This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes.
In the first part, I examined the realizations made by Baek Na-Kyum and Jihwa. I received many comments concerning Baek Na-Kyum as they weren’t convinced that the painter no longer perceived himself as a prostitute. I was happy for the feedback because it forces me to clarify my perception with much more details. Therefore before analyzing the last scene, I’ll elaborate my point of view more precisely as it is necessary to understand the true significance of the chapter 50.
For me, a prostitute receives money or favors in exchange for sex hence remuneration plays a huge role in the prostitute’s life. Furthermore, she or he has to follow the clients’ or pimp’s orders. She or he can never voice her/his own desires and wishes. But there exist some people called whore or prostitute because they have many sex partners and have a lot of one-night-stands. They don’t want to be involved in a serious relationship since they want to enjoy their sexuality freely, without any restriction. This kind of person is also judged negatively by moral standards, hence she or he is compared to a prostitute. However, they are in reality “libertines” and if you look carefully, Yoon Seungho is one of them. I doubt that the manhwaphiles would associate him to a prostitute. Moreover, let’s not forget that he was even described as such by his own friend Jihwa. 
So my thinking is that now Baek Na-Kyum has adopted Yoon Seungho’s way of life, the one of a libertine, unaware that his lover is no longer one, sexually speaking. That’s why people still think the painter is a prostitute as libertines are usually judged like ones. However all this is influenced by moral standards, yet their motivation for sex is different as it is connected to freedom and not money.
The irony is that the aristocrat has already become monogamous and considers the painter as his wife. He no longer organizes any sex session nor visits any sex orgy. He has already been reformed, like the folks in town noticed it. Since a libertine is linked to liberty (freedom), this explicates why I stated that the painter has liberated himself from the scholar. He is free to choose what he wants in his life. As a conclusion, the fact that Baek Na-Kyum has become a libertine outlines that the painter has definitely cut ties with the scholar but also explains why people still confuse him with a whore as the behavior of a libertine and a whore is quite similar on the surface, yet the incentive is different. Libertines don’t care about moral standards and traditions, they see all these as a restrictions of their freedom. Another aspect is that they don’t feel shame either therefore they never hide their way of life from others. They live the way they want and the painter’s words are reflecting this mentality. 
Thereby it becomes imperative for the master to reveal his true personality in front of the painter so that the latter will perceive his lover in a different light. Right now, Baek Na-Kyum has a very negative opinion about Yoon Seungho, “a man consumed by lust”, hence he has a negative image of himself too. In other words, he is just mirroring the main lead’s past way of life. That’s why I said that he has become a person of his own, he has now a new identity, yet his “freedom” is limited as it is linked to Yoon Seungho’s reflection. To summarize, the painter still has not a good opinion about himself, since he has a rather negative judgement about his “husband”. His confidence is still very low, yet compared to before, it is much better as he is now thinking on his own and makes decisions for himself.
And in my opinion, this explication is quite important for two reasons. This demonstrates that Baek Na-Kyum has completely accepted the noble as his sex partner and the image the painter has about his lover determines their relationship. Since the latter is a libertine in the low-born’s opinion, then the commoner is also one. As a conclusion, both protagonists are standing in front of a crossroad: the noble has to show a different side of himself to the low-born but for him to do that, he needs to stop feeling insecure and jealous. He needs to sense the artist’s trust. And this is what is happening in the chapter 50. This episode marks a turning point in the master’s life as he makes two huge realizations. Now, you are wondering which ones. Consequently, it is time to examine the revelations Yoon Seungho has in the chapter 50.
Striking is that the lord went to the teacher’s chamber very early. His loyal valet Kim, used to dress him up, had no idea why the noble would rush to Jung In-Hun’s former chamber hence he arrived late. He doesn’t know the trigger for Yoon Seungho’s motivation. “Why would he go there, as the scholar has moved to the capital?” This is what the butler must have thought and he must have pondered about it. On the other hand, he must have seen the mess in the lord’s bedroom so that he must have come to the conclusion that something between his lord and the painter must have occurred.
Since the lord complains to his valet about his late arrival, it indicates that the former had already announced his intention to his butler. I explicates the reason for Kim’s delay as the following. The valet questioned his lord’s behavior. We shouldn’t forget that the loyal domestic has always made decisions on his own in order to help his master. Hence he often anticipated his moves, like for example, he knew that after the rape, Jung In-Hun could be in danger. Consequently he sent a servant from the library in order to let the scholar leave his room. 
Another example is when the butler asked for an aphrodisiac from the physician so that the painter would get an erection. He used Yoon Seungho’s trick in order to improve the relationship between Baek Na-Kyum and his master.
Therefore the loyal valet can’t understand the motivations behind the lord’s action, since the scholar has already left the mansion. He is well aware of his jealousy of the scholar as initially he heard the painter’s confession. 
Besides, he was right, when he predicted the lord’s intention in the chapter 26, he would attempt to kill the former teacher with his sword.
Then in the chapter 29, the master went to the low noble’s room again, once he discovered the painter’s escape.
The butler witnessed his master’s facial expression, when the latter heard that the servants had no idea where the low noble had gone. 
He wasn’t just infuriated, he was totally eaten by jealousy. Imagine, he belongs to the high nobility and the painter chose a low aristocrat with no huge income and connection over him. He, used to be surrounded by many nobles due to his wealth and power, kept experiencing rejections. Not only he was turned down multiple times but the person even preferred running away from him. The aristocrat made terrible experiences for the first time: not only jealousy but also he started feeling insecure. His reaction towards his servants (the beating) demonstrates that he was not just mad but also panicking, trying to vent all his negative emotions onto the staff. The one he chose because of his feelings for him had no consideration for him, a high noble. Neither wealth nor power nor force could make the painter submit to him. Only the butler could read his master’s expressions and behavior as an open book.
So if we go back to the scene 50, we see the lord in the former room of the scholar. Each time, he went there or wanted to go there, he was triggered by envy and resentment. As a first conclusion, he went to Jung In-Hun’s room because of his jealousy. And the lord’s appearance confirms this statement. Many readers noticed the beautiful lord’s hanbok.
He is wearing a black robe with short sleeves and the pattern is in red. Since many of my readers already know the signification of the clothes in this manhwa, they were already able to perceive the master’s feelings. He was full of anger and jealousy. Since black often refers to death and red to blood, there is only one conclusion left that can explain the lord’s motivation behind his visit in the scholar’s room. He wished, he could kill the man. That’s why he went there with his sword, he felt the need to destroy the books symbolizing the low noble. Consequently the manhwalovers see him cutting a book with his sword.
This gesture actually symbolizes the scholar’s execution. Let’s not forget that Jung In-Hun’s image is associated to books hence we often saw him surrounded by books. 
In the second picture above, he is so furious that he can’t restrain himself from destroying the book. If the learned sir had been present, Yoon Seungho would have definitely killed him. To summarize, the master went there because of his jealousy and his urge to “kill” the scholar, well aware that this was not possible.
But we have now to ponder about the following question: Why would he feel so jealous again? What was the trigger for his “pointless” action? Even the valet was puzzled by this reaction. Only the manhwalovers can answer this as they witnessed the special night before. Yoon Seungho got a confession, finally… but this was so different from the one he heard in the chapter 20: 
The painter didn’t express any admiration nor love for him. In the new confession, the master was more or less degraded into a tool, a sexual body: 
He is not the recipient of the painter’s love, the artist feels only attracted to him physically. He is the one who can make the painter feel good but that’s it. Who wouldn’t feel envious of Jung In-Hun who was literally worshiped by the painter? Since the chapter 20, the noble has been waiting for the same confession but this time addressed to him for real. He wants to feel admired and loved by the commoner, yet the latter still refuses to give in in this aspect. In other words, he got rejected again, yet the kiss and the caress stopped him from getting angry again.
In that moment, he felt that the gestures let transpire more than the commoner had conceded. But we shouldn’t forget that despite this, the noble couldn’t forget the rejection and saw the huge contrast between the two confessions. No wonder why he still felt resentful and jealous. On the other hand, the valet Kim never got to witness the second confession therefore he can’t comprehend the master’s motivation. Because of this weird confession, the noble made up his mind: he accepts the painter’s confession, hence they are just sex partners and nothing more.
He will never be the painter’s confident. However, what caught my attention in the lord’s thoughts is the word “need”. He definitely felt the need to share their thoughts. In reality, he longed to be the recipient of the painter’s love. What he mistook for “mind” was in reality “heart”. I have also the impression that this mistake can be explained by the first love confession he heard from the painter. Observe that the artist never used that word love and only utilized the semantic field about the mind: respect, admiration, pining. Everything was revolving around the mind and not the heart. Consequently he could recognize that what he was longing to get was the painter’s heart. Besides, I have already stipulated that the main lead represent the opposite of the painter. While the painter’s unconscious expressed during his sleep or daydream, the lord’s unconscious revealed itself, when he was awake. Therefore I come to the following interpretation: 
The choice of the hanbok doesn’t just mirror the lord’s jealousy and thirst for blood, it also reflects the bleeding of Yoon Seungho’s heart. When he made up his mind, he was really sad, I would even say, he was literally dying.
You might have already noticed it but I didn’t follow the chronology of the images from the chapter 50 and there is a reason for this. I wanted to follow the chronology of the event with their causes as it is imperative to reconstruct the motivations of Yoon Seungho, step by step. Once he woke up, he was envious as he couldn’t forget the confession. He chose the red and black hanbok with short sleeves for two reasons: he resents the scholar deeply and he feels like he is dying.
Since the valet has no idea why the couple argued, he can only imagine that there can only be one cause: the scholar’s words said to the painter. Consequently the loyal servant decides to finally reveal to his master the conversation between the painter and his learned sir overheard by servants working at the library.
This is quite important because it illustrates once again the liberty valet Kim is taking concerning his master’s love life. He has known about the content of their conversation for a while but chose to hide it from his master as he feared that the latter would be displeased and even envious. This would also explain why the domestic Kim went personally to buy the painter’s material. The gentle man was well aware that his master’s lover had been hurt by the scholar’s words.
He thought that if he kept putting new brushes and an ink stone next to Baek Na-Kyum, the latter would realize that he was a painter in reality and no prostitute. However, his actions didn’t help neither his master nor the painter. Remember the saying: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. And this is exactly what is happening. The valet caused more agony to both protagonists with his actions. First, he asked the tailor to hide the true identity of his master’s lover to the folks, then he never confirmed the real status of Baek Na-Kyum to Deok Jae (he is just favored) so that he kept the painter in a very ambiguous status, which his lord didn’t catch. The painter had been literally destroyed by these poisonous words and the butler didn’t even comfort the man because he couldn’t. Due to Kim’s neutrality/passivity, the lord’s behavior could only reinforce the negative reflection the painter had about himself and his sex partner. We shouldn’t forget that Yoon Seungho was described in the first chapter of the second season as someone obsessed with his new lover.
The lord initially imagined that he had finally won and enjoyed his time with the painter, only to slowly realize that he was still missing something: the lack of passion and warmth. But the valet Kim kept this important detail from him. That’s why the master is so angry with his loyal domestic and with the low noble. The former acted on his own accord, although he is just a servant and Jung In-Hun, despise his absence, was still able to cause trouble in his relationship with the painter. Therefore Yoon Seungho feels the urge to kill the scholar symbolically, once he discovers the truth. He comprehends the painter much better, why he behaved like a prostitute, why he had lost his strength and strong will.
The black in this drawing represents the darkness and hatred for the scholar hence he uses his weapon to destroy the book.
The readers should now wonder why the valet Kim desired to hide this conversation from his master and why he keeps relativize the words exchange.
Based on this image, it becomes clear that the domestic’s intention is to protect his master from any pain. What could hurt the lord the most? The first thought would be Jung In-Hun’s portray of his actual sponsor. The judgement of the rich noble was so negative. He was described as a person led by his sexual desires, incapable of controlling his emotions and acting like an undignified noble.
But I doubt, this is the real reason for the valet to camouflage this conversation. My explication is based on the chapter 28. I would like to point out that both chapters (28/50) have many similarities:
– Yoon Seungho’s longing for the painter’s love
– Baek Na-Kyum’s rejection
– the lord’s fury and jealousy towards the “learned sir”
– his visit to the scholar’s room
In the chapter 28, Yoon Seungho discovered that Baek Na-Kyum disobeyed him. The artist had run away from the lord illustrating that the commoner had chosen the scholar over Yoon Seungho. If we pay attention to the chapter 40 now, we remember that the origin of the quarrel between Jung In-Hun and his former student is responsibility. The painter went to the library asking his teacher to take responsibility as he had implied it before. However, the jealous and arrogant man couldn’t allow a low-born to question his authority. Besides, he was even somehow forced by him to take responsibility. In that scene, the scholar refused this idea and even abandoned the painter with the simple excuse, he saw Baek Na-Kyum as a prostitute. He can’t be tainted by him. In other words, the painter remained at the mansion because he had nowhere else to go, he didn’t choose Yoon Seungho in reality. He had no option left. That’s how the valet interpreted the commoner’s decision. He anticipated that the noble would be hurt, if he disclosed this secret. Baek Na-Kyum didn’t pick him, just like in the chapter 28. Remember that Kim paid attention to his master’s facial expression and he didn’t want to relive such a scene. And now, imagine how he was already dying because of the weird confession he received from the painter. It was as if he was getting another stab in the heart.
What the valet Kim failed to see is that he didn’t always possess all the information. He wasn’t present, when the lord triggered the painter to question his own motivation: Why would he support the low noble in his career, if he expected nothing? 
Here, in this drawing, the noble is definitely pushing the artist to interrogate the true nature of his relationship with his learned sir, while at the same time he shows that he’ll assume the responsibility for him. But in this scene, the manhwalovers could never see Kim as he had been left behind at the tailor shop, taking care of the order for the new clothes. If the lord had known about the existence of this conversation, he would have been happy and not hurt, since he would have noticed that his words and actions had affected the artist. Yoon Seungho is well aware of the true meaning of this exchange, while the valet Kim wasn’t.
Moreover, the conversation was overheard by the domestics which is quite important because at the end, this is what they noted:
- Baek Na-Kyum comes from a brothel
- He was abandoned by Jung In-Hun who only considers him as a prostitute.
- The painter has a sexual relationship with their lord, confirmed by a noble. This is no longer a gossip.
- He became a painter of sodomy because he witnessed it at the brothel
- Jung In-Hun implied with his terrible words that the painter was depraved, a man consumed by lust.
From my point of view, this is relevant because it gives the reason why Deok Jae looks down on the painter. He must have heard from other servants about this conversation. He might be a commoner too, yet he wasn’t raised at a brothel. I do think that some of the servants might have adopted the scholar’s judgement. However, since the incident at the kitchen, the servants got to fear the master’s punishment for expressing so openly their disrespect. But this doesn’t mean that Baek Na-Kyum has been openly accepted by all the servants at the mansion. His special status with their lord and his origins could only reinforce the bad impression some domestics had about the new sex partner. The manhwalovers recognize that the head-maid from the kitchen has already accepted Baek Na-Kyum but Deok Jae is the proof that there is still some resistance and resent among the staff.
Yoon Seungho realizes that his servant has been acting on his own hence he scolds him. He needs to remind him of his real status. His advice is not helping his cause that’s what the noble realizes. Why should he doubt the content of the overheard dispute, when it explains perfectly why the painter behaved like a whore and was just an empty shell? Kim is dismissing it because he fears the lord might get hurt due to his jealousy. Therefore he is questioning the true content of the exchange (“it may not be accurate”).
Here, the noble gets aware of the scholar’s shadow. He might have sent him away so that his relationship with the painter could improve but it didn’t really work like he had imagined.
What caught my attention in this scene is that we never see the lord’s face, only from behind. The readers are not permitted to see the noble’s face because they are encouraged to imagine his emotional state with the following details: the location, the sword,
the hanbok, the gestures
and his words are clearly underlining his pain, resentment and jealousy. However, this changes the moment the author adds this picture: a zoom on the master’s gaze.
This gaze is only revealed after the following flashback. 
The lord remembers the painter’s sleeping face oozing tranquility and comfort. Here, the noble was first surprised by the painter’s reaction. He didn’t even wake up from the kiss. So when he recalls this moment, he has a huge revelation. Despite the decision he made (they were just naked bodies), he felt something else. He couldn’t help himself to kiss the painter, although the latter was already asleep. He felt the need to share what was on his mind… or better said what was on his heart. He had to kiss him.
Yet, this supposed “exchange of thoughts” occurred, while Baek Na-Kyum was asleep. That’s his realization. He can’t be satisfied with the intercourse. That’s why he finds it strange. He mistakes the origin of his actions. He has the impression that his mind is behind all his reactions, while in reality, it’s his heart pushing him to express his love. He senses that he wants more but can’t explain it exactly. He is no longer satisfied with pure physcial interaction. That’s what he realized. He knows that the painter has finally been capable to distance himself from the low noble, yet his shadow is still present. Due to him, he is not able to get what he is longing for: he believes, he wants an exchange of thoughts.
In my opinion, the remark “how strange” is linked to himself. He is actually introspecting his new emotions or better said, his “thoughts”. I couldn’t help myself to connect this drawing with the following scene in the chapter 27.
The painter stopped Yoon Seungho from murdering the scholar by using his own body, barely clothed. When the painter discovered the master’s huge erection, he distanced himself from the noble. In that moment, the powerful protagonist looked at the painter’s face and saw his tears flowing, reminding him of their wedding night, where the painter had cried out of joy and happiness. In that scene, the wealthy main lead couldn’t help himself from looking away from the painter’s visage covered with tears.
Then he made the following remark:
He couldn’t recognize the origin of his fury, he was terribly jealous of Jung In-Hun. The lord had never felt anything for a long time because he had been living like a zombie. This discloses why the lord has some difficulties to understand his own motivation and feelings. From my point of view, the readers are confronted with a similar situation in the chapter 50, however this time, he is discovering new feelings, actually positive ones. I do think that there is happiness and relief. He realizes that the painter has cut ties with the scholar, the latter is no longer his admired “learned sir”. Notice that his eyes are not showing any negative emotions, rather a certain relief.
To summarize, he went to the scholar’s room out of fury and jealousy, just like in the chapter 28, yet this time, his face doesn’t turn sour, he is somehow relieved at the end. He senses that there’s a breakthrough. He has achieved something: the painter is no longer pushing him away, feels relaxed enough to doze. During that night, he couldn’t interpret the true nature of the incident as he had been first worried that the painter had gotten sick again. We know for sure that he worries a lot about the low-born’s health. Even in his sarcastic comments, he lets transpire his worry. 
Now, you understand why it is important to know this manhwa very well. The previous chapters help me a lot to perceive the thoughts and emotions of the main characters. Byeonduck uses the episodes from the first season to enlighten the development of her characters, underlining their transformation. In the beginning of the chapter 50, the manhwaphiles witness how much the main lead has changed. He has become very gentle, selfless and making sure that his lover is feeling well. But he is still ignorant of his own feelings. For him, reasoning is the cause of his behavior. Let’s not forget that during the first season, the main lead had to ponder a lot and even suffer due to remorse. So the painter did occupy a big place in his thoughts that’s why the lord is still making the mistake. On the other hand, he is now capable of expressing his love much better, although the artist couldn’t see it with his own eyes. However, his body has already sensed it. 
And now, I would like to analyze the final image in order to close this long essay.
On the surface, we could say that the shadow represents the scholar. Although he is actually at the capital, his presence is still there affecting the painter’s life and his relationship with Yoon Seungho. Nevertheless, we know that this is the protagonist’s shadow. What does this drawing mean? In my opinion, this is actually foreshadowing the rich noble’s future evolution. He will become the “learned sir” the painter has always longed for. But this will take some time, until it becomes true therefore he is just a shadow.
We shouldn’t forget that Baek Na-Kyum has always addressed Jung In-Hun as learned sir because he admired him for his “intelligence” and “knowledge”, unaware that behind his words and smiles, Jung In-Hun was never the learned sir the commoner had imagined. He was in reality an illusion. During this chapter, Yoon Seungho heard that the scholar told his lover that the latter was born to be a prostitute. Hence the noble is smart enough to realize that if he wants to get the painter’s recognition, he needs to prove the low noble’s words wrong. The lord is standing in front of the books and this is his future role. Actually, he has already started acting as the painter’s teacher because he encouraged the commoner’s “critical thinking” (chapter 40).
That’s why I would like to remind my readers of what I wrote at the beginning of this analysis. I described Yoon Seungho as a libertine due to his sexual practice. However, a libertine is more than just a person experiencing his sexuality freely. In reality, libertine is a free-thinker. The Libertinage is tightly related to the Enlightenment, an European movement from the 18th Century, where reason and critical thinking were central.
The German philosopher E. Kant once wrote: “Enlightenment is man’s release from his self incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man’s inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. […] Have courage to use your own reason”
A libertine questions authorities like the king’s or church’s, religion and its dogma. He experiments and uses his own mind in order to find solutions. He rejects any form of doctrine coming from above. In other words, a libertine stands in opposition to traditions and ancient rules. A libertine advocates liberty and equity, values that were defended during the American and French revolution. The problem is that libertines often lived their sexuality openly so that in the long run, the Libertinage was reduced to the sexual aspect. Yoon Seungho as a true libertine rejects social hierarchy hence he doesn’t view his relationship with a low-born as a problem. He reads a lot in order to improve his knowledge. As you can detect, he embodies the opposite of Jung In-Hun. That’s why he has another reason to despise the shallow noble.
Yoon Seungho will transform into the “learned sir”, Baek Na-Kyum has always been longing for. For that, he needs to teach the painter writing and reading. That’s why the books are in the middle of the picture. The master hasn’t slipped into the role of the teacher yet. However, I am sure that the master will do it very soon. Now, he has the knowledge, why the painter kept seeing him and himself as “men consumed by lust”. These were the poisonous words said by the jealous noble. The painter never saw “his lord” with books, the only ones he was seen with were the erotic publications, even in the chapter 23.
Since Baek Na-Kyum has now adopted the doctrine of a libertine, then he is already open to this idea of receiving lessons from Yoon Seungho. The latter will show him what a real libertine is, it is not just about living his sexuality freely, it is also thinking freely, see beyond the facade and recognize the true nature of people. He still needs to perceive Jung In-Hun’s vicious and cruel personality. However, there is still a long way to go because the lord is now hurting. He knows now why the painter remained by his side. He never won his heart and he discovered it due to the valet’s revelation.
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and at some point, they stopped for a moment, only to do it again for a while 
. The hug in the chapter 32 contrasts so much to the hug in the chapter 49. In the former, they weren’t facing each other indicating the gap between them. In the latest episode, the noble is truly comforting the painter, he wants him to rely on him, to trust him, whereas in the past, the noble was determined to have the painter recognized his own sexual orientation.
As much as he wanted the painter to feel pleasure with him, Yoon Seungho’s other motivation was to satisfy his own sexual appetite hence he paid no attention to the artist’s health condition. The other difference is that in the chapter 49, the painter was the one initiating the second part of their love session and not the lord this time. By comparing both scenes, it makes the manhwalover realize Yoon Seungho’s huge metamorphosis. He is no longer selfish and inconsiderate. He definitely prioritizes his lover over himself. 
In the latest chapter, he sensed it right away. 
Here, there was an emergency, while in the chapter 50, the main lead has no reason to be so gentle and affectionate except to feel the need to express his love for the painter. At no moment, his gaze diverts from Baek Na-Kyum’s face, his eyes are always focused on his lover during that night. 
He felt the noble’s presence due to the tight hug. He wasn’t able to repose at all. He could only doze after witnessing, how vulnerable the noble was. He realized that the aristocrat needed him for real and there was no danger coming from him. (chapter 37/38) Notice in the chapter 50 that he fell asleep while fully embraced, 
(“let my body take the lead”) has come true. His body is already telling him that he can trust the noble, while his mind still fears to depend on him. His heart and mind have been scarred due to Jung In-Hun’s hypocrisy therefore the commoner is consciously convincing himself that he should keep a certain distance from his sex partner. Yet his soul is doing the opposite. In his doze, he lets his head rest on the noble’s hand. He doesn’t wake up from the kiss either. As a first conclusion, the choice, the artist made consciously, comes true. He allows his body to follow his instinct. His body already relies on Yoon Seungho and this is only a matter of time, until his mind comes to the same realization: he loves the noble and he can rely on his warmth and love because his emotions are profound and genuine. So the first scene is important for two aspects: the readers can perceive the real transformation of the rich protagonist’s personality (from a selfish and rude to a gentle and selfless man) and the painter’s realization helps him to connect to Yoon Seungho, although it is just his unconscious. 
In the previous chapter, he is angry and due to his fury, he destroyed his room. However, he could stand on his own feet, was able to sway the sword and he had his hair tied with a topknot. So his appearance was still intact. In the chapter 50, he is on his knees, unable to grab anything, even hiding his face from the world. It was, as if he couldn’t even face people due to the bad decision he made, accompanied with huge pangs of conscience. 
Later he didn’t even pay attention to his clothes and image (chapter 41) 
and after hiring the assassin, he looks even worse than in the chapter 41. Neither alcohol nor sleep can help him to relieve his anxiety. 
. First, he didn’t notice Min’s perversion as he was too overwhelmed with his recent discovery. His childhood friend was having sex with the low-born for real. Besides, he witnessed the tender hug so his only explication was he had been bewitched. Anyway, under the influence of his emotions, he only started worrying the moment the killer looked at the mansion and his target. The irony is that whereas the painter was just acting like a prostitute and showed no real and deep feelings, Jihwa behaved the exact opposite. His huge amount of guilt and tension makes him so nervous and unstable. He can’t calm down at all.
He had the impression that this sonnet would express the scholar’s yearning due to the metaphors used in the poem. What he didn’t know was that the scholar had just copied it from the original. In other words, the yearning that transpires in the scholar’s poetry is actually the longing of the original author, Wang Bang-Yeon, and not the aristocrat’s fascination. Since the commoner had no contact to poetry, he couldn’t know that this was just a plagiarism. 
Let’s not forget that the teacher never showed his true gaze to the painter until the chapter 40. Besides, we should remember that I already associated Jung In-Hun to the day and the sun (a fake one), therefore he couldn’t choose the moon as a metaphor for himself. Usually, kings are associated to the sun (see Louis XIV, the sun king or the pharaon in Egypt) and not the moon. 
(chapter 3) He finally came to love himself. However, he never realized that the gaze reflected his affection and fascination for the artist, as his eyes were directed at the creator and not at his sex partner Jihwa. 
(chapter 2) Moreover, the noble showed his true self, the moment he met Baek Na-Kyum for the first time. He was acting like a fan meeting his idol which is a sort of love. 
(chapter 1) He was smiling and happy, he was very genuine. All his actions in the beginning prove to me that he fell for the artist at first sight. His admiration for the painter’s work served as a good preparation and when he saw the painter’s face, he was already gone. Consequently I wrote the essay about Yoon Seungho’s weaknesses. He fell very hard for him, but never realized that, because he had lived for a long time without his heart. He had forgotten how to interpret emotions. This is the reason why he had a low EQ. And now, I can bring an evidence that this interpretation was correct. In the third season, the lord admits that his affection existed very early on. 
(chapter 91) Another reason why the lord couldn’t recognize his affection for Baek Na-Kyum was that the painter kept pushing him away. Thus he had no time to introspect himself and question his feelings. He was busy pondering how to convince the artist to work for him or to think about the image the commoner had about him: “a man consumed by lust” (chapter 5). Then from the beginning, he felt the need to touch him 
(chapter 1) (his talented hands, then his tears and eyes, his hair, etc.). 
(chapter 2) He also liked his ears, because he often whispered to the painter’s ears, although he first threatened him. The whispering is important, as it shows his need for closeness. This is not surprising why he whispered and licked his ears during the masturbation scene.
Thus in the third season, we witness how the lord keep whispering to his lover in private 
(chapter 91) and in public 
(chapter 92) This truly exposes the protagonist’s true nature: he is delicate and sensitive. 
(chapter 57) Now, you can sense why I am writing this. The love Seungho had in the beginning has changed a lot, has deepened so much that he considers the painter as his wife, that he became monogamous and is even willing to get hurt, if it means that in the end, he can get closer to Baek Na-Kyum. His love for the low-born has transformed the man, 
(chapter 47) He is much more gentle and selfless compared to the way he behaved in the first season. I believe this long explication was necessary for the comparison. 
(chapter 48) He is actually upset, because Baek Na-Kyum still views him as a man consumed by lust and the former acts as a prostitute. the aristocrat did so many things for him (lowering himself in order to pleasure him, becoming monogamous, buying him expensive and warm clothes, treating him with respect, going to town with him etc.). But with the painter’s remark, it was as if the lord had done it, as he was expecting something in return!! Yes, the existence of a new deal, but contrary to the past, Yoon Seungho had never mentioned it explicitely. The reality was that Yoon Seungho had acted generously out of selflessness. He didn’t expect anything in return, maybe just his presence. Because of the silence between them, a misunderstanding occurred. Thus the lord felt so upset. It was, as if all his benevolence had never existed, as if the aristocrat had paid him like a whore. 
(chapter 46), the painter felt somehow obliged to paint something… as you can see, he was trying to change the nature of their relationship. 
(chapter 47) He had been hired as a painter, but the lord had showed no real interest in the picture, it remained on the floor. Furthermore, he kept commenting about Baek Na-Kyum’s body 
(chapter 47) (his blushing and how thin he was). Thus the noble contributed to reinforce the painter’s prejudice. He was only interested in his body. Thus the artist jumped to the wrong conclusion: he was only a man consumed by lust. 
(chapter 48) Another misunderstanding was created. On the other hand the main lead got upset, for he realized that Baek Na-Kyum was perceiving him as man in a negative light and had denied the existence of his generosity. He realized that Baek Na-Kyum was acting like a prostitute. This explains why he got so mad. In reality, he just mixed the cause (the painter considering himself as a prostitute) with the consequence. Yet he noticed that Baek Na-Kyum was just an empty shell, hence he decided that he needed to take the bull by the horns. For me, the lord never went for sex in the first place, he just wanted to confirm his assumptions (Baek Na-Kyum acting as a whore). Thus he just ordered him to strip. You can sense the lord’s wound in his gaze. 
(chapter 48) His appearance is linked to his resolution to solve the issue. Since the painter didn’t understand the aristocrat’s pranks 
(chapter 48) and motivations, the latter had to change his strategy. This explicates why the lord isn’t rough right from the start. Sex was not the goal, but a tool in order to trigger reactions in the artist. He wanted to provoke fear and pain so that Baek Na-Kyum would drop his stuporous state. This was a new version of the scene in the bathroom: 
(chapter 48) His true goal is to provoke a reaction in the artist. However, in the chapter 20, he hesitated before deciding to slip into the role, as he didn’t respond to the kiss immediately.
(chapter 20) Yet, the manhwaphiles witness that Yoon Seungho’s mindset hasn’t changed one bit: the end justifies the means, deception can be used if it is necessary. What matters is to achieve his goal. However, during their first night, this role did him a disservice in a long term, because it helped the painter to find an excuse to deny the existence of their love session. From my point of view, the painter realized little by little that he was not facing his admired sir because in the following drawing the glasses are barely visible.
(chapter 21) I interpret the way Byeonduck drew the glasses as if they are vanishing. That’s the reason why I state that the commoner was able to distinguish the disappearing of the glasses. The expensive wine had lowered the painter’s control body (conscious mind) so that the unconscious could finally be released. Here, the painter was expressing his inner deepest wish: making love to the person he was attracted to. Furthermore I consider the drawing above as a proof that the painter became aware of Yoon Seungho’s real presence. The artist could recognize Yoon Seungho by his lips and chin, let’s not forget that he is a detail-oriented painter who had both nobles as source of inspiration. Since the powerful lord was dishonest, then Baek Na-Kyum could also be insincere. The black in the pictures, corresponding to the artist’s eyelids, kept increasing symbolizing his denial of the reality. 
(chapter 21) It was, as if he was closing his eyes to his sex partner’s identity, choosing to follow his sexual desires which had been repressed for so long. Hence I come to the conclusion that during that night, the painter wasn’t entirely innocent and used the noble. Until the chapter 16, he had to fight against his sexual desires for Yoon Seungho. But he had to deny them and as time passed on, he was forced to hide them (see the masturbation in the chapter 9). So the scholar’s rejection and abandonment 
(chapter 19) not only pushed the painter to drink, but also to disregard the doctrine that had been imposed on him. I am not saying that Baek Na-Kyum had already realized the subterfuge right from the beginning. Yet it dawned on him as their sex session progressed. Once confronted in the pavilion, he could perfectly recall his love confession. Both main leads sinned during that night, hence they had to pay the price for their dishonesty: the rape and the rejection. But since in the study, the lord was selfless and even took the risk to jeopardize his relationship with the low-born, he got rewarded. The painter was finally accepting him as his sexual partner. 
(chapter 49) He was no longer a prostitute. This explicates why Kim had to intervene himself and reveal the incident in the library. 
(chapter 50) He needed to separate the couple. From my point of view, it is related to Deok-Jae’s insult. 
(chapter 47) Kim must have tattled on Deok-Jae to his master, faking that he was defending the painter’s best interests. 
(chapter 29) Notice the parallels. In the chapter 49, Baek Na-Kyum is associating the gentle lord with the double-faced teacher, just like during their Wedding night. One more time, the scholar becomes a hindrance and is the reason why the painter refuses to open up to the main lead entirely. He won’t make the same mistake: sensing the warmth coming the main lead as something genuine and real. 
(chapter 20)
(chapter 49) Like the saying, the kiss sealed the deal.
(chapter 51) If he was no longer his sexual partner, why didn’t the lord chase him away? Why was he allowed to stay in the mansion? Remember the head-maid’s words: 
(chapter 38) Maybe he is expecting him to paint for him. Thus he created a new erotic picture. From my point of view, the artist was slowly realizing that Yoon Seungho was indeed favoring him. 
(chapter 51) Unconsciously, the painter conclude the opposite of Deok-Jae. Under this new light, it becomes comprehensible why Baek Na-Kyum refused to leave the mansion. 
(chapter 53) He knew that this was not the main lead’s wish. And now, you comprehend why the artist didn’t paint so much in the second season. It was related to the lord’s interests. 
(chapter 44) He saw it as a confirmation that the teacher had truly abandoned him, for he never bid goodbye to him. However, now I believe that Kim never informed the artist of the scholar’s departure.
(chapter 44) He just delivered it in delay so that the artist would feel even worse than before. Without the farewell, he could only come to the conclusion that he had been truly abandoned by Jung In-Hun. Yes, the artist didn’t react like the butler had expected. He remained in the mansion despite the gate had been left wide opened. By getting rid of the painting, he was cutting ties with the learned sir. Yet this was a baby step compared to the scene in the chapter 49. Here, he has finally become the master of his own life and fate therefore he’ll live his life the way he wants. He is accepting his homosexuality and as such his sensuality. He views sex as a part of his life. He rejects abstinence and doesn’t view sex as an addiction. 
(chapter 49)
In fact, in this image, he was acknowledging his other part: he was a painter.
(chapter 1) I perceive this image as an indication that the artist had dreamed about this love session. Note that all dreams about the painter were linked to sex and love. For me, this picture is a proof that the brothel had nothing to do with it. He was drawing outside and he had no model for such a scene right in front of him. In other words, the child allowed his body (his arm, hand, eye and brain) to take the lead, hence he was able to create such a sensual picture. Even Yoon Seungho wondered how a virgin could produce such beautiful drawings.
(chapter 20) I have always pointed out that Baek Na-Kyum was a homosexual right from the start, which he accepted as something natural. He was also encouraged by his noonas. 
(chapter 87) He saw no crime in it, rather as something lovely and beautiful, hence he never felt the need to hide it. Notice that in this picture, he was creating such a lewd painting 
(chapter 1) where people can behold it, he feels neither shame nor embarrassment. He had no idea that he was violating social norms. That’s why I came to the following interpretation, when the painter said 
(chapter 49) Now, you understand why I was really happy with this chapter. Baek Na-Kyum was slowly returning to the person he was in the past before the teacher and his noona Heena transformed him into a shadow of himself. He was accepting every part of himself: his sexual desires, his sexual orientation and more importantly his work as painter.
By forcing him to drop painting, Jung In-Hun had already ruined the low-born’s life, as painting was a part of his soul. We could say that the low-born was already withering. However, back then Yoon Seungho was not interested in why the painter suddenly dropped his true vocation and why he lied to him too. The lord was more obsessed with the erotic drawings. The cause for this long explication is necessary as with this interpretation, I am predicting what is going to happen in the future. 
Here again, he allowed his body to take the lead, but it was once again behind closed doors and nobody was present. He was hiding again, indicating that he still wouldn’t admit his own sexual desires and his homosexuality. Until now, he had only asked for comfort and love from his counterpart (chapter 20/21 and 41/42). Remember that in the chapter 41, he just asked to be hold and as such, he only wanted to be embraced initially. However, due to his inexperience and pain, he confused love with sex. As you can see, the belief “the body taking the lead” had resurfaced indicating that little by little, the painter was changing. More importantly is that he hadn’t been triggered by an immediate sex session, unlike in the past (chapter 8/9). For the first time, Baek Na-Kyum’s sexual desires had come back to life. Unlike in the past, he didn’t judge the cum as something dirty and filthy. Moreover, Baek Na-Kyum could only ejaculate due to Yoon Seungho’s warmth and love. He had these flashbacks where the lord made love to him. 
Thanks to these two elements (the body taking the lead and Yoon Seungho), he could paint again, however he could just create an unfinished and unrefined drawing because of the image he had of himself: a prostitute. His talents were diminished, even the lord’s influence couldn’t remove the false reflection about his identity caused by the scholar’s punishment. In this scene, we had another confession: Baek Na-Kyum was no longer hating the noble indicating that in the end, he had forgiven him for his wrongdoings:
That’s why his paintings lacked passion and warmth. He was working like a robot. As a conclusion, until the chapter 46, Baek Na-Kyum never considered his “husband” (I am well aware this is not how Baek Na-Kyum perceives Seungho) as his muse. He just used him as his model as he had been forced to or he wanted to smooth his agony. 
(chapter 1) He had no choice. He had to paint erotic paintings. Thus I conclude that the artist couldn’t fully show his true talent and express his passion for painting totally. Yet, his publications were still beautiful, since the lord’s heart and gaze were moved. On the other hand, the noona Heena sent her adopted son to Jung In-Hun, because she feared for her brother. 
(chapter 46) However, I believe that she was acting on the learned sir’s request. She justified her decision to send him away to the teacher, because she knew that by the learned sir’s side, the artist would never outlive his homosexuality. She imagined that the low noble was her son’s source of inspiration
(chapter 46), whereas the artist had other motivation. Therefore she thought that it was for the best, if he was by the teacher’s side. I assume that the teacher wished the low-born by his side for two reasons: money and the prospect to benefit from Baek Na-Kyum’s talent. It is very likely that out of greed, the learned sir desired to sell the painter’s works for his own benefit. But for the artist had been requested to paint these erotic paintings for survival, I come to the conclusion that he had been asked twice to paint erotic pictures. The first time, it was for a precise client, and the second time it got sold among the commoners, which explains why the tailor knew about the identity of the painter. 
(chapter 64) There’s no ambiguity that the scholar’s prospect got ruined, hence he unleashed his jealousy and resent onto the painter, until the man vowed to follow the scholar’s doctrine. The poor man could never tell Heena about the physical and mental abuse, as he had already been abandoned.
(chapter 34) He had to keep his promise to never return to the kisaeng house. I believe that the kisaeng must have used this incident 
(chapter 94) to send her brother away and exactly like in chapter 44, she made sure that the noonas wouldn’t be informed. That way, she could deceive her colleagues. It had been the painter’s choice. 
(chapter 93) For the man was his guardian, the low-born had to accept his situation. But since he was just a low-born, I doubt that he could sleep in the same room than the scholar. From my point of view, he had to sleep outside on the wooden planks, the older version of this scene. 
(chapter 1) Therefore it is not surprising why he didn’t leave the mansion in the end and why he said this to the head-maid. 
(chapter 75) Painting was his passion, and the childhood drawings kept by the noonas clearly indicate that he didn’t paint erotic paintings, since he was a child. 
(chapter 94) He painted animals and as such nature. 
(chapter 1) Sure, the painter’s mind was reminding him that this is filthy and vulgar, yet I sense that this affected the artist’s unconscious a lot. All the wet dreams Baek Na-Kyum had, the seme’s phallus played a huge part. Thus we have such drawings in the fantasies, where the protagonist’s sex is in the center of the painter’s imagination:
(chapter 2) 
(chapter 6) 
(chapter 8)
(chapter 94) The painter followed his heart. Observe that the numbers have been switched: 49-94. The mirror effect and in the study we had a reflection too. Both main leads reflected each other’s minds: acceptance of a sexual relationship, but rejection at the same time, no strings attached. 
(chapter 94) 
(chapter 94) So the lord is now associated to the moon and as such to nature. Thus I conclude that the noble will discover the painter’s true talent. From my point of view, his new paintings won’t be just erotic pictures about himself with the uke, but also about nature (animals, plants). The diversity of the topics will increase, yet I am sensing that the pictures will definitely reflect the painter’s love and admiration for the seme. 
(chapter 92) Yes, it is very likely that Baek Na-Kyum decides to recreate this scene, because we could see that Baek Na-Kyum’s heart and soul was moved. A new version of this scene: 
(chapter 36) Besides, the painter’s works will reveal what the protagonists feel and think about each other: love. 
(chapter 48) The noble had noticed that the artist was blind and deaf hence he needed to use the low-born’s body to awake his senses and arouse the painter’s instincts. That’s why he licked the painter’s ears while whispering, 
(chapter 49) or pinched his nipples. At no moment, the protagonist let his emotions (anger, frustration) take control over the situation. That’s why we definitely can’t say that we have another rape in the chamber. First, since “Baek Na-Kyum is a whore” (in the painter’s mind), then the lord can do anything he wants. The noble’s reasoning is quite simple: “Because the commoner is acting, then I should act too”. Secondly, the noble is trying to discover the root of the problem
(chapter 48) Did the scholar request the painter to sleep with him in order to discover a weakness? Sure, Baek Na-Kyum said that he was doing it on his own free will, yet his reactions led the lord think otherwise hence he couldn’t lower his guard entirely. 
(chapter 49) He triggers him with his comments and actions, yet he is determined to make sure that once the artist reaches the breaking point, he will stop. That’s why the noble doesn’t listen to the painter’s complaints
(chapter 49), until Baek Na-Kyum yells to his lover and starts crying for real. Notice that in the drawing above, the artist expresses his own thoughts and desires for the first time. What caught my attention is that in this drawing, Baek Na-Kyum is speaking without a pause, unlike in the past where he is not even using the pronoun “I” or “me”: 
(chapter 45). My interpretation is that in that situation, the painter was only perceiving himself as an object. Sure, right after he admitted that he was feeling something. 
(chapter 45) But the emotions were quite superficial, he had great difficulties to externalize these. While the pronoun “I” was only used for the first time for a short moment, there was still the presence of an object in his confession. In other words, he was still denying the existence of two naked bodies till the chapter 49. Either he was an object (“it feels nice”) or the lord was one (“I like it”). Hence the lord’s remark was so point on: 
(chapter 48) First, he had misunderstood the confession, yet at some point he perceived his “confessions” for its real value: the presence of an object in his expressions. 
(chapter 49)
(chapter 49)
(chapter 49)
(chapter 42)
(chapter 41) In other words, I see a lot of common points between Jung In-Hun and modern dictators like Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. We have the following common denominators:
(chapter 39) So he won’t react like in the past, hide his special relationship with the lord. He won’t show any fear, when it comes to gossip or judgement from others. Why should he feel ashamed? This is something natural, which means that the next time Deok Jae calls him 
That’s the reason why Baek Na-Kyum blames the noble for this. By doing so, he can keep denying his homosexuality and he would have kept following the teacher’s regulations. However, like I explained in the first part, Baek Na-Kyum wasn’t innocent either, he did know what was happening. By acting as if he was seeing the scholar, he had the excuse to forget this night. Besides, the painter was the one confessing first and not the other way around. We shouldn’t forget that the aristocrat didn’t respond to the kiss immediately. He still hesitated for a few seconds.
Imagine that with only one hand, the low aristocrat was able to create some distance with the artist. The latter stopped approaching his learned sir after this gesture. Then, the teacher argued with Baek Na-Kyum that with his explanation, he was questioning his abilities.
so he violated the rule 3. The artist still whispered the low aristocrat’s name so that we can say, the painter remained faithful to his “learned sir” so he ensured that the law 6 wasn’t broken.
(Thank you @Slam_ for this observation) Therefore he views the painter as his “wife”. Only his love for Baek Na-Kyum could give the main character the strength to keep struggling. That’s why he doesn’t admit defeat, although the low-born hurt him over and over again, although he was once on the verge of giving up on him (chapter 35). Let’s not forget that back then, he saw how Jung In-Hun was flirting with his “wife” who kept blushing due to the scholar’s caresses. However, he didn’t do it because he saw the painter not following the double-faced man. That’s why I would like to examine the following chapters under the following aspect: Baek Na-Kyum’s attitude towards the rule 6 because Yoon Seungho’s struggle is strongly connected to this doctrine.
. The sex marathon might have caused the painter’s sickness, however it helped the artist to question his learned sir’s action. In the picture above, he is criticizing his admired sir and he even wondered why the noble showed no reaction after witnessing how he was dragged away by Yoon Seungho. The teacher’s indifference pained him to tears. 
He is perceiving the low noble more and more in a different light in the chapter 35, especially when he hears the noble declaring that he would have never spent money for him. 
Baek Na-Kyum even replies that he was seriously ill, however Jung In-Hun shows no real concern. He still thinks that a few caresses will be enough to get what he wants. 
He is so used to the painter’s submission. He abandoned him twice, nevertheless the artist always viewed him as his master and never questioned his past actions (chapter 1, 19: the several abandonments). That’s why he doesn’t feel the need to put much effort in his deception. In the scholar’s mind, the painter is still his servant. He just needs to remind him of his task and the low-born will obey him.
That’s what he is expecting. However during this scene, the intellectual didn’t pay attention to the change in the artist’s attitude. The fact that the latter asked him why he never visited him and the commoner even replied that he was seriously ill, these were clues of Baek Na-Kyum’s transformation. But since Jung In-Hun is too selfish and was himself under pressure because he realized that he might end up with nothing, he didn’t catch these details. The picture of painter standing in front of the door with his head down reflected his second pain and disappointment.
Since he has already vowed to treat Yoon Seungho as his master, he can’t betray his second lord, the famous sodomite. The second reason for his dishonesty is that the seme’s vulnerability did move his heart, hence he could only hide the truth. Moreover, I would like to add another cause for the artist’s lie. 
Since Jung In-Hun had been acting as if he knew nothing of the real relationship between Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho, he couldn’t accuse the painter of lying. As he was the man who developed this doctrine where homosexuality is considered filthy and vulgar, the low noble couldn’t mention it because this would signify that he had been manipulating the painter and the latter would have got aware of it. So the regulations set by the teacher became the reason why neither Jung In-Hun nor Baek Na-Kyum could be honest. If they had been frank to each other, then this would have meant that the scholar had been violating himself his own laws and his authority would have not only been tarnished but also doubted. This would have displayed that the scholar has been acting as a pimp. I hope, this is understandable. 
He did hope that the teacher liked him. So he was indeed bothered until he felt the need to interrogate the scholar himself. Since I listed the teacher’s doctrine, now the manhwalovers can judge this episode differently.
I have to admit that in the past I only examined the chapter 40 under the aspect “fate” and “prostitute”, hence I wrote before that Jung In-Hun revealed his true personality because he was pressured, angry and jealous. First, he realized that the promise made by Yoon Seungho is fake. Moreover, he resented the artist because the wealthy noble favored the latter so much (new clothes, the room next to the master, the right to spend the night with the lord, invitation to the pavilion and to the hunt etc), while the rich aristocrat somehow neglected him, a noble too. Furthermore the hypocrite was asked by a commoner to take his responsibility. 
We shouldn’t forget that the painter could never see his own reflection in the teacher’s face 
(chapter 2) 
And the final words said by the low aristocrat cause the artist to become deaf as well. He is so traumatized that he is like paralyzed and let the noble leave the library without being able to argue. That’s why he has this negative perception of himself. 
In his mind, his last trick must have turned Baek Na-Kyum into a submissive person again and he knows it that’s why he still thinks, he can use the commoner as his pawn. He might have abandoned the artist for a third time, he has the impression that the low-born will always follow his orders like in the past. Despite each rejection, Baek Na-Kyum welcome him with open arms (chapter 7 and 24) so he still believes that he has the upper hand and he is still controlling the low-born. That’s why he leaves the artist without biding goodbye. He doesn’t need to keep the pretense but knows very well that the painter has stopped rebelling after destroying his identity and personality for good. With this new interpretation, I come to a different judgement about Jung In-Hun. 
He can’t escape from this new prison, a hell created by the gaze from others. 
It is pointless because the low-born is no longer using his eyes and ears to perceive the reality. He relies too much on others (Yoon Seungho, the head-maid, the servant Deok-Jae, Jung In-Hun). Through pain and pleasure, he might realize that he is a person on his own, he has an identity but for that, he needs to exist and express his wish, emotions and thoughts. 
. He believes that through pain inducing his tears, the painter could finally reveal what happened back then. He witnessed it with the rape and the fellatio.
Each time, Baek Na-Kyum retaliated with his brutal honesty. The master prefers getting hurt than seeing his partner as an empty shell. As a conclusion, Yoon Seungho is willing to risk his relationship with his lover so that the man can finally drop his stuporous state. The main lead knows that the scholar is responsible but he has no idea what really happened. 
Therefore the seme was forced to take the man with him and pressured him until the painter gave in. He had to admit that painting was his way to survive. Notice that Yoon Seungho cornered him to concede this. 
(chapter 7) Notice that in order to force the painter to violate the scholar’s rules, the noble had to use stratagems that didn’t require a lot of strength in the beginning: some little menace and the blackmail. Yet, the manhwaphiles can detect that the thread keeps growing as well. The aristocrat already has to use his power (influence and money) in order to corner the painter (chapter 7) which shouldn’t be neglected. It did represent a lot: a roof and free food for the low noble. 
I am quite sure that the innocent protagonist hadn’t done it before due to the scholar’s preaching. So the chapter 9 marked another progression. Baek Na-Kyum disrespected the rule 3 for the first time on his own. He can’t admit to feel attracted to another man, to be recognized as a sodomite. That’s why the masturbation represented a compromise. Since he was alone, nobody would know about it. As you can detect, little by little Seungho is removing all the rules set by the low aristocrat. But the higher the rules are, the more Yoon Seungho needs to use force. 
(rule 2) Surprising is that due to his interaction with the main lead, Baek Na-Kyum had somehow started thinking on his own, using his own critical thinking therefore he reprimanded the rich master for his cruel behavior towards the servant who got killed. In that moment, Jung In-Hun had to put him back to his place. He admonished the painter harshly for his criticism. As a low-born, he was not allowed to make such comment. 
(chapter 10) From my point of view, the chapter 10 not only reveals the huge influence Jung In-Hun has on the painter, but also illustrates the growing influence of Seungho on the artist. The master’s words and actions did shake the rule 6. But it wasn’t enough to remove this wall hence Baek Na-Kyum accepted the low noble’s reproach and remained silence. 
(chapter 11) Compared to the past where he just pushed the low-born away, his gestures in the chapter 11 displays the increasing use of Seungho’s force. But the master felt remorse hence later the painter was only scratched by the master. Nonetheless, let’s not forget that Seungho had already set his eyes on the painter. He wanted to taste the artist. As a first conclusion, the lord had only removed the rule 1 and 2. At the end of the chapter 15, the noble is facing another hindrance, the rule 3: his denial of his homosexuality. Therefore the masturbation in the chapter 16 marks the first step in order to destroy the rule 3. Notice that the noble was annoyed, when the artist gave the false excuse that he was tired in order to avoid the noble. So he somehow “attacked” Baek Na-Kyum by hugging him and grabbed his penis. 
(chapter 16) Let’s not forget that he didn’t ask for the commoner’s permission. That’s why the painter cried in that scene. The latter knew that he was violating the rule 3, yet the seme saw that Baek Na-Kyum was aroused and felt pleasure. 
(chapter 19), he was already on his guard waiting for a signal which appeared in the form of the stolen bottle. He seized the opportunity to meddle between Jung In-Hun and Baek Na-Kyum. He needed to squash in between these two men. 
(chapter 21). 
(chapter 21) Yoon Seungho heard a love confession, got hugged and kissed tenderly and there was someone crying out of happiness because of him. For the first time, he saw that tears could be related to happiness and he could affect someone positively. That’s why he reacted by kissing the painter’s eye and tears. 
(chapter 21) Although he knew that it was just an illusion because Baek Na-Kyum had confessed to someone else, he hoped deep down that the painter would love him, if he remembered their night today. He tried to trigger his memory through different tricks (like here with the book) 
and in the chapter 13, he calls himself “a pervert, a fag”. 
Imagine, he is actually insulting himself. He sees himself as an anomaly, as a monster who is not allowed to exist. Hence he can’t attract attention. We shouldn’t forget in the chapter 10 and 11, Sooin felt so uncomfortable with the new clothes and the number of dishes proposed by Chi-Hwan because he was asked to choose. Since Sungha took away his freedom, our main character lost his ability to say what he truly likes and desires. The last image above illustrates the impact of the violence used on Sooin. It becomes clear that Sungha truly destroyed Sooin’s personality and identity. Just like Baek Na-Kyum (the main lead from Painter Of The Night), Sooin can’t voice his true desires and thoughts properly. Notice that there are a lot of pauses in his sentences, when he speaks. Besides, he uses the same idioms (pervert, fag) than the manipulator Sungha so that we can conclude that the former friend used coercive persuasion. The outburst of his self-hatred was caused by the single words said by the vampire: 
Striking is that the moment he hears this sentence, he starts mistaking the vampire for Sungha. Note that he is not even looking at his sex partner, because he hid his eyes with his arm. This reveals the importance of the gaze once again. Sooin can’t look at Park Chi-Hwa as he fears to see his own reflection in the vampire’s eyes. Will he see himself in the man’s gaze as a monster? Here, I feel the need to elaborate Jean-Paul Sartres’ theory about the gaze.
It was as if his eyes had died due to the constant confrontation with Sungha’s gaze. As a conclusion, the main lead sees himself as a monster, not deserving any attention and warmth. He is still surprised by the affection the vampire is exuding towards him. This explains why the main lead started fearing the supernatural creature, when Sooin heard chi-Hwa sighing after the uke had refused to comply to the vampire’s needs (drinking his blood). He heard Chi-Hwa sighing and misinterpreted this as dissatisfaction. Observe that the drawing doesn’t show Sooin’s eyes and at the same time, he is only focused on the vampire’s voice and not his eyes. 
We could say that the uke is still under the influence of the brainwashing operated by Sungha. Sooin has not regained his humanity, his true identity. The so-called monster is still under the ruling of Sungha, because he rejects to fulfill the vampire’s need due the ex-friend’s ideology.
The innocent man still fears the gaze and the gossip from others. Now you can understand why Sooin became a zombie, a monster in his eyes. He saw a bad image of himself in Sungha’s gaze but at the same time he was manipulated through the friend’s doctrine that even others would perceive him like that. 
At some point, Chi-Hwa gets aware that Sooin needs to look at him, so he forces the man to look at him in the eyes. This is important because for the first time, Sooin is confronted with a different gaze and judgement. He recognizes the lord, his kindness.
and his fangs come out.
He wants to taste the man’s blood. In this moment, Chi-Hwan seems to follow his instincts hence he approaches Sooin. It was, if the vampire’s true nature would surface, he is a monster led by his blood thirst. Remember that Park Chi-Hwa even described the vampires as predators or parasites, so one might say that they are indeed monsters. So do we have two monsters here? 
and treats him as such. He listens to Sooin’s excuses and wishes. When the uke refused to give him his blood in the cabine, the supernatural creature questioned himself.
The readers can witness how the so-called monster reflects on his behavior. He even kisses the man
, comforts him twice, when he realizes the traumatized state of Sooin. 
since it represents the peak of his hunger. The readers can even sense the increasing of his bestiality as the expressions are getting more and more violent: “I want to devour him”; “I just want to rip him open” … “and devour every part of him”. We have the impression that the vampire’s animalistic instincts are growing to the point he could lose the control of his bestiality. However at no moment, he changes his behavior. I feel that while his thoughts indicates the awakening of his “monstrosity”, he acts more humanly in reality. He stands in opposition of Sungha, who gave up on his humanity and his reason. He let social standards and religious doctrines ruled his behavior and his thoughts. 
One might dispute that he rejected to have a fellatio in the cabine, as Sooin wanted. However, his proposition to do it home represents the compromise between the concerns the uke expressed before (people might hear his voice, his fear of people) and the request Sooin had. All this mirrors how caring and attentive the vampire is. He might be an “animal”(when we analyse his thoughts), nonetheless he never lets his instincts cloud his reasoning and judgement. At no moment, he acts like a monster towards the human. Like I mentioned before, the vampire treats the human like his master. However, if you take a closer look at the following image, this reflects their relationship: 
Sooin is the master, yet he is below the vampire as if he was inferior to the vampire. Furthermore, the creature gives the order: “Suck it”. Besides, the man calls Chi-Hwa “sir” and this is how someone addresses to a master. 
So in my opinion, both are masters. The vampire is helping the man to become a human again, he is helping him to get a personality and identity. He knows that the man needs to discover that his homosexuality is something natural, that he is first a human. That’s why he promises Sooin to let him forget Sungha. For him, Sooin should never define himself based on his sexual orientation.
They live in symbiosis, in perfect harmony. Sooin is receiving love, warmth for the first time and the other can finally enjoy life too. He is no longer living like a vampire but like a human because he shows his human side to Sooin. As conclusion, both are masters and monsters, although it is only a matter of time, until Sooin becomes a real human who can express himself perfectly and know his taste. 
Others are not using the question mark so obviously, however their questions or remarks let perceive that they are wondering about the motivation behind the comments or behavior, like for example Yoon Seungho. Let me show you an example. After the appearance of the maids, the painter stands up, when he hears that they will prepare new rice for him. The aristocrat witnesses how the artist stands up and wants to leave the room. 
The noble is wondering about the painter’s reaction: Why would he feel the need to go to the kitchen? Why would he stand up? The lord’s words (“you are no servant”) are the proof that he overheard the whole conversation between the maids and the painter in the kitchen and only intervened, when they were criticizing him. This shows that the lord got aware that the painter’s position was unwelcome by his staff. He had the feeling that they would somehow bully, consequently he intervened. At the same time, he decided to make sure that the painter would have a different status so that the domestics would treat the artist better: his personal warning and the new clothes. So now, he sees the low-born acting as if he was a servant, a “scullery boy” which surprises him. He can’t imagine such a change. Why is he acting like a scullery boy, whereas he was so adamant about his status: he is no servant. What provoked the transformation? Now, you understand the topic of this essay. In this analysis, I will examine the pictures and events under this aspect (why?) and question the intentions of the characters and the author behind their actions, conversation and the pictures. 
Notice that here the noble is expressing his emotions towards the painter. Yoon Seungho likes Baek Na-Kyum for his honest and innocent reactions (his blushing, while observing the lord getting dressed). The master is happy to witness that he is able to evoke the painter’s reddening, while in the past he could only observe this reaction caused by the scholar. So this puts him in a good mood therefore he can’t restrain himself and expresses his pleasure. Yet the readers, just like the painter, are not able to see the lord’s gaze. While the painter is facing his back, the author didn’t draw his face. This is deliberate. In this picture, the manhwalovers are indirectly asked to imagine the lord’s gaze. It was, as if the creator wanted to help the protagonist to hide his weakness, to respect his privacy. As you can observe, only the valet Kim is able to see the protagonist’s eyes, while making the knot. This outlines how much the main lead trusts the butler. But right after, we have a distant taking:
In this drawing, the lord is expressing his wish to eat with the painter. But he doesn’t make it too obvious hence he is more or less asking a rhetorical question to which the domestic replies with an affirmation. Here, we have a scheming lord, he is not voicing his desire directly. Why? He is hiding his true intentions therefore he is able to look at the artist. His words are his shield to hide his true inclination. As you can observe, the alternation between the close and distant takings is relevant because it was if the author was helping the protagonist to hide his vulnerability. On the other hand, it shows that the lord is still on his guard. Moreover, the picture also illustrates the huge gap between the aristocrat and the low-born. The latter is on his knees with his head down, a sign of submission and resignation, while the other is standing. What brought them together (the erotic paintings) is now representing a barrier and creating a gap between them. He is just a painter and not a lover. That’s why I would recommend my followers and readers to treat each picture as a drawing and question the intentions of Byeonduck with the picture. Not only this image reflects the actual situation felt by the painter, but also this portrays how the lord is not entirely trusting the painter. He is only revealing his true thoughts in a straightforward manner, when he is not looking at Baek Na-Kyum.
While Yoon Seungho is teasing the artist, he is actually wondering why the low-born created this unfinished painting. He noticed that the image was somehow lacking, the lines unclear and there are traces in the middle. So the ironical question “You have some place to be, I assume?” shows that the noble is wondering why the commoner did such a drawing, sensing that there is something lacking. Here, the aristocrat is in fact expressing his surprise. Besides, he adds that he never expected a picture (first remark). Like I mentioned it before, Yoon Seungho is no longer interested in the erotic paintings but in the painter. This conversation reflects his interest and care for the artist. On the other hand, the readers are deprived of the painter and lord’s face. There is a reason for that. Here, Lord Seungho is again revealing his true emotions towards the low-born but attempts to diminish or disguise this behind his teasing. Note that the lord is not inquiring the painter directly. He never asks openly: “Why did you paint such an image so quickly and so early, when it is not perfect?” But he is indeed showing that he cares for Baek Na-Kyum, that he is interested in the reason for this unfinished work. Remember that in the past, the commoner would even ask the lord to wait until the painting is finished (chapter 9). Here, we have the exact opposite. In other words, the zoom on the food had a purpose. IT helped the noble to inquire about the cause for this lacking work, he showed his interest and a certain weakness, while he tried to mask this behind his teasing. And now we have a distant taking again revealing the distance created by the ironical remarks.
The irony is that Baek Na-Kyum is so naive that he doesn’t perceive the true meaning of these comments and answer so honestly. He can not leave the place without the aristocrat. The lord might be able to veil his weakness, but in reality he fails to realize that his schemes are not helping his cause. The more he hides his love for the painter, the more lonely and depressed the artist is. This creates a distance between them because the noble is not really straightforward and frank with him.
(Chapter 9) Baek Na-Kyum excused himself with a lie, he would show him when the work would be finished. However, the true reason for his departure was his erection. Notice that he is using the paper to hide his erected phallus. He was also on his knees before, when Yoon Seungho approached him. The cause of his sexual urges is revealed with the following drawing. 
(Chapter 9) This drawing represents the painter’s perspective. As you can see, the painter’s eyes are focused on the lord’s hand touching the butt and anus. From my point of view, he is imaging the lord’s touching him. This time, the artist is conscious and can no longer repressed his sexual desires. Later, his gaze focuses on the other uke, the one penetrated by our main lead. Here, it is quite clear that the artist wishes that he had replaced Min.
(Chapter 9) Although the painter had been quite rude and left him behind, the lord wasn’t bothered. In fact, he was pleased that he had indeed affected the artist.
(Chapter 9) His eyes might be open but his spirit seems to be elsewhere. He is not really looking.
Because the readers never see his gesture, they can not be certain. Hence Byeonduck had to draw a picture with his erected phallus showing his masturbation. 
Striking is that the moment he feels that he is about to climax, he closes his eyes. Here again, this reinforces the statement that Baek Na-Kyum is determined to refuse to face reality and deny his attraction for a man, for the noble. 
(Chapter 9) When the sperm comes out, it lands on the floor. This is quite important as it illustrates the artist’s attitude towards the semen. He considers it dirty and filthy hence he makes sure that his hand doesn’t get soiled. That’s how much he despises himself and his needs but he can no longer repress these urges. He prefers closing his eyes, masturbating behind a door and using his body to cover his filthy gesture so that no one can ever witness it. But he is too focused on his needs that he forgets that he is making noise so that Yoon Seungho knows what he is doing. At the end, you sense the low-born’s despair and disgusted attitude with his final position. 
(Chapter 9) The manhwaworms feel his strong refusal to admit his attraction towards the noble, his sexual arousal and his sexual desires towards Yoon Seungho. The painting had such an effect on him, it awoke his repressed sexual desires.
(Chapter 46) However, he has still a position where it is still protected. If someone came from the side, they wouldn’t detect immediately what the low-born is doing. This can be explained that there is still some shame left but it is now related to his perception that homosexuality is a synonym for prostitution. That’s why he is still reserved. On the other hand, the semen doesn’t land on the floor but on his hand which shows that he no longer feels disgusted.
(chapter 46) Some readers complained that he didn’t wash his hand before falling asleep. Yet what they failed to realize is that this proves that Baek Na-Kyum no longer perceives sperm as dirty and filthy. This symbolizes a huge step forwards. Now, if we compare the two masturbations, the readers will notice another huge divergence: the chronology of the drawings of Baek Na-Kyum with closed or opened eyes. In the chapter 9, we had first the painter with opened eyes as he was lost in his thoughts and the moment the ejaculation was about to come, he closed his eyes. Here, we have the opposite, first the closed eyes. 
(Chapter 46) The reason is simple: he is not lost in his thoughts, quite the contrary. All his thoughts are revolving around the master confirming the change of his attitude. He is no longer denying his attraction towards the noble. That’s why the author lets the manhwaphiles see the images he has in his mind. What caught my attention here is that the painter had visions of the moments, the lord made love to him.
(chapter 42) 
(Chapter 46) The kiss triggered the climax indicating that the kiss, full of love and passion, moved him so much. He sensed the lord’s love stronger here. Since his eyes are wide-opened, it clearly shows that the man is actually facing reality. He is no longer hiding, running away from his sexual desires and admitting that his feelings towards Seungho have changed. Notice that this time, he even questioned himself for this reason. Why could such a kiss provoke such a reaction? He is now looking for an answer, he is no longer running away. He wants to discover the truth. 
(Chapter 47) What caught my attention in the new drawing is that he didn’t select the memory we saw:
Here, the full moon seems so far away, Yoon Seungho’s mansion is almost illustrated in its entity. My first thought was that the full moon personified Baek Na-Kyum and the latter is so far away from the powerful noble as they have not met yet. The sky is so dark (almost black) due to the light glowing of the moon. It was as if the noble’s world was full of darkness and his future meeting with the painter represents his only joy and hope in life. He is so eager to have the painter by his side and to have the artist painted for him. The mansion is so big, indicating his wealth and power, however it feels so big and empty at the same time. It was as if his domain was not a real home. The light coming through the windows doesn’t exude warmth, the beholder feels a certain coldness as there is nobody outside the building. So this image could be judged as an illustration of the main lead’s world: dark, cold, empty, lonely and lifeless. 
First, why is this a crescent moon unlike in the first image? Did the painter lose something hence he is no longer complete? Secondly, there is no building and the moon seems to glow stronger as the sky is lighter. If the moon is the painter and the sky Seungho’s world, how come that the moon is glowing stronger because even if the painter had felt excited before, he was still resisting the noble’s advances and attraction? Furthermore, in this chapter he is threatened by the master. Then we see no mansion, while we saw the roof in the image from the chapter 4. Why is there no building portrayed here? That’s why I saw it as a necessity to find an explanation that would fit to all the pictures. Hence I would like to show all the images in their chronology so that we can figure out if the drawings with the moon have a deeper meaning like the weather and the season.
We never saw the moon during that night and the sky looked so bright. It was as if the moon was looking down on the building, while the noble is embracing and kissing the painter. This night was particular because it never looked like a real night… a mixture of day and night, giving the illusion of a different time. That represents the “dream”, something special is happening right now. The lord has discovered love and warmth hence the light of the moon seems warmer and closer. This was just an illusion and the reality came back in the chapter 25.
Jung In-Hun had become his guardian because he had been bribed by the head-gisaeng. Only yesterday I came to realize why the painter could repress the bad memories about his physical abuse: The Stockholm Syndrome. And this is relevant as it explains why the artist adopted such a fear of homosexuality and even talked like the scholar. Furthermore I can even envision that this Stockholm Syndrome must have affected his hands and talent. This even reinforces my opinion about the huge impact of Yoon Seungho on our low-born. Due to his attraction to the lord and the sex session, the repressed sexual desires were unleashed so that his talent was triggered. That’s why he impressed the lord so much in the chapter 2.
Nevertheless it started to rain the moment the teacher discovered the existence of the deal between the powerful noble and his former pupil.
Imagine the rain followed with thunder represented Baek Na-Kyum’s tears and heartache because of the teacher’s rejection symbolized by the hand.
It was as if the snow embodied the artist’s tears once again, yet this time the real pain is no longer existing because his heart has turned cold. He feels nothing at all hence he has no problem to ask the butler Kim to throw away the painting. The more fall and winter are approaching, the more the painter’s relationship with Jung In-Hun deteriorates. In the chapter 35, the painter is definitely hurt by the low noble’s gesture, when the latter closes the mansion door right in front of him. This coincides with the fire where the fallen leaves are burnt. 
The caress on the cheek equivocates to the fire, the last real warm gesture the painter received from his teacher.
It was as if his heart was frozen consequently he feels nothing. However, the presence of the snowmen illustrates his innocence and his longing for companionship. He wished deep down that he wasn’t alone and had someone by his side. Yet, the painter has no idea about it. Now, you can understand why I connected Byeonduck’s drawings to the Surrealism. Sure, this is my own interpretation and nothing more. The weather and the seasons are following the same evolution than the painter’s transformation. Little by little, he starts losing his admiration for the scholar which ends with the real separation. He has been so hurt that he is like an empty shell. But there is one difference from the past. This time, Baek Na-Kyum was the one who cut definitely ties with the scholar hence the double-faced man has no idea that he can no longer use the painter as his tool.In the past, the jealous aristocrat could push him away but the painter never resented his admired sir and accepted that the teacher would return to his side without questioning his motivation behind his smiles and strokes. He had been abandoned once, hence he became a drunk. However, the painter had no grudge hence he fell for Yoon Seungho’s lie in the chapter 7.
It was the same in the chapter 24, when the scholar took him and pushed him against the wall.So far he had avoided the painter, yet he needed him again. At no moment, the artist rejected the man’s advances (kiss on the hand, his head on his shoulder). The low-born always forgave the low noble. 
Furthermore the huge distance between Jihwa and Yoon Seungho could be explained that the artist wished, he had joined the lord and put himself between the main lead and the red-haired man. Remember that he wanted to take the sex partner’s place. As you can see, the first painting displayed a lot the painter’s unconscious, his sexual desires that’s why he had to destroy it. The image represented a proof of his homosexuality. In other words, the first drawing let the noble perceive the painter’s emotions and feelings hence he felt his own attraction. Therefore he could liberate himself from his negative image he had of himself.
![ANALYSE] Le Cri, Edvard Munch](https://alheuredelart.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/3-3_le_cri2.jpg)
The word “vivid” is definitely characteristic for Expressionism. That’s why I connected the artist’s work with the Expressionism. Sure, the low-born lives in a different period, the industrialization had not reached Joseon yet. However, it is pretty obvious that the painter’s creations are strongly influenced by his emotions and state of mind. 
Since all the books were motivated by his love for the learned sir, the nobles could already sense the painter’s emotions and desires in these erotic pictures. Sodomy was portrayed as something natural and lovely. This explains the painter’s popularity and why the main lead became addicted. Because of this observation, I couldn’t help myself connecting this to another Art movement from the 20th Century called Surrealism. 
The readers can detect that he is starting to think on his own, showing that he is no longer under the teacher’s influence: this is the evidence of critical thinking, something the seme tried to initiate in the artist.
He is definitely treated like an important guest. From my point of view, the elevation of his ambiguous status is linked to the confession he made to the lord before.
He ended up in a worse situation as now he had no one on his side. The painter must have realized that leaving the noble did appear good on the surface, yet in the long run he would have to face a more terrible fate. Like I mentioned above, the mansion represents a shelter. In the past, leaving the brothel seemed to be a good decision for the painter’s bright future. The mother saw that the painter’s origins would become a hindrance to his career hence by asking the teacher to become his guardian would give a better reputation to the painter and help him in his career. 
Notice how he is diminishing the painter’s importance in his life. Secondly, he even admitted that he scolded the painter severely once, the moment he saw the content of the paintings. In my former analyses, I had already pointed out that this was a lie but the new element is that since he had become his adoptive father, he knew about the painter’s identity right from the start: he was the famous painter publishing under a pseudonym. From my point of view, the painter was inspired by his love for the teacher hence his work was so lewd and was oozing love and warmth. Remember that people keep wondering how he could create such paintings. The low noble is the origin for the publications. Now, you can better understand why the artist has lost his inspiration. That’s why he could create such a nice picture of Jung In-Hun’s inauguration and the pictures of Seungho with the painter lacked details and passion. This doesn’t surprise us that the painter is not really motivated and creative. For that he needs to fall in love with the master for real. We see a progression in that sense. First, he dreamed of sex with him, so his unconscious was telling him that he was attracted to him. Now he is even awake and remembers their sex sessions which arouse him. He could ejaculate because he sensed that lord was making love to him, when he kissed and embraced him. That’s why we are the witness of the painter’s transformation, how the lord will become his new inspiration and this will enhance his talents. That’s why Yoon Seungho’s place will become the true home of the painter: a place to rest and eat but at the same time, where he will fall in love again and become more inspired and creative than before.
From my point of view, the servant will serve as a tool in Baek Na-Kyum’s growth. Through Deok-Jae’s betrayal the painter will realize that the teacher’s harsh words and abandonment were caused by jealousy and were not reflecting the truth. That’s the moment the scholar will have no influence any longer on the artist. 
Little by little, he’s expressing himself better. The sentences might still contain some pause, yet his sentences are much longer. Besides he is able to explain why he is no longer trying to run away. The fact that he confided to her about his final attempt and his change of mind indicates a certain emancipation from the terrible surrogate father. 
We have Baek Na-Kyum standing in front of the mansion door. Yes, this image confirms my interpretation about the symbolism of the door. The painter’s situation is always reflected through the door. First, the foot print on the snow left by him outlines his loneliness. Now he’s on his own. The teacher is no longer by his side. Nonetheless his foot print is regular hence we can say that Baek Na-Kyum was resolute in his decision. There is no hesitation based on the foot print. 
; chapter 19: Seungho 
, although here the low-born hallucinated that it was the scholar; episode 29: Jung In-Hun led him back
; chapter 34: Seungho
; chapter 35 the teacher closed the door in front of the commoner
, chapter 41 Seungho again but this time the door is left open
). In only one case, we witnessed him opening the door but here he had been forced to enter the lord’s chamber
due to the protagonist’s thread. At no moment Byeonduck showed us the painter opening himself the door because he really wanted it. When he escaped in the chapter 29, he only appears in the street meeting the teacher. Moreover, Baek Na-Kyum stood either in front of the door or behind it. I would say that this characterizes the painter’s lack of freedom and passivity. He was never master of his own destiny. This is important because the image from the chapter 46 illustrates the artist’s determination to escape but simultaneously the acceptance of his own sexual orientation. He is no longer hiding it but the fact that the man just opens the door slightly indicates a certain discomfort and embarrassment. For me the positive aspect is that he acts on his own, he is no longer forced to hide or admit his homosexuality or to stay at the mansion. He chose to leave and this was his first true choice for a very long time. In the beginning he was dragged to the mansion, then he was stopped by Yoon Seungho in the chapter 4. Later he was persuaded to return by the fake scholar. He never had the freedom to choose for himself therefore we never saw him opening the door himself willingly. Therefore you can understand why I am not so sad despite the sorrow exuding from the chapter 46. Here he shows a strong will like he did in the past, when he was courageous enough to defy and even criticize the lord.
We had images focusing on the hand or the gaze but never on the feet. This is no random, Byeonduck wanted to tell us something through the zoom on the feet. 
The second relevant detail is the chronology of the drawings. First, she pays attention to the painer’s feet, then to his head with his thoughts. 
The alternation between images of the feet and the artist’s thoughts exhibits the instinctive decision of the painter. He might be resolute, yet his feet are guiding him. He is just following his intuition and this is something more spontaneous than a well planned escape. It was as if his feet were carrying him somewhere else. Notice that first his mind is associated to black insinuating that his mind was blank. He couldn’t really ponder about this decision. This sudden and instinctive decision lets him run away. However, while his feet are leading him away from Yoon Seungho’s home, he realizes that he needs to find a shelter. Only then he starts thinking deeply about his destination. 
That’s the reason why he slows down as the more he ponders, the more he gets aware that he has no place where he could find a shelter. He is truly alone. That’s why he stops in the street. This represents his ultimate escape and his resignation. 
He feels abandoned without a home. Striking is that there is no door stopping him. Although he is free, he has the impression that he is still “imprisoned” as he has no home where he can seek refuge. The author revealed through the choice of the images that Baek Na-Kyum made the decision to leave because of his instincts. Nevertheless, this flee ended with the heartbreaking realization that either his mother or the teacher had abandoned him for good.
Then the last words spoken by the head-gisaeng resurface which triggers in him the memory of his adoptive mother’s gesture, the caress on his cheek, while he is crying.
This is quite important because it is the pain that Baek Na-Kyum remembers the most. 
The face expresses mixed feelings, since the eyes are expressing a certain sadness, while there is a glimpse of a smile on the mouth. The painter’s heartache has not completely disappeared, but the agony has diminished. The size of the eyes is quite interesting. The logical explication is that Baek Na-Kyum couldn’t find stones of the same size, yet I can’t help myself giving it a deeper signification. This symbolizes the transformation of Baek Na-Kyum, he is between childhood and adulthood. The small eye refers to the childhood and as such the candidness, and the bigger one to the adulthood, as he is now able to comprehend better the world and its reality (inspired by the saying getting a bigger picture). Through the bad experience (abandonment by the teacher), he is disillusioned but not to the point where he has lost his innocence definitely. That’s why I interpret that the future attempted assassination will become a real wake-up call and will mark the pivotal moment in the painter’s life. He will lose his purity for good, his worldview will change forever. Like I said before, the painter hasn’t perceived the teacher’s true personality and his real intentions behind his harsh words. He hasn’t grasped that the scholar was so jealous and envied him that he felt the need to destroy him with his words. He still thinks that what Jung In-Hun said was correct. Later, I’ll explain the reasons for this mindset. But let’s get back to the snowman.
He is left speechless, feels uncomfortable hence he is sweating. Notice that while the servant kept criticizing him, he never said anything to his defense. This outlines what I explained in the essay “An easy conquest”, he is not able to express himself due to the loss of his ex-mentor and guru. Furthermore, there is another reason for his silence. He somehow believes what the jealous domestic is saying. He still views himself as a low-born and even worse, as a prostitute. The fact that he wanted to stay in the backyard with the staff shows his longing to be perceived as a servant. He feels like a prostitute but he would like to be treated like a servant so that his special position would not be detected. He feels really embarrassed, when the head maid from the kitchen outlines his special status. 
His status had been elevated by the lord. He is his partner hence he can no longer be perceived as a servant. The fact that he is no longer wearing his white headband illustrates that Seungho doesn’t recognize him as a commoner but as his lover. I would say that since he has no topknot, his status reminds me of a concubine, although it is quite obvious that for the seme, Baek Na-Kyum is his wife. From my point of view, the lord is changing his status little by little, the closer they get. Remember that there is a lack of trust between Seungho and the painter. The noble has no idea why the artist chose to give in, hence he asked in the episode 45. However I explain the sudden order from Yoon Seungho as a consequence of the “love confession” in the chapter 45. The more Baek Na-Kyum is opening up, the more Seungho is showing his true colors, intentions. But the trust is based on shaking grounds. In reality, the “I like- My lord” is a misunderstanding, on the other hand the chapter 46 reveals that Baek Na-Kyum is indeed leaning more and more on the noble, as he has no home any longer. The first reason why I associate the painter’s status to the one of a concubine is that he has no topknot like Seungho. If he had one, he could be considered as a master.
Besides, the jealous man pointed out that the “favored servant” wasn’t a master at the moment, but he could be perceived as one due the privileges the artist has. Yet the envious man was somehow making fun about this (“might”), as if this idea was so ridiculous and impossible. Notice that at no moment, the painter spoke for himself, defending his actions and his innocence indicating that what Deok-Jae said about him was how he views himself. He has such a low self-esteem. He didn’t voice one complain (even the destruction of the snowmen), he let the domestic criticize him because he even feels lower than the servants: he is indeed a prostitute. That’s why he can’t think about his future and he is not even focused on his painting too. Hence the readers saw no new painting in his bedroom. 
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 