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

T W E N T Y T H R E E

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: REALISATION HITS LIKE A TRUCK

Heeseung was lounging in his office, half-heartedly sifting through some reports. The day had been dragging, and the monotony was starting to wear on him. His mind wandered, as it often did, to random things—this time, to that infamous blind date that had been both a disaster and one of the funniest memories he’d ever had.

Heeseung chuckled to himself, leaning back in his chair as the images of that chaotic evening flooded back: the bizarre impressions, the awkward silences, the terrible jokes that still made no sense. It had been like watching a train wreck, and Heeseung had been unable to look away. He closed his eyes, trying to picture that guy’s face—the wide eyes, the forced smile, the utter panic when Heeseung had handed over his business card.

Heeseung’s laughter died in his throat as his eyes snapped open. The details aligned, clear as day. That guy—his frantic expressions, the way he’d squirmed when Heeseung introduced himself—looked exactly like…

“No way,” Heeseung whispered, sitting up straight, his heart thudding in his chest. His mind was racing, retracing every awkward interaction, every fumbling attempt at humor. He could see it now, so vividly that he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed sooner.

The weird guy at the restaurant? The one who had practically tried to crawl out of his skin? That was Park Sunghoon. His Sunghoon.

Heeseung leaped from his chair, pacing the room as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. “That was him,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Oh my God, that was him!”

It all made perfect sense now—the way Sunghoon had been acting so skittish around him in the beginning, the nervous glances, the refusal to make eye contact. Sunghoon must have realized immediately who Heeseung was that night, but he had clearly been trying to pretend it never happened.

Heeseung couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face, equal parts amused and shocked. “I went on a date with my secretary,” he said aloud, almost as if testing the reality of it. “The guy who was doing everything possible to scare me away…”

Sunghoon.

Heeseung sank back into his chair, replaying every detail with a newfound sense of clarity. Sunghoon’s antics that night suddenly seemed so perfectly in character: the weird jokes, the exaggerated impressions, the way he’d clearly been trying to act like someone Heeseung wouldn’t be interested in. And Heeseung, oblivious, had just rolled with it, more entertained than deterred.

His phone buzzed on the desk, snapping him out of his thoughts. It was a message from his friend, Jihoon, sending him a meme about disastrous blind dates. Heeseung snorted, shaking his head. “If only you knew, Jihoon…”

He stood up, feeling a sudden urge to confront Sunghoon. Not in an angry way—more in a “let’s get this out in the open” kind of way. But he knew that if he marched out there now, Sunghoon would probably just run away, mortified.

Heeseung decided to play it cool for now. The truth was, he was enjoying this too much to let it end so quickly. He wanted to see how long Sunghoon could keep up the act, pretending like nothing ever happened. Heeseung smirked to himself; this was going to be fun.

🖇📌

Sunghoon, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to Heeseung’s revelation. He was typing away at his desk, trying to focus on a report but unable to shake the weird feeling that something was off today. Heeseung had been staring at him more than usual, a strange, almost knowing smile tugging at his lips every time Sunghoon looked up.

“What’s his deal today?” Sunghoon mumbled under his breath, nervously adjusting his tie. Heeseung had always been annoyingly perceptive, but today it felt like he was staring into Sunghoon’s soul.

Heeseung sauntered out of his office, casually leaning against Sunghoon’s desk with an easy grin. “Busy?”

Sunghoon glanced up, heart skipping a beat at how close Heeseung was. “Uh, kind of. What’s up?”

Heeseung’s smile widened, eyes twinkling with amusement. “Just wanted to chat. You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about that blind date I had a while back.”

Sunghoon’s face turned pale. The words hit him like a bucket of ice water. “B-blind date?” he stuttered, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Yeah,” Heeseung continued, watching Sunghoon’s reaction like a hawk. “Met this guy who was acting… really weird. Like, talking in funny voices and making terrible jokes.”

Sunghoon forced a laugh, his palms starting to sweat. “Sounds… sounds like a disaster.”

Heeseung nodded thoughtfully, tapping his chin. “Yeah, it was. But you know, thinking back on it, it was actually kind of… memorable.”

Sunghoon’s fingers tightened around his pen. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Oh, no reason,” Heeseung said with a shrug, though his smirk said otherwise. “Just thought you might find it interesting, considering it’s… you.”

Sunghoon froze, his mind racing as Heeseung’s words sank in. “W-what?”

Heeseung leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You were the guy on that date, weren’t you? The one who did everything possible to make sure I’d never want to see him again.”

Sunghoon’s face went beet red. “I—It wasn’t supposed to be you!” he blurted out, too flustered to keep up the charade. “I thought you were someone else! I was just trying to—”

Heeseung laughed, the sound warm and surprisingly gentle. “Relax, Sunghoon. I’m not mad. Honestly, I think it’s hilarious. You went through all that trouble to scare me off, and here we are.”

Sunghoon slumped back in his chair, burying his face in his hands. “This is so embarrassing,” he groaned.

Heeseung chuckled, reaching out to ruffle Sunghoon’s hair playfully. “Don’t worry about it. I think it’s kind of cute.”

Sunghoon peeked up at him, still mortified but oddly relieved. “You’re not going to make this a thing, are you?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Heeseung grinned. “This is way too good to let go. But don’t worry, I’ll only tease you about it… forever.”

Sunghoon groaned, but he couldn’t help the small smile tugging at his lips. Despite the embarrassment, there was something undeniably comforting in knowing that Heeseung didn’t think any less of him. If anything, it felt like a new chapter—one that started with one of the weirdest dates ever but was shaping up to be something much more fun.