Protected: Painter Of The Night: Bittersweet memories 📸
Category: Chapter 21
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Hide in Plain Sight
Protected: Painter Of The Night: A guided tour of Yoon Seungho‘s domain🏡 (second version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night/Doctor Frost: A man of exceptional greed 🤑 (second version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: A stranger in the study! 👣 👣(Second version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: The Power and Pleasure of Possessions (second version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: The dragon and the shaman 👹 (fourth version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: The sun is down 🌇(second version)
Painter Of The Night: Tears 😥 and characters – part 1 (Version with only 10 pictures)
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/
I mostly used the following website as a source of inspiration: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/tears
What caught my attention in chapter 76 was Min’s tear combined with the laugh 
(chapter 76) which was totally new in the manhwa. We never saw such a combination: a single tear with a laugh. Moreover, for the first time, The Joker had shed a tear. The manhwalovers will certainly recall that so far, we had tears of happiness (chapter 21) and sadness 
, (chapter 59) but never tears out of laughing.😂🤣 Therefore I came to recognize the significance of this scene. First, it divulged a lot about Black Heart’s personality, and announced a turning point in his life. At the same time, this observation gave me a new idea, which I will elaborate in the second part. Striking is that until now, I had examined the painter and Jihwa’s tears, yet I had never focused on this topic itself. Hence in this analysis, I would like to study not only the weeping of the characters, but also the absence of their tears.
But before beginning with the real topic, it is necessary to define tears and their origins. There exist three types of tears:
- Basal tears: This is a normal and vital function in order to keep our eye moist.
- Reflex tears: They are triggered, when you get something in the eye, or when you cut an onion.
- Emotional tears: These are the tears, when one is overcome with emotions (sadness, joy, eg.) Striking is that these tears are richer than the two others. They contain proteins and hormones like endorphin. The latter serves to relieve stress. The fact that these tears are richer is important, because like I had mentioned in my analysis about Jihwa (Water and fire -part 1), the red-haired aristocrat’s tears are a signal of the revival of his eyes. From that moment on, he is less blind. That’s why I associated tears to life, especially if you combine it to water. Without water, there’s no life.
1. Tears and pride
The connection between tears and life is relevant, because it explains why Jung In-Hun is never seen crying. He has a heart of stone. Consequently, Byeonduck drew the learned sir next to a rock in two occasions: (chapter 6) and 
(chapter 22). The rock is a metaphor of his heart: he will remain cold-hearted. Striking is that even after the humiliation during the hunt, he never shed a tear. He was only frustrated and angry at his opponent and sponsor. His huge ego had been hurt by the main lead’s mockery, but despite his wound, he chose to look up to the sky, apparently waiting that fate/karma would punish the wealthy noble for his wrongdoing. This outlines that the learned sir still believed in his superiority. In other words, Yoon Seungho had not reduced the scholar to tears with his words, which stands in opposition to the second lead’s reactions.
“To reduce someone to tears”: to cause a person to cry through insults, frustration and belittling” quoted from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/reduce+(one)+to+tears
In chapter 18, the main lead had reduced Lee Jihwa to cry through his reproaches and belittling. 
(chapter 18)
This huge difference between the two figures (Lee Jihwa and Jung In-Hun) shows that the childhood friend is still a human despite his egoistic and prideful attitude. He was overcome with negative emotions (pain, sadness, frustration and anger), while the other only feels resent and anger. Hence through this expression (“reduce to tears”), the manhwalovers can recognize the connection between pride and tears. And if you compare both situations, you’ll notice that during their argument, the main lead lowered himself and faced his childhood friend.
This reveals that the true intention of Yoon Seungho was not to humiliate his ex-lover per se. He didn’t desire to show his superiority to him. He had acted in the moment after witnessing Jihwa’s outburst. The former felt betrayed, as the second lead had acted behind his acts on different occasions (the spy, the slapping of Baek Na-Kyum, the ruined painting). Yoon Seungho still showed a certain respect towards his ex-partner by sending him away accompanied with a servant. Note that in the woods, he left the low noble on his knees without looking back. In other words, he showed no remorse towards Jung In-Hun, while it was not the case with Jihwa. There’s no doubt that the noble was indeed moved by Jihwa’s tears. However, it wasn’t obvious, because he didn’t touch his face and wipe his tears. The readers can only grasp it, when they compare both scenes (18-22). Through this comparison, I recognized that Jihwa’s tears were connected to his wounded pride. It becomes even more evident in chapter 21. It was, as if the red-haired second lead had an outburst. We have to envision that he literary burst into tears.
“Burst into tears: to begin suddenly to cry” quoted from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/burst+into+tears
This explosion of emotions is visible, as the lord ruined his room.
He broke out to tears. And note that in that moment he was standing with a sword in his hand, another evidence that his tears were triggered by his frustration and bruised ego mixed with sadness and anger. And now, you comprehend why he represent a negative reflection of Baek Na-Kyum, the latter embodying humbleness and modesty. However, unlike the scholar, Jihwa was slowly learning his lesson and as such changing. Since the low noble’s heart is made of stone, he will never change in my opinion.
Jihwa reached the bottom, when he got confronted by Yoon Seungho at the tavern in chapter 57. He was not only pushed to the ground, but the latter was never able to stand up in front of his friend again, contrary to chapter 18. At the end, the second lead gathered his courage and confessed his love on his knees in front of commoners. And this truly outlines that Jihwa had finally realized that his bond with his childhood friend mattered more than his pride. He had to make a choice and selected affection over his ego. 
(chapter 57)
In addition, by comparing it with the episode 18, the manhwaworms can notice a divergence in the main lead’s attitude. Contrary to before, he no longer showed any respect towards his friend. He never lowered himself, but he was forced to sit down by valet Kim. For me, this is no coincidence, the sickness was a good excuse for the butler. If his master sat down, then the public humiliation would be lessened and as such, this would cause less ruckus. Important is that after his answer, Yoon Seungho left Lee Jihwa behind without paying attention to him. He never asked Kim to take care of his former lover. This displays that the gap between them had so much increased that their relationship would never be like before. This was even reinforced by the lord’s words: “Do not harbor any longing for me. There is not the slightest chance of my ever returning such sentiments.” (chapter 59)
Striking is that in the second season, Yoon Seungho was taught the same lesson by the painter. The former had to give up on his title and devalue himself in order to remain by Baek Na-Kyum’s side. That’s why in chapter 71, he called his lover Lord Na-Kyum and treated him as a master after that. But pay attention that the main lead never shed a tears due to his wounded ego. Yet this doesn’t mean that he is similar to the learned sir. In fact, the main character felt more like crying, when he was reminded of his past. 
(chapter 56). This signifies that his tears are not related to pride, but to his traumas. The lord can no longer weep due to the constant exposure to physical, mental and emotional pain. However, since he has been taught not cry in the presence of the butler, in chapter 56 it was, as if he was blinking back tears.
“to blink back tears: to try to stop oneself from crying” quoted from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/blink+back+tears
How do I come to this conclusion? It’s because the butler avoided his master’s gaze, when the latter threw the letter (chapter 56) He acted, as if nothing was happening. Furthermore, it was the butler who asked the painter to stop crying after the rape: “Would you stop crying? Your eyes will be sore later”.(chapter 26) And since the painter’s fate is to go through the same suffering than the rich noble, it signifies that the butler must have said the same thing to his master in the past. There’s no ambiguity that father Yoon must have a similar mind-set too.
2. Tears, pain and emotions
As you can see, Yoon Seungho isn’t still capable to cry, as he has long internalized that he is not allowed to show such emotions. In his past, he was coerced to repress his tears. He was forbidden to show any emotion and pain, though he was repeatedly confronted with terrible events (rape, physical and mental abuse, gangrape, drugs, brainwashing, betrayal). This explicates why the lord chose to live as a ghost. If he was a spirit, he could no longer feel emotions and as such pain. I would like to point out the strong connection between emotion and hurt, though the latter is no emotion. It is an emotional experience. However, the chapter 56 indicates a slow transformation, as the lord feels the need to hide his gaze behind his hand and even turn away his head from Kim, like you can observe at the top of the composition. In my perspective, the lord must have sensed something in his eyes, but out of fear and habit, he preferred masking his wound.
2. 1. Baek Na-Kyum the role model
There’s a reason for Yoon Seungho’s gradual metamorphosis. Baek Na-Kyum cried, when he was physically (chapter 11, 25) and emotionally wounded (chapter 11, 41, 42)
Besides, right from the start the noble was moved by the painter’s tears, hence he felt the need to touch his face and wipe his tears. 
(chapter 2) And now, you can imagine which idiom I am about to bring up:
“Moved to tears”: to elicit such a strong reaction or overwhelming reaction in one that it causes one to cry. Quoted from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/moved+to+tears
2. 2. The painter as the trigger of emotions
Since the noble was forced to repress his emotions and as such tears, it is normal that in chapter 1, he wasn’t moved to tears. Furthermore, living without any emotion, it signifies that he couldn’t detect and recognize them in chapter 1. He never realized that he was actually showing happiness first and later a certain sadness, when he killed the servant. However, the tears from the painter (episode 1) triggered something in his heart.
He sensed a slight pain, that’s why he asked him to stop crying. Let’s not forget that right before the artist started shedding tears, the noble reminded him of the death of the servant. He put the whole blame on the low-born, as the latter had lied to him. According to the main lead, the painter was responsible for the domestic’s death. After hearing this, Baek Na-Kyum was moved to tears. This incident is important for two reasons:
- The tears are connected to empathy. He feels pity and sorry for the deceased man.
- At the same time, they also express the artist’s guilt. Note that in the shed, the low-born never denied the lord’s statement.
And now, if the manhwaphiles look at the panel again, they will notice that the noble’s behavior displays remorse and compassion. Hence he asks him to stop crying, while wiping his tears. Consequently, during the night of the rape, we have a repetition of this scene: the lord feels uncomfortable in the presence of the tears (remorse), but also a certain compassion towards the painter. However, when his hand is rejected, the main lead tries to blame the artist for the situation. But this time, Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t accept the criticism and defends his position. Furthermore, he expresses a death wish: “I hate you so much I could die, sir”. (chapter 26) Only now, I truly realize the significance of this scenes. These words pained Yoon Seungho so much that it triggered emotions, which had been buried for a long time. That’s why we witnessed an outburst: “But if I am to be hated, I might as well be hated properly. Don’t you agree?” (chapter 26) But since he had forgotten how to cry, he could only show strong emotions like pain, rage and jealousy through violence.
However, we shouldn’t overlook that the painter had mentioned his death. In my eyes, it truly exposed the lord’s fear. He couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from the painter. If the lord had been able to cry, he would have. But he could only explode and in my opinion, in that scene he hadn’t just murderous, but also suicidal thoughts. This was the first version of this panel, though the lord never expressed it: “If I killed them all, and myself, would it be easier…” (chapter 55).
By killing the learned sir, he would push the painter to kill himself and the noble would have definitely followed him in his death. And now, you comprehend why in the hallway, the lord wondered about his own reaction. This was totally new to him, he had never felt anything like that before. Simultaneously, the manhwalovers can grasp why we haven’t witnessed the lord’s weeping yet. He needed to feel pain and emotions first. As a conclusion, during that night, the lord felt guilty, empathy, envy, rage and jealousy. Therefore I interpret that by witnessing the painter’s tears, the lord was taught to feel pain and emotions. Hence he stands in opposition to the scholar who chose to vent his anger and jealousy onto the painter, each time he felt humiliated. 
(chapter 75) This truly exposes the teacher’s cruelty and ruthlessness. We could say that the painter reinforced his admired sir’s cold-heartedness. Therefore I come to the following conclusion: Jung In-Hun will never feel remorse or empathy. He is destined to become a monster, as his wounded pride will just arouse brutality, resent and thirst for revenge.
3. Tears and indifference
Because of the strong connection between tears and emotions, I realized that the absence of tears isn’t just a sign of heartlessness, but also of indifference. There’s another person who never sheds a tear. It is the butler Kim. When in the pavilion he saw the painter lying on the ground, he was not moved to tears. The only comment he made was: “And here I was wondering why he lent me a horse…” (chapter 25) This means that he felt no empathy for the painter. However, he is different from the teacher. How? While Jung In-Hun senses no sympathy, the other tries to feel nothing. That’s why he gave his master the following advice: “Perhaps it would be best, if you did not take it to heart…” (chapter 50) In other words, Yoon Seungho should act, as if he had no heart. This explicates why he is annoyed, when he is facing someone in tears. He feels uncomfortable, especially if he is responsible for the incident. From my point of view, after Yoon Seungho got raped, the domestic made sure that the young lord would stop crying by making feel guilty and dirty. “Please!! No… It’s not…!” (chapter 65) Besides, I have the impression that he was turning his back on Yoon Seungho, when the teenager grabbed his shirt. Like I had pointed out above, tears are linked to a guilty conscience. And now, you comprehend, why Kim never cries. He is indifferent, because he doesn’t want to feel any pain and remorse. What is funny is that there exists a slang expression which connects tears to insensitivity:
“Two tears in a bucket” (rude slang): doesn’t matter, who cares. Said to express acceptance of or unconcern for the consequences of something. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/two+tears+in+a+bucket+fuck+it
And look at this: we always see the butler carrying a bucket around. 
(chapter 56) I couldn’t help myself laughing, when I discovered it. I have no idea, if there’s such an expression in Korean. This slang expression comes from “to cry buckets”, which signifies that the person is like a cry baby. This new discovery made me realize that Yoon Seungho played a similar role to his admired valet than Baek Na-Kyum to his learned sir. Since the main lead was constantly facing terrible experiences, due to his cowardice and powerlessness the domestic chose not to take to heart. The more he witnessed, the more unconcerned he became. Therefore I deduce that Kim will never change his mind-set. He will prefer detachment, cowardice and blindness, because that way he is not suffering: neither regret nor heartache.
While Baek Na-Kyum contrasts so much to the valet, it means that Lee Jihwa stands between them. He is a mixture of indifference and empathy. This is particularly palpable in chapter 36. At the tavern, he cries out of frustration and anger, thereby he calls Yoon Seungho an “asshole” due to his wounded pride. Yet at the same time he feels a certain empathy for his childhood friend: “But I… know him best of all… I can… I can understand it all. Everything…” (Jihwa, chapter 36) He knows that he suffered a lot in the past. However, his compassion is quite superficial, because his bruised ego and pain are more important than his ex-lover’s traumatic past. As you can imagine, I am predicting that Jihwa will change in that aspect again. As time passes on, he will show more caring and respect towards others. However, as the readers can anticipate it, Nameless will serve him as role model. Besides, he has already triggered in him the right emotions:
- regret: “I have ruined it all myself” (Jihwa, chapter 61)
- empathy: “…I do. I pity you.” (Nameless, chapter 61)
On the other hand, the noble brings the goodness which was buried in the criminal’s heart to the surface. That’s why I come to the following deduction. Nameless might have not shed a tear until now, but he wasn’t indifferent. Contrary to the butler, he had a job, where he was forced to bury his compassion. In my opinion, he was confronted in a similar situation than Yoon Seungho. The only difference is that Nameless had to witness many wrongdoings committed on people close to him that at some point he chose to stop crying. In other words, Jihwa will teach the commoner to feel emotions (pity, caring, admiration, eg.) again so that at some point, we should expect Nameless to have tears in his eyes. Though he is not crying like the low noble and the domestic, he is not truly devoid of emotions. So far, he used his mask to protect his heart.
4. Tears and diligence
I am quite sure that you are surprised with such a heading. Nonetheless, there’s a reason for this selection. You all know the saying
“blood, sweat and tears”: a huge amount of effort, dedication and hard work. quoted from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Blood+Sweat+and+Tears
What caught my attention is that neither Jung In-Hun nor Kim are seen hard-working. I had already demonstrated in the essay entitled “Jung In-Hun’s worries and problems” that the scholar was more and more stressed, when he realized that he needed to pass the exam in order to get the high position as official. Before he envisioned that the powerful noble would give him a high position without putting any effort. As for the butler, he is only forced to work hard (chapter 12, 25, 33, 56), when he has to take care of the painter. However, if you pay attention to his action, you will notice that he doesn’t work like a real intendant. That’s why I am stating that he is not diligent. He shows no real authority around the staff. He lets them eat the painter’s dishes (chapter 17) or leave the mansion without any permission (chapter 12, chapter 51). Furthermore, Deok-Jae attempted to sell the stolen red dresser. That’s why the worker in episode 29 described the household as hush-hush. There was no real control over the domestics. In my opinion, Kim is not a true hard worker, as he is not taking any responsibility in the mansion. He prefers simple tasks, like sweeping
(chapter 65), bringing lunches or announcing the arrival of a guest. And this observation made me realize that the lord started working hard, the moment he desired to woo Baek Na-Kyum. He dressed up, ordered some medicine for excessive drinking, organized two hunts, started strolling through downtown. Yet, this is no real work. And note that Jihwa behaved in a similar way, when he sensed danger from the painter. He also dressed up, had to plant a spy and trespass the mansion on different occasions. From my perspective, Yoon Seungho will start working the moment he behaves like a master. He needs more than just give orders to his staff. He has to control them and pay attention to finances. From my point of view, it is also his duty to take care of them as well, as the head of the mansion. To sum up, he has to learn how to manage the mansion. That’s why I believe that the lord’s tears will only return, the moment all the conditions are met:
- hard working
- deep emotions which he can not control and repress
- emotional pain linked to his traumas
- he drops the habit to hide his face, when he is wounded. Like I mentioned above, he still hides his pain and emotions in front of his so-called loyal servant Kim.
That’s why after comparing these 5 characters concerning their “tears”, I realized Jihwa’s true position and Nameless’ role. The second lead is not truly the painter’s negative reflection. Therefore I created a table to summarize my interpretations.
| – | -/+ | + | |
| Pride | Jung In-Hun | Lee Jihwa / Yoon Seungho | Baek Na-Kyum/ Nameless |
| Empathy | Valet Kim | Lee Jihwa / Yoon Seungho | Baek Na-Kyum / Nameless |
| Diligence / hard work | Jung In-Hun / Valet Kim | Lee Jihwa / Yoon Seungho | Baek Na-Kyum / Nameless |
As you can imagine, the persons in the middle were in the beginning of Painter Of The Night selfish, lazy and quite superficial. But as time passed on, they were affected by the painter. The latter with his tears moved the lord’s heart which created a riff between the protagonist and his lover. The latter was forced to cry and as such to change.
And now, you are wondering when I will talk about Min and his tear! As you can anticipate, I can only examine him in the second part. This essay already has more than 3700 words! Furthermore, I haven’t mentioned Heena noona and Yoon Seung-Won yet. As a conclusion, there’s so much to say about the tears, which is no surprise, because many manhwaphiles call this work “PAIN”ter of the night. Many readers are crying buckets while reading this story.
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.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Tears 😥 and characters – part 1
Painter Of The Night: Sex or Love? ❤️ Version with only 10 pictures
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, we will try to answer what the characters have been seeking during their intimacies. Did they want sex or love?
If we look at the first sex session, it becomes clear that Seungho was looking for sex, or more precisely speaking, for excitement and arousal. He wanted to see a new erotic painting so that he would get aroused from it again. That’s the reason why in the chapter 1 he asked to the painter while taking care of the noble:
This truly reveals that sex as such didn’t create much pleasure in his sexual life. The paintings Baek Na-Kyum created were the only tools that could arouse him. On the other hand, Jihwa has always been longing for Seungho’s love, but used sex as an excuse to get closer to him. He even hoped that at some point his childhood friend would come to fall in love with him. In other words, for Seungho the sex session was more for sex, more precisely for sexual stimulus, while it was love that motivated Jihwa hence he made love to Seungho.
Yet at the pavilion, this situation somehow changed. Seungho showed arousal without any external 
(chapter 3) stimulus, his phallus was still erected after Jihwa’s first climax. It looks like Seungho was attracted by Jihwa… so much that his appetite couldn’t be satiated. This gave Jihwa the impression that something had been triggered in Seungho. He was finally appealed to him, this gave him the illusion that his dream had come true. He mistook the excitement as a sign of “love” making him believe that he had now more privileges than the other sex partners. In his mind, the sex at the pavilion was love and even love for him, while in reality for Seungho it was just the discovery of real pleasure in sex. He had finally come to love sex with men. Since he kept seeing the painting in his mind, it was as if he was making love to himself. Hence I interpret that for the powerful noble the sex at the pavilion is a mixture of sex and love. He finally comes to love sex with men and to love himself as a seme. He feels his own attraction.
That’s why he says: “I can’t think of anything else”
These words truly expose that he isn’t paying attention to Jihwa’s needs and doesn’t focus on giving him pleasure. It was all about his own ecstasy and sexual enjoyment. But since Jihwa is used to Seungho’s selfishness, he didn’t pay too much attention. He was just happy that Seungho had now become a real homosexual and even felt enticed by him. That’s why he acts as if he was a lover after the sex session at the pavilion. Now, imagine his disappointment. In chapter 5, Jihwa comes back only to discover that the attraction and excitement was so short-lived. He can’t focus on him because of the painter, hence he sends the noble away:
“In any case, I am not in the mood today. You may leave”. (chapter 5)
Then later, the young noble is reminded by Seungho that he was just looking for sex and nothing more, while we know for a fact that Jihwa has been longing for his love all this time.
Here, it becomes clear that Jihwa never really understood Seungho’s true motivations behind the sex parties. He really thought that the rich noble was just looking for sex as a diversion and entertainment, while there was another motivation behind all this: the revenge against the father. He never imagined that Seungho was not a homosexual for the start. He must have explained the issues with the arousal that Seungho had no deep feelings for the sex partners. However, deep down, the powerful master was longing for something else: genuine love.
Then we have the “wedding night” in the painter’s chamber (chapter 20-21). During that night, Baek Na-Kyum confessed his “love” for the learned sir. He was longing for his love because he had been rejected by the low noble before (chapter 19). The drunkenness allowed him to express his love based on an illusion and manipulation. That’s why we see him kissing Seungho so tenderly and even embracing him while caressing his back: 
(chapter 20)
On the other side, the lord was rather looking for sex. He had been wanting to taste the young man and Jihwa’s words
“Yoon Seungho has fallen into sodomy that he is now reaching for a low-born” (chapter 18)
gave him another justification for this move. Since people kept saying that he was interested in the young man, why shouldn’t he do it for real? That’s why after the long kisses, when he noticed the sexual desires and ecstasy on the low-born’s face due to his blushing and moaning,
the lord suddenly pulled up this butt and removed the artist’s pants quite violently.
These simple gestures reveal his strong desire to have sex with the young man. He is so impatient, he is only focused on his own needs. He has finally the opportunity and is even able to create some arousal in the low-born. He is definitely looking for a good sexual experience with him. However, the long kisses mixed a certain tenderness before are demonstrating that Yoon Seungho was definitely feeling more than sexual desires. The foreplay did last quite some time which was unusual for him. He didn’t even realize the lack of inexperience in the commoner, although he should have sensed it with the innocent confession and kiss. But he is stopped by the commoner who finally concedes to be a virgin. Striking is that Baek Na-Kyum puts his hand on Yoon Seungho’s shoulder while crying,
he is even sitting on his lap. Both are facing each other, their bodies are so close touching each other. Strangely, the noble is not angry at all. He is a little annoyed that his “appetite” has not been fulfilled, yet he doesn’t get angry or violent.
This closeness and the hands on his chest have a calming effect in my opinion that’s why despite his comment showing a certain annoyance, he accepts the tears and the break. Furthermore, this marks the pivotal moment during their “wedding night”. For the first time, Seungho is forced to pay attention to his partner’s needs leading him to create pleasure. Because Baek Na-Kyum spoke about his fear and about being a virgin, Seungho has no other choice to be more careful. And from that moment, if you pay attention to their conversation, you’ll notice that Seungho keeps asking about the well-being of the low-born:
“Why are you so quiet?” / “If you do not tell me… I cannot help you“
He makes sure that the other feels comfortable and even comforts him, when he feels pain after the first penetration. And notice that he is hugging the young man, while kissing him. His gaze has totally changed. While in the first part, you could sense pure lust in his eyes, now his gaze is much softer and oozing warmth. He makes sure that his partner takes pleasure and feels good during their encounter. This contrasts so much to the sex scene at the pavilion with Jihwa, where he ignored Jihwa totally and was only focused on himself and his urges. He even apologizes for taking the low-born’s virginity which was preserved for someone else.
(chapter 21)
Here, he is smiling and his gaze is full of warmth. For the first time, he has experienced how to make love. He came for sex but found love. By giving ecstasy in his partner, it made him feel good. But this is not the end. Baek Na-Kyum hugs him, which Seungho likes very much. He is feeling warmth and tenderness. Yet, he has to hear the name of the loved one which bothers me. However, he decides to return the huge despite the “misunderstanding”, he wants to give the embrace Baek Na-Kyum is longing for. Therefore he puts him on his lap.
Simultaneously, he asks to be called differently, to let him know that he is not sir Jung In-Hun. He definitely hopes that Baek Na-Kyum will remember calling him “my lord”.
And he kisses the young man with such a gentleness. He is no longer looking for sex but love. That’s why when the low-born confesses that making love to him made him so happy, he can’t help himself to kiss the eye and the tears again.
This gesture shows tenderness and love. He has never heard before that he could make someone happy. He, who has felt so miserable for so long and only saw himself as someone repulsive and terrible, is finally able to evoke genuine happiness. The sincerity moves the lord so much. The tears, the hug, the words have reached his heart. And the climax of their wedding night is when Baek Na-Kyum admits that he likes him by whispering it into his ear, a very sensitive place.
This gesture and the simple words have an impact on him. So far, he has never been confessed before. All his sex partners were just interested in his body and wealth, even Jihwa, who loves him, was too scared to confess his love for him out of fear that Seungho might reject him for good. For the first time, he felt loved and made someone happy. While he was looking for sex in the beginning, he found love in the end. All this time, he could never connect sex with love. But since he could pleasure the young man so well, he believes that once the man is sober and remembers, he will remember the ecstasy he felt thanks to him. That’s why Seungho believed that the commoner wouldn’t reject him, besides he is used to be sought out. He is well known for his good performance in bed. He thinks that the pleasure felt can move the young man’s heart so that he can switch his place with the teacher. His gestures contrast so much to the first part where he was brutal and rough… in the second part, he is gentle and sensitive. He listens to the low-born’s whispering and sees the tears. His behavior stands in opposition to his attitude at the pavilion with Jihwa where he was blind and deaf. He could only think of his own image from the painting.
Now, if we analyze the sex scene at the pavilion in the chapter 25, we come to realize that here Seungho was expecting to find love. He had imagined that the painter had remembered their night together as Baek Na-Kyum had mentioned that he was keeping something embarrassing in his belongings. Imagine his surprise, when he discovers that the painting was about the masturbation. For Seungho, their first night together was unforgettable hence he is annoyed that the artist has not remembered it. That’s why he tries to repeat the same gestures from that night. He kisses him 
(chapter 25
and explains his actions hoping that this would trigger his memories and their love making would be renewed. But none of this happens because he is rejected by the uke. He never expected a violent rejection. He never imagined that pleasure and love are not the same thing. That’s why he decides to force himself onto the poor artist. He really thinks that his performance will convince the young man to accept him as his partner. So he went to the pavilion in order to find love but it ended up in a violent sex session. Notice that unlike in the chapter 3, he pays attention to the low-born’s reaction. He wants to witness the sexual enjoyment but he only hears and sees pain. He hugs him trying to mimic the same gestures from that night . But he fails and for many reasons. First, he didn’t face the uke but took him from behind, just like he did with Jihwa. So this position doesn’t create intimacy, furthermore he believed that sexual performance was the reason why Baek Na-Kyum cried out of joy during their wedding night. He never thought that feelings play a much bigger part. Actually he has been in love with the low-born right from the start (a growing attraction was there) but since he has never felt anything before, he can’t technically recognize these feelings as love. The low-born went to the pavilion with no expectation and experienced raw sex with such a violence that he couldn’t love the noble. However, like I described it before, the wet dream from the chapter 2 reveals that Baek Na-Kyum desired Seungho so much. He wished that he had become Jihwa and even replaced him. As a conclusion, it started with love and became raw sex for the master, while it was just violent sex for the painter.
In the chapter 31 and 32, it is quite clear that this was all about sex. Seungho wanted him to accept his true sexual orientation, to witness his own sexual enjoyment by seeing his own facial expressions. At the same time, Seungho was still longing for love. That’s why he kisses the man right in the beginning. Sure, he wants to be the cause of his arousal, hence he ensures that he provokes an ejaculation.
Therefore he uses his hand and says this: “This time I will see you get hard for me.“
This is again brutal sex but unlike in the chapter 25, his goal is to give sexual enjoyment to the young man. He has to because if not, the artist would never been able to admit his homosexuality. Hence we can say that the master has learnt his lesson from the rape. He can’t force himself like that, yet he is still quite rough.
On the other hand, Baek Na-Kyum has to accept everything from the master. He can’t reject him as he had promised to do everything he wanted. So the sex with the lord is like a task, an order but at some point, he experiences pleasure in the sex. Furthermore, the noble hasn’t given up on his own sexual needs hence he is not satisfied with one session. This sex marathon is a mixture of love and sex… deep down, the noble is looking for love but he has no idea how to get it. If he is able to evoke ecstasy in the commoner through sex, then he thinks that he will be accepted by the young man. So his sexual performance which made him quite famous becomes his “hindrance” which he doesn’t realize. Besides, he is still quite selfish… it is only, when Baek Na-Kyum has collapsed that he realizes his mistake. And here, it ends with a gentle kiss announcing the change in Yoon Seungho. He can no longer be proud, act like a master. He has to lower himself therefore the kiss marks a pivotal moment in the noble’s life. 
(Chapter 32) He has realized that his behavior has not been normal. He is confused hence he doesn’t get angry, when he is criticized by the doctor later. He knows that his emotions made him blind so that he somehow endangered the painter’s life. He must definitely feel guilty but he sees it as his duty to make sure that Baek Na-Kyum can recover.
During that time, he starts sleeping elsewhere. He visits his sex friends and even participates in sex orgies. 
Here, it is quite clear what the protagonist’s real intention was. He was looking for sex in order to understand what led him to act like a crazy person in the presence of the painter. What was he looking for? During the separation, he makes a huge discovery: sex is not his true motivation, he gets aware that he has been longing for the painter’s attention and affection. 
Besides, due to Min’s words, he gets aware that he wants Baek Na-Kyum for himself. He is “his”. He knows that now but he has no idea how the artist will react after his recovery. He could definitely blame him for his illness and the sex marathon. Little by little, the main lead is learning to differentiate sex and love. What I mean is that he has learnt that sex is a way to express love, making the partner feel sexual enjoyment and pleasure is making love. It is about to give and not just to take. That’s why from that moment, the seme is focusing on pleasuring the artist. He feels that he needs to wait so that Baek Na-Kyum will come to fall in love with him and will express the need to have sex with him. So he is definitely waiting for Baek Na-Kyum’s move.
But unfortunately, it doesn’t happen like he expected it. Instead of being a love confession like during the first night, the artist is crying. He is so sad and upset that at the end he asks to be hold.
Striking is that Baek Na-Kyum is asking for comfort and love because “being hold” indicates that he wants to be embraced. This is the proof that he is longing for love, yet his mind is very confused. What does he want? Sex or love? The gestures stand in opposition to the words.
On the other hand, the lord is well aware that Baek Na-Kyum can not have fallen in love with him just like that. He knows how deep his love for the low noble was. That’s why he is still hesitating. He doesn’t want to be a replacement, a surrogate like during their “wedding night”. He wants to make the things quite clear.
He will be his sex partner, his lover, the one who embraces him. He feels the huge difference from the love confession in the chapter 20, besides he sees the drawing with Jung In-Hun and he is so turned off. First, he feels the lack of passion and love in the kiss which can no longer be explained by the lack of experience. Besides he realizes that this is related to Jung In-Hun. That’s why he gets jealous and grabs him by the hair.
He is just like during the “wedding night” as his rough side emerges again but this time for a different reason. He is not looking for sex, he wants love but feel that Baek Na-Kyum isn’t giving what he wants. He acts more like a prostitute, someone who is forced to do something. He grabs the Seungho’s phallus without passion, he is just about to be penetrated without any preparation. This contrasts so much to their first night, where Seungho had to be patient and was listening to the uke’s words and moans. So in the noble’s eyes, the young man is looking for sex. Yet the words are reflecting something else which the lord doesn’t realize. All this leads him to think that Jung In-Hun asked him to sleep with him for a favor.
While the lord longed to hear that he was admired and pinned by the young man, he has to listen to a different confession:
“That night I spent with you, my lord, that too… My lord, you… you scare me so much, my heart starts pounding…“
He finally admits that he remembers their first night together and did it willingly but at the same time, he confesses how scared he is in front of Yoon Seungho. As you can observe, the parallels with their first night are so obvious. He holds the lord again begging him to embrace him, while in the chapter 20 he pleaded the lord to be more gentle. Back then he explained that he was scared because he was a virgin. The hug, the tears, the plead are repeated in the chapter 42 but they are triggered by something else: the huge pain caused by the teacher. The teacher is no longer admired, Baek Na-Kyum wants to be hold in order to overcome the rejection and abandonment. Notice the opposition, in their first night he was so pure, a virgin, and now he has become a prostitute. He has been so hurt that he can’t even say the word “prostitute”. He is accepting his homosexuality and is even accepting the lord as his partner because he has no one to turn to.
Striking is that the noble has a similar reaction than in the chapter 21. He is annoyed but no longer angry. At least, he has been able to obtain something. He is no longer rejected but you can feel his dissatisfaction. He would like to be loved and admired like Jung In-Hun, but this will do now for him.
And notice that now they are facing each other, Seungho is no longer taking him from behind. This underlines Baek Na-Kyum’s acceptance and willingness. Furthermore, it outlines their closeness and intimacy. While having sex, Baek Na-Kyum can’t help himself taking the hand of the master and puts it on his stomach. “So it’s all the way in…”
Here again, there is a huge difference between the words and the gestures. He speaks like a “prostitute” or someone looking for sex, while with the hand, he shows gentleness and warmth. This time, Baek Na-Kyum is calling Seungho “my lord”. The noble has finally been able to take the teacher’s place for real. And what caught my attention here is that during the wet dream, Baek Na-Kyum wanted to switch places with Jihwa, while in reality the opposite happened. Seungho wanted to switch places with the teacher and become Baek Na-Kyum’s lover. Despite the raw sex which bothers the protagonist, Seungho can’t help longing for love that’s why at the end, he hugs him and kisses him. 
(Chapter 42) Here, there is a mixture of tenderness and passion. He is attempting to evoke other feelings in the uke. He actually shows his love for the commoner. While during their first night, the artist cried out of happiness, here the tears are expressing immense sadness and pain. This is the reality: he had never been truly accepted by the low noble. He always saw his social background, a low-born raised at the brothel. He is admitting his sexual orientation which he is now connecting to prostitution. The painter doesn’t see the love in Seungho’s gestures, too immersed in his own suffering. In other words, the lord wanted love here but only got the opportunity to have sex, while deep down Baek Na-Kyum was longing for love but just asked for sex. However, Seungho attempted to shower him with love at the end but the painter didn’t see it, just like during their first night.
As a conclusion, in his mind the lord was seeking for sex and ended up finding love, while Baek Na-Kyum was longing for love and ended up having sex, unaware that his dream of being loved had come true, but he never expected that Seungho would be the one who would come to love him.
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.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: The scholars’ fight (second version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Sins (third version) 🛐
Painter Of The Night: Truth and memories (second version) 🧠
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
Many readers are able to recognize the similarities between chapter 40 and 75, because both episodes contain the following elements:
- The prank:
(chapter 40) 
(chapter 75: repetition from chapter 74) - The presence of the bulletin board
(chapter 40) versus 
(chapter 75) - The honest conversation between the protagonists, where Yoon Seungho is encouraging his lover to introspect himself
(chapter 40) versus 
(chapter 75) - The color of the sky
(chapter 40) versus 
(chapter 75) - The presence of memories:
(chapter 40) versus 
(chapter 75)
Yet despite all the parallels, if I had to give a title to chapter 75, I would select “Memories” and not “Responsibility”, although the latter is still present in episode 75. Why? It is, because the painter talks about his past and youth and as such, he is forced to bring up memories. 
(Chapter 75) And this made me realize two things: Baek Na-Kyum embodies memories, hence we got many flashbacks from the painter (chapter 2, 11, 23, 34, 38, 40, 41, 46, 56, 57, 60, 66, 74, 75), whereas Yoon Seungho embodies truth. Note that unlike the artist, Byeonduck showed us only a few memories from the aristocrat (chapter 19, 25, 48, 55, 74 with the nightmare). Moreover, the latter is always confronting the painter with his questions and observations. The noble wants him to be true to himself and question his own motivation. (Chapter 75) And this observation made realize another aspect about Yoon Seungho, because unlike chapter 40, the aristocrat stands in the center of episode 75: the significance of memories in the lord’s life.
1. Memories and identity
In order to understand why I came to this conclusion, it is relevant to examine the memories in chapter 40 due to the parallelism. There, the painter recalled the questions and comments from Yoon Seungho, which incited the commoner to ask his teacher about his future. Once the scholar had succeeded, would he become responsible for the painter, like he had implied? And observe that during the confrontation, the artist used a statement from the past: 
(chapter 29) Thanks to the memories, the low-born had gathered courage and faced his teacher. However, this discussion led to a tragedy. Baek Na-Kyum got hurt, because his learned sir chose to destroy him in the worst possible way. With his words, he showed his true thoughts 
(chapter 40) and in order to reinforce his statement, he made sure that Baek Na-Kyum would perceive his real gaze: cold and ruthless. 
(chapter 41) But more striking is that the scholar used memories (the kisaeng house) to define the painter’s identity: he was born to be a prostitute despite his “lessons”. He puts the whole responsibility and blame on the commoner. As a conclusion, the memories served in the conflict to identify Baek Na-Kyum. Who was he really to the scholar? Was he his helping hand, like the low-born claimed, or was he just a “prostitute” according to the scholar?
2. Memory loss and identity
This connection between memory and identity in the manhwa is not random, because according to John Locke’s “memory theory”, a person’s identity only reaches as far as their memory extends into the past. In other words, memory is a necessary condition of personal identity. Thus, as a person’s memory begins to disappear, so does his identity. Therefore, we could say that without memory, there’s no identity. On the other hand, in my previous analysis, I had demonstrated that the lord’s unconscious was trying to force his conscious to remember his past, because he had repressed his traumatic past. This meant that he was suffering from memory loss. Hence we could say, that he lost his own identity. This is not surprising that childhood trauma and memory loss go hand-in-hand. Blocking out memories can be a way of coping with the trauma. It goes even so far that an adult survivor of childhood trauma can even believe that he was never a victim of childhood trauma. Consequently, in case of a permanent memory loss, it signifies that the victim even loses his own identity. Since my theory has been confirmed that the lord was a painter in his youth, chapter 75 actually exposed the memory loss in two different ways:
- First, the lord couldn’t even remember painting an orchid
(Chapter 75), an indication that his short-term memory was defective due to his lack of sleep. - However, the master’s hand could still paint a orchid without paying too much attention to his hand. It exposes that it was actually an automatic gesture, revealing that he had internalized such a gesture in the long-term memory. And note that when he did this, he mentioned his youth
(chapter 36) Therefore I come to the conclusion that Yoon Seungho’s short-term memory is not working properly. Imagine, he could remember one incident from his childhood, but he couldn’t remember painting the orchid. Hence I believe that the lord can’t even reminisce the drawings in chapter 8 
and 23 
. Only thanks to Baek Na-Kyum’s mention, he was able to recall the drawing. Thus the manhwalovers can comprehend why I consider the artist as a synonym for memories.
3. Trauma and memories
But in the manhwa, there’s more than just memory loss due to a coping mechanism. Traumatic events such as sexual assaults, are encoded differently than more routine due to extreme fear. The victim won’t be able to remember everything, just details, the chronology will be mixed up due to existential fear, that’s why if you recall the following panel, you’ll truly grasp the real atrocity of Yoon Seungho’s suffering. 
(Chapter 65) While he can’t remember what truly happened due to his poor emotional and physical state, Kim somehow blames him. The young master is so confused that he has to defend himself. This means that after the first rape, the domestic didn’t even comfort the protagonist, but he used the victim’s vulnerable state of mind (who was confused due to this terrific incident) to manipulate the noble’s memory.
That’s why when police investigate a sexual abuse and interview a victim, the latter will always be interrogated twice. The first interview focuses more on the sensory and emotional memories, while during the second, the officers will try to reconstruct the chronology. This explicates why they always wait for quite some time for the second statement. It is necessary, as the memories are now stored and they can be retrieved, although due to fear and stress, the incident can never be properly reconstructed. As you can imagine, Yoon Seungho was not in the capacity to testify about the sexual assault. This terrible event affected his memory so much that he was not given the opportunity to denunciate the crime. He was made speechless in the end due to the insinuation and as such manipulation. I bet, he couldn’t even describe what had truly happened to him. That’s why he repressed the first rape.
4. Amnesia and manipulation
But now imagine this. You are exposed to physical and sexual abuse for more than a decade, this means that your memory will be definitely affected. You are living constantly in fear and stress, two important factors, which can trigger memory loss. [read more here: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-causes-memory-loss-4123636] Like I explained briefly above, terrific events are never encoded normally. This signifies in our case that the lord’s faculties to memorize were definitely affected due to the constant exposure, which can make him more vulnerable to false memories. Studies show that individuals with PTSD, a history of trauma, or depression are at risk for producing false memories, when they are exposed to information that is related to their knowledge base. This also signifies that they are more receptive for manipulations. Therefore I come to the next deduction that in chapter 68, Kim was definitely attempting to distort the past and create false memories. 
(Chapter 68) He mixed facts with lies in order to confuse his master’s judgement and memory. That’s the reason why it is important now to recall my initial statement: without any memory, there’s no identity. This signifies that in chapter 68, when Kim tried to give him memories, he desired to give him a certain identity: he was similar to his father. The latter would punish or imprison the boy and not release him. Giving a false reflection and identity is something Kim had never done before in front of his master, as he knew that his master feared his own image. However, he never imagined that Yoon Seungho would react differently. Instead of pushing away the painter, he let the artist choose his fate.
5. Making memories and forgiveness
However, in order to comprehend the topic memory, it is relevant to know how memory functions. The latter is divided in 3 parts: encoding, storage and retrieval. And in order to encode information, you have to utilize your senses. There are 3 types of encoding: semantic (words), visual and acoustic (sound). The manwhaphiles should recall that according to my interpretation, Yoon Seungho had been deprived of all his senses, therefore he lived like a ghost. And this signifies that he couldn’t make any memory at all. And with no memory, you have no identity and as such no life. That’s why when he cut ties with Jihwa the first time, he never mentioned the word “memories”, but time spent together: 
(Chapter 18) In my opinion, this shows that Yoon Seungho had no true memory in reality. He knew that they had sex together, but that was it. It was more like “the night is long and I need to kill time so that dawn can come faster.” Note that he never mentions their childhood together. With this interpretation, it becomes comprehensible that the main lead could act, as if nothing had happened between Jihwa and himself after the topknot incident. 
From my point of view, he had literally forgotten the incident, yet for Jihwa, it meant that he had been forgiven. 
(Chapter 59) And this explicates why Yoon Seungho barges in the mansion in chapter 67: he makes it clear that he won’t forget what happened. 
(Chapter 67) The real forgiveness occurred in chapter 59: Despite the caused pain, Yoon Seungho was willing to overlook the terrible action
(chapter 59), but he made it clear that he would never reciprocate the feelings. This was real forgiveness from my perspective, whereas in the past, Yoon Seungho couldn’t remember anything. Jihwa had the terrible habit to use the past in order to torment his childhood friend, which always triggered buried emotions connected to memories, which the noble couldn’t control. From my point of view, the lord only had flashbulb memories which the readers could discover in chapter 55: 
(chapter 55)
“A flashbulb memory is an accurate and exceptionally vivid long-lasting memory for the circumstances surrounding learning about a dramatic event. Flashbulb Memories are memories that are affected by our emotional state.” quoted from https://www.simplypsychology.org/flashbulb-memory.html
These memories connected to emotions were the remains of his deeply repressed memories. The lord could only remember the feelings he had felt during his traumatic past. To sum up, the lord had no real recollection of his past, and the few things he knew were manipulations and lies explained by his butler. Therefore you can comprehend why Kim got scared
(chapter 56), when he heard that lord Song asked for a meeting. The latter could definitely reveal new information and let the protagonist realize that he was truly suffering from memory loss.
6. Recovery from amnesia: memories
However, due to the exposure to arts, his eyes got healed, hence he could sense positive emotions and as such create good memories (visual encoding). From my point of view, when Baek Na-Kyum entered his life, the noble had started developing good memories, because so far, all he had were traumatic memories. However, Yoon Seungho’s capacities to memorize were under-developed due to the lack of practice. This explicates why he shows no interest to discover why the commoner stopped painting. This was not meaningful to him, and the readers should know that people will only memorize significant information. The emergence of his memory is visible in chapter 1. We see him speaking about his nightly activities so positively, but observe that he is only talking about recent and meaningful memories. 
(Chapter 1) Striking is that when Baek Na-Kyum confronts him with his poor image (“man consumed by lust”)
(chapter 4), the lord is bothered. He is forced to ponder why he is described like that, hence he has to recall events from the past. At the same time, when the lord read the poem, he was encouraged to recall the original sijo. This shows that at some point, Yoon Seungho rediscovered literature. Words and paintings helped to create memories. Thus if you pay attention, you’ll notice that the more time passes on, the more memories the lord has. They are strongly intertwined with the paintings. The latter helped him to reminisce the sex sessions and his past. He can’t forget how the painter masturbated behind the door. He is even getting more and more good memories. 
(chapter 18) Then in chapter 19, he reminisces the painter’s facial expressions which puts him in a good mood. 
(Chapter 19) This explicates why Yoon Seungho was so moved by the painter’s confession during their Wedding night. For the first time, he experienced warmth and love, he even heard a love confession. This could only be stored as a wonderful memory. At the same time, he hoped, the artist would create a picture of this night in order to ensure that this memory was real. Moreover, note that in chapter 58, 
he externalized how much this night meant to him. 
(Chapter 58)
Yet, the manhwaphiles can detect that in his confession, the memory is not entirely described as positive: “haunt”. This explicates why I consider the Wedding night as a turning point in Yoon Seungho’s life. This memory is a combination of positive and negative elements. The lord wished to relive this, but he was not satisfied, because he knew that he had impersonated the scholar. Moreover, the manhwaphiles should reminisce that after this night, the lord will do terrible things to the artist and as such, he gets now terrible memories. That’s the reason why in my opinion, Byeonduck chose to expose the rape as a flashback from the master’s perspective. Because of his bad actions, Yoon Seungho feels huge pangs of conscience and can’t act like nothing happened. He is now forced to remember. However, in my eyes it is different from the past. Before, he was just a ghost, hence he was incapable to get memories, with Baek Na-Kyum’s help, he can get memories which will help him to face his own traumatic past.
7. Memories and learning
There’s one aspect, strongly connected to memory, which I didn’t mention so far: learning.
” Learning and memory operate together in order increase our ability for navigating the environment and survival. Learning refers to a change in behavior that results from acquiring knowledge about the world and memory is the process by which that knowledge is encoded, stored, and later retrieved.” quoted from https://opentext.wsu.edu/psych105/chapter/8-2-how-memory-functions/
As you can see, in order to change, the lord needs memories. Through positive and negative experiences, the noble can gain knowledge leading to a change of attitude which the readers could observe. Gradually, the noble learnt from his mistakes and good memories. Therefore, this is no coincidence that when in chapter 75, Baek Na-Kyum talks about his past and memories, he criticizes his master: (Chapter 75) He gives him the impression that he will never change, the lord wouldn’t even remember him after his death. Now, you grasp why he reproaches Yoon Seungho his fickle nature, he is indirectly referring to the lord’s memories. 
(Chapter 75) His feelings will fade away just like memories. He will forget him. What the painter doesn’t realize is the following: this date is actually an important moment in Yoon Seungho’s life. For the first time, he gets to discover the painter’s memories and past, which now the noble can store as his own. He will never forget this day, especially when he heard that the painter would cry because of him 
(a new version of chapter 21: 
(chapter 21) , but here out of concern. In other words, Baek Na-Kyum would like to be remembered. Hence he complains that the lord didn’t call for him. And this can only make the lord happy, because he can detect through the painter’s words that the latter is longing for his presence and care. From my perspective, Yoon Seungho has finally grasped why the artist is not truly honest with him. Therefore he can only tease his lover pushing him to make the first step. Let’s not forget that right now, the master is now treating his lover as his new lord. So the latter has to call for him. 
(Chapter 75) Here, the protagonist clearly displays that he has never forgotten his companion. Their date is so important for two reasons. It allows the noble to gather more information about the commoner, and get a really good memory before the next tragedy.
From my point of view, it will help him to face his own traumatic past. Let’s not forget that a rape is planned, so if the noble was to discover this, he would be definitely reminded of his own past. And this truly happened in season 3. Simultaneously he would be able to help his lover to recover from the traumatic incident. We shouldn’t forget that during the kidnapping, the lord’s smile was the reason why Baek Na-Kyum didn’t lose his sanity 
(Chapter 60) and could cope with the kidnapping much better. Note that he has no nightmare afterwards. And this detail is important, because we have to envision that while Yoon Seungho was exposed to physical and sexual abuse for a decade, he had no good memory at all in order to remain sane. Moreover, he never felt loved. Consequently, he couldn’t even think of anyone in a positive way. That’s why he was so damaged in the end. (Chapter 57)
The presence of a loved one is necessary in order to cope with traumatic childhood abuse.
8. The impact of Yoon Seungho’s traumas on his mind and attitude
And this leads me to the next observation: Due to his childhood trauma, the lord’s memory was affected and didn’t work properly, as for a long time, his memory was not encouraged to encode events. On the other hand, because of Baek Na-Kyum, Yoon Seungho was forced more and more to face his traumatic past, therefore his fears and abandonment issues came to the surface. This explicates why he couldn’t pay attention to details and never questioned the circumstances of the first abduction. Note that during the night at the physician’s, he still doesn’t trust his own senses. 
(Chapter 58) This signifies that he is unsure if what he is experiencing is real or not. From my point of view, the memory loss and his life as ghost affected his brain and the way to encode and store information. Hence he has no real recollection of the incident with Deok-Jae (chapter 30 and 53). That’s why he is not asking for his whereabouts. However, I believe to see a turning point in chapter 75. By giving the lord the opportunity to have a real date, where he could hear and see that Baek Na-Kyum was definitely affected by him, the noble will react differently compared to the first abduction and after the painter’s first flashback. He will not lose his mind blinded by his emotions and insecurities, he knows that the artist chose him. And he won’t blame himself like for the first flashback. Remember that in chapter 66, he never called the physician. Why? Because someone told him that the painter needed the presence of a loved one to recover. Kim made sure that Yoon Seungho would feel guilty. Deep down, Yoon Seungho knew that he was responsible for the panic attack.
(Chapter 66) But the real cause for all this was the butler’s silence and complicity. That’s why he remained by his side, until the artist had recovered. Thus I had predicted that after meeting Nameless, Baek-Na-Kyum would get a panic attack.
(Chapter 75)
This is what I wrote in the first version:
“However, this time, the noble will wonder how this could happen. They had a nice conversation, where they exchanged thoughts. He is not responsible and it can’t be the alcohol. Moreover, he will recall his lover’s words: He won’t focus on his own emotions, but will try to calm down the artist and investigate why the painter reacted like that.” It is definitely possible that he brings back the painter to the mansion and decides to visit the physician in order to ask for an advice. From my point of view, thanks to the new memories, the noble is learning more about his surroundings and gaining more experience.”
However, the reality was that Yoon Seungho thought that the painter’s panic attack had just been triggered by the entertainers.
(Chapter 76) He didn’t take his words seriously, for he believed that he had discovered the truth. Therefore the lord never investigated the circumstances of the kidnapping. Since he thought, he knew the truth, he had no reason to question this. Why did the Joker scare the painter so much? Thus the lord didn’t take the memories from the painter seriously. How could he, since he had been already informed? However, the revelation from Min had diverted Yoon Seungho’s attention from the real problem: the involvement of the helping hands (Kim, Deok-Jae, No-Name) and of the mastermind behind this.
9. Baek Na-Kyum’s memories and truth
What caught my attention is that Baek Na-Kyum is also hurt, though he has memories from his past. What he confessed to his lover represented a bad memory, and this made him feel guilty. Striking is that he believes, he knows the truth, as he can reminisce his past. Yet, he is making a huge mistake: memories are by no means facts, they are biased and even tainted. The artist took the scholar’s words as face-value. He never questioned his words, therefore he blamed himself for Jung In-Hun’s failure. Here, I would like the manhwaphiles to notice the parallels between Jihwa and the artist: both feel responsible for a tragedy, while in reality it was not the case. Both were victims of manipulations and lies.
My theory is that the learned sir imagined that he had finally the possibility to get a high position. Yet the incident in the gibang put an end to it, and this is definitely related to the erotic pictures. However, there is no ambiguity that Jung In-Hun was actually receiving his karma. Remember that in the Alternative Universe, the protagonist used Jung Na-Min as his artist name. In other words, the name of the artist must have had an effect on his career. Besides, let’s not forget that the teacher is preaching immobility, for people’s fate is always determined. 
(Chapter 6) They can not escape their conditions. Thus the gods chose to punish him the following way: he could never escape his own situation. He would remain a man with no wealth and connection. Thus no matter what he did, it ended with a failure. Therefore it is not surprising that he came to resent the painter, for he caught the attention of a powerful noble and this at least twice. The scholar was offered a position, but due to the incident in the gibang, the sponsor changed his mind. Hence he blamed Baek Na-Kyum for not securing a post. It was, as if he had stolen it from him. I think, Jung In-Hun published poetry, but couldn’t get recognition. Therefore he used the incident (discovery of the erotic pictures) in order to punish him and force him to give up on painting. He couldn’t allow that a commoner was more successful than him. At the same time, it was the reason why there was a ruckus in the gibang too. But now, we have to wonder why Baek Na-Kyum talked about his past. From my point of view, an important detail played a huge role at the inn: 
(Chapter 74) Observe that the woman has a similar hair dress than his noona. That’s why I believe that when he saw her, he must have been reminded of her. Note that when he speaks about the leftovers, he describes leaving food as a sin, but strangely, in chapter 40/41, he had the opposite attitude.
(Chapter 41) He didn’t eat all the sweets or even skipped meals. 
(Chapter 41) In other words, he didn’t eat everything and committed a sin. This indicates a certain hypocrisy, simultaneously Baek Na-Kyum’s lack of critical thinking, when it comes to his noona. Moreover, he says the opposite of what he thinks. In chapter 74, he claims that the lord has changed
(chapter 74), in episode 75, he claims that he has not improved his behavior. The painter’s memories clearly reveal Heena’s strong influence, which explains why he doesn’t make the first step in the end. He would like the lord to become responsible for him. But Yoon Seungho would like the opposite, because that way, the low-born can never claim that he was forced or pressured by him. In my eyes, Baek Na-Kyum still fears to be perceived as a man consumed by lust, if he makes the first move.
That’s why I believe that Yoon Seungho embodies the truth, while Baek Na-Kyum represents the past and memories. The commoner’s past will become the trigger for Yoon Seungho to decide to discover the truth about his own past and as such regain his own identity: he was a talented painter with a promising future. Since the low-born’s past with the kisaeng and the scholar are more recent, it is much easier for Yoon Seungho to unveil the lies concerning Baek Na-Kyum’s past in the kisaeng house. At the same time, thanks to the physician, Baek Na-Kyum is gathering information about his lover’s past
(chapter 57), which will assist him to regain his lost memories.
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: Refraction 🌈
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
Announcement: I updated the essay “Kim: a dog, a matchmaker or a father?”
You are probably wondering about the selection of such a title and its signification, especially if you are not familiar with physics. What is refraction exactly?
“Refraction is the bending of light when it goes from one medium to another so, when a ray of light passes through a glass prism, refraction of light occurs both, when it enters the prism as well as when it leaves the prism. Since the refracting surfaces are not parallel, therefore, the emergent ray and incident ray are not parallel to one another. In this case the ray of light is deviated on passing through the prism.” quoted from https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/refraction-of-light-through-a-glass-prism-1456391639-1#:~:text=Refraction%20is%20the%20bending%20of,when%20it%20leaves%20the%20prism.&text=In%20this%20case%20the%20ray,on%20passing%20through%20the%20prism.
People observe this phenomenon, when there’s a rainbow.
This spectacle can only occur, if there are rain and sunlight together. Due to the presence of water, the beholder perceive the existence of light, which is actually a combination of all colors. Although light seems colorless to our eyes, it is not correct. It is just that our brain is used to perceive light as such. Now, you are probably intrigued how I could associate the manhwa with laws of refraction, when the author never drew a rainbow. But refraction is not just limited to the rainbow. It is also perceptible under other circumstances, like for example: when the sunlight goes through a real glass prism
As you can observe, there’s a deviation and dispersion of the light through the glass prism. So when did the manhwaphiles witness this experience in Painter Of The Night?
Byeonduck applied laws of refraction in two episodes:
- chapter 55:
- chapter 74:
Yes, the presence of the colorful bubbles are a sign of refraction.
And these episodes are quite important, for due to the refraction, the readers can finally perceive the presence of light and as such warmth. When the episode 55 was released, I had explained that these bubbles of light announced the revival of the lord’s body. He was no longer living as a zombie, he was finally becoming a real human. But only now, I’ve recognized the real signification of these bubbles of light. (chapter 55) I am not saying that my previous statement was wrong. It is just that I’ve realized the gravity of the lord’s wounds. Yoon Seungho opened the door of this bedchamber, which meant that he was letting the sunlight enter his room. This had a symbolical meaning: the noble was finally allowing the light to enter his inner world. That’s why in this chapter, the noble confessed. He was opening up to the painter and permitting him to see the darkness in his mind and heart. He was jealous and he expressed his murdering and suicidal thoughts
(chapter 55), therefore he imagined that the painter would run away, too shocked by the obscurity of his inner world. And this signifies that until chapter 55, the lord’s soul and body were trapped in the darkness. Now, you might come to the conclusion that he was in a similar situation than Jihwa. Because the latter was figuratively deaf and blind, he had the impression to live trapped in a dark room, separated from the outside world. 
However, this is just a false perception. Jihwa was still in possession of his body, he could feel through his hands. Consequently, he could detect the presence of others. There’s no doubt that he felt lonely and was also lacking for warmth, however the protagonist was in the worst possible situation. He had been literally swallowed by the darkness. 
(chapter 74) He could feel nothing at all. Even his own mind was trapped in the darkness reinforced by his huge guilt triggered by father Yoon. Remember when I wrote that his body was covered by an armor, this referred to his loss of sensation. Imagine yourself in this situation: everything around you is dark and cold and you can feel nothing at all. No wonder why the lord came to believe that he was just a ghost. This is definitely the negative version of Blaise Pascal’s philosophy: cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). Yoon Seungho could only recognize his existence through his thoughts. And the chapter 74 was terrible for two reasons: it unveils to the manwhaphiles how the lord became a ghost. We see him disappearing in this blackness step by step:
- His powerlessness in front of brutality. He can’t protect himself
(chapter 74) He can no longer yell for help and use his leg in order to defend himself, which contrasts to the beginning of his nightmare. 
(chapter 74) - Then when his body starts flying in his terrible vision
(chapter 74), this displays that the noble is losing the control of his body which can be explained with the usage of drugs. But he is still feeling the touch. - Then the hands are covering up his mouth indicating that he can no longer express himself
(chapter 74), but at the same time, it indicates the loss of sensation. This panel symbolizes that he is no longer possessing his body at all. All he has left are his eyes. - Even at the end, he loses his sight… (chapter 74) This is the last vision he has before his eyes are also trapped in the darkness.
So the manhwalovers have now to question themselves: How do you leave this darkness, when you are surrounded by it? It is impossible, you can’t even feel the warmth of a body, because even your sense of touch is dead. In order to perceive the presence of light, you need colors… like I explained above. Light is composed by all the colors. And that’s how the lord could slowly leave his state of torpor. When he saw the erotic panels from Baek Na-Kyum, he could see the light, as they embodied love and warmth. That’s why he became so “addicted” to the pictures. They stood in opposition to the world he had been exposed to: sex, not as prostitution, but as a symbol for affection and warmth. The “colors” from the paintings helped him to see the light. After this new interpretation, it becomes understandable why he treasured so much the artist’s hands.
(chapter 1) 
They were the reason why he could see glimpses of light in the darkness of his world. And since he became trapped in the blackness due to hands of scholars and officials, it is not surprising why Baek Na-Kyum’s hands are healing him. Therefore, when the painter touched his chest with his hand
(chapter 73), he purified his heart. This explicates why in chapter 74, the noble is no longer interested in sex. The hand liberated his heart and allowed him to express his affection differently. At the same time, the loving gaze in the painter is the reason why the lord feels warmth in the end. All he ever wanted was to see light, but he truly discovered it through the painter’s embrace. (chapter 21) That’s why even in the darkness of the room, he could only be moved. Therefore he was focused on the painter’s body in the first place. The warmth made him realize the existence of light next to his body.
So when Yoon Seungho met the commoner for the first time, his eyes were already healed, as his eyes were exposed to colors constantly. No wonder, why the main lead fell in love at first sight. He had every reason to love the protagonist. The latter had saved him through the colors, making him view glimpses of light. Hence he could feel alive again. But more importantly, he could sense in the pretty face genuineness and naturality. But what the main lead didn’t realize is that Baek Na-Kyum was his mirror and as such his reflection. In other words, he was his glass prism. Since the painter felt attracted to him, the lord saw in the first painting 
(chapter 2) that he was handsome and attractive. That’s why he could experience his sexual emancipation afterwards. A part of his self-hatred disappeared. However, in order to liberate the lord entirely from his darkness, he needed to drop his fathers’ doctrines, which represented the biggest problem. His healing process got delayed due to Kim’s interventions and the painter’s own indoctrination. Striking is that Baek Na-Kyum was entirely healed by the lord, even before the latter has properly recovered from his own traumas. This clearly outlines his selflessness in the end.
And now, if I compare the first bubbles (chapter 55) to the ones from chapter 74, you’ll detect a huge difference. While there are only three colors in the first image (white, red, blue), the bubbles from chapter 74 remind us more of the colors from a rainbow. This coincidence with the character’s development. Yoon Seungho is seeing more and more light in his mind and heart. In chapter 55, only his conscious allowed the warmth and light associated to the painter to enter his inner world. But it is not the same with the unconscious… only in chapter 74, the light is entering his unconscious which explains why he is slowly remembering what happened to him. The lord can finally perceive his nightmares, while in the past they were just connected to terrible sensations. 
(chapter 38) I doubt that in chapter 38 and 59, he saw images. Due to the darkness of his inner world, he came to repress the horror he was exposed to. Thus it is not surprising that Yoon Seungho is not sleeping next to the painter, even after that night. 
(chapter 74) He still has this fear that Baek Na-Kyum might get affected by the blackness of his unconscious. At the same time, when he is facing the sleeping artist, it gives him comfort. Remember that the low-born is the glass prism of Yoon Seungho, hence his peaceful sleep helps the lord to relax. Note that he is lying in a fetal position, an indication of the return of his innocence. There’s no doubt that the visits in the painter’s study during the night 
(chapter 74) help the lord to relax and move on from his insomnia. Since he is now seeing light and feeling warmth thanks to the painter’s presence, he no longer feels the need for physical intimacy. Hence the lord can’t restrain himself showering Baek Na-Kyum with affection and care. However Yoon Seungho is not realizing that thanks to the artist, he is finally able to show his true self: a phoenix who got burnt by selfish and greedy people. This explicates why Yoon Seungho still perceives himself as a bad omen, because he can still see the blackness in himself. On the other side, this truly exposes the ravages caused by the traumatic experiences. From a sensitive, gentle, selfless and intelligent man, he became the opposite, reflecting the real image of the ones who destroyed him.
The irony is that the lord is not aware of his own transformation. In his mind, the painter has become his sun, hence he gave him a yellow-orange scarf. (chapter 74). When he sees the light next to the painter, he has the impression that it comes from the artist, while in reality, the painter is just mirroring his own light and warmth. Remember that the mirror in the manhwa has the form of the glass prism described above: 
(chapter 28) And in this panel (chapter 74), it is particularly visible, as the light coming from Yoon Seungho is reflected in the painter (glass prism), hence the colors are behind the artist’s head. This is not surprising why Baek Na-Kyum is so affected. Everything from Yoon Seungho is exuding love and care. At the same time, the lord serves also as a mirror for the painter. The latter can only sense love and warmth in the lord’s face and gaze.
(chapter 74) He can only be smitten. But since the lord is also the glass prism for the painter, you can observe the refraction in this panel: (chapter 74) The painter’s affection is literally shining through the lord so that colors appear behind the lord’s back. The diversion becomes obvious for the readers, who are the beholders of such a phenomenon This is not surprising that the painter is falling more and more for Yoon Seungho. That’s why he blushes after a good night kiss. 
(chapter 74) He is now even longing for Yoon Seungho’s warmth, hence he stands up during the night and looks at the light in the lord’s chamber. 
(chapter 74) However, the lord is keeping his distance due to the darkness still existing in his unconscious. He fears that this could represent a nuisance to the painter’s peaceful sleep. Moreover, he still perceives himself as impure contrary to Baek Na-Kyum. What the lord fails to recognize is that the artist seems to have sleeping trouble now, because he is longing for his lover’s warmth too, another clue for the painter’s thirst for love and strong libido. There’s no doubt that as long as the commoner doesn’t claim the lord’s bed as his own and expresses the wish to share the bed with his lover, the latter will never suggest this to Baek Na-Kyum.
Because the lord allowed the light from the painter to enter his spirit and heart, he is shining like a sun, which coincides with the animal embodying the noble: the Phoenix. In other words, the nightmare from the aristocrat should be judged as a necessary healing process. 
(chapter 74) Slowly, the lord is getting rid of the blackness. He is turning his light to the Earth, the painter, mistaking his lover for a sun. Their blossoming love will definitely bring the artist to improve his talent and creativity. But it will have the same effect on the noble. The longer Yoon Seungho is spending his time with Baek Na-Kyum, the better the lord can perceive the colors and light. Through art, the noble will rediscover his lost passion: painting and even poetry. And in my opinion, in order to reconnect to painting, the lord needs to sense the colors for real. The painting in his nightmare was made of black ink and nothing more. 
(chapter 74)
Both are so fascinated by the colors coming from the refraction that they are seeing the world in bright colors now. However, their fascination for the light makes them careless. They are not paying attention to their surroundings. 
(chapter 74) In their innocence, they are not realizing that if there’s light, there exists darkness too. Consequently, they don’t detect that darkness is already gathering around them, preparing for the next attack. From my point of view, the darkness should be perceived either as an eclipse or as clouds. Imagine the lord’s reaction, when he loses his prism glass, he will feel definitely devastated. However, there is one thing that even darkness couldn’t destroy after all these years: the lord’s intelligence. He might have acted stupidly during the second season, but his mind was clouded by his emotions. Now that he knows that the painter chose him and is no longer pushing him away, he will be able to use his brain properly. He has more evidences for that. Baek Na-Kyum allowed him to put the scarf properly. Observe the difference between the first (chapter 74) and second image.
(chapter 74) The knot is different and he has now a hat. The noble put the scarf exactly like in chapter 69. 
(chapter 69) Moreover, the new headgear, reserved for women, is a sign that Baek Na-Kyum is accepting his marriage officially. (chapter 74) Hence there is no ambiguity that his disappearance will lead to an investigation and Yoon Seungho will interrogate his staff. Finally, neither an eclipse nor the clouds can truly separate the sun from the Earth, consequently they won’t be able to disrupt this harmonious relationship for long. As a conclusion, the painter as a representative of all virtues could only become Yoon Seungho’s savior, as he brought light into his darkness. This explicates why Yoon Seungho views the commoner as his god and lord. 
(chapter 71) He was as strong as a god, when he entered his obscure world. No wonder why the noble is so humble and thankful towards his lover. He brought him back to life, hence his life can only revolve around the painter from now on. The sun will never sense his own light and warmth, unless it witnesses how the nature on Earth is blossoming. It needs the existence of another planet to realize the existence of its own heat.
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.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Yoon Seungho’s erections (second version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Yoon Seungho’s treasure 👅
Painter Of The Night: Five candles 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
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.
I have to admit that I kept an information hidden all this time, because I was waiting for the chapter 71. And now, it is time to reveal it: the significance of the five candles. 
You certainly remember that the number 2 is associated to woman, while 3 represent a man. What does it mean? 2 + 3 = 5. Five symbolizes a marriage. This explicates why The Pythagoreans thought of five as the marriage between heaven and earth.
And if the manhwaphiles are aware of Asian wedding ceremony, they will recognize that in a wedding ceremony, they have to kowtow 3 times: first to earth and heaven, then to the parents, to each other. On the wedding day, the couple needs to first kowtow to the heaven and earth, this is to pay respect to gods and ancestors. They also need to thank the parents for taking care of them until now, hence they have to bow to their parents. Finally, to show respect to each other, the couple will kowtow to each other.
As you can imagine, the protagonists’ marriage started with the first nuptial night, when the groom visited the bride’s study.
(chapter 20) Note that he was even accompanied with Kim, which became a witness of their marriage. This corresponds to the first kowtow. That’s why the author gave us such a panel: 
(chapter 21) The earth is symbolized by the house and the ground, while heaven (air) is embodied by the rain and the thunder. During this night, the painter and the lord discovered love and sensuality. Yet their wedding was not completed for two reasons. Remember that the main characters possess all the elements: the painter is associated to Earth and water, while the lord is related to fire and air. Yet, if you pay attention to the image above, you’ll notice that one element is missing: fire. The “painterofthenightphiles” can now realize why this night stood under the sign of illusion. Something was missing, real warmth and love. Yoon Seungho had not even realized his own feelings. Besides, let’s not forget that the noble was quite rough during that night. He only became really tender, after he had witnessed the painter’s tears, tears of happiness.
(chapter 21) The real reason for the “failure” is that one was drunk, while the other was impersonating the scholar. Both were not true to themselves. That’s why they couldn’t start a real relationship.
Then the second bow corresponds to the love session in chapter 58:
(chapter 58) this time, the lord confesses, but both don’t look at each other. Note, that during this night the lord is pining down the artist, as if he was afraid that Baek Na-Kyum would reject him and escape from him. The lord’s armor was just ruined, but not removed. As for the painter, he was still doubtful due to his own insecurities: destined to be a prostitute. But more importantly, the second kowtow is to the parents. And in my opinion, this was illustrated with this picture: 
(chapter 58) The shoes are an indication of their different origins, the noble and the low-born. Here again, we have a witness: the butler who is represented by the bucket of water. And if you compare this panel to the one from chapter 21, you’ll notice that one element is missing again: the air. We have now the presence of water, the fire and the earth through the house. But since there is no sky and as such no moon, I come to the conclusion that their union couldn’t be celebrated, because the lord wasn’t still honest to himself. He hadn’t dropped his fathers’ principles completely.
As you can imagine, the last bow is addressed to the partner. The groom and the bride are showing through this gesture that they respect each other. The respect is truly palpable in chapter 71. 
(chapter 71)
The painter as the bride has the right to refuse. Note that this scene is a reflection of the painter’s kiss during their first night. Back then, the lord waited some time before kissing back. 
(chapter 20) With such an approach, the noble couldn’t truly object, his mouth was shut with a kiss. Anyway, this time Yoon Seungho gives him space and time to ponder about this. What caught my attention is that the artist bites his lip 
(chapter 71) while pondering. This gesture is important, as it has two significations: the painter is wondering if this situation is real. He doesn’t even trust his own senses which is totally normal, after living for so long with the loss of his body and senses. Secondly, it exposes his last inner struggle. Should he follow his instincts? Striking is that the low-born’s conscious is the one who makes the final decision. His critical thinking and free mind allow him to perceive the truth. First, he was never in love with the scholar. 
(chapter 71) I consider this picture as a proof of my interpretation. The kisaeng approached Baek Na-Kyum because of the teacher, who kept using the boy in order to enter kisaeng house. Observe that “chosen out of desperation” stands below the words from the sister, exposing that he sensed that her choice was motivated by something else, or better said, by someone else. The sister influenced the artist to believe that he was in love with Jung In-Hun so that she could maintain her closeness to the scholar. At the same time, the teacher acted, as if he was honorable, so that the kisaeng had the impression that the artist would never truly outlive his sexuality. For her, it was the perfect solution. The low noble wouldn’t fall into sodomy, but maintain a platonic relationship with the boy, allowing her to remain by his side. However, this illusion only lasted, until the painter had to leave the kisaeng house. That’s why he was cornered in the end. 
(chapter 71) And this situation (being cornered) reoccurred, when he moved in Yoon Seungho’s mansion. It was the same again… Jung In-Hun pressuring him, until he revealed his true thoughts: jealousy and contempt. For the first time, Baek Na-Kyum is detecting genuine affection and it comes from Yoon Seungho and nobody else!! 
(chapter 71) This is a huge step for the artist. He realized that even Heena noona was not selfless in the end. As you can imagine, my last analysis called “love, embrace and caress” was validated with this new chapter. But the respect is not just visible through the words, but also through the actions. We could say that we have indeed two bows: 
(chapter 71) First, we have the lord, then later the painter, 
(chapter 71) as the latter has to look up. Finally, we have the groom bringing his own bride to the nuptial bedchamber: 
(chapter 71) And just like in the first two kowtows, there’s a witness: Kim who is listening behind the door. 
(chapter 71) Since this night represents the union between a noble and a commoner, the social status are switched indicating that they are now both lord and low-born simultaneously. (chapter 71) And this night announces the completion of their marriage ceremony. The most beautiful aspect is that the lord brought the painter to his own bedchamber, indicating that Baek Na-Kyum has been chosen as his official “wife”. At the same time, the conversation in the bathroom exposes that the artist chose Yoon Seungho as his groom as well.
(chapter 71) This image illustrates how the artist decided to listen to his heart. That’s why the readers can hear the artist’s heartbeat. His heart is racing so much that he blushed. Moreover, he can identify that the racing is not caused by fear, but by the lord’s affection. In other words, because Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum chose each other, they are now married.
Since the three bows are related to love, the manhwaphiles are able to comprehend the signification of this marriage. It is not a marriage of convenience, but of love, which is quite extraordinary in this historical period. Back then, love had nothing to do with it, in particular for nobles.
(chapter 71) The place of their official union is the lord’s bedchamber. When Byeonduck drew this image, she didn’t just want to illustrate the nuptial night. What caught my attention is that now all the elements are represented. The earth (house) and water (snow) which are associated to the painter are present, just like the moon (air) and the fire (light in the bedroom) embodying the lord. This image mirrors the balance and harmony, the sky occupies the top half of the picture, whereas the mansion occupies the bottom part. Their marriage is now completed and a painting will become the official document of their union. Under this new light, it becomes clear why the lord never got to see a picture of their first night together, the wedding ceremony was not completed.
Remember what I wrote previously, the lord would shower the painter with kisses and caresses so that Baek Na-Kyum wouldn’t be able to resist, since physical touch is the painter’s most sensitive sense. And chapter 71 proved my prediction and elaboration correct. But there was another reason for that. (chapter 71) The five candles again!
5 represents the human being. Why? It is because you add the body parts together (one head, 2 legs, 2 arms), you end up with 5 again. Secondly, the manhwaphiles should remember that we have 5 senses. And now, it becomes clear what the chapter 70 announced: the real marriage between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum because of their physical intimacy. Both had finally recovered all their senses and their mind as well. They were no longer under the influence of their unconscious, because this time, they possess their own body and their mind for real. With this new interpretation, the manhwalovers can grasp why the protagonists were suffering so much in the end. Due to the loss of their bodies and mind, their unconscious was the only way to send them a signal that they were not living like they should. And both are now liberated and can witness how the caresses and kisses affect each other. It already starts in the bathroom. The lord touches the artist’s phallus with his tongue
(chapter 71), he is caressing it. He is not focused on ejaculation like in chapter 36.
(chapter 36) That’s why he doesn’t use his hand here, only his mouth. It was as if he was kissing the penis. He is taking his time, his ultimate goal is to procure pleasure, hence we have a lot of panels with the master’s tongue on the phallus. That’s why later the lord interrogates if he liked his anal licking. 
(chapter 71) Everything is done to give pleasure to the painter: the kisses and the caresses. Yoon Seungho desires to give his love to the painter
. (chapter 71) This chapter is not just an illustration of a marriage, it shows us two men who are finally themselves, giving affection to each other with kisses and caresses. This signification is perceptible with the following panel: 
(chapter 71) Note that the painter is stroking the lord’s chest, while they both kiss each other. And this is not surprising that at the end, both protagonists close their eyes while kissing. 
(chapter 71) Both trust each other, they are no longer insecure, as they saw, heard and sensed the affection through the gestures and words. Yoon Seungho could only be happy to see that the artist was blushing due to him. Moreover, the low-born had several ejaculations without any penetration, exposing that this was not just a physical reaction. What caught my attention is the appearance of the master’s blushing. First, it started with the ear in chapter 70 
(chapter 70) and the redness has now reached his temple and cheek. Therefore I deduce that the manhwaphiles will witness the lord’s real blushing. As a conclusion, this wonderful night will help the lord to heal completely. By changing his approach, he obtained exactly what he desired the most: to be chosen. His dream came a reality.
(chapter 71) The man, Baek Na-Kyum, chose his bride, Yoon Seungho… since the latter is linked to the number 2, while the other is associated to manhood due to the number 3. And this final image announces the final step to their marriage. The wedding will be now completed, and red as the color of Asian wedding ceremony is present. First, we have the painter’s red shirt and later the blushing on both faces. (chapter 71)
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Painter Of The Night: “It all started with…”
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Now, you are wondering why I chose such a title, because it offers so many possibilities. And that’s exactly the reason why I selected this title. I didn’t want to reveal immediately the real topic of the subject. Furthermore, I desired to look at the manhwa under this aspect, since it helps the readers to get a new understanding of Yoon Seungho’s actions and behavior.
1. … A painting
It all started with a painting, which caught Yoon Seungho’s attention and aroused him so much, that he became slowly dependent on the erotic pictures made by Baek Na-Kyum to the point that he had to use them all the time. (chapter 1) However, the moment Baek Na-Kyum stopped publishing, the addicted noble realized his terrible situation. He needed to have the creator by his side, since he couldn’t give up on his “addiction”. The paintings had become his drug and the moment the author stopped publishing, it made the lord recognize, that he needed to become the supplier. He couldn’t remain a buyer, since he was put in a vulnerable and insecure position. Therefore we could say as well, it all started with the painter’s vow.
Because of Baek Na-Kyum’s resignation, the lord suffered immensely, yet simultaneously the latter didn’t want to change his habit for his nightly activities. That’s why he had to find the source of his addiction: the anonym artist. And now, the first image gets another dimension. His smile not only expressed his happiness, but also exposed his intoxication at the same time. In other words, his euphoria was more artificial, as he was in the presence of his drug. This explicates why the lord was so self-centered and selfish in the beginning. He was prioritizing his own needs. Don’t get me wrong… I am not saying that his feelings for the low-born were not genuine, it was actually a combination of both. His unconscious had sensed the painter’s sensitivity and felt a certain closeness, yet because of his debauchery, the lord had perverted it and was behaving like a drug addict. Now, it becomes more understandable why Yoon Seungho had already announced a death sentence,
(chapter 1) in case his wish didn’t get fulfilled, and why he became so “bloodthirsty” after the rejection. Just like a drug addict who becomes violent, if he is unable to get his drug, he felt the urge to release his anger. 
(chapter 1) It was, as if he was in withdrawal and couldn’t bear the thought, he hadn’t obtained what he desired. So when I compare the painter and his work to a drug, it puts the low-born in a bad light. Nonetheless this is not my intention at all. For me, the painter represents his cure in reality. Let’s not forget that the powerful aristocrat’s heart has been poisoned, corrupted by his father, therefore in order to get cured, he needs to find another “poison”, it’s like fighting a poison with another poison.
First, the painter confronts him with his own reflection (beautiful, attractive), which he has never experienced before. This drug is even more addictive than before, procuring new sensations. He becomes so high that he can’t control his erection and feels the need to have sex so early. 
(chapter 3) We see here the lord intoxicated by the new drug. It did release him from his prison, his self-hatred. Moreover, it helped him to see more clearly for the first time. His eye in his mind was now free from any corruption. Nonetheless the next day, he is faced with a different image. More precisely, his ears have to hear a terrible truth. Now, he is a man consumed by sex, which causes him to become pensive and depressed. He is no longer feeling the urge to have sex with Jihwa.
And now, the manhwaphiles comprehend the true nature of the new drug: the painter’s gaze is liberating the lord’s senses, very similar to Jihwa. This is not surprising that the first two paintings (chapter 2) 
(chapter 10) he makes show our lord looking at the painter. Imagine, in the second image, he even has two sex partners by his side, yet his attention is directed at the creator and not his partners. This painting exposes their locked gaze and their growing intimacy. Baek Na-Kyum’s gaze has become the lord’s obsession, his new drug. The paintings Baek Na-Kyum creates exude warmth, beauty and naturality which stands in opposition to the world, where the lord is living: fakeness, superficiality, distance and coldness. But the lord’s attraction towards the painter increases so much that he would like to taste the artist. In other words, if he devours Baek Na-Kyum, he might get high again because the pictures are no longer enough to satiate his urges. Now, you can understand what this means. Having sex with the low-born signifies, he is “increasing” the dose. Note that this coincides with the third painting, where he is looking at Jihwa and not at the painter.
During that night, he asked the commoner to join them. He was clearly expressing his interest in the artist. The locked gaze was no longer satisfying. This is also not surprising that the next day, he has no problem to cut ties with his long-time lover Jihwa. The artist has slowly replaced the sex partners. Without realizing it, the lord is becoming monogamous. Observe that from chapter 16, he has no nightly activity at all, contrary to the past. He makes a relapse in chapter 33, due to his guilty conscience. However, the moment he realizes that some nobles, especially Min, are looking at his “drug”, he recognizes what it really means, if he came to lose his new “drug”. His life and situation would be worse than before. Baek Na-Kyum’s gaze only belongs to him, hence he is willing to face a negative reflection.
Notice that the moment he is no longer obsessed with the paintings but with the artist’s love, he is no longer interested in his nightly activities. After chapter 21, he waits for the painter. He has already become monogamous. The long awaited picture serves a different purpose. Yoon Seungho would like to have a proof that he is loved by the painter. The image no longer represents his victory over a man and as such the noble he despises, but the mark of their love. He doesn’t feel the need to get aroused by the pictures.
2. … a kiss and embrace
Striking is that the moment he has sex with the artist, he discovers a new world: love and warmth. That’s the reason why this night still haunts his mind till the chapter 58. It all started with an innocent kiss but most importantly with the painter’s hug. 
(chapter 19) Notice that the moment the painter confesses to Seungho, he puts his hands on his shoulder and then he kisses him. But this doesn’t end here, later he puts his hands around his shoulders. (chapter 20) For the first time, the noble is embraced. And now, if you look at all the sex sessions he had with Jihwa or the others, the main lead was never truly hugged.
(chapter 8) 
(chapter 9) 
(chapter 15) [I am not quoting the paintings again which could be added to this list] One might argue that in the first panel, the sex partner is hugging the main lead from behind. However, this gesture reminds us much more of a fight than of a real embrace, corroborating my initial interpretation of sex sessions. In truth, they are battles, where the ukes are the defeated ones. It looks like the noble is restraining the protagonist from moving. It’s, as if he was trapped. From my perspective, there is always a distance between him and the sex partners, especially in the threesome. (chapter 10) The lower part is focused on Min, while the mouth is busy kissing the other aristocrat. Yet Seungho’s chest, eyes and mind are neglected. Striking is that the main character is portrayed with no arm exposing his incapacity to hug anyone. And now, you understand the importance of the hug. During their first night, the painter keeps hugging the lord, although his gesture is quite reserved in the beginning. This ignites a desire in Yoon Seungho, the latter feels the need to return the embrace and hug the artist.
(chapter 20) Yet, the more time passes on, the more the low-born holds the noble more tightly.
(chapter 21) The painter voices the wish to be embraced. That’s why the former puts him on his lap.
(chapter 21) You can sense that Yoon Seungho is willing to fill the gap and feel as close as possible to Baek Na-Kyum. He hugged him on his own first, yet the artist was the one embracing him fully at the end. (chapter 21) That’s why we could say that it all started with an embrace, the real cure. The painter’s gaze accompanied with the hands on Seungho’s shoulder created a new euphoria. This explicates why he was so obsessed with that night, why he attempted to renew this wonderful experience. In chapter 25, he tried to hug the painter from behind but failed terribly.
(chapter 26) This was a gesture of defeat and submission and never an embrace full of love. One might argue that the noble had already hugged the painter before, 
(chapter 16) hence the artist’s hug during their Wedding night can’t mark the start. Yet, if the manhwaworms look at the way the master held the commoner in chapter 16, they’ll notice that the lord is hugging Baek Na-Kyum from behind. He was definitely restraining him from leaving his bedchamber, like a predator catching his prey. Sure, there’s no doubt that there exist emotions behind his gesture. Nonetheless, the hug was more under the influence of the unconscious. Consequently it is different from the night in chapter 19. Here, the lord was more looking for sex, whereas in chapters 20 and 21, it was a mixture of sex and love. However, at the end love became triumphant and the lord was no longer interested in sex.
And now if you perceive the painter’s gaze and hug as “drugs”, you can imagine why Yoon Seungho became so infuriated, hurt and violent at the pavilion. Like a person on withdrawal, he couldn’t control his emotions and behavior.
Once he became sober, he realized his mistake. His mind had become clearer again. In my perspective, the “cure” helped him to release his emotions, which he had been repressing for so long. This explicates why he was reminded of his tragic past and relived his traumatic experience. He had decided to become numb in order not to feel any pain. The problem is that the moment he discovered love, he was not recognizing that he was allowing his heart to feel pain as well. Love and pain can’t be separated.
With this new perspective, it becomes understandable, while the lord hugged the artist while bathing.
(chapter 59) He became addicted to the hug. The problem was that the painter seemed to have forgotten their lovemaking. On the other hand, the lord couldn’t forget the painter’s arms therefore he often grabbed the artist’s arm 
(chapter 22) 
(chapter 30), as if they were a treasure to him. The roughness vanishes gradually, for the lord changes for the better as well. But more importantly, in the following gestures, the readers can sense his desire to hug the artist. And as time passes on, the gesture becomes more obvious and pronounced. It started with an arm,
(chapter 22) then it was the chest
(chapter 40) , (chapter 42) until it became a real hug.
(chapter 49) However, the real climax is reached in chapter 58. This time, the aristocrat in love is holding him so tightly with his both arms. 
(chapter 58) There is no gap between them, the artist is no longer putting some distance with his head, unlike in chapter 49 (third panel above) or the lord is grabbing the neck to make sure that the artist keeps kissing him (second panel above). Yet, while they make love 
(chapter 58) , the lord is no longer holding him and gazing at him, he is just grabbing his hand and whispering his love confession. This signifies that the lord has truly given up on his dream and has accepted reality. The painter’s gaze and hug were just an addiction and he is admitting that he will never be loved. He will see this night as a wonderful illusion but he won’t feel any anger, despair and pain after that night. We could say that the lord has finally defeated his inner demons and addiction. He is free from his past and can now use his mind clearly.
(chapter 61) Baek Na-Kyum purified the lord so that the latter has truly become selflessness and no longer needs sex. He won’t organize any sex session or any party with wine and opium. In my opinion, the last debauchery symbolized his final relapse. Observe that during that week, he had no sex and wasn’t even aroused, when a noble gave him a blowjob
. Sex has become irrelevant thereby we can conclude that his transformation is complete. He has become a truly reformed man. (chapter 61) And as much as it pains me that the lord won’t look for the artist right away [that’s my theory and since Byeonduck liked a tweet where I expressed this], I believe, this picture symbolizes something positive too. The lord’s mind and heart are at peace. Now, he can think and see lucidly and once he discovers Baek Na-Kyum’s painting and the tools left in the study, he will recognize his mistake.
3. … the arms and hands
And because it started with a hug, it becomes comprehensible why the lord loved hugging his lover. In reality, he wished to be embraced too and the hug in chapter 16 externalized his deeply repressed desires. This is not surprising that a hug from the painter could stop Yoon Seungho’s rage and fury. 
Imagine his emotions, when the low-born did this. In that scene, the master was acting like a monster, nevertheless it didn’t stop the artist to embrace him despite the slap and his ugly behavior. But for Baek Na-Kyum, it was the same as well. He also longed to be embraced hence for him, their Wedding night represented a dream, where he could express his desire and experience what he wanted to have. He wanted to express his love, shower his learned sir with his affection. Strangely, it started with a hand 
(chapter 30) forcing the low-born to accept him as his new master. However, notice that the painter’s hands become more decisive and grab more firmly Yoon Seungho’s wrist in chapter 42. 
(chapter 42) This reflects the evolution of their relationship. The painter is here accepting the aristocrat as lover. Simultaneously, he is touching the place where the lord’s unconscious is voicing his desires. And this gesture triggers the lord later to put him on his lap, attempting to embrace him. And the more the lord hugs the painter, the more the latter is affected by it. The reason is simple. Just like the main lead, the commoner was deprived from warmth and love for so long and receiving it for the first time, this could only move the main lead. The manhwaphiles should remember that the artist asked the master to hold him in chapter 41
(chapter 41), exposing his need for comfort and embrace. Yet back then, the lord was confusing love with sex hence he couldn’t give correctly what the painter desired. He was not able to distinguish the difference. In truth, both were lost persons mixing up sex with love due to their terrible fathers.
Nonetheless the latter rejected the affection from Yoon Seungho in chapter 49, as he had been reminded that a hug could be fake. So he was still doubting the protagonist’s feelings. The significance of the embrace explicates why the low-born is affected in chapter 58.
He keeps blushing displaying his emotions. He is really loved, displayed by the lord’s words and gestures. That’s why the hug is reciprocated but it is too beautiful to be true. Consequently the noble doubts its existence.
But because it all started with a kiss with a hug and love confession, we have to imagine that the artist will feel the same need than the protagonist in chapter 22. He will long for his lover’s arms, especially after that terrible experience. That’s why I am convinced that the moment Baek Na-Kyum returns to the mansion, he will definitely try to embrace Yoon Seungho, missing his warmth and protection so that we have a new version of the hug in chapter 53.
As a conclusion, we have two protagonists deprived from their own body due to their fathers’ abuse. Finally, both were able to find what they had been longing for a long time. And since the lord is no longer a man consumed by sex, he will be able to show his love differently, supporting his love in his education and his talent. Yoon Seungho will become his sponsor and drop the surrogate father for good.
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 tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and the support.
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