Start-Up

Fist Fight

Ji-pyeong heaved a heavy sigh as he shut the door to Samsan Tech's office behind him. After dropping by his office to gather his things, he sent a quick text to In-jae, "I'm heading out now. See you later?"

Pocketing his phone, he made his way down to the lobby and headed towards the elevator.

"Mr. Han!"

Ji-pyeong turned around to see Kim Yong-san behind him. He looked furious.

"Do you know that they're blaming me up there?" he raged.

Ji-pyeong sighed, "I did try to tell you, but--"

"Bullshit!" Yong-san yelled, "You were trying to pull reverse psychology on us! You've always wanted to bring us down! You wanted to drive our investors away!"

Ji-pyeong closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose out of frustration.

All of a sudden, things seemed to go in slow motion as Ji-pyeong heard Yong-san yell, "You killed my brother and now you're ruining my life!" And Ji-pyeong reeled from the blow to his jaw.

His eyes flew open and he saw red as he lunged at Yong-san and threw a punch that landed at Yong-san's cheek. Ji-pyeong was transported to his childhood in the orphanage, where he got into fist fights often with the other children.

The two men tackled each other to the ground and exchanged a flurry of punches.

"Han Ji-pyeong!" he heard In-jae's voice yell, and he thought he felt her hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it away as he punched Yong-san squarely in the jaw.

"Enough!" Ms. Yoon's voice thundered across the lobby, and Ji-pyeong felt himself being pulled away from Yong-san.

He looked around wildly and saw that a crowd had gathered at the lobby. The Samsan Tech guys were holding Yong-san back, while In-jae was holding him by the shoulders.

"Ji-pyeong," she said softly as she took in his wild eyes, "Look at me."

It no longer mattered to In-jae that everyone at Sandbox was looking at them curiously. What mattered to her was Ji-pyeong needed to calm down. She touched his face and forced him to look at her.

"Breathe with me," she commanded softly, and Ji-pyeong nodded, taking a deep breath.

She looked into his eyes worriedly as he steadied his breathing. "I'm okay," he reassured her even if his body was still shaking and his fists were balled up.

They turned their attention to Ms. Yoon, who had stepped in front of Yong-san.

"Kim Yong-san. If Mr. Han had not been on the panel that Demo Day, I would have asked the exact same questions to your brother. He did not kill your brother," she said sternly.

"But--"

"And it is not Mr. Han's fault that your team did not take advantage of the mentorship that was available to you here at Sandbox," she added, looking around the room.

"All of you are here at Sandbox so you can make mistakes and not get hurt too badly as you launch your businesses," Ms. Yoon addressed the entire room. "Mr. Han, all the other mentors, and I, we are here to give you the criticism and insight that you would most likely receive out there in the real world. If you can't take that criticism here inside Sandbox, the real world will eat you alive."

"But all he does is put us down! 'Not going to work. Not good enough.'" Yong-san protested, "All he does is nitpick everything about our company!"

Ms. Yoon turned to Dal-mi. "Ms. Seo? Is that really all Mr. Han has done for Samsan Tech? Nitpick you and put you down?"

In-jae watched as the Samsan Tech team turned to Dal-mi and she slowly shook her head. "He nitpicked everything about our business plans and proposals, yes," she said, "But without that feedback, I wouldn't have spotted those potential problems by myself. I wouldn't have been able to tell you guys the things that needed fixing. We wouldn't have won Demo Day without his mentorship."

The Samsan Tech team hung their heads while Kim Yong-san still seethed in the corner but stayed silent.

Ms. Yoon said, "So let this be a lesson to all of you. Everyone here at Sandbox is here to help you. If you are too proud to accept that help, then suffer the consequences of your own decisions. That's how it is in the real world anyway. Now get back to work."

As the crowd began to disperse, Ms. Yoon looked at In-jae. "Ms. Won, I trust you'll take care of him?"

In-jae nodded and took Ji-pyeong's arm. It seemed like their relationship was out in the open now, but strangely she realized that she couldn't care less. 

"Let's go," she murmured, gently steering him toward the elevator.

She helped him to the passenger seat of his car as he protested, "I should drive--"

"Just relax. I'm taking you home. We'll just leave my car here for the night. I'm not leaving you," she said firmly.

They drove to Ji-pyeong's apartment in silence, and once they let themselves in, In-jae took the first-aid kit from his bathroom and set it down on the dining table. Ji-pyeong sat in front of her and winced as she started cleaning the cuts on his face.

"Who knew you were such a hothead?" In-jae shook her head as she dabbed antiseptic on his wounds.

"I didn't throw the first punch," Ji-pyeong retorted defensively.

In-jae pursed her lips together and stayed quiet as she began to apply bandages on his cuts.

He sighed, "I'm sorry. That was teenage Ji-pyeong talking. I used to get into fights all the time at the orphanage."

She applied the last bandage, then put her hands over his. "I understand. But try not to get into more fist fights in the future, okay?"

Mischievously, she reached for his face and pinched his cheek, "I wouldn't want anyone to ruin this handsome face."

Despite himself, Ji-pyeong laughed, rewarding In-jae with a sight of those dimples she so loved. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "And I'm sorry that everyone at Sandbox probably knows about us now."

To his surprise, In-jae just shrugged. "It was bound to happen anyway. Besides, it doesn't matter. All that matters to me is you."

He pulled her to him and kissed her softly, and just as it always did, his heart skipped a beat as he felt her kissing him back. Tonight was for him and In-jae. Tomorrow would somehow work itself out.