THE BLIND DATE MIX-UP||L.HS X P.SH

T H R E E

CHAPTER THREE: SECRETARY SUNGHOON

Sunghoon’s nerves were shot.

It was his first official day as Lee Heeseung’s secretary, and he couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in his stomach. The kind of feeling you get when you know you’re walking into a trap, but you can’t turn back. He stood in front of the massive office door, staring at the nameplate that read “Lee Heeseung – Vice President.”

Maybe I could fake an illness? Sunghoon thought desperately. Or just disappear into the forest and become a hermit.

But before he could act on his ridiculous thoughts, the door swung open, and there stood Heeseung, looking calm and collected, as usual. Sunghoon jumped a little, not expecting him to appear so suddenly.

“Ah, you’re early,” Heeseung said with a slight smile. “Come in.”

Sunghoon gulped. Great. This is it. The end of my career.

He stepped inside, trying to keep his expression neutral, but his brain was racing with panic. Did Heeseung remember him from the date? Surely he would’ve said something by now, right? Sunghoon forced himself to breathe as Heeseung motioned for him to sit across from his desk.

“So,” Heeseung started, leaning back in his chair and fixing Sunghoon with a thoughtful gaze. “I’ve heard good things about you. Everyone says you’re one of the hardest workers here.”

Sunghoon blinked. Okay, maybe this isn’t going to be so bad.

“Thanks,” Sunghoon said, trying to sound as professional as possible. “I do my best.”

Heeseung gave a small nod. “Good to hear. We’ll be working closely from now on, so I’ll need you to handle everything from scheduling meetings to coordinating with other departments. My previous secretary left on short notice, so there’s a lot to catch up on.”

Sunghoon nodded. “I understand. I’m ready.”

No, I’m not ready at all, but let’s just pretend I am.

Heeseung smiled faintly, then grabbed a folder from his desk and handed it over to Sunghoon. “Here’s a list of tasks for today. It’s nothing too complicated, just some basic things to get you familiar with how I operate.”

Sunghoon took the folder and flipped through the pages. Most of it looked manageable, though he could already feel a stress headache forming at the sight of all the meetings and reports he’d need to organize.

But he could handle this. He just needed to survive the day without Heeseung realizing he was the weird guy from the blind date.

Just as Sunghoon thought things might be going smoothly, Heeseung’s phone buzzed on his desk. He glanced at it and frowned slightly.

“Sorry, I need to take this call. It’ll only take a minute,” Heeseung said, standing up and stepping outside the office.

Sunghoon exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to relax in Heeseung’s absence. He leaned back in the chair, glancing around the lavish office. It was sleek and modern, the kind of office you’d expect a young, successful VP to have. Sunghoon wondered how Heeseung managed to look so effortlessly put together all the time.

He probably doesn’t even get sweat stains, Sunghoon mused, staring at the pristine suit jacket hanging on the back of Heeseung’s chair. Meanwhile, I’m over here sweating bullets just trying to stay calm.

He let out a small sigh and started flipping through the documents Heeseung had given him, but he wasn’t more than a few pages in when the door opened again, and Heeseung walked back in.

“Sorry about that,” Heeseung said, sitting back down. “Where were we?”

Sunghoon quickly straightened up, trying to look like he hadn’t been daydreaming about Heeseung’s sweat stains. “Uh, just going over today’s schedule.”

“Right,” Heeseung said with a nod. He seemed to pause for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied Sunghoon’s face. Sunghoon’s heart skipped a beat.

oh no! does he recognise me?

“Have we… met before?” Heeseung asked, tilting his head.

Sunghoon’s blood ran cold. Oh no, oh no, oh no. This was it. He was done for. Heeseung was going to remember that disaster of a date, and Sunghoon’s career would be over before it even began.

“N-No, I don’t think so,” Sunghoon stammered, praying to every god in existence that Heeseung wouldn’t connect the dots.

Heeseung hummed, still looking a bit skeptical. “You seem familiar. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”

“Yeah,” Sunghoon laughed nervously, trying to brush it off. “A lot of people say that. I just have one of those faces, I guess.”

Please believe me, please believe me, please believe me.

Heeseung didn’t press the issue further, much to Sunghoon’s immense relief. He simply nodded and continued with the meeting, going over the day’s tasks.

But the whole time, Sunghoon couldn’t shake the paranoia creeping up his spine. Heeseung’s question hung over him like a dark cloud. What if Heeseung did remember? What if he was just biding his time before dropping the bombshell? Sunghoon spent the rest of the day on edge, constantly glancing over his shoulder and second-guessing every word he said.

By the time he finally escaped to the break room for lunch, Sunghoon was a nervous wreck.

Minji, as usual, noticed immediately. “What’s with the haunted look on your face?”

“I think Heeseung recognized me,” Sunghoon whispered, glancing around like Heeseung might be lurking in the shadows. “He asked if we’ve met before.”

Minji snorted into her coffee. “You’re seriously still on about that? He probably meets hundreds of people a day. There’s no way he remembers that date.”

“You didn’t see the way he looked at me,” Sunghoon hissed. “He’s suspicious. I could see it in his eyes.”

Minji rolled her eyes. “You’re paranoid. Just keep doing your job, and he’ll forget all about it.”

“Easier said than done,” Sunghoon muttered, taking a sip of his coffee. “He’s my boss. I can’t just pretend nothing happened.”

Minji raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not overthinking this because you’re, like, secretly attracted to him?”

Sunghoon choked on his coffee. “What?! No! That’s insane. I mean, sure, he’s… attractive, but that’s beside the point. I’m trying to save my career here, not get involved in some weird office romance.”

Minji smirked. “Uh-huh. Whatever you say.”

Sunghoon glared at her but didn’t bother arguing. He had enough on his plate without worrying about his very confusing feelings toward Heeseung.

As the day dragged on, Sunghoon managed to keep his head down and avoid any more awkward interactions with Heeseung. He threw himself into his work, hoping that if he focused hard enough, he could forget all about the looming disaster that was his new role.

But deep down, Sunghoon knew it was only a matter of time before Heeseung pieced everything together. And when that day came… well, Sunghoon had no idea what would happen.

But for now, he’d just have to survive one day at a time.