Small hands waved frantically around the coffee machine, trying to stop it from letting out a large amount of smoke. Y/N bit her lower lip in distress, cursing at it for breaking at the worst possible time. Their company had been under a lot of pressure lately, especially after the original CEO retired, leaving the position to his son, Chae Hyungwon. While Mr. Chae was fully capable of handling the business, a lot of employees thought he was too young to take on such a task. 

It was almost 9AM, which meant any moment now Mr. Chae would be asking for his black coffee with two spoons of sugar, the coffee he only drank from this specific machine and only if it was made by Y/N. Her boss would always about how her coffee making skills were the only reason for which she got this internship and at times, she thought those jokes might have actually been the truth. It was ironic how black coffee was the only type of coffee she could make, as she didn't drink it herself. 

However, that wasn't the only reason for which Y/N was so frustrated. Despite the company's fragile state, Y/N wanted to ask for a free afternoon. One of her coworkers, Kihyun, had invited her out for a few drinks. He got off much earlier than her and despite not knowing him well, she did want to go on a date with him, as he was quite handsome and a nice company.

"What happened here?" Speak of the Devil and he shall appear. 

Y/N turned around, looking at Kihyun with begging eyes.

"The coffee machine broke," she started, her eyes switching from the machine to the man, "Mr. Chae will want his coffee any time soon."

Kihyun looked at her weirdly but stepped in front to look at the coffee maker anyway. He unplugged it first to make sure no further damage would ensue.

"It feels so weird to hear you address him as Mr. Chae. I've been calling him Hyungwon ever since his father brought him in a few years ago."

"Well, you met under different circumstances." Y/N tried to defend herself. Her boss had asked multiple times for her to call him by his surname, but Y/N was afraid that would mean getting more personal with him.

As if she didn't have enough trouble keeping her thoughts in a straight line around the handsome CEO.

"He's still my boss." the man said, still bending over the table to fix the broken thing. "Have you talked with him about this afternoon?"

Y/N shook her head and sighed. She couldn't believed she had postponed it until the actual day. In truth, it wasn't that she was ashamed of asking, more so that she was afraid of asking Hyungwon. The boy certainly had an effect on her, but she tried to keep things professional.

"I'll ask him now." She breathed. "He'll understand."

Kihyun turned again, throwing her a look. 

"I doubt it." 

"Why? He's given me time off before to spend with family..." she said. "Do you think I'm crossing the line?"

"It's not about him giving you time off, it's about him probably not wanting you to go out with me. Or any other male, really."

Y/N frowned, not understanding what Kihyun was talking about, but the boy just rolled his eyes and waved her off. Always with an attitude. He then straightened up, stretching his hands.

"Anyway, there's no saving for this one." He started, gesturing towards the coffee maker. "So, good luck."

Y/N didn't move until Kihyun left the small kitchen, contemplating what to do. She knew Mr. Chae would refuse any other kind of coffee, so her best option was to apologize.

She took a deep breath and headed towards his office, ignoring the snickers and gossip flying around when she passed some of her colleagues.

"They say he'll get suspended soon."

"Hopefully before he runs this business into the ground."

Truth be told, Y/N felt sorry for her boss. He was a great man, always two steps ahead of the game, but he was young and that made older employees not respect him. She was protective over him, her romantic feelings getting tangled with the sympathy she felt for him.

When she exited the elevator and stood in front of his door, Y/N stopped a bit, trying to muster up the courage to knock.

"Come in!"

His voice was as deep as always, sounding even through the door. Y/N slowly opened it, stepping inside the large office that had a perfect view of the city's skyline.

Seated at the desk, in his fancy leather chair, stood Hyungwon, lips pulled in a tight smile once he heard her enter. He was wearing a blazer, but Y/N could bet her whole life that he was also wearing jeans instead of dress pants.

He was still looking at a file in his hand, but gestured towards the seat in front of him nevertheless. Y/N approached slowly, her breath uneven.

"Did you come to bring me my coffee?" He asked, scribbling something down on a white paper, then turning a bit to type at his computer.

Y/N played with her hands in her lap.

"About that, sir" she started, feeling embarrassed already. Hearing her resentful tone, Hyungwon raised his head and once again, Y/N was taken aback by how beautiful he was. "The coffee machine is broken."

Hyungwon smiled and it calmed her a bit. His eyes crinkled in the corners, but Y/N noticed a certain spark of acknowledgement in them.

"How many times do I have to ask before you start calling me Hyungwon?" He smirked a bit, leaning in his chair to look better at her.

As always, she was a bit flustered at the casual tone the man used around her. Her hair was framing her face, almost hiding her blush from his eyes, but not quite.

"That would be disrespectful, sir. You are my superior." She said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"How is it disrespectful if I asked?" Hyungwon raised his eyebrow, a teasing look on his face. "Moreover, isn't it disrespectful that you are obeying my request?"

She her lips, feeling go dry, which immediately attracted his eyes towards them, but he was quick to avert them.

"I'm sorry sir, uh- I mean, Hyungwon." Y/N didn't even understand why this situation made her feel as if she was about to implode. Sure, it was their first actual conversation that went beyond the normal greetings, but still.

Hyungwon got up, making the girl freeze as she traced his steps with her eyes. The man sat in the seat next to her.

"Is that all you came in for, to tell me about the coffee machine?"

Here goes nothing.

"Actually, no." She said, straightening her back a bit. Despite how it might have seemed, Y/N was not easily intimidated, it was just Hyungwon's presence that made her feel that way. "I was wondering if I could leave from work earlier today."

"For what?"

"I have plans." She said, pushing her chair back a bit. Was it her or was the room's temperature slowly rising? Or was it just her heart pumping her blood like crazy?

"Really?" He asked, intrigued. "With whom, if I may ask?"

"How is that relevant?" She asked quickly, before realizing that she was crossing the line and apologizing.

Hyungwon only laughed, seemingly more alive than before. Truth be told, it was intriguing to see her more fiery side.

"If I were to give you half of the day off, I would at least like to know you're not dealing drugs in your free time."

For a moment, Y/N considered lying, Kihyun's earlier words coming to mind, but Hyungwon had always been nice to her and it wouldn't have been fair.

"I'm going out," she said slowly, "With Kihyun."

Hyungwon frowned at that.

"As in, a date?" He asked, his voice cold.

Y/N didn't sense his sudden change in mood and nodded. The man got up, good back to his seat. He seemed to fall into a deep thought, not looking at Y/N, before finally shaking his head.

"No." He said, a final note in his voice.

"No?" Y/N asked, surprised. So then it was true, Kihyun had been right. "Do you have a problem with Kihyun?"

Hyungwon shook his head again, resting his head on his hands. He was still frowning, but there was also a look of determination on his face.

Y/N raised an eyebrow, challenging him further.

"I have a problem with you going on dates." He finished.

That got her blood boiling.

"Excuse me?" She asked, offended that he was talking about her romantic life.

"I have a problem with you going on dates," he repeated, "when they're not with me."

All the colorful words that Y/N was about to say died in , because what?

"What?"

Hyungwon sighed and, weirdly, nodded.

"I don't like you going with Kihyun because I like you." He clarified. "And frankly, I'm offended that all it took him to get you to say yes was a few flirty remarks, while I've been killing myself to get more than a simple greeting for you."

"Killing yourself?" Y/N asked confused. "You never even gave me a sign that you would be interested."

"The coffee should've been enough." He sang.

"The coffee?" Y/N frowned, not understanding what Hyungwon was trying to get at.

"Y/N," he laughed, throwing his head back. "I hate coffee, more so, I hate black coffee."

That certainly was news for the girl, who had always thought he just had extremely specific tastes. Well, he did have a taste, she thought.

"But you always asked me to make it for you."

"I didn't know how else to start a conversation," he scratched his neck, ashamed. "I'm a bit on the awkward side, if you haven't noticed."

And no, Y/N hadn't because she always thought that Hyungwon was one of the most charismatic people she had ever met.

Not knowing what to say, she only stared at him. Then, the boy smiled.

"Actually, I will give you this afternoon off." He said.

Dumbfounded, Y/N tried to stutter out a response, but Hyungwon started talking before her.

"But you won't go on a date with Kihyun, you'll go on a date with me." He said confidently, then stopped and panicked, as if he had said something wrong. "If you want to, of course."

He couldn't believe that in his little explanation speech he had forgotten to take into consideration that maybe Y/N didn't even like him. He had been so focused on finally confessing that he didn't even plan ahead.

"Of course I do." Hyungwon let out a breath of relief at that and Y/N couldn't help but laugh at how he had looked as if he was about to vomit.

There was a knock at the door and the both of them turned towards it, as Jooheon entered the room, phone in his hand.

"The technician called and said he'll be here in an hour or so to fix the coffee maker."

He then exited and Y/N quickly turned towards Hyungwon, who looked as if he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Wait, you knew the coffee machine was broken?" Y/N asked.

The boy grinned sheepishly.

"I kind of broke it intentionally to get you to talk to me."