Chapter 1 — Tha Night Thay Met•🍂
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The city never truly slept.
Neon lights painted the streets in soft colors, and the quiet hum of late-night traffic echoed between tall glass buildings.
Inside a small corner café, warm yellow light pushed back the cold darkness outside.
Choi Da-eun wiped the last table slowly, her hands tired after a long shift.
"Da-eun, go home early tonight," her aunt said gently from behind the counter.
"You have classes tomorrow."
Da-eun smiled, the kind of smile that tried to hide exhaustion.
"I'm okay, Auntie. Just one more minute."
Working here wasn't easy, but she never complained.
This café was the only place that felt like **home**.
Outside, a black luxury car stopped quietly across the street.
A tall man stepped out.
His suit was perfect.
His expression was cold.
His eyes held a darkness that didn't belong to an ordinary life.
Seo Do-hyun.
To the world, he was a young, brilliant CEO.
But in the shadows… he ruled an empire no one dared to speak about.
He wasn't supposed to be here.
This small, simple café didn't belong in his world of power and danger.
Yet tonight, for the first time in years… he felt tired of everything.
So he walked inside.
A small bell rang above the door.
Da-eun looked up automatically—
—and their eyes met.
For a moment, the world became **completely silent**.
She saw only a cold, distant stranger.
He saw only a simple girl in a warm light.
Two different worlds.
Two lives that should never cross.
But fate had already decided otherwise.
"Welcome," Da-eun said softly.
Her voice was gentle… and something inside Do-hyun's guarded heart moved for the very first time.
He didn't know why.
He didn't understand how.
But that quiet moment—
in a tiny café under city lights—
would become the beginning of a love strong enough to destroy them both.
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