The Goal is the Ending Fairy

“Yaaawn….”

In the brief moment before the last team came out.

Behind his cue cards, the man on stage secretly let out a yawn.

He was Han Yul, the MC of the show and the main vocalist of the idol group ‘Hi-Attack’.

Watching each trainee’s performance, listening to the judges’ evaluations….

Naturally his body was getting sluggish from standing still while doing all this, and having to keep smiling too.

‘Hope the company doesn’t focus only on these kids just because they’re debuting new artists.’

Han Yul narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the CEO.

While their recent lack of comebacks was due to internal group issues, it was also true that care from the company had decreased.

“We’ve built up so many floors of the HON building, that won’t do.’

Han Yul nodded at the camera director’s okay sign. These thoughts filled his head as he smiled brightly.

At the same time, it felt like he was keeping his juniors in check.

In reality, contrary to his kind exterior, he was internally evaluating the trainees harshly.

‘Terrible. It’s a mess.’

‘Why did they let someone with that skill level participate? Is our CEO’s judgment getting old with age?’

‘The singing and dancing don’t balance. How can a singer not be able to sing? If you’re only good at dancing, become a dancer.’

But that harshness was only for the poor performers.

Since he was ultimately in the same profession, he couldn’t help but look favorably upon talented individuals.

Even if he felt the need to keep them in check.

‘Best vocals among everyone so far. The harmonics are well-controlled, making it stable to listen to.’

‘Oh, quite sensible. Clean dance lines, and the rap inserted mid-vocal is charming. A definite all-rounder.’

‘This one’s definitely main rapper material. Look at that diction, every word is clear. Decent dancing too. With that attractive face, should be good at drawing fans.’

At some point, Han Yul found himself not just evaluating but appreciating the performances.

Of course, such professional assessments were possible because he was a senior in the idol industry looking at his 12th year.

Moreover, since he had a natural talent for evaluation and teaching, he occasionally appeared as a vocal trainer on audition programs.

Therefore, his evaluations were definitely reliable.

So if he found himself naturally impressed by an upcoming performance, it wouldn’t be because it matched his personal taste.

It would be because it was an objectively excellent performance that anyone would acknowledge.

“Well, now for our eagerly awaited final Team 3?”

Without dragging it out further, he raised his voice with a pretty smile toward the camera.

“Then, would Team 3 trainees please come out!”

Along with Han Yul’s voice, the stage behind split horizontally and opened.

And through that gap emerged several young girls.

The ten trainees of the final Team 3.

Han Yul guided the trainees to the small stage on the side, just as he had done with the previous two teams.

After making a brief comment, he immediately called out the name of the first participant.

“Yes, Trainee Seo Dan-ah. Please come up to the stage.”

A trainee came up, receiving small applause from the other trainees, Han Yul, and the judges.

Since the production team would arrange the order anyway, there was no need to mention that she was first.

“Hello. I’m Seo Dan-ah, a 6-month trainee at HON. Please take care of me.”

She bowed with the calmest voice and most relaxed smile of any participant so far.

Another round of applause followed for the trainee, and as it died down, the CEO spoke.

“Dan-ah… um, vocals and dance?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But your song choice is quite unexpected? Isn’t it very different from what you usually do in monthly evaluations?”

To the CEO’s questioning, the trainee, far from being intimidated or flustered, skillfully conveyed her intention.

“I think I’ve found a genre that suits me better, so I prepared hard.”

“Hmm… okay. Good, shall we see it?”

“Yes.”

The judges nodded at the trainee’s brief but firm response, still maintaining her smile.

Han Yul also thought she was clever.

If she had answered something like ‘I wanted to show a different side of myself… etc.’ there…

The criticism would probably be even harsher if the performance fell below expectations.

In the first mission, it’s more important to showcase what you’re good at rather than showing various sides.

And the desperation that comes with it. That too is what the judges and viewers use as a main criterion for evaluation.

Therefore, to avoid being branded as ‘a foolish trainee who couldn’t show her strengths due to needless greed’…. that answer was just right.

‘This kid knows how to use her head.’

Calling this trainee who showed no gaps smart was indeed an accurate description.

After brief preparations for the stage were made.

Soon the lights changed.

It was a soft light that was subtle and moody, while also giving off a somewhat wistful feeling.

The trainee, seemingly about to showcase vocals first, brought the microphone to her lips under the attention of countless lights.

And with the accompaniment, a distinctive voice flowed out almost simultaneously.

⟦ That night when stars were falling⟧

⟦ That moment when countless sorrows filled your eyes⟧

“!!!”

Han Yul was quite shocked.

While there had been several performances he had admired before, this was the first time he’d been surprised like this.

‘The vocal tone… wow, how is this possible?’

It was a voice he’d never heard before. He couldn’t even think of any singer with a similar vibe or tone.

In his judgment, it was definitely a tone that didn’t exist among any current idols.

Literally meaning it was one of a kind.

Her vocal skills were also stable.

While the song didn’t have many high notes so he couldn’t hear her high pitch range, her basic rhythm was spot-on.

Meanwhile, she was also expressing her own interpretation of the song’s mood.

The slightly groovy feeling compared to the original was pleasant to listen to.

Just as Han Yul was standing there surprised with his mouth slightly open, the first verse ended in an instant.

It was to the point where listeners felt disappointed it was over.

However, the performance wasn’t over there.

The trainee quickly put down the microphone at the side of the stage and properly adjusted her cropped denim jacket.

Then she clasped her hands together and turned away from the judges, waiting for the dance song to begin.

Because of this, Han Yul could inadvertently see the trainee’s face, and he really liked her expression.

‘Fighting spirit overcoming nervousness.’

She was the first trainee so far to show such an expression on stage.

Of course, there were trainees with good facial expressions and gestures, or who performed quite comfortably.

Among them, there were certainly several who were more skilled than this trainee.

However, what even they couldn’t completely hide was ‘nervousness’.

Either awkward during breathing sections, unconsciously looking at the ground for a moment, or trembling pupils while looking at the camera.

Everyone showed at least one of these on stage before coming down.

The only difference was whether it was for a few seconds or throughout the entire performance.

⟦ Get out of my life⟧

⟦ You should go away⟧

⟦ ‘Cause I can break you, ah⟧

(T/N: Sorry Dan-ah, but those lyrics are so emo lmao)

The trainee turned toward the camera with a slight wave as the song began.

Han Yul slightly smiled while watching her.

‘Her dancing is good too.’

Watching this trainee’s performance, Han Yul recalled his own debut for the first time.

He felt like he could see his image from about ten years ago overlapping with this trainee’s current appearance.

‘I too had times when I went on stage with nothing but fighting spirit.’

For the first time among all the performances so far, Han Yul stopped evaluating internally.

He just clapped along with the song and watched proudly as a senior as the trainee gave her all to the performance.

* * *

“Thank you!”

“Ah, good job~”

Applause came from everywhere along with encouraging words from the CEO and judges.

The sound gradually faded as I sat down in a chair on the side stage.

“You did so well!”

“Unnie, you were so cool…!”

“Good!”

Along with Yoon Hee-jo and Lee Jinyu’s cheers from both sides, even trainees I wasn’t close with gave me thumbs up.

I responded by high-fiving them, fist-bumping, or bowing to accept their praise.

Some might have genuinely liked it or might have been conscious of the cameras… but anyway, it felt refreshing now that it was over.

‘Actually, it was better being first.’

Otherwise, even someone like me would have felt my heart tighten while waiting for the last turn.

So it seemed much better to have gone on stage without time to get nervous.

Anyway, in conclusion, the evaluation of my performance was good.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect. But instead of criticism, all the feedback was more like suggestions – “it would be better if you did this.”

Plus, all the judges followed their feedback with definite praise. It means I was at least halfway there.

All that’s left now is the like count on my self-PR video. Ah, because of the main mission, view count is important for me too.

Based on the trend I saw on the first day, I figured I could aim for at least middle rank in both.

I fanned myself while drinking water from under my chair.

For now, I was in the audience’s position.

My part was done, so now it was time to watch the young lambs trembling on stage like I had.

Though among them, some would show off all their charms before coming down.

I glanced slightly at the debut candidates on both sides of me.

Unlike my character who had to level up stats to debut, these kids were cheats with ridiculous skills from the start.

‘The ones who least need to be nervous look the most nervous.’

While feeling the unfairness of the difference between them and me, I found it kind of absurd at the same time.

Seemingly feeling my gaze, I silently smiled at the two who were looking my way.

Though they were momentarily confused by my sudden smile, soon bright smiles returned from both sides.

Seems they took it as encouragement….

It looked like smiles saying they’d do their best too.

‘Ah, it’s cold.’

As my sweat cooled, I finally felt the chill under my skirt.

When I shivered slightly because of it, Lee Jinyu beside me spread her blanket over my legs.

“Oh.”

The problem was that Yoon Hee-jo also draped her blanket over me at almost the same time.

The two who made eye contact simultaneously smiled awkwardly.

…? What are you two really doing?

In the end, I had to watch the performances after me while covered with half a blanket from each side.

The performances that followed were quite good too.

They actually received a lot of praise from the judges.

One of them showcased a stage that suited their bubbly concept matching their cute appearance.

That was certainly possible because they had the skills to back up that flair. I too didn’t hold back my applause for her.

Actually, I might have been more generous with applause since my turn was over.

But since I’d finished my part, I could at least properly appreciate the performances, right?

This peace wouldn’t last long anyway.

The upcoming ranking announcement would be like walking on thin ice.

After several decent performances passed by, there were only three people left.

Yoon Hee-jo, Lee Jinyu, and….

“Hello.”

Cha Sihyun, who was now greeting on stage.