that it was during the break, so she had plenty of time.

Though she was a bit worried that going in person might make her more frustrated, since she already had the tickets and time on her hands, she decided to go anyway.

[Hanbit Univ. Volleyball Newbie: “Well then, I’ll be going! See you later!”]

*****

One Saturday morning.

Reading the “live update requests” from her friends in the group chat.

The university volleyball fan, Hanbit Univ. Volleyball Newbie, boarded the train to Suncheon.

By the time she arrived at the stadium, there was still more than an hour left before the match, but the place was already packed with people.

The crowd, of course, was buzzing with excitement, along with the merchandise vendors and event organizers. It felt like a festival rather than just a volleyball game.

Public TV broadcast cameras were set up all around the arena.

As the university student sat in the stands, she watched as players began warming up one by one.

It was simply amazing to see the players moving right in front of her.

“Wow, insane! It’s Jeong Ho-jeong!”

When Jeong Ho-jeong, the “head of the household” for the Blue Whales, appeared, cheers erupted from the crowd.

The university student quickly pulled out the banner she had made at home.

-Blue Whales’ Volleyball Genius (Heart emoji) Ace Jeong Horang (Heart emoji)

“Jeong Horang” was the nickname for Jeong Ho-jeong. It was a playful and lively nickname that came about because, off the court, she was cheerful and mischievous, but on the court, she transformed into a tiger with a fierce gaze.

As she waved the banner and shouted, Jeong Ho-jeong looked over and winked at her.

“Hoooaah! No way! She definitely saw me, right?”

Quickly pulling out her phone, she zoomed in and snapped a few photos.

Swallowing her excitement, she noticed that other spectators around her were also getting excited.

“Oh my gosh!! Did you see that? She winked at me!”

No, she winked at me, the student muttered to herself, feeling a bit annoyed but still thrilled. She returned her attention to watching the players warm up in awe.

Over there, the Black player was Emma Russo, the foreign player.

Her long legs and sleek body made her look like a black panther.

When she jumped—wow, the bounce was incredible.

And then there was Ji Young-sook, the oldest player and middle blocker for the team.

The university student tilted her head slightly.

“She doesn’t look as heavy as I thought…”

Her passing and receiving the ball didn’t look sluggish at all.

Today’s vibe didn’t feel bad at all. Maybe they could win this one smoothly?

The university student thought to herself, feeling quietly satisfied as she watched the players on the court.

**********

“What? You think today’s vibe is good? That we might win smoothly?”

Soon, the university student cursed her own “bad intuition.”

“Ughhh… I’m losing it.”

She was currently alternating between typing ㅠㅠㅠ and curse words in the group chat.

Why?

Because, instead of the starting setter, suddenly the backup setter was listed on the starting lineup.

And to make matters worse, that backup setter collapsed during player introductions!

Even worse, this whole scene was being broadcast live on TV!

[ SpringVolleyballFan: ???? ]

[Serve-ace: What’s going on?? ]

[ HoJeongHoJeong☆: Did So So-min just collapse?? ]

The people in the group chat were also freaking out while watching the live broadcast.

At that moment, the huge screen in the gym filled with someone’s face.

“Wait, who is that person?”

“Did a random person just walk in?”

“Damn. He’s ridiculously good-looking.”

The spectators around the university student were whispering among themselves.

The broadcast cameras quickly focused their lenses on the newcomer.

Then, the gym’s PA system blared, announcing that the game would be temporarily halted.

But instead of dragging the man out, the staff just nervously stared at him.

“Why aren’t the staff dragging him out? Is he someone important?”

“Or maybe a medical professional?”

The university student stared at the scene, then quickly started filming with her phone.

On her phone’s screen, the man’s actions were captured in full zoom.

The man set the crossbody bag he had been carrying onto the floor.

Then, he took out a small device and strapped it onto the player’s arm.

‘Is that a blood pressure monitor?’

The man checked the player’s blood pressure, asked a few questions to those around him, then gave some orders.

One of the staff members ran off in a hurry.

Other staff members began removing So Min’s shoes and massaging her limbs.

The man took something else out of his bag in a hurry…

“…?”

“What’s that? Is that acupuncture needles?”

The university student’s eyes widened as she watched the scene through her phone screen.

The shiny silver object hanging from the man’s long fingers was none other than an acupuncture needle.

“Is he an acupuncturist?”

“He’s going to stick needles here, right now?”

“What good would acupuncture do for someone who collapsed?”

Soon, the spectators began whispering even more frantically than before.

Whether he noticed the growing tension or not, the man closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and calmly began the acupuncture treatment.

“……”

The gym, which had been noisy moments ago, suddenly became as quiet as if it were underwater.

From the man’s expression and movements, it was clear he was extremely focused on what he was doing.

As if to avoid disturbing him, everyone held their breath and watched.

One, two, three…

The man steadily placed the needles.

By the time he had placed about ten needles…

“…Ugh.”

So Min slowly opened her eyes.

The pale face that had looked like a blank sheet of paper now had some color returning to it.

“Wow!”

“So Min’s awake!”

Applause erupted from the crowd, who had been holding their breath watching.

However, the man who had revived the player still didn’t look relieved.

The player, too, still seemed to be struggling to catch her breath, and it was clear she was still in difficulty.

The man received a black object from one of the staff members and…

[ SpringVolleyballFan!: ??? ]

[ Serve-ace: What is he doing now? ]

[ HoJeong-HoJeong☆: Is this an assassination attempt?! ]

The man placed the black object over So-min’s nose and mouth.

What’s that? A black plastic bag?

The university student was stunned and horrified as she witnessed the man placing a plastic bag over the nose and mouth of the player who had just woken up.

It wasn’t like he was trying to send her to the afterlife because she was struggling in this world…

He seemed to be an acupuncturist, so he must have a reason for doing this, right?

The spectators had no choice but to watch the scene unfold.

The university student also kept recording on her phone, her heart racing.

‘…But even when zoomed in, he’s really handsome. Look at his clear skin.’

She couldn’t help but be curious about the man’s identity.

*********

What a dynamic day.

It was the thought that crossed my mind as I watched So Min collapse.

I had just barely arrived before the match started and was heading to the bench when…

‘The first thing I saw in the arena was a player collapsing.’

Of course, I reflexively rushed out.

Fortunately, I was able to catch the player before she hit the ground too hard.

So Min’s face was as pale as a sheet.

She was breathing shallowly and rapidly.

Gently laying the player down, I calmly assessed the situation.

“Seon-Joon!”

“What should we do? Should we send her to the ER?”

Staff rushed over in an instant.

Everyone was staring at me anxiously, waiting for me to speak.

‘Luckily, there’s no obvious external injury, and she’s not biting her tongue. Her body is not rigid, and there’s no sign of a seizure. It’s more likely she fainted than had a seizure.’

I felt for the radial pulse (the artery on the thumb side of the wrist) to check the player’s heartbeat.

The normal heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute.

I counted the pulse, but in my haste, I decided to go for a quicker method.

‘Normally, one breath should correspond to 4-5 heartbeats, but So Min’s is about 5.5 beats, so it’s not extreme tachycardia.’

A doctor considers one inhale and exhale as one “breath”.

So Min’s pulse was a bit fast, but it wasn’t irregular.

While feeling the pulse, I checked the player’s skin condition.

‘Her skin is damp with cold sweat…’

I pulled out a blood pressure cuff from the medical bag and wrapped it around the player’s upper arm.

While the blood pressure cuff was still working, I used a penlight to check her pupillary reflex.

‘Both eyes are normal… That means the problem is not in the central nervous system, i.e., the brain.’

Soon, the blood pressure cuff provided the reading. It was a bit low, but not bad.

I turned to the people surrounding me and asked a question.

“Does So Min have any underlying conditions like diabetes or heart disease?”

“No, there were no issues in the recent health check-up.”

“What symptoms did she report before collapsing?”

“I’m not sure… She didn’t say anything was hurting. But the decision to play in today’s match was made suddenly, so she was really nervous.”

Listening to those around me, I checked So Min’s pulse once more, trying to get a glimpse of what might be going on.

But the future didn’t reveal itself.

“Hmm…”

Perhaps because I didn’t complete the full diagnostic process of the Four Examinations: seeing, hearing, questioning, and palpation.

Now, it was time to trust my own judgment.

Think.

A healthy young woman in her early twenties, with no underlying conditions, collapsed after extreme nervousness.

Her face was pale, her pulse was rapid, and she had cold sweat and labored breathing.

So, after ruling out suspected conditions, the most likely diagnosis is…

“AT, could you come here?”

“Yes!”

After making my decision, I began to act.

“Please get me a sturdy plastic or paper bag.”