Andy's video did so well. Better than most of Niki's uploaded videos. Almost as good as her Ponkan videos. Everyone kept saying that Andy's face reveal did not disappoint, that it was better than their expectations.

"They love you!" she told Andy.

"Of course, they do," Andy replied with a sneer. "What are we doing next?"

"Well, they're suggesting we do an interview with you." She rolled her eyes when he started gloating again.

"I told you people will love me."

"Whatever." She made a face. "I'll tell them to send me questions through IG."

–

Niki waited until there were enough questions for a full length video. They would just cut the boring parts, kung may dead air man. Andy was excited to make the video.He has not created an account on the app yet. Ayaw daw nito. Hindi kasi masyadong maki-social media si Andy. Madalas lang itong manuod ng streams o maglaro ng online games. His search history was full of code-related queries. A few of their friends have already followed her account and they constantly comment on her videos.

They decided to make the interview on a Saturday. Bago humarap sa camera, Niki decided to put a little makeup on Andy. Just to polish his look. Another content din iyon, para isahang edit. She was really getting good at vlogging. Kahit saan siya tumingin, nakakakita siya ng potential content.

"Do I really have to do this?" tanong ni Andy nang ilagay niya ang headband sa ulo nito. Andy was sitting on her chair, in front of her now vanity area. Nasa tapat ng saradong bintana ang drawer na nilalagyan ng mga makeup kit niya. She didn't put the small mirror there para masurpresa si Andy. She has also learned how to angle the phone para kahit back camera ang gamit, alam niyang makikita sila sa frame.

It was already recording even before Andy sat on the chair.

"Can I trim your eyebrows?" Niki asked. She was holding the eyebrow trimmer in front of his face.

Iniurong nito ang mukha.

Tumawa siya. "I'm not gonna shave it off."

"I don't trust you," sagot nito habang naniningkit ang mga mata.

"I swear I'm just gonna trim them!" she insisted. Tumingin siya sa phone. "He's just kidding, guys. I've done this so many times already."

Andy also looked at the back camera of the phone, widened his eyes, and shook his head. But he was just kidding. High school pa lang sila ay ginagawa na niya iyon. Sure, she did shave his eyebrow by accident once before, pero matagal na yun.

"Dali na, 'Dy! Ang dami pa nating gagawin ngayong araw," pamimilit niya.

Andy pursed his lips, looked at the phone again, and sighed. He pointed a finger at her. "Be very careful with my eyebrows."

Niki nodded. Pinapikit niya ito. Saka siya nagsimulang mag-trim ng kilay nito. Wala naman siyang masyadong gagawin sa mukha ni Andy. He has clear skin. Strong jawline na hindi na kailangang i-define. Matangos na ilong. Mahahaba rin ang pilik-mata nito. Maganda ang shape ng kilay kahit medyo makalat.

He was blessed in the looks department. It was annoying sometimes. Siya, gabi-gabing may skincare routine. Napakarami ng beauty products just to look good. Si Andy, sabon lang. Minsan yung sabon pa na ginagamit nito, iyon din ang ginagamit nito sa katawan nito. Naglalagay lang ito ng sunscreen kapag pinagsasabihan niya. He doesn't do anything with his face and his face just somehow cooperates? So unfair.

"Why are you sighing, Niki? Pinakakaba mo 'ko," he muttered while his eyes were still closed. Nakatuon ang pinky finger niya sa tungki ng ilong nito.

"There. Done."

"Patingin." Kinuha nito ang salamin na nasa malapit.

She took the small mirror before he could take a look. "Mamaya na."

Pagkatapos sa kilay, nilagyan naman niya ng concealer ang minimal discoloration sa mukha nito. Saka manipis na foundation. Then, she patted the beauty blender on his skin.

Kinuha niya ang eyebrow pencil para i-polish pa lalo ang kilay nito and then, she put gloss on his lips.

"Tapos na?" tanong nito maya-maya.

"Yeah." She removed the headband from his hair and gave him the mirror.

Kumunot ang noo nito. "Did you do something to my face?"

"Bakit? Di mo na ba makilala ang sarili mo?" biro niya. "Labas ka na."

Inimpis niya ang kalat saka tinapos ang pagrirecord ng video. She followed Andy in the living room and propped the phone on the tripod she bought a month ago. Nasa kabilang side iyon ng coffee table. She had him sit on the sofa in front of the camera para malaman niya kung paano ipupwesto ang camera na kita sila pareho.

Nang makuha ang tamang layo at taas ng aparato ay saka siya nagsimulang mag-record.

"Ready?"

Andy nodded.

–

Niki sat next to him, slightly adjacent para magkaharap pa rin sila. She was holding a small notebook. Doon nakasulat ang mga tanong na kinuha nito online. Pareho silang nakapambahay. Niki was also wearing a bit of makeup, just to bring some color to her face. Nakataas ang buhok nito, na kulot na kulot na. She put her hair in a loose bun, with some curly tendrils draped on her forehead.

Naka-pajama ito at oversized na graphic shirt.

Tumingin ito sa kanya. "Ready?" The sunlight made her eyes look lighter. Her irises looked more defined.

"Yeah. Sure," sagot niya.

"Okay. Let's start with the basics. What's your full name?"

"Uh..." Andy looked at the camera. "I can't say my full name. DPA."

Niki let out a laugh. She looked at the camera too. "I'll just tell you his real first name. It's Andrew. He was named after his mom–well, the male version of her name."

"Tell them your real name too."

"It's not my interview... but okay. My name is Nicole. I don't know where my parents got the name."

She looked at her notebook again. "Moving on. This question is from @CheleLee. She asked kung ano yung pinakang gusto mo sa trabaho mo. Tell them about your job first pala."

Andy nodded. "I'm a web developer and my favorite thing about my job is that I don't have to deal with people."

Kumunot ang noo ni Niki. "Akala ko ba extrovert ka?"

"I am! But it's not the same kapag sa trabaho kasi. I like mingling with people and having fun and you can't do that sa trabaho, lalo na pag client-based. I mean, don't get me wrong. We do have clients. We deal with clients, but majority of our work, kami-kami lang ang magkakausap. We just deal with codes."

"So hindi sweldo yung favorite mo sa work mo?"

Tumawa siya. "That too, but money aside... less stress sya. Unlike your old job, di ba."

Tumango-tango ito. "Okay. So follow up question, what's the worst part of your job?"

"The long hours. Lalo na kapag urgent. Hindi pa pwedeng tumigil hanggang hindi mo napapolish yung codes. So madalas kaming mag-overtime. Magpuyat..."

"This question is from @rozen_elish and I need you to be very careful with your answer." Seryoso itong tumingin sa kanya. "Which is more stressful: work or your bff?"

Andy's face broke into a smile. Tumingin siya sa camera. "Work. Ayokong matulog sa labas, guys."

She kicked his leg. "Seryosong sagot."

Tiningnan niya ito nang mataman. Paano ba niya sasabihin na mas nakaka-stress si Niki? But at the same time, she replenishes his energy. Dahil dito, mas masayang bumangon sa umaga. "Okay. Seryosong sagot.... Ikaw."

He raised his hand to stop her from interjecting.

"You're more stressful because you're human. Mas unpredictable ka kesa sa trabaho ko. And you're moody and you have needs. Sa work ko, kapag may errors sa program, alam ko kung ano ang hahanapin ko para maayos yun. Sa 'yo, minsan hindi ko alam kung paano ka paaamuin.

"But at the same time, I like you better than my work," he admitted. Niki smiled at him, not really getting what he meant.

"Good answer." Tiningnan nitong muli ang notebook. "From @NotaSimpleGirl: are you single, taken, or it's complicated?"

"It's complicated," mabilis niyang sagot.

Pinandilatan siya nito ng mata. "Huh?" She turned to the camera. "He's kidding. He has no situationship. I would know."

"Ikaw na talaga ang sumagot e."

"Single sya, guys. And for the follow up question of @NotaSimpleGirl: What's your ideal type? Ako na ang sasagot."

Andy leaned back on his seat and let her take that one. Ayaw din niya iyong sagutin. Baka may iba siyang masabi.

"Andy doesn't necessarily have a preference. He can like literally anyone. Short, petite, plus-size, singkit, malaki ang mata, morena, mestisa... as in wala. But he likes smart women. Someone he can have conversations with, yung tumatagal nang ilang oras. Yung kahit anong topic ang pag-usapan, he couldn't shut up. Gusto nya rin ng malambing. He's a big baby. Gusto nyang nagpapaalaga kapag may sakit."

"I'm not–"

"Shh!" He closed his mouth and crossed his arms against his chest as she continued, "So basically, hindi sya picky when it comes to physical appearance but he's a bit picky sa personality at traits. Anyone who wants to shoot their shot should comment on this video and send me a DM if you're serious."

"Stop."

Niki smiled sheepishly. "We're not gonna go out until it's safe, though. Nagkasakit na kami pareho kaya ingat na ingat na kami sa paglabas. So, you might have to settle for LDR for a while."

"Tama na, Niks. Next question."

Niki pursed her lips. "Do you want me to edit that out?"

Tumango siya.

"Fine." Niki clicked her tongue and read the next question. From @lilicantivieja: Kuya, ayaw mong mag-business? Mukhang masarap ang mga niluluto mo e. Yeah! I agree."

Muli siyang ngumiti. "I like cooking pero ayokong araw-araw kong ginagawa kasi nakakapagod."

"Pero di ba nagluluto ka na araw-araw?"

"Kaya nga ayokong gawing business," sagot niya. "Ikaw pa lang ang pinakakain ko araw-araw, napapagod na 'ko."

Niki let out a laugh. She looked at the camera and said, "Sorry, guys. Chef Andy era is not happening."

"Next question please."

"Okay. Uhm... from @yerilala: Hi! Ask ko lang what's your view sa mga taong ayaw mag-commit sa love? Bakit life and love questions ang tinatanong nila? Mukha ka bang deep na tao?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Joke lang. Sagutin mo na, dali."

Yumuko siya. "Hm... first of all, I'd ask why they don't want to commit. Maybe on the outside, it's easy to tell them to just commit to a person, but unless we're walking in their shoes, we wouldn't know where the hesitation was coming from. Maybe they've been hurt before and are now afraid to try again? Maybe they don't think it's the right time to commit?" He looked at Niki and waited for her comment.

Niki raised her hands and shrugged. "They asked you, not me."

"Right. Ayun... yun yung sagot ko."

"From @queuess: Kuya, paano po mag-confess? Send tips naman po."

–

Niki wanted to laugh at the questions. Mukha bang expert sa love si Andy? Ang daming questions about love. Halos lahat ng comments, isinulat niya, pero marami talagang love related.

He turned to her. Tinaasan niya ito ng kilay. "Don't look at me. Ikaw yung tinanong," sabi niya rito.

Bumuntong-hininga si Andy. She didn't know why he was even thinking about it. Makapal ang mukha nito. Kapag may gusto ito, ipinaaalam nito kaagad. Confident ito pagdating sa panliligaw. If there was one thing Andy was an expert on, it was confessing.

Nang medyo tumagal-tagal na ay hindi pa rin ito sumasagot, nagsalita na siya. "I guess he's thinking of something he doesn't normally do. Straightforward kasi sya. He just straight up tells what he feels."

"I guess one of the tips I can give you is that you need to make sure of your feelings first before you confess. Because when you confess, you're crossing the line. When you cross the line, hindi ka na pwedeng bumalik at mag-pretend na wala kang sinabi.

"You should also be ready to be rejected. Because it won't always work out. Remember that when confessing doesn't give you the right to dictate how they should reciprocate. And then, respect their decision, pabor man sa 'yo o hindi. Lastly, uh... the story doesn't stop at the confession. Hindi yun yung end goal mo. Kahit napasagot mo na yung tao, everything has to be better from there. Hindi yung hanggang doon lang ang efforts mo."

"Have you ever been rejected?" tanong niya kahit alam naman na niya ang sagot.

"Not exactly."

Kumunot ang noo niya. Andy has never been rejected. Nakarelasyon nito lahat ng inaminan nito.

"What do you mean by that?"

Seryoso itong tumingin sa kanya. "I confessed to someone but I think it completely went over her head."