PremiumAs Lovely Runner heads for its finale episode, questions Kim Hye-yoon and Byeon Woo-seok’s K-Drama raised and if they were answered
As Lovely Runner heads for its finale episode, here are questions Kim Hye-yoon and Byeon Woo-seok’s K-Drama raised and if they were answered
Last Updated: 03.21 PM, May 28, 2024
Lovely Runner is one of those stories which begin at death. Byeon Woo-seok’s Ryun Sun-jae decided to take his life, and that is when his fan Kim Hye-yoon’s Im-sol decided to do something about it. Why did he want to kill himself? The whole season explores the same along with Im-sol. As we reach the finale, here are some questions, or rather some moments that would have bothered you at one point. Here, we analyse whether the makers have already given us the answers to these questions yet.
Why did Sun-jae want to die?
Sun-jae’s mother died at a young age. She hoped to see his baby boy become a pro-swimmer. Sun-jae’s father, even though supportive, pushed his son into pursuing just that. This is even though Sun-jae had already hurt his shoulder in a previous injury (likely while swimming only), and was in a lot of pain. Having pushed himself too hard, Sun-jae has to let go of his family’s dream to become a pro-swimmer.
Being a popular singer comes with its pros and cons as well. It is a lonely world, and when a lover from the past, does not remember being in love with you, it could really push all your buttons. That is what happened with Sun-jae. He smiled, as the void inside him grew bigger. This is till all of it came crawling back, when he could afford a house with a huge swimming pool but not be able to swim in it, and did not have the love of his life by his side. Thus, he chose to end the lonely life.
How did Im-sol time-travel?
A special watch allowed Im-sol to time-travel. This is a watch she bought as Sun-jae’s prized possession. Past 12 am, when an event changes, Sol can travel back from present to past and the future. She has changed many timelines so far, and continues doing so, in hopes to save Sun-jae.
Where is the watch now?
Sol finds the watch only when Sun-jae thinks of killing himself. Despite all her attempts, the thoughts keep coming to his mind. Sol is also heard talking about the watch after her third time-travelling journey. She does not have the watch anymore, and convinces herself that she doesn’t need it because everything is alright. In this timeline, Sun-jae is a famous actor while Sol works in a production company trying to rope him in for a movie.
Why is the taxi driver after Im-sol?
The makers had already hinted about the taxi driver, Kim Young-soo (Heo Hyung-kyu)’s twisted personality by talking about a murder around his “work” area and him fleeing off the scene. Young-soo seems to be among those who searches for his prey and when he finds them, he displays his anger on them in his ways. When Sol tried to run away, he made sure to paralyze her. In every timeline, Sol tried to avoid living the pitiful life and almost always, Sun-jae was there. While Young-soo got away in two timelines, in the most recent one, he was arrested and served six years in prison. Of course, there’s more waiting to be explored. And this time, it might be the end of him for good.
What will happen to Kim Tae-Sung?
Kim Tae-sung (Song Geon-Hee) met Sol as a rebel who had to take his own responsibilities. He had to grow up before most, since neither of his parents were there for him emotionally. Thus, Tae-sung sought out love but was never open for it. That is when he meets the childish version of Sol and is instantly attracted to her, but plays hard to get, given his own history with parents. They end up dating, till the grown-up Sol (who is in love with Sun-jae) comes to meet Tae-sung and asks him to get it together. Not letting jealousy get in the way too much, Tae-sung ends up playing an important role in Sol and Sun-jae’s love story. He is now a police officer chasing the taxi driver down, after saving Sun-jae. On the romantic front, he might or might not find a partner by the finale episode. Nonetheless, he has grown up and become a fine adult.
Is Im-sol time travelling with someone else without even knowing it?
There was a hint that Im-sol’s halmeoni (grandmother) Jung Mal-ja, played by Sung Byung-sook, might be time-travelling with her. When Sol arrives in the future and first meets halmeoni, the latter asks her where is her wheelchair. Sol was on wheelchair only in the present version of the show. It is also when halmeoni wore Sun-jae’s watch. This is a major hint that halmeoni could be time-travelling with Im-sol and has kept it a secret so far.
Another hint is that halmeoni remembered the time when Sun-jae’s father Ryu Geun-deok (Kim Won-hae) lived across their house in 2007. The incident happened more recently, in episode 14.
Will there be a happy ending?
The makers have hinted at Im-sol and Sun-jae finally getting their happy ending with a wedding. However, one statement from Byeon Woo-seok has left people wondering if there actually will be a happy ending for this couple. He had said that he cried on ready the last scene. This led people to believe that a heartbreak is coming. Since the show began on that note, it won’t be a surprise if it ends the same way, but we sure hope that’s not the case.