Chapter 16: I am a Friend of the Governor of Suwon [4]

“Ah, please take a look at him now.”

The governor opened the door and pointed at the mayor, who stood in the yard with his head lowered. His arrogance had long disappeared already.

“I have known him since we were children. He is not a bad guy.”

Hearing this, Ganghyuk accepted his offer. Anyway, he did not intend to turn him away.

“Yes, I see. But, there are people who are waiting for their turn, so I will see him following the order.”

“Yes, that is good too. But, why did you allow me in while ignoring the turn?” The governor asked with a smile. He asked this question not because he did not know the answer, but because he wanted to hear the answer from Ganghyuk himself.

Ganghyuk decided to tell him what he wanted to hear. “You are different, sir. It is your grace for me that allowed me to do this business. How can I ask you to wait to keep up the principle? You are always welcome at any time.”

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“You are a good speaker for sure! I will take my leave now, haha.”

“Okay, sir.”

“I will have a party in a pavilion near Paldalsan. I want you to come.”

“Okay, sir. I will be there.”

“We will talk about poems, so be prepared.”

“Yes, sir.” Ganghyuk answered calmly, but he could not help from sweating hard.

Poetry? It was certain that he did not mean children’s poems.

‘I have a few that I can recite.’ But, they were at the level that he could not be proud of really.

He knew only a few poems at best. And, if they asked him to write them there, he would not be able to escape.

‘That is impossible!’

He could not change his answer anymore. If he did not go after confirming that he would, the governor would never forget it.

“En… I guess I will lose some face, and that’s it.”

What could he do now? He was a man who knew when to give up. So, he decided not to think about the party and resumed his examination.

“Dolseok, ask number 2 to come in.”

“Yes, sir.”

With the remark of Ganghyuk to have number 2 come in, the mayor’s face became yellow. He had expected this, but it was really unbearable to be asked to wait.

But still, he could not make a fuss. And it was because of the comment that the governor had left. ‘Do not dare think about making a scene in my jurisdiction. Do you know who he is? He is the first son of Sir Baik Seungmun. You had better behave.’

The mayor had guessed that he might have a good background when Ganghyuk put himself against him. But, the governor, and then Seungmun…

He was too far ahead from the mayor to fight against, who was just recently appointed as an official.

“Go away, I need to sit down.” He kicked out a farmer, who was sitting under the shade. Then, a soldier got a cushion and made a comfortable seat for him, on which he sat down carefully.

It was better than waiting under the sun, but waiting was still a boring job. And, he had to wait for quite a while.

It was only when the sun had gone down that he was called.

“Come in, number 22.”

“Use polite language, fellow.”

“Ouch”

The mayor hit Dolseok on the head and entered the room. Ganghyuk was tired already, so he asked him with an annoyed look.

“The Mayor has come… What is the problem?”

Although he was tired, he made sure to maintain his dignity.

At that moment, the mayor turned into a well-behaved patient even though he was angry just a moment ago.

“Ah…” He hesitated to answer.

Ganghyuk knew the answer when he first saw the cushion, “Is there a problem in the buttocks?”

“Oh, oh! You are an excellent doctor! Yes, I have blood whenever I go to the toilet. I cannot sit down properly. I am nearly dying from the pain.”

Ganghyuk nodded his head. He had already learned that the people in Joseon had problems with their anus.

Of course, they could not wipe the back with the precious Korean paper. One could only imagine how astounded he had been when Dolseok brought hay for the cleaning up job.

‘I am now using water in the basin instead of a bidet.’

But, probably the other people had not thought of that.

‘Now, I have to see what had happened.’

Obviously, the buttocks would not be very clean, most likely ugly like his face. Even though he did not want to, but he could not help.

The doctor was not a God after all.

“Take off your trousers.”

“Take off? Here?” The mayor was startled. Ganghyuk, on the other side, tried to be calm. “I have to see to cure it.”

“Well…”

What he had learned in this world was that they hesitated to follow an order first, but would all follow the orders eventually. And, the mayor was no different either, as he reluctantly took off the pants.

‘This is bad!’

He had hemorrhoids, anal fistula, and abscess. It could be said as a general hospital of the anus.

“Let’s see. Please lie face down.”

“Face down?”

“It will be painful, but you can be cured only after that. So, please be patient.”

“Painful? How much more compared to this?”

Without responding, Ganghyuk injected an anesthetic in the area, one shot on the area which would be the source of the greatest pain after the procedure.

Having done that, he finally started the operation. But, because it was a very sensitive part, the mayor shouted out loud in pain, hearing which, Dolseok shook head from the side.

He whispered so that the mayor could not hear; of course, he would not be able to hear the conversation either because of the pain.

“Sir, it seems that you made it more painful intentionally.”

“No, that is not true! How can a doctor do that?”

“Hehe. You are right.”

“But, I do not try hard not to cause him pain.”

“What?”

That was what he said, causing Dolseok to feel that his difficult character had not disappeared as he kept assisting him.

When he first saw blood during his brother’s operation, he was greatly frightened. But, he did not feel any special emotion on seeing the blood anymore.

He even felt good when he saw some pus coming out of the lesion.

“Uhhh… It’s coming out.”

“Yes, it is all pus.”

“Ach… Bad thing.”

Dolseok squeezed the pus out with gauze. Even acne gave people pain when it was squeezed, not to mention inflammation in the anus.

“Ouch!” The mayor shouted in a loud voice, totally forgetting about keeping face. However, it was difficult to escape from Dolseok.

Since Ganghyuk and Dolseok, who were twice as big as himself, kept him from escaping, he could not run away.

“I am dying, fellows!” He could not see what they are doing, but it was painful as if he were in hell. The mayor was frightened, and thought he might be killed there.

Because he shouted like crazy, his soldiers were coming near the door. But, they could not go inside because Makbong and Yeoni had come back and helped in keeping them out.

Under normal circumstances, Ganghyuk would console the patient; but in this case, he menaced with his low and thick voice.

“Think of your face. You are a scholar… Keep patience.”

“Fellow, you are torturing me. Ouch!”

“Be patient. It is almost done.”

He had already removed the pus, and was going to remove the piles. After this, the mayor would have bloody stool for a while, but he would have a new life after a few days.

“Here, finished.”

“Egugu”

Actually, a hemorrhoids operation was painful even when done in a good facility. But, he did it with mess and threat, so the pain must have been enormous.

The mayor seemed to be exhausted, sweating profusely.

“You did a good job. You must soak your backside in warm water every day. After a few days, you will be completely healed.”

“How long does this pain last?”

“If you take medicine, it will be bearable.”

While Ganghyuk explained, Dolseok got the medicine and gave it to the mayor.

“Sir, take this.”

“Ouch..” The mayor took the medicine while groaning.

Ganghyuk said that he had received the treatment, but he had more pain than what he came here with. He thought to show his anger, but he did not have the time or strength for it.

It was because Ganghyuk had ordered him to go.

“Well, come and take your master. He does not need to come tomorrow. It is good to send somebody to get the medicine.”

“Yes, sir.”

The soldiers had come to know who he was at that time, so they could not help but follow his orders.

They made the mayor somehow sit on the horse and then all disappeared into the distance. Although the mayor became furious when he came to be conscious, he could not come back. And even if he did return, there was no way to protest.

…

“He’s the last, isn’t he?” Ganghyuk wiped the blood and pus from the floor while saying.

“Yes, sir. Even if there were more, they might have run away by now.”

The mayor had yelled like a cow in a butcher’s place. Therefore, it might indeed be true.

“He was very patient.”

“Did you make it more painful for him intentionally?”

“You tried hard to squeeze in the end, didn’t you?”

“I was hit in the head. Hehe… I think there was no pus left.”

The two of them came out of the room laughing, only to see that the sun had already set down. They needed to hold a lamp up to see the way.

“Ouch! I have a pain in my body. Let’s buy some drink.” Ganghyuk murmured while moving his shoulders.

Yeoni greeted them with a puzzled face, “I am sorry, sir. But, we have one more.”

“What, are there more?

“I think, he is the one whom the governor asked you to see. He came here some time ago.”

Yeoni pointed somewhere in the dark yard. At the end of her finger was a young guy. He was big in stature, and had dignity in his posture. His eyes shone brightly, which made Ganghyuk feel that the place was a bit lighted up even.

But, the thing that made him interested was not his eyes. He actually felt some kind of déjà vu.

‘What is this? Did I know him? Why is his face so familiar to me?”