Start-Up Season 1 Episode 2 Recap – FAMILY, FRIENDS, FOOLS

[00:01:00] Ji-pyeong eats corndog at Cheong Myeong corn dog stall in the park. The old lady asks Ji-pyeong if everything is really okay. He responds he’s doing okay and can’t ask for more. She tells Ji-pyeong he can leave if she can’t help him with anything. Ji-pyeong wants to repay the old lady plus interest, but she’s really not interested in his money. She tells Ji-pyeong to only come back if he needs her help. Ji-pyeong gives the old lady his calling card, but she tears it apart. Ji-pyeong takes his meal and starts walking away from the food stall.

[00:03:30] The old lady gets home late and finds Dal-mi rummaging around old newspaper clippings. Dal-mi tells her grandmother she’s going to find Do-san. She tells Dal-mi to just forget about him, but she can’t let him go. Dal-mi needs Do-san to prove In-jae wrong — her decision of staying with their father is right. Dal-mi enjoyed staying with her father while he was still alive, and she doesn’t regret it one bit, but she wants to prove it to In-jae. She tells her grandmother she just needs Do-san for one day. Dal-mi can’t accept losing to In-jae because it will only prove she made the wrong decision.

[00:06:30] Choi Won-deok, Dal-mi‘s grandmother, visits Ji-pyeong at work. Ji-pyeong doesn’t want the walk-in visitor at first, but his assistant gives him a taped calling card. He immediately knows the visitor is Ms. Choi. He goes out of his office to see her. She tells Ji-pyeong she needs a favor. She wants Ji-pyeong to find Nam Do-san. Ji-pyeong remembers Do-san from all the letters he wrote for Dal-mi, but Ji-pyeong doesn’t understand why Dal-mi is looking for a boy from fifteen years ago. Won-deok tells Ji-pyeong that Dal-mi has never had a boyfriend since Do-san. It seems Do-san is the perfect guy for her. She always compared the guys she met to Do-san, and Do-san always wins.

[00:12:00] Won-deok blames Ji-pyeong for setting such a high standard with his letters; Dal-mi can’t get over Do-san. Ji-pyeong responds they wrote the letters together; if anyone is to blame, it should be her. Won-deok uses the conscience card on Ji-pyeong. She is about to leave, but Ji-pyeong stops her. He tells Won-deok he will find Do-san for her. She tells Ji-pyeong he only has until Friday to find him. Meanwhile, Dal-mi and In-jae wake up to start their day. They do their morning routines, but the difference is In-jae is rich, and Dal-mi is poor. In-jae uses a bathtub while Dal-mi takes a bath on the floor. Dal-mi walks to work, but In-jae has a car driving her around Korea — two worlds apart.

[00:15:00] Dal-mi goes to one of their company’s tea cafés to work as a backup. Her friend sees Dal-mi but refuses to go to work because of the large crowd gathering at the café. Dal-mi ties her hair back; she’s eager to get a new daily sales record. Meanwhile, In-jae meets with her mother at a hotel. They drag one of the waitresses in their mother-daughter feud over money. Back at the café, things get out of hand as orders get mixed up, and the customers get cranky. Dal-mi gets a brilliant idea to calm customers and fix the line on the cashier.

[00:17:30] Majority of the customers inside the café are JKN fans. She uses it to her advantage by playing JKN songs on the café sound system. The fans are waiting for a JKN concert scheduled nearby and are killing time in the café. As soon as the song starts playing, their crankiness goes away. She tells everyone she’ll put all of JKN’s songs on repeat, so the fans would enjoy themselves. She asks everyone to form a line, so she can serve them better. The fans line up, and one after the other, Dal-mi resolves their issues, serving their orders. The orders poured in, but the café survives, even making a new daily sales record: 10 million won.

[00:20:00] Dal-mi receives thunderous applause for her new daily sales record at the main branch. She hopes to land a permanent job within the company, so she can at least have something to show In-jae to lessen the embarrassment she’ll endure in her company event. Meanwhile, In-jae can no longer tolerate her mother’s behavior. She hates her new husband and regrets leaving Cheong Myeong, but she continues to spend her husband’s money. Dal-mi calls her stepfather “Father,” but her mother can’t understand why. In-jae invites her mother to the company event on Friday. She doesn’t want to come, but she changes her mind when In-jae tells her Dal-mi will be attending the event.

[00:23:00] Ji-pyeong returns to his office and finds his assistant, Park Dong-cheon, still working after hours. He tells him to find Nam Do-san instead. Dong-cheon finds Do-san in minutes because of his company named Samsan Tech. They sent lame business proposals to Ji-pyeong’s company for months, so Ji-pyeong ignored them. Do-san and his team avoid their landlords; they can’t pay rent yet. They avoid them briefly, but they get caught because Dong-cheon keeps calling their phones. Ji-pyeong doesn’t have any choice but to visit their company’s address.

[00:29:00] Ji-pyeong drives to the address Dong-cheon gave him. Do-san and his associates get grilled by his parents. Do-san’s investors are his parents. He promised them great results within a year, but they aren’t hitting the high notes. Do-san and his associates do their best to explain what they’ve been doing and what achievements they’ve accomplished, but his father isn’t impressed. Ji-pyeong arrives at his destination, but it is a residential area. Suddenly, people come running out of one of the apartments — Do-san being chased by his parents. They chase Do-san around Ji-pyeong’s car for a good five minutes. His father isn’t impressed by his work, and he is losing hope Do-san will ever get married. Ji-pyeong now knows Do-san is a loser, so he tells Won-deok not to worry. He assures her Dal-mi won’t find Do-san.

[00:39:00] Unfortunately for Ji-pyeong, Do-san needs money to continue his start-up company. His father will most likely pull out his investment, so they need to do everything to stay afloat. Do-san and his associates start taking pictures of things they can either pawn or sell just to make money to pay for their fees. Do-san posts a picture of a baseball autographed by a famous player a few years back. Dal-mi sees the photo online; it has Do-san’s name on it. She immediately sends an email asking for more proof. Do-san responds and sends his picture the day the ball was signed. Dal-mi jumps in ecstasy. The photo was taken the same year Do-san won the Math Olympics, matching the photo on the newspaper clippings.

[00:42:00] Ji-pyeong is still talking to Won-deok when she receives a call from Dal-mi. Won-deok ends her conversation with Dal-mi and tells Ji-pyeong she found Do-san. Ji-pyeong can’t believe how lucky Dal-mi is. Won-deok starts to lose hope, but Ji-pyeong knows he can fix things. Meanwhile, Do-san and his associates are already selling their stuff to cover their rent and other fees. They are on their way to meet with Dal-mi when the bus passes by Sandbox. They dream of working for a company as big as Sandbox but sadly, it is still out of their league.

[00:45:00] Dal-mi is eagerly awaiting Do-san’s arrival at the park. She asks him if he’s on the way. Do-san responds he’ll be there in a few seconds. Do-san’s associates see Dal-mi from afar. She tells them she’s wearing a blue jacket. They leave Do-san to meet with Dal-mi on his own. Dal-mi and Do-san see each other; things start to move slowly. He approaches Dal-mi, but Ji-pyeong pulls him away at the very last second. Do-san recognizes Ji-pyeong instantly. He tells Do-san they need to talk, but he responds he needs to give the baseball to Dal-mi. Ji-pyeong knows he will meet with Dal-mi and pulls Do-san back to his car.

[00:50:00] Ji-pyeong drives away from the park as he tells Do-san about his letters to Dal-mi. Do-san is confused as he sees his name on the letters addressed to Dal-mi. He tells Ji-pyeong he didn’t receive those letters, and he only spoke to Dal-mi today. Ji-pyeong responds he has a lot to tell him, but he allows Do-san to read the letters first. Dal-mi receives an email from Do-san stating something came up, so he can’t meet with her. Dal-mi goes to work where the Human Resource manager waits for her. He tells Dal-mi she needs to quit, so they can renew her contract. She tells the manager they can make her a permanent employee instead of renewing her contract. The manager responds they can’t make her a permanent employee; she didn’t finish college.

[00:52:00] After all her hard work to prove herself worthy of a permanent position, they won’t give it to her just because of her lacking credentials. They give Dal-mi a gift voucher worth 30,000 won as her reward for achieving a daily sales record of 10 million won. Dal-mi tells the HR manager she understands, and she’ll quit and come back to renew her contract. After meeting with the HR manager, Dal-mi goes to the rooftop hangout of their company and curses at them for not making her a permanent employee. She receives a message from In-jae asking if she’s coming to the company event the next day. In-jae tells Dal-mi their mother is attending to see her.

[00:54:00] Do-san brings Ji-pyeong to their office, where he meets with his associates, Lee Chul-san and Kim Yong-san. Ji-pyeong asks Do-san to pretend to be the Do-san in the letters for just an hour during In-jae’s company event. Chul-san and Yong-san tell Ji-pyeong nothing comes for free. He tells them they will be rewarded and asks how much they want. Do-san asks Ji-pyeong if he reviewed their business proposal. Ji-pyeong lies and tells them he has. Do-san wants to know if he’s willing to invest in their business, but he immediately responds they’re still in the early stages, so his company can’t invest. Chul-san and Yong-san want to negotiate their rent and fees before Do-san agrees with the favor. Ji-pyeong offers to pay them 2 million won. Chul-san and Yong-san are amazed at the offer and tell Do-san to discuss things outside.

[00:56:00] The three of them discuss the offer. Chul-san and Yong-san are ecstatic to be offered such a high amount. They tell Do-san he needs to agree with the offer and do his best. Do-san understands the future of their company hangs in the balance, so he goes back upstairs. Chul-san and Yong-san want more money, but Do-san changes the deal. He wants Ji-pyeong to help them get into Sandbox instead of giving them money. Do-san reads an interview that Ji-pyeong made for a tech magazine, but he gets angry at Do-san. Ji-pyeong tells him the words on the magazine are all made up; he never said those things. He offers to pay them; he knows they need the money, but Do-san responds they really want to get into Sandbox.

[00:59:00] Ji-pyeong tells them Sandbox is beyond his capabilities. Ji-pyeong ends the conversation by telling them they have no chance to get into Sandbox, nor do they have any chance to succeed. They are shattered hearing Ji-pyeong‘s words; he sounded very convincing. Do-san picks up the article Ji-pyeong crumpled as he thinks about what they need to do next.

[01:01:30] Ji-pyeong goes back to his apartment and asks Yeong-sil to turn on the lights for him. The AI assistant responds and asks Ji-pyeong what song he would like to play. Ji-pyeong laughs as Yeong-sil doesn’t seem to understand a word he’s saying. Meanwhile, Do-san and Dal-mi are both on their way. Do-san is disappointed his hopes and dreams aren’t going his way; the same is true with Dal-mi. She looks at In-jae’s posts on social media and how she still envies her life. Do-san gets home and quietly walks into his room. His father wakes up and sees him, but he doesn’t bother to get up to greet him. Dal-mi gets home and finds a new suit and heels waiting on her bed. She knows her grandmother bought them for her, so she can look her best at In-jae’s event.

[01:07:00] Dal-mi goes into Won-deok’s room to hug her. She eventually falls asleep beside her, feeling so miserable. Meanwhile, Do-san goes out of his room to place a blanket over his father, sleeping on the couch. The next day, Dal-mi still plans to meet with In-jae despite not being with Do-san. She tells Won-deok she’ll attend the event looking fabulous wearing her newly acquired suit and heels. Won-deok tells Dal-mi to be patient and never give up. She knows her time will eventually come, and she’ll be as successful as In-jae and more. Meanwhile, Do-san continues to read the letters Ji-pyeong wrote for Dal-mi. He is moved by Dal-mi’s letters; he wants to meet her.

[01:12:00] Do-san borrows a suit from his associates and goes to the nearest salon he can find. Meanwhile, Ji-pyeong doesn’t want to attend In-jae’s event, but his conscience can’t leave Dal-mi alone. That night, Dal-mi attends the event. She sees In-jae with her mother talking to their guests. She does her best to hide herself, but Ji-pyeong finds her. He is about to approach Dal-mi when the lights dimmed, and a man appears. Everyone’s attention shifts to the man walking down the aisle. He approaches Dal-mi and makes her blush. Do-san asks Dal-mi if she has been waiting for a long time. Dal-mi responds she has been waiting for a very long time.