Dating Agency Cyrano: Episode 8

by javabeans

This episode wraps up our chef romance with a particularly satisfying conclusion, inasmuch as a revenge payoff adds an extra dose of gratification. We’re also getting glimpses of Byung-hoon’s past trauma, the details of which remain cryptic for now but are at least a cut more interesting than a mere case of thwarted first love. ‘Cause after a certain point a grown man really needs to just move on from that first love, no? How I wish more of dramaland would take that hint. Ahem.

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EPISODE 8 RECAP

Byung-hoon’s unexpected arrival in the kitchen makes Min-young and Seung-pyo freeze in their places, looking mighty cozy in each other’s arms. But she sees that Seung-pyo’s arm has gotten scalded by the soup and fusses over it, which makes Byung-hoon sniff that it’s a measly little non-injury. Seung-pyo retorts that it was quite painful, actually, and they’re about to launch into another petty sniping session, I can just feel it.

But there’s no time for that today because Mi-jin arrives, forcing the men to duck behind the counters. Min-young blocks her entry and blurts that she wants to wrap up her very first dish on her own, entirely on her own merits, and urges the boss to go home.

Crouched uncomfortably together, the men grimace and squirm, hoping not to get caught. I’m not convinced Master isn’t smooshing Byung-hoon’s hand on purpose, taking advantage of the moment. Boys.

Unfortunately, Byung-hoon loses his balance, and the loudness of his fall means the jig is up. He pops up to confront the scenario head-on, and Mi-jin asks if he’s Min-young’s boyfriend. Min-young all but yelps, “What?” at the mere idea, but Byung-hoon sure does look smug to say yes. He is the boyfriend.

Mi-jin is pretty cool about his unauthorized presence, considering. She merely warns Min-young to remember her cardinal rule in the future: No men in the kitchen.

Then it’s back to Byung-hoon being the third wheel as they all leave the restaurant, and Min-young resumes fussing over the burned arm. She thanks Seung-pyo profusely for his help, who offers more of it anytime she needs.

Now the tables are turned, and Min-young asks why Byung-hoon called himself her boyfriend. He could’ve said he was her brother, like last time. Enjoying the reversal, she turns his own words back on him: “Do you like me? Well, that’s plenty possible.”

This leads to some jokey poking and pushing, and then a light-hearted slap fight. Byung-hoon ends up with his hand pushing Min-young’s head away as she makes ineffectual swipes at him, both of them laughing and having fun.

Watching at a distance is Seung-pyo, who may be more bummed about their flirtiness than he’d like. It’s hard to tell since he’s working the whole inscrutable angle, but I’m going with bummed.

Now to get at the source of Mi-jin’s guardedness, which is linked to the scandal rumors dogging her past. At the center of the scandal is her former sunbae, Chef Yeom Chi-moo, which is an awesome name because it literally means No Shame.

Mi-jin had been worked for Chef Shameless’ restaurant, gotten fired, and then was accused of stealing a recipe from him. Arang’s recon work shows them the secret locked room in the restaurant, which is where he supposedly makes the sauce from that stolen recipe. Nobody else goes in.

Min-young is firmly with her fellow woman and complains that men are so quick to look down on successful women. Byung-hoon quips that she’s lucky—she’ll never have to encounter that kind of attitude.

And now, Byung-hoon puts the pieces together: Mi-jin doesn’t cook with crab, she doesn’t collaborate on recipes, and she doesn’t trust men. He looks to the premiere of Dal-in’s new TV show as the perfect opportunity to set this ship right.

The next day, Mi-jin tastes Min-young’s broth and gives it her approval. She also offers a few words of caution, saying that her boyfriend is quite a bit older and gives off the vibe of someone who’d use and lose his women. She advises her to be careful and not give everything of herself, lest she wind up hurt. It sounds like talk born of experience, though Mi-jin doesn’t elaborate.

Chez Shameless, Arang is disguised as one of the employees and lets “delivery guy” Moo-jin in. Using his high-tech gadgetry, he unscrambles the lock code and lets himself in, then sends video back to the surveillance van. Byung-hoon’s practiced eye picks out the likely hiding place, and Moo-jin opens up an empty book cover to find couple photos of the chef and Mi-jin. Also a recipe notebook. And huh, wouldn’t you know—all the recipes include crab.

That evening, Dal-in spots the two ladies walking by and pops out to greet them, exchanging pleasantries. The broadcast is approaching, and while he’s a bundle of nerves at the thought of live TV, Mi-jin is cool and collected. And then after they leave, Dal-in makes a phone call… to Chef Shameless.

Min-young asks Mi-jin if she’d consider dating Dal-in, since it’s plain to everyone that he likes her. Mi-jin supposes that Min-young hasn’t been hurt by love before; as for herself, “I trust my experience.” She’d rather not repeat her mistakes.

Min-young says that she heard all about the rumors, and that’s why Mi-jin toughened up so much and became determined to prove herself on skill alone. And nobody believed that the stolen recipe was hers, because she was the woman, the employee, the younger one. However, it’s also not right to see all new people through that prejudiced lens, and what if she misses out on somone great? That only hurts her.

It looks like those words land with Mi-jin, though she cuts in sternly enough that Min-young remembers with dismay that she’s talking to her boss. Is she fired?

But on the contrary, Mi-jin approves of her pluck and elevates her from temp to real employee.

Min-young takes that news to Seung-pyo, mock-worrying about how being too skilled can have its drawbacks since now it’ll be harder to quit after the case is over. Since this is largely due to Seung-pyo’s help, she invites him to the show taping, and it’s so cute how the loan shark ajusshi perks up at this—he’s mentioned having unfulfilled actor dreams, which is why he enjoys participating on the agency’s cases from time to time.

He’s so enthusiastic that he blurts out, “Hyungnim!” without stopping to think that this is really suspicious coming from a loan shark to his debtor. So he covers it up (terribly, at that) by ordering Seung-pyo to go.

Waitress Hye-ri perks up at the thought of having a day off from work, and moves to check her phone as it dings. Almost at the same instant, a second phone dings—this time belonging to the curious and ever-present Hawaiian-shirt-wearing customer eating nearby. Hmm.

Byung-hoon is totally waiting up at the office for Min-young, wondering why she’s so late to make her daily report. When she does drop in, he’s less than thrilled to hear she dropped by Seung-pyo’s restaurant first, and even less happy at her inviting him to the show. She just sticks out her tongue at him saying that there’s no harm in having more of their team there. Byung-hoon balks, “Who said he was on our team?”

Moo-jin is still obsessing over his heart monitor, and tells Arang that machines don’t lie. So he finally arrives at the possibility: “Was my ideal woman the cute type?” That’s what Hye-ri called herself, after all. Arang asks if he means someone like Min-young, which is so foreign a concept that Moo-jin wonders, “Is she that too? Then… that’s not it.” Ha.

At least Arang has a read on the situation and offers up the advice that ideal types aren’t set in stone. Instead, your heart will let you know when the fire is lit.

On to the broadcast. Our Cyrano team is seated in the studio audience, and Min-young leans close to Seung-pyo to comment in a low voice, which has Byung-hoon all but rolling his eyes. Then when she turns to him, he makes it a point to lean allllllll the way over to talk right into her ear. (And then it’s to insult her for her “grandma smile.” Haha.)

The show begins, and the two chefs ease into things with some scripted lines that allow for them to deviate with natural conversation. The chit-chat helps soften Mi-jin, who smiles to recall her unsporting attitude on the other cooking show and admits she’s rather embarrassed to think of the finale.

Then Dal-in veers from script by saying that it’s understandable—she was probably motivated to win and dispel those “unpleasant rumors.” Uh-oh…

This a part of the master plan, of course, but I can’t help but feeling a little pinch for Mi-jin, left there in the lurch like that. Now the Cyrano team pipes up from their seats, with the loan shark goons loudly spreading the rumor to the rest of the audience and causing a stir.

And then, Dal-in introduces a surprise guest. In a series of flashbacks, we see how the team made this happen, with Dal-in inviting Chef Shameless on the show to address those rumors. The cocky chef was more than happy to accept the offer, prat.

Mi-jin is totally blindsided when Shameless is brought out to join them, and Shameless aggravates it by being his condescending and self-righteous self. But when she starts to leave, Dal-in stops her and whispers, “Please, trust me and hang in there just a little longer.”

She stays, and they begin the interview. Shameless speaks of Mi-jin like an unimportant sous chef who toiled in the shadow of his genius. Dal-in brings up his famous crab dish, which Shameless claims as his solo creation while Mi-jin tries to kill him with her death glare. Dal-in gives her the opening to speak, and she declares, “I could make it right now, because that was my recipe.”

Shameless smirks that that’s true because she stole the recipe. With Byung-hoon feeding lines (and setting the trap), Dal-in gets Shameless to name his inspiration as Barbados, the country. And then informs him: “But Barbados chili crab isn’t named after a place, it was named after a person.”

Then our Cyrano boys freeze the live broadcast and force the PDs to cut to commercial, so the rest of the scene can play out a bit more privately. Dal-in presents the furious Chef Shameless with Mi-jin’s recipe notebook—found in his possession—and our peanut gallery fans the flames of scorn. With time ticking and pressure mounting, Dal-in offers his deal: Apologize to Mi-jin and acknowledge the truth, and he won’t endure (further) humiliation on air.

Shameless takes the deal and storms off.

Dal-in assures Mi-jin that he never believed the rumors, and vows to become her super airbag from now on. Aw. She’s containing her reaction but it’s plain to see she’s moved.

Min-young tells Seung-pyo that it’s in moments like these that she’s glad she came to Cyrano, then turns to Byung-hoon for a hi-five. I love how frowny he is that she’s so chummy with Master, like he’s annoyed she turned to him second.

The broadcast resumes and the chefs finish their cake. They take a taste, and in his clumsiness Dal-in winds up with cream on his lips. I see where this is going…

Unaware of the cream, Dal-in wraps up with closing comments, and now it’s Mi-jin’s turn to veer off-script—she says she’s not quite satisfied, and then grabs his face for a big ol’ kiss. Aww.

Back at Cyrano, Byung-hoon declares this one more perfect mission completed, while Min-young is still giddy at the romance of it all. She says she thought Dal-in was going to need emergency care earlier, and wonders if he heard bells ring with that kiss. It’s an idea Byung-hoon finds thoroughly ridiculous, but she says that she’d love for something like that to happen to her—it would be like a confirmation that she’d found her mate.

Min-young plans to sleep at the agency tonight since she’s worn out from the day, which Byung-hoon argues against, telling her that wandering around instead of going home will get you struck by lightning. Just then, thunder rumbles and they both freeze—and Min-young declares that she’s not going out into a storm, so she has to stay. Ha.

There’s somebody else wandering outside tonight, and she stands just outside the agency, looking both scared and scary. Ha, it’s Jung Yumi! I knew she was lined up to feature in the next episode, but I guess they’re getting the jump on the new case.

Everyone’s sound asleep in the agency, but Byung-hoon’s sleep is fitful. We get a glimpse into his dream:

A body falls into a lake. It’s Byung-hoon, and as he’s sinking he calculates the rate of his descent, which is faster than his potential rate of ascent. Knowing of the shutdown his body will soon experience, he comes to the cold conclusion: “I am drowning.”

The question: Is this a dream, or a memory? Byung-hoon’s drowning self reaches for the bright sunlight, just as his present self jerks awake (thanks to the bright lamp that falls on his face, ha). Min-young sees that and laughs, saying that his awful personality has inanimate objects lashing back now.

But Byung-hoon is seized by an alarming thought, and without warning he engages Min-young in a rock-scissors-paper bout, which she handily wins. And wins. And wins. He grabs his calendar to start counting days. “Ack, it’s started.”

Moo-jin explains that Byung-hoon believes that he’s got a cycle of bad-luck energy. Min-young teases him for believing in such silliness, but he tells her to follow along—he’ll show her.

This leads to a lot of waiting outside for some sort of misfortune, and finally Min-young gets tired and walks away. Just then, the sprinklers turn on, soaking him and not her. Ha, were white pants really the best choice for a drenching scene? Not a complaint, mind you.

He says he’s not stepping foot outside the agency until the bad energy passes, though she still scoffs at him for being absurd. She heads back inside, walking through the now-dry sprinkler area unscathed, and he follows… and gets doused again. And this time, Min-young gapes in surprise.

She heads to the restaurant for breakfast, but wonders why the air here feels drearier than usual. Cut to a customer sitting nearby, the scary-looking woman from last night, hidden behind her veil of hair. Ack, stop that! She’s so creepy.

Seung-pyo tells her that the woman must be a prospective agency client, having seen her standing outside its doors last night. Min-young forces a pleasant smile in greeting, but the woman gets skittish and turns away, looking panicked.

Hye-ri passes by the agency on her way to work, peering inside the door and not seeing what she’s looking for. Or should I say whom. Moo-jin spots her from the top of the van, where he’s working on repairs, and she greets him cheerily. She says she was looking for him, though just to say hello: “It seems like a while since I’ve seen you.”

And wouldn’t you know, up goes his heart rate again. Honey, if you don’t connect those dots soon, I’m revoking your genius status.

Byung-hoon finds Min-young on the roof, peering curiously at the woman in the restaurant. He says they aren’t taking on her and her dark energy as a client, and then gets shat upon by an overhead bird. Hee.

A strange energy sweeps through the agency, and that can only mean one thing. They’re about to meet their new client.

Byung-hoon insists on blocking her entry and heads over to lock the door. Min-young yanks him back, he barrels forward, and that causes them to fall. Him on top of her, naturally.

They freeze and stare for long moments, awkwardly still (though, if I may point out, making no move to get up offa each other). Which is the position they’re still in when their visitor walks in, only it’s not Scary Hair Lady, but first love Yi-seol. Ha, that’s actually really satisfying.

 
COMMENTS

Hm, so we’re dealing with a potential near-death experience in Byung-hoon’s past, which I am interpreting as a literal flashback though it’s shot in an ambiguous enough way that I suppose it could be a dream-metaphor. Did his friend rescue him, and then die himself? That would explain his reluctance to act on his feelings toward Yi-seol, because guilt is a lot more compelling than mere cowardice. It wouldn’t be merely a simple case of survivor’s guilt, but also the burden of responsibility for contributing to that death, and I can see how that would be a cockblock of the highest cosmic order.

Of course, I’m presuming things. We’ll have to wait for the show to deny or confirm.

I have no reason to dislike Yi-seol, who loved a guy who died and has fond feelings for his best friend. She hasn’t done anything to merit a negative reaction, and she’s not mean or obtuse. She’s just symbolic of Byung-hoon’s present-day emotional paralysis, and that may be the reason I’m not caring so much about this budding love triangle (er, square). Because I feel nothing for her and Byung-hoon missing their chance, or feeling angsty, or crossing their wires.

By the same token, I don’t feel particularly positive feelings about the Byung-hoon and Min-young romance, but by sheer virtue of comparison to the alternative pairings, I’m drawn to rooting for them. Yi-seol feels like a downer (because she dredges up all sorts of painful memories) while Master… is is still shady as all get-out. Heck, he could fall for her for real and still give me the willies. Lee Chun-hee has a way of being so cordial and personable while exuding a menacing undertone.

Thus I like our main couple’s rapport and their bickering, and I do buy that they’re feeling stirrings of attraction—so while I don’t feel like there’s enough of a bond to really sell it as a strong romance, I’m still going with it. At least they’re cute and funny, and they’re starting to light up when they’re around each other, which brings a smile to my face too. It’s feeling like a cotton candy romance—fluffy, sweet, dissipates quickly—but there’s no reason not to enjoy it while it’s here.

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