Our fangirl might have got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save her beloved idol. But this chance comes with a unique set of rules that might make her mission a little harder.
Still, when she puts her mind to it, our girl can use the rules to her advantage. We also get some new revelations about the accident and the memories our girl has forgotten as a result of it.
Bunny S. watches Lovely Runner on Viu
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 & 04 | 05 & 06 | 07 & 08 | 09 & 10 | 11 & 12 | 13 & 14 | Finale Episodes + Series Review |
Lovely Runner Episodes 3 and 4 Highlights
“Even if you were to end up in a different time, I would jump over time and space to see you.”
Seon-jae apologizes for misunderstanding Sol and walks her home. He can see Sol is worried about him but Seon-jae is really adamant about competing this time. Seeing his resolve, Sol goes to cheer for him with a smile on her face. She is equally worried and enthusiastic. Thankfully, nothing bad happens and Seon-jae wins the competition.
More than winning the gold medal, Seon-jae is happy because he can now confess his feelings to Sol proudly. He doesn’t want her to be just his fan but to like him romantically like he does.
Funnily enough, every single attempt Seon-jae makes to confess goes down the drain. But what’s hilarious was Sol mistaking Seon-jae’s words about not wanting her to be his fan for disliking her. Just as the guy is about to say the word, Sol ruins the moment and suggests they be friends at least.
“I am glad you are here. Give me a ride.”
Unfortunately, Seon-jae’s shoulder acts up again and now he needs another surgery. The minor details might be a bit different but he still ends up having to quit swimming. The photo of Sol and Seon-jae appearing last week in his hotel room suggests some changes to the future. But is that not applied to big events like Sol’s accident and Seon-jae’s career change?
Speaking of big events, remember the scar on Sol’s mother’s arm. It was indeed caused by a fire. No thanks to Sol’s elder brother, Im Geum, forgetting to turn off the stove, and then getting too busy fighting with Hyun-joo to notice there is a burning smell a few meters from them, the house almost gets burned. They didn’t even notice anything until Hyun-joo passed out from the smell when the fumes were already seen from outside the house. Seriously!
Thankfully, with some help from Tae-sung, Sol arrives in time to save the day. Mission clear. And while we are definitely glad everyone is safe and sound, we need some elaborate explanation here on the rules of the time travel.
“You think you are all grown up because you are taller than your father, don’t you?”
Back to Seon-jae, at first, he keeps his injury from Father, claiming he wants to quit because he got sick of swimming. A fight ensues between them and Father slaps Seon-jae. But after learning the truth, Father gets heartbroken. Why didn’t Seon-jae tell him the truth and make him look like a bad father? (We knew it. He wasn’t a bad father. He just didn’t know Seon-jae was in pain.) The priority now is getting Seon-jae’s shoulder treated. And whether he will compete again or not is up to Seon-jae.
Unluckily, Seon-jae’s shoulder is completely damaged. Which means his career as an athlete is over. Outside his hospital room sits Sol crying her eyes out. She can’t bring herself to see him but gets everyone in the ward food and drinks as “Seon-jae’s fan.” Even after Seon-jae gets discharged, Sol keeps dropping off food for him, all without meeting him.
They end up running into each other by the swimming pool, though. Seon-jae goes there to reminisce about the old days and an adorable Sol who got herself drunk by mistake watches him quietly by his side until she causes a little trouble and Seon-jae notices her presence.
“Please keep smiling like this. I will stay by your side so that you don’t feel lonely or think about scary things when you are having a hard time.”
Of all the scenarios Seon-jae can confess his feelings to Sol, our least favorite is Seon-jae confessing when Sol is drunk and her forgetting everything the next day. Still, this isn’t the worst that can happen. As it turns out, Sol has only 3 trials to travel to the past and change the future. One of them is already done. So, our girl is transported back to the present day once again.
Think that is all? No, it happens at the worst timing ever. Tae-sung has confessed his feelings for Sol. And just as the new Sol from the future is about to turn him down, Sol from the past with a crush on Tae-sung takes over and accepts his feelings immediately. (The drama is set on confusing us.)
And guess who is right behind her watching all this nonsense? It is Seon-jae looking mad and clenching his fists. Now Sol from the future not only has to think of a way to save Seon-jae but also has to clean up the mess her past self-made. Our girl has her work cut out for her.
“I wish I had remembered you last night. If I had, I’d have held you and not let you go.”
Opening her eyes in 2023 to the news of Seon-jae committing suicide gets Sol devastated. She wishes she had held onto him that night. Perhaps, he wouldn’t have died if Sol had stayed by his side. (Side note: Given how Sol is still unable to walk, I guess the accident arc unfolded in the same way.)
But this is not the right time to dwell on what could have been as the second trial has set off. (We don’t know much about the time travel mechanism except for Seon-jae’s watch being the time travel machine of sorts and that its magic only works when the clock ticks 12 O’clock.)
The first thing Sol does is go see Seon-jae. But what does Sol expect Seon-jae to do but ignore her after she calls him a pervert and beats him with her bag for hitting on her when she supposedly has a boyfriend?
It has already been 10 days and the poor guy knows nothing about the time travel and Sol from the past messed up everything. At least, Sol from the future retains the memories of what her past self did so that she can clean after her. Still, Seon-jae was a bit touched after Sol stood up to a guy bullying him. But how can he continue to care for Sol after she “betrayed” him and chose Tae-sung?
“Did the heat get to me? I start to see things now.”
If Sol stops Seon-jae from becoming an idol, he won’t suffer again as he did from the rumors and negative comments, right? Sol’s plan involves sneaking into Seon-jae’s room so that she can tear up the business card Seon-jae got from an entertainment company CEO who happened to stop by looking for potential trainees. The highlight was Sol using the time travel rules to her advantage. Each time she almost got caught, she froze the time by uttering things that hadn’t happened yet.
Still, Sol got caught in the end by Seon-jae who was shocked to see her lying down on the floor of his room. Though he is still mad at her, our sweet boy makes sure Sol sleeps comfortably, from turning on the fan to catching the flies. He also has a sweet time comparing the sizes of their palms and barely stopping himself from holding Sol’s hand.
“I didn’t ask you to comfort me. Have I ever asked you to look out for me?”
The real reason why Seon-jae is mad at Sol is that she acts like nothing happened when he has confessed his feelings to her and even kissed her by the pool. Yet even after learning Sol remembers nothing as she blacked out from the alcohol, nothing much changes.
It is really sad because Sol’s attempts at comforting Seon-jae and her plea for him not to push her away and let her stay by his side, wholly oblivious to Seon-jae’s feelings for her, is exactly what infuriates him because he misunderstands that for Sol not reciprocating his feelings and wanting to be just friends with him.
Frustrated, Seon-jae lashes out at Sol and brings her to cry. It is a pity since they both care for each other. But it isn’t like Sol can tell Seon-jae the truth about his suicide. And the back and forth in her actions makes him confused and unable to figure out her feelings toward him.
가더라도 신발은 신고 가!! ( ·•︡_•︠)
신발 벗어주면 자기도 맨발이면서,, 츤데레 선재💕[월화] 저녁 8:50 | tvN#선재업고튀어 #LovelyRunner pic.twitter.com/qkYEUnUUmM
— tvN drama (@CJnDrama) April 16, 2024
“Was it my memory that I lost? Or was it you?
Hearing that Seon-jae went to an audition, Sol gets taken aback. But no need to worry as Seon-jae’s dad called him in for help with the restaurant. Sol heads to see Seon-jae but dozes off and misses the stop. Hence, she goes all the way to the end of the line.
It is empty and dark with no busses available. Running into a drunk old man, Sol gets scared and tries to run away. An altercation ensues between them that sends Sol down the reservoir. Luckily, Seon-jae comes to her rescue and jumps to save her.
It isn’t their first rodeo though. As we come to know, Sol ended up falling into the reservoir after getting hit by a car. At that time, it was Seon-jae who saved her from drowning. But Sol lost her memory and forgot about everything.
While underwater, bits and pieces of her lost memories start to come to Sol. She finally realizes she had a connection with Seon-jae in the original timeline but forgot about everything after the accident. We end this week as Sol grabs Seon-jae in a hug and cries her eyes out over this new revelation.
Lovely Runner Episodes 3 and 4 Musings
Now that it is confirmed that Sol was Seon-jae’s first love, the flashbacks from the radio show and the concert night hit differently. Seon-jae called Sol knowingly on the show but unluckily her memories of him were already erased. Also, on the concert night, after parting ways, Seon-jae followed Sol to make sure she arrived home safely.
This for sure gives us some reasonable doubt that Seon-jae didn’t commit suicide but was murdered. We didn’t see who it was, but someone dropped by Seon-jae’s room that night. So, what if said person pushed Seon-jae down?
아 귀여워.. 귀엽다.. 너무 귀여운데?
아 귀여워.. 귀엽다.. 너무 귀여운데?솔선재 여권네컷 티벤도 가지고 싶다..💕
[월화] 저녁 8:50 | tvN#선재업고튀어 #LovelyRunner pic.twitter.com/0oyHj7aQvW
— tvN drama (@CJnDrama) April 15, 2024
I feel somewhat sorry for Tae-sung since he seems to genuinely like Future Sol. He might not realize it yet and only suggested they date to get rid of the other girl following him. But Tae-sung has fallen for Sol. It is mostly because Sol is the only person who tells him to behave and not act recklessly when even his parents are too busy to care for him.
It isn’t that Tae-sung is a bad guy, he just puts up a façade to draw his parents’ attention but unluckily they don’t seem to realize it. Tae-sung telling Sol that his father might not even remember his birthday made me feel for him. And though inadvertently, the surprise party Sol threw for Tae-sung must have touched his heart.
The drama continues to be a blast. And the new rules make the ride more exciting. At least we now know for sure that the future can be changed. So, let’s root for Sol to regain the rest of her memories and come up with a way to save Seon-jae though I would argue that just being by his side is enough to make Seon-jae happy and willing to live. The guy is already smitten and can’t help but smile at Sol’s antics and worry about her even when she gets him mad.
Bask into an amusing romantic ride with Seon-jae and Seol in Lovely Runner! International fans can watch the series on Viu!
Photos and Videos: tvN Drama
