This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes.
Just like with the first special episode, the new chapter from Alternative Universe helps us to get new insight about the original story. Not only we discover the character’s true thoughts and emotions, but also Byeonduck gives us tips so that the readers can reconstruct the protagonists’ past in the original story. Nevertheless, it is only possible, if one pays attention to details. Hence I came to the following theory: Byeonduck will never reveal the whole past as a narration, but will unveil it as a puzzle and the manhwalovers need to put the pieces together. Exactly like in real life… we can never get the truth, because people involved in the past don’t possess all the information. Finally the witnesses’ memories are also influenced by their own thoughts, experiences and emotions so that the former don’t reflect reality. And now it is time to reveal the pieces I observed in the special episode.
In the Alternative Universe, Baek Na-Kyum belongs to the influential aristocracy and is the only son in his family, which means that his father must have high expectations for him. His duty is supposed to continue the family’s legacy, as he is the only heir. Moreover, he paints erotic pictures of sodomy in order to buy glasses for his surrogate father, the servant Jung In-Hun.
And here, the readers should wonder why he feels the need to earn the money for the glasses. Technically, he could just go to the merchant and buy these with his family’s money. My answer is that it is related to social norms and the huge social gap between the domestic and the young master. I believe, Baek Na-Kyum’s family is rather traditional and as such makes a huge distinction between nobles and low-borns. This traditional mind-set is perceptible, when the shopkeeper threatens the artist. From my point of view, his father will never allow a noble to offer such an expensive present to a servant. That’s why the innocent man started painting. But does the personal domestic know about his master’s secret activities and true goal? Yes, he is aware of Baek Na-Kyum’s actions and intention, which is detectable in the following picture: 
Note that the noble gave him the order to wait at the door of the merchant’s shop, but the servant preferred disobeying him. This picture is relevant for two reasons. First, it outlines the true nature of the relationship between the lord and his servant. Jung In-hun can afford to disregard Baek Na-Kyum, as the latter doesn’t punish him at all. On the one hand, the young master underlines that his order was not respected, on the other hand nothing happens afterwards. This truly indicates that the domestic has the upper hand here. Secondly, he didn’t obey Baek Na-Kyum’s request, as he didn’t want to hear or to be seen with his master selling his last work. Note that, when the master leaves the shop, the trader speaks so loudly that the master can hear his explanations: 
And now imagine Jung In-Hun waiting at the door for the return of his master. If he had stood there as requested, he would have heard the merchant’s comment and would have become an accomplice. As a conclusion, we can definitely say that the domestic acts, as if he didn’t know about Baek Na-Kyum’s activities. He is applying Kim’s philosophy from the original story: 
However, let’s not forget that the servant has a real reason for his silence and his faked ignorance. He will get glasses, which he truly desires, therefore he can’t tattle this to lord Baek. On the surface, Jung In-Hun hates sodomy, nonetheless he benefits from it through the master’s paintings, exactly like in the original story. As you can imagine, I saw a new evidence for my theory that Kim is actually Yoon Seungho’s enemy, the surrogate father who betrayed and abandoned the aristocrat due to his selfishness. First, the servant has a similar mentality: silence and ignorance. Besides, observe that in the second special chapter, the domestic plays the role of the “adoptive” father, the one who is caring and giving some comfort. 
This clearly indicates that the scholar was never the painter’s true love, but the latter was more suffering from an oedipal complex:
“The Oedipal complex, also known as the Oedipus complex, is a term used by Sigmund Freud in his theory of psychosexual stages of development to describe a child’s feelings of desire for his or her opposite-sex parent and jealousy and anger toward his or her same-sex parent.” quoted from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-an-oedipal-complex-2795403#:~:text=The%20Oedipal%20complex%2C%20also%20known,or%20her%20same%2Dsex%20parent.
Since the artist is a homosexual, then he won’t be attracted to his mother, rather to the “father”. Striking is that in the last image, the domestic gives his master an advice, although Baek Na-Kyum never asked for this. This displays that Jung In-Hun is well aware of the young man’s affection and employs it to his advantage. For me, these two episodes not only explain how the relationship between the low-born and the teacher worked in the original story and as such in the past, but also seems to unveil Yoon Seungho’s bond to his butler Kim.
And there’s another reason why I suspect the valet in the original story has a similar function than the scholar. Only recently, I realized that Kim’s first appearance coincides with Jung In-Hun’s arrival at the mansion. 
(chapter 7) Besides, it is Kim who takes care of the former teacher too, by bringing him to his room. As you can detect, the servant Jung In-Hun reinforced my negative perception about the “loyal and caring” butler.
But let’s return our attention to the circumstances of the selling of paintings in the special episodes. Baek Na-Kyum is not doing it in order to survive, but to make his domestic happy. But the problem is that he is not earning a lot of money. The reasons are quite simple: the lord can only sell it in secret and the merchant uses the master’s precarious situation (his high social status) in order to buy the creations for a cheap price. He gives false excuses 
, while in reality his works are so appreciated that he has already made a name himself. Striking is that the merchant contradicts himself exposing his greed and hypocrisy, because first he compliments the artist: 
before criticizing his last work so that the main lead ends up with just 3 coins! And the trader reminds the painter that he can’t complain, as he can’t reveal this to his father. So we have a greedy merchant, who takes advantage of the artist due to his social status. On the other hand, Baek Na-Kyum has no other solution to accept his fate. In the second episode, Yoon Seungho reveals once again the artist’s popularity. 
And this situation with the painting made me think about the original story. How did the selling occur? Since the Alternative Universe is similar to the original, although the social status of the characters have been switched, we have to imagine that Baek Na-Kyum must have made a similar experience. As a low-born, the shopkeeper could use the lower social status to buy his paintings for a cheap price. I have to admit that when the first special episode appeared, I wondered if the glasses were not financed by the artist too. However, I rejected the idea, because when he left the brothel, the low noble already possessed glasses. 
(chapter 46) But the chapter 64 finally gave me the answer: the snake in the original story who took advantage of Baek Na-Kyum’s low social status is the tailor. 
This picture is relevant because it shows that the tailor knew the painter’s identity right from the start. Let’s not forget that Yoon Seungho never showed any picture to outsiders. The merchant sold the publications behind the curtains and gave the info to Yoon Seungho’s servant, when the latter questioned the identity of the real painter.
And now, you understand why Min knew about the incident at the tailor’s shop. Min is also a client who bought Baek Na-Kyum’s publications.
(chapter 8). And now, it is important to revisit the chapter 39 and the romantic date: 
What caught my attention are the drops of sweat on both characters. Back then, I thought, like many readers, that the origin of the discomfort was related to the unusual order: the tailor was supposed to make expensive clothes for a low-born. However, since we know that the tailor recognized Baek Na-Kyum as the painter working under a pseudonym, I believe that they were awkward for a different reason. They had to act, as if they didn’t know each other. This explains why the drop of sweat appears on both faces, when they are facing each other while looking at Kim. That’s why the merchant had to call the commoner a servant, he couldn’t call him a painter. Notice that in that scene, the painter never says, he is a painter, although he could have mentioned it. No one is supposed to know the nature of his paintings, so Baek Na-Kyum had no reason to feel embarrassed, unless the merchant knew the content of his pictures and Baek Na-Kyum was well aware of that. And if you pay attention to the exchange between Kim and the merchant, you’ll notice how he tries to catch some info by questioning the true nature of the relationship between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum. 
In my opinion, there’s more than curiosity. He needs to know his relationship with the lord Yoon Seungho, in case the artist decides to sell again his paintings. He could no longer act like before, buy paintings for a cheap price. That’s why he needed to get more insight. And now, with the artist’s disappearance creating chaos among the town folks, the tailor revealed his knowledge and in reality his secret.
He saw no reason to hide it any longer. First, he was mad, because people would mock him. Secondly, since the painter hadn’t created any new publication, as he was taken care by the master, he could mention the low-born’s real job: a buggering painter! He had the impression that he had nothing to worry. Striking is that he mentions it in front of the sister And I am quite sure that you remember what I wrote: people with knowledge and secrets will get punished. In my opinion, Heena and Yoon Seungho will expose the merchant’s hypocrisy and greed, who benefited from Baek Na-Kyum’s talent.
And now, you are wondering about the scholar? How does he fit in this story? Due to the special episodes, I deduced that the painter used to sell his paintings to the merchant, because he wanted to buy glasses for his teacher Jung In-Hun. First, in the following picture
, the manhwalovers can observe the absence of the gaze and eyes, indicating that his eyes and glasses played a huge role in the past. And now, if the readers look again at Yoon Seungho’s face during the Wedding night, they will notice the barely visible presence of glasses, the symbol for the teacher. 
And if Baek Na-Kyum did pay for the low noble’s glasses, then it is comprehensible why they mean so much to the low-born. The teacher could have voiced, he needed glasses. I can even imagine that he justified his actual situation, he is just a simple teacher due to the absence of glasses. In other words, he couldn’t do well at the exam, because he couldn’t afford the glasses. His true desire was to use the painter’s innocence and gentleness to obtain a favor without doing anything: just smile and compliment. And Baek Na-Kyum had to wait for a long time before being able to buy the present. The scholar was well aware how Baek Na-Kyum achieved his goal by selling erotic pictures, but the teacher feigned ignorance. However, the sister realized that the shopkeeper and publisher had abused the painter due to his humble origins, therefore Heena imagined that if the teacher was to take care of Baek Na-Kyum, the former would help him to get better paid. However, what happened was that the scholar realized that despite his popularity, Baek Na-Kyum wouldn’t earn that much, unless the former had to intervene. For him, it was unbearable to be linked to homosexuality. Therefore he could only see the artist as a burden. That’s why he decided to cut ties with the artist by no longer feigning ignorance. On the surface, he discovered the erotic painting and coerced the artist, until the latter vowed to never paint anything. It is also possible that Jung In-Hun tried to use the artist’s popularity in order to sell his own book, but was rejected. Anyway, there’s no doubt that the scholar in the past took advantage of Baek Na-Kyum, until he had the impression that the painter had become a burden and he refused to be responsible for him. Let’s not forget that history is repeating itself in Painter Of The Night. And now, you can understand that I am expecting another scandal: the tailor’s enrichment through the publications . 
There’s no doubt that we will hear this sentence in the original story. However, I have the feeling that Heena will play a major role in this, as the shopkeeper revealed it in front of her. At the same time, this incident will lead to the scholar’s involvement as well. Why did the artist stop painting for a while? Why did Baek Na-Kyum become drunk? Why did he abandon the painter twice after receiving the glasses?
As you can see, I perceive the merchant as a hypocrite, who took advantage of the painter’s innocence and social status. This became truly visible thanks to the new episode. And it becomes understandable why he resents Kim in the end. He remained quiet, but he didn’t get any benefit. That’s why he revealed his knowledge. He imagined that with the new revelation, he would no longer be looked down. He didn’t realize that he just opened Pandora’s box.
[In the second part, I will focus more on the two protagonists.]
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and the support.
(special episode 1), like I had pointed out in a former essay. Since I have determined that Baek Na-Kyum is the butterfly in that story, symbolizing truth and hope, the question is now: what is the box in Painter Of The Night? For me, the box represents the past with all his secrets linked to pain and traumas. And the opening of the lid leads to suffering and tragedy, yet despite the agony, the figures will be able to move on and have hope. The painter will serve as a tool to unveil the truth signifying that all the secrets and as such the past will be revealed. And now there’s only one question left. Who is Pandora in this story? Which person opens the box full of secrets bringing misery but hope to the characters in this story? 
Black Heart actually lies to the second character by giving a false information, yet he gives the impression that his intelligence is real and concrete. If you pay attention to his expressions (“I hear”, “He doesn’t seem”), you’ll notice that his tip is uncertain and unreliable. In fact, he reveals that he is utilizing rumors. Why doesn’t the red-haired aristocrat recognize the manipulation? It’s because Min is well aware of the character’s personality. Min knew that Jihwa would always believe the gossips. The manhwaphiles should remember how Jihwa often mentions hearsays: chapter 13 
and chapter 18 
. Jihwa is always listening to the hearsay. In the last case, he tried to influence Yoon Seungho with such gossips. That’s why the red-haired aristocrat could only fall into Black Heart’s trap. The latter knew not only Jihwa’s love for his childhood friend, but also the influence of rumors on him. Min knew that Jihwa would always get his intel through others, because he would avoid to be confronted with reality and as such facts. Besides, Min perceived that the noble was very sensitive to Yoon Seungho’s sex life, hence he used the idiom “hopping from bedchamber to chamber”. It is important to remind the readers of Jihwa’s confession 
Min was definitely aware of Jihwa’s weaknesses: his love for his childhood friend, the importance of hearsay on him and the resent for this image “Yoon Seungho is fooling around with men”. 
Note that his friend with the mole caught the lie. Observe that the latter is sweating and looking at Min with such a serious face. Nevertheless, he doesn’t try to contradict Min. He remains silent here and looks at Jihwa’s reaction. Since the latter claims that he will never visit Yoon Seungho, the noble with the mole believes that the lie will have no consequence. This scene is important for two reasons. First, although the noble with the mole is a confident of Jihwa, the former doesn’t have a good understanding of his friend. In reality, he doesn’t truly know Jihwa’s weaknesses. This was visible in chapter 9, when he visited him and told him about the humiliation. The noble with the mole was not aware that Jihwa would be irritated and wounded, when the latter would hear that the former had planned to participate in a sex session with Yoon Seungho. That’s how perceptive Min is. He detected all the red-haired noble’s secrets. Striking is that in that particular scene, while Min employed his knowledge to trick the drunk noble, he discovered the existence of a secret, which was triggered by the noble with the purple robe. 
Why? It’s because “You know” is standing in opposition to “dream”. Knowledge is a synonym for facts and reality. Therefore, Jihwa finally confesses that he knows a secret about the main lead.
In that moment, Min is able to catch the existence of the main lead’s weakness. The latter must have been deeply wounded in the past. It doesn’t matter how… the fact that Yoon Seungho has a wound is enough for Min. Through the red-haired noble’s revelation, Min realizes that Yoon Seungho is acting like a cold-headed person, while in reality he is hot-tempered due to his wounds. Min could make the connection to the incident with the top-knot.
That’s how he recognized that Jihwa would use his knowledge of the past and would hurt his childhood friend due to his love for him. As you can sense, Jihwa left clues here and there to Min so that the latter could gather all the information about his rival and use his knowledge to defeat his rival. That’s how innocent and naive Jihwa was. While he thought, he was keeping everything a secret, since he was always allusive, he never recognized that he was doing the opposite. As you can see, Jihwa was the one who delivered the box to Min, and Min opened it therefore he brought pain to the protagonists, yet at the same time, he created an opportunity for them as well. The main leads were forced to face reality and reveal their true thoughts and emotions. 
The snake had detected that the lord was protecting his pride in reality despite the bad reputation: “common brute” (chapter 59) or in Min’s case: 
He humiliated him for the second time by revealing that he was in love with a commoner. As you can see, Min could perceive Yoon Seungho’s vulnerabilities and used the secrets in order to wound his rival and the object of his obsession. By opening the box, he made the protagonists suffer. However, the manhwalovers shouldn’t forget that Pandora in the story gets hurt as well, signifying that Min will get hurt by these secrets too.
and charlatan 
who was putting the main lead in danger, creating the illusion, if Jihwa intervened, he would do something honorable. He reversed the situation by describing Baek Na-Kyum as bad as possible. He knew exactly how to trigger the red-haired noble’s jealousy, simultaneously making him believe that he was representing righteousness. Yet, like I mentioned it in the essay “The Joker – part 3”, in this scene, Min was actually revealing his own thoughts and emotions. He was envious of Yoon Seungho and couldn’t bear the thought that the painter would become the protagonist’s mistress, because this signified that he could never taste the commoner. Yet during that night, no one recognized this.
And since Min only talked to the red-haired noble, this means that this information became a secret. 
In this panel, Jihwa questions Min’s reliability which indicates that he is now questioning the character’s personality, a first sign of critical thinking. In my opinion, soon the position will be switched. Jihwa will be in possession of a secret, Black Heart’s real motivation for targeting Yoon Seungho. From my point of view, Min’s weapons (knowledge and secrets) will be employed against him. 
He revealed the childhood friend’s involvement in the painter’s disappearance thinking that Yoon Seungho would act like in the past: become a monster and vent his anger against Jihwa. But what he didn’t know and anticipate is that Yoon Seungho would hurt the painter first. With this new revelation, Yoon Seungho realized his true sins. He had misjudged the painter, had allowed his rage to blind him to the point that he had hurt an innocent. He was responsible for the commoner’s trauma. Therefore he couldn’t blame Jihwa for the disappearance right away, the main lead had to face his own culpability. When Black Heart mentions Jihwa’s participation, he is expecting an immediate reaction from his counterpart: Jihwa will become the target of Yoon seungho’s anger and fury. Yet, what Min fails to realize is that by revealing Jihwa’s involvement, he exposes his complicity. He knew that the childhood friend had planned something and remained silent. And since I pointed out that Yoon Seungho suffered in the past because of the silence of a witness, I believe, the lord will remember this and decide to retaliate against all the people who knew about the incident and stayed quiet. Furthermore, I think, the main lead must have learned his lesson with the last incident: never judge someone based on impressions and beliefs. From my point of view, Yoon Seungho will investigate the matter, just like he did an investigation on the painter and Jung In-Hun during the first season. Besides, I would like to remind that when the murder was suggested, it took place at Min’s friend, so the circumstances make it look like there was a plot. 
Secondly, Black Heart made the mistake to believe that he could understand the main lead’s personality by just observations. 
And what did he see?
, then he had defended him against a vicious servant. 
One might argue that the noble had brought him to the sex session, yet since the host stopped the rape before and even evicted his guests in a rough manner, for Min, it was a real sign that Yoon Seungho was very caring. However, this is not reality, as Yoon Seungho mistreated the painter. Strangely, the painter never saw his true caring side, because he was always asleep (chapter 33, 34, 45, 50) or he was blind and deaf due to his own agony. Their relationship was far more complex. Finally, since Min’s knowledge was based on his observations, he could only view what Yoon Seungho allowed him to see: Black Heart is not aware of the main lead’s insecurities and self-hatred or his illness. Not even Jihwa knows about the existence of his illness which was supposed to have appeared in his teens. This explicates that Min’s information was not correct and he was fated to make mistakes. Besides, he doesn’t care for commoners and servants so Min is not paying attention to changes among Yoon Seungho’s staff. His understanding is quite superficial. The other mistake is that he is not aware of the last events at the mansion: Deok-Jae’s disappearance and his involvement in a poisoning incident. Furthermore, he has no idea about Yoon Seungho’s true power and connections, although his friend warned him 
. There’s no doubt that Min’s judgement about Yoon Seungho is also influenced by his reputation as a hell-raiser. That’s the reason why Min came to the conclusion that the protagonist was exactly like him. For Black Heart, the main character was seeking pleasure and fun by causing commotions and violating social norms, whereas the cause for main lead’s behavior is different: he has been brainwashed and traumatized. more complex. And you comprehend why I believe, Min will get hurt in the end. “His knowledge” will be the source for his misery and his punishment. And it will backfire on him. Besides, I suspect that Min won’t learn from his mistake and will make another mistake … he will still believe that he just needs to find a secret in order to have the upper hand. I have the feeling that Min will investigate why Yoon Seungho decided to sponsor the scholar Jung In-Hun, since the latter was mentioned in connection with the envious man. 
(chapter 52). Consequently he will discover the true reason behind the sponsor: Baek Na-Kyum has always admired the teacher. There’s another reason why the scholar’s path will cross Black Heart’s: their preference for investigation and secrecy. Don’t forget that the teacher tried to find some secrets in order to find a weakness in his sponsor and blackmail him (chapter 29).
That’s why I envision that with the scholar’s return, we will witness how the teacher tries to use his knowledge in order to gain something, especially if the wealthy aristocrat abandons him, the moment Baek Na-Kyum refuses to help his former teacher. There’s no doubt that Jung In-Hun will use secrets in order to manipulate Min, when the latter approaches him. In my opinion, the scholar could use the incident at the pavilion (the rape) 
, when he notices that Min has the same “obsession” than Yoon Seungho. For me, there was never an ambiguity that the teacher witnessed the rape but chose not to intervene. He used his “knowledge” by acting ignorant, applying the butler’s philosophy: 
and Baek Na-Kyum’s discovery of the teacher’s true face and hypocrisy. And imagine Black Heart’s reaction, when he hears about the rape, in that moment, he will interpret all the incidents in a different light. He never brought the painter to the sex sessions, because the artist got raped and in reality he was secluded. Then he will remember that the lord distanced himself from Baek Na-Kyum and returned to debauchery, the painter denied the lord’s feelings for him and as such rejected the master’s advances. Then he will remember that the commoner was brought to the sex party, before the noble changed his mind. Envision that if Jung In-Hun decides to expose how the lord treated the artist during the first season (the straw mat beating, the rape, the escape… ) which Min never heard of, the latter could imagine that the artist is kept captive and decide to “abduct” him in order to liberate him. That way, he could turn himself into a hero… I know, here I am no longer studying the story, but just making assumptions. Yet, what I want to demonstrate is that knowledge and secrets represent the key to Pandora’s box. My point is that all the secrets from season 1 will become fatal to Min and Jung In-Hun, as they will be used to manipulate. There is no coincidence that both use the same methods (manipulation, lies and knowledge to deceive others), since the two figures have a similar disposition (jealousy, greed and ambition). Yet their insight is superficial in the end. So far, they both lived in their own world, quite protected and have never experienced the harshness of reality. That’s why I am convinced that the scholar and Min will find each other and their encounter will cause them to suffer in the end. That’s why I have the impression that Jung In-Hun could be judged as another Pandora. In my opinion, his investigation about the past 
will bring him suffering, while he is anticipating that the discovery of secrets will help him to achieve his goal.
Note that he mentions here “channels” indicating that he has different sources. First, we can assume that Nameless gets some info from the gisaeng. We know for sure that he hired Deok-Jae. Finally, we are suspecting that he placed a spy among the nobles’ house (Jihwa 
and now Yoon Seungho 
). He knew the servant’s true motivation behind the betrayal, like he explained it to Jihwa in chapter 51. 
However, I believed that exactly like Min, he made a terrible mistake. He thought that this was related to the harsh beating caused by the painter’s first disappearance. 
In Nameless’ mind, Deok-Jae hated his lord for his “unfair punishment”, while in reality, Deok-Jae put the whole blame on the painter. In the servant’s eyes, the artist should have been the one receiving the harsh beating. 
This shows that he never questioned the punishment as such. Why did the criminal misunderstand the domestic? Let’s not forget that Nameless suffered injustice in the past, perceptible by the numbers of his tattoos, hence he projected his own thoughts onto Deok-Jae. What he failed to recognize was the vicious servant’s true motivation: he was jealous of the painter and wished, he had been the one receiving the lord’s favors, willing to become a homosexual, if it meant to improve his living conditions. 
(chapter 46) This explains why the blackmail happened in the end. Since Nameless envisaged that Deok-Jae was resenting his master due to the harsh thrashing, he didn’t expect that Deok-Jae would decide to side with Yoon Seungho in the end, if it meant to get some benefit.
(chapter 54) In my opinion, Nameless must have always thought that only aristocrats were greedy, unjust, ruthless and vicious, and would blame the commoners for their crimes. 
However, reality is much more complex, like I explained in a different essay: silence and passivity can cause damages. Besides, commoners are also humans, therefore they can be vicious, greedy and ruthless. To sum up, the criminal has a biased perception of the world. The other mistake the criminal made is related to his perception about Jihwa. He noticed the red-haired noble’s innocence due his bad habit (biting nails) and showed signs of bad conscience. Therefore he had the impression that Jihwa was not responsible for this situation, rather the childhood friend who chose to reject him and drop him for a low-born acting on a whim. Yet, what Nameless doesn’t know is what the red-haired noble did before: the constant bullying on the painter (chapter 5, 10, 17). For me, Nameless is already biased and has a better impression of his client than Yoon Seungho who hurt his staff so unfairly (chapter 29/30) and humiliated Jihwa twice (chapter 18, 57). That’s why he is pitying his client. 
In his eyes the master did nothing wrong, he only loved his friend. Consequently he imagined that the aristocrat was acting on impulse and anticipated that he would give up, yet the latter never did. Since no one visited Jihwa during that time, Nameless thought that the second lead was acting on his own. The noble never mentioned how the idea of the murder was brought up… and he never said anything about Min’s visit in chapter 56. 
And now imagine his surprise…if my theory is correct, the new guardian is his spy. Jihwa kept a secret from him… but it is the same for Nameless, who killed the domestic. Nameless will realize that other people knew about Jihwa’s intentions, hence he will question the noble’s actions. Nameless will realize quickly that this was more than just a love quarrel. In my opinion, he will investigate the matter. There’s no doubt that we will witness a scene where the criminal and Jihwa will blame each other: one will reproach him for involving the servant Deok-Jae, while the other will tell him how stupid and naive he was. He got betrayed by Min. 
(chapter 51), I have been thinking about this: what if the criminal was searching for Baek Na-Kyum? Envisage, with Heena’s intervention, he discovers the painter’s true identity and realizes that he hurt the person he was looking for and was even supposed to protect. For me, there’s no doubt that Min, Jung In-Hun, Jihwa and Nameless will pay for their “knowledge”, because they were actually biased by their own belief and arrogance. 
(chapter 11), his insecurities 
(chapter 58) 
(chapter 63) and his hopes. One might argue that Yoon Seungho was not entirely himself in these chapters, as he couldn’t control his feelings. Yet I believe that because of that, the lord was the most honest. He could never fake his true thoughts and emotions in front of the painter. I am quite certain that the lord learned due to his traumatic past that he needed to be strong in order to protect himself from others… remember that he had no one by his side, therefore I think that despite his debauchery, Yoon Seungho made sure that he had enough power to never become a victim again. However, Baek Na-Kyum is on his way to discern the master’s real personality, not only by discovering his past, but also because from now on, the lord will never approach Baek Na-Kyum for sex and they will have to interact differently: he will show him his true competences.
, I came to realize the lord’s true personality. He doesn’t just want to replace the main lead as the new alpha among the nobles, more importantly he takes pleasure in ruining friendships and as such causing pain to others. As a conclusion, I noticed that he enjoys destruction. Therefore I stated in the first part that Min had a nihilistic mindset: 
(chapter 52). Then he violates the rights of his host in chapter 43, when he proposes the assassination. Since this is not Min’s pavilion, this means that his friend’s house is transformed into a conspiracy place.
This will play a huge part in the future, as I am anticipating a purge. At another party, he violates again the rights of his host by mocking and insulting him: chapter 52, 53 
54
. I could also add that he disregards the painter by suggesting his murder (43, 56) or by treating him like a sex object (chapter 33/52). Moreover, he often lies (chapter 36
. All these examples expose that he manipulates his surroundings constantly. He influences Jihwa by giving him the idea of the murder (
chapter 43, chapter 56 
, 
chapter 33 
chapter 52), he doesn’t care about them. In fact, he uses them for his own benefit. Remember that he took the opium from his acquaintance (chapter 52). Then he ruined his “friend”‘s party by causing a ruckus, while the other wanted to have some discreet fun.
I would even say, he manipulates the masses by making requests, which the other nobles can’t truly reject. Note that neither in chapter 33 nor in 52, the aristocrats stopped Black Heart from talking and even supported his request: the main lead should bring the commoner to their sex party. As a conclusion, he uses his influence over the other aristocrats to get what he desires: have sex with the painter. This displays his true power as manipulator. No one is capable to stop him, not even Yoon Seungho, the alpha king among the local aristocracy. 
(chapter 52). This is understandable, as during that night, Yoon Seungho was totally vulnerable and tried to hide his weak disposition with his clothes.
He must have heard about the painter’s disappearance and desires to witness Yoon Seungho’s pain. For him, this would represent the best proof of his skill as manipulator. But to his disappointment, Baek Na-Kyum is not dead. 
This mask exposes his lack of empathy and his joy for imagining that the main lead is suffering (“difficulty with showing remorse or empathy“). Since his plan failed, he is disappointed
. Therefore he enters Yoon Seungho’s mansion. However, pay attention to the last picture which indicates that Min is thinking about Jihwa and his disobedience. The red-haired noble didn’t act like planned. In my perspective, his thoughts indicate that Min will make Jihwa pay for his “disobedience”. At the same time, I believe that Min is already thinking about his next move, this is the other reason why he enters the main lead’s house without a proper invitation (a new version of chapter 12). This image serves as another evidence for his continuous disregard for social norms. And this chapter 66 represents a turning point in my opinion, as it exposes Min’s impulsiveness to the best. Since he didn’t get Yoon Seungho’s defeat by afflicting pain on him, he needs to cause another uproar and inflict pain on Jihwa, who didn’t follow his “order”. Note that Black Heart just reversed the roles, showing that he doesn’t care who wounds whom. His main focus is pain. By revealing the secret, Black Heart is hoping that Yoon Seungho will retaliate against his childhood friend because of the kidnapping.
Hence I come to the conclusion that for Black Heart, the commoner had been a killjoy in that scene. And now, it makes perfect sense why Min chose Jihwa as his pawn in the end. He had witnessed how the latter could turn Yoon Seungho into a “monster” 
and found it so entertaining and funny that he decided to recreate the same situation. This observation explicates why Yoon Seungho put Jihwa and Min in the same bag in chapter 57. Min knew how to provoke the main lead thanks to Jihwa. 
, when he revealed himself the planned assassination in front of Baek Na-Kyum. However, back then he wasn’t caught, as neither the painter nor the powerful protagonist paid attention to his words. And instead of learning from his mistakes (f. ex. the murder didn’t occur like planned or the punches he received from the main lead for his provocations), he continues irritating Yoon Seungho. He notices that the latter is no longer denying his feelings in front of him, hence he can’t humiliate him like in chapter 54. 
Consequently he has to search for another trigger in order to provoke the owner of the mansion. But here, he fails again, as the artist is more important than Jihwa’s wrongdoing. Yoon Seungho is already more focused on his own misdeeds, the afflicted abuse on the painter: the violent sex marathon, the insults and the sequestration. Consequently he has no time for his uninvited guest. He ignores him and leaves him behind, but this won’t do for Min, hence he unveils a secret: Jihwa’s participation. 
Since the chapter 66 stands in opposition to the episodes 53/54, it becomes obvious that the main lead will react differently. He won’t act on his emotions, he learned his lesson due to the painter. He punished the commoner, although the latter was innocent, too blinded by his rage and pain. That’s why I think, we should consider the chapter 66 as Min’s ultimate defeat.
He chose to irritate him again, risking his own life. That’s why he got slapped so violently that the door was destroyed. But note that Black Heart didn’t feel any pain and showed no tears, instead he started laughing and showed pleasure. 
But even after receiving the slap, he continued provoking the host thereby the main lead started punching him so many times. 
Yet at no moment, he asked the lord to stop from hurting him, he kept laughing. 
However, there exists another explanation why Min kept provoking Yoon Seungho. But this aspect will be elaborated later.
(chapter 41) Don’t forget that he calls the vicious man “a mouse”, a real insult to someone who sees himself as superior and talented. Then the night after the beating, Min waits for Jihwa in front of his house and urges Jihwa to murder the painter.
However, this time he adds that he wants to taste the painter before and note that here, he is mentioning the punches he received from Yoon Seungho. 
As the manhwaphiles can detect, Min is here retaliating against the main lead for hurting him. He will make him suffer much more: not only he will lose the commoner, but also the latter will get raped: a double affront. However, just like before, he prefers using the childhood friend so that he can avoid to take any responsibility. If something happens, then only Jihwa will pay for this. We should remember that Min never wrote anything concerning a crime. The idea he proposed was at his friend’s place, and the idea of the rape was also mentioned on the street with no witness. 
Min realized the importance of knowledge. Jihwa knew his friend well, hence he was able to awake the “beast” in the main lead. Besides, he could notice that Jihwa had an immense influence on the main character. He could wound him, yet the latter wouldn’t cut ties with him. Note that in that scene, Min never said a word, yet he was observant and realized that Yoon Seungho had a weakness: “in the most wretched of states”. That’s why he chose to get closer to the protagonist, willing to become an uke, if it was necessary for his plan. He needed to discover more about his prey and the best place was to get closer to Jihwa and Yoon Seungho, slowly and silently exactly like a snake. However, I believe, the real war between the two semes started in chapter 41, which caught my attention during the first season. The hand on the main character’s waist was a sign that the psychopath planned to “screw” the main character.
(chapter 41) Not only he showed his desire to submit Yoon Seungho, but also he acted, as if he was superior to him. He asked questions and even criticized the main character for his behavior: he was creating a ruckus, exposing his hypocrisy, as Black Heart loves uproar. 
This observation leads me to the following explanation: The Arousal Theory of Motivation. This psychological conception tries to elaborate what stimulates people. 
His reason is his thirst for revenge. His sister Lee Seorin was a victim of a gang rape, but since the perpetrators were never prosecuted, the sister killed herself out of despair. The culprits were students coming from wealthy and influential families and members of an organization called “secret fraternity”.
Because Lee Kirin had no idea about the identities of the culprits and only knew that they belonged to that “secret fraternity”, he decided to get close to Kang Moo in order to investigate and get revenge for his sister’s death. While Lee Ki-Rin believes, he is manipulating Kang Moo, the readers can quickly realize that the opposite is happening. Kang Moo is the one who let Lee Kirin approach him in the end. What Lee Kirin doesn’t know is that Kang Moo is a psychopath. The latter has always hidden his mental illness in front of people.
Even the members from that “club” had no idea except Lim Joohyuk. There’s a reason for that. When he killed a dog for the first time as a child, he saw his mother’s rejection and disgust. 
Striking is the importance of the gaze again. As a child, the boy sensed his mother’s negative judgement and rejection. However, this incident didn’t stop him to lose his “urge” for blood. Therefore he started to have hobbies like collecting dead bodies, taking pictures of dead creatures and even hunt.
As you can detect, in that story Kang Moo has an abnormal low arousal and needed stronger stimuli, as time passed on.
This reminds us of Min who keeps looking for entertainment and commotion. Note that Min’s violence has gradually increased: from sex as a symbol for fight, he went to a verbal challenge (chapter 33/41), then it escalated to a murder (43), then to a beating and gangrape (52/53) and finally to a combination of murder and rape (56). And in The Beast Must Die, the protagonist is well aware of the consequences of his behavior. If he killed someone, he would ruin his life.
(chapter 32) The manhwaphiles can sense the similarity in the vocabulary: for Min, it is fun/entertainment, while Kang Moor keeps talking about “pleasure”. Since Kang Moo recognized the repercussions of a murder, he chose to fight against it contrasting to Min’s attitude. And there’s reason for that: Min’s social status and historical period. The latter is a noble and can use his superiority to hurt commoners and even break laws, because aristocrats are not prosecuted like low-borns. Secondly, I believe that his family and his surroundings played a huge role. Observe that the nobility is portrayed as corrupt and decadent. Besides, the manhwalovers should remember that Min’s MO is to manipulate others, therefore it reveals that the character had found a way out how to outlive his “urge and need”. He could commit small wrongdoings, as he knew that he wouldn’t get punished for this. But if he had to hurt another noble, he had to use someone else. And this exposes the similarities between Kang Moo and Min. Both are well aware that certain things are not allowed, yet they try to find a different way to move around the rules and laws. 
(chapter 32) the readers shouldn’t take his words as face-value. In my opinion, he felt a similar emotion than Lee Kirin (revenge), because Lee Seorin was the first person who showed understanding and no rejection, when he removed his mask and revealed his true personality.
(chapter 33) . What caught my attention is that Kang Moo is voicing his fear indicating that he was well aware of his own mental issues. Moreover, it also outlines his despair… he desired to escape from this, but didn’t know how to. Lee Seorin comprehended Kang Moo’s anxiety, therefore she tried to encourage him not to give up, by supporting him that he could continue maintaining a normal life, if he truly wanted it. 
And now, you grasp why Kang Moo snapped, when he heard about the circumstances of her death. It was his club that was responsible for her suicide. Naturally, when Lee Kirin asks him if he loved his sister, the psychopath can’t answer that question, since he is unable to grasp his emotions.
(chapter 34). However, there’s no doubt that the protagonist had an affection for Lee Kirin’s sister. I believe to perceive an evidence of his attachment to her, when he mentions the suffering of a victim of gang rape. 
(chapter 56) Sure, in this scene he is threatening Mr. Jang to organize a gang rape on Mrs. Hong’s daughter, because the man with the glass was also menacing his lover Lee Kirin. Yet, the fact that he mentioned such a crime indicates that he didn’t forget the crime Lee Seorin suffered from and he could understand her pain. And there’s another proof that Kang Moo is not truly emotionless. It becomes even more obvious that he loves the main lead too. It is shown in two different occasions. First, he states that he will never let Lee Kirin go. 
(chapter 34) And latter, he requests from his lover to help him to “stop the beast inside him”. 
That’s his love confession, although Kang Moo doesn’t truly comprehend the true signification of his words. At some point, he begins to grasp that he has changed and is relying more on Lee Kirin which makes him nervous. This shows that Kang Moo has some problems to accept his love for Lee Kirin. However, this manhwa truly indicates that a person suffering from ASPD is capable to live a normal life and to feel love, even if this patient is not expressing it in the normal way. Furthermore, in this story, Kang Moo tries to use others in order to dirty less his own hands so that the members from “secret fraternity” kill each other indicating that this is not just to enjoy pleasure. Let’s not forget that at the same time, he helps a friend who is getting abused by her fiancé. So he is not a serial killer per se. He is determined to punish “scums” while committing crimes. Yet he believes that he uses revenge as an excuse. To sum up, the story is not just about a psychopath following his urges to kill, but rather the battle of a psychopath who struggled to lead a normal life, but gave in the moment he lost the person who supported him. 
(chapter 1). Here, they hunt someone for fun. Besides, I would like to mention here the k-drama “It’s Okay not to be okay” with Kim Soo-Yun and Seo Yea-Ji. In this terrific drama, the main lead is a famous writer suffering from ASPD and the so-called normal people are actually portrayed in a rather negative way as well: they insult, exclude and hurt the persons suffering from a disorder or disability. This shows that authors in South Korea are trying to change the image about mental disorders and plead for more understanding and open-mindedness. In “The Beast Must Die” and “It’s Okay Not To Be Okay”, the characters help people to comprehend that the boundary between normality and abnormality is thin and I would even say, illusory. Lee Kirin desired to get revenge, yet he doesn’t feel sorry for the death of the culprits, but no one is questioning him. It becomes a different story, when a psychopath is involved. The detective will do anything to catch Kang Moo, but finds excuses for Lee Kirin. But observe that he is not diagnosed as a psychopath. As you can sense, there’s here a double standard. Normal people even call for violence and revenge due to their anger and pain, that’s why there’s still death penalty in so many countries. As a conclusion, being diagnosed as a psychopath doesn’t mean that they are no human and people should treat the patient like a monster. Being excluded from society is not the correct answer, like Kang Moo sensed it. He felt the condemnation in his parents’ gaze hence he felt abandoned and lonely. 
(chapter 8), the aristocrat imagined that he could get the same gaze, if he had sex with the painter. And that’s how the love triangle started. He wished to be gazed like Yoon Seungho was. 
since he viewed such a pure gaze, while the protagonist was having sex, Min associated the painter’s stare to sex. This explicates why the former is so obsessed with sex and keeps desiring to taste the artist (chapter 33, 52, 56). He couldn’t forget that gaze. I can imagine that he must have called it an obsession, which is an idiom Kang Moo utilized to describe Lee Seorin’s affection for her brother. With this approach, it becomes comprehensible why Min tells Jihwa that Yoon Seungho has been bewitched by Baek Na-Kyum.
In reality, he is describing his own thoughts. In other words, he is projecting his own thoughts into the protagonist. He explains his desire and obsession with witchcraft, because he feels vulnerable. That’s his way to confess his love in my opinion. Just like Kang Moo, he can’t say these words (“I love you”), as he has no idea what he feels and what love is. With this interpretation, it becomes comprehensible why Min suggested the painter’s murder in the end. If he can’t satisfy his urges (taste the painter) and he is still thinking about it, then he needs to get rid of the source of his obsession. Because the moment the painter disappears, Min will be able to move on. Witnessing Yoon Seungho’s pain will compensate him for the loss. Therefore, the manhwaphiles can comprehend, why Min still associates Baek Na-Kyum to death. Deep down, he fears the painter, as he senses that the former represents a source of danger for him. He can become his weakness. And the best way to remove this is to manipulate Jihwa to commit the crime. I also think, Min had already detected that he couldn’t do it himself. 
For me, the character’s thoughts are actually mirroring Min’s true state of mind. Once again, he is projecting his own emotions “fiery in his jealousy”, “too weak at heart” into Jihwa. In fact, we could say the opposite. Jihwa’s heart was strong enough to resist negative emotions. That’s why Byeonduck chose to reveal Min’s thoughts in this chapter. Black Heart is someone who is always projecting his feelings and emotions into others, because he can’t deal with them himself. We had a similar phenomenon, in chapter 43. What Jihwa envisioned in chapter 43 represented Min’s thoughts in reality as well. 
, chapter 36 
chapter 43 
, chapter 53 
And now, it becomes comprehensible why Min chose to walk on the picture
, when he was in the artist’s study. He felt the urge to destroy the image, as he desires to be the one portrayed in that painting. This explains why the next morning when he talks about the Baek Na-Kyum’s assassination and rape, he remembers the drawing. 
(chapter 52) And notice that his desire to taste the painter contrasts so much to Jihwa’s words in chapter 18. 
and to his bloody face 
He kept asking rhetorical questions, making comments without waiting for Yoon Seungho’s answer. It was, as if Min was acting like an entertainer. However, we should remember that despite his role as jester, his true goal is not to entertain his host or his friends. He is behaving like that out of selfishness. He is the one who desires to have fun.
And due to Min’s trick, Yoon Seungho was hurt, as he considered it as a rejection. Note that in that scene, social norms played a huge part in the denial of both protagonists, although they were never directly mentioned. Min as the joker was a reminder of scandal and as such of standard norms. 
and screamed for his help. 
Yoon Seungho was the last person he was thinking of, when he imagined that he could die. And let’s not forget that the artist was still in denial after the second confession and their second love session. He kept denying the obvious and recognize the noble’s feelings.
For him, it was also too beautiful and incredible to be true. At the same time, his denial stopped him from realizing his true feelings. Yet in front of death, Baek Na-Kyum couldn’t control his emotions and thoughts pressuring him to voice his deepest desires. And the artist’s disappearance had a similar effect on the main lead in the end. First, in the storage room, he confided his real wish 
Then he is not even trying to hide the painter in front of Min. He is indeed carrying him like a treasure, while feeling no embarrassment.
Like my follower @seunghosimp observed it correctly, this gesture symbolizes his capitulation and submission. Due to Min’s intervention, all the secrets were removed so that the relationship between the two protagonists can be rebuilt on a new and real foundation. The noble has no longer the upper hand in their relationship and will always listen Baek Na-Kyum’s words. Now, Yoon Seungho can trust the painter and will never question his behavior and words. What the main lead fails to recognize is the painter will never see himself as superior and as the lord. For him, love is not a synonym for war or defeat. Baek Na-Kyum will teach him the true nature of love. 
And during the second season, Deok-Jae is hired as spy on Jihwa’s behalf. Nameless might have been the hand who decided it, yet since it was in order to help his client, Jihwa is somehow responsible for this.
(chapter 57) Observe that he employs his knowledge to convince the childhood friend to accept his feelings, as though knowledge is a synonym for love. Then in chapter 36,
And since in the same chapter, we have Jihwa’s confession and the doctor’s statement that Jihwa had the same disease
, we deduced that the main lead’s seclusion and separation from his childhood friend was definitely related to homosexuality. However, back then, I pointed out that the words from the physician about father Yoon made it pretty obvious that Jihwa was the cause for the protagonist’s seclusion. The father must have come to the conclusion that Jihwa was in love with his eldest son. Let’s not forget that Jung In-Hun is a character mirroring father Yoon. And we know for sure that the scholar used to abuse him physically due to the erotic paintings.
, but he tried to diminish his coercive persuasion by describing it as a simple punishment. From my point of view, the father must have either discovered a letter from Jihwa addressed to Yoon Seungho, where the latter expressed his admiration or witnessed a scene, where he caught Jihwa’s gaze towards his eldest son, like a new version of this scene for example.
What if Seung-Won, who was jealous of his brother due to his good notoriety, decided to fake a letter from Jihwa containing a love confession? He came to this misdeed, after seeing how Jihwa would look at his elder brother. Then he delivered it to their father so that the latter would see him as a diligent and filial son and feels disappointed by his eldest son (new version of chapter 44). I had this idea, because both faked a letter and since they are both linked to a similar incident, I have the feeling that this could be a clue related to their past. Anyway, because of their young age and their innocence, their actions had a lot of bad repercussions, which they never anticipated. Out of disgust, jealousy and fear that father Yoon might lose his son, the terrible father started abusing the main lead physically and sexually. Yet the sexual assaults remained a secret, as Kim covered up for his master. I see now another evidence for this signification with the chapter 65.
However, since the main lead trusted his family, he never suspected that he became a victim of his surroundings. This explicates why the protagonist could never understand the origin for his misery and questioned himself. Let’s not forget his obsession with the question mark “why”. He was never aware of Jihwa’s feelings and his family used it as an argument to torment him in the end.
The latter was able to get some insight through gossips, like Seung-Won’s visit for example. And it is definitely possible that Jihwa could have done the same in the past, therefore he must have noticed that something was going on at the mansion. Imagine that at the end, he chose to contact an adult asking for help which led to the discovery of the plot and the purge. Let’s not forget that Jihwa got info through Min who manipulated him. It is definitely possible that the second lead betrayed Yoon Seungho’s family, by revealing the gathered info he had and confided it to an adult, like for example lord Song, who took benefit from it. Although out of love, Jihwa desired to help his friend, he caused a purge leading to the death of many people and Yoon Seungho suffered even more, as he was sacrificed and abandoned by the father. Because he refused to abandon his childhood friend out of affection, he had the impression that he was responsible for this, thereby he felt so guilty that he repressed this. Why? Since the painter is the mirror of Jihwa, the manhwaworms can remember that Baek Na-Kyum also repressed the memories of the coercive persuasion.
He was reliving the past, but the roles were switched, hence he blamed his counterpart. That way, he was avoiding to face reality and his guilty conscious. That’s why I come to the conclusion that Jihwa is quite similar to the protagonist in reality: he is full of self-hatred. Just like the main lead, he wanted to feel loved. But contrary to Seungho, his self-hatred is the result of his guilty conscience and not to abuse. 
And since I associated this manhwa to the Russian novel, Crime and punishment, I would like to remind that the main lead could only stop feeling remorse and regrets, the moment he admitted his crime. Let’s not forget that we have two confessions from Jihwa: 
What caught my attention is that before Byeonduck added the first picture with the moon, the manhwaphiles behold Seungho looking up at the sky.
And this is no coincidence, as the first image represents the lord’s state of mind. The dead tree indicates the absence of life. Furthermore, the moon seems so distant, underlining that during that night the main lead is not himself. The absence of light in the buildings exposes his pain and the loss of hope: his heart is no longer beating. This stands in opposition to the picture from the first episode,
where there were a full moon, a huge amount of trees with leaves and light in the building. Striking is the difference of the perspective reflecting how the main lead perceived himself: he was a spirit denying the existence of his heart, hence he was free and never considered himself trapped in the domain. However, in chapter 64, the lord is finally recognizing his mortality and his imprisonment. Notice the emptiness of the property exposed by the immense empty courtyard.
Surprising is the change of perspective again. This time, the beholder is gazing at the mansion from the sky. Besides, the moon seems closer too. And just like before, it is important to take the previous panel into consideration. 
The lord is refusing to kiss the painter and moves away his head from the low-born’s. From my point of view, the landscape represents the lord’s perspective. For him, the painter is just an empty building oozing emptiness and coldness. Furthermore, there’s a huge gap between the beholder and the mansion indicating the deterioration of the relationship between the two protagonists. The home the main character imagined to have found in the artist seems to be an illusion. He is no longer expecting anything from him. The abandonment and betrayal made him think that his dream was just a chimera and nothing more. But what the noble doesn’t realize is that he is actually seeing is actually a reflection of his own thoughts and emotions. Moreover, he is actually the one who is afflicting his loved one due to his insecurities and lack of trust. Notice that during this night, it is snowing the whole time underlining the depth of the noble’s sadness. And there’s no doubt that this drawing illustrates Yoon Seungho’s perspective. Simultaneously, we could also say that the falling snow could be the painter’s tears as well. He can no longer cry, he has been wounded terribly by Yoon Seungho, when the lord stopped himself from kissing him. I have to admit that I couldn’t help myself connecting this image to the one from chapter 21: 
Observe the contrast. Due to the perspective, the manhwaphiles sense the intimacy and closeness exposing the change of the lord’s feelings for the artist. While I once wrote that the rain symbolized the painter’s tears (tears of happiness), I would like to add that the rain was also a metaphor for the noble’s tears. He was feeling happy, was able to exude warmth and tenderness. And let’s not forget that the artist is the mirror of the master. Baek Na-Kyum’s tears represented the noble’s tears who couldn’t cry. That’s why he was so sensitive to his crying. He felt the same emotions, yet his eyes were unable to show this expression: sadness and wound. And now, the readers understand the signification of the chapter 64. Since it stands in opposition to their Wedding Night, it reflects the low point of the relationship between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum. However, there’s no doubt that they will move on from this. First, we have the painter’s fighting spirit and resistance. He was even willing to risk his life in order to protect Deok-Jae and received a huge slap.
So it is definitely possible that the painter won’t be so devastated like in chapter 40. Let’s not forget that this character always forgave the protagonist for his wrongdoings, he never held any deep grudge. Furthermore, he has been able to sense the lord’s affection for him. The latter confessed twice and even expressed that the painter’s happiness meant a lot to him. Moreover, there’s no doubt that the noble will feel huge pangs of conscience, especially if Kim, with the help of the physician, is able to make him recognize the truth: Baek Na-Kyum never abandoned him. Since the heart is frozen, I believe that he will be able to use more his intellect. As a conclusion, the manhalovers shouldn’t lose hope in the main couple. The frozen heart will start beating again, the moment he senses the painter’s warmth and love. 
(chapter 57) The way the boy is looking up at Kim indicates that the main character is quite attached to him. And because of this scene, the manhwaworms could sense the domestic’s qualities: care, trust, affection and loyalty. But what many readers failed to realize is that servant Kim is actually following father Yoon in reality. This means that the elder master trusts this domestic. The latter is even the one who introduced the physician to the lord of the mansion.
(chapter 57) That’s why I come to the conclusion that the butler Kim was in fact loyal to the elder master and not to Yoon Seungho. He might have had an affection for the teenager, yet in truth he serves the head of the family. And notice that valet Kim is still giving the expensive medicine to the protagonist, although this was ordered by father Yoon.
(chapter 57) But more importantly, the manhwaphiles should question themselves about the nature of this medicine. It is a drug to mess up with the main lead’s health? And this clue reveals that Kim is not working for Yoon Seungho. One might argue that Kim is just following father Yoon’s orders, but the latter lives so far away, hence the eldest master has no control to threaten the butler. Hence Kim could have stopped feeding the medicine, especially after knowing how father Yoon treated the son. In other words, it looks like his loyalty to father Yoon is still intact. This is palpable in two occasions. 
(chapter 35) In this scene, the valet gives an order to his master and not an advice, since he employs the verb “must”. Why? Because he thinks, the letter was sent by the elder master. And Yoon Seung-Won knew that Kim was loyal to their father. Hence when he sent the letter, he used his father’s name and authority, but in order to maintain the illusion that father Yoon was the author, the brother also requested that valet Kim would bring back himself the reply. The deceitful brother used not only the butler’s fidelity to his advantage, but also gave the impression that father Yoon cared somehow for the black sheep. It was, as if the elder master was trying to rekindle with his older son. The readers can sense more his loyalty to the elder master, if they compare his reaction, when Yoon Seungho received the fake letter from lord Song.
(chapter 56) Here, the domestic got scared, by just hearing the name. Nevertheless, he gave his master the advice to postpone the meeting due to his health.
Yet, observe how he hides his discomfort and fear to his master by suggesting to postpone the meeting which exposes that he is hiding his true emotions. He justifies his advice by faking concern for his lord. Hence the lord can only have the impression, he is protecting his interest. Striking is that since we saw him scared, we have the impression that he is brave enough to propose not to the follow the invitation. My initial impression was to think that he got afraid of the name lord Song due to the lord’s traumatic past and he feared for his master’s mental health condition. However, the moment the valet realizes that the noble is on his way to meet this aristocrat, he gets so scared that he leaves the mansion immediately. So he doesn’t want them to meet. 
(chapter 56) Then in chapter 57, 
the butler expresses his worries concerning father Yoon. He doesn’t want the elder master to hear the news about Jihwa’s public confession, as the servant is well aware of father Yoon’s mentality. 
(chapter 57) He seems concerned for Yoon Seungho again. He knows that the head of the family hates homosexuality. He witnessed how the father separated Jihwa from Yoon Seungho with the excuse of an illness. He was present, when the teenager was imprisoned in the mansion.
(chapter 65) This shows that he has been successfully repressing it. In truth, he did it out of selfishness, while faking affection and loyalty to the Yoons. The readers shouldn’t forget that the head of the family decided to leave the main domain and live in the countryside. Therefore he abandoned the mansion to his eldest son. By remaining by Yoon Seungho’s side, butler Kim was ensured to have a quiet life. The man was a wreck, hence he couldn’t manage the mansion.
(chapter 57) Furthermore, as an infamous hell-raiser, no powerful noble would be interested in him. When the purge occurred, the son had become the sacrifice and scapegoat, hence he was forced to remain at the property. And now, you can grasp where the butler’s loyalty lies. He is faithful to the mansion and property, and not to Yoon Seungho or father Yoon in reality. This explicates why he lies to Seung-Won and tries to stop him from entering the lord’s chamber. As Seung-Won is only the second son, he is not considered as the lord of mansion, while father Yoon is the senior and is supposed to be the head of the family. Because he is bound to the domain Yoon, he is definitely acting more like a dog than like a matchmaker or a father. He is able to find his owner very quickly, as if he was following his scent.
(chapter 57) He barks like one, when he yells at Deok-Jae.
(chapter 47) He is also sent to fetch the painter, when the latter is somehow “abducted” by the scholar. 
(chapter 24) But the most conclusive evidence for this association is his rapport to the door. He is always shown next to an opened door or even often stands on the door threshold. 
(chapter 64) 
(chapter 45) Since dog owners often put the sign “beware of the dog” on their door, you understand why I see it as an evidence that the valet is more as a dog than anything else. The butler is the guardian of the mansion, watching out for the owner’s safety. However, here we should comprehend it in a figurative sense. On the surface, the butler is looking out for the reputation of the Yoons, while in truth he is just focused on living a peaceful life far from trouble.
(chapter 64) The dog is not only a symbol for loyalty, but also it represents obedience and secrecy. He knows what is happening in the mansion, but he won’t let it transpire to the outside world. Therefore I deduce that valet Kim is quite similar to Jihwa. He knows the main lead’s whole past and tragedy, but he doesn’t truly feel sorry for the main character, for if he revealed the truth, because it would expose his culpability.
(chapter 12) Simultaneously, he uses his knowledge to his own advantage, similar to Jihwa, although the latter was manipulated by Kim’s lies. And if you take into consideration the role played by the dog in different mythologies, you’ll note that they all have something in common: they are guardians of the realm of death, like for example Anubis (Egyptian) or Cerberus (Greek). And since I interpreted the mansion as Yoon Seungho’s prison and compared the master to a zombie, until he met the painter, the manhwalovers can now understand the butler’s real function. He is actually the guardian of the realm of death for the lord. To sum up, he is contributing to the lord’s misery and loneliness, as he keeps him bound to the domain and family. Moreover, the gentle valet is aware of his true role, as he has internalized the social norms. As a domestic, he is supposed to serve his master with respect and obedience, which he does on the surface. However, the reality is different, as he lies to him on multiple occasions. Hence he needs to act in the shadow. Why? The real goal of the butler is to live a peaceful life without any big responsibility. As a guardian of the kingdom of death, Kim is the one who allows people to remain by Yoon Seungho’s side or not, but since the painter is affecting the noble’s life, Kim can only perceive the painter as his enemy and source of danger. Yoon Seungho might decide one day that he would like to leave the property and join the capital. 
(chapter 64) This is not the first time that the butler had a similar reaction. In chapter 26, he tries to calm down the painter asking him to stop crying, and when the latter criticizes him, the domestic decides to leave the bathroom with the excuse that he needs to fetch him new clothes.
(chapter 26) He is leaving the artist behind, as he doesn’t want to be confronted with his wrongdoing: his passivity and cowardice. Then when he meets the protagonist in the main way, he sees his cold and distant gaze. So he knows that his master is in a bad mental condition, yet out of fear, he still leaves the artist behind, well aware that something bad could happen. That’s why he chose to intervene in the shadow (like for example, sending a servant to the scholar) so that I am now convinced that he even witnessed what happened to Yoon Seungho, but chose to close the door. There’s a reason for this assumption. First, he is connected to an opened door. Secondly, there’s this incident with the door in chapter 16.
(chapter 16) The butler chose to open it in secret, because he desired to remain anonymous, so that his loyalty wouldn’t be questioned. As soon as it was opened, he ran away without looking back, fearing to see what was happening. That’s the butler’s trauma in the end. Back then, he chose to remain passive and close the door leaving his young master behind. But Yoon Seungho caught his terrified expression, which he can never forget, that’s why he pointed it out to the painter. 
(chapter 64) He resented valet Kim for his betrayal and abandonment. That’s why I believe, in that scene, Yoon Seungho is using the same words than his rapist from back then. 
(chapter 64) In this scene he is reliving his own traumatic past, the first rape. And after it had occurred the first time, the valet must have told him this: 
(chapter 65) It is even worse than I had anticipated, because he was even asked for assistance, but the valet turned a blind eye. The advice (“ignorance is a blessing”) expressed by the butler exposes his complicity. The valet became the willing helper of a rapist. In his eyes, he couldn’t stop it, as he was just a domestic. 
(chapter 65) Since Kim never revealed the secret of the “so-called conversion therapy” leading to the sexual abuse, father Yoon trusted his loyal servant. That’s the reason why he accepted to leave Kim behind. He knew that he would do anything to maintain the reputation of the Yoons. Furthermore, this trauma explains why the master keeps having sex outside the storage room. He is well aware that the servant will never remain there, hence he asks him in a cynical way if he wants to become a peeper.
(chapter 64) Now, I can understand why Yoon Seungho has such abandonment issues. For him, valet Kim was his father, as the latter was nice and caring for him. Yet during the rape, he did nothing, as he was just a servant. And now, you understand why he feels that he has been backstabbed by his two fathers, why the main lead is using his position to keep a boundary between himself and Kim and why he is using his right as lord to keep the painter by his side. He has internalized that being a lord can protect him from pain and vulnerability. In his delirious fit, he believes that he can get what he wants. Back then, he was just a young master and not the lord of the mansion, and Kim was just a domestic. After coming to this perception, I see the chapter 64 in a different way. The chapter 64 exposes the valet’s cowardice, culpability and selfishness, hence I judge the lord’s behavior in a different light. The monster is the result of the betrayal and abandonment from two fathers, and both decided to avoid reality and see the consequences of their choices. Notice that father Yoon ran away just like the valet. But the chapter 64 could mark a turning point in Kim’s life in my opinion, as he sees the consequences of his silence. That’s why the valet decides to accept the new situation:
(chapter 65) Baek Na-Kyum is now the lord’s companion, while in the past he used to plot against him. In that moment, the valet recognized that ignorance is not a blessing, because this doesn’t erase the event. Observe that Kim has a similar approach than Jihwa again. Since the painter returned to Yoon Seungho’s side, the noble has now the feeling that nothing happened. For the first time, Kim sees the true face of his master 
. (chapter 45) First, it symbolized that the painter was more than just a favored favor. But more importantly, he never cared about the item, since 
(chapter 32) Kim has no real control over the staff, although he is the right-hand of the master. His indifference and his fear for responsibility explains his lack of authority. That’s why in chapter 63, he doesn’t even attempt to correct the maids talking badly about Baek Na-Kyum, although he already knows that there’s more to it. His silence should be considered as a sign of admission, reinforcing the servants to think badly of the painter. The painter is a liar and betrayer. I have to admit that Kim’s passivity really annoyed me in that scene.
(chapter 63) He is indeed a hypocrite, a selfish person,
(chapter 52) He was not the “wife”, the mistress of the house, just a servant. As you can observe, the butler is someone who abides to rules very strongly, he can’t accept a relationship between a low-born and a noble. That’s why I come to the conclusion that Valet Kim never understood the real needs of his master in the end. He never grasped that the noble was missing love and couldn’t cope with his betrayal in the end, because for him love is not important, only a peaceful life. And with this new approach, it becomes understandable why Yoon Seungho was never repulsed by the low-born. Since his childhood, he felt closeness to a commoner, and considered Kim as his father.
(chapter 56) He trusts him to a certain extent, because the valet took care of him, while he was delirious. The domestic even stopped him from committing suicide.
(chapter 50) This explicates why Yoon Seungho can’t trust Kim’s words in the end.
(chapter 62) In his eyes, he betrayed and abandoned him once, therefore it is definitely possible that he is lying. The longer the lord lives with the artist, the more he senses that Kim shouldn’t be trusted. This explicates why the lord’s relationship with the valet is deteriorating. In season 1, he never doubted Kim’s words, but now it has changed. The painter’s genuineness makes Yoon Seungho detect the butler’s fakeness and hypocrisy. And since the lord threatened him with the sword, I am envisaging that he will do it, the moment he feels that his loyal butler betrayed him. 
(chapter 45) The purpose of this action is simple. On the one hand, he gave the impression that he was protecting Yoon Seungho’s interest, on the other hand he was pushing the jealous servant to plot something so that Baek Na-Kyum would disappear. Kim was well aware of Jihwa’s visit in chapter 43. He knew that the second lead would do something out of jealousy. Kim needed the painter’s submissive attitude, as this could only affect his lord positively, turning the mansion into a golden cage. And while I envisaged that the shock Kim experienced during that night would make change his mind,
so much. Furthermore the sex in episode 64 is linked to immorality, shame and shock. 
He wants to eliminate the painter’s purity with this huge amount of sex. The more he has sex, the more he will destroy Baek Na-Kyum’s virtue and innocence and as such obtain his submission. He has the impression that by acting like that, he will get what he desires, not realizing that he is achieving the opposite. 
Here, the painter expressed the wish that the penetration should be deeper, he even asked for more roughness. All these sex scenes oozed sadness and violence. While in chapter 63, love was still present, the opening of the door marked a turning point. Kim’s presence triggers a memory deeply buried in the lord’s unconscious: Yoon Seungho’s first rape and the butler’s betrayal and abandonment. While all the readers, including myself, loathed Yoon Seungho for that terrible behavior, I only recognized afterwards why the lord changed one more time. He became even crueler and more brutal in that episode due to the valet’s appearance and presence. 
(chapter 45) 
(chapter 43) While Baek Na-Kyum’s problem is sex, Jihwa’s struggle will be crime, like trespassing, abduction and murder. Like I had already mentioned it in another analysis, crane is connected to happiness, honor, longevity and good fortune. However, this doesn’t signify that the person embodied by the crane encounters good fortune. Due to Baek Na-Kyum, the second Justine, the red-haired aristocrat is forced to change and Nameless becomes his guide. 
That’s why Jihwa will play a different role than the commoner. Jihwa’s fate will be connected to justice, but he will suffer and his tormenter and liberator will be Nameless. The red-haired aristocrat is ignoring true moral values like charity, selflessness and justice, while his unconscious has not forgotten it. This will be his inner struggle, while Baek Na-Kyum was rejecting sex, connecting it to something dirty. Furthermore, unlike in the French novel from the 18th Century, where evilness and injustice win at the end, as the heroine dies, the manhwaphiles witness in the manhwa the spiritual death of the culprit, Yoon Seungho. This is represented by the following panel: 
(chapter 5) This marks the return of his older self, but a worse version, as there is no light. The yellow bougie on the candelabra is a symbol for coldness, frigidity and selfishness. Yet, since there is no light in chapter 64, the absence of light is a metaphor for the non-existence of life. In other words, we are witnessing the death of the phoenix. When I say that this is his spiritual death, it signifies that the lord’s heart is no longer beating for the painter. He closed his heart, and since the heart was in possession of his mind, this means that neither his heart nor his mind are alive. Yet, the manhwaphiles shouldn’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that Yoon Seungho’s love for Baek Na-Kyum vanished for good. It’s just that his self-hatred has taken over his mind and heart, therefore he is not able to give any love and warmth to his lover. 
Now, you understand the signification of chapter 64. The latter doesn’t reveal his true personality, the violent and obsessed side to the painter
But instead of assuming his responsibility, he acts exactly like in the past. He acts, as if nothing was happening and runs away. The only difference is that he can not make the painter feel guilty. This is important, because Baek Na-Kyum is not pushed to repress the incident. The painter won’t forget his behavior… exactly like during the night of the rape at the pavilion. Back then, he only reproached that he never revealed the truth. Yet during that night, he experienced his cowardice and abandonment. The painter is very sensitive concerning abandonment. 
They will condemn the lord Yoon like Jihwa, because they became the victims of lord’s fury and despair. Due to his obsession with the painter, his domestics behaved like ruffians towards the inhabitants. This is quite similar to the scene in chapter 30, where his staff had to experience the lord’s brutality. 
We have to understand them. They were desperate to please their master, as they feared his brutality. They didn’t want to experience another huge beating. And the tailor plays a huge role in the birth of the huge scandal. 
(chapter 76)
That’s why the yellow candle is also a metaphor for the painter.
I believe that he didn’t cry after that night. And the manhwaphiles can note the vanishing of the painter’s physical reactions, if you compare it to the sex scene in the barn
or in front of the storage room. 
The painter is still blushing and ejaculates. And the interpretation from my previous analysis was correct. The scene with the storage room is a combination of the sex marathon and the chapters 40-41-42. Here, the absence of the kiss is similar to the scholar’s words: 
However, there are two contrasts. First, the outcome will be different. Secondly, the lord treats the painter as his plaything now, and not as a prostitute.
Notice the parallels. We have the return of the yellow candle on a candlestick, then the treatment is similar to the first chapter, where Baek Na-Kyum was kept captive in the barn.
In chapter 1, the room was bright contrasting to the darkness in the storage room in chapter 62-63. Back then the main character was intelligent and cunning, as he was not aware of the influence of his heart. From chapter 62 on, the lord is no longer in possession of his smart and bright mind, as the darkness of his heart has taken possession of his mind. Yet, since the painter was able to hear and see the lord’s love on two occasions, 
From my point of view, this second marathon has affected his creativity. He couldn’t paint due to his injury, but he remembered the orchid from Yoon Seungho. In my opinion, the lord’s words from that night 
(chapter 64)
(chapter 75) And now, you grasp why the author is tormenting our main lead. His function is to liberate Yoon Seungho, but for that, he needs to go through the same pain and wounds. By destroying the artist, he kills himself in the end. This explicates why the yellow bougie represent the two protagonists in chapter 64: 
(chapter 66). There’s no ambiguity that in that moment, Yoon Seungho blamed himself for the artist’s flashback, until the abduction was unveiled. But the artist experiences a rebirth… as a painter. He won’t create any erotic painting in my opinion forcing the noble to create erotic pictures. But naturally this is just a theory. The reason for this is that we have the presence of the brushes under Yoon Seungho’s head. 
His dream became real. I perceive this scene as the evidence that Jihwa’s role is quite similar to the artist’s. The latter’s dreams always turned into reality. But there’s more to it. Now, I comprehend the meaning of the following images differently.
The painter’s dead gaze is the reason for the main character to have dark eyes. Observe that the noble’s hand is holding the painter’s head, indicating that the lord is responsible for the artist’s spiritual death. The darkness of Yoon Seungho’s heart was brought to the surface due to Jihwa’s action. Due to his misdeed, he caused the noble to become oblivious of the truth, his gaze is covered by a shadow. As you can observe, the new episode gives us the opportunity to perceive Jihwa’s prediction under a new light. That’s why Baek Na-Kyum is able to move on from the scholar.
and once they meet, the artist affects him and his life. A small creature, like the butterfly, brings huge transformation to the people around him: Jung In-Hun, the valet Kim, the servants, Deok-Jae, the nobles and Jihwa. Note that in chapter 8, Min met the artist for the time and awoke lust and desires in him. That’s why he started challenging the main lead. And since Jihwa is the noble version of the painter, we can conclude that Jihwa plays a similar function in the end. He brings transformation, positive and negative, just like Baek Na-Kyum, but to Nameless and Yoon Seungho. And this is no coincidence that the butterfly is a symbol for transformation and temporality. 
He follows the lord till the end, never rebelling which contrasts to the painter’s behavior during the first season. He won’t even try to run away after that night, as he will keep his promise. However, this new vow is not without consequence. 
(chapter 69) Due to this panel, it becomes obvious that Heena noona will behave the same way than Jihwa in the end, though the roles have been switched. Her brother has been seduced by a witch and he needs assistance. She will do anything in order to save her brother, unaware that she will be the cause for her brother’s misery. While I thought in the past that Kim embodied the saying “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, I came to recognize that this bible quote fits Heena noona’s personality. And this would definitely reinforce my interpretation that the kisaeng is a Christian.
signifies that Baek Na-Kyum is indeed connected to power in the end. Since I consider him as a phoenix, this could be an indication that he could be more than just a filthy low-born, like Jihwa and Jung In-Hun imagined. 
(chapter 31) Consequently in chapter 34, the painter sensed a change of perception about his body after the sex marathon. For the first time, he detected his heartbeat and the butterflies in his stomach, which were triggered by the main lead’s presence.
(chapter 34) The parallels can be observed by the absence of the eyes of the protagonists in certain panels. Compare the picture with the mirror 
(chapter 63) Striking is that the character represented with eyes plays the role of the liberator for his sex partner. Due to the sex marathon, Yoon Seungho had helped the painter to free himself from his torpor, since due to the coercive persuasion, the artist had come to deny not only his sexual orientation, but also the existence of his own body. That’s why he could no longer admire his learned sir like before after the sex marathon. By recognizing the existence of his own body, the painter couldn’t feel the same attraction towards the teacher. And since the sex marathon played a huge role in his healing process, we have to imagine that the sex scene in the barn has the same signification for Yoon Seungho. He is on his way to be liberated from his self-hatred, but as you can imagine, it will be a painful process. Back then, the painter got ill and the lord ran away from his responsibility. That’s why this time, the blinded person will be the one suffering from the sex marathon: he will feel like dying, when he realizes that he wounded his lover blinded by his prejudice and anxieties. 
(chapter 63) He has no guarantee that this is true, and love is like a leap of faith. This isn’t something that you can grasp or see. Besides, he would have no control over him, if he accepts the confession. Loving means taking risks, which is linked to fears. This displays how much the master has been brainwashed. Since the painter disappeared in his mind, he came to acknowledge his father’s doctrines one more time before dropping them completely, when he discovers the truth. 
(chapter 63) 
when his father betrayed and abandoned him. This will help him to forget the father’s gaze engraved in his heart. The latter was full of hatred and resent, which the main lead internalized. And with this new interpretation, the chapter 63 appears in a different light. It gives the manhwaphiles hope. 
(chapter 65)
(chapter 69) He had ruined his relationship with the artist. Because he refused to make the leap of faith in the shed, Yoon Seungho decided to make the opposite choice. He let the painter decide about his own fate, yet he was definitely living in agony. The wounded, fearful and desperate gaze revealed his turmoil. 
(chapter 69) In my eyes, the absence of the lord’s eyes during the night of revelations stands in opposition to the lord’s gaze full of expressions in chapter 69. Note that in that episode, the author always drew his eyes, underlining that now the noble was using his own eyes finally. He is no longer relying on Kim and his information. I was also right that this night would affect Yoon Seungho’s relationship with the valet, yet I didn’t expect, it would unveil his true personality. For me, this second sex marathon was a real eye-opener: it made me recognize Kim’s hypocrisy and cowardice. From that moment on, I could no longer view him as a real father figure.
(chapter 40)
(chapter 62)
He rejected his concern and yelled at him. In chapters 62-63, the positions are switched. Yoon Seungho is the one upset and pained, since he is convinced that the artist abandoned him, therefore his anger is aiming at the commoner. Yet, the true culprit of his wound is his childhood friend Jihwa. Simultaneously both have a common point: Baek Na-Kyum gets hurt, because he becomes the target of Yoon Seungho’s anger, while in chapter 40, he is backstabbed by his admired sir and used the master to get some comfort. Yet, the situation is similar, as the real culprits of the wound never witness the consequence of their actions and words. 
(chapter 63) And if we take the chapter 41/42 into consideration, the painter did request that the lord should be particularly rough.
(chapter 42) As you can see, the chapter 40 can not be really detached from the sex scene which follows the teacher’s betrayal. Another contradiction is that the painter is just asking the lord to stop, since Baek Na-Kyum is exhausted, while the aristocrat believes that the commoner is pushing him away, begging him to let him go for good.
(chapter 63) But this divergence comes from the fact that this scene is a new version of the sex marathon, which I mentioned above. Back then, the painter made a similar request. As conclusion, the violence of the sex in chapter 62-63 is strongly connected to an emotional wound, a repetition of chapter 41/42. And in my opinion, the artist understood the situation and the lord’s motivation. Hence he doesn’t feel badly about Yoon Seungho. Notice that the next night, Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t think badly of this sex marathon. 
(chapter 40) 
(chapter 63) What caught my attention is the contrast between the two declarations. While the artist’s feelings for his admired sir seem to be very strong (I adore you), his words don’t really correspond to his affection, because his feelings have already diminished. He did lie to his teacher and protected the main lead in chapter 38. That’s why the “I adore you” should be judged as an exaggeration. It was, as though the painter desired to convince himself and his teacher that he was still attached to him. Besides, he needed to persuade him not to abandon him, after hearing so many reproaches. This observation leads me to the conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum made up his mind to still follow his teacher out of loyalty despite the harshness of Jung In-Hun’s words. On the other hand, the author used a litotes (“I do not dislike you”), implying that in fact his attachment is much stronger. And this is exactly what happens during this scene. Despite the harshness, the painter is forced to question his true feelings for the main lead and recognize them. He is even willing to confess, yet he is stopped. I doubt that Yoon Seungho would have perceived it as a love confession, as he hates meek words. I can use this panel as a reminder:
(chapter 48). Yoon Seungho is exactly like the painter, he loves strong and metaphorical confessions, like “you’ve made me a wreck” or “I will never let you go”. But let’s return our attention the scholar and Yoon Seungho. Both nobles act the same way. Both can’t accept the artist’s declaration, yet their motivation diverges. The teacher finds it disgusting to be connected to a commoner, whereas Yoon Seungho is too afraid of being lied. He has the impression that this dream can never come true. Yet, while contrasting them, we see the painter’s determination who is willing to overlook the reproaches expressed before by both aristocrats. And he remains faithful till the end. That’s why he waited for Jung In-Hun at the gate in episode 44. 
He needed to see with his own eyes, how the learned sir had truly abandoned him. This represents another explication why the low-born didn’t react like Kim and Min anticipated. He didn’t follow his sister out of loyalty, compassion and a certain trust. However, Heena noona was able to sow seeds of doubts. 
(chapter 40) In this picture, the scholar leaves the painter behind, a metaphor for his abandonment. He even repeats this action, when he leaves for the capital. In chapter 62-63, Yoon Seungho sees in the commoner’s escape a rejection and betrayal. 
(chapter 62) This panel illustrates the thoughts of the protagonist: the commoner has turned his back on him.
(chapter 40)
(chapter 40) 
(chapter 62) 
(chapter 63) In both cases, the aristocrats questions the commoner’s motivations for his actions. While Jung In-Hun’s interrogation serves him as an occasion to break his promise by putting the blame on Baek Na-Kyum, the other character is more curious to know about the reasons for his desertion. From my point of view, this shows the noble’s desire to comprehend the painter better. And this illustrates that his obsession with the “why” is well meant. Why is he pushing him away? If he knows the cause, he could find a solution in order to bring the painter to his side. 
(chapter 40) The painter became happy, when he heard that the civil service examination would take place soon. He immediately thought of his learned sir and envisioned that this would please his former teacher. Jung In-Hun’s excitement became the painter’s joy, this is how the painter was thinking in that scene. 
(chapter 40) 
(chapter 29) By contrasting both panels from chapter 40, the readers can detect the painter’s lie. He expects something from the low noble. He is indeed hoping that Jung In-Hun will keep his promise and he will take his responsibility for him, since the painter supported him. 
(chapter 40) The former had Yoon Seungho’s attention all the time, and we all know that Jung In-Hun’s desire is to get attention and admiration. Striking is that the comparison enlightens the materialistic and narcissistic side of Jung In-Hun, while Yoon Seungho appears purer. He is just content with a smile. Besides, he would like to be the source and recipient of Baek Na-Kyum’s smile, whereas the other wishes to get favors (clothes, a room closer to the lord’s chamber, the favor to spend the evening in the bedchamber etc). That’s why by contrasting both chapters, the protagonist’s purity and simplicity become even more palpable, which is hidden due to the violence employed during that confrontation. 
Furthermore, if we take the chapter 41 into consideration, since we have a flashback of the incident at the library,
then the readers can recall that in this episode, Baek Na-Kyum was so heartbroken that he asked from Yoon Seungho to be embraced. He needed a shoulder as solace and comfort. The low-born literally begged him, while crying to be hold in his arms, but the noble didn’t know how to respond to this request.
(chapter 41) He only knew sex. In chapter 62, the lord hold the artist in his arms, only to betray him afterwards. The warmth is faked. 
(chapter 62) Yet, if you pay attention, you’ll observe a second hug in the barn: 
(chapter 40) while in chapter 63, it is the turn of our seme to reveal his expectations and desires. 
,(chapter 62) while the scholar calls the artist a fool
. (chapter 41) He is just jealous, furious and repulsed. Yoon Seungho is seeking closeness and uses sex in order achieve his goal, therefore he is is refusing to stop. He is so desperate to remain intimate with the painter, while the other noble has only one thought: keeping his distance from the low-born. 
(chapter 63) and words 
(chapter 63) have a huge effect on the upset protagonist. They trigger the noble to open up and reveal himself. That’s why the chapter ends with a face to face: the aristocrat is not decided to look at the painter’s eyes directly. 
(chapter 40)
(chapter 62) 
(chapter 62) 
(chapter 71) and Yoon Seungho’s outburst 
(chapter 70). Furthermore, when the painter is able to calm down the main lead by calling his name “Lord Seungho” and showing a blushed face, the aristocrat initiates a real conversation 
(chapter 62) 
(chapter 71) There was a “love confession” in the barn, but the lord didn’t use the typical expression for that: 
(chapter 76). The only problem is that Baek Na-Kyum is still fearing his own emotions for the infamous noble. Therefore he has not confessed yet, which will be the reason why both main leads will suffer again. The painter has just opened up and is not trusting Yoon Seungho entirely. 
(chapter 57) What the protagonist failed to understand is that his father must have blamed him for the loss of his big dream. There’s no doubt that the father resented his son deeply, because he explained the source of his failure in the plot with his son’s behavior, especially if the main character became the tool for his own survival. 
(chapter 37) The younger brother was taught his father’s principles too, but unlike Yoon Seungho, the younger brother is NOT living according to their father’s rules. This means that he is living differently. And now we have to question this: how is his life different? 
And notice the brother’s embarrassment. He avoids his brother’s gaze. He can not deny it, for if he did, he would have to reveal the true identity of the “pedophile”. Hence the younger master is humiliated. The younger master can not argue with this point. That’s the reason why I come to the conclusion that the brother has already internalized his father’s values: Yoon Seungho should keep working for the family, like he did in the past. He should use his connection. He is truly viewing his brother as an accessory for the family’s benefit. And it is time to examine the chapter 37 one more time. In the first composition, I had demonstrated that the brother was selfish, insensitive and quite arrogant, since he never asked his brother about his well-being. All his business mattered. But I can add more layers to his description and it starts with the way he was introduced.
(chapter 37) However, I can bring up another evidence for this conclusion: the fake letter from lord Song.
(chapter 56) The forged message was a new version of the letter in chapter 35. And under this light, we can judge the character in a rather negative way. He is acting like Jihwa, using his knowledge of the past to his advantage. He desires to use his father’s power over his elder brother to achieve his goal: getting the support from his older brother so that he can please his father. 
(chapter 37) He mentioned his father directly, but he never answered to the question properly, since he didn’t announce the true reason for his visit. Why? Since he used the name of his father in the letters and in the conversation, I can only deduce that the brother knows the true power of father Yoon over the main character. He is actually playing with the protagonist’s fear and he knows it too well. Notice his hands: they show a certain discomfort, indicating that he is well aware of the signification of his words. One might argue that he has been pressured by the father and he is just a pawn. To this, I can only retort that he is doing the same to his brother. By asking him to visit their father, he is not just requesting from his brother to reconnect with their family, but also to submit himself to father Yoon. In other words, the elder master could utilize Yoon Seungho’s connections and wealth for their family’s interest. Besides, this would signify that the father would become the main lead’s pimp again. As the new head of the family, father Yoon could decide to treat his eldest son like in the past. And if my theory of the incest is correct, then this means that Yoon Seung-Won is asking his brother to relive a hell again. This is not surprising that the lord gets upset and becomes cynical: 
(chapter 37) Who would accept such a suggestion after getting treated like an sex toy, a prisoner and as a pariah at the end? And now envision that Yoon Seungho has been exposed to physical and sexual abuse because of his father. This scene reveals the selfishness and cowardice of the brother. This is not surprising that the lord clenches his fist, and his hand is shaking: there’s definitely fear due to the father and anger towards his brother. Yoon Seung-Won knows his father’s rules, but he doesn’t desire to apply them, as he is well aware of the meaning. And now the following panel gets another significance:
He desires to have a private conversation and suggests his brother to send away the painter. His reason is simple: he would like to appeal to his brother’s compassion, he must be in a rather difficult situation. His father is now relying on him. But since the master of the mansion is not following this suggestion, the brother chooses to mention the father. The illness is an excuse, but Yoon Seung-Won is determined to maintain his image as a loyal and honorable son. Yet, like I pointed out earlier, the true intention with the father’s evocation is to put Yoon Seungho under pressure. And now, I would like to bring another evidence that the younger master is well aware of his brother’s fear in front of their father. He witnessed the constant abuse, and as such he noticed and internalized the brother’s anxieties. Remember that the moment Jihwa heard that the brother had visited Yoon Seungho, Jihwa chose to rush to his childhood friend’s mansion. Why? He knew that Yoon Seung-Won’s visitation would torment the main lead and provoke nightmares, indicating that this must have happened in the past well. And since the main lead is connecting his brother to his past trauma, then this reveals that the younger master is related to the protagonist’s suffering. Why? In my opinion, Yoon Seung-Won must have been favored all this time, whereas the powerful noble was just treated like a servant. In other words, even if the younger brother was weak as well, he never tried to help his brother behind his father’s back. This explains the resent from the protagonist. He can never consider him as a relative. Let’s not forget that when the elder master moved from the house, only valet Kim remained by the main lead’s side, showing that all the other servants sided with Yoon Seung-Won and the father. 
(chapter 37), while in reality he is just a hypocrite. I would even add, he is quite immoral. He lies about the illness, fakes letters in the sense that he uses his father’s name and authority. Then he utilizes social norms (“the right thing”), though he is well aware what the visit would mean for his brother. I also perceive an evidence of father Yoon’s influence in the younger master’s behavior: his words and behavior. Remember that I connected the lies to the protagonist’s dissociative episodes, indicating that the elder master must have punished his eldest son, when he imagined that he had been lied to. Observe the reaction Yoon Seung-Won has, when he realizes that Kim has been lying to him: 
(chapter 37)He gets outraged and yelled to the butler, although he is not the lord of the mansion. Striking is that he would have opened the door
(chapter 37), if the painter hadn’t screamed through the door. Not recognizing the voice from the inside, the young man got surprised and stopped. And this single gesture outlines his disrespect towards his elder brother in reality. I had already observed his selfishness and lack of sensitivity, but with the new elements, I can definitely determine that the younger brother has indeed internalized father Yoon’s values. He treats servants and commoners like people with no right. His tone is quite strict, authoritative and rude.
(chapter 37) This is not surprising that he requests his brother’s assistance in the end. He has experienced it first hand, has envisioned that through his father’s influence, he could manipulate the brother and get benefit from his increased fortune and influence. However, this time the lord didn’t follow his suggestion, since he has already started moving on. In fact, the younger lord was mocked through the main character’s following suggestion: Yoon Seung-Won should also live according to their father’s principles. 
(chapter 37) But now, I would add another layer to this description. This picture could be judged as an evidence of his ruthlessness too, like my follower @nonoboy-oops suggested it. He exposes a certain satisfaction, although he used the lord’s fear of father Yoon for his own benefit. In his mind, he has achieved his goal and it doesn’t matter the way he obtained it. The manhwaphiles should remember that the lord had even difficulties to breathe and speak properly after the visitation, indicating how much the main character suffered during that conversation. 
(chapter 38) This reinforces the immorality and ruthlessness of the brother’s suggestion. With the letter, Yoon Seung-Won has the impression that in the end, the main lead bent to his will. This means that he is ignoring his brother’s reproach and rejection. But since the brother used their father’s name in order to approach his brother, it looks like, it was Yoon Seung-Won’s decision to utilize the brother. Even if this idea is not correct, and the father did use the younger son as a pawn to approach Yoon Seungho, this doesn’t diminish the atrocity of the younger master’s gesture. He is not just a pawn, but a real accomplice, because he knows his past but prefers his own comfort over his brother’s life. However, let’s not forget that during their conversation, the younger brother never spoke in the father’s name, like for example: “Father Yoon desires to reconnect with you and asks for a visit from you”. Even that way, the father’s honor would have been maintained, since the main lead was asked to pay a visit to their father unofficially. My final point for this interpretation is the importance of reputation in father Yoon’s eyes. The latter chose to act behind closed doors and maintain his image as a respectable aristocrat. By sending letters to his eldest son who is well-known in the mansion as an infamous sodomite, his image as strong lord is kind of tarnished. He is the one asking for help from his son… a humiliation in his eyes. Now, you can better comprehend why I believe that Yoon Seung-Won is not just a pawn in reality. 
That’s why he said this to the servant. By putting the blame on his older brother, he excuses his father’s behavior for not showing more concern for him. He didn’t leave the bedchamber in order to bid farewell, because the lord had been troubled due to Yoon Seungho. The latter serves again as an excuse to save the appearances. By giving the ruined painting, Yoon Seungho was indeed determined to provoke his father. He shows him his hypocrisy and the consequences of his principles. At the same time, the ruined painting illustrates his message: the Yoon family will never get a benefit from his sexual performances (“damaged image”). 
(chapter 37) Here, he envisioned that the lord’s companion was a noble due to the green hanbok. He is definitely more than just a pawn, in my eyes he has become a willing helper of father Yoon’s dictatorship, since he could profit from his situation. He is like an indoctrinated child, since he behaves like his father in a certain way. On the other hand, he has not completely lost a certain sense of morality. Since he is showing a certain discomfort during the conversation in chapter 37, it displays that he recognizes the wrongness of his request. But his interests are prioritized over his brother’s well-being. Another aspect is that he is not so brutal compared to his model, Father Yoon. But he has a common denominator with the elder master. He is also quite naïve. Hence Yoon Seungho could see right through his brother and his lies, just like the father. The master of the domain was well aware of the true purpose of his younger brother’s visitation: sponsoring. In the end, the younger master is forced to take the exam, like the scholar Jung In-Hun. I had imagined that their paths would cross, unaware that the learned sir would die before. There’s no ambiguity that Yoon Seung-Won would get annoyed and humiliated to hear that his brother chose a scholar with no connection and wealth over him. 
and words remind us more of obsession than of love. First he corners the painter against the wall, making him visualize what his future situation will look like. He won’t be able to escape from Yoon Seungho’s control and monitoring. The lord will always stand within his reach. Secondly, the expression “I will never let you go” indicates that the rich main lead will cling onto him, he will remain sexually close to him. That’s why they are still connected through their bodies. By clinging onto the artist, the aristocrat reveals his dependency. He can’t live without the painter, hence all his thoughts are revolving around him. This definitely looks like an obsession. The reason is simple. Baek Na-Kyum has now given a certain sense in his life, his presence makes him feel emotions, positive 
(chapter 57)
(chapter 61) 
(chapter 74). Then he was raped in the shed and butler Kim was a witness who betrayed and abandoned him.
(chapter 74) Consequently, I come to the conclusion that this statement
(chapter 57) The protagonist had lost his sanity and there’s no doubt that the king didn’t want to be confronted with his own wrongdoings. In the first version of this essay, I had assumed due to Yoon Seungho’s behavior, that the latter had been sexually abused by his father. This theory was developed based on previous observations, like for example, Jung In-Hun, as a new version of father Yoon and the painter’s surrogate father, seemed to be a pedophile due to his strange behavior in chapter 29. 
, it becomes more obvious that Yoon Seungho’s tragic fate is intertwined with the monarch. Therefore I deduce this. The king is a combination of Jung In-Hun and father Yoon. He’s an arrogant, stupid, selfish, emotional, violent, jealous, impulsive and obsessive man. Why? First, jealousy is a common denominator between the two fathers, like it is palpable in the following panel: 
Hence the eldest master Yoon had to diminish his son’s good reputation by describing him as ill. However, if I hold this theory, the nature of the king’s jealousy gets a different signification. He decided to held the teenager captive in the palace, so that the son would stop attracting attention from other men. That’s why no one knows their special relationship. As for father Yoon, the house arrest was justified with the excuse of illness, because he couldn’t stand the idea that his son’s notoriety was better than his own. However, when the first rape occurred in the shed, the eldest master Yoon saw an occasion to use his eldest son in a better way: a prostitute. The manhwaphiles should keep in their mind that the learned sir witnessed the artist’s rape. This means that father Yoon must have been aware of the king’s preferences. For him, it looked like the perfect solution. He didn’t need to do anything, yet he would get benefit from this exchange of favors. Through Yoon Seungho, he could get more power and influence thanks to the monarch’s support. One might argue that the father hates sodomy, hence he can’t have sold his son to the king. In chapter 1, we hear from the painter that father Yoon cut off his son’s topknot in public because of sodomy. 
Yet, the disgust for sodomy is not a real argument in reality. In order to collaborate my theory, I will introduce another manhwa called “Dine With A Vampire”, created by Pangin and Pinko. The characters serves as an example. 
, although the former hates homosexuality
. Just like Jung In-Hun, Sungha is a hypocrite. Yet, he abused his schoolmate physically 
and sexually for so long that at the end, the main lead became a shadow of himself, a zombie. Therefore there was no light in his eyes. 
Kwon Sungha resents the protagonist, because he can’t accept his own sexual orientation and blames the poor uke. That’s why the antagonist is rough and violent during the intercourses. 
He even shows some sadistic tendencies, because he enjoys it very much, when the victim is crying due to pain.
Therefore it signifies that each time the main character sheds some tears, his behavior will incite the seme to become more brutal. As a result, it is better to repress tears. 
Each time, he tried to run away, he was caught and tormented even more than before.
His life is already controlled by Sungha, who tells what he has to eat
, how he has to dress and when he should come home. 
The villain is ruling Sooin’s life like a vicious tyrant. 
He is reliving his past. Notice how he avoids the other main lead’s gaze. He hides his eyes behind his arms and apologizes to his lover. He is already imagining that he will get punished. His behavior is so conditioned that in order to escape a punishment, he apologizes, although he knows that Sungha is dead. Even in his sleep, he is plagued with nightmares. 
As a conclusion, Sooin is not allowed to touch him. As you can envisage, Sooin is never kissed nor hugged. However, despite his hatred for sodomy and the abuse, he is not willing to give up on his sexual partner. He is so obsessed with Sooin that he even envisions to keep him captive in a cage, though he plans to marry a woman coming from an influential family. The irony is that after getting betrayed by the main lead, the former “lover” is not questioning the reason behind the treachery. In fact he blames Sooin for everything. He reproached him that the latter never smiled in front of him
, but now he is giving his smile towards another man. The antagonist, who has now become a vampire himself, definitely perceives the uke as his possession. The description of Sungha’s behavior indicates that Sooin was his obsession, but not his love. 
Moreover, the main character is dressed like his father. Both wear a robe with long sleeves without any pattern and even the color is quite similar in the beginning. 
This evolution displays that his original taste for clothes was influenced by the abusive sex partner. Striking is that the beautiful hanbok in chapter 52 
reminds us of the king, as the phoenix is a symbol for the Joseon monarch. That’s why I am more and more convinced that the traumatic past causing abandonment issues is caused by the father and the Joseon monarch. And it becomes more understandable, why the lord could only fall for the painter during their Wedding night and desired to renew this night. He was hugged for the first time
and he was the source of happiness of his partner, something he has never heard before. Neither his father nor his “sexual partner” embraced him. Why? In my opinion, it is linked to the way the lord was offered to the king.
in chapter 74 takes place in the mansion: 
that’s why he couldn’t yell or defend himself. Who could help him in front of the most powerful person in Joseon? He was like a low-born next to the monarch.
And since we have a repetition in the story, it means that this must have happened in the past. Besides, I doubt that father Yoon would have questioned such a behavior. He definitely hated Yoon Seungho’s strong will. Consequently, I believe that the king must have had a similar attitude. He wanted to obtain the main lead’s love, yet unlike Yoon Seungho, the king became violent and angry by such a submissive behavior, which could only contribute to the protagonist’s silence and fear. 
(chapter 60). Besides, the readers should remember that the main lead tasked the artist to paint his sexual intercourses, therefore it is definitely possible that Yoon Seungho’s request was influenced by the king’s. The latter could have had the desire to have his sexual intercourses with Yoon Seungho portrayed as well. However, since father Yoon hates sodomy and doesn’t want to be associate to this, he had every reason to hate the painter. The pictures were a proof of the eldest master’s hypocrisy. 
, therefore I am expecting the opposite with the king. The latter imagined that they would send him a virgin. Besides, it is a custom to send virgin concubines to the ruler.
This panel symbolizes the purge which the main lead witnessed. It started with the following question: Why would the monarch eliminate the families close to the Yoons? In my opinion, someone revealed to the sovereign that the protagonist had been trained by the nobles close the eldest master Yoon. They had tainted his sex partner and even ruined him, although there’s no ambiguity that the ruler’s attitude (jealous, violent and possessive) contributed to this evolution: the main lead was slowly becoming a zombie. From my point of view, there are three persons who had a desire to destroy Yoon Seungho and through him his father: the culprit of the first rape (my theory is now that it was father Lee), the butler who witnessed it, and like I mentioned it above, the artist who stole Yoon Seungho’s work. This leads me to the following conclusion: the butler could have revealed it to the king, faking his care and concern for his master.
“Imagine… the poor boy was gangraped by the families close to father Yoon.” But he never mentioned the training, as Kim’s MO is always to tell half-truths. This would divert attention from the other perpetrators. When the king confronted Yoon Seungho, the latter couldn’t reveal what had truly happened, because this would mean that his father was involved. Hence he remained silent, which was perceived as a confession. As a revenge for the dirty trick, the ruler ordered the purge which the main lead had to witness. The latter was so devastated that he was literally destroyed. The king didn’t expect such a reaction, hence he sent him back to the mansion, only to hear later that father Yoon had punished his own son. The latter believed that the main character had betrayed him by revealing the indoctrination and prostitution. 
From my point of view, when Kim realized that Yoon Seungho was suffering from memory loss and had even forgotten his relationship with the king, the butler decided to use lord Song as the scapegoat for the lord’s suffering. He created fake memories, a mixture composed of half-truths. Father Yoon and lord Song were blamed, while the real perpetrators for Yoon Seungho remained hidden.
Under this new approach, it becomes understandable why the butler encouraged Yoon Seungho to lead a life in debauchery. That way, he wouldn’t attract the king’s attention: 
The latter had killed many people due to his obsession for Yoon Seungho, whom he treated very poorly: full of mistrust and violence. The latter was not able to take care of the young man properly.
Only the father was somehow able to control him. That way, he would bind his son’s mind and heart to him. This would explicate why the lord chose to become as a ghost in the end. Imagine, he had been ripped apart by his own father and by the king. The body was possessed by the other nobles, while the father was still possessing his mind and heart. He had no freedom at all. After writing this, I feel so horrible. Father Yoon was definitely ruling his son’s life and the monarch tried to change this, but failed as he was himself too selfish, violent and ruthless. 
In fact, the painting showed the main character having sex with other men. For the first time, father Yoon was confronted directly with his hypocrisy. In the past, he was never present, when he sold his son, hence in his eyes, he was still someone honorable. However, the painting confronts him with his true nature: He was his son’s owner and pimp. In other words, the father is facing reality. He let men to touch his own son, while in his mind, he justified his action by saying that he was an educated man. He thought, he still possessed his son’s mind and heart. He became infuriated, because he had the impression that he was losing the control over his son. Yet, since this is a threesome, it still looks like Yoon Seungho is just fooling around. And with this theory, his love for the painter gets a different significance. For the father, it would mean the end of his ruling over his son’s life. He would lose Yoon Seungho as his pawn for good. He would use the low status of Baek Na-Kyum in order to separate the lovers, while in reality he would try to regain ownership over the main lead. 
is the expression Yoon Seungho used himself in the past, when he had displeased his father and the sovereign, or even worse, when he got caught after his escape attempt. This would explain why he saw it as a confirmation for the painter’s flee. He was definitely sent back to his past, therefore he turned into the shadow of his father and the king. That’s why when the painter started confessing,
With these words, the lord is actually questioning the reason for the painter’s behavior. Why did he push away the lord before? The artist replied that this had nothing to do with him, he didn’t dislike it. Then in chapter 40 and 41, he pushed the painter to question his own motivation. Why would he support his former teacher? What does he expect from him? Then we have the chapters 45 and 47, where the main character keeps asking about the artist’s reason for his behavior. Why did he remain by his side? Why is he so indifferent and submissive unlike in the past? I judge it as his obsession and there’s a reason for that. Sure, one might say that he would like to know why the painter stayed by his side. He is so desperate to be loved, he is still wishing to feel loved. However, there’s another motivation behind this obsession. In my opinion, this obsession to the “why” is related to his past and as such to his father and the king. He saw his negative reflection in his father’s eyes, the man he wanted to please at any cost. He must have wondered why his father tormented him so much, why he betrayed him, why he lied to him, why he was so fixated on him, since he had the impression that he was unlovable and even a monstrosity. The lord must have been young back then to perceive his father’s true motivations: jealousy, obsession and his immense greed and ambition. And after being sent to the capital, he met a similar person: the ruler who didn’t treat him better.
And this actually shows that when he was the uke, no one cleaned him. He had to do it himself. That’s how he learned the basics. 
, therefore he refused to become a vampire. His goal in his life was to help the vampire, however this could not be right. Sooin and Yoon Seungho needed to love themselves, so that they could become independent and love their partner. The moment Yoon Seungho treated the painter with respect, the latter showed more confidence again. He could play pranks again. As long as they were full of insecurities, they could never love their partner properly. 
This panel comes from chapter 62, and here what caught my attention is the dimension of the house compared to the sky and the moon. In the former similar pictures, it was the opposite. 
(chapter 33). Besides, the moon was rather in the center of the image. 
(chapter 47) In my opinion, the painter could definitely confront him with his own lies, just like he did in chapter 26.
The physical separation indicates his fear to reveal his true emotions. He definitely views this as a weakness and has the impression that he is exposed to danger. He is definitely protecting his heart by maintaining a space between them. 
In the second love declaration, the noble trapped the painter under his body displaying his fear that the painter might run away after a love confession from him. As you can observe, both love confessions had a huge difference. On the one side, the master encouraged the low-born to desert the mansion by opening the door and keeping his distance from Baek Na-Kyum. During the second love confession, Yoon Seungho was no longer willing to accept the artist’s escape. Since he had admitted his feelings and as such his dependency, the painter was forced to remain by his side. He had no other choice than to obey to his master. 
(chapter 62) For the first time, he hears Baek Na-Kyum’s heart, yet he is not ready to face the artist. This illustrates his huge insecurities. The main lead fears his own reflection. Nevertheless, in episode 63, this is totally different, as for the first time, the lord is looking at Baek Na-Kyum’s face directly, while admitting his dependency on the commoner.
He is emotionally unstable, because he had been forced to reveal his affection and vulnerability (dependency). According to his father’s doctrine, sex is a battle, therefore by confessing his love, he surrenders. And now, you understand why his father gave him such a role, absence of love is a synonym for independency and liberty. By attaching himself to the artist, he is in truth trapped himself. Now, the manhwaphiles can grasp, why the noble acted like that. The lord already viewed himself as a servant and object due to his love for the artist, but he was refusing to accept his position. In other words, he was in denial. That’s why he acts like a lord so openly. 
Remember that the artist treated the master as his sexual object, the one who will give him pleasure. The master could only perceive it as a power of force. Yoon Seungho doesn’t know, this is not correct, as he has never experienced it differently. Power relationship was the nature of his rapport with his own father. Just like he said, he has been living according to his father’s principles.
Here, the lord is reminding the artist, how he behaved during that night. He scratched his face and pushed him away.
He even confessed that he loved the scholar Jung In-Hun. 
, because he is exhausted and fears to show pleasure, the lord has the impression that Baek Na-Kyum is rejecting him totally, begging him to let him go forever. That’s the reason why the noble replies later that 
And in chapter 63, it appears twice. 
This is a huge step for the lord, which doesn’t escape Baek Na-Kyum’s notice. The painter is indeed surprised and moved in my opinion,
although he doesn’t have the time to reply to this admission. The fact that the painter is looking at Seungho’s eyes without any fear or disgust indicates for me that Baek Na-Kyum is slowly grasping the noble’s state of mind. For the first time, he is discovering the lord’s insecurities and wounds. In the past, it was different, since the artist was himself blind and deaf due to Jung In-Hun’s abandonment and betrayal. He also avoided his lover’s gaze and didn’t pay attention to his words 
(chapter 49) Besides, during their rough sexual encounter, the painter’s mind is neither polluted by the scholar’s doctrines nor influenced by his negative emotional state. Even the idiom “never once” outlines the lord’s despair and pain. I believe that the artist is able to sense that the noble was in a similar situation than himself. Besides, let’s not forget that the artist heard about the main lead’s past from the doctor. 
By showing himself entirely, with his self-hatred and longing for love, the artist was sensitive enough to comprehend the lord’s state of mind. That’s why I see here another difference to the scene in chapter 25. This time, there is a real conversation, even if there’s a misunderstanding from Yoon Seungho. The lord is communicating his thoughts and emotions, although the conversation doesn’t start right away. In fact, the chronology differs. First, they have rough sex, but the moment the painter whispers Lord Seungho
This is the first time that Baek Na–Kyum calls him like that in his presence. This did catch his notice. Then when he detects the painter’s blush,
. Then in chapter 11, he is seen in three different panels, standing next to an open door. 
And notice that in the second drawing above, he even opens the door in order to bring the meal to the painter’s study, where his master wishes to eat. And this picture announces his future role as doorman, because he is the one, who opens the door in chapter 16.
Then I could add this panel from episode 56 
, episode 
and episode 67: 
He kept opening the door.
. And this is no coincidence that the butler didn’t want the door to be opened. Since the lord was no longer acting like an obedient child 
, the valet recognized that he needed to keep Baek Na-Kyum by his master’s side so that the latter would become obedient again. This meant that the butler desired to offer the low-born as a plaything to his lord. That’s why the artist was drugged and had to be imprisoned next to Yoon Seungho. Then in chapter 17, Byeonduck created such a panel: 
In this scene, the butler kept the protagonist’s door closed. He acted, as if he had opened the door, while in reality he had never delivered his master the food. 
In this scene, the butler was indeed acting like a prison warden. And this observation led me to the following conclusion: the butler is only connected to door opening in the presence of Baek Na-Kyum. Therefore in episode 44 he waits by Baek Na-Kyum’s side in front of the open door. 
In this scene, the butler hoped that he would run away and abandon his master. He imagined that after the betrayal and abandonment from the scholar, the artist would be so heartbroken, that he would desert the mansion. Remember the noble’s words in that chapter: 
Why should he stay, if the learned sir had betrayed him? 
He is now free just like the artist. The mansion is no longer a prison, but a home. This stood in opposition to the end of the first season, as it symbolized that the painter was trapped too. 
Since Yoon Seungho couldn’t leave the mansion, the painter became a prisoner as well. 
The door was open, but the readers never see him opening the door. He remained in the bedchamber too.
He went to the painter’s study on his own, indicating that he was moving now more freely. Let’s not forget that during the first season, he often was accompanied by Kim (chapter 20 
, chapter 22 the hunt 
, chapter 25 
). He was keeping an eye on his prisoner while faking he was there as his protector.
Here, the artist was not present, but he was the main topic of the discussion. What caught my attention is that the door was wide open, yet the lord was standing far away from the door. The readers didn’t even see him opening the door. Furthermore Kim’s position changed gradually, because he came closer to his lord and even entered the room.
The noble was actually overcoming his trauma. He opened the door which was strongly connected to his rape from his childhood. 
The butler was able to escape a punishment from his lord with his words (pity for the painter and his terrible portrait resembling his father), yet at the end the butler ends up in the backyard. 
Note the absence of the door, a sign of his loss of power. He has to lie low, as the main lead is no longer trusting him. This picture represents the butler’s position. He kept his master captive, but the moment the latter liberated himself, the butler could no longer rule the courtyard. That’s why he lives in the backyard which was already announced in chapter 65. 
Out of fear for his life, he prefers living in a secluded area. Yet, this doesn’t mean that this is the end for Kim… the noble has not discovered his multiple betrayals yet. Remember that the lord has not even recovered from his amnesia. 
(chapter 36)
The domestic is not only related to the open door, but also to light. Light is often associated to knowledge and wisdom, hence the philosophical movement in 18th Century in Europe is called “Enlightenment”. The philosophes and scientists desired to transform their society and government into better ones, bringing technological progress, knowledge, especially liberty and equality to people. They wanted to free the people’s mind from obscurantism imposed by absolute monarchy and Church. On the other hand, you’ll notice that Kim’s light is covered by glass or paper.
(chapter 68), care of the sick 
(chapter 33)
(chapter 65) The lord is the butler’s sword. While the butler was judging the physician, Yoon Seungho was presented as the executioner of the sentence. Besides, the Church could also exercise seigneurial justice on its lands. Therefore the manhwaphiles could witness how the valet gave a punishment to Deok-Jae: clean up the mess. 
(chapter 47) Both sentences had a common denominator: hypocrisy, because in the first case, the butler was covering up his own participation and in the second case, the vicious servant didn’t feel remorse after that sentence.
(chapter 45) 
(chapter 57) and even walk around without his master’s authorization. 
: a combination of darkness and light. Besides, as a priest, it explicates why he is a reinforcer of traditions and social norms. Just like the Church in Middle-Age, he knows a lot but he keeps it to himself. He only reveals certain elements, when it serves his own interests. From my point of view, his “knowledge” is used for deception. The light is a diversion, he only revealed semi-truths or he was paltering, meaning that he delayed to expose the truth to his master. We had the perfect example in chapter 50. When he explained the content of the conversation in the library, he created the impression that the painter had not chosen his master. He has not run away, as he was wounded. The truth is that he had indeed selected Yoon Seungho as his master. 
Furthermore, he even let the door open while tidying his master’s room. 
Whereas this scene didn’t seem to have a huge signification, it became a different meaning now, when we associated the valet to a warden. Due to Kim’s actions, the lord witnessed the intimate interaction between the scholar and the artist in the courtyard.
By opening the window, the lord was confronted with a certain reality. Despite the sex marathon, he hadn’t won the painter’s heart, as the latter was still affected by Jung In-Hun’s gestures and words. But Kim did it on purpose: the so-called light and knowledge created the illusion that the painter was unfaithful. In fact, Seungho could never witness the low-born’s several disappointments. Due to Kim’s intervention, the lord became so jealous and infuriated, that he grabbed his sword, ready to kill the artist. 
In my mind, the lord was also suicidal here. However, nothing happened back then, as the artist didn’t leave the mansion. Like lord Seungho pointed out, if he had stepped out, he would have killed him. This scene had another signification: the lord was slowly getting closer to the mansion’s door. And since the valet was by his side, he saw his master’s jealousy and insecurities. The latter was again on the verge to become mad and suicidal. The domestic recognized, how desperate and dangerous the aristocrat was during that morning and hoped, the noble would kill Baek Na-Kyum with his own hands. This situation happened again in chapter 61: 
However, this time the lord’s murdering tendency was triggered by the servants’ statement: he had run away. 
The assistant had in reality manipulated the staff. He had learned that he could no longer feign ignorance like in the past (chapter 29). Hence he used belief for his scheme. That’s why I believe that in chapter 62, the butler chose to influence his master directly 
(chapter 61) 
This time, the domestic could observe the artist was still alive, but more importantly he could move freely in the shed. For me, although it appears like Kim was showing concern for the low-born, the reality was that he was worried about his own safety and survival. Baek Na-Kyum could reveal how he got abducted and the noble might question his butler’s whereabouts and actions. 
(chapter 57) 
(chapter 62), this explicates why the lord could find the door and open it. 
Baek Na-Kyum had to do it himself too. Yoon Seungho had liberated himself thanks to his lover. The painter had to make the same experience. By opening the door and not following his sister, he was making the following statement to the protagonist: he was no prisoner, he had chosen Yoon Seungho as his master. Moreover, he was accepting his homosexuality and
his relationship with the main lead. 
Hence he became the only witness of his master’s wrongdoing. However, like I mentioned it before, the butler is responsible for the forced sex due to his words. First, he gave the impression that he showed concern for him, when he discovered the scar on his face. 
Secondly, once he met him in the hallway, he didn’t dare say anything and even avoided his gaze. 
He looked definitely uncomfortable and even scared by him. Why? It is because for the first time, the butler had to face himself his master’s mood swings. So far, the painter had been the only one facing the noble’s bad temper. In my opinion, when the butler claimed that he feared his master
, he was definitely lying, for he had always been his right-hand. That’s why he never criticized his lord before. He didn’t have the need to do. However, Kim’s position got affected with the rape. Due to his involvement, he triggered the lord’s trauma, hence he was confronted with the lord’s terrible mood. 
Therefore many readers and me included thought that Kim’s words from chapter 12 were true. Yet, the reality is different, as this situation only appears in episode 25 and 26. Hence he decides to act behind his master’s back after his last meeting in the hallway. 
He got surprised by the lord’s action, nevertheless he knew that the lord’s emotional state hadn’t returned to normality. The butler recognized that the main lead was still boiling inside due to his anger and pain, though his expression was cold and detached. Kim sensed that another fight between the master and the low-born would occur, since the latter couldn’t calm down and even reproached him his silence before. 
(chapter 17)
(chapter 65) For he could act as his advisor, this means that he could have told the truth to his lord. There’s no doubt that through his conversation in the woods, he recognized that there could be a misunderstanding between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum. Yet, he chose not to reveal this information, because that way, he would create a situation, where the lord would be rejected. In other words, the scene in the pavilion was a new version of the Wedding night. Besides, the manhwaphiles should recall that the butler played a huge role there as well, because he created an incident: the disappearance of the expensive wine. 
In other words, the criminal is actually trying to bury the truth as well. He is also asking the victim to lie by omission. Unlike the loyal servant, Nameless threatened the painter.
And now, you can understand why my connection to chapter 26 was correct in the end. However, there’s a huge difference between Nameless and valet Kim, both representatives of the future. The butler wasn’t feeling sorry for the victim and the perpetrator at all, while it’s the opposite for the hired assassin: 
Why? It is, because the tears expose the wound and represent the proof of a misdeed. And their common reaction leads me to the following deductions: 
(chapter 3) Thanks to his invisible mind’s eye, the lord was able to reflect on himself and recognize his wrongdoings. Unlike the red-haired aristocrat, the protagonist felt huge pangs of conscience very early on, while it took his friend a long time to recognize his mistake. He was the one responsible for losing his lover.
(chapter 61) 
(chapter 62) And observe that the moment, Jihwa realizes his huge mistake and expresses remorse, he drops his doctrine about the distinction between nobles and commoners. He doesn’t mind being embraced by a low-born, even a criminal. Notice what Yoon Seungho is experiencing happens the next night after Jihwa’s emancipation. Since we had a scene with three persons in the woodshed
, then I had the feeling that in the grange, we could have a scene with 3 people as well (past, present and future). So I predicted that this night would have the same impact for the powerful protagonist, yet that his rebirth would be accompanied with pain and a tragedy. And my predictions were correct: during this night, the third person in the shed is the perpetrator of Yoon Seungho’s rape which was witnessed by the butler.
I mean, why would the domestic answer to his question during the night, while we clearly saw that the teacher was already lying in his bed before? My first explication was that Kim was trying to help his master, because the scholar’s death would have caused a real scandal. Nevertheless, my interpretation has changed. He did it in order to secure his position: if Yoon Seungho had killed a noble, he could have been persecuted and as such the butler’s fate would have been affected. There’s no ambiguity that after the rape, Kim knew how his lord was thinking and feeling. However, if you read the manhwa, you’ll never see him acting behind the scene. You come only to this observation after examining the chapters carefully. The sudden appearance of the old servant who asks the low noble to follow him outside, while the former wonders about this action. Besides, I had clearly pointed out the theory that the assistant must have been responsible for the painter’s first escape. It was his first direct involvement, and his disobedience could have been noticed by his master. We have to envision a new version of this situation: Kim encouraged the painter to flee by telling him where the scholar was. 
He never anticipated that as a low noble, he would mistrust the low-born’s statement. And if you pay attention to the evolution of the story, you’ll notice that Kim’s actions are gradually revealed during the first and second season. During the night of the forced sex, Kim acted behind the scene, yet the chapter 29 marked a turning point in the butler’s life. He got punished for his betrayal, although the protagonist got unaware of this: 
Why this miscalculation? From my perspective, it is related to the butler’s judgement about his master. In his mind, Yoon Seungho is just a man consumed by lust, hence he envisioned that the painter was just a plaything. He believed that once out of the sight, out of the mind. 
As a conclusion, he decided to use the lord’s thirst for the painter to get rid of Baek Na-Kyum. Observe that he never asked for his master’s approval for the aphrodisiac. He already started giving orders on his own: Deok-Jae was asked to let the painter leave the mansion, then he bought the expensive medicine. But since he was just a butler, he used the closeness to his master to obtain what he wanted. This exposes that Kim already abused his position, in season 1. He claimed to the doctor that his master would have given his approval, because he knew that the aristocrat would never investigate his moves and whereabouts. 
However, we all know that Yoon Seungho’s desire is to be loved for himself and not because of his status, wealth or a trick. When the valet went so far to buy ink and brushes for the painter, it gave the impression that the butler was caring and gentle.
(chapter 56) 
(chapter 58) Under this new light, it becomes comprehensible why the lord questioned his presence at the physician’s While many readers, including myself first, thought, was attempting to bring them closer and as such to play cupid in the end. The reality was the opposite. He always created misunderstandings and problems. 
A sword! And remember that I have already pointed out that there’s a strong connection between the butler and the sword due to chapter 1, 26, 35, and 50. That’s why I come to the deduction that Kim desired to get rid of the painter through his master’s sword. Hence he said those words: 
However, each time the painter had to pay a huge price for Yoon Seungho’s misdeeds. In chapter 33, he was more concerned that the painter would reveal his involvement in the escape. This explicates why Kim declared this in chapter 65: 
Kim was the darkness, consequently the noble turned his back on the light, but he could still feel some warmth through the painter’s words 
, while he criticizes his own thoughts. He could only blame himself and the artist for his agony, anguish and frailty. He had the feeling that everything he did was for nothing. Moreover, he has no control over the artist, reminding him of his own powerlessness in his childhood. That’s why he resents the artist so much in the end. Through his actions, he is sent back to his past, where he was a victim due to his powerlessness. Now, you understand why Yoon Seungho is always reliving his trauma, because love exposed him to abuse and betrayal. It also made him incapable to control the events. However, Seungho has no idea that love knows no bound and escapes any control. Just like in faith (a leap of faith), love is a bet where the person trusts unconditionally and there’s no guarantee that love will remain the same and the person will never be betrayed. That’s why I perceive Baek Na-Kyum as the lord’s teacher in love matters. Seungho is discovering the true nature of love, which is always accompanied with pain and uncertainty. Yet, the real basis of love is trust. Nevertheless this chapter displayed the noble’s lack of trust in Baek Na-Kyum. Due to his own insecurities and self-hatred, he will always doubt the artist’s affection. So in order to change this situation, the noble must be confronted with a dilemma, where he will be forced to make a real choice. Does he really love the painter without expecting anything in return? If so, then he needs to trust him unconditionally. 
and misled Baek Na-Kyum with the false apology.
The lord remembered the artist’s warm embrace during their second love session and came to the false conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum was acting and everything was an illusion. It was even worse than a dream, because everything was fake. That’s the reason why Yoon Seungho is so wounded and blind to the truth. What he saw
, heard, felt and touched 
wasn’t real and genuine, but counterfeit and artificial. The manhwaphiles can comprehend better the master’s fury and heartache. He was manipulated by hypocritical gestures. And now you understand why the lord comes to the following deduction: why fake love and warmth? There’s no need for that. Consequently, he just needs the painter for sex and nothing more. This time, the roles are switched. The master will use the commoner as his sexual toy. 
The lord had the same gestures and facial expression: anger mixed with pain and sadness. And this comparison between these two chapters makes us comprehend the real value of this rough sex session. First, this time the painter remembers their love session at the physician’s. Moreover, he is well aware that Yoon Seungho confessed twice. 
Here the lord said that he adored Baek Na-Kyum, but the latter never replied to this confession. Then the noble added this:
There’s no slap coming from the artist: 
He doesn’t struggle or crawl away from his lover: 
Moreover, he has an erection 
and he ejaculates after calling his lover: 
This stands in opposition to this rape scene in chapter 25. Remember that at the pavilion, the lord raped the artist hoping that if he submitted the low-born, then he would obtain what he was seeking: love. Back then, he was confusing sex with love. However, it turned out as a failure, since the artist whispered his learned sir at the end and had no erection.
Sex could never change the artist’s feelings. This explicates why we can’t judge the rough sex session in the barn as a rape. The moment the artist whispers lord Seungho and has a climax, the noble turns him around, a sign that from sex they are moving to love. 
With his last words, I perceive the last vestiges from his father’s doctrines: sex as a tool and battle, where there exists no love and attachment. His mouth, influenced by his conscious, is unaware of the real change and is deceiving his own owner. In fact, Yoon Seungho has already been defeated by the powerless painter and his real defeat was exposed during their second love session: 
Yoon Seungho hoped to find love and he only got sex without pleasure. In the barn, it is totally different. He asked for sex, sensed love at some point, but the painter couldn’t really confess, as he had no idea about his feelings. He had just realized that he didn’t dislike Yoon Seungho. That’s why it ended with sex again. 
However, the painter got exhausted and wanted to take a break which led to another misunderstanding. 
He could never forget the scholar’s hypocrisy in his gesture (chapter 49), and in chapter 62, the master is even crueler, because he is misleading the artist, making him believe that his apology is accepted. Yoon Seungho is indeed a master of deception. Poor Baek Na-Kyum!! He had already a hard time to accept that the lord was in love with him, and now the noble is in denial and even becomes violent.
However, contrary to the hug in episode 29, Baek Na-Kyum is not entirely blameless. His lack of response during that night and his silence in the barn (he never gave any explication, Yoon Seungho was willing to hear anything) made him recognize that the lord was also in pain behind his anger. While the scholar abandoned him after his betrayal, Yoon Seungho is claiming the opposite, he will make sure that Baek Na-Kyum never leaves his side.
and kills a servant without blinking an eye
, the other murders a pawnbroker by justifying it as an utilitarian act. Because Rodion Raskolnikov didn’t expect the presence of a witness, he is forced to assassinate the sister. The student is even brutal in the way he kills the two women: they are both cut by a axe. The protagonists’ wrongdoings symbolize the epitome of selfishness and violence and both legitimate their actions with a reason. In Yoon Seungho’s case, killing the servant was to demonstrate his power demanding respect as he had been lied to. He could do so because as a lord he had the right to decide about his servant’s fate. Then concerning the rape, Yoon Seungho imagined that if they had sex again, the painter would submit himself and acknowledge his superiority. As you can observe, both wrongdoings are related to power and superiority, very similar to Rodion’s philosophy. However, there is a huge difference. Yoon Seungho is entitled to think so because of his actual social position. He stands indeed above others due to his family’s origins and his wealth, whereas the Russian main character is just an impoverished student, who considers himself superior due to his intelligence and skills. Nonetheless they are quite similar in their mentality. Since the Russian student considers himself as superhuman, it means, he is closer to a god than to “normal, mortal” humans. And now, if you focus on the main character from Joseon, you’ll detect a parallel. In the beginning, the lord considers himself as a spirit hence he lives detached from others. This signifies that he doesn’t acknowledge the existence of his body. Since he is only living through his mind, his body is only a tool to defeat his enemies. That’s why he is so cold, distant and indifferent towards others which reminds us of Rodion’s personality. One is a superhuman and the other a spirit, hence they feel so superior to others. Furthermore, the lord was also influenced by his intellectualism. Since he had read so many books, he had the impression, his immense knowledge was surpassing all the other nobles. However, the irony was that he could never show his education and his free spirit as he was totally alienated from society. And his isolation is also visible in the manhwa. 
or visited the low noble Jung In-Hun 
and later strolled through downtown with Baek Na-Kyum (chapter 40
and chapter 45)
As you can observe, the painter is the one, who puts an end to his alienation from society, although the lord is not aware of this. We have to question ourselves if the hunts are not the result of Baek Na-Kyum’s positive influence on Yoon Seungho too. It is definitely possible that the latter felt the need to hunt because he was so happy after having experienced their “Wedding night” (chapter 21) and sharing his bed with the artist for the first time (chapter 38). 
Everything is related to his self-hatred. Thanks to Baek Na-Kyum’s picture, the lord was able to perceive a different image of himself. His gaze, as a mirror of his soul, revealed attraction and beauty. In my opinion, Yoon Seungho stands in opposition to Raskolnikov here, because the latter never hated himself in the first place. In fact, we have a reversed situation. Rodion comes to hate himself with the mental torture and the realization of his wrongdoings and true personality. Yet, just like with the noble from Joseon, the main lead from Crime and Punishment comes to accept himself again thanks to Sonya’s love. 
. Yet, this time the lord was seeing the commoner more than just an object, he was his servant. Like I explained in the first part, Yoon Seungho didn’t realize, he was considering him as a servant. His unconscious and heart desired him to be a free man, while his mind was treating him as a domestic. During this evolution, we have to keep in mind that the lord was still denying the existence of his body. That’s why he had problems to comprehend his negative feelings (f. ex. chapter 27), he was unable to distinguish his mind from his heart and couldn’t discern the contradiction between his words 
and actions
, then at least they could connect physically. Back then, I considered this decision as the following: he was lowering his expectations. He was giving up on the painter’s heart, which is only partially correct. In my opinion, this choice was actually important, since it meant that the lord was accepting the existence of his body.
He was renouncing on his identity as a spirit. Soul and body were now together. He was becoming a human. Furthermore, it also signified that he was no longer forcing the painter to become a spirit (“share their mind”). He had imagined that if he was gazed by Baek Na-Kyum, like he desired, then the artist would recognize his spirituality and the existence of his good and impressive “soul”. However, this didn’t work like he had anticipated, because the next morning he was told that the artist viewed himself as a prostitute. So now he was trapped in his new body but couldn’t even connect physically with the painter. That’s why he had a relapse but this time, it was different. He needed to numb his body, as he desired the painter so much but he couldn’t even touch him. That’s why he had no sex with nobles, but consumed drugs.
This shows that little by little, the lord is learning how to control his heart and find the right balance between his mind and his heart. 
. As you could observe, the rebirth of the phoenix hasn’t occurred yet. The lord is slowly accepting his condition as human, seeking for love and companionship. Just like Rodion who could change for the better, the main lead is transformed thanks to the painter. Only he could transcend the protagonist’s philosophy, his contempt for humanity. Baek Na-Kyum ignites the lord’s desire to live normally and to show his true side: he is in fact caring and sensitive. Yet, the lord has still a lot to learn: he needs to give up on their master-servant relationship. In fact, I have the impression, he is using it now, because if he didn’t, he would have no connection with the artist in his mind. What he hasn’t realized yet is the change of the artist’s gaze. Since the painter is rejecting him, he can only act as his lord. That way, the painter can’t cut ties with him entirely. However, this situation puts the noble in a difficult situation: if he loves him, why would he punish him like that? If he loves him why would he treat him like a servant? I am expecting a good outcome in the next chapter. Both sides will be forced to define the true nature of their relationship. Nonetheless, there’s no doubt for me that Yoon Seungho will renounce on his title at some point. So if he spends the night in a storage room, we could interpret it as a symbol of his renunciation and humbleness. His desire to stay by his lover’s side is stronger than his pride and his principle taught by his father. The end of his journey will be, when he has found the right balance between his mind and heart. He will become a real man, a human full of knowledge and positive emotions. This signifies, he will be at peace with himself. However, as long as this metamorphosis continues, the lord’s mind and heart will be too busy to focus on his enemies. As a conclusion, Yoon Seungho’s path is resembling Rodion’s, both are characters destined to recognize and accept their humanity thanks to the support of the love of their life. 
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 