I'm going to get emotional about KluenDao again because I realised something about how Kluen shows his love for Dao.
(I have a theory that) Dao's primary love language is Acts of Service:
It's the main feature of what he describes when Typhoon asks him what his "type" is.
It's how Dao shows his love for Kluen: doing Kluen's art homework for him and offering to make Kluen's mom's birthday present. It's not (just) about doing art, but specifically because it meets a need that Kluen has.
It's also how Fah and his closest friends show their love for Dao.
So lets take a look at how Kluen shows his love for Dao throughout the show:
Kluen in the "wooing" stage:
From early in the series, Kluen consistently shows his attentiveness and care via 'food/drinks as a metaphor for love', which is also a clear example of Acts of Service because he's providing for needs Dao has in the moment.
These are also both great examples of Acts of Service as Kluen either identifies and addresses a burden that Dao has or preempts a potential source of stress and offers an alternative.
Of course I had to add these moments! Making sure Dao sleeps in a proper bed, re-doing his ankle dressing, the pen + post-it note for his anxiety, and unbuttoning his sleeve so Dao has something to focus his nervous energy on. Note that 3 out of the 4 of these Acts were without (as far as the audience sees) Dao even knowing what Kluen is doing for him.
There's a reason why I find Kluen so very attractive, and it's because Acts of Service is also my love language and damn does Kluen do an amazing job of showing his care for Dao in that way!
Kluen as a boyfriend:
As soon as they become official boyfriends Kluen is constantly finding ways to do things for Dao: walking Dao to class, carrying his stuff, feeding him -- its all very sweet. I had to delete several screenshots because of the image limit jsyk. :( Kluen really does go all out in this way.
Kluen's Acts of Service only seems to escalate in Sky in my Heart. Cooking for Dao, organising a night out for Fah because Dao is worried about Fah, nursing Dao when he's not feeling well (+ the hand feeding TuT).
The cherry on top comes in the Special Episode: Is there anything that encapsulates Acts of Service more than planning to build your boyfriend his dream home, located on the beach because he loves waking up to the sea; promising that he'll have everything he needs to pursue his love of art; even planning to plant a big tree so your boyfriend won't be too hot as he paints outside??
There's so much genuine thoughtfulness and specific consideration for what will make Dao the most happy in this plan.
It's so lovely to see Dao recognise that. He's so grateful, so overwhelmed by Kluen's love (the way you can hear the tears in Dunk's voice when he says his lines - he's such an emotive actor!), not just because it's genuine and means the world to Dao after going through the pain of thinking his love was unrequited, but also because Kluen has learned specifically how to love Dao the way he understands it the best. Kluen literally learned to use the language of love for Dao - both verbally and through his actions.
And this is why I really do think Star in My Mind is genuinely quite a beautiful love story.
