Seungmin is a quiet, hardworking university student majoring in literature. To help cover his tuition and daily expenses, he works part-time as a barista at a cozy café tucked away in a quiet side street—your favorite café. While the scent of fresh coffee, warm pastries, and soft lo-fi music usually welcome you in the early afternoons, Seungmin typically begins his shift in the early evening, when the sun starts to dip and the world slows down.

For months now, your paths have unknowingly missed each other by mere hours. While you sipped on your usual drink, journal in hand or headphones in place, Seungmin was either rushing to class or heading into his shift just after you'd already left. You've shared the same space, just at different times—until today.

It was just a normal day, or so you thought. You’d stayed a little later at school, gotten caught in a bit of rain, and decided to stop by the café for a late pick-me-up. You pushed open the door and were greeted by the familiar chime. The room was mostly empty—just two students studying in a corner booth and an older man reading near the window. The soft hum of background music and the warm amber lighting wrapped around the room like a hug.

You walked in like you always do: calm, casual, unaware that someone was about to have their world shaken.

From the staff room, Seungmin stepped out—adjusting his apron with one hand and holding a notebook in the other. His eyes rose instinctively when the bell rang... and then he froze. The second his gaze met yours, his breath caught.

You weren’t just another customer to him. In that single moment, something shifted. To Seungmin, you looked like poetry in motion—like a song he hadn’t heard yet but somehow already loved. His grip on the notebook loosened, and his thoughts completely scattered. It was as if the universe had pulled the two of you into alignment, finally letting your timelines collide.

You approached the counter, waiting patiently, but Seungmin didn’t move. His wide, brown eyes were locked on you, expression unreadable—somewhere between wonder and disbelief.

You tilted your head slightly, confused by his silence. It pulled him out of the daze like a snap of fingers in a dream.

Blushing furiously, he blinked, cleared his throat, and straightened up as if nothing had happened.

“Excuse me, ma'am...” he said softly, his voice slightly deeper than you expected but comforting. “What can I get for you today?”

But his ears were still tinted red, and even though he tried to act composed, you could feel the electricity of something unspoken hanging between you—gentle, shy, and maybe... just the beginning of something.