In Pump Up the Healthy Love Episode 8, Mi-ran and Hyeon-joong continue to navigate their tangled emotions—just as a new complication arrives at the gym. Mi-ran finds herself oddly moved by Hyeon-joong’s warmth and support, but before she can make sense of it, Hyeon-joong’s ex, Kang Sol, walks back into his life—and straight into their gym.

Mi-ran and Hyeon-joong’s emotional tension builds

Mi-ran begins this episode with heart flutters she can’t quite explain, especially when she hears from the gym aunties how sad Hyeon-joong was during her absence. Her confusion deepens when she meets the glamorous and intimidating Kang Sol, an influencer with over a million followers, who strolls into their humble gym as the newest client. No one but Hyeon-joong realizes Sol is his ex-girlfriend—the very one who broke his heart right before a major competition.

During their one-on-one training session, Hyeon-joong tries to lay down professional rules with Sol, but she seems unaffected and a bit flirtatious. Meanwhile, Mi-ran catches a glimpse of Sol and Roy together and mistakes their innocent interaction for something romantic. She’s relieved to find out it wasn’t Hyeon-joong with Sol—but that only adds to her confusion about who she really has feelings for.

Kang Sol inserts herself between Mi-ran and Hyeon-joong

Sol lends Mi-ran leggings after her own tear mid-squat, and they strike up an unexpected friendship. Over drinks (well, fake drinks on Sol’s part), Mi-ran learns that Sol inspired her to join the gym in the first place. Sol opens up about dating a man who was obsessed with fitness but never prioritized her—words that echo Mi-ran’s own past with Joon-seok. Yet, Mi-ran doesn’t realize that Sol might be talking about Hyeon-joong.

At the same time, Roy enters the gym and throws down a warning: he’s now a paying member and insists that Hyeon-joong better not hurt Sol again.

Mi-ran’s heart says Hyeon-joong, not Jeong-han

Mi-ran wakes up hungover and vaguely remembers agreeing to a blind date organized by Sol. Though her date, Jeong-han, is sweet and attractive, her mind keeps drifting elsewhere. Ji-ran picks up on it right away—Mi-ran’s nitpicking about Jeong-han only means one thing: she probably likes someone else.

That suspicion grows stronger when Mi-ran sees Hyeon-joong scrubbing the toilet at the gym and, despite how gross the situation is, finds her heart pounding at the sight of him.

Sol’s real intentions shake up the gym

Back on Sol’s end, her presence at the gym boosts business thanks to a viral Instagram post. When she asks Hyeon-joong out for dinner and shopping, he suspects she still has feelings for him. But Sol crushes that illusion fast. With a sly smile, she tells him she’s not here for his heart—she’s here to take “the best thing he has.” Hyeon-joong immediately assumes she means his body. That theory seems confirmed when Sol asks him to meet her at a hotel.

Meanwhile, Mi-ran struggles through a second date with Jeong-han, but the spark just isn’t there. She even hallucinates Hyeon-joong during the dinner, and eventually runs off in frustration. Outside the hotel, she spots Hyeon-joong and Sol together—just in time to solidify what she was afraid to admit.

The episode ends with Mi-ran watching the two from a distance, berating herself: “I’m falling in love again.” Her words are part self-criticism, part confession. Even as she tries to move forward with someone new, her heart won’t let go of Hyeon-joong.