This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
First, I had thought that I just had to update the essay about Min but I realized quickly that I would have to rewrite so many things that the old version would have been totally changed. Maybe you are now thinking that the conclusions in my first version were wrong. Fact is that I’m still perceiving Min as a second villain and my prediction is still the same: a struggle between Yoon Seungho and Min will happen in the second season.
What changed is that since I analyzed the scenes, the characters and their clothes much more precisely, I have come to a better understanding about Min. Besides, the purpose to leave the first version as such is to let you know how much insight I gained, as time passed on. The essay about Min was one of the first analyses I wrote on my blog.
Now, let’s talk about Min. The latter is only introduced much later because his name appears for the first time in the chapter 33.
Striking is that he is introduced by one of the sex partners during the sex orgy. We deduce that this noble is Min because he has just asked Yoon Seungho why he didn’t bring the artist that evening. 
First I wasn’t certain if Min was the one who participated at the sex session in the chapter 8 because his face looked a little different but now, I can say for sure that he was present (pictures from the chapter 8 and 9) 
What I missed back then were the words said by the aristocrat (4th image above, chapter 33): “I heard from Master Min that he’s got a pretty little face”. This means that master Min had met Baek Na-Kyum and talked about him to other nobles. This proves to me that he was the one in the chapter 8. [This illustrates that I am not omniscient and can make mistakes by overlooking details therefore I am always glad to receive any feedback. But let’s return to the chapter 33.]
And what caught my attention to this picture are the words again. While we see Yoon Seungho’s mind thinking back to the painter’s poor physical condition, he has to hear from the acquaintances how the painter looked like. Notice that the low-born’s description is very precise which indicates that Min had paid a lot of attention to the artist’s reactions. First, he must have witnessed the locked gaze between them and also catch the arousal of the painter during the sex session between the master and the other noble (chapter 9). Moreover, in the drawing above, the aristocrat repeat the same expression “I hear”. We have twice “I hear”. All this implies that Min must have talked a lot about the painter to the other aristocrats. Hence he appears to be chatty as a magpie. They heard everything about Baek Na-Kyum through Min’s gossip. Not only he kept an eye on the low-born’s reaction during the sex session (chapters 8-9) but also he looked at the painting carefully. So now, why would he do that? Why would he talk to other nobles about Yoon Seungho’s painter?
If we go back to the chapter 8, when Min appeared for the first time without us knowing his name, we discover that he had already picked an interest in the painter. He had seen the erotic publications which Yoon Seungho was fond of but had never investigated the identity of the author because he thought that the creator was just an old man.
Moreover, not only he observed the artist during the sex session but also expressed his attraction, while he was having sex with Seungho. Look at his gaze aiming at the low-born.
As a first conclusion, we detect that Min had shown a lot of interest in Yoon Seungho and his likes, especially concerning Baek Na-Kyum. He knew about the erotic books, he heard about the painter, then he noticed the artist’s reactions and the good quality of the drawings, although initially he hadn’t anticipated that Baek Na-Kyum would be able to have such a discerning eye and even get aroused. It was as if he was gathering info.
It looks like Min’s life was revolving around the protagonist’s and his fascination for the painter. In my first analysis about Min, I had declared that he wanted to submit Seungho and become the protagonist’s lover due to this intimate gesture in the chapter 43, 
where he touches the seme’s waist, a very intimate place. One of my readers objected that Min was an uke in the chapter 8 hence he could never become a seme.
But if you remember now what I wrote about the function of these sex sessions, you’ll understand what Min really wants. He wants to replace our beloved seme and become the new alpha. The sex parties are battles in reality. So by submitting Yoon Seungho and turning him into an uke, it would signify that he had won against the old alpha and after his victory he would represent the ultimate power. And let’s not forget that Seungho became a seme because he was himself a victim of rape (my theory). Becoming the seme means taking control of the sexual encounter and having power.
So we are about to assist to a fight between both characters. Sex is war hence Min wants to isolate the main character and ensure that he loses everything so that he is literally destroyed and reduced to become an uke, an omega. Killing Baek Na-Kyum is not just getting rid of a rival in my opinion, he is well aware of the lord’s love for the painter. Even if the painter doesn’t get killed, in the worst case, Seungho will retaliate against Jihwa so that all the other aristocrats will distance themselves from the furious lord. So for him, it looks like a win-win situation, if Jihwa succeeds or fails. By getting rid of Jihwa, who was Seungho’s childhood friend, and the new found love, he wants to isolate the main lead and kill him symbolically. Min is determined to dethrone the notorious hell-raiser but for that he needs to exude charisma too to attract supporters so that he can become the new alpha in the sodomite community. There is this saying in Latin
“A man is a wolf to another man”,
that later Hobbes used in order to write his theory about the Leviathan. My point is that in this manhwa, Min is acting like a wolf to our protagonist. Since he wants to become the new alpha, he needs to act like one. That’s why he is imitating the noble in his gestures and his clothing. He smokes like Yoon Seungho,
read the erotic publications and has the same type of robes. He doesn’t have loose hair like the other aristocrats at the sex party, our protagonist is his model that he leans on. So why was he acting like an uke in the chapter 8?
If the beholder looks again at the picture of the penetration, then the person notes the similarity of Min’s action with Baek Na-Kyum’s gesture in the chapter 41.
In this situation, Seungho was bothered by the painter’s gesture because he was behaving like a prostitute. This is no coincidence. Min was willing to use his body because it meant, he would be allowed to approach the famous lord and spy on him. He acted like a snake, with the intention to backstab Seungho at some point. So becoming an uke was just a subterfuge and he was only biding his time.
I mentioned before that he needs to get supporters in order to become the new alpha and if you pay attention at the evolution of the story, you’ll notice Min’s slow intrusion and his growing influence among the aristocrats. Note that the man dragged away by the topknot is close to Jihwa hence he went running to the red-haired man in order to complain about the experienced humiliation. When they meet at the inn in the chapter 12, Jihwa is alone with the noble with the mole on his cheek. 
However, in the chapter 36 when Jihwa is drinking his sorrow at the same tavern, Min is also present, more precisely, it appears that Min is following the man with the mole.
He knows how humiliated the man with the purple robe felt, as he witnessed it. Since they are coming together here, we have to assume that Min’s company has been accepted by the other. For me, it looks like he is already influencing him and he knows that he can only get close to Jihwa through him.
Note that the next time, they meet in the chapter 41, they must be at the lord’s house (the one with the mole) because of the expression “without any notice”. Moreover, the latter is sitting at the end of the table. From my perspective, Jihwa must have gone to this man’s house, just like the latter did when he got hurt by Yoon Yeungho. Both men seem to be very close. That’s why I believe that Min approached the man with the mole first and then Jihwa so that he would listen to him. He is definitely attempting to create a divide between Jihwa and the man with the mole on one side and Yoon Seungho on the other side. He is slowly isolating the powerful master. In a wolf pack, the omega lives as an outcast. Notice that he goes one step further at the pavilion. Besides, meanwhile the topic becomes dangerous with the suggestion of killing Baek Na-Kyum, one guest objects and even Jihwa hesitates. However for each objection, he has an answer. The beholder witness that he is taking the lead.
Little by little, he could convince them all. Strictly speaking, he has become the new leader of the pack.
Then if you scrutinize the chapter 33, you’ll notice the absence of Jihwa and his friend too. They didn’t participate in that sex orgy. Yet, we see Min’s increasing influence in that scene as well. The jealous man is actually challenging our famous protagonist which is reflected in this picture. 
Note that Min is standing on the one side, whereas Yoon Seungho is sitting on the other side and the others are lying on the floor. It was as if the powerful noble was sitting on a throne. Moreover, we have to imagine that Min’s gaze is directed at our main lead. However, if you pay attention more closely to the picture, you’ll detect that most of the nobles’ heads are turned to Min’s side underlining his growing influence. The fearless noble might still be sitting on the throne, yet Min has already attracted attention. Besides, the exchange of words is not harmless in this scene too. In reality, he is already challenging the seme.
With this simple question, he is asking for the noble’s explication. His question sounds more like a demand hence he acts as if they were on the same level. Min is behaving as if he had privileges somehow. He would like to taste the artist and Yoon Seungho should share his artist with the others. Min is pushing the boundaries and this simple question with the following suggestion (to welcome the artist properly) leads to a conversation about the painter. At the end, the other aristocrats are making some demands too.
As you can observe, Min influenced the other nobles with his gossips and his question so that the other nobles are now curios and unsatisfied with their current situation. Yoon Seungho should show more concern and even share his belongings. Interesting is the master’s reaction. He reminds them of their position. They have no right over his possession.
Despite the reminder, the protagonist leaves the scene and we should judge his behavior as if he was retreating… in other words, Min seems to have won the challenge.
This must be encouraging for Min because as soon as Yoon Seungho leaves the pavilion, the others keep chatting about him and he can definitely hear them.
They are talking behind his back while he is still in range and can hear their exchange of thoughts. This reveals a certain disregard towards the famous sodomite. His position is now weakened. Here again, Min is chatty as a magpie.
Now, you are wondering why I keep comparing the man with the green robe to a magpie. There are many reasons for that. First, the nobles I associated to animals were all birds: Yoon Seungho an eagle, Jung In-Hun a peacock and Jihwa a pheasant. So in my eyes, Min had to be a bird. He talks a lot, like a magpie. Thirdly, a magpie is famous for stealing hence it is associated to envy and jealousy. The final reason is that a magpie often eats eggs from other birds. It might look small and not dangerous but for many small birds, they are fearsome predators.
As you can guess, Min is in fact a mixture of a wolf, a magpie and a snake that crept close to Yoon Seungho so that he would bite him. In my first version, I already associated him to a snake due to the color of his robe and his words. His words were seductive but simultaneously had an effect like a poison. He was poisoning Jihwa’s mind with his so-called advice and news. He lied to him at the tavern and the master with the mole had no idea about it as he was not present at the sex orgy. If he had been there, he would have realized that after the challenge, Yoon Seungho never showed up again.
His words are alluring because they seem comforting Jihwa. Here, the “friend” with the mole is not stopping Min because he has no idea what happened at the sex orgy. Min had already anticipated Seungho’s reaction that he would distance himself from the sex partners. He started spreading the rumor about the existence of a lover, just after the powerful master left the building. Therefore in the chapter 36, Jihwa and his friend are still clueless because they don’t frequent the same circle. With his lies, Min is trying to gain Jihwa’s trust. Striking is in that moment, Jihwa mentioned the protagonist’s past and his secret. This would have been terrible if Jihwa had revealed it in front of him. Fortunately, despite the friend’s questioning, he restrained himself to comment any further.
Min knew exactly what Jihwa felt for the main character and used it to his advantage. Love is a weakness in his eyes. He wanted to create an opportunity so that Jihwa would get more hurt than before. Without dirtying his hands, he is trying to isolate and destroy Seungho.
And this reminds me of the way he hurt the pheasant during the hunt. He shot arrows… which makes me think of the small beak of a magpie. This black and white bird has to use its beak a lot in order to eat the whole content of the egg. Seungho killed the pheasant, he was not afraid of dirtying his hands.
And this leads me to my next observation, the way Min acts among people. He is influencing them with his words so that they are somehow incited to contest Yoon Seungho’s power and authority. There is actually a certain MO in his behavior, which leads me to compare him to a crow. Crows are birds living in a bird colony and it is not rare that crows sometimes target an eagle. They might never kill it but they can corner it and chase it away due to their number. And this is exactly what Min is doing: he is leading the nobles to question the main lead’s authority, first with small requests and at the end, with the advice to kill the painter. He lets the others attack the master, while he remains hidden. However, like I described it above, crows never really win against the eagle in the sense that they might chase it away but they can’t kill it. However, an eagle can definitely kill a crow, once the leader is found out. That’s why I believe that Min won’t be able to win this war in the end.
The more the reader met Min, the more they could observe how manipulative and cunning the noble was. If we examine the chapter 43, you have the impression that Min embodies the snake from the Bible, seducing Jihwa to commit a deadly sin. The latter is about to lose his innocence. Remember that he acts like a spoiled child so his spontaneous decision, incited by Min, will lead him to great suffering. Jihwa is too naive to perceive Min’s true motive. He has no idea that Min is a wolf disguised as a sheep. If he had just interrogated Min why he lied to him in the first place, he would have realized the manipulation. He can’t accept amusement as an excuse. He is not even bothered, when Min mocks him.
Jihwa is truly too blinded by jealousy and his own entitlement to understand Min’s true personality. It was as if Jihwa was not only blind but deaf as well. He doesn’t even hear that his friend called Min:
Black corresponds to the color of the magpie and the crow. So this man has truly perceived Min’s true nature. He didn’t like that the man with the green robe spread false info.
And Min keeps talking until Jihwa gives in. The former tries to diminish the consequences of Jihwa’s action. Even if he is found out, Jihwa can never get any punishment because he is a noble and the victim is just a low-born.
The question is if Min truly believes what he is saying or if these words are calculated lies. In my opinion, there are a mixture of both. He can’t envision that the lord’s fury will target him, as the one hiring the assassin is Jihwa. Besides as nobles they are protected. However, if anything happens, only the childhood friend will suffer from this. What the aristocrat fails to see is that the lord did notice his daring attitude because Yoon Seungho is not stupid, he can read people very well. Besides, he is not aware of the lord’s true personality. So far, he only knows the master as someone “consumed by lust”.
Then the man gives an explication for his lies. He did it out of amusement, nevertheless I doubt it. He had a goal behind this. He needs to weaken Seungho by spreading gossip, ridiculing him with his paramour as commoner and even siding with people who were humiliated by the seme, like f. ex. the noble with the mole. Examine the words used by Min to describe the main character. He “has been bewitched” by a charlatan insinuating that the seme is weak and controlled. He calls his action at the tailor shop “vulgar rolls”. In other words, Seungho is vulgar and no longer noble and honorable. He is possessive and behaves like a wild animal (“raises his hackles”). As you can observe, all these connotations are negative. All this speech serves to undermine Seungho’s authority. Jihwa is led to believe that if he kills the painter, he will save his friend’s reputation and name. That’s the reason why Jihwa agrees to the suggestion. This man is very dangerous and Jihwa is just too stupid to realize the manipulation.
But if we examine the hunt scene more closely, we can definitely sense that Min increases the pressure on the main character. He questions the veracity of the gossip, this time he grabs the lord by the wrist and even touches his waist. He is now very close to him physically, unlike in the chapter 33, where he challenged the protagonist from a certain distance. This doesn’t surprise the reader that Seungho reacts to this behavior by threatening the man with the green robe. 
For the main character, Min is just a mouse implying that he doesn’t represent any danger. However, he is making a huge mistake. First Min is not acting on his own which Seungho is not aware. There is a reason why the protagonist doesn’t feel frightened and it is related to his past. For him, the old men are far more dangerous because he experienced it himself 
therefore he keeps his distance from the capital and the government. This is clearly visible with the last words pronounced to Jung In-Hun. Yoon Seungho suspects more the officials than the young aristocrats living in debauchery.
He can’t imagine that someone might be looking at his throne, since the lord chose to become a sodomite out of revenge. So he can’t envisage that someone might like to take this kind of position. However, I believe that this battle between Min and Seungho will be a wake up call for our main character. He will realize that danger can come from anyone, not only the family and the officials but also from the decadent young aristocrats. It will help him to be prepared to fight other stronger opponents in my opinion.
What Min has not recognized yet is that love can be a strength and not just a weakness. It can push the master to ensure that his loved one is protected too. Taking responsibility is not just about comfort but also about the power to protect the loved one from others, in particular in such a violent and rigid order society. From my point of view, Yoon seungho will conceive that he needs to become proactive… so maybe he will realize that being an official has its advantage, especially if you are in a position where you can pronounce verdict. Nobles have a lot of privileges hence getting sentenced is quite rare. The question is how Yoon Seungho will retaliate against Jihwa and Min. Will he use violence in a rage? This would create a huge scandal and even endanger more his position. I doubt that he will act on an impulse. First, he has learnt to control his emotions and Baek Na-Kyum could represent the voice of reason. Finally, he has already created a network (chapter 6) which Min is not aware. While Jihwa used an assassin hired on the market place, I have the feeling that Yoon Seungho could use his own shadow guards.
Hence from my point of view, Min is making a huge mistake. He thinks that the main character just led a life as a huge sodomite, whereas in reality he has many connections. He kept his cards well hidden because he wanted to protect himself. Therefore I sense that Yoon Seungho will change his strategy.
As a conclusion, the competition between the two masters has already started in my opinion. Sure, I have no idea how long the fight between them will last. Sure, it is definitely possible that Min asks for help at some point. Nevertheless, I perceive this challenge from Min as the first fight Yoon Seungho has to face which could be viewed as a preparation for stronger opponents. Yoon Seungho might not be aware that danger is around the corner and Baek Na-Kyum will be the first victim as he only considers his family and the officials as his enemies or source of danger. Besides, the master will be devastated if the artist is badly injured. Yet, he knows about Min’s personality because he witnessed his daring attitude twice and during the hunt, Min was even touching him. Strictly speaking, the latter is well aware that the jealous man has been defying his authority. So the identity of the mastermind is not really hidden. Yoon Seungho, embodied by the eagle, has sharp eyes and he will definitely go after the challenging man. The question is how far the noble will go in order to punish these betrayers.
With this drawing alone, we can see how Min is taking the lead and preparing for a rebellion behind the protagonist’s back. It looks like a conspiracy but on a smaller scale. At the end, no one was able to really reject Min’s words. They are too stupid to perceive Min’s true intentions. Since Yoon Seungho has already experienced the consequences of a conspiracy, he knows how to deal with rebels but I can’t imagine that he will do it openly. The family survived the purge due to a secret deal and the main character could do the same with Min and the others.
Feel free to comment or to give any suggestion for an analysis (topic, manhwas). If you enjoyed reading it, either retweet it or push the button “like” so that this writing doesn’t become pointless. My twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for the support.
He had a style of robe that he doesn’t usually put on. Furthermore, he always kept his hat on his head indicating that he couldn’t feel comfortable in such a shabby house. He gave a different impression about himself, as if he was concerned about his appearance and image. He was acting like a typical noble, vain, superficial and with an air of entitlement. That’s why he had chosen the exterior robe with short sleeves in order to demonstrate his wealth. Only rich and powerful lords wear that kind of robe. Now, you can understand why the low noble felt comfortable around Yoon Seungho and revealed his true thoughts about the commoners. Due to the clothes, the teacher thought to perceive the lord’s personality. Yet, Seungho did it in order to deceive the man. Nonetheless, I doubt that Jung In-Hun wasn’t just talking in order to impress the man. His contempt for commoners did represent his true thoughts, however I have the feeling that Jung In-Hun was particularly harsh in words because of Yoon Seungho as he believed that he would look down on the commoners. In other words, here these clothes should be perceived as a disguise from my point of view. Now, let’s pay attention to the color. First, Yoon Seungho was wearing green announcing a turning point in his life, then he wore blue as he wanted to impress the painter and was somehow irritated at the same time due to the negative description of himself, “a man consumed by lust”, and now for the teacher, he chose dark purple. And this is what I found about purple and dark purple:
he is mocking the low noble. But the latter is too arrogant to perceive the irony behind this comment. Due to the impressive dark purple color, Jung In-Hun thought, he needed to impress the noble and said things that the protagonist wanted to hear, while in reality it was the opposite. Seungho wanted to reveal the hypocrisy of this man and due to the disguise, he was able to hear what the low noble truly believed. Right from the start, Jung In-Hun was already kissing the man’s ass and the seme was well aware of it. The cloth and the color were used as a subterfuge and Jung In-Hun fell into that trap. While he thought, he was manipulating the powerful master, the opposite happened. The color and the robe left such a deep impact on the poor noble that he was manipulated to unveil his true mentality: arrogance, entitlement and a scheming nature. Due to his appearance, Jung In-Hun imagined that he was standing in front of a typical wealthy noble. 
He chose black for the exterior robe and burgundy for the interior clothing. You can imagine why we see these colors. Black is associated to death, [I know that in Asia in the past white was chosen for funeral but since then it changed due to the influence of the Occident.] which does fit to the hunt. Nevertheless, black is also associated to other notions:
During the chapters 35 and 36, Yoon Seungho chose a dark green robe, the color symbolizing envy and jealousy. Here he had to witness how Jung In-Hun was flirting with his painter. He could imagine how the commoner would blush due to the stroke on his hair and the caress on the cheek. The exhausted man had done everything in his power to win the man’s heart but he had always failed: threads, his position as master, sex appeal, new clothes, a master’s bed, taking care of his health at any cost, giving up his chamber and his sexual expertise as a fine lover. None of this worked. That’s why he was so desperate at the end and even willing to kill the low-born out of jealousy. The cloth reflects his inner emotions and fragile state of mind. The irony is that at the end, he is no longer jealous or envious the moment he notices the uke’s erection. He literally gives up on these bad emotions which is somehow reflected with a simple gesture due to the brother’s visit. 
He gives up on his jealousy by covering the artist with his green robe. Simultaneously, by putting his own robe on the artist, he is making a statement. This is his trusted partner and lover hence he is sitting by the lord’s side. The noble is protecting him with his name and he makes it clear that he is taking his responsibility. That’s why after sharing the same bed, the aristocrat wants to make it official as soon as possible and sends him to his own tailor.
This explains why he is helping him later.
Let’s take a look at the other nobles. 
Have you noticed the difference? Jihwa, Jung In-Hun and Seung-Won prefer having an exterior robe with short sleeves unlike the main character. The only exceptions for our beloved seme are, when he visits the teacher Jung In-Hun
and when he visits the tailor shop in the chapter 39-40: 
Notice that he never put down his hat while sitting in front of the protagonist. We can’t say that he was in a hurry because a table full of dishes had been brought in the meantime. Seungho showed a certain respect from his side. And this exposes the nature of their relationship. Seung-Won doesn’t treat Seungho as a real brother, only as a tool hence he feels uncomfortable. Besides, it reinforces the impression that he is not honest with him. The clothes as a disguise and shield are mirroring his intention. He is not opening up to Seungho, in reality he is trying to deceive him. A foolish attempt which unveils his naivety. As you can observe with the analysis of Seung-Won’s clothes, we could determine that they reflect their personality, their state of mind and the intention of the characters. So the question asked by my follower was correct, the clothes have a deeper meaning.
His robe has no short sleeves, unless he hunts, just like the seme. 
(chapter 35)
(chapter 41)
He brought his green robe or in the chapter 36, the dark green.
Because he was wearing the master’s clothes, it illustrates that the lord wanted to make a statement. From now on, Baek Na-Kyum is his partner and as such, he should be treated like a master. However, only after his long illness, he is willing to wear the master’s clothes. 
But before his outburst of rage he was quite idealistic and even devoted to the artist as he wanted to eat his lunch with him. And this explains why he chose a even darker blue robe after he had heard the reproach from Baek Na-Kyum (“he was a man consumed by lust”) and after the rape. He was even more cold, emotionally unstable, unforgiving and conservative. That’s why he can’t get aroused by Jihwa in the chapter 5 or he has an outburst after taking his bath in the chapter 25. 
It did mirror his state of mind. A simple gesture and he would literally explode. That’s why his robe is not closed. In my opinion, he must have some difficulties to breathe due to pangs of conscience. Besides, it reinforces my impression that he is someone who prefers comfort over looks. Even happy, he paid no attention to the way he was dressed, he couldn’t even wait to meet the painter in the chapter 11. He is not vain, quite a natural personal. But the open robe is also a sign of his torment too in my opinion, when he is having some trouble. Finally, we shouldn’t forget that blue is connected to royalty and I have the impression that he chose this color in order to impress the painter and to demonstrate his power. He was a majestic master. The darker the blue, the more he wants to appear majestic. 
Sure, this was not the first time that our low-born had seen the lord naked, yet this time it diverges because he is exposing his phallus directly to the painter. He is using his sex-appeal to invite the painter to join him. So the lack of robe here has a purpose. Then after the sex session with Jihwa, he doesn’t wear his light green robe properly. The man is revealing his naked chest. On the one hand, I believe that this has to do with seduction, on the other side this displays his comfort in front of the painter. Here, the latter is not perceived as a nobody, rather as someone where the lord can be himself. He is natural, playful and quite relaxed. 
This is the first time that he is so close to the commoner, there are no distance and no painting between them. He is approaching him so carefully as he has sensed this man’s shyness. Therefore he is wearing the light green robe, when he masturbates the young man for the first time. Everything is new, I doubt that he did something similar to Jihwa, in particular with this special position.
He is embracing the man showing his need to feel close to the low-born. For him, the social gap is non-existent. Only his desires matter. Striking is that after this event, Seungho starts wearing again the lighter blue robe. Interesting is that each time, he chose it, he was in a good mood.
He knows the painter’s daring attitude, when it comes to Jung In-Hun. The other clue is that he asked his servant Kim to attend the artist personally and take care of the wound on his lip. Striking is that he knew where the innocent man had been injured: the cut on the lip. So he must have paid attention to the artist’s face. 
From my point of view, the lord is someone self-reflecting a lot. How do I come to this conclusion? 
In the bathroom, he is recalling what led to the rape and the fact that he is remembering shows that he is not denying what happened. He wants to know how this could happen since he had never planned the rape. A person without remorse or regret wouldn’t even give a thought and would never attempt to remember like that because bad memories are quite painful. In the bathroom, he cools down and is no longer angry, rather remorseful. Therefore he makes the decision to bring the injured painter his own clothes. 
The deadly gaze he gives to Kim on his way back is a defense mechanism in my opinion. He doesn’t want to be confronted by a critical and reproachful gaze. We all know that he is truly sensitive, when it comes to gaze. And notice that he even attends the poor low-born himself. He stands by the bathtub and looks at him and even wipes the tears from his eyes. 
However, the noble doesn’t truly realize the real impact of his action. He thought that even if he coerced him to sex, the painter would no longer resist him and accept him as his partner. He is a lord after all. That’s why he shows a certain lack of understanding first. 
If he hadn’t acted as Jung In-Hun, then none of this would have ever happened. Striking is that painter is more angry at him because of their first night than the forced sex at the pavilion. That’s why the beholder sees a shock on the master’s face. No one has ever reprimanded him like that, confronting with such harsh words and putting all the responsibility on him. He can’t accept criticism so well as he has never been used to it. We shouldn’t forget that he has never been in a relationship and all his “acquaintances” are just sex partners. He has been a loner for a long time.
Just after the rape, he does the same. He had already felt remorse, when the uke whispered Jung In-Hun hence he left the pavilion.
This terrible and somehow empty gaze serves as a shield, he is so lost in his thoughts and he doesn’t even want to see or hear anything that could resemble a disapproval or reprimand. In other words, the regret or remorse are always connected to a certain cowardice. He doesn’t want to face any admonishment and wants to seclude himself. However, as time passes on, I believe that he reflects on his behavior and has some pangs of conscience. Hence he went himself to release the painter from the straw mat beating and he personally fetched the horse and brought back his own clothes to the commoner. He has a certain self-awareness. And let’s not forget that he personally confirmed that the wound on his lip was healing. 
This gesture illustrates that the lord is definitely taking the blame for the injury.
Here, he can’t blame anyone like in the past (see the straw mat beating, the rape and the fellatio due to the way Baek Na-Kyum is dressed: half-naked and touching his body). He can’t run away either because if he did, the artist could die. He has to face his wrongdoing. Yet we can detect a progression in his change of behavior: he has lowered himself even more than before. When he recognizes that his simple gesture didn’t work, he gets even more concerned. 
He observes a different reaction: there is no resent or hatred like in the bathroom, although what he did, was far worse in his eyes. Therefore he lets the painter leave his bedroom. The low-born could have died and the master is well aware of this fact but he is content enough that there is no hatred from the painter. The pangs of conscience are the reason why he broods the whole night. Besides, he has to find a way to get closer to Baek Na-Kyum. 
That’s why there is this slap in the chapter 41. He still views himself as a master. We have to imagine that he has internalized his role as master so this shouldn’t wonder us that there are some remains. From my point of view, Seungho is now able to digest criticism but he needs to learn to communicate with the painter hence he wouldn’t need to seclude himself in order to reflect. An apology is needed too in my opinion. When the lord does that, their relationship will improve and the gap between them will really disappear. 
The artist is surprised by this sudden brutal behavior, nevertheless he doesn’t complain. What caught my attention in this scene is the alternation of his attitude towards the commoner. First, he is aggressive, then when Jung In-Hun asks the artist to search for a weakness, he has already distanced himself from the low-born. 
Yet, when he witnessed Baek Na-Kyum’s shocked face, he gets aware that he needs to treat the artist better if he wants to convince the painter to act as a spy. That’s why Byeonduck zoomed on the low noble’s mouth. 
He becomes very close to the uke, touches his shoulder with his head and hands, then he kisses his hands. He is definitely seducing the innocent man. One might object that this is just an act but fact is that he is using his body in an alluring way in order to convince the painter. It is like a job he has to do. He knows that Baek Na-Kyum will never ask him for a sexual favor because he has indoctrinated him that he views homosexuality as filthy and disgusting. Sure, one might argue that he has only taken over the part of the pimp. However, what the uke didn’t realize is that he has the upper hand in their relationship. If he had been a corrupted person, he could have proposed a deal: “Sleep with me and you’ll get your info”. Imagine the irony of the situation: Jung In-Hun is here asking the painter to do anything, including sleep with the lord, in exchange for weaknesses, whereas at the same time, the learned sir is forced to become touchy and to caress the painter’s hands with his lips. We have to wonder who is here the whore. The low noble knows that he is safe with the artist and the latter will never come up with the idea to exploit this situation. 
Nonetheless, the elements of prostitution are right here. He is willing to use sex in order to achieve his goal and he is willing to use his body to seduce the naive man. And if we compare his behavior towards Baek Na-Kyum in the past, we will observe that the low noble always kept his distance from him. It was especially visible in the chapter 7 at the teacher’s arrival. While the artist was almost jumping on him, the learned sir could only take a step backwards while making a disgusted face. 
The only time, he touched the man, it was to prevent him from painting so that he would leave the mansion. Nonetheless, he was barely touching the uke’s chin (chapter 10).
But it was not obvious and he thought that this was a small token, nothing in comparison to what he would get from Yoon Seungho’s support. However after the chapter 24, the low noble’s attitude changes drastically. Jung In-Hun keeps touching him illustrating that sex and homosexuality that he abhors so much are now part of Jung In-Hun’s world. 
(chapter 29)
In front of the teacher, the commoner is declaring that Yoon Seungho has become his master and the gesture with the hands symbolizes the allegiance. He is joining his hands to Yoon Seungho. In other words, what Jung In-Hun wanted to do in the chapter 30 is to use Baek Na-Kyum as his whore in exchange for favors but he failed because of the painter’s spontaneity and innocence. The low-born didn’t fall into the teacher’s scheme. 
Then he tries diminishing the lord’s action by declaring that he wasn’t seriously ill. These words do affect the painter. Here, he is able to sense that the low noble doesn’t value him very much. The candid man has to remind the learned sir that his condition was pretty serious. He is already hurt. And just before leaving, this is what Jung In-Hun says: 
This time, he is caressing the cheek with his full hand… Observe the progression. From the head, the teacher went closer to the lips. He is truly increasing his seductive gestures. Imagine that all this time, Yoon Seungho had to witness their interactions. No wonder, when he declares that he would have killed the painter if he had left the domain with the low noble. For him, it was as if they were having sex in front of him.
(chapter 2) or the wet dream in the chapter 6 
where the painter’s repressed natural desires resurface. The readers are a little confused because initially they have no idea how to judge these drawings. Are they reality or fiction? This is in particular visible in the following picture: 
On the surface, it looks so real, while in reality this image was a vision in Baek Na-Kyum’s dream which marked the start of his unleashed unconscious. In the wet dream, we had a similar question. The beholder wondered if these images were true memories or fantasies. 
(Chapter 2) These were a mixture of both, although the more pictures we got, the more it became an illusion, a phantasm. As you can observe, the boundaries between seem and real were sometimes not clearly defined. The beholder had to distinguish this.
as much as he is expressing his love for the low-born, Jihwa imagines to see something else. Baek Na-Kyum is the one who seduces the powerful lord hence he believes to detect a cunning smile on the artist’s face. 
(Chapter 43) The red-haired man is too biased towards the young low-born because he has so many prejudices against commoners. He believes that each low-born has no principle and virtue and will do anything in exchange for power, money in order to improve his life. However, the reality is different from the illusion Jihwa experienced. 
(chapter 3) Furthermore, it seems that each time Yoon Seungho had a sex session with Jihwa, he had no other sex partners. 
(chapter 13). Notice that Jihwa wasn’t present at the sex orgy in the chapter 33 hence he trusted Min’s words when the latter told him that the seme was hopping from one bedchamber to the other. From my point of view, Jihwa never participated in that kind of events that’s why he was able to have a clean reputation. 
(Chapter 18) With these words, the red-haired noble implied that his friend had to choose between him or Baek Na-Kyum as Jihwa had no intention to share him with the artist. 
His servants have to clean his mess here. He became himself a drunk. 
(Chapter 12) Nevertheless, it contrasts to the first case as in this scene every action is real, it just depends on the interpretation of the participants. Here, the red-haired uke is observing from far away how Yoon Seungho is treating the low-born. We have to remember that his perception of the reality is limited because the lord is turning his back to him and is in front of the painter. Secondly he stands too far away to be able to hear their conversation. In other words, he can’t see Yoon Seungho’s facial expression nor the painter’s face as the master’s shoulder is covering his face. Based on these parameters, I selected all the pictures Jihwa could witness due to the movement of Seungho’s arm and hand: 
(Chapter 12) 
(Chapter 14) All this led the jealous man to the conclusion that there was something going on between the commoner and his childhood friend. However, we have to remind to the readers what Jihwa couldn’t see in the pictures above. The uke was avoiding the master’s gaze. Either he closed his eyes or looked down. If he had witnessed it, Jihwa would have realized that the fascination was coming more from his childhood friend than the reverse and as such, Baek Na-Kyum didn’t seduce the lord in this chapter. For him, the reality was that the low-born was using his position and influenced the lord in a bad way. He was already showing some favoritism. This perception of the reality was definitely influenced by his biased view about commoners. 
(Chapter 12) Here, the master is actually threatening the commoner. So his words stands in opposition to his gentle demeanor. 
(Chapter 12) 
It was, as if the protagonist would awake the beastly instincts living inside the boyfriend. However, this rape doesn’t change the fact that Soo-Young has some love and affection for Si-Jung. He confesses to himself that he would like the boyfriend to find him and support him. 
A guided tour of Yoon Seungho’s domain 🏡 (second version) (only accessible with a password) Use the second password 
🎉
First, his fist is clenched indicating that there is resent, frustration and even hatred. However, his hand and wrist are shaking revealing a certain fear. Seungho doesn’t want anyone to witness his vulnerability and weakness. 
the moment they first met. Like I mentioned it in another analysis, their first encounter marks a change in the lord’s life. He is actually inviting the low-born to enter his personal space. From that moment, Yoon Seungho kept touching him. Either he wiped the tears on the artist’s face
(chapter 1) or he caressed the hand 
with his cheek (chapter 2) or pushed the low-born 
. I also believe that the hypnotic gaze helped the commoner to come closer to the lord, just like it served to unleash the commoner’s unconscious. 
This explains why Jihwa and Min decided to have the painter killed. As a conclusion, the lord created a fake image of himself as a powerful and self-assured noble with a strong stamina which no one ever questioned. All this underlines how big his fear is to reveal his vulnerability and sensitivity. His strong stamina was the result of drinking a lot of replenishing medicine (aphrodisiacs), no one has been really suspecting that he was no homosexual right from the start, even the readers were fooled by Byeonduck. The lord is a master of deception hence he could only fall for someone who symbolizes the opposite: naturalness and unrestraint. You all know the saying: opposite attracts.
and favoritism, then his sexual charisma 
, 
, 
and finally his sexual experiences.
None of this worked. Only by giving up his position as a noble and lord, he is able to be accepted by the painter. With the fellatio, Yoon Seungho is willing to appear weaker in front of the low-born. 
This position reflects his change of mind. He had already noticed that Baek Na-Kyum was moved, when the latter saw him at his lowest point.
This explicates why the lord has no problem to reveal his vulnerability in front of the uke, when Seung-Won appears. Later the protagonist even requests to the commoner to share his bed with him. By hugging him so closely he showed his true personality. 
There is no disguise and deception from his part. He is literally naked in front of the artist. He had dawned to him that naturalness and sensitivity could be the only tool… That’s the reason why Seungho chose to reveal his weaknesses. However, we shouldn’t forget that Seungho is not manipulating here the low-born, his deep feelings were the cause for all of this. The kiss at the end of the sex marathon marked another pivotal moment in the noble’s life. 
Here, he wants to know if the low-born came back because of the low noble’s request, if he has been asked to sleep with the powerful lord in order to get some info. That’s why he keeps questioning the teacher’s words.
The sudden request accompanied with tears and a certain resignation leads the noble to think that Jung In-Hun has now asked him to have sex with him. Like I mentioned it before, Baek Na-Kyum had internalized the teacher’s words and come to believe that he was indeed a prostitute. All his actions contrast to the spontaneity and the naturalness Baek Na-Kyum exuded before. He was no longer fighting and his gestures were stripped of warmth and genuine sensuality. Yoon Seungho saw the behavior of a prostitute in front of him, resigned to his fate… selling his body which is not what the noble is looking for. At the end, he was convinced that despite the tears, Baek Na-Kyum was doing it on his own accord because the commoner has never been able to lie and hide any ulterior motives. There is a reason why Yoon Seungho fears so much this idea that the painter might sell his body and it is related to his own father. The latter sold his own son in order to save his own skin and as such treated his son as a prostitute, while he was himself the pimp. Now, you understand why he wasn’t willing to sleep with the artist. 
And let’s not forget that the returned poem in the chapter 7 could be a different poem but Baek Na-Kyum failed to notice it. Hence just like Baek Na-Kyum, the readers will discover a new side of our protagonist in the future, like f. ex. his refined sense of poetry which was just implied in the chapter 4.
During this occasion, Jihwa can look again at Seungho’s gaze and what he observes annoys him the most. He sees that Seungho is starring (again) at the painter which means that the noble is neglecting his sex partner. Each time, the powerful lord wants to examine the painter’s reaction and look at his gaze, as if he was drawn to the uke’s eyes. We could even say that both gazes seem to have a hypnotic effect, they help them to unveil their deeply repressed unconscious. Besides their hypnotic gaze serves as a mirror, they see each other as attractive and alluring. There is no contempt and disdain, they perceive themselves as normal and natural, unaware of the effect caused by the gaze. This could be judged as an contradiction to Sartres’ theory, sometimes the gaze from the other can liberate oneself. 
By contrasting both images, the beholder detect the difference in the distance. It was as if Seungho had got closer to Baek Na-Kyum. However, we have to imagine that this is just an impression due to the perspective. Nonetheless it reflects their increasing closeness. Little by little, the noble is definitely getting closer with his seduction but just virtually. We have to remember that each sexual gesture is addressed to the young painter. The climax of their developing intimacy represents the following picture. 
The low noble had never looked him in the eye because he would have revealed his true thoughts, his soul. Besides, the artist would have recognized the disdain for him and his social status. That’s why the voice and words played a huge role in the commoner’s brainwashing. 
Let’s not forget that after that day, Baek Na-Kyum was no longer able to control his body. His blushing, his heart bumping and his erection were more visible and palpable for the uke. The latter could only admit his own sexual orientation and his attraction for the master.
because he is able to meet his idol. In the chapter 22, the seme is oozing sincerity, warmth and more importantly calmness. That’s why he has been patient with the low-born. All this has been triggered by the night spent with Baek Na-Kyum. All this outlines the importance of their “wedding night” and that he has experienced something new. He felt loved although it was just an illusion and deep down, Seungho was hoping that this wasn’t a dream. Baek Na-Kyum’s words during that night expressed what the seme felt too. 
as he personally took care of the uke. This revealed that the protagonist had been keeping an eye on the low-born which we didn’t see. Striking is that after helping him and showing him such a nice and gentle smile, the painter thanks him and the reader is unable to see Yoon Seungho’s face. 
Here, the tailor’s hand on Baek Na-Kyum’s body represents the perspective of the noble and through the switch of perspective, the reader is able to enter the noble’s mind and read his thoughts: he is jealous and dislikes what he is seeing. This explicates why the sensitive readers have come to love the seme because we were seeing the events from his perspective and feel his own emotions and turmoil.
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 