High Key Stressed {Choi Yeonjun Series}

Chapter 7 {Finale}

Yeonjun stood outside the practice room door. He was 20 minutes early for the group session with Luz. He knew he had to address what had happened between them. Huening Kai, for his part, had retreated deep within himself and barely spoke to Yeonjun. His hurt look was unmistakable, and Yeonjun deeply regretted having hurt him.

He opened the door and found Luz sitting on the floor with her knees crossed, doing deep breathing exercises. Upon hearing the door, she looked up and smiled at Yeonjun.

"Hey, stranger," she said. "I haven't seen much of you these days."

"Yeah, it's been kind of crazy," he said vaguely. Deciding that there was no sense putting off the inevitable, he jumped right in. "Listen, I feel like we need to talk about what happened the other day."

"OK," Luz said hesitantly. Yeonjun's tone was somewhat foreboding, but she tried to stay positive.

"Yeah, so, the thing is that ---. Well, you know that what happened between us really hurt Kai a lot," he began.

Luz nodded, encouraging him to go on. Yeonjun shifted his feet back and forth nervously.

"I mean, I think we can both agree it was a mistake," he went on. Luz' eyes grew wide, but she didn't reply. Faced with the silence, Yeonjun began to talk nervously. "I mean, I think we should keep our distance because it's really hurtful to Kai, and he's like a brother to me. So, you know, he needs to take priority for me," he continued on.

Luz jumped in, "Well, bros before hos, and all that, right?"

Yeonjun blushed crimson. "No, nothing like that. I don't know how to explain it," he struggled.

"You don't have to explain it. I got it," Luz said briskly and turned around, pretending to busy herself looking for something in her bag. Yeonjun left the room. He didn't want to be in there alone with her. It would be better to wait for the other guys somewhere else because the vibe in the room was decidedly hostile.

Meanwhile, Luz sat on the floor, struggling to breathe. Yeonjun's words had knocked the wind out of her, quite literally. She had never meant to "emocionarse" as her dad would have said. Their whole relationship consisted of just that one day when they had kissed, but what a kiss! She tried not to replay it in her mind. It had felt like Yeonjun was finally hers after all of her waiting, but now he was saying it was a mistake. Those were the words she hated the most of all the rambling things he had said. A mistake... Tears began to form in her eyes. She sucked in her breath and willed the tears to stop. "The boys will be here any minute now," she inwardly scolded herself. "Get your shit together. Don't you dare let him see you cry. You're not the kind of girl who cries over a man," she continued to berate herself for her weakness.

When the boys entered, she had calmed herself significantly, but she avoided eye contact with Yeonjun so as to maintain her tenuous grip on peace. She finished the session, somewhat mechanically.

As they were packing up their things, Yeonjun suggested that they all go out for karaoke. He secretly hoped it might break the tension. Luz wanted to decline, but something inside her wanted to prove to Yeonjun that he couldn't break her. So, she agreed to meet them at a nearby karaoke bar in an hour.

When she arrived, the guys had already ordered drinks and were well into their third round. Soobin handed her a glass of soju and said, "You've got to catch up!"

Luz took the shot but declined another one. The last thing she needed was to get drunk. Being drunk would not help her hold in her feelings. They handed her the mic.