FAKIN

You don't expect your evening to turn into a drama.

You just wanted to grab a drink after work. One drink. Maybe two drinks.

You end up hearing a stranger’s life story instead.

You sit down at a bar in Itaewon feeling really tired from the day. The bar is dimly lit. The music is low. It's the kind of place where office workers come to be alone for a bit.

You order a beer. Just want to chill and check your phone.

Then you hear a voice.

“Another one”, a woman says beside you. Her voice is flat and a bit rough.

You look at her. Shes already had a drinks. Her eyes seem a bit bright and her eyeliner is smudged. Her hair's a bit messy like shes been playing with it all night. Her face looks empty like shes practiced it.

The bartender is unsure. “Miss, are you sure you want another drink? You look like you've had a night.”

“I want to forget a guy named Minseok”, she says. “So, yes I'm sure.”

The name Minseok sticks in your head for some reason.

The bartender gives her another drink. You watch her drink it like it’s a normal water.

She puts the glass down hard. Stares at the counter. Her phones on the bar. It keeps lighting up with calls she doesn't answer.

You didn’t know why but your instincts telling you to go to her. You talked to her.

“Is it working?” You ask her.

She blinks slowly. Turns to you.

“What do you mean?” She says.

“The drinking”, you say, looking at the glass. “Is it helping you to forget Minseok at all?”

She laughs, but its not a happy sound. “No. They don’t, but at least it makes things blurry.”

You stared at her longer. She's a woman not in a way but in a way that looks real. With her makeup a bit messy and her eyes tired, there's something bright about her.

You nod at the bartender.

“I'll pay for her drink”, you say.

Both of them look at you.

“You don't have to do that”, she says.

“I know,” you say. "I wanted to."

The bartender gives her another drink.

“Do you always buy drinks for a sad stranger woman?” she asks.

“Nah, just for a woman who tried to forget Minseok”, you say.

That makes her smile a bit.

She picks up the drink looks at you again.

“Okay”, she says. “Don’t regret. I want to spend the rest of your money today.”

She drinks it.

It does not take much for her to start talking. She just opens up easily.

You do not push her. You just sit there sipping your beer making the noise to show you are listening.

Soon, she is chatting away in her own words.

You learn her name is Sumin. You learn she had a boyfriend named Minseok. They were together for a time. Everyone thought they were a couple. She thought they were a couple too.

You learn she went to his place tonight. She surprised him with food. She used the code he gave her.

You learn she opened the bedroom door and saw him with someone.

She tells it with much detail like the images are still fresh in her mind.

“He tried to say I was overreacting”, she says, her eyes glassy. “Can you believe that? Him. Naked with another girl. Telling me I am overreacting.”

“That is bullshit", you say away.

“Exactly”, she says, pointing at you with a finger. “That’s the point.”

Her phone buzzes again. She does not even look. You catch a glimpse of his name on the screen before it goes dark.

You feel your jaw tighten on reflex.

You do not like that guy. You have never met him.

“You did not do anything", you say.

She laughs, short and sharp.

“I must have", she says. “Guys do not just cheat for no reason right? Maybe I was boring. Maybe I was not cute enough. Maybe I did not do it enough. Maybe I trusted him much. I do not know.”

“Stop doing that again”, you say.

She frowns. “Doing what?”