AER 1

chapter 1

The little café tucked into a Haebangchon alleyway is shutting its doors for good today.

The owner, a barista champion, and every last staff member got headhunted with the best offers in the industry.

As the most senior employee, Hye-ryeon had been considering the move. The company making the offer was the in-house café of NK Motors, under the NK Group.

Truth is… it was the last place on earth she ever wanted to go.

Still, a vague, stubborn anxiety kept following her around, whispering that she might have no choice.

‘Jiwan…’

No matter how much time passed, there was one man she could never erase from her heart.

She’d recently heard he had been appointed head of NK Motors. Even as an illegitimate son, he’d climbed high enough to take charge of an entire affiliate.

Clink—crash!

Lost in thought, she dropped the glass she’d been carrying. Hye-ryeon quickly crouched down to gather the shards. A sharp edge sliced her fingertip and she winced.

“You okay?”

Young-hoon, the owner, hurried over, voice full of concern as he checked the cut.

“I’ll handle it.”

She pulled her hand back and snatched the tissue from his. While she pressed it to stop the bleeding, a clear chime rang out. She stood up on reflex. A man in silver-rimmed glasses walked in.

“Oh… hello.”

Young-hoon recognized him and greeted him with a puzzled look.

The man wasn’t a regular customer, but one of the quicker staff members already pulled an espresso shot. An iced coffee appeared on the wooden bar a moment later. Seong-woo drank it casually while scanning the shop.

“As you can see, we’re in the middle of packing up, so it’s a bit of a mess. What brings you here?”

Young-hoon tried again.

Do Seong-woo was the eldest son of the NK Group and the one who’d offered them the in-house café position at NK Motors. No one could figure out why a man in that position would personally handle such a small recruitment matter.

Which was exactly why Hye-ryeon felt uneasy.

Why had the older brother of the man she’d abandoned come all the way here under the excuse of a scout offer?

Maybe it had something to do with her. All sorts of wild possibilities started spinning through her head. She’d been wrestling with them for days. She could only hope they were just paranoia.

“I stopped by for personal reasons today.”

Seong-woo said it while looking straight at her.

“Could I speak with you for a moment, Miss Ha Hye-ryeon?”

Her stomach dropped. She knew this was coming. She asked Young-hoon for a short break and followed Seong-woo out to the back seat of his sedan. The moment they sat down he held out a business card pinched between two fingers.

She took it with the hand that was still bleeding. Red slowly soaked into the sand-beige cardstock. The once-crisp edge went soft and limp almost immediately.

“You’re not even surprised to see me.”

His expression said he’d expected her to know he’d show up. Clearly he already knew about her and Jiwan. Hye-ryeon decided not to bother with any clumsy acting.

“If you’re here because of Jiwan, you’ve wasted a trip.”

Seong-woo gave a short, amused laugh.

“I heard the two of you were quite close.”

He didn’t look anything like Jiwan, but the blunt way he spoke without dressing things up was the same. Even half-brothers were still brothers, it seemed.

“We were close. Past tense.”

She shut it down coldly, making it clear it was ancient history.

“I also heard you still haven’t decided on the job offer.”

That part felt wrong. A third-generation chaebol paying this much attention to a café employee.

Hye-ryeon steeled herself.

“Here’s the thing. I was born with golden wings on my back, but I still can’t fly. All because of that little brother of mine clinging to my pant leg. One wrong move and I’ll crash straight into the ground.”

His voice stayed soft, but the chill underneath was sharp as a blade. The cut on her fingertip throbbed for no reason.

“So I’d like you to help me out a little, Miss Ha. Just stay visible in front of him. Hang around, have some fun together. Every now and then, casually fill me in on what you’ve been up to. Not that hard, right?”

In other words, become a spy. The conversation had gone exactly where she’d expected, and Hye-ryeon almost laughed at how predictable it was.

“And what’s in it for me?”

She kept her voice as flat as possible.

Despite his polished looks, the way he talked was blunt enough that Seong-woo let out a short laugh.

She was exactly the kind of woman who matched Do Jiwan’s level.

“You can’t keep washing dishes under someone else forever. I’ll set you up with a café in a prime location.”

For a second Do Seong-woo’s face overlapped with Jiwan’s mother—the woman who used to smile elegantly while handing over envelopes of money under the pretense of kindness.

“How am I supposed to trust you?”

“Isn’t it obvious just looking at me?”

“Being rich doesn’t mean you keep your promises.”

“Miss Ha knows how to negotiate. Secretary Kim—”

He called the secretary waiting outside and whispered something. A moment later a notification lit up on her phone.

“One hundred million. Payment for the coffee I just drank.”

Hye-ryeon gave him a cold little smile at the casual flex of wealth.

“Only a hundred million?”

The unexpected response made Seong-woo’s brow twitch slightly.

“If you’re going to spend, spend properly. A chaebol trying to buy someone with just a hundred million feels a little… cheap.”

She deliberately needled him.

Just like when she’d lied to Jiwan’s mother years ago while leaving him, she figured she needed to look convincing if she wanted to keep the upper hand.

“You really like money, don’t you.”

Seong-woo’s voice turned chilly.

“Of course I do. Money’s money.”

Jiwan. Do Jiwan.

She called the name she’d missed so desperately inside her head. Her chest ached dully.

This time it’s my turn to help you.

“Since you say it’s not enough—”

He gave the secretary another instruction. Another two hundred million landed in her account right away.

“I’d give you more, but I’m worried you’ll take the money and run. That would just make things tiring for me. If things go well, I’ll match what I’ve given you so far as a bonus. Depending on how you perform, it could get even more generous.”

He smiled as he said it.

“How’s that? Feel more like a proper chaebol offer now?”

“It does.”

Hye-ryeon smiled for the first time. Seong-woo looked at her and thought she was one hell of a piece of work.

“No need to think about it any longer. I’ll take the job.”

She said it firmly.

Somewhere beyond the old memories was a boy who had protected her with everything he had. Without Jiwan, she never would have had a normal “today” like everyone else.

They’d grown up like siblings, like friends, then fallen in love as if it were the natural next step. The shelf life of that love had been short. And she was the one who’d ended it.

Now it was her turn to protect him. Only a reason this big could give her the right to stand in front of Jiwan again.

“Do you still like Do Jiwan?”

Seong-woo asked in a casual tone.

Hye-ryeon let a few seconds pass, then gave a thin smile.

She looked at him like the question was absurd, but she was still polite enough to answer.

“If I’d been that pure and devoted, I wouldn’t have taken money from his mother and disappeared.”

Seong-woo smiled, satisfied with the answer.

***

The new NK Motors headquarters in Yeoksam-dong was massive.

Inside there was a library, an auditorium, restaurants, a fitness center, an indoor gym, a daycare—pretty much everything. There was even a premium shop selling car-related products.

The in-house café that was now Hye-ryeon’s workplace had a stylish interior too.

Small warm-white lights hung from the high exposed ceiling like fruit. A long marble table ran down the center, surrounded by smaller wooden ones.

The right side of the entrance was floor-to-ceiling glass. Beyond the outdoor tables you could see the lush greenery of the landscaping.

Most big companies just brought in a famous coffee brand, so NK’s choice to run its own café was unusual. She’d learn the reason for that soon enough.

“Hello, I’m Ha Hye-ryeon, the new manager.”

A few of the baristas didn’t look happy.

Unlike Lee Young-hoon, who’d come as the store manager, Ha Hye-ryeon had zero award-winning credentials to her name.

On top of that, her striking looks stirred up a mix of suspicion and quiet jealousy.

“Looking forward to working with you.”

She was used to the quiet territorial attitude of a group. Hye-ryeon tied on her apron with a blank face, pulled her hair into a simple ponytail, and started with the basics.

First she drained the water that had sat in the machine overnight, then dialed in the shot settings. She was picky about taste, so she diluted each shot and tried it.

She compared different parameters, adjusted, tasted again, repeated. Every move was fast and precise.

The wary looks on the staff’s faces started to soften around afternoon.

“…So Manager, you’ve been doing this a long time?”

One of them asked as they crossed the lobby together for lunch.

“If you count from when I started as a part-timer, yeah.”

The others nodded at her answer.

Then a man surrounded by secretaries stepped into the lobby. Even if you tried not to notice him, he was the kind of person your eyes just locked onto.

No—he was shining even brighter than before.

Hair neatly swept back, dark eyebrows drawn like mountain ridges, the strong brow bone that seemed to reflect a stubborn personality. Even with an indifferent expression, those deep eyes carried weight. The high bridge of his nose was so perfect it looked carved.

Everything matched her memory. Everything except the corners of his mouth.

He used to curl them up in that playful way. Now they were set in a cold, closed line. The strong jaw made him look even more unfamiliar.

Do Jiwan. You’ve really become an adult.

Hye-ryeon couldn’t look away. It felt like her soul had been yanked straight back to those old days. Her heart started pounding hard.

“Ah. The new director’s pretty impressive, right? I heard they brought him in because the company’s been struggling. Young, but apparently very capable.”

“There was a lot of talk when he first arrived. He opened voluntary retirement applications for every department except design right away. People around him are pretty worried these days.”

The staff filled her in helpfully.

“Worried?”

Hye-ryeon asked.

“If the illegitimate son tanks an entire affiliate, the key executives will take the heat. Everyone knows the NK chairman is obsessed with the car business.”

One of them whispered it like a secret.

Just then the group of secretaries stopped. Jiwan, a full head taller than the other men, turned his face this way.

Their eyes met for a split second.

Even though she’d steeled herself for this, her whole body froze solid. She told herself to look away, but she couldn’t move. Those few seconds felt endless. In the end, Jiwan was the one who broke the gaze without hesitation.

***

For several days Hye-ryeon took the opening shift. The early shift meant more than just dialing in the machines—there was a pile of small chores. But none of them felt unimportant.

She tied her hair back with the elastic on her wrist and got to work. She was just finishing the sound check on the music when she heard footsteps. Hye-ryeon looked up.

“Welco—”

She couldn’t finish the word.

The first customer was Do Jiwan.

He looked different from a few days ago—like he’d pulled an all-nighter at the company. Sleeves rolled up, tie loosened just enough to remind her of him in high school.

But there was nothing rebellious about him now.

Just the look of a man buried under heavy responsibility. He didn’t even look worn out. If anything, he was still put-together enough that you could believe he’d just arrived for the day.

As he came closer, the faint fabric-softener scent from the past was gone.

An unfamiliar, heavy masculine scent wrapped around her instead.

“One espresso.”

That distinctive deep voice rumbled low, right in front of her. A card landed on the bar. Hye-ryeon picked it up quickly. Her fingertips tingled and trembled like her heartbeat had moved into them while she processed the payment.

Jiwan sat at a nearby table. Hye-ryeon pulled the shot. Something she did every single day felt strangely difficult today.

Soon she carried over a demitasse with an even layer of crema and a small syrup bowl on a tray.

Jiwan, sitting at an angle and lazily scrolling on his tablet, looked up.

For a second the center of her chest tightened hard.

Time had only made those eyes more striking. And then she spotted it—the leftover streak of defiance still living in them.

Hye-ryeon couldn’t breathe. Every cell in her body seemed to scream that it still remembered him.

She managed to set the coffee down. She gave the automatic small bow and was about to turn away when—

“Running into you in a place like this—”

The tone was flat, but clearly rude,

“—so you’re living like a normal person now?”

The voice full of open hostility caught her by the ankle and held her there.