If the last couple teasers were all about Kim Hye-yoon (Snowdrop) and her time-slip antics, the latest batch of teasers for tvN’s Lovely Runner shift the spotlight to the object of her affection: the top-celebrity Byun Woo-seok (Strong Girl Nam-soon).
To mega-stan Im Sol (Kim Hye-yoon), idol-actor Ryu Sun-jae (Byun Woo-seok) is the one who gave her the strength to live after an accident left her wheelchair-bound and deeply depressed. So when he ends up meeting a tragic death and she’s suddenly sent back in time to when they were both teens, she’s determined to use this opportunity to repay Sun-jae by keeping him alive.
But once upon a time, before Sun-jae was thrust into the entertainment industry, he was just a normal high-schooler with a promising swimming career. In this past timeline, life is going great, so it’s a bit jarring for him when a tiny human suddenly appears out of nowhere, calling herself his fan, making wild claims about time-travelling through a magical watch, and going through dramatic lengths to protect him from (mostly nonexistent) dangers.
So despite Sol’s bubbly explanation of her super important mission, Sun-jae is not on the same page, especially when her attempts at “saving” him have him falling into a pool and becoming a human stepstool, “Why on earth would someone like you save me?”
Still, Sol’s charm offensive starts to break down Sun-jae’s walls, and we see some very cute scenes of them goofing off and feeling romantic sparks at their close proximity. And Sun-jae starts to drop unnecessarily swoony lines like, “I’d like for you to stop being my fan,” “I’m not going to follow your plans, so just trust me,” and of course, the killshot line, “I like you.” Where Sun-jae finds the audacity to be this suave, I have no clue.
But the teaser also gets dark when we see Sun-jae in the hospital and Sol left to grapple with the possibility of her plan failing. While we get clips of the both of them crying, it’s suggested through the voiceover that perhaps Sun-jae and Sol go back way further than just idol and fan, with Sun-jae saying, “If you’re doing this because of that reason… it’s okay.” WAIT WHAT REASON. WHAT HAPPENS TO SUN-JAE.
Written by Lee Shi-eun (True Beauty) and directed by Kim Tae-yub (When My Love Blooms) and Yoon Jong-ho, tvN’s Lovely Runner will premiere April 8 on tvN.