The Goal is the Ending Fairy

“How was I earlier?”

That’s what Cha Sihyun asked me right after Group 3’s performance ended, backstage.

She was smiling brightly at me, pointing at her own face with her index finger.

And quite obviously expecting an answer.

After watching her for a moment, I glanced around.

‘The cameras are still rolling.’

I quickly withdrew my wandering gaze and flashed a smile at Cha Sihyun.

“You were amazing. When you hit those high notes, my jaw dropped in admiration.”

“Really?”

“Yes, yes.”

Really, my foot – it was all just reactions for the broadcast.

Though it was true that she was a good singer. She sang a melancholic ballad, and her emotional delivery was on point.

And as for the dance… well, she moved with flowing grace while making full use of her physique. In short, she did well.

To put it simply, while our genres differed, we’d used the same strategy for our performances.

A stage that played to one’s image and atmosphere. And minimized any disadvantages.

I hadn’t expected much since she was an actor trainee, but it seemed she wasn’t just some parachuted-in celebrity with no skills.

From my perspective, having a non-debut candidate perform this well just meant one more person to watch out for…

Not exactly something to celebrate.

Still, she’ll probably be eliminated when the time comes.

She’s here to build recognition before her acting project, not to actually debut.

“I really enjoyed your performance too. I absolutely love your voice, Dan-ah-nim.”

“Haha…”

Cha Sihyun, who had blushed at my praise, offered her own formulaic compliment.

A cringe-worthy relay of praise.

Though I smiled awkwardly at the discomfort, there was something oddly serious about the look in her eyes.

But that aside.

Why does she keep using such formal language with that uncomfortable “-nim”?

If this keeps getting aired, it won’t look good.

People might misunderstand and think I’m putting on airs about my seniority in training.

Since Cha Sihyun was my junior, she probably couldn’t suggest dropping formalities first.

Which meant I’d have to be the one to give permission…

While I wasn’t thrilled about it being Cha Sihyun, appearing friendly with everyone would probably be safer.

‘No choice here.’

Internally sighing, I slowly opened my mouth toward Cha Sihyun, who was smiling back at me.

“Should we just drop the formalities? We’re the same age and both trainees, so being formal feels a bit strange.”

“Oh, would that be okay?”

At my words, Cha Sihyun showed her brightest expression yet.

She even clasped her hands together and carefully spoke to me.

“Then… I’ll speak comfortably from now on. You can call me casually too, Dan-ah-ya.”

“…okay, got it.”

With cameras rolling, we smiled warmly at each other.

To others, it might have looked like a perfectly harmonious scene, but for some reason, I just felt uneasy and wanted to leave quickly.

While watching her eyes curve into crescents as she smiled.

Suddenly, I realized.

‘This bitch… did it on purpose.’

No wonder she jumped at my suggestion so readily.

There were plenty of camera-free corners, yet she chose this spot to talk – that was the reason.

Despite looking so innocent with that sunshine smile… she’s quite calculating.

Right, I should have known from the moment her smile seemed suspicious.

With the rankings about to be announced, it was odd how she wasn’t nervous like the other trainees.

Maybe it’s because I never really liked her, but once the suspicious parts stood out, her true intentions seemed clearer.

“All trainees please come to the stage for the ranking announcement~!”

Thankfully, before I had to spend more time with her, the staff’s announcement gave me an excuse to leave.

“We should head up now.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded at Cha Sihyun’s words and quickly turned my back to her.

Though I felt somewhat uneasy about her following closely behind, I shook my head, thinking it might just be my imagination.

“Hey.”

“!”

Suddenly, Cha Sihyun placed her hand on my shoulder.

My shoulders jumped in surprise before settling back down. Mentally cursing was just a bonus.

Trying not to show my startled state, I turned to look at her.

“Hm?”

“Don’t you think our voices would blend well together… if we performed together?”

“…”

At first I thought, what nonsense is this, but well… that was actually…

While our song choices seemed to differ in taste, just considering our voices, they probably would harmonize well.

We both had distinctive timbres, and the color of our voices was somewhat similar?

I don’t know much about art terms, but to make a comparison, my voice was like a deep purple, while hers was more of a soft lavender.

Anyway, since Cha Sihyun also had a rather unique vocal color, it was true that we matched vocally.

“Yeah… they would blend well.”

“Right?”

Cha Sihyun patted my shoulder with the hand she’d placed there, then smiled with her eyes curved.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Looking forward to what?

But before I could ask about that, she had already stepped onto the stairs and headed for the stage.

Then she walked gracefully to her position following the staff’s directions.

‘What’s with her…? Why is she acting like this with me, seriously…’

She’d been gradually increasing how often she talked to me lately, and occasionally dropping these meaningful comments before walking away.

Including now, this wasn’t the first time she’d done this.

Holding back a sigh that nearly burst out, I bit my lip and headed to my position.

At least my spot was far from Cha Sihyun.

After pressing my brow several times instead of sighing, I stood facing forward.

* * *

“Next are the trainees ranked 24th to 20th in the ‘Individual Capability Mission.'”

After quickly announcing the trainees from 30th to 25th place, the next set of rankings was revealed.

“Ah…”

“…”

Disappointed sighs, or heads nodding silently, unable to even voice their disappointment.

Those were the reactions of the trainees in those ranks.

Fortunately, my profile picture wasn’t among the lower ranks yet. At least for the ‘Individual Capability Mission,’ I was in the middle range.

But I couldn’t show any relief or reaction.

The lower-ranked trainees around me were expressing disappointment, so showing any sign of pleasure would be the fastest way to tank my image.

So all I did was clasp my hands neatly and calmly watch the large display board on stage.

But what I hadn’t expected was that my name wouldn’t be called for quite a while.

‘Not there…’

My profile picture wasn’t shown in the ranks from 19th to 17th, or 16th to 14th.

And the same went for the ranks above that.

Even up until 11th place was announced, I couldn’t find my name.

As the display board switched from showing five trainees at a time for lower ranks and three at a time for middle ranks, it began showing upper ranks one trainee at a time.

“Now, the ten trainees who haven’t appeared on the board have automatically secured their places in the top 10 of the ‘Individual Capability Mission.'”

From here on, I couldn’t place lower than 10th. Even getting this far was unexpected.

Since my character wasn’t typically known for being particularly skilled, maybe my expectations had been too low.

But too high a rank compared to my actual ability could make people dislike me.

So…

“And now, for the first mission, in the Individual Capability category. 10th place goes to…”

No more, no less, just this spot. Please…

Barely swallowing down my tension, I fixed my gaze on the MC’s lips.

“…yes, trainee Seo Dan-ah!”

Made it!

The display board lit up with my profile picture, showing me with wide eyes.

After a brief round of applause from the trainees and judges, the representative picked up his microphone while looking at me.

It seemed that starting from the top ranks, the representative would personally comment.

He basically said I had significantly improved my capabilities to complete the stage and showed potential.

While there were some areas for improvement, his assessment was that it wasn’t burdensome to watch.

Other judges continued with positive evaluations, explaining the reasoning behind my ranking.

’84 points’.

That was my score displayed next to my profile picture.

For a score out of 100, and coming from such strict judges, it was a decent range.

Following that, I bowed to the judges expressing my gratitude.

A score based purely on ability without any other factors – it was quite generous for someone who had only possessed this body for a short time.

‘When there’s an interview later, I’ll definitely need to mention Yoon Hee-jo and Kim Se-i.’

Thinking of how those two had helped me, I made a mental note to express my gratitude later.

Their help had definitely allowed me to improve my capabilities dramatically.

Anyway, after that, I waited for the next rankings to be revealed.

9th place Cha Sihyun, 

8th place Kim Se-i, 

6th place Chae Seonha.

Then 4th and 3rd places were taken by Lee Jinyu and Yoon Hee-jo respectively.

The other ranks went to trainees I didn’t know, so I just pretended to congratulate them appropriately.

And finally, the anticipated 1st place.

“Trainee Won Chaeseo takes first place in this ‘Individual Capability Mission!'”

That was the name that came from the MC’s lips.

‘A deserving winner.’

Though there were comments about her not showing her full potential due to nerves, she still had the best overall balance among the trainees.

So it was a natural result.

“Thank you!”

After receiving comments from the judges, Won Chaeseo repeatedly bowed while letting out a relieved breath.

Even for someone experienced in audition shows, it seemed the tension of these moments never got easier.

But the high-ranking trainees couldn’t relax yet. Similarly, the lower-ranked trainees shouldn’t despair yet either.

“However, high-ranking trainees shouldn’t get too comfortable. And lower-ranked trainees don’t need to be disappointed with your current rankings.”

The MC threw out the exact same thoughts I was having, grinning at the camera.

“How much will the rankings change once the self-PR video scores are added… Let’s reveal it right now!”

The MC finished speaking and pointed his cue card toward the display board.

Instantly, the rankings of all 30 trainees appeared densely on the board.

All at once.

“…”

Silence fell over the stage again.

About half showed relief or brightened at their ranks, while the other half showed disappointment as they double-checked the board.

And I…

———-

<9th Place: Seo Dan-ah>

———-

“…?”

…was still in the upper ranks.

‘I went up?’

Well… while I was relieved, it didn’t make sense. I was sure I would drop lower…?

My charm and likability stats were definitely low when the self-introduction videos aired.

They’re still low now, but back then they were practically rock bottom. So I thought it would be hard to attract fans.

But I went up. My ranking improved by one thanks to the self-PR video.

Since I hadn’t been able to check public opinion lately, I was even more confused about how this happened.

I really wanted to know the truth behind this…

“Phew…”

First, I tried to calm my floating thoughts while looking carefully at the display board.

Next to my ’84 points’ was an additional ‘8 points’ earned from my PR video’s recommendation ranking.

In other words, my recommendations ranked ‘3rd to 5th’ among the trainees.

The recommendation score calculation went: 1st place gets 10 points, 2nd gets 9 points, 3rd-5th get 8 points… and so on.

The detailed rankings weren’t shown so I couldn’t know exactly, but to think my PR video recommendations were at least 5th overall.

‘How is this possible…’

92 points out of 110 total. And 9th place out of 30 in the first mission.

For my skill level, this was an extremely… smooth start. It felt even more so since I’d expected to rank around the late teens.

[Dan-ah-nim….]

Suddenly, I heard the helper’s voice from somewhere high above.

I knew why it was whimpering, regardless of my ranking.

First, one main quest definitely failed – that cursed quest to rank in the top 7 overall.

But looking at my self-PR video ranking, it seemed the other main quest had succeeded.

If I’d failed both main quests, there’s no way I would have been left alive like this.

This meant there was still hope.

So from now on, I needed to stay sharp and focus even more.

How this ranking would affect the next mission would soon be revealed.

Sure enough, after calling out the top-ranked trainees for a while, the MC looked toward the representative.

The representative stood up from his seat, and after a moment’s pause, began speaking.

“First, would trainees ranked 1st through 5th please come forward and stand at the front of the stage?”