“We already have a coffee shop here.”

Did you know that coffee shops was a leading market in South Korea? There’s almost every coffee shops in every corner of the building and you could easily find that almost every Korean people enjoyed consuming the addicting caffeine. 

But, because of the same thing - since the coffee market was big in Korea, the competition in that business was higher and more demanding, and it’s far more competitive than other businesses. 

But, for Kwon Sora - she was more than grateful to open her coffee shop amidst the competitive world of the addicting caffeine.

Unlike other coffee shop that opened their coffee shop in the busy city, Sora opened her shop at her own neighborhood - attracting the people around there to be her regulars and making enough money to build her small empire. 

There were no other coffee shops around and she loved the way everyone focused on her shop to hang out after classes, coming there before going to work, going for dates, enjoying self moment, and mainly loving her coffee and cakes along the way. 

Sora went humming happily, finishing with her cake that she had bake and put it inside the display fridge and she was ready to open her cafe for the day. 

Handling a coffee shop - Sora was always two or three hours earlier than her usual staffs, as she went busy brewing the coffee firsthand, and prepared for the bakery foods the next second. 

Then, she would be handling the counter machine to get it ready, before she went sweeping the floor and arranged the tables and seats for the customers to sit down and hang out. 

Her coffee shop was famous on being aesthetic enough, to appear on instagram pages, and other social medias, sometimes attracting customers from different regions into coming to see her shop and taste her foods and drinks. 

Sora thanked her good knowledge on decorating the shop and have it attracting many people for it.

As she went busy sweeping the floor, the door went knocked and she looked up, almost arguing about how they were still closed - when she noticed one of her staffs went planting her face on the glass door. 

Letting her face ridiculously painted on the glass and Sora grimaced at it. “You’re ing ugly.”

Joohyun went rolling her eyes and strutted inside after Sora opened the door for her. “I know.” she said. 

“You’re early again.” 

Sora went humming happily, chirping on a random song as she continued sweeping on the floor. “I got a new recipe so I came early to bake it.”

“Still...you shouldn’t came in too early.” Joohyun said, taking the broom from Sora’s hand and she gasped dramatically. 

“Are you worried, Joohyun?” Sora went hugging Joohyun tightly, and the girl sighed at it. 

“That’s my manager.” Sora said, rubbing their cheeks together as she hugged the other girl tighter. 

Joohyun was a manager for the coffee shop. Despite the girl hated coffee and everything that had to do with coffee - she was with Sora when she had opened the shop for the first time and went through everything with the girl when she struggled with the shop. 

Joohyun was always a good friend to Sora. A little bit of a , but who doesn’t like someone with an attitude, right? 

She was with Sora when the girl was afraid to open her cafe, and was always supporting her friend from behind, and Sora wanted Joohyun to be by her side forever - because she was a good friend. 

Also, Joohyun makes a good coffee, despite she hated the drink.

Her other staff came in the next hours, following after Joohyun, and Sora waved her happily from the kitchen as she went busy with her cake. 

Aside from owning the cafe, Sora was also in charge for the pastry and breads inside the cafe - it was something that she had enjoyed to do.

Wendy went chirping happily inside the kitchen, greeting Sora and she smiled back in return. 

“Boss, you look happy today.” Wendy chirped again, letting her smile beamed towards Sora.

Wendy was Sora’s assistant, eager to learn about pastry and desserts and Sora gladly take the girl under her wings and she ended up learning fast already. 

“I just make a new cake.” Sora went saying, and Wendy happily clapped her hands to show her enthusiasm - it was just a small clap, but Sora was already laughing like she had the world clapping for her, as she went laughing boastfully. 

Customers went rolling inside for the next hours and Joohyun was already on standby to make drinks and served, while Sora went in charge for the counter and taking orders. 

And the day started like usual. It was busy, it was hectic, and it was everything that Sora wanted. 

The other baristas came in the following shift - Joy and Seulgi went singing happily as they skipped inside and Joohyun just grunted at them in return - because she wasn’t a social person in the first place. 

And Sora was greeting them back from behind the counter. 

Another interesting thing that attracted people to come to their cafe was because - everyone that was working inside, were all females.

Sora actually dislike having men around her during work and ended up getting all females for her staffs and somehow - that ended up making an attractive points in attracting customers.

“Hey...” Joohyun suddenly stopped Sora from gossiping about the ladies from her neighborhood and the girl almost offended by that, when Joohyun pointed outside. 

Sora went frowning, and whirled around, looking at the glass wall and stared at the group of people who went busy at the building across her cafe. 

“Did someone buy that building?” Sora frowned. 

“Finally. I thought it will get abandoned and get haunted.” Joohyun sipped on her tea, and Sora gasped, hugging her body and pretend to shiver. 

“I’m scared.”

“Don’t kid me.” Joohyun glared with her usual blank face, and Sora scowled. 

Joy and Seulgi went inside the counter and Sora was still focused on the people at the building across her cafe.

She wondered who bought the building and wondered what it will be.

Would someone opened a shop there? 

Would it be a pharmacy or maybe a convenience store?

Sora was frowning in questions for the next day as she stared at the people who went renovating the building across her. Her curiosity was peeking in, and she really wanted to know who bought the building and what building it will be, after all those renovating projects. 

She really hoped that someone would opened a beauty shop or some cute clothing shop - it was somehow needed in the neighborhood.

“You wanna bet what shop it will be?” Sora grinned at Joohyun and the friend went sighing. 

“How about you finished with ordering the orders first?” Joohyun gave a look at Sora, and she pouted, staring back at the glass where she can see the people went busy renovating the building.

Her eyes caught a few guys walking to the site and she couldn’t see the way they went giving her shop a look - when Joohyun just pulled her by the ear and pushed her back into the office to continue with her works. 

As days passed, Sora’s questions about the building went unanswered as she was still staring at the people from the glass door, making a few customers frowned at her and Seulgi went laughing awkwardly at it.

The site workers work fast with renovating the place and somehow polished it neatly and have Sora questioned on what the purpose of the building even more. 

“Wendy, do you see anything suspicious?” Sora asked, pushing away the binoculars that she had bought beforehand, at a convenience store, and Wendy frowned, shaking her head. 

“They were moving some furnitures inside.” Joy said, also using the binoculars to see better. 

While Seulgi went sighing, resting her jaw on her palm from the counter as she stared at the three girls. If only Joohyun was in shift, she would have nagged the three to go back to work. 

“You know, you could just asked them.”

“But that would ruin the excitement.” Joy said and Sora went frowning even more, seeing the people went taking some tables and chairs inside. 

“It’s like they are opening a cafe like us.” Wendy said, upon noticing the chairs and tables that were brought into the building. 

And Sora blinked. 

Her curiosity went peeking again and she pushed the binoculars on the bridge on her nose as she stared ahead and her staffs went following her, while Seulgi went sighing, shaking her head at the ridiculous view. 

The way the workers handling the furnitures to get it inside the building with so much care, makes Sora frowned. 

She noticed the nice furnitures that probably cost a fortune, and a few other cabinets and tables went following. 

And then -

Sora went gasping. “No way...”

She saw the coffee machine among the others and her workers probably saw it too - quickly looked at her, and Sora frowned even more. 

“No way.” she whispered. 

Though, her heart wasn’t calming, and she hated that. 

“Seulgi, make some coffees for me.”

Sora had the biggest smile on her lips as she went to the building across her cafe, batting her long lashes at the male workers on the site, and they went focused on her, as she walked closer. 

“Hello there...” she chirped. “You are working so hard, must be so tired.”

The men over there were already acting sleazy around her, when she gave a flirty look and a bashful smile. 

“Please have a drink. It’s on the house.” Sora said, and Joy was grinning prettily with the tray of americanos in her hands and the male workers went hollering at that. 

“Gosh, what a nice young lady.” a worker complimented, and Sora acted bashfully at that. 

“It’s nothing.” she had her voice pitching higher than usual and Joy just scoffed in disbelief at how her boss easily switched into a new personality at buttering people up. 

But again, that’s how her boss was - someone who was reliable and adaptable to everyone and have that charm to attract more people to her. 

“Anyway...” Sora waved her hand like the usual aunty who came to gossip and the males went pausing on their flirty and teasing remarks at her. 

“Who bought this building?” she asked. “Are you renovating for a shop or something?”

One of the male workers went beaming happily and nodded at it. 

“Some rich dude bought it, and it will be turned into a coffee shop.”

In a split second, Joy saw the way Sora had her aura darkened and she gulped.

“What?” Sora gave out a light laugh, trying to act like it was all a joke to her, but seeing that all the males went serious at it, she frowned even more. 

“But - ” she her sudden dry lips and stared at the males. 

“We already have a coffee shop here.” she pointed at her cafe across the building, and the males shrugged. 

“We don’t know, miss...”

Sora gawked even more at the nonchalant answer.  

“A coffee shop is opening!” Sora went yelling, gripping her hair in frustration and almost let her head went bald because of it. 

Her guesses were right, and she couldn’t calm down. She was the only person that went running a cafe in the neighborhood and everything was going so smooth for her. 

If there’s another cafe opening - worse, across her own cafe - the potential of her having the usual busy day, and numerous customers would be decreasing. 

Worse - maybe she would be going bankrupt. 

Sora gasped at that and she whined on her phone that she had pressed against her ear. 

“Joohyun, I don’t wanna go bankrupt.”

Joohyun, whom Sora had called to express her disappointment after finding out about the new cafe, was just sighing.

“We won’t go bankrupt.” the friend went saying monotonously, and Sora went sighing again. 

For once, she wished that Joohyun would express more of her feeling and perhaps share her own disappointment too. 

Despite that, Sora only found comfort in her longtime friend, even though Joohyun somehow didn’t seemed like she owned a soul or a personality to begin with. 

Sora went sighing again. 

“Who would be so stupid at opening a cafe across another cafe...” she was about to argue about it. 

But then, her voice died down, and she blinked at a sudden thoughts that went through her mind. 

“Wait. What if this is a sabotage plan, Joohyun?” Sora gasped. 

And Joohyun sighed at that. “Who would even sabotage you?”

Sora blinked.

Well, she can actually think of a person. 

And remembering him, her skin shivered and she gulped down her sudden boiling anxiousness. 

“The government.” Sora muttered a joking response to that, and hoped that Joohyun wouldn’t noticed her sudden paused in thoughts. 

But still, her heart went jumping loudly against her chest and she wondered if what she was thinking was true. 

Was it the person that she had thought?

But that would be impossible. 

She sighed again as she stared at the building across her cafe.

They were closing, and Joy was happily sweeping the floor, while Sora was still staring behind the glass window of her cafe. 

The new cafe was renovated prettily with the glass window like hers to have the customers see the view outside and Sora frowned even more when she saw the pitch black surroundings in the new cafe. 

“Boss, I’m finished.” Joy sang, and Sora just waved the girl away, still busy staring at the new cafe that will be opened soon. 

It already finished renovating, already furnished and all the machines were put inside - just waited to be opened and Sora gulped at thinking about that. 

She gonna have a competition. 

“I hate this.” she pouted, crossing her arms together on her chest as she stared longer. 

So much for having no competition in the neighborhood. 

“Boss, I’m going...” Joy sang again, finished changing her uniform and was about to go home. 

“Yeah...be careful.” Sora waved the girl. 

“You too, and don’t stay too late.” Joy added again, and she just nodded mindlessly at that. 

But still - even though Joy had warned her not to stay late, Sora ended up closing the cafe a bit late because she was busy pacing around the shop and glanced at the new cafe across hers.

Gulping down, she glanced another look at the new cafe and after she finished closing the cafe and put the keys safely in her pocket, she looked around - left and right. 

People won’t be noticing her. 

Swiftly, she ran to the next building.

By the next second - Sora planted herself against the glass window and make her hands into a binoculars as she tried to look inside the cafe. 

Was it prettier than her cafe? 

Was it more aesthetic than her cafe? 

Would it be more attractive than her cafe? 

How the decorations would be? 

Is it neat? 

Is it modern enough? 

And she went peeking inside like a burglar trying to see her new place to commit a crime - squatting up and down like a crazy person. 

“Excuse me.”

Sora went frozen. 

She was sure that she heard a voice directed to her - such a delicate yet raspy voice that went greeting. 

She blinked. 

No. 

She probably imagining things. 

But still, she didn’t move from her standing figure from the glass. 

“Excuse me.”

It was a guy - such voice could only be mustered by a guy and Sora gulped down on her embarrassment. 

Was a passerby saw how ridiculous she looked and decided to interrupt? 

Not knowing what to do, Sora pressed her body more onto the glass and hoped that the guy wouldn’t be noticing her when she blended in with the glass window. 

Maybe he will thought that he’s imagining things. 

“Excuse me, I know you can hear me.” 

Her ears perked at the way he scooted closer and she closed her eyes in agony. 

“What are you doing in front of my cafe?”

She blinked. “Huh?”

In a split second, she turned her head to the said person, and she hated how it wasn’t just a guy in front of her. 

But mainly three guys standing ahead of hers, frowning in confusion as they stared more and she gulped down her embarrassment. 

She stared at the guy who was standing a bit closer to her, and she hated how she had to look up because the guy was too tall for her.

Is his dream to become a giraffe or something? 

“Are you lost?” another guy went asking, taking a step closer and she noticed how he was a bit tan than the others. 

“Do you need help, my lady?” another one went chirping, looking handsome with his bright smile.

The guy who was standing closer to her went blinking blankly and it was weird how his bored looks makes Sora’s stomach churned weirdly.

“Are you trying to break in? I can sue you.” he said, without beating a beat and Sora gulped. 

Sue? 

No way in hell she gonna get sued by her competitor. 

And as the other guys moved more closer - she could only think of something to save herself. 

Swiftly, she turned her body around from the glass window and held out her palms, yelling a loud -

“Nobody moves!”

The guys frozen in their steps, frowning. Even the bored looking guy in front of her went frowning in confusion. 

“I dropped my contact lenses.”

Sora squatted down, and patted on the ground. 

The guys went blinking at that, staring at her, before staring at the ground. Weirdly, they went complying and went frozen in their states. 

“Oh, here it is! Okay, bye!” Sora yelled in one breath and zoomed right passed the three guys, as they went confused at her. 

They all stared at how fast she went running away. Silence went following after. 

“Baekhyun, can someone actually dropped her contact lenses?”

“I don’t know, Jongin. But she sure ran fast.”

“Shut up and let’s get inside.”

“Jeez...don’t get so cranky in front of your new cafe, Sehun...”

Sehun rolled his eyes and opened on the cafe. 

He got a lot of things to do.