The Support Ate it All - Chapter 576: Gyu’s Little Cousin

To Dang Eunbi, Dang Gyu-young was technically a cousin, but in her heart, they were more like a real older sister.

Just as her brothers cherished Dang Gyu-young, Dang Gyu-young had cherished her, too.

And to her, Dang Gyu-young was someone to admire from afar.

Talent so outstanding that everyone in the clan praised it in unison, plus a charm and charisma that pulled people in and took control of the room.

She never doubted Dang Gyu-young would someday sit in a core position.

But then one day, Dang Gyu-young vanished from the Dang family without warning.

For a freer life, they threw away everything they could have held in their hands.

She’d felt hurt, but she didn’t come to hate Dang Gyu-young like the other household members did.

She just hoped they were doing well, wherever they were.

And then time passed……

As usual, Dang Eunbi was in the medicine hall, researching mixtures of various poisons and pharmaceuticals.

But then, in a rare occurrence, her brothers came to see her and brought it up.

“Gyu-young came.”

“H-Huh? Sis?!”

Dang Eunbi’s eyes went wide in shock.

Then her brothers answered in turns.

“What are you so surprised about?”

“You must have already heard.”

“You’d been waiting in front of the guest annex early.”

“Thanks to that, we were able to see them right away.”

“You should go too.”

Dang Eunbi immediately abandoned what she was doing and sprang up.

“I’m going!”

And she sprinted for the guest annex.

After she sent word and waited a moment, the cousin-sister she’d missed so much opened the door and came out.

They’d grown up—different now—but still unmistakably the person who’d stayed in Dang Eunbi’s memory.

To keep herself from crying, Dang Eunbi threw herself into Dang Gyu-young’s arms and whined on purpose.

“Why did you only come now…… I missed you……”

After the overwhelming reunion came the time to introduce everyone.

When Dang Eunbi faced Seo Ye-in, an awed exclamation slipped out inside her head.

Wow…….

She was so pretty she looked like a doll.

And the slightly sleepy look on her face somehow made her feel even more mysterious.

But then—what about this man named Kim Ho?

The word that flashed through her mind the instant she saw him was—

Bad guy. Total bad guy.

If she had to be precise, he was the handsome type, but overall he gave off a wicked impression.

And his eyes were especially nasty.

I shouldn’t judge by looks.

Whether he was truly a wicked person was something she’d only know after seeing more.

Still, what could she do? She didn’t like his first impression.

The bigger issue was that the relationship between those three didn’t look normal.

Dang Gyu-young had described Kim Ho as “someone a bit closer than a junior,” but in reality they seemed far closer than that.

The honey-dripping gaze only strengthened the suspicion.

My sister……!

With a bad guy like that!

And to make it worse, even Seo Ye-in seemed to be showing affection toward Kim Ho.

Sticking right to him, refusing to separate.

My senior……!

With a wicked guy like that!

Of course, there had to be a reason they were that close.

But even if she understood it rationally, emotionally she couldn’t accept it so easily.

I can’t accept this.

Dang Eunbi could feel her dissatisfaction toward Kim Ho growing by the second.

And she wasn’t the type to grit her teeth and swallow it when she disliked someone.

He is a guest, but……

Giving him a little trouble should be fine.

In the Dang family’s own way.

*****

That evening.

At the clan head’s order, a formal dinner was held, and both household members and guests attended.

Normally it would have been loud and lively, like a banquet, but the atmosphere in the hall was heavy and rigid.

Most of the conversation was nothing more than whispers among people who were close.

You could practically hear the clink of utensils more clearly than voices.

The cause, of course, was Dang Gyu-young returning after years.

The only ones showing warmth to their group were Dang Ilbi and Dang Hanbi, the siblings including Dang Eunbi, and a tiny portion of the household.

Everyone else’s eyes were uncomfortable to the point of being unpleasant.

Dang Eunbi sighed inwardly.

She glanced at the clan head at the seat of honor and thought,

Did you really have to go this far?

They must have known the mood would turn ugly.

And yet they’d held the formal dinner and gathered the household into one place.

Of course, she could understand the intent to some extent.

Whether sooner or later, it was going to happen anyway.

Rather than dragging it out, settle it early—get it all over with at once.

But still… wasn’t this excessive?

At the seat beside her, other cousins were busy talking behind backs.

“Seriously, that face is shameless.”

“Runs off like that, then comes back like nothing happened.”

“How is she even swallowing food right now?”

“She suffered out there and realized it. This place was paradise.”

Fire shot from Dang Eunbi’s eyes.

It was a long time ago, but she remembered her sister treating them well—how could they spew that kind of filth?

That’s it.

Even patience had limits.

Dang Eunbi discreetly lowered her hand under the table.

When she raised it again, a thin ring was on her index finger.

—CLICK—

She twisted the ring slightly, and an extremely faint vibration traveled through it.

And along with that tiny vibration, an opening so small it was almost invisible appeared.

With that, she flicked her index finger.

A translucent drop flew into each cousin’s plate and mixed into their food.

The poisoning was so covert and fast they didn’t notice at all.

They kept eating, still tearing into Dang Gyu-young.

“I heard they were even talking about expulsion.”

“Honestly, that’s right. Doesn’t use poison, doesn’t use hidden weapons, throws away martial arts and switches to magic. Where’s the Dang blood in that?”

The effect was immediate.

The cousins paused mid-sentence, then stared at each other with faces turning ashen.

“Hey, wait…….”

“Me too……”

Trembling, they stood up and staggered away.

Dang Eunbi glanced at them and snorted.

“Hmph.”

Next target was Kim Ho across from her.

No matter how many times she looked, she didn’t like him, so she decided to go through with the original plan.

Still, compared to those cousins, his “crime” was lighter, so she chose a relatively weaker poison.

—CLICK—

She twisted the ring again, revealing a different opening.

Inside was—

The poison that makes you unable to stop sneezing.

You’d sneeze nonstop, draw everyone’s attention in the hall, and be overwhelmed by uncontrollable humiliation.

Just then, Kim Ho was being pressed by the combined attack of Dang Ilbi and Dang Hanbi.

“I can’t understand it.”

“The guest annex is huge and there are plenty of rooms—why use just one?”

“Where are you planning to sleep?”

“Don’t tell me it’s one bed.”

“Do you want to melt into a puddle of blood?”

Dang Eunbi had been curious about that too.

From how rumpled those three looked earlier, it seemed like they’d been lying down and had just gotten up.

…That’s not what matters right now.

Right now, she needed to focus on poisoning, not satisfying her curiosity.

Dang Eunbi watched her target’s every move, waiting for an opening.

And the moment Kim Ho answered with a troubled look—

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. Actually—”

She flicked her index finger lightly.

A drop smaller than a grain of millet cut through the air and fell into the center of Kim Ho’s teacup.

This one was clean, too—but not clean enough to fool her brothers’ eyes.

Dang Ilbi and Dang Hanbi exchanged subtle glances.

Eunbi’s pulling another nasty prank.

What didn’t she like this time?

Either way, we should stop it.

We can’t let him be embarrassed on the first day.

For now, letting him know was the best move.

They tried to stop Kim Ho just as he grabbed the teacup.

“Wait.”

“It’s fine.”

But Kim Ho casually raised the teacup to his lips and drained it in one pull.

A triumphant smile formed at Dang Eunbi’s mouth.

Got him.

Soon, a festival of unstoppable sneezing would begin.

Three, two…… one, as the medicine kicked in.

One, one, one! One?

But no matter how many times she repeated one, Kim Ho didn’t sneeze—he didn’t even look like his nose tickled.

He simply continued speaking as if nothing happened.

“It’s hard to explain in detail, but I possess a unique trait.”

“…I see. If you have a trait. But is that okay?”

“What do you mean, okay?”

“No, never mind.”

The twins waved it off.

Normally they would have pushed harder, but what they’d just seen had startled them enough to break the flow.

Of course, the most startled person was Dang Eunbi—the one who had done the poisoning.

Why is he fine?

What went wrong?

Was the poison too weak?

Or did she add too little?

Questions piled onto questions, but there was no way she’d get an answer like that.

There was only one way to figure it out.

Try again.

She had to increase the sample size.

A stubborn competitiveness even flared up inside her.

—CLICK—

The ring turned again, switching poison types.

To make absolutely sure it worked this time, she chose something stronger.

The poison that makes you unable to hold back laughter.

Your abs would start pulling nonstop, and laughter would burst out regardless of your will.

The mood in the hall still couldn’t be called good—if someone started laughing uncontrollably, they’d draw everyone’s glares.

It might even feel like he’s mocking them.

That man’s eyes looked nasty enough for that to fit, too.

And if he got twice the glares for it, that would be an ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) even better show for Dang Eunbi.

Finding her opening, she flicked her finger again.

A drop from the ring mixed into the teacup.

And Kim Ho brought it to his mouth again.

Good. It went in properly.

Dang Eunbi cheered internally.

Soon he’d start grinning like an idiot.

But……

No matter how long she waited, Kim Ho’s mouth didn’t even twitch upward.

With an utterly ordinary expression, he continued trading words with Dang Gyu-young.

“What did I tell you? I said people would talk.”

“Looked like you explained it well.”

“It’s hard to say this is over.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Watching them, suspicion slowly lifted its head inside Dang Eunbi.

…Did I mess something up?

Maybe she’d mixed the poison wrong, or an impurity had gotten in without her noticing.

If so, it was totally possible it wouldn’t work.

Once the suspicion started, she couldn’t endure it.

So, unable to resist the impulse, Dang Eunbi decided to confirm it immediately.

She tapped the ring against the back of her hand and shook it, then licked up the single drop that fell onto her skin.

And after waiting a moment—

…Nothing. Seriously nothing.

The wind went out of her.

How could she make such a pathetic mistake?

When she got back, she’d have to check everything from start to finish.

That was when it happened.

Her abs started pulling like crazy.

“Hngh, kh—h-heh.”

She clenched her teeth and fought it with everything she had, but laughter kept leaking out against her will.

“Heh-heh—khk—heh-khk.”

As Dang Eunbi giggled like an idiot, the hall’s attention began focusing on her.

Cousins. Adults.

Some wore looks of disbelief, and some glared as if to scold her—Is this really the time to laugh?

The situation was spiraling into something she couldn’t handle, so Dang Eunbi shoved her chair back and stood up.

“Excuse me—heh-heh.”

And then she bolted out of the hall.