Part 1 is here: Start-Up: Ep 15 Minimum Viable Product, Part 1

To recap what I said at the end of Part 1:

MVP = Minimum Viable Product, a product with enough features to attract early adopters and validate a product idea
MVP = Most Valuable Player

We already had three examples:

1. Tarzan. It’s the prototype of a self-driving car with the safety features that drivers wanted.
Feedback was great; it was good enough that Dalmi could submit a bid for a DQ contract.

2. The Tarot Card app, “Believe it or not.” It’s an app being tested to see if it was a practical and usable.
Feedback was a no. The guys didn’t believe it; the gals liked it but Dalmi didn’t believe in it.

3. The OLD Dosan. From the beginning, he had enough features to attract Dalmi.
Feedback was excellent. Although JP hated his guts, the intended “user” Dalmi loved him. Other users (e.g., the guys, his parents, Granny) liked him, too.

The OLD Dosan had only one feature – his hands – but it was enough for Dalmi.

I said he was the earliest, lovable product available on the market, anyway. His competitor had a “failure to launch.”

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Continuing Part 2, then.

1. The letters

As Dosan was placing all the letters in a box to return to JP, he saw the music box letter that started it all for him. Dalmi had written that she received a beautiful music box from her father for her 9th birthday.

lol. Look at the stationery. “I’m writing a letter to the one I love.” 

As he was reading the letter, JP called him up to arrange a meeting place for the swap. They had agreed to exchange the money tree for the letters, but now after reading the music box letter, Dosan was backing out. He told JP, “I don’t need the tree. I’m keeping the letter.”

This scene reminds me of a custody battle. If I were the judge here, and the letters and the money tree were children that the divorcing parents, Dosan and JP, were fighting over, I’d award the letters and plant to Dosan, and JP would get nothing.

You see, JP committed a few things that sabotaged his chances of full custody. lol.

One. JP talked negatively about the letters.

If letters were his children, he bashed them and blamed their embarrassing conduct on his ex-wife. Fangirls may have a short memory, but I don’t.

From Ep 3, 1:02:02.

Dosan: The fact that you wrote the letters, not me…can you keep that a secret?
JP: I want to because I’m embarrassed I wrote about them.

If the letters were so precious to him, then why was he embarrassed to have produced them?

Two. JP didn’t want to own the letters.

Put it this way: if letters were children, he denied paternity. lol.

He had the chance to come clean with Dalmi that he was the letter-writer, but he didn’t. Instead, he always blamed Granny for making him write those letters.

And here.

Then, in Ep 10, Dalmi asked him, “Who wrote the letters 15 years ago? Was it Dosan or you?”

All he had to do was to make an affirmative claim. Like this: “I wrote the letters.” But instead, he began with an explanation. “Your grandma asked me for a favor. She wanted to give you a friend. So I wrote the letters.”

Do you get the difference? By beginning with an explanation, he was distancing himself from the act itself. He was stating an excuse that he had “no choice” but to write the letters because her Grandma asked for a favor.

He should have answered this way, “I wrote the letters. It began as a favor. Your grandma wanted to give you a friend. But I continued to write you because I needed a friend, too.”

There! Had he said it that way, had he not weaseled out, I would have liked him this much more.

I always said that he didn’t need to involve Granny in it. Granny was just a “middleman.”

But if he had claimed those letters as his, then Dosan didn’t need to enter in the picture. But JP washed his hands of those letters. He didn’t want to have anything to do with those letters, so he was willing to pay Dosan 2 million won to clean up the mess for him.

Edited to add this: 12/11/2020

In Episode 1, at 36:45, the young JP was shown retrieving one of Dalmi’s letters from the mailbox. He didn’t smile; he sighed. He didn’t look elated to receive letter from her. Instead, he looked like he was resigned to write a letter in response to Dalmi.

Three. He ignored the letters.

If letters were children, he wasn’t committed to them. After writing to Dalmi for months, he formed a bond with his old pen pal that if she were to ask him for a favor, he would come running to help her.

He knew that Dalmi was going to the networking party alone. But he didn’t go there for HER sake but for Grandma’s sake.

Question: Why do you think he was looking at the shoes Grandma gave him?
Answer: He was remembering his FAVOR to Grandma.

The director was very clear about this. Go back to Episode 2 and watch that montage that the director filmed and edited. As Dalmi was reading her music box letter, the three characters were shown doing their own thing.

First, Dosan was reading her letter.
Next, Dalmi was getting dressed up. She went to her desk and looked at music box and
Then, JP was taking out Granny’s shoe and recalling the time she followed him to the bus depot with the shoes.
And Dosan was reading Dalmi’s text, “I’m meeting my sister today. Can you come?”

Do you notice the significance of these shots? They were holding their “reason” for going to the party.

Dosan: Dalmi’s letter
Dalmi: her father’s memory
JP: Grandma’s request

and finally,

Dosan: Dalmi’s request. He was the one who answered her desperate plea.

And look again at the contrast: the director shot this angle to show us JP’s closet full of clothes.

Meanwhile, Dosan had to borrow a suit because he had none.

BTW, that’s the whole meaning of Dosan’s suit, okay? Before, he didn’t even own a suit. Now, he had plenty of his suit.

He had to get his hair trimmed because it looked untidy. He had to take a bus to get there because he had no car. He took the trouble to show up because Dalmi asked him even though he didn’t really know Dalmi.

Meanwhile, JP showed up only because he had a last-minute attack of conscience. He had to make a U-turn because he really wasn’t planning on going.

The meaning of a U-turn: he didn’t intend to go but he REGRETTED his decision at the last moment. Mr. Regrets.

One last note on the letters:

JP fans made much of JP’s letter which Dalmi used as a handwriting sample.

If you must know it, here’s the translation. I asked @Ella to look for it in the internet. Thanks, @Ella.

Dalmi-yah,

I’ve lived the same daily routine everyday until now. Waking up in the morning, going to school, listening to a lesson, and when its time, I go back home, living my life routinely like this like a wheel. But because you’re here in these days of mine, my everydays are changing. I think of you, wait for you, think about your day, I feel like my days recently are filled with you.

Even though its simple, these routines give me joy. I’m happy when I wait for you because I feel excited, and I’m happy when I receive your letters because I feel satisfied, and when I send letters to you I imagine you receiving those letters with a smile and it makes me happy. I want to thank you for allowing me to have these love-filled days. I don’t know if we can stay happy like this forever, but if you stay with me, and always be with me like this, I think it might be possible.

From Dosan.

credit: seonhohappy’s twitter

Romantic words, huh?

But I must ask what is this letter good for.

For one, Dalmi glanced at it, but the words didn’t evoke any nostalgia. To me, that says a lot about her attachment to the contents for the letter. Zero.

For another, the director didn’t attach any meaning to the letter. Despite the romantic contents, it was used only as a writing specimen.

For me, this letter is as significant as the 461 questions that JP answered for Dalmi. His answers, too, weren’t shown because the contents themselves were immaterial to the plot. They were “props” to segue into the main point(s) of the scene.

Here’s the scene about the 461 answers from Episode 7.

JP: Hold on, Ms. Seo. Did you check my email?
Dalmi: My email? No not yet.
JP: Those questions you sent me. I emailed you my answers, so check when you get a moment.
Dalmi: What? I texted you over 400 questions. You answered all of them?
JP: Right, 461 questions in total. I answered them all.

We all saw how he looked pointedly at Dosan.

Lol. That look of his actually revealed more than it should. Here’s my takeaway.

First, the 461 answers were his bragging rights. He was proud of his effort. He spent a lot of time answering them. (Give him a round of applause here!) But he also wanted to crow and receive appreciation for spending a lot of time.

Now do you see what I’m getting at? 🙂

Dosan didn’t brag about the hours he spent making NoonGil, did he? NoonGil was pivotal to the story than the 461 answers.

Second, they showed his character flaw. He used them to provoke Dosan, like he did with the scrunchie. Throughout the story, you have to watch those scenes when he used Dalmi to score points against Dosan. Whenever he did this, it turned him into a petty man and it cheapened his thoughtful gesture towards Dalmi.

To continue —

Dalmi: (gasping) Seriously. You’re amazing. Thank you so much. I really mean it. Then, to thank you I will…
JP: (spotting a lint on her head) You have something on…

This was the perfect time for him to step forward and remove it himself. But he got distracted because Dalmi mentioned her goal to become an outstanding CEO. Then, JP being JP, he couldn’t pass up the chance at being a “Negative Ned.”

Dalmi: I’ll do whatever it takes to become an outstanding CEO.
JP: You can’t achieve that on determination alone.
Dalmi: Right, I can’t. But without determination, I won’t go anywhere.

JP kept looking at the thread. But he clenched his fist and pulled it back. Mr. Regrettsssss.

JP: All right. Let’s go Dosan.
Dosan: Alright.
JP: The car’s here.
Dosan: Give me a second.

Note: I like how Dosan “faked out” JP here. This was like a basketball move. He appeared to walk towards JP, then he suddenly swerved and headed for Dalmi. He stopped right in front of her, blocking out JP.

Before JP could react, Dosan was already out of his sight.

Dosan: Hey, I forgot to answer your question about the shares. You’re our CEO who holds 71 percent of the shares. I am part of your shares and I got your back. And we’ll always be a team no matter what happens.

It’s not just a number game. Who needed to read 461 answers when she had 71 percent of the shares?

He spotted the thread on Dalmi’s hair, and without skipping a beat, halting in mid-speech, or  hesitating,

he reached out and removed it from her hair.

JP saw Dosan’s smooth move and knew that he should have done it himself. He’s Mr. Regrets.

Dosan: (holding Dalmi by the shoulders) So trust me and don’t worry, okay?
Dalmi: Okay.

Dosan rubbed her hair affectionately.

Dalmi: Go home
Dosan: All right. It’s chilly. Go back inside.

And he held her shoulders against and she held his arms.

So…what were the main points of this scene?

JP might have answered 461 questions, but Dosan was the swoon-worthy one here. He showed JP that he didn’t take orders from him. More importantly, he showed JP (and the viewers if they weren’t blinded by JP’s dimples) that he was a man of action. He didn’t quibble about removing the fiber from her hair. And he asserted his dominance when he exchanged goodbyes with Dalmi with much affection — and skinship.

The 461 Qs&As were irrelevant to the romance.

And that’s how that romantic letter from JP should also be viewed. The contents were irrelevant to the romance because the endgame wasn’t meant to be JP…from the beginning of the story.

2. Envy

I already explained it here. To be fair again

I said that this writer (and director too) used “pathetic fallacy.” I said that whenever JP experienced a turbulent emotion, the storm occurred. I said that the storm was a sign that he was possessed with envy or jealousy. I said that the rainstorms weren’t a sign of the gods favoring JP.

I said a lot of things, didn’t I? 🙂 But I also provided ALL three instances of stormy weather to prove what I said.

One, it rained hard when JP envied Dosan for being hugged surrounded by his parents.

Two, it thundered when JP envied the attention that Dosan received from Alex. The guys wondered they settled for JP when there was a much better mentor from 2STO available. But he had to control his fury because Dalmi was smiling at him for being a “good” hyung to Dosan.

Three, it rained too when JP became jealous because Grandma didn’t want him interfering in the romance of Dosan and Dalmi.

But didn’t you notice that it didn’t rain in Episode 15? It was because JP was FINALLY recognizing and resolving his envy.

JP admitted that he envied Dosan for having a family while Dosan confessed that he envied JP for one and only thing reason: his past connection with Dalmi.

At the end of the drama, they both got what they desired the most.

JP got Grandma, the family that he always wanted.

The Yeongsil device foretold all this but JP fangirls misconstrued it. Yeongsil said, “Today, the god of fate will send a gentle breeze into your peaceful life. You may run into someone you met briefly in the past at an unexpected place.”

Look: the gentle breeze is Dalmi. She was the gentle breeze that made JP’s reunion with Grandma possible. Grandma was the most meaningful person in his life, not Dalmi.

And Dosan got his Dalmi.

Dosan: Mr. Han. I’m really curious about something.
JP: What?
Dosan: About that letter. Granma told me that you saw my name in the newspaper. You used my name because I looked smart, and kind.
JP: No. No. I’ll tell you the real reason. I did it out of envy. I saw your parents congratulating you on winning the medal and taking photos with you on TV. And I really envied your life. That’s why I used your name.

Dosan: I envied you a lot.
JP: Me? Why? Why would you envy me? Because of my river-view apartment? My car? Or my watch?

We knew this already. During their sleepover at Dalmi’s house, Dosan was clear that he wouldn’t trade Dalmi for any of his possessions.

Dosan: No. A long time ago, I asked Dalmi why she liked me. And this was her answer. (You’re my first love.) That’s you. So I asked her again, and she said, (Your letters comforted me for a long time). That was also you. So I asked her again, and she finally said something that was actually about me. (You have nice, big hands.) She likes me because I have big hands.

He displayed his big hand to JP.

Dosan: That’s it. So I tried very hard to outdo all the memories that you two share with this one thing alone, but it certainly wasn’t enough.
JP: If you know that, will you give up already?
Dosan: That, I can’t do.
JP: What, then? You’ll love her forever knowing it won’t be reciprocated?
Dosan: Yes. I’ll love her forever.

Ella mentioned that Dosan actually said the number of years.

천년만년” or a thousand years ten thousand years..

JP actually brought it up first when he asked Dosan if he was willing to be in a one-sided love for 10 million years. His intent was to make Dosan realize how futile and painful a one-sided love would be.

But Dosan replied, “Deh. Chun yeon mahn yeon.”

Which literally means, “Yes. A thousand years, thousand years.”
Which mathematically means, “For ten million years.”
chun = 1,000
mahn = 10,000
chun mahn = a thousand mahn or 1,000 x 10,000 = ten million
yeon = years

Which in plain English means, “Forever.”

Like Ella, I thought this was a romantic thing to say because this guy didn’t believe in wishing on rainbows and praying to God.

It was also romantic because this was a guy who declared “I might’ve failed, but I have no regrets. Never did and never will.” He was resigned that he failed to make her love him, but he never regretted anything and would never will.

Most importantly, this was romantic because this guy did exactly what Cyrano de Bergerac did in that French play.

I liked JP because I thought he was Cyrano. But I got over that silly notion after seeing how he treated the Samsan Tech guys, the start-up companies with a social mission, Grandma, Dalmi, and his real Precioouuuusssss.  JP didn’t possess that quality of selfless love that Cyrano displayed for Roxanne. Cyrano never revealed that he was the letter-writer. He didn’t want to disillusion Roxanne after she already lost Christian. So he chose instead to become Roxanne’s faithful companion, staying by her side till the very end.

Dosan chose the same end as well. He was the real Cyrano here. His love letters were writ large in the software codes he wrote for her. lol.

credit: Cyrano poster from openagenda.com

3. Grandma’s example

While Dosan was talking about Dalmi, Dalmi was thinking of him, too. She wanted to “sail without a map” but her rational self and her “once bitten, twice shy” self wouldn’t allow her to embark on this foolhardy business venture.

Fortunately, she found Grandma awake at this ungodly hour. Grandma was busily preparing batter for the corndog for the corndog shop her daughter-in-law had set up for her.

To me, there’s a parallelism to be found in this scene.

The daughter-in-law was like Dosan. The daughter-in-law knew what was bothering her mother-in-law (MIL). She knew her MIL was missing her corndog stand which she was forced to close because of her poor eyesight. So she bought a shop to pressure her MIL into supervising her in this business venture.

Dosan was like the daughter-in-law. He too knew what was bothering Dalmi. He knew that the OLD Dalmi would have wanted to go after this smart city planning contract but that she was holding herself back out of fear of losing her team again.

So he pitched the idea himself to force her to reconsider her “risk attitude.” If there was anybody who could “lure” her to get back into the sea again after being capsized by a giant wave, it would be Dosan.

After all, Dosan survived the shipwreck (and other disappointments in life) and became stronger from his struggles.

In addition to the Dosan/daughter-in-law connection, there was also Grandma/Dalmi connection. Ostensibly, Grandma disliked her daughter-in-law’s corndog shop. She complained about the work it would bring. And she thought it was a losing proposition. Deep down inside, however, she was looking forward to it.

Dalmi was like her Grandma. If she truly didn’t want to bid on the smart car contract, then she would have accepted the Tarot card app warning and dismissed the issue. After all, Dosan said he was willing to accept her decision either way.

But the REAL reason she was having insomnia was because she was looking for a “divine” intervention to VALIDATE her REAL choice. And she found her answer in Grandma. If her Grandma could courageously — and happily — undertake a new business at her age and with her disability, then she could, too.

Dalmi: I think the shop will do well.
Grandma: How? I can’t even see. It won’t work. Still, we should try. What can I do, you know?

Her comment made Dalmi think. To me, Dalmi could say exactly the same thing about her own dilemma. She could say, “How can our company do well? How can we compete? It’s not possible. Not when we’re too small going up against big, established firms. This won’t work. Still, we should try. What can I do, you know? Dosan and I can do this together.”

Dalmi: Grandma. Thank you.
Grandma: (stirring her batter mix) What? For what?
Dalmi: (standing up) I found my answer.

Note: I don’t think she FOUND her answer so much as she CONFIRMED her answer. She was looking for proof or outward sign that would support her own decision.

Grandma: What?
Dalmi: Thanks, Grandma.

In a way, Grandma was also an MVP or Minimum Viable Product in this scene. Here’s the definition again:

MVP = Minimum Viable Product, a product with enough features to attract early adopters and validate a product idea

a. Grandma had enough “features” (yes, she was blind, but she was good at stirring batter, AND great at giving advice),
b. She attracted early adopters (literally, she attracted the attention of the early riser, Dalmi) and
c. She validated a product idea (she validated Dalmi’s idea to compete for the big project).

Do you see that?

5. JP’s Confession

JP: Listen up. I won’t say this twice. Stop feeling inferior to me. Work on your self-esteem and look at Dalmi again. Then you’ll know who she really likes. With those hands alone, you beat our memories.

lol. When I pointed out the importance of the hands in my First Impressions, I didn’t expect the metaphor to continue till then end of this kdrama. Usually, metaphors are only good for a handful of episodes.  

Just saying. Start-Up: Ep 15 A Smile or a Smirk?

6. The Confession

Dosan: What are you doing here?
Dalmi: Just thinking about my first day here. You wrote one, too, didn’t you?
Dosan: Mmm. Yes, I did.
Dalmi: What is the probability of me finding the one that you wrote?
Dosan: Not sure. I think there are about 5,000 of these so maybe around 0.0002 percent?
Dalmi: Would the probability of us winning the bid be around that as well? Let’s do this. If I manage to find yours in one minute, we will bid on that project.
Dosan: But this has nothing to do with that.

I don’t think JP fangirls appreciate the joke because of their collective meltdown.

There was no way Dalmi would find his tag. She had only a minute to find it in a wall with 5000 other tags. She’s searching for that proverbial needle in a haystack. Was she counting on her luck? Remember what she said to Saha at the Hackathon? She had no college degree, and she underqualified, but “luck made her a CEO.”

Dalmi: (ignoring him) Starting now. Which side? Just tell me that. This side, right?

Flashback! As she was looking for his tag, he was remembering his last conversation with JP.

Dalmi: You’re tall, so maybe it’s up there.

She obviously wasn’t going to find his tag. Dosan looked sad and then he plucked his own tag and handed it to her.

You know, we can 1,001 interpretations of Dosan’s facial expression. I’m NOT forcing you to believe mine. But since this is my blog, you’re getting my interpretation whether you like it or not. lol.

Here’s MY interpretation. Dosan could see through her act. She was trying to make light of the situation; she was trying to make a game of it. Why? Because she really wanted to make a bid but she didn’t want to appear reckless.

🙂 Do you get what I’m saying?

a. To any rational person, to make a bid was an irrational, illogical, reckless.
b. She wanted to make a bid BUT she didn’t want to appear irrational, illogical, reckless.
c. So she came up with this silly game, hoping to cover up her real desire as just “fun and games.”
d. She was bluffing. She counting on luck (I mentioned this, right?) to get her through. Remember what her mom said, ““Bluffing without a real plan makes you a fraud. Sorting things out afterward makes you the same as your father.”
e. Dosan, as usual, could see through her act.
f. The OLD Dalmi wouldn’t have hesitated to grin at him and tell him that they’d go “sailing without a map.”
g. He was sad for her because she didn’t think he could see that she was bluffing.
h. He decided to step in and put her out of her misery. He was ending the game.
i. Just like when he decided to answer her text and show up at the networking party, he was stepping in. He was deciding for them both.
j. This way, if the bidding failed and the company floundered, it was because HE made the call. He called the shot. Not Dalmi.
k. He would be the reckless one for both of them.

There! That’s my interpretation. Take it or leave it. lol.

Dosan: This is mine. (she turned to face him) We found it, so let’s do it.
Dalmi: (getting it from him) But I was supposed to find it.

She read the tag. He’d written, “I want to turn a misunderstanding into reality.”

Dalmi: Does this mean…

Yes. He joined the Sand Box so he could become the dream guy/cool guy/Dalmi’s penpal that he pretended to be.

Dosan: Dalmi. Why do you like me? I’m not your first love, and I didn’t write those letters. I lied to you, and hurt you. I can’t think of a single reason why you’d like me. Just my hands. That’s it. Why do you like me?

He was saying that he was NOT an MVP, a “Minimum Viable Product, a product with enough features to attract early adopters and validate a product idea.” Except for his hands, he had NO features to attract her.

Dalmi: (looking elsewhere but at him) I…I… I don’t know. Why do you keep asking me this question?
Dosan: (repeating himself) Why do you like me?
Dalmi: Do I need a reason? I just like you. I don’t need a reason to like you. Because it’s you. You’re the reason. That’s all there is to it.

She meant that he didn’t have to be an MVP, a Minimum Viable Product. He didn’t need to have any features to attract her or to make him a lovable person in her eyes. She just loved him, plain and simple.

Note: Honestly speaking, when I first heard this, I thought that this sounded lame. But then, it struck me that she wasn’t talking about business, but a relationship. She did NOT need to have a “demo,” pitch or an elevator speech to deliver to Dosan. In fact, if she came out with a polished speech or a ready answer, then she would have sounded pat and rehearsed.

So this was the right approach by the writer to take. Dalmi couldn’t have a “spiel” because she was answering him sincerely. She wasn’t bluffing.

Dosan smiled and kissed her.

Dosan: Thank you.

After their kiss, Dalmi looked for her tag and gave it to Dosan.

Dosan: Is this yours?
Dalmi: Yes.

Her tag said, “I want to take the upper-floor elevator.”

Dalmi: I quit my job to start a business with you. I have to say that was very gutsy of me.
Dosan: Dalmi, 2STO didn’t force me to work on the self-driving systems. I volunteered.

Gasp! That’s news to me.

Dalmi: Why?
Dosan: Just in case you still remembered that day. Like I do. I thought if you started working on a self-driving system, I wanted to do it with you. That’s why. I wanted to be your trophy, your pride, and your dream. I wanted to be your comfort, and your wings. As the real me. That’s why I started working on it. What about you?
Dalmi: Me, too. Let’s bid on the project. I considered all the variables before making this decision.
Dosan: Okay, let’s do it.

So what’s my take here?

1. The actor playing Dosan had the weirdest lipgloss during the kissing scene. It was a bit too pink for him and shiny. But I guess, he had to prepare for the kissing scene with Suzy. It wouldn’t do to kiss her with dry, chapped lips. Ewww.
2. Dosan was MVP. Not “Minimum Viable Product” but “Most Valuable Player.”
3. Dalmi and Dosan were finally together — as they were meant to be from the start.

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Next up:

Ep 16, part 1