Sa food industry nagtatrabaho si Kate. Isang malaking corporation ang kumpanya nila. Iisa ang may-ari pero maraming sikat na brands na hawak. It was not her dream job. Truth be told, wala naman siyang pinangarap maging trabaho. Napadpad lang siya doon dahil nagpasa siya ng resume during a job fair. She recognized the brand immediately because it was a huge part of her childhood. And she thought it would be cool to be a part of that company.

That was four years ago. After two years, nawalan ng trabaho si Nina. Ini-recommend niya ang kaibigan dahil hindi na raw kayang sustentuhan ng commissions ang mga luho nito sa buhay. So now, they both have a steady income every month.

Sa marketing department silang magkaibigan napabilang. Since Nina could do graphic designs, isa ito sa limang junior graphic designers sa team. Kate was one of the content writers. Dalawang brands ang hawak niya. Siya ang gumagawa ng online captions at lahat ng nakikita sa paraphernalias para sa brands niya.

Si Jasper ang pumalit sa dati nilang web developer na nag-resign last month. Like her and Nina, he would also just be handling a couple of brands. Dahil sa dami ng workload kapag pangkalahatan, hinati-hati iyon per team per brands para mas madali. Although his official job position was web developer, he would not likely be developing any website soon. He would just likely maintain all the present websites under him. A webmaster, essentially.

The entire building, all ten floors of it, was owned by the company. They have rented out two floors to other businesses, but the other floors were basically filled with the company's employees. Sa fourth floor sila nakapwesto. Puro magketing team ng iba't ibang brands. May iba't ibang areas na may label ng brands para alam kung ano ang handle nila.

Their team has fifteen people. The team lead, two graphic designers, one digital marketing specialist, one content creator, two social media managers, meron pa sa analytics, SEO, brand management, web developers, etc.

Pito lang sila dati nang magsimula si Kate magtrabaho doon. But their performance has been consistently good kaya lumaki nang lumaki ang budget at nagdagdag sila nang nagdagdag ng tao.

Kate had already been with the company for four years, but she feels like she still has so much to learn. It may not be her dream job, but she was always excited to go to work. It was because there was never a dull moment with her colleagues, lalo na at kasama niya si Nina sa trabaho. She used to hate the term "pamilya tayo dito" because it implied having little to no boundaries. She thought she would be asked to sacrifice all her time for work. Na tipong para siyang tagapagmana ng kumpanya pero wala naman talaga siyang mamanahin.

From the very start, Sir Frederick has strictly established work-life balance. Every morning, they would have a meeting to discuss what they needed to do all day. May kanya-kanya silang checklist. At the end of the day, most of the items on their checklists would have to already be accomplished. OT is not required and not encouraged, unless extremely necessary.

Twice a week, may team dinner sila para makapag-unwind.

Kate truly believed that the team has a great harmony so she was a little worried when someone new came into the picture. Jasper didn't look like the type who would socialize. He didn't even speak to her and Nina all morning, despite their several attempts to communicate with him.

He had his headphones on while he read. When he got tired of reading, he explored the contents of his PC. When it was time for lunch, kinalabit nila ito.

"Uy, sabay ka? Pupunta kami sa seventh," yaya ni Nina rito.

Jasper only shook his head and then got up and left.

"Sabi sa 'yo suplado e," Nina told her.

"Baka naman ayaw ng lutong bahay. O nag-order ng food."

Nagkibit-balikat ito. "Tara na. Baka maubusan na naman tayo ng inasal."

–

Isang buong floor ang company cafeteria, or as Nina liked to call it–overpriced karinderya. Palaging may lutong inasal tuwing Monday, pero pagpatak ng 12:30PM, nagkakaubusan na. Minsan, quarter to twelve pa lang, nakaakyat na silang dalawa ni Nina para bumili ng pagkain. They would head straight to the Inasal stall to buy food. Kapag wala nang inasal, saka sila maghahanap ng ibang pagkain.

The price ranges from 80 pesos to 150, mahal compared sa nabibili sa labas, pero mas okay pa rin kesa fastfood.

Kate and Nina immediately found their group of friends sitting on their usual table. Kath from HR and Monica and Gizelle from Customer Service.

"Uy kumusta yung bago nyo?" agad na tanong ni Kath nang makaupo sila.

"Ayun. Hindi nagsasalita," sagot ni Nina. "Ni hindi nga nagtanggal ng mask."

"Hala, e di hindi ninyo nakita yung mukha?" Tumango sila. "Sayang. Pogi pa naman."

"Pogi ba talaga? Baka naman singkit lang o kalahati lang yung pogi," singit niya.

"Di nyo nakita yung nilabas naming email?"

Kate frowned. HR emails the names and pictures of the new hires from different departments. Kaso hindi nila alam kung kailan iyon ipu-post. Magugulat na lang sila na meron na naman.

Dahil sa sinabi ni Kath, kanya-kanya silang labas ng phone para tingnan ang nasabing email. Gizelle was the first one to gasp. Napaubo ito nang biglang may bumarang kanin sa lalamunan.

"Okay ka lang beh?" natatawang tanong ni Kath.

"Oo nga. Pogi nga."

Hanggang dibdib ang picture nito. His hair was slightly different. Clear ang frames ng salamin nito kaya kitang-kita ang mukha. His face has a nice symmetry, albeit his eyes looking cold. Seryoso ang tingin nito sa camera, ni hindi nakapagdamot ng kaunting ngiti. Sobrang tangos ng ilong.

"Baka naman kaya suplado. Kasi feeling nya pogi sya. I mean pogi naman talaga sya, pero yung iba kasi hindi umaastang alam nila. Alam nyo yun?" sunod-sunod na sabi ni Monica.

"Shh!" She nudged Monica's knee when Jasper suddenly came out of nowhere and walked past their table. Like ducks called by their feeder, sabay-sabay na lumingon ang mga ito para sundan si Jasper ng tingin.

Naka-hoodie pa rin ito kahit medyo mainit sa cafeteria. He was still wearing a mask. Naghahanap ito ng pipwestuhan.

Kate thought that he was looking for a particular table. Marami kasing vacant sa malapit sa kanila pero hindi nito inuupuan.

"Baka suplado sya kasi selosa yung girlfriend nya?" hula ni Nina.

"Tingin mo may girlfriend na?" simangot na tanong ni Gizelle.

"Sa pogi nyang yun? Magtataka ako kung wala."

"Hindi naman lahat ng pogi, may jowa na," Kath argued.

Humugot si Kate ng bente sa bulsa at saka iyon inilagay sa lamesa. "Okay, place your bets, girls."

–

Jasper finally sat on a table on one corner. Pang-dalawahan iyon. He propped his phone against his can of coke and removed his mask. He then put his headphones on.

There was a collective gasp from their table when they finally saw his face. He could definitely make heads turn, and maybe his face could justify his attitude. Ilan na rin ang dumaan sa gawi nito at tumingin. Lumampas tapos lumingon. At may isa na naglakad pabalik para makadaan uli.

"Pustahan tayo, ka-videocall nya yung girlfriend nya," sabi ni Kate sa mga kasama.

"Horizontal yung phone e. Saka hindi naman sya nagsasalita. Hindi rin ngumingiti."

"Maybe he's watching a movie? Ganyan din ako sa bahay e. Hindi makakain nang walang pinanunuod."

Nagkibit-balikat siya. "Yeah. Parang mas plausible nga yung nanunuod ng movie."

"Imagine mo reactor sya sa YouTube tapos walang reaction yung mukha nya," natatawang singit ni Monica.

He was busy watching something on his phone while eating. At that moment, parang ito lang ang tao sa cafeteria. They all faded into the background. It must be the reason why he always had his headphones with him. To block everyone out.

"Di pa kayo babalik?" tanong ni Kath nang matapos silang kumain.

"May fifteen minutes pa. Saka kumakain pa si Kate."

She looked down on her plate and smiled sheepishly at her friends. Simula nang sabihan siya ng kaklase niya noong college na dapat sini-savor ang pagkain, binagalan na niyang kumain. At nadala na niya iyon hanggang magtrabaho. Malamig na ang pagkain bago niya maubos. At siya palagi ang huling nakakaubos ng pagkain.

"Okay. Una na 'ko, ah. Balitaan nyo 'ko sa pustahan."

"Okiee."

Kath stood up and took her tray with her. Dinala niya iyon sa lalagyanan katabi ng basurahan.

Nakapangalumbaba na si Gizelle habang nakapanuod kay Jasper. "Ano kayang pinanunuod nya? Kasi hindi man lang sya tumatawa. Hindi rin naman sya nagugulat."

"Baka streamng games sa Youtube," sagot ni Nina.

"Di ba uso yun? Lalo na sa guys. Mukha pa syang gamer."

Biglang tumayo si Nina.

"Sa'n ka pupunta?" kunot-noo niyang tanong.

"Sisilipin ko kung ano'ng pinanunuod nya."

"Hoy!"

Nina let out a laugh. Wait nyo 'ko."

–

Umikot si Nina nang isang beses sa paikot na daan ng cafeteria. She walked closely to Jasper's table when she got near him. Tumigil ito saglit para tumingin sa phone nito. Kate was holding her breath. Nangunguna talaga sa kagagahan ang kaibigan niya. Madalas siyang natatakot para rito.

It didn't take Nina long to go back to their table.

"So, ano'ng pinanunuod nya?" curious na tanong ni Gizelle.

"Reality show. Naalala nyo yung Takeshi's Castle sa TV dati? Parang ganon. Or yun na nga yata," sagot ni Nina.

"Tapos walang expression ang mukha nya? Okay lang ba sya?"

"Muntik na nga akong tumawa dun sa napanuod ko e," sabi ni Nina sa kanila. "I don't know how he can keep a straight face."