[Episode 49]
You there. Are you there?
You...!
Sire! Sire!
Sire!
You there! Call a doctor.
Sire! Sire!
It cost Prince Sohyon and Dojun their lives.
They went their own way.
Dreamed their own dreams.
Doctor Baek!
Doctor Baek...
Head Eunuch.
Wake up, Sire.
Sire.
Sire, Sire.
What happened? What brought this on?
It's...
My lord...
It's not...
Yes. An ulcer.
An intestinal ulcer.
Sire...
Sire... Sire...
What? An ulcer?
Then his whole body may be infected.
Exactly. The infection may have spread internally.
But how... Then isn't it already over?
An intestinal ulcer.
My lord.
I heard on my way to court.
How is His Majesty now?
My lord.
Your Majesty. Your Majesty.
Intestinal ulcers affect the skin and the bones.
That's why there are no early indications.
I know what this is.
It killed my great grandfather within 2 days.
Every moment is critical, Your Majesty.
We can treat him with medicine,
acupuncture and moxibustion before the intestine bursts.
But if they are ineffective, if intestine perforates...
...there is nothing we can do.
What?
Doctor...
...my lord...
Doctor Baek, surely that won't happen?
Your Majesty.
We have you.
You can save him, surely?
Your Majesty...
Doctor Baek.
Muster the palace guard.
I want you on full alert.
Yes, sir.
We have our orders. Secure the perimeter.
- Move out. - Sir.
My lord.
Intestinal ulcers are lethal.
Be ready for the worst.
Viceroy.
What is this?
The inquisitors and the military have been mustered.
I want you all on full alert.
Sir.
- Listen. - Songha.
This must be serious.
Yes. The royal guards, the inquisitors and the military.
But is it that bad?
If Doctor Baek operates...
This is like nothing he's ever done before.
It's not localized. The infection is spreading.
Even if he opens up his intestines...
...he may not get it all.
Ulcers...
Intestinal ulcers...
Sire, I know the pain is unbearable.
I want to relieve it, but if I do, I can't locate the sores.
Please bear with me.
Sire.
First acupuncture then moxibustion for the discharge.
Hurry.
Doctor.
Eight gem decoction, pennycress and the kidney meridian.
Right. With peony and honeysuckle for the infection.
Yes, doctor.
- Hurry. - Doctor.
Just a little longer.
Well?
We can't stop the chills.
We need araceae.
Right away.
Sire.
Araceae, araceae.
Any araceae we got, hurry.
C'mon...
Oops.
Pull yourself together. Other people can panic.
But nurses can't, see?
Time is short.
Nothing? Whatever you've got, hurry.
Your Highness.
Prince.
Auntie.
What are you doing here?
I'm worried about my dad. I don't know what to do.
Auntie, he'll be all right.
Won't he?
Of course. He'll be back on his feet in no time.
He's the strongest man I know.
Don't worry, Prince.
Don't worry.
The suspense is killing.
What's keeping Jabong anyway?
I hate it, I hate it.
What time is it?
A little after ten.
Tonight is critical. It has to be stopped from spreading now.
So they said.
If the intestine bursts, there's nothing he can do.
Except wait for him to die.
Oh, no...
How could this happen? He's the King, isn't he?
Kibae, Kibae.
What kept you so long?
I been runnin' all over askin'.
Well? What did you hear?
The clinic, the surgery, I ran all over.
I didn't hear nothin' good.
Oh, no. Then that must mean the worst.
Now, now, surely not.
Kwanghyon's there.
He'll save the King for sure.
Chef.
- Oh dear. - Oh, no.
No word from the palace?
Nothing. Try to be patient.
Surely something must be wrong?
Your Majesty, please.
Don't make yourself upset.
Well?
His pulse is stable for now.
Then we stopped the infection?
It should have, if his pulse is steady.
Doctor Baek.
I will now treat the stomach meridian.
Of course.
And the abdomen.
Start with the conception vessel points.
Yes, my lord.
Wait... this...
What is it?
Pus.
From His Majesty's umbilicus.
Wh-what?
My lord, if pus is in the umbilicus...
Then it's in the intestines.
It has spread to the stomach.
My lord.
Sire.
What? It can't be stopped?
Exactly.
The disease is spreading. It's out of control.
Sire!
Your Highness.
It can't be true.
There must be something you can do.
Right?
Your Highness.
Jinyong.
Your Majesty.
So there's nothing to be done?
Your Majesty, I deserve to die.
Your Majesty.
Help me up.
Your Majesty.
I have to see him.
Come along.
Your Majesty, Your Majesty.
- Your Majesty. - Your Majesty.
He's getting worse.
He has a day.
Two at the most.
All we can do now...
...is ease his pain.
No.
No, my lord.
We can't give up.
Enough, Doctor Baek.
You know there's nothing we can do.
Prepare the wolf's bane.
My lord.
Kwanghyon.
No.
I won't...
I can't give up.
He's still alive. He's still breathing.
But there's nothing we can do.
Acupuncture and herbs can't fight intestinal ulcers.
True, neither of those can.
But...
...there is another way.
What?
Kwanghyon, you don't mean...
We do all we can. As long as we can.
What's that?
Do what?
Surgery.
What?
If we open his stomach, drain the pus...
...he may have a chance.
- Look here. - Doctor Baek.
Yes, I know. What I'm saying is blasphemous.
But all sores are treated the same.
Skin, bone, first the infection must be drained.
Ulcers can be treated the same.
I can open the stomach and drain the sores.
No. Absolutely not.
My lord.
He's the King.
You can't cut open a king.
But if we don't, what chance does His Majesty have?
If cutting him open will save him...
...if there's even a shred of hope...
...a doctor has to try.
So Kwanghyon is going to cut open his stomach?
Yes. It's nuts. He's lost his mind.
Think it over.
They'll dig up your body and dismember it for just suggesting such a thing.
Taeju is right, Kwanghyon.
They'll kill you.
You don't understand.
This is my responsibility.
Responsibility?
How is it yours, exactly?
And what's this? Cut open the King?
You think we won't kill you for even saying that?
Mind your words, my lord.
I'm speaking of surgery.
What?
So leave this to the doctors.
We don't have time for you now.
Listen, I warned you.
You're a loose cannon, just like your father.
The palace won't permit it.
But even if they did,
I would have you up on charges of high treason.
That little...
That... that...
Jinyong, you have to stop him.
Intestinal ulcers are tricky.
If he stops now, it will just be exile.
But the surgery changes things.
They'll kill him.
You think I can stop him?
Jinyong.
I'll be operating with him.
What?
His Majesty is still with us.
If there's hope, any at all, we have to do all we can.
I truly believe that.
Jinyong, you...
Songha.
Sire.
What would Ko Juman have done?
He would have tried.
Whatever the consequences... he would have tried.
My lord.
Your Majesty, I place my life in your hands.
Grant us permission to do all we can for as long as we can.
Doctor.
Your Majesty, please.
Are you going or not?
I'm going.
They'll kill you if you even touched a needle.
Me, too.
To go or not to go?
You're going? All of you?
What now? What about me?
This is killing me. I can't stand it.
Go. Go!
My lord, my lord.
There you are. Let's go.
No. What if we stay?
Huh?
What if it's a success?
Then we'd be part of it.
That's enough of that.
What kind of talk is that for a former nurse?
This is insane.
One little mistake and it's exile.
Or more likely, execution.
Huh? Execution?
So pull yourself together.
Wait, wait, wait for me!
Wait!
It's the same all over.
They all refuse to help.
The clinic, the pharmacy, everywhere.
Taeju, what should we do?
What do you think?
Ma'am, prepare blood invigoration decoction.
And we'll need ice to slow the bleeding.
I've prepare a coagulant.
Good.
Will you be all right?
You know what this surgery is.
I can't guarantee success, and even if we do...
Doctor Baek, I let Dojun work alone once.
He said a doctor can't give up on his patient.
But when he went to the crown prince,
I didn't go with him.
I won't carry that with me again.
We're in this together.
Nurse.
We're in it with you, too.
Master.
And you...
And me.
I've never forgiven myself for being afraid when Lord Ko died.
I'm with you this time.
We can only die once.
A doctor's life is nothing if he can save his patient.
Taemang, Taeju.
Me, too. I'm with you.
There's no time for this.
Let's move it along. C'mon.
Right.
The Guide to Sores doesn't address ulcers directly.
But it does discuss draining sores in the visceral cavity.
So we use a transverse incision...
...to remove the sores and the pus?
Exactly, master.
This is a dangerous procedure.
Once you open the stomach, there's no turning back.
I understand.
But I won't touch the actual stomach channel.
I will stop at the lining of the cavity.
We're in charge of anesthesia and disinfectant?
Of course.
Salt water, anti-toxin and plenty of suture.
Everything is ready, sir.
- Thank you. - Of course.
Anything else?
That's it.
Here's the ice. Do we need more?
That's not nearly enough. I'll go with you.
My lady, Her Highness is in the gardens.
- Oh? - Yes.
Your Highness.
Eunso.
It will be all right.
Trust Doctor Baek and the medical staff.
Try not to worry.
Eunso.
Ugh, I'm all tied up in knots.
What's my boy up to?
The little fool.
The big fat idiot.
What's he think he's doing?
Now, now, Inok.
It's all right. Be patient.
I couldn't bear it if he gets hurt.
I just couldn't.
Who said he'll get hurt?
Don't think that way.
My little boy.
Don't fret, don't fret.
These things happen.
There, there.
Shall we begin?
It's a large incision.
Be quick and accurate.
Your fingers must be relaxed.
The blade.
Doctor.
Blood is in the abdominal cavity.
Taeju.
There's too much blood in the body cavity.
I can't see the sores or the ulcerations.
What?
What now?
You can't remove them if you can't see them.
Use your hands.
Sir?
Hurry. Feel your way.
The intestine is easily bruised.
I have to be careful.
No. It's tangled. I can't find it.
I can't do it with just my hands.
A candle. Hurry.
Right away.
Doctor Baek.
What is it?
I can't find it this way.
I can't feel where it burst, where...
The candle.
Closer.
What?
He couldn't find where the intestine was perforated?
So they said.
Doctor Yun.
It can't be done.
We can't find the sores or the perforation.
It really can't be done?
You're sure?
Yes, my lord. They cut him open and it did no good.
Those...!
Well? Call the royal guards.
Arrest them all.
Yes, Viceroy.
Those...those...
If only he took something...
What are you saying?
What could he take during surgery?
Listen, it's just...
He swallows water...
...it goes down and into the intestine...
Right, right.
Perforated. It will leak out.
Huh?
That's my little piggy.
I thought all you did was eat.
You were a doctor all along.
Ow, ow...
Owie!
I see. The water will flow out.
Yes. And that's where the holes are.
But he's unconscious.
How...?
A tube should work.
We'll pour water down the tube.
Easy.
If it gets in the lungs he'll drown.
I know.
Your Majesty, it can't be allowed.
Cutting into His Majesty?
He dares to use an untested procedure on his royal person?
Such an insult can't be allowed.
But Doctor Baek is in the middle of surgery.
How can we stop it?
But we must.
If we don't, and right now, His Majesty will die.
Please, Your Majesty.
Viceroy, we can't.
Your Majesty, we must.
The King's life is at stake.
Let the law deal with this quack.
We can't let this go on.
Viceroy...
Your Majesty, I beg you.
Your Majesty.
My lord, my lord.
We're here to arrest them.
No. The surgery isn't finished.
Surgery, is it?
You'll all pay for this with your lives.
Well? Arrest them.
Sir.
Wait.
My lord. My lord!
Check his pulse.
We have to stop. Right now.
Nothing? The water isn't leaking?
Arrest him.
Sir.
Concentrate.
What is this? What's going on?
We're not finished. Let go. Let go!
The surgery isn't finished.
There. The water.
Here. The water is leaking out.
The water? You see it?
Let go! Let go of me!
Here.
There. We did it.
Doctor Baek.
Sutures and needles.
Doctor.
We did it. That's it. We did it.
- You can't interfere. - What is this..?
See? The surgery is nearly over.
Get out of here. Now.
Sire.
Don't interfere anymore. Get out. Now.
- Sire! - Out.
Go on.
What the..?
How could he..?
It was a success?
That's what I said.
They sewed it up and vacated the pus.
I knew it. I just knew it.
What did I tell you?
Stay, I said.
Enough already.
What do we do? If we go now...
Instructor.
Go. Off with you.
Go, go! Go!
But...
There.
The operation is finished.
You did it.
Doctor Baek.
Very well done.
Doctor Baek.
I can't stop crying.
What're you crying for?
Master.
Viceroy, what do we do now?
His Majesty will survive.
Do you still call this high treason?
Doctor Baek.
- Your Majesty. - Your Majesty.
Thank you.
Your Majesty.
You saved him. Thank you so, so much.
Your Majesty.
I knew he had it in him, I knew it.
Master.
Did you see that?
A stable boy, a horse doctor...
...has saved the King himself.
If you do nothing, she'll die.
If you want her to live, do it.
Now.
Well?
I can't.
I can't, sir.
You can. You must.
You hold her life in your hands.
Yongdal, easy. Just hang on.
Yongdal, please.
Let me do this.
There. You did it.
Yongdal.
Hurry, come on.
Easy now.
That's for the kitchen.
Malbok.
That's for my special guests. In my room.
Yes'm.
So good. Take your time.
We've got to make it last.
My Taemang finally made a name for himself. This is nothing.
I'd feed the entire capital if I could.
I know. Who thought he had it in him?
Am I right?
Right you are.
What?
You kidding? This is a great day for Doctor Pak.
There, that's what I'm talking about.
What will they make him, I wonder?
Seventh Rank? Sixth?
Mother.
There's Instructor Pak now.
Mom, come on. Instructor..?
Why not?
Everyone knows.
That's my boy.
No. I just did what I was told.
Now, now, enough of that.
You'll be a sixth rank instructor.
After all you did for the royal house.
Mo-o-om.
You know you like it.
Dig in.
A drink, Instructor.
Oh no... oh no... no, no, no...
Now I'll be under Piggy Pak.
Who knows?
Look what happened to me overnight.
Why did I do it? Why did I run?
We had our chance. Now it's gone.
You laughing at me, ninth-rank boy?
After all your "ninth rank boy" stuff?
That's the story of their lives.
I've got to get away from them.
My mother is driving me insane.
She's got her hopes up.
Suppose nothing happens, what them?
Don't worry over nothing.
You don't know my mom.
She may kick me out.
Yeah, but you'll get some kind of promotion.
You saved the King after all.
You think?
Taeju, what's wrong?
It's Doctor Baek.
What about him?
What foolishness is this?
Kwanghyon can't be the royal physician?
It's the way it is.
I found out a while ago.
You can't be a royal physician if you haven't sat for the exam.
Huh?
He didn't finish his apprenticeship.
He didn't sit the exam. He can't do it.
He can rise to the fourth rank, that's it.
That's dumb.
What a stupid rule.
He saves the King and can't be a royal physician?
What kind of law is that?
Argh.
A little more, just a bit more.
That's better than before.
Sire, one more step, one more.
A little more.
I had better get well soon.
Or you'll kill me trying.
Doctor Baek says you have to move around to heal.
Listen to your doctor.
Fair enough. Right...
Her Royal Highness is right, Sire.
You.
Doctor Baek.
Sire.
Hello.
You're not disappointed?
You save me and can't be the royal physician?
Sire. You're feeling better.
I can ask no more
Tsk-tsk-tsk, you're no fun.
At least ask why not.
Still, you deserve a fitting reward.
I should appoint you something.
At least call you Doctor Kang.
Everyone keeps saying Doctor Baek, Doctor Baek, it's a habit.
Sire, it may not be legal.
But with your permission, I would just as soon remain...
...Baek Kwanghyon.
My birth father named me Kwanghyon.
My foster father named me Baek.
They both gave me life.
I'm proud to bear both their names.
Baek Kwanghyon.
That's how he wants it.
How shall I do it?
Ah, I could just say Kang Kwanghyon sounds funny.
Sire?
Give this to my privy counsel.
Yes, Sire.
As you command.
What?
His Majesty has given the command?
Just so, Viceroy.
It was sent to the office of records.
It's done.
Really? Today?
Exactly.
All those involved in the surgery are to be rewarded.
And Doctor Baek?
The highest reward would be Royal Physician.
That's true, but...
Whew...
Well, come on, we can't miss my boy's promotion.
It's been so long, I'm all a-flutter.
Shall we?
Wait, you're not going?
Get cleaned up, it's embarrassing.
Maybe I won't go.
Only the fourth rank?
That's not a royal physician.
I won't have it.
You're not going?
No, I'm not. It breaks my heart.
There's Taemang.
Your Majesty.
I'm pleased to be standing before our chief physician...
...and his fine medical staff.
I have all of you to thank for that.
Your honor us, Sire.
You may begin.
Yes, Sire.
Step forward when your name is called.
Clinic Doctor Yun Taeju.
You will serve the royal house and our great nation as head of the clinic.
With all my heart.
At your service, Sire.
Clinic Doctor Pak Taemang.
Sir.
That's my boy.
That's my boy, that's him.
You hereby are appointed Clinic Instructor.
At your service.
He's like me now?
Piggy Pak is over me? Do I call him Lord Piggy now?
Enough piggy stuff.
Nurse Jang Inju.
Nurse Kang Jinyong.
Nurse Jong Malgeum.
Nurse So Kayong.
And finally, Clinic Doctor Baek Kwanghyon.
For your remarkable success with His Royal Majesty...
...you are hereby promoted to the Third Rank...
...and named Royal Physician.
Royal...?
If you please, Royal Physician Baek.
Sire.