Chapter 115: Jung Hyunjae Appointed as “Music Day” MC

[Jung Hyunjae selected as MC for Music Day! Fills Choi Minwoo’s vacant spot.]

[Rising star Jung Hyunjae—beyond acting and variety shows, now an MC.]

Jung Hyunjae’s good though? Suits him lol.

└ Kinda figured it’d be Jung Hyunjae. Is he only doing it for three months?

L LOO

└└ Choi Minwoo felt so lifeless. Would’ve been better if they changed him earlier.

└└└ Still, he’s gotten a lot better lately.

└└└ It’s not that he changedㅠㅠ He got injured, so Jung Hyunjae’s just filling in for now.

└ These days Jung Hyunjae’s on fire~

It hadn’t even been a few days since the meeting, and an article was already out.

“That was fast.”

“It starts next week… and they said things like this need to be announced quickly.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t know either, but apparently music show MC positions are super competitive, with a lot of pressure.”

They said it was a popular spot, and that seemed to be true.

“Especially for male actors—there’s a saying that if you MC Music Day, you’re guaranteed to blow up.”

“Ah~”

“So agencies fight hard to get rookie male actors into that spot.”

“Wow, how do you know all that?”

“Haewon-ssi’s manager told me.”

The manager was a social butterfly, darting all over the set just like Haewon, and at some point, he seemed to have struck up conversations with Hayoon as well.

“So it was that kind of position…”

I’d already planned to work hard, but now I felt like I had to do even better.

If someone else took the spot you wanted and then messed it up, you’d be furious.

On top of that, more people liked me than I’d expected, and I wanted to live up to their expectations.

“So exciting!”

“Whoa—startled me!”

Yerin, the stylist sitting behind me, suddenly squealed in a high-pitched voice.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment. It’s finally time to show my skills.”

“Ah—right. You used to be an idol, didn’t you, noona?”

The moment Yerin heard I’d be MCing a music show, she’d cheered in triumph.

“Yep! I’ll make it so you stand out more than all the male idols on that show!”

She declared her ambition confidently.

“No, I’m fine, really…”

“What are you talking about? If not now, when else would I go all out? You can only do this now! Kyah—this is going to be fun.”

“Haha, okay. I’ll do whatever you say, noona.”

How could I stop her when she was that excited?

After doing sparkly, glamorous things as an idol, having to style actors in natural looks probably hadn’t been satisfying.

“Since today’s the last shoot, doesn’t it feel bittersweet?”

“A little.”

Today was the final day of filming for Love Some.

Compared to Blue Sky Spring or Today’s Fruit Shop, it had more screen time and more ups and downs, which made it feel strangely emotional.

“It feels like just yesterday we were filming at a school and you were in a uniform, and now it’s already the last shoot… Time really flies. There’s not much left of this year.”

Before I knew it, the year was almost over.

“Ugh~ Feels like I didn’t do anything this year, just got older.”

“You say that, but you ended up working with me~ and finished a whole drama perfectly.”

“Haha, I guess that’s true?”

“We’re here.”

While we were talking, we arrived at the set.

The final location was the same school where we’d filmed the first scene.

“Alright~ let’s wrap this up beautifully!”

***

“Great work, everyone~!”

“Wooo!”

The moment the call for the final cut rang out, everyone cheered and shouted.

“You did great, Hyunjae.”

“No, Director, you worked harder than anyone.”

“No. Thanks to you, we finished safely. Thank you.”

Working together had built a strong bond with the director—what Hayoon called camaraderie forged in battle.

“You’re going to make it big.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry I opposed you at first.”

I understood why he’d been against me, so I hadn’t thought much of it, but it seemed the director had kept it on his mind.

“You were still thinking about that?”

“Of course. I didn’t know you were this aggressive and full of guts.”

“Was I?”

Had I really been that aggressive?

But back then, there hadn’t been any other option.

“Of course~ An open audition and a public contest. You were saying things I never even imagined… I probably won’t meet another kid like you again.”

“Th-that’s a compliment, right, Director?”

“Of course. Half of this drama’s success is on you.”

“Isn’t that too much? I’ll just take this much.”

I cautiously held up three fingers.

There are the staff, the writer, and Haewon noona too—half is way too much.

“Hahaha! Fine! Let’s agree on that!”

Seeing my fingers, the director burst into hearty laughter.

“Alright. Don’t forget to acknowledge my share if this does well!”

“Director~ great work!”

Haewon approached us, holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Haewon~ you did great.”

She shared a brief hug with the director, then congratulated me as well.

“Hyunjae, you worked so hard!”

“No, you worked harder, noona.”

“Haah… honestly, it was pretty intense, but thanks to you, I had fun filming.”

There were plenty of sets with bad atmospheres, but luckily, all the projects I’d worked on had been positive.

***

“It’s because you’re a happy virus, noona.”

Even though filming was exhausting, Haewon always kept her bright energy, and that had a big impact.

“Wow~ ‘happy virus’… haven’t heard that in ages.”

“Is it cheesy?”

I couldn’t think of a better phrase.

“It is, but… retro’s trendy these days. I like it!”

Luckily, she seemed genuinely pleased and smiled brightly, showing her teeth.

“This drama’s going to do well. I’m sure of it.”

The director said confidently.

“I think so too.”

There wasn’t a single weak point—script, acting, directing.

“Let’s take one last photo—Kang Ha and Jaehee. One, two, three!”

We posed for the camera, and just like that, filming for my first leading role drama ended.

A few days later, it was the day Jayden made a special appearance in Haejin’s movie.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

I’d planned to put him in a cage like before, but Hayoon said it’d be fine to take him out, so I held him in my arms as we drove.

“Yeah. I was a little scared at first, but I’m fine now.”

“Woof! Woof!”

See~ I told you he’d fall for my charm soon.

Who did he take after to be this shameless?

“Don’t bark~ you’ll startle hyung.”

At Jayden’s voice, Hayoon’s shoulders twitched slightly as he drove.

“Whiiine…”

I wasn’t barking, I was talking…

I could hear Jayden’s indignant tone, but there was nothing I could do—humans couldn’t understand dog language.

“I know, I know~”

When I stroked his back and patted his butt as if I understood, Jayden relaxed and buried his face into my arms.

I’d woken him up early, so he seemed sleepy.

“I’ll wake you when we get there.”

No sooner had I spoken than Jayden fell fast asleep, completely still.

“That was quick.”

“He’s like you.”

“Me?”

How was he like me?

When I was a dog, I’d been way better-looking, with longer legs and an air of elegance!

“Yeah, you.”

That felt unfair.

What part of us was similar?

“They say animals start to resemble their owners if they’re together long enough. Guess it’s true.”

“What made you think that?”

“You fall asleep the moment your head hits something.”

“Hyung! That’s because I’m tired from my schedule~”

That was on a whole different level from this guy, who slept all day at home.

“And the way you accept things quickly when you hear something that makes sense—it’s similar too.”

Really?

That was a first.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. You’re alike.”

“I think I’m a bit better, though…”

Jayden was cute, so I decided to let it slide.

The car headed toward the outskirts of Seoul, and soon a massive set welcomed us.

“Huh?”

Along with the huge set, I spotted a snack truck proudly showing off its presence on one side.

[Golden maknae Hyunjae is here to make sure Haejin-hyung gets three meals!]

The bright pink banner made it obvious who’d sent it.

“They said the company was sending one today. Nice timing.”

“Yeah. The banner’s pretty. Jayden, wake up.”

When I shook him gently, Jayden snapped his eyes open and looked out the window.

“Let’s go.”

I clipped his leash on and got out of the car with him.

The moment we stepped out, the staff on set all turned to look.

“It’s Jayden!”

“He’s so cute~”

Realizing all the attention was on him, Jayden struck a dignified pose.

Seriously… where did this kid even come from?

I’d managed fan service at my owner’s shoots too, but never to this extent.

“Hello. I’m the assistant director for Survival Abuse. Nice to meet you, Hyunjae-ssi.”

“Ah—hello.”

“Hi, Jayden~”

As if to confirm that I wasn’t today’s main character, the assistant director’s gaze went straight to Jayden.

“He’s even cuter in person.”

“Haha, thank you.”

“Haejin-sunbae keeps praising him.”

“Oh! Where’s Haejin-hyung?”

I looked for the person who’d called us here.

“He’s filming right now. This way, please.”

The assistant director led us inside the set, where filming was in full swing.

“No, I’m really innocent! It’s not me!”

Haejin was sitting on a battered chair, tightly bound with rope, pleading his case.

What kind of situation is this?

I only knew the genre of the movie, so I couldn’t guess the scene.

“I’m a victim too.”

“Hah, you think I’d fall for that kind of lie?”

“It’s true! All of this is fake! You can buy it for 30,000 won in Dongdaemun!”

I’d thought he was finally playing a rich guy in that neat suit, but judging by the lines, apparently not.

“Once this scene’s done, I’ll introduce you to the director and explain the shoot.”

“Okay.”

As expected of Haejin, known as a master of comedic acting, he made a cliché kidnapping scene from a crime movie genuinely funny.

“Then how do you explain your car?”

“I stole that too! It’s not mine!”

“Hah, still won’t admit it. I know how to deal with guys like you.”

“Do I look like I’ve got anything? I’ve got nothing but debt!”

“I don’t even have debt!”

“Ah… want me to give you some of mine?”

Even without knowing the full context, the short scene alone made me laugh.

“Cut. Okay.”

The director, wearing a worn-looking sports-brand padded jacket, gave the okay through his mic.

“Okay~”

At the signal, the staff moved busily.

“Woof! Woof!”

It’s Haejin!

Having grown close to Haejin during filming, Jayden recognized him the moment the shoot ended and called out.

“Hey—no shouting here.”

Making noise on set could cause big trouble, so I warned him.

“Jayden!”

Hearing Jayden’s voice, Haejin immediately ran over.

“Oh my~ our Jayden~ how have you been?”

He crouched in front of Jayden, who jumped on his short legs, trying to leap into his arms.

“Alright~ alright~ You’ve gotten even prettier~”

“Hyung, am I invisible?”

“Hahaha, Hyunjae’s here?”

Judging by how he didn’t deny it, Jayden really was the only thing in his sight.

“Have you been well?”

“Of course~ I’m grateful enough that you’re doing a special appearance, and you even sent a snack truck. Thanks.”

“It’s nothing compared to everything you’ve done for me, hyung.”

As we chatted lightly, the director walked over.

“Our director.”

“Oh—hello. I’m Jung Hyunjae.”

Big-built, with a sulky, pouting expression, he reminded me of a bulldog.

He didn’t respond to my greeting, just stared intently at Jayden below, and like a staring contest, the two locked eyes.

“Tsck…”

Then he tilted his head, looking dissatisfied.

What—does he not like him after all?

And then, in a low voice, he spoke.