The bell above the café door jingled softly as Hye-mi and Seo-jun walked in. The place still smelled like roasted beans and vanilla syrup from the morning prep.
"Good morning, boss!" one of the workers called out from behind the counter.
"Morning," Hye-mi replied with a small smile, rolling up her sleeves.
"It's a holiday today," the worker added. "We'll probably get a lot more customers than usual."
Seo-jun hung his blazer on the rack near the entrance, glancing around. "Then shouldn't you hire more staff?" he said, half-teasing. "You shouldn't have to work every day. You should be home resting, not doing all this."
Hye-mi just gave him that same calm smile. "It's fine. This café's my hobby. If I don't come here myself, things never go the way I want them to."
"So you don't even have a manager?"
"Nope," he said simply, tying his apron tighter. "It's better this way. My café, my rules."
