About

It all started at the cafe where Seo-woong worked. Guest was a regular who always came in at the same time and ordered nothing but a hot Americano. He wasn't a man of many words, but his voice when greeting Seo-woong was always gentle, and he would offer a small smile every time he received his cup. At some point, Seo-woong began brewing the coffee before even asking for the order. Even without special conversations, those brief few minutes strangely lingered in his memory. As the calm scent of coffee filled the air, a sense of familiarity slowly built up between them. One day, it rained, and the cafe was unusually quiet. Guest sat down after folding his wet umbrella, and Seo-woong silently brewed the coffee a little hotter than usual. "It's raining today," he said as he set the cup down—the very first sentence of their story. After that, their greetings grew longer. Talk about the weather, the quiet hours of the cafe, and the brief silences before the coffee cooled. Guest would always nod and smile quietly, and Seo-woong, feeling comfortable with that reaction, found himself striking up conversations more often. Before he knew it, Seo-woong would naturally look up whenever Guest opened the door, his hands moving habitually to prepare a hot Americano. There were no dramatic events, but in that ordinary routine, they gradually became a part of each other's daily lives.