The Support Ate it All-Chapter 320 - 18th Week Final Exam (13)

When we stepped out of the control room, countless eyes turned toward them.

Some belonged to challengers waiting for their turn, while others were simply curious onlookers eager to see the outcome.

Amid the murmuring crowd, bits of conversation reached their ears.

– Wow, they actually did it.

– Wasn’t that a given? Just look at their lineup.

– Still, I didn’t think they’d pull it off. Their opponent was the Human Butcher, after all.

Since no one had been able to see what happened inside, they couldn’t know the exact details of the battle. But the result was clear for all to see.

The control room lever had been pulled.

All the traps in the area had completely shut down, and the ghost monsters had vanished without a trace.

This state would last for the next twelve hours.

If another team managed to break through the control room during that time, the countdown would reset and extend by another twelve hours.

Of course, the idea of Lee Soo-dok losing to anyone other than us was unimaginable, so in reality, we had precisely twelve hours left.

And the best course of action they could take during that time was—

We need to finish this. The final exam.

Go Hyeon-woo seemed to have similar thoughts as he asked,

“Are we exiting right away?”

“No. It’s better to take a breather first.”

“And why is that?”

“Because we don’t know what’s waiting for us when we get there.”

The final exam would officially end the moment we reached the exit and submitted our cheese boxes.

In other words, until that point, it wasn’t over.

There was always the possibility that someone could try to steal the boxes from us.

Go Hyeon-woo’s gaze deepened.

“…I see. If someone were to set an ambush for the boxes, the area near the exit would be the perfect spot.”

“That’s right.”

The hyenas were bound to be far more concentrated near the exit than in the cheese room.

If they managed to snatch even one or two cheese boxes to wrap up the final exam, they could pocket the point gains without having to worry about losing them afterward.

And until we got there, we had no way of knowing just how many hyenas were lurking or how many among them were skilled enough to be in the 900-point range.

Go Hyeon-woo gave a small nod.

“In that case, conserving our strength, even just a little, seems like the best choice.”

“We need to replenish our numbers and recover our stamina.”

Teammates who had been expelled from the dungeon would be able to return after six hours.

If we used that time to recover our strength, we could enter the final battle in peak condition.

So our next destination was a hidden room where we could rest.

The only issue was that rest rooms were designed for six people, meaning it would be too cramped if we brought the entire group.

Once the expelled members rejoined us, it would be completely packed.

With that in mind, I made a suggestion to the two disciplinary committee members.

“I’ll mark the locations of other rooms for you, so how about you rest there and meet up with us later?”

“Sounds good!”

“We’d appreciate that.”

Han So-mi and Song Cheon-hye accepted without hesitation.

Finding a hidden room was already half the struggle, and since I was giving them the exact location, there was no reason for them to refuse.

Besides, the more space we had to rest, the better.

Just before we left, Han So-mi suddenly tugged on Go Hyeon-woo’s sleeve.

“Come with me for a moment!”

“For what reason?”

“Just hurry!”

“…Alright.”

Go Hyeon-woo let out a small, helpless smile before following her as if he had no choice. The two of them moved quite a distance away before starting their conversation.

Back in the cheese room, Go Hyeon-woo had put up a solid wall between them. But now, the atmosphere between them didn’t seem so bad.

Maybe he did that on purpose back then.

People’s feelings were always unpredictable.

As she watched the scene unfold, Song Cheon-hye let out a small cough before finally speaking.

“Ahem… I have something to say as well…”

“Yes! Dear fan! Please, go ahead!”

I exaggeratedly bowed as I replied.

I hadn’t forgotten her remark in the control room about how she collected every episode of Kim Ho Replay.

Song Cheon-hye shuddered.

“S-Stop that. And just forget about it.”

“No way! How could I ever forget the generosity of the esteemed Kim Ho Replay Collector VIP Queen of Queens Song Cheon-hye?”

“I said, stop it!”

She shouted with her face turning bright red.

After fuming for a moment, she took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing.

“I’ll… send you a message after finals.”

“Suit yourself.”

I didn’t even need to ask what it was about.

It’s got to be about Hummingbird.

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She struggled to control just one, while I had simultaneously moved six and landed most of my shots. Moreover, it was against none other than our teacher Lee Soo-dok.

She probably had a million questions, but with so many eyes on us, her pride wouldn’t allow her to ask now. She was saving it for later.

From my perspective, it didn’t matter when she asked. I wasn’t planning to tell her anyway, so I had no reason to refuse.

Next, I turned to Park Na-ri.

“Contact your team. Until they come to pick you up, stick with us.”

“O-Okay. Just a moment…”

She mumbled nervously into her radio.

The two disciplinary committee members would be fine on their own, but if Park Na-ri went off alone, she’d be an easy target for the hyenas lurking around.

Might as well see this through to the end.

I wasn’t obligated to, but since I was the one who suggested bringing her along, it only felt right to stick with her until the end.

Besides, maintaining good relationships always paid off in the long run.

Who knew? I might need to borrow another “Cube of Life” someday.

With our next course of action decided—

It was time to divide the items.

The items we had hauled from the control room—

Even without counting the cheese boxes, there were thirteen in total.

I looked around at the group and made a suggestion.

“Let’s split them 3:2:1 according to our numbers.”

Our team had six people, the disciplinary committee had four, and Park Na-ri’s team had two.

Just then, Han So-mi who had returned at some point shot her hand into the air.

“Objection!”

“You have the floor.”

“If we divide them by headcount! It won’t be fair!”

To be fair, not everyone had pulled their weight equally during the control room raid.

Baek Jun-seok had turned into fifty Jun-seoks as soon as the fight began and Shin Byeong-cheol had set a few traps before promptly losing his head. Literally.

On top of that, even in my eyes, Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in’s skills were a bit lacking compared to the promising students and the disciplinary committee members.

They were probably somewhere around 0.8 to 0.9 of a promising student’s level.

So, rather than splitting the loot based on numbers, dividing it according to contribution seemed fairer.

I had hoped to brush past the issue, but of course, that wasn’t going to work.

I silently nodded before making another proposal.

“Then how about your side takes one extra? Deal?”

“Deal!”

We split the cheese boxes into six, five, and two, and everyone seemed reasonably satisfied.

After that, we sent Song Cheon-hye and Han So-mi on their way, agreeing to meet again tomorrow. I also helped Park Na-ri reunite with Kwak Ji-cheol’s group.

Then, we headed toward a nearby hidden room.

Looking around the space—

It’s pretty much the same as yesterday.

There was no furniture or fixtures, just enough room for six people to lie down.

Setting aside the strange sense of familiarity, we quickly replenished our energy with some calorie bars.

Then I looked at the group and said,

“Let’s get some rest.”

“Buttler pillow.”

Seo Ye-in immediately grabbed onto my sleeve.

She had even set up two sleeping bags side by side in the corner.

“You’re telling me to sleep there?”

“Just come with your body.”

“…Where did you even learn that?”

Meanwhile, Hong Yeon-hwa darted her eyes around and cautiously gauged the situation.

“I, I…”

As she hesitated, she slowly inched toward the opposite wall. But before she could claim the spot, Go Hyeon-woo had already settled there.

He said with a wry smile, as if in apology.

“I intend to substitute rest with energy circulation. I’ve never needed much sleep to begin with.”

“Oh… is that so?”

“But as you may know, Miss Hong, being interrupted during energy circulation can be dangerous. So if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you could maintain a bit of distance.”

“Uh, mhmm. Sure….”

Hong Yeon-hwa gave a hesitant nod.

Then, she laid out her sleeping bag in an awkward spot between Go Hyeon-woo and the rest of us.

***

Late at night.

Hong Yeon-hwa stared blankly at the ceiling.

She took a moment for deep contemplation.

Why? Why can’t I fall asleep?

Fatigue had built up considerably, and she had been lying down for quite some time.

She hadn’t even chugged coffee concentrate like she usually did.

Unlike the previous night, Baek Jun-seok wasn’t snoring loudly.

In his place, Go Hyeon-woo was there, but he remained silent in a corner and was solely focused on energy circulation.

Then why?

Why was it that, even in these perfect conditions, she still couldn’t sleep?

A sense of injustice welled up inside her.

They’re all sleeping just fine…

Kim Ho and Seo Ye-in had dozed off the moment they lay down.

To be able to sleep anywhere so easily….was that the power of the “Kim Ho Pillow”?

So envious…

Must be nice…

Maybe I should…?

Tonight too…?

Should she secretly use the “Kim Ho Pillow” again?

Hong Yeon-hwa’s thoughts began tilting in a dangerous direction.

Tonight, we’re even closer…

She had laid out her sleeping bag right in the center of the room to avoid disrupting Go Hyeon-woo’s energy circulation.

As a result, her starting position was close to Kim Ho’s sleeping bag.

If she so much as mumbled in her sleep and rolled over just a little, she would probably end up touching him.

But just as she was about to move, a thought held Hong Yeon-hwa back.

What if I oversleep again?

Hadn’t she already spent the entire morning rambling excuses to Kim Ho about why her sleeping bag had somehow ended up stuck to his?

The more she thought about it, the more humiliating it felt. Frustrated, she kicked at her poor sleeping bag.

Then, all of a sudden, a realization struck her, and she froze in place.

Wait… he didn’t really seem to care, did he?

While she had been desperately explaining herself, Kim Ho had only asked her one thing.

– So, did you get some good rest?

– Huh? M-Mhmm …

–Then that’s fine.

He had acted as if nothing else really mattered.

Thinking about it that way, maybe this wasn’t such a big deal after all.

After some internal debate, Hong Yeon-hwa made up her mind.

Tonight too… I roll.

And so, she started rolling toward Kim Ho.

Once.

Twice.

Just one more roll and their sleeping bags would be touching.

But at that very moment, Kim Ho, who she had thought was fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes and looked straight at her.

Hong Yeon-hwa nearly passed out from shock.

Kyaaaaaaah!!

Did she wake him up with all her rustling?

Or had he been awake this whole time?

Honestly, it didn’t matter.

The fact remained that she had been caught red-handed.

R-R-Retreat! Retreat…!

She tried to roll back in the opposite direction, but her body refused to move and remained frozen in place.

Meanwhile, Kim Ho simply watched her with his usual indifferent gaze.

Then, after a moment, he asked,

“You can’t sleep?”

“W-Mell… um… m-mhmm…”

Hong Yeon-hwa desperately searched for an excuse, but in the end, she could only let out a deep sigh.

At this point, what was the use in trying to explain?

She was just about to apologize when Kim Ho shifted his gaze toward the ceiling and said,

“Go ahead.”

“…H-Huh?”

Hong Yeon-hwa blinked her eyes.

For a moment, she wondered if she had misheard.

But then, Kim Ho spoke again in his usual indifferent tone.

“If you can’t sleep, just move your sleeping bag closer.”

“Are… are you sure?”

“What difference does one more person make?”

He was already being used as a Kim Ho Pillow, so what was the big deal if one more person stuck close?

Thinking it over, she realized he had a point.

It wasn’t like she was going to be hugging him. It would be just pressing their sleeping bags together. There was no reason to make a fuss over it.

Even so, Hong Yeon-hwa hesitated.

“Are you really… okay with this?”

“I said I’m fine. But if you don’t want to, forget it. I’m going back to sleep.”

With that, Kim Ho turned over and settled in again.

Hong Yeon-hwa wrestled with her thoughts for a moment, but not for long.

In the end, she quietly scooted over and placed her sleeping bag next to his.

And within five seconds, she was fast asleep.