[Love Returns] Hani works through dawn juice deliveries and part-time jobs, never getting a moment to rest

[Sportschosun reporter Park Aram] Ahn Hee-yeon, a member of EXID and an actress known by the stage name Hani, is writing a new life recipe.

KBS 2TV's new weekend drama "Love Returns," set to premiere on July 25 at 8 p.m., is a family recipe drama about a man and a woman who gather the fragments of a broken family and prepare the warmest possible table of life for the world. The series is directed by Hong Seok-gu, written by Lee Kyung-hee, and produced by Monster Union and Contents G.

Ahn Hee-yeon plays Han Gyu-rim, a side-dish shop employee. As her once-wealthy family falls apart, she takes on every kind of part-time job and household chore. She struggles to get by every day of the year. She spends a dazzling year with Kim Mu-jin, played by Ha Seok-jin, who comes into her life like fate. But faced with harsh reality, she decides to end the relationship, believing she cannot make her lover unhappy as well. Han Gyu-rim, who gives up love for the sake of her family and continues to live bravely as a side-dish shop employee, faces a new turning point when she unexpectedly reunites with her first love. Ahn Hee-yeon is expected to bring Han Gyu-rim to life in greater depth by delicately portraying everything from the heavy responsibility of being the family's breadwinner to the tangled emotions that surface when her first love returns.

Among the highlights, the first stills of Ahn Hee-yeon fully transformed into Han Gyu-rim were released today, the 19th, raising anticipation among prospective viewers. The images capture Han Gyu-rim's hectic day, from early-morning juice deliveries to back-to-back part-time jobs, while also taking care of her younger siblings and carrying the burden of being the family's pillar without a single moment to rest.

Han Gyu-rim, meanwhile, reveals a complicated mix of feelings toward Kim Mu-jin, who was then working part-time at a restaurant. Even as a bright smile keeps slipping out at the love coming her way, she cannot easily step forward because the reality she must bear is too heavy. Her hesitant gaze leaves viewers with a deep sense of emotion.

As such, Ahn Hee-yeon is expected to naturally convey the character's emotional arc, from a spirited and lovable side amid harsh trials to the pure tremor that blossoms in the face of love, adding warmth and excitement to the drama. Since family has always come before herself, Han Gyu-rim has never been good at expressing her own feelings. Viewers are now curious to see what kind of life recipe she will write as she faces Kim Mu-jin.

tokkig@sportschosun.com