Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Picture Credit: CEN & CEN/@KAHN_KUN & CEN/@devochkapizdts
This photo of a modern day Romeo and Juliet who work for rival fast food delivery firms who were snapped snogging in a public square has resulted in their bosses sending them off on an a romantic holiday to Paris.
A passerby could not resist grabbing his smartphone to take the picture after spotting Dmitri Nekrasov and his girlfriend Julia Yastrebova sharing a kiss in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.
Dmitri was wearing the green uniform and backpack of the Delivery Club firm, while Julia, 21, was wearing an identical outfit but in the yellow of Google-owned delivery service, Yandex Food. Both are bitter rivals in the competitive fast food market place in Russia.
The photo was picked up by local media where it reached the attention of their bosses who decided to come together to reward the couple with a trip to the French capital city.
Delivery Club is reportedly paying for their flights and accommodation, while Yandex Food will pick up the tab for Disneyland tickets, a visit to the Eiffel Tower, a tour of the Louvre and dinner at a Michelin star restaurant.
A Delivery Club spokesman said: “We could not ignore this modern day Romeo and Juliet. We really want this story to have a much happier ending than the Shakespeare drama.”
Dmitri revealed the couple met in December when he spotted Julia in her uniform and plucked up the courage to speak to her, hoping they might become friends.
He said: “I was working in the Siberian Mall shopping centre. There were no orders, so I was sitting around, enjoying the moment. When I finally got an order, I saw her sitting there too.
“First I walked by but then I thought: ‘Why not to get to know her? Ask her how is it to work for another company’.”
Dmitri and Julia have since spoken every day, initially sharing funny work-related stories but then becoming closer until they came together as a couple in January.
Julia added that when she heard about the Paris trip, she thought it was a joke. It will be their first holiday together. Neither has been out of the country before and they will need to apply for passports before jetting off for Paris.
The story has struck a chord with online commentators including netizen ‘LoveTom’ who said: “This is a very cute story”, while ‘njunjunju’ added: “This is modern day ‘How I Met Your Mother’.”
Novosibirsk, Russia’s third biggest city in Russia after Moscow and St Petersburg, is regarded as the capital of Siberia, as well as the Novosibirsk Oblast region.
