Possums, Portals, and People in Suits
Min Jae stared at the email on his screen for the third time that night. There it was, still sitting at the top of his inbox like a neon sign he couldn't ignore:
> We wish to invite you to something... different.
If interested, reply with the word: "Possum."
He swiveled in his chair.
"Yulena wouldn't trust this," he muttered.
Goji, perched on a pile of bubble wrap, sneezed.
Min Jae pulled his phone closer. He looked up the email headers. They were scrambled—nothing identifiable. The sender address looped through at least three mirrored servers and something labeled "OrbisNet."
"Someone's either extremely paranoid or way too into spy dramas," he said.
Still, curiosity was a disease he had never been vaccinated against.
He typed a single word into the reply box:
> Possum
He hit send.
He didn't expect a reply.
He definitely didn't expect a portal to open under his desk.
---
The Portal with a Business Card
There was no flashy wind-up. No dramatic music. Just a low hum and a ripple in the floor like a stone dropped in water.
Then, like a printer spitting out paper, a glossy business card floated upward from the center of the ripple.
Min Jae caught it.
On the front:
> THE IN-BETWEEN MARKET
Where worlds meet, and merchandise mingles.
On the back:
> Step through. We'll explain everything.
The ripple in the floor turned into a circular gate glowing with pale blue light.
Goji trotted forward, sniffed it, and sneezed again.
Min Jae scratched his head. "Alright, worst-case scenario, I explode. Best-case, I make another trade route."
He grabbed his emergency waffle kit and stepped in.
---
The In-Between Market
Imagine a shopping mall if someone forgot to build walls. The In-Between Market floated in an endless void, with stalls anchored on bits of floating stone, wooden planks, metal platforms, and even what looked like a giant soup spoon.
The sky—or lack thereof—was pure darkness, sprinkled with blinking stars and floating signs like:
> "Fresh Spell Figs – Grown in Two Dimensions at Once!"
"Real Cloaks! Not Just Blankets With Attitude!"
"Buy Two Wormholes, Get One Free."
Min Jae gawked.
"Okay," he said. "Now this is more my vibe."
A tall woman in a pinstripe suit approached, clipboard in hand and a bright blue crow perched on her shoulder.
"You must be Min Jae," she said. "I'm Nel. Welcome to the In-Between. Mind the time folds."
She pointed to a man nearby arguing with himself in two languages at once.
Min Jae nodded slowly. "So… is this a trade hub?"
Nel grinned. "Not quite. This is where people like you go when guilds are too nosy, and governments start sniffing around."
"I knew Clorb was a snitch."
---
A Different Kind of Deal
Nel led him to a sleek booth labeled "Newblood Vendors." Inside were other traders like him—mostly awkward-looking, vaguely panicked people carrying backpacks and kitchen appliances.
One was selling enchanted socks.
Another offered "Pre-cursed Dolls: Save Time."
Nel gestured at a glowing contract on the table.
"No taxes. No politics. No magic license checks. Just one rule: Don't sell anything that eats the customers."
Min Jae raised a brow. "That's happened?"
"Twice."
She handed him a small cube.
"Your stall. Speak to it when you want to open shop. It'll appear. Inventory's up to you."
"And the cut?"
"Ten percent."
"That's cheaper than Etsy," Min Jae muttered.
---
First Sale in the Void
Min Jae activated the cube. A compact little stall popped into existence beside him, complete with shelves and a holographic sign:
> Basement Wizardry™ – Real Stuff. Kinda Magical.
He set out his stock. Within minutes, curious shoppers trickled in.
A goblin in a tuxedo bought three glow crystals.
A woman in a bubble suit paid 500 sky-coins for an emergency waffle kit.
One guy insisted on paying with "flavored gravity." Min Jae politely declined.
Nel watched from the side.
"You're not flashy," she said, "but people trust you."
"Because I label the weird stuff correctly," Min Jae said. "And I don't sell portable curses in tea bags."
Nel grinned. "You'll do well here."
---
Meanwhile, in Korea
Back home, his site was gaining traction. Overnight, his waffle kits had sold out. One influencer posted a review titled:
> "I Tried a Snack From a Basement Wizard. It Changed My Life (And My Hair Color)."
Comments poured in.
> "Is this legal?"
"I want one."
"Can I summon a boyfriend with the Instant Rice Spell?"
"Where's the goat???"
Min Jae chuckled. "Goji's more famous than me."
Goji sneezed again and knocked over a stack of boxes.
---
A Visit from the Parents
Three days later, Min Jae's parents dropped by unannounced.
"Jae-ah," his mother said, peeking into the basement, "why does your storage room smell like roasted seaweed and fireworks?"
Min Jae, trying to hide a bag of floating pears behind him, smiled too hard.
"Just, uh… new humidifier."
His father eyed Goji, who was wearing a construction vest and sleeping on packing foam.
"That goat looks familiar," he said.
"He's part-time," Min Jae mumbled.
They stayed for lunch. His mother brought kimchi. His father installed a better light fixture.
They didn't ask too many questions.
He was grateful.
---
An Unexpected Threat
That night, Min Jae checked his website analytics.
Traffic was up. Sales were stable.
Then something odd happened.
All at once, every active listing was flagged.
> "This product has been temporarily hidden pending review."
He refreshed. Again. Again.
The page froze. Then reloaded with a red warning:
> "Your store has been reported for unauthorized commerce of anomalous materials."
He stared.
His inbox exploded with messages from customers, complaints, and one very angry goat-lover demanding "refunds for the Goat Aura Bundle."
And at the bottom of the screen, a new message appeared:
> "See you soon, Wizard. Love, Clorb."