dereth
Supremacy Member
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- Jan 1, 2000
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Warning: long tale ahead...
Our story began back in poly, and it was anything but love at first sight.
She once told me she found me cold and unapproachable - something about my small eyes and rarely smiling face. A bit stuck up. As for me, I thought she gave off major 御姐 vibe - strong, confident, and honestly... not my type then. I’ve always found 大姐 types kind of intimidating, even though she’s actually two years younger than me. She is pretty though.
Let’s call her C.
At the time, my friend BS had a crush on C’s classmate E, who was also in the school choir with C. One day after school in late 1997, during the Christmas carolling season, he dragged me down to Orchard Somerset to watch them perform.
That was when the four of us - BS, E, C, and I - were introduced to one another for the first time.
BS later reminded me that C had been the faculty singing competition champion earlier that year. That struck a chord: Ohhh, that’s the girl who sang “Colors of the Wind” and absolutely crushed the rest of the competition! I was impressed.
From there, the four of us started hanging out as a study group.
Well, eventually… E took a liking to me instead of BS, and we dated briefly - just over a month. Turns out we had far less in common than we initially thought, and we parted ways amicably. We still hung out together as a group afterward, but understandably, BS was a little bitter that his “dream girl” dated me instead. That did put a bit of a strain on our friendship. (In retrospect, I don't regret it - He's a manipulative gaslighter.)
Meanwhile, C was going through a messy breakup with a toxic ex who kept trying to win her back. Around that time, we started chatting more - face-to-face during the day, and over IRC/ICQ late into the night. We discovered a ton of shared interests: anime, gaming, Mando and Cantopop… The connection grew naturally.
Still, we were “just friends,” but definitely closer.
Then came Valentine’s Day, 1998. We were planning to hang out in a big group - at least 12 or 15 - including three of C’s suitors. One was her classmate (who’s still a close friend of hers today), another was a policeman, and I honestly can’t remember the third. She wasn’t into any of them, I later found out.
The plan was to meet at Takashimaya for dinner, chill at Taka Square, and hit the club afterwards. BS had also planned to confess to E that day, and C wasn’t particularly in the mood to deal with her own lineup of admirers. So at some point in the evening, C and I quietly slipped away from the group and wandered around Cold Storage, talking about our past relationships, consoling each other about the recent breakups, and how nervous she is about her upcoming audition with a talent agency in Taiwan.
Something felt… different there and then. Couldn't quite put my finger on it.
I don’t remember whether we ended up at St James or Canto with the gang, but I do remember downing a few vodka mixers and dancing the whole night away - with her. Afterward, we stopped by a 7-Eleven for some bottled water before hopping into a cab - C and me in the back, with the policeman suitor up front.
I was the first to get off. As I was about to leave, I surprised myself - I pulled her gently toward me, kissed her on the cheek, and whispered, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
We didn’t speak for a week after that.
Then, one day, the familiar "Uh Oh!" pinged from ICQ...
“D, I think we need to talk.”
And talk we did. 24 February 1998 became our new beginning.
Almost 3 decades later, it still amazes me how everything unfolded - not through grand gestures or sweeping romance, but through quiet moments, shared interests, and honest conversations.
We weren’t each other’s type at first. We had our own entanglements, our own uncertainties. But somewhere between late-night chats on ICQ and that Valentine’s night fiasco, something shifted. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t dramatic. It just… felt right.
Since then, life has moved on - we’ve grown up, weathered storms, celebrated wins, and built something steady and real. We still laugh about that awkward peck on the cheek and the week of radio silence that followed. But that moment marked the start of something lasting.
Funny how the heart sometimes takes the scenic route.
Happy (many) Valentine’s Days later, Lao Por.
Our story began back in poly, and it was anything but love at first sight.
She once told me she found me cold and unapproachable - something about my small eyes and rarely smiling face. A bit stuck up. As for me, I thought she gave off major 御姐 vibe - strong, confident, and honestly... not my type then. I’ve always found 大姐 types kind of intimidating, even though she’s actually two years younger than me. She is pretty though.
Let’s call her C.
At the time, my friend BS had a crush on C’s classmate E, who was also in the school choir with C. One day after school in late 1997, during the Christmas carolling season, he dragged me down to Orchard Somerset to watch them perform.
That was when the four of us - BS, E, C, and I - were introduced to one another for the first time.
BS later reminded me that C had been the faculty singing competition champion earlier that year. That struck a chord: Ohhh, that’s the girl who sang “Colors of the Wind” and absolutely crushed the rest of the competition! I was impressed.
From there, the four of us started hanging out as a study group.
Well, eventually… E took a liking to me instead of BS, and we dated briefly - just over a month. Turns out we had far less in common than we initially thought, and we parted ways amicably. We still hung out together as a group afterward, but understandably, BS was a little bitter that his “dream girl” dated me instead. That did put a bit of a strain on our friendship. (In retrospect, I don't regret it - He's a manipulative gaslighter.)
Meanwhile, C was going through a messy breakup with a toxic ex who kept trying to win her back. Around that time, we started chatting more - face-to-face during the day, and over IRC/ICQ late into the night. We discovered a ton of shared interests: anime, gaming, Mando and Cantopop… The connection grew naturally.
Still, we were “just friends,” but definitely closer.
Then came Valentine’s Day, 1998. We were planning to hang out in a big group - at least 12 or 15 - including three of C’s suitors. One was her classmate (who’s still a close friend of hers today), another was a policeman, and I honestly can’t remember the third. She wasn’t into any of them, I later found out.
The plan was to meet at Takashimaya for dinner, chill at Taka Square, and hit the club afterwards. BS had also planned to confess to E that day, and C wasn’t particularly in the mood to deal with her own lineup of admirers. So at some point in the evening, C and I quietly slipped away from the group and wandered around Cold Storage, talking about our past relationships, consoling each other about the recent breakups, and how nervous she is about her upcoming audition with a talent agency in Taiwan.
Something felt… different there and then. Couldn't quite put my finger on it.
I don’t remember whether we ended up at St James or Canto with the gang, but I do remember downing a few vodka mixers and dancing the whole night away - with her. Afterward, we stopped by a 7-Eleven for some bottled water before hopping into a cab - C and me in the back, with the policeman suitor up front.
I was the first to get off. As I was about to leave, I surprised myself - I pulled her gently toward me, kissed her on the cheek, and whispered, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
We didn’t speak for a week after that.
Then, one day, the familiar "Uh Oh!" pinged from ICQ...
“D, I think we need to talk.”
And talk we did. 24 February 1998 became our new beginning.
Almost 3 decades later, it still amazes me how everything unfolded - not through grand gestures or sweeping romance, but through quiet moments, shared interests, and honest conversations.
We weren’t each other’s type at first. We had our own entanglements, our own uncertainties. But somewhere between late-night chats on ICQ and that Valentine’s night fiasco, something shifted. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t dramatic. It just… felt right.
Since then, life has moved on - we’ve grown up, weathered storms, celebrated wins, and built something steady and real. We still laugh about that awkward peck on the cheek and the week of radio silence that followed. But that moment marked the start of something lasting.
Funny how the heart sometimes takes the scenic route.
Happy (many) Valentine’s Days later, Lao Por.
sia.
