Korea

崔汉杰（孔刘饰）是一间咖啡店的新任经理，为了令咖啡店的业绩起死回生，汉杰实行一个创新的方案，即咖啡店的服务员全部都是年轻的美男子。高恩灿（尹恩惠饰）被崔汉杰误认为是男生，恩灿为了生计，将错就错，到咖啡店打工。崔汉杰的堂兄崔汉成（李善均饰）是一个电影音乐导演，他的女朋友韩宥珠（蔡贞安饰）离他而去到国外，能安慰汉成的是堂弟汉杰的咖啡店职员恩灿的笑容。汉杰一直暗恋着堂兄的女朋友宥珠，始终没有说出口，但是，汉杰在与恩灿的相处中，找到了他们彼此之间的爱情。

Choi Han-kyul (Gong Yoo) is a third generation scion of a food chaebol. He has never had a job and does not care for responsibility. Han-kyul is hung up on his first love, Han Yoo-joo (Chae Jung-an), who was never interested in dating, so they never officially went out. On the other hand, Go Eun-chan (Yoon Eun-hye) is a 24-year-old tomboy who is often mistaken for a guy. Her father died at age 16 and since then she has taken over as the breadwinner in her family. She has the responsibility of taking care of her childish, spendthrift mother and trouble-making younger sister, so Eun-chan takes up every job possible: taekwondo teacher, waitress, and food delivery. When Han-kyul and Eun-chan meet, he, not knowing that she is a girl, decides to hire her to pretend to be his gay lover so that he can escape the blind dates arranged by his grandmother.

Meanwhile, Han-kyul's cousin, Choi Han-sung (Lee Sun-kyun), is an established music producer and his ex-girlfriend is Yoo-joo, now an artist who studied in New York. The two were lovers for about 8 years, but their relationship ended when Yoo-joo left Han-sung for another man by the name of DK. Two years after they separate, their paths cross again when she returns to Seoul. Han-sung is initially angry at her, but he succumbs to his lingering feelings and they start to date again.

After getting an ultimatum from his grandmother, Han-kyul takes over a rundown old coffee shop, later renamed "Coffee Prince," to prove that he's capable, both to his grandmother and to Yoo-joo. In order to attract female customers, he only hires good-looking male employees. Eun-chan, desperate for money, continues to hide her gender to get a job at Coffee Prince.

Eun-chan also become friends with Han-sung, and she is initially attracted to him because of his kindness. Han-sung also enjoys spending time with her, and an impulsive kiss that he gives her causes him and Yoo-joo to break up for a short time.

Soon, feelings start to develop between Eun-chan and Han-kyul. Because he's unaware that she is a woman, he starts to question his sexuality and is thrown into turmoil. When he discovers her secret, he feels hurt and betrayed. However, he eventually forgives her and they begin to date. They face strong opposition from his family due to her family’s lower status, but when Han-kyul's grandmother meets Eun-chan, she is impressed by her independence and ambition. She helps pay for Eun-chan to study in Italy to become a barista. After two years of a long-distance relationship, a more stylish Eun-chan returns to Korea and Han-kyul.