[Eden's Ledger: Chapter 1 Cruel Rehearsal] [Eden's Ledger: Chapter 2 Glamorous Debut] [Eden's Ledger: Chapter 3 Broken Puppet Show] [Eden's Ledger: Chapter 4 Forbidden Audition] [Eden's Ledger: Chapter 5 One-Act Play of Ruin]

[Background Story: The Fallen Queen]

1. The Golden Age

• "My life's genre was a perfect romance fantasy."
• Lee-seo Yoon was a protagonist from birth. The only daughter of a mid-sized construction company CEO, she had endless support, innate beauty, and talent.
• When she entered a prestigious university's Theater and Film Department at the top of her class, she was called the 'Queen' of the school. While her peers worried about tuition and part-time jobs, she only worried about 'which role to take.' To her, poverty was a word that only existed in scripts.

2. The Tragedy

• "One day was enough for everything to crumble."
• In the summer of her sophomore year, her father's business went bankrupt. Embezzlement by a trusted executive led to a chain of liquidity crises.
• Her father, always proud, couldn't withstand the pressure from creditors and the shock, dying of a heart attack. Instead of mourners, bailiffs with red seizure stickers and grim loan sharks swarmed the funeral hall.

3. The Living Hell

• "The only legacy left was 1 billion won in debt."
• The illegal private loan of 1 billion won her father took out to save the company.
• She tried to legally renounce the inheritance, but the vicious loan sharks (Manager Kang) forced the debt onto the mother and daughter using joint surety and family safety as leverage.
• Interest: 20 million won per month. (24% annually)
• The profits from the small restaurant her mother ran were barely enough to cover the interest. The store deposit was being eaten away bit by bit, and her mother was on the verge of collapsing from overwork.

[Prologue: Eden's Actress]

In a dilapidated villa in Seoul, inside a darkened room. Lee-seo Yoon's (22) face was pale, illuminated by the cold light of a laptop monitor.

Her long, slender fingers scrolled the mouse wheel nervously. The screen was filled only with provocative phrases like 'high-paying part-time job,' 'short-term high amount,' and 'women preferred.'

"10,000 won per hour... convenience stores, cafes... 2 million a month..."

Lee-seo let out a hollow laugh, wiping her face. The legacy strangling her now, the 1 billion won debt. Forget the principal; the interest alone was 20 million won every month. A convenience store job? Even if she saved every penny for a year, she couldn't pay one month's interest.

With trembling hands, she typed into the search bar again. [High-paying night jobs for female students], [Ten-Pro interviews], [Room salon aces]

The recruitment ads on the monitor were flashy, but the horrific reality behind them wafted up like the smell of a sewer. Pouring drinks, selling smiles, and eventually selling her body. The title of 'Queen of the Theater and Film Department' would just be a 'product name' there.

Vibrate— Vibrate—. Vibrate—.

The phone lying face down on the desk vibrated as if having a seizure. The name on the screen was 'Manager Kang'. The enforcer for the loan sharks.

[Manager Kang: Lee-seo. It's until midnight tonight. If the money isn't in, I'm sending the boys to your mother's shop. You know what happens if you fail again, right? We settle the debt with your body instead.]

"Ha..."

Lee-seo clutched her head. If she couldn't pay the interest, she'd be dragged away by Manager Kang to face something horrific anyway. Whether she entered the red-light district on her own or was dragged there, the end was hell.

It was then. In the corner of the monitor, a strange banner rose silently.

"Eden's Ledger" Sell the value of the man you choose. Max Pay: Hundreds of millions possible.

Lee-seo's brow furrowed. "What is this, some scam site...?"

Selling a man's value. Are they brokering organ sales? Or digging up dirt on high-ranking officials? Either way, it wasn't normal.

She scoffed. "Predictable. Hundreds of millions, my foot. If I click, it'll just link to an illegal gambling site or a pyramid scheme."

But the mouse cursor hovered over the banner as if possessed. Because the phrase 'hundreds of millions' looked like the only lifeline that could solve her hellish 1-billion-won debt in one go.

While she hesitated, the text on the banner changed. As if it were reading her mind.

"We prioritize your choices above all else." "We never force anything against your free will."

"...Prioritize my choices?"

Manager Kang's threats, the creditors' demands, the danger to her mother. In the past few months, there had been no 'choice' in Lee-seo's life. Only 'compulsion.' Yet this suspicious site was whispering that it would give her the power to choose.

Click. Lee-seo clicked the banner before she knew it.

The screen changed, displaying a QR code along with a warning message.

[Download Link Generated] Click the following link to install the application on your phone. (Caution: Once installed, the app can never be deleted, and data will not disappear even if the device is changed.)

"It can't be deleted?"

Lee-seo gave an incredulous hollow laugh. "In this day and age, what can't be deleted? A factory reset would end it."

Thinking little of it, she picked up her phone and scanned the QR code. The screen turned black, and an installation bar began to fill. Just before the installation finished, a final red warning window covered the entire phone.

[SYSTEM WARNING] This is the last chance to change your life. If you exit this window, you can return to your daily life buried in debt. Do you wish to sign the contract? (Y/N)

Lee-seo's finger stopped in mid-air. Return to daily life? To that hellish routine of being hounded for debt every night and losing sleep worrying about her mother being harmed?

"No... I can't go back."

Her eyes turned cold and sunken. She had nothing left to lose and nowhere to retreat. Lee-seo pressed the [Y] button in the center of the screen without trembling.

As the screen turned black and installation finished, a red laser scanned her iris and face.

👤 [User Profile Created]

• Name: Lee-seo Yoon (22)

• Occupation: Theater student / Awakened Succubus

• Rank: F (Growth Type)

• (System: You are currently at the lowest rank. Grow through soul harvesting.)

[Eden's Ledger is active.]

Before she could even finish checking the profile, a red warning window blocked her view. Only 3 minutes remained until the midnight deadline set by Manager Kang. Then, the app displayed an [Emergency Loan Service] pop-up.

💳 [Emergency Loan Service]

• Creditor: Tae-seong Kang (Manager Kang)

• Claimed Amount: ₩ 20,000,000 (Interest)

• Would you like to pay on their behalf? (Y/N)

• (Caution: Upon payment, your Eden balance will turn negative.)

Lee-seo had no time to hesitate. Her fingers shook, but there was only one choice. "Please... please let this be real."

Press. She hit the [Y] button.

[Processing...] [Transaction Complete.]

Ding— Like magic, a second later, a text arrived in the top notification bar. The sender was Manager Kang. [Manager Kang: Payment confirmed. You actually found it? I'll let it slide this month, but watch your back.]

She survived. But the relief was short-lived as the app's main screen refreshed, and cruel rules covered the screen like red blood.

"A married man and a popular star... hundreds of millions." Lee-seo clicked her tongue. This crazy app was thoroughly tagging human desires with price labels.

5. The Devil's Manual (Rules of Eden)

As she scrolled down, the price she would have to pay and the horrific penalty clauses appeared.

"Daily maintenance cost... 1 million won?"

Lee-seo's hands shook. Including the loan interest, it meant her debt would increase by 3 million won every day just by breathing. Furthermore, bankruptcy meant soul annihilation. A conclusion more horrific than being sold to Manager Kang awaited her.

[System: Evil Eye of Eden activated.] [System: First maintenance fee of -1,000,000 won has been deducted.]

Flash— In an instant, a red light swirled in both of Lee-seo's pupils, and the world looked different. The faint lights outside the window became vivid, and data began to float in the air like ghosts.

"Ha..."

Lee-seo looked in the mirror and fixed her disheveled hair. She bit her lips, which were pale with fear, forcing them to turn red.

If she wanted to live, or rather, if she wanted to at least protect her soul, there was only one choice left.

"Fine, let's do this. If I don't want to fall into hell, I'll just have to become a devil."