The Goal is the Ending Fairy - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Translator: Iris
Proofreader: Floor

>> Applying 『Major Stat Increase Coupon +5』to Vocal stat! 

 

> Vocal: 20/100 → 25/100 

 

>> Vocal and Dance stats have broken through a certain threshold! Charm EXP is increased by +5 as a reward! 

 

> Charm: 5/100 → 10/100 

 

That’s right. 

 

The better the dance and vocal skills, the more an idol’s charm level is bound to increase. This was a very smooth flow. 

 

And with this, the experience for both Vocal and Dance stats exceeded the 20 mark. 

 

It wasn’t enough to capture attention with skill, but it also wasn’t so bad as to stand out negatively… 

 

In short, I had finally reached a mediocre skill level. 

 

It was only that for now, but if I diligently accumulate experience until the first mission, it should be fine. 

 

At this rate, if nothing else, I could get Dance and Vocal stats up to around ’50’. 

 

If I look at it another way, this is a pretty good result. 

 

To others, it would look like I suddenly boosted skills that had been at rock bottom for six months.

 

‘If things keep going like this, I won’t fail to debut.’ 

 

I turned off the screen with satisfaction and opened the door.

 

– Creak

 

“Ah, damn it, you scared me!” 

 

I was so startled that my heart dropped, and a curse word slipped out involuntarily. 

 

The mirror visible through the open bathroom stall door was the cause.

 

‘…Was there someone outside earlier?’ 

 

In the mirror, there was someone who looked about my age. 

 

As I placed a hand on my chest to calm down, the trainee just stared at me silently. 

 

After watching me for a while, she slowly approached me, who was still startled. 

 

“……” 

 

The trainee looked down at me closely from right in front of my nose. 

 

Her presence made me instinctively lower my head.

 

‘Why are you coming so close?’ 

 

Compared to my shaking pupils, the faint breath sounds coming from above were very calm. 

 

“What are you…” 

 

I quickly shut my mouth before the word could fully escape.

 

‘I almost started an argument by asking what she was looking at…’

 

Fortunately, I managed to pull out a sliver of reason buried under my fatigue. 

 

But how did she even know to come here? 

 

I deliberately came to this place, the least crowded spot in Hon, which I found through the Helper. 

 

That means this shouldn’t be an easy place to find. 

 

I recalled the system that recommended this place to me.

 

‘[This hallway has few CCTVs and even fewer people! You’ll be comfortable alone.]’ 

 

On the day I summoned the Helper, whose cooldown had finished, and asked for a place to be alone, it had clearly answered that way.

 

But what is this?

 

I don’t know why that Helper, who is supposed to be helpful, is always useless. 

 

“What are you looking at?” 

 

The person’s voice was now even closer.

 

Thanks to her, I stopped internally wringing the Helper’s neck.

 

I cautiously lifted my face, and the coarsely spitting voice was clearer.

 

“I’m in front of you, what are you looking at?” 

 

Long, straight hair and cat-like eyes that suited it. Her face, seen briefly, was like that. 

 

Perhaps due to her tone, she gave off a sharp impression. 

 

I vaguely remembered seeing her at the filming set… she seemed to be a survival participant like me. 

 

But I was certain that I didn’t know her face well.

 

‘She doesn’t seem like a particularly important character… who is she?’ 

 

The fact that I couldn’t see her opponent profile made me even more frustrated. 

 

“Just, um… I thought I saw a lot of dust down there…” 

 

In the midst of all this, that was the only clumsy excuse I could squeeze out. Even to me, it sounded ridiculous. 

 

The trainee who heard it quirked an eyebrow. 

 

She clearly didn’t believe me. I could tell just by the look of suspicion in her eyes. 

 

“…If you don’t have anything else to say, could you please step aside?” 

 

“…? What? Why the formal speech?” 

 

“……” 

 

Shit, are you a friend too? 

 

Trying to avoid the disaster I had with Yoon Heejo, I failed the guess again. 

 

The trainee looked perplexed at me but didn’t say anything more, perhaps thinking it was a joke.

 

I tried to seize the slightly softer atmosphere to slip away…

 

CRASH!

 

…But that path was blocked by a swiftly extended arm. 

 

She had slammed open the door behind her with that extended arm. 

 

This jerk… couldn’t she just open it normally? 

 

“…No one’s here.” 

 

And then she looked inside and said that.

 

‘Of course there’s no one, who goes into the bathroom together?’ 

 

I frowned at her inexplicable action, but the trainee didn’t stop there.

 

Slam! Slam! 

 

Instead, she started slamming open the doors of all the other stalls.

 

I wanted to ask what the heck she was doing…

 

CRASH!

 

…but she was opening the doors so aggressively that I couldn’t even speak to her

 

‘Can’t you just explain why you’re doing this first? And why specifically in the bathroom…’ 

 

I silently swallowed my indignation for a long time. 

 

The trainee, who had finally checked every stall, then turned her body towards me. 

 

“Were you alone?” 

 

“Can’t you tell…?” 

 

“Something about ‘experience points’ and ‘stats’… and ‘this place is good because it’s secluded…’ I heard something like that.” 

 

“…Ah.” 

 

Those were the conversations I had with the Helper earlier. 

 

It seems this girl definitely overheard me talking to the Helper. 

 

But since she couldn’t hear what the Helper was saying, it must have sounded like I was talking to myself. 

 

Surely she wouldn’t think I’m mentally ill and spread rumors… or try to drive me out… right? 

 

That’s probably too far-fetched? 

 

“Then, of course, no one was here. I was on a call.” 

 

I deliberately put my hands in my hoodie pocket, trying not to show any signs of tension.

 

Wait a minute, now that I think about it.

 

“Hey, hold on. So you were hiding and eavesdropping on my conversation just now?” 

 

“Phrase that correctly. I just happened to hear nonsense like that.” 

 

She then quietly muttered, ‘As if I wanted to listen to that stuff.’ 

 

‘Nonsense’? 

 

And before that, what’s with the defensive attitude? 

 

Before I could call her out on her rude manner, the trainee put on a look of disdain. 

 

“You’re not obsessed with some kind of game during this crucial time, are you?” 

 

In my position, you’re a game character too. 

 

A rush of injustice surged through me at her words, but I endured it for now. 

 

It seemed she thought I was playing a game where others couldn’t see me. 

 

“Of course not. The first mission is right around the corner.” 

 

“…Is that so?”

 

Seeing my seemingly unfazed response, the trainee seemed to finally let go of some of her suspicion. 

 

“Fine then. If your call is over, hurry up and get out. The manager is calling for you.” 

 

She finished her sentence in the same sharp tone and walked past me.

 

She didn’t look back at all, suggesting she had truly just come here solely to find me.

 

I feel a little bad if she searched all the way here because of me… but that’s one thing.

 

‘She definitely doesn’t seem like a friend.’ 

 

Her hostile attitude was too obvious. 

 

Since the system had previously introduced me to the friendly trainee Yoon Heejo, was it now showing me the opposite? 

 

I really have to wonder, ‘Why bother?’ 

 

I quietly left the bathroom and watched her receding figure. 

 

The irritating back of her head had already reached the end of the hallway. 

 

I wondered if she might be a debut member like Yoon Heejo. I repeatedly tried to recall her face, but it was no use.

 

No matter how hard I tried, no information ‘popped’ up, unlike with Yoon Heejo. 

 

That meant she wasn’t a debut member.

 

‘…Then is there really no need to get along with her?’

 

I had no way of immediately knowing what happened between this character and that trainee before I transmigrated. 

 

In that case, it was best for me to avoid unnecessary contact. I was busy enough just looking out for myself. 

 

The biggest thing was that I didn’t care what the reason was for her hostility.

 

‘I’m not interested.’ 

 

I, who had been watching her, also started walking down the hallway.

 

* * *

 

“Can you move into the dorm today?”

 

The manager, who had called for me, abruptly ordered me to move into the dormitory. 

 

What else could I do? 

 

I just said ‘Yes’ and was in the middle of packing. Since the company car was supposed to take us, I headed to the practice room, where several other trainees were present. 

 

“Dana!” 

 

This now-familiar voice was Yoon Heejo’s without even looking. 

 

She was in somewhat worn-out clothes, likely having just finished practice, and guessed my situation upon seeing my luggage. 

 

“You’re moving into the dorm today. Where were you assigned?” 

 

“I’m on the 7th floor of the XX Apartment.” 

 

“Ah… I see…” 

 

Judging by her reaction, it seems we were assigned to different dorms. Yoon Heejo said she had already been living in the dorm. 

 

I shrugged at her disappointed expression. 

 

“It’s no big deal. If we debut together, we’ll be living in the same dorm anyway.” 

 

“Haha, that’s true.” 

 

Yoon Heejo finally regained her smile. But it was true that I was slightly disappointed too. 

 

I didn’t have any close trainees besides Yoon Heejo. 

 

Plus, if I was unlucky enough to be roomed with ‘that trainee’ from earlier… that would be quite a headache. 

 

…However, my uneasy premonition was not wrong. 

 

Upon arriving at the dorm entrance a little later, I internally gasped in surprise. 

 

The moment I stepped through the front door, my eyes met with a trainee who was about to enter her room. 

 

“Ah.” 

 

“Oh.” 

 

And the short exclamation that escaped us simultaneously. 

 

The person who met my eyes was the same sharp trainee from the afternoon. 

 

Are you kidding me? 

 

I was frozen with my carrier, and she was frozen with a mug cup. We both solidified in our respective places.

 

I have a feeling she’s having the exact same thought as me right now.

 

‘Why her, of all people…?’ 

 

“Sunha Unnie? What are you doing there?” 

 

Before the silence could stretch further, another trainee intervened. 

 

“Oh…?!” 

 

The trainee who spotted me by following ‘Sunha’s’ gaze quickly brightened her expression and approached me. 

 

“Da-na Unnie, are you staying at our dorm?!” 

 

Oh, I know this one. Isn’t this Lee Jinyoo, one of the debut members? 

 

I knew her right away because I had seen her face from a distance sometimes. The memory, like with Yoon Heejo, suddenly sprang up. 

 

“Yeah. I’m here.” 

 

I shifted my gaze away from the girl named ‘Sunha’ in front of me. 

 

“Hul, really? Are you serious?!” 

 

“I said so…”

 

“Oh yeah! Everyone knows you’re going to debut~!”

 

 Upon hearing the confirmation, Lee Jinyoo suddenly cheered by herself. 

 

“Ah…” 

 

That was short-lived, as she noticed the expression of the person next to her and slowly lowered her hands. 

 

And for good reason: the girl named ‘Sunha’ was staring at me with a very… very terrifying look. 

 

Did I say earlier that I didn’t care why she was doing this, and I wasn’t interested? 

 

I take it back. 

 

Why on earth is she so hostile towards me? 

 

Seeing that expression, I felt like I needed to know the reason. 

 

“Lee Jinyoo, Chae Sunha. …And Seo Da-na?” 

 

Following behind them, a tall trainee approached, calling their names. She also raised her voice when she saw me. 

 

She assessed the situation of the three of us gathered and quickly grasped the situation. 

 

Chae Sunha glaring at me, me standing awkwardly, and Lee Jinyoo fidgeting between us. 

 

The trainee also let out a small sigh and approached me. 

 

“I wondered what you two were doing, but it was because you arrived.” 

 

Was she implying it was my fault? 

 

The somewhat aloof-looking trainee surprisingly extended her hand kindly. 

 

My hand twitched, thinking she wanted to shake hands, when she clarified her intention. 

 

“Give me your luggage.” 

 

Thanks to that, I could only swallow my embarrassment internally. 

 

“I-It’s fine, I can manage…” 

 

When I tried to stop her from taking the carrier, she just looked down at me silently. 

 

“……?” 

 

I inadvertently added a question mark to my abrupt statement. This was a trauma caused by various events. 

 

“…Forget it, why are you still using formal speech for something like that?” 

 

The trainee, who replied dryly, proceeded to move my carrier. Judging by her reaction, she seemed to be an older peer. 

 

Thanks to her, I could finally enter the dormitory.