Chapter 1 - As If Everything Had Changed Entirely
Guiding people who are suffering to a better state.
I had always thought that was my duty.
* * *
“Hey, Baek Hyeon-woo! If you’re going to work like this, just quit!”
The manager's office of a neighborhood orthopedic clinic.
At the fiery roar of Manager Park Bong-hyeon, who held the second-most power in the clinic after the Director, the tall young man bit his lip.
“Baek Hyeon-woo, do you have a doctor's license?”
“I do not.”
“Then why are you trying to make a diagnosis?”
“I wasn't trying to make a diagnosis. It’s just….”
“The Director said it was a disc and that he needed surgery. But what am I supposed to do if you say he's not in pain because of a disc? Is that sothing a physical therapist should be saying?”
Baek Hyeon-woo was a physical therapist working at the orthopedic clinic.
With his always diligent and kind attitude, he was popular not only with the patients but also with the staff.
However, he was always getting scolded by Manager Park Bong-hyeon.
“There was no radiating pain from nerve root compression, and other physical examinations were also negative. On the other hand, there was pain during lateral flexion and severe tenderness towards the iliac crest, so it seed the pain was due to a muscle or ligant issue, not a disc.”
A while ago, there had been a low back pain patient who was diagnosed with a herniated disc and was scheduled for surgery.
While waiting for the surgery date, he was receiving manual therapy, but in Baek Hyeon-woo’s opinion, the pain didn't seem to be caused by the disc.
So, after getting the patient's consent, he perford a treatnt to release the muscles and ligants of the lower back.
“In fact, after concentrating the treatnt on the iliolumbar ligant, his pain improved dramatically.”
“Right, and that's the bigger problem. The patient said he’s not in pain anymore and cancelled the surgery.”
Park Bong-hyeon said with a frown.
“He was scheduled for surgery because his back hurt, so what am I supposed to do if you go and fix it?”
“Then should I just leave a patient in pain?”
“I'm telling you to just give them a good, refreshing massage! At a neighborhood clinic, all you need to do is give them a refreshing massage from head to toe!”
“……”
From a business perspective, he wasn't wrong.
Trying to provide precise treatnt by performing various physical exams and making them take all sorts of postures would just annoy most patients.
If you just give them a satisfying massage on their front and back, they'll be pleased, show up consistently, and even spread the word to others.
That is more helpful to the clinic's managent than improving the symptoms at once with precise treatnt.
“Baek Hyeon-woo, you. Do you want to quit our clinic?”
“……”
“You know there are hardly any good positions these days, right? Even if you quit here and move sowhere else, you'll just end up playing the role of a Pikachu at a neighborhood clinic.”
Pikachu. It is a derogatory term that physical therapists use self-deprecatingly among themselves.
They are called Pikachu because all they do in a hospital's physical therapy room is attach therapy devices to patients' sore spots and repeatedly give them zapping electrical stimulation.
“The conditions at our clinic aren't bad, are they? We even give you incentives regularly based on the number of massage patients, so what's your problem?”
“……”
“Stop doing useless things and just do what you're told. Got it?”
In front of Manager Park Bong-hyeon who said that, Baek Hyeon-woo bit his lip once again.
* * *
After his eting with the manager, Baek Hyeon-woo walked down the hallway, feeling bitter.
‘Should I just quit everything?’
Originally, Baek Hyeon-woo had aid to be a physical therapist with professional expertise.
He didn't want to just perform the sa treatnt every day in a neighborhood clinic's physical therapy room; he wanted to beco an expert who could accurately assess a patient's condition and provide the best possible treatnt.
So he joined academic societies, diligently attended lectures, and participated in many study groups.
He studied various theories, from Arican osteopathy to myofascial ridian anatomy, and trained to skillfully utilize all sorts of techniques.
However, when it was actually ti for Baek Hyeon-woo to look for a job, it was difficult to find a place where he could demonstrate such expertise.
This was because the situation in the physical therapy industry had changed drastically due to changes in insurance policies and an oversupply of therapists.
The positions where he could utilize his expertise were already occupied by his seniors, and even when a spot occasionally opened up, it was difficult to even get an interview without connections.
In the end, Baek Hyeon-woo ended up getting a job at an ordinary neighborhood orthopedic clinic.
He tried his best in his own way, but the harder he worked, the more it felt like his position was shrinking.
‘I chose this path because I wanted to help people who were in pain and struggling…’
Baek Hyeon-woo feels a sense of reward from bringing people who are suffering to a better state.
He had chosen the path of a physical therapist because he thought it would suit his aptitude.
But for a salaried physical therapist working at a local clinic, what was important wasn't treating the patient.
For the clinic's revenue, for the director's profit… he had to repeat obvious treatnts that weren't even necessary for the patient.
‘To think that I have to pretend not to know and just do routine treatnts when I can clearly see how to treat them to get better.’
As Baek Hyeon-woo entered the physical therapy room with a conflicted heart.
Suddenly, a scream ca from a corner of the physical therapy room.
“Aaaack! It hurts so much!”
“……!”
Baek Hyeon-woo ran towards the place where the scream ca from.
A patient lying on a bed was screaming while receiving physical therapy on their lower back, and next to them, a newly hired nurse's aide who had started recently was stamping her feet, not knowing what to do.
“What happened?”
“Mr. Baek, I think the ICT is broken!”
ICT. It's commonly called electrotherapy or low-frequency therapy, but its precise na is Interferential Current Therapy.
It relieves pain by attaching suction cups, similar to cupping therapy, to the patient's body and then generating an interferential wave by crossing zapping electrical currents.
It is the most widely used because of its high patient satisfaction, but it has one major drawback compared to similar therapy devices.
That is, it is prone to breaking down due to structural issues.
‘The ICT for this bed, I definitely told Park Siljangnim that it needs to be sent for repairs because it looked like moisture was constantly forming inside…!’
The ICT transmits current through a water-soaked sponge, and because it constantly sucks like cupping therapy while attached to the patient's body, moisture and foreign substances continuously flow into its interior.
That's why if you use a cheap product or neglect its maintenance, it breaks down easily.
A sudden surge in the stimulation intensity, causing the patient pain, was also a common symptom of malfunction.
“The suction is too strong so the cups won't co off, and it won't turn off even when I press the stop button!”
“Unplug the cord!”
“Ah, u-uh, but the cord is out of reach…!”
“Move!”
He pushed the ICT machine aside and reached out.
But the mont he pulled to unplug the cord.
A spark flashed from the machine, and Baek Hyeon-woo was electrocuted on the spot and lost consciousness.
* * *
“Hey, so is your body doing okay these days?”
“Sotis my whole body tingles, but other than that, I'm fine.”
One month later.
Baek Hyeon-woo was on the phone with his physical therapist friend, Song Won-shik, relaying his current condition.
“Your whole body tingles? What happened?”
“Well, I don't know. The hospital said there's nothing particularly wrong.”
“You're not gonna turn into a real Pikachu at this rate, are you?”
Unfortunately, getting into an electrocution accident did not give him the ability to generate electricity like Pikachu.
“Hyeon-woo-ya, so what are you going to do now? You ended up quitting that clinic, right?”
After the accident in the physical therapy room, Baek Hyeon-woo eventually resigned from the orthopedic clinic.
Since it was an accident that occurred within the clinic, he had to receive compensation… and he no longer had the desire to work there.
“Are you going to look for a position at another clinic?”
“Well, I'm thinking of resting for a while.”
Honestly, Baek Hyeon-woo was feeling skeptical about working as a physical therapist.
It didn't seem like his situation would improve much just by going to another clinic, either.
“I'm thinking of doing sothing like a part-ti job while I think about what to do next.”
“Ah, so it looks like you don't plan on being completely unemployed?”
“Actually, my aunt's company is short on hands, so I agreed to help out for a few days. I start tomorrow.”
“Your aunt's company?”
Song Won-shik's voice changed.
“You an Haram Entertainnt, right? Don't tell you're going to be Newstarz's manager?”
Haram Entertainnt is an entertainnt agency run by Baek Hyeon-woo's aunt.
Originally, his aunt was working at another agency, but she went independent and established Haram Entertainnt.
Newstarz is the girl group that represents Haram Entertainnt, and Song Won-shik was an avid fan of this group.
“Hey, take this chance and just change your career path to a manager. And introduce to Newstarz, too.”
“A manager… what nonsense.”
Baek Hyeon-woo let out a short laugh.
Although he was considering a different career path besides being a physical therapist, he had never once considered being a celebrity manager.
“I heard that celebrity managers are basically slaves to the celebrities, right? That they work like slaves without even getting to eat properly?”
“Hey, that's only for the lowest-level road managers. It's different when you get promoted to team leader level or manager level.”
“What's a team leader level and what's a manager level?”
“A team leader level manager is, so to speak, like a clinic manager. Just like a clinic manager manages the staff, they manage the road managers and also manage the celebrities' overall activities.”
Since it was a field he'd had no interest in until now, Song Won-shik's story was quite refreshing.
“A manager-level manager is the general manager in charge of managing and carrying out almost everything related to the celebrity, like various negotiations and promotional strategies. There are even cases where they work as a manager-level manager and then start their own agency.”
“A manager starts their own agency?”
“Yeah, if you look at the people who start agencies, quite a lot of them are forr managers.”
Saying that, Song Won-shik laughed.
“Legally, not just anyone can start an entertainnt agency, but you beco qualified if you just work as a manager for 2 years.”
“Oh, really?”
“It's different from us physical therapists.”
No matter how much experience a physical therapist accumulates, they cannot open their own practice.
This is because, unlike in the United States and other countries, physical therapists in Korea cannot open their own independent practice and must work under a doctor.
But a manager, they say, gains the qualification to start their own company after working for just 2 years.
Of course, for most ordinary managers, this is probably irrelevant.
“Why? Are you interested?”
“Yeah, well… it doesn't seem too bad.”
Baek Hyeon-woo replied like that without much thought.
“I should start an agency of my own later, too.”
“Well now, our Mr. Baek, you'll be President Baek soon. At this rate, what if the agency does so well you beco a chaebol? If that happens, save a position for too.”
“I'll think about it after I beco a chaebol first.”
As they were exchanging such jokes.
Suddenly, Baek Hyeon-woo felt his mind go dizzy.
“Ah…!”
“Huh? What's wrong?”
Zzzap.
A sensation as if he'd been electrocuted assaulted his entire body.
However, this ti, that wasn't all.
Suddenly, strange letters were pouring out before his eyes.
[Special Authority --- is currently open.]
[A target has been set and the selection of ----- has been completed.]
[Abilities corresponding to possessed talents are granted-------.]
[-------- Managent Mode will now comnce.]
It happened so quickly that he couldn't even properly read what was written.
“Hey, Baek Hyeon-woo, are you okay? Hyeon-woo-ya!”
Song Won-shik kept calling out, but Baek Hyeon-woo didn't have the capacity to answer.
The letters soon disappeared.
The sensation of electricity flowing through him had also vanished before he knew it.
But a dense afterglow remained throughout Baek Hyeon-woo's entire body.
It was an intense sensation, as if everything had changed entirely.
* * *
The next day.
As he entered the building where Haram Entertainnt was located, Baek Hyeon-woo mulled over the sensation he had felt yesterday.
‘I'm okay for now, but should I get another detailed check-up?’
Ever since then, there had been nothing wrong with his body.
If anything, his physical condition seed to have gotten better.
Before, he would get that tingling sensation three or four tis a day, but since that mont, he hadn't felt it even once.
The strange letters also no longer appeared.
‘If those symptoms appear again, I should probably get my head examined.’
He could overlook the feeling of being electrocuted in his body, but seeing strange letters with his eyes could only be thought of as a problem with his brain.
If such symptoms continued to appear, he would have to get his head examined.
While thinking such thoughts, Baek Hyeon-woo pressed the elevator button.
A mont later, the door of the elevator that ca up from the basent floor opened, but Baek Hyeon-woo flinched in surprise.
This was because a beautiful woman with an elegant impression was riding in the elevator.
She was a woman with such a distinct aura that one could tell she was a celebrity at a glance.
‘Isn't that Seo Na-eun?’
Seo Na-eun.
She was the leader of Newstarz, the signature idol group of Haram Entertainnt.
With her outstanding dance skills, she held the main dancer position in Newstarz.
‘If Won-shik saw this, he would've lost his mind.’
Baek Hyeon-woo wasn't the type to be fanatical about idols.
So he was about to get on the elevator without much thought.
However, right at that mont.
Zzzap.
As the sensation of flowing electricity was felt again, a string of text appeared before his eyes.
–––––––
[Seo Na-eun]
Vocal: B-
Dance: A-
Visual: B-
Potential: A
Body Condition: 35%
ntal Condition: 45%
- Pain and motor impairnt are occurring due to problems with the fibularis longus and brevis muscles in the lower leg.
- Headaches are occurring due to problems with the trapezius* and sternocleidomastoid muscles in the head and neck.
- Body Condition is severely lowered.
- ntal Condition is severely lowered.
- A negative correction is being applied to Vocal, Dance, and Visual.
–––––––
[N: 1. The trapezius is a large, superficial muscle in the upper back and neck, shaped like a trapezoid. It's responsible for a variety of movents, including shoulder elevation, depression, retraction, and rotation, as well as neck extension and rotation.
2. The sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle is a prominent, paired muscle located on either side of the neck, easily visible beneath the skin. It plays a crucial role in head and neck movent, posture, and even breathing.]
What is this that I'm seeing?
As Baek Hyeon-woo doubted his eyes, a zapping, unidentified sensation raced through his entire body.
Reviews
All reviews (0)