Prequel’s waiting room at the music show still wasn’t exactly comfortable. This time, they were sharing it with another rookie idol group that had debuted around the same period.
Of course, unlike what people often imagined, there was no rivalry or tension between the groups. If anything, they barely even looked at each other. Whenever communication became necessary, it always went through the managers instead.
Apparently, it was to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings during group filming.
Because of that, Taeha also acted carefully, making sure not to create any awkward situations. After finishing the required greetings and challenge videos, he spent the rest of the waiting time sitting as quietly as possible.
The other Prequel members did the same.
Still, the atmosphere wasn’t comfortable. If anything, constantly having to watch every little action made things even more exhausting.
That was why the waiting time felt painfully long.
‘I’m getting tired.’
For three straight weeks, Prequel had repeated the same brutal routine.
Wake up before dawn for makeup.
Spend the entire day waiting at the broadcasting station.
Then repeat everything again the next day.
Of course, the results had been worth it.
“Still Falling for You,” “For the Falling You,” and “Overcome Again Today” had all won first place on music shows. “Still Falling for You” won on MBS, “For the Falling You” took first on KBC and Ennet, and “Overcome Again Today” claimed victory on SBC.
Some people might have considered it unfortunate that none of the songs achieved a complete all-kill across every station. But for Prequel—who originally believed they might not win even once—this was more than enough.
Both fans and industry insiders praised AH Entertainment for managing promotions surprisingly well despite having little experience with music show schedules.
‘And today’s finally the last schedule.’
That alone was a relief.
Even Taeha, who normally maintained strict work-life balance, was beginning to reach his physical limits.
And he wasn’t even taking on extra schedules outside the music shows.
The other members, meanwhile, still had their own personal lives and jobs to handle on off-days. Naturally, their exhaustion was even worse.
‘Especially Alex hyung… he really pushed himself too hard.’
Even after finishing music show schedules, Alex still visited his restaurant regularly.
At first, Taeha assumed he was only stopping by to encourage the staff.
But apparently, Alex had been fully working shifts himself.
“Doesn’t that exhaust you too much?” Taeha had asked once.
“Of course it does,” Alex admitted with a laugh. “That’s why I always tell myself I’ll only help a little. But once I step into the restaurant, I unconsciously give it everything I’ve got. It’s my place, after all.”
Taeha understood that feeling.
Still, he couldn’t help worrying.
After all, he himself had once died from overwork.
Because of that experience, he kept a close eye on Alex’s condition throughout the promotion period. The moment he noticed anything seriously wrong, he planned to force Alex to rest.
‘Thankfully, Alex hyung looks okay today.’
If anything, he looked healthier than usual.
Yesterday, Taeha had practically forced Alex to take the day off by using the recording schedule as an excuse.
Thankfully, it seemed to have worked.
‘He always looks annoyed whenever I nag him, but at least the results are good.’
Taeha smiled faintly.
Not long after, their turn finally approached.
As Taeha absentmindedly looked around, his gaze suddenly landed on Choi Jinwoo.
‘Huh?’
Immediately sensing something strange, Taeha walked over.
“Hyung. Why does your face look so pale?”
“Huh? What?”
“You, hyung. You look paler than usual. Are you sick?”
“What could possibly be wrong? I’ve been here with you guys the whole time.”
Jinwoo laughed awkwardly.
“But pale? Maybe the makeup artist just used too much foundation today.”
He acted completely clueless.
That only made Taeha feel even more uneasy.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to think about it.
“It’s almost our turn. Let’s do the cheer before we go up.”
Seo Jongwoo gathered the members together.
“Let’s go!”
“Prequel, fighting!”
As Taeha watched Choi Jinwoo walk toward the stage first, a worrying thought crossed his mind.
‘…He’ll be okay, right?’
***
‘I have to hold on. Somehow, I have to.’
Choi Jinwoo repeated those words to himself as he stepped onto the stage.
In truth, his condition was terrible.
Since last night, his body had been shivering nonstop. Now he had a splitting headache, and he kept running back and forth to the restroom.
It was a full-blown body cold.
‘A body cold right at the end of promotions… seriously?’
Jinwoo endured it desperately.
He didn’t want to ruin such an important final stage over something like this.
If his condition had worsened earlier during the waiting period, he probably would have admitted he couldn’t perform.
But his body had suddenly crashed near the very end.
At this point, he couldn’t bring himself to say he couldn’t go on stage because of a cold.
So he made his choice.
He would grit his teeth and finish the performance no matter what.
‘Someone who can bench five hundred can’t lose to a stupid cold.’
It was exactly the kind of thought a fitness trainer like Jinwoo would have.
Ironically, the member who cared most about health and exercised the hardest had ended up getting sick.
And honestly, part of the reason he kept hiding it was embarrassment.
As a trainer, catching a cold felt strangely humiliating.
That was why he denied everything earlier when Taeha pointed out his pale complexion.
Still, Jinwoo forced himself to stay standing.
Meanwhile, the members casually chatted with the fans gathered in front of the stage, trying to relax before the performance.
Jinwoo could barely maintain a smile.
Even simple fan service felt difficult now.
His condition was worsening by the minute.
‘Just hold on a little longer.’
Cold sweat soaked his body as he clenched his teeth.
Then finally—
the signal for the live stage began.
The moment he saw it, Jinwoo tapped his Dream Stick together.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
And the performance started.
‘Thank god… my body’s still moving.’
He relied entirely on instinct.
At least all the practice until now hadn’t gone to waste.
Thankfully, neither the audience nor the music show PD noticed anything strange.
But the Prequel members noticed immediately.
‘What?’
‘The rhythm’s slipping.’
‘Jinwoo hyung…!’
Every member instantly sensed that something was wrong.
His timing kept drifting slightly ahead or behind the beat.
Anyone who practiced together every day would notice.
‘So his condition really was bad…’
Taeha quietly watched the members struggling to hold the ensemble together.
Then his gaze settled on Jinwoo, who was desperately forcing himself through the performance.
Watching him, Taeha made up his mind.
‘Then I’ll match your pace, hyung.’
And Taeha wasn’t the only one.
The other members also realized what Jinwoo was trying to do.
Without saying anything, they all focused even harder on supporting the stage together.
Then Taeha’s part began.
“Nobody ever told me
That there was something wrong with me
They just bullied me
And hurt me”
Taeha silently thought how fortunate it was that they were performing live.
If the performance had been pre-recorded, adjusting naturally between downbeats and offbeats like this would have been impossible.
“I couldn’t hear a thing
Trapped inside my own cave
I kept screaming
Love me
Please love me”
At moments like this, Taeha’s immersion ability became overwhelmingly useful.
Right now, he was fully immersing himself in the role of a jazz master singing a pop song, allowing him to shift freely between rhythms without sounding unnatural.
Because of that, nobody in the audience noticed anything wrong.
Only the members understood what was happening.
And slowly, thanks to Taeha’s lead, the unstable rhythm began recovering.
“It’s gonna be okay
If someone had told me that
I would have kept living
I would have kept being myself”
Before they realized it, the song had already reached its final section.
“It’s gonna be okay
Now I’ll tell you
I’ll keep loving you
I’ll keep protecting you”
It truly was the perfect farewell stage for the mini album Overcome Again Today.
“Taeha!”
As soon as the stage ended, the members greeted the fans normally and headed backstage.
Then suddenly someone shouted his name.
Taeha turned around immediately.
Choi Jinwoo had collapsed.
Seo Jongwoo, who was desperately supporting him, shouted again.
“Help me hold him up!”
Taeha rushed over and grabbed Jinwoo’s other side.
Meanwhile, Jinwoo weakly waved his hand.
“Ah, I’m fine. My legs just gave out for a second.”
“Fine?” Alex exploded. “What part of this looks fine? Your rhythm was unstable the entire performance! What’s wrong with you? Tell us honestly.”
“…It’s just a cold.”
Jinwoo forced out a bitter smile.
“But… did I mess up the stage badly?”
“You’re worrying about the performance right now?”
Alex smacked his own chest in frustration.
Kim Gunyul gently patted Alex’s shoulder to calm him down.
“We finished it well,” he said. “We all adjusted to your tempo. Especially Taeha. He carried a lot during the vocals.”
“…As expected of Taeha.”
Even while sick, Jinwoo still managed to give Taeha a thumbs-up.
Seeing that, Taeha could only sigh helplessly.
“Stop talking and let’s go to the hospital first, hyung.”
“No way. The first-place announcement is still left.”
“Is that really more important right now? You matter more. Let’s go.”
In the end, Taeha and the other members immediately took Jinwoo to a nearby hospital.
Fortunately, after receiving medicine and an IV drip, Jinwoo gradually regained some strength.
Although Jinwoo’s rhythm had slipped far more often than usual during the performance, none of the fans realized anything had been wrong.
That was simply how polished Prequel’s stage had been.
However—
when Prequel failed to appear for the first-place announcement…
and then still ended up winning first place on the final music show anyway—
the fans could no longer ignore the feeling that something unexpected had happened.