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.
(chapter 70) When you look at the panel, you’ll observe that Baek Na-Kyum is represented by three white candles, while on the lord’s side there are just two white bougies. Since the color white symbolizes purity, this picture exposes that both protagonists are not just healing, but also getting less selfish and more open. Nonetheless, the noble’s purification is not complete yet. Here, I would like the manhwaphiles to keep in mind that since 3 is often associated with order, perfection, completion, reconciliation or fecundity due to the fusion of 1 and 2, it explicates why 3 is considered as magical and mystical. On the other hand, the number 2 symbolizes not only duality (light-darkness; ying-yang), but also balance and companionship. It is also related to kindness, and reflects a quiet power of judgment. At the same time, it indicates the need for planning and boundaries in order to keep the balance. And now, the readers can grasp why I view this panel as a confirmation that the master’s carthasis isn’t finished. In chapter 70, he has finally dropped his armor, this just means that he has finally abandoned father Yoon’s doctrines for good. But let’s not forget that Yoon Seungho’s life has not only be determined by father Yoon, but also by Kim, his surrogate father. Hence he is still under his influence. 
(chapter 23) Ignorance is a blessing for him, because it allows him to let his master to be in the dark. That’s why the master relied on the valet all this time. Kim was his eyes and ears, therefore certain rumors didn’t reach the noble’s ears. 
(chapter 18) On the other hand, the butler let him know about this gossip. 
(chapter 22) Since Yoon Seungho perceives himself as cultured, because he reads so much, he could only laugh about this rumor. However, he never realized the origin of these gossips. The valet utilized the rumors in order to deceive everyone, including the main lead. That’s why Kim could only judge “ignorance as a blessing”, because it helped him to manipulate the staff, the town folks and the nobles. He had an interest to create a bad image about Yoon Seungho. This helped him to keep the main character in isolation and in the dark. Moreover, it reinforced the lord’s dependency on his assistant. In order to corroborate my interpretation, I will use a panel reflecting the true nature of their relationship: 
(chapter 11) Observe that the valet is not portrayed with eyes. This is not just an indication of the butler’s lie. The valet’s eyes became the master’s. This signifies that the words and the vision of the valet became the noble’s reality. At the same time, the noble’s mouth is closed and his hands are not present either. Note, he is getting dressed by his own valet. As a conclusion, he is entirely relying on Kim. He has no mouth, no hand, no ear and no eye. Everything belongs to the butler. This single picture exposes the butler’s true powers. The lord was totally deprived of all his senses and his own body, a real puppet. And this interpretation leads me to the following question: Who killed the servant in chapter 1? In my eyes, the noble was just the executioner, while the butler was the judge. Why do I see it like that? First, note that in the scene, the main lead has no eye 
(chapter 1) and he doesn’t want to know about the painter’s reasons for not painting any longer. I know, some readers might reject this idea, but I would like them to remember that we see the butler acting like a judge in front of the doctor, that’s why the commoner begs the valet (“Are you trying to have me killed”).
(chapter 65) He uses Yoon Seungho’s power, yet the latter is described as a killer. In chapter 1, Yoon Seungho was the epitome of ignorance (narrow-minded, blind and deaf) 
(chapter 1) and the butler didn’t need to be by his side, as he had a real control over the lord’s hands, eyes and ears. Now you understand why Kim really treasures ignorance. Simultaneously, the valet values knowledge, as it procures him power. 
(chapter 50) This idiom doesn’t only imply to ignore your feelings, but also to deny the existence of your heart. If the noble has no emotions, then he can be the perfect puppet. This explicates why Yoon Seungho had a relapse after this conversation. Despite his warning, the master did listen to the butler’s advice.
(chapter 65) That’s why there is no sincere apology. 
(chapter 65)
(chapter 65). He prioritizes his own life. He is not interested in people’s passion and well-being. He doesn’t care about people’s motivations. The latter just become relevant, the moment they affect his life. He needs to know about people’s behavior and thoughts for his manipulations in order to protect his quiet life.
(chapter 65) therefore any incident must be covered up. At the same time, it implies as well that everything must be done in the shadow. That’s why without any spectator, he removes the snowman embodying the painter. The final panel contain all the butler’s doctrines. He will erase everything related to the past, acting as if nothing happened. It doesn’t matter, if someone gets destroyed in the end, because on the surface, it will look like he just cleared a way. He gives the impression that he helped the persons concerned, not taking into consideration how his actions and decisions will affect others. If someone has to pay the price for this, then so be it, as long as it doesn’t disturb his life. From my point of view, this scene is full of symbolism. From my perspective, he is ruthless and even willing to dirty his hand to a certain extent, since he is using a broom. However, this gesture exposes too that he is not directly soiling his hands. This is the reason why he is never directly involved with people’s wrongdoings. He will just push others to commit wrongdoings with remarks. They have to act according to his own thoughts and benefit. This interpretation is not exaggerated, if you compare this scene with Deok-Jae’s misdeed in chapter 46. The vicious servant used his own feet to ruin the artist’s creation 
or he pushed the painter with his own shoulder. 
(chapter 46) At the same time, with this new approach, it helps to understand why the butler’s evilness was never caught. He could always feign ignorance with such a behavior and was never directly involved.
, 17, 59). He also allowed the vicious servant Deok-Jae to betray Yoon Seungho and plan a murder
(chapter 51). He hoped that Heena noona would take the painter away 
(chapter 68) and he is now expecting that Min organizes a second abduction while framing others: Nameless, Heena noona and Jihwa. 
(chapter 62) Here, the noble stated that he adored the painter). This means that the light and warmth had finally reached the lord’s heart, which is also mirrored by the light in the panel. But the problem is that after the low-born’s disappearance, the master had the impression, he had been betrayed and abandoned. Hence he became enraged and blinded by his own wound. This is a sign that he definitely took it to heart. Moreover, we shouldn’t forget that despite the incident at the barn, the noble was not even able to stick to the rule, treating the artist like a sex toy. In the end, Yoon Seungho brought him to his own bed, indicating that he considered him as his partner. To sum up, the noble was still not honest to himself exposing the valet’s influence.
. Then another scandal appeared, when the lord punished the staff for not following his order (chapter 30).
As you can see, the uproar remained within the mansion in season 1. This is the reason why the noble retreated in chapter 30, when he was pressured by the other aristocrats. 
(chapter 33) Here, he was definitely avoiding any scandal. He was running away, although he tried to deceive the nobles by declaring that the painter would belong to him. And during the second season, the readers can observe a progression, the scandal and uproar is now reaching the town (chapter 64) 
. Thereby the climax was reached in chapter 67, when Yoon Seungho visited the Lees’ mansion. For the first time, he was confronting a noble and didn’t fear to cause a scandal, when he showed up with a sword and didn’t even remove his shoes. 
(chapter 67)
(chapter 70) And this confession could be used against the lord later, hence after that night, Yoon Seungho kept his distance from his lover. Thus he said this to his lover in chapter 75 
and later asked if the painter was truly resisting. Slowly, he had internalized that consent was central: 
(chapter 79) But this doesn’t signify that this doctrine had completely vanished. For me, it has been gradually weakened, the moment the lord started feeling remorse. The problem is that he still relied on the butler to correct his wrongdoings. That’s why he sent the valet to the artist in chapter 12 or left the artist behind in chapter 33. He ran away from his responsibility 
(chapter 33) and let Kim take the burden. Yet the more time passed on, the more the noble took his responsibility. He protected him from the maids and decided to buy him better clothes. This is no coincidence that in chapter 40, he implied to the painter that the latter could now rely on him. This progression is visible, when he took care of the painter in chapter 55. He covered him 
(chapter 55) and watched over him during the night. But this principle will be truly abandoned, the moment the lord apologizes properly, and this expectation was proven correct, as the real apology took place in season 3. 
(chapter 102) Nevertheless, for me, he truly changed a lot from episode 70, because there he expressed regrets for the first time
in front of the painter. Notice that in episode 71, we had a semi-apology, for he was admitting his mistakes: 
(chapter 71) The problem is that in the bathroom, he chose the wrong words. Hence the painter could only misunderstand him and pushed his hand away. While the manhwaphiles could witness his huge pangs of conscience, the painter never did. He was either unconscious (chapter 32) 
or asleep 
(chapter 50) or blind or deaf
(chapter 49). And little by little, the lord learned how to apologize to his lover. In season 3, he admitted his wrongdoing right away. 
(chapter 82) Then later he tried to redeem himself. 
(chapter 84) Note that here, he was doing everything himself. He was no longer relying on Kim. Hence in the first version, I had voiced that the lord would apologize to Baek Na-Kyum, after the second abduction had been solved. And this expectation became a reality. The lord felt definitely huge pangs of conscience. 
(chapter 102) He is tasked to investigate how this tragedy could take place. Why did they get separated for so long.
(chapter 23), because he liked keeping people in the dark as well. We had a perfect example with the deal between Jung In-Hun, the painter and the protagonist. First, Yoon Seungho gave the scholar the impression that the former was just an uncultured fool, whereas in truth the low noble was the one deceived, because Yoon Seungho was giving him just an empty promise. At the same time, the rich noble lied to the painter, when he claimed that Jung In-Hun had come to see him. 
(chapter 7) However, it backfired on Yoon Seungho the moment the latter saw the painter’s reactions. He would run to his former teacher immediately, leaving the main character behind. Then he smiled to Jung In-Hun 
(chapter 7) and blushed in his presence. That’s the moment Yoon Seungho’s heart was moved, justifying the words in chapter 63: 
(chapter 63) No one has ever questioned how the master could treasure the artist’s smile so much? One might say that the first smile occurred in chapter 40
(chapter 40), but as you know, each event happens twice during the same season. So the lord experienced it much earlier. That’s why I believe that the first smile in chapter 7 played a huge role. The incident marked the return of the aristocrat’s jealousy, which had been buried for a long time. That’s why Yoon Seungho decided to reveal his plan. He hoped that with this new approach, Baek Na-Kyum would perceive him as a benevolent lord and look at him differently. He hoped that Baek Na-Kyum would smile for him. This explicates why the lord underlined the importance of connections and wealth. 
(chapter 7) Note that at the end of the chapter, he treated the painter as a real guest. He invited him to his bedchamber officially. 
(chapter 8) And observe that the noble was here smiling, he was already imitating the artist. This explicated too why not only his moves in this chapter were contradicting each other, but also Kim was introduced here for the first time. And note that from that moment, the lord never tried to trick the painter afterwards. Like I have already pointed out, the incident at the pavilion was definitely organized by the butler. And with this example, the manhwaphiles can see that the lord was applying the 6th rule as well, but dropped it due to the low-born’s reaction. This is not surprising why this manipulation ended up causing more and more pain. Yoon Seungho had brought him upon himself, revealing how the first doctrine “ignorance is not a blessing“. With this new observation, I perceive the episode 7 as a first major turning point. The lord was dropping the 6th rule (to utilize others in order to achieve his goal). However, this doesn’t mean that he abandoned the first doctrine. Quite the opposite… it took him a long time to realize why he couldn’t achieve his goal. In my opinion, the master started changing in chapter 67. Contrary to chapter 33
, Yoon Seungho couldn’t bear to hear how people would talk behind his back: a sodomizer and a beast who corrupted Lee Jihwa and others.
(chapter 67). Note that for the first time, the lord decided to defend himself
, correct people’s perception about him, which he never did before (chapter 18, 22, 57
). This coincides the return of the lord’s hearing and speech abilities. In chapter 67, he is using his own ears and mouth, he is no longer relying on the butler’s help. What the lord imagined to perceive as help was just an illusion. However, I believe that the lord decided to drop the first principle in chapter 68
, when he heard the conversation between Baek Na-Kyum and Heena noona. Observe that he is listening behind the door, as if he was spying, which I perceive as another evidence for Kim’s spying activities. Nevertheless, this was never the main lead’s intention, hence he left quietly. Yet the painter’s words did push the lord to abandon the butler’s first principle. But what did he hear exactly? Here, I have to admit that I can’t be 100% sure, but I think that he heard the painter’s confession, because in chapter 70, Yoon Seungho asked the painter, if the latter was afraid of him 
(chapter 70). And note that when the painter confessed, he externalized his fear. 
(chapter 68) But what caught my attention is that when we see the lord’s feet in front of the door, we have to keep in mind, Yoon Seungho was not able to see the painter’s tears. He could only hear his words. Consequently he was relying on his own ears. However, this doesn’t signify that Yoon Seungho is blind. In my opinion, in this precise moment Yoon Seungho was able to envision Baek Na-Kyum’s tears, because he was forced to use his mind’s eye. Then with this new perspective, we have a new version of chapter 3
. However, the huge difference is that Yoon Seungho’s mind’s eye is no longer focused on himself, but on the painter. This explicates, why the master decided to retrieve and to give him space. Without seeing his face, he could sense that there was affection, because the painter was crying. The readers should recall that the painter’s tears have always had a huge impact on the noble, because they healed his eyes, hand and heart. The manhwaworms can comprehend why the lord chose to let the painter determine his own fate. The presence of tears and the painter’s voice were able to remove the lord’s veil on his eyes and ears for good. I would like to remind the manhwaphiles that in chapter 68, Kim tried to destroy the lord’s own judgement by recurring to gaslighting and distorting the past. [For more explications, read this essay: 
(chapter 69) although he is sitting in his bedchamber. Imagine, he is no longer relying on the butler’s information contrary to chapter 56: 
(chapter 56) With this new approach, the readers can understand why the aristocrat can make such a comment in chapter 70: 
. Therefore I deduce that the butler can no longer control the lord’s body, since he is no longer required to be his eyes, ears and hands. However, this doesn’t mean that Kim is truly defeated. He still controls the staff, especially the male domestics. Here, I would like to make a little disgression. In my opinion, the butler played a huge role in the first abduction. How come that the servants were so sure that the painter had run away? 
(chapter 61) They were not present, since both protagonists were at the physician’s. From my point of view, Kim must have manipulated the servants… he just needed to imply that Baek Na-Kyum had escaped, while in front of Yoon Seungho, he would say the opposite later due to the commoner’s return: 
(chapter 62) There’s no doubt that with the painter’s appearance, he could use the incident to obtain more support from the servants. The painter had caused trouble again, he was responsible for their misery. But since he truly exposed his true nature to the main lead (abusing his authority, criticizing and judging his master), he can no longer appear in front of him. Right now, he has to lie low, hence he needs other people to be his eyes and ears. This explains why the servant is portrayed without eyes either
(chapter 70). The absence of the eyes is an indication that they belong to Kim, just like the lantern indicates that the domestic is acting on the valet’s order. And in season 3, we can observe a similar situation. This time, they faked obedience 
(chapter 99), while they badmouthed their master. 
(chapter 98) Because the lord feared to lose his lover, he didn’t pay attention to the domestic’s insult: 
(chapter 98) But the insult was the proof that they never treated the painter as a part of the household. He was just a spoiled brat. 
and gives orders
. He is truly rude. We could say that he treats the low-born like a servant, as though he wanted him to feel so little. Kim’s strategy was to remind the painter of his position: he is just a servant, a new version of chapter 52. Remember that Kim’s intention from the start of the second season was always to diminish the artist’s status: he is just a temporally favored servant, nothing more. Striking is that the domestic never says that the lord gave him the order to bring the painter. He uses here a passive sentence “you are to attend to him” which is important. That way, the servant can hide the identity of the person who requested this. And since the lord was looking at the intruder in a rather cold way, I believe that he didn’t expect Baek Na-Kyum.
However, when the door was closed loudly, the lord must have realized that this must have been Kim’s action. The lord didn’t mind, for it looked like the butler was helping him to improve his relationship with the painter. This interpretation was also confirmed in season 3. Yoon Seungho showed no desire to investigate the matter of “Jung In-Hun” or Deok-Jae’s death, for he was too much focusing on his lover. He kept saying that this was not of his concern. 
(chapter 98) However, he was totally wrong here. That’s the reason why the abduction could even take place. Because of the last incident, the main lead is forced to recognize that he needs to investigate the matter, as everything or everyone can affect his life. This is important, because that’s the only way for Yoon Seungho to recognize the butler’s wrongdoings. He encouraged him not to pay attention on others so that he wouldn’t detect his wrongdoings. Thanks this rule, Kim could live freely. 
(chapter 70), kissing him tenderly 
. That’s why Kim will have the impression that the painter is still not accepting the lord. This explicates why after that night, they were separated. The butler imagined that if they had no longer sex, the artist would feel neglected and believe that the lord had already a change of heart. He hoped that after such a separation, the painter would leave the mansion, exactly like the lord had been encouraged to have a relapse in chapter 50. In my eyes, Kim was slowly viewing the artist as a man consumed by lust. How could he still accept to have sex with Yoon Seungho after the latter had treated him like a sex toy in the shed? The butler couldn’t grasp the protagonists’ thirst for love and warmth. 
(chapter 70) Under this new light, it becomes understandable why Kim decided to betray his master and rekindle with Yoon Chang-Hyeon. The punishment was the signal for the valet to switch the alliance.
(chapter 102) From that moment on, the light had now reached the mind. He could drop his self-loathing finally which was the foundation of Kim’s principle. It was okay to cry. These were tears of happiness and relief… He had been able to rescue his lover. This means that Yoon Seungho did everything what the butler rejects: the embrace as a way to console and apologize and the tears as a sign of regret and happiness. But why does the valet abhor them? It is because he could never admit his own mistakes and as such he could never beg for forgiveness.
(doctor Frost, chapter 211) 
(chapter 50) Here, the butler never cried, he just showed pity and sympathy towards Baek Na-Kyum, however he was not speaking from the heart. 
). Optimism is a choice (chapter 68/69: the lord recognized that he still had some chance, though he was very scared). Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice (chapter 69
). Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.”
This would announce the butler’s complete loss of power. At the same time, it would signify that the lord is showing that he trusts Baek Na-Kyum and is using his hair to woo the painter. And this could definitely correspond to the master’s attitude: his will to open up. Simultaneously, he could express the following wish: he would like to comb his lover’s hair himself encouraging him to have a topknot.
(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. 
(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. 
(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. 
(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. 
(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. 
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.
(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. 
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. 
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.
I doubt that he was lying to the painter, when he threatened him in the chapter 11.
Therefore the sex sessions with the seme were a sort of prostitution. They approached him for their own interests, however the main lead was aware of that and chose to humiliate them with his sex sessions. That’s why he abhors prostitution and was happy to have found someone so pure. Now, you realize the importance of the hearsay. The nobles are the ones spreading these rumors about Yoon Seungho. He is uncultured because he does commerce and deals with commoners. They need to spray this gossip in order to keep their dignity and remain honorable. They use grapevine in order to tarnish the main lead’s reputation as they can’t accept that they have to lower themselves in order to get what they need from the protagonist. 
When he says “our”, he is actually speaking about himself and not his other relatives. 
But Jihwa overlooked it. From my point of view, the red-haired lord made two huge mistakes. First, he misjudged the warning because of a misunderstanding. 
What caught my attention are Yoon Seungho’s words. While the latter commented to Jihwa that nothing much happened in his life despite the straw mat beating, he considers the parting with Jihwa as exciting. It leaves the impression that Yoon Seungho was living like a zombie with his friend by his side. So hurting another noble has become an amusement and now, we understand why the protagonist had so much fun during the hunt.
(chapter 22) He enjoys humiliating nobles, it gives him sensations, whereas punishing commoners or killing servants is nothing extraordinary. 
(chapter 41) His chagrin is so deep that he is losing little by little his dignity. In chapter 41, he even has his hair loose and sleeps on the street like a commoner. He no longer acts and dresses like a noble. All this illustrates that Jihwa did love his friend but his lack of consideration and egoism were the reasons why he could never get close to the seme. The irony is that Yoon Seungho has already experienced Jihwa’s betrayal hence this is no surprise if the main lead will know right away who was behind the attempted assassination. The problem is that the main lead never thought that the moment he is in a relationship with the painter, he has to protect his loved one very well. This is no longer amusing and exciting when your loved one gets hurt. This will teach him a lesson so that he will be better prepared, when his other enemies start targeting him.
(chapter 36) 
(chapter 25) It was as if they had an one-night-stand and the other has already forgotten their memorable night… because it meant nothing to the uke. Imagine the irony of the situation. The painter kept his virginity for the teacher but once he lost it to another man, he doesn’t want to enter into a relationship with the man who took his virginity. He values more the feelings than the sexual encounter. This explains why the master uses force in order to submit the painter. He can’t accept the rejection or we could say the breakup in Seungho’s eyes. Then since he has internalized that sex is war through his sexual encounters with the other nobles, he believes that he can act the same way with the commoner. He just needs to defeat the artist sexually and the latter will accept his fate. However, he never expected that the outcome would be different. He might have forced the artist to sex, in reality the painter was never defeated as he mentioned Jung In-Hun, the loved one.
(chapter 26) Unlike Jihwa and Baek Na-Kyum, the noble didn’t drink any alcohol in order to ease the pain of the breakup because he never accepted it as such. He preferred fighting for this relationship, hence he took care of the artist after the rape. He refuses to admit defeat, even if his actions even worsen the situation and damage his relationship with the low-born. In other words, there will be no breakup or rejection hence he will never drink his sorrow into alcohol. On the other hand, he will be plagued with pangs of conscience and crack his brain in order to salvage his relationship with Baek Na-Kyum. Strangely, he is far more active than Jihwa and Baek Na-Kyum, when it comes to love which contrasts so much to his passivity concerning politics and the nobility. The lord’s chagrin provokes violent reactions so that at the end, he is truly exhausted because he didn’t manage to succeed. Any attempt to win the painter’s heart failed, until he finally showed his true self: tired, vulnerable and depressed.
(chapter 35) Only then he is able to have hope again because he no longer perceives hatred, rejection… he even catches the artist’s blushing. And this outlines the painter’s purity, strength and determination. 
(chapter 19)
(chapter 21) We have to wonder why. My explanation is the following. Deep down, the uke knew that Jung In-Hun would never have sex with him, would never accept his feelings. However, his unconscious, meaning his repressed sexual desires, was unleashed, he wanted to have sex with a man, he had already dreamed of it twice and each time, it was with the powerful noble. So the painter’s unconscious allowed him to reveal his true sexual orientation, something he had kept hidden due to the brainwashing. So the alcohol not only reveals the chagrin caused by the rejection, it helped the painter to reveal his true desires and identity. That’s why the artist couldn’t remember the night spent with the powerful lord, it was like a dream and we all know that we always forget dreams.
(chapter 35). But what does the window symbolize?
(chapter 5) and it is still there at the end of season 1. 
(chapter 44). It looks like there wasn’t much progression, yet this time, the painter walks towards his mansion and remains by his side.
This is important, because I realized that with the vanishing of the learned sir, Yoon Seungho chose to remain in the lord‘s bedchamber. What caught my attention is that the lord always went to the courtyard because of the admired sir. We have two chapters for this interpretation: chapter 7 and chapter 35 
. What caught my attention is that when the lord visited the scholar for the first time, both were sitting in front of a door which looked like a window at the same time. 
(Chapter 7) This is not random at all, as from my perspective, it introduces the role played by Jung In-Hun in the main lead‘s life. He will be the one forcing the lord to move away from the window so that he can leave the bedchamber. Thus we had this scene: Yoon Seungho is observing the learned sir and his student from far away. 
(Chapter 19) This explicates too why the noble remained so passive in season 2 in the end. Baek Na-Kyum was the lord‘s love interest, hence his „place“ is the bedchamber. So how can the lord move away from the window and as such from the bedroom? Jung In-Hun is the trigger. And note that only in season 2, we discovered how the learned sir used walks through the countryside to console the painter. 
(Chapter 70) Finally, the main lead organized a hunt for the first time because of his honored guest. 
(Chapter 22) And if you recall the lord‘s behavior, you will notice that he left the city for the first time, when he wanted to meet the scholar. 
(Chapter 6) He encountered him in the woods. Under this new light, it reinforces my conviction that the learned sir‘s death will be the lord‘s motivation to become proactive and leave his past behind. Why? It is because of the painter‘s words. 
(Chapter 94) The painter still respects the scholar, but he already loves Yoon Seungho. He is not disloyal towards his former teacher despite falling in love with the protagonist. With the last incident, Yoon Seungho got aware how much the painter means to him, but at the same time, he realized the importance of the learned sir in Baek Na-Kyum‘s life. He needs to answer his question: 
( 100) Don‘t forget that the main lead saw the room covered in blood, though the latter had already dried. To conclude, the main lead was encouraged to walk thanks to the scholar, and as such to leave his window! 
(Chapter 100)
(Chapter 44) It was the painter’s role. This signified that he was still trapped by his past and trauma, something that he hadn’t revealed to anyone. Since Yoon Seungho is still inside the room smoking in front of the window, it reveals that the lord had not really let go of his past at all, he had not expressed himself in front of Baek Na-Kyum yet. If he reveals his inner feelings and thoughts, this means he will disclose his secret and unveil his vulnerability. This explains why there was no confession from the noble’s side for instance [there were other reasons why he hadn’t confessed anything too], why he was still not sharing his inner thoughts and emotions to his partner. 
(Chapter 37)
(Chapter 102) This signifies that Yoon Seungho will act differently in season 4: he will be proactive. Like I mentioned in the essay „Scandal(s) in Jemulpo“, he will become the scholar’s disciple and follow his footsteps: ruthless, but also caring and gentle. The only difference is that his affection for the painter is genuine. 
(chapter 10),
(chapter 12)
(chapter 20)
(chapter 29)
It is still the same. Despite getting a blowjob, he still wants to hide his homosexuality to the outside. Hence he still gets scared and would like the noble to stop from exciting him. So for the first time, he is experiencing sex with someone.
Note the opened door. The learned sir caught him by surprise. That’s how the learned sir was forced to repress and hide his homosexuality. This is no coincidence that in season 1, the scholar had the opposite attitude. 
By feigning ignorance, he actually encouraged the artist to become a sodomite. After their return to the mansion, the teacher showed leniency. He accepted that his student would paint erotic paintings, but he was well aware of their sexual encounter. 
(Chapter 30) The moment he arrives back and the lord brings him back to his chamber, the nature of their relationship is no mystery any longer, though painting is used as a justification. 
(Chapter 45) He just accepted him as his sexual partner, hence he went to his room and not to the lord’s side in chapter 44. If we compare their respective situation. Yoon Seungho hadn’t progressed much compared to the painter at the end of season 1, because he needed to express his emotions and reveal his secrets and vulnerabilities to Baek Na-Kyum. It took him a long time to open up, as he had been coerced to view himself as a bird of misfortune. He didn’t dare to voice any wish out of fear that these wishes would get ruined. 
(Chapter 96) In his mind, he had no right to voice any desire, as they would be perceived as GREED! 
(Chapter 96) 
(chapter 96) and Heena could hear his words. Hence at the end, the door got broken: 
(chapter 96) This represented the final emancipation of the artist. He no longer cared, if he was seen. He was so moved that he didn‘t pay to his surroundings. 
(Chapter 96), while it was not the case for the noble. The latter knew about the artist‘s shyness. This truly shows that Heena was responsible for the sexual oppression of her brother. The painter was no longer hiding his affection for the main lead, when he decided to wait for his master‘s return in the bedchamber.
(Chapter 98) Observe that the artist was going there on his own will, and he was sharing his bed with his husband. 
(Chapter 1) This memory was from the learned sir. Why was he approaching the painter during the day? Secondly, note that he only scolded the artist in his house! 
(Chapter 34) So he had discovered a secret, he imagined that the painter had assisted to an immoral love session.
(chapter 6) In my opinion, the kisaeng was responsible for this incident. We have a clue for this interpretation: 
(Chapter 94) The noona is the one standing in front of the opened door with her donsaeng. Here, the artist was getting embarrassed and humiliated. That‘s how little by little, the artist associated the closed door to shame and safety. This is not surprising that the kisaeng is also standing behind the closed door, when she hears her brother making love to the main lead. 
(Chapter 96) In addition, she is constantly seen in connection with an opened door, but this opened door is linked to anxieties, pain, shame and guilt: 
(chapter 68) 
(chapter 66) 
(chapter 88) I have the impression that she was acting out of jealousy, and she had intended to tarnish her brother‘s reputation.
(chapter 7)
(chapter 19)
(chapter 29) 
which is connected to the expression “castles in the air”. His aspirations are boundless, he is aiming at the highest position without being competent or even trying to improve himself. He also attempts to air dirty laundry, when he is hunting with Yoon Seungho. He wants to force the lord to admit his lie so that he can criticize him. But here he fails. As you can observe, many expressions with air reflect his personality. However, there is one scene that contrasts to this observation, that’s when he is in his library in the chapter 40. We actually see him at the library in two occasions: 
His words there are suffocating the poor boy, that’s the reason why Baek Na-Kyum is left speechless. 
(Chapter 40) He can’t breathe properly. Since there is no view and no door to the outside visible in the drawing, we have to imagine this reflects his narrow-mindedness. He is surrounded by books (see the pictures from the chapter 7) therefore he lacks real experience and knowledge. He is literally buried behind his books, therefore his knowledge is superficial. 
(Chapter 27) Even in his bedroom there are books so his own bedchamber gives the readers a suffocating feeling. Since there is no window visible in his room and the library, there is no fresh air in the closed room which explains why it is asphyxiating. Usually, we say in a closed room that it smells musty. He only knows the world through his books and the moral standards. He is not even opened to the outside, only his words and thoughts count. Everything else has no value hence there is no life next to him. People living by his side will end up suffocated as he doesn’t allow them to breathe. He is stubborn and he will never change, a fake, empty and narrow-minded man with no conscience. Because of this connection, I realized that Jung In-Hun had no future in Hanyang. He would end up buried, and this became a reality. Because the moment he left for the capital, he ended up dead. And now, if you think carefully, you will recognize that the learned sir is associated to nature! Thus he was seen in the woods (chapter 6, 22) or in the countryside admiring the moon. 
(Chapter 70) Air means also breathing! Hence he represents the fresh air entering Yoon Seungho‘s bedroom, hence we had such a scene: 
(chapter 35) The lord witnessed the intimate interaction between the learned sir and the artist, thus he was incited to leave the bedroom. Strangely, we could say that he was the initiator for the lord‘s liberation. No wonder, why Kim wished to get rid of the learned sir in the end, and just viewed the artist as less annoying and evil! 
(Chapter 18) so that he ended up letting his guard down. He was not so competent and intelligent like Yoon Seungho, he relied more on the stupidity on others. He could deceive commoners, but not spies. In my first version, I had envisioned that the learned sir had many tricks up his sleeves so he would survive, but I had not realized that he had met a fake servant 
(chapter 37) definitely a noble who could see through him. For me, it was the pedophile himself. I had predicted that he would disappear into thin air, and it became a reality, especially if my theory about his assassination is correct. We could see the transformation of the scholar into a ghost, 
(chapter 50) who would come to haunt the couple because of his resent. 
(Chapter 98) As the air, he became a spirit! And note that the lord was encouraged to stroll too! 
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 