"What's the bet?" she asked slowly.
Hyun Woo's lips curved ever so slightly.
"You go to him," he said. "Confess. Ask him to leave everything behind and run away with you, exactly as you planned."
Ji Eun's heartbeat quickened.
"And?" she pressed.
"And we see what he chooses," he finished.
Her stomach twisted, though she refused to show it.
"And if you're wrong?" she challenged.
Hyun Woo's gaze softened slightly, but only slightly.
"Then I'll step back."
Ji Eun went still.
"I'll cancel the engagement," he added. "And I won't interfere again."
Her breath caught.
The offer was… tempting.
Too tempting.
"And if you're right?" she asked quietly.
This time, his answer came without hesitation.
"You come back," he said. "And you stop running."
Their eyes locked.
"And you accept this engagement?" she asked.
"Yes."
A long silence followed.
Ji Eun replayed his words in her mind.
It sounded simple.
Too simple.
But beneath it… was something far more dangerous.
A test.
Not just of Mo Han...
But of everything she believed in.
"You're confident," she said slowly.
Hyun Woo's expression didn't change.
"I am."
She bit the inside of her cheek, thinking.
For years… Mo Han had been her certainty.
Her safe place.
The one person she believed would never turn his back on her.
And now...
This man was questioning that.
Challenging it.
"No," she said suddenly. "You're wrong."
Hyun Woo said nothing.
Ji Eun leaned forward, her eyes burning with resolve.
"Mo Han will choose me," she declared. "Without hesitation."
For the first time, Hyun Woo's smile reached his eyes.
Not because he was amused.
But because...
This was exactly where he wanted her.
"Good," he said softly.
He stood, adjusting his cuffs with effortless elegance.
"Then let's go prove it."
Ji Eun rose as well, her heart pounding, not with doubt, but determination.
She would prove him wrong.
She had to.
Because if she didn't, then everything she had been holding onto…
Would shatter.
And somewhere deep inside...
Park Hyun Woo already knew...
Exactly how this would end.