I have been in Copenhagen for 2 days now. I am here with Henry, my classmate and friend at London School of Economics. His mother is Danish, but he had been living in London, for the past year and a half, we hit it off and became instant mate. We came to attend the introduction of gaming to the bachelor's program at ITU, the first university in the world to acknowledge the need to put gaming in the academia. It is our last night and we decided to take a stroll out. Denmark is one of the first countries to bounce back after the pandemic and you can see from the night life that's it's already bustling after a year of easing through the lockdown. Nightlife in Copenhagen is comparatively quieter than London, it cannot be compared even to Seoul, but I like the laidback atmosphere.
I was sitting by the bar when someone sat beside me, she took off her coat and put it behind her chair, she's wearing an all-black outfit. I know by now, that it's normal in Denmark to be wearing always black or gray, in our country we wear black in mourning. I could say the same to this woman beside me, probably she's mourning judging by the look on her face. Her eyes looked empty, she's wearing a simple pearl earring, with simple make-up and with her hair down. She's Asian like me, probably from the Southeast but there's also a hint of Chinese with her eyes and her light skin. She ordered 3 shots of tequila at once, which makes me and the bartender surprise, it's only 9 in the evening, too early to be ordering shots. She has been busy on her phone, since she sat down.
Half an hour of waiting, Henry showed up with one of his cousins. They planned to go to a club. I politely declined, since I am not really planning to be clubbing tonight, I am flying to Seoul tomorrow for the holidays. He took his leave; we will see each other after the holidays. Henry and I are still in the acquaintance stage of our relationship, we just like each other's company but there are still a lot of things that we don't know about each other. I initially wanted to join them, but I became fascinated with this woman beside me.
She must have drunk half of the battle of tequila already when one of her friends arrived. She stands up to acknowledge her, but her shoes got caught up by the railings of the bar, and she fell right at my lap. We are both surprised, maybe I more than her, it was an awkward scenario and I felt uneasy. She's looking at me with those empty eyes and apologizes before her friend help her stand.
As soon as her friend sit her up, the mood became melancholic. She's mourning, or she looks like she might have undergone the saddest phase of her life. I can't help but eavesdrop at their conversation though, and by the time I heard about marriage problem, I felt ashamed. I stand up to go to the restroom. She smells nice; she looks tired and her eyes are empty. She looked like she had not been eating and sleeping well, but she managed to hide it well.
How long had it been since I notice a woman? I can't believe my thoughts right now are all about this interesting woman at the bar. It's been more than a year since I found out about my wife and my best friend's affair. I escape in London, in the guise of studying my master's degree. Tomorrow, I'm going back to Seoul to attend my sister's appointment as the acting CEO of our company. I don't intend to stay long. I washed my face and head back to the bar.
She is alone again sitting at her original place and ask the bartender for more shots, if it's only in my place, I would have stopped her when she asked for more. Her face is totally red. She's drunk. She said something to the bartender in Danish about a taxi, probably she is asking them to call for a taxi, the bartender smiled. She's still responsible at least. She went to the restroom I suppose. I asked the bartender about their rules in giving their costumer too much to drink, and he laughed. He dismissed what I said, he said as long as they still know where they live and they are not causing any trouble, they can call a cab for them after.
She came back from the restroom and sit beside me again, she looked at me, she probably doesn't recognize me from earlier. I asked about her friend, she gave her an excuse. She looked drunk but she still sounds fine. She has a very high tolerance; I give her that.
"Hey, you. Could you be my stranger tonight?" She asked abruptly, I was taken aback. I cannot understand what she meant. Until she explained how the best person to talk to about your problems are strangers, because they don't give prejudice, they just listen. She's smart and articulate. She's probably educated given the way she talked and carry herself.
"Are you married?" I was stunned again. She keeps surprising me.
"Yes." I said briefly. I don't want to be explaining anything to her.
"Good luck. You got caught up with that convention too, eh…" she commented.
I started to be intrigued to what she's going to say. And she shared her story, of getting married and getting divorce.
"I always thought that marriage is something sacred, that no matter how hard a couple is going through, it should be worked out. How naïve could I be? I thought marriage is what will seal your love towards each other. But maybe, there had been no love to seal with in the first place…"
She was bitter. Her heart is full of angst and I felt like I needed to comfort her, but it was awkward on my part. So, I just listened. I was amazed of how strong she's handling it. I thought she would be crying a river by now. But she didn't break. She had probably cried it out already.
"It's a relief to have let it all out…we'll probably never see each other again after tonight. And even if I ever see you again, I might not recognize you, if in any case that we might cross each other's path in the future and you'll recognize me, I hope it won't be awkward. Thank you, you are the first person aside from my ex-husband and our lawyers, who knows I am now a divorcee…" she chuckled.
I was surprised. I thought her friend earlier would have known already. Apparently not. The night ended with an awkward kiss, she might have been trying to give me a peck on the cheeks to bid goodbye, but while she's trying to reach out, I turned my head and met her lips. A sudden rush came to me, I am a man after all. If I have not controlled myself, I would have been in the cab with her, taking her home. But I was her stranger. Indeed, since I never got to know her name.