Line #59 Series/EvasiveInquiryAgency


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evasive_5667.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Clockwise from top-left: Moo Yul, Hee Kyung, Yong Soo, Eun Jae]]
3
4	Park Moo Yul, a taekwondo instructor, and Kim Yong Soo, a {{manhwa}} store owner, are two [[ProfessionalSlacker slackers]]. One day, a lady stumbles upon their quarters, reads the old sign outside ("We’ll take on anything you need"), and believes them to be an investigative agency. She offers them money to find her [[CatsAreMean arrogant cat]], Honey. Entranced at the idea of making a [[OnlyInItForTheMoney quick buck]], the two take on the job.
5
6	Their neighbor, fortune-teller Jung Hee Kyung, also enlists their help to find out the "ghost" that's making the eerie noise in their building. Turns out to be Honey [[MonsterIsAMommy and her three little ones]], who have made a home in the walls. They also [[AccidentalHero come upon]] three solid gold objects and a withered hand. After reporting it to the authorities, a young woman named Eun Jae comes to them to find out more information about the hand.
7
8	Thus begins the Evasive Inquiry Agency (Hangul: 얼렁뚱땅 흥신소), a 2007 [=KBS2=] KoreanDrama, penned by Park Yun Sun.
9
10	[[hardline]]
11	----
12	!!This series provides examples of:
13
14	* ACupAngst: PlayedForLaughs. In Episode 4 we find out she wears falsies.
15	-->'''Hee Kyung:''' ''(after seeing Eun Jae's mansion)'' My imagination is as pitiful as my A-cup. I only imagined a 50 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyeong pyeong]] apartment.
16	* AccidentalHero: The trope gets the whole plot rolling.
17	* AffectionateParody: TheTag is usually in a [[ArtShift different style]]. The show itself is a parody of DetectiveDrama.
18	* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Moo Yul's "I like you! I don't care if you're rich or poor!" in Episode 3 nets only a "sorry" and an embarrassing silence.
19	* AnswerCut: As the characters are talking about regrets, Baek Min Chul says nothing but the scene immediately shifts to his delusional mother sitting alone on Christmas, waiting for him.
20	* [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Armor-Piercing Statement]]: "Jo Man Ki died in a wall."
21	* AsideGlance
22	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther:
23	** The PowerTrio, who spend most of their time [[WithFriendsLikeThese jabbing at one another]], have their moments.
24	** When Hee Kyung picks up an unconscious Eun Jae from the therapist office, she chews out the staff for not taking proper care of "our Eun Jae."
25	* BadBadActing: Every time the gang, Eun Jae especially, attempt to throw off people by acting.
26	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Moo Yul's reason for why Eun Jae isn't evil is simply "because she's pretty."
27	--> '''Hee Kyung''': Only [[BeautyIsBad the pretty girls]] are evil.\
28	'''Moo Yul''': Then [[StealthInsult you're definitely nice]].
29	* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gojong_of_the_Korean_Empire Emperor Gojong]] hid his gold somewhere around [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deoksugung Deoksu Palace]], because he feared a Japanese invasion.
30	* BigHeroicRun
31	* BitCharacter: The series has quite a bunch of these. Take for example, the three taekwondo students who start off the series chasing a cat, practicing taekwondo at Moo Yul's, visiting Yong Soo's manhwa store, etc. -- all random events that are linked to one another somehow.
32	* BlindSeer:
33	** PlayedStraight. A blind woman tells 007 that "children pay for [[SinsOfOurFathers the sins of their fathers]]."
34	*** Then {{subverted}}. Turns out that she was hired by Hee Kyung.
35	* BoundAndGagged: Eun Jae in episode 3. 007 in episode 9.
36	* BrandNamesAreBetter: Because her closet is stocked with fakes, Hee Kyung is immediately suspicious of Eun Jae's brand-named goods. Also, Hee Kyung has trouble selling to a pawnshop because her stuff is fake.
37	* BrilliantButLazy: To Yong Soo, one of the baduk-playing elders say, "(You) were such a smart kid. How did you grow up to be like this?"
38	* BrokenPedestal: Eun Jae finds out that her father [[spoiler: murdered Yong Soo's brother]].
39	* {{Callback}}: Numerous
40	** Little taekwondo kid berates teenagers who read manhwa in-store as a {{callback}} to an earlier scene when Yong Soo demonstrated the SlipperySlopeFallacy.
41	** Moo Yul practices his later speeches to make up for his horrible public speaking, which was exhibited in the first episode.
42	** Why couldn't Eun Jae couldn't get her windows open? Because the Gold Building is linked to a series of tunnels so the ground keeps shifting!
43	** TheTag usually is a callback to a minor plot point in the episode.
44	* [[LostTheTVRemote Can't Reach the TV Remote]]
45	--> '''Hee Kyung''': Why are you watching the news?\
46	'''Moo Yul''': Noona ... (''Stretches but remote is just out of reach'') remote ...\
47	'''Hee Kyung''': Lazy bastard.
48	* CantSpitItOut: Eun Jae
49	* CannotTellALie: Moo Yul
50	* CasanovaWannabe: Moo Yul
51	* CatapultNightmare: In Episode 12 Eun Jae dreams of her father disappearing.
52	* CatsAreMean: Honey. And Moo Yul has a scratch on his face to prove it.
53	* ChaseScene: A rather short one in Case 5
54	* ChekhovsGun[=/=]ChekhovsGunman:
55	** Too many. That paper that Yong Soo used to swat a bug a few episodes ago? Yeah, that's a map that shows where the rest of the gold is. The old man who plays [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baduk_%28game%29 baduk]] with the landlord? Yeah, he can decipher that map.
56	** Eun Jae "threatens" 007 that he will never see his daughter again--[[IneffectualDeathThreats which fails]]. Later, Hee Kyung mentions his daughter to get 007 to empathize with Yong Soo. [[ChekhovsBoomerang Much later]], 007 visits [[LittlestCancerPatient his daughter]] in the hospital.
57	** Episode 14 reveals the antiques grandpa to be much more important than previously suspected.
58	* ClarkKentOutfit: Moo Yul dons one in Episode 6.
59	* {{Claustrophobia}}: Eun Jae suffers panic attacks and fainting spells due to claustrophobia.
60	* ClusterBleepBomb: Moo Yul in Episode 4 after he finds out that his dojo has been ransacked.
61	* ColdOpen
62	* CrappyHolidays:
63	** The gang decide to celebrate [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuseok Chuseok]] together because none of them can go home to their families: Hee Kyung's sister-in-law is Christian so having a PhonyPsychic around is uncomfortable; Moo Yul owes his father and brother money; Yong Soo's family fell apart since the disappearance of Jun Soo; Eun Jae's parents are dead and her uncles are having an inheritance dispute.
64	** The last couple of episodes, [[spoiler: when the main characters are trapped underground]], is set during Christmas--and intercut with scenes of the {{bit character}}s having anywhere from awesome holidays to [[CrappyHolidays crappy Christmases]].
65	* CreepyCemetery: {{Subverted}}
66	* DaddyIssues
67	* DatingCatwoman: Hee Kyung and gangster boss, Baek Min Chul
68	* DeadpanSnarker: Yong Soo
69	--> '''Yong Soo''': (''about Moo Yul's brains'') Is that thing on your shoulder an accessory?
70	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: As Yong Soo trails Baek Min Chul, the scene is intercut with black-and-white flashbacks of a young Yong Soo watching his mother cry out "[[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead Why]]?"
71	* DemonicPossession: Several times in the story, Hee Kyung is "possessed" by a ghost.
72	* DesignatedVictim: Eun Jae
73	* TheDeterminator: Hee Kyung
74	--> '''Hee Kyung''': I won't die here! I can't die here.
75	* DismantledMacguffin: "{{Treasure map}}s always [[LampshadeHanging come in three]]!"
76	* DisproportionateRetribution: Honey's owner stops paying taxes because the police won't find her "child," who happens to be her cat Honey.
77	* DistressedDamsel: Eun Jae
78	* DoubleStandard: After noticing that Hee Kyung didn't get beat up by the gangsters, a bloodied Moo Yul rails on them for having {{double standard}}s.
79	* DramaticShattering: When one of Moo Yul's students say that he would have to quit taekwondo in order to take English classes, the sign behind Moo Yul crashes, causing Moo Yul to exclaim (in English), "Oh my god!"
80	* DrowningMySorrows
81	* EarlyBirdCameo: Baek Min Chul is shown in the first scene of the show, but is not introduced until episodes later.
82	* EasyAmnesia: {{Discussed}}. Moo Yul asks Yong Soo to hit him over the head because he wants amnesia.
83	* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Baek Min Chul
84	* EvilGloating: Lee Jae Seung's son, [[ChekhovsGunman Lee San]]
85	* EvilLaugh: Yong Soo tells Hee Kyung that she resembles [[VainSorceress the Queen]] from WesternAnimation/{{Snow White\|AndTheSevenDwarfs}} when she cackles.
86	* ExactEavesDropping: Eun Jae overhears Moo Yul's confession, "That's right, I like Eun Jae. I've liked her since I laid eyes on her!"
87	* FailedASpotCheck: Officer Jang comes to the gang's office and casually invites the gang to his kid's first birthday party--while the gang is kidnapping 007. ''And'' the only reason he entered the gang's office was because he noticed the suspicious gangsters.
88	* FemaleGaze[=/=]MaleGaze: The show is equal-opportunity.
89	* FlashForward
90	* FlippingTheBird: Hee Kyung flips off the camera while insulting Baek Min Chul.
91	* FinalSpeech: The main characters each deliver one when [[spoiler: they're all trapped underground, running out of air.]]
92	* GoodScarsEvilScars: Baek Min Chul has a scar on his right hand.
93	* {{Goth}}: PlayedWith by Hee Kyung
94	* HilariousOuttakes: At the end of the series
95	* HonorBeforeReason: Lee San is willing to throw away his life to clear his dead father's name.
96	* HostageForMacGuffin: {{Inverted}}. The gang (the four main characters) kidnap 007 to exchange him for the map.
97	* HowWeGotHere: The first episode starts with the four protagonists trapped in some kind of underground cave-in. Then the show vault backwards four months in time and the story proper picks up.
98	* HumblePie: Hee Kyung eats a bit of HumblePie. Doesn't help that the other main characters die from laughter about it.
99	* ISeeDeadPeople: As a psychic, Hee Kyung claims to interact with ghosts.
100	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each episode is called a case.
101	* IdiotBall: Apparently no one in Korea can recognize the sound of a yowling cat.
102	* ImagineSpot
103	* ImpairmentShot: Eun Jae in episode 5 as her panic attack hits.
104	* IncrediblyObviousBug: A perfectly obvious one affixed to the ceiling of the comic book store in episode 7.
105	* InMediasRes
106	* InSeriesNickname:
107	** Based on their professions, Moo Yul is "taekwondo," Yong Soo is "{{manhwa}}," and Hee Kyung is "tarot card."
108	** Eun Jae is usually called "branded (goods)," "attic girl," or "branded attic girl."
109	** "Six-Fingered" Jo Man Ki, who was a grave robber and a thief--and [[ArtifactTitle is longer six-fingered]]
110	** Gangster Kang Seung Ho is called "[[Film/JamesBond 007]]" (''Double-oh-seven'') by the main characters.
111	* InvulnerableKnuckles: {{Averted}}
112	* ItsAllMyFault:
113	** Yong Soo blames himself for Jun Soo's disappearance.
114	** Baek Min Chul's father was a murderer and as a result, Baek Min Chul suffered in his childhood.
115	---> '''Hee Kyung''': (''to Baek Min Chul'') It's not your fault. You're not a bad person. What your father did has nothing to do with you.
116	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Eun Jae's childhood memory loss is the reason she hires the PowerTrio.
117	* LongLostRelative: Yong Soo's brother Jun Soo disappeared years ago.
118	* LonelyRichKid: Eun Jae
119	* LostInTranslation: The Korean title of the show can be translated as "bumbling, laughable investigation agency." Alternatively, [[IHaveManyNames the show is called]] "A Sloppy Inquiry Office" or "Mixed-up Investigative Agency."
120	* LoveAtFirstSight: Moo Yul to Eun Jae
121	* LoveConfession:
122	** Moo Yul makes an "official" one to Eun Jae in the hospital.
123	---> '''Moo Yul''': I revealed my feelings before I wanted to last time, but now I'd like to tell you officially. I like you.
124	* LoveHurts
125	* {{Malaproper}}: Moo Yul messes up the old wives' tale of "pretty songpyun = pretty children."
126	--> '''Moo Yul''': My grandmother says, 'If you can make pretty [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songpyeon songpyun]], you can make (find) a pretty wife.'\
127	'''Hee Kyung''': Shouldn't it be 'pretty daughter?'\
128	'''Moo Yul''': [[LameComeback You have to have]] a pretty wife to have a pretty daughter!
129	* MeaningfulName: The gang headquarters is stationed in the "Gold Building," when the gold is first found. Also, the plot of the show is about finding long lost emperors' gold based on [[TreasureMap a series of maps]].
130	* MilhollandRelationshipMoment: After spending a while debating on whether or not she should tell him, Eun Jae finally admits to Yong Soo that [[spoiler: her father killed his brother]]. After a moment of silence, [[EasilyForgiven Yong Soo smiles]], "Are you hungry? Have you eaten?"
131	%%* MonsterIsAMommy: Honey
132	* MouthyKid: Little taekwondo kid that Yong Soo "hires" is a budding ConArtist.
133	* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: DoublySubverted. When the four main characters are being chased by gangsters and Yong Soo is grabbed, Hee Kyung immediately goes, "Leave him!" But when Moo Yul points out that Yong Soo has the map that their pursuers want, she changes to "save him!"
134	* NonindicativeName: The Gold Building is quite run-down.
135	* OneSteveLimit: {{Subverted}}. Rich TheCasanova, Kim Jun Soo, shares the same name as [[LongLostRelative Yong Soo's brother]].
136	%%* OnlyInItForTheMoney: The PowerTrio
137	* PantyThief: Moo Yul is a [[LighterAndSofter toothbrush thief]].
138	--> '''Moo Yul''': It's a souvenir of my love! (''{{Beat}}'') Am I a pervert?\
139	'''Hee Kyung''': It's okay; all love is a little perverted.
140	* PaperThinDisguise: Moo Yul and Eun Jae disguise themselves, [[ConvenientlyUnverifiableCoverStory including a cover story]], to plant a bug in the hotel that acts as the gangsters' front.
141	--> '''Yong Soo''': (''to Moo Yul'') You look just like Superman--[[ClarkKenting before he turns into Superman]].
142	%%* PhonyPsychic[=/=]NotSoPhonyPsychic: Hee Kyung, who goes by the name Aransha
143	%%* PowerTrio: Moo Yul, Yong Soo, and Hee Kyung are a ComicTrio.
144	%%* ProfessionalSlacker: Yong Soo
145	%%* PunchClockVillain: Officer Jang
146	%%* RagtagBunchOfMisfits
147	* RansackedRoom: Moo Yul, Yong Soo, and Hee Kyung were all robbed and come home to {{ransacked room}}s. Hilariously, Hee Kyung initially doesn't notice anything amiss because her apartment is always messy.
148	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Hee Kyung launches an epic one on Eun Jae in episode 8 after Eun Jae (correctly) questions the sincerity of Hee Kyung's new boyfriend.
149	%%* RetrauxFlashback
150	* RunningGag
151	** What exactly is Reporter Yong's first name?
152	** Will the gang ever get free dumplings?
153	%%* SelfServingMemory: When Moo Yul, Yong Soo, and Hee Kyung retell their stories to Eun Jae
154	* ShoutOut:
155	** The ''Series/{{MacGyver\|1985}}'' theme song plays as Yong Soo dives into his encyclopedic knowledge of manhwa.
156	** Yong Soo retells the [[RefugeInAudacity grave-robbing adventures of Jo Man Ki]] as Franchise/IndianaJones.
157	** ''Series/PrisonBreak''
158	** Moo Yul's ImagineSpot of Jo Man Ki begins with two men wearing trench coats and Hee Kyung immediately objects, "Don't you dare tell the ''Film/ABetterTomorrow'' story!"
159	** The {{leitmotif}} for the character nicknamed [[InSeriesNickname 007]] is the ''Film/JamesBond'' theme.
160	** "And I .... [[Film/TheBodyguard will always love you]]!"
161	** ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean''
162	* SilentMovie: The tag to Episode 3 is a parody of silent films.
163	* SlipperySlopeFallacy: Yong Soo berates 3 high schoolers for reading manhwa books in his shop instead of buying -> violent altercation -> bad publicity for his shop -> manhwa industry stigmatization
164	* SoftGlass: In Episode 10 Moo Yul leaps out through his glass window--on the second story--landing on concrete--and walks away, save for one cut in his side that Eun Jae slaps a bandage on.
165	* SplitScreenPhoneCall: Episode 10
166	* StarCrossedLovers: Moo Yul thinks he and Eun Jae are star-crossed.
167	--> '''Moo Yul''': The distance between me and Eun Jae is the distance between Seoul and New York.\
168	'''Hee Kyung''': New York? This kid is still in disbelief. She's as far away as Andromeda. A goddess from another galaxy. Both of you are different species, even.\
169	'''Moo Yul''': [[UnwantedAssistance Stick a knife into a corpse]], why don't you?
170	* StealthInsult: The PowerTrio is fond of insulting one another.
171	* TheStoic: Eun Jae
172	* SuperWindowJump: When the Gold Building is infiltrated by gangsters, the only exit is through the window. So Moo Yul jumps. [[SoftGlass And walks away.]]
173	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial:
174	--> '''Baek Min Chul:''' (''to Hee Kyung'') Once I'd met you, I fell in love with you. (''{{Beat}}'') Would you feel better if I said that?
175	* TheTag
176	* TarotTroubles: Hee Kyung gives Baek Min Chul a reading.
177	* TeamPowerWalk: Our heroes in Ep. 9, after they find the bugs and form their plan to turn the tables.
178	* ThatDidntHappen: When Eun Jae turns down Moo Yul's public LoveConfession, everyone around them has to pretend they [[YouDidntSeeThat didn't see/hear]] to save Moo Yul the embarrassment.
179	* ThoseTwoGuys: The two gangsters who spy on the gang
180	* TortureAlwaysWorks: Moo Yul to Yong Soo - to get the creative juices rolling
181	* TreasureMap
182	* TwistedEchoCut
183	--> '''Yong Soo:''' I wonder if anyone would notice we're gone. (''Cut to a couple of customers standing in front of his manhwa store.'')
184	* UndyingLoyalty: 007 won't give up his boss for his young daughter.
185	* TheUnfavourite: When Yong Soo visits his mother, she immediately asks "Is that you, Jun Soo?" [[spoiler: Never mind the fact that Jun Soo has been dead for almost 20 years.]]
186	* VehicularAssault:
187	** Moo Yul throws a rock at the gangsters' car when they're making off with Eun Jae.
188	** Also, the gangsters attack the car in order to kidnap Moo Yul and Hee Kyung.
189	* VomitIndiscretionShot: Eun Jae has a panic attack when the gang is hiding in a subterranean passageway.
190	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Yong Soo [[InvokedTrope invokes this]] as he flips through a photo album of his brother, Jun Soo, finally finishing up with "I'm just saying. [[spoiler: [[BastardlySpeech He would have died anyway]].]]"
191	* WhatIf: TheTag at the end of Case 10 finishes with "How many {{What If}}s are our lives built upon?"
192	* WhenSheSmiles: Eun Jae
193	--> '''Moo Yul''': If you're going to smile, let me know beforehand so I can prepare.
194	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: 007 is afraid of the dark.
195	* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead
196

Context Series / EvasiveInquiryAgency