‘Lovely Runner’ is based on the web novel ‘The Best of Tomorrow,’ but during the process of adaptation into a drama, many settings were changed and intricately modified.
Written by Lee Si Eun, the writer of ‘True Beauty’ (2024), ‘Lovely Runner’ follows Im Sol (played by Kim Hye Yoon), who travels from the present day of 2024 to the past, specifically 15 years ago in 2008 and 14 years ago in 2009, reuniting with her idol Ryu Sun Jae (played by Byeon Woo Seok) and altering the course of 2024 with the influence of both past and present.
Like a Rubik’s cube where one side changes when another changes, the thrilling fun of rearranging time and events brings excitement. Moreover, easter eggs are scattered throughout the drama.
Ryu Sun Jae chases the No. 34 bus
In episode 2, a scene perfectly fitting the drama’s English title, ‘Lovely Runner,’ unfolds. Sol and Sun Jae board a bus together, but Sol gets caught in the crowd and can’t get off at the school. Sun Jae notices this and manages to catch up with the running bus to save Sol from being late.
As attention-grabbing as Sun Jae’s romantic sprint is the number of the bus, No. 34. In episode 4, Sol falls asleep on the No. 34 bus and mistakenly gets off at Juyang Reservoir, where she encounters danger.
The bus Sol took on the day of the terrible accident that paralyzed her lower body was also No. 34, and it was Sun Jae who saved her on all those occasions.
In episode 1, Ryu Sun Jae and Sol met on December 31, 2024, and Sun Jae died at 0:00 on January 1, at 34 years old. The time when Sol slips back 15 years is precisely that moment. Eventually, the message of ‘Lovely Runner’ is interpreted as Ryu Sun Jae and Sol chasing after the fate of two people who stop at the age of 34.
Sol’s House is 34-1, Sun Jae’s House is 35-1
The house numbers facing each other across the alley between Sol and Sun Jae’s houses are another easter egg. Sol’s address is Nuri-dong 34-1, and Sun Jae’s is 35-1. In the ending of episode 2, Sun Jae picks up a misdelivered package in front of his gate and heads to the opposite house, where he first meets Sol, who runs towards him with a bright smile and a yellow umbrella.
Sol, who dislikes rainy days, approaches Sun Jae with a sunshine-like smile, covers him with an umbrella, hands him a lollipop, and hurries back to her house.
In the present, Ryu Sun Jae falls to his death in a sudden accident at a hotel swimming pool at the age of 34, but in the past, he manages to prevent Sol’s kidnapping, changing the future. In 2024, Sol walks on both legs healthily, and the top star Ryu Sun Jae is alive again.
Although Sun Jae falls into a critical condition from a retaliatory murder by the serial killer just one day after a happy relationship with Sol, he vanishes from the news of his critical condition after Sol opens the time capsule she buried, learning of her own fate of death. In the process, Sun Jae’s fate in 2024 disappears.
With the slip back in time, the accident that left Sol paralyzed by the killer’s car in 2008 and Sun Jae’s death in 2024 change, welcoming a new 34th year and a new 35th year, even the house numbers fitting perfectly.
Sun Jae’s Watch and the Leaf Watch in the Time Capsule
In episode 1, Sol goes to Eclipse’s Concert and later meets Ryu Sun Jae on the snowy Han River Bridge. When she returns home and carefully wipes the umbrella handed by Sun Jae, she keeps it along with the hot pack he gave her in a jewelry box containing Ryu Sun Jae’s wristwatch, which she bought at an auction for 3 million won. Under Sun Jae’s watch lies another leaf watch in a brown leather case.
These two watches play an important role in time slips in ‘Lovely Runner.’ Sol accidentally triggers Sun Jae’s wristwatch for three time slips, to the age of 19 twice and once to 20. Now, she can’t return to the past using time slips.
Hoping Sun Jae is still alive in 2024, Sol buries a time capsule with him during the second time slip. In 2024, Sun Jae lives as Sol wished, extending his life by opening the time capsule.
In episode 10, the 20-year-old Sun Jae opens the time capsule, changing the future again. The remaining mystery related to the leaf watch, which Sol carefully kept with Sun Jae’s watch, is expected to be revealed in the upcoming episodes.
In the preview for episode 11, Sun Jae understands and accepts that Sol came to save his life, confessing his love by saying, “I’ll run diligently. To the year 2024 where you are.”
Eventually, when Sol leaves, Sun Jae will be left alone in the past, but viewers are ecstatic about the hints at a happy ending.