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Auction for “the present I was going to surprise my girlfriend with” closes with a happy ending

Michelle Lynn Dinh Oct 23, 2014
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A curious item came up for bid on Japan’s Yahoo! Auction site, simply titled, “The present I was going to surprise my girlfriend with – 2 years and 1 month old.” The story behind the ungiven present was as emotional as it seemed and included a description that inspired netizens all over to persevere even in the face of heartbreak. The item, a modest leather pencil case, started with an opening bid of just 2,000 yen (US$18) but closed at an impressive final price of 35,853 yen ($335).

The story of this young man’s unrequited love and the steps he took to mend his broken heart up next after the break!

Yahoo! Japan Auction user at_the_place_nobody_knows was just a college student when he faced the bitter sting of an unfaithful girlfriend. After two years, he finally decided to get rid of the last reminder of the one who broke his heart via online auction. The description of his item was posted on Yahoo! Japan auction as follows:

“Two years ago I bought a present for the girl I was seeing. At the time, she was always saying, ‘I’m so busy with the planning committee for the school festival,’ so I decided to purchase a present for her in September and keep it to give to her when we met up after the festival was over. It hadn’t even been a month when she started cheating on me with a guy who was also on the festival planning committee, which she told me about via email.

I was devastated, but I decided to focus my energy by joining the local kickboxing gym.
The pain of my broken heart was so intense that there were times when I contemplated suicide, but for the following two years, I buried myself in strenuous training and my university studies and began to live my life to the fullest each day. A few days ago, I candidly retold the story of the new me who learned to seize the day during an interview, and I was offered a job at a company that the former me couldn’t even dream of. At the end of the year I’ll be participating in a kickboxing match, the first one in my life.

And since this is the last year of my college life, I want to finally shake off the memory of the girl who put me through so much hell two years ago, so I’m auctioning off her present as the first step towards this new stage in my life.”

What an inspiring story! Turning disappointment into possibility, anger into strength, and regret into determination, this young man battled his internal storm and came out ahead, growing into a more confident and successful person. As it turns out, the present was a red pencil case, which at_the_place_nobody_knows showed off in a few pictures included on the auction page:

▼ Photos of the wrapped present that would haunt him for over two years.

▼ Out of the wrapping paper, we see that the untrue girlfriend was meant to receive a pencil case.

However, as uplifting as the first part of the item’s description is, the rest of it takes a turn to Weirdville, causing netizens all over Japan to wonder if this guy really was able to make such a miraculous comeback:

“This item is full of my ‘power of determination’ and my ‘power to turn hatred and sorrow into kindness.’ Even my hamster was energized like an electric razor once he touched the outside of this box.

For those who are troubled by life, have a person they can’t bring themselves to forgive, or are stuck in the past, I sincerely hope this item helps you in your first steps towards a resolution.

This pencil case is apparently made of real leather. It hadn’t been opened at all, so it looks brand new, but you can tell that it’s as reliable as a veteran member of the Marine Corps who has gone through many battles. That’s it’s ‘will to live,’ I suppose.

Well alrighty then. Getting rid of the last remnant of your ex is a very symbolic and emotional action, but we can’t quite believe that this pencil case has the power to heal pet hamsters or be reliable like a member of the armed forces. Come to think of it, the title is a little strange, too, pointing out that the pencil case is 2 years and one month old as if it’s a living thing.

Either way, it seems this story convinced a few people to bid on the pencil case. The auction started on October 14, but didn’t receive a single bid until the 20th. A slow start, but things really started escalating quickly and the price reached to 13,000 yen ($121) in less than two hours. Take a look at the bidding history below:

▼ The bidders’ user names are on the left, bid price in the middle, and date/time on the right.

By the end of the auction, the price had skyrocketed to 35,853 yen ($335). Who these bidders are and whether their bids were placed out of pity or admiration remains to be seen, but we have to admire this man’s dramatic transformation and his creative way of getting a fresh start.

Source: IT Media
Images: Yahoo! Japan Auction