A Rainy Evening- A Cafe near Downtown seoul

It was raining the kind of summer rain that came without warning-hard, relentless, soaking everything in minutes. Ji Yoon Seo stood beneath the narrow awning of a quiet café tucked between a bookstore and a flower shop, watching the street blur beneath the downpour. He had no umbrella.He hadn't needed when he left the house that morning and his driver was caught in traffic halfway across the city.

He sighed, loosening the top button of his shirt and steeping inside. The café was warm, dimly lit and nearly empty except for one other person near the window.

The man was hunched over a coffee cup, dark hair still wet from the rain, a few strands clinging to his forehead. His black hoodie was soaked at the shoulders and a messenger bag sat slouched at his feet. He looked up when he see Yoon Seo walked in, and for a second, their eyes met.

Yoon Seo looked away first - unusual for him.

The barista was not at the counter, Yoon Seo moved to the side, waiting. The rain hammered against the glass.

"Want a recommendation?" a voice said behind him.

He turned. The guy at the window- now closer- was watching him, arms crossed, a crooked smile playing on his lips.

Yoon Seo raised an eyebrow. "Do I look that lost?"

"You look like you are deciding between suffering through a burnt americano or walking back out into the flood."

Yoon Seo smiled, just barely. "What do you suggest?"

"Café mocha. Extra shot. Not bitter but it will wake you up." He extended a hand. "Kang Min Jae."

Yoon Seo hesitated a second before shaking it. "Yoon Seo. Ji Yoon Seo."

Min Jae's handshake was firm and warm. "You live around here?"

"I work nearby." Yoon Seo replied vaguely, amused by how relaxed Min Jae seemed. Most people flinched around him- whether from his tailored suits, the cars he arrived in or the weight of his last name.

But Min Jae looked at him like he was just some guy caught in the rain.

"What do you do?" Min Jae asked.

Yoon Seo paused. "Business."

Min Jae chuckled. "That's vague enough to mean anything from selling real estate or laundering money."

"Guess you will have to find out." Yoon Seo said, his lips quirking.

A bell rang as the barista returned. Yoon Seo ordered the mocha Min Jae has suggested and took the seat across from him without asking.

"Rain's going to keep going for a while," Min Jae said sipping his drink. "You hiding from it or just bored?"

"Maybe both." Yoon Seo replied.

And just like, that the tension between them settled into something taut and unspoken- something neither fully understood, but both felt.

Neither of them knew yet that tomorrow morning, Kang Min Jae would walk into the headquarters of YoonSeo Holdings.... and come face to face with the same man who'd shared his table on a rainy night.

His Boss.

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