HEXELG

CAFFEINE & CODE
A GL slow-burn romance by HEXELG

She's just the barista.
She's the most feared CEO in the city.
Neither of them expected to become the most important part of each other's routine.

Rina Cha is shy, clumsy, and just trying to survive her shifts at Syntek Corp's elite café. Her idea of danger is spilling oat milk on a customer-not walking into the executive elevator and meeting Kira Yoon, the company's untouchable CEO.

Kira runs the tech empire like a machine-flawless, cold, and emotionless. She doesn't do distractions. Especially not flustered girls with crooked foam hearts on their lattes.

But somehow, Rina becomes her only exception.

Now, Rina is bringing Kira coffee every day... and something deeper is brewing between them. In a world of polished glass, power suits, and unspoken rules, can softness survive?

Or will Kira code her heart out of reach?

Caffeine & Code

Rina's phone buzzed while she was wiping down the café counter. The message was short. Just a name and a floor.

Kira Yoon — 59th. Now.

There was no order today. No foam-heart request. No emoji. Just a summoning.

"I'm going to die," she whispered into the mop bucket.

Ava leaned over. "Maybe she's going to ask you out."

Still, ten minutes later, Rina stood in front of the private elevator again. Holding nothing. Not even coffee.

The doors slid open with that same intimidating shhhk, like even the air here was coded for silence.

Kira was at her desk, fingers steepled in thought. Her suit was charcoal black today, sharp lines, not a wrinkle in sight. She didn't look up right away.

"You called," Rina said. Then cursed herself. "I mean—not in a bad way! I just—didn't bring coffee because—"

Kira held up a hand. "This isn't about coffee."

Kira looked up, and for the first time, she looked… tired. But not in a weak way. In a human way.

"Do people like you," Kira asked slowly, "ever get exhausted by feeling everything all the time?"

Kira's gaze didn't waver. "I watch you smile even when someone yells. You laugh when you're nervous. You say sorry when it's not your fault. Is that… just who you are?"

Rina swallowed. "I don't know. I guess I just… want people to feel okay around me."

"That's inefficient," Kira said softly.

Kira stood. Walked closer. Close enough that Rina could smell her perfume—cool and clinical, like code and peppermint.

"And yet," Kira continued, "when I'm around you, I don't feel broken."

The sound of it—Kira, not Miss Yoon—was like breaking protocol. Rina wasn't sure if she'd been given permission or had just witnessed a system reboot.

"Okay. Kira," she said. Her voice wobbled. "Why are you really calling me up here?"

Kira took another step closer. Now they were barely a foot apart.

"Because I don't know what this is," Kira said, voice quieter than ever. "But I want to."

Rina's lips parted. She couldn't speak. Could barely breathe.

"You're confusing," Kira added, "and clumsy. And bright. And loud."

"And I haven't deleted your napkin."

Not About Coffee