On February 20th, 2021, COVID restrictions were still strict in Tokyo and other areas in Japan. Restaurants and bars did not allow large groups to gather indoors to prevent becoming a cluster site. So, Tony, Cam's best bro in Japan, decided to have his birthday party as a picnic outdoors in Tokyo's most famous park, Yoyogi-Koen.

Marika also happened to be at Yoyogi Park on that fateful day with a group of friends. Marika's bestie Charly decided that it would be a good day to "look for cute guys" at Yoyogi Park. Charly was initially unimpressed as she wandered around the park and saw many men's lack of preparation, such as sitting on the ground without a picnic sheet. She felt defeated but decided to have a good time with her friends anyway.

Marika and her friends had brought a bottle of wine, but realized that it had a cork and they hadn't brought a corkscrew. (Most wine bottles in Japan are sold with screw-tops in lieu of corks.) After seeing Tony, Cam, and friends with picnic sheets and understanding the level of preparedness they had, Marika was elected to go over and ask them, "Do you guys have something to open this bottle?" Fortunately, Tony had requested a screwdriver for his birthday, so someone was able to use it to open it.

Marika offered the group some of the wine and her friends also came over and began chit-chatting. Cam and Marika had their first conversation together, but didn't exchange any info at that moment. However, amongst the inebriated chaos, Tony and Marika had managed to exchange contact info. After Tony posted his birthday pics on Instagram, Marika found Cam tagged in the photos and added him. Shortly after, they began messaging and set up their first date.