The Prince on a White Horse
The door to the treatment room closed with a heavy thud as Cha Seol-ah stepped out.
Eun Ye-rin remained alone in the dark room, quietly straining her ears.
"..."
After a moment, the sound of Cha Seol-ah and a man laughing and chatting drifted through the door.
They giggled together before moving into another room.
Slap. Slap.
Soon came the sticky, wet sound of flesh slapping against flesh.
"Hngh. Ah, right there..."
The slick, lewd moans leaking through the wall.
It was the sound of Cha Seol-ah and security team leader Oh Jeong-hyeon entangled together.
"...Hah! Haang!"
As if she wanted Eun Ye-rin to hear every second of it, Cha Seol-ah moaned without the slightest restraint.
At the disgusting noises coming from the other side of the wall, Eun Ye-rin covered her ears and curled into a ball on the floor.
Haang— Haang—
Every time the cries from the inner room pierced her eardrums, Eun Ye-rin bit down hard on her lip.
The sense of isolation she felt whenever her "sister" gave her body to those men.
It was as if she were the only outsider in their private kingdom.
No—not even an outsider. Just a convenient first-aid kit to be used and set aside.
Even so, she had no desire to join them.
She only wanted...
I want to leave this place.
She didn't want to stay here another second—trapped between people who hated her and men who lusted after her body.
She didn't want to depend on the murderers who had killed the one person she held dear.
She simply wanted to run.
"..."
Eun Ye-rin glanced around the room, then slipped a hand into her clothes.
Her fingertips brushed against a hard, worn plastic case. She pulled it out carefully—an employee ID card attached to a blood-stained lanyard.
Inside was the photo of a woman with neatly tied hair and a bright, warm smile.
Manager Hyeon-jeong. The woman who had cherished her like a real little sister ever since their trainee days.
The other group members, managers, and staff had all been too afraid of Cha Seol-ah to protect her, but Manager Hyeon-jeong had always stood on her side.
Yet her only ally had become a cold corpse behind the stadium stage on the day the world ended.
Eun Ye-rin's gaze lingered on the dark, clotted blood staining the corner of the ID card.
The nightmare of that day surged back with vivid clarity.
Hordes of zombies tearing into people. Corridors filled with screams and the thick stench of blood.
In the chaos, Manager Hyeon-jeong had been lying on the floor, bleeding out.
And beside the body, Cha Seol-ah had sat clutching her face with both hands, weeping theatrically.
A zombie... a zombie bit her! It was supposed to be me instead...!
The surviving managers and security guards had offered her sympathetic comfort.
But Eun Ye-rin hadn't believed a word.
When Cha Seol-ah had wailed and covered her face, Eun Ye-rin had clearly seen the cuts on both of her palms.
More than anything, Cha Seol-ah's habit of biting her nails had confirmed it.
She was lying.
The wound on Manager Hyeon-jeong's back, the glass cuts on Cha Seol-ah's palms, and that telltale habit when she lied.
Manager Hyeon-jeong hadn't been bitten by a zombie. Cha Seol-ah had killed her—and stolen the Skill Slot ability she had awakened.
All while hiding her own true unique skill.
Cha Seol-ah's real skill is something else.
She had probably used it to seduce and control Oh Jeong-hyeon and the security team, keeping them wrapped around her finger.
But Eun Ye-rin had never dared speak the truth of that day aloud.
No one would believe her, and she couldn't risk provoking Cha Seol-ah.
If that woman's mood ever shifted and she decided to hand Eun Ye-rin over to the men...
"..."
Eun Ye-rin remembered the gaze of the private security guard she had treated a few days earlier.
His eyes had crawled over her sweat-dampened neck and the cleavage that rose and fell with every breath.
Though he held himself back, those were the eyes of a predator ready to devour its prey at any moment.
The second the chains of control loosened even slightly, these men would turn into starving wolves and descend on her.
All she could do was keep her mouth shut and perform her duties in silence.
Just as she had before the world fell apart.
"...Is any of this even meaningful?"
Eun Ye-rin trembled, the plastic bag in her hands rustling softly.
She wasn't a fool. She knew exactly what was happening outside, why Cha Seol-ah kept her untouched, and every vile thing the woman had done and continued to do.
Even knowing all of it, she had endured.
No matter what her "sister" whispered behind her back, no matter how she sowed discord between Eun Ye-rin and the other members or managers.
Even the subtle gaslighting designed to make her dependent—she had borne it all.
The idol life she had dreamed of. If she could just keep receiving the fans' love and attention...
She hadn't wanted to lose everything over pointless scandals, nor disappoint the fans who believed in her.
She had convinced herself that if she simply endured and worked harder, everything would resolve itself.
Work harder. Smile brighter. Push further.
Even when it hurt, she had smiled. She had worked harder than anyone.
She had believed that one day the light would come.
That she would escape this hell.
That her prince on a white horse would appear and save her.
But now...
"It's all pointless, isn't it?"
Eun Ye-rin fought back the tears threatening to spill.
After everything she had endured, what had come for her wasn't a prince—it was a deeper, crueler hell than before.
In this broken world, the fans who once cheered for her were gone. The shield of law and order had vanished, leaving only men who eyed her body like starving beasts.
And the only thing standing between her and those wolves was Cha Seol-ah—the very demon who had tormented her all this time.
She couldn't expose the wicked woman's crimes. She couldn't avenge Manager Hyeon-jeong. All she could do was watch Cha Seol-ah's mood and dread the moment the men would finally take her.
Working as a healing slave, starving, enduring every humiliation and injustice—that was her reality now.
Eun Ye-rin buried her face between her knees, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Someone... please..."
Save me.
If only someone could pull her from this hell and deliver judgment to those who had tormented her.
That person would truly be the prince she had waited for.
BANG—!
At that moment, a violent tremor shook the soundproof door of the waiting room.
Startled, Eun Ye-rin flinched and lifted her head.
The noise outside swelled rapidly. The locked waiting room door burst open with a violent crash.
"Close the door! Close it now!"
The men rushing inside were the private security guards who had been stationed outside.
The one in front had a massive chunk of flesh torn from his shoulder to his chest, blood pouring freely.
The two men behind him collapsed as well, bleeding heavily from their legs.
The waiting room floor turned scarlet in seconds.
"Quickly! Heal! I need healing!"
The guard with the chest wound vomited blood as he staggered into the treatment room and clutched desperately at Eun Ye-rin's pant leg.
The sudden uproar made the bedroom door fly open. Cha Seol-ah rushed out, hastily yanking up her wrinkled skirt.
Oh Jeong-hyeon followed right behind, buckling his belt with frantic hands.
"What the hell happened?!"
Oh Jeong-hyeon roared, eyes bloodshot. One of the guards sprawled on the floor shouted back at him.
"Leader! The biker gang and the fan club bastards just started moving!"
"What? Why?"
Oh Jeong-hyeon frowned.
The delicate three-way standoff between the biker gang, the fan club, and the security team had been held together only by mutual wariness.
That fragile balance had suddenly shattered.
"I-I don't know the details! They're in complete chaos over there too...!"
"Damn it. Why the sudden bullshit?"
"Looks like they drove zombies toward us. The corridor barricade's collapsed. At this rate..."
While Oh Jeong-hyeon and the guards tried to grasp the situation, Eun Ye-rin examined the chest wound with trembling hands.
Szzz—
Blue mana flickered and seeped into the bleeding gash.
But the wound was too deep, too wide. And there wasn't just one injured man groaning in pain.
"Me too! Heal me too!"
The guard with the injured leg roughly yanked her shoulder. Eun Ye-rin lost her balance and fell to the floor.
"Wait—please, just a moment..."
Her face pale, she reached out again, trying to summon more mana, but it was impossible.
She had already exhausted her reserves treating the continuous stream of injured men.
The blue healing light flickered weakly and died.
Drip—
Blood trickled from Eun Ye-rin's nose, spattering the floor.
Her vision spun. Her breath caught in her throat.
She had already used too much mana earlier and hadn't recovered.
"Ugh..."
Eun Ye-rin collapsed, blood streaming from her nose. The moment the healing light vanished, terror of death flooded the guards' eyes.
"...Get up. Heal me, damn it!"
The chest-wounded guard slapped her cheek with a blood-smeared hand.
Slap!
Her head snapped to the side. Her cheek swelled red, her lip split, filling her mouth with the metallic taste of blood.
"Fuck! We're all going to die and you're just lying there?!"
The guard raised his hand again, but Oh Jeong-hyeon grabbed his wrist.
"Enough. Her mana is depleted, you idiot. You want to beat the healer to death?"
Oh Jeong-hyeon shoved the furious guard aside and barked orders at the men by the door.
"Lock the main door tight and barricade it with furniture. Keep watch on the situation outside, treat the wounded, and stand by."
Time passed. Dawn approached.
A heavy silence had settled over the waiting room.
"Ughhh..."
The air was thick with the stench of blood and the groans of the injured.
Thud. Thud.
Outside, zombies hammered on the door after climbing over the desk barricade.
The crisis only worsened. The breathing of the chest-wounded guard lying in the corner grew increasingly labored.
"Gasp... Haaah..."
It sounded as if his lungs were filling with blood.
Eun Ye-rin pressed trembling hands against his chest, desperately trying to staunch the bleeding, but fresh blood kept surging from the wound.
She was only an ordinary person with a healing skill. She had no medical knowledge for situations like this.
"Gasp... Hack..."
His body convulsed once, then went completely limp.
Oh Jeong-hyeon checked his pulse, then withdrew his hand with a grim expression.
"Hyeon-su is dead."
Those words froze the air in the waiting room.
"..."
A colleague's death.
Zombies pounding on the door outside.
The biker gang and fan club now on the move.
Survival until morning seemed anything but certain.
The guard with the injured leg slammed his fist against the floor.
"Fuck!"
His bloodshot eyes turned toward Eun Ye-rin.
"What good is a healer if she can't even save one person?!"
At his outburst, the other guards glared at her as well.
"If those bastards break down the door, we're all dead anyway. This bitch will get fucked to death too."
"..."
The men's eyes slowly turned feral. The extreme terror of imminent death and the grief of losing a comrade had shattered the dam of lust Cha Seol-ah had kept suppressed.
The leg-wounded guard staggered to his feet, palms slick with blood.
"Since we're all going to die anyway, let's have a taste of her before we go."
"Yeah. How long are we supposed to wait? We already agreed we'd all take turns with her eventually."
The men began advancing on Eun Ye-rin.
She trembled violently and crawled backward.
"W-why are you doing this... I don't want this..."
Realizing the men were slipping from her control, Cha Seol-ah stepped forward urgently. She didn't care if Eun Ye-rin was raped, but if the men started acting on their own, she would lose her dominance.
She grabbed Oh Jeong-hyeon's arm tightly and activated her innate skill, Charm.
A strange blue light flickered in her eyes.
"Jeong-hyeon, calm the boys down. You need to stop them..."
But Oh Jeong-hyeon averted his gaze from hers and shook off her hand.
"Enough. What's the point now?"
The terror of invading external forces and zombies, combined with the fresh death of a comrade right before their eyes—the sheer weight of real, immediate death had rendered Cha Seol-ah's brainwashing powerless.
Even Oh Jeong-hyeon shoved her aside roughly and began unbuckling his belt.
Clink.
"D-don't come near me!"
As the men closed in, Eun Ye-rin scrambled backward across the blood-smeared floor, but—
"Kyaaaak!"
One guard's hand seized her ankle and yanked her forward.
Her back slammed against the cold floor as she was dragged toward them.
"Come here, you fucking bitch."
"How long are you going to keep acting all pure? You think you're still the old Eun Ye-rin?"
"The world's gone to shit and you're still playing hard to get? Haven't you seen your sister spreading her legs?"
"N-no! Stop!"
The men, reason completely lost, descended on her.
One guard twisted both her arms above her head and pinned them to the floor. Another forced her kicking legs apart and held them down with his knees.
Riiip—
Her training top tore away. Her wide jeans were yanked down.
Soon only her gray underwear remained. Cool air brushed against the bare skin of her thighs.
Gulp.
"Huk..."
The men stared down at her nearly naked body and swallowed heavily.
Eun Ye-rin—center of the popular idol group Angelic, the very symbol of purity and innocence.
To pin her to the floor today and thrust their cocks into her virgin body... nothing could be more arousing.
They would make her scream all night until she was covered in their cum.
"Stay still. I'll make you feel good before you die."
"Huuuk."
The men's ragged breathing, the stench of sweat, and the thick metallic reek of blood assaulted Eun Ye-rin's senses.
Oh Jeong-hyeon finished unzipping his pants and climbed on top of her lower body.
"N-no! Get off me!"
Eun Ye-rin shook her head wildly, squeezing her eyes shut.
She tried to curl into a ball to protect herself, but her arms and legs were held fast by strong men. She couldn't move a single finger.
"Fuck, her skin is so soft. What the hell has she been eating to look this good?"
Rough hands began groping her bare flesh.
Merciless fingers creeping toward her most intimate places.
Eun Ye-rin bit her lip hard, tears streaming down her face.
Please...
She had lived her entire life striving with everything she had. No matter how hard or painful, she had never complained. She had believed she would one day see the light.
Yet both before the apocalypse and after it, only hell had waited for her.
The prince on a white horse who will save me...
Such a fairy-tale savior had never existed.
There was only cold, merciless reality crushing her down.
Just as she lay pinned beneath the men about to violate her, her eyes empty as she gave up on everything—
BOOM—!
A deafening explosion shook the waiting room. The iron door leading to the corridor was ripped completely off its hinges.
The shattered door crashed to the floor with a thunderous clang.
"...Huh?"
"It's breached?"
The men's movements froze instantly at the sudden turn of events.
Oh Jeong-hyeon turned his head, hand still on her thigh. The guards pinning Eun Ye-rin's limbs stiffened like statues.
Eun Ye-rin stared blankly toward the doorway as well.
Sssss—
White dust billowed up from the torn doorframe.
Within the swirling dust, the empty space shimmered like heat haze. Slowly, the silhouette of a man took form.
In his right hand, a three-section staff dripped with fresh blood. In his left, he held a pistol.
Step.
The man stood in the ruined doorway amid dust and the stench of blood.
He smiled and spoke.