Sign

Cafe Goyo is not your average coffee shop. For one, the coffee is notoriously undrinkable. For another, its regulars never seem to consult the menu. But the most defining feature of the establishment is its manager, Yohan, who is deaf. Communication within these walls is conducted through a fluid dance of sign language, a quiet world that Yohan navigates with effortless authority. Enter Soohwa, the newest part-time hire. He arrives with no illusions about perfecting the café's bitter brews; his true task is far more daunting: he must learn to speak with his hands. While Yohan is a patient teacher, fluent in the nuances of silence, the lessons are becoming problematic for Soohwa. It is not the vocabulary that troubles him, nor the grammar, but the voice he cannot hear. Every time Yohan speaks, his deep, resonant tone sends an electric jolt straight through Soohwa, and his body responds in ways he cannot control or explain. Swamped by an attraction that makes concentration impossible, Soohwa now faces a torturous dilemma. He needs the private lessons to keep his job, but surviving them without betraying his distracting, physical reaction to his boss seems utterly impossible.