In This Life, I Want an Oscar, Not a Husband - Chapter 96

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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 96

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Loving was a drama with uniquely distinctive worldbuilding, befitting a work from Seo Eun-sul, the master of fantasy.
It was set in the near future where technology existed to extract emotions tied to specific memories and prevent people from ever feeling those emotions again.
That technology had saved countless lives.
It removed horrific emotions from firefighters and soldiers suffering from PTSD,
and it removed grief from those who had lost loved ones.
Of course, there were those who raised objections to such emotion removal.
They argued that sadness and despair were necessary to human existence.
In a world where this technology could become either salvation or poison—
the company Loving announced a revolutionary new technology.

We’ll freeze your emotions for you.

They had created technology to cryogenically preserve emotions extracted from people, allowing them to be reinjected whenever needed.
And the first project Loving launched to promote this technology was—
“We’re selling Byun Eun-seok’s first love?”
Go Heung-jae, who played the male lead Byun Eun-seok, spoke with the script in hand, his tone dripping with disbelief.
His expression was weary and dismissive of everything.
A handsome top-tier male actor who could take on any role he desired.
This would suit him perfectly, as expected.
I thought to myself as I listened to his opening line.
After all, it would become his “mask.”
“So—you extract the emotions from my first love, cryogenically preserve them, mass-produce them, and sell them?”
Moreover, his naturally cunning personality blended seamlessly with the character.
His expression was somewhat more arrogant and aloof than usual, but Go Heung-jae’s acting prowess could easily cover that.
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
The actor playing Go Heung-jae’s manager beside him answered cautiously.
“Do you think this makes any sense?”
“Whether it makes sense or not doesn’t really matter. The advertising fee is ten billion won.”
The actor playing the talent agency president delivered his line with practiced ease.
“Ten billion?”
“Yes. Ten billion. Ten times your usual rate.”
“Ha, ha ha. One billion won… well, that’s nothing….”
Go Heung-jae smacked his lips and alternated his gaze between the talent agency president and the manager.
“Of course I have to do it.”
Someone let out a laugh, and suddenly laughter erupted from all corners.
PD Kang Ji-wook and screenwriter Seo Eun-sul giggled along.
PD Kang spoke up.
“Perfect, perfect. Ah, this is so good!”
At those words, Go Heung-jae broke into a satisfied smile.
At the same moment, Seo Eun-sul glanced toward me and winked.
As if to say thank you.
Thank goodness.
I didn’t have to hear that I’d forced some random person into the role.
So now I just need to do well, right?
PD Kang had praised my performance during that first scene earlier, but strangely, the journalists showed little reaction.
All I could hear was the rapid clicking of keyboards.

* * *

[Ha Eun-rae’s Acting Explodes at Loving Reading Room!]
[Purgatory’s Ha Eun-rae Transforms into Solo Female Singer in Loving?! Three Must-Watch Points of Loving!]
[Why Ha Eun-rae’s Future is Worth Anticipating—Highly Anticipated Second-Half Production Loving Reading Session]

The following week.
Articles from media outlets flooded the entertainment portal pages.
Seo Eun-sul’s next project became the hottest topic, but my name appeared here and there as well.
And even….

[Tore Up the Reading Session! How Far Will Ha Eun-rae’s Popularity Soar?]

There was even a reporter who gave me such a headline.
‘AHA Daily Park Yu-jin….’
It’s good to remember reporters’ names.
When they remember your name during interviews, reporters are human too—they tend to write more favorable articles.
And if they remember the articles they wrote about you? That’s the cherry on top.
Most importantly, if my memory serves me right, a YouTube channel where reporters expose ‘behind-the-scenes stories of celebrities’ will soon gain traction.
Of course, they claim they obscure the celebrities’ identities, but most are easily identifiable, and there were cases where mere YouTube mentions could tank or skyrocket an actor’s reputation.
With that in mind, I picked up the script from the car.
Seeing me grab the worn-out script, Hong Jong-ho furrowed his brow.
“Doesn’t this bore you?”
Bore me?
How long has it been since I last did a drama?
There’s no way I could be bored.
Thinking back to those days when I was married, stuck at home doing housework and watching dramas—this was an opportunity that filled me with profound emotion.
“I’ve gone through this script a hundred times. And I marked all your scenes for you, so why are you reading everyone else’s lines?”
Hong Jong-ho tilted his head, watching me practically memorize every single line in the script.
That was right. I’d memorized nearly the entire script by now.
I’d always had a good memory, so it was possible—
‘But the stamina issue….’
Doing dramas was genuinely exhausting.
There was so much more dialogue compared to film.
Dramas had always been a medium that middle-aged audiences watched while doing other things.
So there was a strong tendency to explain everything through dialogue.
For instance—

【What?! Eun-sol had an accident and hit her head, and the culprit is Yoo Eun-ha?】

…This is how it works.
Though it’s improved somewhat these days, Terrestrial Broadcasting Drama still has many older viewers who watch with the conviction that “drama should be like this!” and nothing else.
That’s why Seo Eun-sul writes to accommodate that expectation to some degree.
For that reason, the sheer volume of lines to memorize is vast, and stamina was absolutely critical for performing in a drama with such long takes.
This tedious chicken breast and cabbage wrap that Hong Jong-ho keeps making simply wouldn’t cut it.
‘Wiki editing rights….’
The moment those fall into my hands.
I’ll definitely add a section on steel-forged stamina.
“But why did you want to leave so early today? Your shoot isn’t until 3 PM, and it’s only noon right now.”
“I need to run lines with Hye-seung.”
“Huh?”
Right. Maeng Hye-seung.
She was cast in Loving this time.
Of course, I had absolutely nothing to do with it—

“Ah, I’m so torn over who to cast as the Ian Agency Manager. Since it’s a supporting role, I need someone with solid acting chops.”
“Ah…. Have you perhaps seen Dear Kim Ji-hyun?”

I just happened to mention it.
Maeng Hye-seung has a real knack for playing those supporting character roles.
Unlike films where the lead is everything, dramas don’t succeed just because I perform well.
Depending on the acting ability of the other cast members I work with, my own performance can either shine brilliantly or get dragged through the mud.
That’s why I came early today.

＃45 Ian Agency Hallway
Manager Min-young walks while talking on the phone with Ian.

To run lines for this scene.
It’s Maeng Hye-seung’s first drama debut today.
‘If Maeng Hye-seung fails, I’ll take the hit too….’
And more than anything—
‘Look at Go Heung-jae.’
When the actor playing the manager role supports you from beside you, the performance really comes alive, doesn’t it.

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Maeng Hye-seung gazed at the film set setup with trembling anticipation.
No one on the crew paid attention to Maeng Hye-seung, merely a rookie actress.
They were only thinking about where and how to position the lights, how to bring in the extras.
Even the assistant director had come by, given her a rough explanation of her blocking, and left.
In short, it was a set where you had to fend for yourself.
Until now, having primarily played leads in web dramas and short films, Maeng Hye-seung had never experienced being ignored on set—but this was a rather harsh environment for her.
‘You knew it would be like this, didn’t you?’
Maeng Hye-seung wasn’t the type to be discouraged by such things.
Rather, she was focused on making the most of this first opportunity she’d grasped.
She had prepared dozens of ad-libs alone.

Min-young: Ian?
Min-young: Ian…?!
Min-young: Ian!

She had even prepared different tones for calling out “Ian,” capitalizing on Min-young’s characteristic of repeating similar lines each time.
Though it was a supporting role, she wanted to leave an impression on people’s minds.
So that she could seize opportunities in the drama industry going forward.
“Sigh…”
She was rereading her meager lines with such thoughts when it happened.
The surprised voice of Director Kang echoed across the film set.
“Huh? Eun-rae? How did you get here?”
Ha Eun-rae, who wasn’t even appearing in this scene, had arrived at the set.
Ha Eun-rae entered the film set in plain, makeup-free attire.
“Oh, I have a voice-over scene.”
“A voice-over scene? You don’t mean that phone call scene?”
Director Kang asked with surprised eyes.
Ha Eun-rae nodded at his words.
“Yes.”
“But that can be recorded later in the recording studio… We’ll just have a staff member read it here.”
“I know that. But it’s more convenient this way than recording it separately in the studio.”
Ha Eun-rae said this and smiled toward Maeng Hye-seung.
“I’m here, unnie.”
She came all this way just to do one phone call voice-over scene?

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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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