Chapter 147: Triple Title Tracks

Lee Joo-hee, a first-generation Initial, who succeeded in getting tickets for the second fan meeting following the first, was feeling immense satisfaction.

The first fan meeting she thought couldn’t get any better.

‘But this one was even more amazing than that.’

It felt great from the start.

The environment was far more comfortable than before, and a variety of goods greeted her at the entrance.

The goods box placed at each seat was an unforgettable gift in particular.

Because inside it was another handwritten letter from Taeha.

Then came Taeha’s stage.

Being able to see the first song as a live performance from Prequel was an incredible stroke of luck.

‘And Taeha, who debuted again as a singer, is gradually improving his skills.’

Interest.

For Joo-hee, who could catch such subtle changes, the stage Taeha prepared was nothing short of satisfying.

That was why she felt a similar emotion during the stage after the first act ended.

‘But the true highlight of this fan meeting was the talk show in acts 1 and 2.’

When Shin So-hee and Han Woo-ri said they had a grievance with Taeha, Joo-hee’s heart sank.

She thought that the otherwise perfect fan meeting might get tarnished.

But then an unexpected twist came.

‘Who would have thought our Taeha was someone who received such respect and trust from his colleagues?’

Even thinking back, it was astonishing.

Yet an even more shocking event unfolded—the fact that Han Seul-gi and Song Ji-eun were Initials.

‘Those two were Initials?’

Among them, Song Ji-eun, who had made her name known worldwide even before Taeha, being an Initial was especially shocking.

‘And not a fashion Initial, but a real Initial.’

From Song Ji-eun’s confession about the difficulties she faced while filming Byeonghwa, Joo-hee could clearly feel this truth.

She wasn’t the only one.

All the Initials present felt the same.

‘Taeha, who can turn even a world-famous star into an Initial…’

It was amazing and filled her with pride.

At the same time, she was certain there could be no fan meeting more satisfying than this in the world.

Because she thought no situation could be more enjoyable or blissful than this.

But then,

[Prequel Triple Title Reveal]

[5 minutes ago]

The moment she confirmed these words displayed on the screen, Joo-hee’s heart began to race again.

She hadn’t expected the fan meeting’s composition to be so rich and fulfilling that it would even include a new song release from Prequel.

‘And a triple title track at that?’

That meant they had prepared this album with utmost effort.

Of course, not everyone viewed this challenge positively.

“Isn’t a triple title a bit too much?”

“I agree. I wonder if AH can pull it off.”

“Our Taeha should be resting after wrapping up a project, but he can’t even rest because of the triple title?”

This was evident from the whispers heard from one side of the audience.

Joo-hee also had similar thoughts alongside her anticipation, so she understood these reactions.

‘But still, I should cheer for him.’

As Joo-hee made up her mind,

The screen displayed new words once again.

[Mini Album ‘Overcoming Today]

[First Title Track ‘Daily Look’]

And when the stage brightened again,

Finally, the scene she had been waiting for unfolded before her eyes.

Prequel stood in perfect formation with a flawless setup.

Thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump.

The heartbeats of the Initials, including Joo-hee, quickened little by little.

Soon, Choi Jin-woo tapped his drumsticks together in rhythm: tap tap tap.

And with that sound, the first title track of Prequel’s second mini album Overcoming Today began to play cheerfully.

Kim Gun-yul sang the first verse of Daily Look.

-Face I see every day

Why does it feel so unfamiliar today?

Come to think of it, I’ve never once

Seen my own face directly

-Put on clothes, sling my bag

Same time, same place

It’s about time I got used to it

But not a single familiar face

Then Taeha took over the song.

-The blank expression I wear

The smile I put on only when others are around

No one sees the real me

Daily Look, Daily Look

No smile

I won’t let myself get hurt like that.

The first title track Daily Look.

This song carried a double meaning of re-examining the daily life of modern people.

And the lyrics for Daily Look were written by the leader, Seo Jong-woo.

The reason Taeha didn’t write the lyrics was simple.

They thought Seo Jong-woo, who actually experienced office life, could write more relatable lyrics.

Of course, the title Daily Look was decided by Taeha.

Also, Taeha took on the role of final reviewer for the lyrics Seo Jong-woo wrote.

Because without at least some minimal guidance or a final reviewer, the quality of a first-time lyricist’s work could easily suffer.

It was the same when Taeha wrote the lyrics for Wave—TT had chosen the title and handled the final review.

And the lyrics completed this way were indeed excellent.

Though they lacked elegant expressions, they blended with the music and evoked great empathy.

“Waaaaah!”

“Prequel!”

“I love you!”

The cheers from the audience, which had been tinged with slight concern, were proof of that.

Joo-hee was also deeply moved and chanted Prequel’s name.

But that was only the end of the first title track.

***

Amid the Initials’ cheers, the screen displayed another set of words.

[Mini Album ‘Overcoming Today’]

[Second Title Track ‘For You Who Fall’]

This song felt slightly less cheerful overall compared to Daily Look.

But that didn’t mean it strayed from the concept of Overcoming Today.

On the contrary, in some ways it fit the album concept even better than Daily Look.

Because while Daily Look focused on identifying the points to overcome and sympathizing with them, For You Who Fall focused on actual overcoming.

That was the way it should be.

An album shouldn’t contain songs that are too similar just to match the concept.

It had to allow various impressions within the same concept.

And so, the performance of For You Who Fall followed immediately without any commentary.

This time as well, Taeha and Kim Gun-yul sang alternately.

-Standing in the dark corridor

Each of us was alone

Why can’t we be together?

I’ve always wondered

-They say if you beat yourself

There’s no need to beat others

But I can still cheer for you, can’t I?

For you fighting a hard battle

-It’s okay to fall

I’ll be your wings

So live for yourself

I’ll say those words for you

-It’s okay to fall

I’ll be your wings

That’s how we overcome, overcome today

My strong ally was you all along

The lyrics for this song were written by Taeha himself.

For Taeha, Wave had been so well received that writing lyrics again was a burden, but he picked up the pen once more.

And he wrote the lyrics for For You Who Fall with the intention of comforting someone having a hard day, one word at a time.

Perhaps this feeling got through.

The Initials’ response was extremely enthusiastic.

After finishing two songs, Taeha picked up the microphone to speak, but there was a long silence—proof of that.

The reason for the silence was simple.

Taeha and Kim Gun-yul’s excellent delivery of the lyrics made the Initials keep pondering the content of For You Who Fall.

The Initials finally came to their senses after Taeha spoke the following comment.

“How do you like Prequel’s new songs, Initials?”

“Waaah!”

“They’re the best!”

“We love them!”

As soon as Taeha’s question ended, the Initials, coming back to their senses belatedly, erupted in cheers.

Their voices were so loud that it was hard to make out the words.

Feeling satisfied with the Initials’ reaction, Taeha continued his commentary.

“I’m glad you like them. First, I’ll introduce the members of Prequel and then we’ll have a conversation.”

Thus, under Taeha’s lead, Prequel each introduced themselves and then shared behind-the-scenes stories about the new song release with the Initials.

From the fact that they originally didn’t plan to reveal Prequel’s new songs at this fan meeting but changed their minds after seeing the Initials’ reaction.

To why they prepared the mini album Overcoming Today as a triple title track.

Once they started talking, time flew by.

For a band performance, the mid-show commentary was quite long.

But none of the Initials complained.

Because for the Initials, Prequel was essentially Taeha.

It was precisely that feeling that had made the Initials want Prequel’s performance at the fan meeting in the first place.

So naturally, the Initials felt as happy as if they were just listening to Taeha talk.

After the long commentary ended, the screen finally displayed new words.

[Mini Album ‘Overcoming Today’]

[Third Title Track ‘Cave’]

It was time to reveal the third title track.

“Then we’ll conclude this session by revealing the third title track. Thank you so much for coming today. See you again.”

As soon as Taeha finished his comment, the performance of Cave began.

-No one ever told me

That something was wrong with me

They just bullied me

And hit me

-I couldn’t hear anything

I was trapped in my own cave

Screaming endlessly

Love me

Please, love me

The final song Cave was supposed to be sung entirely by Taeha from start to finish.

The reason was simple.

TT, who composed this song and wrote the lyrics, requested it.

Cave contained TT’s autobiographical experience of being bullied and falling into deep despair during his school days.

But the purpose of this song wasn’t just to confess an autobiographical experience.

Its true purpose was to comfort someone else going through similar hardships through this confession.

For that, TT wanted one person to sing the whole song rather than splitting it.

And among Prequel’s two vocalists, Taeha had the tone that suited Cave better.

-It’s gonna be okay

If someone had told me that

I would have kept living

I would have kept being me

-It’s gonna be okay

Now I’ll tell you

I’ll keep loving you

I’ll keep protecting you

And so, with Taeha’s passionate singing filled with heartfelt confession and comfort, the second fan meeting finally came to an end.

It was a perfect fan meeting, complete with the revelation of Prequel’s new songs.

***

The next day.

Along with fan meeting reviews, the audio tracks of Prequel’s mini album began to be released one after another.