Chapter 116: A Hidden Genius

“Ujjujju~”

Ujjujju?

He stuck out his hand and made a babyish sound, and Jayden stared at him blankly, as if dumbfounded by the behavior.

“Hmm-hmm. I heard this is how you greet dogs…”

Muttering to himself, he glanced at Jayden, who showed no reaction.

“Hahaha! What even is that, Director~”

One of the nearby staff burst out laughing as they spoke.

“The internet said you should make eye contact and approach them like this…”

“Director, is this your first time seeing a dog?”

“How did you know? I’ve only ever watched dogs being walked around. This is my first time being this close.”

Anyone could tell he was awkwardly probing, clearly unfamiliar with dogs.

Since it’s come to this, I’ll make sure he falls headfirst into loving dogs today.

I was confident I could make even a complete stranger fall for a dog’s charm in a single day.

“Jayden~ you should greet the Director.”

Jayden sidled up next to me and gave the director a polite nod.

“Whoaaa~”

“He’s really smart.”

Staff who had gathered to watch Jayden all exclaimed in admiration at the rare greeting trick.

“Hahaha, our Jayden is pretty smart.”

Haejin stroked Jayden’s head proudly, as if he were the owner.

“So what are we filming today?”

I was curious what Jayden’s role would be, given the protagonist was kidnapped.

“Ah! I’ll explain the role.”

The assistant director who had guided me earlier spoke up in the director’s stead.

“Today, Jayden is a hidden character who rescues Haejin-sunbae.”

“A hidden character?”

“Like you saw earlier, Haejin-ssi is tied up, and Jayden comes out to save him.”

“How?”

“If you look at the script here…”

The assistant director brought over the script and explained the scene.

This sounds fun.

Jayden would wander in by chance to where kidnapped Haejin was being held, and Haejin would use Jayden to escape.

“Jayden will do great, but there are limits, so we’ll film as much as we can and handle the rest with CG.”

“Ah~”

“Jayden, you can do it, right?”

Haejin hugged Jayden as he spoke.

“Woof! Woof!”

Of course!

“Alright, let’s do well.”

Looks like I had to work hard today.

This shoot depended on me, not Jayden.

“Okay, shall we start?”

“If you tell me the blocking, I’ll explain it to him.”

“Explain it?”

The assistant director looked confused at the idea of talking to Jayden, probably assuming I’d lure him with treats.

“Uh… our dog really understands what I say. Haha. Once I explain it once, he’ll do even better.”

“Ah~ he comes out of this hole and walks up to Haejin-ssi here…”

“Yes, got it.”

That was easy enough.

“Got it?”

“Hyung, give Jayden to me. We need to get ready for the shoot.”

“I don’t need to prepare anything~ Director, you’re filming Jayden first, right?”

“Of course. We can’t make a special guest wait.”

The director was considerate, planning to shoot Jayden’s scenes first.

“Treats ready?”

“Yes!”

A staff member next to us lifted a box of treats in response.

Yikes~ if he eats all that, he’ll be rolling around.

Gyeongho was always nagging about weight gain being bad for his health, and if I let him eat all that, I’d be living outside for a month.

Alright, minimum treats only!

This was absolutely for Jayden’s health, not because I was scared of getting scolded.

“Jayden, you come out from there and walk over here, okay?”

“Woof?”

Why?

He seemed to think he only had to show a trick and come back, and was asking why he had to do more.

“That’s what acting is. You’ve seen me do it.”

Jayden still didn’t seem to understand what acting was.

“You just have to show what you can do. You can do it, right? Everyone here wants to see it… aren’t you going to show them?”

“Woof woof!”

I can do it!

Catching the expectant looks from everyone watching him, Jayden barked confidently.

“Good. Then just follow what I told you.”

“Woof!”

Jayden stood proudly at the starting point, tail held high.

“Ooh!”

“Wow~ how did he stand there exactly?”

As if he truly understood my words, Jayden’s behavior amazed everyone.

“Jayden~ just walk this way from there.”

As I spoke to Jayden naturally, the director also addressed him like a person.

“Alright~ let’s try a take. It’s the first one, so take it easy. Ready—action.”

At the cue, everyone held their breath and focused on Jayden.

“…”

“Woof?”

Jayden didn’t move at all.

He just stared at me and tilted his head.

Ah, right. I forgot the most important part.

Having learned it naturally by following his owner, I’d stupidly assumed Jayden already knew.

“Cut!”

“I’m sorry~ I’m sorry~”

An NG was inevitable, and I apologized quickly.

“No, it’s fine. We expected this.”

“Just a moment.”

I hurried over to Jayden and explained when to start and when to stop.

“Just watch me. You can do it, right?”

“Woof!”

Yeah!

I patted him encouragingly, then stepped out of frame.

“It’s okay~ we expected a few NGs.”

Haejin patted my shoulder, telling me not to worry.

“It’ll go well this time.”

“Alright~ let’s go again. Ready—action.”

At the cue, I signaled Jayden with my eyes, and he moved just as I’d told him.

“Cut! Okay! That was perfect!”

“Wow, he’s a genius!”

The moment the okay was called, applause and praise erupted from everywhere.

“Woof! Woof!”

I did well, right?

Sensing the compliments instantly, Jayden wagged his tail vigorously and trotted over to me.

“You did great.”

I stroked his face as I spoke.

After that, he nailed several more repeated takes flawlessly.

“Jayden… he doesn’t actually understand what we’re saying, does he?”

The director asked in a dead-serious tone.

“Pfft! Director!”

Haejin burst out laughing at the utterly humorless question.

“Our Jayden’s smart, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

Of course, being naturally clever helped, but meeting me wasn’t insignificant either.

It’s all thanks to me.

“The next scene is a bit harder, so we’ll do what we can and add CG.”

“Okay, what kind of scene is it?”

From here on, Jayden would be acting directly with Haejin.

“Alright~ Haejin-ssi, ready?”

“Yes.”

“Ready—action!”

At the cue, Haejin, tied to a chair, spotted Jayden entering the warehouse and shouted urgently.

“Oh! Hey! Come here! Choco! Tofu! Whitey!”

In a place with no one to help him, Jayden was the only living being he’d found.

Jayden stopped and looked at Haejin as he shouted desperately.

“That’s right! Baby~ come here! Mister’s got treats for you~ treats~”

Smiling brightly, he tried hard to appear harmless, coaxing Jayden, who hesitated back and forth.

“Please~ just help me once!”

Growing frustrated, Haejin shouted, and Jayden flinched, stepping back.

“Uwaaah… I’m sorry! Don’t go. Don’t go. Please…”

As he pleaded tearfully, Jayden moved back toward him, and Haejin’s expression brightened again.

“That’s it! That’s it! That’s it… no! Don’t go!”

Haejin crying when Jayden moved away and smiling when he came closer was hilarious.

No wonder he’s called a master of comedic acting.

His shamelessly playful performance made me want to applaud.

“Cut! That was great!”

Watching Jayden understand and respond so well naturally boosted the director’s energy.

He showered praise after every take.

“Where did a dog like this even come from? If he were human, he’d be a born genius actor.”

That’s me.

I wanted to say it, but couldn’t, so I just smiled.

“Hahaha… thank you.”

Jayden finished filming with only a handful of NGs, all the way to the final scene.

“Unbelievable… is this time for real?”

“Seriously, he’s God-Jayden. I’m a fan starting today.”

The staff were stunned that filming ended far earlier than expected.

“Director, we barely need any CG, do we?”

“Yeah. I shot it myself, but I can’t believe it either.”

As soon as the last scene ended, Haejin ran over and scooped Jayden up with one arm.

“That’s our Jayden~”

“Woof! Woof!”

Treats! Treats!

Realizing instantly that his job was done, Jayden demanded his reward.

“Alright, I’ll give you treats.”

“Hyunjae-ssi, here are the treats.”

A staff member, having overheard us, handed me a whole box of treats they’d bought.

“Gah! Thank you. This is enough to last a year.”

“It’s just a small token of appreciation.”

They called it small, but the box was anything but.

“No, really. Thank you—I’ll make sure he enjoys them.”

“Thanks, Hyunjae. I’ll treat you to a meal next time.”

“No, it’s fine. If you ever need help again, call me anytime!”

Haejin still had more filming to do, so we said our goodbyes on set.

“Good work.”

“The one who worked hard wasn’t me—it was him.”

The moment we got into the car, Jayden collapsed onto the seat, nodding off.

No wonder you’re tired.

“This is how I earn your treat money~”

He must’ve heard me, but Jayden pretended not to and kept his eyes closed.

“Everyone was really surprised earlier.”

“Understandably so.”

What dog could follow human instructions and act perfectly?

No matter how smart, it should’ve been impossible.

And yet, I’d made the impossible possible.

“Still, I don’t think we can do this often. It’s exhausting.”

It wasn’t just Jayden—I was exhausted too.

I’d had to stick to him constantly, explaining and guiding him.

It felt like I had done the acting.

“You okay?”

“No, not okay at all…!”

Sitting in the warm car, fatigue washed over me, and sleep crept in.

“If you’re tired, you can sleep.”

“Yaaawn~ then I’ll nap a bit.”

In the end, I fell asleep too.

***

A photo of Hyunjae and Jayden sleeping side by side in the car was uploaded to Kingdom Entertainment’s SNS.

“Ah~ insanely cute.”

Whatever else his agency did, they were amazing at posting photos.

Did they hire a fansite master as staff? Whoever took it, I approve.

Even Heeyeon, famous for her proxy photography, approved.

“How can they even sleep this pretty?”

“If I posted this as my boyfriend, would people believe it?”

Fans around Hyunjae were busy chatting, having seen the photo.

“Yeah, anyone can tell he’s a celebrity~”

“Tch, my actor’s too perfect—can’t even use it as a boyfriend pic.”

“Um… who are you all lining up for?”

A girl next to them asked cautiously.

“We’re here to see the MC, so we’ll be leaving soon.”

“Ah~”

The place where Hyunjae’s fans had gathered was right outside the broadcasting station filming Music Day.