Karina Bautista, Gello Marquez spark romance via a tweet in Love Bites

Social media platforms are “good conversation starters,” according to Kapamilya talents Karina Bautista and Gello Marquez, who topbill a Love Bites episode titled One Post Away, currently streaming on YouTube.

ABS-CBN’s Love Bites is a digital anthology, which is part of the Made for YouTube offerings and produced by RCD Narratives. It streams every Friday at 8 p.m. on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel.

Ahead of the episode’s streaming, Karina said in a virtual call that she hasn’t tried dating apps but found a lot of friends through social media. “Because of these apps, nag-gain ako ng sobrang daming connections from all over the world. Actually, pag nakaka-relate ako sa isang tao, mahilig naman ako mag-reply sa mga stories nila and duon nagsisimula yung mga conversations namin. So it’s a really good conversation starter,” she said.

“Siguro kasi ang unang intention ko talaga is maging friends and to further know that person, so I start it off like kung ano yung dati niyang tweet, I would react or say something about it,” added the Viral Scandal actress when queried about her style in starting a conversation via the digital platform.

Like Gello, she would make her approach “very humorous.” “Para naman hindi siya masyadong nakakatakot and hindi aggressive yung dating. Parang may sense of comfortability ka agad na nag-o-open ka sa isang tao,” she explained.

Former Idol Philippines contestant Gello shared he also got to know some people through social media but not “dating” per se.

From a Gen Z perspective, the young actor said if ever he would begin a conversation through a tweet, he would, “Kasi siyempre kung may gusto ka sigurong tao hindi mo naman ipapakita agad na I’m very interested in you. Maybe I will send a random video or random meme or picture (at first).  Siguro kung ako ha, ganun ang gagawin (ko) lalo na hindi kami magkakilala… Yun pwede din syang maging start ng conversation.”

“Kung ganun ang atake mo, medyo funny lang or what, medyo mag-lo-loosen up agad yung (tension) or anything na parang chill lang tayo,” he added.

One Post Away centers on Aira (Karina), an over-achiever college student who admires his professor Jude (Gello), who shows passion in teaching. Years later, Aira tweets about her affection for Jude that sparks their reconnection and the beginning of their relationship.

“The story was great,” commented Karina. “I am super thankful to have been given this kind of material na sobrang nakaka-kilig and nakaka-relate sa maraming tao. So I am manifesting that more viewers will watch this, learn lessons from it and of course, sana ma-touch din namin yung mga puso ng ating mga viewers.”

She also expressed gratitude to the RCD Narratives team, directors and onscreen partner Gello. “This is my first time to work with Gello and ma-meet siya na parang outside ABS-CBN Studio,” revealed Karina. “We didn’t know each other talaga so I was super scared na maging awkward, na hindi namin ma-play na maganda yung mga material na ibibigay sa amin but in fairness nag-click kami.”

“We really had a good time and I think this became a leeway for our friendship dahil nakapag-usap kami after the taping and we really enjoyed each other’s company. So I’m really looking forward to working with Gello even more,” she furthered.

Gello agreed, “We really hope that through this, Love Bites, more people will watch it para mas maraming ma-reach na tao and mas maraming makukuhang mga lessons from it. Through Love Bites, we get to share experiences and stories of people about various kinds of love. We hope that they will learn something through these experiences.”

Love Bites is directed by Kevin Alambra and Dado Lumibao.

The eight-episode shorts include Lost and Found starring Vivoree Esclito and Anthony Jennings; Angela Trajano and Kristof Garcia’s Hearts of Pride; Khyza Villalino and Concon Felix’s First Love, Last Love; Sky Quizon, Nico Antonio and Genesis Redido for He Must Choose; Dimples Romana and Miko Raval for Letters for Lea; JC Alcantara and Shanaia Gomez for TOTGA; and Andi Abaya and Kobie Brown for Miss Astrologer.

Love Bites is the latest YouTube-exclusive title from ABS-CBN, following the romantic-comedy series How to Move On in 30 Days and the audio drama Dear MOR: Celebrity Specials, among others.