Have you ever noticed that sometimes people pay with coins… and other times they just tap a card or a phone? It can feel a bit mysterious when no money changes hands. Let’s slow it down and look at it together.

The Commons felt unusually quiet after the Mini Market weekend. With most people gone and the late sun sliding behind the shops, Ju Won sat on a bench and opened her mobile banking app for her regular end-of-week check.

Sotos hadn’t slept well. He kept waking up thinking about varnish receipts and tiny small-print fees that seemed to multiply when he wasn’t looking. By the time Sunday morning arrived, he was pacing beside his upcycling stall...