In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 56

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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 56

* * *

Park Seo-woo was drinking beer beside Park Chang-sung when his gaze drifted toward Ha Eun-rae.
It was a casual glance, but he noticed her eyes were fixed on him.
As if she had been watching him.
In that moment, Park Seo-woo captured her briefly through his viewfinder.
He zoomed in on the faint curve of her smile, her cat-like sharp eyes, and the deep, mysterious irises within them—like still lakes.
It was a face that made it impossible not to look.
Every time he saw her, he wanted to pull out his camera.
“Wow, this scene really captured Eun-rae beautifully.”
Just then, the Production Company Junior Staff was reviewing footage from the “Cop and Thief” shoot and showed it to Park Chang-sung while commenting.
Park Chang-sung then glanced sideways at Park Seo-woo.
“You shot this?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“The composition doesn’t shake even while running away?”
“I suppose it’s just a habit from holding a camera for so long.”
Park Seo-woo spoke while watching the footage of Ha Eun-rae that he had captured.
Captured beautifully?
Hardly.
Park Seo-woo didn’t particularly agree with that assessment.
‘She looked even better than this.’
She could have looked even more stunning, but he regretted that the angle didn’t come through as intended.
His skills still weren’t perfect.
“Wow, this is practically an action sequence.”
Park Chang-sung chuckled as he watched the scene of her sliding down from the terrace.
Then he handed the tablet PC he was holding to Park Seo-woo.
“I’m just going to have a quick cigarette.”
At Park Chang-sung’s words, the Production Company Junior Staff spoke as if he’d been holding back too.
“Oh, me too. Assistant Director, how about you…?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“Then what about you, Producer Kim…?”
The junior staff looked toward Kim Do-woon and asked. Kim Do-woon waved his hand in response.
“I’m good. Go ahead.”
“Yes.”
The moment the two figures disappeared from view, Kim Do-woon snatched the tablet PC from Park Seo-woo’s hands.
“Is she pretty?”
“….”
Park Seo-woo didn’t answer.
“I’m not sure myself. If we’re talking pretty, isn’t Kang Ye-ji’s style more beautiful? Koreans prefer that type anyway. Always smiling brightly, flirting a little.”
When Park Seo-woo still refused to respond, Kim Do-woon’s expression hardened.
Park Seo-woo.
That insufferable bastard was always like this.
Ignoring people was second nature to him.
Even after getting beaten by me, every single time.
That’s what made it worse.
‘A bastard child, no less.’

* * *

“Say hello. He’s your youngest brother.”

A youngest brother who suddenly appeared in his childhood.
The adults never gave him a proper explanation, but Kim Do-woon understood instinctively.
So that’s what they meant by ‘a child born outside the family.’
He’d witnessed such scenes often enough at friends’ houses.

“Has the younger mistress arrived?”

The younger mistress?
What does that even mean?

“Our father’s girlfriend. Mom said that at least this woman couldn’t have children, which is a relief.”
“Why?”
“If she had a child, things would get complicated. Asset division and all that.”

It wasn’t something an elementary school student should say while clutching a gaming console, but that was how this world worked.
With astronomical wealth came natural conversations about money at the dinner table.
Money before people. That came first.
Kim Do-woon had disliked Park Seo-woo from the moment they first met.
Still, the small mother-in-law he’d seen at a friend’s house would cling to his friend, but Park Seo-woo never did.
Even when their eyes met, he didn’t avoid the gaze—he looked straight back.
That was why.
Once a year, every time he encountered Park Seo-woo, he beat him to death like that.
Watching him take the punches and kicks without a single scream somehow felt satisfying.
Always the youngest, always falling short of his older brothers.
It felt like Park Seo-woo had taken that position.
But now Park Seo-woo was trying to abandon that position.

“Did you watch that film?”
“Pardon? Which film?”

Right after hearing his father’s confirmation that he would make him the overall Producer for 【Apartment】, his father suddenly brought up Park Seo-woo out of nowhere.

“【Dear Kim Ji-hyun】. It’s trending on YouTube, apparently. Seems like he has real talent.”
“What is that?”

When he didn’t understand his father’s words, his father clicked his tongue.

“You’ve never had an eye for work, even though you wanted to do content before. But why do you have to keep clinging to the company?”

An eye for quality work.
That bastard’s eye for quality work.
Kim Do-woon watched Park Seo-woo’s short film that very day.
What is this?
What is this garbage shot on a cheap camera?
Ha Eun-rae’s acting was good enough to salvage it somewhat, but that’s where it ends.
Just because he lucked into one YouTube project, I’m supposed to be compared to that bastard?
Kim Do-woon ground his teeth.
Kim Do-woon glanced around before speaking quietly to Park Seo-woo.
“Hey, what are you doing lurking around here?”
“I’m working as an assistant director under Director Park Chang-sung-”
“Exactly. Why are you here? Why are you attached to a film my father is funding with his money, you little bastard?”
Kim Do-woon fixed Park Seo-woo with a cold stare.
“Even if you just sit around doing nothing, you’ll have enough money to live on until you die. Taking after your mother, do you want to try touching everyone—this person, that person? Is Ha Eun-rae included in that?”
Park Seo-woo’s face twisted slightly at Kim Do-woon’s words.
He quietly clenched his fist.
It would be easy to throw a punch here.
It always was.
Every time he hit me, that bastard left his chest and stomach completely exposed.
There were plenty of vulnerable spots to target.
A greenhorn who doesn’t even know how to guard properly.
That blank brain that can’t even calculate where a punch is coming from.
The stupidity of someone who can’t even control his own emotions.
Yet I’ve never thrown a punch—not because I lacked the ability.

“Don’t cause trouble and come.”

I knew that breaking that promise would become a hassle.
“Hey, don’t do anything stupid.”
Kim Do-woon laughed mockingly as he spoke.
He threw a tablet at Park Seo-woo, who gave no response, and added:
“Do you think you’ll become some great director by acting like that? Do you really think you’ll catch your father’s eye? Damn it. Just because some pathetic film got a little attention…”
Kim Do-woon recalled what his father had said.

“You have no eye for quality work.”

A work?
There’s no way something like this could be called a ‘work.’
Kim Do-woon rose from his seat with that thought.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Park Seo-woo.”

* * *

“Damn it. Just because some pathetic film got a little attention….”

A pathetic film.
If someone else had said that, I would have accepted it.
My film wasn’t yet ‘perfect,’ after all.
But the moment Kim Do-woon said those words, I wanted to refute him.
Because that ‘pathetic film’ he spoke of contained Ha Eun-rae.
That actress who had never once been anything less than perfect.
Park Seo-woo gazed quietly at Ha Eun-rae on the tablet PC.
She was perfect.
Whether as Ryun, as Kim Ji-hyun, or simply as ‘Ha Eun-rae.’
Always perfect.
“Seo-woo.”
That was when it happened.
Park Chang-sung, returning from smoking, called out to Park Seo-woo as he settled into the camping chair.
But Park Seo-woo was still gazing at Ha Eun-rae on the tablet PC.
Park Chang-sung’s eyebrows rose at the sight.
Had he been staring this whole time?
Park Chang-sung called out to Park Seo-woo again.
“Seo-woo.”
Only then did Park Seo-woo look up.
“Ah, yes. Director.”
Watching Park Seo-woo naturally pour alcohol into a paper cup, Park Chang-sung stopped him.
“Skip the drinking.”
“Ah… yes.”
Park Chang-sung hesitated as he observed the expression that appeared on Park Seo-woo’s usually inscrutable face.
‘Advice.’
Perhaps this was the moment he had to do the very thing Park Seo-woo hated most.
“Do you know what you need to be most careful about in your twenties?”
“…?”
“Falling in love with someone who diminishes you.”
Park Chang-sung gestured toward the tablet PC Park Seo-woo held, toward Ha Eun-rae contained within it.
“For a rookie director, that’s the same as falling for an actress.”
Park Chang-sung spoke, and Park Seo-woo simply looked at him without answering.
Like… like?
Park Seo-woo briefly recalled Kim Do-woon’s words.

“You take after your mother—do you want to try touching everyone, one by one? Is Ha Eun-rae included in that?”

Suddenly, my stomach churned.
Seeing my expression harden, Park Chang-sung patted my shoulder.
“If I overstepped, I’m sorry.”
Park Chang-sung chuckled softly.
“No, it’s just. I think I’ve felt something like that before too.”
Park Chang-sung looked at Ha Eun-rae in the distance, conversing with Kim Ran and Do Eun-hee.
Park Seo-woo followed Park Chang-sung’s gaze and looked at Ha Eun-rae as well.
“You’re going to have a pretty rough time from now on.”
“….”
“Of course, your skills are exceptional.”
Park Chang-sung recalled “To Dear Kim Ji-hyun,” which Park Seo-woo had filmed.
This guy wasn’t just good at capturing shots.
He was a genius at editing too.
Connecting shot to shot to create a single mise-en-scène.
That talent was alive with sensibility.
It was artistic yet simultaneously accessible to the general audience.
Could I have shot at that level in my twenties?
The answer was no.
But even if I had possessed such skill in my twenties, debuting then would have been like plucking a star from the sky.
Back then, the Korean Film Industry was incredibly narrow, and that narrow world ran on connections and money.
But now?
The Korean market was opening globally through OTT.
Moreover, opportunities had emerged for young talents to gain recognition on platforms like YouTube.
Perhaps soon the day would come when OTT productions and YouTube productions would win awards at the Awards Ceremony.
But—
“Still, directorial debut isn’t a joke. You need time, but Ha Eun-rae won’t wait for that.”
“….”
“She’ll gain tremendous popularity, earn money, and with that skill—she’ll climb much higher.”
Park Seo-woo nodded as he listened to Park Chang-sung’s words.
Yes. That would certainly be the case.
Ha Eun-rae is a talented person, after all.
But still….
“The actress doesn’t need to wait for me.”
No, Ha Eun-rae doesn’t need to wait for anyone.
He looked at Park Chang-sung while thinking this way.
“If I become a great director before my twenties end, then no one has to feel diminished, isn’t that right?”

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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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