This year’s top sensation, ‘Lovely Runner,’ continues to be a hit on Netflix. Actor Song Geon-hee, who played the role of ‘Tae-seong,’ a character as captivating as the main lead with his unwavering romantic devotion, is gaining attention.

When we met Song Geon-hee after the cast of Lovely Runner returned from their vacation in Phuket, he smiled and remarked that he had gotten a bit tanned. Despite this, his youthful and ‘handsome’ appearance, reminiscent of the ‘milk-white Kim Tae-sung’ sign held by the girls in the show, remained unchanged. In Lovely Runner, Song Geon-hee portrayed a different kind of romantic lead from Sun-jae (played by Byeon Woo-seok). His character, Kim Tae-sung, hidden his feelings behind a chic smile, wishing happiness for the woman he loved, whether as the ace of the high school band in 2008 or as a detective in 2023. Viewers were captivated by the unique enjoyable romantic narrative which differed from the typical tension of a love triangle, while the rational secondary male lead, who did not interfere with the main couple’s love, gained significant attention. Describing himself as having a highly planned and perfectionistic nature, Song Geon-hee prepared for the role using his own character-building method. This method, developed during his early acting days, involves creating a personal narrative to justify the character to himself. “First, I organized Tae-sung's image using keywords such as 2008, smile, and vulnerability, which emerged as I grasped the overall flow of the script. Then, I compared Tae-sung's narrative with my own life, repeatedly reading the script to identify the similarities and differences between myself and Tae-sung. Finally, I filled in the gaps with references from other sources.”