'Start-Up' Episode 9 Promo: Will Dal-mi break Do-san's heart over truth about Ji-pyeong and end Samsan Tech?
When Nam Do-san (Nam Joo-hyuk) had unequivocally stood up for Seo Dal-mi (Bae Suzy) during their meeting with Dal-mi's stepfather, she had fallen for him and had kissed him because she was completely moved by his support in 'Start-Up'. She had also believed that the little boy who had written her letters in the past is the same man that she has begun to date now, so she didn't have to choose one over the other. However, if she had to, like when her grandmother had pushed her to make a choice, she said that she would choose the little boy as he happened to be her first love. This is not Nam Do-san but Ji-pyeong (Kim Seon-ho) and from the end of the episode promo, we wonder if the truth's out.
We see Dal-mi in tears and ask Do-san why he lied. Do-san also looks distraught as he said that he did not want to see Dal-mi in tears and that is why he didn't tell her anything. This could be in reference to two things though. Firstly, this could be about the truth that he and Ji-pyeong had hidden from her along with Dal-mi's grandmother. Second, it could be about her grandmother's illness which is also something that Do-san had hidden from Dal-mi initially. You see, at the beginning of the promo, we see Dal-mi, her grandmother and Do-san visit a beach, watch a sunset and lead a happy day after Dal-mi learns about her grandmother's illness. She also tells Do-san that she is worried because at the moment, she is too happy for anything to be real.
Then we see Do-san speaking to Ji-pyeong and ask him if he wants to snatch the only thing that Do-san has ever had. Is he talking about Samsan Tech or Dal-mi? It has to be related to Samsan Tech somehow because we also see Do-san's father tell his son that he is disappointed. This cannot be right, considering how his son had got an investor to pour in the money for the upcoming three years. So what exactly has gone wrong is something that we can figure out only after the episode airs. While Do-san is struggling on one end, Ji-pyeong is too because we see him tell Dal-mi's grandmother that he cannot help but think of "her". We, of course, assume that the "her" here is none other than Dal-mi. We also see him walk away angrily in rain before Dal-mi's grandmother rushes to hold an umbrella for him. Could this be the culmination of the love triangle that has been teased since the very beginning?
Finally, we see Dal-mi ask Do-san, "Why did you lie?" with tears in her eyes and Do-san responds in tears himself, "Because you might cry". Will this spell the end for their partnership as Do-san's friends had expected? Is this the bug that Do-san was worried would occur anytime soon. Whatever it is, we wonder how this will influence Samsan Tech's program in Sandbox.
'Start-Up' will air on tvN on Saturdays and Sundays at 9 pm KST, and can be streamed on Netflix in the US.