Pump Up the Healthy Love- Episodes 7-8

Breakdowns, Burpees, and a Wild Poop Plot Twist

Episode 7 of Pump Up the Healthy Love delivers emotional growth, hilarious gym mishaps, and a surprise ex-girlfriend reveal — all in one gloriously chaotic package.

We kick things off with Mi-ran showing up at the gym in full emotional meltdown mode. She’s sobbing to Hyeon-joong, convinced that working out isn’t helping her get over Joon-seok. She saw him, hid like old times, and now wants to quit everything — gym, self-improvement, feelings. The works.

Back at the gym, the crew wonders where Mi-ran’s gone. Alex diagnoses it as a classic fitness rut. They get their hopes up when she walks in — but it’s just to collect her stuff. Hyeon-joong, meanwhile, has been flooding her phone with messages. He begs her for one last day together. She gives in, and they’re off.

While Hyeon-joong plays gym whisperer, Alex is tasked with training Seong-im. Problem: she’s got the energy of three people and the focus of none. Rosa tells Alex he needs to step up his trainer game.

For Mi-ran’s “one last day,” Hyeon-joong ditches the dumbbells and takes her on a field trip — first to a gun range (she nails it), then a basketball court (she scores like a pro). But her skills weren’t random: Mi-ran admits she learned all this back when she had crushes and tried to impress boys. Every time, her efforts went unnoticed. Just like how she started working out for Joon-seok… and wants to quit now.

Meanwhile, Hyeon-joong reflects on his past: a moment when Director Dong, his mentor, locked him out of the gym for not winning gold at a competition. Now, Dong is unconscious in the hospital. Hyeon-joong visits him, accuses him of giving up, and makes a promise — he won’t give up on anyone.

Back at the gym, plot twist: Ji-ran and Kang Dan are back together. Ji-ran wants him to get fit, and Alex reluctantly agrees to train him. Unfortunately, Dan collapses during burpees and Ji-ran scolds Alex for being too strict. Not everyone bounces back immediately — and sometimes, trying again tomorrow is good enough.

Just as Mi-ran is starting to open up again, she and Hyeon-joong go hiking. It’s peaceful... until lunch. One look at her lunchbox, and Mi-ran bolts into the woods. Hyeon-joong thinks she’s running from emotions. Turns out? It’s a stomach emergency. Yep — emergency poop plotline activated. And yes, he guards the trail like a true fitness knight.

Afterward, Mi-ran asks why Hyeon-joong keeps going above and beyond. He finally opens up. He was a weak kid. His parents gave up on him. His mentor abandoned him. Even his ex left. So he made himself stronger — not just physically, but emotionally — so no one could leave him again.

Mi-ran isn’t buying it. She tells him he’s still hurting and needs to stop avoiding the people who let him down. Challenge accepted.

Hyeon-joong visits Director Dong in the hospital and shows him his championship trophy. Dong finally reveals the truth: he let Hyeon-joong go not because he didn’t believe in him, but because others said they could take him further. He didn’t want to hold him back — even if it meant looking like he gave up. As it turns out, Dong had been keeping clippings of all Hyeon-joong’s achievements. Cue the lump in your throat.

Inspired, Hyeon-joong checks back in with Mi-ran. He tells her he’s ready to wait. Workout or not, she can come when she’s ready. Mi-ran takes the challenge in her own way — she confronts Joon-seok and shuts him down. He wants her back, but Mi-ran’s not having it. She’s done hurting.

She returns to the gym, still unsure... until a gust of wind sends her hat flying up to the gym sign. Hyeon-joong lifts her up to grab it, smiling like the sun. That smile stuns her for a second — was he always this charming?

Mi-ran's back on track. But just as she settles into her routine, a new client walks in — Kang Sol, Hyeon-joong’s ex-girlfriend.

Epilogue: On the hike, Hyeon-joong stands guard while Mi-ran, uh, handles business in the bushes. If that isn’t love in progress, what is?

Torn Leggings, Blind Dates & the Worst Hotel Timing Ever

Episode 8 of Pump Up the Healthy Love delivers the kind of rom-com chaos we live for — emotional confusion, surprise exes, and one unfortunate hotel run-in that might just change everything.

We kick off with Mi-ran realizing, oh no, she might actually be catching feelings for Hyeon-joong. Even the gym aunties are fanning the flames, telling her how down Hyeon-joong was when she disappeared during her fitness slump. Just as her heart starts doing squats of its own, Kang Sol enters the gym and instantly stirs the pot.

Sol isn’t just a fitness influencer with over a million followers — she’s Hyeon-joong’s ex. But nobody knows this... yet. She shows up like a walking Instagram filter, turning heads and raising questions: why this gym?

Hyeon-joong tries to lay down the law (no flashy outfits, no flirting, no feelings), but Sol’s too cool to care. During their session, Hyeon-joong flashes back to when she dumped him right before a big competition — and yep, that heartbreak cost him first place.

Meanwhile, on her way to the gym, Mi-ran spots Sol and Roy looking way too close (spoiler: it was just Roy blowing dust out of her eye), and she’s relieved it’s not Hyeon-joong. At the gym, things go from awkward to mortifying — her leggings rip mid-squat. Sol swoops in like a fitness fairy godmother and lends her a pair of designer leggings. The moment sparks an unexpected friendship.

After a day of stalking Sol’s Instagram and realizing she’s a huge deal, Mi-ran steps in to stop a sleazy photographer from snapping creepy pics. Sol casually tosses the guy over her shoulder like a pro. Post-drama bonding leads to drinks and heart-to-hearts. Mi-ran admits Sol’s ad inspired her to hit the gym, while Sol confesses she dated a man who only loved his abs and never prioritized her. (Gee, wonder who that was.)

Back at the gym, Roy shows up and drops a bomb — he’s joining as a member. Why? To keep an eye on Sol, of course. He warns Hyeon-joong not to hurt her again.

Mi-ran, meanwhile, wakes up hungover and confused about why she agreed to go on a blind date set up by Sol. After sitting with the wrong guy for a bit, she finds her actual date, Park Jeong-han — attractive, sweet, sensitive... basically perfect. But Mi-ran keeps nitpicking his every move. Ji-ran calls her out: maybe it’s not the date. Maybe Mi-ran’s heart is already taken.

While the gym battles a busted boiler, Kang Sol posts about the gym on Instagram, flooding them with new members. Hyeon-joong is grateful — until Sol invites him out for dinner and shopping. She buys him new clothes, and he panics. She must still have feelings for him, right?

Wrong. At dinner, Hyeon-joong awkwardly tells Sol he can’t reciprocate her feelings. She laughs and says she doesn’t want him — she wants to take the best thing he has. (Uh, ominous much?)

Mi-ran, trying to escape her spiraling feelings for Hyeon-joong, agrees to another date with Jeong-han. But the moment she sees Hyeon-joong stroll into the room holding a toilet plunger (yes, seriously), her heart races. She’s starstruck. By a man holding plumbing equipment. It’s over.

Still, she forces herself to go on the date. But nothing clicks. In fact, she starts hallucinating Hyeon-joong at the table. Totally flustered, she bolts — again.

As she berates herself for being a walking emotional mess, she turns a corner and sees Hyeon-joong and Sol entering the same hotel. Her heart sinks. So does ours.

Final moment: Mi-ran stands outside the hotel, defeated, whispering the words no rom-com heroine wants to admit:

“I’ve fallen in love again.”

DramaZen's Opinion

Episodes 7 and 8 of Pump Up the Healthy Love had me screaming, laughing, and pausing to breathe because the tension is getting real.

First, Mi-ran realizing she might actually like Hyeon-joong?? YES. About time. Her slow-burn crush is adorable, chaotic, and painfully relatable — especially the way she gets all starry-eyed when he walks in holding a toilet plunger. Iconic.

Then enters Kang Sol like a glitter bomb in leggings — influencer, ex-girlfriend, and drama magnet. Her presence turned the gym into a K-drama battlefield, and I loved every second. The dynamic between her and Mi-ran was unexpectedly sweet... until that hotel cliffhanger?? Hyeon-joong, what are you doing?

Also, shoutout to the emotional weight of Episode 7 — Hyeon-joong finally confronting Director Dong had me tearing up. And the epilogue poop-guarding moment? I can’t. Perfect blend of heart and humor.

Mi-ran’s caught in a whirlwind of confusing feelings, blind dates, and hot gym guys with baggage — and I’m 100% invested. Team Mi-ran all the way. 💪❤️