“R-Really?”
Unable to believe it, I looked back and forth between the needle case and Grandfather’s face.
“You’re really giving this to me?”
“Yes.”
“Y-You’re not going to ask for it back later, are you!?”
“When have I ever taken back something I gave you?”
“But this is…!”
I couldn’t even bring myself to reach out, merely staring at the needle case.
This needle case…
“The Family Head treasures the needle case he inherited from the previous Family Head very dearly.”
Even in my previous life, I had heard several times how much Grandfather treasured this needle case.
I had heard that even after becoming Family Head, he had rarely entrusted it to anyone else.
Even Yeon Hwi-cheon had coveted this particular thing immensely.
Because he believed that inheriting Grandfather’s needle case someday would be proof that he had been recognized as the successor of Yakryeong.
And yet, this…
‘……He’s giving it to me?’
Suddenly, my fingertips began to tingle.
I carefully held out both hands and accepted the needle case.
It felt as though I had been handed all the long years Grandfather had lived as a physician in one piece.
“……”
My nose stung for no reason, and I hugged the needle case tightly to my chest.
“I love it.”
“……?”
“I love it so much, Grandfather.”
I tried to hold it back, but the corners of my lips kept lifting.
“I’ll take really good care of it. I’ll clean it every day, and I won’t lose even a single needle! I’ll use it for even longer than you did, Grandfather.”
“If you intend to use it longer than I did, you’ll have to live quite a long time.”
At Grandfather’s offhand remark, I blinked for a moment.
Then I nodded as hard as I could.
“Yes. I will! Absolutely!”
“……”
“I’ll live a long, long time and use it for a long, long time.”
For a moment, Grandfather’s gaze wavered greatly.
I hugged the needle case even tighter and smiled brightly.
“And I’ll study really hard, too. I’ll take good care of my patients, and I won’t carelessly give up on anyone who is suffering…”
The image of Grandfather in the clinic a little while ago came back to me.
“I’ll survive and become a physician worthy of this needle case. Just like you, Grandfather.”
“……Ahem.”
Grandfather suddenly cleared his throat and abruptly turned his head away.
Then he looked down at the needle case I had given him once more.
“I, too… will use it well.”
The corners of his lips slowly lifted.
“This old man will also become a physician worthy of the needle case you gave me.”
At Grandfather’s reply, which mirrored my own words, I smiled brightly as well.
“Yes!”
Grandfather looked at me for a while before suddenly speaking in a low voice.
“And.”
“Yes?”
“No one knows what kind of physician you will become yet.”
Without realizing it, I straightened my back.
“But judging by what you did during the Ip-gwan Examination, I find myself quite hopeful.”
A very faint smile appeared around Grandfather’s lips.
“You did very well, Yeon Ryeonghwa, physician trainee.”
“……!”
My heart thudded.
I had never expected to hear something like that from grandfather.
I quickly smiled brightly and nodded.
“Yes! I’ll work really hard!”
“Good.”
Grandfather reached out and gently patted my head.
I was so happy to feel his hand that I hugged the needle case tightly to my chest and grinned from ear to ear.
***
The morning of the entrance ceremony.
I woke up earlier than usual.
Clear sunlight was spreading through the paper window, but my heart had been pounding nonstop since dawn.
I looked back and forth several times between the physician trainee uniform, belt, and the needle case grandfather had given me, all neatly placed beside my bed.
Today was the first day I would put on my physician trainee uniform and stand before everyone as an official physician trainee.
‘I really made it this far.’
It still didn’t feel real, so I carefully ran my fingertips over the sleeve of the uniform.
It was certainly a happy occasion.
But the uneasiness I had felt during the Ip-gwan Examination hadn’t completely disappeared.
‘That patient was strange, too.’
There were too many things that bothered me to simply dismiss them as coincidence.
If someone had deliberately tampered with things, there had to be a reason.
‘I have to look into it eventually.’
Still, now was the time to focus on the entrance ceremony.
I pushed the questions lingering in my mind aside for the moment.
Just then, a familiar voice came from outside the door.
“Ryeonghwa, may I come in?”
“Yes, Father.”
The door opened, and Father entered, dressed neatly in his formal attire.
He was dressed even more formally than usual, but an unmistakable smile lingered on his face as he looked at me.
“You’re already almost ready.”
“I’m nearly done.”
Father approached me and personally straightened my disheveled collar.
His large hands tidied the ends of my sleeves and firmly tightened the knot of my belt.
“Are you nervous?”
I thought for a moment before honestly nodding.
“A little.”
“More than you were during the Ip-gwan Examination?”
“Back then, I was so busy examining the patient that I didn’t even realize I was nervous.”
Father let out a low laugh at my answer.
“Then you may as well be as nervous as you like today. You’ve already done the hardest part.”
His gentle words made my heart flutter again.
I moved my lips hesitantly for a moment before picking up the wooden box I had placed beside me.
“Father.”
“Yes?”
“This… is a gift.”
When I held the box out with both hands, Father’s eyes widened in surprise.
“For me?”
“Yes. Open it.”
Father carefully accepted the box.
When the lid opened, ten dark-brown medicinal pills were revealed inside.
I had personally selected, pounded, and kneaded the ingredients whenever I had spare time over the past few days.
‘I prepared a gift for grandfather, but I didn’t get to prepare anything for father.’
So this time, I wanted to make something properly for him.
“You were in the north for a long time, Father.”
“……”
“I thought your strength must have suffered quite a bit, so I made these. You should take one a day.”
I quickly added with a serious expression,
“But don’t take several at once.”
Father couldn’t take his eyes off the medicinal pills for a long while.
“……You made these yourself, for me?”
“Yes.”
I fidgeted with my fingers, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
“I’m a physician trainee now, too, so… I can at least take care of my father’s health, right?”
The corners of Father’s eyes slowly reddened.
“You’re giving all these precious things to me?”
“Of course. I made them for you.”
After being silent for a moment, Father pulled the box close to his chest.
“How could I possibly bring myself to eat these…?”
I immediately raised my eyebrows.
“No. I made them to be eaten!”
“But these are precious medicinal pills my daughter made while thinking of her father.”
“You still have to take them. If you don’t, I’ll come check on you every day!”
At my firm declaration, Father finally burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! All right. If that is the physician’s order, I suppose I have no choice.”
“I’m not a physician yet.”
“In my eyes, you’re already as good as one.”
“F-Father!”
Laughing, Father carefully tucked the wooden box into his arms.
Then, all of a sudden, he bent down and scooped me up.
“Eek!”
My view rose in an instant.
I grabbed Father’s shoulders in surprise, but Father spun me around once, grinning brightly like a child.
“My daughter has become a physician trainee! My daughter! My daughter!”
“Father, put me down! You’re wrinkling my clothes!”
“Just for today, it’s all right if they get a little wrinkled.”
Father looked at me with a face full of laughter.
“Congratulations, Ryeonghwa.”
His playful voice suddenly softened.
The sincerity in his words made my throat tighten with warmth.
How desperately had I longed for this moment through all those countless lives?
I tightly wrapped my arms around Father’s neck so he wouldn’t see my emotions.
“……Thank you, Father.”
Father’s embrace was warm and firm.
A moment later, Father carefully set me down and straightened my clothes again.
“All right. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
I held Father’s hand with one hand and left the detached quarters.
For today, it felt as though nothing could frighten me.
There were already countless people gathered in the main courtyard.
A long stretch of pure white cloth had been laid out in the center, and at its far end sat the Family Head of Yakryeong and the four Elders.
A clear medicinal fragrance rose from the incense burner, while the small wind chimes hanging from the eaves gave off a pure sound whenever the breeze blew.
There were ten physician trainees who had passed this year’s Ip-gwan Examination.
We stood side by side in front of the main residence, dressed in our new physician trainee uniforms.
Standing among children who looked several years older than me, I seemed particularly small, but I did not lower my head.
As expected, familiar whispers could be heard from all around.
“That’s Lady Yeon Ryeonghwa.”
“The terminally ill young lady?”
I could feel countless gazes falling upon me.
Without realizing it, I placed a hand over the needle case at my waist.
‘It’s all right.’
Today wasn’t a day to worry about what anyone else thought.
It was the day I would take my first real step onto the path of medicine as a physician trainee of Yakryeong.
‘Be confident. Yeon Ryeonghwa.’
I straightened my back and stared straight ahead.
Boom, boom, boom—!
Soon, the low, heavy sound of a drum rang out three times.
The murmuring voices instantly disappeared.
Grandfather slowly rose from his seat of honor.
“Everyone, raise your heads.”
All ten physician trainees raised their heads at once.
Grandfather slowly looked at each of us in turn.
His gaze was stern, but there was a weight of expectation within it for the children standing here.
“From this day forth, you will begin properly learning the art of medicine under the name of Yakryeong.”
Grandfather’s voice rang clearly across the wide courtyard.
“Medicine is not a skill for showing off your knowledge. Always remember that a single decision you make can determine a person’s life.”
He paused for a moment and looked over us once again.
“Do not blindly trust your own judgment, and do not be ashamed of what you do not know. Not taking even the smallest sign in a patient’s words or body is the first step of a physician.”
I folded my hands neatly in front of me. I didn’t want to miss a single word.
The countless patients I would face from now on.
And the countless decisions I would have to make before them.
This was where it truly began.
“Yes! We will remember!”
The voices of all ten trainees rang out as one across the main residence.
Swish—.
When Grandfather raised his hand, attendants came forward carrying trays covered in white cloth.
When the cloth was lifted, ten pure-white jade tablets were revealed.
On each jade tablet, slightly smaller than a palm, a fully bloomed white water lily had been intricately carved.
On the back was the Xuanwu emblem symbolizing Yakryeong, along with each physician trainee’s name engraved into the surface.
They were physician trainee tablets, proof that we were officially recognized as physician trainees.
The successful candidates were called forward one by one.
And finally, Elder Heo Unbaek called my name.
“Physician trainee Yeon Ryeonghwa.”
I took a deep breath before slowly walking forward.
Countless gazes followed my every movement.
Elder Heo Unbaek stood before me and silently looked at me for a long while.
Then he picked up the physician trainee tablet that had been placed separately on one side of the tray.
It was the same white jade tablet the other physician trainees had received.
But upon closer inspection, it was slightly different.
A thin golden line ran around its edges, and the white water lily on the front had been carved with even greater intricacy.
“As you achieved the highest score in this year’s Ip-gwan Examination…”
Elder Heo Unbaek’s voice rang out even more clearly.
“Yeon Ryeonghwa shall be awarded the Chief Physician Trainee Tablet.”
The white jade tablet, its golden edges gleaming, settled into my waiting hands.
Comments (0)