Location: Aurora Hills – Strategy Room, 7:30 AM
The invitation arrived in a sleek silver envelope—no digital trace, no sender ID.
Jihye sliced it open carefully.
Inside, a single card read:
> "The Future of Systems Summit – Singapore, Global SkyTower – 3 Days From Now.
Show us what's real. Or we'll build what's fake."
Sena blinked. "That's… blunt."
Eunsol frowned. "It's a challenge, not a request."
Yoori read the back. It was handwritten:
> We've already begun.
---
Location: Singapore – Global SkyTower, 102nd Floor
Three days later, they arrived in a storm of cameras and formal greetings.
But this was no peace conference.
This was a tech summit—with billionaires in branded suits, robotic hosts welcoming guests, holograms flickering across the air.
Jiwoo and the Circle stood out not because they were odd—
But because they were the only ones not selling anything.
---
Observation Room – 103rd Floor
Through a one-way glass wall, Jiwoo watched the main showroom.
There, in the center of the sleek hall, stood a tall glass pillar labeled:
> AURA-9: Autonomous Uplift Reprogramming Algorithm
"Next-Gen Philanthropy. Peace as a Product."
The phrase made his skin crawl.
Mirae whispered, "They copied the name."
Noeun's eyes narrowed. "But twisted the meaning."
Jihye brought up the specs on her portable.
> "Predictive behavior shaping. Automated funding flow. Personality scoring.
They turned our open system… into a behavioral marketplace."
---
The Meeting with the Summit Chair – 104th Floor
A man in a pristine navy suit greeted them.
His name was Dr. Elias Cho—a former data scientist turned venture philanthropist.
He gestured to a large round table, where crystal water glasses shimmered beside ivory notepads.
> "Mr. Jiwoo. Ladies. Welcome. I've admired your work from afar."
Jiwoo remained standing.
> "You didn't invite us here to admire anything."
Dr. Cho smiled.
> "True. I invited you to merge."
Sena folded her arms. "Merge?"
> "Your Peace Spiral System. Our infrastructure. You have vision.
We have reach. Together, we can replace outdated governments with responsive AI-led peace nodes in every continent."
---
Jiwoo said nothing.
Dr. Cho continued, voice calm but sharp.
> "Right now, you're unpredictable. Unregulated.
You're building utopias the world can't tax or track.
That makes you dangerous."
Eunsol leaned forward. "So, you copied us?"
Cho didn't flinch.
> "We optimized you. Took the idea, removed the emotions, the messiness.
We made it market-ready."
---
Jiwoo's Response
He stepped forward, placing his phone face-up on the table.
On it: a video played silently.
A school in a rural Philippine village.
Children laughing as they painted a mural.
The caption read:
> "No metrics. Just meaning."
He looked Cho in the eye.
> "You made peace a product.
We made it a choice."
> "You designed a system that gives.
Ours asks.
Yours rewards the compliant.
Ours empowers the ignored."
> "So no.
We won't merge.
Because what you built isn't peace.
It's obedience."
---
Dr. Cho's Smile Dropped
For the first time, the polished surface cracked.
> "You'll regret that."
Jiwoo's eyes didn't waver.
> "Only people who fear losing something regret saying no.
We've already given everything away."
---
Later That Night – Summit Lounge, 92nd Floor
The Circle sat around a fire-like projection, holographic flames flickering gently.
Mirae plucked at her guitar absentmindedly.
Jihye tapped into the AURA-9 backend silently, frowning.
> "Their system assigns 'Peace Scores' to citizens based on behavior."
"Too many protests? Score drops."
"Too long without transactions? Score drops."
"Too many 'unmeasurable moments'? Score drops."
Noeun's voice was low. "That's not peace. That's performance."
---
Jiwoo stood.
> "Let's do what they can't."
Sena looked up. "You want to build a Node here?"
He nodded.
> "Not a project. Just a ripple.
We find one life. Change it. Let the rest watch."
---
The Next Morning – The Ripple Begins
With no press. No announcement. No funds exchanged.
Eunsol met a burned-out teacher in Bukit Timah.
Mirae played music in a hospital lobby for kids.
Yoori helped rebuild a broken digital filing system at a local legal aid center.
Noeun held a free mental health workshop in a forgotten community hall.
Sena quietly paid off the debt of a coffee vendor.
Jihye protected a group of street vendors from getting digitally flagged by AURA-9's sensors.
No ads. No credit.
Just change.
---
48 Hours Later – Unexpected Response
Citizens began uploading anonymous testimonials:
"I met a girl who didn't ask me to fix my life. Just sat with me."
"I saw someone in a plain black jacket change our week in silence."
The hashtag began trending:
> #RealPeace
Dr. Cho's response?
He doubled down.
> "We are the future. They are nostalgia.
The world will always choose power it can predict."
---
Final Scene – Jiwoo at the Marina
Jiwoo stood alone by the water, looking at the skyline.
The Circle joined him one by one.
Eunsol: "They're watching."
Jihye: "And losing."
Mirae: "Want to write a song called Peace Isn't an App?"
Sena: "We don't need to compete."
Jiwoo finally spoke:
> "Because in the end…
We don't need the world to believe in us.
Just in the idea that they don't have to be controlled to be peaceful."
---