Lovely Runner

Very interesting plot only for it to breakdown halfway towards the end

Just for disclaimer i was both of the leads fans, but being a fan doesn't mean i can't critic their work ok.

I already watched this drama before it became the hot topic over the neighborhood lol, it was because i like the fl and the ml previous work (sky castle and 20th century girl). I was so crazy about it when episode 2 was dropped, i was gagged and it got more exciting.

But the disappointment hits me at 10ish episode, because there was no character or even plot development at all. The plot losed it focus when they started to date i think. I know the main point in this drama is to save sunjae, and this drama is a romcom, but i really really hope that the fl and ml could have more bond with other characters too. I think it got to the point that other characters are pointless(?) and written just to fill the void. The ml's world is only imsol, he will do anything just to be with imsol, it's like he has no character at all because his decisions are easily influenced by his loved ones (imsol) (i know it's a romcom but come on... you can be lovey dovey while doing other things too). Same goes for the fl... It's like their character couldn't care less about other people if it's not about their gf/bf.

And the fl character is bad written imo, thank god hyeyoon saves it with her acting. She's supposed to be 30s yo woman trapped in higschooler body, but she even acts more childish than the highschooler could be. I know sol's character main purpose is to save sunjae, but she's too careless, has no plan, and just couldn't think straight (and i can't relate to it maybe that's why i can't empathize with her character).

Overall the acting was good enough, and the chemistry was fire. But there were probably some parts that's not really enjoyable to watch. Idk if it's because sol character is bad written or whatever it's, but sometimes the "i'm shocked" in sol's face kinda unnatural and i could tell that she's trying to act there, but other than that it was just great.

It's just my opinion, yall could try to watch it if you're interested, because i swear the few early episodes was dope tho ngl.

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An amazing start, but...

1. Something about "fix me" stories as it relates to people with disabilities just doesn't sit right with me, I was hoping the part of the story about the FL being a wheelchair user would return, at the very least because it was wrapped very quickly, but instead it was mainly used to further the plot, with few moments focused on representation, which was disappointing.

2. The serial killer plot dragged on for sooooo long and it ended in such an anticlimactic way, it felt like in the end the writer didn't know what to do with the guy.

3. The constant timeline changes killed the momentum, especially the last one because I absolutely despise the amnesia trope, I find it usually useless because it puts a stop at the character/relationship development.

All of that means that if the drama was shorter, around 12 episodes, some of the issues with the storytelling could have been resolved, at least for me. All in all though, I did enjoy the lead couple immensely, no matter the little things I disliked, their chemistry always made up for it in the end.

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When the Idol is a fan of his fan (So many adorable scenes): This is Peak Rom-Com!

It is finally here! I love both the leads so it is damn good to watch this.

That phone call made me cry. Wow, what a powerful 1st episode. I especially like the meet cute part of the relationship, how the people first connected. With these two, the first connection was over phone call and it was anything but cute. It was a wake up call for our FL and uplifting one at that. The ML came across as such a caring person, saying something so beautiful to a stranger, and he didn't say it because he was on the radio but those were heartfelt words. The rom-com gods must love me right now, coz we did get a very lovely meet cute of them meeting in person. Aww.

During his live concert, he looked so damn good in the white shirt, black pants and the almost red lips, in the middle of the podium, playing his piano reminded me of Taylor swift.

Loved the first episode, I was always checking how much of it was left and wishing that there was more of it. If only they made 2 hours long episodes. It was so damn lovely! I loved it so much, that I'm gonna go watch it again

2nd Ep: I was bit worried that the 2nd episode might not follow through on the promise delivered by the 1st one, but it was in vain. These two are so adorable. I love the kind of comedy that Kim Hye Sun brings to this, love her in the "Extraordinary You" and I'm kinda sad that she doesn't do such roles more often. The last few minutes of the episodes were eye-opening. Here we thought that this was one sided fan crush, but he knew & liked her before she even knew that he existed. I also like our SML, he has personality. I do wonder what their photo appearing at the end means. The scene is still the same except for that photo, does it mean that he still dies or that more changes need to happen in the past for the result to change.

3rd Ep: It started with a round of flying kisses. Oh god, that was so damn hilarious and something a teenage boy would definitely do. Can we name this episode, "When the idol is also a fan of his fan." Such adorable moments. Like his friend said, it was all about the timing and every time he tried to tell her about his feelings, something happened. I love how the episode ended, I thought the majority of it would be in the past, this back to the present is great. Now, the picture on the table makes sense, but is that picture going to get our Im Sol in trouble? Will she be a suspect? That's kinda farfetched but you never know. Gotta wait another day to figure out what happens.

4th Ep: What kind of weird memory loss does Im Sol have? Even if she had forgotten the things she did when her older self took over her body what about Sun Jae's presence during the times she was just herself? How did she completely erase everything about him from her life? Maybe, its the accident that led to it. This episode felt so damn short. Now, it is looking like he somehow contributed to the accident that led to her becoming a paraplegic. They are giving us the hints. It could be that he like many leads just carries guilt even though he isn't directly responsible for it. With the lack of information we have on Tae Sung, we have to wonder what role he played in all of it.

5th Ep: It was another episode with cute moments with our lovely leads. I felt like they aren't trying to create a SML syndrome here. Since, the SML doesn't have much of screentime with the FL, not like True Beauty. Sun Jae-ya is so damn adorable, more so than Im Sol. The ending was perfect, but from the preview of the next episode, it seems like a sad one. With Im Sol probably rejecting Sun Jae.

6th Ep: While the episode was good, and Sol's misunderstanding about Sun Jae's feelings was a bit frustrating but the preview for next weeks episode is wow! It looks so good, thankfully its going in the direction, I didn't expect. I tried reading the translated webnovel but its just so poorly translated and missing pieces, it was hard to read it. But from what I have read so far, the drama is better written.

7th Ep: I want to thank the creators for giving us such exciting rom-com after a while. It just make me look forward to every episode and enjoy each & every moment of it. Im Sol is just amazing. And it is glad to the the future Sun Jae retain his corny ways in the changed future. Can't wait for the next episode!

8th Ep: We thought they were gonna give us another lovey dovey episode. We got that, but along with that we also saw that Im Sol couldn't prevent what happened to Sun Jae. The ending was so heartbreaking. Ever since the last episode, it was understandable that the guy who kidnapped her might have had a hand in harming Sun Jae. There's still more than half of the series left, what more do they have in store for us? Im Sol going back in time again? I'm for it. Or Sun Jae having amnesia after he wakes up? Not really a fan of that arc. Hopefully he doesn't die this time. I'm a bit worried about the ending now. I assumed that this one will have an happy ending, but with the ways things are going, it might have an ending where Im Sol will be learning a lesson that she can't really change some things no matter how many times she goes back in time. (Here's to hoping that Sun Jae stops dying)

9th Ep: Why was this one so short? Finally got to see Tae Sung again. I like him as a character, from the preview it seems like we'll be seeing more of him at least in the next episode. The preview has me so anxious. Love the soft curls Im Sol was rocking. They really pulled the Spiderman kiss for the Geum & Hyun Joo and it looked good. I'm always glad to see In Hyuk, who tries to pull Sun Jae back from his insanity. Although Sun Jae's a bit delulu, his delusion is fed by Im Sol's mixed signals. Poor guy, gets his head messed up with.

10th Ep: Love that everything is out in the open now, a big thanks to Tae Sung who helped Sun Jae realize what Im Sol wasn't willing to tell him. But the current story makes me think they are going to pull an amnesia arc in the future, where Im Sol forgets about Sun Jae and her time travel, with Sun Jae having to woo her again. Hope that isn't the case, cause poor Sun Jae needs to get his happy ending. I wonder what's with the ending, does that mean Sun Jae won't be an Idol in the future? Im sol might end up traveling back again.

11th Ep: Now we know why Sun Jae is such a goner about Im Sol. He poured all his passion into it, like he once did with swimming. He is such a silly goose in love that Im Sol silliness feels toned down. Loved the scene where their families find out. Poor guy has no idea where those packets came from. Oh God, that was so fun to watch. His phone conversation with his friend: "Con? What Con? Unicorn?" Overall, a beautiful episode. If it keeps up with the performance, this drama has such a high rewatch value. Every moment is precious.

12th Ep: After a good run, this was just an okay episode. With only 4 episode left, things are coming to head now. Sol needs to start making better decision. Trying to do it all on her own is going to get her or Sun Jae killed. I'm also worried that Tae Sung might die.

13th Ep: So Tae Sung is finally a police office, we finally got a confirmation that he is one. Missed Sun Jae in this episode. We got to see less of him compared to Im Sol. You gotta love Im Sol, always going out of her way for Sun Jae. At first, it was because she was grateful and now because she has genuinely come to care for him. So Sun jae never met her, he never wrote the song about her, and never became a singer. But the kidnapper just won't quit, he's here again. We only have 3 episodes left.

14th Ep: That was such a nice episode. What I like about this drama is that they have so many new beginnings. It is good to see them meet time and again, experience a new story. It's nice to see that Sun Jae hasn't lost his charm. I wanted to hear more about his dating history. I'm a bit worried about Tae Sung this time around. Can't wait for the last two episodes even though I don't want it to end.

15th Ep: The only distressing part about this drama is the leads not putting their heads together to come up with a serious plan to get rid of the taxi driver. I mean the leads also had supportive parents, friends, siblings, all of whom could have helped them anytime they asked. But not, they didn't learn. Especially, Im Sol, she didn't think strategically at all. Her emotions were running so wild all the time she made one bad decision after another. Don't blame her though, in her place my mind would panicking as well. Sun Jae is truly a terrific character brought to life by Byeon Woo Seok, who has done justice to the role. No a single actor could have done a better job or even come close to what he brought to this character. I laughed so much during this episode as well. This is the 2nd last episode. I'm gonna miss Im Sol & Sun Jae. They better not give us a sad or open ending!

16th Ep: This episode gave us and Byeon Ooo Seok the happy ending that he deserved. This is going to be my all time favorite drama. Everything was just about perfect. I can't believe that it has ended. I still feel like there's going to be another episode next week. Wow, I think half of the world was addicted to Lovely Runner, because the entire drama was roses and sunshine with one recurrent issue that we felt would be resolved by the end. I just felt happy throughout the drama, not a single episode failed to make me laugh. I'm gonna miss seeing these two together, here's to hoping they collaborate on another drama together & do a wonderful job at it.

Now that it is over, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to find a drama with the same vibes. There isn't a drama with the same vibe. The story might not be all that unique but the absolute charm these leads brought to it turned it into a powerful rom-com that might inspire everyone.

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Kim Hye Yoon stuns and Byeon Woo Seok is great, but after that?

Attempting to keep this brief.

Kim Hye Yoon and Im Sol are as perfect a pairing of actor and character as can be achieved by human effort.

Byeon Woo Seok is more than capable as a lead and is particularly good when Seon Jae is uncomfortable and awkwardly trying to make something happen with Im Sol. Somehow, when he's supposed to be cool and under control, doesn't seem as natural.

The two together are fantastic particularly through the first time loop sequences up until Im Sol finally (in present day) comes clean about her feelings and the big scene in her apartment doorway delivers the awaited romantic payoff.

These two can duke it out with the lead couple of just about any drama and hold their own.

But the rest?

Not great.

There's a second couple but 1. it's forgotten almost completely from episodes 4 through 15 and 2. they are clearly intended to be the comic relief in a show where the leads provide plenty of laughs so the second couple has to take their acting to a sketch comedy level that is nails-on-chalkboard grating.

Kim Won Hae is great (as he almost always is) but the relationship between Sun Jae and KWH's father is rarely given any in depth play. What could have been a terrific subplot, particularly when dealing with Sun Jae's swimming career, is ignored.

Tae Sung is a promising character but he needed a bit of backstory and consistency. Like a lot of characters that aren't the main two, Tae Sung is too frequently simply a convenient device that transforms in to whatever the story requires him to be. A bad boy that needs to fake a relationship with Im Sol. Later a buddy for Sun Jae. Then an object of jealousy. Intermittently, a character teased as the third spoke of a triangle (thankfully only teased but even the teasing of it was unwelcome). Finally, a cop to pursue the villain. Although the time loop changes can account for some of this, it's jarring when in one loop he's a successful fashion entrepreneur and then suddenly he's a civil servant.

Back to the villain: it's the most bland villain ever and the final confrontation with him is so painfully anticlimactic.

And the storytelling overall is lacking. It starts after major events that drive the storyline have happened but the context is never adequately exposited. The time loops are fairly well handled but there is absolutely one more loop than there needed to be and it's clear that the writers grew tired of incorporating how the most recent loop back changed the present day circumstances.

It's a show that could have 1. been a show exclusively about the lead couple for about an 8 episode run (like a longer "Soundtrack" drama) or 2. a more traditional 16 episode drama that invested more screen time in the secondary stories and characters. Either way, with this lead couple, it could have been an all-time great show. Instead, it's a fun watch and certainly recommended but falls well short of what it should have been.

[EDIT: Wow. Thanks so much to everyone who has liked this review! The positive feedback is very appreciated :)

The review should have mentioned that Im Sol's grandmother, both the character and the portrayal, were wonderful but, frustratingly underutilized.]

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(Sadly) I agree, this is overhyped

I really really really wanted to love this. It started off incredibly great, I was on the edge of my seat hugging my pillow for the first couple of episodes and then at some point it just turned so incredibly random.

It felt like someone had a pitch for the series and maybe the first couple of episodes thought out and then at some point they just winged it without any plan at all whatsoever. There were a bunch of fillers with a bit too much comic relief and a bit too little plot. They could have cut this show short by 5 episodes and it would have probably been a decently good show.

Although, even so the main plot had a bunch of holes (which is to be expected for this kind of story but still this one overdid it a little on the lack of logic front…).

The female lead is a bit… particular, her choices seem awfully random and not very thought out at all.. considering the whole thing kind of just revolves around her that was a bit annoying.

Now some positives which still made me sort of like this overall:

- it did have some exciting parts (although a lot of it was predictable too)
- I sincerely laughed quite a bit
- I absolutely adored the male lead (although his character does have some issues but I don’t mind particularly)
- male lead actor… just… <3
- soundtrack was pretty great and catchy

That’s it, overall I don’t think this was bad but it definitely does not live up to the hype, and it definitely did not live up to its own potential ..

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BORING - how can this show be this overrated ?

Everything is in the title : boring.
I struggle to watch 13 episodes, it was good at the beginning, a lot of potential but EXTREMELY repetitive. Every episode is the same, they could have shorten it to 10 episodes, maybe it would have been better.
Romance was so childish and unreal... I couldn't relate.
Also, the disability part and depression would have been a great plot of this show, but barely developed, this drama wasn't deep enough...
Nevermind, I will have trust issues now with the rating of a Kdrama show ... gave me hope, but waste of time for me.

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Cheesy Fanfiction Loaded with Fanservice and a Side of Time Travel

I was really excited to watch this show after hearing all the great things about it. It seemed liked everyone was talking about it like it was up there with Queen of Tears, so maybe I had my expectations set too high to begin with because I was rather disappointed with how it turned out. The show isn't entirely bad, but it's very lacking.

I thought the overall tone of the show was fun. There were some funny moments and cute interactions between the leads, but most of it is overshadowed by the poor writing and lack of character development. The cast did good in their roles, though there is a bit of overacting that I suppose kind of fits with the quirky vibe but does seem out of place sometimes. First time seeing Byeon Woo Seok in a leading role like this, so I was excited to see how he does. I think he did good considering the poorly written character he had to play, but some of the overacting bits and exaggerated comedic expressions were a little awkward to watch. I do like how Seon Jae was not your usual cold and lifeless ML that we see a lot of in K-dramas, and he had a bit of a fun personality which was refreshing. Kim Hye Yoon did good as well, but I do agree with others that say her character could be a little annoying at times. The rest of the side characters were kind of just there to be there. They didn't really add much to the story, and I kind of wished the writers would have given a little more screentime to delve into the complexities around time travel and how that can impact relationships in Im Sol's life (something that Twinkling Watermelon did great on). Maybe more focus could have been on Seon Jae's depression and how Im Sol tries to help him through it (like the show "Seasons of Blossom"). The lack of character development for any of the characters, especially the leads, made the emotional aspect of the show suffer. I didn't really feel connected to any of the characters, so it just kind of felt like the writers were trying really hard to make me feel emotional and invested when I was anything but. Everything just seemed very surface level, like they had the potential to dive in way deeper when it comes to time travel and attempting to save a loved one by going back to the past, but instead they focused more on cliche fanfiction-like romance to make hearts flutter. But at the end of the day, even those heart-fluttery moments didn't really feel real or genuine since there was very little character to feel connected with and I wasn't even emotionally invested in their relationship. The time traveling was confusing at times and didn't really make sense. I wasn't a fan of how they kept switching between time periods and basically "resetting" everything multiple times. It got repetitive very quickly and the push-and-pull with the FL got boring.

The villain was kind of a joke. I still don't really understand what the point of him was, and I feel like the writers really tried to squeeze by hoping that no one would notice how poorly written his character is. He didn't seem all that threatening to me, especially when the script was rather predictable and I could tell based on the numerous dramas I've seen with similar villains that it was going to end up playing out the same way. He was just a crazy bad guy who was only there to progress the story when needed and add some conflict here and there. Every time he showed up on screen with his one bad eye I was like "oh great, I forgot about this guy".

I wasn't familiar with Lee Seung Hyub before this show, but he was surprisingly a breath of fresh air. He added that bit of comic relief while also not being too obnoxious or annoying. Im Geum and Hyun Joo were kind of funny and cute sometimes, but mostly just annoying and were clearly there to add comic relief. This wasn't really necessary since the show itself has enough comedic moments.

Then there's the love triangle with Kim Tae Sung. I read that his character was actually written specifically for the show and wasn't in the original. It seems like most people love him, but I felt more annoyed than anything else. His character was also not developed well at all, and he seemed kind of pointless until the last few episodes. He would just show up every now and then to add cheesy fanservice and jealous ML scenes. The dialogue in his scenes felt especially cliche to me when looking at it from a writing perspective. Like it's painfully obvious it was just fanservice most of the time, and of course they had to have the FL's past self be in love with the 2ML, while the present day FL is in love with the ML. Both Seon Jae and Tae Sung are constantly fighting for Im Sol's attention and love (more rivalry fanservice incoming), but both have very little character outside of this and this continues until basically the very last episode. It's hard to see how you could have 2ML syndrome when his character isn't at all interesting and very underdeveloped, added with the fact that he only has a few scenes here and there and doesn't really contribute much until the very end.

Sorry if my review seemed all over the place (I was really just typing whatever came to mind). Overall, if you're looking for a cheesy cliche rom-com that isn't necessarily groundbreaking but just as an easy watch, then this show could be for you. If you're looking for more of a complex story and deeper connections with its characters, then you might want to look elsewhere.

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im sorry for the person im gonna be

there's a lot of things that i wanna say about this drama because the more i watched it the more i started to force me to finished it and i couldn't. i watched half of the 14th ep and i decided to watch another thing 💀

i'm not gonna talk abt the acting cuz idk abt those things but instead i'm gonna talk abt sol's character. she pissed me off so bad, she just did things that i didn't like and she was just doing it for stupid reasons. that time where she made the guy from her career eat the mouthwash just because she didn't want sunjae to see her??? and the fact that she wanted sunjae not to fall in love with her and okay, i kinda get it but why would you say that if you're gonna cry and start to date him suddenly?? doesn't make sense. sol needed to make up her mind SO BAD i bet she also didn't know what she was doing

i also didn't know when was the time that sol felt something for sunjae because in 2023, she told him she did but did she really? when was that actually? /gen like, i never noticed that (i think it was when sunjae asked her if she didn't feel anything towards him at any of those times she was in when they were at her house)

also, can we talk abt the crime subplot?? if there's something i hate on romcoms dramas is that mf crime subplot like, why?? if i wanted to watch a crime drama i would. and please don't try to excuse them with the "it's because she couldn't walk" okay i get it, but there's so many options for that, she could've just get in a car accident-

speaking of which, there were a lot of drama at some point because of the guy that abducted her, sunjae confessing and sol's mom at the hospital?? 🧍🏼‍♂️

even tho i gave it a 6.5 i won't say this was a bad drama. like, i actually enjoyed it and it gave me a good chuckle and, if it wasn't for sol's personality i would say sunjae and her had a good relationship, it was cute and all.

btw omg i loved sunjae's personality. he was so cute, he really liked sol and he was so down bad for her. i love when the male leads are a losers <3

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Very disappointing

I had really high hopes for this show because of all the hype that was going on around it. I have one more episode left but so far I'm very disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it has some really sweet moments and their chemistry is really good. There are also lots of funny moments and the humor is very good too. The story really had a great potential but I just feel like they had no idea what to do with it.

First episode really had me hooked and the plot was portrayed as very unique and deep with FL being disabled and also talking about ML who is a famous celebrity with depression problems. After that the show became very shallow and predictable. I don't even understand why they portrayed them like that, because that was never mentioned again for the rest of the show.
For me it got good again around 8th episode, when they meet as adults, but that lasted only for that one episode and after that it became progressively worse. I was expecting the story to develop around their adult life but she went back in time once again. I don't understand why tho because they showed him being hurt but they never said anything about him dying. At that point I was very tired of all the time travel because it made no sense.

Talking about time travel, I don't understand how was she able to change the fate and prevent her home from burning but wasn't able to save ML, not even once and it happened three times.

The more I watched the more I realised that her only goal was to save ML and nothing else was important. All other characters weren't important at all and they never got the chance to develop. At some point, during her time travel, she found out her mom was in a hospital because she was sick but they never explained what was going on and they never mentioned that again.

Also, in the first half of the series they never really explained how she became disabled and it was obvious we would find out during the show. Then they decided to make the second half all about that and her kidnapper and also her saving ML form the kidnapper. It gave a feeling as if they didn't know what to do with the story so they just decided to put that there.

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Jekyll & Hyde show that is doing my head in

To say that I'm torn about this show is an understatement. I have seldom seen a series that managed to succeed in one key area and yet screw up another. Please allow me to explain.

This series is built on two drama staples. Swoon worthy romance and the time traveling do-overs.

It nails the first with aplomb. Our leads' chemistry is undeniable and when it works, it is meltingly good. Time and again, when I start to suffer, the writer-nim would bring on the amore and we are floating on a pink cloud. . . until we crash back to earth due to the ham-fisted way the show handles the timey-wimey stuff.

The problem is not that the show tripped up on some high temporal concept but rather simple plot management. To wit, the show used weaponised time travel like a blunt instrument. Internal logic and intersecting plots be damned.

It worked ok the first go around but after each do-over, the narrative got more convoluted. It basically tied itself in knots. Did events change? Did time correct itself? Does someone know or cares?! I'm sure the writer doesn't. Forget about time traveling taboos, it was a road kill right from the start.

Another contributor to this mess is the serial killer/kidnapper subplot. How I wish k-dramas would stop using this trope, but I digress. As before, his first couple of appearances was impactful and fits within the context of the central premise. However, one of the fundamental purposes of a do-over is to change the timeline so that history does not repeat itself. In this case, the plot around the killer is more like a rubber band. It is a millstone.

It doesn't help when the antagonist is a "faceless" bogeyman. I get that he is obsessed with the FL, but the rationale is lost in the mist of plot disarray. He has a name but no backstory, no motivation for any of his actions. They shouldn't have met, or he should be in jail as each timeline changes. Then what happened to him in the 15 years since he may or may not have kidnapped the FL? Did he killed more girls or just looked for the FL all those years. What are the police doing? Watching reruns of Dr. Who?!

The antagonist finally got his just deserts in the last EP but how I wish it happened 6 eps earlier. The last EP is total fan service on steroids! It speed-run through a stack of dating tropes and it is total guilty pleasure. It compensates for some of the mid show confusions.

There is a decent amount of skinship throughout the run and they felt right. Not the most passionate I have seen but swoon-y nevertheless.

In terms of acting, it is the same split personality. I love the leads to bits, but the support cast is all over the place. The grandma is sweet. The mum is bearable. The ML's dad is a buffoon who goes for the cheap laughs. The FL's bestie and her brother are so cringy. Their roles get more and more exaggerated as the show progresses. Are they 13 or 30? I groan during some of their scenes.

The kidnapper deserves his own paragraph. He is so one dimensional. Basically, a cardboard cutout. He shows up, does the Death Stare with bonus grimace and retires to a dark corner to await his next money shot. So little effort yet so pivotal a role.

In the end, if they do a director's cut of our leads’ romantic journey, it would be 10/10. I would be a happy couch potato watching it on repeat. The rest gets a 6/10. In view of balance, the show gets an 8/10.

I can totally understand the hype and attention surrounding the show but I also get why some would defer as well. I need therapy.

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Let me just say...

I'll be honest, I think the reason people love this show is because of Byeon Woo-Seok's portrayal of Sun-jae. The fact that he's very attractive, tall, and is generally likeable makes this show nice to watch, lol. The love story itself is interesting, but there's a few things I think the show did a poor job at.
1. I WISH that we got a richer back story on all the characters
2. I wish more things tied the ML and FL together besides the FL's ability to go back in time. Maybe if they had known each other since childhood rather than high school? Idk. I just feel like the relationship itself sort of lacked depth.
3. It would have been nice if the themes of class or poverty or something substantial were highlighted. Casting such attractive characters is great but I wish the producers/writers also put more thought into adding more complexity to this plot.
4. The person who was trying to hurt Im Sol -- wish we had background on him? Like if the reason he wanted to hurt was for revenge idk I just feel like it was a weird plot twist that made no sense to me. I wanted MORE! 😭

I like the relationship between the leads, I think the love story itself is nice, Sun-jae is a good bf, etc etc. But I just wanted more. There's 1000s of romantic storylines, but very few are able to have substance and unfortunately, as adorable the couple is, thats kind of the extent of what makes this show memorable. Their on-screen chemistry made me want to continue watching and it got me hooked on the show for a bit, but that's about it sadly.
Great songs though, 10/10.

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Heart fluttering rom-com quickly moved downhill with another murder mystery *tsk tsk*

Finally, FINALLY I finished Lovely Runner.
Phew! That was a damn loooong ride. It should have ended with min 8ep max 12eps. But no, they exaggerated it untillll they couldn't. (⁠─⁠.⁠─⁠|⁠|⁠）

Plot:
# It was good, funny, cute, lovely until the murder mystery emerged out of nowhere. I properly watched until ep 12, after that I skipped a lot and watched only the important scenes.
# Lovey-dovey sweet scenes felt really monotonous and full of cringe.
# The amount of tears FL cried, she completed her quota of crying for a year.
# The number of times she said "Sun jae-ya⁸⁹; Oh Sun jae-ya.⁹⁹" is unhealthy.

Acting: 8/10, -1 for Im sol's occasional overacting, and -1 for dumb killer. (⁠٥⁠↼⁠_⁠↼⁠)

OST: 100/10! The best OST of the year goes to Lovely Runner. Woo seok's voice was really soothing and on top of that 10cm, ah, no words for him, just brilliant! (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

Re-watch:
Idk if I can. I mean idk if I can watch the thrill part, all the crying and bullshit melodramatic scenes all over again. But yes I do have my favourite parts that I will be replaying a few more times (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

Opinion about the characters:
Im sol: Girl! you can't change someone's entire life even if you change it thousand times. Learn your lesson, don't fuss, don't be oversmart and just move forward ┗⁠(⁠•⁠ˇ⁠_⁠ˇ⁠•⁠)⁠―⁠→

Tae-sung: Idk if you know this, this character only existed in the drama version cuz in webtoon there's no Tae-sung. But man he stole my heart with his charming appearance. He's a best buddy you can have in your life. But one thing I would say is stop obsessing over other people's girlfriend, especially if she's your ex. (⁠*⁠_⁠*⁠)

Sun-jae: Ah...the heartthrob. His dimple. I'll stop here. But man was he stupid? No, he was extra stupid! He was straight up obsessed with Sol. Why would you remember a girl you met 15 yrs ago, who didn't even bat her eyes at you and keep messing up your head thinking about her?! (⁠ノ⁠ಠ⁠益⁠ಠ⁠)⁠ノ

The killer: Dude, ahjussi find a better job in next life, it ain't worth it. What a crackhead dumb killer, do your research first, watch some crime documentaries and then think about doing something new ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ ͠⁠°⁠ ͟⁠ʖ⁠ ⁠°͠⁠ ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

My Rating: 7/10 (5 for overall, 0.5 for OST and 0.5+0.5+0.5 for Tae-sung, Sun-Jae and Im-sol's dimples) ♡⁠(⁠Ӧ⁠ｖ⁠Ӧ⁠｡⁠)

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