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

The envelope arrived on a Tuesday.

No return address. Just a sleek black folder stamped with the word:

"CONFIDENTIAL – LEGAL NOTICE"

Helena had filed a formal lawsuit through Syntek.

Kira had stolen proprietary code from Syntek systems

The pilot app was "materially similar" to an unreleased Syntek product

Damages sought: $5 million and a permanent injunction

Rina looked up from the document, heart pounding.

"She's trying to shut us down before we even launch."

Jin, their lead dev, paced the tiny workspace.

"I wrote every line from scratch," she said. "That app is clean."

"We know," Kira said. "But we need to prove it."

They began collecting logs, commit histories, time stamps—every bit of evidence they had.

Helena didn't need to be right.

Rina called in a favor—her cousin's wife, Ha Yeon, a sharp, no-bull corporate attorney.

She reviewed the case over one long night.

"They've got nothing. But they'll drag it out to bleed you dry."

"We don't have the time or money to play defense for six months."

"Then don't. Go public. Burn them first."

"Syntek has accused us of theft.Here's what they won't tell you—this tech wasn't taken. It was refused.They shelved it because it wasn't profitable.We built it because it was necessary."

Internal Syntek memos showing Kira pushed the idea months before she left

#KiraYoon trended again.#SyntekScare was born.And for once—Helena went silent.

Kira sat on the couch, exhausted. Rina curled beside her, head on her shoulder.

"I don't want to fight her forever," Kira murmured.

"Because after this… we build something so real, so good—no one like her can touch it."

Infringed