As I was officially done with my semester and final submissions, I finally had some free time over the weekend… and picking up a comforting K-drama was a no-brainer for me. There were a few K-dramas sitting patiently on my watchlist, but when I checked their ratings, I felt oddly discouraged. Nothing really called out to me.
And then there was Lovely Runner (2024), a show that had been living in my app recommendations forever, quietly existing in the background. I had never really given it much thought… until now.
Little did I know what I was about to step into.
Cast: Faces You’ll Never Look at the Same Way Again
1. Byeon Woo-seok as Ryu Sun-jae: If there’s one reason Lovely Runner feels the way it does, it’s him.
I had seen Byeon Woo-seok earlier in Record of Youth (2020), back when I was deep in my madly-in-love-with-Park-Bo-gum era. Woo-seok’s tall, well-built physique alone could be motivation enough to watch his work, but back then, his gentle and charming second-lead presence quietly made a place in my heart.
And now… it was finally time for me to give my undivided devotion to him as the first lead.
Byeon Woo-seok brings a softness that actually hurts. His Sun-jae is gentle, lonely, quietly devoted, and emotionally transparent in a way male leads rarely get to be. One look from him can convey yearning, gratitude, heartbreak, and unconditional love — all at once. This isn’t dramatic acting. This is felt acting.
2. Kim Hye-yoon as Im Sol: She’s the emotional engine of this show. She has previously worked in Extraordinary You and Sky Castle, but this was my first time seeing her on screen. And wow.
Kim Hye-yoon plays Im Sol with chaotic warmth, raw vulnerability, and sincerity. Her joy feels earned. Her despair feels deeply personal. She never once plays Sol as a trope — she plays her as a girl who loves fiercely and lives loudly despite pain.
3. Song Geon-hee as Kim Tae-seong — dependable second-lead energy with emotional restraint.
No one feels wasted in this drama. Every character exists for a reason — emotional or narrative.
Detailed Plot of Lovely Runner
It’s a lovely day outside, but inside a hospital room, a young girl named Im Sol lies hopelessly on her bed after losing her mobility in an accident. As her mother steps away for a few seconds, Sol attempts to take her own life.
Her attempt is interrupted by a sudden and unexpected call from a radio station, one of those shows where K-pop idols talk to regular people and send them gifts. When Sol picks up, we hear Sun-jae for the first time — the heart-throb lead singer of a K-pop band called Eclipse.
Im Sol is depressed beyond comprehension, and receiving a pair of sneakers as a “gift” feels like salt on an open wound. She loses her temper and throws her phone… but Sun-jae calmly consoles her. He thanks her for being alive — for all the people who care about her.
That brief conversation, at the peak of her crisis, changes everything.
Im Sol lives. She lives on a wheelchair.
She becomes a huge fan of Sun-jae, collecting his memorabilia through auctions — one of them being a digital watch. She tries to stay positive about life, but her inability to walk constantly gets in the way of living to her fullest potential.
She attends an Eclipse concert but fails to get inside on time. Later, she gets stranded on the side of a highway with her wheelchair battery dead. Sun-jae, on his way home after the concert, finds her there. Sol is completely star-struck. They share a brief conversation before Sun-jae is picked up by his manager.
That same night, Sun-jae commits suicide — shocking the entire nation.
Sol is devastated. She realizes she was the last person Sun-jae spoke to before ending his life. Why would someone with so much fame and love leave the world so early?
Heartbroken, Sol clutches Sun-jae’s collectible watch… the fateful watch — which turns out to be a time machine, sending her back to her high school days.
Time Travel #1
Sol remembers hearing that the famous idol once attended the school next to hers. When she returns to the past, she runs to Sun-jae’s school, where he’s training relentlessly as a swimmer preparing for the Olympics.
Seeing Sun-jae alive is emotionally overwhelming. She runs and hugs teenage Sun-jae tightly.
(Sun-jae or Woo-seok looked like an absolute snack in that scene. Bless this man. 😊)
Over the next two months, Sol becomes fiercely protective of Sun-jae. She can’t reveal the future, but she tries desperately to alter the course of events. She soon realizes Sun-jae was actually her neighbor all along but back then, Sol had a massive crush on Tae-seong and barely noticed Sun-jae, who had been secretly in love with her.
Time-travelled Sol is different. This time, she clings to Sun-jae while openly despising Tae-seong.
The teenage banter between Sun-jae, trying to act cool while being the biggest simp alive and Sol will absolutely melt your heart.
After two months, Sol is suddenly pulled back to the present. Her actions in the past have changed some things — most notably, she is no longer in a wheelchair.
But Sun-jae’s devastating fate remains unchanged.
Time Travel #2
During her second trip, Sol realizes her fate is far more entangled with Sun-jae’s than she ever imagined. Young Sol’s lingering interest in Tae-seong keeps disrupting time-travelled Sol’s plans to stay close to Sun-jae.
Once again, the present changes — but Sun-jae still faces a fatal incident.
Time Travel #3
Now desperate, Sol wonders how she can possibly keep this innocent boy safe.
Teenage Sun-jae has started to understand that Sol is trying to save him but his love for her outweighs his concern for his own life. He would always choose Sol, no matter the cost.
Despite his age, Sun-jae repeatedly surprises us with his emotional maturity. He begs Sol to stop scheming, to live in the moment, to simply be with him.
Sol gifts him a time capsule to be opened in 2023.
But Sol is fated to encounter a criminal who tries to kill her. When teen Sun-jae saves her, he becomes the target of a revenge crime in the present. Determined to stop this, Sol decides to face the criminal alone — informing the police but hiding everything from Sun-jae.
When Sol is attacked, Sun-jae rushes to her side. After fighting the attacker, he is shoved off a cliff into deep water.
The irony is brutal.
While Sol was desperately trying to protect Sun-jae in his 30s, he now dies at 20 — with no future ahead of him.
This marks the last time Sol can travel using her watch. When teen Sun-jae dies, his watch becomes the new key to time travel.
Time Travel #4
Sol is completely broken.
After three failed attempts to change fate, she realizes the only way to save Sun-jae might be to erase herself from his life entirely.
Using the second watch, she travels back again — burying her emotions, making sure Sun-jae never knows her. That rainy first encounter, when young Sol once mistook him for a delivery guy… this time, she watches from afar as Sun-jae lives a life without ever knowing she existed.
Present
Sol finally returns to the present, carrying a wound no one else can see.
Sun-jae never became the lead singer of Eclipse — his school friend did. Sol is now successful, working at a production company, but deeply frustrated with her job.
She writes her life story: all the time travel, all the love, as a movie script.
Sol remains friends with Tae-seong, though they never dated. Tae-seong feels an inexplicable pull toward her but never confesses. Meanwhile, a drunk Sol keeps pining over a man no one else knows.
Fate brings Sol and Sun-jae together again.
In this timeline, Sun-jae is a successful actor. They meet at an awards function. Eventually, Sun-jae is signed for a movie produced by Sol’s company and accidentally comes across the script she wrote.
He can’t stop crying while reading it. The story feels like home.
Sun-jae insists on playing the lead role. Sol refuses, still trying to protect him. Meanwhile, the criminal from the past resurfaces but this time, Tae-seong, now a police officer, apprehends him.
Sun-jae begins experiencing flashes of his other lives. All the buried love comes rushing back.
He remembers her.
They reconcile.
And finally — they live happily ever after.
OST of Lovely Runner
I loved “Sudden Shower” the most. I still listen to it sometimes on my way to work — and it hits every single time.
My Fan-Girl Commentary & Final Thoughts
- I went in expecting something light-hearted and funny… but the show shocked me again and again.
- I can officially announce Woo-seok as one of my crushes. He’s multi-talented: model, singer, actor and his performances reach straight into your heart.
- I loved Kim Hye-yoon and definitely want to explore her other works.
- This show kept reminding me of Head Over Heels (2025): different plots, but certain teen Sol and Sun-jae moments echoed Sung-ah and Gyeon-oo.
- The comedy is gold. Sun-jae is a certified loser for Sol, and their puppy love is painfully precious.
- Tae-seong deserves special mention — charming, sharp-witted, and the first to figure out Sol’s time travel. His casual “grandmother” nickname for her? Iconic. He was a genuine friend across timelines and brought out Sun-jae’s jealous, overthinking side, yet always stood by him when it mattered.
- I still did not understand why Sun-jae ended his life in the 1st place, this only acts as a trigger of time-travel but never gets clarified further.
All in all, I’d rate Lovely Runner (2024) a solid 8.7/10 for delivering such an emotionally rich and thoroughly entertaining watch.
My Personal Recommendations:
Record of Youth (2020) – Quiet Perseverance, Passion and Love
Record of Youth(2020) captures that fragile space between chasing dreams and letting go, between love that nurtures and love that hurts. A quiet story of becoming… and the bittersweet cost of growing up.
Head Over Heels (2025): High School Romance of a Shaman-in-disguise
Head Over Heels (2025) is a charming blend of high school romance and supernatural mystery—where teenage crushes collide with restless spirits, and a shaman-in-disguise learns that love can be just as powerful as any ritual. It’s heartfelt, a little spooky, and surprisingly sweet, making it a cozy pick for anyone craving a fresh twist on the classic rom-com.
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