Kate exhaled softly, choosing to step in before things hardened further.
"What happened…" she said carefully, "was unfortunate."
Her gaze lingered on Hyun Woo, searching.
"Ji Eun does not usually… act so publicly."
Hyun Woo's expression didn't change.
"She acted exactly as I expected," he said.
That answer...
Made Kate pause.
Song Minkyu turned then, fully facing Hyun Woo.
And when he spoke again...
There was something heavier in his voice.
Something final.
"After what happened tonight," he began, "we have come to a decision."
Kate didn't interrupt.
She already knew what he was about to say.
And yet...
Hearing it out loud still felt… irreversible.
"We will not force Ji Eun," Minkyu continued.
Silence settled thickly.
"Not into this engagement," he added.
Not into you, was what lingered unspoken.
Hyun Woo didn't react immediately.
He didn't interrupt.
He simply listened.
Song Minkyu's voice lowered slightly.
"You saw her tonight," he said. "When Ji Eun resists… she does not bend."
A trace of something deeply paternal slipped through his calm exterior.
"She escalates."
Kate's gaze dropped slightly.
Because that was the truth.
Their daughter did not quietly accept defeat.
She destroyed the board.
"And we…" Minkyu added slowly, "…have already crossed the line between discipline and indulgence long ago."
A faint, bitter edge touched his words.
"We raised her that way."
Kate closed her eyes briefly, her fingers tightening against her lap.
"We spoiled her," Minkyu said plainly.
No denial.
No excuses.
"And now," he continued, looking directly at Hyun Woo, "we will bear the consequences of that."