In April 2025, Nguyen Thi Huyen Thuong, 31, from Yen Bai, a freelance interior designer, traveled to Thailand for a contract with Teemu Soini's company. Teemu, 28, is a communication software startup founder. During their first meeting, he was impressed by the petite Vietnamese woman, her large, round eyes, and energetic work style.

Although work discussions could have been conducted online, Teemu constantly found excuses to talk about the apartment's functionality to arrange meetings. When she declined, he secretly asked her assistant for her address to send flowers and gifts daily. Knowing Thuong's work schedule, he would buy a ticket to any country she flew to. "The more she rejected me, the more I wanted to win her over," he recounted.

During that period, Thuong repeatedly turned down Teemu due to her personal rule: no dating clients. Simultaneously, she wanted to dedicate her full attention to finding her birth mother.

Teemu and Huyen Thuong on a date in early 2026. *Photo: Nana*

In 1994, a woman left her newborn baby girl at a boarding house near the Yen Bai bus station. One day later, a childless local police couple adopted the baby, naming her Nguyen Thi Huyen Thuong. Growing up with the love of her adoptive parents and having a stable career, Thuong always yearned to find her roots.

After many months of hiring investigators and seeking help from the online community, she found the woman believed to be her birth mother. However, the woman refused to meet, stating she "didn't feel worthy."

"I felt abandoned for the second time," Thuong recalled. The shock led her to stop eating, work excessively, and eventually collapse, requiring hospitalization.

Instead of just sending flowers or messages like other suitors, Teemu unexpectedly appeared at Thuong's apartment door in Ha Noi. It was the first time the two sat together for hours, sharing stories about their past.

Thuong was surprised to learn that behind the facade of a successful CEO, Teemu had a fatherless childhood. To pay for university tuition, he had worked various jobs, from babysitting and delivering goods to waiting tables. Those years instilled in him independence, proficiency in repairing things, and a willingness to do arduous tasks.

Teemu realized that he and Thuong shared a constant sense of loneliness. Even though he was now financially secure, the emotional scar of an incomplete family remained deeply etched in his heart.

"From now on, I will be here to make up for it. Whenever you need me, I will be there," Teemu said. During his one week in Vietnam, he noted all of Thuong's preferences. He personally cared for her pet dog. "His actions softened my heart, and I decided to give us both a chance to move forward," Thuong recounted.

The man always appears with fresh flowers for his girlfriend. *Video: Naa&Teemu*

Since they officially started dating, Teemu has maintained the habit of giving his girlfriend flowers every day. Although holidays like 8/3 (International Women's Day) or 20/10 (Vietnamese Women's Day) are not common in Finland, he carefully noted them to remember to give gifts, understanding their importance to Vietnamese women.

To be near his girlfriend, Teemu asked his co-founder to allow him to oversee the Asian market. One time, while taking Thuong to the hair salon, he saw the owner's child playing alone. Teemu approached to talk and teach the child to draw. At mealtime, he personally fed the child. Seeing how he cared for a stranger's child, Thuong believed that when he became a father, Teemu would be a family man. "He always treats everyone around him with politeness and care, from housekeepers to waiters," she said.

Conversely, Teemu also admired Thuong when they were together. She empathized with him not only through family and work challenges. One time, his company had to pay a large sum in contract compensation to a client. The incident plunged the young entrepreneur into crisis. "You do your best to handle it, I'll help with the rest," Thuong told her boyfriend.

Teemu refused to accept money from his girlfriend. Thuong met Teemu's co-founder to quietly assist in resolving the crisis. When new contracts generated revenue, the company returned the money to Thuong. "This was also an opportunity for me to realize I had chosen the right woman for my life, making me think even more about marriage," Teemu said.

Teemu and his girlfriend cooking together in their Ha Noi apartment, 2026. *Photo provided by character*

Huyen Trang, Thuong's assistant, who has worked with her on many projects, recounted: One time, knowing his girlfriend was on a business trip in Thailand, Teemu canceled all his work appointments in Europe just to fly and meet her for one day. That persistence transformed Thuong from a quiet designer, who previously only focused on work, into a woman always radiant with smiles.

In one week, at their one-year anniversary party, Teemu plans to propose to the woman he loves.

Huyen Thuong shared that she is ready to embark on a new journey. "When our lives and finances are more stable, we plan to move somewhere close to nature to spend our days and nights together," she said.

Pham Nga