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

T W E N T Y T W O

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: THE UNEXPECTED REALISATION

Sunghoon sat at his desk, absentmindedly typing away while his thoughts kept drifting back to dinner with his mother and the unexpected revelation that still left him reeling. He had been so sure that his blind date disaster with Heeseung was orchestrated by his mother, only to find out that she had arranged a date with someone else entirely.

He replayed the conversation over and over in his mind, trying to piece together how things had gone so terribly wrong. His mother’s confused expression when he mentioned Heeseung had been the first clue, but her follow-up had thrown him completely.

“So, when did you two meet again?” his mom had asked, sipping her tea calmly while Sunghoon squirmed in his seat.

Sunghoon had hesitated before blurting out, “You set us up on that blind date, remember? The one at the restaurant?”

His mother looked genuinely puzzled. “I didn’t set you up with him. I set you up with minho. Mrs.kim's son”

It hit Sunghoon like a ton of bricks. The guy wasn’t Heeseung. The boy she was talking about wasn’t the boss’s son who had thrown him into this whirlwind. His supposed blind date had never even arrived, and Sunghoon had ended up with Heeseung by sheer accident.

Now, back at the office, Sunghoon rubbed his temples, feeling the onset of a headache. “Of all the people in the world…” he muttered under his breath, letting the absurdity of it all sink in.

“Of all the people, what?” Hyunjin asked, appearing out of nowhere and plopping himself down on Sunghoon’s desk with an obnoxious grin.

Sunghoon jumped slightly. “Nothing. Just... stuff.”

“Ah, yes. Stuff. That totally sounds like it’s not related to Heeseung,” Hyunjin teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

Sunghoon shot him a glare. “You’re not helping, Hyunjin.”

“Fine, fine,” Hyunjin said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “But seriously, what’s up? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Sunghoon sighed, glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “I just found out my blind date with Heeseung was... a mistake. My mom didn’t set it up at all. She set me up with someone else, and Heeseung and I were never supposed to meet that night.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened, and he broke into a fit of laughter. “Wait, you mean... all of this drama was because you two ended up at the wrong table? That’s legendary!”

“Legendary? It’s a disaster!” Sunghoon grumbled. “I’ve been losing my mind over this guy, thinking it was all planned, and now I find out it was just some weird twist of fate?”

Hyunjin wiped away a tear from laughing so hard. “Oh, this is perfect. It’s like the universe is shipping you two together.”

Sunghoon rolled his eyes. “The universe needs to stop.”

But Hyunjin’s laughter slowly faded, and he gave Sunghoon a more serious look. “But hey, isn’t it kinda crazy? I mean, if it weren’t for that mix-up, would you two even have met?”

Sunghoon hesitated, Hyunjin’s words striking a chord. He thought about the strange twists and turns that had brought Heeseung into his life. Despite the awkwardness, the irritation, and the endless misunderstandings, there was no denying that Heeseung had become a part of his world in a way no one else had. And despite everything, Sunghoon wasn’t sure he hated it.

“I guess,” Sunghoon admitted quietly. “But it’s just... confusing. I don’t know what any of this means anymore.”

Before Hyunjin could respond, Sunghoon’s phone buzzed on his desk. He glanced down and saw a message from Heeseung:

Heeseung: Need you in my office. Now.

Sunghoon’s heart skipped a beat, a mix of dread and anticipation washing over him. He muttered a quick goodbye to Hyunjin and made his way to Heeseung’s office, each step feeling heavier than the last.

He knocked on the door and entered to find Heeseung leaning against his desk, scrolling through his phone. Heeseung looked up and flashed Sunghoon a smile that made his stomach flip.

“You called?” Sunghoon asked, trying to sound casual.

“Yeah, I need you to go over these reports,” Heeseung said, but there was a glint in his eyes that suggested he was enjoying the moment more than he should.

Sunghoon took the reports, but his mind was elsewhere. He kept sneaking glances at Heeseung, wondering how the mix-up could have led them here—to stolen moments in an office, to becoming a strange sort of scandal, to Sunghoon constantly caught between wanting to strangle Heeseung and something he couldn’t quite name.

As Sunghoon scanned the reports, Heeseung watched him closely, as if trying to read his thoughts. The tension was palpable, filled with unspoken questions and emotions that neither was ready to address. Finally, Heeseung broke the silence.

“You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” Heeseung said, his voice softer than usual.

Sunghoon hesitated, meeting Heeseung’s gaze. “It’s nothing. Just... fate playing tricks on us, I guess.”

Heeseung tilted his head, a knowing smile spreading across his face. “Fate has a funny way of bringing people together, doesn’t it?”

Sunghoon didn’t know how to respond, so he just nodded, feeling a strange sense of comfort in Heeseung’s presence, even amid all the confusion.

As Sunghoon left Heeseung’s office, he couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, this mix-up wasn’t the disaster he’d thought it was. Perhaps, in some twisted, inexplicable way, it was exactly what he needed.