Start-Up Season 1 Episode 11 Recap – Exit

[00:01:00] Hyeon and Jeong meet up with Alex before Do-san can find him. They are also interested in working for him at 2STO. Hyeon and Jeong are willing to leave In-jae’s company to work for Alex. After talking with them, Do-san meets with Alex to take his offer. Do-san wants Alex to take Samsan Tech with him, but Alex refuses to be a philanthropist. He tells Do-san he’ll make his decision after Demo Day. Meanwhile, Dong-cheon sees Ji-pyeong and Yong-san inside the elevator. Yong-san releases Ji-pyeong and leaves immediately. Dong-cheon asks Ji-pyeong what happened. He tells Dong-cheon that Yong-san is accusing him of killing his brother.

[00:05:30] Dong-cheon brings Ji-pyeong up to speed. He tells him about Yong-san’s brother, who killed himself after Demo Day. Ji-pyeong goes to his office to find the file on Kim Dong-su. As he looks at Dong-su’s photo, he remembers what happened during his pitch at Demo Day. Ji-pyeong is too harsh on Dong-su. Dong-su failed to answer questions and even admitted to his own mistake as Ji-pyeong berated him with questions. Ji-pyeong found Dong-su incompetent leading to his demise. Dong-su can’t handle the pressure Ji-pyeong placed on his shoulders, so he killed himself. Meanwhile, Yong-san is up on the roof thinking about his last moments with Dong-su.

[00:07:30] Yong-san discovered Dong-su’s CEO ID and asked him about his start-up. Their parents don’t know he dropped out of graduate school to pursue his dreams. Yong-san saw genuine happiness in his brother’s eyes. He felt Dong-su is doing his best and giving it his all. Yong-san can’t understand why his brother felt excited about starting his own company when Ji-pyeong doesn’t remember his name. Yong-san felt insulted his brother killed himself over his failure.

[00:10:00] Demo Day is starting. Dal-mi manages to pull herself together at the last second. She got her confidence back after hearing Do-san’s words. The CEOs pick a number to determine the order of the presentations. In-jae goes first. Dal-mi picks the number six — considered unlucky by the other CEOs. Do-san and Chul-san agree six is a lucky number to boost Dal-mi’s confidence. Dal-mi agrees with them.

[00:12:00] Chul-san and Sa-ha separate Do-san and Dal-mi, so they can talk and find out about their plans for the company. They don’t want their relationship getting in the way of the company’s success, so they need to find out if they are willing to work together even though they don’t end up together. Dal-mi finds it difficult to process her feelings for Do-san and Ji-pyeong. She doesn’t know who she loves more, but she isn’t willing to take Ji-pyeong as her plan B. She wants to succeed without having to take Ji-pyeong’s offer. Meanwhile, Do-san says he can work with Dal-mi even if he chooses Ji-pyeong, but he really can’t. Do-san tells Chul-san they need to work together to succeed without having Ji-pyeong as their plan B. It seems Do-san and Dal-mi have the company’s best interest at heart.

[00:16:00] Yong-san suddenly appears and tells them he also doesn’t want to take Ji-pyeong’s plan B offer. He doesn’t want anything to do with Ji-pyeong, settling the argument. They will do everything they can to make the company succeed and win their place in Silicon Valley. Seon-hak looks for Ji-pyeong. She’s worried because he isn’t answering his phone. They are about to start Demo Day. Dong-cheon tells Seon-hak they need to start without Ji-pyeong. Demo Day starts with In-jae. She completes her presentation with flying colors and seems to be on track to land an investor. The investors ask In-jae a couple of questions, but suddenly, a familiar voice from the back asks her a question — Seong-hwan.

[00:22:30] He managed to sneak inside the building and find the venue for Demo Day. The guards try to remove Seong-hwan from the premises, but Seon-hak allows him to ask his questions. He asks In-jae how she can justify her innovation is worth putting them out of their jobs. In-jae tells Seong-hwan the world will still be living in the past without innovation. Taxis will still be rickshaws, while cell phones will still be old phones. She points out the importance of innovation and asks Seong-hwan why he’s fighting her when Do-san is also on the road of innovation. Seong-hwan doesn’t argue. He accepts innovation is needed for survival, but he’s not fighting innovation; he’s fighting the proper implementation to secure those who cannot keep up with innovation.

[00:27:00] People like him will lose their jobs and have difficulty finding a new way to feed their families. Seong-hwan tells everyone he will continue to fight on the path he has chosen while Do-san continues to innovate on the path he has chosen. He hopes one day their paths will cross as they achieve harmony, for innovation caters to all. Seong-hwan surrenders his microphone and leaves the building. Du-jeong asks In-jae if she’s looking for investors, but she’s not. In-jae proudly states she can run her company from the sales of their project alone. She wants to land 2STO as the global partner of In-jae company. Alex responds he considers In-jae company, but he’s also considering Samsan Tech. He asks In-jae if he can make his final decision after Samsan Tech’s presentation. In-jae agrees and leaves the stage.

[00:30:00] While waiting to be called, Sa-ha suggests they tweak the numbers of their presentation to compete with In-jae company. They know they can get accurate results later on, but Dal-mi doesn’t want to take the risk. Seon-hak introduces the company to the investors, but Ji-pyeong isn’t present in the panel as their mentor. They wonder why he chose not to attend, but Yong-san tells them they should focus on their pitch rather than Ji-pyeong. Dal-mi takes the stage and begins her pitch and presentation. Seong-hwan sees Dal-mi on TV as he leaves Sandbox. He knows Samsan Tech is in good hands with Dal-mi as their CEO. Dal-mi completes the pitch and presentation with flying colors. Alex asks Dal-mi about the accuracy rate of their application. They decide to tell the truth even though it hurts their chance of winning.

[00:35:00] Alex notices the significant difference between the rates of both companies. Do-san takes over and explains what they did and why they got such a low rate compared to In-jae company. Alex isn’t convinced, so he calls In-jae company on stage to see which technology is better. They are tested to the extreme as they need to run their application and software on an old run-down tech. Hyeon is confident they will still win the competition as he knows their application won’t run on such low-end tech. In-jae gets worried, but Hyeon assures her they will win; Samsan Tech’s application also won’t work. After getting set up, both teams run their application, and Alex gets a clear winner. In-jae company’s software and application can’t function properly, but Samsan Tech’s work smoothly.

[00:39:00] Chul-san and Yong-san are amazed their application works. Do-san confidently tells them he knew it would work. The team rejoices; they know they won the right to have 2STO as their global partners. Samsan Tech wins the 12^th Demo Day as Ji-pyeong watches from his office. He remembers all the insults he told the team and how he looked down on them. Ji-pyeong is having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact Samsan Tech won. Seon-hak goes to his office to give him a cup of coffee. She visits Ji-pyeong to tell him it’s not his fault Dong-su died. As mentors, they need to point out issues, and mistakes need to be called out. Seon-hak tells Ji-pyeong if he doesn’t call out the issues, she would’ve done it herself.

[00:42:30] Despite Seon-hak’s words, Ji-pyeong still thinks Yong-san is right. After Demo Day, Dal-mi heads home with a big smile on her face. She tells Won-deok they won, but she notices something odd with her grandmother. Won-deok isn’t naturally sweet with her, and she notices her attitude changes almost immediately. Dal-mi knows her grandmother is hiding something from her despite her denial. True enough, Won-deok is hiding something from Dal-mi as A-hyun comes out from one of the rooms. Dal-mi goes to her room; Won-deok follows her.

[00:44:30] Dal-mi can’t accept her mother is there. She wants Won-deok to kick her out, but she tells her the truth. It seems they thought In-jae and A-hyun were living comfortable lives. Won-deok realizes A-hyun is also having a hard time with Du-jeong, so she takes her back. Dal-mi goes back downstairs to see her mother washing the dishes. After 15 years, it will be the first time she will see her mother inside their house again.

[00:46:00] Meanwhile, Do-san arrives at his house and overhears his parents planning a feast. He doesn’t close the door, so his parents won’t know he has arrived. He listens in on their conversation for a bit as they talk about Dal-mi. Seong-hwan is convinced Dal-mi is a great person. He takes his allegations back that she lured Do-san into making her the CEO of Samsan Tech. Do-san’s mother thinks he should start courting Dal-mi. Seong-hwan responds Do-san should know the line between personal and business. She responds Seong-hwan didn’t know the line; he crossed it to court her. Do-san finally closes the door and tells his parents he’s home. He rushes to the bathroom to wash his hands but asks Seong-hwan to teach him how to cross the line between personal and business.

[00:48:00] Seong-hwan agrees, and they realize he heard everything they talked about. The next day, Dal-mi goes to Sandbox to find Ji-pyeong, but Dong-cheon tells her he’s out sick. Dal-mi worries about Ji-pyeong, so she calls him. Ji-pyeong is sick, but he doesn’t want Dal-mi to worry, so he tells her he’s just using his vacation leaves. Dal-mi thanks Ji-pyeong for helping them throughout everything. She tells Ji-pyeong they wouldn’t have made it without him. Ji-pyeong ends the call before Dal-mi notices how sick he is. He drinks his medicines and waters the money plant Dal-mi gave Do-san. Ji-pyeong receives a message from Dal-mi she left porridge outside his apartment. Ji-pyeong rushes out to see if he can still catch her, but she is gone. All that’s left is the porridge hanging from his doorknob.

[00:52:00] That day, Alex and his associates hands Samsan Tech a contract. The offer is 3 billion won to acquire Samsan Tech along with the chance to work in Silicon Valley for three years. They take the contract to read through it and think about the offer. Alex and his associates end the meeting and leave. As they enter the elevator, they hear the team shouting from outside — a good sign they will acquire Samsan Tech. It is a bittersweet moment for Samsan Tech. They made it to the top of the heap, but they will have to forfeit the company to achieve something greater. Everyone in the team is already thinking about what they will do in the U.S. Meanwhile, In-jae company can’t focus as Samsan Tech celebrates too loudly.

[00:55:30] They wonder why 2STO will acquire Samsan Tech for 3 billion won. Do-san is alone in the office reminiscing how everything started when Dal-mi returns. She left her phone and saw Do-san holding his retro business card. She tells Do-san she almost went to the address on his business card when she quit her job. Do-san offers to take Dal-mi to his office at Samsan Tech. Dal-mi accepts the offer. Do-san shows Dal-mi around before heading upstairs to the office. The door won’t open, so Do-san needs to use more elbow grease. He wonders why the door won’t open when it usually is so easy to pull back — Chul-san is holding the door from the other side — Chul-san and Sa-ha are all alone inside the office.

[01:01:00] Sa-ha tells them they aren’t doing anything weird inside the office. Chul-san tells them a story how they ended up at the office. Chul-san was on his way to the bus stop when Sa-ha saw his bag was open. Things started falling out of his bag, so Sa-ha took his things and followed him to the office. Do-san and Dal-mi doesn’t believe his story despite how convincing he sounded. While they argue about what happened, Yong-san suddenly appears. They end up drinking and talking about their future in the U.S.

[01:03:00] Everyone shares their ideas and dreams of what they will do with their share of 3 billion won. Chul-san wants to build a resort, while Yong-san builds the house of his dreams. Dal-mi wants to start another business with them using the funds to develop software for self-driving cars. Chul-san and Yong-san tell Dal-mi they need a lot of money to research and develop such technological advancement. Do-san tells them they will have 3 billion won to work with. Everyone agrees if Dal-mi’s pitch is feasible, they will all chip in to start a new business. Dal-mi stands up and starts pitching her idea immediately. They spend the rest of the night building the idea.

[01:06:30] Everyone spends the night at the office. Do-san wakes up first and stares at Dal-mi. He is mesmerized by her beauty as he pinches her nose a few times. Ji-pyeong returns to the office just in time. Dong-cheon tells him Samsan Tech is signing an acquisition deal with 2STO instead of an investment deal. Ji-pyeong knows something isn’t right and rushes to Samsan Tech’s office. He barges into the office, but Dal-mi and Do-san are no longer there. Chul-san tells him they already went to 2STO office to sign the agreement. Ji-pyeong demands to view a copy of the agreement to check for any irregularities. Sa-ha tells Ji-pyeong she already went over the agreement, and everything looked fine.

[01:09:00] Alex and his associates enter the office for their meeting. Ji-pyeong goes over the agreement, but he finds no irregularities. He knows something is fishy because of the price they are willing to pay to acquire Samsan Tech. Ji-pyeong is about to call them, but Yong-san stops him. He refuses to allow Ji-pyeong to ruin their futures based on his hunches. Ji-pyeong explains 2STO only wants to acquire Samsan Tech’s engineers. Ji-pyeong tells them their team will be disbanded once the agreement is signed. It is too late. Do-san and Dal-mi are already signing the agreements.