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

Kira Yoon did not go to coffee shops that weren't on the 59th floor of her own company.

She especially didn't wait in them.

Yet here she was—tucked in a corner booth of a small café across the street from Syntek, sleeves rolled, phone off, looking like the most confusing glitch in the universe.

Waiting for Rina.

"You're spiraling," she told herself.

She looked up—and there she was.

Rina burst through the door, curls bouncing, breathless, cheeks pink.

"I'm sorry! My shift ran long, and the milk shipment was late, and then I—"She stopped mid-ramble."You… came."

Kira stood, smoothed her jacket. "We said six."

"You said 'if you're free.' That's not the same."

She slid into the booth across from her, still catching her breath, still smiling.

The silence that followed wasn't awkward.

☕ The First Off-Script Conversation

Rina glanced around. "So… do you come here often?"

Kira gave her a look. "Are you trying to flirt with me like a sitcom character?"

"I am a sitcom character."

Kira exhaled—laughing softly.

"I don't usually laugh in public," Kira admitted.

"I don't usually talk to people who terrify me before breakfast."

Kira blinked. Looked down. Her ears were—blushing? No. Must've been the lighting.

"You're… very open," she said instead.

Rina stirred her drink. "Only around people who feel safe."

"I don't feel safe," Kira murmured.

🔍 A Glimpse of Something Deeper

Halfway through their drinks, Rina pulled out a notebook and flipped it open.

Kira raised an eyebrow. "You brought notes to a date?"

"Who said this was a date?" Rina teased. Then, softer: "...You think it is?"

Instead, she looked down at the page. It was filled with… doodles.

Bunnies. Stars. A tiny scribbled version of Kira—complete with sharp blazer and a speech bubble that said "efficient".

"Is that supposed to be me?" Kira asked, deadpan.

Rina smiled. "You're cuter in my head."

Something broke open in Kira's chest. A door she hadn't realized was locked.

"Because I draw you like a chibi?"

"No. Because you're getting past my firewall."

Across the street, Helena Wu stood near her car, watching through the café window.

She sipped her drink, leaned against the door, and smiled.

"So. That's what it takes to crack the Ice Queen."

She slid her sunglasses down and made a note in her phone.

Move fast. Before the coffee girl finishes melting her.

Outside the Network