Lovely Runner Hits New Ratings High and Break 5% in Penultimate Episode 15 Ahead of Big Finale

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• The biggest question right now is are these two dating or not in reality? The BTS is questionable enough, always clinging to each other, holding hands, basically being in each other's personal space, laughing like nobody is around you...now Salon Drip has made things 100 times confusing. Either they are serving hot, sizzling Jessica Chastin and Oscar Issac level fan service on damand....or these two are 100% dating on the downlow.

  • lol I honestly think it's just really good grade A fanservice and good for them since it helps draw fan interest to their promotional appearances for the drama

    but knowing how k-ent reacts to these things, if there's really anything between them I hope it isn't made public by the media until they've been paired up in another drama (back in 2017 I made a comment about wanting to see Lee Jong Seok and IU as OTP in a drama, RIP that dream lol I am selfish)

    • I feel the same way, I'm selfish too. I think their chemistry is really good so I hope we can see them paired up in another drama.

  • Nah theyre not dating, they're just really comfortable with each other. It's bws that loves giving the fan service it's his thing, Khy is just playing along with it.

    • Yeah not dating. They surprised me in some promos where they seemed really awkward with each other and didnt know much about one another. Also tv programmes that are romcom focused always like to edit their bts footage to make it look a certain way (remember aos season2), especially if a couple is at the centre of the show, 99% of bts are abt them and made to look suspicious so delulu fans will be like omg they are dating! It helps sustain views and interest. Bws is also quite flirty/fanservicey with his costars in general, khy just seems to be reacting.

      Salon drip lol they were there to promote the show, and all these programmes are scripted. Why on earth would they go on a public YouTube show or TV programme and say whatever they truly feel? All these things are directed and written by others and it's probably also in their contract to play things up lol like. I need some of yall to stop being so delusional and naive, but I guess this means the fanservice is working very well.

    • @Anne they seem really comfortable and friendly with each other while actually filming the drama (based on behind the scenes footage) but not everyone is that comfortable in an interview/talk show format so I'm not surprised at all they were awkward when faced with people demanding to know if they were actually dating etc. I think people need to just be happy with fanservice for what it is and stop expecting actors to be each other's best friends or actors to be their irl characters tbqh.

  • I don't think so. But i feel like khy is really nice and fun and friendly so her MLs tend to be really comfy around her. She's also really close to rowoon and ljh.

  • What a sick question. It’s not anybody’s business who they date. What if one of them is a closeted gay person, does all the kisses because it’s their job, and now the crazy female fans demand they date. Sick.

    • Entire South Korea is asking that question. It happens with a massively hit show with exceptional lead chemistry. Here's your imaginary cookie for being a party pooper and kill joy. Enjoy it!

    • this is the problem with kdrama fan culture and SK entertainment culture in genneral - the shipping. instead of shipping two characters which is all fine and fun and healthy, majority of fans, even international ones are always shipping the 2 REAL PEOPLE behind the character. it's so weird and invasive, especially when they could be gay like you said, have real life partners already or really just dont like each other. fans also dont even know these ppl in real life, they could have very different personalities. acting is literally just a job and looking like you get on well with your costar is part of the job, but fans are so delulu. this is why i cant really get into alot of kdramas these days, the shipping is so weird

  • not sure if they are dating or not, but these two obviously have an immense amount of love and respect for each other. that obviously translated to one of the best chemistry we've seen onscreen in a long, long time. i just hope they remain good friends as both of their stars continue to rise, and get the opportunity to work in an amazing drama again in a few years' time.

  • @anne, you have a good point. It’s all fan service. When a drama does well, fans always wonder and wish the leads are dating. When QOT aired, there were a lot of shippers wondering if Kim Soo hyun and Kim Ji Won are dating as well based on the bts that was cut. But, they are not. And their interactions at the press show only formality and professionalism

    I won’t be surprised all their behaviors and responses are scripted. bHK probably told to say “no comments” when asked if he is dating KHY just to get all the fans to talk and watch to the end. If they’re dating, I will think they want to keep it a secret. Also, until they’re caught by dispatch hanging out off screen, I don’t think delusional fans should put too much hope they are dating

    • Actually BWS didnt say no comment to the Are youndating queation. It was edited that way for the preview. All they did was laugh in response. The no comment was for a diff wuestion. The host Jangdoyeon at one point even commented sorry for the low class kind of questions. Because she knows more thn half the content is for fanservice.

    • @Wizzy - ya the fanservicey interactions really help with interest/ratings and the actors really play them up as well, even in bts. alot of ppl thought ljw and gyj were dating in aos s2 - i just saw 2 ppl in character, they were just normally interacting when there were no cameras to play up to. same for this drama and any other drama with the leads as the focus of the romance.

      yes alot of all their chats/topics on all these youtube/tv shows are scripted and they have scripts to read ahead of time. bws was photographed holding a couple of cue cards himself before the taping began. the salon drip one was clearly just for shippers to drum up interest for the finale. and i guess it worked

      @sharreb - some fans may not be happy at this, but my take is that alot of their chemistry is also kudos to the director. one of the best i've seen in awhile. he was literally giving specific breakdown instructions for each take and scene, super specific. where to put hands, how to approach each other, how to kiss. and yes chemistry absolutely can be manufactured/directed. and yup in alot of tvn promos where they dont have to play anything up, they are abit awkward and dont seem to know each other well. it was giving ljw-jsm awkwardness. agree that KHY doesnt give off an interested vibe, bws always leans into the fanservice but he's like that with every single one of his drama female coleads.

  • I thk they arent dating. But they are friendly with each other. On set, they had great rapport and depended on each other and brought out the best in their characters. Hence the great chemistry. On salon drip, it was the teasing that got them flustered. On the dating question, theu couldnt deny it as the drama is still airing. They could only laugh it off. In a separate interview you can tell they dont know that much about each other. Especially KHY, shes friendly and fun as is always the case with her costars. But she didnt give off the vibe that shes interested in him as someone she would date.

    Enjoyed their acting very much and hope their next project is just as good.

    • Same, consider their careers are up and rising, I think they will want to focus on their careers first but who knows. I saw pics of their wedding tux and dress even mirror hyun bin and son ye Jin’s wedding outfits. Goes to say how media is trying to blowing things up to make them like they are dating

    • lol this is the second drama this year with wedding outfits like Hyun Bin and Son Yejin, of course it's juicier for media to go 'are they dating??' than the simpler truth which is that the BinJin wedding ended up on a lot of kdrama costume designers' moodboards.

      Notice that Kim Soohyun and Kim Jiwon didn't draw that speculation in Queen of Tears because it was a Park Jieun drama (like BinJin's Crash Landing on You)

  • Admittedly, I'm a shipper, but I don't think they're dating either. They both seem like very career focused people based on interviews and have reached a new peak. Not to say they can't date. If they choose to, I believe it's their personal business whoever they decide to date.

    KHY also likened their relationship to comradeship like being in the army together (suffering together). She said he's like an oppa drifting away. They're probably booked and busy doing separate things, it'll be hard to maintain even their friendship.

    • Yeah, I finally caught up with subbed episodes and media interviews. They are friendly colleagues, I don't think they are as good friends as Hye Yoon is with Rowoon and Jae Wook even. I appreciate the fan service though. It was fun. Hopefully both continue to rise with better projects and then get to reunite in a drama down the line again.

• YES!!! So happy for them and Lovely Runner, now it's undoubtedly a hit and I hope it leads to good things for both Kim Hye Yoon and Byun Woo Seok's careers. It's been a while since we had a feel-good surprise hit kdrama.

  (5 percent for a youth drama on cable in a weekday time slot, on top of the insane amount of buzz around them? Definitely a hit. I've seen other tvn dramas with around that same figure and from higher profile writer/cast being declared hits so Lovely Runner is now safely one)

  Something I noticed is that the really successful dramas of this year seem to all be ones that feel like classic kdramas - Queen of Tears, now LR, they both feel like they could have come out of the 00s-early 2010s and don't belong to the 'Netflix era' if anyone knows what I mean?

• I found this episode too long nothing really happened. The couple is cute but now, there is nothing new, so they could focus on them being as adult couple. But there is still this killer nobody care about except the writer...

  I missed the first time line, I think it was the most interesting.

  • Yup I missed the first timeline. Stopped watching a few weeks ago at it think episode 10 cos I felt it was just repetitive n filler fanservice scenes, reading recaps I'm not that far off.

• I am so happy for the production team. Their 3 years of waiting finally paid of. BWS still can't fully get a grasp on his phenomena is the cutest thing ever. KHY performance was something to remember.
  I don't think they are dating though, they simply respect, admire each other , and want to show their appretiation in the best way possible.However, if they find LOVE in the process or LATER, that would be great.

• Finally this drama ended...I will start watching by this Friday...

• The ratings go to show that TV audiences are mainly a particular age group. With how popular this show is, TV ratings are probably not a good measure of success anymore. Moreover this is also on TVing which is easier for the youth to access like other streaming services. Very happy for the show and cast though, deserving success.

• She denied dating rumors. Shippers can move on

• It’s so tiring to have conversations veer into yet another “are they dating” question. Ugh. What is up with some people’s obsession over someone else’s personal life. I will never understand this mentality. Are all shippers 13yo? If not, are you just underdeveloped on the logical side? Because why tf would anyone ship real human beings who we don’t know anything about other than some 5 min we see on screen where they know a camera is filming everything. It’s absolutely ridiculous lol.

  Anyway, happy to see this do well, and particularly pleased for KHY who despite having had several hits in the past, never truly broke out. It’s yet to be seen how successful she can be - in fact both leads - depends highly on their next projects. Still, it’s been a really good run for them.

  • fans are always curious if the leads are dating after a drama with romance is done airing especially if the drama is a hit. Sometimes Korean showbiz plan all their moves to get fans and shippers hooked so the drama can get ratings. It’s a conversation that will repeat continuously

  • We are not going to pretend Koreans exclusively do this. Hello, Sydney Sweeney admitted she designed Anyone But You promo around the rumors about her and Glenn Powell on purpose to market her film and the moment people started speculations, she called Sony executives with a plan. Everyone does it everywhere. Relax!

    • Firstly, you need to relax and read. Again, READ.

      Where the fuck do you see me "pretending" like this is Korean exclusive? That's you taking offence because you got hit by a stray bullet. You're in a public blog speculating about people's personal lives and find it offensive that someone's calling out how batshit crazy it is to be so invested in someone's personal life? LOL get out of here.

      Didnt realize "everyone does it everywhere" makes things right. LOL yea, you go around speculating, creating shipper theories and analyzing with a microscope. 13yos dont really have much to do anyway.

• I dislike all this shipping business - I mean acting is their job and all these speculations must be so uncomfortable especially for the female actresses.

  As a viewer, I'd rather they do another drama in a couple of years. They definitely are a delight to watch on screen together.

  I read KHY's naver interview where she mentioned she has not received many scripts post LR. I will be so mad if she is again relegated to sub lead or support roles. She hard carried LR and I wish her to have a prolific acting career like SYJ or HJM. She is for sure talented to pull it off.

  • KHY should have broken out after Extraordinary You, she hard carried that drama. Unfortunately, signing on to do a supporting role in that Snowdrop drama by the Sky Castle writer out of goodwill/loyalty ended up being a setback to her, Lovely Runner is her first drama lead role since 2021-22.

    I really hope she starts getting offered a higher calibre of projects now and not just endless cameos like she was getting earlier.

    • Yes - chungmuro, established actors, non romance genres, win the prestige awards. As a viewer, I will sincerely root for her.

  • I think shipping is just unconfritable for the actors full stop. Its got nothing to do with female vs male, this whole obsession over obsessing about these actors life outside the camera is so ridiculous.

    I hope so too regarding KHY. She's a strong actress and has been stealing dramas even when in just a supporting role. I think it might be early to get a lot of scripts since LR just completed. Hopefully she gets some challenging roles offered to her soon. Her next project will be really crucial.