"The acts of service!" — Internet reacts to Seung-hyo renovating Seok-ryu's room like it was from her childhood in 'Love Next Door' Episode 2

On August 18, 2024, Netflix aired episode 2 of Love Next Door starring Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min. In the series, Jung Hae-in plays Choi Seung-hyo, a celebrated architect and CEO of a top architect firm. Jung So-min portrays Bae Seok-ryu, a scholarship student from Hanguk University, who worked for the top American company, Greip.

In episode 2, Seok-ryu's sudden return to Seoul after quitting her job and calling off her engagement disrupts her family's peace. She finds her old bedroom was turned into a storage room by her mother. However, Seok-ryu decides to make do with it.

Later, viewers see Seung-hyo renovate Seok-ryu's old bedroom after her mother asks him for a favor. In an attempt to replicate Seok-ryu's previous bedroom atmosphere before she departed for the US ten years ago, he finds the same wallpaper for her bedroom.

Seung-hyo adheres the illuminating star stickers to the bedroom ceiling in the same manner as Seok-ryu did during her high school years. To highlight the parallels, Love Next Door shows scenes from both the past and the present.

Fans were moved to see the loving gesture of Choi Seung-hyo and the clip went viral online. One fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"The acts of service! I'm so excited for their story!"

Netizens voiced their excitement and anticipation for the upcoming episodes of the latest K-drama on Netflix. They emphasized that it is a sign of affection if a guy can recall exactly where the glowing star stickers were placed on Seok-ryu's room ceiling.

"It's also the fact he made a replica of her old room so she can finally feel at home and rest comfortably after all the years she had to endure it alone in a foreign country," one X user wrote.

"He is her childhood friend, her teenage buddy and now he is the one who protects her from rain and remembers to bring her the stars. Choi Seung Hyo, everyone. We have a new King in town. Romance is officially safe," another X user wrote.

"I almost cried when seokryu saw her redecorated room. This scene brought back so many memories. I used to have those glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceilings as well," another fan added.

Others praised Choi Seung-hyo and called him a "green forest male lead" from Love Next Door. For the uninitiated, a "green forest" is a better classification than a "green flag," which is how netizens classify someone who shows positive signs of affection towards someone without any prejudices.

"Another green forest male lead, Choi Seung Hyo," one X user said.

"He’s badly and hopelessly inlove with her I CANNOT," another fan commented.

"If a guy remembers how I put my stars, I would get married immediately to him- no words said," one other fan mentioned.

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Love Next Door episode 2 shows Seung-hyo's hidden affection towards Seok-ryu

Episode 2 of Love Next Door opens with Seok-ryu trying to adjust after coming back to Seoul. She hides the real reason for her return although her mother's rage and disappointment towards her seems severe.

Her mother's animosity towards her surfaces when she refuses to serve Seok-ryu food for breakfast and later tries to throw Seok-ryu and her suitcase out of the house. However, the episode also has several lighthearted moments between Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo and their childhood days.

Through Seok-ryu's point of view, she helped Seung-hyo when they were kids. However, from Seung-hyo's eyes, he was bullied and intimidated constantly by Seok-ryu. This further adds humor to the latest K-drama.

In the end, Seok-ryu and her mother get into a severe fight at home, and Seung-hyo accidentally overhears them. Love Next Door episode 2 ends with her mother calling Seung-hyo to renovate Seok-ryu's bedroom—which was turned into a storage room while she was working in the US.

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Love Next Door is directed by Yoo Je-won and will air episodes 3 and 4 on August 24 and 25, respectively. The K-drama is available on Netflix.