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

S I X

CHAPTER SIX: SUNGHOON'S MISERY

Sunghoon dragged himself into the office, a full hour earlier than usual. He hadn't slept a wink, thanks to the realization that he was now officially Heeseung's secretary. And it was no ordinary Heeseung-this was the same guy he had performed interpretive worm dances for on their ill-fated date. To say Sunghoon was dreading the day would be the understatement of the century.

"Morning, Sunghoon!" one of the assistants chirped as he passed by, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

"Morning? It's more like mourning," Sunghoon mumbled, slumping into his desk. He had spent the entire weekend trying to figure out ways to avoid direct contact with Heeseung. The last thing he needed was for Heeseung to suddenly recognize him as that weirdo from the restaurant.

As he set up his workstation, Sunghoon heard a familiar voice behind him. "Sunghoon, you're early! That's great because I have about a million things we need to get through today."

Sunghoon jumped in his seat, knocking over his coffee cup. He whirled around to see Heeseung standing there, all smiles and sunshine, looking annoyingly handsome in his tailored suit. Sunghoon quickly wiped the spill, his mind racing. Play it cool, Sunghoon. Just act normal. He doesn't remember you... yet.

"Good morning, Mr. Lee!" Sunghoon said, his voice cracking slightly. "I'm ready to tackle anything you've got for me!" He mentally cursed himself for sounding like an overenthusiastic game show host.

"Great to hear," Heeseung replied, completely unfazed by Sunghoon's over-the-top greeting. "We've got a lot on the agenda, so I hope you're ready."

Sunghoon nodded vigorously, pretending to take notes on a notepad, but in reality, he was doodling stick figures of himself being attacked by pigeons.

Heeseung leaned over his shoulder, glancing at the chaotic scribbles. "Interesting... notes you've got there."

Sunghoon immediately slapped his hand over the page. "Oh, just brainstorming! You know, business strategies... that sort of thing."

Heeseung raised an eyebrow, amused but not pressing further. "Right. Well, I have a meeting with the board in an hour, and I need you to prepare some presentation slides. It's just an overview of our quarterly projections."

Sunghoon nodded, determined to act like a competent professional. "Of course, I'll have them ready in no time!" He flashed a thumbs up that was way too enthusiastic.

Heeseung smiled, appreciating the energy. "Perfect. I'll be in my office if you need anything."

Sunghoon watched Heeseung walk away, feeling a mixture of relief and dread. Heeseung's office was right next to his, meaning Sunghoon would be within yelling distance at all times. He couldn't afford any slip-ups. One wrong word and Heeseung might remember the spaghetti incident.

Sunghoon opened his laptop and got to work, though his mind was more focused on devising escape routes than on quarterly projections. Halfway through making the slides, he realized he was formatting them with Comic Sans. "Ugh, get it together, Sunghoon!" he muttered to himself.

Just as he was finishing up, Heeseung called from his office. "Sunghoon, can you come in for a second?"

Sunghoon's stomach did a backflip. He swallowed hard and walked over, poking his head through the door. "Yes, Mr. Lee?"

Heeseung glanced up from his desk, holding a stack of papers. "I need these filed right away, and after that, I'd like you to sit in on the meeting. It'll be a good learning experience."

Sunghoon nodded, trying to hide his inner panic. "Sure thing!" He grabbed the stack and retreated to his desk, the weight of Heeseung's expectations pressing down on him.

Heeseung, meanwhile, leaned back in his chair, watching Sunghoon through the glass wall of his office. There was something about Sunghoon's overly eager demeanor that seemed... familiar. Heeseung couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the way Sunghoon had greeted him with that cracked voice and forced smile-it was almost like déjà vu. He shrugged it off for now; there were more important things to focus on.

As Sunghoon frantically filed the papers, he overheard two other secretaries gossiping nearby.

"Have you heard? Heeseung's last secretary quit because she couldn't handle his ridiculous workload," one of them whispered.

"Yeah, apparently he's a perfectionist. Can't blame her for running for the hills," the other replied.

Sunghoon stiffened. Great, so I'm working for a perfectionist who also happens to be my accidental date. Perfect.

Minutes later, Sunghoon nervously followed Heeseung into the boardroom, clutching his notes. The room was full of senior executives, all of whom seemed laser-focused on Heeseung. Sunghoon slid into a chair at the far end, praying he wouldn't have to speak.

Heeseung kicked off the meeting with ease, his charisma filling the room. Sunghoon watched in awe, realizing how effortlessly Heeseung commanded respect. But as the presentation wore on, Heeseung glanced at Sunghoon, motioning for him to step up.

"Sunghoon, why don't you walk us through the projections?"

Sunghoon's eyes widened in horror. "M-Me?"

"Yes, you," Heeseung said with a smile that was both reassuring and slightly mischievous.

Sunghoon shuffled to the front, sweating bullets. He awkwardly cleared his throat and tried to remember what he'd even written down. "Uh, so... as you can see, our Q4 profits are, uh, projected to... do things... like, you know, grow."

Heeseung suppressed a laugh as Sunghoon fumbled through the slides, pointing at graphs with no context. The other executives exchanged confused glances, and Sunghoon's cheeks flushed as he realized he'd accidentally inserted one of his doodles into the slide deck-a tiny stick figure labeled "Me, in distress."

Heeseung quickly jumped in, saving Sunghoon from further embarrassment. "Thank you, Sunghoon. I think we get the gist." He clapped his hands, steering the conversation back on track with smooth precision.

Sunghoon retreated to his seat, mortified. As the meeting wrapped up, Heeseung patted Sunghoon on the shoulder. "Good job. Just, uh, double-check the slides next time."

Sunghoon nodded, feeling his face burn. "I'll... definitely do that."

Heeseung returned to his office, chuckling to himself. Sunghoon was quirky, no doubt about it, but there was something endearing about his awkwardness. As Heeseung reviewed the presentation notes later, his mind wandered back to that strange date with the guy who ate spaghetti like a cat. For a brief moment, he imagined Sunghoon in that scenario, but then dismissed it. Nah, no way. That would be too weird... even for him.

Sunghoon, on the other hand, sat at his desk, his nerves still rattled. Heeseung might not have recognized him yet, but Sunghoon knew it was only a matter of time. He glanced at the company calendar-just three more weeks until the next company party. Three weeks to avoid any more slip-ups.

Sunghoon sighed. How hard could it be?