Lean On Me |Bangchan|

02|| Professional admiration.

A million-dollar bill later, and officially bankrupt thanks to Hyunjin's "innovative walking technique," we stumbled back to my place. My sanctuary, or so I thought. These leeches, I mean friends, apparently weren't programmed with an "off" switch.

Weekdays were a constant barrage of office rants, hourly meltdowns, and endless requests for my expertise. Weekends? Apparently dedicated to Hyunjin's self-inflicted injuries – this time, a broken arm from his "eyes-closed walking challenge."

"Seems someone's caught a bug," Changbin smirked, nudging me as I collapsed next to him. Minho sprawled across the other end of the couch, oblivious.

I furrowed my brow. "Bug? What bug?" A slow scan of the room landed on Jisung, forever the champion of random crushes. "Jisung? New crush alert?"

"Wrong person hyung," Seungmin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Confused, I swept my gaze across the room again, finally settling on Hyunjin, blissfully munching on snacks. "Hyunjin? You just broke your arm, are you trying to break your heart too?" I questioned him.

I am not paying for his heartbreak now.

Minho smacked my head as Jisung piped up, "No way, not him either! You dense block of charisma!"

Seriously, what was in the water today? Here I was, the eldest and supposedly the wisest, getting treated like a confused puppy. Maybe Animal Control was a better option than the police. But even they'd probably throw their hands up at this crew.

"Then who...?" I started, rubbing my throbbing head.

My eyes widened as realization dawned, and I whipped my head towards Changbin. "Don't tell me you're crushing on someone else, Changbin? Kenzy would not be happy!"

Changbin's face drained of color faster than a vampire at a garlic festival. He darted his eyes around the room, muttering, "Someone shut this walking disaster zone up before I..."

A collective groan erupted as Han launched himself at me. "It's YOU, you oblivious dunderhead! We're talking about you!"

"What? A crush? On me? Guys, have you been huffing paint instead of takeout?" I scoffed, dramatically clutching my chest. "The only thing I'm crushing these days is sleep deprivation under my eyelids. You think I have time for fancy notions like crushes?"

The look on their faces was a mixture of amusement and disbelief. Minho, ever the instigator, popped his bubble gum with a sarcastic shrug.

"Sure, Chan. Because staring at Dr. Sun-hee like a lovesick koala clinging to a eucalyptus tree wasn't screaming a different story."

The name of Dr. Sun-hee" hit me like a shot of espresso – a jolt straight to my sleep-deprived brain. The gorgeous surgeon, a literal walking ray of sunshine who could make even the most wilted geranium perk up. Absolutely a ten out of ten on the medical-marvel scale.

Heat flooded my cheeks as I stammered, "I was not staring! ...Okay, maybe a little admiring. But purely professional, you know? Like appreciating the, uh, efficiency of her scalpel technique?"

Changbin snorted, rolling his eyes so hard I swear they did a full 360. "Right, 'professional admiration.' We see right through you, Channie. You were practically planning your future kids' names with those heart eyes you were throwing her way."

Felix, the resident instigator, couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire. "Don't even try to deny it, Channie. We all saw you trip over your own shoelaces trying to hold the door for her earlier. Classic lovestruck fumble!"

With a dramatic sigh, I slumped back on the couch, massaging my temples. "Whatever, you guys are laying it on thicker than Minho's hairstyling products." Emptying my wallet for Hyunjin's little 'gravity experiment' had definitely taken its toll.