In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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This life, I choose the Oscar over a husband.
Chapter 1

Four years ago.
I received a proposal beneath the Hangang Bridge, aboard a Cruise Ship.
“Ha Eun-rae! Will you marry me?”
The proposal was nothing short of extravagant—fireworks bursting in brilliant succession, an entire orchestra mobilized for the occasion.
And that was merely the beginning.
Lavish roses, a glittering diamond ring.
It stood in stark contrast to the humble, quiet proposals I had once imagined—the kind where I would sing softly to him.
“Eun-rae, I’ll make your dreams come true.”
“My dreams?”
“Retire from acting, have children with me, and we’ll live happily together.”
Had I only heard that much, I would have refused the proposal.
But the problem lay in what came next.
“You said you wanted a real family, didn’t you?”
A real family.
Those words swayed me to accept a proposal that didn’t even suit my taste.
Instead of a renowned director’s latest project, I took Kim Do-woon’s hand.
Absurdly enough.
I surrendered to just that single phrase.

* * *

And four years later.

“The oscar goes to Director Park!”

That once-promising director Park Seo-woo had won the Oscar in the United States.
The Oscars—the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Among all its categories, for a non-English-language film to win, let alone the directing award, was like plucking a star from the sky.
He stood there in his bow tie, smiling with a face more handsome and dignified than any actor’s.
And beside him was Kang Ye-ji, the woman I had cast aside, now nominated for Best Actress for Park Seo-woo’s film.
As for me—
“Kim Do-woon. You’re good at answering questions. Did you really sleep with that woman?”
I had become the protagonist of a third-rate morning drama, spouting nothing but clichéd dialogue.
Smoke was billowing from Kim Do-woon’s red sports car, and I was the culprit who had made it that way.
From the hotel where my husband Kim Do-woon had emerged with another woman to this Hangang Bridge, I hadn’t just filmed a car-racing scene—I had rammed his sports car from behind with my own vehicle.
Kim Do-woon’s face flushed with rage as he shouted at me.
“Are you insane?! Do you know how much this car costs?!”
“Are you the one who’s insane?”
I pointed at the woman in the passenger seat of Kim Do-woon’s sports car, searching for her sunglasses with a tired expression.
She was someone I knew all too well.
She was the top actress Kang Ye-ji, who had recently made headlines by attending the Oscar Awards Ceremony and had been dominating the news every single day.
Kang Ye-ji, who had gone to the Oscars in my place, now sat in the passenger seat beside my husband.
“I’m asking if you two slept together.”
I spoke with the clear, practiced diction that had become second nature to my body over the years.
Kim Do-woon’s face twisted with irritation as he pointed an accusatory finger at me.
“Why can’t we talk somewhere quiet?! Do you know how high Ye-ji’s stock is right now? And you’re doing this on Hangang Bridge…!”
“That’s enough, Do-woon. I’ve already called my manager, so take your time talking. I’ll ride with the manager.”
Kang Ye-ji lowered the window and waved her hand dismissively without even showing her face.
At her composed demeanor, the fury that had been boiling inside me began to subside.
It was the sight of Kang Ye-ji, who seemed more comfortable in the passenger seat beside Kim Do-woon than beside me.
It was the sight of Kim Do-woon, who cared more for Kang Ye-ji than for me.
It was because these two seemed so familiar with each other.
Where rage had swept through, despair and sorrow rushed in to fill the void.
‘So this is what that feels like.’
I had watched countless scenes in dramas and films where someone caught their spouse’s infidelity.
I had even acted out such scenes myself several times.
Each time, I had wondered whether anger would come first, or sorrow, or resignation—but all those wonderings proved meaningless.
They all came in waves, like the tide, each emotion surging in and receding in turn.
“Why… why did you do this?”
I asked, my voice hollow and defeated.
Kim Do-woon looked at me as if the question itself was absurd.
This man who once begged me to marry him with a face full of love.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“It’s not obvious to me, that’s why I’m asking…”
Without thinking, I reached my hand toward Kim Do-woon’s.
Kim Do-woon pulled his hand away with visible distaste.
It was only natural.
To him, I was no longer ‘family’.
In the end… I was alone again.
“You outperform her, you’re prettier than her, your family background is better, you earn more money. There’s nothing lacking, is there? That’s why I told you to take better care of yourself, didn’t I?”
He scanned me from head to toe as I stood in plain jeans and a t-shirt.
“How long has it been since you last put on makeup?”

“A bare face is cute too. It’s a look you only show me.”

Words Kim Do-woon had spoken long ago flickered through my mind.
It felt like cold ice piercing through my chest.
“Your husband is the head of Channel Headquarters. At that level, how many beautiful celebrities must he see? But when he looks at you reeking of kimchi stew with an apron tied around your waist, even his appetite disappears!”

“You’re far more beautiful when you’re acting than when you’re cooking for me. My one and only wife.”

Four years of marriage crumbled to ash, leaving only a hollow emptiness.
He said he would become ‘real family’.
A mother obsessed with luxury. A father who turned into a beast when drunk. An older brother who only chased easy money.

“You must have suffered so much, our Eun-rae.”

I should never have let him comfort me that way.
If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have chosen him.
Then I wouldn’t have abandoned acting—the only lifeline in my miserable existence—and taken his hand.
Just then, a black van pulled up and stopped.
The door opened, and a familiar face emerged from inside.
Hong Jong-ho.
My former manager.

“You know that role is perfect for you. Couldn’t you postpone the marriage a bit longer?”

He was the one person who held onto me until the very end.
Hong Jong-ho stood before me with a pitiful expression, attempting to speak, but when I averted my gaze, he promptly turned toward the sports car.
Then he hastily supported the limping Kang Ye-ji and loaded her into the van.
“Director. Could you please take us to the hospital? Car accidents can have serious aftereffects, you know.”
“Huh? Oh….”
Hong Jong-ho answered reluctantly and closed the van door.
The moment I witnessed that scene, I understood.
What I had lost was not my husband Kim Do-woon.
By holding Kim Do-woon’s hand.
All those opportunities I had forsaken.
The moments that had thrilled me.
The audiences who watched my films with bated breath.
The times when a new script arrived and I would read through the freshly printed, warm pages alongside Hong Jong-ho.
I had lost all of it.
For this pathetic man alone.
Crack!
I slapped Kim Do-woon across the face and hurled the ring from my finger.
Kim Do-woon’s face contorted as he cried out.
“Are you insane?! Do you know how much that diamond costs…!”
Kim Do-woon ran after the ring rolling across the pavement in an unseemly scramble.
And then—
A massive cargo truck barreled toward him.
‘Oh no….’
At this rate, he would be struck.
The instant that thought crossed my mind, the truck swerved its wheel.
Toward me.
My body lifted into the air.

The sky drew closer.
The dark waters of the Han River came into view.
Like slow motion, every moment unfolded with agonizing clarity.
And so I could know for certain.
I—
I was dying like this.
If another life exists, then I will never choose you again, Kim Do-woon.
In that instant, something suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[Ha Eun-rae Wiki Search Results!]

Wiki? That’s the information site celebrities hate the most.
A repository of information that anyone can edit. Which is why celebrities’ scandals get preserved there so easily.
Why are you suddenly bringing that up—

[Ha Eun-rae]
XXXX年 X月 XX日~XXXX年 X月 XX日
(Died in a traffic accident)

– Overview
An actress from South Korea

– Career
Appeared as a supporting actress in a commercially successful noir film. She became a hot topic for her nude scenes and subsequently appeared in several dramas and films. However, she received criticism that her role selection was disappointing compared to her distinctive visuals, and that her agency’s promotional direction didn’t suit her—

Then she plummeted into obscurity due to debt controversy!

…And even in all this, she managed to irritate people?

Subsequently, she threw herself in front of an oncoming car and died (fortunately, the driver suffered only minor injuries, though reportedly experienced severe trauma. A record-breaking inconsiderate death).
The only industry figures who attended her sparsely populated funeral were Hong Jong-ho and Director Park Seo-woo.
Yet… even for someone like her, a next opportunity arrives?

A next opportunity?

[You have obtained Wiki editing rights.]
[Will you edit the Wiki?]

I don’t know what this is, but—
‘I can’t leave behind a scandal even in death. And why am I a record-breaking inconsiderate death?! I’m dying because of Kim Do-woon!’
I cried out immediately.
‘Yes.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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