Start-Up

Five Years Later

"Jin-gyu, go get your sister," Ji-pyeong heard In-jae call out, and he smiled as he heard the sound of tiny footsteps running down the hallway.

"Mommy! Hye-won is still in the bathroom!" his son called out, and Ji-pyeong couldn't help but laugh. He finished packing up all of their lunches, then went into the kids' bedroom where he found In-jae zipping up their backpacks.

"Go finish getting dressed, I'll handle this," he said with a smile, and she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before rushing back to their bedroom.

"First one to get to the door gets to ride on Daddy's back later!" he bellowed, and he grinned as he heard his kids shrieking in their mad rush to get to the door first.

Minutes later, they were all out the door and in the car, and In-jae grinned at him from the passenger seat. "Record time yet again," she said, tapping her watch. "Don't worry, we'll make it, I already told Ms. Yoon that we just need to drop off the kids," he said, glancing quickly at the rearview mirror to check on the kids.

He brought the car to a stop in front of the gate, and he and In-jae each carried one child out of the car. "Hi, Mom," they said in unison as they both kissed her on either cheek. "Grandma!" Both kids yelled happily as they hugged her around the waist. 

"Is Grandma awake?" In-jae asked, glancing up at the house.

Mom shook her head, "She's still taking a nap. You can both see her later when you pick up the kids. Now go, you're going to be late!"

Ji-pyeong and In-jae both crouched down to hug and kiss their kids goodbye. "Be good, okay? Give Granny a kiss for us when she wakes up. We'll see you later."

"Bye Mommy! Bye Daddy!" the kids waved as Mom ushered them into the house.

Ji-pyeong and In-jae got into the car and sped towards Sandbox.

"Mmm, don't forget that we have that stockholder's meeting with Hong Ji-Seok this afternoon," In-jae said, and Ji-pyeong smiled. "What?" she asked, and he shook his head. "I'm just glad you invested all that time and effort to mentor him all those years ago," Ji-pyeong replied, "He's doing so well for himself now. It's nice to see how far he's come."

In-jae smirked, "Well, it's not just him. Everyone's come pretty far. The expansion plan for Cheong Myeong Company is on track, and Dal-mi's really grown into a great CEO. I hardly have to check her work now."

Ji-pyeong laughed, "And she doesn't ambush me anymore before presenting to you. But Do-san texts me in the middle of the night, complaining that she's still practicing on him and he can't sleep."

In-jae laughed at that, then her smile softened as she said, "You and I have come pretty far too."

He reached for her hand as he kept his eyes on the road, and squeezed it tight. "Who'd have thought we'd be Mommy and Daddy, right?"

"I never would have imagined it five years ago, but I'm so glad we are. You're an amazing father," she said as she squeezed his hand. "You're a pretty amazing mom yourself," he replied, lifting her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

Ji-pyeong parked the car at Sandbox then turned to In-jae as he killed the engine. "Now it's time for us to go get some new kids," he winked, and she laughed. "Easy there, let's get through the relay lecture first, then we'll see what these start-ups have got."

They got out of the car and walked into Sandbox hand in hand. As they entered the backstage of the auditorium, they heard Ms. Yoon say, "Ah, our two mentors have arrived! Are you ready, Mr. and Mrs. Han?"

Ji-pyeong and In-jae glanced at each other as the tech people rushed to hook up the lapel microphones on them, then they turned to their mentor with a smile. "Let's do this," they said, and Ms. Yoon smiled at them.

Together, they walked on to the stage and took their seats. Ji-pyeong and In-jae looked out into the audience, wondering whose lives they might change with their mentorship and guidance. After all, Sandbox had changed their lives, and they took every opportunity to pay it forward.

They stole a glance at each other and shared a secret smile, right before the blinding lights came on.

"Welcome to Sandbox!"