Ep. 1 - The Main Attraction

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* In Summary

**"Ep. 1 - The Main Attraction"** is the first main episode of *Siren's Lament* and second overall episode of the series. It premiered on March 5th, 2016, and takes place during the first season.

## Overview

During episode 1, it's revealed that the main protagonist, Lyra, has an unspoken crush on Shon, the guy who helps her run the *Carnation.* Lyra took over the shop after her grandmother became hospitalized, and she truly believes that without Shon's help, it would've run out of business long ago. When Lyra's best friend (and younger sister of Shon), Kori, enters the scene, she reminds Lyra of her crush on him while the two watch Shon meet up with his current girlfriend, Aleah. Although Lyra assures Kori that she's fine, throughout the rest of the scene's subtleties, it is apparent that this is not true.

## Plot

"Ah, you know me. I like things plain and simple." - Lyra explaining to Shon why she was trying to remove her nail polish

The beginning of episode 1 starts with Shon asking Lyra why she's peeling away her hot-pink nail-polish; stating that he thought it looked nice on her. She replies with a slight blush and says that she thinks it doesn't suit her since it clashes with her rather wallflower-like personality. In response, Shon mentions that's where her natural charm comes from, but Lyra is shown to think that out of the both of them, he's the more charming one.

After this, a brief bit of backstory is explored.  Lyra's inner dialogue reveals that a few years ago, her grandmother (later known as Hona) was hospitalized and left the business of the *Carnation* in her hands. Once Lyra had graduated high school, she took over the shop completely. However, as she was running the business on her own, Lyra feared that the *Carnation* might go under without some sort of help. Shon filled that role by working for her part-time, and ever since, he's been the main attraction; unwittingly drawing the attention of girls into the place, which, in turn, also draws in the guys who want to buy flowers for those girls. The inner dialogue of Lyra's leaves off with the fact that Shon is a taken man, however.

Just as Shon mentions that the two girls currently in the store remind him of when Lyra and Kori  were younger, the latter-mentioned individual makes her first appearance in *Siren's Lament*. Kori asks Lyra - who she's affectionately nicknamed "Lyly" - if she would like to go out with her later that night for some drinks with her and her significant other. While fixing her loose bra-strap, Lyra mentions that she can't because she has prior engagements. Shon seconds this by saying that he'll be "stealing your bestie for the evening, little sis," thus establishing Kori's importance as a supporting character in the story.

When Kori correctly guesses that the pair are planning on going bike riding (and Lyra mentions that it should be nice because of the full moon), Shon interjects the conversation the moment he notices that Aleah, his current girlfriend, has stopped by. While Shon goes out to greet her - saying that he promised to wish her well for her upcoming interview - Kori makes snide remarks about her and her pink Vespa; mentioning that she's probably not even going to bother coming inside to greet them. Lyra responds in a respectful manner; reminding Kori that Aleah makes Shon happy. Nonetheless, Kori is quick to point out that she knows the both of them don't really think Aleah is all that great with Shon. Lyra silently looks to the side and smiles at this even though it's obvious she's hurting inside.

Shortly afterwards, Kori notices that Lyra has peeled away her hot-pink nail polish; exclaiming that she just painted them for her yesterday. Lyra then responds with a similar line of reasoning that she gave to Shon when he asked her about it: the color was too flashy against her simple, down-to-earth personality. Kori rebukes this notion and confronts her with the truth, which is that Lyra is constantly afraid to take risks and rejects doing anything new in fear of what the unexpected can bring about. Kori also brings up the fact that Lyra still has feelings for Shon even though he and Aleah have been dating for over a year, causing Lyra to become embarrassed and interrupt her before she can continue the rest of her sentence. Although Kori is slightly upset because of this, she eventually reveals to Lyra that she just wants her to be happy and take chances sometimes. Lyra states that she *is* happy, but Kori teases her about it anyway; saying that her home is like a prison disguised with flowers.

After a bit more banter between the two, Kori excuses herself to go make a phone call. When she exits the scene, Lyra is shown to look out at Shon holding Aleah close to him while laughing with her. The viewpoint highlights the fact that Aleah has hot-pink painted nails as well, causing Lyra to become somewhat self-conscious and turn away from them with a sad smile. A short montage of Lyra cleaning up the shop is demonstrated right afterward; eventually displaying Lyra notice her chipped nail polish yet again. She puts her hands behind her back to ignore them, paralleling her choice to keep her feelings concealed from Shon.

## Appearances

### Characters

In order of first appearance:

* Lyra
* Shon
* Hona (mentioned)
* Unnamed schoolgirls
* Unnamed schoolboys
* Kori
* Aleah

### Settings

In order of first appearance:

* At *Carnation*  during the daytime

## Trivia

* The scene where Lyra picks at her nailpolish in this episode is the same frame used in the previous episode to demonstrate it
* There are times when both Shon and Lyra's nametags don't actually have their names on them, though this is most likely because of the far distance at which the nametag in question appears (meaning that it would be difficult for someone to see in real life, so it wouldn't make sense to write them on there when this is the case)
* A Vespa is a type of Italian scooter, and, when translated into English, it means "wasp"
* It is revealed in this episode that Lyra lives upstairs in the shop, *Carnation*.

## References

<references>

1. ↑ Ep.1 - The Main Attraction
Vespa Wikipedia article