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

Subject:📎 URGENT: Ethics Committee Summons – CEO Yoon

It was formal. Cold. The kind of message that doesn't ask questions—just commands answers.

Rina was still asleep when Kira read it.

Her back tensed. Her mind started calculating possible outcomes. Risks. Damage control.

The public email hadn't gone unnoticed.

And Helena Wu wasn't done.

🏢 Syntek – Executive Boardroom

The room smelled like stale coffee and strategy.

Kira stood at the head of the table, posture flawless, eyes unreadable.

"Your relationship with an employee is a distraction," one board member said.

"Only if you're more interested in perception than performance," Kira replied, voice smooth as steel.

Helena smiled faintly. "It's not just about you, Kira. Investors are asking questions. The press wants a statement. We've had journalists snooping around the café floor."

"So ask me your real question. Do you want me to break up with her?"

📞 Rina's Café – Same Morning

But Rina noticed the silence the second she looked up and saw the way people were looking at her.

A barista whispered. A customer took a sly photo when she wasn't looking.

And then her manager pulled her aside.

"Rina… they're asking me to transfer you to a different building."

Rina:They're moving me. Thought you should know.Don't come rushing in. I can handle this.

Kira:They're trying to corner me.I won't let them do the same to you.Wait for me after your shift. We need to talk.

🌧️ Rooftop Garden – That Night

Rina's hoodie was soaked. Kira held a black umbrella, eyes fierce beneath it.

"I told you not to come," Rina said softly.

Rina looked up. "They're punishing us."

Then—she stepped closer, closing the umbrella.

"We fight," Kira said."We don't run. Not from them. Not from each other."

Rina blinked. "This is gonna be messy."

Kira touched her face, rain slipping down her cheek.

"So are most things worth building."

In the rain. On the roof. While the world below prepared to make them choose.

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