Cherreads

Chapter 5 - Chapter 1. We Are Already Inside (4)

[2023 Youth Environmental Contest – Final Presentation]

Soft stage lights glowed overhead. Suyeon stood at the microphone. The auditorium was silent. All eyes—judges and audience alike—were on her.

She took a deep breath.

On the projector screen, her own slides appeared:

"Shared Tumbler Subscription System – A Sustainable Choice for Everyone"

Below it, neatly arranged diagrams showed the system's structure and user flow.

 

"We throw something away every single day—a cup, a wrapper—out of habit."

 

Her voice was quiet, but clear.

 

"But if we could share, we could reduce waste—and change the world."

 

A few of the judges nodded. Suyeon lifted her head slightly and moved to the next slide.

 

"The shared tumbler system may be a small action, but its meaning is anything but small."

 

"Students pay a deposit and can borrow one tumbler a day from on-campus kiosks or partner cafés. Without returning it, the next rental is restricted. It's a structure that reduces inconvenience while sharing responsibility."

 

With each click of her mouse, slides flowed from data and images to simple usage examples.

Below the stage, judges, adults, and even a few teenage audience members listened quietly to her words. The warm lights wrapped gently around her back. She no longer felt nervous.

 

'This… might just reach the future I saw.'

 

 

[2023 Environmental Contest Award Ceremony]

The giant screen on stage shifted to a new image. A murmur swept through the audience.

"Grand Prize – Kim Suyeon."

The moment her name was called, Suyeon held her breath. Friends patted her on the back, and a staff member guided her toward the stage.

Her steps up into the warm light were slow, yet steady. When she received the certificate, both hands holding the plaque bearing her name, her eyes grew slightly misty.

Standing once again at the microphone, she kept her words brief, but her gaze was clearer than anyone's.

In that moment, she knew.

This idea was not just an assignment, nor a way to fill a line in her school record.

A single word from someone, a brief conversation on some day— could truly shake the future.

 

 

[2050, The Next Morning on the Way to School]

The morning sun pricked her skin and stung the tip of her nose, and the inside of her mask quickly grew damp.

A shared electric car whooshed past along the roadside, and the heat pressed down on the shadeless sidewalk.

Jian walked toward the school with heavy steps, stopping in front of a familiar sign: the franchise café run by her mother, Yoon Seul.

A notice at the entrance caught her eye. At first it looked like any other day—but something was different.

 

"Shared Tumbler Design Contest"

"One-Tumbler-a-Day Subscription System – Returns Required"

 

Jian stood there for a long moment, reading the sign over and over before taking a breath.

 

"…It's real… Suyeon's words… they came true."

 

Just then, a familiar voice came from beside her.

 

"Jian."

 

It was Shia, standing there with a heat-weary expression, tugging at the straps of her bag.

 

"What are you looking at?"

 

When Jian pointed to the notice, Shia tilted her head and read it.

 

"Oh, the contest? I was thinking of entering. Looking at last year's winners, I figure I could pull it off too."

 

Jian forced a small smile, a beat too late.

 

"Just… thought it was interesting."

 

"What's with you all of a sudden? Shared tumblers have been around since we were in elementary school. It's been almost twenty years."

 

Shia spoke casually.

 

"These days, it'd be weirder if a store or café didn't have them. What, did you time-travel overnight or something?"

 

Jian didn't answer and turned her head away. Shia gave her a curious look.

 

"Why do you look so serious? You never say anything even when you forget your tumbler."

 

Jian bit her lip before managing to speak.

 

"…Whoever came up with this… they're incredible."

 

"Whoa, getting sentimental all of a sudden?"

 

Shia said with a teasing grin.

But Jian didn't smile. She only said quietly,

 

"Sometimes, just a single word… can change the world."

 

The thrill of last night still lingered in her voice.

 

"Shia, I'm gonna stop by and see my mom. Head to class without me."

 

Jian stepped inside as soon as she finished speaking.

The café was filled with the calm of the morning. It was still early, and the space was quiet, with a neatly placed return bin for shared tumblers against one wall.

A single customer stood in front of it.

 

Ji-hyuk.

He had just picked up his drink and was closing the lid of a tumbler with his usual neat precision. Jian's gaze naturally followed his long fingers, then shifted to the tumbler.

 

"…Oh?"

 

The tumbler was different. Instead of the personal one he'd been using until yesterday, this one bore a logo, a serial number, and a QR code for returns engraved at the bottom.

 

'It had really happened…'

 

A ripple spread through Jian's heart.

It was a moment when she wanted to believe that change had begun from a single word the night before.

As she stood there in a daze, Ji-hyuk turned his head to look at her.

 

"…You okay?"

 

A voice that was familiar, low, and warm with concern.

Jian snapped out of her daze and nodded, though her thoughts were still scattered.

Just then, a familiar voice called out from behind the counter.

 

"I think she's still half-asleep. It always takes her a while to wake up in the morning."

 

It was Jian's mother, Yoon Seul. She paused her hand as she topped the espresso with milk foam, looking toward Ji-hyuk.

Ji-hyuk paused for a moment before speaking.

 

"…Uh, hello. Are you… by any chance… Jian's mother?"

 

His eyes shifted between Jian and Yoon Seul.

Yoon Seul smiled brightly and nodded.

"That's right. She's quiet at home, but different at school, right?"

 

Ji-hyuk gave a slightly awkward smile.

"I just transferred here recently, so I'm not too sure."

 

Looking between Jian and Ji-hyuk, Yoon Seul's smile softened.

"Stop by often. Since you're Jian's friend, I'll make sure you get some extra snacks."

 

"Thank you. I've actually been coming here pretty often. The atmosphere… and the tea's great, too."

 

"Really? Seeing you bring a shared tumbler in weather like this, you must be a diligent student."

 

Yoon Seul's eyes flicked toward the tumbler in Ji-hyuk's hand.

Jian watched quietly. She felt the part of her caught between past and future slowly melt into the present.

Sunlight glinted off Ji-hyuk's tumbler, and she smiled faintly.

It wasn't an echo of past emotions, nor a shadow of regret, but a quiet belief blooming for the first time in this very moment.

 

 

[2050, Jian's Room]

Even late at night, the outdoor temperature stayed above 30 degrees, and the air beyond the window was still stifling.

Perhaps because of the heat island effect, radiant heat climbed the glass and seeped into the walls.

The hum of the cooler seemed louder the deeper the night grew. It felt as if the air in the room would change the moment the machine stopped.

Every breath felt heavy.

Jian sat curled up quietly inside her cooling pod.

Even here, it wasn't perfectly comfortable. It wasn't the heat, but the dry air and mechanical hum unique to old equipment that pressed against her skin.

Pulling a thin blanket over her knees, she tightened her fingers on the laptop and powered it on.

With the familiar startup chime, a faint glow spread across the dark screen.

The AI interface slowly emerged.

 

"…When did the shared tumbler… begin?"

 

Jian murmured, her words lagging just behind her thoughts. It wasn't a long sentence, but countless emotions tangled inside it.

A moment later, an auto-recommended video appeared at the center of the screen.

 

"2023 Youth Environmental Contest Presentation – Kim Suyeon / Shared Tumbler Subscription System"

 

Jian's pupils trembled slightly. Without her clicking, the video began to play on its own.

On the screen was a girl in a 2023 school uniform, standing at a desk and speaking in a careful yet steady voice.

Her tone was cautious, her hand movements a little awkward, but in her voice was a clear conviction—faith in someone.

Jian watched her quietly. At some point, as if her breath had stopped, the pod sank into silence.

In a voice barely above a whisper, she murmured,

"…It wasn't me who changed things. …She… changed her own future."

 

The moment those words left her lips, Jian understood—clearly, for the first time—what it meant to feel connected.

That night's conversation hadn't been just for an assignment. No one had forced it, and no one knew the outcome.

It was simply this:

One person's sincerity had reached someone in another time—

and that moved heart had begun to shift the course of a world, little by little.

Only the low hum of the cooler lingered in the pod, like the air of this era itself.

Jian stared intently at Suyeon's face on the laptop screen. Still young, still awkward—yet not unfamiliar. The expression of someone who had decided to believe in something.

Jian's lips curved slowly upward.

It wasn't mere admiration or joy—it was certainty, connection, and perhaps… responsibility.

That weight settled quietly on her shoulders.

 

The future has never begun from the front.

The moment she trusted—that's when the small change had already begun.

 

Jian closed her eyes. She drew in a breath.

And for the first time, she truly thought about preparing for tomorrow.

More Chapters