The Support Ate it All Chapter 284: Ho-Gyu-So

(TN: It might appear at first glance that the “Qyu” and “Sho” nicknas are actually “Gyu” and “So” for Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so. But no, the nicknas really are spelled Qyu and Sho. I think because the two girls thought they were cuter this way.)

***

Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so argued for quite so ti with the closed door between them.

“Hey, you could’ve at least sent a ssage.”

“You always barge in without a word.”

It seed that barging in without warning had beco half a daily occurrence for them.

While it showed how close they were, one could also say this was the price Dang Gyu-young had to pay.

Dang Gyu-young was still gripping the doorknob when she spoke.

“Hey, Sho. I’m really sorry, but I don’t think I can eat with you tonight. I’m feeling a bit under the weather.”

“What? Open up. What’s wrong with you?”

“Everything just feels off. Go on in.”

“Wait, at least open the door first. Let see your face.”

Worried that refusing any longer would look suspicious, Dang Gyu-young opened the door halfway.

Jegal So-so’s voice beca clearer.

“You look fine to .”

“No, I’m tired. I just want to rest.”

“Eat and then rest. I brought sothing you like.”

Judging by the rustling sound, Jegal So-so seed to have brought so late-night snacks as well.

However, Dang Gyu-young kept declining.

“I’m sorry, but really, not tonight. You can eat with Pang.”

Sensing sothing odd, Jegal So-so’s tone changed.

“Why are you blocking ? Is soone inside?”

“What are you talking about? There’s no one here.”

“No, this is suspicious. Also, you’re not set up for sleeping yet. You look a bit dressed up.”

“I told you I’m going to sleep.”

They fell silent for a mont.

From this side, it sounded as though they were exchanging a tense look.

Then Jegal So-so sighed and stepped back.

“…All right, I’ll just go for today.”

“Mhmm, sorry.”

“But let co in for just a mont. That should be fine, right?”

It turned out she was taking one step back to take two steps forward.

As expected of the vice president of the swordsmanship club, she was formidable.

Dang Gyu-young was caught off guard and began to stamr.

“Ah, no. I’m going straight to bed.”

“You won’t even let step inside? Qyu, are you really going to do this?”

“Just for tonight, okay? Just tonight.”

After that earnest plea, Jegal So-so’s presence seed to retreat a little. But in the next instant—

Tap-tap!!

She dashed into the room as quick as lightning. She even used her movent technique to get past Dang Gyu-young.

“Sho—!!”

“Hehen.”

Jegal So-so ignored Dang Gyu-young’s outcry and smiled triumphantly.

But the mont her eyes t mine, she froze like a statue.

The takeout food she had been carrying dropped onto the floor with a thud.

She remained motionless, so I broke the silence by bowing my head.

“Hello, senior-nim.”

Hearing that, Jegal So-so seed to snap back to reality and quickly regained her composure.

Then she flashed her usual gentle smile.

“…Kim Ho was here.”

“I’m sorry. I begged her to see the room for a bit.”

Dang Gyu-young, who had co in behind her, quickly nodded her head in agreent.

Jegal So-so didn’t look entirely convinced, but she seed to realize I was trying to cover for her.

Imdiately, she shot a sharp, piercing glare at Dang Gyu-young.

“Qyu, you’ll really get kicked out of the dorm if you keep this up!”

“Well, if they kick out, I’ll just find a place in the downtown area. Or pitch a tent in the woods. I can sleep anywhere.”

Co to think of it, Dang Gyu-young always seed to be a camper type (hopefully).

Jegal So-so shook her head and continued.

“Still, you have to follow the rules. You can’t do this. Hurry up and send him away.”

“Okay, okay, I will. But since he’s here, let’s feed him before he leaves. He’s had a rough day.”

“…Ugh.”

Jegal So-so let out a deep sigh, looked conflicted, and began setting out the late-night snacks she had brought on the wooden table.

Then she checked again.

“You’re not going to do bad things with him, are you?”

“What do you an ‘bad things’?”

“Bad things are bad things. Why are you acting like you don’t know?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but anyway, no.”

Even so, Jegal So-so asked several more tis for confirmation.

“You’re sure it’s nothing?”

“I said no. Stop asking.”

Although Dang Gyu-young snapped back, she discreetly averted her gaze.

Then, she quickly changed the subject.

“Let’s talk while we eat. Everything’s getting cold.”

We gathered around Shin Byeong-cheol’s table and officially started our late-night al.

Dang Gyu-young had ordered bite-sized boneless chicken.

While Jegal So-so had brought inferno spicy tteokbokki piled with cheese.

I tasted a bite of the tteokbokki and thought:

It’s pretty spicy.

From what I’d heard, it was on par with the inferno pizza bread from the downtown area, and it was tough to handle.

My tongue was already practically numb.

I wondered how Ahn Jeong-mi had managed to finish an entire pizza bread on her own.

While recovering my sense of taste, I asked sothing that had been on my mind for a while.

“I knew you two were close, but I didn’t realize you called each other by nicknas.”

“We’ve been friends since forever.”

“We t when we were five.”

They both answered almost at the sa ti.

The Jegal and Dang families were prestigious families that maintained close ties with each other for a long ti, and it seed the two of them had grown up no differently.

Now, though Dang Gyu-young had stepped down from a direct lineage position and found herself in a sowhat ambiguous role, their friendship remained the sa.

Dang Gyu-young pointed back and forth between herself and Jegal So-so.

“So, I’m Qyu, and she’s Sho.”

Then, with a playful smirk, she turned to look at .

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Give it a try.”

“Well, I’m not really feeling it.”

“Oh, co on, just once. Please? Pretty please?”

I declined several tis, but Dang Gyu-young kept pestering persistently.

She seed to want it so badly that I figured, why not humor her? Besides, Jegal So-so was watching, and I didn’t want to lose face.

So, I looked directly at Dang Gyu-young and said briefly,

“Qyu.”

“……!”

Dang Gyu-young’s face lit up instantly.

“Do it again, more!”

“Qyu Qyu.”

“More, more, more!”

“Qyu Qyu Qyu.”

“Huhum.”

Dang Gyu-young smiled in satisfaction and started nodding approvingly.

“Great, from now on, call that.”

“That’s not happening.”

“What? Why not?”

“I just don’t like it, no reason. This was a one-ti thing.”

“See what I an? Doesn’t listen to a word I say.”

She grumbled while pointing at .

Jegal So-so alternated her gaze between us, clearly confused, before breaking into a mischievous smile.

“You’re enjoying this that much? Now I’m curious. Kim Ho, do it for too.”

“Hold on, that’s not fair.”

Dang Gyu-young suddenly interjected with a serious look on her face.

Jegal So-so frowned in confusion and asked,

“Why not?”

“Do you know how hard I worked to get this far? You can’t just skip all that. No way.”

Dang Gyu-young protested, claiming it wasn’t fair.

But Jegal So-so didn’t see the problem.

“What’s the big deal? It’s just for fun. Kim Ho, just once, co on.”

She tried coaxing gently, but I gave her an awkward smile and politely declined.

“I’ll take her side on this one. I hope you understand.”

At that, Dang Gyu-young’s expression softened, and she began patting my head and cheeks enthusiastically.

“Oh my~, our pretty Kim Ho. We’ve got to take care of you, don’t we? Want so tteokbokki?”

“I’d prefer chicken.”

“Alright, chicken it is. Say ah~.”

And then, she fed a piece of boneless chicken.

On the other hand, Jegal So-so clicked her tongue in disappointnt.

“…Tch, this isn’t as easy as I thought.”

After watching us for a mont longer, she moved on to the next topic.

“Then, can I ask you sothing else?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“That thing at the end, with all those boss room portals opening….was that you?”

Even Dang Gyu-young seed curious about this and glanced in my direction.

If it had been anyone else, I might have feigned ignorance, but these two were exceptions.

Dang Gyu-young had earned my trust after all we had been through together, and Jegal So-so had proven her discretion by keeping the Black Death dungeon incident a secret.

Besides, we had entered a hidden room together in the Teleportation Laybrinith, so there was no reason to withhold the rest of the story from them.

I pulled out the Crow Branch.

“Yes, that was . I used this.”

I explained that I had used the [Caw—!] skill to summon the gathering portals. It was a one-ti-use ability, so now the item was no more than crafting material.

Both Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so nodded their heads and seed to be satisfied, but their expressions soon changed as another question ca to mind.

Their eyes narrowed at the sa ti.

“But, young monarch, why didn’t you tell us about this earlier?”

“That’s right, young monarch. You just went in without a word.”

“We were really worried, you know, young monarch!”

They must have been upset that I entered the one-person boss room portal without providing a proper explanation, even though the talking Ooblecks had opened it for .

Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so each grabbed one of my cheeks and started pulling.

“Explain yourself, young monarch!”

“Yes, young monarch! Hurry up and explain!”

“Yesh… I’ll shell you, jush le o’ of my cheeksh firsh. (Yes… I’ll tell you, just let go of my cheeks first.)”

Only then did the two finally release their grip.

However, their hands stayed poised like claws, as if ready to attack again at any mont.

So, I quickly began to explain.

“I wanted to minimize the risks as much as possible.”

When I played Dragon Slayer Academy as a ga, the Witch of Corruption mainly occupied B-rank dungeons. This ti, however, she appeared in the Teleportation Labyrinth, which was likely due to the reincarnation quest.

Since it was an A-rank dungeon, I couldn’t guarantee my survival with my current abilities. Plus, there were too many uncertainties about how the Ooblecks might act.

For example, it was completely unexpected that the talking Oobleck Knight let in without resistance.

To account for such variables, I had decided to keep the existence of the [Summoning Portal] skill a secret until the very end.

Dang Gyu-young tilted her head in puzzlent.

“What does keeping it a secret have to do with the risks?”

“Well, if I had told you, who knows? You might’ve decided to use it yourselves instead of letting handle it.”

“…That’s true. And that wouldn’t have been okay?”

“No, it wouldn’t. You don’t have the Poison Immunity.”

The only reason I was able to et the Witch of Corruption one-on-one, drink tea with her, and walk away unscathed was because I trusted my Poison Immunity.

If not, the only chance I’d have had to use [Caw—!] would have been the mont I walked in, and even then, failure wouldn’t have been unlikely.

If I hadn’t been prepared from the start, I wouldn’t have even taken the one-person portal.

“You always try to handle everything by yourself.”

Dang Gyu-young understood my reasoning, but she still seed a little dissatisfied.

***

As we continued chatting about all sorts of trivial things, the crispy fried chicken and Inferno Tteokbokki eventually disappeared completely.

Ti passed as well, teetering between late night and early morning.

Dang Gyu-young looked outside and talked to Jegal So-so.

“Let’s wrap it up here for today. I’ll take him back.”

“Alright, I need to sleep anyway.”

Jegal So-so, seemingly of the sa mind, helped tidy up the table and left the room.

Then she waved her hand with a soft smile.

“Kim Ho, get ho safe.”

“Yes, senior-nim.”

I bowed my head in farewell and followed after Dang Gyu-young.

Since I had snuck in, I’d have to sneak back out as well.

Once again, Dang Gyu-young used her Shadow Magic to the maximum and cleared the path for us.

Before long, we were outside the dormitory.

Looking up at her window, Dang Gyu-young let out a small laugh.

“We were planning to eat quietly, just the two of us, but then Sho showed up out of nowhere.”

“It was fun, though. I’m sure we’ll get another chance to eat alone.”

“Huhum, right?”

Just as I was about to say goodbye, Dang Gyu-young took a few steps past , and then turned back.

“I think I’ll walk a little more.”

We could have parted ways here, but she insisted on walking all the way to the n’s dormitory.

Judging by her expression, she seed to have sothing else to say.

That must have been her intention from the beginning when she invited to her room.

It felt like sothing I should hear today, so I nodded my head.

“Sure, let’s do that.”

And with that, I began walking in step with Dang Gyu-young.