u/Living-Truth2488

I moved to Baguio a few years ago, and there was this bar I’d always go to whenever I wanted a quiet night. For almost a year, I’d always notice the same guy. He’d come in alone around the same time every week, order the same bourbon, and spend most of the night on his phone. We never spoke, but I knew his face because we kept crossing paths.

Our first interaction happened on New Year’s Eve. I accidentally bumped into him while handing my groceries to one of the staff for safekeeping. He looked a little annoyed, I apologized, and that was it. My phone was dying, so I caught myself secretly watching him swipe endlessly on Tinder just to pass the time.

Months later, after getting my heart broken by someone else, I downloaded Tinder… and somehow, we matched.

We eventually moved to Instagram and joked that we were “glassmates”, because we practically drank at the same place all the time. We’d casually ask if either of us was going there that night, but nothing ever really lined up.

One time, friends from my hometown came to visit me in Baguio. We spent the evening together, but they had to head home early because they had work the next day. I decided to stay behind, ordered another glass of wine, and just enjoyed the rest of my night.

Then I saw him again.

Same bar.

Same seat.

This time, I was the one who finally walked up to him.

I introduced myself, asked if I could sit beside him, and we ended up talking until closing time. We talked about food, wine, music, travel just about everything. Since neither of us wanted to go home yet, he drove me around Teachers Camp before taking me to a local place that he swore served amazing sinanglaw. I honestly didn’t like it (sorry 😭), and I could tell he was so excited for me to enjoy it that I actually felt bad.

After that night, we didn’t really see each other for a while, but we stayed connected through Instagram. We’d react to each other’s stories every now and then.

One time, I was in La Union when he messaged me saying he happened to be there too. Looking back, I think he was low-key asking where I was so he could drop by, but I was with a date at the time, so I just left him on seen.

A few weeks later, he asked if I was at the bar that night. I actually was but I had already left by the time he arrived, so we missed each other again.

Another time, I invited him to watch a movie, but I asked too late and he couldn’t make it before the screening started. Instead, he met us afterward at John Hay. We talked for hours until the restaurant closed, and none of us wanted to go home yet. So we bought a deck of cards, grabbed some drinks, found a quiet spot to hang out, and spent the rest of the night playing Lucky 9. There were four of us, and it turned out to be one of the most unexpectedly fun nights I’d had in a long time.

After that, seeing each other somehow became a weekly thing.

Sometimes we’d grab food after midnight.

Sometimes we’d just drive around Baguio with no destination.

Sometimes we’d park somewhere quiet, drink, and talk until sunrise.

Roundtrip to Elyu just to catch the Sunrise then uwi din.

Would pick me up in the middle of the night just to grab a pizza with him.

Told him I want coffee then pick mw up to grab a coffee.

He’d tease me for closing his car door too hard, so eventually he started opening and closing it himself. Kahit maulan or what he would tell me “wag kang bumaba ako na” Then he’d joke, *“*Hindi para sa’yo ’yan, para sa sasakyan.”

He remembered little things too like ordering tapa one night because I casually mentioned before that it was my favorite.

I also remember telling him about this one song that has always made me emotional. Every time I hear it, I get a little teary-eyed, though I could never really explain why. One day, he told me he had put his shoes on, gone for a walk, and listened to that song from beginning to end because he wanted to understand why it affected me so much.

Honestly, I don’t think he ever realized how much that meant to me.

It wasn’t just that he listened to the song it was that he remembered something I had mentioned in passing and actually took the time to experience it himself. It made me realize he had really been listening all along, even to the smallest things I would say.

Those quiet moments meant more to me than any grand romantic gesture ever could.

Nothing was ever official.

Nothing was ever clearly romantic.

It was just… slow.

Comfortable.

Like we were building a friendship first before anything else.

Then one night, he messaged me unusually early.
He was already at the bar around 7 PM and asked me to come. I still had a few things to finish, so I didn’t get there until around 10. By then, he was already a little drunk.

We spent the next few hours talking like we always did.
At one point, he asked me why I had deactivated my Instagram.

I laughed and jokingly replied,

“Because of you.”

He looked at me, confused.

“Why?”

I smiled and finally admitted,

“Because… I kind of like you.”

When the bar closed, we decided to walk around Burnham Park instead of going straight home.

Somewhere along the walk, I randomly hugged one of the trees and made him hug it too, even though he clearly didn’t want to. 😂

Then I looked at him and said,

“I told you I liked you… but I hope it doesn’t ruin our friendship.”

He simply replied,

“No, it won’t.”

I really wasn’t expecting something from him, told him i just like you but doesn’t mean i want a relationships with him i just enjoy being with you and Im comfortable around him.

After that, we had breakfast at KFC while waiting for the sun to come up before he drove me home.

What I remember most wasn’t even my confession.
It was our conversation over breakfast.

He started asking me random situational questions about relationships.

“What would you do if the person you’re dating has a girl best friend?”

I laughed and answered honestly.

“I don’t really like dating someone with a girl best friend. I understand if she was there before me, and I would never ask someone to cut people off. But once we’re together, I believe there should be boundaries. Hanging out alone all the time wouldn’t sit right with me.”

I asked him if he is Dating ba or may nililigawan he told me “No”

We kept talking about random relationship scenarios our deal breakers, our views on commitment, the things we valued most.

Looking back now, it almost felt like we were quietly trying to understand each other’s values without ever saying where we actually stood.

When he dropped me off that morning, I genuinely thought nothing had changed.

I thought we’d just keep doing what we’d always been doing and see where it naturally led.

Instead…

He slowly disappeared.

He stopped replying.

Then he unfollowed me.

A week later, I found out he had a girlfriend.

Months later, we crossed paths again at the same bar.
He was sitting alone in the same spot where I’d always seen him before.

I walked over and said,
“Uy, kamusta?”

He looked at me with the blankest expression.

No smile.

No warmth.

Just a short reply before I walked back to my friends.
Oddly enough, that hurt more than finding out he had someone else.

Not because he didn’t choose me but because it felt like everything we shared, all those late-night drives, conversations, inside jokes, the little things he remembered about me, and all those memories around Baguio… disappeared like they had never happened.

Sometimes I still wonder if I imagined the connection.
Or maybe we were just two people who kept finding each other at the right place…

…but at the wrong time.

Anyways it happened a year ago.

Few months ago during one of my solo travels, I met another solo joiner. She was a year younger than me and had just turned 28 birthday trip niya nung nagkakilala kami.

We immediately clicked because we spoke the same dialect and were around the same age. Habang nagkukwentuhan kami, she mentioned that she already has 2 sons. Tapos every now and then, her husband would call just to check how she was doing.

So I asked her, “Buti pinapayagan ka ng husband mo mag solo travel?”

And she said something that honestly stayed with me.

She said, “Minsan siya pa nga nagtutulak sakin gumala. Sinasabi niya I need time for myself daw. Hindi naman daw porket naging mom ako nang maaga, iikot nalang mundo ko sa pagiging asawa at nanay. I love my sons so much, pero kailangan ko rin minsan ng time for myself.”

🥹

We followed each other on IG after the trip, and she’s been constantly traveling since then. Last month she went to Limasawa alone, and now she’s in vietnam with her husband.

Napa “Lord, ganyan ka pala sa iba ha” talaga ako 😭 hahaha.

But honestly, it’s just so nice to know that guys like that still exist. Yung husband na secure enough to let his wife enjoy life, travel, and still have her own identity outside being a mom and wife. Even sweeter because he even funds some of her trips just because he wants her to be happy.

Sobrang wholesome lang 🥹

Ps. If you’re wondering how old is the husband he is 29 daw ☺️

Hi everyone! 👋

For solo travelers saan kayo usually naghahanap or nagbo-book ng hostel? Any apps, websites, or recommendations na trusted and budget-friendly? Thank you! 😊

Also if may ma recommend kayo around alabang 💕💕💕💕