Start-Up

Start-Up Relay Lecture

"Okay, so we'll be starting in a few minutes," a Sandbox staff member announced backstage as he surveyed the area. "We already have here Ms. Yoon, Ms. Won In-jae, and Mr. Han Ji-pyeong on standby."

In-jae turned in surprise and saw that Ji-pyoeng had just arrived and stood next to Ms. Yoon. They caught each other's eye across the room, and acknowledged each other with a small smile. In-jae ducked her head to cover the way her smile widened when she saw those familiar dimples of his.

It had been a while since they last spoke to each other. Although they had studied on the same campus in the States, they had rarely met up after that day in the restaurant. They practiced their respective thesis presentations on each other, sure, but they had mostly kept in touch via email. Just like with their letters, In-jae found herself opening up to him about her fears and frustrations, and he reciprocated with stories of his own challenges. They commiserated with one another, and that in itself brought them some comfort.

Now that they were both back in Korea, they continued to exchange emails, mostly to congratulate one another on their latest professional success. They were both moving up in the business world, and were now about to share the same stage in this start-up relay lecture.

As In-jae took her seat at the center of the stage, Ji-pyeong couldn't help but steal a glance at her. There had always been a certain strength and grace to In-jae. The way she sat now, she seemed comfortable, but exuded a no-nonsense air that made you want to sit up straighter in her presence.

"Many say your success is only thanks to your rich father and doesn't count because you didn't start at Sandbox. Any thoughts?"

Ji-pyeong watched as In-jae expertly fielded the question, but noticed the way her body had stiffened, and the hand on her lap had balled up to a fist. It was a gesture he recognized in himself. The question angered her, he knew, because she had written him enough about her stepfather to know that she had a complicated relationship with him.

"Have you made any selfish decisions so far, Ms. Seo In-jae?"

Ji-pyeong blinked in surprise and he watched as In-jae calmly answered the question as if it didn't just come from the sister she hadn't seen in 15 years. The two sisters continued lobbying back and forth with thinly veiled contempt, and In-jae's knuckles were so white, Ji-pyeong wouldn't be surprised if her fingernails had cut into her palms.

The rest of the lecture went by like a blur, and the minute it was over, In-jae stalked out of the auditorium and marched straight out the door. Ji-pyeong rushed out the door of Sandbox and saw In-jae a few paces ahead. He wanted to run up to her, but he hesitated, so he began to follow her instead.

About a block away from Sandbox, In-jae finally whipped around, "Why are you following me?"

She blinked in surprise when she saw Ji-pyeong, "Oh, it's you."

Ji-pyeong shifted awkwardly, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

In-jae scoffed, "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

Ji-pyeong knew those words with that tone well, because he used it himself quite often.

He took a deep breath then looked at her. "In-jae. I'm going to do something that your grandma used to do to me, okay?"

Without waiting for her to say anything, Ji-pyeong stepped up to her and wrapped her in a strong hug.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" In-jae exclaimed, her body stiff in his arms.

"I hated this just as much as you do now," he said, "But somehow it always made me feel better. So just go with it?"

In-jae sighed in exasperation and stood there without hugging him back, but Ji-pyeong felt the way her body slowly relaxed in his arms, and after a while, he let her go.

"Better, right?" he said with a small smile, and In-jae nodded reluctantly.

"Grandma always did like to give out hugs," she rolled her eyes, and it made him laugh.

"Yes, she did," he agreed. "Do you want to grab a bite? I'm starving."

She looked at her watch, "I have some time before I need to get back to the office, sure."

As they turned to walk to a nearby restaurant, Ji-pyeong suddenly grabbed In-jae's hand and stared at her palm.

"What--" she said as she tried to jerk her hand away, but he held it tight and said, "Your knuckles were so white earlier, I'm just checking that your fingernails didn't dig into your palms."

She finally let out a laugh as she pulled her hand away and slapped his shoulder. "You jerk!"

And as they entered the restaurant, Ji-pyeong couldn't deny that hearing In-jae laugh made him feel good inside.