Chapter 1 - After My Death, I Was Reborn (Edited by Mr Editor)
I lay on the cold, tiled floor, bathed in my blood, rapidly losing it.
Glancing around my hotel room, I observed people greedily snatching up whatever they could find.
My childhood friend and crush, Pan Eun-Gyung, sat on my sofa, a sight that incited both pain and anger within me.
Amidst this dire situation, she locked eyes with me and cruelly laughed, fueling my fury.
Burning with rage, I acknowledge that her actions had led to my imminent demise.
Pan Eun-Gyung had cunningly manipulated me into inviting her to my hotel room.
Unaware of her nefarious intentions, I had extended an invitation for dinner, believing she would reciprocate my affection.
In preparation for a romantic evening, I had adorned my room with an amorous ambiance, only for it to end in tragedy.
Was the impending apocalypse the catalyst for their betrayal? The apocalyptic outbreak had begun a few months prior.
Zombies now roamed the once bustling streets of Seoul, mirroring the global chaos.
"How could you betray me?" I mustered what little power I had, my strength steadily waning.
Only a mere whisper came out even though I wanted to shout, as I confronted the inevitable.
I had been an ordinary hotel employee at the renowned Myriad Hotel, a global icon.
With the onset of the apocalypse, I rallied the residents, fortifying the hotel into an impregnable stronghold.
Yet now, those same supporters had turned into conspirators, orchestrating my murder.
"Tae Hyun-Seok, why wouldn't we betray you? Look at the hoarded supplies you possess; do you truly believe we'd remain loyal?" Pan Eun-Gyung's words were laced with deep hatred and malice, as she approached, her foot pressing into the deep stab wound.
She was correct.
In the aftermath of the apocalypse, everyone sought essential supplies for survival.
The collective betrayal was not shocking, yet my naive perception of friendship and camaraderie proved heartbreaking.
Amidst the irony, I found myself chuckling.
"Your voice is as irritating as ever. Allow me to assist you in silencing it," Pan Eun-Gyung remarked sadistically, using a dagger to part my throat.
Crimson liquid flowed, breath eluded me, vision dimmed, and my body grew heavy—blood loss too severe to endure.
Was this my destined end? No, survival consumed my thoughts. I yearned for their downfall, to thrive and avenge.
...
"I must not succumb!" I erupted, jolting awake. How was I conscious? Wasn't I on the verge of death?
Why did I lie on a plush bed, not the cold floor? And why this discernible chill?
Questions spiraled as I surveyed my surroundings, everything awry.
*BUZZ
A phone vibrated.
My phone, lost amid the zombie struggle, now rested in my palm. Or had I dreamt it?
The screen glowed, and I sought the date online.
"Today's date is 6th June 2189."
Six months before the apocalypse, had fate granted me a second chance?
Could vengeance be mine?
Researching, I located a genetic engineering facility in Japan, the birthplace of the zombie apocalypse.
The Virus Engineering and Research Facility, Tokyo, engineered the Z-Virus which also called Walker's Syndrome, inadvertently setting the apocalypse in motion.
*RING
An incoming call, my best friend Choi Woo-Sung.
He was also an employee of the same hotel I was working who would be going to get promoted to be Hotel Manager today.
He'd joined Pan Eun-Gyung's betrayal, plunging a dagger into my heart.
I answered, feigning ignorance pretending to be a friend, biding my time.
"Why interrupt my morning?" I queried with feigned affability.
"Where are you? The interview is just about to start..."
Amusement welled inside my mind as this was the same ploy he used to take the job for himself in the past. As I now knew his trash plot I would simply enjoy myself.
"Use Tai Leng Road, there is minimal traffic so you will get here quickly." He lied that bastard. When I listened to his advice in past, I was stuck in heavy traffic and got late for the interview resulting him taking that job easily.
"Thanks for your kind advice." I responded before ending the call.
For vengeance, I need power so I need that hotel manager job.
Dressed in a suit, I stared at the reflection. My black hair, azure blue eyes and pale skin made me look handsome; a face forgotten during the apocalypse.
"Time for revenge," I resolved, stepping out.
[Host hasn't reached the requirement to log into the Hotel Manager System]
"What's this now?"