Escaping the Plot (Not a romcom)

Umpisa ng problema

Face Claims:
-Giovanna Hildegarde 'Hilda' Florendo-Recto - (Somewhere between Judy Ann x Heart x Jodi (Lol))

-GianRemo 'Inigo' Enriquez y Montellano - Marco Gallo

ONE
         

Suntec City Convention - Hall 4

Inigo was dragged to this event—some industry thing he didn't really care about. Something about sustainable design systems, urban storytelling, and mga ganun, siguro something ESG-adjacent.

He wasn't even paying attention.

Mission niya was simple: nod, sip some free champagne, rub elbows with the right crowd, at hopefully maka-escape bago siya mapilitan sa isang lunch meeting o dinner na walang katapusan.

Pero then—

Then he saw her.

Nakatayo siya sa likod ng isang glass display ng mga custom mechanical watches—dangerous, brutal, elegant—and so quietly sharp na muntik na niyang isipin na parte siya ng exhibit.

She wasn't trying to be noticed.
She just was.

Wearing a black loose midi dress that dipped just below mid-calf, paired with black Gucci heeled Princeton loafers, she looked undeniably expensive without trying. Her statement gold-and-enamel earrings caught the overhead lights like punctuation. Her hair was tucked neatly behind one ear, and her eyes—sharp, olive-toned, unhurried—skimmed across the room like she was scanning for exits, not attention.

Champagne in hand.
Lanyard loose around her neck.
Face card undeniable.

Meron siyang facecard na Judy Ann x Heart x Jodi Sta. Maria — classic, matalim, walang pake. Morena pero more olive-gold kaysa bronze. Yung tipo ng balat na ayaw ng drama at laging may SPF 50+.

At first, iniisip ni Inigo:

Event staff, siguro.

Really chic.

Nakakatakot.

Siguro yung mga babaeng type na nag-i-salita lang sa phone tapos biglang umiilaw ang mga ilaw at nagkakabago lahat ng schedule. Wala naman siyang headset pero ang aura niya? Full "don't mess with me."

Tapos—

Sa likod niya:

May naka-display na tall exhibition placard, very clean ang design.
May black-and-white portrait - no smile, just eyes that dared the camera to flinch.
At sa minimalist serif font:

Giovanna Hildegarde Florendo–Recto
Industrial Designer / Artist / Master Jeweller
Studio H | Singapore / Manila / London

May profile na naka-list sa ilalim ng photo:
Illustration. Cultural semiotics. Material futures. Jeweller.

Mga obra niya—timepieces that looked like they could both tell time and store memories—glinted quietly behind the glass.

Inigo blinked.

She's not staff.
She's the fcking designer.

And just as that reality hit—

She looked up.

Their eyes locked. Just a beat.

He looked stupidly guwapo that day—sharp suit, good jawline, bad haircut in a sexy way, and those dimples.
She noticed. Of course she noticed.