Painter Of The Night: A Fool 🤡 in love 😍❤️‍🔥 (third version)

This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents:  https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/

Announcement: I updated the essay “Painting and desires – part 3”

Like I already pointed out in the essay “Animals of misfortune”, chapter 74 is a new version of chapter 40, for there are similarities in the topics (responsibility and jealousy) and the situation. The main leads are on a date again. However, I didn’t examine a particular scene in details: the walk on the street. Hence this will be in the center of this analysis and by contrasting the two scenes, the manhwaphiles will discover the protagonists’ state of mind reflecting the evolution of their relationship.

After leaving the physician’s, the lord is strolling in front of the painter (chapter 74), exactly like in the past. (Chapter 40) On the surface, it looks like a repetition. Yet, the first contrast are the steps. While in chapter 40, lord walks away and the painter remains immobile first, in chapter 74 the young man is following the lord step by step. This illustrates the progression of their relationship. Yoon Seungho is like his guide and the commoner just follows him, full of trust.

Moreover, in the two scenes, we have a prank (chapter 40) (chapter 74). However, the trigger for the joke is diverse. In chapter 40, he got jealous, while in chapter 74 he was curios. And this comparison between the two pranks led me to realize that the red dot on the forehead had another signification. In my first interpretation about the chapter 40, I exposed that the red dot on the forehead was the symbol of marriage, the bride would wear such a sign. However, if you recall that Yoon Seungho described the painter as a fool , the red dot is also a reference to the Third eye, the chakra. In other words, when the lord put the red point, he hoped that the painter would experience an awakening. By meditating, he would introspect himself and get new insight. That way, he would no longer be foolish. And exactly like the main lead wished, it truly happened. Through the lord’s critical thinking triggered by rhetorical questions , Baek Na-Kyum realized that he was indeed hoping for more, although he claimed the opposite during the conversation. (Chapter 40) That’s why after pondering, the artist visited his teacher and expressed his wish for the first time that he would like Jung In-Hun to become responsible for him, like the former had promised. As you can see, the red dot and the questions did cause an Awakening. But it was a brutal waking up, as the painter discovered how the learned sir truly viewed him: a prostitute and nothing more.

But why did the lord play this prank, not recognizing that his gesture was totally ambiguous? According to him, he was just hoping that the painter would meditate, while in his unconscious, he was already claiming the artist as his “wife”. The reason for this prank was that he got jealous and annoyed, when he saw the artist smiling by simply thinking that the scholar would pass the exam soon. Imagine, the commoner was walking right behind him, yet Baek Na-Kyum was not mentally and emotionally present. His thoughts were directed at the scholar. This is not surprising that Yoon Seungho resented his lover. In the aristocrat’s mind, this signified that the painter was not even enjoying his time with him. He preferred thinking about the learned sir than talking or looking at his lover. In other words, he was standing behind the lord absentminded. And the lord sensed it, hence he looked behind. How did he notice it? It is because the artist didn’t keep asking about the date. There was a silence after the question. And when he saw the blushing accompanied with a huge genuine smile, Yoon Seungho was hurt that he couldn’t help criticizing his lover. Note that with such a comment, the noble is not interested in initiating a conversation, he already knows what the low-born is thinking. And if you contrast this to the scene in episode 74, you’ll detect a huge difference. Although the artist is absentminded as well, he is already meditating about his lover and his relationship. The lord’s back (chapter 74) is the trigger for him to ponder. And this shows the noble’s increasing influence on Baek Na-Kyum. Meditating is definitely the lord’s favorite occupation so far. In addition, this shows how much the aristocrat means to him. All his thoughts are now directed at Yoon Seungho. Therefore we have to imagine this. While Baek Na-Kyum is walking, the lord notices that he is just walking lost in his thoughts. Hence he throws him the hat as a joke. On the one side, he definitely wants him to be present mentally and emotionally, like in the past. On the other hand, note that unlike in the past, there’s no reproach, in truth he desires to discover what the artist is thinking. This is one of the biggest wishes Yoon Seungho has ever had: (chapter 49) The lord always felt the need to share what was in their mind. Now, I can truly grasp why it’s a dream for Yoon Seungho. Remember when I described how the lord lived for so many years in the darkness. He only knew that he existed through his mind and thoughts. But during this whole time, he could never communicate his thoughts to anyone, he felt terribly lonely. This explicates why he had such a huge desire to communicate with the painter. He felt closeness in their soul, which he could detect in the art. As you can see, although the noble detected that his lover was lost in his thoughts, he no longer reprimands him. In fact, he voices curiosity. Moreover, he is no longer claiming that Baek Na-Kyum is transparent contrary to chapter 40. There’s a reason for that. The artist has changed so much as well. He is indeed applying his lover’s philosophy: introspection and meditation. And this leads me to the next observation. There is a huge difference between these two scenes: the chronology.

Chapter 40	Chapter 74
criticism	no reproach
Prank	Introspection
Questions: why?	Prank
Introspection	Open question

This meditation at the beginning displays the artist’s maturity. However, if you pay attention to Baek Na-Kyum’s thoughts, you’ll notice that he is not meditating about himself, but about his lover. (Chapter 74) He recalls all his actions, and he notes the lord’s selflessness and humbleness. And this truly exposes that now the roles have been switched. The so-called foolish one is Yoon Seungho, but the latter has long forgotten his own words. On the other hand, Baek Na-Kyum is the one wishing more, he is definitely not content with a kiss from time to time, while Yoon Seungho is thinking like the artist in the past: (chapter 74) versus (chapter 40). What caught my attention is the significance of hope. Yoon Seungho is definitely no longer hoping for a love confession, which makes me think that in chapter 58, he wasn’t entirely honest. He still had that dream, this explicates why he mentioned Jihwa. He envisioned that the artist would get jealous. But the artist remained silent. Then he confessed twice (“I adore you” and ) in order to push the protagonist to reply to his confession. He definitely dreamed that if he confessed, the painter would feel pressured to return the affection. That’s why the painter was trapped under the noble and the latter was grabbing the painter’s hand. (Chapter 58) His gestures illustrated the pressure made on the artist. But the master never got a reply. Thus it elucidates why the noble got infuriated after the painter’s disappearance. He might have admitted his defeat, nevertheless he hoped for a confession, as a new form of allegiance. That way, Baek Na-Kyum was obliged by his words. However, in chapter 74, the only desire the noble has is to exchange their thoughts. He has truly given up on his dream. When in chapter 49 the master voiced this wish for the first time, he was lowering his expectations. That’s why I believe that this indicates that Yoon Seungho is no longer hoping for more. He is so in love, and the past Yoon Seungho would call him: a fool!

However, there’s a huge difference between episode 40 and 74. Contrary to the actual Baek Na-Kyum, Yoon Seungho was acting under the influence of his unconscious and he wasn’t aware of this. That’s why he never realized the signification of the gesture with the red dot. He had no idea that he was already in love and he was longing for the painter’s confession. On the other hand, the painter is already aware that he has developed some feelings for Yoon Seungho. He even admitted to his noona that he would think a lot about the noble (chapter 68), which is a similar attitude to the past Yoon Seungho. The latter was confusing the heart with the mind, however the low-born has been just afraid of admitting his affection.

Striking is that in his reflection, Baek Na-Kyum senses that he’s hoping for more. (Chapter 74) The repetition of “nothing more” is an evidence for the painter’s longing for more. There’s no doubt that his wish is physical intimacy, because for the artist sex is a synonym for love. Consequently, he stands up during the night in order to look at the lord’s bedchamber from far away or he is awake, (chapter 74) when the noble visits his study. All this exposes that he is longing for the lord’s warmth. A simple kiss is enough to make the painter blush, but not enough to satisfy his “thirst” for affection.

When the lord plays the prank with the hat, Baek Na-Kyum’s attention returns to his lord standing in front of him. When he sees the noble smiling and showing curiosity, he is definitely moved. From my point of view, he is slowly realizing his true affection for Yoon Seungho. That’s why his eyes are bigger than before, like in this panel. (Chapter 74) He is literally glowing. He is enjoying this moment with the noble, hence he stares at him so intensively. And this represents the biggest contrast to the chapter 40. Back then he didn’t truly enjoy the walk with the master. He was either embarrassed or thinking about the scholar. At the end, he was even called “a fool”.

From my perspective, this scene (chapter 74) marks a turning point in the painter’s love life. He is on the verge of accepting his feelings, for the noble. That’s why we have the color of the rainbows, a sign for hope. He has made up his mind for three reasons. First, he has just admitted that the lord has changed. This signifies that he recognizes that Yoon Seungho is trustworthy. Secondly, he views the noble’s huge and genuine smile. I believe that this was one of the triggers for Baek Na-Kyum to face his love. Let’s not forget that in the past, the commoner was definitely affected by the scholar’s smile. (Chapter 7) Secondly, as the lord is the mirror of the artist and the former once expressed the wish to see the painter’s smile (chapter 63), I deduce that Baek Na-Kyum has a similar mentality. As long as he can make someone happy, he is really touched and thankful. The manhwaphiles should reminisce that the painter has always felt as a burden and had abandonment issues. But there’s another important reason for Baek Na-Kyum to be so affected by Yoon Seungho. For the first time, someone is wishing to know his thoughts. (Chapter 74) Imagine, in the past the scholar reprimanded him (chapter 10) or silenced him with a caress. Heena noona had a similar atttitude, she never asked for his opinion, when she sent him away. (Chapter 46) The painter is realizing that the only one who is treating with great respect is the noble. First, the lord eats his meals with the artist in his room, giving the impression that Baek Na-Kyum is the host and the lord his guest. Secondly, the lord allows him to speak freely. Thus the painter is so moved to the point that he is about to recognize his affection for Yoon Seungho. But then he remembers Heena’s words: (chapter 74) he would be a fool, if he followed his instinct and heart. This leads me to the conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum restrains himself in the last moment and doesn’t reveal his true thoughts. When he recalls his sister’s warning, I interpret that he is refusing to have a leap of faith. However, he is not recognizing that he has already changed. He might deny his attachment to the master, yet the tailor is not blind: (chapter 74) Baek Na-Kyum’s behavior is acting like a man in love. This change of behavior is the sign of his slow transformation, but he doesn’t realize it. This explicates why he doesn’t pay attention to his surroundings and shows no embarrassment. He no longer cares for reputation or appearances. What truly matters for him is Yoon Seungho, the foolish one who is not asking for more. Besides, since the chapter 40 was about responsibility, it implies that Baek Na-Kyum is not willing to become responsible for Yoon Seungho, still too afraid of getting hurt. He has been a fool in love in the past with Jung In-Hun, he fears to re-experience it.

Another divergence is that this time, the lord is declaring the commoner as his wife consciously, that’s why he chose such a headgear, which is reserved for women. Contrary to the past, this significant gesture is noticed by the tailor, that’s why we see him whispering. (Chapter 74) There’s no ambiguity that he will mention it to the other shop owners, creating some new gossips. However, I don’t think, town folks will condemn the lord, because he has definitely changed. After the disappearance, there was no scandal any longer and the aristocrat didn’t organize any sex party. He had settled down for good. Consequently if the artist disappears for a second time, I doubt that the tailor will believe in his escape. He saw how they flirted in front of his shop.

However, as you can imagine, I believe that “their blossoming romance” can be interrupted. We have Min monitoring their moves and after watching them from afar, his envy and jealousy will reach a new peak. In this scene, he was sensing that his chances to get Baek Na-Kyum were diminishing. He could definitely sense that the relationship between the protagonists had changed. Baek Na-Kyum was not keeping his distance from Yoon Seungho. He even accepted the hat without protesting, while in the past he rejected the lord and remained distant to him. (Chapter 54) And in the first version, it came to my mind that we could have a new version of this scene due to the Joker’s arm and hand. In chapter 52, the lord was protecting the painter with his arm and hand, which became true in chapter 76. The lord’s hug gave Baek Na-Kyum a certain comfort and safety. The existential fear could slowly disappear.

Due to the last terrible experience, the noble is slowly realizing that he needs to pay better attention to his surroundings and enemies. As a fool in love, he must recognize that he is behaving the same way than Baek Na-Kyum in chapter 40: (chapter 40) After the fake abduction, he had not investigated the matter, though the painter had mentioned one detail: (Chapter 76) For him, the incident had been resolved, but he never imagined that in reality, he had not solved the problem at all. The real mastermind was Min. Hence after the last tragedy, he is tasked to investigate the circumstances which led to the bloodbath in the shaman‘s house. (Chapter 102) He knows the perpetrator, he is himself the murderer, but what he doesn’t know is how it came to this. The painter’s question is actually inciting the main lead to investigate the matter, and as such to discover the helping hands. Lee Jihwa blamed Min, and the latter reproached the red-haired master. But the Joker asked him this: (chapter 102) How come that Black Heart had the learned sir’s glasses? He has now to prove his reliability and trustworthiness towards his partner. He should become more proactive, if he wants to protect his loved one better. My final conclusion is that in chapter 74, we don’t have one fool in love, but two! The painter has unfortunately forgotten Min’s confession in chapter 52. If he hadn’t thought too much about Yoon Seungho due to the separation and been surprised by Min, he would have realized that his life was in danger. Both protagonists are so in love that they don’t realize that their special relationship represents a threat to others, especially to people who stand for social norms and traditions. Simultaneously, their scandalous relationship is a source of envy for others, as Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho were able to break free from the shackles of social customs and hierarchical society. The couple becomes a symbol of liberty and true love … no wonder why The Joker is so envious. Because both were two fools in love, they couldn’t detect the enemies around them and the existence of the plot. On the other hand, the last tragedy brought back the two lovers to reality. They needed to pay more attention to their surroundings.

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