Irene kind of knew who Gabriele was because they went to the same high school. Her friends used to call him Mr. 9 in history because of something the teacher (who used to teach both of them) had said about him randomly. Gabriele (being older) had no idea who Irene was. Fast forward 2 years (circa November 2019) , a mutual friend between Irene and Gabriele was supposed to go out for a beer with Irene and the rest of their high school group. At the last minute, everyone had flaked on Irene and the mutual friend so he offered to either grab a beer the two of them or join some of his friends that Irene kind of knew (Gabriele's group). 6 years total, 4 of long-distance relationship, Covid and lots of travelling around Europe (mainly cause of Irene), here we are!