In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 62

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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 62

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The day before the Busan International Film Festival.
I was doing some light stretches with a humidifier running beside me.
Kang Ye-reum clicked her tongue as she watched me.
“You’re relentless…”
“What?”
“Aren’t you on your sixteenth hour of fasting? Yesterday you only had a bit of chicken breast and some vegetables.”
“I ate sweet potato too. Just a bite to use the bathroom.”
“…You mean that one bite of sweet potato?”
“Yeah.”
At my response, Kang Ye-reum let out a hollow laugh.
I suppose celebrity management looks grueling to ordinary people.
But after living this way for over a decade, a twenty-four-hour fast was nothing to me.
If anything, twenty-one-year-old Ha Eun-rae felt energized even when hungry—almost exhilarated by it.
Then, suddenly, a memory from my past life surfaced.

“You’ve lost weight. But you’ll never get back to how you looked when Do-un was making a fuss. Your face is just a skull now.”
“You should just stay quiet since you approved Do-un’s marriage.”
“How can I bear this eternal regret—marrying Do-un off to some second-rate entertainer!”

A conversation I’d overheard at my in-laws’ house in my past life.

“I told you to gain weight, didn’t I? Getting pregnant is more important than looking pretty for your husband.”
“I’m trying, but it’s not working—”
“Trying? Please. I know Do-un is deliberately controlling your diet to keep you thin.”

Stop.
Stop thinking about it.
There’s no more in-laws’ house that would criticize me for gaining weight or losing weight.
My face must have stiffened because Kang Ye-reum fanned my face with her hand from beside me.
“Hey, you’re not spacing out, are you? You said you were fine with going hungry…!”
“Ha. It’s not like that.”
As I smiled, Kang Ye-reum held out her phone to me with a worried expression.
“It’s a text from the representative.”
The representative?
I naturally recalled the texts that Kanna’s representative had sent the day before the Awards Ceremony.
Every time he’d text me to starve myself, Hong Jong-ho would get annoyed.

“Where is there any fat on your body to lose? If you lose muscle, you’ll suffer when you’re older. Just eat.”
“Brother….”

Ugh. That guy had been worried about my muscles since back then.
Still, it seemed like I endured the harsh entertainment industry life thanks to him.
I was shaking my head when I looked at the text Ye-reum handed me.

[Are we still starving? I think Eunrae will look pretty even if it comes out a little steamed. My wife told me to make bear soup, so I’m making it. I’ll pack it up after the awards ceremony, so the two of us can stay…ㅠㅠㅠ Should I just put it in the hotel? Are you going to eat it as soon as the Bugukje is over?]

…What is this?
I opened my mouth in shock at Heo Kyung-hoe’s text, which was so different from what I expected.
“Your representative is losing his mind. Stop starving yourself. He texted me because he was worried you wouldn’t even have the strength to hold your phone!”
“…It’s not that bad.”
I glanced at the reply Kang Ye-reum was sending.

[Representative. I was already planning to take her out for Busan pork soup right after anyway, so just relax.]

Something felt off.
I was truly living a different life now.
No Entertainment Agency burning with the desire to turn me into a mannequin, no In-laws’ House treating me like a breeding machine….
A life surrounded by people who saw me as a person.
“Hey, you look terrible. Want an energy bar or something?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I’m going to do great, Kang Ye-reum. So believe in me.”
“Huh? Out of nowhere?”
“Just because.”
“Of course I believe in you. That’s why I backed your choice at the dress fitting yesterday.”
I recalled Kang Ye-reum actively supporting the dress I had selected.
Before regression, my Talent Agency had insisted only on fine dresses.
Now, I was surrounded only by people who genuinely cared for me and supported my choices.
In this life, I must never waver and absolutely live the life I chose with my own hands.
‘First, I need to do well at the Busan International Film Festival tomorrow.’
After a moment’s thought, I sent a text to Heo Representative.

[I’ll do well. Please don’t worry too much.]

Then I sent a text to Seo Kyung-bin.

[Senior. I’ll see you tomorrow.]

And both of them replied almost simultaneously, as if on cue.

[If you feel like you’re getting sick, eat something~~~~~~~!!! Eun-rae is always beautiful so don’t worry~~~~~~! My actress~~~~~~!!!]

[I.. might.. shake a lot.. What should I do?]

What do you mean what should we do.
Better to just show it than risk controversy over rudeness.
That Kyung-bin had a timid personality.
Still, I had to take good care of him so nothing went wrong.

[Don’t worry. I’ll do well.]

And my answer never came to pass.

* * *

On the day of the Busan International Film Festival.
Doksa and Eun-Gureum recognized each other from a distance.
It was inevitable.
They were wearing the same t-shirt.

‘Every cloud has Silver lining🥰’

It was their secret code.
The cipher used by Ha Eun-rae’s fans!
And on the back was a printed photo of Eun-rae.
“Ha ha… hello.”
As Doksa approached shyly and greeted her, Eun-Gureum’s eyes widened.
“It’s an honor to meet you! I’ve seen you often on SNS! You’re a celebrity!”
Doksa was a figure who had built quite a reputation through drama and film criticism.
It was understandable that Eun-Gureum was surprised.
Moreover, since Doksa never promoted a single actor, the fact that she was participating in this offline event and even engaging in fan activities for one actress was all the more remarkable.
“I wouldn’t say celebrity…”
Doksa answered with embarrassment.
Yet pride shone through her expression.
Years of reviewing everything from terrestrial broadcasting to cable, OTT, and films after work had accumulated layer upon layer, creating the Doksa of today.
“Ahem… shall we head over then? We should probably get in line soon.”
Fans were already gathering near the Red Carpet.
Even though it was still five hours before the festival’s opening.
“Oh, yes! Let’s go!”
And so, after five grueling hours of fierce competition, the two of them managed to secure the front row of the Red Carpet.
All for the sake of seeing Eun-rae in person.
Eun-Gureum, who had experience as an idol fan, took out her camera and waited.
“Just in case, I even brought a ladder, but thankfully we got the front row.”
To that extent?
Instead of answering with surprise, Doksa said this:
“You’re very thorough in your preparation, Eun-Gureum. I’ll learn from you.”
“Hehe… to that extent…”
It was just as Eun-Gureum was answering with embarrassment.
Actors began appearing one by one.
However, when rookie actors appeared, the crowd’s reaction was cold.
Most of those gathered here were fans of famous stars.
‘No matter what, fiddling with a camera from the front row is just bad manners…’
Watching actors in dresses alone in the chilly weather struggle to maintain bright smiles was enough to stir pity.
But—
‘Still, isn’t it a bit much to expose that much…?’
Several rookie actresses wore revealing outfits, desperate to capture even a single additional photograph.
The relentless shutter clicks of cameras fixated on the scantily-clad actress.
It was precisely when Eun Goo-reum and Dok-sa furrowed their brows at the photographers snapping away like voyeurs.
Someone perched on a ladder suddenly cried out.
“Wait—it’s Ha Eun-rae!”
Ha Eun-rae?
Both their heads whipped around at those words.
Yet in that very moment, something extraordinary unfolded.
Other actors’ fans simultaneously raised their cameras.
The silhouette of Ha Eun-rae, faintly visible in the distance, drew steadily closer.
A tall, handsome man was escorting her.
It was Seo Kyung-bin.
And Eun-rae was—
The moment they glimpsed her dress, both their eyes widened in astonishment.
A gown adorned with delicate details reminiscent of carefully folded Korean hanji paper.
Below her slender shoulders and graceful waist, the voluminous skirt cascaded in ethereal waves—a breathtaking sight—yet the true marvel lay elsewhere.
It was the subtle mother-of-pearl patterns shimmering softly through the fabric.
Watching Eun-rae’s radiant smile, both of them realized.
‘She deliberately chose a dress with traditional Korean motifs to honor Purgatory!’
As foreign fans beside them continuously snapped photographs, both felt a pride incomparable to moments before.
‘That’s my actress!’
Yet they remained unaware.
That as Ha Eun-rae drew nearer, they would encounter her expression—utterly rigid, completely frozen.
‘Damn it…! I’m trembling so much!’
Ha Eun-rae herself hadn’t anticipated becoming a robot on the Red Carpet!

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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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