A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 194

The moment death was declared, all strength drained from my body.

For a moment, I couldn’t believe it—it just left me dazed.

‘Was I wrong?’

The treatment I had recommended for Dylan was a PD/PD-1 inhibitor.

The PD/PD-1 pathway acts like a "brake" in our immune system.

Like the control mechanism of a car, it's a checkpoint that suppresses excessive immune responses.

I found an abnormality in this pathway in Dylan’s test results and administered a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor.

Even in retrospect, it was a reasonable choice.

‘And it did work.’

At first, his condition improved.

But that improvement was only temporary, and the illness accelerated again.

In the end, PD-1 wasn’t the core issue.

‘Was it just a supplementary method?’

Perhaps a combination of various treatments—a complex therapy—was necessary.

If so, this attempt might have uncovered part of that combination, so it wasn’t without value.

So it wasn’t a wrong choice.

I had simply lacked sufficient understanding of the disease.

It was something inevitable………………

‘I didn’t expect to succeed with the very first patient anyway……………..?’

Still, maybe because I wasn’t used to failure, it all felt strangely unreal.

And then,

“Sean!”

When I came to my senses, Dylan’s mother was clutching my sleeve with a tear-streaked face.

“Why… why did you give him such a dangerous option…?”

Her trembling shoulders were gently embraced by her husband.

“…Don’t take it to heart, Sean. You too, stop this. You know it was Dylan’s own choice, right?”

“But… but when you show them that kind of hope… what else would Dylan have chosen?”

I understood what she meant.

The options presented by David and the attending physician were vague.

Waiting—just buying time.

In contrast, the path I presented was clear.

Recovery or death.

It had the appeal of immediate results, and if things went well, complete recovery was possible.

That might have made it all the more attractive.

“No. This was… Dylan’s choice.”

Rachel’s voice rang out firmly.

“You all know, don’t you? That Dylan… was always the most daring one.”

Could such words comfort parents who had just lost their child?

Still, Dylan’s mother collapsed into Rachel’s arms and began to sob.

Rachel had frequently visited the hospital.

There seemed to be a deep bond between Dylan’s family and Rachel, one I wasn’t aware of.

‘Unlike someone like me, who just runs in during emergencies and makes decisions…………..’

While Rachel and David comforted the family, Jesse signaled to me with a glance.

It was a sign that it would be better to step back for now.

I nodded and left the hospital room.

As I walked down the empty hallway, someone called out from behind.

“Sean?”

I couldn’t remember his name exactly, but he was Dylan’s cousin.

Since it wasn’t a direct family member but a cousin who had been by Dylan’s side, he stood out in my memory.

‘Wait, isn’t it normal for cousins to come at times like these?’

I didn’t know.

I never had a family, after all.

Anyway, the cousin spoke with a troubled expression.

“Aunt’s… just emotionally overwhelmed. If it weren’t for you, Dylan wouldn’t have received any proper treatment.”

That was true.

Dylan’s family didn’t have insurance.

Legally, hospitals can’t discriminate against uninsured patients, but in reality, they don’t offer all treatment options to such cases.

“Aunt always said she was grateful to you. We’re just not in a position to afford treatment for such a rare disease……”

Dylan’s treatment cost around six million dollars.

Money his family could never earn in a lifetime.

“But… even so…………… we keep thinking—what if we had chosen something else? Maybe he could have lived………….”

“It’s okay. That’s how it usually goes.”

Even as a medical student, I had seen such reactions from patients’ families countless times.

No matter what treatment is given, if the outcome is bad, they inevitably blame the doctors.

Because they hope that a different treatment might have led to a different result.

To speak frankly, even if they had chosen another option, the outcome would have been the same.

David and the attending doctor’s choices only delayed the time until death.

They weren’t fundamentally curative.

‘He would have simply waited until the end came.’

But I couldn’t say that out loud.

So there was only one thing I could say.

“I understand.”

Leaving only those words behind, I walked away.

#

Back at the Four Seasons Hotel, I collapsed onto the bed.

After days of surviving on catnaps, sleep was the first thing I needed.

But strangely, I couldn’t fall asleep.

My entire body was soaked in fatigue, yet my mind remained cold and alert.

After tossing and turning for hours, I finally gave up and sat up.

‘Would drinking help me feel better?’

With that faint hope, I headed for the hotel bar.

“Ha Si-heon?”

“Orca!”

As someone called my name, every gaze in the bar turned to me all at once.

I usually didn’t dislike this kind of attention, but for some reason, it irritated me deeply in that moment.

I turned around and returned to my room.

Luckily, the penthouse suite bar was stocked with all kinds of liquor.

I pulled out a bottle of whiskey and poured it into a glass.

One glass. Two glasses.

As the alcohol slid down my throat, my body relaxed, but my mind grew more tangled.

A single question kept circling in my head.

‘What if it were me?’

If I had been in Dylan’s place, would I have made the same choice?

The answer was clear.

‘I would have. Exactly the same.’

I hadn’t recommended that treatment to Dylan just for data’s sake.

Even if I had been lying in that hospital bed, I would have chosen the same option.

Because it was the rational choice.

But.

That thought didn’t bring me comfort—on the contrary, it only made me feel worse.

After all, it wasn’t me who paid the price for that choice—it was Dylan.

Dylan had no connection to me.

All I knew about him was his medical records.

I knew nothing of his life or his personality.

‘No… that’s not true anymore.’

He was a person brave enough to pull the trigger even in his final moment.

Remembering that fact made a sticky disgust spread through my entire body.

I expected it to some extent.

There was bound to be a certain discomfort in using another person's life.

But facing it in reality—it felt far more unpleasant and dirty than I had imagined.

‘I hate being indebted to others…’

And now, I was in a situation where I had incurred a debt I could never repay.

If I had tried it myself, at least I could have felt at ease.

However, that was realistically impossible.

Since I hadn’t yet developed the disease, I couldn’t be a candidate for the treatment.

What meaning would there be in testing chemotherapy before getting cancer?

‘Still, I can’t stop the Russian roulette now.’

Rationally speaking, I made the best possible choice.

As a result, I gained valuable data, and this would benefit all Castleman’s patients—including myself.

If I break it down, I did nothing wrong.

In fact, my actions were even beneficial to the world……………….

But.

No matter the justification, the sticky disgust would not fade.

So, trying to wash it away by force, I gulped down several more glasses of whiskey.

And then, an unexpected visitor arrived.

“I was worried…”

It was Rachel.

Apparently, Dylan’s death from the option I’d presented had weighed heavily on her mind.

“What Dylan’s mother said at the hospital… it wasn’t heartfelt. As we’ve confirmed several times, the one who made the decision was Dylan himself.”

She tried hard to comfort me, but I gave a bitter smile and shook my head.

“What she meant was, I guided Dylan into making that choice, didn’t I? That I—”

“No.”

Rachel’s response was firm.

“Your proposal wasn’t appealing at all. In fact, it was so risky that any normal person would have avoided it at all costs. It’s because Dylan was someone who never shied away from a challenge that he chose it. That’s why we say it was entirely Dylan’s decision.”

Well, it made sense.

But just thinking that didn’t make me feel any better.

“I may lack medical knowledge, but I know Dylan better than you or David. If Dylan had been swayed by your words into making a decision that wasn’t true to himself… I would’ve done everything I could to stop it. That’s my role.”

‘A choice that wasn’t like him…?’

I wondered how she could know that, but then I recalled how she had constantly visited the hospital.

Maybe she was doing all that to better understand the patients' personalities.

The alcohol was starting to kick in.

Lost in these thoughts with a hazy mind, Rachel spoke again with a determined look.

“If Sean ever crosses the line… I’ll do my best to stop you. So you and David—just keep moving forward with everything you’ve got. I’ll be the brake.”

“The brake?”

“It can get confusing if the same person is responsible for both acceleration and braking. So… I’ll take responsibility for the braking. That’s my role.”

I was momentarily speechless as I stared at Rachel.

Even after staying up all night at the hospital, she still radiated light.

Her green eyes still sparkled through the fatigue.

A steady gaze.

She’s a naïve woman.

That must be all it is, and yet…

Strangely, I could feel something unshakable and solid within her.

As I kept staring, I suddenly felt thirsty again and took another sip of whiskey.

“So, don’t feel responsible. I’ll take on that responsibility.”

Responsibility, huh…

Was this feeling I had really responsibility?

“Still, isn’t it a bit heartless to just move on like nothing happened?”

Maybe this is what they call conscience.

I hadn’t done anything wrong per se, but I still felt like it would be wrong to just brush it off.

At that, Rachel smiled gently.

“It’s not like nothing happened. You just have to carry it in your heart. If you do that, then that’s enough.”

‘Carry it in my heart, huh.’

Well, that’s not so bad.

#

The next day.

I made a rather unusual request to the concierge.

“Huh? A tattoo shop?”

I was never into tattoos, but I decided to have a line inked on my wrist.

<Dylan (2015.2.5. 10:49)>

I thought about including Amelia’s name too, but since I couldn’t recall the exact time of her death, I postponed it.

Anyway…

Seeing the letters etched into my skin like a brand made my heart feel a bit lighter.

Of course, this one line won’t bring back the dead.

It’s just a small way to soothe my conscience that says, “You’re acting like nothing happened.”

Still, it worked.

My mind gradually cleared.

The things I needed to do started coming into focus.

‘This isn’t the time to be moping.’

I immediately went to see David.

“Sean, about Dylan…”

He cautiously brought it up, concerned about how I was doing.

But I cut him off firmly.

“I’m fine. Let’s deal with the more important matters first.”

“Deal with…?”

“I’ll cover the cost of Dylan’s funeral.”

“What? Sean, you don’t have to—”

“You know it’s not a significant burden for me.”

David couldn’t argue with that.

He, too, knew the family wasn’t in a good financial position.

Most likely, Dylan’s family would have to go with the most basic cremation service—but that’s not the kind of farewell I would recommend.

I know, because I’ve experienced it myself.

“Please send me Dylan’s data as soon as it’s compiled. And… how is the acquisition of EHS going?”

EHS is a company that manages patient data from multiple hospitals.

I had previously instructed David to have RP Solutions acquire the company and even provided additional funding.

“Huh? The acquisition…”

David paused, a flustered expression crossing his face.

As if wondering whether it was appropriate to talk business at a time like this.

But.

“This is truly important.”

As someone emotionally driven like David, he mustn’t let the aftermath of this event shake him and neglect his work.

I needed to make the weight of the present task clear to keep him steady.

“If we succeed in this acquisition… we might be able to prevent tragedies like this in the future.”

“Prevent them…?”

Yes. This wasn’t the time to dwell on failure.

I had to focus on what needed to be done for tomorrow.

“My goal is to create a platform that uses AI and patient data to simulate clinical trial outcomes before they even begin.”

“Simulation…?”

“What if, next time we’re faced with such a decision, we could know the result before pulling the trigger? If that kind of technology existed, wouldn’t we be able to reduce the number of victims of this Russian roulette?”

“Is something like that… really possible?”

Well, it wasn’t entirely a pipe dream.

Back when I died in 2023, research into predicting clinical outcomes with AI was already well underway.

Of course, it was still in its early development phase back then…

‘What if I could accelerate that development by a few years?’

In short, what if I became a founding member of an AI-focused company, partnered with healthcare corporations, and advanced the research?

It might be impossible to apply it to every disease right away, but for Castleman’s at least, AI simulation might become a reality.

‘If that happens, I won’t have to carry this uncomfortable debt anymore.’

That was the true reason I had to be part of Next AI’s founding team.

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