The next morning began with shouting.
Eli arrived before sunrise, expecting to get ahead of the previous day's structural setback.
Instead, he found three workers standing outside the shuttered entrance, coffee cups in hand, faces grim.
"Where's everyone else?" Eli asked immediately.
The foreman rubbed his jaw.
"Didn't show."
Eli frowned.
"What do you mean didn't show?"
"Two electricians cancelled."
"Why?"
The foreman hesitated.
Then gave him the look Eli was quickly learning to hate.
"Better offer."
Across the street, SuperMartX's loading dock was busy.
Far busier than normal.
Temporary contractors.
Equipment vans.
Renovation crews.
Their timing was too perfect.
Eli's stomach tightened.
"They're buying labor now."
The foreman gave a small shrug.
"Looks like it."
Mr. Duan arrived moments later and immediately understood from Eli's expression that something was wrong.
"How bad?"
"Behind schedule."
Mr. Duan pinched the bridge of his nose.
"…Of course."
By mid-morning, the pressure inside The Corner Pocket had become suffocating.
Without enough contractors, timelines slipped.
Rewiring slowed.
Support corrections delayed vendor installation.
Temporary refrigeration units hadn't arrived.
And customers still needed serving.
Jin rushed between stocking shelves and helping carry construction materials, sweat dampening his school shirt.
"Careful!" one worker barked as Jin nearly clipped a stack of plywood.
"I'm trying," Jin snapped back.
"Then stop running."
Eli overheard and stepped in.
"Take five, Jin."
"I'm fine."
"That wasn't a suggestion."
Jin glared but finally dropped the supply box harder than necessary.
He stormed toward the back room.
Mr. Duan watched him go.
"He's burning out."
"We all are," Eli replied.
The words came out sharper than he intended.
Mr. Duan noticed.
And didn't say anything.
Jin wasn't the only thing slipping.
His phone buzzed during break.
A message from school administration:
Attendance review requested.
Too many missed afternoon sessions.
Too many late assignments.
Too much distraction.
He stared at the message for a long time.
Then locked his screen without replying.
For the first time, helping save The Corner Pocket was actively threatening the fragile normalcy Eli had fought to build for him.
And Jin knew it.
Around lunchtime, Eli's phone rang.
Hospital.
His chest tightened instantly.
He answered outside.
"This is Eli."
A nurse's voice.
Calm, but urgent.
"Your mother's condition is stable, but we need to discuss adjustments to her treatment plan."
Eli closed his eyes briefly.
"Is she okay?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"But there are new costs involved."
Of course there were.
Eli looked through the front window of the store.
Workers.
Plastic sheeting.
Dust.
Mr. Duan arguing with a delayed delivery driver.
Jin carrying stock.
And now…
This.
He scheduled the meeting for the following evening.
Another burden.
Another weight.
It happened in the late afternoon.
A temporary refrigeration unit finally arrived.
Late and rushed.
Poorly secured.
The movers pushed it through the narrow side entrance too quickly.
"Slow down," Eli warned.
But one wheel clipped uneven flooring.
The unit tipped.
Then slammed sideways into one of the partially reinforced frames.
A terrible metallic groan filled the room.
"MOVE!" the foreman shouted.
Everyone jumped back as the unstable section shifted violently.
Wood splintered.
Metal buckled.
Part of the unfinished vendor frame collapsed inward.
Not catastrophic.
But devastating enough.
Dust exploded into the air.
Jin coughed.
Mr. Duan stumbled backward.
A section of wall reinforcement was ruined.
Weeks of planning, damaged in seconds.
Silence followed.
Then:
"…Damn it."
The foreman's voice was grim.
Eli stared at the wreckage.
"How bad?"
The answer came too fast.
"Severe."
Repair costs.
Time delays.
Material losses.
Momentum shattered.
Mr. Duan finally snapped.
"Enough."
The word cut through the room.
Everyone froze.
Mr. Duan turned toward Eli, his voice shaking.
With exhaustion.
"We are overextending."
Eli didn't answer immediately.
Mr. Duan gestured wildly at the damaged construction.
"The loan."
"The inspections."
"Suppliers."
"Sabotage."
"And now this?"
He pointed at the wreckage.
"We are one bad week away from losing everything."
Eli's jaw tightened.
"We knew the risk."
"No," Mr. Duan said sharply.
"I knew the risk."
He stepped closer.
"But I'm starting to wonder if you understand the cost."
Silence.
Jin stared.
Because this wasn't a business disagreement anymore.
This felt personal.
Mr. Duan's voice softened but only slightly.
"You have ambition."
"That's good."
"But ambition can bury people if you don't know when to stop digging."
That one landed.
Deeply.
Eli stood still.
For the first time…
He had no immediate answer.
Construction shut down early.
Again.
Workers left in silence.
No one joked.
No one reassured anyone.
The damaged section sat like an open wound in the middle of the store.
Jin quietly grabbed his backpack.
"I'll… do homework at home."
He didn't wait for an answer.
Mr. Duan sat heavily behind the register, staring at old sales records.
Almost like he was searching for a version of the store he understood.
And Eli…
Eli stood alone in the ruined construction zone.
Dust still clung to his hoodie.
A bent support beam lay at his feet.
His system interface flickered faintly.
Not a reward.
Not a task.
Just a brutal reminder of his shrinking timeline.
For the first time since this started…
Failure didn't feel theoretical.
It felt close enough to touch.
From his office window, the SuperMartX manager watched the stalled construction.
He adjusted his tie slightly.
"Looks like they're cracking."
One of the executives beside him gave a thin smile.
"Pressure reveals weak foundations."
The manager nodded.
"Should we continue?"
The executive's eyes remained fixed on Eli's damaged storefront.
"Yes," he said quietly.
"Until there's nothing left to rebuild."