In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 41

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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 41

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“Wow, Oh Ji-young’s face is glowing. Are you really that happy the graduation project is over?”
The moment the graduation project ended, Mother’s Son teased Oh Ji-young with a chuckle.
But in truth, Oh Ji-young’s radiant expression had nothing to do with that grueling project finally being finished.

“Um… could I possibly get your autograph?”

Ha Eun-rae. My former rival had come to our Fashion Show Venue as a model!
‘What the…!’
Oh Ji-young watched from behind, barely able to contain herself.
Could someone so distinguished really come to such a humble place?
And she’d filmed TV commercials, yet she came to be a model for a student’s graduation project just because a friend asked?
‘What kind of person is she, really…’
And what about that beauty?
Those unbelievable cheekbones and those eyes that conveyed such an enigmatic charm. And when she smiled, her lips curved up in a delicate, elongated arc.
‘She’s so much more beautiful in person than on TV.’
YouTube, TV in 1080p? 5K?
Such advanced technology couldn’t possibly capture the beauty of a goddess.
Even amid the chaos, Oh Ji-young kept stealing glances at her until finally she gathered her courage.
She wanted to ask for a photo, but that seemed too presumptuous. Taking one secretly would be even worse. So the compromise she’d settled on was requesting an autograph.

“Oh, an autograph? But I don’t really have a signature…”
“That’s fine. Could you sign the back of my phone?”

Oh Ji-young held out the back of her phone.
Of course, she’d been thorough enough to delete all photos of Ha Eun-rae beforehand.

“Ah… that might be hard to erase later.”

Why are you erasing it? Don’t erase it!
Why are you worrying about such things!
Watching Ha Eun-rae’s worried expression, she felt her heart might burst from her chest.
She had no idea how many women’s hearts she stirred with her mere presence.
Her SNS fan account under the name “Eun-Gureum” had already surpassed 2,000 followers.
Of course, some people followed for the entertainment of watching Eun-Gureum’s obsessive behavior, but most had become devoted fans after witnessing Ha Eun-rae’s breathtaking performances.
‘You have this many fans….’
Swallowing those words, Oh Ji-young laughed awkwardly.

“It’s fine.”
“Ah… Then… I’ll do my very best.”

Ha Eun-rae’s expression as she gripped her resolve, picked up a marker, and signed the back of the phone was pure charm incarnate.
It wasn’t only in that moment that her fan devotion became difficult to contain.

Ha Eun-rae

The name written in block letters with trembling hands.
‘Is that even a signature?’
The instant she thought this, Ha Eun-rae looked up at Oh Ji-young with a flustered expression.

“It doesn’t really look like a signature, does it? I’m sorry….”

Gazing at eyes that shone pitifully like a cat in boots, Oh Ji-young shook her head as if entranced.

“No. It’s… so… beautiful….”

Unnie’s face.
Not unnie, we’re the same age. But it doesn’t matter.

“So cute….”
“Huh? What’s… Oh, next time I’ll practice more…. Though you probably won’t need another autograph…! Oh, should I write your name?”

She wanted to say ‘Eun-Gureum!’ but she held back and answered instead.

“It’s Oh Ji-young.”
“Yes.”

To. Ji-young.
Your work is so cool!

Your work is so amazing?
At that, Oh Ji-young looked at Ha Eun-rae with confusion, and Ha Eun-rae smiled softly in response.

“It’s a graduation project. I saw it earlier and it was really impressive. You did amazing work.”

Damn.
That eye for detail.
This delicacy.
She felt as though all her escape routes had been sealed off.
Now she could never escape this obsession.
But such thoughts were fleeting.
She was too preoccupied with making final alterations to the clothes for the model.
I’d caught a glimpse of Ha Eun-rae after her makeup was done and her fit adjusted to perfection, but it felt wrong to photograph her without permission… So I was only thinking of asking my classmate Kang Ye-reum later for a few photos of Ha Eun-rae.
But—

Class of XX Kang Ye-reum
(Photo)

…?
What came from Kang Ye-reum was a model shot with Ha Eun-rae’s face completely cropped out.

What is this?
Class of XX Kang Ye-reum
You asked for graduation project photos. You’re not planning to post them anywhere, right? Our model has portrait rights, so I can’t really upload her face.

No, I’m not posting them—it’s just for my personal collection!
I wanted to say, but I couldn’t bring myself to.
This lucky bastard who’s our Gum-go’s friend wouldn’t understand.
The heart of someone who’s a fan!
The feeling of placing our Gum-go’s photos on my monitor every single day, loving them, missing them, yearning for them!
Eating so much Gyodong Chicken that Mother’s Son tells me whether I’m human or a chicken!

…I understand.

Well, at least I got her autograph.
She slipped Ha Eun-rae’s photograph back under the transparent phone case.
It was a screenshot from the MillionX music video and a recent photo from the Cassette Tape pictorial.
When Eun-rae’s adorable handwriting overlaid the images, they became absolutely luminous.
‘Our Eun-rae looked so beautiful in that ballerina outfit… I wonder who took that photo? There were so many people at the Fashion Show Venue…’
Ji-young logged into SNS with that thought.
And when she searched for Ha Eun-rae—

[@PrettyWomenPhotoArchive

(Photo)

I must be insane. Not a ballerina—just a princess descended from the heavens themselves.
Apparently this is actress Ha Eun-rae who did the Gyeongdong Chicken commercial.]

A post from an account with over 8,000 followers appeared prominently at the top.
She covered her mouth as she looked at Eun-rae’s photograph displayed there.
Porcelain-white skin with dark, defined brows and graceful eyes.
Brilliant spotlight descending across her features.
Her face gleaming like a doll, ribbons fluttering around her.
It was nothing short of a masterpiece.
Like a scene from a film, or perhaps an impressionist painting.
There was something in her gaze that drew people in irresistibly.

– This is legendary
– Explosively gorgeous visuals
– Ha Eun-rae? Never heard of her
– Who the hell took this photo

Oh Ji-young was curious too.
Who on earth took this photograph?
Her talent agency?
Did they bring in a photographer from the agency to shoot this? If so, they need to promote this more! You fools!
Our girl is this beautiful!
In that moment—

└ Park Seo-woo is listed as the director of a work called “Dear Kim Ji-hyun” on BelStar

A notable reply caught her eye.

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[Park Seo-woo: Ms. Ha. I attended the Fashion Show today with actress Maeng Hye-seung. I took a photo there. If you don’t mind, I’d like to send it to you along with the photos I took before.]

Park Seo-woo reached out after the Fashion Show ended.
It was unexpected—he was someone who never made personal contact.
He attended the Fashion Show?
Did he know someone there?
Either way.
The photo Park Seo-woo sent me—
‘This is incredible.’
It was clearly me, unmistakably me, yet it looked far too stunning to simply call it a picture of myself.
Not only beautiful, but my character shone through brilliantly in the frame.
As if I’d been caught mid-dance for just an instant, peeking through ribbons.
The angle of the lighting, the angle of my face, the movement of my hands—every element timed with perfect calculation.
‘So that’s what separates the truly talented from the rest.’
That wasn’t all.
The photo he’d taken at the Cafe earlier had an equally stunning atmosphere.
In my profile as I appeared lost in thought, multiple character interpretations seemed to flicker across my features.
A photograph that would make anyone want to cast me.
‘I could use this as my profile picture right now.’
I was about to send the photo directly to Manager Jang when I stopped.
Even if I were to use it—

[The photos turned out really well. Thank you so much, Director. By the way, have you ever thought about posting photos on BelStar? I think I saw you had an account there before.]

I should take care of Park Seo-woo first.
The sooner Park Seo-woo reached his career peak, the sooner my Oscar would come.
And we’ll win an award for “To My Beloved Kim Ji-hyun” anyway, won’t we?
‘I need to nurture these connections.’
The more Park Seo-woo and I are linked as a pair, the better things will become.

[seowoo_park_IGF
Followers 4K Following 1]

Park Seo-woo’s account had reached four thousand followers.
Of course, the numbers had been climbing gradually since “To My Beloved Kim Ji-hyun,” but it was undoubtedly my photo that ignited the surge.

– Do you have more pics of Eun-rae?
– Eunrae is so prettyㅠㅠ
– Your photography skills are really impressive. Your sense of aesthetics really shines through^^
– Director~ do you have any other works?
– I really enjoyed the work you did with actress Ha Eun-rae.
@dkssud This is that photo I was talking about lolol Ha Eun-rae is seriously so pretty

Perhaps it was because they’d asked me to tag myself.
My follower count continued to climb even in this very moment.
‘This is working out well.’
But the good news didn’t end there.
The teaser for Purgatory, which would premiere next week, had just been uploaded.
And remarkably, I appeared in that teaser!

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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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