Branding and Blackmail
Min Jae was mid-bite into a grilled cheese and enchanted kimchi sandwich (Goji's invention; 6/10 on taste, 11/10 on mana recoil) when the invitation arrived.
It came through the portal.
Not with a boom, not with a messenger, not even by enchanted dove.
It was just... sitting there.
A clean white envelope, resting neatly on top of a crate of shimmer plums, with a gold-etched seal shaped like a coin with no face.
Sunwoo leaned over his shoulder. "That's never a good sign."
Goji licked the envelope, then backed away, bleating warily.
Min Jae broke the seal.
Inside was a simple card:
> "We've watched your rise. We'd like to help.
Meet us at the Crescent Market Tower, dusk. Come alone.
Bring your name."
— The Index Consortium
Min Jae blinked.
"Who the hell is the Index Consortium?"
---
Rival Factions 101
Sunwoo tapped furiously on a rune-pad and pulled up a hazy info glyph.
"Index Consortium," he read. "Neutral trading body. High-level info brokers. They don't take sides—they watch. Archive everything. They've existed longer than the Third Market."
"So why me?" Min Jae asked.
"Maybe they think you're the next big thing."
Min Jae frowned. "I don't trust secret organizations that use fancy fonts."
Goji nodded solemnly.
Still… he had to know.
---
Crescent Tower at Dusk
The Crescent Market Tower stood in the upper tier of Rivertown—an ancient observatory turned into an elite market lounge for people who spoke in riddles and drank tea with gold flakes in it.
Min Jae hated it already.
He wore a plain cloak, brought no goods, and kept a stun charm under his wrist.
The room he entered was dark, round, and impossibly quiet. Candles floated in the air, each flame reflecting symbols he couldn't read.
A robed figure stood by the window.
"You're younger than expected," the figure said, turning.
"Yeah, I moisturize," Min Jae said flatly.
The figure smiled. "We'd like to make you an offer."
---
The Sponsorship
"Your rise has been rapid. A fluke, most would say," the man continued. "But we see potential. A gatekeeper with humor, caution, and most importantly... independence."
Min Jae folded his arms. "What do you want?"
"We want to give you presence. Reach. Protection."
"And in return?"
"You wear our seal. Let the markets know you're under observation. That you are not alone."
Min Jae didn't answer right away.
Then: "Sounds a lot like a leash."
"No. A net. So you don't fall."
He held up a medallion—a flat disc with shifting runes.
"And if I say no?"
The man smiled politely. "Then we'll keep watching. Silently. But you'll be vulnerable. The Third Market is patient... and cruel."
Min Jae narrowed his eyes. "Is this a threat or a gift?"
"Both," the man replied.
---
The Surveillance Problem
Min Jae returned to the basement in silence, the medallion in his pocket.
He didn't tell Sunwoo everything. Not yet.
But Goji sniffed him and headbutted his shin.
"Yeah," Min Jae muttered. "They smell like secrets."
He checked the corners of the room. No visible glyphs. No trace runes. No bugs.
But something in his gut said he was already being watched.
He activated the mirror.
"Minji? I need a sweep spell. Top tier."
---
School Gets Worse
The next day at school, Mr. Choi dropped a folder on Min Jae's desk.
"Behavior log," he said.
"Me?"
"You've been caught on six different cameras talking to a sock, a glowing crate, and a cup of noodles that steamed in Morse code."
Min Jae blinked. "Was the code accurate?"
Mr. Choi sighed.
Also: someone left another anonymous message in his locker.
> "Smile wider. You're being watched."
— Handwritten, perfect calligraphy.
Min Jae didn't smile.
---
The Real Offer
That night, Min Jae returned to the tower.
"I've thought about your offer," he said to the robed figure.
The man smiled again. "And?"
"I'll accept… on one condition."
He dropped a satchel on the table. Inside: a wrapped box.
The man opened it—an enchanted snack bundle with a rune tracker and embedded counter-spell.
"I want your network," Min Jae said. "But I want my identity. I don't wear your seal. I license it. Like a product. You can say you back me—but I don't say I serve you."
The man paused.
"…You are clever."
"I'm tired," Min Jae replied.
The man laughed.
"You've got a deal."
---
The Partnership Begins
Within days, word spread that the Gatekeeper had been "acknowledged" by the Index Consortium.
No one knew what that meant.
And that was exactly how Min Jae wanted it.
His stall doubled in traffic. A new vendor down the road started selling bootleg Goji plushies, which Goji promptly chewed up.
Sunwoo said, "You're basically a brand now."
Min Jae shrugged. "All brands burn eventually."
"But you?"
"I glow in the dark."