Nikolai Xavier Verano

7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Captain Nikolai Xavier Verano y Alcántara, MEng (born 9 December 1997), prominently known as Nikolai Verano, is the deuteragonist of Flight Plan, the first novel of the FLIGHT series. He is part of the wealthy and famous Verano clan, one of the richest families in the Philippines, and the second son of the current Chairman of the Verano Group of Companies. However, due to the sudden death of his older brother, he becomes the heir to their immense family business. He enters Wright Aviation Academy as part of Batch Foxtrot 2018 because of his interest with flying; where he meets and falls in love with one of his batchmates, Mayumi Phoebe Bonifacio, who later becomes his wife. He is the father of Viktor, Vasilisa, Valentin, Veronika, Vladimir, Valeriya, Vladislav and Violetta, who are featured on their own separate stories as part of the series and spin-offs.
== Biography ==
=== Background ===
Nikolai Xavier Verano was born on 9 December 1997 at Paris, France as the second child and son of Engr. Julian Roel Verano, then Vice Chairman of the Verano Group of Companies, later Chairman, and President of Verano Development Corporation, and Maria Anastasia Alcántara, a former flight attendant of Philippine Airlines. He was the younger brother of Dmitri Xerxes Verano, and the older brother of Yuliana Ximena Verano. As he and his siblings were born in France, just like his father and his father's siblings, he was granted French citizenship by jus soli. Additionally, Nikolai was born as part of the wealthy and famous Verano clan, to which he grew in an affluent but strict lifestyle, nothing that his upbringing made him to value money much more as a deserving reward for achievement and hard work as his paternal grandmother was a pious woman and his mother grew up in humble beginnings.Flight Plan
As a child, he regarded himself to be a stubborn one that led for him to bear childhood scars. When he was five years old, his leg was caught with the bike wheel while riding behind that of his uncle that resulted to a faint scar. According to him, his uncle's panic at that time had been a running joke in the family. He had an appendectomy when he was seven years old. At the age of nine, he fell off from his horse, Maple; and despite appearing fine at first, except for a few bruises, he lost consciousness a few weeks later when he accompanied his father during a site visit in Makati. He was then diagnosed to have internal bleeding, resulting to a three-inches stitch just a few inches above his right ear. At eleven years old, he got a knife cut scar on his left thumb.
He studied from prestigious schools such as The British School Manila for his pre-school, International School Manila for his elementary, and Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland for his high school; though he didn't continue the senior year at the latter school as the education system was yet to be implemented in the Philippines and he intended to take university at once. During his time in Le Rosey did he first entered into a relationship: with Sophie Leonie, a Swiss classmate of his; however, they decided to separate ways after just eight months due to his intention not to continue his senior high school.XXX
He attended the University of Santo Tomas for his college with a bachelor's degree in BS Hotel, Restaurant and Management, something that he decided to take as he wasn't meant to succeed his father for the conglomerate empire of their family and planned to handle the interior management of their hotels. During his time in university, he had two other relationships: with Alyssa Kenia, a BS Tourism Management student whom he met through a common friend, but separated after eight months when he found out that she had been cheating on him and had fallen pregnant with her ex-boyfriend; and Charmaine Borres, a classmate of his and part of his close circle of friends since freshmen year whom he started courting and dating due to their friends' suggestion; but they later separated after seven months as they figured they weren't really a match with one another and were better off as friends. Despite such relationships, he didn't introduce any of them as his girlfriend to his family, and hadn't been physically intimate with them except for kissing, hugging and holding hands.Haze
After graduating from university, he decided to take up flying as he was influenced by his mother to have interest in aviation.Navigation Log
=== Flight training ===
==== PPL ground school ====
Nikolai enrolled at Wright Aviation Academy as a student pilot due to his interest with flying and ambition to start his own airlines in the future, something that he wanted to build on his own than be linked to his family's enterprise and had been inspired with his mother's stories as a former flight attendant. Due to his family's fortune and his father's interest to be part of the stockholders of WAA, Nikolai's parents, on the first day of their flight training, became the very important guests to meet with the Accountable Manager; very much more of honored guests compared to Christine Medel's parents, who were famous A-list stars. Despite being invited, Nikolai decided to stay outside the hall to stare at the sky and drink his ordered Starbucks Venti coffee; wherein, at that time, Christine first saw him with her parents on their way to meet with the Head of Training.Flight Path
After the meeting, he headed on to WAA's Gymnasium, where the welcoming ceremony was to be held, with his parents. He took the vacant seat where the girls of the batch, as well as Leo Garcia, Zander Agcaoili and Spencer Catindig are. While being in the middle of introducing one another, he also introduced himself to Yumi Bonifacio and the rest before taking a seat; and had been honest that he had been captivated with her at first sight. Even after their introductions, Nikolai introduced himself to Yumi's parents, something that he had only done towards them despite Yumi's insistence that it had been otherwise. Later on, in the classroom, he also ended up being seatmates with her. As the rest of the day ended up being purely of reminders and introductions of what they were to expect, their direct upper batch: Batch Echo 2018, invited them for tonight's informal briefing to be held at Dorm Juliet. He also shared side-comments with Yumi during the discussions concerning seniority, the prescribed and uniformed haircut, and also asked her if she knew one of their seniors that she had approached earlier on.
During the evening informal briefing with all their seniors who could attend the said affair, Nikolai came running late as a sophisticated and rich boy with a Starbucks Teavana; and dressed in a rather formal well-fitted white short-sleeved polo and matching dark jeans. With the introduction, he mentioned that he was an HRM graduate of University of Santo Tomas and a varsity player of the swimming team. By the end of the briefing, they were informed of a formal meet-and-greet tomorrow to be hosted by their direct upper batch.
The following day, for their formal meet-and-greet, he sat right next to Yumi's friend and their direct upper batch, Azriel Cruz, before Yumi, Carina, Ange and Nikki sat along with them and a few other from Echo 2018. They were invited for a dinner meeting that night at A.D's Grill.
They've waited for two hours before their seniors had arrived, much to their dismay. All the while that they were waiting for their seniors to arrive, Nikolai was invited to smoke but he revealed that he was wearing nicotine patches to start his smoking withdrawal. At the dinner meeting with their direct upper batch, Nikolai sat next to Batch Echo 2018's batch president's other side, just across Yumi. When Yumi was offered a second shot by Tyrone Costales, he took the shot instead. Being the lower batch, they were handed the bill to handle it and he paid for it without asking the rest of the batch for it. By their arrival back to WAA, Nikolai offered to drive Christine back to where she was staying since she wasn't fit to drive on her own.
By the weekend, on the way home, Nikolai found Yumi be picked up by her brother, along with their cousin, at WAA. They conversed beforehand about regarding the necessary eight thousand pesos for their batch's informal-meet-and-greet to be too much to ask for by her, opposite to his reaction for having too little regard to money.
Nikolai's parentage and his skills in communication was hinted during their batch's informal meet-and-greet at Pigs and Pints; and acted as the host for everyone with how articulate he was. He managed to escape, somehow, and settled on the bar when he figured out that Yumi was alone after telling her to remain close to the other girls. He then offered to treat her when she revealed that she was hungry, and the two of them escaped the rest of the informal meet-and-greet.
They spent dinner at a nearby food park wherein Yumi ordered a ramen and Nikolai a platter of sushi, sashimi and maki, which he all paid for. During their dinner, they conversed about their interests and the likes, only to be interrupted by a call he received from a contact named "Solynshka", whom Yumi noted to be his girlfriend. After the call, Yumi told him that he was part of the rich Verano clan and managed to guess his possible net worth. On their way back to meet with their batchmates, Nikolai handed his coat for her to wear. Upon their return, it had been agreed that she and the others head home while Nikolai and a few other remained.
The following morning, Nikolai was fast asleep in the classroom, along with Christine, Sage, Marcus, Zander and Rylie, for staying up until three o'clock that morning due to the informal meet and greet. Zander revealed that Nikolai shouldered the remaining expenses by using his black card, and he appeared to be listening with the conversation when he answered that it was a Citi Ultima black card.
By the weekend, Yumi insisted to take Nikolai's coat to be brought to the dry-and-clean; and in return, he took her blue ribbon as part of the installment. He was mentioned to be heading home to Bulacan for the weekend, but would be joining in carpooling with Sage, Yumi, Carina and Leo by the following weeks as he preferred staying in Manila. Upon Yumi's arrival, she had asked for Nikolai's coat to be sent to a dry-and-clean service, causing an inquiry among her family regarding their relationship. Later that evening, Nikolai messaged her upon finding her number through their batch's Viber group, and she ended stalking him through his social media accounts.
Yumi returned his newly dry-and-cleaned coat the following Monday and she noticed him working on some financial statement with Spencer's help concerning economics and stocks. He then asked her if she found anything interesting over the weekend and admitted that he knew that she stalked him, especially on his Instagram due to her recent likes. He reminded her of that afternoon's start of exercises. After the afternoon exercises, Nikolai was called by the girls and be asked to what he thinks of Yumi, who was not physically active and struggled with the exercise. Nikolai didn't answer them despite their insistence but by the time they reached WAA, he told her to start taking care of herself and called her "Ptichka".
That same evening, Nikolai messaged Yumi privately to send a congratulation message to her brother for passing and being the top-notcher of the year's aeronautical engineering board exam and inquired her about her dinner.
The following night, Nikolai invited her and the others for a dinner at his condominium. On the way, Yumi rode along with Nikolai after being told to accompany him; and before separating ways with the others, they'll just be meeting one another at the lobby. The two of them converse, and she asked him regarding his nickname to her being "Ptichka", which meant "little bird" in Russian. She countered that he'll be addressing him by his first name than his last name, which she had been doing all until that moment. They corrected one another's pronunciation with Yumi towards "Ptichka" and Nikolai towards "Phoebe". In return, Nikolai gave her another nickname: "Golubka".
Yumi and Nikolai met the others at the lobby. Nikolai handed a key card to his condo to Yumi as she and a few others took the first elevator, and by the time they've arrived in Nikolai's penthouse condo, Zander remembered that Yumi played the piano that led the others to ask her for a sample. Nikolai gave her permission, and she played Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, since it was the musical sheet that was on the piano's stand. While Nikolai, Rylie and Sage prepared their dinner, Zander and the others asked Yumi to teach them something basic with the piano. Yumi remembered the key card and handed to him but he said that she better keep it. After dinner, except for Marcus, Zander and Sage, who would be staying the night at Nikolai's condo for a drinking session, Nikolai ushered them until the condo's lobby. While the others were smoking, he conversed with Yumi and talk about his security. He told her that he has an older brother, and even though he was the second son, he still needed to handle a portion of their family business.
The following morning, he arrived at WAA for their batch's 4 am jump-off to Quezon City in order to take their NTC exams. Nikolai sat side by side with Yumi on the van on their way, occupying the back seat with Rylie on the other end. During the drive, when everyone was asleep, Yumi told him that she couldn't sleep and listened to classical music, to which he asked her if it was fine to listen with her and they shared earphones. Nikolai offered his coat to her again, and he leaned on to her as he slept. The batch had a stopover for breakfast, and as they continued on their way, he started looking on to their family business's projects.
Upon arriving at NTC Office in Quezon City, Nikolai and his batchmates were met by his bodyguards and WAA's liaison, Joel Sullano. They were sent to their respective seats as it was alphabetized as per their test permits. After taking their exams, they headed back to Clark and on the way, he forced Yumi to have some rest by letting her lean her head against his shoulder. She hesitated at first, but finally relented and fell asleep.
Upon their arrival back to Clark, along with the rest of their batchmates, they were invited for the pinning ceremony of Batch Bravo 2018. By the weekend, Nikolai joined Sage, Yumi, Carina and Leo on their way back to Manila; however, Nikolai served as the driver due to his so-called contract with Sage.
For their last EQC meeting, their batch headed to WAA's Clark hangar to visit the workings and overview upon flight training. The same afternoon, they finished their EQC exam and was dismissed much earlier than usual as it marked the end of their PPL ground school.
To show their gratitude, the batch decided to prepare a dinner for their PPL ground school instructors, and also have their first practice for their upcoming Christmas party. During the dinner, Nikolai and Sage sat along with Yumi, Carina, Nikki and Ange. Nikki intrigued Nikolai about his social media accounts after she and the girls had been teasing Yumi that they look good being together. Nikki also asked him what his type in women was.
After the dinner, the batch had their separate celebration and decided to have a KTV session at Wishing Well. After seeing Yumi heading to the restroom alone, he ensured that she'll remain safe; not just because of his presence to follow her but as well as his bodyguards being around. Before they delved into the topic, Eli called for him to talk about something. Nikolai told the others about what he and Eli talked about by the time that their batchmates started to separate ways, and he informed them that Eli was actually forced to abdicate his position as the batch's vice president to make Charles take the position.
Over the weekend, Nikolai posted a recently finished painting of his that he titled as Blue, and it also features Yumi's familiar blue ribbon that he took from her as part of an investment. Due to this, the batch inquired who was the woman behind the painting's inspiration, and was added by a fuel by Ange, Carina and Nikki towards Yumi for them to have their own separate group titled as "#TEAMNIKUMI". The others also asked her about what the real score between them was, and she was inquired about what she planned to give her as a birthday gift present.
Their batch decided to adapt the mafia style, using The Godfather as an inspiration for WAA's Christmas party with a theme of "A Night of Mischief". Due to that, everyone dressed on the uniformed black suit and tie, sunglasses, fedora hat, leather gloves and suitcase; except for Christine, who is meant to portray an additional cabaret singer, and Nikolai, who is to act out as the mafia's boss. During their preparations, Nikolai was on the phone, speaking with his father at the storage room behind the classroom and Yumi found her mid-conversation and instantly excused herself at once. They won the second place for the Christmas party celebration, and also the "Most Mischievous Group of the Night" for their costume. Before the night ended, Nikolai and the others who spent dinner in his condo was invited by Capt. Francis Infante, Rylie's junior college schoolmate and their ground instructor for EQC and Communications, for a celebration at Anchor's Bay. It ultimately showed the division of their batch since the others weren't invited.
On the way, Yumi rode along with him, and she noted that he'd been listening not only to classical music but as well as Christian songs. She asked him for other songs, and he said that he also enjoyed ballad OPM like Ben&Ben songs, noting that his favorite song of theirs was Bibingka despite it being flirtatious to just fall in love after nine days just because of the Ama Namin. She revealed to him that during her third-year high school, they were asked to perform a particular song from their assigned musical, which had been Les Misérables, to which she was a director and had provided accompaniment for On My Own. They talked about the song being sad for it was about an unrequited love.
They spent the night drinking with Capt. Infante, who've asked them about their Christmas party performance from earlier, the splitting of their batch, and of their reasons why they've chosen to be pilots. Nikolai revealed that it was because of his mother's passion for it as a flight attendant before marrying his father, his interest with flying, and it being a great opportunity to expand their family business. Later on, when Zander requested for a song with Nikki singing the song to the audience live, Nikolai asked Yumi if she sings to which she replied that she didn't and joked that he'll surely be singing by the time he courted someone; he remarked that he took note of it. By two o'clock in the morning, Capt. Infante invited them for some porridge close to SM Clark before they all separated ways and the boys, along with Capt. Infante, decided to continue their drinking session in his condominium.
Whatever they've discussed in the condominium wasn't revealed, though Sage asked Yumi, on their way home by morning and while Carina and Leo were asleep, if there was something between her and Nikolai, and if there would be a chance if Nikolai courted her. She didn't answer and change the subject. Nikolai didn't ride along with them as he has a flight heading to Paris from Clark that same day.
The following day, Yumi greeted Nikolai a happy birthday but found out that due to the different time zones, it was yet to be his birthday as he has a stopover in Dubai. Later on, he received another greeting from her at the same time that he arrived in Paris.
=== CPL ground school ===
At the start of their CPL ground school after New Year of 2019, Nikolai and the batch continued with their room learnings. Timely, they were bound to welcome the arrival of a new batch, Batch Alpha 2019, the following week. He brought nougats for the batch as souvenirs from France, though he gave Yumi a box of macarons upon knowing that she hated chocolates with almonds and nuts.
The rest of their CPL ground school mirrored that of their PPL ones, though it became a much in-depth lesson and additional subjects. They also kept their routine of having dinner at his condo, now with an assigned schedule of who cooks and washes the dishes every day. One time, Nikolai introduced to them his turtle pet whom he had named as "Poe". Despite the others connecting the dots that it was because of Yumi, whom they knew Nikolai called as "Phoe", he explained that it was from "Edgar Allan Poe".
When the newest batch arrived, making them their direct upper, Nikolai and the rest of the batch dealt with the matters very much the same way that they've experienced though much more lenient and compassionate. In meetings, they remained punctual, and the honorific of practicing courtesy was dismissed when it was just them. They've also hosted a dinner with the newest batch at Anchor's Bay and even split the bill compared to what they've encountered from Batch Echo 2018. During the drinking sessions, him and Leo were drawn to a conversation much more with Ria Cuevas, one of the four girls of the newest batch.
After dinner, as customary, they headed on to the porridge store Capt. Infante had introduced to them, and Yumi rode along with him as usual. During the ride, she asked him about the newest batch, but was diverted to the topic concerning the macarons he had given her and promised that he'll also be giving her macarons every day possible. In the end, before they headed out to the stall, Nikolai said that he would always be there for her and something in Russian that was an earlier declaration of his love to her.
Nikolai, once again, lent his jacket for Yumi; this time, he didn't ask her to have it washed and dried. Just as he had promised, some macarons were made for Yumi every dinner. For the weekend, he served as the driver of Sage's car with Yumi, Carina and Leo carpooling and by Paso de Blas, Nikolai received a call from his father regarding his older brother's, Dmitri's, sudden return to the Philippines and if he was aware of it beforehand, to which he replied, he was unaware.
As usual, Sage dropped them off close to his house and they all took a UV to their next destinations. On the way, Nikolai received a call from Lucas, his bodyguard assigned whenever he was in Manila. He answered the call as if it was a call from a college friend, being their own jargon not to reveal too much. Lucas informed him of the details and everything and after the call, he remembered that the jacket he was wearing was the same jacket he had let Yumi borrowed for it to smell like the traditional lily flowers.
By the time he arrived at UST, he met with Lucas and a few other bodyguards of his, wherein all of them were wearing the same clothes as him and has the same backpack in order to lure the media, if ever there were, to be free from his tail. Lucas informed him that they were still trying to contact Dmitri and even a team of bodyguards was dispatched to find him. That night, he didn't eat and cook dinner due to his worry and even if he tried to sleep, he wasn't able to in his own trial to reach his brother. His brother's arrival became a trending topic in Twitter after he was spotted at the airport earlier. Yumi, upon arriving home, texted him if he was doing fine but he didn't reply.
It was almost by midnight when Lucas called for him and told him that Efren Prieto, his mother's head bodyguard had called to say that they were on their way to St. Luke's due to his brother's involvement in a car accident. He hurriedly went with Dale, his driver, and Lucas. On the way, feeling unsettled, he insisted Lucas to tell him the truth. In the end, Lucas revealed to him that Dmitri was indeed involved in a car accident and was proclaimed dead on arrival.
Nikolai arrived first than his mother and younger sister, Yuliana. He was followed by the head of their company's PR department in order to control the release of the news. He assigned Lucas to deal with all the necessary conversations, and being a relative, he was asked to identify the body. He was in question about what was to happen next, but despite his grief, he was much more affected and saddened seeing his mother and Yuliana crying.Dewpoint
The following day, news about Dmitri's car accident and death was revealed to the public, and anything related about the issue became a trending topic in social media; resulting then for the batch to send their condolences to him through their Viber group. Some of his batchmates visited the wake before they headed on back to WAA. He met with Yumi, Spencer, Christine, Philipp, Charles and Axel; and was expected Sage and Rylie to follow after. He told them just as what the media had revealed and when the others asked to have some cigarette, leaving him with Yumi, the latter urged him to rest. After two days of lacking sleep, he ended up falling asleep while leaning on her shoulder.
His batchmates filed a batch leave on Friday to attend Dmitri's funeral. Despite the wake, Nikolai continued attending their ground school even though he was allowed to take leave. During Monday's lunch, those who've frequent having dinner at his place, along with Ange and Nikki, decided to have lunch at his condo since a bunch of food had been delivered there. At that time, he revealed the truth behind his brother's death to them which was slightly altered for the media and others: that instead of dying in a car accident, his brother was already dying by the time he left his girlfriend's condo and drove the way home; and his girlfriend committed suicide to escape the crime dubbed to be of "crime of passion".
By Friday, they attended the funeral, and he received a message from Yumi another condolence again. He didn't reply until it had been eleven in the evening, thanked her and asked if it was fine to call. During the call, he shared to her his doubts about his new position of being the heir to the Verano Group of Companies that was supposed to be his brother's. She assured him that everything will be alright in the future because God planned it that way, and that she would always be supporting him in all he was going to do.
Nikolai's life changed right after the incident, and it led for the public to be interested of him and also involved changes concerning his security even though he was with the batch. He continued with his flight training, despite the announcement during his father's birthday party that he was to be the next heir of the Verano Group of Companies. The announcement resulted it to be of the trending news, and Yumi confronted Nikolai about an article that mentioned ten trivia about him, to which he praised the writer for the last trivia about him having no girlfriend, which was the truth.
For the end of their CPL ground school, the batch decided to treat their ground instructors to some S&R pizzas and they celebrated at Frado's KTV the night after. At that time, Nikolai confronted Yumi about what happened during the last time that their circle of friends had a drinking session, and he was absent to attend his father's birthday party. He was informed about Zander and Sage's bet about his relationship status. She then asked him about the reason why he had named his pet turtle as "Poe", and replied that it was truly because of Edgar Allan Poe, because of an English project wherein he needed to memorize one of Poe's poems, Annabel Lee, and he also earned ownership of Poe the turtle around the same time. Yumi changed the subject then about him being allowed to join them for such gathering, and he countered that it was acceptable since he was just the heir and not the head, though security surrounding him had been stricter not to have a repeat to what happened with his older brother. He mentioned that he never wanted the position and always assumed that Dmitri was the fitting choice; hence, he decided to study in the country than to continue with his studies abroad. He also told her that she has a pure heart, which she doubted. When they were about to pay the bills, Nikolai offered to pay as his treat to them; to which Yumi called him "Swiper", but he only countered by calling her "Squirtle". As the following day coincided with Valentine's Day, before leaving one another, Yumi gave a hug to everyone, and chased after him for he hated hugs. Later on, Nikolai gave her a hug instead and greeted her a "Happy Valentines" in French, before finally allowing her to embrace him back. Little did she knew that to greet one another in Valentine's Day, according to French tradition, was only shared between lovers.
They received word regarding an upcoming CAAP examinations to be held in WAA just right after their CPL ground school. And all the while that they were waiting for their deployment, they were to accomplish their ALSIM and their so-called radio duties in Clark to oversee their seniors during their flights. Nikolai was in the same group as Rylie, Marcus, Zander, Kael, Sage and Leo. One time, during Yumi's group's ALSIM schedule set for after lunch, he invited them for some brunch, waking her up. Aside from that, he ordered a Java Chip Frappuccino from Starbucks for her as his thanks for helping him study for the CAAP exams. When they met, he told her that she was known to be very good with aircraft handling based on the recent ALSIM schedules from what he'd heard from Carina and her other groupmates. Yumi accompanied him in his car, being driven by his bodyguard and driver, while Carina joined Ange on the way to Marquee Mall to where they would be eating. On the way, he asked her about her interest with Chinese food and asked her if it was possible to take them to a Chinese restaurant in Clark after the CAAP exams.
The night before the third day of the CAAP exams, Nikolai messaged Yumi if she could accompany him with reviewing, since she had already finished the necessary ten subjects, and she agreed. To her surprise, Nikolai was accompanied by a bodyguard inside the classroom, and she was presented with macarons and tea for them to share, a gift he prepared for her perfect score with the Navigation exam, the very subject that everyone had been saying to be the hardest to take.
Yumi helped him with studying his remaining CAAP subjects to take while they spent some time eating macarons and drinking tea. On the last day of Yumi's ALSIM schedule, he invited them for breakfast, but the others declined. In the end, only him and Yumi had the breakfast at the Chinese restaurant Fortune. Upon returning to WAA, Nikolai handed a box of chocolate cake with macaron toppings as his birthday gift for her. It was later revealed that Nikolai asked the others not to greet her first, but to do so after he did.
While they were waiting for their deployment for their pre-solo training at Subic, they continued to do their radio duties in WAA's Clark base as a practice to speaking and reading back over the radio. Not so long, they received information about the details of their deployment and handed the responsibilities to their direct lower batch.
=== Pre-solo ===
For their pre-solo training, the Batch Foxtrot 2018 was sent to Subic. Due to some misunderstanding, the villa assigned for the boys wasn't prepared yet and the entire batch needed to deal with staying in the girls' villa for the night. Because of all the hassle of moving in and everything, they decided to spend dinner outside and to buy groceries for their stay. Yumi rode along with him in his car, a SUV Audi Q8 this time compared to the one he had been using back then in Clark; and he introduced her to his car named "Corbeau" and added that the other car's name is "Rougir". He then accompanied her during the grocery shopping, to which he limited her from buying processed foods and insisted that she must eat healthier foods than such. Also, he paid the grocery before she could even pay. During the grocery shopping as well, he and Yumi's photograph was captured by the other girls, which was sent to Yumi through their group chat and continued teasing her about the probability that there could be something else more between them.
Nikolai was already awake and had been preparing coffee for himself by the time that Yumi woke up earlier than expected the following day. He offered to make her a coffee he personally blended and as she waited for him, she realized that he had been busy juggling his work in helping with his family conglomerate business at the same time with flight training. They decided to have their coffee outside the villa in order not to wake the others, and she commented that his brewed coffee tastes like Starbucks' Caramel Macchiato, which was her favorite. Nikolai agreed when Yumi mentioned that she was more of a tea drinker, adding then that it was better to be matched with sweets, enumerating then her favorites to him. Afterwards, the two of them prepared breakfast for the batch, causing them to tease the two of them by calling them "Mommy" and "Daddy".
The following day, the boys evacuated the girls' villa and settled on their owns, separated into two groups. It had been agreed that the group who've been eating in his condominium during ground school, with an additional to Nikki, would be eating still as a group, and there had been a rotation to the one who was to prepare dinner for them all. Another thing, the batch gathered in the girls' villa to meet with their flight instructors for a briefing that evening; for they've failed to report at the flight line due to the incident with the villas yesterday. It was also such time that they met their instructors and received their flight instructor assignments.
Nikolai was assigned to Capt. Byron Felix Corpuz as his primary flight instructor, the same as Yumi's; and Capt. Delmar Tanyag as his secondary flight instructor, Vincent's primary. Not all flight instructors were present, including Capt. Corpuz; but Capt. Tanyag had been present and the two of them introduce themselves to him after the briefing.
For their observation flights, the batch decided to have a draw-lots for it. Nikolai picked up first, while Yumi took the second. The day after tomorrow, flight schedule had been released and Nikolai was assigned as an observation flight student on the same day as Yumi's and two others. He was noted to have been dizzy during the flight that he slept on the last hour before landing. Yumi received a flight schedule at once for tomorrow with Capt. Corpuz; with him having to fly with Capt. Corpuz the day after.
Due to that, the following evening, while the rest had been asking those who've already managed to have their first fight about another round of hand flow with the starting of the C172's engine, Nikolai decided to study on his own than be with the others. Yumi found him outside taking his IQOS at the same time, and she offered to aid him with the hand flow and gave insight with how her flight with Capt. Corpuz had been. Nikolai agreed to be taught with the hand flow and due to the lack of resources, he offered to allow her to sit on his lap, which only made their interaction a little awkward. Later that evening, the two exchanged messages about it, finding the situation indeed awkward; before ending their conversation, Yumi bid him good luck for his flight with Capt. Corpuz the following day.
One night, a few days when flights were canceled due to torrent raining, Marcus blurted out that he missed macaroni soup, especially that of his mother's cooking that resulted for him to decide in heading home upon finding out that he had no schedule for the following day. For the rest who've stayed in Subic, they decided to cook their own. The following day, Yumi decided to head out to buy the ingredients and Nikolai accompanied her to the grocery, along with Leo. During their grocery shopping, Leo left the two of them as he bought his own things and Nikolai remained next to Yumi. At that time, an elderly couple noticed them and commented that they were a good match to one another. After buying the necessary items, the three of them returned to cook the soup. During dinner, Carina and Rylie teased them by calling them "Daddy" and "Mommy". The teasing continued, until it had been the entire batch who've been calling them that.
One time, during Cristofer's birthday celebration, the batch watched John Wick III, and at that time, a list of each batch members' role as a one huge family had been unveiled, placing both Nikolai and Yumi as their parents. Later that evening, the two of them conversed about it; surprisingly, he joined in and called Yumi "Mommy".
As the batch's lessons continued without any hitch, Nikolai managed to have a good grasp of flying. One time, when flights were canceled due to weather, Nikolai who've been on the flight line at the announcement, headed back to the villa with Yumi, who've arrived on time that the flights were canceled. He then invited her for lunch at Rali's Restaurant, considering it as his threat. While waiting for their orders, the two of them conversed about the progressed of their flight training, especially concerning their troubles about their impending first solo flights. During their meal, they received a message from their batch's Viber group regarding a Pre-First Solo Exam to be held that evening.
When the two of them returned to their villas, they found the rest of the batch studying for their Pre-First Solo Exam. Only a few managed to pass, including Nikolai and Yumi. Before Capt. Corpuz returned back to La Union, he informed them that he was going to fly with them another time; this time, in preparation for their first solos hence the traffic pattern lessons than airworks. Nikolai received a message concerning the things he needed to improve after their flight, and Capt. Corpuz suggested for the two of them to discuss the things they needed to improve together over the prospect of a coffee date.
After another flight with Capt. Corpuz and that of Yumi's, before dismissing them, Capt. Benjamin Centino informed Capt. Corpuz that there were too many stories about the two of them that would make their primary flight instructor proud of them as a fair. Due to that, they were told and insisted on to have a coffee date to discuss their flaws and was insisted to send a picture of them together. They then agreed to have their coffee date the following day to discuss Capt. Corpuz's recommendations.
During the coffee date, Nikolai asked Yumi about what she requested of him when she was drunk during the celebration of Spencer's first solo a few nights ago. He told her that due to her drunkenness, she asked him to hire Architect Cade Hernandez, her brother's classmate and her elementary crush, to Verano Development Corporation upon finding out that she was friends with the heir of the Verano Group of Companies. She then remembered all that she told him during that time, and before she embarrassed herself much more, Nikolai's father called for him. The call was to inform Nikolai that his father would be in Subic to meet and play golf with Jake Murphy, a business partner, and he was to join him the following day.
During the game of golf, Nikolai was to entertain Jake's daughter, Daphne Murphy, who've shown great interest of him. The two first talked about his flight training before it had been redirected to the two of them being their father's heirs and that her father had plans to arrange marriage for her that would benefit their company. Nikolai then started having thoughts of securing his future with Yumi, hinting that he wanted to take his time over the matter than to rush it; and in the middle of his silence, Daphne embraced him, which surprised him. Their fathers, having seen what happened, led for his father to remind Jake that he could immediately halt their negotiations at once by what his daughter had done. It was revealed that Nikolai didn't like the idea of being embraced by anyone, and his father knew of it. Afterwards, his father told him that he wanted to meet his batchmates over dinner, precisely Yumi, whom he usually discussed about with the family.Crabbing
Nikolai then informed his batchmates of his father's wishes to meet with them for a dinner at the Subic Yacht Club. They weren't able to decline as his father had been insistent in meeting them. After the flight, Yumi rode along with him to the dinner as the others had headed right away, since the two of them were part of the day's closing flight. During the dinner, Nikolai sat next to Yumi and the rest of the girls, being the closest to be seated as well with his father. Due to that, Yumi and the girls were those frequently asked by his father, and had focused his attention on Yumi, too, with great interest.
A few days later, Nikolai had his first solo, while Yumi decided to use that moment to shoot creative videos for their batch's first solo compilation that would be used for their pinning ceremony. Afterwards, he invited the entire batch for another dinner; this time, with the rest of the flight instructors as per invited by his parents and younger sister as a celebration for his first solo. During dinner, Nikolai sat along with his father and that of his flight instructors; and he received a text message from Yumi, who was seated next to his mother and sister, asking if their bodyguards were eating. He told her that they did, and had already given a banquet as well for the mechanics. Later on, he revealed that "Solynshka" was his nickname to his younger sister, and told Yumi that his family liked her.
After Yumi's flight with Capt. Leroy Ancheta, which ended to be a failure and dismay, led for Nikolai to invite her for a horseback riding the following day. He revealed that he was a rider, so that she didn't need to worry about having to ride the same horse, and had a horse named "Maple". Afterwards, as it coincided with Leo, Charles and Marcus's first solos, they decided to watch it at the roadside where the end of the runway 07 was. Nikolai comforted her when she admitted that she felt like she was failing: saying that she was by far greater than she thought of herself to be.
When Nikolai finished his re-solo flight, he and the others who've already finished were asked to go home despite the rest of the batch still not having completed their first solos. During Yumi's solo on 15 July 2019, Nikolai surprised her to be there to watch it, had been the one to carry her from the plane, and be the one behind the planning of showering her with flowers than anything else. Along with Kael, he helped Yumi, Ange and Erick, those who had their first solo, in having their orders made to be given to the flight line. Afterwards, he offered Yumi a ride back to the villa, and asked her if he could change clothes before leaving. They bid one another farewell to meet one another during their pinning ceremony.
Nikolai's parents and younger sister were present for the celebration of their pinning ceremony. After the ceremony, Nikolai crossed paths with Yumi from the restroom, who've been rambling to herself, and having heard everything she'd been saying, the one about her liking him.
== Personality ==
Nikolai, despite being courteous and friendly towards people at first meeting, had shown that he was much more of an introvert. His business-like attitude was something that he had mastered in order to be of help to his family and had been hinted by those around him. However, he was much more withdrawn and secretive that he only opened up to those he trusted and loved. He was also described to love unconditionally, selflessly and wholly; something that had been proven with his connection with Yumi.
== Physical description ==
Nikolai was described to be a tall and handsome young man with a lean figure but with taut muscles. He had thick and unruly dark brown hair that he often preferred to be combed down but would often have it slicked back during training and business affairs. He was also noted to have broad shoulders of a swimmer but had a rather pale complexion. His features were also mentioned to be sharpened with an angular jawline and a face fitted of a model or an actor, that described him as one of the most sought bachelors. However, he was also noted to have scars on the junction of his left thumb, on his right ankle, an appendectomy scar, and a three-inches stitch a few inches above his right ear.
Even after some years, it had been noted that he remained youthful looking to appear like an older brother of his own children; though there had been a few marks of aging. He was still considered to be a handsome and elegant man who was regarded to have been "aging like fine wine", an equivalent to that of Yumi's.
== Skills and abilities ==
Nikolai, aside from his skills as a pilot, was a skilled traditional artist, especially when it came to watercolor painting and charcoal sketching. He was also a skilled photographer, and considered modeling as a hobby. He was also an athlete and played a variety of sports; though he was more active in swimming, archery, cycling, equestrian, fencing, golf, polo, shooting, squash and triathlon. His other noted sports were badminton, baseball, basketball, football, modern pentathlon, karting, rowing, table tennis, tennis and volleyball. He was also a great cook, and his cuisine was praised by the batch, especially by Yumi, who also praised his talent for coffee and tea preparation, and dessert making. He also enjoyed trinkets, and found peace with doing household chores, especially when he often found himself stress or in pressure. He was also taught martial arts such as Judo, known to be a black belter. Additionally, Nikolai was a polyglot, having able to speak and understand English, Filipino, French, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Italian and German fluently almost like a native.
== Possessions ==
See: Nikolai Verano's Possessions
== Ancestry ==
See: Verano family and Bonifacio family
* Father: Julius Roel Verano
* Mother: Maria Anastasia Verano y Alcántara
* Sibling/s:
** Dmitri Xerxes Verano y Alcántara
** Yuliana Ximena Verano y Alcántara (m. Louis Arceneaux)
* Spouse: Mayumi Phoebe Bonifacio y Cadaval
* Issue:
** Viktor Alexander Verano y Bonifacio
** Vasilisa Alyona Verano y Bonifacio
** Valentin Alexei Verano y Bonifacio 
** Unborn child (I) 
** Veronika Aleina Verano y Bonifacio 
** Vladimir Andrei Verano y Bonifacio 
** Valeriya Aksinia Verano y Bonifacio 
** Unborn child (II) 
** Vladislav Arkadi Verano y Bonifacio 
** Violetta Amaliya Verano y Bonifacio
== Relationships ==
=== Romances ===
<tabber>Mayumi Phoebe Bonifacio=
|-|Sophie Leonie Burgener=
|-|Alyssa Kenia Villosillo=
|-|Charmaine Borres=
</tabber>
===Friends===
<tabber>The=
|-|Most=
|-|Relevant=
|-|and Connected=
</tabber>
===Family===
<tabber>Or=
|-|Important=
|-|Characters=
</tabber>
===Enemies===
<tabber>Exclude=
|-|Unnecessary=
</tabber>
===Others===
<tabber>Subheadings=
|-|Or subsections=
|-|Except here!=
You can add other minor character relationships here in list form (if tabbers are used, entitle the tab as "More"). Example:
* Character name (relation)
* Non-existent Sarah (one-night stand)
* Non-existent John (former rival; briefly)
</tabber>
== Gallery ==
Add a maximum of 10 pictures, two lines, in gallery format. (See the rules here.)
== Trivia ==
<tabber>In-universe notes=
* Generally noteworthy but small or only briefly mentioned details about a character that does not fit anywhere else above.
* An obscure and not well-known point or something not everyone would know from casually watching the films may be considered a trivia.
|-|Real-world notes=
* Nikolai's full name was Nikolai Xavier Verano y Alcántara.
** Nikolai is the alternate transcription of Russian/Bulgarian Николай (Nikolay) that comes from the English name "Nicholas", from the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning "victory of the people", derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and λαός (laos) meaning "people".Behind the Name: Nikolai, Nikolay and Nicholas
** Xavier is derived from the Basque place name Etxeberria meaning "the new house".Behind the Name: Xavier
** Alcántara is a habitational name denoting someone originally from the municipality of Alcántara in Extremadura, Spain. The name is ultimately derived from Arabic اَلْقَنْطَرَة‎ (al-qanṭara) meaning "the bridge".Behind the Surname: Alcántara
** Verano means "summer" in Spanish.Behind the Surname: Verano
* His MBTI was listed to be ISTP-A.
* Details not mentioned within the books but has been confirmed from other official, outside sources.
* Real-world related tidbits, e.g. based on a real person or another fictional character not relevant to the series, etc.
* Should not include speculation, false information, major plot points, among others; exceptions may be very popular and heavily discussed theories and speculations among viewers.
* Notable errors (continuity, etc.) in "out-of-universe" sense/acknowledged "behind the scenes".
|-|Upcoming content=
* Tidbits or events set to occur in future books that has been confirmed from other official, outside sources.
</tabber>
== References ==
== Possessions ==
Nikolai, being part of the wealthy Verano clan, has his own net worth that placed him in a pedestal compared to others among his age. Ever since he was born, he has a stock hold share managed by his parents, and later turned over to him when he turned twenty-one years old. Aside from his personal wealth, he owned a lot of luxurious items in his possession that had been noted throughout the series.
At the beginning of the series, Nikolai was noted to own two Audi luxury cars: one was a Misano red pearl RS5 Coupe and a night black Q8, which he named as "Rougir" and "Corbeau", respectively. He also owns a three bedroom penthouse at Golf Ridge in Clark, Pamapnga, where he stayed during his flight training; and a two bedroom unit at Grand Residences 2 in España, Manila he owned along with his older brother, where he stayed during his College days and settled there whenever he headed to Manila instead of in Bulacan. He also owned fourteen percent of his father's company share and of their family's asset ever since he turned twenty-one years old; placing his individual net worth to be at 75.1 million US dollars as of March 2018. 
At the death of his brother, with him being expected to inherit their father's position, Nikolai's share increased. He owned twenty-six percent of his father's company share, and twenty-two percent of their family's asset that risen his net worth to 138.6 million US dollars the following year. 
By 2021, he purchased a three bedroom deluxe penthouse 58th-59th floor at Park Terraces in Makati, and a deep blue mica Lexus LC Convertible; and with the increased of the company's net worth, his net worth by that time escalated to 188.7 million US dollars. 
By the second-half of 2022, his percent of his father's company share increased to twenty-nine at the creation of Malyari Air, and twenty-three percent of their family's asset. The following year, Nikolai bought an artic gray BMW X7. By June 2026, Nikolai's share escalated to forty-two percent of his father's company share as he succeeded him as Verano Group of Companies' Chairman and Verano Development Corporation's President; resulting for his 1.6 billion US dollars net worth. 
Throughout the following years, Nikolai owned real estates in the Philippines and abroad, and listed as follows (All of the years were based as of March of that year): 
* 1100sqm of land in London, England (2022); newly built house in 2024. 
* 1579sqm of land in Forbes Park, Makati, Philippines (2025; given by his parents as a present for his marriage); newly built house in 2027. 
Upon marriage, Nikolai shared fifty percent of his company share to Yumi's and countless other real estate as follows (All of the years were based as of March of that year): 
* 2500sqm of land in Saint-Germain, Paris, France (2023); newly built house in 2025. 
* 2000sqm newly built house in Carmona, Cavite, Philippines (2024) 
* 199sqm of land in Tagaytay, Cavite, Philippines (2025); newly built cabin in 2026. 
* 2322sqm of land in Baguio City, Benguet, Philippines (2026); newly built house in 2028. 
* 71sqm of land in Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines (2027); newly built cabin in 2028. 
* 1599sqm of land in Auckland, New Zealand (2027); newly built house in 2029. 
* 465sqm of land in San Juan, La Union, Philippines (2029); newly built house in 2030. 
* 1140sqm of land in Basco, Batanes, Philippines (2029); newly built cabin in 2030. 
* 1500sqm of land in Montreal, Canada (2029); newly built house in 2030. 
* 1500sqm of land in Singapore City, Singapore (2029); newly built house in 2031. 
* 1250sqm of land in Baler, Aurora, Philippines (2030); newly built house in 2032. 
* 120sqm of land in Siargao, Surigao del Norte, Philippines (2031); newly built cabin in 2032.
Category:Male characters
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