The highly anticipated episode 1 of Lovely Runner aired on tvN on Monday, April 8, 2024. The series stars Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon. It is a fantasy-romance K-drama that chronicles the love story of an idol singer, Ryu Sun Jae, and his devoted fan, Im Sol. One of the prime themes of the series is time slip.
From the first episode, Lovely Runner dives straight into the main plotline of the series. Episode 1 shows why Im Sol has become such a passionate fan of Ryu Sun Jae. The episode also sees a devastating and tragic moment when singer Ryu Sun Jae’s life ends. However, the biggest highlight of the episode is Im Sol and Ryu Sun Jae traveling several years back in time when things were completely different.
Lovely Runner Episode 1: Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon travel back in time
Episode 1 of Lovely Runner begins with a flashback scene, taking place in 2009. Im Sol (Kim Hye Yoon) is in the hospital. She has lost her ability to walk due to an accident. Meanwhile, at that time, Ryu Sun Jae (Byeon Woo Seok) has just made his debut in the music industry with his boy group Eclipse. They have four members in total. He and the other members of the group have appeared on a radio show, where they are making calls to random listeners to ask them about their music and band.
The radio show ends up calling Im Sol at the hospital. At that moment, Im Sol has lost all her desires to stay alive. She is frustrated and angry with her condition and wants to give up on life. Thus, when she gets a call from the radio show and hears Ryu Sun Jae’s voice, she lashes out at them in frustration. She becomes extremely emotional as she can not walk anymore. In that moment, Ryu Sun Jae talks to her in such a way that gives her hope to live a happy life again. From that day onwards, she becomes a devoted fan of Ryu Sun Jae and his group Eclipse.
After that, Lovely Runner episode 1 jumps back to the present time in 2023. Eclipse is a highly popular group, and Ryu Sun Jae is an idol singer now. They are having a concert that day after a few years. Im Sol has a ticket for the concert and is super excited to see Ryu Sun Jae in person for the first time. However, at the concert venue, it looks like Ryu Sun Jae is struggling with his life and career. He has been having arguments with his manager, and his relationship with his band members has also become a bit bitter. He wants to retire from his music career due to some reason, which is not clear yet.
Then episode 1 of Lovely Runner shows Im Sol arriving at the concert venue. However, she gets an interview call at that time and has to leave for some time. When she returns to the venue, the concert gates have been closed. Thus, she has to listen to his idol from outside. However, she still feels happy just to listen to Ryu Sun Jae’s voice. After the concert is over, Im Sol’s mobile phone breaks, and she has to return home alone in her wheelchair. It’s snowing heavily, and while on a bridge, her wheelchair stops working.
Right at that moment, like a dream come true, her idol, Ryu Sun Jae, appears and gives her an umbrella. Im Sol becomes ecstatic after meeting her idol so up close. However, when she returns home that night, devastating news rattles her up. Ryu Sun Jae has passed away. He has ended his life, apparently. He is found in a hotel swimming pool. The news also says that he was suffering from depression.
After getting the news, Im Sol rushes to see him. She has her idol’s watch with her, which she bought earlier. Somehow, the watch falls into the water beside the road. She then falls out of her wheelchair and crawls to get the watch in an emotionally heavy state. She gets the watch and simultaneously sees the news of his death on a big screen in the city. Im Sol completely breaks down and somehow ends up pressing a button on the watch. Then, for a moment, time stops, and she travels back to 2008, when she could still walk. In 2008, Ryu Sun Jae was still alive and had yet to debut as a singer.
At the end of Lovely Runner episode 1, viewers see Im Sol running to Ryu Sun Jae, who is a high school student just like Im Sol at the time. She hugs him and tells him how much she loves him. Im Sol remembers everything, but Ryu Sun Jae has no idea what is going on. Im Sol also gives his watch back to him. The episode ends with Ryu Sun Jae arriving at Im Sol’s school to give back the watch to her. It starts raining, and Ryu Sun Jae holds his umbrella over Im Sol’s head.
Viewers can watch Lovely Runner episode 1 on Viki.
