In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 78

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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 78

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Now that I’d committed to appearing in Loving, I had no intention of letting its scandals derail the production.
‘This is my first terrestrial broadcasting drama—I can’t let it fail.’
At least I’d resolved one issue decisively.
Shin Jung-ui’s drunk driving accident.
That disappeared the moment I took over her role.
But two other scandals still loomed ahead.
One was the director’s false abuse-of-power exposé.
The other was the male lead’s drug use incident.
The first could be managed gradually—
‘But the second one demands immediate action.’
I’d realized it when I saw the whiteboard at Seo Eun-sul’s Studio.
The male lead hadn’t been cast yet.
And among the candidates was Go Heung-jae, someone I had connections with.
The problem was that he ranked far down the list.
Currently, Seo Ho-jun had far better prospects than Go Heung-jae, which made him the obvious choice from Seo Eun-sul’s perspective.
‘She probably planned to send the script to Seo Ho-jun first, and if he declined, move down the list.’
But Seo Ho-jun wouldn’t pass up such an opportunity.
Yet in the future, Seo Ho-jun becomes a criminal.
And his criminal record severely damages international distribution prospects.
Because Seo Ho-jun, cast as the male lead, ends up in prison, the overseas sales performance was dismal.
Which meant there was only one solution.
‘Before the script reaches Seo Ho-jun, I need to make Go Heung-jae win over Seo Eun-sul first.’

Your next project, Writer Seo Eun-sul.

And the bait I cast had hooked a big one.
– Oh my, our busy actress Eun-rae is playing April Fools’ jokes on me. And it’s not even April.
Pretending to be so carefree.
The moment you saw ‘Seo Eun-sul’, you called me right away.
“I had a meeting with the writer and the PD this time.”
– …Seo Eun-sul’s next project?
“Yes.”
– That’s great.
…?
That’s the entirety of his reaction?
I thought Go Heung-jae, being cunning and perceptive, would find some angle to probe and leverage.
– Congratulations~ Soo-hyun- no, Eun-rae. You deserve it.
This lukewarm response is what?
– I’m a bit jealous, but an opportunity will come my way too.
“Senior, I think opportunities will come for you as well….”
– You know as well as I do, Eun-rae. With a writer of Seo Eun-sul’s caliber, social maneuvering won’t cut it. This industry is cold. You’re only evaluated on your talent. Especially for male lead roles—they’ll cast top stars.
He’s surprisingly objective about himself.
Should I call this humility…?
But I’ve seen Go Heung-jae’s acting in my past life.
Not only that, I saw his acting on The Apartment film set as well.
Go Heung-jae acts well.
He simply hasn’t found the perfect role that suits him yet, but if he lands the right character, he’ll do far better. He’s that kind of actor.
And more than anything—
“Senior, you’re handsome.”
– Huh…?
“This role is a handsome role.”
At my words, Go Heung-jae fell silent on the other end of the line for a moment.
And then—
– Puhahahaha! Eun-rae, this is the first time I’ve heard such a direct compliment, hehe….
“It’s not a compliment. It’s a fact.”
Honestly, isn’t there only one reason Go Heung-jae rose to fame late?
He’s too handsome.
Go Heung-jae is an actor whose face has that distinctive mixed-race quality, giving him an almost otherworldly appearance.
Because of that, no matter how well he acted, he kept failing auditions.
As a result, he had no choice but to bounce around doing bit parts and supporting roles.
“Besides, this role is a top star role. More precisely, a somewhat slick top star. I think you’re perfect for it, senior.”
– ….
“What do you think?”
– Uh, oh, wow….
“What’s wrong?”
– I just… I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult. Well, I’ll take it as a compliment for now? But surely you’re not saying Soo-hyun, you’re going to set me up?
There’s no way.
I don’t have that kind of ability.
You have to do it with your own abilities.
With that unique sluggish personality of yours.
“In two days, Seo Eun-sul is apparently going to Osaka. Since she’s going with the production company PD, you should be able to find out the flight information through the production company. It’s over an hour and a half to Osaka—don’t you think it’s worth trying?”
– …You think I can actually do this?
I answered Go Heung-jae’s words.
“Yes. I think ‘Soo-hyun’ oppa has that level of ability.”
Since we decided to be like older and younger siblings, I should drop the formal speech now.
“Your eye for others is so accurate, but your eye for yourself is a bit lacking. Oppa.”
– …!!
Go Heung-jae fell silent for a moment.
And after a brief pause, Go Heung-jae opened his mouth.
– But Soo-hyun. Life is give and take, right? You’re giving me this opportunity for no reason? What’s the catch?
That’s right.
Of course, just getting cast would be a huge gift to me, but if I give him this opportunity for free, he’d be suspicious instead.
So….
“Let’s go volunteer together.”
– Huh?
“I volunteer at the School for the Visually Impaired. We’re always short on people. And the kids are seriously… ‘face-crazy.'”
– …?
I recalled the moment I touched his hand for the sake of acting and smiled softly.
“You have a handsome face.”

* * *

The ‘Jung Min-hyun GIF’ had completely become a meme and was posted on Jung Min-hyun’s Star Instagram.
And I even received a DM from Jung Min-hyun.

[Hello, actress. Thanks to you, I’ve become hot again even though I’m past my prime^^ Your song was amazing too, and thank you for the follow-back.]
[(GIF)]

Jung Min-hyun is past his prime?
When he’s still a top-tier producer with hit songs pouring out?
From what I remember, he was still top-tier even twelve years later.

[I always listen to your songs! I was so grateful for what you said that day. Would it be okay if I sent you a small gift?]

[Wouldn’t it be fine if I sent it to you?]
[(GIF)]

There’s no helping an old-timer like him.
He goes from verse two straight through verse three….

[I’ll send it through the talent agency, senior!]

[Ahahaha, thank you. Let’s meet up next time!]

Regardless, as long as I stay in this industry, there’s no downside to staying on good terms with a top-tier producer like Jung Min-hyun.
Actually, it’s nothing but beneficial.
It might even help with the OST work.
But there was even better news than that—

Seo Eun-sul
We’ve decided on our male lead casting. You might be a bit surprised,
(GIF)
but Go Heung-jae is doing it with us~!

Of course it’s Go Heung-jae.
He finally seized the opportunity.
I don’t know how he managed it, but I’m curious.
Well, I’ll probably hear about it naturally at the next meeting.

Seo Eun-sul
Isn’t it great? They had good chemistry in The Apartment too~~ I used that to convince our PD~~ I was on the Osaka flight, you know…

Ah, our writer is quite the storyteller, so she’s already told me everything.
Go Heung-jae, who had claimed the seat next to Seo Eun-sul on the plane, had spent an hour and a half sharing his life story while explaining why he could play Byun Eun-seok, the male lead of Loving.
He’d even dressed in clothes befitting Byun Eun-seok, so much so that it felt like the character himself had appeared.

Seo Eun-sul
Eun-rae slipped him some character details, didn’t she?

I’ve been caught.
I’d asked Go Heung-jae to keep it secret that I’d told him, but it seemed Seo Eun-sul had already figured it out.

Seo Eun-sul
You did well. Thanks to you, I think we found a great actor. I was actually considering someone else, but meeting Go Heung-jae made me understand it. What kind of presence the ‘Byun Eun-seok’ I wanted really has.

It worked out perfectly.
This casting was a good outcome for Go Heung-jae, for Seo Eun-sul, and above all, for me.
And furthermore—
“We’re finally moving our office!”
It was the best outcome for Heo Kyung-hoe more than anyone else.
He no longer had to work in that dilapidated office.
I pooled together my advertising fees, my film appearance fees, and even Seo Kyung-bin’s new drama appearance fees to make the move happen.
From a 30-pyeong office in the Seoul Outskirts to a 70-pyeong office in Seoul Central.
We even had it completely remodeled.
And what’s more—
“We’re signing a new actor this time. Want to take a look?”
Heo Kyung-hoe was eyeing business expansion.

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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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