Diving Stock
After congratulating one another, episode 6 of Start-Up begins with Dal-Mi trying to find Ji-Pyeong. Only, he’s left and head outside after feeling jealous over the hug. When Dal-Mi finds out he’s gone, she tries to find him but it’s Do-San who does first. He admits that he told a half-truth to Dal-Mi surrounding Ji-Pyeong helping him win her over. However, he also told her that the pair are “like brothers”. Ji-Pyeong is impressed, but under that impressiveness is obviously a tinge of jealousy. Meanwhile, Dal-Mi busies herself with random strangers in the bar as her Mother shows her face. Obviously she’s really there for her but manages to disguise it quite well. Dal-Mi gloats that she got into Sand Box and quickly walks away. Her mother grins proudly at her daughter as she leaves…while In-Jae watches from afar. At Sand Box the next day, Do-San and Dal-Mi both show up wearing the same clothes. They’ve also been assigned their new office too, which is right next to In-Jae’s company. As they head in and settle into their roles, Sa-Ha returns and makes herself at home. Dong-Chun arrives and briefs the team after confirming to them that they’re going to get 100 million won investment. Chul-San asks what “due diligence” means, prompting Sa-Ha to walk out in disgust. When she does, Dong-Chun continues and mentions the various different investors that are working with them. Alex, Ji-Pyeong, In-Jae’s step-father Doo-Jung and Sun-Hak are the four main players here. In-Jae is not happy with her step-father being there though and during her investor interview, snubs him completely. Instead, she chooses Sun-Hak. As we soon see from a flashback, the reason why is because In-Jae overheard her mentioning the origin of Sand Box’s name. She decided to use that to try and get a leg up on the competition, pretending she – not Dal-Mi – is the inspiration behind the company. Ji-Pyeong however, is not happy given he knows the truth. Next up for the interviews is Dal-Mi who heads in and decides to use Ji-Pyeong as Samsan’s mentor over Alex. The main reason is because he’s shown a much greater interest in their company. Dal-Mi has not forgotten the moments he saved Do-San and implores the man to continue that track record going forward. He stays true to his name though and checks over the shareholder list for how Samsan are splitting their funds. Ji-Pyeong is not happy with the share and is convinced that no one will invest if they continue that way. They need to give absolute power to the CEO early on – something In-Jae has learned the hard way and is wise to. In order to protect their company, they need to decide on a “key man” and give that person the most amount of shares – preferably between 60 or 90%. The group fight over the 100 million won investment, while Ji-Pyeong takes Dal-Mi aside and tells her she’s the problem here. As things simmer down, Dal-Mi heads back inside their office again and speaks to Do-San, asking him to take her home. There, Dal-Mi propositions changing her role but Do-San is adamant that Dal-Mi should continue as the CEO. Seemingly on the same page about the company, Do-San rejects heading in to see Won-Deok that evening. As the evening draws on and tensions simmer down, Chul-San and Yong-San sit and talk together about the origins of their company. Originally it was known as Do-San tech. Do-San’s excellent coding skills helped Chul-San out with a nasty ransomware issue he had at work. Yong-San showed up with the 100 million won (the amount Chul-San needed to cough up) after quitting his job. Only, when he learns that’s no longer needed, they seemingly use that as an investment into the company instead. As the camera rotates around, we see the office changing over time with a new logo (Samsan) and a tight comradeship being formed between the boys. The next day, Ji-Pyeong awakens to over 450 messages from Dal-Mi. He heads straight to the bookshop and begins answering her questions one by one. He’s brutally honest and tells her she can either be a good person or a CEO – not both. Meanwhile, a milk scare sees Chul-San worried that he may be going blind. Thankfully, the doctor quells any doubts but this incident is enough to bring the boys closer together. Back at Sand Box, Dal-Mi holds a meeting with renewed vigor, intending to stamp her authority as CEO. She immediately stands up to Sa-Ha’s attitude and gives her an ultimatum in order to get shares. It’s something that immediately makes her sit upright and begrudgingly agree to work with them. Do-San’s revised shareholder bill sees Do-San as the main CEO with Dal-Mi changing her role slightly. Although Ji-Pyeong worries that it will confuse investors, Dal-Mi is convinced that this is the right thing to do. Do-San speaks to Ji-Pyeong and is convinced that telling Dal-Mi the truth about everything is the right thing to do. That evening, Do-San heads over to Dal-Mi’s house where he sees Won-Deok for the first time. She tells him not to mention anything, leading the duo to continue pretending to know each other. During the epilogue, we cut back and see a hooded figure placing that note up about the revenge. This mysterious person puts a flower up by the bridge and, as we cut back in time, we see it’s linked to Sun-Hak. While the snow falls, she continues to see fragments of someone from her past who looked like he was about to jump. Back in the present, this mysterious person stands outside Samsan’s office
The Episode Review
As the companies get up and running, this episode predominantly revolves around the shareholders and Dal-Mi growing as a confident CEO. Unbeknownst to her though, Do-San and Ji-Pyeong’s lies continue as the former calls Ji-Pyeong his brother. Sooner or later the truth is going to be revealed and I can’t help but feel it’s going to lead to a serious rift growing in Samsan – especially given the shareholder split in Do-San’s favour. There’s also that mystery which is starting to seep into this Korean drama as a face from the past looms in the shadows. Who could this be? It does seem a bit random but it’s either going to be a massive shock and someone from the past or someone entirely new character intending to stir things up a bit. Who do you think it is? Let us know in the comments below!
