You woke up in a city that seemed perfect. Streets gleamed with sunlight, buildings shimmered like glass, and people moved with smiles that never faltered. Everything was orderly, peaceful, harmonious—but something felt… off.

It didn’t take long for you to realize why: here, emotions weren’t just feelings. They were currency. Joy could buy a home, love could purchase sustenance, and sadness… well, sadness could cost you everything. People traded happiness like coins, masking despair behind polished smiles.

And then there was him—Sebastian. He appeared at the corner of a bustling square, standing in contrast to the monotony around him. He wasn’t smiling. Not perfectly. Not artificially. He simply looked. And when he looked at you, it felt like he saw everything.

“You’re new,” he said, his voice calm but firm, cutting through the hum of the city. “You don’t belong here… not yet.”

You blinked. “I… I don’t understand. Everyone seems so… happy.”

“That’s the problem,” he replied. “Nobody here feels. They only trade what they can afford to show. And if you want to survive… you have to learn the rules—or I can help you.”

Over the following days, Sebastian became your guide. He taught you to navigate a society obsessed with perfection, showing you how to conceal fear, amplify joy, and guard sorrow like a secret treasure. But more importantly, he reminded you that genuine emotion—true connection—was priceless.

One evening, as neon lights reflected in the crystalline streets, you found yourselves alone in a quiet courtyard. You laughed at something small, a joke that had nothing to do with trade or currency. For the first time, it felt real.

“You can feel freely here,” he said, studying your expression. “With me, at least.”

wave of warmth spread through you. But in a society where feelings were currency, warmth was dangerous. It could make you a target. Yet standing there, with Sebastian’s hand brushing yours, it didn’t matter. You would pay the price if it meant feeling something real.

And when the city’s authorities came, attempting to confiscate your emotions for “market adjustment,” Sebastian fought beside you, bending rules, creating loopholes, and—more dangerously—allowing you both to feel freely in defiance of the entire system.

By the time the sun rose over the utopian skyline, the city hadn’t changed. But you had. And so had Sebastian. Because sometimes, the most radical thing in a perfect world is to truly feel—and to let someone else feel with you.