novelbin Chapter 339 : Talia (9)
Chapter 339 : Talia (9)
I steadied my breathing and tried my best to regain my composure.
As I forced my trembling hands to calm down and opened the door, I saw Rachel with her eyes wide open.
“Sorry for showing up like this all of a sudden...............”
For a moment, her gaze wandered awkwardly, as if it didn’t know where to rest.
Only then did I become aware of how I looked.
No shirt, only pajama pants.
I remembered feeling like I was suffocating and ripping my shirt off, but I hadn’t realized I had thrown it away completely.
To open the door like this—normally, that would have been impossible for me.
“Can I come in for a moment?”
Rachel asked carefully.
Honestly, a strong discomfort struck me.
I didn’t have the strength to pretend to be fine in front of anyone.
Even standing here at the doorway felt like too much.
I glanced down at my bare torso and muttered.
“As you can see, now’s not really a good time................ Let’s talk tomorrow.”
“It’s important.”
Unlike her usual considerate tone, her voice now carried a firm determination.
And that wasn’t all.
“Then, excuse me.”
While I hesitated for just a moment, she slipped past me and stepped inside.
Normally, someone that small wouldn’t be able to push past me at all, but this situation was different.
I didn’t expect her to force her way in like that.
And honestly, staying upright was hard enough already.
“...........”
Her steps halted once she entered the room.
No wonder.
The suite was a complete wreck.
Papers were scattered all over the floor, and empty bottles lay on the coffee table.
One whiskey bottle had tipped over, leaking amber liquid across the surface.
Rachel’s eyes moved slowly around the room and stopped at the sofa.
Next to a crumpled paper bag, my phone sat there.
The screen was still lit.
And on it was Talia’s SNS profile.
“You already saw it, didn’t you?”
She meant Talia’s obituary and the comments under it.
Accusations about vampires, shady human experimentation, bribery for survival........
Those harsh, ugly insults.
“No, I was just... trying to understand what was going on.....”
But the moment I spoke, I regretted it.
My expression stiffened.
The excuse wasn’t coherent.
I said I hadn’t read anything, yet I just admitted to reading the comments.
Before the expected clichés of comfort could begin, Rachel asked something completely unexpected.
“You haven’t seen the latest video, have you?”
Latest video?
“There’s a video uploaded an hour ago.”
Rachel lifted the smartphone toward me.
On Talia’s SNS was a new post.
Her smiling face filled the thumbnail.
I felt a wave of confusion.
A girl who had died posting a new video—was that even possible?
Or one of those bizarre urban legends where someone wakes up right before an autopsy?
“It’s the video she recorded on her last day. When it was just the two of us............. She asked me to upload it after she was gone.”
Ah.............
A tiny laugh escaped me.
It was the most obvious explanation.
Too much alcohol really had messed with my mind.
“Sean, you really should watch this.”
Rachel held the phone out toward me again.
But I turned my head away.
“......”
If I reached for it, she would notice how badly my hands were shaking.
And more importantly.............
I wasn’t ready to face that video yet.
“I’ll watch it later.”
“No. You need to watch it now.”
It was unlike the careful, considerate Rachel I knew.
There was something stubborn about her tonight.
But I had no real reason to refuse.
I took the phone.
My hand shook violently.
I tried to steady it, but my body wouldn’t listen.
She must have noticed by now.
Before she could ask anything, I quickly pressed play.
[Hey guys, hi! If you’re watching this video right now, that means I’m already on my way to heaven, right? Wow, it feels like sending a message to the future! Just like a sci-fi movie!]
Talia sat up on the hospital bed, smiling brightly.
Then her expression suddenly turned serious.
[Actually, I recorded two videos. If this one is being played................ then things must’ve gone really crazy by now. Don’t tell me... you’re leaving nasty comments right now? Stuff like, ‘They exploited a kid,’ ‘They bribed a patient,’ all that nonsense?]
Talia exaggerated a sigh.
[That seriously pisses me off! Do they think I’m some elementary school kid who falls for candy? Seventeen is practically an adult! You can drive at seventeen! How powerless do they think I am? Ugh, so frustrating! ............Oh wait, I’m dead already?]
She giggled at her own joke, then switched back to a serious look.
She pointed a finger toward the camera.
[Listen up! This was 100% my choice. Nobody tricked me. I weighed every option, thought it through, and made my decision. But if people keep saying stuff like ‘Poor Talia,’ ‘They took advantage of an innocent girl................’ that’s even more insulting! It’s like saying I’m stupid! And that makes me even angrier!]
[Those of you claiming you’re angry for me—yeah, that anger isn’t mine. It’s yours. I’m not even 1% angry! So stop using my name to play hero.]
Talia paused and looked upward, counting on her fingers.
[Let’s see................. what else........... oh, right!]
She looked straight back at the camera.
[People must be yelling about how Sean bought my life with money, right? Like, ‘How dare you put a price on a human life!’ Comment sections are probably full of that.]
She shrugged her shoulders, smiling.
Then she said something unexpected.
[Yep, that’s right. I traded my life. Honestly? If Sean hadn’t helped me complete my bucket list, I’m not even sure I would’ve done all this. So what? It’s my life. I can trade it however I want, can’t I?]
[And then people come in with that ‘Life is priceless!’ speech. You know what? Those people also treat me like I’m stupid! It’s not like I got ‘money’ out of this. What I got was............]
Her voice wavered for a moment.
She took a deep breath, then continued.
[First, freedom. The freedom to try anything I want without worry or hesitation! Do you think money can buy that? ......No wait. Maybe it can? Okay, let’s move on!]
[Second, a voice! Over a million people listened to my story. Honestly, without Sean, would anyone have cared about some ordinary terminally ill patient? But............ everyone watched me, and they cheered for me. You definitely can’t buy that.]
[And third! Memories! I get to remain forever as “Brave Talia.” How do you put a price on that?]
She spread her arms and smiled brightly.
[Conclusion? This was a win for me! Sean spent money—which is everywhere—but I got three priceless things...]
[So don’t turn me into some pitiful victim! I’d rather be remembered as the genius who scammed Ha Si-heon instead!]
Talia winked at the camera.
She looked genuinely triumphant.
Then, once again, her expression softened.
[Lastly, to Sean! I was going to make a separate video............... but that felt way too cringe, so I’ll just say it here.]
Talia stared straight into the camera.
[Sean, I’m sorry. The truth is.... I knew everything. I knew people would blame you, and that my mom would resent you. Even so, the reason I insisted on asking you was..................]
She looked down for a brief moment, then lifted her eyes toward the camera again.
A faint, bittersweet smile appeared on her face.
[Because you’re the strongest person I know. You’re the guy who made even China kneel! No matter how many stones the world throws, you’re the kind of person who doesn’t just stand there and take it — you throw them back tenfold! So............ I thought you’d be able to withstand something like this.]
A quiet silence passed.
But soon, Talia continued speaking.
[Of course, that might have been a misunderstanding. So if this is hurting you right now, I’m sorry. But...... really, there was no one else who could grant me this wish but you. So.............]
[I’m sorry! But even more than that・・・・・・ thank you!]
Talia wiped her tears and smiled through them.
[If it weren’t for you, I probably would’ve spent my last days in a hospital bed asking ‘Why me?’ and hating the world. I wouldn’t have been able to go out in a cool way, the way I wanted, right up to the very end. So............ thank you, truly. Sean, you gave me a gift no amount of money could ever buy.]
Her nose was running now — she sniffled hard.
She blew her nose into a tissue, then suddenly remembered the camera again.
[Okay, this is the real end! Everyone! This was Talia’s final broadcast! Subscribe and like........... ah, that doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Haha! I loved you all! Bye!]
Just like that, the video ended quite abruptly.
I sat there, staring blankly at the dark screen long after it finished.
Rachel’s voice echoed faintly behind me.
“Talia was worried about you. That you might blame yourself............. That’s why she left this message. So you wouldn’t feel guilty.”
I knew.
But unfortunately, it didn’t help.
Not at all.
If anything, it twisted my stomach even tighter.
Talia never knew the real reason I helped her.
It wasn’t for her.
She believed I acted for the sake of a suffering terminal patient..............
But she was wrong.
I did all this to save myself.
If I weren’t doomed to die from this illness someday, I never would have gone looking for a girl like Talia.
To put it plainly — she had been deceived.
Yet she left a message like that for me.
Nausea surged.
My breath hitched.
Instinctively, my eyes searched for the paper bag.
But Rachel was still right there in front of me.
“Thank you. I saw it thanks to you. But it’s late, so................”
I tried to usher her out quickly, but she wouldn’t move.
“No, I’m not leaving.”
She was unusually stubborn today.
Not that I had the strength to drag her out anyway.
Silence lingered.
Rachel sat upright on the sofa, her green eyes locked onto me.
As if she could see right through everything.
And then—
“Sean, you’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
My heart dropped.
“You’ve helped patients so desperately................. To be honest, I don’t know why. I just assume there’s something you can’t tell me. Or David.”
“But Talia figured it out.”
My breath stopped entirely.
“More precisely............... she examined every possibility. Even the chance that you weren’t acting purely out of kindness................ Like maybe you planned to patent the data and create a monopolized treatment......”
Rachel quickly added—
“Not that I believe that’s what you’re doing! But I’m responsible for the patients. I have to consider every possibility.........”
She paused for a second before continuing.
“I told her I would be the brake. In case someone tried to take advantage of patients — I would stop it. That’s my role................ So I asked her. Would she still be okay with it if your intentions weren’t purely altruistic?”
“Talia said ‘Yes’ immediately. She said that would actually make her feel easier. It would be a fair exchange — both sides getting what they want. And if that’s the case, she hoped you’d get filthy rich out of it.”
Rachel smiled softly.
“So really — she made her choice knowing everything. Whatever your motives were............. that wasn’t what mattered to her. No matter what it was, she would have accepted it.”
I wasn’t sure.
Would she really have agreed if she knew I did all of this only to save my own life............
And yet—
Something in me whispered yes.
It sounded exactly like her.
‘Then that’s even better!’
She would have laughed while saying it.
“Don’t feel guilty.”
Rachel was right.
If Talia chose this knowing everything, then guilt had no place here.
But though my mind understood—
My body refused to.
My stomach wrenched.
My chest tightened.
A cold chill surged through me, while something scorching hot burned from within.
“Sean, the reason you’re suffering isn’t because you did something wrong・・・・・・ It’s because you’re sad. Because you cared about her so much.”
Rachel gave me a sorrowful smile.
Her eyes were swimming with tears.
In them, I recognized a pain I knew too well.
“It’s natural to be heartbroken. She was someone anyone would love — a girl you couldn’t help but love. Not seeing her again hurts. That’s all.”
She reached for my hand.
Right near my wrist.
For a moment I tensed up.
Without a shirt on, my tattoo could have shown. I angled my arm slightly — not enough to hide it all.
“So............... just be sad. Don’t torture yourself.”
Rachel leaned closer.
Her arm wrapped gently around my shoulder.
A hug.
At first, I stiffened.
I wasn’t used to this kind of comfort.
But Rachel didn’t let go.
“It’s okay.”
She whispered.
The iron grip around my chest slowly loosened.
Breathing was still hard — but slightly less impossible.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that.
Eventually, she pulled back slowly.
But she didn’t move away.
She remained close.
Her clear green eyes stared directly into mine.
Inside them — pain and understanding.
As if saying she understood everything. That she carried the same kind of hurt.
We stared at each other in silence.
Then slowly — the distance faded.
At some point—
Our lips touched.