The setting of the prologue is far from what you would normally read in romance stories. There is no party with expensive wine and jazz music; no kitchen counter where Character A rushes to finish their breakfast; and no university set-up where Character B bumps into Character A in front of the registrar's office and ends up falling in love at first sight. This is not a bar where the main character will end up wasting themselves for a one-night stand, or an office set-up where the main character internally curses the hell out of their boss, who turns out to be the other lead.
This story is romance, but this is not a romantic prologue. Nor is this a caricature of a romantic comedy film, for there is no background music, no a la Wang Kor Wai cinematography, and no slow-motion effect upon the entrance of the main character.
The setting is akin to a canvas. A mediocre canvas, at that, for all there is to the picture is a normal family about to have dinner at exactly six-thirty in the evening. Again, there is no background music, no cinematography, no slow-mos, no extravagant theatrics—just a normal upper-middle-class Filipino family, waiting for their house helps to serve the food.
What adds to the mediocrity of the picture is the fact that members are seated according to normal hierarchy: the father, Ernesto, is positioned at the corner—also known as the kabisera—because of course, the Filipino family is highly patriarchal, and the kabisera is believed to be a position of power; his beloved wife, Consolacion (also known as Sing), is seated to his right, because after all, she is the right person for him; the eldest, Elvira, is seated comfortably to his left—almost the same level as the mother—for she is the first heir and, in case the parents are no longer capable of leading, the person to be in command of the family; and finally, the youngest, Emilio, is positioned to the mother's right, for he has to be aided in eating from time to time. At least, that is what his mother thinks.
By now, you're probably wondering: which among these people is the main character of this romance novel? It is not Ernesto, whose story had already ended with Sing (even though he has a lot of side stories, which Sing should never, ever know). It is also not Sing, whose story had already ended with Ernesto (even though she wonders, from time to time, if ever there is a spin-off where she's happier with somebody else). It is also not Elvira, who, at this point, is already engaged to a perfect man (who isn't really perfect—just someone who knows the bare minimum). And it will never be Emilio, for the boy is already firm on becoming a clergyman in the future (spoiler: he does end up being one, yet he will also leave, and get married.)
Our main character is not in the frame; our main character is quite late.
It takes a while for our main character to enter the picture. And once he does, there is no special effect to emphasize his being a focal point of the novel. In fact, he enters the scene in lackluster—having no life at all—for he had just woken up from his 5-minute nap turned 6-hour siesta. Nobody acknowledges him, even, aside from the youngest who only furrowed his brows upon noticing the older brother's unkempt hair.
For a main character of a romance novel, he is not breathtakingly handsome-- or the type of handsome that would make all the women in the story (except family, of course) fight over him. Yet, he is handsome still, at least based on Western-centric standards: tall, mestizo, pointed nose, clear skin. Other inconsequential details (that "might" add to his "handsomeness) include a small mole under his left eye, a dimple on his right cheek, a piercing on his left ear, and an armband tattoo right above his right elbow.
For a main character, he is just okay. He looks like a bad boy (although he really is, as he sleeps with different women from time to time), but there is nothing spectacular and ground-breaking about that fact. He is not a billionaire, after all; nor is he a member of a mafia, a member of a band, or a student of one of the Big 4 Universities. He is just a typical man with a colorful nightlife.
