Leisurely walking hand in hand, the young officer stopped by Trang Tien ice cream shop to buy for himself and his lover one of Hanoi’s specialties. She leaned on his shoulder, looking into the distance and remembering: “Time flies so fast, honey! It was just yesterday that you were a student at the Information Officer School, and I was a senior student at the University of Commerce. At that time, you were doing an internship in Da Nang City, and thanks to Facebook, we met each other.”

Before, Nguyen Phuong Linh never thought she would fall in love with a soldier, and even less like a long-distance relationship. Before chatting on Facebook, she looked at his information and photos on his timeline, only seeing pictures posted in civilian clothes. Through the way he talked, Phuong Linh found the young man very intelligent and humorous. Although they confided in each other every day, the young officer did not reveal anything about his job, always bringing up funny stories that made his girlfriend very excited.

Lieutenant Le Van Bang with his girlfriend Nguyen Phuong Linh.

Gradually, when she was fascinated by the stories told every day, when he was busy with work and had not had time to text, she felt nostalgic and took the initiative to ask first. After the internship in Da Nang ended, returning to the unit, the young officer promised to return to Hanoi to meet his lover. The first time they met, they made an appointment on the shore of Hoan Kiem Lake. That morning, Phuong Linh was very nervous so she arrived at the meeting place early, looked over to the chair next to her, and saw a young man in military uniform facing the lake, holding a notebook in his hand.

At this time, partly because it was not yet the appointment time, partly because she was imagining that the person coming to see her would be wearing a white shirt and trousers, she did not pay attention to the young man beside her anymore. Looking at the clock, it was the appointment time, Phuong Linh took out her phone to dial the number and saw that the other end was busy. She looked over to the chair next to her and saw that the soldier was also calling someone. A few minutes later, her phone rang, the familiar voice was very close to her. They both turned to look, walking towards each other. It turned out that they had both arrived very early, only they did not recognize each other and she was surprised because he was a soldier.

Taking her boyfriend to visit the tourist attractions of the capital, listening to the officer share about his work, Phuong Linh felt more love and respect. At the moment of farewell, both of them lingered with the promise: "We will try to complete our studies together. Wait for me, okay?".

On December 22nd last year, Phuong Linh traveled from Hanoi to visit her lover at his unit. This was also her longest trip ever. The first time she set foot in the Army barracks where her lover was working, she felt the closeness and care from everyone and the bright-green-clean-beautiful working environment made her feel secure and love her soldier even more.

Every time he had a leave, he often arranged time to go to Hanoi to visit and meet his girlfriend's family. With the mature style of a soldier and the sincere way of speaking, the officer scored points in the eyes of his girlfriend's parents. Both families were very supportive of this relationship and were waiting for the day when the young couple would officially become one.

Article and photos: NGOC HUYEN