Let us begin with Junel’s POV on this story.

Together with his co-officers from his school, Junel arrived early at the event hall. They were one of the few who arrived early.

Junel and his co-officers went ahead and dispersed to their assigned table number which they got from the registration booth just outside the elevator. Junel was the first to be seated on the table assigned for the Treasurers. Arriving 30-minutes early, he witnessed as each seat was occupied by the other officers, particularly the 9 remaining unoccupied seats on the table he was seated in.

The induction ceremony was almost starting, but he noticed that there is one seat right across him on the table which remains unoccupied. Since it is the very least of his concern at the time, he did not care, and just focused on the event instead.

As the ceremony carried on, Junel was on the messenger app chatting with one of his best friends in high school, Robin. Robin and Junel went to the same high school, but got separated in college as Junel had to move to another city. Going back to the event, Robin told Junel that he is currently in QC for the event but could not attend it since he is not one of the officers which will be inducted. He asked if Junel attended the event, which Junel confirmed. He told him that his friends from college attended the event as well and asked him to look for them and befriend them. Junel did not know any of Robin’s friends

in college so Robin sent a photo of one of them for Junel to have a reference. Junel zoomed in the photo which Robin sent and tried to look around, but realizing that there are more than a hundred people inside the hall that time, there is a very small chance

that he will find the person Robin asked him to find. It was indeed a silly thing to do in a room filled with over a hundred unfamiliar faces. Junel decided to drop the phone on the table and focus on the event.

Minutes later, Junel was casually looking around other tables as the guest speaker gives his speech when he noticed that the seat right across him on the table has already been occupied. A stunning girl in red tube pantsuit with a bangs that looks like a mermaid tail

caught his attention. He suddenly remembered the person on the photo that his friend Robin sent. With slight confusion, Junel picked up his phone, opened the photo, and zoomed it in to get a better look. To his amazement, Junel thinks that he has found the person on the photo and immediately tells Robin. Robin, I think I found her. Your friend. She’s seated on my table.

On the other hand, Viviene’s POV goes like this.

Arriving late to the event, Viviene and her co-officers did not know how to get to their seats at first, but they then learned that each of them was assigned to seat on different tables.

Seeing the event hall has already been filled with people and as the event has already begun, Viviene’s co-officers had quite a hard time finding their seats; but unlike them, Viviene found her seat immediately as it was located just near the registration booth.

Upon finding her seat, she quickly sat and did not bother to look around to check who is seated with her on the table and just focused on the event. She immediately sat as her feet start to ache due to her four-and-a-half-inch high-heeled shoes which is quite

uncomfortable to walk in.

As the event goes on, Viviene stays connected to her friends through the messenger app. One of which is Robin. Robin happened to attend the same Architecture School as Viviene, and one of his closest friends. So, yes you got it right, Robin is a common friend of both Junel and Viviene. As Robin was just outside the hotel, wandering around QC, he

asks Viviene to look for his friend Junel who, according to him, is at the event as well. Viviene responded to Robin saying that she will try to look for his friend as there are so many people inside the hall. Robin then proceeds to send a photo of him as reference.

Viviene lowered the brightness of her phone screen as she was worried that people seated near her knows Junel. She thought it would be awkward to see her zooming in on photo of a person they know. Moving on, Viviene took a peek at the photo and zoomed in, she then tried to look around to see if the person on the picture is seated anywhere near her. As she lifts her head and moves her eyes away from the phone screen, she immediately sees this fine-looking

young man seated right across her. She thinks that she has found Robin’s friend. At first,

Viviene was unsure as the person on the photo looked a little more edgy and has more masculine features compared to the person she is looking at. After having a second, and third look at the photo and the actual person, Viviene immediately tells Robin,

Oh my! I think I found your friend. I’m not sure though. He looks like the person on the

photo, but somehow, he does not. He’s the person seated right across me!

Aright, now you know how Junel saw Viviene, and how Viviene saw Junel. But how exactly did they first talk to each other? Who made the first move? Who approached who?

Let us learn more abut their love story as this story continues.

As the event concludes, the implementation of the strict seating arrangement has now been lifted, and it is now time for dinner. Some people began standing up and going to the buffet tables to get their food, while some decided to stay on their seats to avoid the

long queue; Junel and Viviene were one of them.

After a few minutes, Junel stood up and approached Viviene. Viviene was on her phone so he tapped her on the shoulder and said,

Hi, are you Robin’s friend?

Yes, it’s me. Viviene answered while looking up to Junel as she is still seated.

Junel jokingly replied with a question,

But why?

They both giggled. Junel then pulled out the now-vacant chair beside Viviene and asked if he could seat beside her. They continued chatting until they both decided to stand up and queue at the buffet table for the dinner, then they went back to their table and ate

dinner seated beside each other.

So, there you have it. That is how they first met. One lovely August evening in QC, through a silly favor from their common friend Robin. Now, you must be wondering how their love story continued.

Here is a very quick run through of their almost 4-year relationship.

I. August 2019: First meeting and getting connected on Messenger

II. October 2019: Second meeting. Junel got invited at a resort in Pansol for the farewell party of Ciarra prior to her flight to Canada.

III. January 2020: Third meeting. Junel surprised Viviene at a party thrown by her friends at a local bar in Batangas. Junel drove straight to Batangas from Cabuyao after his 11AM to 8PM work shift.

IV. February 2020: Fourth meeting. Junel took Viviene on a date for Valentine’s Day. He picked Viviene up at her house in Batangas City to formally ask for permission to her family that he will be taking her on a date in Laguna. Junel made a promise to return her safely and whole. Eager to make a good first impression, Junel even borrowed his Kuya’s car for this first real date with Viviene.

V. February 2020: Junel took Viviene home and introduced her to his family as the girl who has a crush on him. This is right after their first Valentine’s Date. He then proceeded to drive Viviene back home to Batangas.

VI. March 2020: Covid happened. The Lockdown was implemented. Nobody is allowed to go outside. Junel and Viviene can only go on Virtual Dates where they

watch movies together through the same link while video call is ongoing, as well as going on virtual dates at Zepeto; a virtual avatar app.

VII. September 2020: Fifth meeting. Six long months after its implementation, the Lockdown was lifted for the first time. Junel was able to take Viviene on their

second actual date. But since the Pandemic is still happening, they decided to have a date at the back of Junel’s car, on the roadside of a hill top near Monte

Maria where there is little to no people, no cars, just nature, and them.

VIII. December 2020: Sixth meeting. Viviene’s Ate and Kuya went to Solenad. Viviene came along and asked Junel if he can meet them there.

IX. December 2020: Seventh meeting. Junel took Viviene on their third date. This time

at a coffee shop. Flat White.

X. December 2020: Junel asks Viviene if they could officially be each other’s Boyfriend and Girlfriend. Viviene said Yes!

XI. December 2021: First Anniversary. They went on a car camping at the Villa Escudero Camping Grounds. It was sponsored by Brave the Camper. Who is

owned by Ciarra’s Kuya, and a very close friend of Viviene.

XII. August 2022: Viviene got a job offer at Junel’s workplace. Viviene accepted the offer and worked alongside Junel until they both left the company in March 2024.

XIII. December 2022: Second Anniversary. They went on a glamping in Cavite.

XIV. December 2023: Third Anniversary. They booked a 12-hr staycation in a Japanese-inspired Airbnb in Calaca.

XV. January 2024: Junel proposed to Viviene. Will you join me as we spend the rest of our lives together, be my wife, and be the mother of our children? Viviene said Yes for the second time!

XVI. March 2024: Pamanhikan. Junel together with his Family and Relatives went to Viviene’s house for the Traditional Meeting. Junel and Viviene decided to give it a little twist and prepared a Powerpoint Presentation for the whole “Pulongan”, and gave time at the end of their presentation for the elders to share their inputs and to answer their queries.