Start-Up

Networking Party

In-jae scanned the room watchfully and smirked. Midway through the party, and still no sight of Dal-mi. She knew her sister had been bluffing the entire time. It was understandable that she'd be a no-show tonight, and In-jae was perfectly fine with that.

What she wasn't fine with was how her mother kept craning her neck as she glanced around the room. It was irritating. She had brought her mother here to show how Dal-mi had chosen wrong, how they had been right to choose her stepfather and the life he offered them, the opportunities he had given them. But it seemed like her mother was hoping for some sappy family reunion with her long-lost daughter, whom she never thought to contact in the past 15 years.

In-jae rolled her eyes in annoyance and surveyed the room again. Still no Dal-mi, but this time, she caught sight of Ji-pyeong. He looked good in a white suit as he talked business with some prominent people, and In-jae felt her cheeks warm as she watched him flash that bedimpled smile of his. She ducked her head to hide her blush as she remembered how strong his arms had felt around her that day outside of Sandbox, and how she secretly hoped he would hold her a bit longer than he did.

This is crazy, she told herself. You don't know, KNOW him. Just through your letters. But does that really count?

"Hello, In-jae."

She turned in surprise and saw him standing right beside her. "Oh, hi," she said with a smile, hoping he wouldn't notice the blush on her cheeks. "This is my mother," she quickly made the introductions between Ji-pyeong and her mother, and her eyes widened when she spied a familiar figure standing at a table not too far away.

"There's someone we need to see," she told Ji-pyeong and her mother, and led the way as she made a beeline towards the table.

"Hello, Dal-mi," she greeted coolly, looking at her sister from head to toe. She was dressed in a powder blue suit that had clearly seen better days.

"Dal-mi," her mother said softly from beside her, and In-jae bristled in annoyance.

To her surprise, she felt Ji-pyeong's hand on the small of her back. She stole a glance at him and he was looking at her. In that one glance, she knew that he knew what she was feeling. She couldn't deny that the feel of his hand on her back was comforting, and her heart sank a little when he withdrew his hand.

"And who is this?" she crossed her arms over her chest as she studied the tall, good-looking guy beside Dal-mi.

"My name is Nam Do-san."

In-jae and Ji-pyeong exchanged startled glances at each other.

"My boyfriend," Dal-mi added as she slipped her hand into Do-san's arm.

"Oh, you have a boyfriend!" her mother exclaimed happily and drew her in for a hug, and Dal-mi looked uncomfortable at this sudden show of affection. In-jae took advantage of the distraction and stepped beside Ji-pyeong.

"I thought he wasn't real," she hissed at him.

"I got his name from the paper, so of course he was a real person," he said under his breath, "But how did she find him?"

In-jae and Ji-pyeong watched as Dal-mi looked up adoringly at Do-san, who was talking about some business he was starting.

"Oh, In-jae, we should introduce your sister to everyone!" her mother said happily. In-jae opened her mouth to protest, but it was too late. Her mother had already grabbed Dal-mi by the wrist and was dragging her to the nearest table. Do-san was following awkwardly behind Dal-mi, as she didn't let go of his hand.

Ji-pyeong was turning to go when In-jae suddenly grabbed his hand. He startled at her touch and looked at her. "Please don't leave me with them," she said, hating the pleading sound of her voice, "I can't keep this up for much longer."

Together, they looked over at the next table and watched as Dal-mi stood with Do-san and her mother was proudly introducing them to their colleagues. Ji-pyeong saw the pain in In-jae's eyes as she said bitterly, "She's never been that happy with me before."

He gave her hand a squeeze before he let go. "We don't have to stick with them. We can just show them how great we work the room together," he suggested. She eyed him thoughtfully, then nodded.

For the rest of the night, In-jae and Ji-pyoeng flitted from one table to another, always in close proximity to Do-san, Dal-mi, and her mother. In-jae turned on her charms, and Ji-pyeong was equally charming as well as they made new connections for their respective businesses.

Finally, the night wrapped up and In-jae found herself walking with everyone towards the exit.

Dal-mi turned to In-jae and declared, "I may not be as successful as you are now, but I'll outdo you in three years."

Before In-jae could say anything, her mother turned to Dal-mi and said affectionately, "Bluffing without a real plan makes you a fraud. Sorting things out afterward makes you the same as your father."

In-jae bristled with anger. This wasn't how this was supposed to go! Her mother was supposed to see how Dal-mi had chosen wrong, not encourage her to follow in their father's footsteps!

"So I guess you'll make things happen with Do-san, then," In-jae said, "It's good that you reconnected after writing those letters back and forth."

Do-san looked at Dal-mi in confusion. "Letters? I never wrote any letters."

Dal-mi looked up at him, "What do you mean? Don't you remember?"

In-jae smirked as she watched the two try to sort out the charade between them, and was surprised when she felt Ji-pyeong's hand on her back again.

He turned to her mother and said, "In-jae and I have some business to take care of, so we'll go ahead."

She said goodbye to her mother and didn't bother saying goodbye to Dal-mi.

In-jae let Ji-pyeong steer her towards the parking lot and asked, "We have business?"

He smirked at her, "I just thought it was a good time for you to make an exit. You already blew things up between those two."

She laughed as she got into his car. "So, are we really going somewhere?"

He revved the engine then replied, "You tell me."

In-jae looked at him and smiled. "Just drive."