In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 46

—————

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 46

* * *

I had deliberately asked Heo Kyung-hoe to delay the initial response.
The reason? Simple.
‘That bastard Ha Kyung-soo won’t back down from this.’
I’d experienced this in my previous life too.
Back then, Ha Kyung-soo had blackmailed me for money, and then moved on to blackmailing my Talent Agency for more.
So then?
I figured he’d follow the same playbook this time.
What did that mean?
It meant he’d attempt something to blackmail the Talent Agency.
And right on cue, a photo of me leaving the Police Station was leaked online.
And absurdly enough, Ha Kyung-soo didn’t deviate one bit from my prediction, posting something on the internet.
A post that painted me as garbage who abandoned her boyfriend and family.
Meanwhile, Heo Kyung-hoe meticulously prepared a statement, and I arrived at the YouTube Variety Show Film Set as planned… or rather, I initially intended to cancel the YouTube Variety Show.
‘The film opens in just a few days.’
I didn’t want negative talk about the Purgatory series circulating because of me during this time.
So when I was about to politely decline the YouTube shoot.
Do Eun-hee called.

– What are you planning to wear today?
“Pardon?”

I tilted my head at her abrupt question.

“Senior…”
– Don’t you dare say you’re not coming. You’ve prepared the entire statement, right? Heo Kyung-hoe has been someone who reads people well and thinks strategically from the moment he started working. Same goes for me.

I immediately understood what she meant.
It meant that Heo Kyung-hoe and Do Eun-hee had vouched for me.
And it meant those two wouldn’t let me sink.

– I’ve already spoken to the Marketing Team. I told them this would actually be great publicity. More than anything-
“…?”
– Your scene will be the most talked about. Of course you need to be there.

I let out a soft laugh at those words.
Right. Don’t be scared.
Maybe I wasn’t actually worried about dragging down the work—maybe I was just afraid of facing those piercing gazes again and was trying to hide.
But if I carried myself with confidence, a crisis could become an opportunity instead.
A chance to sever ties with my family and promote Purgatory.
So I tried to weave together the story of Purgatory and my own story as smoothly as I could-
“That’s right. I worked part-time at a meat restaurant while studying. Eventually circumstances forced me to give up university.”
As I talked about those meat restaurant days, tears suddenly welled up in my eyes without warning.
I was thinking of that owner.
He was the first adult who ever told me I would do well.
And-
“So I just grabbed my phone and called a friend, and without saying a single word, that friend-”
Thinking of Kang Ye-reum, the tears showed no sign of stopping.
I hadn’t meant to cry like this.
If I cried too much, it would look like acting instead.
I was trying desperately to hold back the tears.
Do Eun-hee gently patted my shoulder.
As if to say it was okay.
Seeing her face, fresh tears spilled out again.
‘Oh no… I’m really going to ruin this shoot.’
That’s what I was thinking.

Hello.
I’m the owner of the Meat Restaurant in XX District.
Since it’s a meat restaurant, the work is demanding, and even though I pay decent hourly wages, part-time workers usually don’t last long. But one day, a beautiful student came in for an interview.
She was clearly a high school student, so I couldn’t have her serve (we serve alcohol), and her delicate hands didn’t seem suited for kitchen work either. I was just planning to feed her some meat and send her on her way.
But this girl had the audacity to say she didn’t need payment for the first week—just to try her out for seven days, and if I wasn’t satisfied, I could let her go.
To be honest, there are no kids like that these days, right? So, I entrusted the job with the thought that this was all or nothing. (Of course, I also calculated and paid the entire week’s salary haha^^)
But when I put her to work, she was genuinely diligent.
She moved those heavy iron griddles without complaint and didn’t hesitate to squat on the floor washing dishes for hours.
After a week, I naturally asked her to continue. To be honest, I was skeptical.
I thought even if she pushed hard for a week because of the money, how could she keep it up for months? But she worked for a full year without missing a single shift.
She wasn’t just diligent—she was fast, had great instincts, and made everyone in the kitchen’s job easier.
Then one day, she asked if she could take a week off. Since she’d never skipped work like that before, I was worried she might be sick. Honestly, I was also anxious about having to find a replacement, so I asked why. She said she was taking the college entrance exam.
I was flabbergasted. I knew she was nineteen, but I thought she’d either dropped out or given up on college. She worked the evening shift five days a week without fail—where would she have found time to study?
But this girl just grinned and said that thanks to me, she could attend the Academy, and she thought she could get into an In-Seoul university.
Seeing her like that, I suddenly felt angry.
So I asked something I’d never asked before.
What do your parents do? Why are you doing this at your age? She hesitated, then told me her situation.
Hearing that story… I thought of my eldest daughter… I felt like I was losing my mind.
A father who gets violent when drunk, a mother who can’t get her act together despite the family’s declining finances and keeps buying luxury items on credit, and an older brother who’s the spitting image of their father.
In that situation, she studied every day while working part-time because she was determined to go to college no matter what.
So I gave her some spending money and told her to do well on the exam.
A week later, she came back to work and happily told me she was accepted to a top-tier Seoul university. Everyone in the kitchen and I all gathered to confirm her college acceptance. I was truly overjoyed.
But then her family caused trouble again. Somehow her father found out about the tuition money she’d saved and spent it all.
She said there was no hope left and apologetically asked if she could work just until I found a replacement.
I told her she would definitely succeed.
Is it really true that heaven helps those who help themselves?
A year or two later, this girl appeared on a YouTube channel my daughter watches. She’s in TV commercials too. I really wanted to contact her, but I held back.
Her name is Ha Eun-rae. Yes, actress Ha Eun-rae.
Since Eun-rae’s family circumstances are involved, I’m hesitant about writing this post, but absurd rumors about Ha Eun-rae are spreading, and it’s infuriating me so much that I’m writing this with my daughter’s help.
Eun-rae is truly a kind and sincere person. There’s no way she did anything deserving of criticism. The claim that Eun-rae abandoned her family doesn’t make sense from the start.
When Eun-rae was in high school, she didn’t even have time for a boyfriend—she carved out time to eat and worked at our restaurant.
If you have evidence to refute this, please share it.

The Meat Restaurant Owner appeared at the most perfectly timed moment.
And public opinion flipped in an instant.
As if everyone had been waiting for it.

—————

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

—————