Lovely Runner – K-drama Episode 4 Recap & Review

The Forgotten Lifesaver 

Episode 4 of Lovely Runner takes us back to the present day through a flashback. It turns out that the man who saved Im Sol after her accident was Sun-jae. At the time, Im Sol was reeling from everything and thought death was a better option. She lashed out at Sun-jae for saving her and asked him to leave.

The scene then cuts back to the day of the concert; this time, we see things from Sun-jae’s point of view. He recognised Im Sol immediately and still found her cute. Unfortunately, Im Sol doesn’t remember he is her saviour, at least not the man who saved her after the accident. He gives her an umbrella, and she gives him his favourite candy.

He likes these candies because she gave them to him back when they met for the first time in 2008. Even though Hyun-joo arrives to take Im Sol home, Sun-jae follows closely behind to ensure she gets home safely. Isn’t he the sweetest gentleman? Later, in his hotel room, he still can’t stop thinking about her. There is a knock on his door, and he hesitates to open it.

Once again, the scene cuts to Im Sol waking up at the hospital. She is back in 2023, and Sun-jae’s funeral plans are ongoing. It is heartbreaking to watch the world mourn. The police drop by to ask Im Sol questions as she was one of the last people who saw Sun-jae before his untimely death. They show her a picture of Sun-jae and her when they were teenagers. Im Sol is shocked and thinks the future has changed. Our theory is nothing has changed; Im Sol just forgot that she knew Sun-jae in the past.

Im Sol is saddened that she was unable to save Sun-jae. She returns to the river and tries to travel back to 2008. She lies in the cold water, praying desperately for a miracle, but nothing happens. She heads back home and watches the news. According to Sun-jae’s manager, Mr Kim, the idol was depressed following malicious comments about his life. This saddens Im Sol even more as she wishes she could have saved Sun-jae. She gets a call from In-hyuk, who says Sun-jae felt indebted to her. However, before he can explain more, the phone is disconnected, and Im Sol is unable to reach him.

As the clock strikes midnight, Im Sol realises the watch twitched again. This means she can only time travel at midnight. She quickly presses the button and returns to 2008. She finds herself in the middle of an exorcism. Past Im Sol thought she had a memory lapse because a vengeful virgin spirit possessed her. Im Sol explains that she is fine and leaves immediately after spotting Sun-jae.

However, Sun-jae is not happy to see her. Past Im Sol has been pushing him away and focusing on Tae-sung. Im Sol realises she has been gone for ten days, and a lot has happened. For starters, past Im Sol has been extremely dedicated to Tae-sung. Sun-jae is barely talking to her, and she wonders how long she can stay in this era and if she will be able to save Sun-jae.

The next day, she starts her mission to get close to Sun-jae, but he pushes her away. He finds it hard to believe her excuse that a vengeful virgin spirit possessed her. It is hard for him to watch her and Tae-sung. On the other hand, Im Sol wants to end things with Tae-sung, but she is also mindful of her time and how her actions will affect past Im Sol. Meanwhile, Tae-sung starts suspecting that Im Sol has multiple personalities. To differentiate them, he calls future Im Sol grandma.

Elsewhere, Bok-soon and Geun-deok continue to bicker about the borrowed DVD. According to Bok-soon, Sun-jae’s dad still owes her 3 dollars. As for Hyun-joo, she is experiencing constipation from the stress she is getting from Im Geum about his broken tooth. Im Geum keeps following her, asking for his tooth back. One day, he corners her as she runs to the toilet and saves her after she messes herself in front of her friends.

While her best friend avoids her brother, Im Sol approaches In-hyuk to caution him against introducing Sun-jae to the music world. She asks him not to take Sun-jae with him to the audition. However, In-hyuk is more pressed because she hurt Sun-jae and asks her to stay away. Of course, Im Sol ignores his warning and spends the day chasing after Sun-jae. She even defends him from a bully.

After this, she runs into Ga-hyun, and they fight over Tae-sung. Im Sol promises to break up with Tae-sung, but Ga-hyun doesn’t believe her. Out of nowhere, Mr Kim approaches the girls and asks them to stop fighting. Im Sol recognises and follows him. She witnesses him giving his card to Sun-jae and In-hyuk. She comes up with a plan to take the card before Sun-jae uses it.

The plan leads her to Sun-jae’s house, but Geun-deok informs her that he has left for rehab. He lets it slip that Sun-jae only dropped by the house to change. Im Sol realises that the card must still be in Sun-jae’s uniform and devises a way to sneak into his room. She uses her “superpower” of freezing time by mentioning what happens in the future to sneak in cleverly.

Unfortunately, she falls asleep while waiting for the perfect opportunity to sneak out after confiscating the card. Sun-jae is surprised when he finds her soundly sleeping under his bed. At first, he thinks he is hallucinating, but then he gets excited that she really is there. He fondly watches her sleeping and even tries to fight mosquitoes for her sake. While doing this, he accidentally wakes her.

He asks for an explanation, and she tells him she accidentally fell asleep while bringing him some books and something else to help with his shoulder. While they talk, Im Sol is confused as to why Sun-jae has been angry with her since the fateful drunken day. At this point, Sun-jae realises that Im Sol has blacked out and has no memory of his confession and kiss. He is relieved but also embarrassed that he was angry with her.

Im Sol does her best to cheer him up, using the words he used during his call after her accident. She knows he is struggling with the end of his swimming career and doesn’t want him to give up. She begs him to give her a chance to make things right; she wants them to get close again. As they spend more time in the room, it becomes harder for Sun-jae to have her so close to him. He covers her in a blanket and sneaks her out.

He asks her to keep her distance as her actions are hurting him. The back and forth of her feelings confuse him, and he can’t befriend her. He says her attention makes him feel embarrassed and humiliated. However, she says that is the only thing she can do for him. It suffocates her because she can’t do more than comfort him. He asks her to stop and leave him alone. He notices she is barefoot and gives her his slippers before harshly sending her away. His words hurt Im Sol, who spends the night crying on her bed.

The following day, Im Sol asks to meet Tae-sung to break up. However, it is Tae-sung’s birthday and past Im Sol prepared a sweet song for him. After nearly dying from embarrassment, Im Sol explains she has two personalities and doesn’t like Tae-sung’s relationship with her other personality. According to what we overheard, Tae-sung is not keen on dating Im Sol; he is using her to push Ga-Hyun away. However, he is starting to like future Im Sol.

As they talk, Tae-sung asks about Sun-jae and whether he quit swimming. Apparently, someone posted about Sun-jae and In-hyuk’s plans to attend an audition. Im Sol rushes out to find and stop Sun-jae. She runs into In-hyuk, and he informs her that Sun-jae got a call from his dad and left. She quickly rushes out again and falls down the stairs. However, she has no time to spare. In-hyuk calls Sun-jae, who is helping at his dad’s restaurant, and tells him Im Sol is looking for him.

Sun-jae is distracted after learning Im Sol fell down the stairs. He quickly leaves and spots her sleeping on the bus. By the time she was up, the bus was heading to the last stop. She quickly alights and waits for a cab when an old pervert approaches her. She threatens to call the police, and the man grabs her phone. In the struggle, Im Sol falls into the water. Thankfully, Sun-jae, who got a cab to find her, sees this and dives in to save her.

As she watches Sun-jae swim towards her, Im Sol’s memory from the accident returns. She remembers he is the man who saved her. After swimming to safety, Im Sol is grateful to Sun-jae and wonders how she could have forgotten such an important detail. She warmly embraces him as she cries. Sun-jae hugs her back, thankful she is okay.

The epilogue reveals that Sun-jae purposely called Im Sol during the radio interview.

The Episode Review

Well, this episode gave us a lot to think about. First, Im Sol only has two chances left to travel to the past. The watch indicates how many opportunities she has, but we don’t know how long she can stay in the past. She has no time to waste with Tae-sung, and it would be best to concentrate on Sun-jae fully. However, She and Tae-sung can be good friends. He is going through a lot on the family front, and Im Sol can help him.

Finally, Im Sol’s memory before the accident is returning, and she is starting to understand him better. Sun-jae never forgot her and still loved her from afar. In retrospect, it is sweet and sad simultaneously. He must have been glad to see her after the concert but sad that she didn’t remember him. He probably felt guilty for saving her and thought Im Sol meant it when she lashed at him. Seeing the events from Sun-jae’s POV is heartbreaking; he, too, suffered a lot.

On the other hand, we are excited to see Hyun-woo’s and Im Geum’s love story. They will provide some much-needed light comedy in this romantic comedy.