Sa loob ng dalawang linggo ay nakapagpasa ng mahigit singkwentang resume si Niki sa iba't ibang kumpanya at nakagawa na siya ng halos labinlimang videos para sa vlog channel niya. She has gone to five different interviews, all of which have been promising but she has not heard back from them yet. She was not too worried, though. Hindi pa naman ganoon katagal mula nang ma-interview siya.

Out of all the videos she recorded, three made their way to her channel. Andy helped her with the editing and he also provided his honest feedback. Niki was not expecting to get a lot of views right away.

Ilang araw na naka one view per video ang extent ng engagement ng content niya. Then before last weekend, she gained a handful of views. For someone like her who just started vlogging, it was a big deal. Andy made cupcakes for her and they celebrated with pizzas and beer, and of course, she made a vlog about it.

"Nga pala, okay lang ba sa 'yo na isama kita sa videos ko? O i-cover ko yung mukha mo? Or as in wala ka sa frame? Or.... like you don't exist at all?" tuloy-tuloy niyang tanong dito noong nag-iinuman sila.

"Okay lang namang mapasama ako sa video," sagot ni Andy sa kanya. "I think it'll help with the views."

Niki remembered rolling her eyes so hard, her eyes hurt after.

The third video was just posted earlier this week and it was about Ponkan. She literally just followed Ponkan around and forced him to love her during the entire video. It was hilarious. She got like a hundred views and three comments. Andy was right. Cats are the best money makers.

Ang problema, palaging nakakulong si Ponkan sa kwarto ni Andy. Maghapon iyon. Lalabas lamang ito kapag nasa labas si Andy o kung pakakainin ito. Just as she didn't want to be bothered while she was filming stuff, she also didn't want to bother Andy while he was working.

"Kumuha kaya ako ng isa pang pusa?" suhestiyon niya kay Andy isang umaga.

Andy's eyebrows furrowed. "Ang dami mo nang gastos kay Ponkan. Kukuha ka pa ng isa? Wala ka pang trabaho."

Niki grunted and propped her chin on her palm. Andy was right. Magastos na ang isang pusa, paano pa kaya kapag dalawa? Mabuti nga at napamahal na yata rito si Ponkan. Ito na ang kusang nag-o-order ng pagkain ng pusa kahit hindi siya kahati sa gastos. He even bought Ponkan a new litter box na mukhang washing machine.

"Maybe you should try cooking?"

"Magastos yun e."

"Gumagastos naman talaga tayo sa groceries. And it's not like you're gonna cook everyday. Just occasionally. Di ba sabi mo magtututo ka na?"

"Mahirap sabayan yung videos e. Minsan hindi nila pinapakita kung pa'no. I want to see them be very specific," dahilan niya.

Andy sat on the dining chair with his coffee on hand. "Alam mo, tingin ko ang problema mo e masyado kang perfectionist when it comes to cooking. Gusto mo the exact same way so you can produce the exact same result. But cooking is not like that. Sometimes it's taking just the concept and then applying your own interpretation to it."

"Maybe that's why you're so good at it. Magaling ka kasi sa impromptu art spontaneous."

He sipped his coffee and smiled. "I'm good at anything."

"Except being humble."

Andy chuckled. "I'll teach you, if you want. This weekend. For now, iiwan ko sa labas si Ponkan."

Ponkan, hearing his name, walked up to Andy and rubbed his face against his leg. "Meow~"

Niki opened her phone's camera and then tried to record Ponkan just slithering in between their legs. Nang maubos ni Andy ang kape ay tumayo ito para hugasan ang tasa sa lababo. Sumunod agad si Ponkan dito. Dahil nasa baba si Ponkan, binti lang ni Andy ang kita sa frame.

"I brought this cat hope and he wants nothing to do with me," she stated. "I took him to the vet and bathed him and brought him food and toys and what did he do in return? He submitted himself to my best friend... who's allergic to cats!"

Andy let out a laugh. Sinenyasan siya nito na tatakbo na ito pabalik ng kwarto pagkatapos nitong maghugas. Niki nodded and waited for him to sprint back into his room. Ponkan ran after him but he was a bit slow, probably taken by surprise.

Nang mapagsarhan ng pinto, umupo si Ponkan sa tapat noon. "Meow!" he pleaded.

Niki was still recording when she approached Ponkan. Lumingon ito sa kanya. Tumingin sa camera. "Meoooow."

"Gusto mo ng aircon? May aircon sa kwarto ko." Binuksan niya ang katabing kwarto. Ponkan remained sitting in front of Andy's room. "Meow," sagot nito sa kanya, nagsusumamo pa rin ang boses.

She turned the camera to selfie mode and said, "I don't get why cats always go to the people who don't like them. I guess some cats are like people, 'no? We go for people who are out of our league or who don't like us back." Niki smiled at the camera. "If you have any advice on how to make Ponkan love me, please leave them in the comments. Bye~"

–

The weeks quickly passed by. Niki didn't think she would have so much difficulty finding a new job, pero matatapos na lang ang taon ay wala pa rin siyang trabaho. It was a good thing that she started vlogging. Tuwing matitengga siya, she would just find something to do and then, she would record herself doing it. She had already done one cooking video with Andy pero nakapila pa iyon sa mga ia-upload niya.

She had gotten more views and a few comments and even some suggestions and requests. Andy said once she gets a gate comment, that's when she would know she already made it. So far, puro positive feedback pa lang ang natatanggap niya.

Andy was also getting more invested in editing. Hobby kasi nitong magkutingting online and tinkering with the videos was interesting for him. May pinag-aralan din itong apps at naungusan na rin yata siya nito sa dami ng features na alam nito.

Since Andy was cool with being on videos, he didn't mind being recorded. Sa try on videos ni Niki, completely out of the frame si Andy. Boses lang nito ang maririnig. He would give her his feedback on the outfits pero hanggang doon lang ang participation nito sa video. Behind the scenes, she let him pick a theme and a set of outfits that she would try on cam.

Sa pagluluto naman, Andy would show her how to cook and then he would get off the way and then she would continue what he was doing. Ang edit noon, removed si Andy sa lahat ng frames para lumabas na siya lamang ang nagluluto. Voice over naman or music ang tunog kaya hindi rinig ang boses nito.

With the Ponkan videos, the viewers would sometimes see his arm or his legs or even his frame kung umakyat si Ponkan sa likod nito. But even with the smallest exposures, Andy still managed to gain some admirers.

The mystery added to his charm. People commented how nice his voice was or how toned his arm was or how adorable he was with Ponkan. Over time, people started asking her to show Andy's face on camera. So she asked him, since he seemed to be game with anything.

"Okay," he answered with a shrug when she asked. "Ano'ng gagawin ko?"

After brainstorming for a bit, Niki decided to just make it something that reflects her original concept for her content.

–

"I'm a twenty-something man living in Manila trying to survive this pandemic. Hi, I'm Andy. And welcome to a day in my life." Same intro but spoken by Andy. Sa video, makikita na kakagising lamang nito. It cut to him opening up the curtains. And then, he would pick up the phone.

In reality, Andy had been awake for 15 minutes already. Niki had propped the camera on his bedside table and instructed him exactly how to get up from the bed. And they adjusted the lighting para kita pa rin nang kaunti iyong kwarto kahit sarado pa ang kurtina. Then, she told him to open the curtains.

It then transitioned into Andy cooking breakfast. Then, feeding Ponkan. Then, knocking on her door to give her her breakfast. Then, it jumped to Andy walking to the bathroom to take a bath. Then, Andy returning from the bathroom with a towel draped on his shoulder. His hair was wet. Naka-shirt at shorts lang ito at barefoot na naglalakad. Then, it transitioned to Andy working. For that shot, Niki entered his room and took a video of him in a morning meeting with his colleagues. Sumingit siya sa video call with her phone in her hand and waved at his co-workers. Saka siya lumabas ng kwarto nito.

Then, lunch time. Andy cooked again and they ate in the small dining area with Ponkan eating from his bowl on the floor. Niki gave Andy her phone to record him while he works in the afternoon.

And then, Andy made dinner. The next video was a shot of them eating on the sofa while watching a movie. Si Ponkan, naghihintay na mabahaginan ng pagkain. In the next frame, Niki was washing the dishes while Andy played with Ponkan. Nang patapos na ang video, pumasok na si Andy ng kwarto

He was on his phone for a while and then, he said good night to the camera and turned off the light.