In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 61
—————
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 61
The Bellassimo Korea PR Team Lead looked flustered as he heard Kang Ye-reum’s proposal.
“Ha Eun-rae as an Asia Ambassador? Not even a Korea Ambassador?”
An ambassador.
That was something entirely different from a simple sponsorship deal.
It wasn’t a one-time modeling gig—it was closer to a partnership where she would wear only their clothes at all official events going forward.
And not just a Korea Ambassador, but an Asia Ambassador at that.
There were tiers even within ambassador contracts.
Korea Ambassadors were limited to domestic markets, Asia Ambassadors to the Asian region, and Global Ambassadors commanded astronomical fees.
But they wanted to use a rookie like Ha Eun-rae as an Asia Ambassador?
Watching the bewildered PR Team Lead, Kang Ye-reum handed over her presentation materials.
“You know how the ‘Ryun’ character challenge has been trending on TikTok lately? People do teeth whitening and mimic Ryun’s expressions.”
“Well, yes, I’ve heard about that…”
“I compiled videos from TikTok influencers with over five million followers who are Asian.”
Kang Ye-reum pointed to the screen filled with videos and the numbers written below them.
“You’ll see that each one gets at least two million views as a baseline.”
Two million views.
Considering that one million views was the benchmark for success on TikTok, Ryun’s influence was truly remarkable.
Even the PR Team Lead was quite surprised seeing the numbers laid out like this.
Ha Eun-rae’s global reach was this significant?
He’d known she was a rookie who’d caused quite a stir domestically, but her impact seemed far more formidable than he’d realized.
“You’re right—Ha Eun-rae’s influence is quite impressive.”
The PR Team Lead spoke carefully.
“I think sponsorship is something we could manage on our end. Honestly, even that would be quite unusual for a rookie.”
Sponsorship?
If that were all she wanted, she wouldn’t have come here.
Kang Ye-reum advanced to the next slide.
“No. Ha Eun-rae’s influence doesn’t end there. The reason I’m proposing an Asia Ambassador is ‘Douyin.'”
“Douyin?”
Douyin was a Chinese short-form video app similar to TikTok, and with such a massive user base, it was home to influencers with over one hundred million followers.
“On Douyin, Purgatory is gaining even more popularity because it captures Asian sensibilities. In fact, searching for ‘Purgatory’ on Douyin alone yields ten thousand videos.”
Lee Min-ji, sitting beside Kang Ye-reum, was quite startled by this.
They’d researched Douyin?
Even Korea’s top PR firms hadn’t thought of that angle.
The China market.
Luxury houses’ consumption was driven by Chinese consumers. Yet they were targeting the ripple effect of those very Chinese consumers.
Lee Min-ji could see the Bellasimo PR Team Lead’s eyes suddenly gleam with interest.
“There are over 2,000 videos featuring Ryun.”
“2,000 videos? What about the view counts?”
Watching ambition gradually kindle in the PR Team Lead’s eyes, Kang Ye-reum smiled faintly to herself.
It was an expected result.
After all, Kang Ye-reum was essentially telling Bellasimo that this was their last chance to acquire Ha Eun-rae at a bargain price.
“Most of them exceed 10 million views. It’s Douyin, after all.”
Kang Ye-reum shrugged lightly.
“And just so you know, these are the ‘minimum’ figures. Purgatory Part 2 just released.”
At those words, the PR Team Lead’s eyes widened.
“Then….”
“If we’re seeing these numbers from Part 1’s release, the figures going forward will easily double, won’t they?”
“…!”
Silence fell over the meeting room for a moment.
And it was the PR Team Lead who broke that silence.
“…An Asia Ambassador position requires headquarters approval.”
“Yes. I understand.”
“So….”
“But since the Busan International Film Festival is next week, we’d appreciate a quick decision.”
The power dynamic had completely shifted.
Kang Ye-reum smiled with satisfaction as she spoke.
“We’re only willing to accept Bellasimo’s sponsorship on the condition that Eun-rae becomes the ambassador.”
“…!”
* * *
Two days before the Busan International Film Festival.
I stepped into Bellasimo’s showroom and gazed at the dresses Kang Ye-reum was selecting for me.
“This one’s nice because it shows off the collarbone line, this one emphasizes the leg line beautifully, and this one has such a pretty color.”
…Wait, that’s not it.
“How on earth did you even secure Bellasimo?”
The real question was bigger than that.
‘How did this even happen—’
I looked at the Bellasimo PR Team Lead standing in the distance, beaming at me with a satisfied smile.
‘I became Bellasimo’s Asia Ambassador!’
Kang Ye-reum casually mentioned that I had become an ambassador for a luxury brand.
“After the Busan International Film Festival, I need to shoot the Bella Simo pictorial right away, so if possible, could you clear my schedule? Actress, and Director?”
And she said this right in front of Heo Kyung-hoe and me!
Both Heo Kyung-hoe and I responded with bewildered expressions.
“Bella Simo…? Isn’t that a luxury brand?”
“Yes. Eun-rae agreed to be the Asia ambassador there in exchange for getting dress sponsorship.”
“…?”
Neither Heo Kyung-hoe nor I could understand what it meant that I had agreed to “serve as” the Asia ambassador in exchange for dress sponsorship, but Kang Ye-reum’s expression suggested it was only natural.
“Since she’ll need to participate in campaigns and fashion shows going forward, she’ll have to carve out time between film shoots for a while, so please take good care of Eun-rae’s health.”
My health is the issue right now?
If I’m going to be a luxury brand ambassador, I should work myself to the bone!
I wanted to say that, but Heo Kyung-hoe was already saying it for me from beside me.
“I’ll sell the house. Let’s get our Eun-rae a more comfortable place to work, put in a massage chair…!”
“…Please, calm down. I’m begging you.”
Thanks to Heo Kyung-hoe’s overexcitement beside me, I was able to regain some composure.
Kang Ye-reum said that Bella Simo would send not just dresses, but bags, shoes, and accessories as well.
She also told me to leave all my styling to her from now on whenever I attended official events, since I’d be wearing Bella Simo for everything.
Ha ha…. This woman is terrifying.
Did she always have this kind of drive?
Come to think of it, in my past life she did jump into business ventures quickly too.
I tried on several dresses at the Showroom as Kang Ye-reum instructed.
And each time I put on a new dress, Hong Jong-ho took my picture and said:
“Beautiful.”
“Beautiful.”
“Lovely.”
“Gorgeous.”
…This man.
Meanwhile, Kang Ye-reum narrowed down all those dresses to just two.
“This one and this one. This one brings out the best of your figure, and that one looks cute and elegant.”
She was right.
One was a dress with a deep neckline that had a subtle jade hue to it.
It would complement my fair skin, and it could even give me an image transformation—something I’d never done before in terms of exposure.
The other was a black long-sleeved dress with Bella Simo-emblazoned buttons as a point accent, giving off the vibe of a cute, wealthy heiress.
But the problem was—
‘Both are beautiful, but they feel a bit lacking.’
The Red Carpet would have an enormous number of beautiful actresses.
Of course, my appearance was exceptional, but merely looking beautiful wouldn’t generate buzz.
What mattered was attempting something others wouldn’t—something only I could do.
After thinking for a moment, I picked up another dress.
“What about this one?”
And I realized that was exactly it.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————