Start-Up Season 1 Episode 13 Recap – Comfort Zone

[00:01:00] Dal-mi completes her interview with In-jae and gets hired as their new manager. Dal-mi tells In-jae what she said during Demo Day moved her. In-jae remembers her speech is about the future generation: making the world ready for their arrival. It is the same goal Cheong-myeong told Dal-mi before he died. He left his corporate job to start a business that could change the future. Dal-mi knows she has the same goal as her sister, so she joins the In-jae company. Because Won-deok is losing her eyesight, they decide to sell the food truck. In-jae successfully makes another company and names it Cheong-myeong. She makes Dal-mi the new CEO of the company. Everyone is doing great, even Do-san.

[00:04:30] The application Noongil makes headlines the world over and is acquired by a global company that promised to provide more funding for research and development. Do-san does so well in San Francisco that Ji-pyeong wishes he doesn’t return to Korea. Three years later, the boys are on a yacht in the middle of the ocean. Yong-san and Chul-san enjoy themselves while Do-san continues working on Noongil. Chul-san continues his vlog so he can show off their yacht to his parents back in Korea.

[00:08:00] Dal-mi already drives her own car. She has a scheduled video shoot for the company, but Dal-mi chooses to use Cheon-ho instead of finding a proper studio. Dal-mi shows a ridiculous video Cheon-ho made for Do-san when they won the IT competition. In-jae and her associates don’t find the video funny or appealing. They are worried their video will also look like Do-san’s video. Dal-mi tells them their video will be better than Do-san’s, but In-jae doesn’t trust Cheon-ho. Cheon-ho’s concept for their video shoot is taken from Disney’s movie, “Frozen.” Dal-mi and In-jae will portray Elsa and Anna. In-jae refuses to do the video shoot upon hearing the concept, but Dal-mi loves it. Dal-mi and Cheon-ho convince In-jae to proceed with the shoot; the results are hilarious.

[00:11:30] Cheon-ho adds Elsa’s cape to the video along with snow special effects. After completing In-jae’s part in the video, it is Dal-mi’s turn to take the spotlight. Cheongmyeong company exists due to Dal-mi’s idea of self-driving cars. The news of her idea reaches Do-san and the rest of Samsan Tech. Do-san isn’t interested in watching Dal-mi’s video. He hasn’t spoken to her after their break-up three years ago. Dal-mi also doesn’t know about Do-san’s vlog. She only found out when Cheon-ho tells her. Sa-ha seems to be a follower of their vlog.

[00:15:30] Chul-san starts the vlog by telling them they’re on vacation provided by the company as a reward for their hard work. He shows Yong-san and Do-san on the vlog doing their own thing. Yong-san reads a book while Do-san continues to work on Noongil. Dal-mi watches the vlog and cries over Do-san, who she can see is so happy on their yacht. Do-san watches Dal-mi’s video about self-driving cars. Meanwhile, Ji-pyeong arrives at the office and hears Dong-cheon talking to someone on his phone. They talk about Dal-mi, catching Ji-pyeong’s interest. Dong-cheon introduces Dal-mi to one of his friends that can help her with work permits. Ji-pyeong overhears Dal-mi likes men with big hands. Ji-pyeong heads over to see who Dal-mi is with.

[00:20:00] The man invites Dal-mi for dinner, but she refuses. Dal-mi tries to get rid of the man, but he insists on getting a date with her. Ji-pyeong arrives in time to get rid of the stubborn man. He measures the man’s hand inside the elevator and finds his hands are big. Ji-pyeong thinks Dal-mi likes him, but it is still Do-san all along. After getting rid of the man, Ji-pyeong goes back to fetch Dal-mi. She invites Ji-pyeong to come over to prepare for the upcoming holiday. Dal-mi calls In-jae and invites her over as well, but she refuses. Ji-pyeong has a lot of fun with Dal-mi and her family. They prepared all the food for the upcoming holiday named “Chuseok.” Ji-pyeong loses a game and falls asleep preparing the skewers for Chuseok.

[00:25:00] Dal-mi removes the skewer from Ji-pyeong’s hand and helps him lie down on the couch. Won-deok sees Ji-pyeong sleeping; she wants to get a blanket for him. Ji-pyeong wakes up because of Won-deok, but he fakes sleeping to overhear what they are talking about. Dal-mi asks Won-deok to pray for her self-driving car, Tarzan. It will be tested in the coming weeks to be issued a license. Ji-pyeong decides to sleep after hearing their conversation. Ji-pyeong wakes up early so he can finish the skewers. Dal-mi also wakes up early. She plans to finish the skewers. She sees Ji-pyeong and tells him just to leave the skewers. They talk about Won-deok and how she’s doing after selling her food truck. Dal-mi thinks they should open another food stall for Won-deok, so she has something to do.

[00:28:00] Ji-pyeong asks Dal-mi if he can open the food stall for Won-deok. He tells Dal-mi he wants to be the first person on her mind if life hits her hard. Dal-mi can’t respond to Ji-pyeong’s statement, so she just continues eating carrots. Meanwhile, Chul-san and Yong-san plan to go back to Korea. Do-san wants to come back with them to see his parents. They don’t buy his alibi because he didn’t choose to return the last time they had time off. Do-san tells them he wants to come back with them. Ji-pyeong gets home and is about to eat the food Won-deok and A-hyun prepared for him. Yeong-sil tells Ji-pyeong his fortune for the day. The fortune is once again about his relationship with Dal-mi. Yeong-sil wants Ji-pyeong to make his move before he loses and regrets it.

[00:32:00] Ji-pyeong goes to a jewelry store to pick something out for Dal-mi. Do-san and the gang are on their way back to Korea. Their three-year contract is almost up, and they can’t wait to get rehired by 2STO and continue their dreams. Chul-san and Yong-san are already planning what they would do with their money. Do-san just wants to follow their lead, but they tell him to stop working on Noongil first and enjoy their vacation. Do-san tells them he’ll think about their offers and answer them in Korea. Meanwhile, things are getting hectic at Cheongmyeong company. They really need to get the permit approved because they already spent 2 billion won on Dal-mi’s self-driving car idea.

[00:35:00] It is finally testing day. Dal-mi notices one of the buttons on her blouse is broken. She doesn’t have time to fix it, so she asks the button to stay on her blouse for the whole day. Meanwhile, Chul-san and Yong-san return to their old office. No one wants to rent the office out because of the terrible location. They start the vlog because they are about to eat in the premium steakhouse below their office. Chul-san and Yong-san tell their viewers they used to smell the beef cooking from the steakhouse, but they didn’t have any money to eat there. They now have the money and plan to eat there for the first time.

[00:37:00] They both enjoy eating at the steakhouse. Yong-san tries to invite Do-san but he declines because he already has plans. Meanwhile, Ji-pyeong plans to give the jewelry to Dal-mi before the test. He hesitates to give the jewelry to Dal-mi and leaves the office area. Ji-pyeong heads out to the lobby and sees Do-san standing there. Dal-mi heads out of the office, but she doesn’t see Do-san and Ji-pyeong sitting at the cafeteria. Ji-pyeong finally decides to make his move and tells Do-san he plans to give a gift to Dal-mi. He invites Do-san to see Dal-mi, but he refuses. Dal-mi is already about to leave, but she left her car keys on her table. Ji-pyeong heads over to Dal-mi’s office, but she isn’t there. Dal-mi heads back to the office and sees Do-san on the way. She follows Do-san and confronts him, but it isn’t Do-san.

[00:45:00] Dal-mi apologizes to the man and ends their conversation. She receives a seemingly urgent call and immediately goes back to their office. Meanwhile, Chul-san and Yong-san bump into Sa-ha. They think it is a coincidence, but she must’ve seen the latest episode of their vlog. Sa-ha tells them she had a couple of drinks with her friends. Chul-san offers to drive Sa-ha home since she had a few drinks. Sa-ha agrees and goes with Chul-san. While driving home, Sa-ha offers to tutor Chul-san in English while he’s in Korea. Chul-san gets excited about the idea of spending his vacation with Sa-ha. She gets a call from someone named “Punk,” getting Chul-san worried. Sa-ha tells him it’s just Dal-mi. She answers the call. Dal-mi asks for her help.

[00:49:00] Dal-mi tells Sa-ha their system is ransomware infected. She asks for help; they can’t lose the files. Sa-ha tells Dal-mi she’ll ask around for help. Hyeon and Jeong tell Dal-mi to just pay the ransom so that they can retrieve their files. Dal-mi refuses, but they’re running out of time. Dal-mi steps out of the office to look for help; no one can help them in their time of need. With time running out, Dal-mi checks her phonebook for anyone she can call for help, and she sees Ji-pyeong’s name. She remembers what Ji-pyeong told her. She is about to call Ji-pyeong, but she receives a call and decides to answer it. It is Do-san, and he wants to help. Dal-mi tries to get rid of Do-san, but he already knows what’s happening. He tells Dal-mi he’ll come over to help out.

[00:53:00] Do-san drives to Sandbox as fast as he can. Do-san arrives and starts taking over the system immediately. Hyeon and Jeong are frustrated about Do-san’s arrival, so they decide to leave. Do-san gets angry at them because they aren’t doing anything about the ransomware. Chul-san and Yong-san arrive shortly after to also help with the problem. Do-san notices the ransomware seems familiar. He thinks it’s the same ransomware that attacked Chul-san’s company a few years ago. After a few minutes, the trio managed to find the decryption key and unlock the ransomware. Dal-mi nearly passes out with all the stress about the ransomware. Do-san takes care of Dal-mi as Chul-san, Yong-san, and Sa-ha leave the office.

[00:58:00] Do-san and Dal-mi catch up and talk about many things for a few minutes. They talk about Noongil and how it’s now a famous app. Do-san thanks Dal-mi for allowing him to help. He no longer feels the kind of rush because he is just working as a developer for a large company. The next day, Ji-pyeong sees the IT security team leaving the building. He asks Dong-cheon what happened. He finds out Dal-mi got attacked with ransomware, so he rushes over to check on her. Ji-pyeong feels a bit down; he wasn’t there for Dal-mi. He sees Do-san’s jacket; his self-esteem plummets. The trio eats outside when Chul-san tells them it’s time to cast their vote.

[01:03:30] They think it is about what they will do with their money, but Chul-san tells them it’s about staying in Korea. He realized staying in the U.S. is boring, and he prefers to just stay in Korea. Chul-san votes to stay, and he tells Do-san he has the final vote, thinking Yong-san votes to go back to the U.S. Yong-san tells them he also wants to stay in Korea. He tells Do-san his jacket is still at Dal-mi’s office. Do-san returns to the office to get his jacket but tells them he also wants to stay in Korea. Meanwhile, Ji-pyeong already left Dal-mi’s office. Dal-mi continues to cry over Do-san’s jacket on his way up. Do-san bumps into Ji-pyeong. Do-san is about to pass him, but Ji-pyeong pushes him back into the elevator. He tells Do-san they need to talk.