Rewriting Startup cause I loved the concept of the show but the way events turned out left me disappointed and unfulfilled.
- I'd change the entire dynamic of the love triangle and have it pretty much resolved by ep 10
- Han Jipyeong wouldn't be interested in Dal Mi romantically. He's more of an older brother type figure here who cares about Dal Mi mostly cause of his connection with her grandmother and he knows what she's been through. He still gets Dosan to pretend like he wrote the letters but it's more cause he's overprotective and doesn't want halmoni or Dal Mi to get hurt.
- Dosan and Han Ji pyeong would also develop a brotherly relationship where on one hand Han Ji pyeong thinks Dosan is an idiot and not good enough for Dal Mi but on the other hand he's also Samsan tech's mentor and wants them to succeed. He'll still be super harsh on the guys but there'll also be a lot of funny moments where he tries help Dosan seem more put together.
- The truth would be revealed at around ep 7. Dal Mi would be really confused about her feelings cause she thinks Dosan from the letters is her destiny but the real Dosan cares about her so much and they've shared so many moments together.
- She talks about destiny with Han Ji pyeong and he helps her realize that she loves Dosan. However, just before she has the chance to give in to her feelings the 2STO deal happens. Dal Mi breaks up with Dosan so he can chase his dreams but he thinks that she doesn't like him because she loves Dosan from the letters.
- Instead of competing as a love interest, I'd have Han Ji pyeong be a sort of mentor/ guardian angel in Dal Mi's life. He's someone she goes to for professional and personal advice. He's also someone who watches over Dal Mi and halmoni and finds a sense of family in them.
- The three year skip would start from ep 11. The characters would have more growth than what's shown in the actual drama. We'll see Dal Mi and Dosan fall in love again. They'll address issues they've had in the past and actually talk about Dosan's issues with violence and his whole inferiority complex.
- Han ji pyeong would be coupled with In Jae. In Jae is on a higher level professionally than Dal Mi. I always thought she and Jim Pyeong would make a good couple.
- We see in the first episode that Ji pyeong and In Jae already knew each other before Ji pyeong followed Dal Mi and halmoni. I'd have them have a semi flirty relationship from the beginning of the show. As in they aren't officially together but they have fun together whenever In Jae is in Korea.
- The whole letters fiasco could have also brought complications to their relationship and brought out In Jae's competitive edge.
- We could also see some nice couple's conflict between In Jae and Ji Pyeong where she's like who's side are you on mine or my sisters?
- I got the sense that In Jae has always grown up feeling alone. Her parents always fought and her sister was younger so she grew up feeling like she had no one to rely on in her family.
- I'd love a scene with her and Ji pyeong regarding the sand and the girl on the swing. I feel like that moment meant more to In Jae than it did to Dal Mi. As though she wished her dad had done that for her as well.
- there could be a scene where Ji Pyeong tells In Jae not to feel alone cause he is here to put sand beneath her swing. He could also help In Jae eventually reconnect with her grandmother.
- I'd also add more scenes of In Jae and Dal Mi Bondi and being the best sisters.
- everything else would be pretty much as it was in the show.
Summary: Seo Injae doesn't like the nosy Han Jipyeong, not until the moment she needed him to meddle.
Rating: T
Word count: 1440
Notes: Title taken from Seori's 'Lovers In The Night': “We could be lovers in the night, we could be strangers in the light, if it's going too fast for you.”
~
I've been a fan of Start-Up since it came out, and got hooked with Injae and Jipyeong after their lone scene together in the finale ㅜㅜ So much chemistry and potential that was only saved for a 30-second scene :( In any case, I wrote a self-indulgent fic a few months back for a friend; it was barely 500 words until I patched it up recently to publish here and on ao3, after being a silent reader of Jinjae fics for so long.
Despite the brevity and straightforwardness of the fic, I hope you enjoy! The fic is under the cut. All mistakes are mine.
At the networking party, Seo – formerly Won – Injae looked visibly uncomfortable conversing with the foreign investor whose hands were getting a little too frisky. She shied at the man's touch, turning away to flinch, but at his beck and call, returned just as quickly, beaming from ear-to-ear like she was never bothered in the first place.
Anyone who knew her would be able to tell that she was faking it.
Han Jipyeong watched from afar, blood boiling at the sight before him. While his instincts were to go after her rescue, the better part of his conscience resisted. After all, it was his meddling that got him tangled up in the long and messy thread of Seo Dalmi and Nam Dosan to begin with, and he's gone through far too much for far too long to wish that misery upon himself a second time. Jipyeong isn't getting any younger, and the true test of maturity, he believes, is to learn when to turn a blind eye.
But he can't stand seeing anybody being touched without their consent. No matter how "normal" this is supposed to be in their line of work, he could never get used to it. And if he himself can't get used to it, how could he expect Injae to?
He shouldn't go after Injae, at least not in the way he's planning to. In the milliseconds passing by, his head tells his feet to stay planted on the ground.
They don't listen.
The moment the foreigner let go of Injae to take a sip of his champagne, Jipyeong was there in a flash, placing a hand gingerly around her waist. She yelped lightly, but seemed to catch on quick: her shoulders stiffened, only for a split second, before completely losing tension at the sight of the blond European man who witnessed the brazen display of affection between the two.
Injae sank into Jipyeong's touch, offering a silent nod of acknowledgment at him. Her dimples protruded as she looked up at her beau for the night, with Jipyeong's own smile following suit. He could swear it was like looking into a mirror.
Then, knowing the businessman couldn't speak their language, she muttered through gritted teeth, "Are you always this nosy?"
Injae's laugh was thick like honey, trying to mask the sharpness of the thinly veiled remark she directed at Jipyeong. It almost scared him just how well she could fake her emotions.
But two can play at that game.
Jipyeong switched his grip from Injae's waist to her shoulder, rubbing circles around it with his thumb. "You can let go if you don't need my help," he whispered.
If Injae was annoyed, she didn't show it, at least not in front of anybody. Instead, she grabbed Jipyeong's hand, intertwined it with hers, and didn't let go the entire night.
—
Walking out of the noise-filled venue, Injae's blurred purple vision clears, not that there's much to be seen in the dark anyway. One lonely light envelops the otherwise empty entrance, and all she hears at the moment are the cicadas in the night, and the footsteps of somebody following closely behind her. Steam comes out of her mouth as she sighs, realizing how cold it actually is in her sleeveless evening gown.
She had finally let go of Jipyeong's hand, but his suit jacket was wrapped around her body, hugging her exposed shoulders warmly.
"Just so you know, I didn't enjoy a single second of that," Injae snipped.
"Okay," Jipyeong allows, voice tone a little higher than it usually is, indicating that he's not the slightest bit convinced. He's mocking her. Injae almost snarls at him for being so nonchalant about this, for being so cocky, for having the audacity to be amused at the thought of getting her flustered.
But the truth is, she is somehow thankful. Mostly relieved, that out of everybody who could have stepped in, it was him – somebody she already respects, and definitely someone she could even learn to trust, in time.
While they're co-workers at Sandbox, they're also, in some weird unprecedented way, family. Jipyeong was closer to Injae's own grandmother than she was, but it was never an issue for her. In fact, she's glad there's someone to fill her shoes in all the years she was an absentee granddaughter. She's making up for all the time lost now, and as she navigates her way through a normal life with her real family, Jipyeong is present for those moments too.
They don't talk, not as often as they do with Dalmi separately, but they're civil. Because of that, Injae knows Jipyeong did this out of genuine concern for her.
If it were anybody else, she definitely would have caused a scene.
Injae's valet arrives, and the pair made their separate ways. Without so much as a goodbye, there was a quiet agreement between the two of them to forget all about this little roleplay.
—
The next few days at work were relatively uneventful for Jipyeong, and he doesn't know why he's disappointed.
He half-expected and half-hoped to run into Injae somehow, to feel the same rush that he did during that night, despite the promise that they would never bring it up again. He couldn't even bask in the awkwardness like the masochist that he is, because he never saw her within those days, not even once.
Is she avoiding me? he wondered. And for the better part of those seemingly dead-end days at the office, that was all he could think about.
It wasn't until Injae came running to him the next morning that he realized she wasn't.
"Han Jipyeong!" she called, but he didn't budge. Finally catching up to him, Injae said his name again, this time much more loudly, pulling on his suit before he could even take another step.
Jipyeong turned around, shocked that Injae was even there.
She was out of breath, and he was half-asleep. All-in-all, not a good combination.
Injae cut to the chase. "Dalmi is setting me up with someone," she complained, sounding restless. She's a woman who wastes no time, indeed. With those words hanging in the air, Jipyeong finally had a vague idea as to why she was blocking him in the middle of Sandbox's footbridge.
And that woke him up better than Youngsil ever could.
"I thought you hated me," he quipped, crossing his arms. He's testing the waters.
"I don't hate you," Injae pressed, "I hate that you're intrusive."
Then, she rattled off, "I can usually handle things like this on my own, but Dalmi hasn't stopped with this nonsense and she has been very candid that she has no plans on stopping until she finds the 'perfect guy' for me. I already have enough on my plate as it is, and – "
Injae bit her lip and sighed, embarrassed at the admission of defeat.
Jipyeong finds it endearing.
"Just one day," she begged, eyes sparkling up at Jipyeong. It was the one striking feature that the Seo sisters shared, and he softened once he locked eyes with the older sibling.
He didn't know what else to say, except that he was definitely flattered that Injae thinks Dalmi would stop meddling in her sister's affairs if she presented Jipyeong as her boyfriend.
Boyfriend, he repeated in his head. Seo Injae's boyfriend. It may be an act, but it's rolling off the tongue better than he imagined. He breathed an amused smile to himself, which Injae definitely caught.
She blinked at him with doe eyes as he offered his hand, probably astonished by the fact that her plan (which was barely even a plan, Jipyeong thought. She could at least have given him a pitch) actually worked, but she firmly took the invitation anyway.
They walked to the office in silence hand-in-hand, which, in retrospect, they didn't actually need to do. Jipyeong could try to deceive himself with a rational explanation: maybe they were practicing. Maybe Injae was just excited and got carried away.
Were they still pretending? He didn't care.
What Injae didn't know was that Jipyeong would have dived in headfirst with this crazy plan in a heartbeat, that the way he felt with her at that party was like an itch he couldn't scratch, that he was just waiting for an opening to feel that way again.
What Injae didn't know was that if even if she didn't ask first, Jipyeong would have interrupted her date anyway.
"Hold your head up," he told her in the elevator, his hand still tightly intertwined with hers. "And remember: you can let go if you don't need me anymore."
