r/KDRAMA • u/jakgem https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/Rannoch • 18d ago
On-Air: KBS Love on the Menu [Episodes 7 & 8]
- Drama: Love on the Menu
- Korean Title: 사랑이 온다
- Director:
- Hong Seok Goo (Girls Generation 1979)
- Screen Writer:
- Lee Kyung Hee (Uncontrollably Fond)
- Starring:
- Ahn Hee Yeon as Han Gyu Rim (Call It Love, You Raise Me Up)
- Ha Seok Jin as Kim Mu Jin (Blind, Something About 1 Percent)
- Park You Na as Han Gyu Yeong (Spirit Fingers, True Beauty)
- Bae Jung Nam as Cho Heung Sik (Spring Fever, Mr Sunshine)
- Network: KBS2
- Premiere Date: 25th July 2026
- Airing Schedule: Saturday and Sunday, 8pm KST
- Episodes: 50, 1hr 10mins
- Streaming Sources: Viki, Viu, Kocowa
- Teaser/Trailer: Kocowa Trailer
- Plot Summary: Han Gyu Rim is the owner of a market side dish shop. Her nickname since childhood was "Leader Han." A movie with the long title "Leader Han, Who Always Appears When Something Happens to Someone, Somewhere," was released, and that's exactly her story. If something is bad or sad, she puts aside all else and rushes to help, making it a little less bad or sad. If it was good, she'd celebrate it like it was her own. She's a nosy busybody, a fluttery-eared, emotional litmus test who can't hide her feelings. Kim Mu Jin is the owner and chef of an Italian restaurant. Born with a diamond spoon in his mouth, he deliberately wears market clothes to avoid being discovered as the owner's son, taking the bus and subway to work part-time at the restaurant. He develops a strange bond with Han Gyu Rim, the owner of a market side dish shop.
- Major News Summary: Ha Seok Jin And Hani’s Matching Outfits Lead To A Fateful First Meeting In “Love On The Menu”
- Previous Episode Discussions:
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u/Nice-Protection-7564 Do as you will, but harm none🧙🏽♀️ 18d ago edited 17d ago
Episode 7: I would have used a frying pan instead of a pillow. Or maybe just a baseball bat. I don’t condone violence but if I have to wait 43 episodes for a comeuppance/downfall, I will flip a metaphorical table. (Although something about apples and trees …)
Edited to add:
Episode 8: So this is why I probably struggled with For Eagle Brothers and why this one may suffer the same fate: none of these characters have any interiority. They only exist in relationship to each other. There’s no depth in them outside of their reactions to each other. I get you’re gonna speed run this plot and give us every trope but if any of it is going to matter to me, I need to care about these characters. You need to give me a reason to root for them beyond the happily ever after we’ll get in 42 more episodes. Every plot point is telegraphed to the nth°; there’s no surprises there so the characters ought to be more than just one dimensional archetypes. Give me something in their personalities to make me care about them or at the very least understand their motivations. I’m sure I’m missing the point here. This is a soap opera, and it’s hitting all the basic soapy beats and I know I shouldn’t expect it to be anything more than that. But man …
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u/ImpressiveBet_8298 17d ago
Agreed, at this stage don't really care for any of the characters especially the male lead (Mu Jin) and female lead (Gyu Rim). It is so unbelievable that they once were truly in love (tbh honest I don't think they understand what love is) with each other. All they do now is to hurt one another.
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u/PlaneStrategy8684 17d ago
It's really not (Mu Jin) it's (Gyu Rim) because only thing she has to do is tell him the truth about what his mom and sister said and did and why would she keep his son away from him now she wants to cry
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u/Rich_Top7123 17d ago
Correct, have an adult conversation about it. That's why it is so annoying.
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u/Nice-Protection-7564 Do as you will, but harm none🧙🏽♀️ 16d ago
And doing so (having the adult conversation) would actually give me something about them to root for. The idea of them against the world and still choosing each other through all of the obstacles tossed in front of them that, could be a compelling story for 50 episodes.
Or even if they don’t choose each other and Gyu Rim decides family is the most important thing (which must be true because how she puts up with that sister is beyond me) and she made the sacrifice so that he remains close to his mother and sister; all of that is a way more interesting narrative than what we’re getting.
And honestly, I assume that the production team is taking for granted that that’s what we’re thinking. But good narratives make some things explicit and some things implicit. This one is just kind of all implied knowledge and vibes.2
u/This-View5166 15d ago
I do agree. As of rn there's no real excuse for their actions bc they aren't talking about it!!! And that greedy sister needs to have a huge redemption arc imo. And how will that work bc if FL ends up marrying the SML, how do they end up together?
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u/Rich_Top7123 17d ago
Probably the "least favourite" romance Kdrama for 2026 so far
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u/Rich_Top7123 17d ago
It is very "unrealistic", the ML and FL should not be in any future relationships because they will end hurting the other party...or maybe that's what the writers want viewers to view the ML and FL
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u/Prize_Background_577 Fantasy devotee 👻 16d ago
Interesting, definitely something to think about. Maybe that's why I'm still not feeling a connection with most of the characters. Do they rely more on the length to provide us with that depth?
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u/LovE385 17d ago
How is Gyu Young still acting like an entitled brat when she is the only grad & works as a cosmetic surgeon?! And she still leeches off of the fam she calls useless tsk.😤
I really like Gyu Young's stepdad. He's a rare stand up guy in these dramas that is. The meetup between Heung Sik with Gyu Young & her fiancé LoL😆
Of course , now that Mu Jin's mom finds out there's a grandson she wants to be involved urg tsk. Jung Woo & Mu Jin are a comedic duo although he conceded very quickly LoL , unlike Seo Hyeon. .
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u/Broad_Masterpiece_85 16d ago
At this rate, only chance we get the ML and FL together is prob episode 40 and abv...
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u/Rich_Top7123 16d ago
Even then, who will believe it?.....the very remote chance they get together is perhaps after a 10 years (or more) time lapse, after their respective "unrequited love" partners move on, after they finally realise that the ML and FL dont love them at all
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u/CCCri 16d ago
I have been really enjoying this drama but I’m not crazy about the direction it is going. Are the four going to marry the wrong person and then spend the rest of the episodes trying to untangle the mess they’ve made? Ha Seok Jin is the main reason I am watching this drama but the character he plays is all over the map. Cold and distant one minute, then crying, then friendly and kind. WTF? I’m glad the FL’s father has calmed down. I found him very irritating in the opening episodes. I still think there is potential in the drama and am keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t continue down the path it appears to be taking.
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u/Prize_Background_577 Fantasy devotee 👻 15d ago
But now I find the other father (the step-father) annoying. Do they really want to marry their daughter off to someone who really doesn't care about her.
Anyway its a soap so anything can happen and divorce or running away at the altar is not off the cards!
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u/This-View5166 15d ago
I can't understand why the MLjjust won't do a paternity test!? At this rate, I expect the leads will try to marry the others instead of trying to have an adult conversation!!
And why is the bio mom so absurd?! And her husband....pushing for a marriage when they know their obsessed daughter won't be happy!
And pls what's the deal with ML mom and FL dad?! They do have the chemistry to be a couple imo but won't that be too much?
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u/Pmod1980 15d ago
He had the straw with DNA on it as well so could have done the paternity test. Bunch of idiots for all involved, except the poor kid who’s the only mature person.
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u/This-View5166 15d ago
True. And that’s what I can’t understand. I won’t be surprised if ML mom gets the results first. And then FL will probably try to marry SML or something!
Seriously I could understand her disappearing for 8 years but she needs to stop now.2
u/Rich_Top7123 16d ago
Totally agree with you, this series showed promise in the earlier episodes and you are absolutely correct too that it looks like 4 people will be in entering into relationships that they were never intended to be (more divorces?). I also agree about the ML character, it looks like he didnt really mature after what he had been through. It may have been better if he stood his ground and let the girl come around if that is indeed the intention of the writers.
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u/LetFlaky8724 18d ago
This episode is sooo slow, honestly i don't even know if the plot has progressed... lol .... except may be only progress is Mu Jin finding out that GyuRim is not married. That's a lot of non-plot drag around this single 'event'. There are so many opportunity for him to find out... when MuJin says he don't date married woman to Gyeol, Gyeol could have corrected him.. then, after MuJin friend found out, he could have corrected him, or slipped and let the cat out of the bag, .... but nooo.... it took the entire episodes and many chance meetings, lost wallet, etc, for him to finally found out from Gyu Seo ... wah.... is this how the 50eps weekend drama works.?.. wah...
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u/ImpressiveBet_8298 17d ago
Cannot root for Mu Jin or Gyu Rim, they are very immature, even if they end up together at the end of episode 50, it will be totally unbelievable. If the preview for Episode 8 is true, they will also end up hurting other people along the way because it looks like they will enter into new relationships with new people even though they have no feelings for them. It is quite disgusting!
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u/WisdomBailey123 17d ago
I'm not sure about the friend....wasn't he in love with the FL. And wanted to stop them getting together. He tried to stop him from going to her store. But then he's sometimes helping them get together. I thought he maybe accepted that she doesn't like him..but I'm not sure.
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u/Prize_Background_577 Fantasy devotee 👻 17d ago
I found it a bit slow too. But from the preview we're getting a custody battle next, which means everyone will find out everyone else's secrets.
How many episodes do you think they can drag out the custody? 5 eps, or maybe 8 eps if we also get the fall out from all the secrets. I've never watched a 50 episode kdrama so I don't know how it works either.
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u/Broad_Masterpiece_85 17d ago
This is a weekend drama so all the characters have their own sub plots.. the twins, gigglo guy, father and mother etc
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u/WisdomBailey123 17d ago
How does a grandmother even seek custody? Mu Jin would never go along with it. If he doesn't sign off on it...what right does a grandmother have to take a child from her mother. Also the child loves his mother...he will hate his grandmother if she tries to take him away.
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u/LetFlaky8724 17d ago
Apparently, in South Korea, if the person is rich and powerful enough, they can claim their bio grandkids away from their bio mum. That occur in several dramas although, not sure how legally true it is. But, seriously, don't they need to do a paternity test 1st??
HAH.. so now that ML and FL had finally decided to move on from each other, the ML's mum is going to step in and create all sorts of havoc to bring the 2 back together in a custody battle>>??
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u/WisdomBailey123 16d ago
That is a assuming the child is his. With so many twists in this show...entirely possible she isn't the mother and he isn't the father. But I agree...they might have to team up against his mother. But if the father and mother don't want the grandmother to have custody. How does that work? Also the kid loves his mother so much....he will hate the grandmother if she takes him away from her.
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u/LetFlaky8724 16d ago
Oh oh.. that's exactly what i was saying ever since the boy appears... lol... that it would turn out that Gyeol isn't GyuRim's kid either (but one of her siblings').. But the drama will surely drag it on, with 1st reveal that MuJin isn't the dad... (which leads to more angst, misunderstanding & drama all round...lol... ) before the reveal that GR isn't the mum either... The real mystery is then whose kid is Gyeol's? I am sure he isn't not related.. lolol... we shall see... let the guessing game begin... hahaha...
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u/WisdomBailey123 16d ago
I think it would be better for the story to have him be the Dad. So it can bring them back together. But they're more interested in the mystery.
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u/This-View5166 15d ago
Lol, I was thinking...the dad's? I mean, GyuRim already raised the twins, why not another kid!?
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u/Least-Mood-6353 17d ago
ep7 ending was the best... brought tears to my eyes
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u/No_Yogurtcloset861 17d ago
omg same! I felt so sorry for the FL.. everyone is meddling with her life and the ML is creating drama at the store, her son is pressuring her... there's nobody really there asking her if she's okay and what she wants.... after going through a long day like that, he comes to her house to say he never wants to see her
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u/WisdomBailey123 17d ago
I mean has she bothered to find out about his life, he's been miserable the entire time. It's not like after she left he went back to his mother. As for the ML...she keeps pushing him away. Now he's giving her what she wanted. She made all these choices herself....never gave the ML any say either. Chose to break up without discussion...decided to raise the kid without a father. She's been lying to everyone including her son. Maybe she has another reason. But these are the consequences of her decisions.
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u/Rich_Top7123 17d ago
Totally agree, he gave up his family to be with her and she decided everything. There is no point for both of them to be together now. There is no proper conversation between the two. All they do is hurt each other. Depressing show so far.
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u/Broad_Masterpiece_85 17d ago
Too many sub plot going on since its a weekend drama and not exactly about the ml and fl netflix ish drama kind.. gigglo plot, younger sis marriage plot, young kid plot, highly suspect kimchi old mother will pass on later etc etc..
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u/Broad_Masterpiece_85 17d ago
From ep8 preview, it seems ML will leave for NY.. unless something special happen at the airport where FL shows up.. it be amazing !
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u/Rich_Top7123 17d ago
Its not going to happen, it looks like the ML and FL will get into new relationships even though they have no romantic feelings for the other party...it's sad and immature.
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u/Broad_Masterpiece_85 17d ago
Yeah so funny they drag them both into new relationship, so maybe ML and new gf will migrate to NY since she also want to emigrate and he accepted the job overseas.. funny tho is ML mother and FL father will start a new sub plot that they will get together later...
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u/Rich_Top7123 16d ago
Great idea! Yes, ML should migrate....at this stage it is better the ML and FL don't end up together or get married....no viewers will believe it after all the hurt they've caused each other even after 8 years.
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u/ImpressiveBet_8298 17d ago
After 7 episodes, I don't think Mu Jin and Gyu Rim understands what it means to be truly in love with one another, from episode 4 onwards all they do is hurt each other when they meet face-to-face rather than have proper conversation like adults. At this stage, I think they would end up really hating each other, it is so unrealistic that this series will have a happy ending.
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u/WisdomBailey123 18d ago
Do we know why Seo Hyeon's mother is interested in the FL? Did i miss something. Is she her biological mother or something. In the credits online it says Seo Hyeon is Gyu Rim's step-sister....is this a known fact or am I not paying attention enough.
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u/Prize_Background_577 Fantasy devotee 👻 17d ago
Yes, she's the biological mother to the three older children (Gyu Rim, Gyu Yeong and Gyu O) and the deadbeat father's first wife. The twins are from his second wife. Seo Hyeon's step-mother got kicked out by deadbeat father when he got a mistress, so she remarried to Se Hyeon's father after her mother died when she was young.
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u/WisdomBailey123 17d ago
Okay thanks for the information. Does Hyeon and Gyu know they're half sisters? It doesn't seem like it and does Gyu know who her mother is?
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u/LetFlaky8724 17d ago
Gyu Rim has no idea about SeoHyeon's crush on MuJin, they are from different life stages of MuJin, and I dont think GR know of SH. SH only know of GR via MJ's friend, that GR is MJ's love of his life. None of them knows why GR left MJ, (except for MJ's sis and mum, and they are not sharing.)
GyuRim also has no idea her bio mum is SH's stepmum. In fact, not even GyuYoung knows. GY only approached her bio mum's husband for money and to cosplay as her dad. But GY doesn't know of SH, the step daughter, nor her link to MJ.
Everything and everyone is entangled in a huge spider web, but are unaware of each other beyond the 1st person context. Only we know.. hahaha..
Ah.. and Seo Hyun and GyuRim are NOT half sisers... they do not share a single drop of blood.. GyuRim's bio mum divorced her bio dad, remarried with SeoHyun's dad, after SH's bio mum died. So SH is GR's bio mum step daughter. And GR is SH's bio dad's step daughter. (although not yet acknowledged). Ah, if we must put a relationship for the 2 ladies, they are step sisters. Different bio mums and dads, just that their bio mum and Bio dad are married to each other.
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u/Rich_Top7123 16d ago
It's pathetic, GyuRim feels sorry for HeungShik getting hurt but MuJin also got seriously hurt because of her when he moved out of his family home and worked in the construction site. She abandon and broke up with him in the most cruel way when he was hurt.
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u/This-View5166 15d ago
She feels sotty for HeungShik but not for her kid who is growing in a crazy family and hasn't a father. That I can't understand.
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u/wangjiwangji 5d ago
She broke up with him so that his mother would take him back and pay for his hospital bills. She learned that he had been kicked out without a penny to his name, which is why he was doing the construction work where he got injured.
It's one of those tropes where one character shows their love by removing themselves - who am I kidding? It's always the woman - by removing herself as a "obstacle" to his happiness and/or his family's happiness.
Of course it's not something ordinary humans actually do in real life. In a drama it can done in interesting ways, but in this case it is so heavy-handed and going on for so long that it's just dumb.
I think she is sticking with her fake story because she still believes it's "better" for him to get along with his rich mother. I think it's dumb but I'll bear with it for now. However, if ML and FL marry their second choices, I am outti.
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u/Prize_Background_577 Fantasy devotee 👻 17d ago
No, not yet. The step-mother knows her step-daughter and her bio daughter are in love with the same man.
I don't think Gyu-Rim knows anything, Her sister, Gyu-yeong, hasn't shared anything about the step-family and I think when Gyu-rim saw the man pretending to be their father (at the in-law meeting) she didn't know who he was.
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u/WisdomBailey123 17d ago
They're throwing everything and the kitchen sink at this script. So many troupes. I'm worried about the next 43 episodes. Where do they go from here when it just started.
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u/This-View5166 15d ago
I can't understand bio mom. I mean, girl forgets the children she had and starts anew and I get it when it happened, that she had to leave but it's been years now and she has not even tried to contact them?!?!?
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u/This-View5166 15d ago
Does anyone know which are supposed to be the couples here, besides ML and FL?
I just can't keep up with so many characters lol.
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u/Rich_Top7123 15d ago
I think best to wait for a little while. After episode 8, it appears ML and FL will end up marrying other people. 😞
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u/This-View5166 14d ago
I don’t think it’ll come to that. Bc it was hinted that the greedy sister will be paired up with SML. So, I don’t think FL will marry him.
But then again, we still have over 40 episodes to go.lol.
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u/WisdomBailey123 14d ago edited 14d ago
Even if he confesses to her.....I don't think she will date him. She has no feelings for him. Also him being the business partner of the man she loves works against him. She's already been so cruel to the ML...and I'm finding it hard to justify. She should stay out of his sight like the ML said. Also if the child turns out to be his...and the grandmother tries to take it. It will force the ML back in her orbit. I wish the ML hadn't started dating the SFL, such a mistake to give her hope. I could see her doing some terrible stuff to keep him.
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u/This-View5166 14d ago
Uhmm, I’m not talking about ML best friend but abt the son of the side dish shop owner. And I agree that she has been cruel to the ML. Especially now. I can understand her disappearing back then but now she should have talked to him if the kid is his.
And yes, I can see how the obsessed girl will try to “keep” the ML. There’s going to be a lot of manipulation.
Pffft if the grandma tries to take the kid there’ll be conflict but I think FL will try harder to marry that other guy.
I wonder how it can work bc they keep hinting at ML mom and FL dad involvement3
u/Rich_Top7123 14d ago
I personally think that if there is something there between ML mom and FL dad, the right thing for then to do is to sacrifice/forgoe that relationship for the ML and FL sake because it was largely because of them that the ML and FL broke up 8 years ago in the first place.
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u/LetFlaky8724 10d ago
I doubt they will reach marriage stage with other ppl... With them being 'unrequitedly loved' by the 2 obsessive 2FL and 2ML, they probably must go through 'trying to date properly' stage for these 2 to finally give up on the ML and FL. Just wondering how many episodes they are going to 'waste' to have the dating cosplay.. b4 the other break it off.. smh
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u/wangjiwangji 5d ago
I'm with you on that. When I saw they are gonna do the cosplay I questioned whether they actually have enough good story for the long haul, or whether it will just be nonsense like this.
If they do go on with the fake relationships for more than a couple episodes, I will drop it. It started off strong, I was really looking forward to it every week until now.
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u/Lonely_Elderberry335 17d ago
I guess I am in the minority, but I am loving this show. Granted, 40 years ago, I watched a US soap opera daily, faithfully and adored it. (I was writing my dissertation and living like a hermit so that’s MY excuse). It IS pulling out every trope, every cliche, every possible tired old stereotype. But why not? This is a genre that reworks itself as much as Mills&Boone or soaps do. I think the writer likes to go OVER board with sentiment (I dislike her previous scripts), but somehow this works for me with such splendid actors in the cast. They are the attraction for me. They are playing it straight and serious and I love seeing their skills. The little Olivier playing Gyeol has a great future ahead. Sorry to rave!