"You almost lost everything we've built," Mo Seongjun continued, his tone steady but sharp. "The Next Group deal is not just a contract, it is leverage. Position. Influence."
He leaned back slightly, his eyes locking onto his son.
"It is our future."
Mo Han's jaw tightened.
"And what about her?" he shot back.
His father didn't hesitate.
"She is part of a different calculation."
Silence.
Mo Han stepped forward, his voice rising now.
"She's not a calculation, father!" he snapped. "She's..."
He stopped himself.
But it was already too late.
The words didn't need to be finished.
Mo Seongjun's gaze sharpened.
"She's what?" he asked quietly.
Mo Han exhaled sharply, looking away.
"She's… someone important," he said, quieter now.
His father studied him for a long moment.
Then...
"Important enough," he asked, "to destroy your position?"
Mo Han said nothing.
Because that question, had no easy answer.
"She stood there tonight," his father continued, his tone still calm, "and challenged a man who could dismantle our entire operation with a phone call."
Mo Han's hands clenched.
"I didn't know he would..."
"That does not matter," Mo Seongjun cut in.
"You should have prepared for it."
A heavy silence settled again.
"…She needed me," Mo Han said finally.
The words were quieter this time.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Just… honest.
"I should have been there."
Mo Seongjun's expression didn't soften.
"Then why weren't you?"
That question...
Hit harder than anything else. Mo Han's throat tightened slightly.
"I..."
He stopped.
Because there was no excuse.
Not a real one.
His father leaned forward slightly.
"For four years," he said, "you chased that deal."
Each word deliberate.
Each word heavy.
"You stayed up nights. You negotiated terms. You sacrificed opportunities."
A pause.
"And when you finally secured it..."
His gaze hardened.
"You chose hesitation."
Mo Han's eyes dropped.
Images flashed through his mind.
Ji Eun waiting.
Ji Eun calling.
Ji Eun saying "It has to be now."
And him...
Saying "later."
"I didn't choose the deal over her," Mo Han said weakly.
"Didn't you?" his father asked.
Silence.
"Because from what I saw," Mo Seongjun continued, "you chose stability over uncertainty."
Another pause.
"Power over emotion."
And then...
The finishing blow...
"Just like you were raised to."
Mo Han flinched.
"That's not fair," he muttered.
"Fair?" his father repeated calmly.
"What part of this world do you think is fair?"
He gestured slightly toward the windows, as if indicating everything beyond them.
"You think Park Hyun Woo is winning because he is fair?"