Chapter 20
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Translator: Diva
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: 이번 생엔 남편 말고 오스카상이요 20화
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Translator: Diva
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: In This Life, Oscar Over Husband
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* * *
“Great job all the way to the final shoot!”
Hong Jong-ho beamed brightly as he opened the car door.
With today, all filming for [Living with a Ghost] was finally wrapped.
And today too—
“You two have such great chemistry!”
They received praise from Jeon Se-yeon.
Not only that—
“The professor is setting up a dinner with the distributor rep. That okay with you?”
Surprisingly, right after wrapping, contact had come in from the distributor.
“The distributor’s Shining Pictures. Apparently a new one from Bee Enter.”
Bee Enter was a massive entertainment company that even had its own cable channel, BeepTV, under it.
And that BeepTV, though struggling now, would soon score hit after hit with dramas and variety shows, rising to the top.
‘They’ll even get talk of outrating terrestrial TV.’
On top of that, Shining Pictures would rack up box office successes and become a frequent name at award ceremonies.
‘In short, no downside to building ties!’
“Now you get to rest—feels good, right? Member... I mean, Actor-nim.”
Hong Jong-ho asked, seeing her smile contentedly.
He must’ve read her smile differently.
‘Still, wrapping up feels liberating.’
It was her first project since regressing, so she’d been on edge the whole time.
“Yeah. Feels great.”
During the break, she could prep for various auditions.
‘A small web drama right now would be perfect.’
Of course, [Living with a Ghost] was a film slated for 20,000 viewers.
But an indie was still an indie.
She needed more mainstream credits.
‘In the past, starting with stripping roles messed up my career.’
So this time, she wanted to build steadily from the bottom.
Now that the foundation was solid, it was time for the next step.
YouTube web dramas would be ideal—
‘But nothing fits my image.’
She knew her own face well.
She was pretty, but not the cookie-cutter beauty.
Her striking features made it tough to land roles in web dramas, where comfy, approachable faces ruled.
‘Guess I’ll have to wait for Director Park Chang-seong’s project.’
Park Chang-seong.
The “box office guarantee director” who pulled at least 5 million viewers per film.
And auditions for his first 10-million-breaker were half a year away.
She remembered because she’d auditioned back then too.
‘Of course, I bombed.’
But that Ha Eun-rae had been a total greenhorn, wet behind the ears. Now, she was a vet with over ten years under her belt.
Audition now? Pass guaranteed.
The issue was—
‘How to cover rent for half a year...’
She’d talked big to Ye-reum.
Plus, sticking to indies while burning through manager time and car mileage would raise eyebrows at the agency.
That’s when it happened.
The car pulled into an alley.
A lanky, giraffe-tall guy shuffled over awkwardly.
‘Seo Kyung-bin.’
She mentally high-fived herself for picking the back seat to leave him room.
“Ah, hello...”
Seo Kyung-bin started greeting the moment he got in, but as usual, the sentence trailed off.
One day, she hoped to hear a full one from him.
“Hello, Sunbae-nim.”
She greeted him in a lightly upbeat tone—enough to ease him without overwhelming.
“Ah... Yeah... That wrap...”
He seemed to mean congratulations, but his voice was too soft. Hong Jong-ho jumped in.
“You both skipped breakfast, so I prepped chicken breast cabbage wraps. Dig in on the way.”
Seo Kyung-bin’s eyes lit up, and with rare speed, he yanked out the lunchbox bag next to him.
‘What? He loves it that much?’
“You sure? Wrap party’s right after.”
For reference, they were en route to the wrap party venue.
“I eat... a lot...”
Uh... big eater, huh.
Did he have to say it so bashfully?
Right then, her phone buzzed.
Vrrr—
She furrowed her brow.
“Sorry.”
“It’s... fine...”
She snatched her phone to silence the vibration.
But—
[rowhen_mom started following you.]
[white_tiger_coming started following you.]
[billion_million started following you.]
...?
Something felt off.
Her brand-new SNS account was blowing up.
* * *
“Great job!”
Jeon Se-yeon raised her beer-soju mix glass with gusto.
“Thanks for your hard work, Director-nim!”
“Great job, Eun-rae-ssi!”
With the wrap party in full swing, relieved cheers bounced around.
She felt it too.
Refreshing bittersweetness.
Finally sending off “Suin.”
Every meal, every tree—she’d pondered what Suin would do.
Now, done.
A little hollow, but thrilling to think of the next role filling the spot.
As she mused—
“Oh yeah, Eun-rae-ssi’s a big deal. Starring in that Million X MV, right?”
The DP grinned while pouring her a beer.
That’s right.
Million X MV.
She hadn’t checked properly amid the final shoot and party, but her account explosion was thanks to the Million X MV teaser.
The set vibe had turned weird toward the end.
Staff subtly eyeing her.
Before, they’d treated her like total fresh meat.
Nothing wrong with that.
Everyone here was a pro from commercial sets.
So they’d sidelined her a bit.
Bluntly telling her to move for lights, skip snacks for makeup continuity.
Like obvious protocol.
‘But sulking over that? No acting career.’
She’d never whined about it before. Way worse happened plenty.
Here, even Director Jeon Se-yeon’s good personality kept staff in line.
But today...
“Eun-rae-ssi... Lights setup—wanna rest over there? We set up a spot.”
Instead of “move,” offering a prepared seat.
“Actor-nim, next scene links to yesterday’s. Got footage ready—wanna go over it?”
Even kindness for continuity consults.
“Yeah. Shot recently, but post’s wrapping quick. Teaser’s out soon, they say.”
Staff at nearby tables perked up, ears twitching her way.
“Saw your face in the teaser? Nailed it.”
One piped up, like he’d been dying to join.
“I’m a Million X stan—autograph later?”
“Autograph... We’re not that close...”
She hesitated, clocking the darkening face, then rolled her eyes mentally.
Timing was ripe for rumors.
‘One MV and she’s all attitude.’ Perfect gossip fodder.
No one’d care now, but she wasn’t quitting here.
Oscar stage awaited.
Image management? Locked in.
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