The Matchmakers (2023) s01e03 Episode Script
I Think I Am an Agent of Love
1
(Rowoon)
(Cho Yi Hyun)
(Writer: Ha Soo Jin)
(Directors: Hwang Seung Ki, Kim Soo Jin)
(The Matchmakers)
(Jo Young Bae)
Are there still naive fools
who think Joseon is ruled by a king?
(Left state councillor, henpecked husband)
Joseon is run by the nobility.
The reason
is because a king becomes king by blood, not ability.
In times as complicated as this,
collective intelligence is the answer.
(Park So Hyun, Jo's wife, Honourable and Respectful Madame)
(Actual person in power)
Joseon is naturally
a nation of women.
A great family
is like a tree that lives for centuries.
In order for it to prosper, it must have healthy roots.
I believe it is the women at home
who make up the roots you do not see.
That is why, however big a crisis you face,
as long as the women are strong and upright,
that family will never fall.
That is why I think Joseon is a country of women.
(Episode 3: I Think I Am an Agent of Love!)
Hwa Rok is the youngest of the old ladies?
- How interesting.
- I gave Hwa Rok
No,
I gave Lady Sam Soon my word, but
I was so rude to that lord last time.
If even the chief royal secretary asked for your help,
they seem to need you more than you need them.
Right?
I am not at a disadvantage, am I?
That is right.
Gosh, it's hot!
You could have told me.
He is rich
Very well.
Tell him to come for it himself.
You could pass it to me
No, I say this for your sake.
I will be fine, but if you were to get involved,
you could lose your head.
I doubt anything good will come from getting involved with him.
Lady Jung. Stay out of this match.
That is even more reason for me to help.
That closed-minded weirdo of a nobleman
will marry off the sisters to any bachelor
stating the King's decree, as Lady Sam Soon said.
Now that I am aware,
I must do something about it.
"I will be the old ladies' matchmaker."
I will start by saying that.
I can do this.
However rude he may be,
I will think only of Lady Sam Soon.
Good. Let me
Let me apologize first.
I am sorry for the last time.
I will be the old ladies' matchmaker.
- The condition
- I have a condition.
You two get on well, and that makes me nervous.
How about you sit down and then talk?
Since you agreed, I will state my condition.
The wedding must happen before June.
I have the King's decree,
I must have prior notification of the families we set up,
and I will participate in every step of the process.
And the husbands
must be chosen from here.
From this outdated bachelor list?
Why does everyone say that as soon as they see the cover?
That ancient list of old bachelors
are sons of great families?
The Capital District Office
stopped compiling that list in the Year of the Snake.
Which means this copy was made at least two years ago.
Right here. Look.
This man here.
Hyeon Bin from Gwanwoon-dong married last year,
and his son celebrated his first birthday last month.
The scribe pretended to be so busy and did not update the list.
Once I take office,
I will rearrange all personnel of the Capital District Office.
The groom can be any bachelor
even if he is not on that list?
If I summarize the conditions, we have two months,
the groom can only be an old bachelor,
and everything will be done together with you, Lord Sim.
- Is that all?
- Yes.
Then I will state my condition.
I am the matchmaker.
So follow my practice, whatever it may be.
You mean I must follow your instructions?
Instead of putting it like that
I am the expert, and I will take control.
It is the same thing.
Is it?
He has totally fallen for her.
I am paid in advance.
The chief royal secretary said so.
One hundred nyang per match, a total of 300 nyang.
The down payment is 150 nyang.
You will get the remainder on the wedding day.
I meant 100 nyang for all 3.
He will pay 100 per match?
What losers.
What is wrong?
How dare you?
Sign the contract first.
(If Lady Yeoju fails to perform any of the terms on the contract)
If all three of them are not married within May,
you must return double the down payment.
Do you understand?
I am Lady Yeoju, the master of matchmaking.
I never fail.
I will meet the ladies first,
and then start the process in earnest.
Three days from now,
we can meet at the inn and discuss plans and dates.
Why three days from now and not tomorrow?
I have another match to finish up first.
Goodbye.
Be sure not to lose the contract.
Yes, my lord.
Will you come by tomorrow?
I will not.
You are being so strange.
You went to Lady Kim's for me.
This is different.
I cannot go to Lord Jo's house.
Are you afraid of the place?
Is it because of
the rumour that my mother-in-law
killed her first son's wife,
and made it look like suicide to receive a Title of Womanly Honour?
Did you marry into that family knowing that rumour?
Are you crazy?
That rumour is groundless.
Did you not hear the next rumour?
I did.
The horror story about the lady in the annex.
She got possessed by the spirit of the dead daughter-in-law,
and hit her forehead on a pillar all day long to escape,
and her forehead bled and her skull was visible.
Right.
It's just incredulous.
My forehead is just fine.
They say 99 percent of rumours are lies.
I soon have to travel to do business with Hamgyeong Province merchants
You leave next month.
Lady Yeoju.
Do you know how strange you are being?
I do not think this is just about the rumour.
What is it?
Are you crazy?
How dare you think of going there?
Jo Young Bae
No.
What if you were to meet Lord Jo?
He thinks I died eight years ago.
He will not recognize me.
If there is a fuss and his quick-witted wife
were to deduct and realize who I am
I fear that even more.
That is scary.
I do not want to think of it.
Still, be careful.
Look.
This right here
is worth half a sack of rice.
What is that?
Do you know how much work I put into getting this powder?
They look real exquisite too.
No. Hands off.
You can look only. They are very rare.
- You are so mean.
- Not at all.
What are you doing?
Did this person make this powder?
I got these from old potter Ko Ji Pyung.
I do not know who made them.
Where is that place?
You are here.
I was worried, thinking you would not come.
Come on in.
My mother-in-law is waiting.
Mother.
Lady Yeoju the peddler is here.
You can return to the annex.
I would like to stay
If a widow is seen with a peddler,
bad rumours will sprout.
I understand.
Do as you practiced.
If you do business in Hanyang,
you should know
our family does not hire matchmakers.
But you insisted,
and I asked to see you to commend you on your courage.
Tell me
what family you have in mind.
My goodness.
I asked you to call off talks of marriage.
How could you suggest another match?
Cancelling one match with another
is basic matchmaking practice.
You dislike the deputy minister's son,
not the idea of marriage, correct?
That is true, but
But what?
Are you seeing someone?
No way.
I would not ruin my future by doing something like that.
But then,
you are at the age where one day you want to marry,
but the next, you want to enjoy the freedom
of single life for longer.
But this young man is a catch.
You will regret missing out on him.
You know I care about looks, right?
I know.
This young master did well in class, but he is also handsome.
What is more surprising is that he is sweet too.
Someone like him is almost impossible to find.
Sungkyunkwan's Headmaster Lee
wishes to become in-laws with you.
What matchmaker
does not know our families are political opponents?
My mom will refuse that match.
I would say I know your mother better than you do.
I say she will accept the match.
Your mother sees the big picture.
Like me.
You must know our family and his are political opponents.
Are you sure
the headmaster's wife suggested this match first?
This is the date and time
of her son's birth.
I see why everyone calls you the master of matchmaking.
This is the date and time of my daughter's birth.
Keep it a secret until the wedding.
I will give you a good date after Buddha's birthday celebration.
Come by again then.
I come here sometimes for a nap.
Your father used to join me.
Your father was a tough subject to keep close,
but he was a good friend.
Just like you.
About the old ladies' marriages
I hired a skilled matchmaker.
You need not worry anymore.
Me?
Why would I worry?
You should worry you might fail.
I am worried.
Worries
Ye Jin will marry
Sungkyunkwan's headmaster's eldest son.
Is he not an ally
of the chief royal secretary and his Namjang Faction?
He is, but he is an upright man and very wise and learned,
so many of our young scholars respect him greatly.
If he were to become one of us,
that would be a great help to Prince Jinsung.
I am sure you know what you are doing.
Lord Gyeongunjae?
He must have decided
written appeals alone cannot get him an annulment.
He has been seeing the King often.
He could be up to something else.
Why would that be a problem?
He is one of our people.
But if he turns his back on us,
he will become the most dangerous enemy.
Soon Duk.
Will you stop pacing?
I feel dizzy.
It is the wine, not my pacing.
You had enough tonight.
What is happening?
It is two days away, so I must have heard by now.
It will not
be called off over a debt, right?
Which family are you working for that you are so anxious?
Try not to be too shocked.
I will work for the Maeng family from Mount Nam Valley.
The old ladies?
Which one?
The eldest
that is haunted by a virgin ghost?
No, all of them.
No way.
Can you handle all three?
You bet I can. I am the master of matchmaking.
If I am to manage,
Mother must go to Sunhwa Temple tomorrow.
Why has she not said anything yet?
Geun Seok.
Geun Seok.
Goodness.
Why are you here so late?
Are you
afraid of thunder when you are 12 years old?
Did you come to protect your mom and aunt
from the scary thunder and lightning?
Yes.
So why are you standing there?
Come and sit next to Mom.
You want to protect us
when you are afraid yourself?
A noble scholar does not fear thunder.
It is okay.
Shall I tell you a story?
Yes, please.
Which one shall I tell you?
Right.
I will tell you the scary one about a woodcutter and a fairy.
How is that story scary?
They part in the end.
Lady Jung.
Lady Park wishes to speak with you.
Yes!
She will leave as planned.
A long, long time ago, deep in a mountain
lived a woodcutter.
One day, he saved a deer that was running from a hunter.
Mother, it is Soon Duk.
Come in.
I will stay at Sunhwa Temple
until Buddha's birthday to pray and get a date for Ye Jin's wedding.
Yes, Mother.
Kim will come to Mapo on the second day of the month.
Give him seven bags of rice and one bag for himself.
That will be a total of eight bags of rice.
When buying seafood, buy some extra sea cucumbers,
dried abalone, mussels, cod roe,
and conches.
Order ten batches of dried yellow corvina.
Be sure they are fat with eggs.
We need yeast to make dohwa wine,
so be sure to order enough.
Run the house well while I am gone.
When you come on Buddha's birthday,
dress Ye Jin and Geun Seok in new clothes.
Yes, Mother.
And you too.
I have a lot of matchmaking to do starting tomorrow.
I must finish all the housework today.
- Come along.
- Okay.
Do your job properly!
Goodness.
Is that the best you can do?
What is wrong with you?
The place should be nearby.
Oh, is that the place?
I have a bad feeling about it.
Come along.
Go.
A man Innkeeper Hong sent is here. What shall I do?
Let him in.
Do you know what poison golden silkworm is?
A poison that leaves no trace.
You do not look like a translator.
You speak Ming well.
You speak fluent Joseon. Have you traded for long?
What if I have?
Has anyone else asked for golden silkworm poison in the past?
You ask a merchant too many questions.
Will you buy or not?
You may be from Ming, but how would I know who you
We will buy.
Do you want to die here?
Buy the thing and leave.
It is hard to come by.
You got lucky.
Why did you buy this?
Well,
the symptoms of golden silkworm poison mentioned
in a Ming book on medicine I read recently
were similar to the princess' symptoms
from eight years ago.
Since I procured it, if you analyse the properties
My lord. Please stop.
The princess was not poisoned.
She died abruptly of an unknown cause.
There are much fewer, as I thought.
Are you not glad we did not cook too much?
Yes.
How did you know we would have so few guests?
Mother went to the temple.
Half our guests
stay the night to speak with her.
There would be fewer of them.
I bet they all went to Sunhwa Temple.
To see who to side with.
The nobles' lives are just as pathetic.
When Mother is away, there is less work for us
and less work for me.
If every day were like Buddha's birthday,
I would not mind being a daughter-in-law.
Oh, right.
The Minister of Defence is here.
What?
Uncle is here when Mother is not?
I had not bought it in eight years,
and it cost a lot of money.
Do remember anyone other than myself could not have bought this.
I heard the queen prepares the food herself.
How will you give this to him?
How dare you hazard a guess
when you know nothing?
I do know things.
It is for the crown prince
I was waiting for your conversation to end.
I came to ask if you will stay for dinner.
Mother is not home, you see.
I will leave soon. Do not prepare my dinner.
Yes, my lord.
I think she overheard.
Will it be okay?
It does not matter.
She will not know what we were talking about.
Even so
You are the one who should be more cautious.
No one had a reason to poison the princess.
My lord.
Why are you coming from that direction?
Does it matter where I come from?
Are you here with no servant?
You can serve me instead.
Why are you smiling?
I had only seen women or children ride a donkey.
I never saw a grown man ride one.
My older
All the adult noblemen I know ride horses.
That is the fallacy of hasty generalization.
Pardon?
It happens when you apply
your limited experience to the general population.
Forget it.
I did not expect you to understand.
Lead the way.
Yes, sure.
"Yes, sure."
Goodness.
Darn you! Are you drunk?
They should watch where they go.
Gosh
Get on your donkey.
Gosh
It is a hot day.
You should have brought the donkey.
I did not feel like riding. Do not mind me.
Sure, fine.
Back when I climbed Mount Mokmyeok with my brother,
there were nothing but fields.
Now there are houses here too.
This path used to be so pretty.
The incompetent chief magistrate
developed the area without a plan.
I see.
Is that why?
Shoo!
My gosh.
Are you afraid of little dogs?
I am
not afraid of them!
I stayed still because dogs
tend to react even more if you move!
You do not know anything.
Goodness.
She does not even know why I acted that way.
What?
He is such a scaredy-cat.
Will you slow down?
You are so energetic.
Do you have anything to drink?
- Are you all right?
- I am not all right.
I think I broke my ankle.
- Take it off.
- What?
Take what off?
Your beoseon. Let me see your ankle.
Forget it.
I will see a physician later on
What are you doing?
It is not broken.
I know that.
I just sprained my ankle.
I will take care of myself. Please move away from me, will you?
My brother told me what to do
when one sprains an ankle.
Is that it?
Did it hurt that bad?
You will feel fine soon.
Did you think I did not know what to do?
I was not prepared for that.
You may be an ignorant peddler,
but you should know your place.
Get away from me!
Why are you so angry?
You yelled over nothing.
Like Man of Anger.
What did you just say?
Oh, dear.
Forgive me
for likening you to a pathetic troublemaker
like Lord Gyeongunjae.
A pathetic troublemaker?
You have never even met Lord Gyeongunjae.
He attended his wedding to the princess, and that is final.
What pathetic fool would want an annulment?
That is a true troublemaker.
- Goodness.
- Trouble
That is a lot of trouble.
Where are the honorifics?
What?
You and I are from different social classes.
Keep a distance of at least three steps.
Okay, fine.
One answer will do. That gets on my nerves!
Fine.
Now hurry up.
Instead of shooting glances,
speak up as it gets on my nerves.
Two months might be enough to arrange three matches,
but not have the weddings too.
Tradition dictates that nobles wait
at least six months between their children's weddings.
Did you think I got into this not knowing that?
I will have all three sisters marry at the exact same time.
A triple wedding?
That is a good idea.
How did you come up with it?
It is customary to marry children in order of age,
but there is nothing against marrying at the same time.
It does not go against the nobleman's tradition.
And since the wedding takes place at the bride's home,
it is appropriate that the sisters get married at the same time.
You do know well, as a royal inspector would.
I am smart, and there is nothing I do not know.
He can be cute, just like Geun Seok.
Is the plan to put pressure on the unwed ladies
going as scheduled?
The youngest sister will have left the inn by now.
Do not worry.
Goodness.
This is the original copy by Hwa Rok.
Thank you.
However,
you promised me that I would meet the author when Volume Two came out.
Why would you like to meet the author?
Many ladies bring gifts to meet Hwa Rok,
but I have never had a scholar ask me this before.
In Hwa Rok's books,
impossible things happen and surprise you every single time,
but the consistency of the stories make you believe them.
Reading Hwa Rok's books makes me forget all my worries,
so I wish to express my gratitude in person.
How inspiring.
Meow.
I see.
Speak of the devil!
Where
I heard you wanted to meet me.
Are you Hwa Rok?
I wanted to meet you too.
I hear
you always pay a lot of money to buy my original books.
May I get your autograph?
Yes. Of course, you may.
What is your name?
I am Jung Soon Gu.
(For Jung Soon Gu)
(Always be happy, from Hwa Rok)
(Always be happy, from Hwa Rok)
Your handwriting confirms that you are Hwa Rok.
You are under arrest for violating the laws.
What? My goodness.
Gosh.
My gosh!
Oh, no.
You little
- Oh, dear.
- Goodness.
The house is way too small
for a triple wedding.
You said it was an important royal order,
but I suppose you have never once visited the house.
That makes you an armhole theorist.
Am I right?
No, not "armhole theorist."
It is "armchair theorist."
I see. It is "armchair theorist," not "armhole theorist."
Please refrain from using difficult words and phrases you do not know.
It makes you look awfully ignorant.
Once I learn that I am wrong, I never get it wrong again.
Also, do not smile like that.
It truly offends me.
Why does my smile offend you?
And do not mumble like that.
As I have made it clear to you, I do not wish to marry.
Why did you come all the way to my house?
She is very beautiful.
She must be Lady Ha Na, the eldest daughter.
I wish to meet your mother and speak to her in person.
Would you please ask her?
I will ask her.
As I have heard, she is strongly against getting married.
There are three tell tale lies.
Old people saying they want to die soon.
Vendors saying they are losing profit on what they are selling.
And spinsters saying they do not wish to marry.
It is not true that she does not wish to marry.
She is still single because she was being too picky,
knowing she was pretty.
You are the master of matchmaking.
How could you not even know such basics?
I would say that is the fallacy of hasty generalization.
What did you say?
I am a fast learner for I understand things quickly,
and I am good at applying my knowledge.
She said she would meet you.
Please come in.
Mother, the inspector is here with a matchmaker.
I cannot see.
Inspector, I heard you wished to speak to me about something.
I am here
to help your spinster daughters get married.
From finding suitable men to preparing wedding gifts,
I will take care of it all,
so you need not worry.
You are wasting your time.
My daughters do not wish to marry,
and I do not want to force them to get married.
Pardon me? That is absurd.
What is absurd about it?
If a woman stays single past the marriageable age,
a disaster is bound to befall her because of her resentment.
- Like the drought, for example.
- Two days ago,
it rained.
It was not enough at all to break the drought.
My daughters
chose not to get married of their own accord,
so they do not resent anyone.
Hence, they should not be held accountable for the drought.
My lady.
Women ought to get married,
serve their husbands, and produce sons
to continue the family names.
May I ask you why you are neglecting your daughters?
I am neglecting them? No.
I am doing this for I respect their wishes.
And rather than having to serve their parents-in-law
who are not related to them in any way,
I believe they should look after me, their blind mother.
It is only right.
Now, you know that my daughters do not need a matchmaker's help.
Please leave now.
My lady, but
Hurry up and escort them out.
- I am tired.
- Yes, Mother.
Please get up.
- Wait, but
- Please leave.
- I will not see you out.
- Gosh.
Your mother must be going senile
Goodness! How could you say that in front of her daughter?
Gosh, seriously.
Did this lunatic just say my mother was going senile?
Everyone in the village knows that she has a foul mouth.
The second daughter, Maeng Doo Ri.
What? "Lunatic?"
Are you that old fossil in Bukchon?
What?
You were with that man.
- Goodness.
- My gosh.
Lady Sam Soon is here. Watch what you say.
(One day ago)
So, Hwa Rok is the youngest one
of the three spinsters?
Oh, dear. I am deeply worried about the future of this country.
It is absurd that an unmarried woman wrote the erotic romance novel.
On top of that, she is pretending to be a man?
No one will pay a fair price for a book written by a woman,
so she had no choice.
It is wrong that a woman wrote a book in the first place.
Men and women have different roles,
and the line should never be crossed!
So? You cannot do it?
Then shall we report Lady Sam Soon to the Capital District Office
and give up on this altogether?
No.
Making sure she gets married
will be the fastest way to restore the Confucian order,
so explain the solution you mentioned earlier.
He is a nobleman, after all.
He quickly managed to find a justifiable ground.
Hwa Rok, what are you doing here?
What brings you to my house?
Pardon me? A widow and her daughters live here.
What do you mean this is your house?
(Doo Ri, Ha Na)
"Such insolence! How dare a woman disguise herself as a man"
"and write a novel mocking the scholar-officials?"
"I will report you at once."
Inspector.
I believe she did it to earn money to look after her ill mother.
Could you let it go just this once?
"If it happened while trying to do her filial duty,"
"I shall give her a chance."
A chance? Could you please elaborate?
"If all three of them cooperate and get married,"
"I will not report her."
I will cooperate.
Me too.
Me too.
Good job, everyone.
Shall we rehearse it once more? Be more natural this time.
Let us begin.
Hwa Rok, what are you doing here?
What? This is different from what we rehearsed.
I know.
Oh, no.
What brings you here?
Did you not see a short scholar with fair skin coming in here just now?
I did not see such a scholar.
You did not see him either, right? Oh, where did she go?
Where did she go?
What is my brother doing here?
I must search the house.
What? Why would he search the house?
Who is there?
My lady.
I am the matchmaker who came with the inspector.
I got lost and came into the wrong room. I shall be going, then.
I am doomed.
What is happening?
I am looking for a suspect who sneaked into your house.
I cannot see, but I know
that there is no one else other than that woman in this room.
Well, this is
Please excuse me.
Did he
not recognize his own sister?
Wait, this is
Stop, will you?
Only women live in this house.
You suddenly blocking me like this makes it look more suspicious.
What?
That old fossil from Bukchon also said he never saw such a man.
I did not see him, so please leave.
Did something happen?
Goodness.
Who are these people?
If you want to check,
search the house quickly and get lost!
I checked everything I needed to know.
I will be off, then. I apologize for the trouble.
I thought he was different for he was after the real culprit.
But of course, he is another one
of those thoughtless fools who never question the system.
Inspector, I suggest you stop being rude
and leave too.
Now that all three of you are here,
I have something to say.
My sisters all feel the same way as I do,
so do not waste your time.
Once you hear me out, you will change your mind.
Do you not agree?
That officer from the Capital District Office
is after you, Hwa Rok.
You little
Let me sum it up for you again.
All three of you must cooperate to get married before the end of May.
What did I say would happen if you were uncooperative?
Just say it once for we remember everything.
Do not ask us to repeat what you said.
But the thing is, Inspector
What if things go south even if we did our best to cooperate?
Then it is not our fault, right?
"What if things go south?"
You are being uncooperative by using such vulgar expressions.
Try your best to watch what you say
- Darn you!
- Goodness.
This is just how I am! What do you want from me?
What?
Where did everyone go?
This is just how I am! What do you want from me?
What is the matter?
Where have you been?
I was asking them to be cooperative.
You were asking us? As if. You are threatening us.
Agreed.
Even our mother does not want us to get married.
You call yourself a scholar, and yet you are using our weakness
to force us to be unfilial? How petty.
It makes me truly angry, and this is extremely unfair.
"Petty?"
I am forcing you to be unfilial?
I now have your mother's permission to be your matchmaker.
Mother told you to go ahead and find our matches?
No way.
Ask her directly to find out whether or not it is true.
Let me introduce myself first.
I am here to provide you with satisfactory matchmaking service.
I am Lady Yeoju.
Oh, you are the famous master of matchmaking,
Lady Yeoju.
My gosh. I look forward to working with you.
What are you saying?
Whose fault is it that we are in this mess now?
The eldest one, the middle one, and the youngest one.
I have now met all of them.
Who knew Lady Sam Soon would run in, being chased by the officer?
I was not expecting that at all.
I did not expect that Lord Maeng's daughters
would be so weird.
While I was gone, you followed my advice
and threatened Lady Sam Soon's sisters
that you would report her. Well done.
You must know this by now, but I am good at everything.
Anyway, you are sure they can all get married, right?
Yes, of course.
You said you would report Lady Sam Soon,
so Lady Ha Na and Lady Doo Ri will certainly cooperate.
It is almost a done deal.
Lady Sam Soon was being chased by my brother
No. I mean
That officer was really after her,
so everyone believed you when you said you would report her.
It all worked out.
It seems like you are so used to swindling others in this manner.
"Swindling?" No.
It is one of my matchmaking skills.
Oh, right.
You said you were very smart.
That is correct. I am the smartest man in Joseon.
Then do you know what the Agent of Love is?
It is a mountain spirit with a knack for matching couples.
It appears in a Goryeo folktale.
You truly know everything.
If there is anything you do not know, feel free to ask me.
Then could you find out more about the Agent of Love?
Why?
Please excuse me.
Did he
not recognize his own sister?
My lady.
I am Lady Yeoju, a matchmaker from Hanyang.
I do not mean to brag,
but I am known as the master of matchmaking among noblewomen.
The couples I have matched
all truly love each other and conceive easily.
Especially families with daughters
Are you trying to tell me that you are the Agent of Love?
I do not know what that is,
but I am trying to tell you that I am confident
I can find suitable husbands for your daughters.
Forget it.
If all my children get married,
who will look after this blind woman?
Why are you
saying something you do not even mean?
What happened five years ago?
In the past,
you wanted your daughters to get married, just like other mothers.
Do not run your mouth like that when you know nothing.
Over there.
The seal on the lovebird painting tells me
that it was painted in the Year of the Rabbit.
Did you not get it
as a wedding gift for your eldest daughter?
Wishing her
a happy marriage.
The government
plans to wed all the spinsters,
so if you remain stubborn,
your daughters might have to marry men who are not suitable for them.
I want to prevent just that.
Were you the matchmaker behind the marriage
between Lord Ha and Lord An's families?
Yes, that is correct.
It is one of the marriages I take pride in.
The two families support different factions.
How did you think to match them up?
They looked so lovely together that I could not help myself.
You probably will not believe me now,
but I can see it,
whether or not they will be compatible.
Let me ask you one more question.
Why are you hiding your identity to act like a lowborn matchmaker?
You cannot answer.
That answers my question.
I want you
to be my daughters' matchmaker.
The Agent of Love appears in folktales
and may not actually exist.
They could possibly exist, no?
I am asking because I think I am an Agent of Love.
This is really important to me, so please help me out.
Forget it.
I am busy enough with matchmaking.
I do not have the time to look into that.
All right, then.
Once I finish this case, I will find out myself.
I shall take my leave. Please excuse me.
Wait.
You have not said anything about your plans for the spinsters.
I will let you know the day after tomorrow.
Please come to the library at the inn at this time.
Goodbye.
Wait My goodness.
For a merchant,
why is she so busy?
I see. Here it is.
On the Agents of Love.
Wait, I think I once saw it in a Goryeo book.
Here it is.
My memory is impeccable.
It has been a while since I saw you here.
Oh, my.
Your Highness. What brings you here at this time?
This is the library in my quarters.
I should be the one asking. What brings you here?
I thought you have read all the books here.
I was looking for a book from Goryeo.
"Agents of Love?"
They are like deities who can identify
one's soulmate.
It is related to the task His Majesty gave me,
so I was looking into it.
Those deities sound interesting.
If Agents of Love do exist,
can they find my soulmate too?
Your spouse will be chosen
by the Queen's quarters through a selection process.
Agents of Love could just be a folklore
made up by the uneducated commoners.
Do not say that.
What the people want shall become the deities' will.
Even if marriage is just for carrying on the family name,
wanting a good spouse
is something the people and I would both desire, right?
Most influential Agents of Love until the Goryeo era
were women,
and as Joseon was a nation built on Confucianism,
they slowly disappeared.
One in 10,000 humans are born
with the ability to identify one's soulmate,
and people with that special ability
existed in every era.
Since the Silla times, they were called Agents of Love.
I think I know why
I keep going around to seek people's fates.
Ever since young, I have brought couples together.
I can totally see that happening.
And now I do matchmaking services,
despite the risks.
I thought you were doing it for money.
That is not why.
I think
I am an Agent of Love.
What is that?
Oh, I am planning to find out more.
But they are deities who can identify one's soulmate.
How incredible, right?
That must be why I am obsessed with matchmaking.
I was born for this.
To be honest, I wondered if I was abnormal
for wanting to meddle in love.
But it was because I am an Agent of Love.
"Agent of Love."
Even the title sounds cool.
She drinks a lot these days.
Is something bugging her?
Please look after Ye Jin until she gets married.
Look after her yourself, my dear.
Why are you asking me?
After all, Ye Jin likes you.
I
started liking Ye Jin because she likes you.
Why did you have to leave so soon?
What was the hurry?
Come, this way.
What is this commotion?
Wait.
Why did you unload these at our place?
We are acting on behalf of the matchmaker.
Lady Yeoju?
Sorry that I am not Lady Yeoju.
The Minister of Defence said
he would take your eldest daughter as his concubine.
Did you just say the Minister of Defence?
Yes. Although you will just be his concubine,
he got a matchmaker for the process.
Your marital home will be a new tile-roofed house in Pil-dong,
and he also sent you two servants.
Such conditions would be appealing even for young, marriageable ladies.
Nonetheless, she is a noblewoman. Being a concubine is
You heard the rumours. She is lucky to even get this offer.
How can you get married without my permission?
Oh, my.
I thought the discussions were settled.
I guess not.
I will not approve of this wedding. All of you, leave.
Arrest the criminal!
- Yes, sir.
- Yes, sir.
- What criminal?
- Why is my mother a criminal?
- What are you doing?
- Move aside!
- Mother.
- Let go of me.
My mother is not a criminal.
Mother. Mother!
My lord!
Goodness. What is the fuss?
The old ladies' mother was arrested by the Capital District Office.
How unexpected. What was her crime?
It seems like she got into trouble for refusing
Minister Park's marriage offer.
Her eldest daughter is 24 years old, right?
Since she is a filial daughter,
she will end up accepting the minister's offer.
I have lived to see the day where the ignorant magistrate
and the lewd minister are useful to me for once.
Let us head to the inn.
But
My goodness.
Were you the one behind it?
What are you talking about?
If a woman cannot marry past the age of 24,
her parents can be punished by law.
I am asking if you made Lady Ha Na marry the Minister of Defence.
Well, about that
Is it not a good thing that the eldest girl can finally marry?
I had my doubts.
So you were the one who came up with that idea.
I am utterly disappointed in you.
You are disappointed in me?
For what reason?
Since you broke your promise and went against my methods,
the contract between us is over as of now.
From now on,
I will do my best to make sure you can never carry out your orders.
(The Matchmakers)
When a marriage prospect appears,
it is a felony for the parents to reject him.
It will be worth a lot.
I will finally have what I want thanks to Lord Gyeongunjae.
You can come up with an excuse easily.
Until when do I have to clean up after you?
Lady Ha Na and I will settle this by noon.
Please stall time for us.
No one will suspect you. Do not worry.
Wait!
How dare you? Please open up!
Do you know how long it takes
for a man and woman to fall for each other?
I am not the kind of man who disappoints you.
(Rowoon)
(Cho Yi Hyun)
(Writer: Ha Soo Jin)
(Directors: Hwang Seung Ki, Kim Soo Jin)
(The Matchmakers)
(Jo Young Bae)
Are there still naive fools
who think Joseon is ruled by a king?
(Left state councillor, henpecked husband)
Joseon is run by the nobility.
The reason
is because a king becomes king by blood, not ability.
In times as complicated as this,
collective intelligence is the answer.
(Park So Hyun, Jo's wife, Honourable and Respectful Madame)
(Actual person in power)
Joseon is naturally
a nation of women.
A great family
is like a tree that lives for centuries.
In order for it to prosper, it must have healthy roots.
I believe it is the women at home
who make up the roots you do not see.
That is why, however big a crisis you face,
as long as the women are strong and upright,
that family will never fall.
That is why I think Joseon is a country of women.
(Episode 3: I Think I Am an Agent of Love!)
Hwa Rok is the youngest of the old ladies?
- How interesting.
- I gave Hwa Rok
No,
I gave Lady Sam Soon my word, but
I was so rude to that lord last time.
If even the chief royal secretary asked for your help,
they seem to need you more than you need them.
Right?
I am not at a disadvantage, am I?
That is right.
Gosh, it's hot!
You could have told me.
He is rich
Very well.
Tell him to come for it himself.
You could pass it to me
No, I say this for your sake.
I will be fine, but if you were to get involved,
you could lose your head.
I doubt anything good will come from getting involved with him.
Lady Jung. Stay out of this match.
That is even more reason for me to help.
That closed-minded weirdo of a nobleman
will marry off the sisters to any bachelor
stating the King's decree, as Lady Sam Soon said.
Now that I am aware,
I must do something about it.
"I will be the old ladies' matchmaker."
I will start by saying that.
I can do this.
However rude he may be,
I will think only of Lady Sam Soon.
Good. Let me
Let me apologize first.
I am sorry for the last time.
I will be the old ladies' matchmaker.
- The condition
- I have a condition.
You two get on well, and that makes me nervous.
How about you sit down and then talk?
Since you agreed, I will state my condition.
The wedding must happen before June.
I have the King's decree,
I must have prior notification of the families we set up,
and I will participate in every step of the process.
And the husbands
must be chosen from here.
From this outdated bachelor list?
Why does everyone say that as soon as they see the cover?
That ancient list of old bachelors
are sons of great families?
The Capital District Office
stopped compiling that list in the Year of the Snake.
Which means this copy was made at least two years ago.
Right here. Look.
This man here.
Hyeon Bin from Gwanwoon-dong married last year,
and his son celebrated his first birthday last month.
The scribe pretended to be so busy and did not update the list.
Once I take office,
I will rearrange all personnel of the Capital District Office.
The groom can be any bachelor
even if he is not on that list?
If I summarize the conditions, we have two months,
the groom can only be an old bachelor,
and everything will be done together with you, Lord Sim.
- Is that all?
- Yes.
Then I will state my condition.
I am the matchmaker.
So follow my practice, whatever it may be.
You mean I must follow your instructions?
Instead of putting it like that
I am the expert, and I will take control.
It is the same thing.
Is it?
He has totally fallen for her.
I am paid in advance.
The chief royal secretary said so.
One hundred nyang per match, a total of 300 nyang.
The down payment is 150 nyang.
You will get the remainder on the wedding day.
I meant 100 nyang for all 3.
He will pay 100 per match?
What losers.
What is wrong?
How dare you?
Sign the contract first.
(If Lady Yeoju fails to perform any of the terms on the contract)
If all three of them are not married within May,
you must return double the down payment.
Do you understand?
I am Lady Yeoju, the master of matchmaking.
I never fail.
I will meet the ladies first,
and then start the process in earnest.
Three days from now,
we can meet at the inn and discuss plans and dates.
Why three days from now and not tomorrow?
I have another match to finish up first.
Goodbye.
Be sure not to lose the contract.
Yes, my lord.
Will you come by tomorrow?
I will not.
You are being so strange.
You went to Lady Kim's for me.
This is different.
I cannot go to Lord Jo's house.
Are you afraid of the place?
Is it because of
the rumour that my mother-in-law
killed her first son's wife,
and made it look like suicide to receive a Title of Womanly Honour?
Did you marry into that family knowing that rumour?
Are you crazy?
That rumour is groundless.
Did you not hear the next rumour?
I did.
The horror story about the lady in the annex.
She got possessed by the spirit of the dead daughter-in-law,
and hit her forehead on a pillar all day long to escape,
and her forehead bled and her skull was visible.
Right.
It's just incredulous.
My forehead is just fine.
They say 99 percent of rumours are lies.
I soon have to travel to do business with Hamgyeong Province merchants
You leave next month.
Lady Yeoju.
Do you know how strange you are being?
I do not think this is just about the rumour.
What is it?
Are you crazy?
How dare you think of going there?
Jo Young Bae
No.
What if you were to meet Lord Jo?
He thinks I died eight years ago.
He will not recognize me.
If there is a fuss and his quick-witted wife
were to deduct and realize who I am
I fear that even more.
That is scary.
I do not want to think of it.
Still, be careful.
Look.
This right here
is worth half a sack of rice.
What is that?
Do you know how much work I put into getting this powder?
They look real exquisite too.
No. Hands off.
You can look only. They are very rare.
- You are so mean.
- Not at all.
What are you doing?
Did this person make this powder?
I got these from old potter Ko Ji Pyung.
I do not know who made them.
Where is that place?
You are here.
I was worried, thinking you would not come.
Come on in.
My mother-in-law is waiting.
Mother.
Lady Yeoju the peddler is here.
You can return to the annex.
I would like to stay
If a widow is seen with a peddler,
bad rumours will sprout.
I understand.
Do as you practiced.
If you do business in Hanyang,
you should know
our family does not hire matchmakers.
But you insisted,
and I asked to see you to commend you on your courage.
Tell me
what family you have in mind.
My goodness.
I asked you to call off talks of marriage.
How could you suggest another match?
Cancelling one match with another
is basic matchmaking practice.
You dislike the deputy minister's son,
not the idea of marriage, correct?
That is true, but
But what?
Are you seeing someone?
No way.
I would not ruin my future by doing something like that.
But then,
you are at the age where one day you want to marry,
but the next, you want to enjoy the freedom
of single life for longer.
But this young man is a catch.
You will regret missing out on him.
You know I care about looks, right?
I know.
This young master did well in class, but he is also handsome.
What is more surprising is that he is sweet too.
Someone like him is almost impossible to find.
Sungkyunkwan's Headmaster Lee
wishes to become in-laws with you.
What matchmaker
does not know our families are political opponents?
My mom will refuse that match.
I would say I know your mother better than you do.
I say she will accept the match.
Your mother sees the big picture.
Like me.
You must know our family and his are political opponents.
Are you sure
the headmaster's wife suggested this match first?
This is the date and time
of her son's birth.
I see why everyone calls you the master of matchmaking.
This is the date and time of my daughter's birth.
Keep it a secret until the wedding.
I will give you a good date after Buddha's birthday celebration.
Come by again then.
I come here sometimes for a nap.
Your father used to join me.
Your father was a tough subject to keep close,
but he was a good friend.
Just like you.
About the old ladies' marriages
I hired a skilled matchmaker.
You need not worry anymore.
Me?
Why would I worry?
You should worry you might fail.
I am worried.
Worries
Ye Jin will marry
Sungkyunkwan's headmaster's eldest son.
Is he not an ally
of the chief royal secretary and his Namjang Faction?
He is, but he is an upright man and very wise and learned,
so many of our young scholars respect him greatly.
If he were to become one of us,
that would be a great help to Prince Jinsung.
I am sure you know what you are doing.
Lord Gyeongunjae?
He must have decided
written appeals alone cannot get him an annulment.
He has been seeing the King often.
He could be up to something else.
Why would that be a problem?
He is one of our people.
But if he turns his back on us,
he will become the most dangerous enemy.
Soon Duk.
Will you stop pacing?
I feel dizzy.
It is the wine, not my pacing.
You had enough tonight.
What is happening?
It is two days away, so I must have heard by now.
It will not
be called off over a debt, right?
Which family are you working for that you are so anxious?
Try not to be too shocked.
I will work for the Maeng family from Mount Nam Valley.
The old ladies?
Which one?
The eldest
that is haunted by a virgin ghost?
No, all of them.
No way.
Can you handle all three?
You bet I can. I am the master of matchmaking.
If I am to manage,
Mother must go to Sunhwa Temple tomorrow.
Why has she not said anything yet?
Geun Seok.
Geun Seok.
Goodness.
Why are you here so late?
Are you
afraid of thunder when you are 12 years old?
Did you come to protect your mom and aunt
from the scary thunder and lightning?
Yes.
So why are you standing there?
Come and sit next to Mom.
You want to protect us
when you are afraid yourself?
A noble scholar does not fear thunder.
It is okay.
Shall I tell you a story?
Yes, please.
Which one shall I tell you?
Right.
I will tell you the scary one about a woodcutter and a fairy.
How is that story scary?
They part in the end.
Lady Jung.
Lady Park wishes to speak with you.
Yes!
She will leave as planned.
A long, long time ago, deep in a mountain
lived a woodcutter.
One day, he saved a deer that was running from a hunter.
Mother, it is Soon Duk.
Come in.
I will stay at Sunhwa Temple
until Buddha's birthday to pray and get a date for Ye Jin's wedding.
Yes, Mother.
Kim will come to Mapo on the second day of the month.
Give him seven bags of rice and one bag for himself.
That will be a total of eight bags of rice.
When buying seafood, buy some extra sea cucumbers,
dried abalone, mussels, cod roe,
and conches.
Order ten batches of dried yellow corvina.
Be sure they are fat with eggs.
We need yeast to make dohwa wine,
so be sure to order enough.
Run the house well while I am gone.
When you come on Buddha's birthday,
dress Ye Jin and Geun Seok in new clothes.
Yes, Mother.
And you too.
I have a lot of matchmaking to do starting tomorrow.
I must finish all the housework today.
- Come along.
- Okay.
Do your job properly!
Goodness.
Is that the best you can do?
What is wrong with you?
The place should be nearby.
Oh, is that the place?
I have a bad feeling about it.
Come along.
Go.
A man Innkeeper Hong sent is here. What shall I do?
Let him in.
Do you know what poison golden silkworm is?
A poison that leaves no trace.
You do not look like a translator.
You speak Ming well.
You speak fluent Joseon. Have you traded for long?
What if I have?
Has anyone else asked for golden silkworm poison in the past?
You ask a merchant too many questions.
Will you buy or not?
You may be from Ming, but how would I know who you
We will buy.
Do you want to die here?
Buy the thing and leave.
It is hard to come by.
You got lucky.
Why did you buy this?
Well,
the symptoms of golden silkworm poison mentioned
in a Ming book on medicine I read recently
were similar to the princess' symptoms
from eight years ago.
Since I procured it, if you analyse the properties
My lord. Please stop.
The princess was not poisoned.
She died abruptly of an unknown cause.
There are much fewer, as I thought.
Are you not glad we did not cook too much?
Yes.
How did you know we would have so few guests?
Mother went to the temple.
Half our guests
stay the night to speak with her.
There would be fewer of them.
I bet they all went to Sunhwa Temple.
To see who to side with.
The nobles' lives are just as pathetic.
When Mother is away, there is less work for us
and less work for me.
If every day were like Buddha's birthday,
I would not mind being a daughter-in-law.
Oh, right.
The Minister of Defence is here.
What?
Uncle is here when Mother is not?
I had not bought it in eight years,
and it cost a lot of money.
Do remember anyone other than myself could not have bought this.
I heard the queen prepares the food herself.
How will you give this to him?
How dare you hazard a guess
when you know nothing?
I do know things.
It is for the crown prince
I was waiting for your conversation to end.
I came to ask if you will stay for dinner.
Mother is not home, you see.
I will leave soon. Do not prepare my dinner.
Yes, my lord.
I think she overheard.
Will it be okay?
It does not matter.
She will not know what we were talking about.
Even so
You are the one who should be more cautious.
No one had a reason to poison the princess.
My lord.
Why are you coming from that direction?
Does it matter where I come from?
Are you here with no servant?
You can serve me instead.
Why are you smiling?
I had only seen women or children ride a donkey.
I never saw a grown man ride one.
My older
All the adult noblemen I know ride horses.
That is the fallacy of hasty generalization.
Pardon?
It happens when you apply
your limited experience to the general population.
Forget it.
I did not expect you to understand.
Lead the way.
Yes, sure.
"Yes, sure."
Goodness.
Darn you! Are you drunk?
They should watch where they go.
Gosh
Get on your donkey.
Gosh
It is a hot day.
You should have brought the donkey.
I did not feel like riding. Do not mind me.
Sure, fine.
Back when I climbed Mount Mokmyeok with my brother,
there were nothing but fields.
Now there are houses here too.
This path used to be so pretty.
The incompetent chief magistrate
developed the area without a plan.
I see.
Is that why?
Shoo!
My gosh.
Are you afraid of little dogs?
I am
not afraid of them!
I stayed still because dogs
tend to react even more if you move!
You do not know anything.
Goodness.
She does not even know why I acted that way.
What?
He is such a scaredy-cat.
Will you slow down?
You are so energetic.
Do you have anything to drink?
- Are you all right?
- I am not all right.
I think I broke my ankle.
- Take it off.
- What?
Take what off?
Your beoseon. Let me see your ankle.
Forget it.
I will see a physician later on
What are you doing?
It is not broken.
I know that.
I just sprained my ankle.
I will take care of myself. Please move away from me, will you?
My brother told me what to do
when one sprains an ankle.
Is that it?
Did it hurt that bad?
You will feel fine soon.
Did you think I did not know what to do?
I was not prepared for that.
You may be an ignorant peddler,
but you should know your place.
Get away from me!
Why are you so angry?
You yelled over nothing.
Like Man of Anger.
What did you just say?
Oh, dear.
Forgive me
for likening you to a pathetic troublemaker
like Lord Gyeongunjae.
A pathetic troublemaker?
You have never even met Lord Gyeongunjae.
He attended his wedding to the princess, and that is final.
What pathetic fool would want an annulment?
That is a true troublemaker.
- Goodness.
- Trouble
That is a lot of trouble.
Where are the honorifics?
What?
You and I are from different social classes.
Keep a distance of at least three steps.
Okay, fine.
One answer will do. That gets on my nerves!
Fine.
Now hurry up.
Instead of shooting glances,
speak up as it gets on my nerves.
Two months might be enough to arrange three matches,
but not have the weddings too.
Tradition dictates that nobles wait
at least six months between their children's weddings.
Did you think I got into this not knowing that?
I will have all three sisters marry at the exact same time.
A triple wedding?
That is a good idea.
How did you come up with it?
It is customary to marry children in order of age,
but there is nothing against marrying at the same time.
It does not go against the nobleman's tradition.
And since the wedding takes place at the bride's home,
it is appropriate that the sisters get married at the same time.
You do know well, as a royal inspector would.
I am smart, and there is nothing I do not know.
He can be cute, just like Geun Seok.
Is the plan to put pressure on the unwed ladies
going as scheduled?
The youngest sister will have left the inn by now.
Do not worry.
Goodness.
This is the original copy by Hwa Rok.
Thank you.
However,
you promised me that I would meet the author when Volume Two came out.
Why would you like to meet the author?
Many ladies bring gifts to meet Hwa Rok,
but I have never had a scholar ask me this before.
In Hwa Rok's books,
impossible things happen and surprise you every single time,
but the consistency of the stories make you believe them.
Reading Hwa Rok's books makes me forget all my worries,
so I wish to express my gratitude in person.
How inspiring.
Meow.
I see.
Speak of the devil!
Where
I heard you wanted to meet me.
Are you Hwa Rok?
I wanted to meet you too.
I hear
you always pay a lot of money to buy my original books.
May I get your autograph?
Yes. Of course, you may.
What is your name?
I am Jung Soon Gu.
(For Jung Soon Gu)
(Always be happy, from Hwa Rok)
(Always be happy, from Hwa Rok)
Your handwriting confirms that you are Hwa Rok.
You are under arrest for violating the laws.
What? My goodness.
Gosh.
My gosh!
Oh, no.
You little
- Oh, dear.
- Goodness.
The house is way too small
for a triple wedding.
You said it was an important royal order,
but I suppose you have never once visited the house.
That makes you an armhole theorist.
Am I right?
No, not "armhole theorist."
It is "armchair theorist."
I see. It is "armchair theorist," not "armhole theorist."
Please refrain from using difficult words and phrases you do not know.
It makes you look awfully ignorant.
Once I learn that I am wrong, I never get it wrong again.
Also, do not smile like that.
It truly offends me.
Why does my smile offend you?
And do not mumble like that.
As I have made it clear to you, I do not wish to marry.
Why did you come all the way to my house?
She is very beautiful.
She must be Lady Ha Na, the eldest daughter.
I wish to meet your mother and speak to her in person.
Would you please ask her?
I will ask her.
As I have heard, she is strongly against getting married.
There are three tell tale lies.
Old people saying they want to die soon.
Vendors saying they are losing profit on what they are selling.
And spinsters saying they do not wish to marry.
It is not true that she does not wish to marry.
She is still single because she was being too picky,
knowing she was pretty.
You are the master of matchmaking.
How could you not even know such basics?
I would say that is the fallacy of hasty generalization.
What did you say?
I am a fast learner for I understand things quickly,
and I am good at applying my knowledge.
She said she would meet you.
Please come in.
Mother, the inspector is here with a matchmaker.
I cannot see.
Inspector, I heard you wished to speak to me about something.
I am here
to help your spinster daughters get married.
From finding suitable men to preparing wedding gifts,
I will take care of it all,
so you need not worry.
You are wasting your time.
My daughters do not wish to marry,
and I do not want to force them to get married.
Pardon me? That is absurd.
What is absurd about it?
If a woman stays single past the marriageable age,
a disaster is bound to befall her because of her resentment.
- Like the drought, for example.
- Two days ago,
it rained.
It was not enough at all to break the drought.
My daughters
chose not to get married of their own accord,
so they do not resent anyone.
Hence, they should not be held accountable for the drought.
My lady.
Women ought to get married,
serve their husbands, and produce sons
to continue the family names.
May I ask you why you are neglecting your daughters?
I am neglecting them? No.
I am doing this for I respect their wishes.
And rather than having to serve their parents-in-law
who are not related to them in any way,
I believe they should look after me, their blind mother.
It is only right.
Now, you know that my daughters do not need a matchmaker's help.
Please leave now.
My lady, but
Hurry up and escort them out.
- I am tired.
- Yes, Mother.
Please get up.
- Wait, but
- Please leave.
- I will not see you out.
- Gosh.
Your mother must be going senile
Goodness! How could you say that in front of her daughter?
Gosh, seriously.
Did this lunatic just say my mother was going senile?
Everyone in the village knows that she has a foul mouth.
The second daughter, Maeng Doo Ri.
What? "Lunatic?"
Are you that old fossil in Bukchon?
What?
You were with that man.
- Goodness.
- My gosh.
Lady Sam Soon is here. Watch what you say.
(One day ago)
So, Hwa Rok is the youngest one
of the three spinsters?
Oh, dear. I am deeply worried about the future of this country.
It is absurd that an unmarried woman wrote the erotic romance novel.
On top of that, she is pretending to be a man?
No one will pay a fair price for a book written by a woman,
so she had no choice.
It is wrong that a woman wrote a book in the first place.
Men and women have different roles,
and the line should never be crossed!
So? You cannot do it?
Then shall we report Lady Sam Soon to the Capital District Office
and give up on this altogether?
No.
Making sure she gets married
will be the fastest way to restore the Confucian order,
so explain the solution you mentioned earlier.
He is a nobleman, after all.
He quickly managed to find a justifiable ground.
Hwa Rok, what are you doing here?
What brings you to my house?
Pardon me? A widow and her daughters live here.
What do you mean this is your house?
(Doo Ri, Ha Na)
"Such insolence! How dare a woman disguise herself as a man"
"and write a novel mocking the scholar-officials?"
"I will report you at once."
Inspector.
I believe she did it to earn money to look after her ill mother.
Could you let it go just this once?
"If it happened while trying to do her filial duty,"
"I shall give her a chance."
A chance? Could you please elaborate?
"If all three of them cooperate and get married,"
"I will not report her."
I will cooperate.
Me too.
Me too.
Good job, everyone.
Shall we rehearse it once more? Be more natural this time.
Let us begin.
Hwa Rok, what are you doing here?
What? This is different from what we rehearsed.
I know.
Oh, no.
What brings you here?
Did you not see a short scholar with fair skin coming in here just now?
I did not see such a scholar.
You did not see him either, right? Oh, where did she go?
Where did she go?
What is my brother doing here?
I must search the house.
What? Why would he search the house?
Who is there?
My lady.
I am the matchmaker who came with the inspector.
I got lost and came into the wrong room. I shall be going, then.
I am doomed.
What is happening?
I am looking for a suspect who sneaked into your house.
I cannot see, but I know
that there is no one else other than that woman in this room.
Well, this is
Please excuse me.
Did he
not recognize his own sister?
Wait, this is
Stop, will you?
Only women live in this house.
You suddenly blocking me like this makes it look more suspicious.
What?
That old fossil from Bukchon also said he never saw such a man.
I did not see him, so please leave.
Did something happen?
Goodness.
Who are these people?
If you want to check,
search the house quickly and get lost!
I checked everything I needed to know.
I will be off, then. I apologize for the trouble.
I thought he was different for he was after the real culprit.
But of course, he is another one
of those thoughtless fools who never question the system.
Inspector, I suggest you stop being rude
and leave too.
Now that all three of you are here,
I have something to say.
My sisters all feel the same way as I do,
so do not waste your time.
Once you hear me out, you will change your mind.
Do you not agree?
That officer from the Capital District Office
is after you, Hwa Rok.
You little
Let me sum it up for you again.
All three of you must cooperate to get married before the end of May.
What did I say would happen if you were uncooperative?
Just say it once for we remember everything.
Do not ask us to repeat what you said.
But the thing is, Inspector
What if things go south even if we did our best to cooperate?
Then it is not our fault, right?
"What if things go south?"
You are being uncooperative by using such vulgar expressions.
Try your best to watch what you say
- Darn you!
- Goodness.
This is just how I am! What do you want from me?
What?
Where did everyone go?
This is just how I am! What do you want from me?
What is the matter?
Where have you been?
I was asking them to be cooperative.
You were asking us? As if. You are threatening us.
Agreed.
Even our mother does not want us to get married.
You call yourself a scholar, and yet you are using our weakness
to force us to be unfilial? How petty.
It makes me truly angry, and this is extremely unfair.
"Petty?"
I am forcing you to be unfilial?
I now have your mother's permission to be your matchmaker.
Mother told you to go ahead and find our matches?
No way.
Ask her directly to find out whether or not it is true.
Let me introduce myself first.
I am here to provide you with satisfactory matchmaking service.
I am Lady Yeoju.
Oh, you are the famous master of matchmaking,
Lady Yeoju.
My gosh. I look forward to working with you.
What are you saying?
Whose fault is it that we are in this mess now?
The eldest one, the middle one, and the youngest one.
I have now met all of them.
Who knew Lady Sam Soon would run in, being chased by the officer?
I was not expecting that at all.
I did not expect that Lord Maeng's daughters
would be so weird.
While I was gone, you followed my advice
and threatened Lady Sam Soon's sisters
that you would report her. Well done.
You must know this by now, but I am good at everything.
Anyway, you are sure they can all get married, right?
Yes, of course.
You said you would report Lady Sam Soon,
so Lady Ha Na and Lady Doo Ri will certainly cooperate.
It is almost a done deal.
Lady Sam Soon was being chased by my brother
No. I mean
That officer was really after her,
so everyone believed you when you said you would report her.
It all worked out.
It seems like you are so used to swindling others in this manner.
"Swindling?" No.
It is one of my matchmaking skills.
Oh, right.
You said you were very smart.
That is correct. I am the smartest man in Joseon.
Then do you know what the Agent of Love is?
It is a mountain spirit with a knack for matching couples.
It appears in a Goryeo folktale.
You truly know everything.
If there is anything you do not know, feel free to ask me.
Then could you find out more about the Agent of Love?
Why?
Please excuse me.
Did he
not recognize his own sister?
My lady.
I am Lady Yeoju, a matchmaker from Hanyang.
I do not mean to brag,
but I am known as the master of matchmaking among noblewomen.
The couples I have matched
all truly love each other and conceive easily.
Especially families with daughters
Are you trying to tell me that you are the Agent of Love?
I do not know what that is,
but I am trying to tell you that I am confident
I can find suitable husbands for your daughters.
Forget it.
If all my children get married,
who will look after this blind woman?
Why are you
saying something you do not even mean?
What happened five years ago?
In the past,
you wanted your daughters to get married, just like other mothers.
Do not run your mouth like that when you know nothing.
Over there.
The seal on the lovebird painting tells me
that it was painted in the Year of the Rabbit.
Did you not get it
as a wedding gift for your eldest daughter?
Wishing her
a happy marriage.
The government
plans to wed all the spinsters,
so if you remain stubborn,
your daughters might have to marry men who are not suitable for them.
I want to prevent just that.
Were you the matchmaker behind the marriage
between Lord Ha and Lord An's families?
Yes, that is correct.
It is one of the marriages I take pride in.
The two families support different factions.
How did you think to match them up?
They looked so lovely together that I could not help myself.
You probably will not believe me now,
but I can see it,
whether or not they will be compatible.
Let me ask you one more question.
Why are you hiding your identity to act like a lowborn matchmaker?
You cannot answer.
That answers my question.
I want you
to be my daughters' matchmaker.
The Agent of Love appears in folktales
and may not actually exist.
They could possibly exist, no?
I am asking because I think I am an Agent of Love.
This is really important to me, so please help me out.
Forget it.
I am busy enough with matchmaking.
I do not have the time to look into that.
All right, then.
Once I finish this case, I will find out myself.
I shall take my leave. Please excuse me.
Wait.
You have not said anything about your plans for the spinsters.
I will let you know the day after tomorrow.
Please come to the library at the inn at this time.
Goodbye.
Wait My goodness.
For a merchant,
why is she so busy?
I see. Here it is.
On the Agents of Love.
Wait, I think I once saw it in a Goryeo book.
Here it is.
My memory is impeccable.
It has been a while since I saw you here.
Oh, my.
Your Highness. What brings you here at this time?
This is the library in my quarters.
I should be the one asking. What brings you here?
I thought you have read all the books here.
I was looking for a book from Goryeo.
"Agents of Love?"
They are like deities who can identify
one's soulmate.
It is related to the task His Majesty gave me,
so I was looking into it.
Those deities sound interesting.
If Agents of Love do exist,
can they find my soulmate too?
Your spouse will be chosen
by the Queen's quarters through a selection process.
Agents of Love could just be a folklore
made up by the uneducated commoners.
Do not say that.
What the people want shall become the deities' will.
Even if marriage is just for carrying on the family name,
wanting a good spouse
is something the people and I would both desire, right?
Most influential Agents of Love until the Goryeo era
were women,
and as Joseon was a nation built on Confucianism,
they slowly disappeared.
One in 10,000 humans are born
with the ability to identify one's soulmate,
and people with that special ability
existed in every era.
Since the Silla times, they were called Agents of Love.
I think I know why
I keep going around to seek people's fates.
Ever since young, I have brought couples together.
I can totally see that happening.
And now I do matchmaking services,
despite the risks.
I thought you were doing it for money.
That is not why.
I think
I am an Agent of Love.
What is that?
Oh, I am planning to find out more.
But they are deities who can identify one's soulmate.
How incredible, right?
That must be why I am obsessed with matchmaking.
I was born for this.
To be honest, I wondered if I was abnormal
for wanting to meddle in love.
But it was because I am an Agent of Love.
"Agent of Love."
Even the title sounds cool.
She drinks a lot these days.
Is something bugging her?
Please look after Ye Jin until she gets married.
Look after her yourself, my dear.
Why are you asking me?
After all, Ye Jin likes you.
I
started liking Ye Jin because she likes you.
Why did you have to leave so soon?
What was the hurry?
Come, this way.
What is this commotion?
Wait.
Why did you unload these at our place?
We are acting on behalf of the matchmaker.
Lady Yeoju?
Sorry that I am not Lady Yeoju.
The Minister of Defence said
he would take your eldest daughter as his concubine.
Did you just say the Minister of Defence?
Yes. Although you will just be his concubine,
he got a matchmaker for the process.
Your marital home will be a new tile-roofed house in Pil-dong,
and he also sent you two servants.
Such conditions would be appealing even for young, marriageable ladies.
Nonetheless, she is a noblewoman. Being a concubine is
You heard the rumours. She is lucky to even get this offer.
How can you get married without my permission?
Oh, my.
I thought the discussions were settled.
I guess not.
I will not approve of this wedding. All of you, leave.
Arrest the criminal!
- Yes, sir.
- Yes, sir.
- What criminal?
- Why is my mother a criminal?
- What are you doing?
- Move aside!
- Mother.
- Let go of me.
My mother is not a criminal.
Mother. Mother!
My lord!
Goodness. What is the fuss?
The old ladies' mother was arrested by the Capital District Office.
How unexpected. What was her crime?
It seems like she got into trouble for refusing
Minister Park's marriage offer.
Her eldest daughter is 24 years old, right?
Since she is a filial daughter,
she will end up accepting the minister's offer.
I have lived to see the day where the ignorant magistrate
and the lewd minister are useful to me for once.
Let us head to the inn.
But
My goodness.
Were you the one behind it?
What are you talking about?
If a woman cannot marry past the age of 24,
her parents can be punished by law.
I am asking if you made Lady Ha Na marry the Minister of Defence.
Well, about that
Is it not a good thing that the eldest girl can finally marry?
I had my doubts.
So you were the one who came up with that idea.
I am utterly disappointed in you.
You are disappointed in me?
For what reason?
Since you broke your promise and went against my methods,
the contract between us is over as of now.
From now on,
I will do my best to make sure you can never carry out your orders.
(The Matchmakers)
When a marriage prospect appears,
it is a felony for the parents to reject him.
It will be worth a lot.
I will finally have what I want thanks to Lord Gyeongunjae.
You can come up with an excuse easily.
Until when do I have to clean up after you?
Lady Ha Na and I will settle this by noon.
Please stall time for us.
No one will suspect you. Do not worry.
Wait!
How dare you? Please open up!
Do you know how long it takes
for a man and woman to fall for each other?
I am not the kind of man who disappoints you.