Ji Eun froze.
"…What?"
Kate Song inhaled softly before delivering the final blow.
"Your fiancé," she said, carefully, "is Mr. Park Hyun Woo."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
It was as though time itself had paused.
Ji Eun slowly turned her head, her eyes locking onto the man beside her.
Park Hyun Woo met her gaze without hesitation - calm, steady, and utterly certain.
As though this outcome had always belonged to him.
"No," Ji Eun said, her voice low at first.
Then stronger.
"No."
She stood abruptly, her chair scraping loudly against the polished floor.
"I refuse."
Her words rang clearly, filled with unshaken defiance.
"I don't care about your traditions, your secrets, or whatever this is supposed to be," she continued, her eyes blazing as she looked between her parents. "I will not marry him."
Kate Song's expression tightened slightly, though she remained composed.
"You don't understand..."
"And I don't need to!" Ji Eun shot back. "This is my life!"
Her grip tightened around her phone.
Mo Han.
She needed to leave.
Now.
"I'm leaving," she declared, turning toward the door.
But just as she took a step...
"Are you going to him?"
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
Ji Eun stopped.
Slowly, she turned back.
Park Hyun Woo hadn't moved, but his gaze had sharpened ever so slightly.
"Mo Han," he added, as though confirming her thoughts.
Ji Eun's eyes widened.
"How do you..."
"It doesn't matter," he interrupted smoothly.
He uncrossed his legs and rose to his feet, his presence instantly filling the room once more.
"What matters," he continued, his voice dropping slightly, carrying a quiet authority, "is that you're not going anywhere."
Ji Eun let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
"And who exactly is going to stop me? You?"
Their eyes met - hers fierce and unyielding, his calm and dangerously certain.
"Yes," he replied simply.
Something about the way he said it made her heart skip.
But she refused to back down.
"You don't get to control me," she said, her voice sharp. "I don't belong to you."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Not yet," he said.
Those two words sent a chill down her spine.
Before she could react, he added, softly, but with absolute conviction:
"But you will."
The room fell silent again.
Ji Eun felt anger rise within her, burning away any trace of hesitation.
"Keep dreaming," she snapped.
Without waiting for another word, she turned and stormed toward the door.
This time, she didn't stop.
The sound of her heels echoed through the hallway as she disappeared from sight.
Kate Song exhaled quietly, worry flickering in her eyes.
"This is worse than I expected…"
Song Minkyu's expression darkened, but he said nothing.
Meanwhile...
Park Hyun Woo remained standing, his gaze fixed on the direction Ji Eun had disappeared.
There was no anger in his expression.
No frustration.
Only quiet certainty.
"She can run," he said calmly.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile formed on his lips.
"But she won't get far."
Because from the very beginning...
This had never been a simple choice.
It was a game.
And he had already decided...
He was going to win.