Substitute Woman

"Wendy, you're such a joke. Who would've thought you'd one day personally buy condoms for me and Nathan? We did it for three whole hours. He touched me over and over, saying how lucky he was to have me back, that he no longer wanted to mourn me through a substitute. Tomorrow, he's taking me to the emotional auction too. He'll buy anything I want for me. And you? You’re wandering some street corner right now. How pitiful you are!"

Perhaps muddled by the lateness of night, Kyle continued to speak without restraint, "If I hadn't gotten bored abroad, I wouldn’t even bother stealing your man. But snatching him from your hands? That felt good. Men overseas are all fickle. Only he… that foolish man waited for me, over and over hurting you because of me. Watching you get falsely accused without being able to explain yourself is hilarious."

Wendy slowly put down her phone without replying. Expressionless, she blocked both Kyle and Nathan’s contacts, then arrived early at the emotional auction and extracted all her feelings for Nathan.

In that instant, she felt a profound sense of relief as if all the struggles, hesitation and pain she had endured over those years vanished from her mind in a flash.

When she thought of Nathan again, there wasn’t even the slightest ripple in her heart. It was as if he were merely someone she knew, with whom she had never shared any emotional entanglement.

As part of her wish, the bank manager would send Wendy to a scenic island, where she would never have to worry about food or clothing again and where she would be nearly impossible to find.

When the auction began, Nathan entered with Kyle at his side. He had called Wendy countless times, wanting to tell her that he hadn’t touched Kyle, but every call went unanswered. It was then he realized he had already been blocked.

A strange and unshakable panic clung tightly to Nathan. Beside him, Kyle gently reminded him that the auction was starting. As he looked up, his entire body froze in place.

On the stage, a montage of his memories with Wendy began playing.

The auctioneer’s voice narrated calmly, “Item up for bid: Wendy. Auctioned item: her love. After the auction is completed, Ms. Sullivan will feel no emotional fluctuations toward this relationship, as if she had never experienced it at all. The person who purchases this love will assume her perspective and feel all the joys, sorrows and heartaches she once went through.”