Chapter 7 : Met an Angel

I’m starving.

Lee Hyuk opened the fridge door, hoping against hope for some overlooked food.

But all that greeted him was the dark, powerless interior, as empty as his stomach.

Nothing.

‘Damn it, of all times for zombies to show up!’
Clutching his growling stomach, he vented his frustration.
The zombie outbreak hit right when he’d planned to restock the fridge.

Now, his only “food” was the water he’d stockpiled.
If you could even call water food.

‘…I need to find something to eat. A few more days like this, and I’ll be too weak to move!’
His rational mind offered the answer.
Staying put would only worsen his condition as hunger drained him.
While he was still in decent shape, he needed to hit the only convenience store in the neighborhood.
His logic was sound.

But he couldn’t move.
The reason was simple.

—Grr…

‘Those damn zombies! How am I supposed to get through that!’
Peering through the window, Lee Hyuk screamed internally as he watched the zombies.
The streets he’d need to cross were already overrun.
If he tried to walk out there, they’d demand a toll.
The toll? His body.

Damn it.
He cursed under his breath.
In movies or books, people somehow sneaked past zombies to raid stores.
But in this real-life apocalypse, there wasn’t a single opening.

Movies can’t be trusted.

Now what?

As his situation grew bleaker, his anxiety spiked.

Boom!

A sudden sound from outside—like something exploding, but not a bomb.
He’d heard actual explosions yesterday, and they were much louder.

So what was it?

The source didn’t matter.

“Grrraaah!!”

“Kyeeeek!!”

Zombies, with their keen hearing, wouldn’t miss the noise he’d heard.
They surged toward the sound’s origin like a tidal wave.

It didn’t stop there.

Crash! Boom!

From the same direction came the sound of a wall collapsing, louder than the first noise.
It was like a beacon for the zombies.

Rumble.

The ground seemed to shake as countless zombies moved in unison.

Where the hell were they going?
What was happening out there?

Holed up in his apartment, Lee Hyuk had no way to know.
But he knew one thing.

‘This is my chance!’

With the street’s zombies converging on one spot, this was his only shot to get out.
He couldn’t let it slip.
Grabbing a pre-packed bag and a kitchen knife for safety, he stepped outside.

‘They’re gone. They really all went that way!’
Cautiously stepping out, he found the streets clear of zombies.
Sure, they were littered with half-eaten corpses, but compared to a zombie-filled road, this was pristine.

‘Hurry, to the convenience store!’
He rushed toward the store, desperate to beat any returning zombies or other scavengers.

But when he arrived, despair hit again.

The convenience store was still crawling with zombies.

“Haa… haa… What now?”
Should he make noise to lure them out?
Catching his breath from the brisk walk, he pondered his next move.

Tap.

A sudden footstep.
He cautiously raised his knife.

The source was a woman.
Her face fell as she saw the store’s state.
Probably, like him, she’d thought this was her chance.

After her, an old man and a child appeared near the store.
But nothing changed.
None of them were heroic enough to lure the zombies out.

Damn it.
As time ticked by, Lee Hyuk grew more anxious.
Zombies could return any moment, and he couldn’t afford to waste time.

Everyone wanted a sacrifice, but no one wanted to be one.

Click-clack.

The tense standoff was broken by the distinct sound of heels, loud in the silence.

Who the hell?

In a world ruled by sound-sensitive zombies, someone was wearing noisy heels?

Lee Hyuk turned toward the sound, incredulous.
A woman was approaching the store.

No.

An angel was approaching.

A halo floated above her head, adorned with strange patterns.
Wings sprouted from her back.
Her pure white dress, accented with golden designs, screamed, “I’m an angel.”

That appearance.
That outfit.
Every detail boldly proclaimed, “I’m an angel.”

Her pink hair shimmered in the sunlight.
Her serene, peaceful face, eyes closed, gave the impression of deep thought.
Walking the street, she seemed otherworldly—mystical, unreal.

No celebrity he’d ever seen could compare to this angel’s beauty.
They’d run crying in defeat.
Her appearance was that stunning.

“…Whoa.”

Reaching the store, she opened her eyes and let out a small gasp at the sight of the zombies.

Was she here for the food too?

As he wondered, she extended a hand toward the store.

Crash!

Boom!

A zombie’s head exploded.

‘…Huh?’
An unbelievable sight.
What… what just happened?

He glanced around, but everyone else was just as shocked.

It was definitely the angel’s doing.

‘Magic?’

The surprises kept coming.
The angel calmly waited for the zombies to pour out of the store, as if challenging them to a fair fight.
The moment they all spilled out—

Boom! Boom! Thud!

With a flick of her hand, zombie heads began bursting.

‘Definitely magic.’
Lee Hyuk was convinced.
From his perspective, it looked like she waved her hand, and heads exploded one by one.
The truth—that she was throwing stones at speeds too fast for human eyes—eluded him.

‘Not an awakener… right?’
He knew about awakeners, spending his free time online.
That’s why he was certain.
Most awakeners were average.
He’d never heard of one with such overwhelming destructive power.

If they existed, they’d be famous by now.
In this broken world, people had nothing but time to surf the internet until it died.

So who was this woman?
Lee Hyuk could only ask himself unanswerable questions.

The fight ended.

No, the purification ended.
With overwhelming power, the angel erased the zombies and entered the store.

Flash!

Inside, her halo blazed brightly.

He thought he knew why.
To comfort the lingering souls trapped here.
Why else would she light up her halo?

The sight of her glowing halo in the dark store was like witnessing a biblical angel.
Lee Hyuk, an atheist, found himself clasping his hands in prayer, drawn to join this sacred act.

He didn’t know the halo was just a substitute flashlight.

Anyway, after that—
The angel emerged quickly, carrying a few boxes of food.

Seeing the boxes snapped him back to reality.

That’s why I came here.

Her divine presence had made him forget his purpose.

But…

‘Can I even go in?’
The store now belonged to the angel who’d purified it.
A being who could wipe out dozens of zombies with a gesture.
No matter how hungry Lee Hyuk was, he was too scared to enter.
His head could end up like those zombies’.

Was this how Adam and Eve felt, longing to enter Eden?

He and the others lowered their heads, awaiting the angel’s judgment.
The old man even knelt, praying.

Then—

A sigh, followed by the angel’s voice.

“No zombies in the store. There’s plenty of food, so don’t get greedy—just take what you can carry. More zombies might come, so don’t fight. Move fast.”

Her permission granted.
Careful not to offend, Lee Hyuk grabbed food from the store and hurried home.

Clunk!

“Huff! Huff!”
Back home, he panted heavily.
He checked his haul.
Cans of tuna and two boxes of ramen.
Rationed carefully, it’d last two months.

It wasn’t a dream.

The encounter with the angel felt dreamlike, but the food in front of him grounded it in reality.

‘What did that angel want?’
It was mystifying.
She could’ve hoarded the store’s food but chose to share it generously.
In an apocalypse, where food’s value was paramount, that was unthinkable.

Her transcendent demeanor felt inhuman.
Was she truly an angel sent by God to save them?

‘And she was gorgeous. Will I see her again?’
He didn’t know.
He had no power to see the future.
But one thing he was sure of—
He’d never forget today.