Lovely Runner - Ending Explained

The central mystery of "Lovely Runner" is not just how to save Sun-jae, but why their fates are so tragically intertwined. The antagonist is Kim Young-soo, a serial killer who was responsible for Im Sol's original accident in 2008. Sun-jae was the one who saved her from drowning after Young-soo hit her, creating a deep-seated guilt in him for not being able to do more, which contributed to his later depression. This same killer is responsible for attacking and ultimately killing Sun-jae in multiple timelines, drawn to him because of his connection to Sol.

Im Sol makes a total of three trips back in time, each with different consequences. Her actions prevent her from being paralyzed but repeatedly put Sun-jae in danger. In a desperate final attempt to save him, Sol travels back to their first meeting and intentionally avoids him, erasing their entire history together. This creates a new timeline where Sun-jae becomes a successful actor and Sol a film director, but they are strangers. However, fate continuously brings them together. The climax reveals that memories carved in the heart cannot be erased; Sun-jae's memories from all previous timelines come flooding back to him. In the end, the killer Kim Young-soo is accidentally killed during a police chase led by Kim Tae-sung, finally breaking the cycle of tragedy. The series concludes with Sun-jae, his memory fully restored, proposing to Sol, ensuring they finally get their well-deserved happy ending.

While the series presents a fairly straightforward narrative about love conquering fate, some viewers have offered alternative interpretations. One perspective focuses on the story as a metaphor for processing grief and regret. Im Sol's time travel could be seen as an elaborate psychological journey to come to terms with the loss of her hero and the past trauma of her accident. Each trip back is an attempt to 'fix' her past, and the happy ending represents her ultimate acceptance and the creation of a positive inner narrative.

Another interpretation views the story through a lens of consciousness and soulmates. Rather than literal time travel, Sol's journey could be seen as her consciousness connecting with her past self across parallel timelines or realities. Her grandmother's mysterious role supports this, suggesting a spiritual or shamanistic element guiding their souls to find each other. In this reading, their love is so strong that it bends reality, and the 'happy ending' is the universe finally aligning to the reality where their souls are meant to be together, suggesting that their connection is a fundamental law of their personal universe.