In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 54

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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 54

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A few moments later.
“Huff… huff… Eun-rae… you’re… really fast, aren’t you?”
I tilted my head while gripping Go Heung-jae by the scruff of his neck.
“Am I?”
For the record, I had chosen to be the police officer.
Do Eun-hee and Kim Ran had also chosen to be police officers alongside me, yet neither of them had managed to catch a single thief.
So I had given them some guidance.

“You two should just guard the prison.”

Cops and robbers wasn’t a game that could be won simply by catching thieves effectively.
An uncaught thief could come and free a thief who had already been arrested and imprisoned.
Thieves only had to run, but police officers had to guard the prison and catch thieves simultaneously.
Moreover, there were usually more thieves than police officers, so the officers were inevitably overwhelmed.
In situations like this, the most important thing was efficient division of labor.
I left the task of guarding the prisoners to these two, who were slower runners than me, and went hunting for thieves instead.
And so I…
“Eun-rae, you caught another one?”
had arrested five thieves in just ten minutes.
“Haha… we can just stand around and do nothing, it seems.”
“Right?”
Kim Ran and Do Eun-hee were laughing and looking at each other when someone approached from behind them.
Someone crept up behind the two of them.
“Oh…! Catch him!”
I shouted, but by the time the two of them turned around, it was already too late.
“…!”
Park Seo-woo had freed all the thieves imprisoned in the jail.

“W-wait, what do we do? Should we just stick with you?”
I shook my head at Do Eun-hee’s question.
“No.”
That wasn’t possible.
Right now, the thieves vastly outnumbered us.
Even if I kept catching thieves and bringing them in, if only one police officer was guarding the Prison, we’d keep getting robbed just like this.
As I explained this, Kim Ran made a subtle expression.
“Eun-rae, you’re really smart… but kind of… robotic.”
Robotic…?
A scene from Gyodong Chicken flashed through my mind, but I had no time for distractions now.
“We’ll move exactly the same way as before. But this time, you two need to keep a careful watch on the perimeter.”
“It’s like military training.”
Go Heung-jae, the thief I’d caught, spoke from inside the Prison.
But the police officers all ignored him in unison.
“Perimeter watch confirmed.”
“No messing around this time.”
“Yes.”
I could see the fighting spirit blazing in Do Eun-hee and Kim Ran’s eyes—the ones who’d been hit on the back of the head by Park Seo-woo.
‘Actually, this works out better.’
If Park Seo-woo had shown up when the game was nearly over and released all the thieves, our team would have lost without question.
But fortunately, he’d shown up with 15 minutes still remaining and pulled this troll move.
‘Since it’s come to this, I’ll catch Park Seo-woo first.’
I’d already mapped out the movements of the other thieves while walking around.
I moved forward with that thought in mind.
Leaving Do Eun-hee and Kim Ran to cover my back.
But my plan never came to fruition.

“Three minutes left in the game!”
‘Where did this guy go?’
Had he vanished…?
Unable to locate Park Seo-woo, I had no choice but to apprehend the other thieves first.
Some were caught hiding, others were caught trying to help a prisoner escape.
But Park Seo-woo remained nowhere to be found.
Which meant.
‘He’s planning to stay hidden until time runs out, isn’t he?’
Where on earth could he be?
“Time keeps ticking, you know. What are you going to do?”
I glanced at the cameraman following me, both of us breathing heavily.
Whether for marketing purposes or not, the production company was filming everything—from the script reading to this entire ‘Cops and Robbers’ game.
“…I’ll catch him. Definitely.”
At my declaration, the cameraman laughed breathlessly.
“You’re really determined. You seem to be taking this game seriously.”
“You should put effort into everything you do.”
Especially with a million won on the line.
“I heard you were introverted, but this is surprising.”
“What does being introverted have to do with a game….”
I was saying that when I suddenly turned around.
Then I saw multiple cameramen.
‘Right.’
I hadn’t thought of that.
The classic trope of these hide-and-seek variety shows.
I studied the cameramen carefully.
While most were filming the prison, exactly three were filming me.
My dedicated cameraman.
And two cameramen capturing wide shots from a distance.
What did that mean?
I watched the two distant cameramen for a moment, then suddenly bolted toward one of them.
“Huff…! Come with me!”
My dedicated cameraman shouted from behind, but I didn’t stop.
Why?
Because the cameraman taking wide shots had started running away!
‘That’s him!’
Park Seo-woo.
He’d been disguised as a cameraman.
“Two minutes remaining!”
The announcement echoed from a distance.
I gritted my teeth and sprinted forward, skidding to a halt before a small hill on the Pension grounds.
Park Seo-woo wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at me.
Leaning against the small railing atop the hill.
“You run well, actress.”
“You run well too, director.”
“But if you keep running like that and get hurt….”
That was the moment.
“Ah, damn…. Ah…!”
I collapsed right there, as though I’d twisted my ankle.
Immediately, Park Seo-woo leaped down from the railing.
“Are you alright?”
“…!”
I stared wide-eyed at Park Seo-woo as he extended his hand toward me.
Then I grasped his hand and rose to my feet.
On two perfectly intact legs.
Park Seo-woo’s brow furrowed as he watched.
I was utterly dumbfounded by his reaction.
“It was acting.”
“Pardon?”
“…You fell for that?”
What kind of thief suddenly claims to be in pain with just one minute left in the game, and the cop actually believes it?
“Huff… huff…! The police have won!”
The cameraman who’d barely managed to follow me from behind shouted loudly.
I looked up at Park Seo-woo’s bewildered expression as I heard it.
Was I a genius at acting, or was Park Seo-woo an idiot?

* * *

The atmosphere at the Workshop afterparty grew heated with a game of “Cops and Robbers.” It helped that filming had finally wrapped.
“Honestly, I thought Eun-rae had literally emerged from Purgatory.”
“Wow, I thought she had ropes rigged when she climbed down from the roof.”
That wasn’t a roof, though—it was the Terrace.
I kept that thought to myself, sitting quietly amid the boisterous chatter.
Even without saying a word, all the attention gravitated toward me.
That was when it happened.
“I’ll head inside first. I have an early shoot tomorrow.”
I caught sight of Kang Ye-ji excusing herself from the corner.
The leads offered polite farewells, but there was no hint of reluctance in their tone.
They’d never been close to begin with—
‘She’s clearly bolting the moment filming wrapped, isn’t she?’
Go Heung-jae, noticing the same thing, leaned over beside me and whispered softly.
“Straight out~”
“….”
Better not to respond.
For some reason, Go Heung-jae had grown fond of me ever since we’d developed chemistry on set, but at this stage of my career, getting caught in a scandal with a fellow actor would be nothing but trouble.
Besides—
‘There’s no benefit in gossiping about someone else’s business.’
Instead, I naturally clinked my warm chamomile tea against the beer can Go Heung-jae was holding.
Fortunately, there was a Film Festival coming up soon, which gave me an excellent excuse to watch my diet.
‘If I get drunk and mess up like before, it’ll be a disaster.’
Last time, Director Je-gal Se-yeon and Park Seo-woo had covered for me.
I glanced over at Park Seo-woo.
Park Seo-woo had been fooled by me and caught, but the moment the camera stopped rolling, he brought over a pain relief patch and handed it to me.

“You were running around the whole time. Put this on.”
“Oh… thank you.”

My soles were a bit sore, but my ankle was fine.
Still, I couldn’t possibly refuse when Park Seo-woo was being so considerate.
Once I applied it to my calf, my body definitely felt more relaxed.
Just then, Park Seo-woo, who’d been drinking beer beside Park Chang-sung, suddenly looked my way.
Our gazes met in the empty space between us.
He held my gaze quietly for a moment.
When had it started? This feeling that Park Seo-woo’s gaze no longer bothered me.
Was it because I’d confirmed he harbored no ill will toward me?
Or perhaps—

“【To the Dear Kim Ji-hyun】 — we got a call from the Busan International Film Festival.”

Park Seo-woo spoke while gazing down at my ankle.

“【To the Dear Kim Ji-hyun】 is also going to the Busan International Film Festival. So you need to take good care of your body. Actress.”

Perhaps it was because I’d just been reminded once again that this man was the director who would plant award accolades into my Wiki.
Either way, it didn’t matter.
In this life, Ha Eun-rae was heading to the Busan International Film Festival with two films right after her debut.

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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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