[2025, Night — Jae-hoon's Room]
The room was steeped in a suffocating silence.
An old fan squeaked as it turned, but the stifling air had nowhere to escape.
Choi Jae-hoon sat staring blankly at his computer screen.
"You can change the future."
That strange yet oddly comforting slogan from the ad still hovered on the display.
On the desk lay a jumble of things: a solar panel installation brochure, an electricity bill that had doubled, and a contract yet to be signed.
He picked up his pen, set it down, picked it up again—then set it down once more.
A framed family photo hung on the wall.
Two children were smiling brightly.
Beside them, his own indifferent expression looked back, one hand resting on their small shoulders.
Jae-hoon gazed at that photo for a long time before lowering his head.
He slumped forward against the desk and quietly drifted into sleep.
[The Next Morning, Ji-an's Room – 2050]
A summer morning in 2050.
Inside Ji-an's room, the air was just cool enough to bear within the narrow space of the cooling pod.
Her laptop screen had been left on all night.
Under the faint glow, the still-open chat window continued to blink.
Ji-an rubbed her eyes and stepped closer to the desk.
On the screen, the last message Shia had sent the night before was still there.
Her fingers swept lightly over the touchpad before pausing.
In the stillness of the room, she realized exactly what she needed to do.
Slowly, she began to type.
『It's okay to hesitate.
Choosing something for someone else… it's always the scariest choice.
But… if there's something you wish someone would tell you, then let me say it.
You can do this. Really.』
After typing the short, gentle message like a prayer, Ji-an slowly closed the screen.
[Early Dawn, Jae-hoon's Room – 2025]
The first light of dawn began to slip through the crack in the window.
A soft ding echoed from the laptop on the desk.
Jae-hoon slowly opened his eyes.
His shoulders felt heavy, and beads of sweat clung to his forehead.
He pushed himself upright and looked at the screen.
There, written in a few short lines, was a strangely warm message:
『You can do this. Really.』
Jae-hoon let out a quiet laugh.
Then he reached for the keyboard.
『Thank you.
I think I really needed to hear that… It truly gave me strength.』
It was brief, but his reply carried a firm resolve.
He rose from his seat.
Gathering the pamphlet and the unsigned contract from the table, Jae-hoon stuffed them into his bag, muttering under his breath,
"Alright… this time, I'll give it a shot."
He straightened the wrinkled cuff of his shirt and stepped outside.
The cool dawn air brushed against his face.
In that moment—small, almost imperceptible—the world began to shift.
[Morning, 2050 – Ji-an's House, Living Room]
The pale morning sunlight filtered faintly through the living room window.
The lingering heat from the night clung lightly to the glass,
while the low-noise floor cooler quietly pushed back the heavy air.
Ji-an sat at the kitchen table, hastily finishing her breakfast.
There was a hint of resignation and fatigue in Ji-an's slightly drawn expression,
as if she had long grown accustomed to the oppressive summer heat.
On the table sat a simple meal, accompanied by a glass of cold water.
Her mother, already dressed for work, sat on the sofa with the remote in hand, switching on the morning news.
Along the bottom of the screen, the caption read:
"Urban heat index expected to reach 38°C."
Even the news anchor, clad in a light suit, wore an unusual sweat-prevention patch at the base of his neck.
"This morning, an interview with Choi Jae-hoon, head of a solar energy cooperative in Gyeonggi Province,
who has voluntarily led the region's energy transition, is drawing public attention."
The anchor's voice filled the living room.
Ji-an froze with her spoon halfway to her mouth, then slowly turned her head toward the TV.
On the screen, a middle-aged man was smiling brightly.
Gone was the crumpled work uniform — in its place, a clean, pressed shirt.
Facing the interviewer, he spoke with calm sincerity.
"At first, I hesitated. But for the sake of my kids, I realized I had to be the one to change first."
For a moment, Ji-an's heart gave a heavy thump.
The spoon in her hand trembled slightly.
She pulled her bag closer and discreetly slipped out her phone.
[Sia, are you watching TV? He really changed.]
A slow smile spread across her lips,
but deep inside, her chest was still filled with an almost unbelievable, restless excitement.
Meanwhile, on the desk in Ji-an's room,
her laptop screen displayed the words: "Conversation Log 002 – Completed."
Beneath it, a quiet status line blinked: "Session record archiving…"
[2050, Aide's Office]
In the heart of the city, inside a National Assembly member's aide office.
Though it was a summer morning, the air inside remained relatively cool thanks to the air conditioning and reflective cooling film on the windows.
The aide sat quietly at her desk, swiping through her tablet.
Her fingers moved quickly and precisely as she reviewed page after page of policy reports.
She paused only when her eyes landed on a section in a solar energy report:
"Solar Power Citizen Cooperative – Established in 2025 / Based in Southern Gyeonggi Province"
"Transition model now in nationwide 3-phase implementation"
The aide's brows furrowed.
"…This… I've never seen this before."
Her voice was so soft, it seemed to dissolve into the still air of the office.
She set the tablet down and turned her gaze toward the window.
Across the street, the rooftops of neighboring buildings stretched out before her.
Lined up in neat rows, solar panels glinted under the sunlight.
The way they caught the light, shimmering like a quiet promise, hinted at a world that was somehow different from before.
She stared in silence, narrowing her eyes slightly, as if trying to read a hidden message in that view.
'Strange…' she thought.
In what might have been just another ordinary day, something unseen had unmistakably shifted.
That unfamiliar yet oddly comforting sight spread softly outward, following the gleam of the sunlit panels until it scattered into the morning air.
[2050, Ji-an and Si-a's Walk to School]
Days when the morning air quality index received a "Good" rating were rare.
Today, it was at least rated "Moderate."
Even rarer was the fact that the heat from the night before hadn't cooled, lingering well into the morning.
The sidewalks were coated with UV-blocking layers, and building exteriors reflected heat thanks to thermal protection films.
Still, the air drifting between people carried a sticky mix of humidity and yesterday's dust.
Ji-an and Si-a rode the bus to school, its transparent shield panels enclosing them from the outside.
The vehicle's automatic cooling hummed gently, yet students with sweat rash prevention patches on their backs and arms were still a common sight.
Most wore personal cooling vests or neckband fans, their eyes fixed silently on their own screens.
Wide-brimmed hats and thin cooling caps shaded their faces from the sun, and even though it was still morning, the reflected light outside was sharp enough to make their eyes sting.
"Did you see the morning news?"
Si-a broke the silence just as the bus came to a smooth stop at the school drop-off.
"That guy… turns out he's the head of a solar power cooperative."
She showed Ji-an a short news clip saved on her handheld device.
"I saw it," Ji-an replied, nodding. "Totally caught me off guard."
Her voice still carried a trace of excitement.
They stepped off the shuttle and walked toward the school buildings.
The gates, coated in gray heat-reflective paint, stood flanked by rows of fine dust-absorbing plants slicing through the hot air.
Even with temperature-regulating coatings applied to the courtyard pavement, heat still seeped upward into the soles of their shoes.
"But here's the strange part," Si-a said in a low voice.
"That solar power cooperative? When I was doing my project last week, I couldn't find anything about it.
But when I looked it up this morning, there were tons of articles. It's like it's been around for years… I would've seen it before if it had."
Ji-an's steps faltered. She adjusted her bag strap, thinking silently:
'…We're the only ones who remember how it used to be.'
She didn't say it out loud. Somehow, speaking it might make everything feel heavier.
"I've got something I really want to show you," Si-a said, her eyes glinting.
"Let's go to the roof."
"The roof?"
Ji-an followed, puzzled.
"You'll feel it more when you see it yourself."
Si-a led the way up the stairs to the rooftop access.
The moment Ji-an stepped outside, she froze.
Where there had once been just a few small solar panels, the entire rooftop was now covered in gleaming panels.
In the student practice area, a new sign had been installed:
"Student-Led Energy Production Project – Year 1"
The morning sun lit the panels with a dazzling brilliance.
"I noticed it on the way here," Si-a explained quietly.
"There's new stuff on the school building's roof. It wasn't there yesterday… so I wanted to come up and check."
Ji-an, still dazed, looked around.
Not just the school, but rooftops of distant buildings now bore similar solar installations.
"You don't remember seeing any of these panels before yesterday either, right?" Si-a asked carefully.
Ji-an nodded slowly, but firmly.
"Yeah… this is completely new to me."
They leaned against the railing, gazing at the view in silence for a long while.
"…Did I do the right thing?"
Ji-an murmured, her voice trembling like sunlight, laced with a cautious fear.
"Suddenly… I'm scared."
Si-a simply nodded, her eyes fixed on the same horizon.
Under the sunlight, the glittering panels made one thing certain—this was no longer the world they had known yesterday.
[2025 – The Beginning of the Cooperative]
Under the scorching sun, villagers gathered inside the small community hall.
The windows were wide open, yet the heavy, humid air still pressed down on the room.
"Let's do it! Let's trust Mr. Choi and give it a try!"
An elderly man spoke up first.
Soon, hands began to rise all around.
Jae-hoon looked at them, stunned.
Just days ago, these were people who were afraid to even install a single solar panel.
"You explained it well, Mr. Choi. If we do it together, the risk is lower and the cost is cheaper."
"Let's start a cooperative! And you should lead it, Mr. Choi."
Overwhelmed by the sudden rush of trust and expectation, Jae-hoon was momentarily speechless.
But soon, he gave a small smile and nodded.
"All right. Let's do it. Let's start by changing our own village."
In the middle of town, with sunlight pouring down, Jae-hoon raised his hand high.
In that moment, his short narration played:
"Thanks, everyone."
A smile brighter than the sunlight spread across his face.
[2050, Outside the National Assembly Conference Room]
Outside, the relentless heat of late August showed no sign of easing.
The asphalt, scorched by the sun, still radiated trapped heat, and the conference room windows had remained shut since early morning.
A massive cooling system hummed inside, yet at the far end of the hallway, the faint scent of humidity and sweat lingered.
A man in a neatly pressed suit walked toward the meeting room, a tablet in hand.
As the air conditioning hit him, the beads of sweat on his forehead slowly cooled.
He looked familiar, yet there was something strangely different about him.
A passing aide suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Just not long ago, she had seen this same man bending over a copier.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she muttered under her breath:
"Wasn't he… the repair guy from yesterday? What is he doing here…?"
The man offered a bright smile and extended his hand.
"Hello, I'm Choi Jae-hoon, representative of the Solar Cooperative. I look forward to working with you."
The aide stared at his hand for a moment before awkwardly shaking it.
Her mind felt blank.
'Representative? Cooperative? What on earth…?'
Choi Jae-hoon walked into the conference room with a relaxed smile.
After the meeting ended, the aide hurried back to her office.
The confusion still wouldn't leave her.
"Hey… that Mr. Choi—he's really the same guy who was fixing the copier yesterday, right?"
When she asked her colleagues, they exchanged glances and chuckled.
"Come on, you've been working yourself too hard. You must be imagining things."
"Representative Choi's been a well-known figure in the cooperative sector for years. He's been on the news plenty of times—didn't you know?"
Faced with their half-joking replies, the aide couldn't say another word and sank into her chair.
Somehow, the files on her desk felt strangely unfamiliar.
She murmured to herself, barely above a whisper:
"…I swear I saw him fixing the copier yesterday. Did I just imagine it…?"
At that moment, sunlight poured through the window again, pressing against the gray glass wall.
The moisture-heavy summer air drifted slowly into the corners of the room, as if stirring something unseen.