Agency (2023) Recap Episode 9-10

It’s a packed week with several things coming to a head. We’ve got Ah-in having to confront her workaholic tendencies, Hanna experiencing uncertainty and sacrifice, Eun-jung having to face the music at home, and Chang-soo having his fate hang in the balance for once.

Of course, it all starts with the ad competition. Ah-in pulls a power move per usual, and refuses to give Hanna and Chang-soo a sneak preview of her ad. If Hanna wants to see it, she can come to the presentation.

Hanna’s curious enough to do just that and is surprised to find her brother Han-soo there to sit in on the proceedings. Ah, so that’s why Ah-in wanted her there. Hanna then pulls her own power move by chastising her brother for abusing his power as a chaebol exec of one of the competing companies – she only came to watch her own teams present, not to sit in on all of them and influence the judging.

 

The chaebols aren’t the only ones who are tense. The atmosphere is heavy with each of the four teams having to go in alone to present in front of the Woowon people, while the rest of the competitors sit on pins and needles outside. Chang-soo and Ah-in’s teams go last.

By the time Ah-in presents, the Woowon people are irritated with the subpar presentations thus far. Even Chang-soo’s presentation failed to wow. Ah-in calls them out for being inattentive, and then spells out the real reason they’re all there: Chairman Kim’s Bail Project. She’s got it on a slide and everything. Now that gets their attention.

Next thing you know, the ad about the man wrongly accused of murder who spent over 20 years in prison is everywhere. Remember that lawyer from the dingy office? It turns out he’s related to that man’s case, and they’ve got him on the interview circuit. The whole country is talking about arrest investigations, and with public sentiment on the side of the accused, Chairman Kim gets his bail.

Although Ah-in and her team did all the work, it’s apparently a big win for Hanna. (Living that chaebol life, I guess.) She immediately wants to fire Chang-soo for losing, but CEO Cho warns her not to create a work environment where the only employees left are the incompetent ones who use flattery and politics to succeed. He encourages her to pull an Ah-in: transfer the toxic employees to some trivial post out of the way. And so, Hanna puts in a transfer request to send Chang-soo to Busan.

Meanwhile, Eun-jung has fun regaling the office with the behind-the-scenes of their success. But with the presentation over, she knows she can’t keep lying to her family. So she braces herself and makes a dramatic announcement that she actually got a promotion and can’t leave. Her family is like, yeah, obviously. The only one she fooled with her questionable acting skills is her five-year-old son who does not take it well.

 

Even if the successful ad was a group effort, it’s Ah-in who is the talk of the town. Chairman Kim and Geun-cheol are so impressed they invite her to family dinner. And yes, it is as awkward as it sounds. Young-woo gives Ah-in some advice to survive the ordeal, so she makes it through the night in one piece. When Ah-in asks why he’s being so helpful, he says they’re in a give-and-take relationship, and he intends to take later.

Unhappy about Hanna’s success, Han-soo is determined to one-up her. His first attempt by trying his hand at social media goes very awry and lands him in hot water with his father. This, however, gives Chang-soo an opening to make himself useful by offering his marketing eye to help Han-soo with his online presence and branding. (This dude just won’t go away.)

But that’s not all Chang-soo offers him. A connection close to Han-soo took notice of how close Hanna and Young-woo appear to be and suggests Chang-soo dig into it. It’s not hard to get some pictures of Hanna and Young-woo looking cozy, especially since now is the time they decide to talk about what’s going on between them.

Hanna makes a half joking comment about how they should date or get married – she’s been reading up on synergy and merging lately. This time, Young-woo manages to fluster her, leaning in and asking what she knows about him. When she says she feels reassured when he’s around, he agrees they should marry and drives her straight to the city office, calling her bluff.

He admits outright that he likes her, but there’s one real problem: her chaebol status. The world isn’t fair, and if she gets too close to him, she’ll lose everything. Hanna wants to try dating anyway, but Young-woo is adamant it’s not realistic. Her grandfather is particularly against affection toward “servants” lest they forget their place. What a gem of a man.

 

While Hanna deals with her first real personal crisis, Ah-in finally understands why her psychiatrist warned her about her meds. One morning, she wakes outside on a bench, barefoot in her pajamas with no memory of going out in the middle of the night. Soo-jin is scared she’ll truly die at this rate, but Ah-in can’t see another way forward besides working herself to death. Working seems to be Ah-in’s only purpose in life, and she has no idea how to feel meaning or self-worth outside of it.

She desperately needs a life outside of marketing, and lucky for her, nice Jae-hoon is still chatting her up. I love how undaunted he is by her prickliness. He just smiles and keeps trying to break down her walls. Even if they don’t date, this girl needs some friends outside of work, so I was glad she at least met up with him to talk.

 

Also feeling morose about her life choices, Hanna invites Ah-in for drinks after work. Ah-in declines saying she’s busy, so Hanna drinks with trusty advisor CEO Cho instead. He helps her realize she’s feeling ashamed for probably the first time and tells her she’ll either need to change herself or the world. In her usual bulldozer way, Hanna decides to take on the world.

Elsewhere, Chang-soo is on cloud nine since he’s going to dinner with his lifeline Han-soo. Then, he shows up and finds Ah-in already there, looking smug. Guess she really was too busy to drink with Hanna. Chang-soo is forced to show the photos of Hanna and Young-woo to both Han-soo and Ah-in, giving Ah-in the chance to rethink her own alliances. While she doesn’t feel good about the idea of abandoning Hanna, she knows it might be the judicious choice.

After witnessing Han-soo issue a subtle warning to Young-woo, a proud Geun-cheol decides to involve himself and calls Ah-in over. Not one to mince words, he directly asks her which sibling she’s going to support in this fight. We end as Ah-in weighs her response. Hopefully, she can find a solution where she gets to continue partnering with Hanna who, if nothing else, has the guts to color outside the lines.