Chicken, Grades, and Goji’s Side Gig
Min Jae knew he was in trouble the moment his mom handed him a paper bag and said, "Deliver this to room 3B. They ordered extra spicy soy chicken and three cups of magical peanuts."
He blinked. "Did you just say magical peanuts?"
She frowned. "No. I said… microwave peanuts."
"You've never sold peanuts."
"Well, Goji packed them, and they've been a huge hit online."
Min Jae froze. "Goji… packed…?"
She nodded. "He's been very helpful."
Min Jae bolted to the kitchen. "GOJI!"
---
The Unauthorized Business Venture
In the back room, Goji was seated atop a small cardboard throne made from delivery boxes, wearing a tea towel like a cape.
Beside him was a handwritten menu, scrawled in glitter pen.
> Goji's Secret Snack Shop
— Glow Peanuts: 5,000₩
— Invisible Jerky: 9,000₩
— Mana Puffs (mild): 12,000₩
Bonus Item: Surprise Egg? (don't shake)
"Goji," Min Jae said slowly, "what... is this?"
Goji bleated happily and tossed him a glow peanut.
It wiggled.
"THIS IS NOT OKAY," Min Jae snapped.
Goji licked the spoon he was holding and burped purple sparkles.
Sunwoo leaned in from the pantry. "To be fair… sales are up 400%."
---
School Interrogation Round Two
At school, Min Jae could feel his luck unraveling.
He was pulled aside by Mr. Choi right before third period.
"I checked your grades, Min Jae," the teacher said, adjusting his glasses. "Last semester, you were average. Now you're falling behind in three subjects and missing every other quiz."
Min Jae forced a tired smile. "I'm working on time management."
Mr. Choi tapped a file. "And what about this purchase report the school received from your mother? You apparently ordered 20 kilos of powdered sapphire last week."
Min Jae blinked. "That's for... cooking."
"...Cooking what?"
"Really shiny soup?"
Mr. Choi looked like he aged ten years in one breath.
"I'm assigning you mandatory tutoring. Tuesdays and Thursdays."
"But—"
"No excuses."
Min Jae sighed.
His portal shift was on Tuesdays. His mana delivery restock was on Thursdays.
---
The Magic Peanuts Incident
After school, Min Jae arrived at the shop to find a woman yelling at his mom in the doorway.
"I don't know what was in those peanuts," she said, "but my dog disappeared for three hours. I found her on top of my neighbor's fridge!"
Min Jae's mom, flustered, held up a coupon. "One free order next time?"
"No thank you! I want a refund—and therapy!"
Min Jae slowly backed away into the kitchen.
Goji was hiding under the sink with a peanut jar labeled: "Stealth Mode – Experimental."
He gave Min Jae a sheepish bleat.
Min Jae just sighed. "You're lucky you're cute."
---
Damage Control Mode
That night, Min Jae gathered the whole team in the basement.
"This," he said, holding up the glitter menu, "has got to stop."
Sunwoo raised a hand. "To be fair, the jerky was actually kinda good—"
"No more enchanted snacks going to real-world customers. No more mystery food. No more Goji-branded anything."
Goji slumped dramatically on a mana sack like he'd just been dethroned.
Min Jae paced. "It's getting harder to keep things under wraps. The school's watching me. My mom is suspicious. Our customers are glowing."
Seojin nodded. "You're burning out."
Min Jae leaned against the wall. "I know. But I can't slow down."
---
Burnout, Explained
He was juggling two worlds.
A fantasy-world black market spiraling out of control.
A real-world life filled with school, chicken orders, tutoring, and a goat with brand ambitions.
Min Jae hadn't slept properly in three days.
He forgot what sunlight felt like.
He was pretty sure Goji had his own cryptocurrency.
"You need help," Minji said, not unkindly.
"I can't bring anyone else into this," Min Jae replied. "No one else can know."
Sunwoo looked at him. "Then make a system. Automate something. Cut a corner."
"I already did cut corners," Min Jae muttered. "That's how Goji started selling peanuts."
Goji burped softly in the corner.
---
Crisis on the Rooftop
Later that night, while delivering another order, Min Jae stepped out onto the rooftop to breathe. The city stretched below, lights flickering in lazy constellations. He could hear the hum of traffic and the soft clicking of his phone—notifications, messages, reminders.
He sat on the ledge.
He thought about the Third Market.
About the magic sock.
About a goat with delusions of becoming an online brand ambassador.
And for a moment, he wondered what it would be like to be normal.
Then a small alert popped up.
> [Portal Chamber Status: ACTIVE]
Unauthorized ping detected.
He bolted.
---
The False Alarm
When he got to the basement, out of breath and wild-eyed, he found Goji sitting in front of the portal, eating leftover glow jerky.
"I turned on the portal for one second," Sunwoo explained sheepishly. "I wanted to see if I could rig it to play music when it powers up."
Min Jae stared.
Goji pressed a rune.
The portal flared to life… and started playing elevator jazz.
"I hate everything," Min Jae whispered.
Goji nodded in agreement, bopping his head to the beat.
---
A Glimmer of Sanity
Back upstairs, Min Jae's mom had left him a note.
> "You seem tired. Rest. You don't always have to carry everything. PS: I threw away the weird sock."
— Mom
He smiled a little.
Maybe he wasn't totally doomed.
Maybe he just needed to fix the Goji situation, clean up the magic snack mess, fake some good grades, and keep a shady underground organization from dragging him into their turf war.
You know.
Normal teen stuff.