Agency: Episodes 13-14

by quirkycase

Our leading ladies have a rough go of it this week. Their enemies score some big wins and leave both women struggling to find their footing in the midst of a drawn out fight that’s gotten personal. With mere weeks to meet the revenue deadline or be kicked out, our heroine doesn’t have any time to lose.

 
EPISODES 13-14

Last week, Hanna employed and then imploded her strategy of pretending to be over Young-woo by going on a blind date. After Hanna eviscerates her classist date for everything from his rudeness to his fashion sense, said date whines to Han-soo about it, not knowing this was exactly what Han-soo hoped would happen. Han-soo then calls Young-woo out secretly and makes him a more than generous offer: millions in cash, company shares, and a subsidiary to run. All Young-woo has to do is date or better yet marry Hanna.

The offer would allow Young-woo not only to stay with Hanna but to have enough money to support himself and his mom for life. All it costs is Hanna’s future. Han-soo thinks it’s a no-brainer and is shocked when Young-woo turns him down flat, saying not everything can or should be measured by monetary worth. With that, Young-woo hands over his resignation letter.

I get Young-woo’s decision, but there is that tinge of noble idiocy about it. If he were doing this for his own benefit – chaebol drama looks exhausting – that’d be understandable, but he does seem to be leaving for Hanna, not himself. But Hanna has told him over and over that he’s the only one fully on her side, and I think he’s underestimating how much strength that gives her.

Regardless, Young-woo reports his decision to Hanna and leaves his position immediately, hoping that Hanna will use this chance to get stronger. Of course, it’s not that easy for Hanna who is devastated and feels adrift without Young-woo. Thankfully, she does have some support from Chairman Kang who is the only family member more concerned about her wellbeing than the business.

Chairman Kang is tired of seeing his children suffer and doing nothing, so he takes matters into his own hands. After he hears Young-woo turned down such a tempting offer from Han-soo, Chairman Kang orders HR to hold off on processing Young-woo’s resignation. He then marches right up to Geun-cheol and tells him in no uncertain terms to butt out of his kids’ lives. (Go, dad!) In case his priorities were in question, Geun-cheol coldly tells his son to leave if he has a problem with being treated as an employee first and family second.

Trying another approach, Chairman Kang tentatively suggests to Han-soo that they could make both him and Hanna VPs. Han-soo blows up, showing some vulnerability for the first time. He gave up everything – his dreams and love – because his father assured him one day he’d own the company. What has Hanna sacrificed to earn it?

Seeing his son’s distress, Chairman Kang lets it go and agrees to make Han-soo a VP as promised. In fact, he ups the timetable, deciding to promote him to VP ahead of his marriage. While I’m not sure his plan will work to end the competition between his kids and ensure their happiness, at least he’s trying to do something. If only he’d intervened a bit sooner.

Meanwhile, Ah-in is doing swimmingly, for once. With her work and personal life in order, she’s in a grateful mood and buys a nice apartment for her mom. She even splurges on nice desks for her team (in a not-so-subtle PPL break) and then takes them out for an awkward but cute team dinner. Also wanting to show her appreciation for Jung-seok, she buys his daughter’s wedding dress.

Although Ah-in and Hanna are very different, they’re both lonely and rely on the few people they do have by their sides for strength. For Hanna, one of the most important figures in her life has been CEO Cho. He’s been supporting her since she was a young child who felt ignored by her family. Whenever she felt like crying, he’d buy her banana milk to stem her tears. Now, she goes to him for advice on pretty much everything.

Ah-in, similarly, has Jung-seok. He’s guided her through the ups and downs since her junior copywriter days. After she reunites with her mom, he’s the first person she tells. He’s so thrilled to see her making more positive choices and seeming happier that he buys her a pair of running shoes.

Their closeness makes Chang-soo’s latest move one of the biggest blows yet for Ah-in. Chang-soo offers Jung-seok an exec position, bribing him with an expensive wedding venue for his daughter and appealing to his fatherly duties as a reason he should be as successful as possible. Chang-soo assures him that Ah-in can still have that professorship once she’s gone from the agency, hoping to soften the feeling of betrayal.

It’s too good of an offer for Jung-seok to refuse. Making the disappointment and betrayal worse, he doesn’t even have the decency to tell Ah-in privately – she finds out at his daughter’s wedding where the agency has sent over banners and flowers, along with a smiling Chang-soo.

Ah-in takes this news hard, sliding back into her unhealthy habits and thought patterns. With only a month left to increase revenue, she tables her feelings to focus on the issue. One problem: Jung-seok and Chang-soo, now a powerful duo, get her team disbanded. Moving Eun-jung and Won-hee to other teams is bad enough, but upon discovering that his mole Soo-jung is now firmly team Ah-in, Chang-soo manages to get her fired by getting all the executive assistants dismissed.

It’s a brutal move, especially coming from Jung-seok, and takes Ah-in by surprise. That said, I’m not convinced Jung-seok has changed sides. I have a feeling there’s a plan in the works or double-cross coming. He looks uncomfortable with how far Chang-soo is willing to go, and when he finds out Han-soo got all the ads canceled – Ah-in had the nerve to turn down Han-soo’s oh-so-appealing offer of managing his personal social media after Chang-soo displeased him – Jung-seok tips off Byung-soo.

Realizing the only way forward for both of them is to team up, Hanna approaches Ah-in and offers to help with the ad issue. She knows her only real power is her status as the chairman’s daughter, and she’s happy to let Ah-in make use of her. When they shake on the partnership, it feels like the first time they’re truly on the same page and teaming up equally with all their cards on the table.

While Hanna works her contacts to get the ads resumed, Ah-in is approached by a loan company to help revamp their image. The offer is suspiciously good in that the company offers Ah-in the exact amount of money she needs. Maybe this is why Ah-in makes the unexpected move of rejecting the offer and tendering her resignation to CEO Cho. She knows she can’t increase the revenue in time. We close on Ah-in packing up her office with her (unofficial) team standing by feeling helpless.

Okay, Ah-in is way too chill for her not to have some scheme in place. She’s not one to give up before a deadline, so there must be something in the works behind the scenes. Plus, she and Hanna just teamed up, and it seems a little early to throw in the towel.

I’m ready to see Ah-in and Hanna take down the insufferable Han-soo and Chang-soo for good in the finale week. This seems like an all hands on deck sort of situation, and Young-woo has been pretty handy in the strategizing department, so let’s hope he returns sooner rather than later.

 
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