The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince revolves around four people whose lives (and hearts) intertwine as the series progresses.
Choi Han Kyul (Gong Yoo) is the playboy son of a very rich family whose food corporation is on the decline. He has no faith in love and has no intentions of getting married despite his family's nagging. Meanwhile, Go Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye) is an energetic young girl who often gets mistaken for a guy because of her short hair and tomboyish ways. After her dad passed away, their family struggled financially so she takes on any and every odd job to support her mother and younger sister.
Since they keep meeting by chance, Han Kyul, thinking Eun Chan is a guy, hires her as a fake lover so that he can escape from the blind dates that were arranged by his grandmother.
Across town, the paths of Han Kyul's cousin Choi Han Seong (Lee Seon-gyeon), an established music producer and his ex-girlfriend Han Yoo Joo (Chae Jung Ahn), a famous New York-trained artist, cross again after two years of separation. They were lovers for 8 years but their relationship ended when Yoo Joo broke up with Han Seong.
Reconciling with his lost love isn't that simple though. When Han Seong meets Eun Chan (whom he sees for who she is, a pretty girl with a happy heart), he gets confused about his feelings for both women. Add to that the fact that Han Seong doesn't know that Han Kyul has been secretly in love with Han Yoo Joo for a long time.
Han Kyul's grandmother is very sick so in order to please her (and because she gave him an ultimatum), Han Kyul takes over a run-down coffee shop, later renamed Coffee Prince, to prove his ability to his grandmother and Yoo Joo. As a strategy to attract female customers, he decides to hire only good looking male employees. In a struggle with money, Eun Chan, whom Han Kyul has already mistaken for a boy, hides her gender from him to get a job at Coffee Prince.
Soon feelings start to spark between Eun Chan and Han Kyul and because he's unaware that Eun Chan is a girl, Han Kyul starts to question his sexuality.
