Protected: Painter Of The Night: Treacherous colors 🟪 🟫
Category: Chapter 74
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Sex and passion 😍 (second version)
Painter Of The Night: “Happiness” (second version)
This is where you can read the manhwas. Doctor Frost: https://www.webtoons.com/en/mystery/dr-frost/list?title_no=371 Painter of The Night: 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.
Unlike the other essays, this won’t be very long, because I would like to focus on Byeonduck’s words about the protagonists. When she was asked if Seungho and Na-Kyum could ever be happy, she replied this:
“In their own way, why not?”
Many readers were bothered by her words, as they had the impression that the author was implying that they would get separated ways due to the expression “their own way”. Moreover, her idiom implied that the main lead wouldn’t be able to procure happiness to the other and the reverse. With her answer, the Painter Of The Night’s stans had the feeling that this story could have a rather tragic ending… especially if they are not together. There’s no doubt that the majority desperately wants to have a happy ending.
One of the reasons why her reply was so open and mysterious is understandable. If she had revealed the ending, the tension and anticipation would have been lost. However, while reading Doctor Frost, I realized one important aspect, which would explain why Byeonduck would say such a thing. When the teenager Yeonshik, who suffered the Seowol catastrophe, was about to leave the mental institution, Doctor Frost gave him the following advices:
(chapter 149). This means, this terrible incident with these painful memories will always be a part of his life and he will always have to fight to find the right balance. That’s why he describes the patient’s life as a long journey 
, where the figure has to find a way to overcome his trauma. 
(chapter 149) As you can see, a patient suffering from flashbacks and PTSD is on his own in the end, the psychologist can only give him support, advice and comfort, but in the end Yeonshik is the one who has to work on himself and find the right balance.
And since both main leads from Painter Of The Night have been exposed to coercive persuasion and traumatic incidents, both are suffering from PTSD. Besides, I had already portrayed Yoon Seungho as someone suffering from Dependent Personality Disorder too. In other words, both main leads have mental and emotional scars and issues. And this leads me to the following conclusion: we have to imagine that at the end of the story, Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum will never be people without any issues. Both will never forget their past, however they will find a way to overcome the trauma. In other words, this won’t end with: They lived happily ever after. No, since this story is quite realistic, when it comes to mental issues, I have the impression, Yoon Seungho’s mental issues won’t entirely vanish. However, there’s no ambiguity that he will find a way to keep the right balance. The lord will shine in the future as a Phoenix, but he is a human after all, hence he will always be vulnerable. The lord will find his happiness, when he sees Baek Na-Kyum smile because of him. 
(chapter 63) But note that it took the lord a long time to recognize and externalize this thought. And so far, the painter has still no idea what truly makes him happy.
That’s why the two characters will have to figure out what can them make happy. I am sure that Yoon Seungho will have other wishes in order to enjoy life. Each of them have to overcome their issues and past differently.
But I have another explanation for Byeonduck’s words and it is related to Mahatma Gandhi:
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.”
Striking is that until the end of the second season, the painter’s words and thoughts are still not in harmony. He is still hiding his true emotions 
(chapter 74) and thoughts 
(chapter 74) from his lover. 
(chapter 75) He might have asked for his help in chapter 76
, yet it was a spontaneous and natural gesture. But once he starts thinking with his mind, the closeness won’t remain. There’s no doubt that the painter is still afraid to admit his attraction and affection to Yoon Seungho. The negative image of sex, influenced by Jung In-Hun and Heena noona, has not been entirely removed. Furthermore, Yoon Seungho never revealed to the artist that he knows now about the kidnapping. He detained information from his lord Na-Kyum. That’s why I deduce that the painter and the aristocrat will have to discover on their own that for happiness, they must be open and truthful to themselves and to their partner. A white lie, lie by omission or a silence can have devastating consequences.
As a conclusion, I am expecting that the manhwaphiles shouldn’t expect a happy ending like in fairy tales, even if the author drew such images.
Yoon Seungho will always have mental issues, but at the end he won’t let his traumas take control of his life anymore. Yet this doesn’t mean either that this story will have a tragic ending due the expression “in their own way”. Both protagonists have to recognize that first, they need to liberate themselves from their past and traumas. Yoon Seungho is still suffering from partial memory loss due to his huge traumas. However, thanks to the painter who creates good memories for the noble, the latter is slowly recovering from his amnesia. This is important, for it signifies that Yoon Seungho is regaining his identity and as such returning to his old self. But by slowly remembering his past, he is getting the chance to discover the truth about the causes for his misery. Little by little, Yoon Seungho is realizing the butler’s betrayal and abandonment, 
(chapter 77) just like he is now remembering that lord Song is responsible for his martyrdom. 
(Chapter 59) Compare the lord’s attitude in season 1. 
(chapter 37) So far, he only blamed the father. Sure, in season 3, he still reproaches the father‘s responsibility, but observe that his blame is more related to the Yoon Chang-Hyeon‘s bad choices. 
(Chapter 86) He trusted the wrong people, in other words, he sensed that his father had been misguided. This explicates why he blames the father for the absence of his critical thinking. 
(Chapter 86) He never pondered on the question how the tragedy could occur. He was simply satisfied with the easiest solution: Yoon Seungho was responsible for this. This conversation is important, as it actually outlines how different the lord is from his own father. At the end of season 3, Baek Na-Kyum asked his lover this: 
(chapter 102) How come that he left his side? For the main lead, it sounded like a blame, while in reality, it was a question. By asking Yoon Seungho this, he is pushing the lord to investigate the matter. Discovering the truth is relevant, for it will reveal that Yoon Seungho’s crime had been planned all along!! He was incited to kill people, thus he had the sword in the hand. And since the situation mirrors the past, the main lead will slowly unveil the truth about his own past. Now, you are probably wondering how this is related to happiness. The answer is simple. As long as the protagonist is trapped in the past, he could never become happy. He couldn’t simply move on. But by leaving everything behind, he makes a clean start, and he is forced to rely on himself and as such to trust himself, if he wants to take care of the painter properly. 
(Chapter 102) That’s the reason why the author said that they will find happiness on their own.
On the other hand, Baek Na-Kyum needs to realize that only honesty can lead him to happiness. He allows others to rule his life.
(chapter 74) At the end of the second season, Heena noona’s influence is still palpable. In that aspect, Yoon Seungho is much further than the artist, as the lord is no longer in denial about his love for Baek Na-Kyum. Yet, at the end of season 3, Baek Na-Kyum makes a similar experience. He recognizes that his sister has been manipulating him in order to achieve her goal. 
(Chapter 97) Furthermore, because he listened to the ghost Jung In-Hun and the comments from the staff, he fell into the trap set by Min. Once facing Black Heart, he got aware of the deception right away. 
(Chapter 99) In other words, due to the last tragic incident, he experienced that he should mistrust people’s words. He shouldn’t take their statement as face-value. This is important, for the artist is learning to become more and more independent. His critical thinking is developing. As you can observe, both main leads have to find their own way to become happy. But they can only become happy, if they discover the truth and as such their past. Thus I am deducing that Yoon Chang-Hyeon will never find happiness, for he never tried to discover who was behind the bad reputation of the Yoons. This explicates why he is repeating the same mistakes from the past in season 3. He still trusts valet Kim.
I hope, this essay gives a satisfying answer to the manhwaphiles worried about the future evolution and ending of this terrific and unique manhwa.
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: The gifts 🎁 (second version)
Painter Of The Night: Love and Sex 👨❤️👨 (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/
Feel free to make some donations/sponsoring: Ko-fi.com/bebebisous33 That way, you can support me with “coffee” so that I have the energy to keep examining manhwas. It would also cover my expenses for the blog.
When I examined the sex scenes from the first season (see the analysis “Sex or Love?), I realized that each character had different expectations from the sexual encounters. They were either looking for sex or for love, but each time they were not able to express their desire and even to recognize the distinction. Why couldn’t they sense the difference? It is related to the way the characters were raised.
1. Sex and philosophy
On the one hand, Baek Na-Kyum was taught by the learned sir and Heena noona that sex and as such homosexuality was dirty
(chapter 34), only spiritual love was allowed 
(chapter 19)
(chapter 68). This signified that in his education, not only sex was prohibited, but also sexual desires were denied. Although love was expressed through hugs 
(chapter 66)
(chapter 68) and caresses 
(chapter 10) 
(chapter 68), they were devoid of sexuality. The painter experienced love, but was not allowed to experience sexuality. He was only authorized to paint it for the scholar’s sake. On the other side, Yoon Seungho was raised the opposite: love was not allowed, as it was a sign of submission and weakness. Sex was permitted, because it was considered as a fight in order to defeat his opponent. These were the butler’s doctrines. That way, he could still have a connection to the main lead. If he came to love someone (the pedophile), the lord could definitely abandon the valet and reveal his betrayals. In other words, he used pity as a way to tame the lord. At the same time, sex also served to gain some benefit, as it was an exchange of favors (giving versus receiving), 
(Chapter 71). I connect this philosophy to the king and indirectly to the butler. With sex, the nobles could exchange some favors. These huge divergences in the mindset explicate why there were so many misunderstandings between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum, as their education diverged so much.
2. Sex and prostitution
Yet, despite the contrast, both educations had something in common: prostitution. Heena noona hates sex, because it is related to her work. The scholar rejects it, for it is beneath him. He expects the low-borns (Baek Na-Kyum and Heena noona) to become his prostitutes, if it’s necessary, while he can maintain his image of a proper scholar. Father Yoon used his son as a prostitute, and the main lead realized it after his father’s betrayal and abandonment. This explicates why “prostitution” stands in the center of the second season. For Baek Na-Kyum was brought to the mansion against his will, but he received certain privileges, his status was never clearly defined. Although Yoon Seungho thought, he had won the battle
(chapt45), as the painter had accepted him as his sexual partner, he had to realize slowly that he was wrong. He imagined that since the artist had remained by his side and was accepting to have sex with him, he had achieved what he wanted: in his unconscious it was to be loved. Yet, it was just an illusion. The painter saw himself as a whore and the master as a man consumed by lust. As you can see, the noble was forced to judge the nature of the sexual encounters differently. He had associated sex to love due to their Wedding night, therefore he imagined that the moment the painter was accepting him, the problem was solved. He would be able to relive this wonderful moment, but however nothing like that happened. He felt never satisfied, as there were no feelings at all. Hence he even had sex during the day
, believing that the artist’s lack of experience was the problem. 
(Chapter 45) While the lord became Baek Na-Kyum’s sexual emancipator, the painter became the lord’s teacher for love. This explicates why the low-born forced the lord to question his own identity and feelings.
But let’s return our focus on the common denominator: prostitution. As long as the painter chose to stay, because he had a roof over his head and could eat properly, we could definitely say that till 49 his stay at the mansion was indeed closer to prostitution 
than a master- servant relationship, because the commoner was never treated like a domestic. He only had sex with the lord and had some privileges. 
(chapter 46) He was never asked to do other work, although the artist tried to change his situation. Since he was behaving like a whore, he felt that he had no right to express any thought and emotion. He couldn’t show any pleasure. That’s why there were no feelings in their sex encounters, and the lord could sense the difference. Consequently, when the lord realized that he was still perceived as a man consumed by sex
(chapter 48), he changed his behavior. He acted like a real client at the brothel
(chapter 48), but at the same time he cornered the painter to have multiple climaxes in order to let him experience that he liked having sex with him.
(chapter 49) As you can observe, the lord linked sensuality to love. If he could provoke ejaculations, then it meant that the artist was definitely feeling something for him. However, the moment the lord liberated the painter from his pejorative perception about himself (he is a prostitute), the painter reacted the exact opposite. Now, he was the one using Yoon Seungho, the latter was his plaything. 
(Chapter 49), his prostitute, for he was the one procuring pleasure to Yoon Seungho. As you can see, the roles had been switched. This means that now the painter had the upper-hand in their relationship. We could even say that the noble was willing to accept his fate. 
(Chapter 49) Yet there was a difference from the past. Yoon Seungho would feel pleasure as well. This is not surprising that Kim chose to intervene and separate the couple right after. Without sex, the painter had no power over the master. That’s the reason why the butler revealed his knowledge the morning after. The protagonist had to hear from his butler the real cause for Baek Na-Kyum’s passivity and torpor: 
(chapter 50). Through this revelation, the lord was indirectly confronted by his own reflection: he was indeed asking from Baek Na-Kyum sexual favors in exchange for his stay at the mansion. That’s the reason why the lord had a “relapse“ and kept his distance from the painter.
3. Abstinence and love
However, because Yoon Seungho was now associating sexual pleasure with the painter, the noble was no longer able to have sex at all. Don’t forget that Baek Na-Kyum symbolizes love. Seungho-Ya 😉 couldn’t even get an erection with a fellatio given by someone else. 
(chapter 52). This was important, because for the noble, it meant that he could no longer have sex with other partners. Without sex, the lord was forced to question himself and ponder on the true nature of his relationship with Baek Na-Kyum. He felt jealousy during that night, he was very protective as well. 
(Chapter 52) His sexuality had already become an expression of his love, although the main lead was still unaware of his own feelings. That’s why I come to the conclusion, chapter 52 was actually revealing Yoon Seungho’s monogamy, although it looked the opposite. And this becomes truly visible, when the gangrape was about to occur. He felt no urge, when he was with the guests, yet the moment he brought the artist to the bedchamber, he couldn’t stop himself from kissing his loved one. 
(chapter 54) He was definitely longing for his warmth. This explicates why the noble got so infuriated, when he was confronted with the consequence of his bad decision: 
(chapter 54) the artist was on the verge to be no longer monogamous, as he would be tasted by other aristocrats. In this scene, the lord would have indeed become a client and pimp, if he hadn’t chased away his guests. Although the painter was indeed upset afterwards about this incident
(chapter 55), deep down he sensed that his master had protected him. This night was important for the main lead: he was forced to admit his own feelings for the painter. Therefore, we could say that the issue with the prostitution was solved after chapter 54. Yoon Seungho thought that the moment he confessed, the painter would get scared and run away, but it didn’t happen. Why? Love among men and especially between a brutal noble and a commoner, was a taboo, like Min had underlined. Secondly, if the lord had indeed feelings for him, he had behaved like a beast during that night. He had mistreated Baek Na-Kyum. In his mind, the artist would never accept him.Besides, the painter had clearly denied the affection from the main lead. In his eyes, the painter’s words were indicating a rejection. 
(chapter 54) Thus I conclude that Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum had come to an implicit agreement: they had a master-servant relationship
(chapter 56), although Baek Na-Kyum started perceiving himself as a domestic from chapter 51 on again. He kept following the head-maid 
and Kim 
(chapter 51) in order to help them. Therefore the readers could witness the return of the white headband in chapter 52: his task was to paint for his master.
(Chapter 52)
However, this new situation didn’t last long due to the artist’s abduction. The lord thought that since he had properly confessed to his servant
(chapter 62) here, he whispered to Baek Na-Kyum that he adored him), he would bind the artist to himself.
4. The real relapse: sex, the symbol of submission
Nevertheless the commoner disappeared making Yoon Seungho think that the moment he revealed his vulnerability, he got betrayed and abandoned. This explicates why the noble punished the artist, when he was found. Since they had a master-servant relationship and the artist had run away, this meant that Baek Na-Kyum was rejecting the lord’s love. Hence he could only treat him like his sex toy
(chapter 63), exactly like he had wished in chapter 49. The only difference is that this time, the painter was here for the lord’s pleasure. The roles had been switched again. As the manhwaphiles can perceive, the noble and painter had a similar reaction: they both tried to deny the existence of love in their relationship. That’s the reason why the noble stopped the artist from confessing: 
(chapter 63) They just had a sexual relationship which could provoke pleasure, but that was it. But in order to ensure that the artist wouldn’t run away again, he used sex to “tame“ Baek Na-Kyum. If the main lead could procure multiple climaxes to the artist, then the latter was forced to admit that only Yoon Seungho could be his “partner“. This explicates why the noble kept pointing out how the artist would react to his lover’s body. 
(Chapter 63) 
(chapter 64) He was moaning and would ejaculate constantly thanks to the main lead. Yet, during this second marathon, the noble was actually deceiving himself. 
(Chapter 62)
5. Love and servitude
Although he treated the painter like a servant, as the latter was asked to paint, Yoon Seungho couldn’t help himself cleaning Baek Na-Kyum and bringing him to his bedchamber. 
(Chapter 65) This shows that the painter had gained a new position: he was indeed a favored servant. He was allowed to spend the night in his lover’s bed and he could see the lord getting dressed. 
(Chapter 65) The slight change was that now the main lead was aware of this. This truly exposes the lord’s affection for the artist. He might have treated him like a plaything in the shed, in reality he had attempted to show “his skills“ as a lover. He had licked him, bit him and the painter had felt pleasure, though he kept saying no! This is not surprising that Yoon Seungho had denied the kiss in the study. 
(Chapter 64) Because that’s how he had been deceived that night in the study. 
(Chapter 49) Baek Na-Kyum had silenced him with the kiss, as the main lead was about to protest. (Chapter 49) When he mentioned the kiss, the symbol for love, in his confession, it was connected to sensuality and not affection. Hence he didn‘t kiss him at the end of the second marathon. As a conclusion, by bringing the artist to his bedchamber, the lord never realized that his action was betraying his words from the night before. They were definitely more than 2 naked bodies. The lord trusted the painter so that he could lie down next to him in the bed. (Chapter 65) Striking is that Heena noona’s intervention destroyed their terrible but short-lived master-servant relationship, because the noble was faced with the truth: he had brought back the artist to the mansion against his will. 
(chapter 65) What caught my attention is that the painter’s disappearance mirrored the lord’s wrongdoing. Lee Jihwa and the main lead had both kidnapped the artist. That’s why I believe that when he heard Heena’s words in the study
(chapter 68), the noble could only come to the following conclusion: he could only let the painter choose his destiny. But the moment the artist decided to remain by his side, he needed to change Baek Na-Kyum’s position in the mansion. He was no longer a servant, but a noble guest. Hence the lord tied the scarf like aristocrats did. 
(chapter 69) Consequently, we could say that the painter had a similar status than Jung In-Hun. Yet, there was a huge difference: the owner of the mansion was now acting like the painter’s servant. Hence Deok-Jae’s words came true: 
(chapter 46).
6. Nobility and love
From chapter 69 on, there were two masters in the mansion: 
(chapter 71). Why? It is because the lord made the decision that the painter chose him, then this means that he became his wife, though at the end of season 2, he was not thinking about marriage yet. He was not aware of this perception. By becoming his official partner, the spouse obtains the status of his husband: nobility. This explicates why the lord ate with his lover 
(chapter 74) and allowed him to smoke. Then in season 3, he gave him ladies-in-waiting in order to give him some company. 
(Chapter 78) He even gave him the music box, which was mistaken as a dowry. However, the problem is that the painter was still fighting his own feelings for the protagonist due to Heena noona’s words and past experience with the scholar. He feared that this new situation was too beautiful to be true, hence he thought that the lord’s feelings would fade away. But there was another reason for doubting the lord’s affection: there was no sex. (chapter 74) The painter had come to associate sex with love too. Yet, the moment he relived his trauma, he only found comfort and safety in the lord’s embrace. 
(Chapter 76) The main lead didn’t reject the painter’s urge for a hug in front of commoners. At no moment, Yoon Seungho felt embarrassment. He treated him like a special treasure. That’s how the painter came to realize that Yoon Seungho‘s love for him was true and genuine. Consequently, he decided to rely on him and to trust him. That’s why in this panel, the painter closed his eyes: 
(chapter 76) We could say that he was reminded of his own past. When he was a child, he sensed love through hugs and caresses. Since the painter could feel the lord’s genuine affection and warmth, he recognized that even when there was no sex, love was present. All his senses made him perceive the lord’s love: 
(chapter 76) His words showed his care and concern, then he bought him an expensive music box. 
(Chapter 76)
7. The symbols for the couple‘s love
But by accepting the noble’s affection, the painter was also incited to question his affection for Yoon Seungho. On the other hand till chapter 94, he hadn’t voiced it yet. As you can see, the abstinence at the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3 had a important function. It helped the painter to admit the existence of love and more precisely the lord’s affection for him, a reflection of the lord’s situation in season 2 (50-54). Simultaneously, it meant that the painter could no longer deny his attachment to Yoon Seungho too. Therefore it is not surprising that in the bedchamber, when the artist tried to initiate a kiss, it could be perceived as the start of a love confession. 
(Chapter 80) And now, you comprehend why the painter didn‘t confess during that night. He got interrupted. The kiss was the symbol for their love. Thus it is no coincidence that just after his confession,. 
(Chapter 94) the painter initiated a long and sensual kiss with his “husband“. 
(Chapter 95) Since the painter had received caresses and embraces in his childhood, he came to view the kiss as the symbol for true love. And note that the kisses exchanged in the gibang were full of passion and love. This was the perfect combination of love and sex. 
(Chapter 95)
On the other hand, the lord had developed a different preference: the locked gaze, the warm embrace and the joined hands. Thus when he confessed his affection for the painter in the kisaeng house, observe what he did: 
(Chapter 96) This shows that Yoon Seungho has always longed for a pure and spiritual love in the first place. His sexual preferences were already palpable in the last love session (season 2): 
(chapter 72) We could say that he discovered all his sexual preferences thanks to the painter.
Thus my prediction in the first version that the painter would express his love through sex later came true. He tried to initiate it with a kiss. He was moved by the lord’s loving gaze and smile. 
(Chapter 80) But he failed due to the intervention of the butler and other schemers. Besides, the whispering of „Kyumah“ could only make his heart race. Let’s not forget that his painting in the sand 
(chapter 1) externalized his own philosophy: love and sex can’t be separated. Note that the couple is is hugging and kissing at the same time! 😍 This picture will represent the peak of their love! Striking is that when the couple confirmed their mutual affection, they did in the kisaeng house, the symbol for prostitution. This truly exposed that Yoon Seungho had been treated like a male night servant in the past. .
As you can imagine, I am expecting a new version of this love session. 
(chapter 72) in the next season, for the painter is still calling his lover “lord Seungho“ 
(chapter 99) 
(chapter 102) This means that he is still viewing himself as a low-born. But note that contrary to the past, Baek Na-Kum is now wearing a hanbok and he has no other clothes. Thus I am deducing that the painter’s next lesson is to drop his notion that he is a commoner. He will be taught to view himself as an equal to Yoon Seungho. Only when he has internalized that there is no gap between him and his lover, then he will be able to address him as “Seungho-YA!“ At the same time, both protagonists will come to realize that they can express their love differently. Poetry, painting and more importantly through their desire to protect their loved one. The lord will start protecting Baek Na-Kyum more actively, just like the painter will decide to show more interests in his lover’s skills and past life. Baek Na-Kyum will feel responsible for the bloodshed in the shaman’s house. In my opinion, the lord will confide to him what happened to Min and the other nobles. I am assuming this, for the lord remained silent, when the messenger of his father came to the mansion. He didn’t want to scare his lover because of his brutal outburst. 
(chapter 84)
8. Sex, passion and confession
What caught my attention is that unlike in the first season, where characters came to find love and had sex or the reverse, the second season presented each sexual encounter as a sex session, but at some point love came to the surface.
- chapter 45:
The trigger for the change is the noble’s words. The latter keeps talking to the painter asking for an reply. Hence in my eyes, there are glimpses of love the moment Baek Na-Kyum said this: 
It sounded like a confession, hence the seme became more passionate: 
- chapter 48/49:
Here the lord acted like a client. Yet, notice that the lord is speaking again forcing to express himself. And the moment the painter cried and started voicing his own opinion, the sexual encounter was affected. (Chapter 49) The lord comforted the artist and hugged him: 
(chapter 49) An expression of love and affection, but the painter rejected it, as he mistrusted his own judgement. He couldn’t help thinking of the learned sir’s fake embrace. Striking is that despite the rejection, the painter kissed and hugged back his lover
(chapter 49), which made the lord believe that he could only get embraced by the painter, if they had sex. - This explicates why in chapter 63, the lord forced the painter to hug him:
. Although the second sex marathon starts like a pure sex session, the moment the painter calls Yoon Seungho differently
, the lord’s attitude changes. The painter is turned around and faces his lover
, a sign that they are getting closer. Striking is that again through their conversation, the painter is pressured to think about his own emotions. 
However, due to his own insecurities and fear, the noble still can’t trust the artist’s words, therefore there’s no confession. As you can see, love was not absent, it is just that both main leads were in denial.
Naturally, the night in chapter 58 and 70, 71, 72 and 73, are different. Although in chapter 58, the noble confessed and made love to the painter, he was also cornering his lover. The latter was not really able to move. He was trapped under his body, the lord was blaming him for turning him into a wreck. 
(Chapter 58) Thus he should become responsible for him. Yoon Seungho was unconsciously trying to push the painter to reciprocate his feelings, an imitation of Lee Jihwa‘s confession. Nevertheless, the painter remained silent, therefore it meant that his love was still denied. That’s why it stands more under the sign of dream and illusion. Consequently, the night in chapter 70, 71, 72 and 73 contrasts so much to the one from chapter 58. This time, it symbolizes the lord’s pure love. As such, the sex is already a real expression of love. That’s why the lord asked to be called intimately: Seungho-Ya 
(chapter 72) On the other hand, this love session was strongly intertwined with the notion of forgiveness and punishment as well. This is important, it reveals that Yoon Seungho had internalized that sex was the expression to redeem himself. He had been tasked in the past that if he desired to obtain “forgiveness“, then he should have sex. And by comparing all these sexual encounters, I came to the following conclusion: the lord’s words definitely contributed to change the nature of the sex session, just like the hug.
And observe that the lord started hugging the painter more often outside sex, but the painter could never sense his affection. In chapter 49, he judged the warmth as fake. 
In chapter 66, he had a flashback, hence he couldn’t witness his lord’s attention and care.
But the lord discovered this kind of embrace, when he helped the painter in chapter 53: 
That’s how the noble experienced the embrace as a source of comfort and affection. Therefore you can comprehend, why I wrote above that the painter was teaching the lord how to love properly, but also why the embrace became the symbol for love in the lord‘s eyes. He had never been embraced before by a man. And Lee Jihwa had recognized the true signification of this gesture, when he spied on the couple (chapter 43). That‘s how he knew the friend‘s biggest desire: and was deeply hurt after this discovery 
(Chapter 57) However, this shows that Yoon Seungho is a quick learner, because he knew what to do, when the painter was in pain and destress. At the same time, it explains why he could fake the embrace in chapter 62: 
This hug stands in opposition to the one at the end of season 3: 
(chapter 102) The artist was forgiving his lover! Love represents selflessness, tolerance, forgiveness, warmth, affection and assistance which is transmitted by the embrace. Now, you understand why Yoon Seungho was still not satisfied after the sex session in the study, he was longing for the hug. 
(Chapter 84) In his unconscious, he knew that if the artist hugged him, he would have forgiven him. But he had no idea about it, thus he couldn’t suggest this. So far, he had experienced the embrace from the artist while having sex. Deep down, he had already internalized the embrace to forgiveness. So we could say that the absence of the embrace in this scene was the lord‘s punishment for the fake hug in the shed. And the painter let him discover the true nature of a warm embrace: 
(chapter 88) This is not surprising that this hug was not connected to sex at all. Yet it moved the lord so deeply. As the manhwalovers could sense it, season 3 was focused on love and sensuality. During that season, the couple was able to voice about their sexual desires and their preferences. 
(chapter 91)
As for the lord’s addiction to grab the artist’s hand, we have to envision that it is related to the lord‘s huge trauma. 
(Chapter 86) No one close to him had grabbed his hand in order to show their support. This gesture in the picture embodies abandonment. On the other hand, the painter had been the first one to take his hand and to swear “loyalty“. 
(Chapter 30) The joined hands were repeated in season 3 , the only difference is that this time, Baek Na-Kyum was doing it willingly. 
(Chapter 88) The symbol for support, company and responsibility.
As a conclusion, the dichotomy between love and sex in the relationship between the protagonists is no longer existing at the end of the third season. Both have come accept their love for each other. But it already started vanishing at the end of season 2. Although the painter had not confessed properly yet, the return of the embrace and his request for help are strong indications that Baek Na-Kyum was now accepting his affection. He was now trusting the noble, hence he revealed an important clue about the abduction.
Consequently, I am predicting that in season 4, we will see a new erotic painting of the couple, the symbol of their affection which will stand in opposition to the ones from season 1. It won’t be about conquests and as a tool to procure an erection for the nightly activities. That’s the reason why I am now expecting only one erotic picture: the document of their official union. (chapter 1) versus chapter 41 
(chapter 41) Under this perspective, it becomes understandable why the couple neglected these pictures. They were all devoid of affection, it was more about prostitution and battle! And here is now the question? Where are these drawings?
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: Lord Song
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Karma (third version) 💩🕉
Painter Of The Night: Home 🏰(second version)
This is where you can read the manhwas. https://www.webtoons.com/en/mystery/dr-frost/list?title_no=371 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/
1. What is home?
Before starting analyzing the manhwa under this aspect, it is important to define the term home. In a dictionary, this is what you find:
- the house, apartment, etc. where you live, especially with your family
- the type of family you come from
- a place where people or animals live and are cared for by people who are not their relations or owners
- someone’s or something’s place of origin, or the place where a person feels they belong
- your own country or your own area https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/home
As the readers can detect, home has a lot of significations. The reason is simple. It depends on the perspective. When people are asked where their home is, some will answer that their home is the place they are actually living, others will reply that it is the place where their family lives or where they were born and raised. But all have something in common: Home is where the heart is. To sum up, home is very subjective and personal.
2. Home and identity
Since home is related to our disposition (liking, family), it means that home represents a part of our identity, it even defines us. This explicates why psychologists sometimes visit their patients’ home in order to better grasp their personality and issues.
(Dr. Frost, chapter 8) As you can see, home is strongly connected to identity and personality. In other words, without home a person loses his identity. This is no coincidence that homeless people often have no ID.
3. Baek Na-Kyum’s home
Consequently, the manhwaphiles can comprehend why Baek Na-Kyum had huge abandonment issues and a low self-esteem in chapter 46. 
He felt so lonely and lost, for he had no place he could call home. It was, as if he had no identity. When he deserted the mansion, he first thought of the kisaeng house and his noonas 
(chapter 46), until he remembered how he had been sent away by Heena noona. 
(chapter 46) This moment was terrible for the painter, because he had the impression to be abandoned a second time. Note that he is not calling the kisaeng house his home… for him, it was no longer a home, because his heart had been wounded there. Hence the manhwaphiles sense why the painter was using his mind in chapter 75 (chapter 75) and was restraining himself from falling more for Yoon Seungho. He had come to view the mansion as his home, and if he came to accept Yoon Seungho as his companion, then the latter would become his home, his family. Don’t forget my previous statement: Home is where the heart is. He was afraid of getting hurt a second time. If the lord came to have a change of heart, he could lose his new founded home.
Since the fight with Deok-Jae (which I am explaining more in details later), the painter had come to view the mansion as his home, hence he stated this to his lord: 
(chapter 58) And now, you comprehend why he stopped in the middle of the street during his escape. He had recalled how Heena had sent him away. (chapter 46) The painter had come to associate home to a family and as such to people. This explicates why the kisaeng had forbade him to bid farewell to his sisters. I am not saying that the kisaeng’s decision was ill-intended. She knew that if he met the kisaengs, the latter would have convinced him to stay. As you can see, he had experienced himself how his sister had abandoned him in the end. To conclude, for Baek Na-Kyum, in the past home was a synonym for family and a place.
4. Heena’s definition of home
But why would she coerce her brother to leave the gibang? Observe that she never gave her brother a choice. She never realized her wrongdoing, because she imagined that she had done it out of love, and it was for the painter’s best interests. Anyway, when Baek Na-Kyum reproached his lover his fickle nature (chapter 75), in my eyes, this perception should be applied to Heena noona who could send away her brother in such a way and never contacted him afterwards. That’s the impression she gives. 
(chapter 68) Observe how she blames her brother for not contacting her, while she had strictly forbidden him to come back. At the same time, the readers should question her behavior. How come that she never showed any concern for Baek Na-Kyum for 18 months, until she found out that he was living with Yoon Seungho? Why didn’t she contact him in the first place in order to check out if he was living properly? She gave him instructions, and the main lead listened to her, and now she is reproaching him that he should have disobeyed her. In my eyes, Heena noona acts more like a person with a fickle nature. She shows great care and concern in chapter 65 and 68, but she never searched for her brother’s whereabouts before. So far, the readers can only assume that she had no idea that he had been living as a drunk, and she only discovered his whereabouts by hazard. 
(chapter 64) Yet, this is just an impression because of this scene. Yet, in season 3, Heena confided to Min, and the latter revealed the content of her confession: 
(chapter 99) The idiom “bittersweet affections” indicated that the learned sir had expressed regret and disappointment concerning Baek Na-Kyum. This means that Heena knew that Jung In-Hun’s affection towards the low-born had been changing. As you can see, I come to the conclusion that Heena was already aware of the existence of tension between the painter and his former teacher.
What caught my attention in chapter 68 is the following: 
Heena noona is not even using the word “home”. At no moment, she employs this expression. When she parted from her brother in chapter 46, she mentions the noonas and when she asks her brother to follow her, she says: “Come with me”. As you can see, Heena doesn’t consider the kisaeng house her home. That’s the reason why I think that for her, the kisaeng house had been her workplace and she associated home more with people she cared about, similar to the painter. And this observation made me realize why the sister sent her brother away. Heena noona has never liked the kisaeng house, let’s not forget that she is a slave and she can not leave that place. And the guards could be judged as her wardens, they are keeping an eye on her, similar to the role played Yoon Seungho in chapter 45. For her, the kisaeng house was a synonym for prison and hell, where she kept meeting these terrible and violent rich nobles. 
(chapter 68) Hence in her mind, when she asked her brother to leave the kisaeng house, she imagined that she was helping the painter to escape from prison. Since she admires the scholar so much, she saw in him her helping hand. He would assist her brother to become a free man. The readers should notice that the learned sir always left the kisaeng house with the low-born
(chapter 68), when there was a ruckus. So when the kisaeng made the request to the teacher
(chapter 46), she envisioned that he would acquiesce her request, since he had done it so many times in the past (taking care of Baek Na-Kyum and becoming responsible for him). Moreover, she knew that the artist liked and admired Jung In-Hun. For her, the scholar was a liberator, because he acted so differently towards the kisaengs and Baek Na-Kyum. That’s the reason why she thought, she was doing the right thing for her brother, while in reality she was just projecting her own desires into the artist. And this interpretation was proven correct, because when she vanished from the gibang in season 3, she was no longer dressed as a kisaeng. 
(chapter 99) She was deserting the kisaeng house, and as such the noonas. And note the parallels between chapter 46 and 97/99. In both cases, the painter couldn’t bid farewell to the other kisaengs. (chapter 46) 
(chapter 99) It is because she was using her brother. In the first desertion, her choice was influenced by her unconscious. She had just projected her own thoughts and desires onto the artist’s. In season 3, she had made a conscious choice. In exchange of her brother, she would gain her freedom. Thus she used the expression “us” 
(chapter 97) This time, it was for her own sake. But the price for her freedom was that she had to sell her brother. She could still have a clean conscience by convincing herself that Yoon Seungho had killed her idol. At the same time, she needed to fake her death. 
(chapter 99) [For more explanations read the analysis “Heena’s curtains”] This means that she was betraying the eonnies one more time. And that’s how I had another revelation. In my eyes, after their separation, Heena had come to view her life in the gibang differently. She had been able to perceive the good aspects of her life as a kisaeng. She could live a comfortable life and as such get new hanboks. (chapter 64) That’s why I believe that she came to forget her brother, like “out of sight, out of mind”. But how did she come to view the gibang as a place of hell? In my opinion, it is related to Yoon Seungho! She knew about his misery. Thus I am deducing that the painter’s vanishing from the gibang coincides with the end of the lord’s misery. Thus I have the impression that her definition of home came to change. It was less connected to the kisaengs and the painter, as such to family. She came to like the place.
But let’s return our attention to episode 46. (chapter 46) Because she didn’t allow her brother to speak his mind, she hurt his heart and created more wounds than before. That’s why I perceive the argument in chapter 68 as important. For the first time, Baek Na-Kyum is not listening to Heena. Since home is where the heart is, her brother could only reject her proposition to come back to the kisaeng house. He had been abandoned by the noona. However, because he was afraid of his own feelings towards the aristocrat, he created new problems with his confession. His description 
reinforced her bad impression about Yoon Seungho. That’s why Heena noona will never believe that this place can become the artist’s true home. For her, this place can only represent a new prison, for she has a negative perception of nobles. Hence she needs to rescue her brother.
(chapter 69) Besides, I believe that she has another reason. The lord is connected to her own guilt, but she is not admitting her responsibility. In the first version, I had expected that due to his confession, the kisaeng would never trust Baek Na-Kyum’s words later. And this was proven correct. Why? First, Heena noona embodies a certain kind of knowledge: prejudices. Because she has already experienced many things, she has the impression that she knows everything. However, she is not realizing that her world view is based on her own perception. Secondly, her superficial knowledge turns her into a blind and deaf person. What she sees and hears will be interpreted the way she perceives the world. I had even written this back then:
“Even if her brother tells her how well Yoon Seungho treats him and how much he loves his companion, she will have the impression that he has been brainwashed or coerced. Why? It’s because she has always treated her brother that way.”
In addition, she knows a part of the truth, while her brother was left in the dark entirely. Thus she reproached her brother his stupidity: 
(chapter 97) Contrary to him, she knows, because she saw and heard things, when Yoon Seungho suffered! Yet, her knowledge is totally superficial, like the last panel exposes it. She just jumped to (false) conclusions. That’s how she got herself manipulated. Because of her bias, she became an easy target of deceptions. That’s the reason why she believes herself in rumors. Like the scholar said it himself, 
(chapter 29) there exists a kernel of truth in the grapevine. Moreover, with her caresses and hugs, she used love to stop her brother from speaking his mind. 
(chapter 46) That’s the reason why Baek Na-Kyum could only express himself through painting, as he had become mute. Due to her decisions and actions and the scholar’s, she contributed to turn the artist into a boy full of insecurities, unable to express himself. Consequently, Heena noona was put in front of the same choice in season 3. Note that the return of the painter to the gibang coincides with her departure. This means that due to the couple’s love session, she was reminded of her own past. She was forced to recall why she had associated the gibang to hell in the first place. 
(chapter 96) She was definitely scared in that scene. That’s the reason why at the end, she utilized her brother to leave the gibang. (chapter 97) However, the gods wanted to confront her with the true consequences of her choices. She wouldn’t live with her brother, their paths would get separated. (chapter 99) She had to choose between her brother and her life, and she selected freedom over Baek Na-Kyum. This is no coincidence that their bloody reunion happens in front of the scholar’s home. 
(chapter 99) This mirrors that her original dream was to live with her brother and the scholar, but this was just an illusion. She had hoped that once the artist was by Jung In-Hun’s side, the learned sir would come to buy her, and they would live together. She counted on the learned sir’s affection for the painter. But this was never Jung In-Hun’s intentions and he excused his behavior by putting the blame on the protagonist. (chapter 99) That’s the reason why the kisaeng mentioned the bittersweet affections. The scholar came to see the painter as a burden. This new approach gives us a clue why the artist chose the noble over his noona in chapter 68. The lord might have been violent, yet unlike all the other characters he allowed Baek Na-Kyum to be true to himself and to express his thoughts and emotions. Let’s not forget that in reality he was the only one encouraging the painter to paint, which was the commoner’s true passion. He even praised him, while even Heena couldn’t restrain herself from criticizing her brother. Freedom is an important condition for calling a place or people home, next to comfort and safety. But when the kisaeng left the gibang, it was just a fake freedom, as her safety is strongly intertwined to the benevolence of the noble protecting her! (chapter 97) Hence I come to the conclusion that Heena associates home to the learned sir and not to her brother. Exactly like the artist, she made a choice. She sided with Jung In-Hun, the poor learned sir, who got disappointed with Baek Na-Kyum. But she believes now that he is dead. Hence by leaving the kisaeng house, she doesn’t realize that she is abandoning everyone: the eonnies and Baek Na-Kyum. She has no one by her side… except the noble who sent the guards. From my point of view, she is trusting the butler.
5. What is home for the couple?
In season 2, we could see the transformation of the meaning of home. For Baek Na-Kyum, the mansion of Yoon Seungho had become his home, like we could perceive it in chapter 46. or in chapter 58. Why? It is related to the way he was treated by the head-maid, the butler and even Yoon Seungho. All of them considered him as part of the mansion. The head-maid gave him advices, the butler through his comment indicated that he belonged now to the mansion. 
(chapter 52) And finally Yoon Seungho treated him well on different occasions by sharing his breakfast with him or sending him to the doctor or by protecting him from Deok-Jae. Yet I believe that the decisive factor is the momentary separation. Although the painter had lost his position as favored servant, the noble never sent him away. He let him live in the study and kept treating him well. The artist could sense that despite the distance, the noble was not willing to cut ties with him. This explicates why Baek Na-Kyum resisted to the vicious servant, when the latter tried to force him to leave the property. 
(chapter 53) This was his home now, and he wanted to protect what he had finally found. Despite the pain, he didn’t move. He was ready to do anything for his home. This gives us a glimpse of the painter’s future behavior, when his lover is targeted. There’s no doubt that he will fight for him. And now, if you compare the two following panels, you’ll realize the similarities between the two scenes: (chapter 46) 
(chapter 76) In both scenes, the painter has a revelation. In chapter 46, he is alone and has no place to go. However, he is strong enough to stand on his feet, while in episode 76, he is paralyzed by fear and becomes so weak. Yet, exactly like in the first image, he feels lonely, but since he can’t escape, this position makes him realize his vulnerability. He needs help and protection. That’s why the moment he realizes the noble’s presence
(chapter 76), he seeks his embrace and warmth. (chapter 76) Only there he feels safe. This terrible experience opened his eyes: he has to rely on someone. (chapter 76) Thus for the first time, he requests assistance. So while in the lord’s arms, the painter can slowly calm down, however he is still very shaken, as he has just experienced a life-threatening situation again, revealing the traumas left behind by the first abduction and the blackmail. Yet, after a while he expresses the wish to go home. 
(chapter 76) With these words, it truly outlines that the mansion has become Baek Na-Kyum’s real home, a place where he feels comfortable and secure, which represents a continuation of chapter 46. While in chapter 46, he just considered the mansion more like a refuge or shelter, now he connects it to family. It has truly become part of his identity. But the embrace on the street let him discover that Yoon Seungho could become a home too.
Striking is that there’s a difference between the Korean 
and English version, when the lord replies to his request. 
In the original version, the lord is now admitting that the mansion is also his home now, whereas in the past it was just a prison and he wanted to have a companion by his side. In the English version, there’s only silence. This difference affects a lot the interpretation. By remaining silent, the noble is not acknowledging the mansion as his home, but this doesn’t mean that he has no home. In my opinion, Yoon Seungho perceives the painter as his home, hence he prefers remaining there hugging his lover. The painter gives him the warmth and love the lord has always been longing. That’s why he gives the excuse that they should stay there. It seems that the English version sounds colder than the original, yet I believe that Yoon Seungho is using his position in order to legitimate his refusal. Why do I think that the lord views the painter as his home? First, like I wrote above: Home is where the heart is. Secondly, I had already explained that Yoon Seungho would always follow the painter, because he considered him as his home and as such his family. So far, the lord has always perceived his mansion as prison and the bedchamber his cell. This explicates why the lord rejected the painter’s departure in season 3. He needed him by his side, as he had become his pillar. 
(chapter 85) Baek Na-Kyum represented the foundation of his home. Without him by his side, his “home” would crumble.
Striking in chapter 76, is that because the lord insisted to remain seated, the painter starts enjoying more and more the lord’s embrace, 
hence his head moves closer to Yoon Seungho’s
and at the end he even closes his eyes. From my point of view, this long and tender hug let him sense that the mansion was not truly his home, but the lord. But this was not entirely conscious. The latter has become his family. That’s why he had been longing for his presence and warmth in the last days. 
(chapter 74) This was a new version of the chapter 51 and 52. And you all know the saying:
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder”
This signifies that since both protagonists found their home, they found a part of their identity. Both protagonist could only become stronger. Thus the readers could assist to the return of the painter and lord’s memories. This is no coincidence that the painter could voice his wishes in front of his lover: 
(chapter 78) (chapter 84) And it was the same for the lord. That’s the reason why they both argued with each other and with others too. They could now stand on their own, but they still needed the support of the partner.
Under this new perspective, it becomes comprehensible why there was a change in season 3. There, both protagonists learned that home was not a place, but where the heart is. This is no coincidence that Yoon Seungho made the decision to renounce on his possessions, when he had the impression that his “bride” had died. That’s how he learned what home means. It is by his lover’s side, to be in his embrace, and not necessarily the mansion like during the argument exposed it. During the last scene, both protagonists were pushed to recognize that they are now a real family. Yoon Seungho is the painter’s home and it is the same for Baek Na-Kyum. This is perceptible in the final scene: (chapter 102) It doesn’t matter where they are. Home is where the heart is. Hence the first question he has is: 
(chapter 102) As long as he is by his side, everything is fine. This new definition of home appeared, when the painter and the lord confessed to each other. (chapter 96) 
(chapter 96) It didn’t matter where they were. Thus they could confess in a gibang. They felt safe together. And this is the same in the mountain. Observe that the painter is not asking why they are in the mountain and what the lord intended to do there. In fact, he was more focused on the past than the present. However, for the painter, home is not just a family, he liked to sleep in a warm bed and have a warm meal each day 
(chapter 68), since he had lived like a homeless for a while. Hence both will have to look for a real home, a house. Moreover, the lord will have to provide for the painter, and the latter will feel obligated to assist his lover. This means, in season 4, home should have a new definition. It is not just a family, but also the mansion and the country! Don’t forget that many people died in season 3.
6. Yoon Seungho’s bedchamber: a glimpse of his identity
Since I had elaborated above that home was part of an identity and the home would reflect the owner’s personality, I wish to examine Seungho’s bedchamber again. In other words, I will read his room: 
(doctor frost, chapter 9). What caught my attention is that the lord’s bedchamber is literally empty: There are only one big white vase, a red box, candles 
(chapter 55) and a windscreen. 
(chapter 55) The latter shows trees painted in black, there’s barely nature in the end. It mirrors the lord’s symbolic death. The emptiness of his room reflected the lord’s life. He was living like a zombie and avoided emotions, as he had no souvenir at all. Although he reads a lot, you never see them in his room. Why? It is because he separated his spirit from his body. In his bedchamber, he was a captive trapped in the past, hence he had nightmares. Moreover, I think that his bed is the source of his nocturnal panic attacks, as the colors are the same than the king’s. And now, the manhwaphiles can better comprehend why the noble has never considered his mansion a home. In this house, and in this room, he had traumatic experiences (abuse), which were so horrible that he had entirely repressed it. Nonetheless, the moment the painter calls the mansion his home, this has a huge impact on the lord’s life. The latter is now “forced” to consider the mansion as his home too. Hence in the Korean version, we have this panel: Then in season 3, the lord’s bedchamber became the painter’s bedroom too. Thus at the end of season 3, the painter visited the lord’s study in his lord’s absence. 
(chapter 98) This shows that he had conquered the bed. Season 3 exposes the painter’s conquest of the bedchamber. The turning point took place in chapter 87, when the artist went to the study on his own volition. 
(chapter 87) I can’t help myself thinking that in season 4, the painter will bring his possessions to the bedchamber for good contrary to season 3. 
(chapter 79) The music box was brought back to the painter’s studio after the argument. Since the lord bought a music box for Baek Na-Kyum, and the latter treasures this item, it also has a special meaning for the lord too. The music box represents the lord’s heart, but the main lead didn’t grasp the true meaning, until it was too late. So far, the broken music box got neglected after their argument
(chapter 85), yet I am still hoping for its return, for the lord had recognized its true signification to the painter afterwards. 
(chapter 85) But we shouldn’t forget the lord’s Spring poem 
(chapter 92) Little by little, the lord’s study will be filled with treasures belonging to Baek Na-Kyum which are connected to the noble. This is relevant, because thanks to them, the lord can recall the good moments with the artist. Slowly the lord’s bedroom will become more and more a study. With the arrival of souvenirs, the bedchamber will be filled with life again. This will symbolize that the lord is slowly taking over the bedchamber, and filling his room with things he likes. Where is the orchid? So far, all the nobles had plants in their room: 
(chapter 43) 
(chapter 82) Hence I am wondering if Yoon Chang-Hyeon didn’t punish his son by taking away the orchid, when he painted on the servant’s body: 
(chapter 36).
7. Conclusions
Through this examination, I could expose that each character had a different definition of home, and their perception of home was never constant. However, I have neglected one figure: Kim. The butler associates home to the mansion and nothing more. He is not even including the staff or the lords. That’s the reason why he is switching alliances all the time. But if he is on the verge of losing his mansion, he will do anything to stay there… like for example betraying Heena. Remember that she sold her brother for his own sake, and she didn’t feel deep remorse, when she saw her wounded brother. She even asked an explanation for his wounds: 
(chapter 99) This new interpretation leads me to the following observation. In season 4, we will witness a new battle again, and it will be about the ownership of the mansion. Who is the true owner of the propriety? Kim, Yoon Chang-Hyeon, Yoon Seungho or lord Song?
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Painter Of The Night: The Ghost and the embrace 💞
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/
As you can imagine, the embrace between the two protagonists stands in the center of this analysis, because we had so many pictures with a hug, like these two: (chapter 76)
Yet, the peak was reached with the following picture, for Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho seemed to have merged as one: 
The readers can barely detect the painter’s presence: only his head and hand are visible indicating the depth of their intimacy and closeness. However, the title is mentioning the presence of a ghost. The latter can not be Yoon Seungho, because the panel above announces his official wedding with the commoner due to the presence of the red and blue lanterns called Cheongsachorong. These are used for wedding ceremony in Joseon. Therefore who is the ghost? And why do I perceive the existence of a spirit in this chapter? But before revealing the identity of the ghost, I would like to expose the reason behind such a title. While focusing on the embrace, I came to the following observation.
Each time Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho embraced each other, I detected the presence of a ghost. During the second season, we had 6 real hugs:
- chapter 49,
- chapter 53
, - chapter 62 ,
- chapter 66
, - chapter 71
, - chapter 76.
While comparing all the hugs, I will determine the ghost’s identity each time. In chapter 49 the painter was reminded of Jung In-Hun due to the warmth exuding from the main lead. The painter couldn’t restrain himself from thinking about that fake embrace
(chapter 29), therefore he chose to push away the wealthy aristocrat out of fear that he might get hurt and betrayed again. The commoner judged the embrace and warmth as a deception. This means that the low noble as a “spirit” was the reason why both protagonists couldn’t get closer. The low-born was only acknowledging Yoon Seungho as his sex partner and nothing more. Striking is that in episode 76, we have a reference to the hug from chapter 49, as the position of the painter’s head in this image resembles a lot to this one: (chapter 49). Yet the outcome is different, as the manhwaphiles can witness how the painter moves his head closer to Yoon Seungho’s. Moreover, the artist’s gaze is truly looking at his lover. We even have the impression that the artist is smelling the lord’s scent in order to reassure himself. Although the manhwaphiles couldn’t enter Baek Na-Kyum’s thoughts this time, they could perceive the change of his attitude. The embrace is no longer judged as fake. This signifies that the ghost Jung In-Hun has vanished for good, which is even reflected in a different panel: (chapter 76) The lord allowed the low-born to embrace him in front of people, whereas the scholar had to ask the commoner to follow him in a deserted alley. 
(chapter 29) The low noble feared people’s gaze, his attitude truly showed that he didn’t want to be connected to Baek Na-Kyum. His action was definitely a sign of hypocrisy and cowardice. That’s why in chapter 76, the painter could only come to the conclusion that the lord’s embrace was genuine and the lord’s feelings were not trivial. Moreover, the main character never pushed his lover away
(chapter 76), he even lowered himself and sat down on the ground for a while, so that Baek Na-Kyum could calm down. Imagine, when the powerful lord arrived to the place where the main character had a panic attack, everyone was bowing in front of the noble. They didn’t even dare to face him, yet when he saw his lover trembling, the master lowered himself and attempted to help his partner. However, his gestures led to be misinterpreted in the beginning, hence a shop owner started interfering. 
However, he was stopped with a frightful gaze: 
Besides, when the noble kept calling the protagonist in an informal way (Na-Kyum-Ah), people could realize his real intention. He meant no harm. In fact, he was treating the low-born like a precious treasure, who needed help. By calling his name Na-Kyum-Ah, the main lead tried to reassure his lover. Hearing his name made the low-born realize that he wasn’t attacked by the jester. This explains why the artist immediately embraced his companion. (chapter 76) Thus we could say that “Na-Kyum” had finally become a magical word like Seungho-Ya. Another contrast to the scene in episode 29 is that the way the low noble called Na-Kyum. 
(chapter 29) The former teacher was just caught by surprise, hence “Na-Kyum” was said more or less randomly. On the other hand, Yoon Seungho used this name as a sign of intimacy. He desired to give comfort and warmth to his lover. And now, you understand why Baek Na-Kyum hugged his lover by instinct. With his embrace, the protagonist would feel safe, which contrasts so much to the one in chapter 29. Back then, after the hug the learned sir brought the artist back to the mansion, although the low-born had run away out of fright. He mostly feared for the scholar’s life 
(chapter 29) thus he tried to find him. And now the mansion has become the painter’s home, just like the lord’s embrace. It is a synonym for comfort, warmth and safety. Another huge contrast is that for the first time, the painter asked for Yoon Seungho’s help directly. (chapter 76) Imagine that so far, he has never relied on others. Even as a low-born, he was willing to save others (Jung In-Hun or Deok-Jae or Heena 
(chapter 65). Surprising is that when he was bullied by Deok-Jae, he never complained and asked for the head-maid’s assistance or his lover’s. His attitude to never rely on others was even more perceptible in his escape in chapter 46. The cause for this behavior is linked to his abandonment issues. Due to his past, he was forced to only rely on himself. Nonetheless, in chapter 76 he changes his attitude. This shows that he is now opening up. That’s why his head rests on the lord’s shoulder completely. (chapter 76) This is a sign of trust, Baek Na-Kyum is willing to trust his lover. By comparing these 2 hugs, I come to the conclusion that Jung In-Hun has been totally removed from the painter’s mind as well. This embrace and marriage represent the scholar’s defeat. From now on, he won’t be able to use the painter as his pawn, because the latter is no longer attached to him. The lord’s love for Baek Na-Kyum can not be used as a weakness, since the low-born is reciprocating the affection. That’s why I would say that this panel (chapter 76) embodies the learned sir’s loss. There’s no one separating them, not even Heena noona who was the last person defending the scholar and as such representing his interest. So was Jung In-Hun the ghost I was referring to? Yes and no… because there’s more to it. That’s why it is important to examine the other embraces.
In chapter 53, the ghost was Yoon Seungho himself, since he was considering himself as a spirit. (chapter 53) However, the painter’s hug made him realize that he was a human after all, and that his fists and punches could definitely hurt his precious painter. Unlike in chapter 76, the painter’s voice couldn’t calm down the vengeful spirit
(chapter 53), hence the gentle boy needed to intervene directly. The lord was definitely deaf to the artist’s words. Striking is that here again, we had the presence of danger, the painter feared for Deok-Jae’s life. Moreover, despite his fear and shaking hands, (chapter 53)the commoner chose to protect the vicious servant, but Yoon Seungho too. He desired him not to let his emotions blind his behavior. The gentle and selfless man didn’t even ask for help, he stopped the noble with his body twice: first his face, then he hugged him. Striking is that in chapter 62 and 66, we had a similar situation. One of the protagonists was behaving like a ghost. In chapter 62, Yoon Seungho, who was reliving his traumatic past, almost became a demon
(chapter 62), whereas in chapter 66 the artist had a flashback, hence he wasn’t himself. 
(chapter 66) This meant that in both episodes, neither the aristocrat nor the commoner could sense the lover’s comfort and warmth. 
(chapter 66) Both of them didn’t feel safe and displayed extreme fear due to betrayal and abandonment.
But let’s return to the embrace in chapter 53, because this incident has another common denominator with the embrace from episode 66 and 76, the presence of a certain witness: Black Heart. 
There’s no doubt that the vicious noble felt extremely jealous in both episodes (53-66). The manhwaphiles should envision that despite his rage and his terrible behavior, the artist was willing to embrace such a man, which could only make Min envious. Moreover, the low-born showed courage and even strength. He didn’t reproach anything to his sexual partner. He just attempted to calm him down. Then even after seeing how poorly the main lead had treated the artist, the latter chose not to leave Yoon Seungho’s side. Min was definitely certain that after waking up, Baek Na-Kyum would follow his sister and come back to the kisaeng house. 
(chapter 69) That’s why he was waiting there. He imagined that the boy would be delivered to him on a silver plate, yet nothing like he had expected happened. In chapter 76, we have a new version of chapter 53. However, when Black Heart witnesses the painter’s second embrace, he can detect the huge difference. (chapter 76) This time, the artist is seeking his lover’s warmth and love. There’s no fear related to the “monster”. While in the past (53-54) The Joker mocked Yoon Seungho for his affection, here he can’t do it at all. The noble is not denying anything. In fact, he accepted the low-born’s embrace without feeling shame or embarrassment. He didn’t pay attention to the town folks, he just followed his heart. While in chapter 54, Min was able to separate the protagonists with his mockery and words
(chapter 54), in episode 76 Black Heart is truly defeated. And by contrasting these two scenes, it becomes obvious why Yoon Seungho assaulted his guest back then. The noble was in fact punishing The Joker for insulting his lover, as the latter was just reduced to his status: a low-born. He had no name and as such no identity. The powerful aristocrat didn’t do it in order to protect his honor, but the artist’s. At no time, the main lead was afraid of losing his reputation, he is well aware of his bad notoriety. Thus this shows that in chapter 54, the one who feared more social norms was indeed Baek Na-Kyum, which was still visible in chapter 75. That’s why the commoner denied the lord’s affection. (chapter 54)The expression “it can’t be” was referring to permission and social rules. No wonder why the noble felt so hurt in the end and retaliated. He misunderstood the artist’s rejection.
What caught my attention in chapter 76 are Black Heart’s behavior and words. First, he notices that he is too late. (chapter 76) He imagined that time would work for him, as in his mind, no one would ever stay by Yoon Seungho’s side. That’s why he didn’t hurry the second abduction. The latter had such a terrible reputation (mood swings, his huge rage, his violence), yet nothing could pressure the artist to leave the mansion. Even his noona was not able to convince him to follow her and to return to the kisaeng house. However, when he saw the couple in front of the tailor’s shop, his jealousy and greed reached a new peak. That’s why that night he had planned to visit Nameless. He wanted him to abduct the artist a second time. The expression “time is running out” outlines The Joker’s urgency. He couldn’t wait any longer, as he could witness how close they had become within 2 weeks. And if you look at the panel above, you’ll detect the presence of a shadow, in other words, a ghost. However, this is the jester Nameless looking at the couple. When the painter faced the joker
(chapter 76), the ghost from his nightmare
(chapter 61), the painter got so panicked that he got paralyzed. Only the lord’s embrace could calm him. As you can see, the commoner denominator between 53 and 76 is that the presence of a terrible ghost. The latter pushed the artist to embrace his lover. This time, he needed himself protection. However, Nameless was not the only ghost witnessing the protagonists’ embrace. Lord Min has already become a ghost himself in my opinion. First, he is wearing a black hanbok which I am associating to death. Moreover, because he threatens the criminal to kill him
(chapter 76), I view The Joker as a grim reaper. What caught my attention is his reaction, when he saw the heartfelt hug. He had to vomit and this is no coincidence. 
(chapter 76) Observe that the color green is connected to two reactions: “to be green with envy” and “to be green” (sickly). Besides, we have in French “être vert” as a synonym for fuming, furious and disgusted. Hence it’s not surprising that it exist these emojis: 🤮🤢. Both contain green. That’s why I believe that when Min saw the embrace between the protagonists, he got so upset and disgusted that he felt the urge to vomit. It was definitely a mixture of envy and rage. However, he had to lie to the others in order to hide his “weakness”. 
(chapter 76) For me, there’s no ambiguity that The Joker was not honest here. First, he has no dark circle and red eyes like Jihwa who definitely drank again.
(chapter 76) Besides, has Black Heart ever apologized to others? No. He didn’t even care, when he smoked opium in front of commoners. When he was asked to stop it, 
(chapter 52), he never expressed a real apology, he rather criticized the other for ruining the good mood and his fun. Besides, he looks down on low-borns and even Jihwa…
(chapter 76) so why would he apologize? It is, because he is slowly recognizing that his urges for Baek Na-Kyum are not linked to sex!! When he saw the hug, he could recognize the affection between the two lovers, and he felt powerless. Moreover, he envied Yoon Seungho even more than before. Let’s not forget that Min fears social norms despite his nihilistic tendencies. In this scene, the main lead showed courage and genuine affection, something that The Joker can’t do. Till chapter 76, he thought that he had been bewitched and he only felt the urge to have sex with Baek Na-Kyum. In other words, he wasn’t honest to himself and to the others. Until now, he had always imagined that once he had tasted the artist, his thirst would be satisfied. But the warm and tender embrace made him realize that he was wrong. Consequently, when he saw the hug, his envy and jealousy reached a new peak. He had to vomit. This signifies that the resent from chapter 53 became much stronger and obvious to the point that others could detect it now. Hence he has to lie. But in my opinion, he had another reason for vomiting. From my point of view, while the main lead spent his time drinking and reading, Min was busy smoking opium. Let’s not forget that Byeonduck portrayed Min with such a hanbok 
(chapter 56) and the pattern reminds the readers of opium smoke. Contrary to Yoon Seungho who only smoked it once during that terrible party, Min chose to keep smoking opium. First, the manhwaphiles could detect that he enjoyed the kick in chapter 52. 
(chapter 52) Secondly, the hanbok was another indication. Finally, I perceive the lord’s nausea in chapter 76 as another evidence for Black Heart’s opium addiction. Vomiting/nausea are listed as side effects of opium. From my point of view, when he saw the happy couple in the street
(chapter 74), he chose to smoke one pipe in order to relieve his frustration before visiting Jihwa and urging him to contact Nameless. This was a new version of chapter 56. That’s why they came both to meet the criminal. 
(chapter 76) Hence I come to the conclusion that Min is slowly turning into a ghost himself, losing his mind due to his addiction to opium and at the same time due to his greed and obsession for Baek Na-Kyum. The embrace in chapter 53 led to the kiss and indirectly it was the trigger for Min to change his original plan. 
(chapter 56) Therefore I deduce that this second embrace is forcing him to change his plan again. From my point of view, he is no longer interested in tasting the painter once and have him killed afterwards. Black Heart is now determined to take away Baek Na-Kyum from Yoon Seungho. He is definitely longing for the artist’s love. He has every reason to be so jealous. The painter showed such a loyalty and courage. He is no longer fearing people’s gaze unlike in the past. Then, he even forgave his lover for his violence and mistreatment. Slowly, Min is showing his vulnerability in front of Jihwa and as such losing his power over him. He is definitely less laughing. As a conclusion, in chapter 76, the ghost Jung In-Hun vanished for good, while a new one appeared: Black Heart, who is now dressed like a grim reaper. However, there’s a huge difference, because Min has never entered Baek Na-Kyum’s mind and heart. He has no chance at all.
But wait… you might now wonder why I have not mentioned the hug from chapter 71 yet. Where was the ghost? Note that in this panel, the artist is portrayed without eyes. This insinuates that the artist is somehow blind. Secondly, we have this picture where the manhwalovers could see the lord’s footprints. 
(chapter 71) My explanation is the following: Baek Na-Kyum wasn’t sure how to judge the lord’s behavior. Imagine that in the morning, his lover had tied him up, while in the evening he was so gentle and calm. That’s why I believe that in this hug, the artist wasn’t certain how he should perceive the lord’s embrace. He knew that it was no longer fake, but like he explained it much later… how long would Yoon Seungho have feelings for him? Therefore I believe that in this scene, Baek Na-Kyum viewed him as an illusion, a spirit who could give him warmth and comfort. 
(chapter 71) Note the difference with the following picture: (chapter 76) First, the painter’s gaze is much softer and less questioning. In addition, the position of his head is different which exposed that they are much closer now. Besides, let’s not forget that the embrace took place before the long love session. The artist’s reaction was totally normal.
As a conclusion, the last picture from chapter 76 displays two major developments. (chapter 76) The protagonists are no longer separated by their fears and issues. The ghosts in their mind and heart have finally disappeared. That’s why they are portrayed like one here. However, there are now other shadows and ghosts surrounding them, the ones who would do anything to destroy their relationship, like Min, Jung In-Hun and father Yoon.
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: Interpretation of a nightmare (second 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.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Nightmares and their message (second version)
Painter Of The Night: A Fool 🤡 in love 😍❤️🔥 (third version)
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
Announcement: I updated the essay “Painting and desires – part 3”
Like I already pointed out in the essay “Animals of misfortune”, chapter 74 is a new version of chapter 40, for there are similarities in the topics (responsibility and jealousy) and the situation. The main leads are on a date again. However, I didn’t examine a particular scene in details: the walk on the street. Hence this will be in the center of this analysis and by contrasting the two scenes, the manhwaphiles will discover the protagonists’ state of mind reflecting the evolution of their relationship.
After leaving the physician’s, the lord is strolling in front of the painter
(chapter 74), exactly like in the past. (Chapter 40) On the surface, it looks like a repetition. Yet, the first contrast are the steps. While in chapter 40, lord walks away and the painter remains immobile first, in chapter 74 the young man is following the lord step by step. This illustrates the progression of their relationship. Yoon Seungho is like his guide and the commoner just follows him, full of trust.
Moreover, in the two scenes, we have a prank (chapter 40) (chapter 74). However, the trigger for the joke is diverse. In chapter 40, he got jealous, while in chapter 74 he was curios. And this comparison between the two pranks led me to realize that the red dot on the forehead had another signification. In my first interpretation about the chapter 40, I exposed that the red dot on the forehead was the symbol of marriage, the bride would wear such a sign. However, if you recall that Yoon Seungho described the painter as a fool , the red dot is also a reference to the Third eye, the chakra. In other words, when the lord put the red point, he hoped that the painter would experience an awakening. By meditating, he would introspect himself and get new insight. That way, he would no longer be foolish. And exactly like the main lead wished, it truly happened. Through the lord’s critical thinking triggered by rhetorical questions
, Baek Na-Kyum realized that he was indeed hoping for more, although he claimed the opposite during the conversation.
(Chapter 40) That’s why after pondering, the artist visited his teacher and expressed his wish for the first time that he would like Jung In-Hun to become responsible for him, like the former had promised. As you can see, the red dot and the questions did cause an Awakening. But it was a brutal waking up, as the painter discovered how the learned sir truly viewed him: a prostitute and nothing more.
But why did the lord play this prank, not recognizing that his gesture was totally ambiguous? According to him, he was just hoping that the painter would meditate, while in his unconscious, he was already claiming the artist as his “wife”. The reason for this prank was that he got jealous and annoyed, when he saw the artist smiling by simply thinking that the scholar would pass the exam soon. 
Imagine, the commoner was walking right behind him, yet Baek Na-Kyum was not mentally and emotionally present. His thoughts were directed at the scholar. This is not surprising that Yoon Seungho resented his lover. In the aristocrat’s mind, this signified that the painter was not even enjoying his time with him. He preferred thinking about the learned sir than talking or looking at his lover. In other words, he was standing behind the lord absentminded. And the lord sensed it, hence he looked behind
. How did he notice it? It is because the artist didn’t keep asking about the date. There was a silence after the question. And when he saw the blushing accompanied with a huge genuine smile, Yoon Seungho was hurt that he couldn’t help criticizing his lover. 
Note that with such a comment, the noble is not interested in initiating a conversation, he already knows what the low-born is thinking. And if you contrast this to the scene in episode 74, you’ll detect a huge difference. Although the artist is absentminded as well, he is already meditating about his lover and his relationship. The lord’s back 
(chapter 74) is the trigger for him to ponder. And this shows the noble’s increasing influence on Baek Na-Kyum. Meditating is definitely the lord’s favorite occupation so far. In addition, this shows how much the aristocrat means to him. All his thoughts are now directed at Yoon Seungho. Therefore we have to imagine this. While Baek Na-Kyum is walking, the lord notices that he is just walking lost in his thoughts. Hence he throws him the hat as a joke. On the one side, he definitely wants him to be present mentally and emotionally, like in the past. On the other hand, note that unlike in the past, there’s no reproach, in truth he desires to discover what the artist is thinking. 
This is one of the biggest wishes Yoon Seungho has ever had: 
(chapter 49) The lord always felt the need to share what was in their mind. Now, I can truly grasp why it’s a dream for Yoon Seungho. Remember when I described how the lord lived for so many years in the darkness. He only knew that he existed through his mind and thoughts. But during this whole time, he could never communicate his thoughts to anyone, he felt terribly lonely. This explicates why he had such a huge desire to communicate with the painter. He felt closeness in their soul, which he could detect in the art. As you can see, although the noble detected that his lover was lost in his thoughts, he no longer reprimands him. In fact, he voices curiosity. Moreover, he is no longer claiming that Baek Na-Kyum is transparent contrary to chapter 40. There’s a reason for that. The artist has changed so much as well. He is indeed applying his lover’s philosophy: introspection and meditation. And this leads me to the next observation. There is a huge difference between these two scenes: the chronology.
| Chapter 40 | Chapter 74 |
| criticism | no reproach |
| Prank | Introspection |
| Questions: why? | Prank |
| Introspection | Open question |
This meditation at the beginning displays the artist’s maturity. However, if you pay attention to Baek Na-Kyum’s thoughts, you’ll notice that he is not meditating about himself, but about his lover. (Chapter 74) He recalls all his actions, and he notes the lord’s selflessness and humbleness. And this truly exposes that now the roles have been switched. The so-called foolish one is Yoon Seungho, but the latter has long forgotten his own words. On the other hand, Baek Na-Kyum is the one wishing more, he is definitely not content with a kiss from time to time, while Yoon Seungho is thinking like the artist in the past: 
(chapter 74) versus (chapter 40). What caught my attention is the significance of hope. Yoon Seungho is definitely no longer hoping for a love confession, which makes me think that in chapter 58, he wasn’t entirely honest
. He still had that dream, this explicates why he mentioned Jihwa. He envisioned that the artist would get jealous. But the artist remained silent. Then he confessed twice (“I adore you” and 
) in order to push the protagonist to reply to his confession. He definitely dreamed that if he confessed, the painter would feel pressured to return the affection. That’s why the painter was trapped under the noble and the latter was grabbing the painter’s hand. 
(Chapter 58) His gestures illustrated the pressure made on the artist. But the master never got a reply. Thus it elucidates why the noble got infuriated after the painter’s disappearance. He might have admitted his defeat, nevertheless he hoped for a confession, as a new form of allegiance. That way, Baek Na-Kyum was obliged by his words. However, in chapter 74, the only desire the noble has is to exchange their thoughts. He has truly given up on his dream. When in chapter 49 the master voiced this wish for the first time, he was lowering his expectations. That’s why I believe that this indicates that Yoon Seungho is no longer hoping for more. He is so in love, and the past Yoon Seungho would call him: a fool!
However, there’s a huge difference between episode 40 and 74. Contrary to the actual Baek Na-Kyum, Yoon Seungho was acting under the influence of his unconscious and he wasn’t aware of this. That’s why he never realized the signification of the gesture with the red dot. He had no idea that he was already in love and he was longing for the painter’s confession. On the other hand, the painter is already aware that he has developed some feelings for Yoon Seungho. He even admitted to his noona that he would think a lot about the noble (chapter 68), which is a similar attitude to the past Yoon Seungho. The latter was confusing the heart with the mind, however the low-born has been just afraid of admitting his affection.
Striking is that in his reflection, Baek Na-Kyum senses that he’s hoping for more. 
(Chapter 74) The repetition of “nothing more” is an evidence for the painter’s longing for more. There’s no doubt that his wish is physical intimacy, because for the artist sex is a synonym for love. Consequently, he stands up during the night in order to look at the lord’s bedchamber from far away or he is awake
, (chapter 74) when the noble visits his study. All this exposes that he is longing for the lord’s warmth. A simple kiss is enough to make the painter blush, but not enough to satisfy his “thirst” for affection.
When the lord plays the prank with the hat, Baek Na-Kyum’s attention returns to his lord standing in front of him. When he sees the noble smiling and showing curiosity, he is definitely moved. From my point of view, he is slowly realizing his true affection for Yoon Seungho. 
That’s why his eyes are bigger than before, like in this panel. 
(Chapter 74) He is literally glowing. He is enjoying this moment with the noble, hence he stares at him so intensively. And this represents the biggest contrast to the chapter 40. Back then he didn’t truly enjoy the walk with the master. He was either embarrassed or thinking about the scholar. At the end, he was even called “a fool”.
From my perspective, this scene (chapter 74) marks a turning point in the painter’s love life. He is on the verge of accepting his feelings, for the noble. That’s why we have the color of the rainbows, a sign for hope. He has made up his mind for three reasons. First, he has just admitted that the lord has changed. This signifies that he recognizes that Yoon Seungho is trustworthy. Secondly, he views the noble’s huge and genuine smile. I believe that this was one of the triggers for Baek Na-Kyum to face his love. Let’s not forget that in the past, the commoner was definitely affected by the scholar’s smile
. (Chapter 7) Secondly, as the lord is the mirror of the artist and the former once expressed the wish to see the painter’s smile (chapter 63), I deduce that Baek Na-Kyum has a similar mentality. As long as he can make someone happy, he is really touched and thankful. The manhwaphiles should reminisce that the painter has always felt as a burden and had abandonment issues. But there’s another important reason for Baek Na-Kyum to be so affected by Yoon Seungho. For the first time, someone is wishing to know his thoughts. (Chapter 74) Imagine, in the past the scholar reprimanded him 
(chapter 10) or silenced him with a caress
. Heena noona had a similar atttitude, she never asked for his opinion, when she sent him away. (Chapter 46) The painter is realizing that the only one who is treating with great respect is the noble. First, the lord eats his meals with the artist in his room, giving the impression that Baek Na-Kyum is the host and the lord his guest. Secondly, the lord allows him to speak freely. Thus the painter is so moved to the point that he is about to recognize his affection for Yoon Seungho. But then he remembers Heena’s words: (chapter 74) he would be a fool, if he followed his instinct and heart. This leads me to the conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum restrains himself in the last moment and doesn’t reveal his true thoughts. When he recalls his sister’s warning, I interpret that he is refusing to have a leap of faith. However, he is not recognizing that he has already changed. He might deny his attachment to the master, yet the tailor is not blind: (chapter 74) Baek Na-Kyum’s behavior is acting like a man in love. This change of behavior is the sign of his slow transformation, but he doesn’t realize it. This explicates why he doesn’t pay attention to his surroundings and shows no embarrassment. He no longer cares for reputation or appearances. What truly matters for him is Yoon Seungho, the foolish one who is not asking for more. Besides, since the chapter 40 was about responsibility, it implies that Baek Na-Kyum is not willing to become responsible for Yoon Seungho, still too afraid of getting hurt. He has been a fool in love in the past with Jung In-Hun, he fears to re-experience it.
Another divergence is that this time, the lord is declaring the commoner as his wife consciously, that’s why he chose such a headgear, which is reserved for women. Contrary to the past, this significant gesture is noticed by the tailor, that’s why we see him whispering. (Chapter 74) There’s no ambiguity that he will mention it to the other shop owners, creating some new gossips. However, I don’t think, town folks will condemn the lord, because he has definitely changed. After the disappearance, there was no scandal any longer and the aristocrat didn’t organize any sex party. He had settled down for good. Consequently if the artist disappears for a second time, I doubt that the tailor will believe in his escape. He saw how they flirted in front of his shop.
However, as you can imagine, I believe that “their blossoming romance” can be interrupted. We have Min monitoring their moves and after watching them from afar, his envy and jealousy will reach a new peak. In this scene, he was sensing that his chances to get Baek Na-Kyum were diminishing. He could definitely sense that the relationship between the protagonists had changed. Baek Na-Kyum was not keeping his distance from Yoon Seungho. He even accepted the hat without protesting, while in the past he rejected the lord and remained distant to him. (Chapter 54) And in the first version, it came to my mind that we could have a new version of this scene 
due to the Joker’s arm and hand. In chapter 52, the lord was protecting the painter with his arm and hand, which became true in chapter 76. The lord’s hug gave Baek Na-Kyum a certain comfort and safety. The existential fear could slowly disappear.
Due to the last terrible experience, the noble is slowly realizing that he needs to pay better attention to his surroundings and enemies. As a fool in love, he must recognize that he is behaving the same way than Baek Na-Kyum in chapter 40: (chapter 40) After the fake abduction, he had not investigated the matter, though the painter had mentioned one detail: (Chapter 76) For him, the incident had been resolved, but he never imagined that in reality, he had not solved the problem at all. The real mastermind was Min. Hence after the last tragedy, he is tasked to investigate the circumstances which led to the bloodbath in the shaman‘s house. (Chapter 102) He knows the perpetrator, he is himself the murderer, but what he doesn’t know is how it came to this. The painter’s question is actually inciting the main lead to investigate the matter, and as such to discover the helping hands. Lee Jihwa blamed Min, and the latter reproached the red-haired master. But the Joker asked him this: 
(chapter 102) How come that Black Heart had the learned sir’s glasses? He has now to prove his reliability and trustworthiness towards his partner. He should become more proactive, if he wants to protect his loved one better. My final conclusion is that in chapter 74, we don’t have one fool in love, but two! The painter has unfortunately forgotten Min’s confession in chapter 52.
If he hadn’t thought too much about Yoon Seungho due to the separation and been surprised by Min, he would have realized that his life was in danger. Both protagonists are so in love that they don’t realize that their special relationship represents a threat to others, especially to people who stand for social norms and traditions. Simultaneously, their scandalous relationship is a source of envy for others, as Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho were able to break free from the shackles of social customs and hierarchical society. The couple becomes a symbol of liberty and true love … no wonder why The Joker is so envious. Because both were two fools in love, they couldn’t detect the enemies around them and the existence of the plot. On the other hand, the last tragedy brought back the two lovers to reality. They needed to pay more attention to their surroundings.
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 suffering path (fourth version)
Painter Of The Night: Investigation 🔍🧐 (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/
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.
Now, you are all wondering why I am using a panel from chapter 59 as illustration, when the story has already moved on, and our beloved couple is actually celebrating their marriage. Everything started with the following panel: (Chapter 71) As you can envision, I am now examining each picture very carefully, hence when I saw this image, I couldn’t help myself associating it to the painter’s abduction. First, the painterofthenight-lovers will certainly remember the scene of the lord’s panic, when he left the room and saw the footprints on the ground misleading him to think that the painter had run away. 
(Chapter 60) In this picture, the manhwaphiles can even hear Nameless’ explication why the lord would jump to the wrong conclusion. The expression “on his own two feet” was actually visualized by the imprints left on the snow. We know for sure that Nameless knocked out the painter before carrying him away. He carried him the same way than he did with Lee Jihwa: 
(Chapter 59) What caught my attention is that the space between the footsteps on the wood (Chapter 71) is much bigger compared to the ones left in the snow. (Chapter 60) Why such a difference? It is related to the divergence of height between the lord and the painter. So here is the question? How could Nameless walk with small footsteps, when he is carrying another person? As you can see, the panel from chapter 71 serves as a clue for the presence of an accomplice during this night. I had already elaborated that Kim must have participated in this, but I could never prove it. But one might argue that this proof is not strong enough to validate my theory. That’s why I examined the chapter 59 more closely again.
(Chapter 59) This image caught my attention for two reasons. Thanks to the analysis “The five candles”, I realized the true meaning of the pictures with landscapes. They expose the actual situation, therefore the beholder should study them under the following elements: moon or sun, air, water, earth and fire. So in this picture, you can detect the absence of the moon symbolizing the lord’s illness. He is too weak to look after his lover. Striking is that the earth element is predominant here, as the tree branches standing next to the buildings are almost touching the sky. So since the snow is falling, it indicates the presence of water and note that water is almost everywhere: in the sky, on the trees, on the ground and on the rooftops. The only element missing is fire. Yet if the manhwalovers examine the image more closely, they will detect the presence of a light hanging on the side of the restroom. However, the candle surrounded by glass is not lit. To sum up my observations, this panel exposes the predominance of water and earth and the presence of a lamp with glass. In other words, this image symbolizes butler Kim, the new version of chapter 58 
. First, let’s not forget that Kim is often seen carrying a bucket of water 
(chapter 33) 
(chapter 56). Secondly, he is also linked to the lantern with a glass 
(chapter 20) 
(chapter 36) But more importantly is that in the image from chapter 59, there is no light, (Chapter 59) which can not be a coincidence. In my eyes, the valet is already aware of the future kidnapping, but he is not sharing his knowledge to the protagonists. He wants to keep them in the dark. Moreover, if you add the picture from the chapter 58, you’ll detect the absence of the glass lamp too. (Chapter 58) The presence of light comes from the physician’s room, where both main leads are making love. Hence the fire element is associated to Yoon Seungho and not Kim. All this indicates that the valet will apply his favorite philosophy: feigning ignorance. Both panels are actually exposing the valet’s complicity. Even before I realized Kim’s true personality, I had already explained that he was the one who put the protagonists’ shoes next to each other. Back then, I considered it as a gesture of kindness, whereas now I have a different opinion. As you can imagine, I perceive these two panels as evidences for Kim’s complicity. The butler will be the one creating the painter’s imprints.
But some might say that this is not enough, as they are just interpretations. Therefore I am now bringing up this final evidence: 
(Chapter 59) Note that the painter is standing in front of the bathroom. He has just cleaned himself and note that the lamp is in the background. How is this a proof? If the painter had run away, he wouldn’t have gone to the restroom… he would have left the room right away, just like the footprints are indicating. (Chapter 60) But since he went to the restroom before, it signifies that imprints should have been left behind. Yet there’s nothing like that. Therefore, this means that someone had to erase the imprints. It can only be Kim!! As for the doctor, I believe that he must have heard the painter visiting the restroom. (Chapter 59) Note, there’s the sound of the door closing. But when the disappearance of the artist was noticed, the physician didn’t realize the significance of this noise, only afterwards hence he hesitated to mention it, as it appeared so anodyne. However, as the readers can envision, if the physician had talked about the painter’s visit to the bathroom, then the lord would have realized that someone had tampered evidence. However, the noble due to the footsteps had sent for his domestics in order to start a research, hence the doctor didn’t think about this right away. But this doesn’t end here. I suddenly realized that the doctor could have heard something else, the sound of No-Name jumping and the painter‘s question: 
(chapter 59) But since the artist was silent right away, as the Joker knocked him out immediately, the physician could have jumped to the conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum met an acquaintance. So when the vanishing of the painter was discovered, the doctor assumed that the artist had followed the person he met during that night. Honestly, I can’t blame the doctor for his “passivity”, if my assumption is correct. Due to the lord’s agitated state of mind, the doctor could only realize it afterwards. With this new discovery, it becomes more comprehensible why the physician hesitated the next morning. He didn’t know what he should do. 
(Chapter 63) If he revealed what he had heard, then he imagined that he could bring the person who had „helped“ Baek Na-Kyum to escape into trouble. Observe the presence of the drop of sweat on his face. He was definitely uncomfortable. If he testified, then he could reveal the presence of a conspiracy. Nonetheless, I believe that he had jumped to the wrong conclusion: desertion. And with this new discovery, you can understand why the butler was so worried. He had no idea what the doctor had noticed. Imagine, the valet got caught by his own method (spying behind doors), however in the physician’s case, the latter was not doing out of malevolence. He just happened to become a witness, but he had assumed something else. That’s the reason why Kim was so worried, he had seen no one, yet the doctor had observed something. Kim never imagined that such a small detail (noise) could become a threat for him. This explicates why he chose to visit the doctor during the night. 
(Chapter 64) He needed to ensure that the doctor remains silent. Many manhwaphiles will certainly recall how Kim threatened the doctor…
(chapter 65) Back then, I had assumed that out of cowardice, he had not intervened due to Kim’s harsh words. Nonetheless, I came to a different interpretation. After recognizing how Byeonduck is tricking the readers, she gives the impression of a continuity, I believe that during that night, the butler visited two different physicians. According to my theory, there exist 3 different doctors. For more, please read the analysis “The mysterious doctor“. How did this idea come up? Simply by paying attention to the BEARD!! 
(Chapter 57) Note that the beard of this physician is covering the cheek and is straight. 
(Chapter 63) But now compare it to the physician’s beard in episode 65: The cheek is free on the side, and it has the form of a W!! First, he went to the one who treated the painter 
(Chapter 65) and from my point of view, he used pity to discover what the physician knew. Remember how he had used compassion the night before (chapter 57). Besides, if you contrast both statements, you will detect a contradiction. “This could be a matter of life or death“ implies that it was about saving someone, while in the second image, it is about killing someone: the other doctor! In my eyes, the valet must have begged the physician 
(chapter 57) to remain silent. If he revealed that he had discovered the presence of someone, then the other could get into trouble. In my opinion, the butler must have suggested that Baek Na-Kyum had tried to escape, because the lord had been abusing him. Don‘t forget that he had been treating the artist for his wrist. Then he must have seen the lord panicking too. 
(Chapter 60) But now, the manhwaphiles are probably wondering why he went to the other physician then. It was related to the lord’s behavior in the shed. He was acting like a sex-maniac. (Chapter 55) This doctor had reprimanded the butler and had been prescribing a tonic. So he visited the physician and used this opportunity to put the whole blame on the poor doctor. (Chapter 65) Because of him, the painter was now treated like a sex toy. The physician had poisoned the lord. Keep in mind that we always have a reflection within the same season. Baek Na-Kyum got “poisoned“, so it should be the same for the lord! Kim threatened the poor man for one reason. No one should discover that two different physicians had been treating Yoon Seungho!! 
(Chapter 65) The man never saw anything, Kim just described to him how the main lead had been behaving! Yes, he was acting like Yoon Chang-Hyeon who had gone to the doctor and described the son’s illness. 
(Chapter 57)
Now, it becomes comprehensible why the valet silenced the two doctors. Both were important witnesses who could reveal the butler’s complicity. The latter had been frequenting two different doctors, and he had made the decision on his own accord. He had acted like a noble, while in reality he was just a servant. Besides, if this doctor (chapter 63) had mentioned the presence of a third person, then Yoon Seungho could have asked the painter and the latter could have revealed the abduction. With such an innocent observation, the noble would start questioning the butler and he could realize that the imprints had been erased and new ones had been created. That’s why Kim had a huge interest for Baek Na-Kyum’s death, and hoped that the noble had killed him in the barn, hence he kept approaching the shed.
(chapter 61) 
(chapter 62)
(chapter 64) He needed to confirm his death. But since the lord was having sex the whole night, the butler had to make sure to bury the truth. If the artist had fainted, then the valet would have fetched the other doctor, the one who imagined that Baek Na-Kyum had escaped. And now, you comprehend why the man hesitated to question the painter after his return: 
(chapter 74) He was wondering why the artist would look so fine, as he had attempted to escape before. Another evidence for this theory is the following rule: a reflection within the same season. Since the doctor had been puzzled by Yoon Seungho‘s illness, I am deducing that he had the exact opposite disposition concerning the artist. He imagined what the artist had done. He had jumped to the wrong conclusion due to the injured wrist. Besides, he was “aware“ of the lord‘s mood swings.
So after the abduction, everything looked fine again, because Yoon Seungho was more focused on getting the painter’s acceptance. 
(Chapter 71) Consequently, he was not investigating the real circumstances of the abduction. But he has another reason for neglecting this aspect: he knows the culprit’s identity, unaware that unveiling the mastermind’s identity is far from enough. Real justice is to uncover truth. However, at the end of season 2, the wealthy noble was more like a teenager in love. That’s the reason why he was making a huge mistake.
I could understand the lord’s attitude, although this doesn’t signify that I couldn’t criticize him. He has always hoped for a home and as such acceptance, and the artist did fulfil his wish: he definitely selected him and chose to remain by his side. On the other hand, Yoon Seungho was no longer hoping for the painter’s confession. And this perception was confirmed in season 3: (chapter 85) He was already content if the artist would look at him, the moment you recall his first confession: 
(chapter 55). Hence in chapter 71, he’s blushing and happy, for Baek Na-Kyum is definitely starring at him with such a curiosity and desire. Moreover, the painter talks to him, has even accepted his advances. That’s why he is no longer paying attention to the circumstances that led him to think that the painter had run away on his own feet. As for Kim, he was running out of time, because at any moment, Baek Na-Kyum could mention his visit to the restroom or meeting the Jester. Consequently, the former had to use any trick to remove the artist. Hence he encouraged the kisaeng Heena to take away her brother. 
(Chapter 67)
However, Byeonduck drew such a panel in chapter 71: Why? In my first version, I had expressed the following expectation: the imprints would play another important role again and this theory was confirmed in season 3. 
(chapter 100) Here, they revealed that the main lead had gone down on his knees, the moment he had seen the traces of fresh blood. Then note that in the shaman’s house, the lord had left a bloody foot print
(chapter 102), yet in the snow it was no longer visible. 
(Chapter 102) Someone had erased the traces by putting mattresses on the soil. However, while the lord was walking through the mountain, he was definitely leaving a bloody trail behind (chapter 102), a sign that someone had been helping him. And this can only be KIM!! And the last chapter from season 3 seems to confirm my initial investigation: The butler had erased the traces from the abduction. He knew about the kidnapping and helped Lee Jihwa and the Joker.
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: Painting and desires – part 3 (second version)
Painter Of The Night: Silence (fourth 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/
It would be great if you could make some donations/sponsoring: Ko-fi.com/bebebisous33 That way, you can support me with “coffee” so that I have the energy to keep examining manhwas. Besides, I need to cover up the expenses for this blog.
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people” from Martin Luther King
With this quote, the famous American Baptist minister denunciated the passive attitude of many Americans, who didn’t feel concerned with racism and segregation in 60’s. Why?
(chapter 65) As you can see, the valet Kim is not revealing the truth, not out of fear, but he has the impression, this is not his problem. He chooses indifference. With this single attitude, the readers discover Kim’s true personality and past, confirming my last analysis about him. When he heard the painter’s refusal, 
(chapter 65), he was brought back to the past. The domestic was a witness of Yoon Seungho’s rape and as such of his sexual abuse. Striking is that in episode 65, he didn’t even open the door, but instead of helping, he let it happened. He didn’t act according to his belief. This means that in the past, he must have acted the opposite. The door was open. This signifies that he abandoned the young Yoon Seungho, when the main lead asked for assistance. (chapter 65) He refused to listen to the young master’s plea. And now, you understand why Yoon Seungho had sex in front of him outside the barn. Unconsciously, he wanted to confront the valet with the consequences of his actions.
(chapter 64) The teenager was left behind by the servant, and his hand couldn’t even stop him. But since it is a reflection, I think that the butler was the one who brought the main lead to the predator, naturally his intention was not to have him raped. And now, I grasp why the lord feels the need to hurt people with his hand, like for example strangling the painter 
(chapter 61) or grabbing the topknot of a noble
(chapter 8). His hand expresses not only his rage, but also his powerlessness. With his hand, he wasn’t able to stop the valet from leaving him behind. He had tried to stop his father from leaving his side with his hand too. (chapter 86) Furthermore, Yoon Seungho couldn’t even punish the valet for betraying him, because he had no authority and no strength. Back then, he was just a teenager. In chapter 63 and 64, Yoon Seungho was indeed reliving his traumatic past. Because the butler was recollecting two different memories (the night before and the lord’s sexual abuse), my first impression was that the young boy had been abused in the shed. (chapter 65) Yet, the storage room is the place where the valet betrayed him, as he changed his lord. 
(chapter 77) My theory is that the main lead was raped by “lord Song”, the king. Therefore I assume that the man was invited by father Yoon. Remember that the kisaeng Heena proposed to her donsaeng to seek the protection of a nobleman, as he is a low-born. (chapter 97) My idea is that the valet thought that by seeking the monarch’s protection, the young master’s suffering would end, for the king stands above the scholars and elders. Anyway, I believe that the valet made a bad choice and regretted it afterwards. Due to his guilt, he developed resent towards Yoon Seungho. And this explains why Kim said this to the painter in order to ease his pain: 
(chapter 12) He couldn’t tell him details, since he would reveal his complicity to the crime. Furthermore, since the valet led the painter to the pavilion, it is very likely that Kim was the one who offered Yoon Seungho to the pedophile, which makes his crime even worse.
With Kim’s silence came a huge price: fear and guilt. (chapter 65) Since he had not assisted the young master repeatedly
(chapter 77), he became more and more burdened by his guilty conscience. He turned into an accomplice, for he never revealed his involvement and mistakes.. He could no longer reveal the truth, because he would have to get punished. He feared father Yoon’s wrath and he had reasons too. He could definitely die. That’s the reason why he reproaches the doctor his passivity and silence, though in my opinion, it was not about the abduction, but about the tonic. Sure, in Joseon, there was no law called “Duty to rescue or Failure to provide assistance”.
“Failure to assist a person in danger is a criminal offence that condemns the failure to assist a person in danger. Contrary to most criminal norms, it is an offence of omission and not of commission, i.e. the perpetrator does not act when he should have done so.”
However, from a moral perspective, Kim committed a wrongdoing, and he knew it. That’s why he couldn’t forget and felt guilty. Even nowadays “Duty to rescue law” doesn’t exist everywhere, nonetheless many European countries, like Germany or France or UK possess one and its creation was partially influenced by the experiences made due to Nazism. And now, the manhwalovers can comprehend why my association to dictatorship was correct. Kim and other ordinary people are their willing assistants in the end. They prefer avoiding trouble out of convenience. Consequently, they turn a blind eye to injustice. Yet, though they try to forget
(chapter 65), they can’t, because they feel guilty and remorse. Note that right after voicing his wish to forget the incident, he recalls Yoon Seungho’s tragedy indicating his incapacity to forget. This explains why Kim gives the doctor the following advice: (chapter 65) Although Kim’s words in the panel are addressed to the physician, they actually reflect that Kim is speaking out of experience. He knows by experience that “silence is a true friend who never betrays”. Observe that Kim’s complicity was never brought to light, hence he never got punished. This explicates why Yoon Seungho is acting differently from his biological father in reality. Each time there was a crime, the lord let the painter defend himself and asked questions: chapter 11 and 62 
, (chapter 62) especially when you think that Baek Na-Kyum is just a commoner. But the problem is that he was biased, just like his father who had the impression that his son was a homosexual due to the testimonies of close people (Kim, Lee Jihwa and probably Yoon Seung-Won). After the rape, Yoon Seungho got punished. And this interpretation was proven correct in season 3 
(chapter 77). But here Kim remained silent too. 
(chapter 77) It was even worse than before, because after the straw mat beating, he was paralyzed. No one spoke for him and believed his words, and Kim wasn’t willing to step in. Moreover, I believe that Kim had another reason for remaining silent. 
(chapter 65) He disliked the idea of a scandal and trouble. If he had told the truth, he knew that his punishment would be death. Out of convenience, he ran away from responsibility and from the uncomfortable truth. 
(chapter 65) That’s why I believe that the author is not showing that Kim and the physician chose secrecy and silence, because they feared for their life. They only started fearing for their life, when the truth is about to be revealed, as the painter was not dead yet. As the victim, he was a witness. Because once the lord discovers the butler’s passivity and complicity, it becomes a matter of life or death for him. According to me, there are two doctors. So the chapter 65 unveils that the first doctor didn’t testify, as he wanted to help the artist. (chapter 65) In my opinion, the butler had deceived the commoner, he let him believe that Baek Na-Kyum had run away because of the lord’s violent temper. The painter had come wounded to his office. This negative perception of the young lord Yoon could only make the doctor jump to wrong conclusion. ,Striking is that this scene (chapter 63) revealed that the doctor was hesitating to give his opinion to the butler, he thought that the artist had run away. And what is the common denominator of all these scenes with the doctors. They all chose silence for different reasons. Just like Kim, the doctor had become an accomplice. As for the second, he remained silent out of fear, that he could get into trouble. (chapter 65) My theory is that the valet used the drug as an excuse to silence the physician. Now, the doctor is hoping that the boy says no word about it, so that his “wrongdoing”, the false medication, won’t be discovered. Kim blamed the doctor that after that, his master had behaved like a crazy man. The result was that both physicians chose silence!! Why? It is because the valet had pushed them to make this choice. And note the pattern. Kim used pity and compassion for the first doctor, and fear and brutality for the second! Exactly like in this scene: (chapter 12) In this scene, we have all three elements: pity, fear and silence (“can’t go into details”).
And despite knowing the truth, Kim makes the same decision like in the past. He chooses to sweep the incident under the carpet. He is glossing over the abduction with all fake excuses. (chapter 65) He has the audacity to say that his master won’t hurt the painter, although he even witnessed the roughness the artist was exposed to. Yet, for him harm was flogging or execution. From my perspective, this is no coincidence that the author showed us the valet sweeping. 
(chapter 65) This represents his attitude in life, therefore he is responsible for Baek Na-Kyum’s loss of innocence. His other leitmotiv is 
(chapter 23) He acts, as if he knows nothing reminding us of this scene.
(chapter 28)That’s why I believe that the butler was lying back then and had even allowed the artist to run away that morning. I see a new version of chapter 29. But let’s go back to chapter 65. Notice that he is the one removing the snowman built by the painter, the last reminder of the low-born’s innocence. In two occasions, he chose cowardice and silence. First, he did nothing to stop his master (chapter 65), as he didn’t desire to feel his master’s wrath. Secondly, he asked the physician to keep silent by making him feel guilty. (chapter 65) But if he had seen this, he could have intervened and reasoned his master. But he chose not. He was too embarrassed, for he had been caught “spying”. (chapter 64)
And the next day, he prefers to forget this incident. (chapter 65) What caught my attention is that he feels nothing for the painter, he doesn’t even express any regret or remorse. Since he knows that the artist won’t be killed, then everything will return to normal. He doesn’t consider the impact of Yoon Seungho’s violence used against the painter, which he witnessed on several occasions. For him what matters the most is silence, the absence of ruckus! And now, I can understand why the lord is not able to distinguish genuine from hypocritical care. When the lord was young, he saw in his valet a surrogate father, but he got betrayed in the worst way. He turned away from the wounded master. He closed his eyes, closed the door and ran away. Therefore, it becomes comprehensible why Yoon Seungho’s unconscious always expresses itself through the hand, the eye and the feet. This was the result of Kim’s abandonment, but not only from him: from his own family and even his best friend. And back then, the butler must have thought exactly the same in order to justify his behavior: (chapter 65). He legitimated his cowardice and passivity by saying that Yoon Seungho wasn’t part of his life and his adoptive son. He was just a noble, with such a statement, Kim was drawing a line. Due to his mistakes, he chose not to intervene any longer. But observe that in season 1 and 2, he meddled in his lord’s life, as he viewed it as his own business. Why? It is because he feared that he could lose his position. However, I think that in season 1, he was more influenced by his unconscious, but not in season 2.
After all these observations, I come to the conclusion that Kim has many common points with Lee Jihwa. He knows the past and feels remorse and repentance. But both are forced to hide their wrongdoings and as such their culpability. That’s why the chapter 65 reinforced my conviction that Lee Jihwa was indeed responsible for Yoon Seungho’s misery and the red-haired noble was aware of it. Yet, exactly like the butler, he denied his responsibility. Sure, many are to blame for the main lead’s tragedy as well: father Yoon, his brother and lord Song/the king. All of them lied and chose to remain silent.
From my point of view, Byeonduck has another reason for making Baek Na-Kyum going through the same experiences than the protagonist’s. This is not just to make Yoon Seungho realize what he has become and sees his own reflection in the end. In my opinion, the author uses the painter’s suffering to reveal the main lead’s tragic past. Since we all suffer for the artist, the manhwaphiles have to imagine that Yoon Seungho experienced it too, but in the worst possible way, as he had really no one by his side. While Yoon Seungho might be rough and hurtful towards the artist, he is still in love with the artist, hence he still cleans (chapter 65) the artist after their intercourse and even gives him his own shirt. He shows a certain sense of responsibility.
So my actual theory about Yoon Seungho’s past is the following: Yoon Chang-Hyeon got deceived by many people, making him believe that his son was an idle young master before being stigmatized as sodomite. The king had to ruin the protagonist’s reputation in order to approach him. The real puppet master was lord Song alias the king. But every culprits had to suffer the consequences of their crimes and deceptions. I don’t think that even the king was spared. He also got punished by the gods, yet he never realized it. Yoon Chang-Hyeon thought, he could benefit from such an alliance, but he got betrayed by father Lee, but the scholar never recognized it. 
(chapter 82) Why didn’t he ask for a punishment after this humiliation? It is because he couldn’t. However, he must have definitely sought revenge. And the main lead became the sacrificial lamb, as in father Yoon’s eyes, his son was the reason for the purge: desertion, betrayal and probably drugs played a role in the purge. It is definitely possible that I have to change this theory about his traumatic past, but as you can observe, the main elements don’t change:
- coercive persuasion: sexual, physical and emotional abuse
- a wrongdoing and the innocence of the main lead, yet the father believes that his words are all lies
- the abandonment from everyone: Lee Jihwa, the staff, the butler, his brother and his biological father
- The responsibility of Jihwa and Kim in his misery due to their behavior (action versus passivity)
- sexual abuse committed by a repressed homosexual
- “prostitution” and gangrape As the king would share Yoon Seungho to his officials
As a conclusion, silence is as terrible as words. Both can kill in the end.
Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
That’s why it is important not to turn away from injustice. This is not just a question of courage. Not helping someone in the need is committing a crime, and it contributes to reinforce injustice. Fear for life can not be an excuse in this story, since the matter of life and death appears afterwards. The silence is related to a misdeed. Besides, this kind of behavior explains why Third Reich could exist. First, while some people were convinced believers, many chose comfort over trouble. Let’s not forget that Hitler could install his dictatorship, because the MP from the Reichstag voted for Enabling Act (1933). That law gave Hitler the power to enact laws without the involvement from the Reichstag. One might argue that Hitler used terror to coerce the MP, but this is not correct, as Otto Wels gave a speech against it and the socialist party (SPD) followed him. This was the only party that voted against it. I have to admit that while reading the last chapter, I couldn’t help myself thinking of the Third Wave.
In our case, it is not about Nazism, but about civil courage. Once one remains passive, the other follows creating a common movement: all become inactive and silent. IT takes courage to admit a mistake and a wrongdoing. And we have to imagine that in the past, the servant Kim remained silent once leading the others to close an eye as well. And the phenomenon is occurring again. The physician was a witness, but did nothing (not even asking for help after the painter’s disappearance). He was convinced that if he shut his mouth, he would help the artist! But this was simply wrong, for with his passivity and false conclusion, the painter could have died. The irony is that Kim is following him after their conversation. (chapter 65) Slowly, he is recognizing that his master won’t hurt the artist. Yet, during his visit, he thought the exact opposite. (chapter 65)
However, this time it is different because of Baek Na-Kyum’s panic attack and his sister’s intervention.
(chapter 65) The lord realized that something had happened. Due to the painter’s reaction, he was brought back the past. (chapter 66) Striking is that the painter’s words were the trigger for revealing the truth. 
(chapter 66) This stands in opposition to silence. Therefore it is no coincidence that Min revealed the truth. 
(chapter 66) The irony is that Heena suspected the main lead of kidnapping her brother and everything looked like her words were true: the wrist, the wounds around his wrist, his actual position (the mouth covered and his hands tied together…)
(chapter 66) 
(chapter 66) Thus the circumstances were turned against him. 
(chapter 65) But she was not present, when Min admitted Lee Jihwa’s crime. That’s how I realized that while chapter 65 represents silence, deception, cowardice and passivity, chapter 66 embodies the exact opposite. Min told the truth, Heena tried to save her brother by creating a ruckus! For Yoon Seungho, silence is a sign of culpability which he learnt from Kim. Hence he lied to the kisaeng 
(chapter 65), and later never spoke to the painter about the incident. If he had done it, he would have been forced to admit his misjudgment and wrongdoing. And now, you understand why Martin Luther King said this:
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people”
The physician and the butler are no evil men per se, as they don’t find pleasure in death and suffering. However, like the following idiom is revealing, people can change due to their decisions:
The way to hell is paved with good intentions.
That’s why in season 4, the tragedy won’t be repeated and the truth about Yoon Seungho’s martyrdom, strongly intertwined with the artist’s, will come to the surface. You are wondering why now. The reason is quite simple: The doctor revealed his knowledge to Baek Na-Kyum, 
(chapter 57) It doesn’t matter, if the butler told lies to the physician in the past, as they are now perceived as truth. Remember what Kim confided to the painter: 
(chapter 86) He believes that he is the only one left who knows the past. But he is wrong, since the doctor also recalls the past. Hence how can Kim prove that he is telling the truth, since he told a different story to the physician? In addition, we have also lord Song. Besides, by giving the drug to Yoon Seungho without his knowledge and consent, Kim committed a wrongdoing. His knowledge won’t serve him in the end. I am deducing that the saying “silence is a true friend who never betrays” will no longer be valid. Therefore we have to expect a betrayal, and that would be from the physician, especially after we recall the butler’s warning in the first season, which was addressed to a different doctor from my point of view: 
(chapter 33) Let’s not forget that in chapter 65, the servant tried to put the whole responsibility on the physician, making him feel guilty. And since Byeonduck is even using elements from the first and second season, I believe, we will have a reversed situation in season 4, where the doctor will speak up and put the whole blame on someone. Neither the physician nor Kim expected that the painter’s body wouldn’t remain silent (chapter 65), a proof that the truth needed to be unveiled. It was impossible to act, as if nothing had happened, just because the painter had been returned to Yoon Seungho. And it is the same at the end of season 3. The painter gave his husband a task: (chapter 102) He needs to find the answer, which stands in opposition to silence and burying the truth (sweeping it under the carpet). This signifies that this time, Yoon Seungho has to gather information himself, and he can not rely on Kim: 
(chapter 98) As you can see, slowly people are forced to talk
(chapter 99), hence their testimony can be questioned and perceived as lie.
(chapter 100). This is important, because by getting confronted with lies, the lord will be able to discern the truth! In other words, silence embodies darkness and as such death. (chapter 74) Thus there was only silence in the lord’s nightmare. And this contradicts this statement: (chapter 65) Because Germans chose silence, the Holocaust could take place.
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: Yoon Seungho’s secrets (second version)
Painter Of The Night: “Master and Man” (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/
Yes, I chose this title because of the Russian short novel written by Leo Tolstoy. In this story, the rich land owner Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov died by saving the servant’s life Nikita, because he realized that the low-born’s life was as worthy as any other man. Furthermore, he also got aware of his own selfishness, for he was responsible for their predicament. They were caught in a snow storm and the noble initially abandoned the peasant. However, at the end, the lord changed his mind and revealed another side from himself. This outlines that status is very superficial and the readers witness the master’s conversion leading a huge change in his behavior and thoughts towards commoners and low-born.
In the following analysis, we will examine the lord- low-born relationship between the nobles Yoon Seungho and Jung In-Hun and the commoner Baek Na-Kyum, when the latter becomes sick. All this was triggered because one of my followers asked me this: Why didn’t Seungho return home for days? From my point of view, the conversation between the nobles and Yoon Seungho, triggered by Min 
(chapter 33), forced the lord to realize that the artist was indeed a precious treasure, and he was not willing to share him. 
(chapter 33) At the same time, due to Black Heart’s words, the noble was reminded of the painter’s health conditions. Although the lord was talking about the artist, as though the latter was just an object, the reminder forced him to recall that Baek Na-Kyum was a human who could die. That’s why he returned in the end. His abandonment reflected his cowardice, he didn’t desire to be confronted with the consequences of his bad behavior. Consequently, just like in the Russian novel, the main lead was reminded that the low-born was just a human. As you can see, both characters had a similar disposition and also a change of heart.
Striking is that the butler tried to cover up his master’s cowardice and abandonment. He diverted Baek Na-Kyum’s attention by showing his concern for his master.
But before this, the servant Kim mentioned that the lord’s room was the best, as it was the warmest. 
(chapter 34) Kim’s remark was in fact insinuating that the lord had been very generous and caring for him. He gave the impression to the low-born that the noble was treating him like a noble, as the latter had sacrificed his bed for his recovery. However, this was not true, as the lord had brought the artist to the study before the doctor’s arrival. 
(chapter 33) At the same time, the butler was not entirely lying either. The lord had indeed shown generosity and care, since he had called for the physician. Yet, once he had heard about the doctor’s precription, the aristocrat had ran away from his responsibilities 
(chapter 33) and left everything in Kim’s hands. Remember my statement: Kim is always telling half-truths. Kim was in reality the one who brought him to the noble’s bed. (chapter 33) He needed to portray his master in a much more positive light in order to obtain the painter’s cooperation. The valet hoped that the artist would follow his order 
(chapter 34) and become the lord’s sex toy:
So in my opinion, while Yoon Seungho had indeed showed worries and benevolence towards the painter, he was relying on his right-hand, therefore he never came to verify if Baek Na-Kyum was recovering properly. 
The irony is that although the valet treated the painter as a honorable guest (bringing him to the lord’s chamber and taking care of him as if he was his master), in truth he was just viewing the low-born as an object and tool. was truly making sure that Baek Na-Kyum would get the best treatment, but the domestic used the opportunity to praise his master indirectly.
And now you understand why Yoon Seungho didn’t return to the mansion. First, he felt guilty, as he knew why the young man got so sick. His remorse were definitely bigger, as the artist could lose his life. He even heard the critic from the doctor.
His guilty conscience is actually visualized in the chapter 33. He has no erected phallus and looks exhausted. 
(chapter 33) While he was at the sex orgy, he remembered the exhausted young face of the painter, while they were talking about him.
The black coloring about the head is a sign for flashback and memory. We saw in another chapter that Byeonduck uses the color black to announce that this is a flashback. However, I feel that Yoon Seungho avoided his mansion because he was confused too. He wanted to find out if his “obsession” for the painter was related to sex. We shouldn’t forget that in the past, the lord used to go to such parties very often which is revealed during the chapter 33.
It becomes clear that the moment he slept with Baek Na-Kyum, he dropped off his visits there. Yet after the sex marathon, he started visiting the sex parties again. the relapse was a sign of his torment. But there are other explanations as well. He thought that going back to the sex parties could help him to lower his strong libido for the uke. He wasn’t sure if his urge for Baek Na-Kyum was caused by the lack of sex, as he had stopped going to these sex orgies or if it was related to something else, to the person itself. Furthermore, I believe that by going back to the sex orgies, he experienced that he was no longer interested in sex, but he was looking for something else. He wanted to be with the artist. And now, you comprehend the second relapse in chapter 51: The lord was suffering, but unlike in the past he couldn’t keep his distance from his lover. He needed to sense his presence. He was no longer his sex partner, but he wasn’t treated like an object or a servant. During these two separations, Yoon Seungho was full of worries for Baek Na-Kyum which he was trying to forget, yet he couldn’t. At the same time, he was reflecting on his past actions:
– Why did he force the man to sleep with him for so long and overlook his current state? What drove him to drop off his visits to the sex parties, when he used to go there very often?
I perceive the lord as someone who does think deeply, hence he wouldn’t be spending so much time in front of his window in general. From my point of view, Yoon Seungho had to introspect himself and was making sure despite his sense of guilt that his “obsession” or love for the painter was not related to his strong stamina but to his desire to share his thoughts with him. He wanted to have a true companion. Let us not forget that Yoon Seungho has never experienced love before and has never received love from his father. So he had no role model, hence he was confused and couldn’t recognize the true cause for his behavior. He didn’t know how to show love. So far, the world he grew up was full of treacherous and vain hypocrites where there is no love. Let us not forget that even Jihwa doesn’t reveal his love for him. Furthermore, his past made him experience sex without pleasure and even without love. However, the moment he met the painter, he could finally connect his sexual orientation with ecstasy. In the first season, without the painter he was experiencing if his “obsession” with the painter was related to sex or to something else. Like I had truly recognized, the noble had not realized the existence of his feelings for the commoner. I believe that he couldn’t name his affection as love due to his lack of knowledge. He was confusing his mind with his heart. There is no denial that he was already in love with Baek Na-Kyum, as the man affected him so much right from the start. The moment they met, he acted differently. Besides, love is never a constant feeling. It changes all the time. Moreover, there are different kind of love. He was attracted by the painter due to his paintings, then due to his face and gaze… little by little he fell for him. However, the lord never realized it, unlike his servant Kim. However, in my opinion, the butler only judged it as an obsession and not as love. He imagined that his master had fallen too deeply into sodomy
(chapter 18) In my eyes, the butler’s cowardice is connected to the social norms. He had deeply internalized the social values from Joseon, hence he represents a reinforcement of authorities. As you can see, there are many explanations for his behavior: guilty conscience, out of concern, self-introspection… On the other hand, he is only partially running away from his responsibility, as he had asked the servant Kim to take care of the artist. This is why this “abandonment” stands in opposition to the scholar’s. The latter betrayed during the rape, as he didn’t intervene and acted as if nothing was happening. And the next day, he brought him back to the mansion and abandoned him by letting Yoon Seungho drag him to the bedchamber. At no moment, he tried to stop his sponsor. That’s why he remains invisible in chapter 32.
But if we look back at the first picture at the beginning, you’ll notice that Kim’s words are reflecting something else.
(chapter 33) He was acting as a mediator between the master and the low-born which looks like a good thing. In reality, he was meddling in their relationship. Who was he to intervene? That’s why he acted like a father. With his words, the butler was implying that his lord had been affected by his illness, hence he remained away. However, I believe that in the valet’s mind, there existed a different explanation. For Kim, his master was just a coward. That’s why he said this comment in front of the physician: 
(chapter 33) He anticipated that his master was avoiding to face the consequences of his selfish behavior. For me, Kim doesn’t truly love his master. He views the Yoons as terrible, but he will never confront them. But for his own safety, he needed to deceive the painter. Let’s not forget that Kim had played a role in his escape and the low-born could reveal it to his master. That’s why he needed to fake his care and concern for the painter so that the artist wouldn’t mention the past. Thus he begged the young man not to wander around as a sign of care and gentleness.
Simultaneously, Kim needed to manipulate the painter so that the latter would realized that he had won Yoon Seungho’s trust. He desired to obtain his obedience. What appears as mediation was in reality manipulation, which would create misunderstandings. He hoped that Baek Na-Kyum wouldn’t go to the teacher’s side. He was well aware of his master’s jealousy. In other words, this scene revealed many important points:
– The lord might have been away but he thought about him and made sure that he would get the best treatment
– Yoon Seungho’s behavior has drastically changed, he hasn’t returned home hence there is something upsetting the lord
The loyal assistant is acting like the lord’s lawyer. And here, in the chapter 34, we can see the contrast with Jung In-Hun’s attitude. Baek Na-Kyum asked Kim about the teacher. Was he worried about him? Has he asked after him? Kim denied all of his questions which upset the young man.
That’s the reason why he cried in the bed, covering his face. His gesture revealed his pain, but it also indicated that he didn’t want to be confronted by reality. Kim showed him that his admired sir had abandoned him, but the artist was in denial. He only explained it as a lack of concern. He was veiling his face in front of the truth. On the other hand, this scene was important for another reason. It truly exposed the learned sir’s stupidity and blindness. Without the artist by his side, Jung In-Hun meant nothing to the protagonist. Note the contrast between the butler and the scholar’s attitude. The former had understood the artist’s importance, though he didn’t like it, while the learned sir seemed to be in denial. The low noble didn’t even imagine that Baek Na-Kyum could lose his life. Then if you compare both aristocrats, you’ll detect the huge difference. Although both nobles were away from him, one kept his distance out of concern and guilt, the other felt nothing. The words Kim said did affect the painter, he could sense that the powerful noble had been caring and kind. Kim’s words made sure that the low-born wouldn’t push away his master like in the past, and wouldn’t blame him for his sickness. At the same time, the butler was trying to “tame” Baek Na-Kyum.
And Yoon Seungho’s humbleness and selflessness was revealed with the kiss. 
(chapter 32) However, the valet Kim was not present, hence when he lied to Baek Na-Kyum, he had no idea that in reality his words were containing more truth than lies in reality. That’s why I chose the kiss as illustration for the analysis. The roles were switched. The master acted as a servant, and the low-born was now the lord. The male lead was acting like Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov from the Russian novel. Yoon Seungho was even willing to give water to the exhausted man. This situation was repeated in chapter 76: 
(chapter 76). The lord made sure that the painter would feel better with the water. But let’s return our attention to chapter 33. In the bedchamber, the main lead was to blame for Baek Na-Kyum sickness, as he hadn’t paid attention to the artist’s condition. He had acted selfishly, exactly like the protagonist from Master and man. Both realized their huge mistakes, came to regret and took some responsibility, although the chronology in the Russian story diverges. But this shows that both aristocrats came to realize that commoners were humans and no possessions.
This is not surprising that In-Hun’s indifference and even selfishness hurt the young man more at the end. It was really visible in the next chapter. The young man had to hear that what Yoon Seungho did was not normal 
(chapter 35) and his preparations for the exam were more important than the painter’s life. 
(chapter 35) For the first time, Baek Na-Kyum could sense that Jung In-Hun was selfish and not kind. Moreover, he even reminded him that as a low-born the noble shouldn’t spend so much money for him. Indirectly, Jung In-Hun was telling him that if he had been Yoon Seungho, he would have done the opposite: not giving him the best room, not sending for the physician and not spending so much money for the medicine. In that chapter, Baek Na-Kyum could finally see glimpses of Jung In-Hun’s true personality. Therefore I think that the servant’s words did influence the young man, he didn’t blame and resent the noble for his condition. He saw the caring gestures, although he was absent… whereas Jung In-Hun was absent due to his own interest. (chapter 35) Here, the low-born’s head is down which indicates a certain resignation and pain. While the one did change his behavior and showed a new side to the young painter, the other remained indifferent. The caress on the cheek could no longer mask the learned sir’s lack of concern and selfishness. 
(chapter 35) No wonder that after his departure, the artist was disappointed and heartbroken.
To sum up, one aristocrat felt remorse and guilt, hence he tried to redeem himself by taking care of the artist to his own detriment, he even left the mansion for days, the other acted like usually. Here, we can see some similarities between Yoon Seungho and Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov. Both are able to feel empathy. Baek Na-Kyum started seeing the powerful master’s caring side. Due to Kim’s words, he thought that the lord even sacrificed his own comfort and health for the young man… just like the Russian land owner sacrificed his life for Nikita, the peasant. The chapters 34 and 35 are important, because they marked a turning point in Baek Na-Kyum’s life. The perfect image that Jung In-Hun had been able to create was starting showing cracks. Little by little, the painter could sense that his relationship with the teacher was defined by his status, while Yoon Seungho’s behavior made him realize that he was not treating him like a low-born, but like a human. This explains why later Baek Na-Kyum lied to the teacher for the first time. The lord had showed him his vulnerable side and had even let him stay by his side, when the brother visited him. The artist felt the learned sir’s lack of empathy and concern for him and his selfishness. In his eyes, he was just a low-born, and Baek Na-Kyum could already sense it. Therefore he lied.
But let us not forget that he still hoped that the servant Kim had not told the truth, hence he went to the teacher in order to get confirmation. Yoon Seungho’s conversion was also visible, because after his return, he spent the whole night thinking how he could improve his relationship with the artist. And notice that from the chapter 36 on, he started lowering himself in front of the painter literally and figuratively. The blow-job in this chapter
contrasted so much to the blow-job in the chapter 28.
Their places had been switched: the low-born had become the master. First, the noble acted like a master with the soft punishment
(chapter 36), until he saw the painter’s erection. He was willing to give up his position as master. That’s why he prioritizes the painter’s pleasure all the time. 
(chapter 36) So their relationship master-servant stopped at this moment, hence he lets him stay by his side, when the brother Seung-Won is in his chamber.
(chapter 37) Notice that his position had changed. He was sitting by the lord’s side. He even asked the artist to sleep by his side and let him stay in his bed without waking him up the next morning. As you can observe, the characters’ position illustrated their actual position in their relationship. When Baek Na-Kyum woke up the next morning, he was alone in the bedchamber. The lord preferred to leave his bed and eat elsewhere. In other words, Kim’s words from chapter 33 became a reality. He let him rest in his bed. Yoon Seungho showed so much consideration that in the chapter 39, he even went to the kitchen in order to fetch the low-born. 
(chapter 38) He didn’t even send his loyal assistant. He had become the “servant” himself. In other words, we witnessed the lord’s slow conversion during the chapter 36 and the small changes from that moment. The nature of their relationship had changed, hence he claimed Baek Na-Kyum as his bride unconsciously. (chapter 40) So both characters, Yoon Seungho and Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov transformed into a different person, more selfless and caring. They were willing to sacrifice things for them: status and pride. On the other hand, the nature of Baek Na-Kyum’s relationship with the teacher changed for the worse: from a teacher to a student, it became a lord-servant relationship, and the painter sensed the change of their relationship. But let us not forget: Jung In-Hun never considered the young man as a student, for him he had always been a low-born. It is just that he was so good to deceive the commoner.
And these observations in the first season were confirmed in the second season. The only difference is that this switch of social position from chapter 33 on was more momentary. The lord still viewed himself as a noble, he never realized his transformation. Yet in chapter 71, the noble chose to confirm the change of status: (chapter 71) Baek NA-Kyum was no longer a low-born, but a noble, while the main lead was his “servant”. This explicates why the noble was no longer asking for him in the evening (chapter 74) and visited him secretly during the night. But this switch of position didn’t remain a secret, the moment the lord embraced his panicked lover. (chapter 76) At the end of the second season, the lord’s true personality is more and more unveiled: he has a kind and generous heart, and he is able to reflect on his wrongdoings, which contrasts to Jung In-Hun. And now, you can comprehend why right from the start, I was fascinated by the infamous sodomite. The first season let us see glimpses of his warmth and selflessness. This means, the noble’s courage and strength will shine more and more.
As a conclusion, Yoon Seungho is a figure that resembles the noble Valmont from the “Dangerous Liaisons” and the land owner Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov from “Master and man”, a man full of redemption despite his sins. As you can see, from a simple question “Why didn’t he return to the mansion?”, it became an analysis about master and servant and the transformation of Yoon Seungho.
And here again, I could use a classic story for an inspiration and comparison which shows how well written this manhwa is.
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.
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 