High Key Stressed {Choi Yeonjun Series}

Chapter 2

The next day when the guys walked into the practice room, they found Luz in leggings and a sports bra. She was stretching her right leg against the wall. When she saw them, she clapped her hands.

"Alright, guys, we're doing laps this morning. Let's go!" she said as she started running. She waved to the guys to follow her. "Come on, knees up, knees up," she commanded as she modeled it for them.

Huening Kai was the first to fall in behind her, eager for her to see his enthusiasm. Soon the others fell into step as well. As they jogged around the practice room, Beomgyu whispered to Soobin, "What's this about?"

"I don't know, man," Soobin replied. "She's got some really weird methods," he concluded.

As they continued to do laps, their strength began to flag. Finally, Yeonjun spoke up.

"Can we take a break?" he asked, breathless from the exertion.

Luz observed the boys, leaning over weakly, trying to catch their breath.

"Don't bend over! Keep your heads up!" she commanded. "I want to see you breathing from your diaphragm!" She walked down the line, observing each member. "Put your hands on your waist. You should feel the air filling your belly outward toward the sides of your body," she yelled out. "Can you feel it, Soobin?" she demanded.

"I'm feeling --- some --- thing," he replied as he tried to catch his breath.

"I want you to remember this feeling. Remember what it feels like to breathe from your belly," Luz instructed. She reached out and touched Huening Kai's chest, just below his breastbone were his ribs joined together. "You should feel your diaphragm being engaged with each breath. In --- and out," she said.

Kai put his hand on hers, holding it against his chest a few seconds longer than she had intended. When she attempted to free her hand from his grasp, he lifted it to his lips and kissed her palm.

"Silly," she scolded good-naturedly. She walked to the side of the room and picked up several bottles of water, distributing them to the members. "One of the best things you can do for your voice is to stay hydrated," she said. "I want to see you guys with a bottle of water at all times. You need to be drinking consistently throughout the day."

Taehyun made a face when he drank the water. "Does it have to be lukewarm?" he asked.

"Yeah, it does," Luz replied. "Cold water will tense up your voice. Never drink cold water when you have to sing. And NEVER EVER drink milk before you have to sing," she instructed as she pulled her thick, black hair into a topknot with a hair tie.

Yeonjun watched her as she wrangled her long hair into submission atop her head. Her hazel eyes were lined with a thin layer of black eyeliner and her dark lashes were incredibly thick and long. She wore a deep purple lipstick that made her full lips pop. Yeonjun shook himself back to reality when those large hazel eyes rested on him quizzically.

"You know, when someone stares at us that way in Mexico, we usually say, '¿Qué tanto me ves, o qué?' which roughly translates to 'What are you looking at?'" Luz said as she met Yeonjun's stare with one of her own.

"Sorry," he replied, breaking their staring contest. "I just kind of zoned out there for a moment," he explained. "I didn't sleep well. Beomgyu was talking in his sleep again."

"Hey!" Beomgyu protested. "I don't talk loud enough for you to hear it in your room."

"Like hell you don't," Yeonjun countered. "I don't know what woman is ever going to be able to live with your constant nighttime yapping."

"Someone's in a mood," Soobin said as he elbowed Beomgyu companionably.

Luz raised her tan arm above her head and snapped her fingers. "OK, let's use all that negative energy in the song. Let me set the scene here. A girl has hurt you and cut you to the core. You feel like you're dying and literally bleeding out, thus the title of the song," she continued. "I need this to sound deep and guttural. This is a cry of pain directed at someone who just doesn't get it. Let's start at the chorus," she said as she turned on a backing track.

The guys began to sing the mournful song that was in a surprisingly up-beat tempo.

I'm bleeding out,

'Cause your love's like a knife to the heart.

I'm bleeding out.

Girl, you cut me right from the start.

Luz yelled above the singing, "Taehyun, stop singing it so breathy. You're not Jungkook, for God's sake."

If you ever saw me,

Bent and bleeding from the wounds you give me,

Would you walk on by?

"Beomgyu, stretching your neck upward isn't going to help you hit that high harmony," Luz scolded. "Huening Kai, stick with that bellyache sound. I like that!"

Huening Kai looked particularly gratified to have received the only praise to have come from Luz thus far. He smiled and gave her a wink, which she pretended to ignore.

Would you stop a moment?

Would you even see the endless torment?

Or just let me die?

Luz stopped the track. "You guys are singing this way too bright. I need you out of your heads and into your chest voice," she complained. "Listen," she instructed as she sang the chorus back to them in the male register. All the guys looked impressed at her ability to sing in their register.

"Wow, you've got a really deep voice for a woman," Yeonjun commented.

Luz laughed. "When I was younger, my choir director said I was a soprano with a lot of bottom," she said. "I thought he meant I had a big butt. Apparently, he just meant I could hit low notes," she concluded.

"Your butt is absolutely perfect," Huening Kai offered. Yeonjun shot him a warning glare. The look was not lost on Luz who decided it was time to call it a day, seeing that tensions were flaring. When Luz dismissed them, all the guys left except Yeonjun who stayed behind in the practice room.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked Luz, who was gathering up stray lyric sheets that the guys had left behind.

"Sure," she said, stacking the papers neatly on the piano.

Yeonjun took a deep breath. "I feel like you need to be more careful with Huening Kai," he ventured.

"How so?" Luz asked, releasing her hair from the topknot. Yeonjun tried to focus on the topic at hand and not look at her sleek, black hair as it tumbled over her shoulders.

"Well, he's young, you know. He just can't seem to keep his feelings in check if you keep touching him and stuff," Yeonjun explained, feeling his cheeks redden at the awkwardness of the conversation.

"If I keep touching him and stuff?" Luz questioned. "When have I touched him inappropriately?" she asked, beginning to feel defensive. "Yes, he has crossed a line a few times, but I fail to see how that is my fault. I don't treat him any differently than I do anyone else. His actions are his to deal with," she concluded.

"But it seems like you like him a little more," Yeonjun ventured.

"And would that bother you?" Luz asked pointedly.

Yeonjun reddened further still. "I mean. You can like whomever you want, but I'm just saying Kai is too young to handle these kinds of feelings. He's not ready for a woman like you to confuse him."

Luz frowned slightly. "Well, it's not my intention to confuse him," she said. "You're right that I am attracted to someone in that room, but it's not Kai," she said mysteriously as she tossed her hair to the side and slipped out of the room before Yeonjun could ask any follow-up questions.