Plague Doctor in a Peaceful World - Chapter 22

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Plague Doctor in a Peaceful World ◈

Chapter 22: Do You Have a Passport?

──────

I struck gold so hard that my MP ran out in no time.

Even though I had only treated three people.

What a shame.

If I had come here at Christmas, I could have racked up Experience and gotten paid for the part-time job too. Two birds with one stone.

Still, after gaining a little Experience, I finally started noticing the idols instead of the [Contagious Disease Patient] labels.

“Hello, senior.”

“Hello.”

The idols exchanged greetings.

It was rare to see idols greeting even the staff, but they were fascinating in many ways. Their appearance changed dramatically before and after makeup.

And they were all much skinnier than they looked on TV.

Some of the female idols were so thin that I wondered whether they even had all their internal organs.

“Let’s go to rehearsal, Bongsik.”

“Make sure you get good footage from the front.”

“Okay.”

It was fun watching the process of preparing a music show. The sound was so loud that my ears felt a little muffled, though.

“Bongsik, could you get us some coffee? Twelve iced Americanos, including yours. The café you need to go to is…”

After rehearsal, I took the company card and staff pass, then ran the coffee errand.

Twelve cups of coffee were surprisingly heavy.

The Hertz members stopped drinking their coffee partway through, wrapped themselves in blankets, and fell asleep. They said they would take a short nap before getting ready for the pre-recording.

“Bongsik, you should rest for about forty minutes too.”

The manager said that and turned off the lights.

“…”

Now I’d feel self-conscious if I played on my phone. And I had already slept before coming, so I wasn’t sleepy.

With an iced Americano straw in my mouth, I stepped out of the waiting room. I’d been told not to go beyond the staff-only gate, so I leaned against the wall beside the door and played a phone game.

“Excuse me.”

Hertz’s waiting room was at the end of the hallway.

Someone came straight over and spoke to me.

“Aren’t you the person from before? At the SBC bathroom.”

It was the entertainer who had nearly died in the SBC station bathroom a few days ago.

He still had a [Contagious Disease Patient] label.

“Right? Were you Hertz’s manager?”

I had worn a mask then and still wore one now, but he recognized me anyway.

“I’m a short-term part-timer.”

“Ah. Still, it’s nice to see you again here. Thank you so much for then.”

All I had done was hand him tissues to stop his nosebleed.

“Sure.”

“What are you doing out here by yourself?”

“Playing a game.”

“Is it fun?”

Was he bored?

I raised a hand, pretending to scratch my head.

[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Would you like to treat them?]

[(Expected MP Cost: 80)]

He was better than before, but with that number, he still had to be sick.

“Yeah. Are you feeling a little better?”

I was part of the Hertz staff too. I shouldn’t be too cold toward him.

“You still seem unwell.”

His expression turned serious.

“Do I look sick? That won’t do.”

“I must have been mistaken. You look completely fine.”

“That’s a relief. Haha…”

The sick idol only smiled and looked at my game screen with me.

Was he not leaving?

When I looked at him curiously, he shrugged.

“I’m bored.”

“It’s cold out here. Wouldn’t it be better to stay in your waiting room?”

“I have a challenge video shoot soon. How old are you? You seem older than I am…”

“I’m twenty-one.”

“So you’re younger. Hmm.”

Rat-a-tat-tat.

Bzzz, bzzz.

Aaargh!

“…”

Sniff.

For a while, only the game sounds and his quiet sniffling echoed.

“Is that the latest model? The graphics are nice.”

“Yes.”

“Wow…”

“…”

“By the way, before…”

After a short silence, he asked.

“Did you see me at H Department Store too? My manager said he thought he saw you in the bathroom then as well.”

I looked at him in surprise.

Both this guy and his manager had sharp eyes and good memories.

Was that because his manager was an idol manager?

Hertz’s manager also had sharp eyes and a good memory.

“The person in the white padded jacket over there changed their hairstyle. Make sure you mention it if you see them later. You know the fan with the rabbit plushie from earlier? Burns, they once told you they also liked the movie you mentioned during a livestream. Don’t forget to bring it up if you see them at the fan meeting.”

Just seeing how the manager kept the members updated on every little change among their fans.

“I didn’t go into the restroom to target you, sir. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“As if. I went into the SBC bathroom after you did. What do you like?”

“…?”

“I want to repay you for not posting about me online.”

So that was why he came over.

He wanted to ask me not to spread rumors in the future.

“How about tickets to our concert? They’d be invitation seats, so you couldn’t choose where you sit…”

“No.”

I had no use for tickets to a male idol’s concert.

I answered without hesitation.

“I want an IAB signed album.”

I had criticized Park Jaeyoon when we went to watch Unknown Singer, but I actually liked IAB too.

I had worshipped them like goddesses while I was in the military.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen them yet today.

“Sure. I’ll ask when I film a challenge with an IAB member later. What’s your name?”

“Kang Bongsik.”

“Bongsik?”

“Yes. Bongsik.”

“It really rolls off the tongue. See you later, then.”

“Yes, take care.”

It was time to prepare for the pre-recording.

I watched in real time as the Hertz members got their hair and makeup done and were reborn as entirely different people.

During the recording, I made more videos while taking care not to get in the staff’s way.

“Good work, Bongsik. Go home and get some rest.”

“I just need to come back to the dorm two hours before the live broadcast, right?”

“Yeah.”

By the time the pre-recording ended, it was already morning.

[MP 52/130]

As I packed Hertz’s things and walked down the hallway, I raised an arm as if stretching my shoulder.

I hadn’t paid attention to whose waiting room it was, but there was a [Contagious Disease Patient] nearby, on the other side of the wall.

[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Would you like to treat them?]

[(Expected MP Cost: 60)]

“Treatment, yes.”

The hallway was so chaotic that my masked muttering went unnoticed.

* * *

I went home, slept, and came back to work at the right time. After the live broadcast ended, I went home again, then returned to work at midnight as Saturday began.

Only the location had changed. My work was the same as yesterday.

Rehearsal, pre-recording, go home, then return before the live broadcast.

“Bongsik, go pick up the delivery.”

“Okay.”

Yesterday, we had eaten light sandwiches, but today we had lunch boxes for some reason.

I got a staff pass from the manager, hung it around my neck, and picked up the ordered lunch boxes.

“Hi, Bongsik.”

I ran into the sick idol, Jin Se-hyeok, in the waiting-room hallway.

“Hello.”

“I’ll come by Hertz’s waiting room later. I got that thing you wanted yesterday.”

“Thank you.”

“That lunch box looks good.”

“Yes. Buy one for yourself.”

“Haha.”

I bowed and walked past him before realizing something.

That guy had casually started speaking informally to me.

After handing out lunch boxes to the Hertz members, manager, and stylists, I went out to buy coffee this time.

“You’re busy, Bongsik.”

“Why are you always wandering around the hallway?”

“I have a challenge video shoot.”

“Are you the only one filming that, sir?”

“Sir? Just call me hyung. Make yourself comfortable.”

“Okay.”

“That coffee looks good.”

“Yes. Buy one for yourself.”

Jin Se-hyeok smiled and followed me.

All the way to Hertz’s waiting room.

“Hello.”

“Hello, senior.”

The Hertz members, who had been clearing away empty lunch boxes, stood up.

Burns only raised a hand lightly.

“Se-hyeok, what brings you here?”

“I followed Bongsik.”

Burns looked back and forth between Jin Se-hyeok and me with a puzzled expression.

“You two know each other?”

“Sort of. He helped me once before.”

“Didn’t you say you had a challenge video shoot?”

“They’ll call me when they’re ready.”

Jin Se-hyeok sat down.

[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Would you like to treat them?]

[(Expected MP Cost: 80)]

It was the exact same number as yesterday.

But seeing how well he was getting around, maybe he was holding out with painkillers?

“Did you eat?”

“No. I think breakfast gave me indigestion, so my stomach feels heavy.”

“You should at least have some porridge. You don’t look well. Did you take medicine?”

“Can I take cold medicine and digestive medicine together?”

“How should I know?”

I turned my head while handing out coffee.

What?

Indigestion?

“Would you like me to prick your finger?”

It was an opportunity to raise my Bloodletting skill Proficiency.

Though I still felt that raising it would probably be useless.

“You know how to do that?”

I answered with a confident expression.

“Yes. It’s my specialty.”

“That’s interesting. I heard even adults who can do that properly are rare.”

“My mom says she’s too scared to try it.”

“But do we have a needle and thread? We only have safety pins, right?”

“We need to disinfect it too…”

While everyone made their comments, I took out the necessary supplies from my bag.

“Bongsik, do you normally carry thread and needles?”

“You even have alcohol swabs, ointment, and bandages.”

“My older sister gets indigestion often too.”

“You have an older sister?”

“Is she pretty?”

“I feel like she must be pretty.”

I didn’t know why guys always asked whether a sister was pretty whenever they heard someone had a female sibling.

Though I asked too.

“She looks like a person. Are you going to let me do it or not?”

When I asked while holding up the needle, Jin Se-hyeok looked nervous for a moment before nodding.

“Yeah. Do it.”

“Okay.”

Like I had done for my sister and Lee Yunjeong, I first massaged his shoulders and patted his back downward. Then I rubbed down his left arm, guiding blood toward his left thumb.

“Please wipe the needle with an alcohol swab.”

“Yes, sir.”

While I wrapped Jin Se-hyeok’s left thumb tightly with thread, Burns disinfected the needle.

But what was so interesting about this?

I didn’t know why more than ten people had gathered around to watch.

[System]

-You have equipped the Needle.

-You can use the skill ‘Bloodletting.’

Ignoring the many red vital-point markers, I boldly jabbed below his thumbnail.

A Hertz member grimaced as if they had been stabbed instead.

“Ugh, look how dark that blood is.”

[System]

-‘Bloodletting’ Proficiency +1

-Experience +0.7%

I unwound the thread.

“I hope it works.”

Urp.

The moment I finished speaking, Jin Se-hyeok covered his mouth and burped.

“Sorry. That really worked? That’s amazing.”

I stood up and checked my MP gauge.

[MP 27/130]

I had treated two [Contagious Disease Patients] on the way back from my errands, so I didn’t have much MP left.

Still, as thanks for raising my Bloodletting skill Proficiency, I would treat his contagious disease a little.

I confidently gave the skill command.

“Treatment complete. Yes.”

[System]

-You have used ‘Plague Treatment.’

-‘Plague Treatment’ Proficiency +1

-Experience +1.33%

[MP 0/130]

[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Would you like to treat them?]

[(Expected MP Cost: 65)]

Only a tiny bit of treatment went through.

No one would notice this time either.

“Thanks, Bongsik. Come with me. I’ll give you the IAB signed album.”

“Thank you.”

“An IAB signed album? You should’ve said so earlier. I could get you one too…”

The manager, who had been quietly watching, cut in.

“You can’t, though.”

Burns’s shoulders drooped.

“Right, I can’t…”

After the live broadcast ended, I left work and returned home.

“Kang Bongsik!”

My sister approached with a bright smile.

“Mom told me! You went to work part-time as an idol manager! Is that true? Who? Who are you managing? Did you see other idols too? Did you really go to a music show?”

“Hmph.”

I grinned smugly and held out a paper bag. My sister rubbed her hands hard on her pants before taking it.

“Is this an IAB album? Huh? There’s an Actis one too? Did you get a job as Actis’s manager?”

“No, Hertz.”

“Hertz…? Oh, that idol Hyanggi talked about…”

“Are you looking down on our Hertz right now?”

“No, I just don’t know them well. How was it? Are they all handsome and pretty?”

“Yeah. They’re a different species from us.”

Woof! Woof!

“Yeah, Arong. I’m back.”

“Hey, what do you mean, us? I got offered a business card from an entertainment company when I was in high school.”

“Yeah, by a scammer.”