Park Hyun Woo finally spoke.
"Put it on speaker."
Ji Eun shot him a glare.
"Stay out of this."
"Put it on speaker," he repeated calmly, but his tone gave no room for defiance.
Reluctantly… she did.
Silence filled the car.
Then...
Park Hyun Woo leaned slightly forward, his voice cutting cleanly through the line.
"Mr. Mo."
The silence on the other end was immediate.
Heavy.
Recognizing.
"…Mr. Park," Mo Han replied slowly.
There was tension now.
Clear. Undeniable.
"I assume you understand the situation," Hyun Woo said.
Mo Han didn't answer immediately.
"Yes," he said finally.
"Good," Hyun Woo replied.
Then his tone turned ice-cold.
"Then make the right choice."
No shouting.
No threats spoken outright.
But the implication...
It was absolute.
Mo Han understood.
Ji Eun slowly turned her head toward Park Hyun Woo, her eyes wide, not with fear, but realization.
This wasn't just a test.
This had been orchestrated.
Carefully.
Deliberately.
He wasn't just betting on Mo Han.
He had created the conditions for Mo Han to fail.
—
On the phone, Mo Han's voice came again.
"Ji Eun… I'll explain everything later."
Later.
Not now.
Not when she needed him.
Not when she chose him.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
"…Okay," she said softly.
The call ended.
Silence filled the car.
Park Hyun Woo leaned back once more, his expression calm, unchanged.
As though everything had happened exactly as predicted.
Ji Eun stared ahead, her chest rising and falling unevenly.
Her voice, when she finally spoke, was quiet.
"…This isn't fair."
Hyun Woo's response was immediate.
"Love and war rarely are."
Her eyes shut tightly for a brief moment.
Because deep down, she had felt it.
That hesitation.
That pause.
That choice.
And for the very first time...
Doubt had entered a place she once thought unshakable.
Beside her...
Park Hyun Woo watched in silence.
Because this...
Was only the beginning.