Start-Up

To Hire or Not To Hire?

In-jae set the dishes down on Ji-pyeong's table and he looked up at her with a smile.

Almost a month had passed since all the drama that transpired at Sandbox. In-jae was surprised to realize that even if their relationship was now out in the open, nothing had really changed. No one was looking at them or treating them differently, there were no double takes or whispers when they walked the halls together or had lunch at the cafeteria, and their respective teams didn't think anything of it when they dropped by each other's offices in the middle of the day.

And so it became easier for In-jae and Ji-pyeong to fall into some routines in their relationship, like staying over at each other's places and riding to work together. Fridays became Pamper Days for them, and they took turns taking care of one another by cooking and giving massages. And tonight, it was In-jae's turn to take care of Ji-pyeong.

"Have I ever told you how much I love it when you cook for me?" Ji-pyeong asked with a grin as he began to dig in.

In-jae rolled her eyes, "You're teasing again, you know I'm not as good a cook as you are."

"Well, that's why I love it when you try," he flashed his dimples at her, and she couldn't help but smile as she began to eat too.

Once they had finished, Ji-pyeong started to pick up the dirty dishes but In-jae tapped his hand. "You know our deal for Pamper Day," she reminded him, "I'll take care of it tonight. You go relax on the couch, I'll be with you in a bit."

Ji-pyeong smiled and kissed the top of her head, then went to sit on the couch and closed his eyes.

In-jae cleared the table and quickly did the dishes, then she sat beside Ji-pyeong on the couch. He kept his eyes closed as she put her hands on either side of his head and began to massage his temples using her thumbs. He moaned, "Now this is what you're good at."

He had a small smile on his face as she continued her massage, then she said, "A weird thing happened today."

"Oh? What's that?" he asked, and she smoothed the wrinkles on his forehead.

"Nothing to worry about. Just, Dal-mi applied for a job at my company," she said.

He opened one eye to look at her, "And?"

In-jae shook her head, "And I don't know how to feel about it."

Ji-pyeong opened his eyes and sat up, then turned his back on In-jae. She knelt on the couch and began to knead his shoulders. Even if this was work-related, he knew this was personal to her and it would be easier for her to express herself when it wasn't a direct conversation, so he waited for her to continue.

"I mean, she actually did well," In-jae admitted reluctantly.

Ji-pyeong took a breath, then asked, "In-jae... why are you so angry at Dal-mi anyway? I've always wanted to ask but wasn't sure if I could bring it up."

In-jae sighed, and her hands stilled on his shoulders. "I think it's because she reminds me so much of our dad," she admitted.

"And that's a bad thing?" Ji-pyeong asked.

"I grew up hearing my mom and dad fight all the time because he was off chasing dreams but never earning enough to put food on the table. My mom was always stressed and irritable because of that, always counting bills and coins, crying because it never seemed to be enough," she said softly, and Ji-pyeong turned around to face her as she sat on the couch beside him.

"I see Dal-mi now and what they had done at Samsan Tech," In-jae shook her head, "It has Dad all over it. The vision, the worthy cause, but not profitable. I mean, if you and I hadn't found a way to tap that tiny niche of investors that would be interested in Noongil, it would've been dead in the water by now."

"Okay, can I tell you what it was like to work with Dal-mi without you flying off the handle?" he raised his eyebrow as she narrowed her eyes at him. He knew she hated it when he talked about mentoring their team, but she had to admit that she needed that insight now.

She took a deep breath and nodded, and he took her hand just to make sure she wouldn't run away. "Dal-mi's biggest strength is her sense of conviction. If she believes she can make it happen, she will move heaven and earth to make it happen. So she's resourceful, hard working, and able to rally her team behind the cause," he said, keeping his tone strictly professional.

"But?" In-jae prompted, and Ji-pyeong had to smile.

"But, her weakness is she doesn't really see the steps she needs to take to make things happen. She's a dreamer,  a good leader, but the business acumen needs work. That was where my mentorship came in. She asked a LOT of questions, so it was a good sign that she was willing to learn, but I also had to present the problems to her so that she could address them. She needs to be trained to see those problems herself."

He squeezed her hand and she looked at him. "My advice is this. Forget for a moment that she's Dal-mi. Forget how she reminds you of your dad. Just look at her credentials, think of the way she presented herself at the interview. If it had been anyone else, what would you think?"

In-jae looked at him thoughtfully, "She presented solid ideas at the interview. She had a commanding presence about her, but was very pleasant, so I could see how people would follow her and like her at the same time."

Ji-pyeong asked, "Would your team benefit to have someone like her on board?"

In-jae started to nod, but quickly shook her head. "But it's Dal-mi," she said, "Even if she is very well-suited for the job and is actually the best candidate we have so far, I can't work with her. Not after everything that's happened. Too much has been said and done."

Ji-pyeong rested his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "In-jae. I think that applying for the job and actually showing up to the interview was Dal-mi's way of reaching out to you. Maybe she's ready to leave the past behind. So the question now is, do you want to move forward to the future with her?"

She sighed deeply. "I'll have to think about that. But even then, I wouldn't even know where to start."

Ji-pyeong pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead, "I think that's enough for now then. Just think about it. You'll know what to do eventually."

In-jae climbed into his lap and hugged him tight. "Enough talking for tonight," she murmured as her lips met his, and Ji-pyeong returned her kiss by deepening it. It was their time now. The decision to hire Dal-mi could wait until Monday.