Dating Agency Cyrano: Episode 3

by gummimochi

There are some things in life you can’t say is a sure thing, like love or emotions. The Cyrano team continues to face new challenges with their next client with variables that no one saw coming. The game of love isn’t always about being able to pitch a fastball, but learning how to adapt when an unexpected curveball comes your way. Love isn’t always an easy place to maneuver, so it’s always nice to have Cupid shoot an extra arrow to help you out.

SONG OF THE DAY

B2ST – “You” [ Download ]

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EPISODE 3 RECAP

Thanks to Min-young’s interference with Team Cyrano’s plan, Byung-hoon tells her that she’s now out of a job. To this, Min-young scoffs, “Out?!” A drama heroine who doesn’t take this kind of news lying down? Am I dreaming? *pinches cheek*

She argues that she can’t be cut from the team this easily as a sports coach would do to one of his players. Their argument escalates until they realize that they’ve drawn unwanted attention towards themselves at the library.

Min-young remain resolutely stubborn as she climbs into the car afterwards, to Byung-hoon’s annoyance. Not only is she determined to see the job through, she’ll decide on her future at Cyrano for herself thankyouverymuch.

She’s surprised when Byung-hoon declares that they’re off to see Jae-in so that their client can come clean just as they’d hoped. Wait a minute – our ringleader wouldn’t given in this easily.

Elsewhere at Seung-pyo’s restaurant, Jae-in tries her best to remain inconspicuous at her table until Joon-hyuk arrives. She motions towards the suspicious-looking Moo-jin at the bar, and confused when Joon-hyuk lets him walk out scot-free.

Back at the van, Min-young is dumbfounded to discover that Byung-hoon is still pulling the strings of the operation. They monitor Joon-hyuk closely as he musters the courage to tell Jae-in the truth…

Just then, a sudden explosion erupts from behind the bar, and the potential couple find themselves locked inside, enveloped in smoke.

Min-young rises from her chair, concerned for their safety. But Byung-hoon tells her to sit tight, adding that this is all part of Plan C. Her meddling has forced him to change the finale which now has a lower but acceptable success rate of 80%. He adds, “I guess it’s still better than your way.”

They’re joined by Seung-pyo, who marvels at the high-tech gear in the van. He’s here to keep a close eye on the state of his restaurant and returns the used smoke device to its rightful owner. Byung-hoon scowls.

Back inside the restaurant, Joon-hyuk’s persistent efforts to shove the door open prove futile. Regardless, his heroism sweeps Jae-in off of her feet. Then the door unlocks on cue and they stumble outside.

Once they catch their breaths, Joon-hyuk admits that his vocation isn’t as alluringly dangerous as she believes – he’s just a vet. To his surprise, she matter-of-factly answers: “I know.”

As Jae-in explains how she recognizes him as a regular library patron, a flashback teaches us about the previously intercepted call by Byung-hee which confirmed that her mystery man was no more than an everyday veterinarian.

Jae-in takes the first step to openly confess her feelings (“You know that I like you, right?”), and in the van, Byung-hoon snaps his fingers: “Bingo.”

Joon-hyuk can only stare in amazement at her admission that she didn’t understand at first why she never took notice of such a strange and interesting man like himself. His face falls as he fixates on the word “strange” but her words don’t end there.

With a smile, Jae-in admits that she poured herself in detective mystery novels because she found fiction to be far more interesting than her boring reality. But ever since she saw Joon-hyuk at the train platform, she became intrigued and grew curious to learn more about him. “Thanks to you, I realized that the world is full of interesting things if I take an interest in it.” Aww.

Moved by her words, Joon-hyuk reaches for her hands… and then Jae-in asks if the “act of terror” in the restaurant was the work of the shady man they saw sitting at the bar earlier. Ha, still suspicious of her surroundings as ever.

Now that the operation is a wrap, Byung-hoon leans back in his chair to ask Min-young how it feels to see something fake turn real before their eyes. She returns a forced smile in response.

Byung-hoon grumbles when Seung-pyo acknowledges that he’s honored to have been a witness to the team’s impressive handiwork, and hands over the bill to use his restaurant on such short notice. The staggered expression on Byung-hoon’s face is enough for us to gather that it costs a pretty penny.

Seung-pyo takes his leave and when Min-young tries to follow suit, her bag inadvertently knocks over the smoke device and it hits the floor. BOOM.

Once they’re back at headquarters, Min-young causes further trouble when a marionette’s strings accidentally break at her touch. When Byung-hoon reminds her that she’s a former Cyrano employee, she immediately back-pedals and apologizes for her rash actions.

Her hand raised, she vows to never go rogue on their missions again and promises to be a true team player from now on. Although he finds those words hard to believe, Byung-hoon reluctantly takes her back in, to her delight.

A little later, the boys watch as Min-young scratches her head over the previous operation. When she overhears that their client added in an extra bonus because of her efforts, she quickly retracts her gratitude, horrified.

The following morning, Byung-hoon makes good use of Min-young’s reinstatement and tasks her to be his driver. When Min-young asks in an annoyed voice why he can’t just drive there himself, he gruffly answers: “It’s not that I can’t, it’s that I don’t.”

We learn more about Arang when he declines a ride to school, and Min-young is legitimately surprised to hear that he’s a high school student. She’s further impressed to learn that Arang moved out to the city on his own because of his passion for theater.

That prompts Min-young to ask why Arang joined Cyrano Agency instead of a legitimate theater troupe. Byung-hoon tells her: “He was moved by our play.” She guesses that his use of “our play” refers to the former theater director, but Byung-hoon refuses to answer anything on the subject.

Their trip takes them to a puppet repair shop and they both protest when the old man asks if they’re romantically involved. It seems the puppet in question holds some sentiment, and Byung-hoon’s face darkens when he’s told to ask a certain Yi-seol to repair the marionette herself.

We catch up with Arang at school, and it should be no surprise that he has his own set of admirers. However the class president, Min Se-kyung, isn’t one of them. Placing a mountain of schoolwork on his desk, she asks in an irritated voice why Arang skips out on school so often.

She cocks her head towards the television where an idol group performs onscreen – she gets why he doesn’t show up, but what’s his excuse? When Arang simply smiles warmly back at her, she stalks off more annoyed than before.

That same idol boy is Yang Ho-yeol (cameo by Lee Tae-min), who receives a distinguished award from the school in the presence of the media. Ho-yeol shakes off his handlers to hang back at school, reassuring them that he can take care of himself.

The sight of Se-kyung through a window as he walks down an adjacent corridor triggers a memory of the time she once mended a minor cut on his hand. Smiling, he trails behind her.

Arang reads from his copy of Cyrano de Bergerac in an empty theater and buries his nose in his book to hide when Se-kyung walks in, promptly followed by Ho-yeol. Completely unaware that they have an audience, Ho-yeol boldly asks her out.

He misinterprets her reluctance as fear of public scrutiny and tells her that she needn’t worry since it will only become harder for her if they do. You sure make it hard for a girl to say no, lover boy. She shuts him down.

Once she leaves, Arang pops out of his hiding place. He tells Ho-yeol that he’s here to help and whips out Cyrano’s business card. Look who’s our next client.

Ho-yeol surveys the Cyrano theater as Min-young turns into a giddy fangirl in the idol boy’s presence. (She calls him by his stage name Ray but I’ll mostly stick to his real name.)

Arang cheerily declines her suggestion that he become an idol too – he’s only interested to become a stage actor. The sight of the two adorably handsome faces sitting side-by-side sends her in another fit of giggles.

Then Byung-hoon sits down and starts off their initial consultation with one important question: Who manages his money?

As expected, Byung-hoon later gets called out on the question as Min-young chides him for his fixation over finances. Byung-hoon counters that it’s a legitimate question – what if they find out that their client is penniless after they finish the operation?

He threatens to fire her should she continue to spout such nonsense and frowns when Seung-pyo answers for her saying that she can work at the restaurant instead.

This is how we’re introduced to Master’s new part-timer, HYE-RI, who arrives early for work. In her eagerness to get to work right away, she accidentally splatters food on Moo-jin’s face. Hee, I love how uncomfortable Moo-jin gets when she leans in too close.

We get a peek into Arang’s living quarters at the theater which is lined with stage production posters. He shares that his dream is to travel around the world to see every play with his tent filled with teddy bears. Gah, why are you so adorable?

Though the boys aren’t necessarily friends, they do have a somewhat friendly rapport with each other. Ho-yeol asks if there’s anyone that Arang is interested in and he puffs up with pride when he learns that he’s the sunbae in the girl department.

Then he invites Arang to seek him out whenever he runs into girl trouble. Arang reminds him: “You’re the one getting dating advice from me, aren’t you?” Touché.

Still not completely convinced, Ho-yeol asks it’s really possible that Se-kyung will fall for him. Arang assures him that it’s a sure thing; the team has had a 100% success rate thus far. Uh-oh, why do I get the uneasy feeling that this record is about to be broken?

Using the knowledge that their target arrives early to school to their advantage, Se-kyung walks in the classroom to find Ho-yeol casually sitting by the windowsill as the curtains billow in the wind.

But Se-kyung is a smart cookie and Ho-yeol flusters when she points out the oddity: “Why is the wind only blowing from that window?” And just outside, Arang and Moo-jin turn off the fan. HA.

Ho-yeol’s foot acting doesn’t help either and Se-kyung hardly bats an eyelash after he awkwardly delivers his prepared lines.

In the van, Byung-hoon finds their target’s lack of reaction strange; there’s no way to tell whether she likes their client or not. He all but rolls his eyes when Min-young gapes that it’s ridiculous that anyone would reject the ever-perfect Ray.

At her theory that Se-kyung must have previously suffered from some kind of idol trauma, he tosses her a bag and tells her to get dressed. Min-young takes one look inside and balks, “Are you nuts?!” Ha, it’s a school uniform isn’t it?

Byung-hoon grabs her by the collar to stop her when she charges outside. He reminds her of the promise she made when she rejoined the team – she’d do everything that was asked of her, remember?

They bicker back-and-forth for another minute until a ripping sound of her shirt makes the both of them freeze in place. Then Min-young hurls her bag in his face. HA.

Byung-hoon nurses his injury as he waits for Min-young to change. She pops her head out and asks guiltily why he tugged on her clothes in the first place, and Byung-hoon defends: “I didn’t tug at it. I was just holding it.”

He holds the door open and orders his “sister” Seo Min-young to get out of the van. He tells Min-young that this is her lucky day – she can consider this as a chance to relive her days as a teen.

Then he barks at her to hurry up and Min-young trudges along after him like the reluctant high-schooler she is.

Their target high school also happens to be Byung-hoon’s alma mater and they run into one of his old teachers. As they catch up on old times, Min-young sticks her tongue at him before she slips away.

She doesn’t get very far before she runs into Seung-pyo, who explains that he’s here to take photos. But Byung-hoon is right on her tail and as he drags “his sister” back to school, Master takes a few quick shot of them.

He wonders aloud: “A criminal always returns to the scene of the crime.” Looking through his photos, he scoffs, “You look like you’re having fun lately.”

Min-young bites her lip in embarrassment as she’s introduced to the class, who immediately react to her slightly older features. At least Se-kyung sends a friendly smile her way when she’s assigned to help Min-young get acclimated.

They walk around campus after class and pass by an old theater that isn’t used anymore, though there’s talk of it getting remodeled. Named Arrow Theater, rumor has it that couples would secretly hold their dates there and a place where Cupid might shoot an arrow.

Min-young cuts to the chase and mentions Ho-yeol’s name with excitement. She flattens to discover that there’s no idol trauma in Se-kyung’s past after all since the girl is neither interested in idols at present nor has ever been.

The girls rush off to class, and Byung-hoon emerges from behind the wall, having overheard the entire conversation. He wonders if this is an impossible mission after all.

Just then, the echoing sound of footsteps grab his attention, and we see a teenage boy run up the stairs to the roof where his friend is waiting for him with a poster for their next stage production entitled “Cyrano.”

Ah, so we’re in Byung-hoon’s memory and his friend, Go Do-il, explains that Byung-hoon’s new stage name (“Seo Il-rok”) is a reference to his childhood nickname “Sherlock.” He adds that if anyone has a problem with it, they can take it up with him. Aw, I like him. Is he our former theater director?

He agrees to be the Watson to Byung-hoon’s Sherlock, and the boys smile. In the present, Byung-hoon reminisces on the memory with grim fondness.

Byung-hoon walks in Arrow Theater, unaware that Seung-pyo is just a few steps behind him. Once inside, his eyes rests upon a faded mural of a group of teenagers on the wall. For a brief minute, we see the back of a teenage girl painting on the same wall some years ago and cut away as soon as she turns around.

Byung-hoon surveys the rest of the room and smiles when he sees Arang walk past, his nose buried deep in his Cyrano de Bergerac book again. Then he freezes when he spots Se-kyung walking in the same direction. Uh-oh.

He pulls Min-young back when she approaches, having followed Se-kyung here from class. They silently watch from behind the door as Se-kyung walks towards Arang in the empty theater and confesses, “I like you.”

 
COMMENTS

Well that certainly adds a wrinkle to our master plan. On the bright side, at least the team discovered this important detail in the reconnaissance phase of their operation rather than later on down the road. The surprise confession isn’t particularly novel in dramaland by any means, but we’re aware of how this variable further complicates the relationships between our characters and cranks the difficulty level to a factor of ten. Ack, I should have known that Cyrano’s perfect record would be tainted as soon as Arang mentioned their guaranteed success.

In that same vein, I like that the team is now faced with the very real possibility that this mission could fail. Young love can be a difficult thing to contain and the team is up against the toughest target they’ve dealt with thus far. She’s neither easily manipulated nor foolish, so how is a group of romantics to sweep her off of her feet? Not only that, she has eyes for another flower boy who – from what we can tell so far – is a better all-around guy.

I particularly enjoy the broad spectrum of love and romance we’ve covered in a few short episodes (thanks to our countless cameos) and this particular mini-arc allows for a fantastic opportunity to explore Byung-hoon’s past in his old stomping grounds. His childhood nickname “Sherlock” helps us understand his Holmes level of observation and sharp deductive reasoning skills. His previous relationship with Do-il is so wonderfully sweet and serves to remind us that Byung-hoon is a Sherlock who once had a Watson in his life along with a group of friends he truly cared about.

I love that we got a proper introduction to Arang’s backstory, even if it was given to us through a bit of exposition. Up to this point, the Cyrano didn’t feel like a collective unit in terms of their relationships. We know how well they work together, but how well do they really know each other?

Now that we’ve learned a bit about Arang, I so hope that we get to crack Moo-jin’s silent exterior. Also, I appreciate that these details aren’t grim or tragic, but they’re just enough to round out our characters even further. And why yes, I would love to go camping in a tent filled with teddy bears, wouldn’t you?

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