[gunshots]
[Elaine] Sang can be conceited, vain, narcissistic,
but he's not a bad person.
- Can I help you? - Regus Patoff.
I am to consult with Mr. Sang on all matters of business.
You'll find this illustrates Mr. Sang's wishes.
- Who owns us? - Sang's only living relative,
his mother, who lives in Busan and speaks no English.
What do you do here?
I was Sang's creative liaison.
- Creative liaison? - I gave myself a title bump.
You're saying this guy waltzed in off the street one day
and got Sang to sign over complete authority?
I don't buy it.
Do you smell that? It's like putrid fruit.
♪
[cellphone vibrating]
[vibrating continues]
Hello?
Elaine, it's Regus Patoff.
Mr. Pa...is everything okay?
It's 3:00 in the morning.
I was calling to ask if you'd be available
to come into the office a little earlier than normal.
Um, sure.
If it's urgent, I can be there at 8:00.
That is disappointing.
I was hoping for something more immediate.
[dial tone beeps]
[groaning]
[cellphone vibrating]
Hello?
Elaine, it's Regus Patoff.
Yes, Mr. Patoff. We just spoke.
I was calling to ask if you would be available
to come into the office a little earlier than normal.
I can be there in 40 minutes.
♪
My name is Elaine Hayman.
It's 3:23 on Tuesday morning,
and at the time of this recording,
I'm driving to
the offices of CompWare in downtown LA.
If something should happen to me, and this message is pulled
off my cloud, I hope it can shed some light
on what may have transpired.
[door lock beeping]
As creative liaison for one of the most successful
mobile games studios in Los Angeles,
I expect hard work and long hours.
I have always been willing to do
whatever it takes to succeed.
But I don't know where this man came from.
I don't know how he rose to this position.
And I don't know what authority he carries.
- [knocking on door] - In.
What took you so long?
I drove in from the Valley.
Can't you live closer?
I share an apartment with two struggling actors.
It's pretty much all we can afford.
4866 Magnolia.
You know where I live?
With Elijah and Daisy.
They're not quite actors.
What is that?
Is that about me?
That's your personnel file.
I came by it in the records room.
We have a records room?
[chuckles] Of course.
Every company I ever consulted at has a records room.
I just assumed everything was on the server.
Sang promised we were carbon-neutral.
You can learn so much from these files.
For example, did you know that the average age
of CompWare employees is 27? You're 27.
That the average level
of education is a bachelor's degree?
You have a bachelor's degree.
That the average salary is $62,000?
Sadly, you earn just a hair under.
You called me in at 3:00 a.m.
in my sweatpants to tell me that I'm average?
[door latch clicking]
[gasping]
Assorted churros.
Two cinnamon. Two matcha crunch.
Two, uh, dark chocolate with pistachio.
Elaine?
What?
Cinnamon, matcha crunch
or dark chocolate with pistachio?
I'm not much of a breakfast person.
You have to drive a long way
to find churros at 3:00 in the morning.
That'll be all, Dana.
Huh.
[exhaling sharply]
Sit.
[door latches shut]
Why am I here, Mr. Patoff?
A flight departed Seoul Airport an hour and 20 minutes ago,
destined for Los Angeles.
There's a passenger on board
who is detrimental to Mr. Sang's interests.
They must not complete this journey.
You want me to turn a commercial aircraft around mid-flight?
You're a natural problem-solver, Elaine.
It says so in your file.
- It does? - Mmm.
Who is this person on this flight?
Ahn Si-Woo.
Sang's mother? She's coming here?
She intends to dismember and demolish
everything Mr. Sang created.
His dream.
His destiny.
[Patti] He fucked his what?
His face.
His mouth.
Ugh.
His throat. I mean, not nicely.
Babe, if this is what I think it is, you need
- to involve the authorities. - No, no, no. We're going to.
We? Who else saw this?
Um, just me and Elaine.
- You guys hanging out again? - No, we're not hanging out.
We're just stuck in the same shitty, sink-y boat.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Hmm.
[Patti] Okay. Well, I'll swing by and get you after work,
and then you can help with the shopping.
Good times ahead.
- Mm-hmm. - Love you.
Have fun.
Oh, and babe, if that bad man tries
to put something in your mouth, you come and tell Mama.
What happened?
He's thrown the entire development slate out.
Since when?
Since 5:30 this morning.
Are you... He can't just shit-can
everything we've been working on!
I heard Kerfuffle got swallowed up.
Ninety-five more of us looking for work.
Kerfuffle?
Oh, no. Fuck him.
Fuck him!
[workers murmuring]
Where are you going?
I just spent the last ten weeks mo-capping shitting cats.
Why? Because Sang paid me $5800 a month to do so.
I made my peace with that. Now, face-fucker blows into town
and thinks he can throw that all away like it's meaningless?
- I'm not gonna fucking put... - Craig, take the day.
Think this through before you do something that
- you might actually regret. - Patti's earning.
Rent'll get paid. I'm gonna take my chances.
- Ok, he's in a strange mood. - He is a strange mood!
- Stand aside. - Hey.
Sang's mother is on her way from Seoul.
- What? - Her flight lands any minute.
Well, why didn't you tell me that?
Oh, my God. I almost just quit my job.
[breathing unsteadily]
I don't know what her intentions are.
But you think she's bringing lawyers?
- Well? - Change of strategy.
Guys, huddle up.
Alright. Here's the play. Keep our heads down,
make it look like we're busy, 'cause the new suit,
he's not gonna be around much longer.
[exhales]
Shh.
Excuse me... Can you help me?
I'm sorry. I don't speak this.
You will need to select your chosen language and...
- [music plays] - Oh! Hold on one moment.
It's just going to show us some advertisements first.
[speaking Korean]
Sang-Woo... I am his mother...
Mrs. Ahn?
Sang-Woo. Sang-Woo.
Yes. You're in the right place.
Um, my name is Elaine Hayman. I worked with your son.
Come and sit.
Rosie, can you get us some water?
Uh-huh.
I'll take your bag.
Comrades! Your attention, please.
Today, we have a very special visitor,
Mama Sang,
whose beautiful son was so violently, brutally slain
on this very soil.
On behalf of all Mr. Sang's humble servants...
Let us take your pain away.
Speak.
Open your heart.
My son...
was a good boy.
Sang was a good boy.
He had love in his heart.
He loved us all.
But...
he was taken by the devil.
To honor his memory, work harder.
[sound of glass cracking]
- [computer keys clacking] - [Mama Sang speaking Korean]
Dana?
Do we know if Mama Sang has an arrangement for tonight?
She walked in with her suitcase.
Nobody's told me anything.
Book her a suite at the Penrith.
That's where Sang treated all of his visiting VIPs.
I think that's what he would've wanted for his mother.
Okay. I'm confused.
Am I his assistant now or is it still you?
You are. I'm his creative liaison.
Remind me again, what is that?
How much pressure do you think it would take
to break that glass?
- Upskirt gallery? - Yeah.
You could stand an elephant up there.
An elephant? Nah.
A couple of rhinos, maybe.
Two rhinos weigh more than one elephant.
That doesn't sound right.
Hey. Do you want to get lunch?
Sorry. We're busy pretending to be busy.
Ha. What do you know? Elephants weigh 13,000 pounds.
- Rhinos top out at 7,000. - Yeah. The glass is so strong,
an elephant could fuck a rhino right above us.
- Wanna put money on that? - No.
- [clearing throat] - Actually, we're going to...
I'm gonna go to lunch first.
When does the cavalry arrive?
Maybe she hasn't retained anyone yet.
It's only been two weeks. She's still grieving.
Of course he speaks fluent fucking Korean.
Why wouldn't he speak Korean? He could be telling her anything
up there. What if he gets her to sign something?
Why do you expect me to have the answers?
- This could take months. - If it does, we wait it out.
No. You saw what he did to Sang.
We can't work for this sick son of a bitch, can we?
Apparently some of us can.
Six months with this job title is all I need.
Sang can't write me a personal reference. Patoff can.
Huh. Did you think you were gonna impress the boss
with sweatpants and the hair scrunchie?
- He called me in at 3:00 a.m... - My God.
- ...to stop a 747 mid-flight. - This motherfucker is so crazy.
- We have to do the right thing. - Agreed. I just...
I'm too tired. I don't know. What is the right thing?
- We give Mama Sang the tape. - She doesn't need to see that.
Course she doesn't, but if it'll speed up the removal process,
that's what we have to do. What the fuck is he up to now?
Are you leaving, Mr. Patoff?
Well, Dana was considerate enough
to book Mama Sang a room at the Penrith.
I'm escorting her there now.
Uh, Mr. Patoff, Dana wanted me to give you this.
It's the address to the hotel.
Would you like me to arrange a car?
Mr. Sang would want me
to attend to his mother personally.
I'll see that she's safely checked into her hotel.
Okay.
This way, good lady.
Oh, her suitcase.
What would we do without you, Elaine?
What's it called when somebody fucks the son and the mother?
There's gotta be a name for that.
♪
[Elaine] Hey, Iain.
If I wanted to see my personnel file, who do I ask?
Fill out a request on the home site.
You'll receive it by secure email.
No. I mean the paper copy.
I wanna see what's in the records room.
The what?
The records room?
You don't know about the records room?
I think we have a storeroom.
Whereabouts?
[elevator bell dinging]
[electronic whirring]
- What are you doing? - Shh.
No, no, no. No, no, no! No.
If you don't give it to Mama Sang, I will,
because I am not coming here tomorrow if he's still here.
Fine. I'll do it.
Pinky promise?
[city sounds]
Thank you.
- Hi. - Hi. Checking in?
I'm visiting a guest. It was booked under CompWare.
[typing]
We have the reservation,
but no one's checked in under that booking yet.
She's not here?
[typing]
[cellphone vibrating]
- Hey. - I'm at the hotel,
but Mother Sang hasn't checked in yet.
What? Wasn't he driving her?
Maybe he took her to dinner?
Maybe she's in the trunk of his car, chopped up into filets.
[door beeping, unlatching]
- Oh, fuck. He's here. - At your apartment?
No, the office. I'm still here. He walked in.
- Is he alone? - I don't know.
Yep, he's alone.
- Ask him where she is. - You fucking ask him.
Fine. I will.
Okay. Bye.
[exhaling]
[elevator dinging]
[cellphone vibrating]
It's rather late for you to be telephoning me, Elaine.
I know. I'm sorry.
It's just that the staff had a collection
and thought it would be a nice gesture
to send Mother Sang some flowers or maybe a platter of fruit.
We all loved Sang so much.
If you think it's appropriate.
What room or suite number should I put on the delivery,
Mr. Patoff?
It was the Penrith you checked her into, wasn't it?
No. Mother Sang had other arrangements.
We can go ahead and cancel the hotel.
Oh.
Where is she staying?
She didn't say.
But you dropped her off somewhere?
With her suitcase?
Where were we now?
Yes. Do try and think.
I remember seeing these little pedal boats that look like swans
and thinking how funny they are.
Dana, I need you to call around all the hotels
in the MacArthur Park area
and find out if they've checked in Ahn Si-Woo.
I'm in a bath, Elaine.
Yes, but you're holding a phone.
[ignition turning]
[cellphone vibrating]
[sighing]
Excuse me.
Have you seen a Korean lady, fifties,
pulling a big purple suitcase?
Sorry. No.
Excuse me?
I'm looking for a middle-aged Korean woman
with a purple suitcase.
No.
[humming]
[Patoff] Craig.
Mr. Patoff.
Still working. That is commendable.
I'm just, uh, waiting on a ride home.
And what is that?
This? This is not really anything yet.
Uh-huh. Explain it to me.
Oh, okay.
Um, well, it's based on the tensile strength of glass.
So, you see this blue line here?
I've linked this to the URL of a glass load calculator.
The thicker the glass, the more you can put on it. So...
An elephant, and that's okay.
And then, elephant and a rhino, that's still okay.
Elephant, rhino, monkey.
[chuckles] Bad monkey.
Where do they go?
- They just fall to the bottom. - What's at the bottom?
Could be anything.
Could be some metal spikes
or trampolines,
or, um, anything.
What do you want it to be, Craig?
What do you want to find when you stop falling?
I want to play. When is it ready?
Um, I...
Maybe we should talk to Elaine first.
- Elaine? - She's your creative liaison.
This is sort of what she does, so that you and I
- don't have to do this. - Of course. Elaine.
Between the two of us,
I was beginning to wonder what she does around here.
Good work.
Thanks, boss.
[cellphone vibrating]
He wants to make it.
What?
In two years, Sang never took a pitch I gave him.
Patoff shows up and within a couple of days...
He killed Mama Sang!
Wait. What?
I don't know where she is. Dana can't trace her. I...
Should I call the police?
No. And what? And say what?
That we lost a tourist? I mean, come on.
Maybe she just needs a little time to, you know, to grieve.
Goodnight, Craig.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. What?
What? Are you pissed at me?
I'm too tired to be pissed with you.
I ache. I've had three hours of sleep.
All I've had to eat is a hot tea and churros.
I can't see straight, and now,
I have to drive 40 minutes out to the Valley!
Did you hear they shut the 101?
Oh, fuck my fucking life!
Yeah. It's crawling over the canyon.
My carriage approaches. Are you okay?
Always.
Okay. Well, try and get some sleep,
'cause we got work tomorrow.
- Okay. - Bye.
[sighing]
[horns honking]
[♪ The Shirelles: "Mama Said"]
♪ Mama said there'll be days like this ♪
♪ There'll be days like this Mama said ♪
♪ Mama said, Mama said ♪
♪ Mama said there'll be days like this ♪
♪ There'll be days like this my Mama said ♪
♪ Mama said, Mama said ♪
♪ I went walking the other day ♪
♪ And everything was going fine ♪
♪ I met a little boy named Billy Joe ♪
♪ And then I almost lost my mind ♪
♪ Mama said there'll be days like this ♪
♪ There'll be days like this my Mama said ♪
♪ Mama said, Mama said ♪
♪ Mama said there'll be days like this ♪
♪ There'll be days like this my Mama said ♪
♪ And then she said someone will look at me ♪
♪ Like I'm looking at you one day ♪
♪ Then I might find ♪
♪ I don't want it any old way ♪
♪ So I don't worry 'cause ♪
♪ Mama said, Mama said hey, hey ♪
♪ Don't you worry ♪
♪ Mama said, Mama said, hey ♪
♪ Don't you worry, now ♪
♪ Mama said, Mama said hey, hey ♪♪
[exhaling sharply]
[elevator dinging]
♪