As more promos come out, JTBC’s Run On is seeming more and more like a nice, light, appealing romance. Shin Se-kyung (Rookie Historian Gu Hae-ryung) and Im Shi-wan (Hell is Other People) feature as the two leads who live in a world where communication is difficult even when people speak the same language and where everyone moves at their own pace. The video teaser and stills show a little insight into the different lives of our couple.
Enter Im Shi-wan escorting his mother, played by Cha Hwa-yeon (Once Again), on the red carpet. A fan spots him and recognizes him as her son. The narration begins with: “In a nation that remembers only first-place winners, there is one famous second-place figure.” It seems Im’s celebrity status doesn’t stem from his athletic accomplishments as a runner, but rather results from his family background. His father is a congressman, and his mother is a household-name actress. Even his older sister is a world-renown golf star. As articles pop up showing Im Shi-wan’s silver medal win, his voiceover says: “I want to win first place too.”
We transition to Shin Se-kyung who dashes after someone hurriedly. In the next scene, Shin Se-kyung’s character is shown as a foreign language movie subtitler who won’t stand for unfair treatment. When someone throws water on her, she immediately does something a little strange. She dumps the water on herself and begins blasting the person who threw the water at her, “What did I ever do to you? Why do you keep insulting me saying ‘Women this, women that’?”
Then we see her hard at work, while a voice asks, “Do you really want to translate?” A lithe swimmer is revealed to be Sooyoung (Tell Me What You Saw), playing a chaebol heiress and self-made CEO. She replies, “If you want to do it badly, you have to do it.” When she’s shown with Shin Se-kyung’s character, she asks (a bit crassly), “Miss Oh, do you have a lot of money?” Unafraid of wearing her heart (and finances) on her sleeve, Shin Se-kyung immediately replies, “Probably not?”
Shin Se-kyung bumps into Im Shi-wan on the streets, and he helps pick up her gun. He asks her, “If I shoot this, will something really come out?” She tells him honestly that she thinks he seems a bit crazy. In their next encounter, she’s holding a gun, and Kang Tae-oh (Tale of Nokdu) is in the background as well. As the whistle blows, she grabs onto Im Shi-wan’s arm and asks, “Why did you help me… twice?”
This question goes unanswered, and we see another encounter between our couple. Im Shi-wan confronts Shin Se-kyung: “You told me you were half-unemployed, but I guess you’re a translator?” When Shin is alone, she sees a billboard advertisement of Im Shi-wan, and she reflect, “He was a model? Damn, I guess he’s not available.”
The scene transitions to Im Shi-wan running toward (or past?) Shin Se-kyung, as her voiceover trails off, “Is the athlete I’m translating for…[him]?” The last scene has Shin Se-kyung stepping right into Im Shi-wan’s personal space bubble. Her voiceover is carrying a conversation with her friend, “Unni, do you believe in fate? I believe it, if he’s good-looking.”
JTBC’s Wednesday-Thursday drama Run On will begin airing on December 16.
