The man looked at Rose with rounded eyes. He didn't want to harbor hope, but he couldn't help it. He really liked this girl. In fact, arguably, he experienced love at first sight when he saw Rose at the cafe in East Village that night.
When Rose turned and looked at him, it all happened like a slow-motion film. At that moment, he suddenly knew and was sure that this girl was the one he had been waiting for all his life.
He was never attracted to any woman, no matter how beautiful and smart they were. However, as soon as he saw Rose and then interacted with her ... it felt so right, and everything just clicked.
After he and Rose lived together and spent so much time getting to know each other, his feelings for her became even stronger and unstoppable.
So .. if Rose was talking about him, as a poor and simple man that she wanted to marry, whatever the reason, Rune felt so happy.