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

T E N

CHAPTER TEN: THE ACCIDENTAL WINGMAN AND THE SPY MISSION GONE WRONG

Sunghoon thought the nightmare was over once he survived the company party. But he was wrong. As soon as he walked into the office the next morning, he knew the day was going to be a disaster. There was Heeseung, leaning against his desk, flipping through Sunghoon’s neatly stacked files as if he owned the place.

“Good morning, Sunghoon!” Heeseung greeted, his smile bright and annoyingly charming.

Sunghoon’s stomach flipped. He plastered on a smile that looked more like a grimace. “Morning, Mr. Lee. What brings you to this side of the building?”

Heeseung shrugged casually. “Just thought I’d check on you. You seemed... busy last night.”

Sunghoon’s mind flashed back to the photo booth fiasco. He desperately wanted to forget it, but Heeseung kept bringing it up. “Yeah, you know... lots of networking. Business stuff.”

Heeseung raised an eyebrow. “Right. Especially the part with the mustache.”

Sunghoon coughed awkwardly, diverting his gaze to the papers on his desk. “So, anything I can help you with today?”

“Actually, yes,” Heeseung said, taking a step closer. “I have a meeting with some clients, and I need my secretary there to take notes.” He pointed at Sunghoon, who instinctively looked behind him, hoping there was someone else Heeseung was referring to. There wasn’t.

Sunghoon’s fake smile cracked. “Wait, you mean... me?”

Heeseung’s grin widened. “Who else? You’re my secretary, aren’t you?”

Sunghoon nodded reluctantly, but his mind was racing. This was exactly what he’d been trying to avoid—spending more time around Heeseung, who seemed determined to figure out why Sunghoon was so weird.

Sunghoon sat at the corner of the meeting room, furiously typing on his laptop. He tried his best to look professional, but his nerves were getting the best of him. Heeseung was speaking confidently to a group of high-profile clients, but Sunghoon couldn’t focus on the business talk. Instead, he was hyper-aware of Heeseung’s every movement, every glance.

Then it happened. One of the clients, a slick-looking man with an unnervingly wide smile, leaned over to Sunghoon and whispered, “Is your boss single? He seems... interesting.”

Sunghoon blinked, caught off guard. “Uh, excuse me?”

The man winked. “You know, does he have a girlfriend? Boyfriend? I’d love to take him out sometime.”

Sunghoon’s brain short-circuited. This was not part of his job description. He glanced at Heeseung, who was blissfully unaware of the conversation happening right next to him. Sunghoon’s instinct was to say something absurd, something that would immediately kill any romantic interest. But for some reason, he hesitated.

“Oh, he’s… very busy,” Sunghoon said, fumbling for the right words. “Like, all the time. No free time at all. In fact, he’s basically married to his job.”

The client nodded thoughtfully. “I like a challenge.”

Sunghoon’s face twitched. Oh great, now I’ve just made him sound even more appealing.

Heeseung noticed the exchange out of the corner of his eye and tried not to smile. He could tell something was up, especially when Sunghoon kept giving him strange looks. Is he talking about me? Heeseung wondered, amused. He decided to let it slide for now, but he was definitely going to ask Sunghoon about it later.

As the meeting concluded, Heeseung watched the clients file out, but the one who had been talking to Sunghoon lingered. Heeseung walked over, curious. “Everything okay?”