SLAP!
The sound cracked loudly inside the car.
Ji Eun jerked back, her chest heaving, her hand still raised from where it had struck his face.
Her eyes burned with fury, humiliation, anger, disbelief all tangled together.
"How dare you?!" she snapped, her voice sharp and trembling.
Hyun Woo's head had tilted slightly from the impact.
A faint red mark spread across his cheek.
But he didn't retaliate.
He didn't even look angry.
Slowly… he turned back to face her.
And to her shock...
He smiled.
Not mockingly.
Not arrogantly.
But with quiet certainty.
"I was right," he said simply.
Ji Eun stared at him, stunned.
"What?" she demanded.
"You didn't pull away because you love him," he continued calmly.
Her heartbeat stumbled.
"You reacted because you hate losing."
The words hit harder than the slap.
Her expression darkened instantly.
"You're insane," she said coldly.
"Maybe," he admitted again.
Her hand dropped slowly, but the fire in her eyes only grew stronger.
"Listen to me carefully, Park Hyun Woo," she said, each word deliberate, sharp as glass. "That meant nothing."
He didn't argue.
Didn't agree.
He simply watched her.
Because to him...
Everything had meaning.