“Lovely Runner” is a K-drama that speaks of how love transcends time. It embodies loving someone by taking a leap through time because the yearning happens in every timeline.
The story centers around the intertwined lives of Im Sol (Kim Hye-yoon) and Ryu Sun-jae (Byeon Woo-seok). Im Sol is a loyal fangirl who travels through time to save her favorite idol from an ill-fated death. Ryu Sun-jae is a successful idol, who faces a terrible consequence due to his relationship with Im Sol.
Throughout the series, Sol has one goal: to ensure that Ryu Sun-jae survives and lives a long, healthy life. However, Kim Young-soo, who is the antagonist in the series, has made it his ultimate agenda to wreak havoc in the lives of both Sol and Sun-jae. As Sol travels through time, it is inevitable for both Sol and Sun-jae to fall in love with each other. There is a certain kind of pull between Im Sol and Sun-jae that unravels on its own – as if it is simply meant to be. The invisible red string between Sol and Sun-jae is tightly intertwined. It’s an unbreakable bond that exists in every series of time and space.
Of watches and the yellow color
The details in the drama are impeccable. More than just representing the time travel itself, the electric watch may also symbolize a certain kind of hope – a yearning to go back to a time where it is possible to change something in order to envision a different, and perhaps, an even better, outcome. On the other hand, the vintage watch that was in the time capsule may symbolize a moment in time, where one wishes for time to stop because it is a moment that one wants to hold on forever.
Moreover, the ‘yellow’ reference is a constant visual throughout the show – from the yellow umbrella to Sun-jae’s sunflowers every time he would drunkenly seek Sol. Yellow may symbolize brightness and hope. While sunflowers may symbolize yearning or longing – that no matter the direction that the flower grows and faces, it will always long for the sun – of which it seeks. It’s the same with how Sol is Sun-jae’s sun.
The song, ‘Sonaki’, is also an important detail in the show. This is particularly significant during Sol’s time travel in college. The drunken Sol was carried by Sun-jae and she sings an excerpt from the song. This surprises Sun-jae because it’s a song that was only played by him to Baek In-hyuk, his best friend. The song helped Sun-jae fit the pieces of the puzzle of ‘future’ Sol or the time-traveler Sol. This revelation became another love confession from Sun-jae. With Sol’s face perfectly cupped in his hand, he tells Sol to pursue his feelings for him instead. And if death is the consequence of his love for Sol, then he would bravely face death.
Guardian of the watch
Meanwhile, Sol’s grandmother plays a crucial role in changing the fate of Sol and Sun-jae throughout the series. Despite her dementia, it was as if she, too, travels through time with Sol. She joins Sol in her moments of heartbreak, of happiness, of yearning, and of sadness. Sol’s grandmother is the guardian of the watch – a watchkeeper, who gives chances for Sol and Sun-jae to change their fate. In the last episode, she told Sun-jae that he and Sol can finally have a long, happy relationship filled with smiles. In previous episodes, she remembers the time when Sol was paralyzed or when she told Sol that she did a good job since she knows that Sol misses Sun-jae, who, at that time, has forgotten her memories with Sol.
Moreover, the details shine in every episode and it makes for a sublime visual experience that consists of a series of heart-fluttering moments. From the moment when Sun-jae fell in love with Sol when he first saw her with that yellow umbrella under the rain shower and his point-of-view on how he fell even more in love with her; from the petal scene where they had the same wish – that for each of them to be happy and for the both of them to be in that moment and state of happiness for a long time; from all the kisses that make for heart-stopping moments; and from when they go back to that petal scene and Sun-jae proposes to Sol. And to all the moments in-between – the most meaningful, the most heartbreaking, the saddest and the happiest.
A visual and audio experience
All the scenes from the series become even more brilliant because of the slow burn kind of romance – the slow motion, ‘I want to savor this moment’ kind of visual experience. This is coupled with the audio perfection of the OST – from 10cm’s “Spring Snow,” MINNIE’s “Like A Dream,” and the songs by ECLIPSE (the show’s fictional band of which Sun-jae acts as the main vocalist), which include the unforgettable “Sudden Shower” (Sun-jae’s “Sonaki”), “No Fate” and “You & I.”
“Lovely Runner” is that kind of K-drama where ‘he fell first, and he fell harder’; but it is also one where ‘she will leap into every timeline to save the man she loves’. And perhaps, it is called, “Lovely Runner” because it’s one where they will, inevitably, run towards one another – and in every timeline, they are bound to fall in love with each other.
The show evokes an almost iridescent, luminous feeling, which the audience will remember forever. It’s a remarkable thing – to cherish something that will never be forgotten. And simply, “Lovely Runner” is that kind of K-drama – a rare gem that will shine for a long time.