South Korea's 'Nation's Little Sister' IU and male heartthrob Lee Jong-suk had publicly been in a relationship for 4 years, with their romance attracting much public attention. On July 10th, however, a bombshell was dropped when both management companies confirmed that the two had amicably broken up and returned to being good colleagues, leaving fans on both sides very surprised.
With news of their breakup exposed, Korean netizens began digging for signs of their split as well as each person's previous interactions with the opposite sex. Some netizens unearthed past photos and rumors of Lee Jong-suk interacting with female friends.
Some netizens questioned that his way of getting along with others could easily cause misunderstandings, criticizing that he doesn't quite know how to keep proper boundaries in interactions, and does not show enough respect for his partner. Among these, there is a photo where his stylist once posted on IG of the two taking a walk abroad; she seemed to have slipped her hand into Lee Jong-suk's pocket, the interaction looking quite intimate, with many believing it appeared a bit ambiguous.
In addition, past YouTube videos of Lee Jong-suk have also come under discussion. At the time, he was working in Italy, and after finishing filming, he specially went to a jewelry store to pick out a gift for his stylist. In the end, he bought a diamond necklace worth as much as 1,380 Euros (about 6,500 Ringgit) as a gift for her. When paying, the transaction was almost flagged by the system as potential fraud, but luckily it went through smoothly in the end. After receiving the gift, the stylist was overjoyed, revealing that her father had previously given her a similar necklace but she lost it, making this gift all the more meaningful. This interaction has once again sparked discussion.
However, there are also netizens who say that Lee Jong-suk has always been generous with staff, and after many years of working together, there is a deep camaraderie between them. Close interactions do not necessarily indicate an ambiguous relationship, and fans shouldn't jump to conclusions about the nature of their relationship just based on old photos or videos like these.
Source: HK01