Start-Up Season 1 Episode 3 Recap – Angel

[00:01:00] Ji-pyeong allows Do-san to continue reading the letters he wrote for Dal-mi. Do-san reads one of it, but he doesn’t understand the connection Ji-pyeong made with Dal-mi. Ji-pyeong can’t believe Do-san is too dull to understand the letters he wrote. He isn’t sure if Do-san can pull off being the “Do-san” in his letters. That night, Do-san goes to the event to join Dal-mi. It seems the lights didn’t dim, and Do-san doesn’t catch the attention of everyone; it is all Dal-mi’s imagination. Dal-mi is hiding from In-jae and her mother, but they see her talking with Do-san.

[00:07:00] Dal-mi tells Do-san he needs to act like her boyfriend because that’s the lie she told In-jae. Do-san tells Dal-mi he’s not very good at lying, but they can’t plan anything out; In-jae and her mother are already fast approaching. Dal-mi introduces Do-san as her boyfriend, but their lies are quickly discovered. Do-san can’t lie on the spot; he also doesn’t understand the company terms In-jae is talking about. She is about to catch their lies, but Ji-pyeong steps in to save them. He tells In-jae his company is interested in investing with Do-san’s company. Ji-pyeong drags Do-san out of the conversation, so they can pretend to talk about business away from them.

[00:11:00] Do-san is doing a great job pretending that even Dal-mi is amazed. Ji-pyeong tells Do-san to just say anything to pretend they’re talking about something. Do-san ends up reciting the Korean national anthem with Ji-pyeong. Everyone on the other table thinks Do-san is a real hotshot as he makes Ji-pyeong laugh. After their talk, they decide to leave the party. In-jae wants Dal-mi to meet her stepfather, but she refuses, pointing out she’s a Seo while In-jae is a Won. Do-san is about to leave and take the bus, but Ji-pyeong stops him. He walks him over to the valet and tells him to drive Dal-mi home. Do-san knows how to drive, but his face isn’t assuring.

[00:14:00] Ji-pyeong tells Do-san to just tell Dal-mi he has a girlfriend, but he doesn’t want to lie. Ji-pyeong’s car arrives, but Do-san doesn’t know how to drive an expensive car. Ji-pyeong gets worried his car won’t make it back in one piece. Dal-mi waits for Do-san, so her mother requests to hug her. She is about to refuse the hug, but her mother just hugs her. Somehow, In-jae is hurt by her mother hugging Dal-mi. Her mother apologizes for leaving her behind with her father. Dal-mi tells her she has nothing to apologize; she doesn’t regret her decision. Dal-mi tells them she’ll be more successful than In-jae within three years. Just as Dal-mi is about to leave, her mother compares Dal-mi with her father.

[00:18:00] She tells Dal-mi to stop bluffing because it only makes her a fraud like her father. Dal-mi does her best to hold her emotions back. She manages to keep her emotions at bay and leaves with Do-san. Dal-mi cries as she tells Do-san to drive. Ji-pyeong takes a cab and tells the driver to follow his car. Back at the event, In-jae’s stepfather arrives with his son, Won Sang-su. In-jae wonders why Sang-su is at the party. Her mother tells her to wake up; the event was organized, so Sang-su could be introduced to their father’s investors. In-jae thinks it is absurd because Sang-su is only her secretary. She tells In-jae that Sang-su won’t remain her secretary forever.

[00:27:00] Ji-pyeong follows them to the park, where they enjoy some ramen with ice cream. Do-san and Dal-mi talk while Ji-pyeong hides beside his car. Ji-pyeong sends Do-san a message, so he can stop spending time with Dal-mi and take her home. Dal-mi thinks Do-san is on the phone with his girlfriend, so she tells him to leave before his girlfriend gets angry at him. Do-san goes to Ji-pyeong’s car when he remembers how no one took him seriously except for Dal-mi. It is his opportunity to shine as Dal-mi already likes him; he just needs to be the Do-san in the letters.

[00:33:00] Do-san turns around and asks Dal-mi if she opened her music box. Dal-mi responds she opened the box, and it sounds beautiful. Do-san goes back to Dal-mi to give her his calling card. He tells Dal-mi he never had a girlfriend; Dal-mi responds she never had a boyfriend. After having a date with Dal-mi, Do-san returns the car to Ji-pyeong. He tells Do-san to never speak with Dal-mi again, but he already gave her his number. Dal-mi sends a message to Do-san, so Ji-pyeong helps him with a response. Won-deok arrives to find Dal-mi unable to sleep. She tells her everything about the real Nam Do-san.

[00:38:00] The next day, Ji-pyeong goes to the park to see Won-deok. He tells Won-deok everything that happened from his perspective. Dal-mi sees Do-san as the perfect man in her dreams, but everything is a lie. Won-deok tells Ji-pyeong she’ll sort everything out by telling Dal-mi the truth. Meanwhile, Dal-mi is at home, still living her dream date with Do-san. She opens her music box while remembering what happened last night. Won-deok tells Ji-pyeong life doesn’t go exactly how you dreamt of it. She knows Dal-mi will be so disappointed in her, but it is better for her to know sooner than later.

[00:41:30] Ji-Pyeong goes home that night, but he can’t sleep. He tries to engage in a conversation with Yeong-sil, but it leads nowhere. The next day, In-jae is getting ready to return to the U.S. when her stepfather asks to talk to her. He wants In-jae to return to the U.S. and just focus on the company‘s branch. He tells In-jae that he and Sang-su will take over the Korean branch since they own 86% of its total shares. In-jae remembers what her mother told her during the event, but she doesn’t believe it. Now it’s a reality, and she’s getting replaced by an incompetent man like Sang-su.

[00:45:30] In-jae holds her emotions back, so she won’t cause a scene at the office. Meanwhile, Dal-mi treats her friends using the gift cheque she received from their company. After eating, they return to the office where Dal-mi gets a revelation. She knows people will continue to use her because she is too kind-hearted. She knows she needs to propel herself upwards instead of staying with a company that can’t even give her a permanent position. Dal-mi decides to quit the job ahead of her contract termination date. The H.R. manager begs Dal-mi to stay, but she’s decided to leave. Dal-mi packs up her things and leaves for good.

[00:49:00] After quitting work, Dal-mi sends a message to Do-san about swinging by his office. Do-san immediately sends the message to Ji-pyeong. He feels irritated at Dal-mi’s persistence to continue seeing Do-san. Ji-pyeong immediately leaves his office before Dal-mi arrives at Samsan Tech. Do-san and his associates try their best to clean up their apartment before Dal-mi arrives. Ji-pyeong knows Dal-mi will get disappointed if she sees Do-san doesn’t have a nice office. He allows Do-san and his associates to move into his apartment and use it as their temporary office. They manage to set everything up before Dal-mi arrives.

[00:53:00] Do-san introduces Dal-mi to his associates and tells her all about the company. Dal-mi tells Do-san she wants to follow in his footsteps to beat In-jae. She added she quit her job that day, making Ji-pyeong spit out his water. Dal-mi is determined to start her own company, like Do-san. Do-san doesn’t know how to respond to Dal-mi’s admiration. Ji-pyeong knows everything is about to get worse from that point. Meanwhile, In-jae is about to leave for the U.S. when her mother stops her. She tells In-jae to fight for her right to manage the company. In-jae goes back to the company and gate-crashes the board meeting. Sang-su is about to announce himself as the company’s new CEO when In-jae walks in. Instead of taking back what she worked for, she renounces being part of the Won family.

[00:57:30] She tells her stepfather he can let her idiot stepbrother run the U.S. branch. In-jae leaves the company feeling shitty. She knows she made the wrong decision of coming with her mother instead of choosing her father. In-jae goes to a salon, choosing a short hairstyle; she starts a new version of herself. Dal-mi and In-jae go to Sandbox the same day to apply for their 12^th residency program. Meanwhile, Ji-pyeong pays Do-san and his associates 2 million won because they helped him despite their flaws. He tells them they no longer need to lie to Dal-mi because her grandmother will tell her the truth. Do-san suggests they keep lying to Dal-mi, so they won’t hurt her feelings, but Ji-pyeong disagrees.

[01:03:00] Do-san wants to know why Ji-pyeong doesn’t have faith in them. He tells them the truth why he doesn’t think they are a good company, but it is all about to blow up in his face. Chul-san tells Do-san and Yong-san they won the foreign contest they joined in. They won first place. Do-san knows it is enough to get into Sandbox. Meanwhile, In-jae writes she wants to start her own company, so people won’t see her as chewed up gum. Dal-mi writes she wants to take the upper elevator in a company building. Do-san also applies for the residency program. He writes he wants to turn a misunderstanding into a reality. That night, Ji-pyeong asks Ms. Yoon if he can be the head mentor for the 12^th residency program.

[01:06:00] He tells Ms. Yoon he’s looking at a certain company and wants them to succeed. It seems the story is about to turn dark as someone writes they want to enter Sandbox for revenge. Do-san is doing a video shoot to send as part of their awards ceremony for the competition they won. They are supposed to go there in person, but they failed to book tickets. They shoot the video, and his cousin volunteers to edit it. Meanwhile, Ji-pyeong invites Won-deok for dinner to discuss his plan for Dal-mi.

[01:11:00] Do-san doesn’t want to send the video they made to the competition. Chul-san tells Do-san they need to send the video, so they will get foreign investors. Do-san thinks they have enough investors in Ji-pyeong. Do-san doesn’t want to have foreign investors because he wants to get closer with Dal-mi. Chul-san and Yong-san think Do-san only wants Ji-pyeong as their investor because of Dal-mi. Meanwhile, Ji-pyeong tells Won-deok not to tell Dal-mi the truth, so she can continue living her dream. He tells Won-deok he’ll make sure Dal-mi continues to live her dream with Do-san happily. Won-deok wants to know why he wants to help Dal-mi so badly. She finally realizes Ji-pyeong has feelings for Dal-mi.

[01:16:00] Ji-pyeong denies having feelings for Dal-mi, but Do-san confesses to his associates he has fallen for her.