Yes, Karylle and Dingdong are making big plans together

Though I have followed the lovebirds with fluctuating interest, I can be an incurable romantic around them.

This is because Dingdong Dantes and Karylle have consistently exploited none of the more overt wheedling tactics used by many confirmed showbiz couples-and instead, go for a cute banter rather than (cheesy, in most cases) displays of affection.

We caught up with the couple at the residence of Mandaue City Mayor Teddy Ouano hours before the Miss Mandaue pageant, wherein they were special guests, some weeks back. And I learned how special Cebu is to them. One of the first times they openly declared their relationship, by invoking the cliché "actions speak louder than words," was in Cebu when they sauntered into the lobby of Waterfront Lahug holding hands before the curious eyes of the local media. This was summer of last year.

In retrospect, it was the first trip they've ever made as a couple, made so unforgettable with a seafood dinner at a beachside restaurant in Mactan Island. They have been inseparable ever since.

Now, talks of an impending wedding are swirling, fanned perhaps by onscreen projects casting them as a married couple. With bated breaths, we awaited Karylle's answer, preceded by a meaningful smile, a shy giggle, and then, a furtive glance at her seatmate, Dingdong.

And finally

"Wala naman," Karylle punctuates with a giggle. "Kasi feeling ko wala lang silang matanong kasi we celebrated our first anniversary just this April. Kung hindi ikakasal, nag-bre-break naman ang ibinabalita."

Or are they intentionally steering clear from that direction because of mother Zsa Zsa Padilla's seemingly uneasiness with the prospect (because should that happen, others have pointed out, they'll be out-dashing her and longtime partner Dolphy to the altar)?

"Nagulat lang siya," Karylle clarifies, "She was caught off-guard by the question. It never crossed her mind that it was possibility right now."

"Hindi niya alam anong sasagot niya, hindi pa rin siya ready kahit alam niya she's very open to a lot of things. Parang hindi pa siya ready maging lola siguro," says the 25-year-old singer-actress with a laugh, adding her ideal age of marrying is "pushing 30."

With the grueling "Encantadia" shooting schedules over, Karylle has it in mind to attend to her singing career, with guest appearances in her mother's concert with Gary Valenciano giving this intention of hers a head start. "I've never really promoted my ('You Make Me Sing') album. Now we're going to re-package it, and I'll be going on a bar tour to promote it," she says.

Wedding rumors brushed aside, the two are yes, planning things together but on a business level by putting up a pre-school. An idea they hope to realize as soon as Dingdong finishes his Interdisciplinary course at Ateneo de Manila University, while Karylle takes up a Masters degree in Education. This joint venture would be a first for the couple, whose dates include jogging in UP Diliman and working out at the gym. "Education talaga ang gusto kong course when I was studying in college pero sabi ng Dad ko wala daw pera diyan. Kaso ang nangyari, sa course ko, ang mga major projects directed towards children, so in a way na-apply pa rin yung first love ko," says Karylle, whose undergraduate degree at Ateneo is Communications Technology.

Why a pre-school specifically and not any other more lucrative business, Dingdong says, "We are more worried on the long term effect on students, than the effect on us. Actually, it's a selfless thing. Plano-plano lang naman, pero hopefully, we'd really push through with it soon."