A Distinct Character
I must have gotten a little too carried away talking once a subject I was genuinely interested in came up.
Once I finished, I felt a flicker of embarrassment at how excited I had become.
While Oliver prepared for the next calendar video, I slowly put the twenty-five ink bottles back one by one, settling my nerves.
What came after the ink calendar was a men's cosmetics brand.
Even though it was men's cosmetics, I had only recently started applying anything at all.
It was as unfamiliar to me as women's products, so once again I kept my reactions quiet.
That said, this particular calendar looked genuinely solid, so offering a review wasn't all that difficult.
"First of all, every product in this calendar is full size instead of a sample, and there's no duplication, so I can give it bonus points for that. Though now that I've said it out loud, I don't really understand why I should be handing out high marks just for meeting the bare minimum…"
"Jun, do people tell you you're surprisingly cold a lot?"
Oliver asked, fighting back a laugh. I answered evenly.
"If they truly thought I was cold, they probably wouldn't say it to my face, would they?"
"Whoa, I was joking. The way you answered makes it sound completely real."
The advent calendar reviews came to an end.
Before we moved on to unboxing and reviewing the sponsored products, we took a short break.
"Luca, you sat nicely without throwing a fuss, huh?"
"Yeah."
I lifted him out of the high chair and pressed a soft kiss to his lips; Luca flailed his arms and legs with a bright smile.
I headed to the bathroom to check his diaper.
"Wow. This bathroom is enormous."
Looking at a bathroom the size of a small bedroom in most houses, I had to admit a large home had its advantages.
On top of that, the interior had been done carefully for filming, so it looked even better.
"The kitchen looked huge earlier too. Should we move into a house this big someday, Luca?"
"Yeah."
I changed the cheerfully smiling baby's diaper, made sure he was comfortable, and returned to the living room.
Cassandra, Shirley, Max, and everyone else had gathered around the Christmas tree with snacks and coffee prepared by Oliver's side.
I walked over to where they were chatting cosily.
Thankfully, the snacks included options for little ones.
"This is from a company that's been advertising with us steadily since our kids were small whenever they release something new. Almost no additives, but it tastes pretty good—I steal some myself sometimes."
As I gratefully accepted a cookie, Shirley swallowed the one she had been chewing and piled on.
"Not sometimes—you steal them every day! Every day! Every single time!"
"Haha…"
Oliver's sheepish laugh sent a gentle ripple of laughter through the group.
I placed a cookie that looked flat and hard but was actually soft into Luca's hand.
He studied the unfamiliar treat for a moment, then stuffed it straight into his mouth.
After tasting it once, he pulled it back out to examine it again.
"The baby looks happy."
Max, still a little wary of Luca yet clearly the most interested, pointed at him from Oliver's lap.
"Looks that way. The snack must suit him."
"…Want me to give him mine too?"
How adorable. His first impression hadn't been great, but Max still wanted to get closer to Luca.
I sat down beside him and answered in Oliver's place.
"No need—one is plenty for Luca. But thanks for thinking of him."
"…Okay."
Max replied a little shyly and finished the cookie in his own hand with renewed focus.
Shirley and Max seemed to have burned off plenty of energy playing with toys upstairs; they were calmer now.
After snacks, the children sat under the tree again and played with toys.
They seemed a touch friendlier than when I first met Shirley and Max.
I explained that if their voices and movements were too big around a baby, it could startle him.
They weren't bad kids, so they understood right away and listened well. Still, irrepressible Shirley had to add something.
"Mister, you're just like our teacher."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah! Like the most boring math teacher at school! Always with thiiiis serious face—Mr. K!"
Shirley scrunched her forehead dramatically with both hands and pulled a ridiculous expression.
"…"
I could tell it wasn't a compliment.
As I wore a faintly awkward look, Shirley burst into giggles.
How is everything so endlessly fun at that age? What if our Reni ends up like that later?
With the children playing fairly affectionately in front of us, the adults finally settled onto the sofa with coffee and tea.
"Using an entire house as a filming studio is a pretty good idea. Even though we're technically at work, it feels comfortable and nice."
"I find it's better to keep home and workplace separate. I don't even turn the camera on at home anymore. As the kids do more outside activities, I get a little uneasy about the home address being exposed…"
As both a YouTube senior and a parent of two, Oliver shared plenty of useful stories.
They were different from Vanessa's advice but just as worth taking to heart.
And, just as Cassandra had worried about, I didn't sense any rivalry or any urge to show a newbie up.
Oliver simply seemed like a hardworking dad.
Of course, if he pulled some devilish editing on this video, that would be another matter.
But he had already agreed to show us the finished cut first, so I wasn't concerned.
I offered sincere thanks for the collaboration he had proposed.
"I still don't know many fellow YouTubers, so thank you for reaching out first."
"Don't mention it. I always welcome the chance to work with popular newcomers."
Oliver candidly admitted that over the past few years on YouTube he had been battling chronic content drought.
"So I'm constantly hunting with my eyes peeled for collabs with other creators or any unique events or products."
He added that along the way he had spotted comments on his videos, learned of my existence, and contacted me the moment he saw the video I did with Vanessa.
"I ran into her by chance once before, so I already knew Vanessa was an influencer living in that area."
"I see."
This man really works hard, I thought.
Even with eight hundred thousand subscribers, you still have to keep planning and researching nonstop.
How do you keep from burning through your image too quickly while still making interesting videos? I drifted into thought for a moment.
Then Oliver spoke with genuine envy in his voice.
"Content planning-wise, Jun, you know so many things—it must be so convenient and nice. I'm jealous."
"Ah… Thank you."
I couldn't exactly say it was all thanks to the Manito App and not entirely my own ability.
So I simply answered that I was working hard and steered the conversation back to him.
"Looking at your older videos, Oliver, it seemed you used to do carpentry. Do you not do any woodworking at all anymore?"
"Ah, right. These days I focus on kids' content and ads. Come to think of it, you're good at woodworking too, Jun. Doesn't seem like your major, but you're quite versatile."
There was a faint note of regret in his voice, so I couldn't help asking.
"Is there a reason you stopped? It never looked like something you only did for work—you seemed to enjoy it."
Oliver shrugged.
"That's also because the content dried up. Small projects are fine, but anything with real scale needs a team, and putting together a team that actually clicks isn't easy. Plus the money and time add up fast."
He went on to say that none of it compared, financially, to sitting at home comfortably receiving sponsored products and introducing them.
"In my case, once I calculated the time and cost, the efficiency just wasn't there. I've already made every video I can about home interiors and furniture building."
"I see."
Hearing his difficulties, I quietly sipped my coffee and thought quickly.
Maybe it was time for me to propose a collaboration of my own.
To keep a connection that had already started, effort on my side was necessary too.
"Then, Oliver—once winter ends and spring comes, there's something I'd like to do. Would you be interested?"
I asked, thinking of Jennyfer and Tony at the cathedral, where a single lonely trampoline sat in the backyard.
If a real carpenter joined us when we built a playground for the kids, the help would be immeasurable.
Safety was one thing, and I already expected it would be too much to handle alone.
The cathedral adults would lend a hand, of course, but they weren't professionals, so I was uneasy in several ways.
Still, with the two of us it should be doable. One more person would be even better.
Besides, I didn't have proper equipment like a chainsaw.
There was a clear difference between ordering pre-cut lumber and being able to improvise ideas on the spot and build them.
I explained all of this carefully.
If he joined, he would end up shouldering more of the project than I would.
It wasn't a situation where I could force the issue from my side.
Once he had heard everything, Oliver's shoulders lifted a little and his eyes lit up.
But instead of agreeing on the spot, he remained cautious.
"I'll discuss it with our filming team and give it careful thought."
"Thank you."
After that we chatted a little longer, then moved on to the next round of filming.
For the unboxing and review of the sponsored items, Oliver had asked me to avoid being overly blunt.
So I said nothing about the quality of the products themselves.
Instead I focused on value for money, based on research I had done beforehand.
You could call it setting a clear standard before speaking.
I wondered briefly whether reviewing that way was right, but there was no other choice.
I stuck to the points I had analyzed in advance and tried to keep the review as objective as possible.
If I couldn't deliver lively reactions, at least I could be sincere—that was the only approach left.
Knowing some viewers might decide whether to buy based on this video only made me work harder.
None of today's items were cheap, so delivering the most accurate information possible still felt like the right call.
After wrapping the shoot the best I could in my own way, we headed home.
I tucked a blanket over the soundly sleeping Luca, then reclined my seat a little.
As always, a deep wave of fatigue rolled over me after filming.
Still, it wasn't as bad as the first times. Was I finally getting used to the work?
Cassandra, who had stayed with me from start to finish again today, also looked lighter.
"There was a lot to take notes on and learn from today."
"Same here. I thought I knew you pretty well… I'm thinking from now on I should either test sponsored items myself first or be more selective about accepting them."
"Did I come across that coldly?"
Cassandra's lips moved as if she had a whole speech ready, then she let out a laugh-laced sigh like air escaping a balloon.
"It's not that. It was just a little off from what I'd imagined… No, you were always like this. I think I'm the one who's changed. Maybe because at the office you only ever showed your gentle side."
She gave a small nod as if sorting her thoughts, then added,
"Still, today's shoot definitely wasn't bad. One way or another, it's good to have a distinct character."