Start-Up Season 1 Episode 4 Recap – Sandbox

[00:01:00] Dal-mi falls asleep while thinking of her start-up proposal for Sandbox. Won-deok arrives and wakes her up. She tells Dal-mi to sleep on her bed. Dal-mi tells her grandmother her business proposal: a tableless restaurant. She tells Dal-mi a restaurant can’t survive by just being a kitchen. Dal-mi responds the restaurant will only cater to deliveries, so there’s no need for a huge capital. Anyone can start a restaurant, and they won’t lose much should they go bankrupt. Won-deok somehow sees her son, Cheong-myeong, in Dal-mi. She saw them in the good times and the bad. Dal-mi knows her grandmother doesn’t find her ideas interesting, so she continues to tell her about her other ideas.

[00:06:30] Won-deok reminds Dal-mi: running a business is hard. She knows the risks, but she also knows running a business is relatively easier than before. She tells Won-deok even high school students can already run a business. Dal-mi tells her grandmother she found a way to start her business. Won-deok wants to know, but Dal-mi doesn’t want to tell her until she gets accepted. She explains it’s embarrassing if she doesn’t get accepted. Meanwhile, Sang-su goes to a meeting and wonders where the other employees are. He tells one of his employees to tell the others to come to meetings on time. The employee hands him the resignation letters of those who aren’t at the meeting.

[00:07:30] Sang-su’s missing employees join In-jae to start their own company. She apologizes to her employees because it will take some time before they get a decent office along with their salaries. They tell her it’s fine; they are starting something new. In-jae is using her mother’s hotel room for the time being until she gets accepted into Sandbox. Her mother interrupts the meeting to speak with In-jae. She tells her she’s not yet divorced, so she can still use her stepfather’s money and connections. In-jae responds she needs to start her own company without using anyone’s money or connections. She can’t accept that her mother encourages Dal-mi, but she can’t acknowledge her. She tells her mother to just encourage her, and she’ll do the rest.

[00:10:00] Dal-mi finds a book about: SANDBOX in a local bookstore. She grabs the book, but another woman also wants to buy it. The woman’s name is Jung Sa-ha, a lawyer and designer. She also wants to start her own business, so she needs the same book as Dal-mi. Dal-mi doesn’t want to let the book go, so she offers Sa-ha 1000 won. But Sa-ha offers her 5000 won, so Dal-mi takes the money and leaves. Sa-ha wonders why she gave up so easily. Dal-mi gave up the book because she saw a bookstore employee about to refill the shelves with the same book. Sa-ha realizes Dal-mi hustled her for 5000 won. After her encounter with Dal-mi, Sa-ha sees Do-san and his associates looking for the same book.

[00:12:00] Chul-san asks Sa-ha where she got the book. She tells them where, but she also tells them hers was the last copy. She tells the guys they can have the book for 10000 won. Clueless, they empty their pockets to buy the book from her. She returns to the shelves to get a new copy and pays for it at another cashier. Do-san and his associates bump into Dal-mi inside the bookstore. Dal-mi and Do-san talk for a bit while she’s waiting for the bus. Do-san finds out it is his “birthday” tomorrow; Ji-pyeong failed to mention in the letter Do-san’s birthday is coming up. Dal-mi tells Do-san not to make any plans for his birthday. She rides the bus and leaves. Chul-san and Yong-san tell Do-san it’s time to leave, but he chases the bus and rides with Dal-mi instead of going with them.

[00:16:00] Dal-mi holds hands with Do-san during the bus ride. Do-san feels so happy as he leaves Dal-mi’s house. Yong-san comes running to tell Do-san good news. There are so many people at their office — investors interested in their tech. The news of their win at the CODA competition has spread. They do interviews left and right, but when the supposed investors find they don’t have any revenue model for their business proposal, they leave. Do-san and his associates are doing one final interview when Ji-pyeong arrives, immediately intervening. He knows the last set of “investors” they are meeting aren’t real investors. They are software developers trying to steal Do-san’s ideas. Once Ji-pyeong exposes their real identities and motives, they immediately leave.

[00:22:00] Ji-pyeong scolds the three. He tells them they should’ve researched their investors first before showing them anything about their tech. Ji-pyeong tells Do-san he should reach out to him first before conducting more interviews. Do-san agrees with Ji-pyeong and asks him about the birthday Dal-mi talked about. He tells Ji-pyeong they bumped into Dal-mi earlier. Ji-pyeong tells them it is his birthday tomorrow, but he can’t remember his birthday wish. Chul-san and Yong-san take advantage. They know they can make Ji-pyeong feel responsible if they gaslight him. They team up to make Ji-pyeong feel grateful for Do-san, so he tells Do-san he’s doing a good job with Dal-mi, and he needs to keep up the good work.

[00:26:00] Dal-mi prepares for Do-san’s birthday. She borrows a blanket from her grandmother, getting her worried. She thinks of the worst possible outcome with the blankets. Dal-mi calms her down by showing her Do-san’s wish. Meanwhile, Ji-pyeong buys Do-san many fancy clothes and expensive watches just to make him look rich. He tells Do-san he’s trying to repay a debt but not with money. Ji-pyeong teaches Do-san proper table etiquette to prepare him for his date with Dal-mi. Do-san is a slow learner, so after the first round of lessons, Ji-pyeong takes a break. He asks Yong-san and Chul-san if they never had a girlfriend or even dated before. They decide to tell him about their college days with Do-san.

[00:30:00] Chul-san and Yong-san started a knitting club at school to attract women, but they attracted Do-san instead. A few girls joined their club, but they all wanted to be with Do-san, but he wasn’t interested in them. Unintentionally, Do-san drove all the girls away with his lame jokes and lack of humor. They blamed Do-san for not getting any girlfriends throughout college. Do-san still struggles with table etiquette despite Chul-san and Yong-san already getting the hang of it just by watching him.

[00:33:00] Dal-mi leaves early the next day for Do-san’s birthday. Won-deok gives Dal-mi a bag and tells her it is a gift for Do-san of the olden days. Do-san waits outside with Ji-pyeong’s car and a Bluetooth headset in his ear. Ji-pyeong planned to talk Do-san through everything, but things didn’t turn out as planned. Dal-mi gives Won-deok’s present to him and tells him it is for the Do-san of the old days. Ji-pyeong knows the present is for him. Dal-mi tells Do-san his wish was to play Go-Stop. Ji-pyeong doesn’t understand why he made such a wish, but Do-san tells Dal-mi they would go to his office. Ji-pyeong realizes the office Do-san is talking about is his apartment.

[00:35:00] Ji-pyeong goes to Do-san’s real office to pick up Chul-san and Yong-san. They quickly set up the “office” so Dal-mi won’t suspect anything. They managed to get everything set up just in time for their arrival. Dal-mi made a lot of food for Ji-pyeong’s birthday. He finally remembers why he wished to play Go-Stop on his birthday. They eat, play, and have a good time. Do-san takes Dal-mi home and asks her what she likes about him. Dal-mi tells Do-san he’s her first love; his letters comforted her through troubling times, and he’s still brilliant and cool after all the years. All three of those aren’t the real Do-san, but the last thing Dal-mi says is she likes his big hands.

[00:45:00] It is the first time anyone appreciated Do-san, even though it is just his big hands. It meant a great deal to him; someone finally accepts him. Dal-mi, Do-san, and In-jae all receive notifications they passed the first screening of applicants for Sandbox. Dal-mi is delighted to be part of the next phase. Do-san doesn’t really feel so happy, but he is still glad deep inside. In-jae sees her mother leaving coffee for her and her team. She appreciates her mother remembers her despite their constant arguing.

[00:48:30] Ji-pyeong checks in with Won-deok to see if Dal-mi has already made it home. She tells Ji-pyeong that Dal-mi is so happy when she arrives. Won-deok worries that Dal-mi will fall and get hurt after all the lies they are telling her. Ji-pyeong promises he won’t let Dal-mi get hurt. That night, Dal-mi prepares for the next phase of her application. While she prepares, she finds her father’s business proposal on her bookshelf. Do-san returns all the things Ji-pyeong bought for him. He wants Do-san to keep the suits, but he refuses. He tells Ji-pyeong to give him some tips, whether for his style or his business. He wants to learn from him. Ji-pyeong asks Do-san if he’s really willing to do everything he tells him. Do-san agrees, but he doesn’t expect Ji-pyeong would be so blunt.

[00:51:30] Ji-pyeong tells Do-san to find a new CEO for his company. He tells him he’s not suited to be CEO. This infuriates Do-san, but he holds on to his emotions. The next day, Won-deok is surprised to see Dal-mi inside the church. She tells her grandmother she has a desperate prayer she needs to be answered. Won-deok tells Dal-mi that God doesn’t have time to answer the prayers of non-believers. Dal-mi continues to pray as she really needs all the help she can get.

[00:53:00] Do-san tells his parents he passed the first part of screenings at Sandbox. His father isn’t impressed; he always passes the first parts. He tells Do-san to just tell them when he gets accepted into the company. Do-san leaves disappointed at his father; he seemingly slams the door as he leaves. His father thinks Do-san is rebelling against him, but his mother argues he should still wish Do-san some luck — he’s still his son. Do-san goes back to tell his father he didn’t slam the door on him; it was the wind. Her mother wishes him luck, while his father says nothing. Do-san’s mother deliberately slams their bedroom door as she goes inside. She tells her husband it wasn’t the wind.

[00:56:00] In-jae arrives at Sandbox, but her team of developers is missing. One of her employees tells her their developers decided to back out at the last minute — personal matters. In-jae is hopeful they can recruit some developers at Sandbox to save their team. Dal-mi spots In-jae entering the building. She knows it is In-jae, but she doubts herself. She thinks her sister has returned to the U.S. Chul-san panics because of all the teams that passed through the screening process. They expected less competition for phase 2, but it is the exact opposite.

[00:58:30] Yoon Seon-hak introduces herself as the director of Sandbox to start the 12^th residency program. While Seon-hak gives her opening speech, In-jae sees Do-san within the sea of applicants. She wonders what Do-san is doing at Sandbox when he has an already established company. There are 400 applicants present on opening day, but only 40 will become CEOs one day. Seon-hak explains only five teams will be getting into Sandbox.

[01:01:00] The 12^th residency program is live on broadcast. Won-deok opens her phone to watch in hopes of seeing Dal-mi. Seon-hak isn’t even done with her opening speech when she presents the first challenge. Everyone is given 40 words, and they need to give associated words to determine the 40 possible CEOs within the group. Dong-chun and Ji-pyeong are watching the broadcast from their office. The struggle is on for everyone as they only have 30 seconds to give an associated word with the words flashed on the screen. Chul-san’s phone is dead, so he can’t participate in the first event. He worries he will be kicked out of the program, but Do-san tells him to just keep quiet. He is doing his best to prove to Ji-pyeong he can be a CEO.

[01:04:30] In-jae and Dal-mi also do their best to be one of the 40 CEOs. After the challenge, In-jae and Dal-mi are part of the 40 CEOs. Do-san and Yong-san aren’t able to get it much to Do-san’s disappointment. Seon-hak calls the CEOs on stage, so they can choose their teams. Everyone cheers as they look at the 40 CEOs on stage. Dal-mi is so happy she is chosen as one of the 40, but she was in for a big surprise. She comes face-to-face with In-jae on stage. In-jae and Dal-mi’s mother also watches the live broadcast and sees both of her daughters up on stage. Won-deok sees them side by side, praying they won’t cause a scandal.

[01:07:30] Dal-mi asks In-jae what she’s doing at Sandbox. Instead of answering the question, In-jae asks Dal-mi what Do-san is doing at Sandbox. She doesn’t know Do-san is there. She looks through the crowd and finds him along with Chul-san and Yong-san. Seon-hak gives the CEOs one hour to find their teams for phase two: Hackathon. While all the other CEOs are looking for their teams, Dal-mi approaches Samsan Tech to ask them what they are doing there. In-jae also goes over to find out the truth. Do-san doesn’t have any choice but to tell the truth. He tells Dal-mi they deceived her, but she isn’t angry. She realizes God answered her prayers. She asked for a companion on her journey to start her own business and company. Dal-mi didn’t expect her companion would be Do-san.

[01:12:00] Dal-mi tells Do-san she’s not angry or disappointed. She’s thankful to be given a chance to be a CEO of a team. She asks Do-san if she could be the CEO of Samsan Tech, so she could give them a chance at entering Sandbox. Since Dal-mi already placed her offer, In-jae also asks Do-san if they want to be a part of her team. She tells Do-san she’s missing developers for her team, so she’s recruiting them. Chul-san and Yong-san pull Do-san aside to discuss things. They tell him to make the rational choice and set aside his feelings for Dal-mi, but Do-san knows what he’s doing.

[01:13:30] He notices a difference between the two offers, and it’s not the credentials. Dal-mi offers to join them while In-jae wants them to join her. Do-san explains their options and gives his associates time to think things over. He leaves the decision to them; their choices matter, and no one wants to become an underling anymore. They finally make the decision, so they go back to Dal-mi and In-jae. Do-san extends his hand to Dal-mi and asks her to be the CEO of Samsan Tech. Dal-mi doesn’t know what to say at first, but she takes Do-san’s hand and accepts the offer. In-jae could only frown in defeat as she still needs to find developers for her team.