Linhan and Kai both attended the University of Maryland, College Park. As biology majors, they shared several classes and knew of each other, but never really had the opportunity to connect. One night of senior year, Kai was out with several of his high school friends at Cornerstone. Linhan happened to be there as well with members of the Equestrian Team. As Kai went to go buy a round of drinks, he realized he had miscounted and had an extra Corona, and as he looked around, he made eye contact with Linhan. "Hey.. I have an extra Corona, if you want?" The pair spent the rest of the night chatting and adventuring around College Park. Unfortunately, as senior year was ending and the two were going their separate ways to embark on the next stage of their lives, Kai to start his first year of medical school at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York and Linhan to start graduate school at Tufts University in Boston, MA, they drifted apart. The summer afterwards, Linhan was preparing to apply for medical school and reached out to Kai to ask about his experience. The two quickly picked up right where they left off, and soon Kai came to Boston to visit Linhan. They spent the rest of the summer together and decided to take a leap of faith and begin a long distance relationship together.