In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 45

—————

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

—————

This life, I choose The Oscars over a husband.
Chapter 45

* * *

【Your Words, My Words】.
It was a YouTube Channel run by a Famous Production Company, hosted by Seol Min-ji, a comedian who was trending these days.
In truth, while it was called a YouTube Channel, its origins were fundamentally different from other channels.
Producers from the Famous Production Company were attached to its creation, the camera equipment used was exorbitantly expensive, and it could secure celebrity guests in succession—that kind of channel.
So it could be said to be a variety show broadcast on YouTube instead of television.
Thanks to MC Seol Min-ji, who possessed a subtle eloquence that didn’t make people uncomfortable, the channel was on a roll of success.
In short, until now there hadn’t been any major crises.
And so the production PD had a thought today.
‘Haven’t we been doing too well all this time?’
The head writer’s face was completely rotting away.
And for good reason—a major scandal had just erupted involving the actor scheduled to appear today.
“Hello.”
And the person in question had just entered.
Ha Eun-rae, appearing last after following Do Eun-hee and Gwak Kyung-eun.
The production staff smiled as widely as they could upon seeing her.
A very awkward smile.
The reason was an article that had gone up this morning.

[Rookie Actress Ha Eun-rae, Reported to Police Station Late at Night?]
[Talent Agency Statement Under Confirmation….]

‘These damn Small Entertainment Agency people!’
Their biggest problem was that they handled matters painfully slowly and had a narrow network of connections with journalists.
With so many naturally plausible explanations available for a police station visit that occurred late at night—’stalker intrusion’, ‘burglary’, and so on—why would they just leave it alone and let netizens play detective?

– Did Ha Eun-rae party a lot back in school lolol
– There was a rumor about dating violence. Apparently Ha Eun-rae was living with some guy lolol
– Please don’t ruin someone’s career with unverified rumors, you murderous gossips;
– (Comment deleted per policy.)
– There’s a post left by someone who knows Ha Eun-rae, go check it out.

Even a post left by someone claiming to be Ha Eun-rae’s acquaintance had become a hot topic.

Hello. I’m a friend who has known Ha Eun-rae since elementary school.
I can verify which grade and class she was in at XX Elementary, XX Middle School, and XX High School. Here are her graduation photos.
(Photo)
Is this enough for verification? ^^
Well, to be honest, she was more of a girlfriend than a friend.
We dated for a long time starting in high school, and since Eun-rae didn’t get along with her parents, I practically took care of her. She ran away from home often and didn’t attend school regularly.
But after Eun-rae shot that music video, she asked me to break up. Honestly, I couldn’t understand it. How could someone who was sleeping in the same bed with me just yesterday ask to break up?
I tried to understand anyway. I thought maybe she didn’t want to be with someone like me anymore since she’d become an entertainer, so I tried to let it go.
(Photo)
Do you see it? The man next to Eun-rae in this photo is the talent agency representative.
Heo Kyung-hoe, who has two daughters. I confirmed that the two of them came out of the same house. It’s ridiculous. As someone who genuinely supported and cheered for Eun-rae’s happiness, I’m really disappointed to see her like this.

With the spread of this post, the situation was spiraling into a disaster.
Ha Eun-rae had cohabited with a man since high school, and now she appeared to be seeing a married talent agency representative.
The production team naturally wanted to cancel Ha Eun-rae’s appearance.
More precisely, they were waiting for it to be canceled.
Usually in these situations, the talent agency requests the cancellation first.
But instead, the agency reached out.
They insisted on her appearance.
“Rookie actress Ha Eun-rae.”
Watching Ha Eun-rae with a faint smile in front of the camera, the PD furrowed his brows.
If she smiled, she’d be criticized for smiling; if she cried, she’d be criticized for crying—
‘What is she even trying to do?’
But MC Seol Min-ji led the shoot professionally despite everything.
“I never expected to meet you on 【My Words, Your Words】. You’re really the hottest person right now, aren’t you, Actress Ha Eun-rae?”
“That’s right. I really admire you as an actress. I personally asked you to appear in 【Purgatory】.”
Do Eun-hee received those words with a smile.
Do Eun-hee had even agreed to this shoot willingly. Gwak Kyung-eun naturally had to follow since Do Eun-hee approved.
‘Is she trying to get criticized wholesale along with the others?’
Despite the bewildering situation, Do Eun-hee appeared composed, and Seol Min-ji led the atmosphere as usual.
As they talked about the drama, the atmosphere gradually became more cheerful.
After all, Do Eun-hee and Gwak Kyung-eun were the drama’s leads, and Ha Eun-rae was the scene stealer.
But they couldn’t completely avoid talking about Ha Eun-rae.
Seol Min-ji glanced at the prompter with a slightly nervous expression.
Seol Min-ji looked briefly at the production team.
Then she gave a small nod and spoke.
“Actress Ha Eun-rae. You’ve been through something really difficult recently. That photo of you coming out of the Police Station was plastered everywhere….”
Seol Min-ji let out a natural laugh.
It was a gesture meant to lighten the dark subject with wit.
‘Right. At this point, I should clarify things appropriately, and then we can sue the poster for spreading false information.’
The production crew smiled at Seol Min-ji’s light touch.
But then, Ha Eun-rae dropped a bombshell.
“That’s not all. Someone claiming to be my acquaintance posted something too. They said our CEO and I are living together.”
Ha Eun-rae offered a bitter smile.
“The character I play in Purgatory is someone with deep wounds from family. It might be a slight spoiler, but I’ve already gotten approval from the Publicity Team, so I can share this. My character, Ryun, is someone who was betrayed by family and harbors hatred toward people. I’ve experienced that too.”
“You have, actress…?”
Seol Min-ji looked surprised by the unexpected revelation.
“Yes. My relationship with my family wasn’t good. Still, I desperately wanted to go to university, so I worked part-time throughout high school—”
“Ah, that Internet Shopping Mall modeling!”
“That’s right. I also worked at a Meat Restaurant. Eventually circumstances forced me to give up university too.”
By then, tears had welled up in Ha Eun-rae’s eyes.
Clearing her throat, Do Eun-hee handed her a tissue.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s fine. These things happen.”
Seol Min-ji shook her head, regarding Ha Eun-rae with her characteristic attentive gaze.
“The impact was greater than I expected. Not because I couldn’t go to university, but because I thought university was the only way to escape my family. When that path closed off, I felt so lost. I really wanted to give up on everything then. So I grabbed my phone and called a friend, and even though I didn’t say a single word, that friend—”
With reddened eyes and tears streaming down, Ha Eun-rae smiled.
And she looked at the camera.
As if she were looking at that friend.
Watching her, the writers, the PD, and even MC Seol Min-ji fell silent.
Do Eun-hee patted Ha Eun-rae’s shoulder as if she knew everything.
Yet an uncomfortable feeling lingered.
Ha Eun-rae was, after all, an actress.
‘If this is acting, she should be heading to the Cannes Film Festival.’
That was the thought crossing the PD’s mind.
“That friend just told me to come to their house. Without saying anything else. They let me in without a single won to my name.”
One of the junior writers showed the PD their phone.
“PD….”
There were countless article headlines about Ha Eun-rae displayed on the news feed.

[Ha Eun-rae’s Talent Agency Speaks Out: ‘It was delicate because it involves the actress’s family matters….’ Family circumstances revealed with caution]
[Ha Eun-rae subjected to sustained abuse by family members…. Special assault charges filed based on CCTV footage]
[Ha Eun-rae, was the wounded high school student role in the music video her own story? Assault perpetrator revealed to be her brother]
[Ha Eun-rae’s Talent Agency: ‘Ha Eun-rae is currently staying at the CEO’s house with a longtime friend—’]
[Netizens: ‘Ha Eun-rae’s critical post author presumed to be her brother’]
[A certain Online Community: The manager from Ha Eun-rae’s Meat Restaurant days speaks out!]

The moment the PD saw that, tears welled up unbidden, but a cold calculation crystallized in their mind.
‘A backlash this severe? Then this means… ten million YouTube views…?’
A perfect discord between a humanitarian heart and a capitalist mind.

—————

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

—————