He’s just like Ryu Sun Jae!

Actor Byeon Woo Seok has risen to stardom with his latest role as the male lead in tvN‘s hit K-Drama Lovely Runner (also known as Run Away With Sun-Jae On Piggyback), portraying swimmer-turned-idol member of fictional band ECLIPSE, Ryu Sun Jae (also romanized as Ryu Seon Jae).

This romantic-comedy time-slip show is adapted from the webcomic Tomorrow’s Best.

Ryu Seon-Jae (Byeon Woo-Seok) is a top star who has been in the spotlight since his debut. His life seems perfect, but being in the entertainment industry has completely worn him out. Meanwhile, Lim Sol (Kim Hye-Yoon) loves Ryu Seon-Jae as an adoring fan. When she was little, she had an accident. Due to that, she gave up on her dream, but listening to Ryu Seon-Jae’s song on the radio gave her comfort and she became his fan since then. One day, Lim Sol hears breaking news that Ryu Seon-Jae has ended his own life. She feels deep sadness over the tragic news. Miraculously, Lim Sol somehow travels back in time to 15 years in the past. There, she faces Ryu Seon-Jae, who is a 19 year old high school student. She struggles to prevent his tragic future.

— AsianWiki

It was previously reported that the production of Lovely Runner was delayed three years. One factor holding back production was casting, as many actors rejected the role of Ryu Sun Jae.

#LovelyRunner's male lead role has been rejected by various actors saying that it was only a story about a "K-pop fan's unrequited love". It was #ByeonWooseok who only decided to pick up the role.

This right here is so touching. 😭 I can't imagine any actor playing this role. https://t.co/zqycwpY3Zs

— ryu 🍍| honeysucker (@pineapplejay3) May 6, 2024

Byeon Woo Seok and Ryu Sun Jae have some similarities. In Episode 14, Ryu Sun Jae, who became an actor, read a film script, Time to Walk Through Memories, that Im Sol (Kim Hye Yoon) wrote inspired by their real-life story, which he no longer remembers due to a time slip. After reading it, he cried and begged for the role, even claiming he would do it for free.

He cried unknowingly while reading the film script of Sol, not knowing that the man the story was about was himself.
Sol was literally making up the script based on her n Sunjae's love story 😭🤧#KimHyeYoon #ByeonWooSeok#LovelyRunnerEp14 #LovelyRunner pic.twitter.com/kHIrtIB9op

— Sudakshina♡수닥시나 (@Sudakshinab3) May 21, 2024

sol turned him down multiple times to protect him and he kept insisting on getting cast in her movie even willing to do it for free and still got declined sunjae is so funny and never beating the loser allegations😂 #LovelyRunnerEp14 pic.twitter.com/9ACSJeBHWb

— ً (@kdramamiss) May 21, 2024

In recent interviews, Byeon Woo Seok revealed a story much like Ryu Sun Jae’s.

Byeon Woo Seok recently addressed the “Sun Jae Syndrome” phenomenon and behind-the-scenes stories of the production, including the three-year-long delayed production and casting process. On tvN’s You Quiz On The Block, Byeon Woo Seok confessed that he cried a lot while reading the script, especially the last episode.

"it took 3 years for u to come to me thank u so much. can i even meet character i really love so much? since it's something i love the most so when i read last eps script, i couldn't stop crying. it felt really weird but that's how much it means to me" 🥹 pic.twitter.com/QgiF7Z4U6n

— liy 🏃🏻‍♀️ (@chaedaely) May 22, 2024

He explained that he loved his character and the writing so much. It means a lot to him!

💙 when will i ever meet a character i love this much? i am such a big fan of this work. so while i was reading the 16th episode, since it's a character i like so much and a piece of writing i like so much, and it felt like it was the last time.. i cried so much and it felt so… pic.twitter.com/OACXYiWxxE

— 🎀 (@lilymelodies) May 22, 2024

Byeon Woo Seok is just like Ryu Sun Jae! We can’t imagine anyone else bringing this beloved character to life.