Chapter-7

The Coffee Machine Conspiracy

Ahn Jihun believed in one fundamental truth about office life—coffee was the only thing keeping civilization from collapsing.

Unfortunately, today, the universe had other plans.

Jihun shuffled into the break room, still half-asleep. His morning routine was simple:

1. Stumble into the office.

2. Pretend to check emails while actually staring at the screen blankly.

3. Drink coffee until his soul reconnected with his body.

But as he pressed the button on the holy coffee machine… nothing happened.

Jihun frowned. He pressed it again. Nothing.

He tapped the side. Still nothing.

He smacked it lightly. Absolutely nothing.

His sleep-deprived brain took a moment to process. And then—

"NO!"

Nayoung, who had just walked in, jumped. "What the hell?"

Jihun turned to her, eyes wide with pure despair. "It's… it's dead."

Nayoung frowned. "What's dead?"

Jihun pointed at the coffee machine like it was a crime scene. "The machine. It's broken."

Nayoung gasped. "No. No, no, no. That's not funny." She rushed over, pressing buttons desperately.

Nothing.

Nayoung clutched her head. "Oh god. This is serious."

Jihun nodded grimly. "We're in danger."

Ten minutes later, the news had spread across the office like wildfire.

By 9:30 AM, a crisis meeting had formed in the break room.

Participants:

Jihun, devastated victim.

Nayoung, secondary devastated victim.

Taesung, corporate overlord but also a coffee addict.

Minjae, IT guy who somehow knew everything.

Jihun crossed his arms. "Alright, Minjae. Give it to us straight. Can you fix it?"

Minjae sighed, opening the machine's panel like a doctor about to deliver bad news. "Well… it's not looking good."

Jihun grabbed Nayoung's shoulder for support.

"Can you save it?" Nayoung asked.

Minjae shook his head. "The heating element is fried. We need a replacement part, but that could take days."

Days.

Days without coffee.

Jihun closed his eyes. "I should've called in sick today."

By 10:00 AM, the office was descending into chaos.

People were yawning uncontrollably.

Productivity had plummeted by at least 50%.

Someone (probably the HR guy) was googling 'how to survive caffeine withdrawal.'

Manager Kang, sensing the crisis, walked in and clapped his hands. "Alright, let's stay calm. We can still function without coffee."

Silence.

Then, Nayoung whispered, "…Can we?"

Jihun shook his head. "No. We can't."

Taesung sighed, stepping forward. "Okay, everyone. Let's not overreact. We can just go buy coffee outside."

Jihun turned to him. "And who's paying for it? You?"

Taesung hesitated. "Well, no—"

Jihun gasped dramatically. "Then what good are you?"

Taesung rolled his eyes. "I'll just buy my own."

Nayoung scoffed. "Typical. Every man for himself."

Taesung smirked. "That's called capitalism."

Jihun placed a hand on his chest. "I never thought I'd say this, but… I miss the coffee machine."

Minjae sighed. "We all do, man. We all do."

By noon, two factions had formed.

Faction 1: The Survivors (led by Taesung)

These people had already bought coffee from outside and moved on with their lives like normal adults.

They looked at the rest of the office with pity.

Faction 2: The Resistance (led by Jihun and Nayoung)

These people refused to accept a world where they had to spend their own money on coffee.

They were actively plotting a company-funded solution.

At 12:30 PM, Jihun held a secret meeting in the break room.

"Alright, team," he whispered. "We have one goal: get the company to pay for our coffee."

Nayoung nodded. "How do we do that?"

Jihun grinned. "Simple. We just have to convince Manager Kang that the office is falling apart without caffeine."

Minjae raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it… already falling apart?"

"Exactly. We just need to make it worse."

Nayoung smirked. "I like where this is going."

The Plan:

1. Jihun would 'accidentally' email the wrong report (something completely ridiculous).

2. Nayoung would pretend to forget basic tasks.

3. Minjae would act like he forgot how computers worked.

By 1:00 PM, chaos had been fully implemented.

Jihun submitted a PowerPoint full of cat memes instead of the project proposal.

Nayoung, when asked for an update, responded with, "I'm sorry, who am I?"

Minjae kept hitting his keyboard, muttering, "What are numbers?"

Manager Kang looked around, horrified. "What is happening today?!"

Jihun sighed dramatically. "Sir… it's the coffee."

Nayoung nodded. "Without caffeine, our brains are deteriorating."

Minjae stared blankly at his screen. "I forgot how to read."

Manager Kang rubbed his temples. "Fine! Fine! I'll approve emergency funds for office coffee!"

Jihun gasped. "Really?"

"Just go! Before the entire office collapses!"

Jihun, Nayoung, and Minjae high-fived. Mission accomplished.

By 2:00 PM, a glorious sight filled the break room—three giant boxes of fresh coffee, paid for by the company.

The Resistance had won.

Jihun grinned, holding up his cup. "To unnecessary workplace drama!"

Nayoung clinked her cup against his. "And to never paying for coffee!"

Minjae sighed. "You guys are terrifying."

Across the room, Taesung shook his head, watching them celebrate. "You know… you could've just bought coffee yourselves."

Jihun smirked. "Yeah. But where's the fun in that?"

Taesung sighed. Jihun was a lost cause.

But, somehow, he still found himself smiling.