Category: Chapter 19

Painter Of The Night: Yoon Seungho’s long fight and struggle (part 1)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 23 Comments

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/

The chapter 48 marks a turning point in the relationship between the wealthy noble Yoon Seungho and the low-born Baek Na-Kyum. If we look back at the evolution of their bond, we will notice a certain pattern. Everything is related to the scholar’s teaching and the following doctrine based on seven rules:

  1. The artist can’t be associated to sodomy.
  2. He is not allowed to paint erotic paintings.
  3. He can’t admit to be a homosexual.
  4. He isn’t permitted to have sex with a man.
  5. He is not allowed to concede that he feels pleasure, when he has an intercourse with a man.
  6. He is not authorized to question the teacher’s words and actions. He has to obey him blindly.
  7. He is not permitted to fall in love with another man.

As you can observe, the 7 laws Jung In-Hun imposed on the low-born through the coercive persuasion, the scientific term for “brainwashing” represent the different barriers Yoon Seungho has to overcome. The 7th rule is the final step before removing Jung In-Hun’s indoctrination for good. This is important since it explains why the lord had to fight right from the beginning. Furthermore it explicates why Baek Na-Kyum had chosen Jung In-Hun as his true love. By doing so, the painter would follow the scholar’s rule. He would never have sex with a man, since the teacher hates homosexuality. On the other hand it allowed the artist to remain true to himself. It was his subterfuge to give up on his own identity and personality.

The first barrier: The painter rejected the noble’s offer, when he remembered the main lead’s reputation. He can’t be associated to a sodomite hence he lied about his identity. 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.

The second wall: The master blackmailed the artist in order to have him worked as his painter, when he noticed that his pressure was short-lived. We shouldn’t forget that the painter tried to flee in the chapter 4. Fortunately, the seme discovered the poem and his admiration for the noble Jung In-Hun. So he used the teacher as leverage. First, he made an offer: paint for me and your learned sir will get a high position. (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.

Since it wasn’t enough. The powerful main character had to exert his own strength and body to touch the painter’s mind and body. Note that the noble invited 3 nobles to his sex session in the chapter 8 and this is no coincidence. He had to demonstrate his stamina and charisma to arouse Baek Na-Kyum and he did succeed. The artist wished to replace the two ukes thereby he was so excited that he had to masturbate right after. 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.

Let’s take a closer look to this evolution. The increasing use of violence is linked to Jung In-Hun’s presence at Yoon Seungho’s mansion. After being invited to Yoon Seungho’s mansion, the jealous scholar had to remind the commoner of his obligations. (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.

Due to the incident with the ruined creation, the commoner got punished. This time, the main lead used his own physical strength directly on the artist (slapping and blocking the painter’s mouth). (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.

Since the lord knew about Baek Na-Kyum’s affection for his teacher (chapter 7), he was well aware that he needed to wait for the right opportunity. When the main character witnessed the fight between the low-born and Jung In-Hun (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.

So when he appeared in front of the painter, the artist was hallucinating because he had revealed to his scholar that he had broken the rule 2. Besides, he was violating the law 6. We shouldn’t forget that from the chapter 8 on, the painter started disobeying the low noble. First he justified his violation by claiming that this was for the scholar’s sake. Then in the chapter 10, he expressed his own mind in front of the teacher, however it concerned Yoon Seungho. Finally in the chapter 19, we see the painter for the first time talking back to his “master”.

Chapter 19

He rejects the teacher’s criticism that he was the one who seduced the main lead. Pay attention that the low-born voiced his own thoughts for the second time in front of the arrogant “peacock”. As the manhwaworms can sense, the rule 6 is more and more shaken, the longer Baek Na-Kyum is living under Yoon Seungho’s roof.

Striking is that their “first night” represents a violation of the rule 3 and 4. This explains why Baek Na-Kyum has every reason to deny the presence of Yoon Seungho in his chamber. By acting as if he was delirious, the painter found a subterfuge in order to deny his homosexuality and his love for a man. This was supposed to be addressed to the scholar, yet the painter was well aware that the scholar would never accept him at all. That’s why the readers get images from Baek Na-Kyum’s perspective and it is quite clear that the artist never saw Jung In-Hun. (chapter 21) In fact, he was attempting to deceive himself and the noble. During their night, Baek Na-Kyum was well aware that this could only remain a dream because if he admitted it as a reality, then this would signify that he was conceding his own sexual orientation and even his attraction to Yoon Seungho which he felt very early on (chapter 2, 6, 8-9, 13-16). Therefore I come to the conclusion that the artist somehow knew what happened during that night but chose to act as if the noble was Jung In-Hun. Later he repressed his memories and even ignored them so that he would act as if he was still following the teacher’s doctrines. (chapter 21).

As a conclusion, from the chapter 1 to 21, the rules 1 and 2 were removed, whereas the laws 3 and 6 were just shaken. This is important because it justifies why the noble has to use more and more force in order to get what he wants.

However, their first night marks a pivotal moment for the noble as well. While in the past, the main reason for inciting the artist to break the rules set by Jung In-Hun was rationalized by the main lead’s desire to have erotic paintings, the motivation started shifting, the master felt more and more attracted to the artist. We could say that the reason for Seungho to pressure the painter was the noble’s libido till the chapter 20. The moment the protagonist feels love for the first time, his motivation changes. He is no longer looking for a sexual satisfaction but for warmth and affection. The discovery of Baek Na-Kyum’s purity left a huge impact on him.

In the chapter 21, Yoon Seungho made love for the first time. He experienced something totally new. For the first time, he had an intercourse with a virgin and they made love. Secondly Baek Na-Kyum had kept his chastity because he was determined to remain faithful to his love Jung In-Hun. Since the low-born was deeply in “love” (For me, this is not a real love) with his teacher, it was as if he had made a vow of fidelity and chastity. Yoon Seungho discovered someone so pure and innocence, although the latter painted erotic images and came from a brothel. Imagine what the lord must have felt. He met someone so pure despite his filthy surroundings hence he stands so much in contradiction to Jihwa. The red-haired noble never confessed his love to his childhood friend and he never said that he kept his virginity for him, out of love. In the painter’s chamber, (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) but he failed (chapter 23). Yet he showed a certain patience as he didn’t pressure the artist to paint their night immediately, he gave him time. He imagined that once Baek Na-Kyum remembered their night and painted it, it will become a reality, a proof that this was not an illusion. But because of the coercive persuasion, Baek Na-Kyum tried to repress his memory. He had to if he wanted to keep following the scholar’s rules. The painter chose to ignore the images he had since it meant that he hadn’t kept his vow. All this time, Yoon Seungho has no idea about the true nature of the relationship between Jung In-Hun and the low-born. First, he believes to see it as a crush, then he witnesses the depth of the painter’s feelings. This is important because from that moment, the main motivation for the lord will be love and no longer his libido. This will be his goal which will give him the necessary strength to remove the other rules: 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Yoon Seungho imagined that since he took the painter’s virginity, the latter would give up on his love and focus on him, but it didn’t happen. The painter had to as he had been formatted to respect the teacher’s doctrines. That’s why even when the lord forced himself on the artist, the commoner still whispered the scholar’s name. (chapter 25) The rape represented the ultimate use of violence which kept increasing from the start. But the noble failed as he was not able to remove the rule 4, 5 and 6. Yet he did achieve something which I’ve realized only now. For the first time, Baek Na-Kyum was admitting that he loved a man and he could no longer the excuse that he was under the influence of the alcohol. So at the pavilion, the artist violated the law 3 (being a homosexual) as he confessed his love for Jung In-Hun.

That’s it for today. I’ll write the second part later.

Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My reddit-Instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.

Painter Of The Night: A new adaptation of Fall of man

~ Bébébisous33 ~ Leave a comment

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/

Feel free to make some donations/sponsoring: Ko-fi.com/bebebisous33  That way, you can support me with “coffee” so that I have the energy to keep examining manhwas.

Some of my readers might not know what Fall of man is referring to. Fall of man is the term used by Christian theologists to describe the expulsion of Eva and Adam from paradise after eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now, you know where this expression comes from. It’s from the bible and more specifically from Genesis 2-3. It explains the story of the original sin.

The Fall of Man
Lucas Cranach, The Garden of Eden, 1530

In the Garden of Eden, God planted two trees and he asked Adam and Eva not to eat the fruits from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, Satan, taking the form of a snake, convinced Eva to disobey God’s order. She took a bite from the forbidden fruit and after tasting it, she gave it to Adam so that Adam committed the same sin. Once God discovered their disobedience, he chased away the woman and the man from the Garden of Eden. This represents the end of paradise for humans. The forbidden fruit is actually an apple therefore eating the apple from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolizes the original sin, the loss of innocence and indirectly death too. Since Eva and Adam were expelled from paradise, their fate is associated to death. Now, Eva and Adam can no longer live forever and are confronted with evilness, hardships and temptation their whole life. Humans can only return to paradise after their death, if they behave as good Christians and are true believers.

Now, you are wondering where the common denominators between the Genesis and the manhwa Painter of The Night are, since the Korean story is actually a book with many explicit sex scenes. First, eating the apple is often viewed as a representation of sex. The snake embodying temptation and evilness seduced Eva to discover sexuality hence Adam couldn’t resist her so that they had an intercourse for the first time. That’s the reason why women during the Middle-Age were judged so negatively in Europe. Catholic Church reproached them of being the cause of the original sin. If Eva, the archetype of women, hadn’t listened to the snake representing the devil/Satan, Adam wouldn’t have fallen to temptation and he would never have had sex. Therefore sex and nudity are often related to Satan, like in this picture.

https://mythologica.fr/demon/satan.htm

Notice that Satan’s sex reminds us of a vagina, he is not eating men through his mouth but also through his sex. Therefore we can take note of the demonization of the woman’s sex. This explains why women were often suspected to be witches. This is also the cause why Catholic Church only encouraged sex for procreation. Sex should never be linked to pleasure. Now, you can understand why sex is perceived as dirty and enjoyment is associated to sin. During the Middle-Age, Christians should never enjoy sex and only judge it as a duty so that God could get more believers. As a conclusion, the original sin and Fall of man are connected to the discovery of sexuality, copulation and joyance.

Then we have to remember that the expulsion from the Garden of Even is linked to the Tree of Knowledge between good and evil. What should get your attention is the word Knowledge. If you read my analysis about Spring Awakening (part 1 and 2), you know the importance of sex education. Wendla, one of the protagonists of Spring Awakening, got pregnant because she had no idea about sex and its implications. Her mother never told her how women got pregnant. That’s why I pointed out earlier that the original sin is linked to the discovery of sexuality, the knowledge what sex means and implicates.

In order to grasp better the similarities between Fall of man and the manhwa, I am listing the following elements:

  1. The presence of the forbidden fruit, an apple, symbolizing temptation and sin
  2. Three people were present during the original sin: the snake, Eva, Adam
  3. Garden of Eden personifying Nature
  4. Sex
  5. Knowledge

Maybe you have already recognized the picture chosen above as an illustration for this analysis. It comes from the chapter 23. Let’s contextualize the episode. Here, we have Yoon Seungho who invited Jung In-Hun and Baek Na-Kyum to go hunting. The hounding occurs after Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum had their first sexual encounter together.

What caught my attention is the presence of the apple in this chapter.

chapter 23

Notice that Baek Na-Kyum is the one eating the apple and later, the fruit is taken by Yoon Seungho who bites in the apple tasted by the painter.

So their actions resemble a lot to the ones from Eva and Adam in the Garden of Eden. Hence we can say that the painter is Eva and the lord Adam fitting their part in the couple. The woods correspond to the garden of Eden because the forest embodies nature, just like the location created by God. Then you might now ask who the snake is. Here, the loyal valet personifies the snake but his role diverges from the Genesis. He is not seducing the artist to get knowledge, to discover sexuality. He acts the opposite in reality.

Note that he pleads for ignorance, while the snake tempted to taste the fruit and get knowledge. He advises the low-born not to remember his coition with the lord. And we come to the most important part, the biggest contrast between the bible and the manhwa. The intercourse has already happened whereas in the bible, the sex only takes place after eating the fruit because they become aware of their own nudity and body. It looks like the chronology has been changed. Another difference is that Baek Na-Kyum is still innocent as he has no memory about that fateful night, while the lord is in the knowledge. Knowledge is what separates them. In other words, in this scene from the chapter 23, the chronology and the role of the snake diverge, yet it looks like the Genesis inspired our author. However, there is more to it.

Since eating the forbidden fruit means sex, then we have to return to their first sex together. Striking is that Yoon Seungho might have had a lot of sexual experiences due to his past, but their first night together represents a first for him too. He was able to discover what lovemaking is. So eating the forbidden fruit has a divergent signification for the master. He discovered a new side of sex, it is not just about having pleasure but giving joyance to his partner, feeling loved and admired and returning the same affection and warmth to his loved one. So he gets a new knowledge. (chapter 20) (chapter 21) That’s why he is embracing the uke wholeheartedly and kissing him so gently. Once he has tasted the forbidden fruit, lovemaking, he can no longer return to his old-self. He wants to renew and even deepen their relationship but for that, he needs the painter to remember. He is well aware that the drunkenness had an impact on the artist’s consciousness hence the next morning after their lovemaking, he visits the artist’s chamber waiting for him. The latter had to go out because of nausea and vomiting.

And now pay attention to the words and actions of the noble who has already fallen deeply in love.

chapter 23

First, he is wearing an dark purple robe with short sleeves. We can observe that he has dressed up especially for the painter. Now, you might realize my mistake. While treating the different clothes of the protagonist (the significance of clothes, part 2), I overlooked this chapter. However, it actually confirms my observations made there. When it comes to win the artist’s heart, Yoon Seungho pays attention to his appearance and wants to use his charismatic image in order to attract the man’s attention and awake sexual desires.

In other words, he improves his apparel because he wants to seduce him. Is he here acting like the snake, the devil seducing the uke to temptation? But if you look more closely, you’ll notice that there is a book with an illustration on the table. There are two men fornicating. This is not random, the master put it there in order to trigger the hint about their lovemaking. However, the painter pays no attention to this picture. Yet this doesn’t discourage the master hence he speaks about the events of the night before.

Chapter 23

The irony is that Baek Na-Kyum committed a crime, he stole a bottle of expensive wine. Here, we can see another reference to the original sin and the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eva committed a sin by disobeying to God’s words and here, we have the painter who acted like a thief. We could even add that the bottle could be another representation of the forbidden fruit. Does this mean that their fateful night embodies another Fall of man? It seems so because Seungho is acting like God here, commenting about the low-born’s actions through insinuations and trying to confront him with his theft. The moment the painter is faced with his wrongdoing, he decides to lie about it.

Chapter 23

Instead of chasing the commoner away for his larceny and as such expelling him from the garden of Eden, the noble just laughs it off.

Chapter 23

On the other hand, the readers should keep in their mind that the commoner is in fact committing another sin. However the knowledge of their sexual encounter hasn’t resurfaced, since sex and knowledge are what matters. That’s why there is no Fall of man here. Yoon Seungho, the combination of God and Satan, is patient and even very lenient. Hence he doesn’t punish the artist for his sins, on the other hand the master doesn’t renounce so easily. He wants the painter to get the knowledge, to remember his first sex and their fateful night. Therefore he initially implies that he saw the painter during that night but Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t comprehend this signal.

Chapter 23

Therefore the master refers directly to sex hoping that this would finally trigger the artist’s memory.

Chapter 23

The irony is that Baek Na-Kyum is still clueless till the end. He has no recollection despite the repetitive insinuations of the lord. Each time, Yoon Seungho became more and move obvious to the point he had to mention pregnancy.

chapter 23

Even when he is given the medicine for his hangover indicating that the master is well aware of his sin, the artist remains innocent and pure. So due to his lack of knowledge, he can’t be expelled from paradise. However, we have to remember that in that scene, Yoon Seungho acted like a corrupted God, since he doesn’t condemn him for his crimes. Yet there is no ambiguity that the lord would have acted differently from God in the Genesis, if the commoner had remembered their lovemaking. He never wanted to make him leave the mansion which could be seen as paradise. Instead the main protagonist wanted to keep him there forever. That’s why we can interpret the manhwa as a new adaptation of the Genesis because we have two “scenes” referring to the Genesis 2-3: their fateful night together and the scene in the woods. The apple and the bottle were the forbidden fruit, whereas the learned sir and the loyal valet Kim were the snake. (Chapter 19) Baek Na-Kyum was seduced by an illusion, he was tempted by his “pure love”, although I have to say that here the painter’s unconscious played a huge part. The bottle that was stolen by the low-born was later used by the lord as lubricant hence we have this picture in the chapter 20.

Chapter 20

This is just like in the bible. Baek Na-Kyum gave the forbidden fruit to the protagonist. That’s why I keep writing that each drawing has a purpose and deep meaning. Then we have the first original sin where Yoon Seungho was playing two roles, God and Adam, since he is the master of his domain. The Garden of Eden is the mansion and the forest simultaneously. While sex occurred in the first place, in the chapter 23 the focus is on the knowledge. Will the painter remember their fateful night? The moment he remembers, he loses his innocence and purity. That’s why the servant Kim advises him not to remember.

Chapter 23

However, it is too late because the moment Baek Na-Kyum feels that he committed a sin, he catches a glimpse of a image from that fateful night.

Chapter 23

The feeling that he did something wrong is related to the flashback therefore I would say that the last drawing personifies Baek Na-Kyum’s loss of innocence. The Fall of man is about to happen.

Interesting is that although we have two scenes referring to the original sin, the readers never witness the expulsion of “Eva and Adam” from the garden of Eden all this time. The reason is that Yoon Seungho chose to be patient, nevertheless he demanded the artist to paint hoping that at some point the low-born would recollect their wonderful night.

Chapter 23

Because of this request, the painting becomes the symbol of the original sins. The aristocrat would like to engrave this night forever because it felt so beautiful, it was for him as if he had reached the paradise. That’s why when the noble hears that Baek Na-Kyum is transporting with him a painting causing him embarrassment and blushing, the lord misunderstands the content of the painting.

Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter 23

The noble thinks that the painter has finally recalled their memorable night hence he is so happy. That’s why later he decides to invite him to the pavilion through his loyal valet.

Now, you can understand what the scene at the pavilion means. This is the new version of the expulsion of paradise, the actual Fall of man, the revelation of all sins. Here, Yoon Seungho thought that he would see a painting of their sexual encounter so that the artist would become his lover. He was so wrong and misunderstood the low-born’s action. In the chapter 25, he really believes that if he acts like in their first encounter, the uke will accept him. (Chapter 25) But he is rejected. The forced sex seems to be the only way for the lord to claim the painter as his lover and partner (in his opinion), hence the rape becomes the expulsion of paradise for both men.

Baek Na-Kyum remembers that he confessed his love and lost his virginity to the lord, it is as painful as losing his virginity. The rejection and the forced sex make the lord realize that what he experienced during that memorable night was just an illusion and he can not experience it again.

(Chapter 26)

The commoner has the impression that since he has lost his purity, he can no longer remain by the low noble’s side hence he whispers the name of his learned sir. Both realize that they lost something important… Both lost their innocence. Baek Na-Kyum experienced sex for the first time, fully aware, whereas the lord was hurt that the painter could never treasure their unforgettable night. They are like expelled from the Garden of Eden therefore the following chapters are so painful for both protagonists. Both meet hardships, the lord keeps getting rejected and criticized, while the artist is forced to do a fellatio and later to have a sex marathon. However each time, Yoon Seungho fails to win the man’s heart because he hasn’t understood yet that feelings are important when it comes to lovemaking. He can never act as if sex was a fight. Feelings can’t be forced.

Now, you can understand why the rape had to happen at the pavilion. It is a combination between nature (woods) and civilization (mansion) so that they would feel the banishment. Yoon Seungho can no longer imagine that the love he received during that night was directed to him, this is the end of paradise hence he gets jealous and angry. He would really love to become the recipient of such a love. Both made a terrible experience with sex, something connected to pain and gain a new terrible knowledge. Sex and love are not really similar but the lord had no idea how to gain the painter’s affection. (Chapter 23)

Fall of man just occurred once, however we have two original sins. The first one was when the lord took the teacher’s place (chapter 26) and the other is when the artist stole the bottle of expensive wine and lied about his action.

The latter paid a huge price for his sin, just like the powerful noble. It took them a long time to overcome their trauma, the pain of rejection and betrayal. Yoon Seungho also made the mistake to act like God, because he thought that his wealth and power were convincing enough to win over the painter. However, he was just a human as his assets meant nothing to the commoner. Hence he had to pay for his sins. Let us not forget that Baek Na-Kyum sinned twice when he had sex with the lord for the first time. He stole the bottle and later he didn’t resist the temptation, when he imagined the low noble’s visit. He couldn’t bear the rejection from the teacher and had a hallucination. He might have forgotten it but he was the one leading their intercourse so he is not entirely innocent either. Deep down, Baek Na-Kyum always wanted to have sex before and even fantasized about the lord (the wet dreams in the chapter 2 and 6). Furthermore by stealing the wine, he sent the wrong signal to the seme (see my analysis about Breakups, chagrin and alcohol).

Nevertheless, I am not stating that Baek Na-Kyum is the reason why the lord sinned. We are no longer in the Middle-Age, where women should be blamed for the Fall of man. No, even if Baek Na-Kyum is a new version of Eva, both persons are equally responsible for their sins. No one is innocent, however the uke appears more virtuous due to his purity and chaste love through his heartfelt confession, hence the rape is a terrible “punishment” for the painter. He, who never connected sodomy to violence and sin before he met the low noble, has to discover another side of homosexuality. It is not just about love and warmth. It is a harsh fall for the artist that’s why it is important for the artist to rediscover his first perception of homosexuality. Sodomy can be something natural and as pure as love between a woman and man. Hence their relationship improves the moment the noble learns from his mistakes and is willing to give up on his pride and position as master, he starts prioritizing the low-born’s pleasure. Little by little, the painter is discovering the joyance connected to sex and no longer denying his own sexual orientation.

After the Fall of man, Eva and Adam had to work and encountered many hardships, yet they got children: Cain and Abel. In other words, their love became fruitful. Therefore it becomes clear that the noble will be able to become the real recipient of the painter’s love. It is just a matter of time. However, in the bible, Cain killed Abel out of jealousy. Should we see it as another allusion to what will happen in the second season? Will the valet Kim become the victim of the attempted assassination on Baek Na-Kyum? Honestly, this is what I have been fearing for a long time. I hope, I’m wrong because this would mean that Yoon Seungho would lose the only person who knows him so well and shows such an understanding. Imagine his pain and this will reinforce his need and longing for the painter’s love.

This will be my final words for this essay. If someone commits a sin, it is possible to find redemption that’s why forgiveness plays a huge part in Christianity. Repentance and admitting his sin are the conditions. It is the painter’s choice to forgive the lord for his sin, just like the lord forgave the artist for his sins (larceny and lie). It is just a matter of time until the painter forgives Yoon Seungho entirely, since the lord has already started protecting his painter and showers him with his care and attention. No servant is allowed to speak ill about Baek Na-Kyum and he has to be treated like a master. That’s why his clothing has also changed. Little by little, the artist’s status is elevated. But here is the next question: who will confess first? Will the lord be able to express his feelings, since he is not skilled in this matter/field?

Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My Reddit-Instagram-Tumblr-Twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.

Painter Of The Night: Breakups, chagrin and alcohol 🍾

~ Bébébisous33 ~ Leave a comment

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/

In this essay, I’ll focus on the causes and consequences of a rift between the characters. Since you have already seen the pictures chosen as illustration for the analysis, you know the identity of the persons I’ll focus. But this is only partially correct. We need to look at the partners’ reactions carefully as well. What caught my attention are the similarities between chapter 18 and 19. In chapter 18, we have the end of relationship between Yoon Seungho and Jihwa, whereas we have a rift between Jung In-Hun and Baek Na-Kyum in the next chapter.

1. The break-up between Seungho and Jihwa

First, let’s examine the first parting. Striking is that the powerful noble is the one who decides to cut ties with his childhood friend.

The latter has been caught as the culprit who ruined Baek Na-Kyum’s second painting. But this incident is just the trigger for the split. In fact, there are other roots for the rift. Interesting is that the red-haired man never expected this to happen revealing that he had never comprehended the true nature of his relationship with Yoon Seungho.

He believed that since he had been by Yoon Seungho’s side for so long and the latter had been his only sex partner, the protagonist had given him some privileges. He was only partially right. The lord closed his eyes, when Jihwa came unannounced and when the latter bought one of his servants in order to spy on him.

All this time, he showed a certain tolerance towards his friend but each time, he revealed displeasure and had a cold gaze which the friend never caught, too self-absorbed in his own feelings and thoughts. That’s the reason the main lead didn’t great him properly in the chapter 12.

It even culminated to a firm warning. But Jihwa overlooked it. From my point of view, the red-haired lord made two huge mistakes. First, he misjudged the warning because of a misunderstanding.

chapter 13

For our beloved seme, the reproach made by Jihwa implied that his friend was spying on him. Therefore he asked him to stop prying into his life by getting info through his “informer”.

Furthermore, Jihwa was acting as if he had a prerogative to meddle in his friend’s life. He had to tell him how to live his life.

chapter 13

Notice the seme’s behavior in the last picture. He puffs the smoke into his friend’s face showing his dissatisfaction and frustration. During their whole conversation (chapter 12-13), Seungho was well aware that Jihwa was prying into his life, however the powerful noble remained distant and didn’t let anything transpire: “Nothing much happened”. So when he warns him not to cross the line, he has something else in his mind. For him Jihwa acts like all the other nobles, keeping an eye on him because valuable info could give him some leverage. The master never thought that his friend’s actions were the result of his jealousy. This is where the misunderstanding lies. Moreover, due to Seungho’s leniency, the red-haired man believed that he had a special place in Seungho’s heart. The reality was different. Yoon Seungho always perceived him as a sex partner like the others because he was a noble. Despite their long relationship, the main character holds deep grudges against the aristocracy. In his eyes, they are all hypocrites and snakes, trying to backstab their acquaintance for their own benefit.

This is what Yoon Seungho learnt through his traumatic past, he saw beyond his father’s actions but Jihwa failed to comprehend this because he is too immature to grasp the whole situation in the past. And this leads me to believe that our protagonist resents the nobility for conspiring against the king. The purge wouldn’t have happened if they had done nothing and he had to bear the whole burden as he was the sacrificed lamb for his family. Simultaneously, the other aristocrats were betrayed by one of their fellows who did it in order to gain more benefit. This explicates his refusal to meddle with politics. For him, all the nobles and the king are terrible. Now, you can understand why the main character couldn’t differentiate Jihwa from the others as he was a noble. What Jihwa recognized as an advantage (his title), it symbolized a hindrance in reality in Yoon Seungho’s life. No wonder that the latter never looked down on the painter because he discerned his talent and hard work.

Furthermore our seme was well aware that Jihwa had been using him all along. Therefore when his friend claims he has been using him all this time, this is no novelty for the seme. However, the readers know very well that these words are not reflecting the entire truth. Jihwa had been waiting for Seungho’s love. Interesting is that these words reinforced the impression the main character had about his childhood friend and this deepens their misconception. Yoon Seungho misunderstands Jihwa’s motivation behind his actions. He can’t detect the love his friend has for him since on the surface, it seems like Jihwa is disregarding his authority, acts behind his back and puts informers in his mansion. Hiring an amateur spy could be for another reason, like discovering his secrets so that he can be blackmailed. The irony is that due to his plot, Jihwa even encourages the former friend to seduce the low-born. Yoon Seungho even teases the red-haired noble by announcing that he will turn this gossip into a reality.

Here, we can clearly observe that Yoon Seungho never viewed Jihwa differently from the other aristocrats. The main lead has the impression that he doesn’t belong to their order hence he has no problem to taste a commoner. For him, title means nothing. That’s the reason why their friendship or sexual relationship could never deepen and become real love. Jihwa could only predict his friend’s behavior but never what triggered his actions. Striking is that the end of their relationship doesn’t affect Yoon Seungho at all. That’s why his heart is not moved when he sees Jihwa’s face full of tears as he doesn’t wipe his tears, like he does with the artist.

For him, the tears can only be a simulacrum, nothing genuine because Jihwa has always faked his facial expressions. In addition, he perceives more anger and rage than pain. I would even add that Yoon Seungho seems to be relieved for the loss of his acquaintance therefore he caresses the painter’s cheek and thanks him for the amusing incident. What caught my attention are Yoon Seungho’s words. While the latter commented to Jihwa that nothing much happened in his life despite the straw mat beating, he considers the parting with Jihwa as exciting. It leaves the impression that Yoon Seungho was living like a zombie with his friend by his side. So hurting another noble has become an amusement and now, we understand why the protagonist had so much fun during the hunt. (chapter 22) He enjoys humiliating nobles, it gives him sensations, whereas punishing commoners or killing servants is nothing extraordinary.

Jihwa’s humiliation and his rift with his childhood friend happens in the courtyard, where many servants witness this incident generating gossip. Due to their parting, Jihwa becomes a drunk and visits the tavern very often. He drowns his sorrow in alcohol. (chapter 41) His chagrin is so deep that he is losing little by little his dignity. In chapter 41, he even has his hair loose and sleeps on the street like a commoner. He no longer acts and dresses like a noble. All this illustrates that Jihwa did love his friend but his lack of consideration and egoism were the reasons why he could never get close to the seme. The irony is that Yoon Seungho has already experienced Jihwa’s betrayal hence this is no surprise if the main lead will know right away who was behind the attempted assassination. The problem is that the main lead never thought that the moment he is in a relationship with the painter, he has to protect his loved one very well. This is no longer amusing and exciting when your loved one gets hurt. This will teach him a lesson so that he will be better prepared, when his other enemies start targeting him.

On the other hand, the dissolution of his relationship with Jihwa liberates the seme, as now he has no particular sex partner. He is free to go after the low-born, even if it means that he will be outcast by the other nobles. (chapter 18) He never cared for his reputation or seclusion anyway. Then we have to remember that from early on Yoon Seungho was aware of Baek Na-Kyum’s feelings for the teacher. In my opinion, he must have even thought that they were in a relationship because Baek Na-Kyum treasured the teacher’s poem so much, was willing to get punished instead of his “learned sir”, when the latter was suspected of the “crime”. In addition, he has never heard the low noble’s words about his disdain for sodomy and erotic pictures. He observed as well that the painter was keeping his distance from him despite the arousal and his advances (chapter 16). From my point of view, the seme got aware that the artist was faithful to the teacher, yet he misjudged the true nature of their relationship. Hence he never anticipated that the painter was a virgin, influenced by the power of the erotic paintings, the place he was raised and the blushing caused by the teacher.

2. The separation between Na-Kyum and In-Hun

And the most important picture in chapter 19 is that only Seungho becomes the witness of the rift between Jung In-Hun and Baek Na-Kyum, unlike with the breakup with Jihwa.

chapter 19

As you can observe, this time there is no servant, only nobles and the latter are not aware of the presence of the two persons in the courtyard. Notice that this scene makes the lord stop walking indicating that he is very attentive and interested because the painter means a lot to him. Now, he gets aware that there is a quarrel between these two people.

First he was in a good mood, when he visited the gisaeng house

Chapter 19

because he couldn’t forget the painter’s expression during the masturbation. It had affected him so much that night that he had an arousal too. In other words, their sexual encounter had left a deep impression on the lord. Then the rift with Jihwa changed everything, it encouraged him even more to pursue the uke.

Later he keeps thinking about the scene he witnessed in the courtyard. He is trying to judge what really happened there. When the painting is presented to his guests, he pays attention to the artist’s facial expressions and sees the tears in his eyes masked by the drop of rain.

Sadness is written all over his face but he has no idea about the outcome. Is it just a quarrel or a breakup because he only saw a simple gesture coming from the teacher? He just raised his hand.

Compare this behavior to Yoon Seungho’s, when he cut ties with his friend. The former grabbed the red-haired noble by the topknot, literally threw him on the ground and finally stabbed the spy. Despite the same location, the gestures were more dramatic and more comprehensible hence this scene doesn’t look like a parting. As you can detect, the flashbacks are quite important in this chapter because it outlines the noble’s preoccupations. While he is physically present with his guests, he is actually lost in his thoughts thinking about his “prey”.

When he hears that the bottle of expensive wine has disappeared, Byeonduck focuses on the noble’s gaze.

This is the signal for Yoon Seungho. Now, he knows what occurred between the two men, I mean, he believes to know. Here, look at his gaze, there is surprise but also a light reflecting in his eye. It was as if a fire had been ignited, therefore he is not angry that someone stole the bottle. He knows the identity of the thief but doesn’t care because he sees this as an opportunity to approach the painter. They must have broken up or something similar hence the painter is drinking his sorrow in alcohol.

Imagine the irony, Yoon Seungho doesn’t even pay attention to his childhood friend after the rift. If he had heard that his red-haired friend would spend his days and nights at the tavern drinking, he would have noticed that Jihwa might have had other motives for spying on him. (chapter 36)

For the master, the theft of the bottle is the trigger for him to visit the painter’s chamber. He must seize the opportunity, maybe in his chagrin, Baek Na-Kyum will accept his advances. Therefore he goes there hoping to have sex. What he doesn’t expect is that though he envisaged that he would have to seduce the man, he isn’t in control of the situation. He has to hear a love confession and is even kissed so suddenly. (chapter 19) Right from the start, the low-born is the one controlling their encounter. Like I had mentioned in another analysis, their “first night” together has two phases. The first one is when Seungho is just looking for sex but he is stopped by the artist, when the latter admits his fear since he is a virgin. The second phases is where both make love. In both phases, Baek Na-Kyum is the one affecting the lord’s actions and decisions. Yoon Seungho might have taken advantage of the situation, he is mistaken for the learned sir, but in reality Baek Na-Kyum was the one leading the sexual encounter. The alcohol made their “first night” possible, while for Jihwa it increased his pain and distance to Yoon Seungho.

So if we look again at the scene at the pavilion, we realize that Baek Na-Kyum’s rejection and slap sounds like a breakup for the lord. (chapter 25) It was as if they had an one-night-stand and the other has already forgotten their memorable night… because it meant nothing to the uke. Imagine the irony of the situation. The painter kept his virginity for the teacher but once he lost it to another man, he doesn’t want to enter into a relationship with the man who took his virginity. He values more the feelings than the sexual encounter. This explains why the master uses force in order to submit the painter. He can’t accept the rejection or we could say the breakup in Seungho’s eyes. Then since he has internalized that sex is war through his sexual encounters with the other nobles, he believes that he can act the same way with the commoner. He just needs to defeat the artist sexually and the latter will accept his fate. However, he never expected that the outcome would be different. He might have forced the artist to sex, in reality the painter was never defeated as he mentioned Jung In-Hun, the loved one. (chapter 26) Unlike Jihwa and Baek Na-Kyum, the noble didn’t drink any alcohol in order to ease the pain of the breakup because he never accepted it as such. He preferred fighting for this relationship, hence he took care of the artist after the rape. He refuses to admit defeat, even if his actions even worsen the situation and damage his relationship with the low-born. In other words, there will be no breakup or rejection hence he will never drink his sorrow into alcohol. On the other hand, he will be plagued with pangs of conscience and crack his brain in order to salvage his relationship with Baek Na-Kyum. Strangely, he is far more active than Jihwa and Baek Na-Kyum, when it comes to love which contrasts so much to his passivity concerning politics and the nobility. The lord’s chagrin provokes violent reactions so that at the end, he is truly exhausted because he didn’t manage to succeed. Any attempt to win the painter’s heart failed, until he finally showed his true self: tired, vulnerable and depressed. (chapter 35) Only then he is able to have hope again because he no longer perceives hatred, rejection… he even catches the artist’s blushing. And this outlines the painter’s purity, strength and determination.

Now, it is time to pay attention to Jung In-hun and his “breakup” with the painter and as such its impact on the uke. We have to imagine how hard Jung In-Hun’s fall is because in chapter 18, he starts conveying Yoon Seungho’s possessions,

Chapter 18

he strolls through the property while thinking that he is far superior to this noble in term of intelligence and morals.

Chapter 18

That’s why he calls the powerful lord “filthy fiend”, yet he has to learn through the incident with Jihwa that the painter occupies a bigger place in the noble’s heart than himself. He discovers the artist’s true role at the mansion, he was never a servant like the aristocrat declared. He had to paint erotic pictures for the master.

(chapter 19)

He can’t imagine that the lord would value the low-born more than him, who thinks of himself as skilled and intelligent. Imagine that he has to hear that he has to rely on a low-born in order to get sponsored. He denies this accusing the low-born of seducing the noble, proclaiming that he had used immoral means in order to get this position. Let us not forget that with these words, the teacher is trying to diminish the artist’s talent which he can’t recognize as he is just a low-born. Only people from the nobility, even if they belong to the low nobility, have skills, that’s what distinguishes them from the commoners. This is exactly what Jung In-Hun believes hence he is so blinded by his arrogance and entitlement that he can’t admit Baek Na-Kyum’s talent. What a humiliation for the teacher and if we remember how highly he thought of himself while envying the lord’s wealth, he envisioned himself as rich and powerful as his sponsor in the future. This shows how delusional he is. However, he was not sponsored for his abilities but because he was used as leverage for the painter. He had to thank a low-born for his future career due to erotic pictures of sodomy, something he loathes and hates.

Chapter 19

What Yoon seungho saw as a simple gesture, is full of meaning and power hence it is so painful for the painter.

Chapter 19

The raised hand means that he can no longer remain by the teacher’s side. Jung In-Hun doesn’t need to use violence in order to cut ties with the low-born, he has already physically and emotionally abused him in the past. The low noble pushes him away. Strictly speaking, he can never claim that he was his acquaintance or friend or supporter. By cutting ties, the noble tries to hide from the reality. If they are no longer together, then the deal becomes ineffective.

Now, imagine the irony of the situation, he is the one who ends their relationship because he has some difficulties to accept the truth after discovering the existence of the deal, on the other side he will be the one running towards the artist renewing their relationship, the moment he hears the truth from the powerful lips.

(chapter 22)

The end of the relationship between Jung In-Hun and Baek Na-Kyum means nothing to the low noble hence he doesn’t need to drink in order to forget the pain. On the other hand, he needs some time in order to digest the news: he was never considered as a great man full of potentials by the lord he envied.

However, the revelation of the deal unveils how fragile his relationship with the painter was. Each time his pride was hurt, he rejected the artist and sent him away. We have to envision that this was the reason why the low-born turned into a drunk. Once the learned sir discovered that Baek Na-Kyum was a successful book author, he got jealous and ensured that he would stop painting. At the same time, he rejected him because of his erotic paintings. The uke could only drown his sorrow in alcohol because he could no longer paint and simultaneously no longer meet the learned sir. This explains why after the rejection, the painter steals the bottle and drinks it all.

Chapter 19

He wants to forget that painful moment. It is like in the past. This chapter is important since it gives the readers a clue about the reason why Baek Na-Kyum became a drunk.

The moment Yoon Seungho opens the door and sees the artist’s drunkenness, he can’t help commenting about the poor state of the commoner: “What a sight!” So the painter should have realized the contradiction between the face he was seeing and the voice.

Chapter 19

So now, there is only one element left to comment. Why does the painter believe to see his teacher opening the door of his chamber?

Chapter 19

From my point of view, the alcohol is not the only explication. To me, it just unleashed his unconscious. It lowered his guard, he wished the return of his loved one. But if he had paid attention to the voice, he should have perceived the difference in the voice. Never mind, if you look at the pictures above, you’ll notice two things. When he hears the door opening and hears the comment, he turns his head so that he can’t pay attention to the voice itself, his desire is so strong that he imagines to see the teacher’s face. However, from that moment, he doesn’t look at the person’s standing in front of him. He walks towards Yoon Seungho while looking down and covering his face, then when he confesses his love, he is not even looking at the person’s face. (chapter 19) When he kisses the lord, his eyes are closed too. So the illusion was just for a brief moment, the readers were misled by Byeonduck. All this time, we have to envision that this is Yoon Seungho standing there. The drunkenness gave the uke the courage to confess his love but at the same time, it was just a wish that the low noble would be there. What caught my attention is that moment, they kiss each other, the painter is no longer able to discern the partner’s face. (chapter 21) We have to wonder why. My explanation is the following. Deep down, the uke knew that Jung In-Hun would never have sex with him, would never accept his feelings. However, his unconscious, meaning his repressed sexual desires, was unleashed, he wanted to have sex with a man, he had already dreamed of it twice and each time, it was with the powerful noble. So the painter’s unconscious allowed him to reveal his true sexual orientation, something he had kept hidden due to the brainwashing. So the alcohol not only reveals the chagrin caused by the rejection, it helped the painter to reveal his true desires and identity. That’s why the artist couldn’t remember the night spent with the powerful lord, it was like a dream and we all know that we always forget dreams.

And this leads me to the following observations and conclusion. The lord had no idea that the painter’s rejection and refusal were caused by the teacher’s coercive persuasion. He only thought that the genuine love felt for the teacher was the cause and they had a special relationship from the start. Sure, he discovered later that they had never entered into a physical relationship but he only explained this as an one-sided crush. Furthermore he knows the low noble’s true personality and anticipated that the learned sir would use the painter in order to obtain favors as soon as the existence of the deal is revealed.

But imagine his reaction when he gets aware of Jung In-Hun’s true behavior. The latter abused his loved one emotionally and physically, he was the real cause for the painter’s rejection as he had been indoctrinated that sodomy was dirty and filthy. Not only the powerful noble but also the painter suffered indirectly due to him. This would have changed a lot of things if the noble had met the artist much earlier… The uke wouldn’t have been forced to make a vow, wouldn’t have been hurt… the master wouldn’t have pushed to rape the painter because in reality the latter was indeed attracted by Yoon Seungho, like the two wet dreams unveiled it. Imagine the lord’s chagrin and regret, the moment the past is revealed. Only in the chapter 33, Baek Na-Kyum’s repressed memories of the physical abuse resurfaced and we only saw a glimpse of it… just a picture indicating that he must have repressed much more. So how will Yoon Seungho react, when the truth is unveiled? I doubt that he will remain inactive. We saw that his love for the painter was the trigger for the lord to become proactive. It will be interesting to see if the master seeks revenge on the former teacher. This could be the other reason why the noble ensures that Baek Na-Kyum surpasses his former admired sir in his career. I am quite sure that he won’t spare Jung In-Hun and make sure that he gets hurt physically too.

Feel free to comment or to give any suggestion for an analysis (topic, manhwas). If you enjoyed reading it, either retweet it or push the button “like” so that this writing doesn’t become pointless. My reddit/twitter/tumblr/instagram account: @bebebisous33 Thanks for the support.

Painter of The Night: Min, the introduction of a new villain? (Third version)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 5 Comments

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/

What caught my attention in the chapter 43 is the man with the green robe. His name is Min and just like Seungho, he is a noble. (chapter 43) Here he is described by his friend with a black heart. However, in the first season, he was shown in different chapters (8, 9, 19, 33, 36, 41 and 43), but he was among others and as such, he was never properly introduced. His presence increased until the chapter 43 marking a pivotal moment. In the first version of this essay, I desired to prove that Min would play a bigger part in the second season. And this was proven correct. Nevertheless, I still need to introduce him. But who is this man, what do we know about him in the first season?

But first let’s go back to the chapter 41, where he was shown hunting with Seungho.

Chapter 41: Seungho on the left and Min on the right

This means that he is quite close to Seungho, as the latter spends time with him outside the sex orgies. Striking is that in this chapter, the man with the green robe was tasting the water, when he asked Seungho to confirm the rumor about the incident at the tailor shop. Seungho warned him not to cross the line, as he could share the same fate than Jihwa. During that scene, the author draw two pictures focused on the hands. The man with the green robe grabbed the wrist of our main lead (chapter 41) and even put his other hand on his waist.

Chapter 41

And these pictures are not random as usually. Remember how Seungho reacted, when Jung In-Hun touched his shoulder, he was about to kill the teacher. (Chapter 30) He was so upset, hence imagine how he felt, when he sensed Min’s hand on his wrist and then waist. With such a gesture, Yoon Seungho could only get more irritated. And here, our main lead only pushed his hand and insulted him by comparing the man with a mouse . His gestures towards our seme revealed something in my opinion. The waist is a very intimate place. It gave the impression that Min was interested in Yoon Seungho sexually. It was, as if this man wanted to become Yoon Seungho’s lover as well. The gesture is quite deceiving, which explains why Yoon Seungho thought that lord Min was wooing him. However, the protagonist was misinterpreting the gesture and interest. In truth the noble was lusting after the painter. This explains why Yoon Seungho was not sensing the danger coming from the “friend“. But then why doesn’t Jihwa feel threatened by him? Then remember that he grabbed Seunho’s wrist. A man in Asia will usually grab his girlfriend’s wrist. In other words, the man with the green robe was treating him like a woman (the waist, the wrist). Everything was pointing out that he wanted Seungho to be his uke. Yet, the reality is that he wanted to “screw“ the main lead. He wanted to ruin him out of jealousy. He desired to have the painter. “Screwing“ someone can have two different meanings. But there‘s more to it which I will explain more below

However, like I had really sensed right from the start, Min was in truth a seme, just like the protagonist, hence Jihwa never felt threatened by him. If I look back at chapter 33, his sexual role was implied, as he was smoking and still had his topknot on, just like Seungho, while the ukes in this scene had all their hair down. (Chapter 33) As conclusion, anyone observing the scene in chapter 41 would come to the conclusion, that this man wanted to have Seungho as lover, just like Jihwa, but in a different role. He would like to be the top. As conclusion, the lord Min was a seme who seemed to be interested in Seungho. Thus he considered Baek Na-Kyum and the red-haired master as rivals, whom he needed to eliminate. And that‘s how Yoon Seungho perceived his gesture and words in the woods. This explicates why he compared him to Lee Jihwa. In the main lead’s mind, Black Heart was paying attention to his every moves and was always updated about his interactions with the painter out of jealousy. The reality is that Min was terribly envious of the main lead. His real center of interest was in truth Baek Na-Kyum. Thus he kept looking at him during their first meeting. (Chapter 8) (chapter 9)

However, the chapter 43 revealed more information about the master Min and his personality.

Here Min is manipulating Jihwa with his words.

The readers could realize his dangerosity here. Why? First, it was revealed that this seme knew all along about Jihwa’s feelings for Seungho, and he played with them. He enjoyed toying the red-haired aristocrat. Black Heart misled the childhood friend so that the latter would run to Seungho’s mansion, especially if you recall that during the same night, Yoon Seung-Won visited his brother. This explains why he lied in the inn. The noble with the mole knew about the deception, as he had a drop of sweat on his face. (Chapter 36) Naturally, here Kim had played a huge role in this deception too, as he allowed to leak information to the red-haired master’s servant. (Chapter 41) Yet, Min knew that Jihwa wouldn’t be able to resist and run to the lord’s mansion. He had already calculated that the childhood friend would discover the truth. He would be hurt and realize his mistake. He even ridiculed Jihwa by comparing him to a dog. (chapter 43) Here, he reminded me of Seungho with his sarcasm and his ironical comments from chapter 6. (chapter 6) He enjoys making fun of Jihwa and is as cunning as Seungho, though in reality the main lead‘s true personality is totally different. (Chapter 43)

Consequently, I couldn’t help myself associating Min to a snake… he was like the devil, inciting the stupid Jihwa to commit a murder. I would even say that he was employing the red-haired noble as his hunting dog. In my first version, I had suspected the man before to be jealous, as he was the one who had even asked Seungho to bring the painter to one of their sex parties. (Chapter 33) It was, as if he wanted to ensure that the artist meant nothing to the protagonist. As you can see, the vicious man gave the impression that he was jealous of the painter. His reproach towards the main lead sounded similar to the childhood friend’s. (Chapter 18) (chapter 41) It was, as if he wanted to play with Jihwa and get rid of Baek Na-Kyum at the same time. The latter is viewed as a source of danger, for Min keeps thinking about him. The noble considered the artist as a witch who put a spell on him, Here, he was projecting his own thoughts. (Chapter 43) It looked like both ukes represented a threat. He was definitely using Jihwa so that if anything would go wrong, only the red-haired aristocrat would be blamed. The man with the black heart tried to diminish the consequences of the murder. He said that the murder should look like an accident, hence this attempted murder can never happen at the mansion. Back then, I had envisioned that they would wait, until Baek Na-Kyum left the mansion, and this expectation was proven correct.

Now it becomes clear why the man with the black heart is doing such a thing. Although Min claims that he wants to be entertained, when he lied to Jihwa in the past, he had already prepared to set the trap for Jihwa. He knew where to hire the killer. (Chapter 43) He had already anticipated Jihwa’s reaction. While Min declared that it was funny, when Jihwa came crying, he added that he was disappointed that he only saw just tears. He wanted him to “come with his tail between his legs”. (chapter 43) And this outlines his cruelty. It was, as if he was “castrated”, had lost his masculinity and virility. As you can see, the guy was making fun of Jihwa and even insulting him. But the latter didn’t pay attention to these words, too wounded by the scene he had witnessed in the study of his friend. By acting like that, he gave the impression that he didn’t care. In truth, it exposed the antagonist’s naivety. He even didn’t see any danger coming from the man with the black heart.

But striking is that after Jihwa’s arrival, he proposed right away to the noble to have Baek Na-Kyum killed. He was indeed acting like a jealous man. (Chapter 43) Now, Yoon Seungho was neglecting him. But in order to convince the upset red-haired noble, Min added more fuel to the fire with his comments:
– His childhood friend had been bewitched
– At some point Baek Na-Kyum would become Seungho’s mistress
He was implying that the red-haired aristocrat was on the verge of losing his love. All this pointed out that the guy was manipulating Jihwa to ensure that the latter would decide to kill the lowborn. That’s the reason why we saw Jihwa’s imagination of that night. The Joker‘s words distorted the memory from the red-haired master. (Chapter 43) The words the man with the green robe said had a huge influence on him. Not only his mind is black, but also his heart which outshines this man’s evilness and dangerousness. Let us not forget that he is a seme… but since he has been forced to be the bottom because of Yoon Seungho, all his actions can be judged in a different light. People could see him as someone who has been longing to become the main lead‘s lover. Thus he said this in season 2: (chapter 52) and in season 3 (chapter 92) But this was just a deception, his real target was the painter. However, after season 3, I realized that in truth, Black Heart had only been a puppet himself, though Min seemed to be like a personification of the devil… his lies, his words in order to incite Jihwa to commit a crime, his words ridiculising Jihwa and even Seungho.

Some questioned this perception in the beginning, for when Min appeared in chapter 8, he was an uke, he couldn’t be a top.

chapter 8

But the readers were overlooking that the main lead got raped and he even used to be a bottom. So roles can be switched. It becomes obvious, when you read this scene. (Chapter 16) Here, the main lead desired to discover the painter’s sexual preferences. So when Min stroke the main lead’s waist, he never realized the true signification of his action. (Chapter 41) The main lead could only assume that Min was interested in him, he wished to become his only partner. Deep down, he desired to become the top, but since Yoon Seungho was not willing to change his position, Black Heart was willing to remain a uke. Note that Min invited the main lead in chapter 19 to the kisaeng house, and offered him wine, right after the main lead had cut ties with his childhood friend. (Chapter 19) It was, as if he was wooing him, hoping to take over Lee Jihwa’s place. Then in chapter 33, Min is the one asking for Baek Na-Kyum.

chapter 33: look, he is dressed and acting like Seungho, which gives me the impression that he is a top.

Striking are his words: “We would have all welcome him”… In the first version of this essay, I had demonstrated, that these words were the proof that Min was in fact a seme, but he was only a uke because of Yoon Seungho. The second season proved me right. He wanted Seungho to bring over Baek Na-Kyum so that they could taste him… I doubt that they would have allowed the painter to be a top. especially when sex sessions are viewed as battles. However, every action from Min were in fact ambiguous. He gave the impression that he was happy to be favored by Yoon Seungho (chapter 33), he would seek his company (chapter 51) (chapter 52) and he was jealous of the painter, for the protagonist was only paying attention to him.
As you can see, due to his words and actions, Min created the illusion that he wished to taste Yoon Seungho, especially when he acts like a hunter. Imagine how his reputation would change if Min was able to tame Seungho and have him become an uke. Min is a player and hunter because of his behavior and words (hunting scene, his offer, his manipulation with lies etc)… Thus, you comprehend why in my first version, I had the impression that his real target was not the painter, but Seungho. It was caused by the ambiguity of his actions. Striking is that in the shaman’s house, he never tried to taste the painter at all. He even allowed the other nobles to taste the painter first. (Chapter 101) Note that he even pushed Lee Jihwa to become a top. (Chapter 100) It was, as if Min was not interested in the painter at all. His true goal was to get rid of Lee Jihwa and Baek Na-Kyum, his rivals. But we know the truth… Black Heart wished to be noticed by Baek Na-Kyum, thus he said this to him in the shaman’s house: (chapter 99) But if he wanted to become his lover as uke, he would be not different from Jihwa. However, this man is definitely not seeking for Seungho’s love. His actions and words don’t fit the profile of an uke, of a person longing for Seungho’s love, rather he fits the profile of a hunter and player.

After season 3, I came to realize the cause for this contradicting attitude. In my eyes, Black Heart was already acting on the king’s behalf. The mysterious lord Song wished to keep the famous sodomite as his lover/wife, and the painter represented a hindrance. Using Lee Jihwa was the perfect tool to achieve his goal. He would get rid of two rivals at the same time. Yoon Seungho would blame his childhood friend for the painter‘s death, once alone again, the king could approach Yoon Seungho. Thus the latter was treated as a prey by Min in each season. But while he used the artist as an excuse to hunt his prey, the hell-raiser, he couldn‘t admit that he wanted to have the painter for himself. Baek Na-Kyum was a commoner. What appeared as a tool, became slowly a goal. (Chapter 56) But Min was still in denial, hence he justified his requests as an urge, while he was also longing for the painter’s affection.

Due to his words and the color of his robe, master Min reminded me of the snake in the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the one who brought misery to Adam and Eva, here in this case this seme is leading Jihwa to his own demise. Hence I came to develop this theory that Min would become the villain of the second season. My interpretation was just based on my own knowledge and European background. Striking is that this man persuaded Jihwa that nothing would happen to him, Baek Na-Kyum was a commoner and if this looked like an accident, then he wouldn’t get caught. (Chapter 43) And remember that Jihwa is a noble… and in the bible, God got aware of Adam’s original sin, hence the latter was banished from paradise. Thus I had been expecting that Lee Jihwa would lose his title as noble, as his crime would be discovered. And this prediction became true which the author revealed in the creator‘s note.

Finally, I would like to point out that Seungho compared Min to a mouse indicating that Seungho didn’t consider him as a threat, he even saw Min as harmless. (chapter 41) A mouse is small and has no real claws. This shows that Yoon Seungho was underestimating him, but also was misinterpreting Black Heart’s action. He was acting like a jealous concubine, thus he compared him to Lee Jihwa. Here, we had the impression that the protagonist was well prepared. He thought, he knew why Min asked him to bring the painter for their sex party and why the lord Min asked about the veracity of the rumor about the incident at the tailor shop. But no… he didn‘t detect the longing and envy from Black Heart towards the painter. I compared him to a snake due to his cunning behavior and his cynical and seductive words… But the reality was that he was a fool himself, for he had no idea about Yoon Seungho‘s past. The abduction did occur and this twice, but note that Min had to become involved himself in order to achieve his goal. The irony is that when Min said this to Yoon Seungho (chapter 102), he was again giving the impression that he had acted like a jealous man who was longing for Yoon Seungho‘s attention. He had acted like a vicious concubine, but in Joseon, „jealous concubine or queen“ would get sentenced to death, like the Queen Yun and the concubine Jang Ok-Jun. (chapter 101) No one in his right mind would torment a loved one like that. Yoon Seungho was not recognizing what jealousy and envy are and what these emotions could trigger people to do! Black Heart would torment Baek Na-Kyum, for the latter was rejecting him. So imagine the king‘s reaction, when he discovers that Min got killed. (Chapter 102) First, he lost his loyal helping hand, secondly he got misled and even betrayed by Lee Jihwa. In other words, the opposite had happened. Instead of obtaining Yoon Seungho, the king lost his “wife“ who decided to kill himself. To conclude, the villain from season 2 and 3 was in reality a pawn, the shadow of the true villain, lord Song. This explicates why Min‘s behavior was particularly ambiguous in season 1… All his actions and words could be perceived as a jealous man who desired to become Yoon Seungho‘s top!! The king would have never approved such a thing! And this could be the other reason why he will vent his anger on the Lees.

Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.

Painter Of The Night: The chamber where everything changed

~ Bébébisous33 ~ Leave a comment

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/

In this analysis, I will compare two major scenes (chapters 20-21 versus chapters 41-42), which happened both in Baek Na-Kyum’s study and chamber. In this chamber, our main lead, Yoon Seungho, has sex with the painter BNK.

The moment the lord Yoon Seungho forced the painter to live in his mansion, the latter was sent to the room next to Yoon Seungho’s bedchamber. One of the reasons for this was that it was much easier for BNK to enter the lord’s chamber in order to paint the erotic scenes. However this also outlined the special status the noble gave him. The noble would have never let someone live close to him whom he didn’t trust. He knew that the painter represented no thread to him.

Now, you are wondering why these scenes should be compared to each other. First, both scenes mark a turning point in the relationship between the lord and the painter. Secondly, through the comparison, you get a better understanding of the chapter 42 and why it also illustrates a crucial moment for the painter, whereas the chapters 20-21 marked a pivotal moment for Yoon Seungho.

What caught my attention was the way both scenes showed so many parallels. Let us a take closer look:

  1. both scenes were predated with an argument between the painter and the teacher Jung In-Hun. In the picture below, you can observe Seungho witnessed from far away how BNK got upset. chapter 19

The lord can not hear the content of the conversation but he observes that Baek Na-Kyum is hurt and upset due to the teacher. The latter has just discovered that the invitation and the support from Yoon Seungho has nothing to do with Jung In Hun’s abilities. Then he resents the low-born. In the chapter 41, Yoon visits the painter’s study because he heard from the servants that the painter wouldn’t leave his room and would keep painting without eating much. As you can see, the lord pays a lot of attention to the mental health of the painter. He knows from the way BNK is acting that something is wrong. The reason for BNK’s strange behavior is that BNK had just heard before from Jung In Hun that he was born to be a prostitute. His love for In Hun was so pure and for the teacher, BNK was just a prostitute.

The quarrel started because the painter asked the teacher what would happen to him, once the learned sir would succeed the civil service examination. The scholar refused to take any responsibility for the commoner, as he claimed that he was already experiencing a huge change and getting a lot of benefit from Yoon Seungho. The artist had to hear from the one whom he admired the most that he was just a prostitute in his eyes. (chapter 40) The main lead was definitely hurt. Nonetheless, Seungho never witnessed their conversation, unlike in the chapter 19. And in this chapter (19), the rich lord thought that the expensive bottle of wine that had disappeared had been snatched by the painter due to his emotional state. Since the aristocrat had already figured it out that the painter was upset, he decided to visit the artist’s chamber. In other words, in both cases, the lord showed some concern about the painter, and wanted to keep an eye on him. At the same time, he desired to discover the truth about the missing bottle of wine

2. In both scenes, the painter made the first move on Seungho, which contrasts so much to the artist’s normal behavior. The latter has always kept pushing away the rich lord. He always tried to avoid his touch and even his gaze.

chapter 19: here notice his gaze. He never expected a kiss from the artist.

In the chapter 42, BNK didn’t kiss the lord right away, he asked Seungho first to hold him. However, there was no reaction from the lord, since BNK had yelled at the noble before which led Seungho to slap the painter for his disrespect. Unlike in the chapter 20-21, there was no quarrel between the lord and the painter… but there was a huge misunderstanding. BNK mistook YSH for the teacher and thought, Jung In Hun was visiting, hence he kissed him. Back then, he was under the influence of alcohol, yet this revealed his deepest wish. He wanted to confess his love for the teacher. Striking is that in both kisses, Seungho keeps his eyes opened.

chapter 41

In the chapter 20, he was surprised and shocked, in the other chapter he is uncertain about the kiss. He has no idea why the crying, visibly upset BNK is asking for his embrace. Nonetheless, BNK’s kisses did affect Seungho whom I have been described in another post as someone detached and emotionless. While he criticizes the painter’s kiss in the chapter 42, this would not arouse him, in the earlier chapter he made no complaint. He saw it as an opportunity to finally taste the painter. He was not annoyed by the lack of inexperience unlike in the chapter 41. However, both kisses have something in common. Both outline BNK’s innocence and purity. These kisses are not here to excite the partner but to express a deep and pure love (chapter 19) or to ask for warmth and comfort (chapter 41).

3. The other similarity is the presence of Jung In Hun in that chamber, although the teacher is not physically there. In the chapter 19, the love confession BNK made was actually addressed to Jung In Hun and not Seungho. Furthermore, BNK kept calling Seungho “my learned sir” and that’s how the painter used to call his beloved teacher. Since BNK was drunk, he mistook the wealthy lord for his loved one. I would even say that BNK is actually imagining JIH’s presence. He is not really seeing the teacher as the author gave us a few pictures from BNK’s perspective. It was as if he wished, the teacher would be there. He drank so much in order to drown his sorrows but to be more precise, he drank in order to escape from reality, like he was in ecstasy. He preferred living in an illusion than facing the reality that the teacher has never loved him and will never loved him. For BNK, this night is like a dream. In other words, this night where BNK lost his virginity was an illusion and a dream. That’s why at the end, he cried out of happiness and even told Seungho that he was happy. But for Seungho, this night had another signification. First, he thought that it wasn’t too bad if BNK mistook him for JIH as he could finally taste the painter. However, as time passed on, he could no longer bear hearing from BNK “learned sir” hence he proposed BNK to call him “lord”. As you can see, the shadow of JIH in the room did bother Seungho. And for Seungho, this night in the chapter marked a pivotal moment as well. He heard a pure and innocent love confession and at the end, when BNK told him that he was so happy and his heart was full, Seungho’s heart was moved and touched. I doubt that Seungho had ever heard before that he could make someone happy. Since BNK had kept his virginity intact for his loved one and confessed to Seungho indirectly, this night gives the readers the impression of a wedding night. Back then, the husband usually joined the bride much later. But the problem here is that all this was also an illusion and a dream for Seungho as everything said and done was addressed to the learnt sir and not to our main lead. This explains why our seme is looking for a renewal of this night later.

As I had mentioned before, in both scenes the readers felt the presence of In Hun in this chamber. In chapter 41, his shadow is indicated by the drawing,

Notice Seungho’s reaction: his gaze shows his displeasure and shock.

Although the painter is kissing him and even asking him to embrace him, the lord refuses and becomes even angry at the low-born. He doesn’t want to become intimate with the painter because this is related to Jung In Hun. Our seme is even quite brutal and even grabs BNK’s hair. He even criticizes BNK’s kiss saying that with such a move he can not be excited. But this rejection from the lord doesn’t even upset the painter, hence he becomes more proactive. He grabs Seungho’s loin, undresses himself (chapter 41), he would have sex with the seme without any preparation. The lord is actually surprised by BNK’s actions because this doesn’t resemble him at all. He acts as a prostitute that’s why Seungho asks if the teacher has talked the painter into it.

But by comparing these two scenes, I noticed some differences as well. We can observe a huge contrast between these two scenes. While earlier, Seungho was just looking for sex, he found love or better said, he tasted the illusion of love and enjoyed it very much. Baek Na-Kyum was a virgin, totally inexperienced and innocent who asked the noble to be careful with him. And in chapter 41-42, the opposite is happening. The artist is actually acting like a prostitute… it was, as if he was looking for sex but this is not what Seungho wants. I say prostitute because BNK is acting as if he was doing a job and not seeking love and affection. He considers himself as a prostitute as he has received support from the lord all this time and he thinks that Seungho has always perceived him as such. There is no seduction in this scene as BNK has been “forced to prostitution”. Actually, the painter’s words contradict his words and his actions. He doesn’t say that he wants sex because he keeps begging for the lord’s embrace. Being hold is connected to warmth and affection. And here, the reader can feel the pain and despair from the painter. Jung In Hun’s words (“you are born as a prostitute”) are still in his mind. Here, BNK is doing the exact opposite of the night in the chapter 20. He is no longer running away from the reality and living in an illusion, BNK wants to face the reality. The slap from Seungho should be considered as a wake up call. Baek Na-Kyum can not ignore the lord’s status, he can not mistake him for someone equal to him. In both scenes, BNK overlooked the lord and this is not what Seungho wants. He wants to be perceived as the person he is: a lord who worries about the painter.

Then in order to underline the contrast between both scenes, while their first night took place during the night, the kiss in chapter 41-42 happens during the day. As you can see, the time reinforces the idea of illusion (chapter 20-21) and of reality (chapter 41-42). So since the artist is facing reality, he has decided to follow his lord’s orders (painting erotic pictures) and he acts as a prostitute, because he really believes what Jung In Hun said before. He is taking the teacher’s words as face value, while in verity Jung In-Hun has no idea that Yoon Seungho is treating BNK more like a lover and even “wife”. Back then, it was a custom that the lord visits the chamber of the wife and concubine. But the artist is not really aware of all this. And just like in the chapter 20, the aristocrat is annoyed and even jealous of the place the learned sir has in Baek Na-Kyum’s mind and heart.

Another difference is that in the chapter 20 Seungho wanted to sleep with BNK right away and BNK had to stop him. The painter had to confess his virginity and his fear and this confession surprised the lord as he never expected this from the low-born. Since the painter came from a gisaeng house and would paint sodomy, he naturally thought, he had experienced. In the chapter 42, Seungho does the opposite. While BNK wants to start right away, the noble questions BNK’s behavior and points out the need of preparation. And this difference out lines the special care the lord has for the painter. He really determines not to hurt BNK physically, while the latter doesn’t care at all. Like I had mentioned before, the physical pain is to replace the emotional pain.

Striking is that even in the chapter 42, their first night is even mentioned. The painter confesses that he did enjoy the night, he even concedes that he likes painting such erotic pictures. Since he is facing reality, BNK admits for the first time his homosexuality which had been suppressed by the teacher all this time. But at the same time, he is admitting that he is a prostitute which is shown through his actions. However, he can’t even say this to the lord. What caught my attention was the contrast between these scenes when it comes to eloquence. Although BNK was drunk in the chapter 20-21, his confession was well spoken (“I admire you”, “I pine for you”), in the chapter 42 he is neither sick nor drunk, yet he is unable to talk properly. He stutters and can’t even finish his sentences “I’m… a …”). The pain is so strong that he is left speechless.

He is so hurt that he wants to have rough sex (“harder”, “so it’s all the way in”). He wants to be physically hurt so that he can no longer feel any pain in his heart. It was as if he wanted to erase the words In Hun spoke from his mind. Hence he says “So I can’t think of anything else”. Strangely, BNK’s gesture and position show the change in their relationship. He is now facing the lord, he even grabs the noble’s hand and puts it on his stomach. It is such an intimate gesture outlining that this is much more than senseless sex. BNK has not realized the contradiction between his words (“harder”/ “to hold me”) and his actions (grabbing his loin/putting the hand on his stomach). We can see that BNK is actually lost and confused.

However, just like the night from the chapter 20 changed everything for Seungho, this night changes everything, as BNK is no longer running away from reality. (chapter 42) He is no longer suppressing his homosexuality and he is accepting to have Seungho by his side. Just thinking about In Hun causes pain to the painter here, while he was in ecstasy in the chapter 20. He even wrinkled the painting of the ceremony with In Hun which shows the huge pain in his heart. (chapter 41) For him, paintings are treasures. This gesture reveals some changes in BNK. The painter is well aware that the teacher has abandoned him as the former doesn’t want to assume any responsibility. Therefore, his disrespect for the picture is a sign of disrespect for the teacher. Although he has internalized In Hun’s words and views, he is so affected that he no longer admires In Hun like before. In the chapter 42, he no longer calls Jung In Hun “learned sir” but “my teacher” which illustrates that BNK no longer views IH as a noble (“sir”) but as a simple teacher. He only sees Jung In Hun in his actual position and not as his social status. We all know that despite being a noble, JIH is not rich and influential. He belongs to the lower nobility. IH is no longer put on a pedestal. But BNK has still some respect for IH as he calls him “my teacher”. So there is still a string between the teacher and the painter but it is about to disappear.

There is another common denominator in both scenes: the tears. While the artist cries out joy and happiness in chapter 21, here his tears are linked pain and sorrow, as the artist is heartbroken. (chapter 42) This time, it is the lord who initiates the embrace, something the painter had been longing. (chapter 41) Yet, this request only got fulfilled at the end of the love-sex session, the main lead put the painter on his lap while kissing him and even embraced him in an desperate attempt to console the artist. Simultaneously, this shows that Seungho is longing for warmth, love and tenderness. But despite this night, Seungho is well aware that Baek Na-Kyum is not loving him. He has sex with him because BNK has confessed before that he has never hated the things he did with Seungho which represents a huge step for the lord.

However, the huge contrast is that Seungho is unaware of the reason for the artist’s distress and pain in chapter 41-42. He thought that it was related to the scholar’s departure. Hence he made no move on the painter, and was even a little rough, when he thought that the scholar had asked him to do such a thing. This reasoning illustrates that Yoon Seungho didn’t realize that the scholar had backstabbed the painter. He couldn’t recognize the true cause for the artist’s pain. At the same time, he failed to grasp that the artist had already moved on from the teacher. Besides, he never noticed that the artist had lied for him twice. He had feigned ignorance about the content of the conversation between the main lead and his brother. He had not betrayed his sponsor and host. (chapter 38) Striking is that the painter blamed himself. From my point of view, the painter’s confession could only wound the noble’s heart. (chapter 41) He had the impression that he was somehow responsible for the artist’s tears. Yet after this night, Yoon Seungho had sensed that something had changed in their relationship, just like Baek Na-Kyum’s relationship with the teacher had changed. Notice that this room is connected to betrayal, love, sex and pain.

In conclusion, this chamber is full of symbolism. Here, a noble could feel warmth and love for the first time, although it was just an illusion. Yet he became addicted. As for the artist, this room represents the place where he decided to confront reality. In this room, the lord joins the painter which seems to indicate the future position in the couple: Seungho is willing to meet the painter. The reason for the connection between the study and the change is that in that precise room, the lord had experienced the same: betrayal, sex, love and pain. In my opinion, this is where he got sexually abused.

Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My Reddit-Instagram-Tumblr-Twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.

Painter of The Night: Yoon Seungho: A tragic figure or a hell-raiser ? (second version)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 8 Comments

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/

It would be great if you could make some donations/sponsoring: Ko-fi.com/bebebisous33  That way, you can support me with “coffee” so that I have the energy to keep examining manhwas. Besides, I need to cover up the expenses for this blog.

The seme, Yoon Seungho, in this story is introduced with this expression “a hell-raiser” by the uke Baek Na-Kyum. The latter has heard about Seungho’s bad reputation. Strangely, the more chapters we read, the more we realize that our main lead is different from what he appears to be.
What caught my attention while reading this manhwa was the way Seungho stands, when he interacts with people. First of all, as a wealthy and influential noble, he sits far away from the others, not just from the servants. There is always some distance or a table between him and the others. Let me show you a few examples.

In the chapter 12, Jihwa visits the main lead without any appointment. In this scene, notice that Jihwa doesn’t sit next to the seme but in front of him. This underlines the gap between Seungho’s status and Jihwa. Furthermore, there is no physical contact between them at all. Even Seungho is looking outside the window, while talking to Jihwa, that’s how he sees Baek Na-Kyum and decides to go to him. In other words, although Jihwa is physically closer to Seungho, the reader can sense the existence of an invisible wall between him and Jihwa.

Chapter 12, Seungho drinking tea with Jihwa on the right

But this doesn’t happen just once. Even after the long night spent with BNK who got so sick, we see Seungho sitting in the center of the room after a sex orgy and it was as if his sex partners would be below him, as if they were all standing at his feet. In this chapter (33), they are all asking for BNK’s presence… their request underlines the special status Seungho has over them. At the end, Seungho decides to leave the room which shows that Seungho is no pushover and makes sure to maintain the distance between him and his sex partners.

This contrasts so much to the interaction between Seungho and BNK. Right from the start, there is no gap and distance. Remember the first chapter where Seungho took BNK’s hands and even let him touch his own loin. Later, you see him always touching the painter’s face. However, there is one scene that caught my eye, it is in the chapter 16. Jihwa and Seungho had just a sex session and Seungho decides to go to BNK’s side.

chapter 16

Notice the contrast between Seungho’s behavior in the chapter 12 and here. Seungho is not even closing his robe, he even lays down next to the painter. And he keeps asking questions. He is very relaxed in opposition to the scene where he is drinking some tea. The way he is dressed contrasts so much: his robe is loose and open, while he is well-dressed with Jihwa. While he maintains an air of nobility and oozes mind control in the chapter 12, here he gives the impression of cheerfulness. It was as if he was playing as he has BNK’s hairband in his hand and keeps looking at it. Notice the huge opposition: Seungho is lying on the ground next to the painter, while with Jihwa he was sitting in front of him. This gives an explanation why Jihwa is furious and jealous. Seungho has never really rushed to go to his side, he even ignores Jihwa who is about to leave.
This behavior outlines Seungho’s curiosity for the painter and his wish to be close to his idol. He definitely shows an interest towards BNk, while he remains quite indifferent to Jihwa and the others. In this scene, there is intimacy and closeness and this is no coincidence that the noble calls the painter Na-Kyum while whispering. He is quite intimate and reveals his need to close the gap between him and the painter. In other words, Seungho has a different attitude towards the painter. While he maintains a gap between him and his sex partners, he is doing the opposite with BNK. He is not indifferent but curios and quite cheerful. He even smiles.

This closeness and intimacy is even underlined one more time, when Seungwon, Seungho’s younger brother, pays him a visit. The latter announced him that their father was ill and our seme should pay him a visit. Although the painter is a low-born, he is actually sitting next to Seungho’s side, while the brother is facing him. This shows that Baek Na-Kyum is even closer to him than his own family. He let the painter hide his face, yet he didn’t even ask him to be dressed. (chapter 37:

The painter is even turning his back to the brother which shows a certain disrespect, nonetheless this was certainly ordered by our lord.

Then after this scene, Seungho shared his bed with Baek Na-Kyum for the first time. The lord was even hugging the painter and let us not forget that he always sent his sex partners right away after their love session. Striking is that both chapters 16 and 37 have something in common: the lord is the one pleasuring the low-born and not the other way around. So, here the lord shows rather an “inferior” position, although from his social status he is above Baek Na-Kyum. This indicates that the social norms have disappeared.

Then I observed another phenomenon. I noticed that Seungho was often shown in front of a window (chapter 12, chapter 44) or under a roof (chapter 19 :

chapter 30 :

Chapter 30: Yoon Seungho hears about the painter’s return,

while he keeps watching BNK who is standing outside. It appears to me that the author has an intention with Seungho’s position. I get the feeling that Seungho had stopped living after the incident with the topknot and the purgery. In the chapters mentioned above, the noble witnesses:
-the disappointment of BNK, when In Hun hears that he was invited due to the deal with the paintings.
– the departure of In Hun from his room, just like he looks at BNK returning from the gate.
– how BNK leaves his bedroom after the punishment.

Striking is that Seungho shows two different kind of behaviors:
– he remains passive and indifferent on the surface but can’t help thinking about the painter

chapter 44


– he rushes to BNK’s side (chapter 12, 30)

episode 30

and touches him right away. He grabs his wrist, or touches his head… there is always this physical contact which Yoon Seungho never has even outside their sex sessions. Usually, he acts like that, when he is upset and very emotional. In other words, BNK is able to change Seungho, as the former ignites reactions from Seungho. My interpretation is the following: The noble only watches life from his window, meddles more and more in people’s life due to BNK. Remember that after meeting Seungwon, it looks like Seungho sent a painting of himself with his sex partners to his father. So far, he had ignored his father and his brother.
The lord is less and less indifferent. I have the feeling that for the first time, he is no longer feeling empty. Even after the rape, he can’t help looking for BNK in the bathroom. He is angry, feels guilty and jealous. The violence of his emotions can only be explained by the fact that Seungho felt nothing for so long. He is not able to control his emotions, and this illustrates that Seungho is no longer an indifferent, passive and emotionless person, quite the opposite. Seungho needs to learn to control his emotions, something he forgot. And you can observe that as time passes on, Seungho is able to show more and more affection. The so-called loyal servant Kim told BNK that Seungho had mood swings, which I explain so. Seungho could be either violent and ruthless or indifferent/broody. When he killed the servant, he showed no fear, no remorse… he just did it without feeling anything, though his face lets transpire sadness. While killing the domestic, the lord tried not to take it to heart. But his violence has nothing to do with emotions first, only when Seungho started interacting with the painter. In the first chapter, the noble had even announced that he would kill someone, which outlines his lack of emotions and empathy. And this shows that his brutality is not inherent to Yoon Seungho. His violent outbursts are also linked to his suppressed anger and rage due to his past trauma, as he was forced to accept his fate. Hence he started cutting himself from emotions… but in reality, he was like a dormant volcano, and his eruptions were caused by BNK’s reactions.

From my point of view, Seungho is starting to live for real, and the sex he had before was a way for him to pass time. This would also explain why Seungho had problems with erections before (he needed to be prepared, to have replenishing medicine and even the erotic books in order to get a reaction). This also explains why Seungho refuses to join In Hun in reality. He has been detached from the world for so long, he has no interest in politics and whatsoever. However, I sense that Seungho will be forced to act outside his courtyard in the long run. Being indifferent and detached from the outside world, is not right, as we can see that Jihwa is about to have BNK killed and In Hun might try to hurt BNK in order to weaken Seungho. In Hun has not forgotten the humiliation and I am quite sure, he wants a payback for that. Seungho will be forced to handle.
At the end of this season, Seungho remains passive and indifferent on the surface, yet his gaze never leaves BNK and even with In Hun, he thinks about him. He is no longer a robot, but a human being seeking for love and recognition. He knows that BNK has given up on his crush hence he feels much more confident than before that’s why he mentions BNK to In Hun before the latter leaves for the capital.

But now, you are wondering why Yoon Seungho became such an distant, passive and rather indifferent man, who was feeling rather empty. I mentioned before that Yoon Seungho was suffering from a past trauma. His loyal servant once told our uke that the lord had a tragic and painful past. However, we don’t know anything specific. The reader is just aware that the son is estranged from the father. While reading the manhwa for a third time, I came to the following theory. Naturally, there is no guarantee that this theory is the story imagined by Byeonduck.

From the start, Seungho was not a sodomite but due to the discovered conspiracy, the father decided to have his son to take the blame in order to escape the purge and divert attention. He created the rumor that Seungho was a sodomite and put on a show. This would explain why the father dishonored his son in such a ostentative way: cutting off the topknot which is not just a humiliation but also symbolizes a castration. Another possibility is that the father somehow “sold” his eldest son in order to escape the purge so that Yoon Seungho got raped by a higher-up official. Both theories have in common that the father betrayed his eldest son for his own survival and in order to ensure that his son would never reveal their connection to the conspiracy, he ruined his son’s reputation by declaring him a sodomite and cutting him the topknot. Why not a sodomite from the start? (sorry for the repetition)

We shouldn’t forget that we heard the lord drinks a lot replenishing medicine, which is an aphrodisiac. Now, Baek Na-Kyum is drinking the same thing and notice his reaction: he was hard… The servant was helping his master this way. Notice how happy Seungho was, when he noticed Na-Kyum’s reaction. Seungho was just writing and Na-Kyum was already reacting. Secondly, we read from Jihwa that the latter always had to prepare Seungho (blowjob) in order to get aroused. (chapter 3)

Finally, right in the first chapter, Seungho confessed that only with Baek Na-Kyum’s book, he could get aroused right away. (chapter 1)
This would explain why Seungho resents his father and said to Seungwon that he was living by the father’s principle… which is living as a sodomite because his father ruined his reputation and life. The father betrayed the son, when he declared him a sodomite. With this move, the father made it impossible for the son to become an official with a high position.

But now, I would like to add new aspects. Actually, Seungho was not sent away because he was a sodomite. It was actually the opposite. The family left the domain and went to the countryside, leaving Seungho behind. And this new detail is quite important… it was as if the father wanted Seungho to become the head of the family Yoon and if the authorities decided to punish Yoon’s family, then Seungho would have become the target. Since the father had left the property to his son, if the police had come to arrest Yoon, then the family could have said that Seungho was the one responsible as he was living in the courtyard, but the family had cut ties with him as he was a sodomite. In other words, not only the father humiliated his son but he also tried to turn him into a real scapegoat. The father thought that Seungho would be the one to take the fall. Furthermore, while the family left, it is said that all the servants were replaced which is a clue that all of them were killed. And I have the impression that Seungho was forced to get rid of them if he wanted to survive. With no witness, Seungho could survive the purge, however he couldn’t kill the loyal servant who had been by his side all this time.

As conclusion, since the family left the family domain, it means, the father not only pushed all responsibilities on his eldest son Seungho but wanted to sacrifice him. The latter was the one who had to dirty his hand in a way to survive. That’s why he is suffering from insomnia and has often nightmares. This is much more terrible than what I wrote a few days ago. This explains why Seungho really hates his father and had his hand shaking, when the younger brother mentioned the father’s illness. With Seungwon’s visit, it becomes clear that the father has decided that it is time to return to the family domain hence if Seungho visits his father, this represents a reconciliation and marks the return of the Yoon. Since the brother smiled, while receiving the letter, it looks like it was a good sign for the father. At least, Seungho wrote a letter to the father… I can imagine that during all this time, Seungho ignored his family that’s why he never replied to the brother’s letter. I can imagine that the father is asking for a visit and will ask that Seungho helps his brother to become an official. I even suspect that since the father has been so cruel and selfish, that he wants from Seungho another sacrifice. Since Seungho has a bad reputation as a sodomite, he can not become an official, the father ruined his life. However, I have the impression that Seungho might have been close to the deceased grandfather who had a high position in the government. Jihwa mentioned like some others that the Yoon family was declining. The reason is that no one after the grandfather took up a government post, like Seungho mentioned it to In Hun in the chapter 6.

And here is another speculation from my side. Since according to Yoon Seungho, the father never had a position, it looks like the young man has either repressed that his prostitution helped his father to get a high position, or he has no idea that his father sold him as courtesan for his own career. We know for sure that father Yoon had a high position and was forced to resign. (chapter 37)

I was wondering if the grandfather considered his own son as not suited for a high government post, and wanted his grandson to follow his footsteps. Besides, I had the impression that there’s some secret behind Yoon Seungho’s birth, which would explain why his official father truly loathed him. When Yoon Seungho lost his position as courtesan, because he was framed for an incident, the father used this opportunity to save his skin and get rid of his own son: create the rumor, he was a sodomite, cut off his topknot and leave the domain to Seungho so that he would take the fall. Though the protagonist is smart and cunning, he has never perceived father Yoon’s actions and motivations, for he was always longing for recognition and love. Besides, the long exposure to physical and sexual abuse could only ruin the main lead’s sanity.

But now time has passed on, and the father wants his younger son Seungwon to become an official which would underline one more time the disdain and even hatred between the father and Seungho. (chapter 37) However, I doubt that Seungho will accept all of this, especially after having been put through all of this. Besides, he will want to protect Baek Na-Kyum. Remember that Seungho decided to take his responsibilities towards the painter. He took Na-Kyum’s virginity which the painter had reserved for the loved one and latter he put the red point on his forehead symbolizing that he was his bride. (chapter 40)

And this would explain why at the end of the season 1, it is revealed that the father received an erotic painting of Seungho having sex with 2 men. (Chapter 44) The eldest son is showing the father the consequences of his past actions. He is a notorious sodomite with no boundary and the father is responsible for this. This gesture illustrates that the young master doesn’t want to reconcile with his own father. Yoon Seungho definitely wants to hurt and infuriate his father. It was as if Seungho was saying: “See… this is what I have become due to you!!” On the other hand, the delivery of the ruined painting was orchestrated by the butler without the main lead‘s knowledge. (Chapter 37)

As conclusion, Yoon Seungho seems to be more a tragic figure, especially if my theory is true. The way he had been living was a way to cope his own traumas and suffering.

And this interpretation was confirmed in the second season: he got raped, then drugged and gangraped to finally become the king’s courtesan.

Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoy reading it, retweet it or push the button like (tumblr- reddit- Instagram- Twitter account: @bebebisous33). Thanks for reading and the support.

Painter Of The Night: “The first meeting between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum: the prelude of a special relationship”

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 14 Comments

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/

For the first time, I’ll analyse a manhwa and this under different aspects. Just like in my other essays, this is not a summary of the story written and drawn by Byeonduck. A manhwa is the korean version of a manga. The huge difference between the manga and the manhwa is that the latter are usually in colors. “The painter of the night” caught my interest not just because of the beautiful drawings but because of the depth of the story. The characters are well-written. Actually, I just hope that after reading this post, your interest will be picked so that you want to start to read the manhwa.

If we pay attention to the first chapter, when Yoon Seungho, a wealthy and influential lord, and Baek Na-Kyum, a painter of erotic books about sodomy, met for the first time, we will realize that right from the start the painter already occupies a huge place in the lord’s mind and heart.
The moment Baek Na-Kyum confirms his identity, you can observe a huge change in the lord’s behavior.

Seungho turns into an innocent and enthusiastic noble which contrasts so much to the introduction of the young lord in an earlier scene. In the beginning of the first chapter, the young lord was taking care of his sword while talking to his domestic. In this scene, he already announced that someone would get killed. As conclusion, the lord was introduced as a distant, indifferent, serious and cold-hearted master. When he meets the young painter, we see not only a smiling Seungho, but also a warm and touchy lord. He grabs the painter’s hands and treats them as treasure, although he was quite rough. It’s because he can’t restrain his admiration.

He sees Baek Na-Kyum as a talented painter, he even doesn’t care if the painter was caught drunk and if he is a low-born. The contrast between Seungho’s two different behaviors reinforces the impression that he has a very high esteem for the author of the paintings. His respect for the young man goes further. He even lets the painter touch his loins, which represents a very intimate part.

Imagine, a noble lets a low-born touch his penis right after their first meeting. If Jihwa, a sex partner in love with Yoon Seungho, had been there, he would have been shocked. As you can see, their first meeting outlines that the painter has a special place in his mind and heart. But so far, he is only moved by his works. Yet, this emotional meeting ends very abruptly as BNK denies to the creator of these paintings. And in one moment, the noble’s mood switched to the opposite… as much as he was enthusiastic, as much as he becomes ruthless and heartless. He kills a servant in front of the painter. He can’t risk to kill Baek Na-Kyum because if it is revealed later that he had lied, then he wouldn’t never get any new pictures. And this illustrates the huge value the paintings have in Seungho’s heart.

Pay attention to the gaze of the protagonist. His eyes are showing his true feelings: anger, frustration, determination but also harshness. Imagine that his friendly attitude towards the painter was genuine but Baek Na-Kyum refused to tell him the truth. The dishonesty of the artist truly upsets the young master. Let us not forget that Seungho went so far to pay a visit to the painter, even he even sat down next to him. As you can see, the lord already lowered himself so much and the result for all this was a lie and insincerity. Let us not forget that Yoon Seungho is not someone who will usually visit other nobles. As conclusion, right from the start Seungho’s actions and behavior revealed how much the creator of the paintings meant to him. I mean, he could have sent someone to fetch the artist but he didn’t. He will do anything to get the creator by his side… it was, as if he couldn’t live without the painter any longer. For one year, BNK didn’t paint anything and it shows that Seungho needed new paintings from the author and searched for him desperately. I have the impression that he realized that the paintings were not enough any longer. He needed the painter by his side. I even suspect that BNK’s paintings had somehow become an addiction for the lord. This addiction is somehow insinuated in the following picture:

Then let us not forget that Seungho has an erection, when he meets his idol and we shouldn’t forget that Jihwa said later that he usually needed to prepare Seungho. So the mere presence of his idol has an effect on his body, Seungho is touchy and smiling… and keeps looking into BNK’s eyes the whole time.

Now let us focus on Baek Na-Kyum’s behavior. The first thoughts coming to the author are the rumors about Seungho’s bad reputation. He is unable to perceive the honesty coming from the young lord, just like the genuineness in the compliments. It was as if he was deaf and blind. In fact, there is an explication for this behavior. He has gotten used to the falsehood coming from the teacher Jung In-Hun. The painter has not learnt to perceive deception from honesty and frankness. The teacher’s manipulations and brainwashing are the cause for his mistake.

Due to these observations, I can’t help myself comparing BNK’s adoration for his teacher In Hun with Seungho’s admiration for BNK. Seungho acts the same way in this scene than BNK who adores his teacher. However, there is a huge difference… Seungho reveals that he is also physically attracted by the painter… his works and his presence affect his body, while the painter’s adoration for In-Hun remains very pure. It was, as if BNK would worship an idol and the mere touch would tarnish his idol.

And this explains why Seungho gets more and more upset and so jealous of In Hun. Imagine, your own idol ignores your compliment (“These are the talented hands”) and even shows no respect for you (he lies, he tries to touch the lord in order to get back the poem, he wants to run away twice). BNK even blushes by the mere thought of In Hun, whereas BNK shows no such reaction for Seungho in the beginning. Our seme was definitely happy to see BNK getting an erection or blushing more and more often, as Seungho had all these reactions (more or less: Seungho never blushes) right from the start. Finally, his hope that his idol will acknowledge him seems to come true.

And this also gives us a clue why Seungho was so determined to be painted by BNK. Imagine, you are the source of the inspiration of your idol. As a fan, you would be so happy. But this also explains why he even wanted to have BNK portrayed with him,

chapter 25

as time passed on. Then it is like a selfie nowadays, where a fan wants to be in the same picture than his idol. And to have a sexual relationship with an idol represents the highlight for a fan…

Sure, Seungho is not just a fan… he has fallen in love with Baek Na-Kyum for real, as he got to know the painter. More importantly, Seungho’s heart was deeply moved by their first night together. I believe that BNK’s love confession touched his heart:

– “I pine for you Sir”

The fact that he preserved his virginity for his loved one was a huge surprise for Seungho. Imagine, your idol tells you such words… it was always what Seungho had wanted. However, this scene is bittersweet, as the lord knew that he was not the real recipient of this love confession. That’s why Seungho had been longing to renew this night but this time, Seungho would receive love, respect and admiration from his idol. This is the reason why Seungho waited so patiently. He showed care and respect towards the painter hoping that BNK would realize this and show the same respect and admiration. But it never happened. Only in front of Baek Na-Kyum, the lord showed his real true self: his sincerity was there, when they met. He showed so many different emotions in front of the painter.

As conclusion, Yoon Seungho showed right from the beginning that he could be sincere and warm. At the same time, the first episode reveals that the painter is already able to awaken so many emotions in Yoon Seungho: happiness, admiration, anger, frustration and even sexual desires. The lord could no longer hide behind his harshness and indifference. On the other hand, we see that Baek Na-KYum can’t see this nice and genuine side of the young master, too blinded by Jung In-Hun faked smile and by his manipulations. So even at the end of the first season, Baek Na-Kyum has not really realized how deeply Seungho has fallen in love with him. So I am expecting in the second season that Baek Na-Kyum will little by little discover Seungho’s true personality and simultaneously perceive his love.

Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My Reddit- Instagram-Tumblr-Twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.