In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 37

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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 Oscars over a husband.
Chapter 37

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Do Eun-hee, who had swept through international film festivals, was standing right before me.
In my past life, I never had the chance to even have a conversation with her, let alone work on a film together.
That was because countless film directors were always hovering around Do Eun-hee like an impenetrable fortress.
Do Eun-hee was buying me coffee at the Production Company Building 1st Floor Cafe.
“What would you like to drink?”
“A warm iced Americano, please.”
“…?”
Do Eun-hee studied me quietly.
“You mean a hot drink, right?”
“Yes.”
What was the problem?
I looked at her with confusion.
The barista smiled slightly and took our coffee order.
“Th-thank you….”
As I stammered out my gratitude and took a seat, Do Eun-hee let out a soft laugh.
“I thought it was an act, but it’s your real personality?”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. I’ve been wanting to see you anyway. Park Director mentioned he was holding auditions for Ha Eun-rae.”
“So, that means….”
She came to see me? Do Eun-hee came to see me?
“It’s a shame. If I’d arrived earlier, I could have watched Ha Eun-rae’s performance.”
Do Eun-hee said this with a knowing smile.
The charisma radiating from her face was so overwhelming that I felt as though I were watching a scene from a noir film.
“I became a fan of Ha Eun-rae after watching ‘To My Beloved Kim Ji-hyun.'”
“…!”
I stared at Do Eun-hee in a daze, forgetting to breathe, before slowly exhaling and speaking.
“I… I never expected you to have seen that. Thank you so much for watching it.”
“I run a StarGram account. Would it be okay if we followed each other? I’ve been wanting to post that film on my StarGram, but I felt awkward posting without the actress’s permission first. I’m not really familiar with that culture. I debuted in the 90s, after all. I’m ancient.”
“If you’re ancient, then the definition of age must have changed!”
Before I could stop myself, I blurted out a fawning compliment and squeezed my eyes shut.
What was I even saying….
Yet from Do Eun-hee came an unexpected burst of laughter.
“Ahahaha! Oh, actress Ha Eun-rae is really adorable. No wonder everyone keeps talking about Ha Eun-rae.”
“Who exactly keeps talking about Ha Eun-rae….”
“I have a gathering with some directors and writers I know, and Ha Eun-rae’s name has come up several times. They all have projects they’re currently working on, so it’s a shame they can’t pick her right away. But Park Director ended up being first in line. Oh, the other directors must be kicking themselves.”
I had that level of recognition among industry people?
If it was a gathering Do Eun-hee was part of, it would be drama writers that the Channel brought in, directors of blockbuster films….
My heart began racing wildly, and before I knew it, I swallowed hard.
I wanted to tell her somehow that I wanted to make an impression on those people, but I was so nervous the words wouldn’t come out properly.
But that was when it happened.
“Oh, so about that… I have this series I just filmed for Netflix. But with the release coming up soon, we need to reshoot one episode. There’s an actress named Kang Sol who made a special appearance in it, and she had some issues recently, you know.”
Kang Sol.
The moment I heard that name, I nodded.
Kang Sol was an actress who had recently shown inspired acting in a drama and was just starting to become hot.
But not long ago, a post exposing Kang Sol’s school violence was uploaded to a community forum, and she acknowledged all the controversies and had all her contracts terminated.
Given the situation, it seemed they decided to go ahead with reshooting—
‘Wait? If this is the Netflix drama by Do Eun-hee that’s coming out around this time—’
Without needing to search, I could instantly recall the title.
“It’s a work called ‘Purgatory.'”
Purgatory.
An Oriental fantasy series that became incredibly popular and eventually got three seasons.
It was also one of the catalysts for Netflix to increase its Korean investments.
But surely….
“Would a special appearance in that work be possible? I’ve already mentioned it to the director beforehand. You don’t need to do an audition. It’s only two days of filming, so it won’t take much time.”
Do Eun-hee spoke apologetically.
“Actually, the writer asked me to do this. To put in a word for you. I’m really not good at asking favors like this, but I’m such a fan….”
Do Eun-hee pushed the dessert she’d ordered at the cafe toward me and smiled.
“I’m just trying to ask a favor with this meager bribe. Is a little sweetener okay?”
A sweetener, she said.
What was she talking about.
A special appearance in ‘Purgatory’?
It was an opportunity I absolutely could not miss.
I picked up my fork while hiding my trembling hands as much as possible.
“I might fall short in many ways… but I’ll do my best!”
And I took a big bite of the cake, cementing my resolve.
I must be crazy.
That ‘writer’ Do Eun-hee was talking about.
It’s Seo Eun-sul, who will go on to create over five works that become global hits!

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A few days later.
The moment I stepped into the Representative’s Office at Naru Stage, what greeted me was my latest pictorial spread displayed prominently on the wall.
The Cassette Tape pictorial.
The one where I was pretending to be incredibly cute while hugging an oversized cassette.
“Ah… so you hung that up.”
I let out an awkward laugh, my expression uncertain.
“What? Don’t you like it? Maybe we should have gone with a prettier shot?”
“No, that’s not what I meant at all.”
“While we’re at it, let’s get a profile photo taken. I’ll scout out a studio for you.”
“Ah, yes.”
I did need a profile photo anyway.
“And I need to find someone in Cheongdam-dong too. We can’t have our actress getting her makeup done by staff all the time. You know that massage chair I bought for my mom’s sixtieth birthday?”
“… please don’t say you’re going to sell that.”
Please.
At my words, Heo Kyung-hoe pressed his lips shut.
“If you have the means, it would be great if you could find me a stylist. I’ll have film and drama shoots coming up for a while, and they said they’re going to schedule promotional events for 【Cohabitation with a Ghost】 soon.”
I didn’t need to go all the way to Cheongdam-dong—just someone who could do decent makeup and help me pick out clothes would be fine.
“Until we find a stylist, I’ll go to a shop nearby.”
“Come on, even so….”
I quickly changed the subject before Heo Kyung-hoe could mention selling the massage chair again.
“Did the contract for 【Apartment】 come through?”
“Oh, that. It came incredibly fast. I was totally shocked. How did you manage to win over Park Chang-sung? The production company representative said the director wanted to cast you quickly?”
“Hehe… well, I just worked hard at acting.”
I couldn’t hide my beaming smile as I carefully read through the contract Heo Kyung-hoe showed me.
“So Eun-rae gets this excited sometimes?”
“Pardon?”
“No, it’s just that you always seem so detached that I didn’t think I’d ever see you genuinely excited like this. It was bothering me a bit.”
“That’s not….”
“Just, well… considering the personal circumstances you mentioned before. I wondered if you’d become numb to things, whether good or bad.”
I laughed awkwardly at Heo Kyung-hoe’s words.
To be precise, it was because I’d experienced so much in my previous life, but his observation about becoming numb to both good and bad things resonated with me to some degree.
In my past life, my existence felt like a constant rollercoaster—whenever something good happened, I’d worry about when it would fall apart again, and whenever something bad happened, I’d think, “Here we go again.” That was just how it was.
Even when I married Kim Do-woon, I thought I finally had a family, but in the end, when he had an affair, a truly terrible ending followed.
“I suppose that was the case to some extent, but I’m trying not to be like that anymore. When something good happens, I want to be happy about it, and when something bad happens….”
What do I do when something bad happens?
“I’ll consult with you. With you, Manager Jang, Hong Jong-ho, and so on.”
At that moment, Heo Representative responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Whether it’s personal or career-related, consult with us. We’re a ‘talent agency,’ after all. We belong to each other, you see?”
‘Belong.’
I’d always thought that word only came before the word “family.”
I had always believed that only family could truly belong to one another.
Yet here I was, belonging to people I’d met through work.
To be honest, I couldn’t fully trust Heo Representative just yet.
But those words themselves—
‘That’s rather touching.’
With that thought, I concluded my meeting with Heo Representative.
However, not long after, I encountered something I couldn’t confess to Heo Representative—
No, something I couldn’t confess to anyone: a ‘bad situation.’

* * *

“Hello, actress Ha Eun-rae. I’m Kim Do-woon. Our division head has been keeping a close eye on you, and here we are meeting! I’m a PD in the production division at Bee Entertainment, and I’m in charge of Purgatory.”
I had encountered Kim Do-woon, a parachute hire, on the film set.

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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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