Start-Up

The Visit - In-Jae

In-jae stood in front of Dal-mi's desk and saw a music box with her name on it. With a small smile, In-jae opened it and listened to the tiny melody that played.

All weekend, she had muled over the decision to hire Dal-mi, but her thoughts always came back to their father.

Growing up, she had always resented her father for not taking care of her mother. So when her mother fell for a man who had the means to give them a lifestyle they had only dreamed of, In-jae thought they were making the right choice. She thought love would surely be born out of having a comfortable lifestyle since they had all that money.

But now that she knew that money was all that mattered to her stepfather, and now that she knew what it felt like to be loved just for who she was, she was starting to see her father in a different light. Even if he struggled to provide for them, In-jae never doubted that her father loved them.

"Why are you here?" Dal-mi interrupted her thoughts.

"Did you mean what you said at the interview?" In-jae asked without turning around, the music box still playing in her hand. "That you and I have the same goal?"

Dal-mi stepped beside her, "I told you, what you had said at Demo Day reminded me that Dad had said the same thing 15 years ago."

In-jae finally turned to her, "Yes, but even so, you and I are very different. You have to know that even if I want to change the world, the numbers still matter to me. It's still business."

Dal-mi looked at her seriously and said, "In-jae, I'll admit, I was very envious of how you enjoyed success, and thought it came easy because of your stepfather's money. But seeing you in action at Sandbox, I realized that your success wasn't because of his money, but because of you. And I want to learn from you."

In-jae crossed her arms over her chest, "I won't go easy on you though. I'll be as tough on you as I am on the rest of my team. I'll be nitpicking and criticising you every step of the way."

Dal-mi laughed and said, "After having Mr. Han as my mentor, I'm pretty sure I'm ready to have you as my boss."

In-jae let out a laugh, "He is really sharp, isn't he?" Dal-mi retorted, "That's why you're perfect for each other."

The two sisters faced each other. "Well, Dal-mi, if you're really up for this," In-jae extended her hand, "Will you be Injae Company's new Strategic Planning Manager?"

Dal-mi shook her hand and surprised In-jae by pulling her into a hug. "So we're good?" she asked as she held In-jae tight, "No more fighting? We're on the same side now?"

In-jae smiled as she squeezed Dal-mi back, "No more fighting," she promised, then pulled away and raised her eyebrow at her sister, "Except when it's about work and I don't agree with your proposals."

Dal-mi nodded happily and hugged her again. "Let's go tell Grandma, I'm sure she'll be happy to hear the news."

In-jae took the music box from her desk and closed it, slipping it into her pocket before turning to leave the room.

But before Dal-mi opened the door, she turned to In-jae and said, "By the way, you and Mr. Han, how's that going?"

In-jae startled at the question and blushed, "It's going really well."

Dal-mi opened her door a crack and took a peek outside. In-jae peeked too, and the sisters saw Grandma and Ji-pyeong busy in the kitchen. In-jae smiled at the sight of Ji-pyeong wearing a pink apron, then Dal-mi shut the door.

"You have to tell me everything," she demanded, pulling her sister to her bed.

The sisters sat cross-legged across each other and In-jae told Dal-mi that she had chanced upon Ji-pyeong at Grandma's store, but left out the part about the letter. Instead, she told her sister about how they kept in touch through the years, and how everything changed that day that she got drunk and he took her to his place to sober up.

"And how did you sober up?" Dal-mi wriggled her eyebrows suggestively and In-jae laughed, pushing her shoulder playfully as she blushed, "Not like that!"

"Then how long after?" Dal-mi demanded, and In-jae blushed harder, "Dal-mi!"

The two sisters collapsed into giggles, then Dal-mi said, "But seriously, In-jae, I like Mr. Han for you. He's a good guy." In-jae smiled when she heard the sincerity in her sister's voice, and realized that this was something she had missed all these years. As she didn't really have any friends and kept to herself often, she missed having a sister to gossip with like this.

She caught Dal-mi's eye and knew she was thinking the same thing. "Can we... I dunno... Gossip like this sometimes?" Dal-mi asked tentatively, and In-jae nodded. "I missed this," she admitted, and reached out to give her sister a hug.

As they broke apart, they were surprised to see tears welling up in their eyes. With a laugh, they wiped at their eyes and stood up. "Let's go, it smells like dinner is ready," Dal-mi said, finally opening the door to her room.

In-jae followed her out of the room and immediately caught Ji-pyeong's eye. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she smiled at him and nodded. He smiled back, flashing those beautiful dimples at her, and she thought of how lucky she was to have that smile belong to her and no one else.

Dal-mi looked back and forth at In-jae and Ji-pyeong, then grabbed her sister by the wrist and dragged her to the table. "Enough flirting! Let's eat! I'm hungry!"

In-jae and Ji-pyeong sat side by side across Dal-mi and Grandma, and spent the rest of the night chatting over the meal.

As In-jae and Ji-pyeong put food on each other's plate and bantered with one another, Grandma and Dal-mi looked at each other with a smile. It was nice to see that under that tough exterior both of them shared, the two of them actually understood each other and were so happy together. It was clear to them both: In-jae and Ji-pyeong were meant to be.