Category: Min

Painter Of The night: The Joker’s plan

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 24 Comments

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.

What caught my attention is the huge influence Min has over Jihwa. The moment The Joker starts talking to the host, the red-haired aristocrat is not willing to listen to him. Due to his suggestion, he suffered a lot in the past, therefore he doesn’t want to make the same experience again: anxiety and remorse. Yet, at the end of the chapter 67, Jihwa is sitting like an obedient monkey and paying attention to Black Heart’s words. It was, as if the red-haired noble had given up on his “humanity” in the sense, he is no longer using his brain. How could this happen? The readers will blame Yoon Seungho for this. The moment he barged in his bedchamber, Jihwa ran away from his childhood friend and hid behind the windscreen. He was too scared and didn’t want to face Yoon Seungho’s wrath. But this attitude exposed simultaneously that he was not willing to assume his responsibilities. Remember that he relied on Nameless so much. Since the latter had become his hands, it signified that the criminal was accountable for the crime. Note this panel outlines Jihwa’s escapism. “I know, he couldn’t have seen me”, the scared man imagined, because Baek Na-Kyum had his eyes covered, then he wouldn’t get caught. What he failed to realize is that first, he spoke so that the servant could have recognized his voice, Nameless was well aware of this. Then, he counted on Nameless’ promise. For me, this panel embodies Jihwa’s habit: avoiding any responsibility for a wrongdoing, which could be seen in the three wise monkeys: In reality, a perverted version, as for Jihwa, if no one sees, speaks or hears his misdeed, then it means, he has nothing to fear. He has the impression that nothing happened. Getting caught triggers his anxieties, as it is connected to the incident with the door and Yoon Seungho’s suffering. And now you understand why Jihwa was so scared after the scene Yoon Seungho made: he had been caught for the third time!! Chapter 18 , chapter 57 and chapter 67 And each time, Yoon Seungho’s anger increased. However, each time, the aristocrat with black eyes never expressed remorse and offered an apology. I would even add that he never saw these as misdeeds, as he always justified his misdeeds. In chapter 10/17, Baek Na-Kyum represented a source of temptation for his friend and he had even seduced him. Then when he sent lord Song’s fake letter to his friend, he justified his action by putting the blame on his friend for changing and cutting ties with him. Finally, the painter was the reason why he got rejected. In all three cases, he never questioned, how his actions affected his victims. That’s why even when he got caught, he never changed his behavior. This explicates why Jihwa didn’t learn his lesson, as he didn’t see the wrongdoings and its impact on others.

Hence one might think that Jihwa changed his mind because of the main lead’s behavior and menace. But it only looks like that on the surface, as from my point of view, the trigger for this switch are Min’s words. First he offered help. Then he predicted Yoon Seungho’s arrival, so that Jihwa was deceived. Black Heart had already prepared his move. He created the illusion that “To Help you” was genuine, as his prediction had become true. For me, “to help you” played a huge role, as Min is well aware of the red-haired noble’s personality. He knows that the neglected child has never been willing to take any responsibility, letting others take the blame. There’s a reason for that: Min was his teacher, The Joker who never got caught himself. For Jihwa, the idiom “to help you” is a synonym for reliability. Therefore he has the impression that thanks to Black Heart, he can keep avoiding any accountability. But Min, as The Joker, will be the one teaching him a lesson. The latter has already planned for Jihwa to take the fall, making him believe that the commoners (Heena, Kim and eventually Nameless) will be blamed for the painter’s second kidnapping. What Jihwa fails to realize is that since Black Heart revealed his secret twice, the latter needs to put a neat, clean ending, so that no one will realize the existence of a mastermind behind the second kidnapping. My prediction is that Min has already calculated Jihwa’s death. This is the devil talking, when he voices those words: He is tempting Jihwa. The Joker was there, when Yoon Seungho warned the former friend and used his sword against him. That’s why the Joker could only laugh, when he saw Jihwa trembling after seeing the weapon so closely. He had to contain his laugh and smile behind his hand. He saw it as a confirmation that the noble would retaliate, if Baek Na-Kyum got abducted a second time. The lord wouldn’t even question his childhood friend. That way, Min would be able to get away, while Yoon Seungho would have to face infuriated aristocrats who would despise him for killing one of their fellows for a low-born. Imagine the destruction he is preparing, just to taste the painter.

That’s how strong his desire and needs are. The devastation he is plotting mirrors the power of his feelings or better said obsession. There’s no doubt that the kiss worsened his condition. That’s why he waited at Jihwa’s door the next morning. He could barely contain his impatience and his jealousy. The lord was far from being in a good mood. His smile is actually an expression of his anger and resent. As time passed on, his desire for the artist got so strong that at the end, he felt the need to approach Yoon Seungho’s mansion. But there, he had to see the painter’s smooth legs in the main lead’s arms. And now, imagine Min’s face, when he saw this: even the merchant, who never had sex with a man before was already bewitched by them. And now, you comprehend why Min has the sensation that he has been bewitched and can’t escape from this attraction. Therefore, it becomes comprehensible why Min wishes to have Jihwa killed in the end. He resents him for putting him in a misery. He had ordered his red-haired servant to bring him the painter, but the childish man had not only disobeyed him twice, but he had made it more difficult for Min to obtain the painter. Yoon Seungho would be on his guard now. That’s the other reason why Black Heart has already projected Jihwa’s death.

But why doesn’t Jihwa realize that? Why doesn’t he use his brain or his ears? I mean, Yoon Seungho warned him, but in reality he was asking Jihwa to stop meddling in his life. In other words, Yoon Seungho was still lenient, as he didn’t ask for a punishment. The only thing the noble needed to do was to avoid his friend’s path. But the problem is that Jihwa got so anxious, as he had been caught that he could no longer think straight. His anxiety was so strong that he wasn’t even able to walk. Observe the presence of The Joker on the windscreen. Since the aristocrat is so paralyzed by his anxiety, his weakened condition explains why he falls for Black Heart’s manipulation so easily. At the same time, this drawing illustrates that Jihwa’s fear is more linked to getting caught than to Yoon Seungho’s wrath. Let’s not forget that in chapter 59, the readers heard about the protagonist’s rage shocking the noble with the mole. Yet, Jihwa didn’t seem to upset and traumatized after that, which the friend noted. He was even surprised that the red-haired noble was able to maintain his relationship with his childhood friend. I see it as a proof that his angst is linked to apprehension and arrest. That’s why I believe that the advice given by Min before the appearance of the main lead played a huge role. Since Jihwa has internalized avoidance and escapism, assistance sounds like avoidance of responsibility. And now, you understand, Jihwa has been following his “teacher”‘s rules so faithfully: This explicates why The Joker knows how to manipulate the young man. Note that in this scene, he is actually contradicting his own doctrine. While the red-haired aristocrat decided to run away (escapism), the devil convinced him otherwise. Yet, the childish protagonist was not able to notice the hypocrisy and the lies. Yoon Seungho had indeed proposed a neat and clean ending: Never to cross his path. Nothing was clearer and neater than the sword swayed next to his face. He never expressed the desire to get revenge or to have him punished. However, Jihwa couldn’t think properly, too emotionally upset. Besides, the manhwaworms can perceive in the panel above that the red-haired noble is is hiding his face and covering his ears, unable to face reality and truth. Consequently, he is blind and deaf so that he is not able to perceive evil standing right in front of him.

As a first conclusion, Min is seducing Jihwa for the second time, asking his disciple to follow his rules: Baek Na-Kyum’s abduction, rape and murder. The irony is that The Joker presents himself as savior to his terrified servant, making him believe that he just needs to follow his instructions. Like I mentioned above, there’s no doubt that Min is planning to use Heena noona and even Kim. First, he heard from the guardian that people believed that the sister was involved in the artist’s disappearance. Secondly, he saw the uproar she caused at the entrance of the propriety. Moreover, the Joker must have noticed how Kim was standing at the door, yet the latter never stopped him and allowed him to be pushed away. This gesture signalized that the valet was a pushover. Besides, I have to admit that I am suspecting Kim to have met Min during that night in chapter 52/53/54. Back then, I was wondering where the man was, when the door of Baek Na-Kyum’s study was destroyed and when Deok-Jae fled. Furthermore, between the time Yoon Seungho brought Baek Na-Kyum to his room and Black Heart’s return, minutes elapsed… yet Kim never intervened. I have the impression, he played a similar role than during the night of the rape. He acted in the shadow, following his favorite philosophy: He is very similar to Jihwa, he is avoiding any responsibility by faking ignorance, whereas Jihwa has not learned to recognize evil and wrongdoings. Therefore I believe that The Joker must have recognized the butler’s true personality. Besides, because the valet doesn’t want to get into trouble with a noble, he can only accept any request from them. To sum up, in my opinion, the Joker’s plan is to involve Nameless, Heena noona and Kim, but he will make Jihwa the scapegoat. In Black Heart’s plot, his disciple killed the artist due to his fiery jealousy, whereas he tells the “monkey” that commoners like Heena noona will be blamed for this. However, Min already talked to Kim and asked him to let Heena noona to meet her brother. Min is expecting that the gisaeng will try to convince her brother to escape from the mansion. She just needs to get the opportunity to speak with Baek Na-Kyum. These words are important, as it shows that Kim has already envisaged what she will say to him. Hence Kim said this: he doesn’t need to say anything, while at the same time, he is putting the whole blame on her. He will say that he had no idea that she entered the mansion, therefore he justified his intervention: Kim has many reasons to act like this. First, the lord noticed his lack of competence (chapter 65) , secondly the painter caused him so many worries that he can only consider the low-born as a source of trouble now. Min must have convinced him that he won’t get caught due to the gisaeng’s intervention and scream. Besides Jihwa will get suspected, if a second kidnapping occurs. Therefore, he can always feign ignorance.

And now, you will ask the role played by the second Joker, Nameless. Where does he intervene? In order to answer that question, it is important to examine the circumstances which led to the first abduction. The reason is simple. Since this story is based on the principle, “history is repeating itself”, this signifies that the second crime will be similar, yet the chronology and the roles will be switched.

  1. Min as instigator at his friend’s house
  2. First, the crime was postponed, for Nameless hoped that Jihwa would change his mind: DELAY. This signifies that time passed on leading to the second lead’s agony: IMPATIENCE
  3. Nameless hired Deok-Jae as spy: SPY
  4. Deok-Jae was asked to push Baek Na-Kyum to leave the mansion which ended up in a failure: FIRST ATTEMPT FAILED
  5. Min saw the incident with Deok-Jae, the latter could escape: BRUTAL BEATING, ESCAPE
  6. Kim brought the painter to the doctor without his lord’s permission: VISIT TO THE DOCTOR
  7. The doctor saw something but out of fear, he remained silent: WITNESS
  8. In Nameless’ opinion, Jihwa’s fake letter contributed to organize the crime: JIHWA’S ROLE
  9. Deok-Jae’s death due to blackmail: SERVANT’S DEATH
  10. Nameless told him that Jihwa would have to make the choice and take his responsibility: RESPONSIBILITY
  11. The consequence: an uproar in town due to the behavior of Yoon Seungho’s servants.

If you look at the summary, you’ll notice that we have 4 persons involved in the first kidnapping: Min, Jihwa, Nameless and Deok-Jae. Yet, Kim and the physician helped them indirectly, as Kim allowed the artist to leave the mansion without his lord’s permission and the physician acted, as though he saw nothing. In other words, we have 6 participants. Therefore, I believe that there will be another person involved in the second abduction beside Nameless, Min, Jihwa, Heena and Kim. This seems to corroborate my theory that Nameless has already planted a spy at Yoon Seungho’s mansion. But there’s another person who could play an important role in the second kidnapping: the head-maid of the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong: I am not saying that she will help them, but she will be involved, because she will help the noble and the painter.

Now, I will explain my prediction. The numbers at the beginning of each paragraph are referring to the list of the elements for the first kidnapping.

1./2. What caught my attention is the importance of time and how the first crime got delayed. Since I portrayed Min as extremely impatient due to his strong desire to taste the painter, I believe that he will be the one suffering the most!! (DELAY, IMPATIENCE) The Joker is fell into his own trap! Why?

4. His plan to use Heena noona will fail (1. ATTEMPT FAILED). From my point of view, Baek Na-Kyum will reject her offer and explain that he prefers staying at the mansion. Let’s not forget that the painter dreamed of Yoon Seungho while resting. His dream was a mixture of dream and reality, yet as you know, the artist’s dream has always come true. Besides, when he woke up, he imagined that he was seeing his lord, exposing his desire to have him by his side. That’s why I believe that Baek Na-Kyum won’t follow her suggestion. Besides, the manhwaphiles shouldn’t forget that the head-maid was heading to the painter’s chamber. Consequently, I am expecting a new version from chapter 46. From my point of view, her words will have an influence on the low-born and his sister. Another evidence for this theory is the incident in Baek Na-Kyum’s study in chapter 53. The artist refused to leave the propriety, although he was hurt by Deok-Jae. In my opinion, the commoner will reject her offer so that Min is forced to wait. Imagine Min’s torments!! They will be so different from Jihwa’s. I have the feeling that unlike his disciple who drank to hide his anxieties, the lord Min will resort to opium. Min’s new hanbok in chapter 56 exposes his transformation: the pattern reminds the readers of the opium smoke. Furthermore, his return was announced with this picture: There’s no doubt for me that Min will get caught and will suffer the consequences of his manipulations. Since The Joker’s return, I have always predicted his death: he gets suffocated due to strangulation. First, Yoon Seungho broke the pheasant’s neck during the hunt with Min (chapter 41). The blood on his hands comes from the wounds caused by the arrows. But I also noticed a progression, how the lord used his hands during the second season: from this (chapter 61) to this (chapter 67). His hands are getting closer to the throat, for me a clue that Yoon Seungho will eliminate his rival personally.

6. Because of his impatience and his increasing urges, I sense that Min will decide to put Kim under pressure, either directly or through Jihwa. Since the domestic is a pushover, he will be forced to follow the order. That’s why Kim will have to lie to the painter. I have the impression that he will use the sister as excuse. She desires to meet him outside the mansion. It is also possible that a visit to the doctor could be the cause for the artist to believe the hypocrite valet. (BAEK NA-KYUM’s VISIT AS CAUSE FOR HIS DISAPPEARANCE) Kim will lead Baek Na-Kyum to the trap. Honestly, I am expecting a new version of chapter 29, when Jung In-Hun led the painter back to the mansion. Yet, this time it will be the other way around.

9. This time, valet Kim won’t be able to escape his fate. He will be executed by his own master in the end (SERVANT’S DEATH). I doubt that Yoon Seungho will believe his words:

7./ 11. In my perspective, his departure will be noticed. Since Kim can’t ask the low-born to leave during the night, the second attempt will happen during the day. Because Kim and Baek Na-Kyum will walk through town, inhabitants will notice their move. Remember how Jung In-Hun felt uncomfortable, when Baek Na-Kyum met him on the street. He was annoyed, as he feared people’s gaze and asked the painter to follow him to an isolated place. Since I am imagining a new version of chapter 29, I am expecting that Baek Na-Kyum’s walk through town will attract people’s attention. Let’s not forget that in chapter 64, his escape caused a huge uproar, and I doubt that people will have already forgotten the artist. Since the low-born was seen many times in that town and no one paid attention to him before, Kim will imagine that no one will notice the artist. Remember that no one observed them, when they went to the doctor for the first time. And in the mean time, Baek Na-Kyum won’t leave the propriety for the time being. However, Kim is not expecting that people will witness him.

10./8/ 3 As for Nameless, I believe that he will play a similar role: he will ask Jihwa to become responsible and no longer avoid his wrongdoings, as Jihwa played a role in the second crime. I also think, the criminal will force him to witness the consequences of his choices and will refuse to take the fall. I am still expecting that Jihwa will be punished for Deok-Jae’s death. It is still possible that the red-haired noble changes his mind, and tries to stop the second abduction. There’s no doubt that Min’s plan will affect the second lead’s relationship with the criminal. I have the feeling that Nameless will play a key role in Min’s demise. First, the Joker has truly perceived Nameless’ true role: Do you remember that a buffoon is a synonym for “joker”? From my point of view, Nameless has already placed a spy at Yoon Seungho’s mansion. I am still convinced that the new guardian is giving info to the criminal due to his explanations to Min. His words reflected the butcher’s plan so well, besides he was so sure for the desertion without feeling angry and hurt. Sure, I made a mistake and mistook the man at Jihwa’s mansion as the same person due to the color of the shirt. However, this doesn’t mean that Nameless abandoned the idea of planting a spy. He warned the painter not to talk. From my point of view, the butcher never expected the lord’s reaction. Imagine, his servants caused such an uproar so that Nameless should have realized that his attempt to transform the disappearance into a normal escape failed. And if my assumption about the guardian as spy is correct, Nameless will realize that there’s a mastermind behind the abduction… especially if Jihwa argues with him about the discovery and reproaches him his bad work. I have to admit that I am uncertain about the criminal’s role. It is definitely possible that Jihwa is asked to contact Nameless again. Let’s not forget, Min believes that Nameless is someone who will do anything for money. He can’t imagine that the criminal was the one who convinced the red-haired noble not to commit the murder. However, this time the butcher will refuse. Even if Jihwa’s involvement has been revealed, I doubt that the criminal is not aware of Yoon Seungho’s visit to the family Lee. Since Yoon Seungho didn’t retaliate against Jihwa and only warned him, Nameless has no reason to intervene first. From my point of view, it looks like Yoon Seungho is still not looking too closely to the circumstances of the abduction and Deok-Jae’s servant. But it could change, forcing Nameless to intervene. Due to my previous analyses about Nameless, I came to the conclusion that he represents Jihwa’s conscience, hence he is his liberator. Consequently Nameless can eventually become Jihwa’s hands again, yet this time, Jihwa will never be able to escape his fate: he will be caught and be forced to become responsible. As you can sense, I am still unsure about Nameless’ actions. My instinct is to say that he will refuse to help the red-haired noble first, but could change his mind. One thing is sure: Nameless will confront Jihwa and let him see the consequences of his decisions. I am still hoping that he plays a huge role in the discovery of the mastermind, but there’s nothing sure, as Byeonduck prefers characters with flaws. In her story, there’s no hero, except the artist, if we overlook his lies in the beginning.

My prediction is that Baek Na-Kyum’s second abduction won’t be successful due to Nameless, the presence of witnesses and Min’s miscalculations. The latter will become impatient. Secondly, he doesn’t pay attention to commoners and is underestimating the butcher’s influence on Jihwa. Finally, he is underestimating his opponent Yoon Seungho and his own obsession for the painter. In this scene, Min is not only lying to Jihwa, but also to himself. I doubt, that his thirst for the artist will be satisfied with a single sex session. Like I mentioned it before, Min became fascinated by the artist’s gaze oozing desire and purity. Furthermore, I believe that the artist will resist this time due to the scene at the pavilion in chapter 25, it is still possible that he is able to escape too. Finally, the lord will know for sure that the artist didn’t run away from him this time. That’s why he will use other means to find his lover: that’s how the purge will take place. As you can anticipate it, my predictions are based on observations, therefore it can definitely turn out differently. Yet, I think the list I made could be helpful to envision the evolution of the story. In other words, you are more than welcome to imagine a different story about the second kidnapping.

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.

Painter Of The Night: Absence

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 11 Comments

This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents:  https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/

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

The chapter 67 caught me by surprise, because it proved me wrong in one aspect: Lee Jihwa is not like Baek Na-Kyum, in the sense that he is no orphan. The red-haired aristocrat has a father, an old-bearded man. (chapter 67) My first thought was: “Where were you all this time?”

I couldn’t help myself laughing, when Yoon Seungho barged into Lee’s mansion in chapter 67, because I immediately connected it to chapter 3, when the protagonist visited his childhood friend early in the morning. Back then, he barged with an erected phallus (chapter 3) and had sex with Jihwa at the pavilion, where both were not quiet at all. The red-haired noble kept even moaning. (chapter 3) Their intercourse was noticeable, but at no moment father Lee interrupted them. And now, the erected phallus was switched to a sword, and unlike in chapter 3, where the second lead was eager to meet his sex partner, the master chose to hide behind a windscreen. (chapter 67) However, this time father Lee intervened. Why all of the sudden? For the first time, his son caused a real trouble, because someone entered his house with a sword: a huge scandal! Furthermore, he must have realized that his son’s life was in danger, hence he had to intervene. The domestics couldn’t deal with such a powerful noble. And now, you understand why I couldn’t restrain myself from smiling, because the father Lee’s reproach sounded so hypocrite. (chapter 67) Where was he, when Yoon Seungho had sex at the pavilion? Why didn’t he intervene, especially if he sees the main lead as responsible for his son’s debauchery?

Because of this question, I was reminded of the song called “Papaoutai” from Stromae, a French speaking singer from Belgium. I am posting the video with the english subtitles.

In this song, the singer outlines the importance of fathers for children. However, he does it by criticizing their absence (Papaoutai = Papa où tu es?/ Papa, where are you?). Although this represents his main message, he also questions the role played by fathers in our modern societies. He points out that’s easy to become a father biologically, but being a father symbolizes responsibilities. He explains it, men don’t become fathers naturally, since it is a work process: “nobody knows how to make Papas” / Mister “know-it-all” would’ve inherited it, is that it? Does it come from sucking our thumbs, or what”. Moreover, for him many fathers don’t take their role seriously (“Genitors or genius, tell us who gives birth to irresponsibles”). The author exposes that a father needs to think a lot about his role as father. As a conclusion, the singer would like men to become more responsible for raising their children.

And it is time to return our attention to Painter Of The Night. Byeonduck utilizes her work to show the importance of fathers in sons’ life, as she exposes different types of negative behavior of fathers.

First, we have Father Lee. He only appeared after 66 episodes. His absence had given the impression that he was inexistent and Jihwa was an orphan. We could describe father Lee as ghost. And now, you understand why I chose such a title: Absence. What does it mean for children, when their father is not by their side?

Absence of parents is a synonym for parental neglect. What is child neglect exactly? There are 6 different types of child neglect:

  1. Physical Neglect or Deprivation of Needs Neglect
  2. Medical Neglect
  3. Educational Neglect
  4. Emotional Neglect
  5. Supervisory Neglect
  6. Environmental Neglect from https://www.kaplanco.com/ii/six-types-of-neglect

Many people think that this situation only happens in families with a low income, because it is related to physical and supervisory neglect which is more visible. However reality is different. We find neglected children in wealthy families. How so? The affluent children live in comfort, but they are often starved of love and affection (Emotional Neglect). This happens, when parents are too busy to spend time with their children. Therefore they hire personal to take care of their children or send them to boarding school. As you can imagine, Lee Jihwa is a child suffering from supervisory, emotional and educational neglect.

Since Father Lee relies on his servants to take care of his son, they are not qualified or responsible enough to care for him (supervisory neglect). Due to their lower status, they are not allowed to teach him or reprimand him. That’s why in chapter 9, only the servant asked Jihwa where he was going so early at dawn. Jihwa had not to justify his departure to his father. Then in chapter 41, one domestic finds the young man sleeping on the street, while looking for him. (chapter 41) He spent the whole night drinking and his father never asked about his whereabouts. He never showed any concern, as he has his staff to take care of him. In other words, he put the whole responsibility on the domestics. After confessing to Yoon Seungho in public, no servant shows up and takes care of him indicating that neither father Lee nor the staff heard about the scandal. Nameless was the one who was asked by the inn owner, if he could take care of the young noble. (chapter 59) He even gave him a dry robe and a home for the night. Since the servant only showed up the next morning in chapter 41 and he didn’t even appear during the night in chapter 59, it illustrates that the staff is more attached to the mansion than to the impulsive noble himself in truth.

This is not surprising that in chapter 67, the servant does his best to protect his master. Despite his rude behavior in chapter 50 (chapter 50), he is even willing to risk his life . (chapter 67) He simply follows his master’s request, as he feels, that’s his duty and lord Lee could ask for his accountability. (chapter 67) Amazing, when you compare it to Kim’s behavior. We could say that the staff does feel responsible for their young master to a certain extent. Why? I believe, they all know that father Lee doesn’t pay attention to his young son and they are now responsible for him. On the other hand, their care is limited, because they are domestics to the mansion. They are not obliged to give him the emotional comfort and the education he needs. As long as there’s no real scandal, then everything is fine in father Lee and the staff’s mind. Remember that in chapter 45, the town folks described the second lead as the “mistress”, showing that even they had noticed the lord’s movements, whereas father Lee has no knowledge about it. (chapter 45) That’s how isolated the father is cut off from reality and world. This is not surprising that his son resembles him, he also lives in his own world.

But what are the consequences of emotional neglect? I would like to quote a passage from a website in French (translated)

It can also be so because a lack of love and human contact hinders its development. In some cases, neglect traps the child in sensory isolation, slowly and continuously undermining his or her mind to the point where there is little desire to connect with others and explore the world. Thus, parental neglect is a terrible absence. http://educationsante.be/article/la-negligence-parentale-est-une-terrible-absence/

Remember how I had described the red-haired noble, before Nameless helped him to become more responsible: I compared him to a blind and deaf person , which corresponds to the expression “sensory isolation”. Back then, I had imagined that he had been abused as well. I was wrong, since it was just neglect which I had already detected. However, the consequences of such a severe neglect are as terrible as abuse. Consequently, abuse and neglect are often considered the same.

Now, I will list how neglect affects the child’s personality (I won’t add to each characteristic a picture):

  1. Extremely low tolerance for frustration (chapter 13) (chapter 13); aggression (chapter 17)
  2. Sense of entitlement (chapter 51)
  3. Lack of appropriate guilt (chapter 59) In chapter 56, Jihwa sent a fake letter reminding Yoon Seungho of his trauma, yet he acts as if the other is to blame and shows no remorse. That’s why many children suffering from emotional neglect have problems with rules and laws.
  4. Lack of coping skills: Jihwa is unable to accept any rejection or criticism. We could observe this in chapter 5, when the lord sent him away. He didn’t pay attention to the reason why Yoon Seungho couldn’t focus on him.
  5. Boredom (chapter 9)
  6. Lack of purpose: This explicates why Jihwa was so obsessed to obtain his friend’s love. Since he has been neglected by his own father, the main lead became his “surrogate” father, who gave him attention because he criticized him and even punished him.
  7. Blaming others (chapter 57)
  8. Reduced empathy
  9. Poor planning skills: When he enters Yoon Seungho’s mansion in chapter 17, he is not able to hide his frustration and starts assaulting the painter so that he creates a ruckus. That’s how Jihwa is caught. As for the kidnapping and murder, he left the whole responsibility on the commoner. He never paid attention to his actions and whereabouts. He believed the criminal and that was it. Sure, Nameless didn’t take advantage from Jihwa, but this shows that he relies too much on others. This is not surprising that the second lead listens to Min’s words and manipulation (chapter 67), although he had lied to him in the past.
  10. Difficulties with competition: this explains why he uses tricks to act behind the painter’s back.
  11. Problems withstanding peer pressure quoted from https://www.paracelsus-recovery.com/blog/affluent-neglect/
  12. depression
  13. Anxiety (chapter 67)
  14. Low self-esteem
  15. substance misuse (chapter 50)
  16. shunning emotional closeness or intimacy: That’s why Jihwa kept waiting for the main lead’s confession. https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/childhood-emotional-neglect#symptoms-in-children

The effects of neglect are such that it leaves sequels on so many levels: socially, emotionally, intellectually and psychologically. Children exposed to neglect are at a greater risk of developing conduct disorders and of participating in delinquent behavior, which is visible in the red-haired figure: he trespasses proprieties, ruins a painting, he even had the painter kidnapped. Due to his scheme, the vicious servant Deok-Jae was killed. Then their knowledge and cognitive capacities are diminished, which is also perceptible in the young man. The latter is not able to recognize evil at all, hence he can’t detect hypocrisy and manipulations. And this leads me to the following observation: Byeonduck chose the monkey as an animal for Jihwa. The manhwaphiles can see the singe in the windscreen. (red circle). Because of the character’s previous deafness and blindness, I immediately connected it to the wise 3 monkeys:

The Three Wise Monkeys Royalty Free Cliparts, Vectors, And Stock Illustration. Image 35588575.

In Asia, the monkeys are considered as wise, because they represent proper behavior. Confucius says:

“Look not at what is contrary to propriety, listen not what is contrary to propriety and finally speak not what is contrary to propriety.”

In other words, the 3 monkeys serve as role model. One should behave properly by avoiding any form of evil. Since Min is the Joker, also visible in the windscreen (yellow circle), it explains why Jihwa has become such a bully in the end. Min became his role model replacing the father. Consequently, the red-haired aristocrat can’t recognize evil. That’s why Lee Jihwa appeared as a spoiled child with a delinquent behavior in the end. Byeonduck is displaying the extreme consequences of a father’s the absence. And this leads me to the next question: what is the role of a father in the end?

“The function of the father is to separate the child from the mother. He must intervene between the mother and the child to allow the child to develop his identity outside the maternal symbiosis” from https://www.psycho-ressources.com/bibli/fonction-pere.html

And now, the manhwaphiles comprehend why the red-haired noble has such a low self-esteem. (chapter 67) This is is visible in this panel. The character can’t even stand. Min, the Joker and surrogate father, treats Jihwa as his servant and punishes him, because he had not followed his order. Jihwa has not entirely developed his identity, since he has always lived in his own limited world. A father has not only to provide security and comfort, he helps the child to learn self-control and boundaries. A father is associated to rules and should teach his child how to channel aggressivity. In other words, he serves as a role model for the child. But with the absence of a father, this is impossible. And since the domestics belong to the lower social class, Lee Jihwa always had the upper hand and could do anything: his father never appeared, when Jihwa was destroying his room with his sword in chapter 21. Besides, father Lee never paid attention to the friends his son had. He blames Yoon Seungho for his son’s debauchery, yet at no moment he intervened in the past. The main lead is correct to blame the father and put his son in a different light. (chapter 67) And now, the readers can understand the role Nameless is slowly taking over: he will be the father and lover teaching him how to recognize evil and even think critically. We saw Jihwa rejecting Min’s advice (chapter 67), but it was short-lived due to Yoon Seungho’s appearance. We have to assume that Yoon Seungho played the role of the father after the former had been abandoned by his own father. However, he could never assume this function properly, as he was suffering himself and couldn’t give him the emotional and educational comfort Jihwa needed. Let’s not forget that the protagonist chose to ignore his own feelings, to even numb them. Hence it was impossible for them to connect emotionally.

After discerning Father Lee’s behavior, I could easily portray father Yoon, who stands in opposition to father Lee. He is a controlling father using his sons as his pawns and tools for his own career. Here, I gathered the characteristics for a controlling parent:

  1. Interfering in nearly every aspect of the child’s life.
  2. Criticizing any choice a child tries to make independently.
  3. High, truly unattainable standards.
  4. Conditional love.
  5. Rigid (and unrealistic) rules.
  6. Lack of empathy and respect.
  7. Unreasonably harsh punishment. 8. 
  8. Lack of appreciation for the child’s individuality.
  9. Expecting the child to act like a parent.
  10. Manipulation through gifts.
  11. Playing on guilt and/or shame. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/signs-of-controlling-parents-and-how-to-cope-as-adult

This explicates why Yoon Seungho had been longing to see admiration and love in his father’s gaze, always hoping that at some point he would get it. The existence of the rules I elaborated is a proof of this abusive parent. And now, you understand why Father Yoon described his eldest son as ill, suffering from wayward yang. (chapter 57) “wayward” is a synonym for rebellious indicating that Yoon Seungho had started questioning his father’s behavior and words. Simultaneously, I believe that the father judged his son’s behavior as too childish, thus he said that he had been suffering from an illness for a long time. The adolescence represents an important step in the child’s development. That’s the moment when a teenager decides to take his distance from his father in order to find his own identity. Since the main lead was described as intelligent, it was normal that the main character would decide to make his own decision and could sense his father’s flaws. Consequently father Yoon could only see the critical remarks as a sign of insubordination. This is not surprising that he blamed his son, when something happened due to Jihwa. (chapter 67) Since Father Lee never paid attention to his own son’s behavior, the former was more than pleased to hear that Yoon Seungho was responsible for an incident. Father Lee was following the rule:

The Three Wise Monkeys Royalty Free Cliparts, Vectors, And Stock Illustration. Image 35588575.

But unlike before, this is the Western interpretation: he acts as if he doesn’t see evil or hear evil. He will never talk badly about his son. That way, he escapes any responsibility for his son’s failures. But like Confucius wrote:

“The father who does not teach his son his duties is equally guilty with the son who neglects them”.

From my point of view, father Lee will pay a huge price for his negligence due to his son. I saw in the chapter 67 a confirmation that Jihwa will cause a huge tragedy which ends with a terrible punishment. It is getting more probable that Jihwa will lose his title as noble (chapter 67) and it is even possible that he gets a scar or a tattoo. (chapter 67) This scene was important as it represented a new version of chapter 18. This time, the lord aimed at Jihwa’s face and the servant was not harmed. The main lead put the whole responsibility on the former friend.

But since I had described the role played by the servants in the Lee mansion, it is also important to take a look at the domestic’s function, when father Yoon was the master of the house. What caught my attention is that father Yoon has been also represented like a ghost, very similar to father Lee. However, while the latter represents lack of interests for the son, the other stands in opposition to this. He is everywhere due to his servants. All of them were asked to pay attention to his children and their behavior. In other words, he is also absent. The domestics must have reported him everything. And now, you can understand why Yoon Seungho kept his distance from his staff as the lord of the mansion. He didn’t want to be observed by them, that’s why he relied more on Kim in the end. With his help, he could maintain a certain gap and escape their “monitoring”. There is another evidence for this theory: remember that Yoon Seungho asked his servants through Kim to pay a closer look at Baek Na-Kyum, but they didn’t take his request very seriously. Hence the painter could escape the mansion in chapter 29. And you all know that the artist is reliving the noble’s past. This explicates why Yoon Seungho targeted the amateur spy in chapter 18, he was reminded of his own past. He could only get furious.

However, there’s another huge difference in the role played by Father Yoon’s servants. Since they only had to report to him, that means that they didn’t need to take any responsibility, as the lord was the one who made all the decisions afterwards. And now, you understand why Kim rejects any form of responsibility by saying (chapter 65). Father Yoon put a lot of trust in valet Kim in the end, as he relied on his information. This is another evidence for me that Kim is responsible for the main lead’s suffering. Since father Yoon was relying on Kim’s eyes and ears, his perception got changed and this in a negative way. That’s how he became blind. He contributed to the terror ruling at the mansion, but since Kim was kind and caring, Yoon Seungho believed this illusion, while Kim was his biggest spy. I am quite sure that he played a major role, when Yoon Seungho got separated from Lee Jihwa and received his reeducation therapy. For me, there’s no doubt that his responsibility kept getting bigger, when he saw the main lead getting raped, and he decided to close the door and ignore the incident. He just needed to say that this was not his business. Another possibility is that he could justify his choice by saying that it was done for the main lead’s best interest. Let’s not forget that Kim was the one who presented the physician to father Yoon. (chapter 57) There’s no doubt that father Yoon put all his trust in Kim. This explicates why Kim acts, as if he had the authority to give orders. (chapter 67) He must have developed this habit, because father Yoon gave him some power. Observe that he sometimes dresses like a noble (chapter 57) due to the hat and the robe. What caught my attention is that he acts behind his lord’s back, when the latter is absent. (chapter 68) Besides, since this story is based on the principe that history keeps repeating itself, then Yoon Seungho is making the same mistake like his father. However, Yoon Seungho will realize it thanks to the painter and the head-maid. Father Yoon put all his trust in his valet, unable to recognize evil in his butler. Just a reminder:

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” from Edmund Burke

This is not just about silence and passivity, it is also about responsibility. Note that in chapter 67, Kim voices that he has been given the permission (chapter 67), so he is not assuming anything in case something happens. And in front of Heena noona and Baek Na-Kyum, he has the same attitude: (chapter 67) if Heena noona gets caught, then they can’t put the blame on him. He will feign ignorance. He has no idea how she entered the mansion. He is also applying the saying from the three monkeys:

The Three Wise Monkeys Royalty Free Cliparts, Vectors, And Stock Illustration. Image 35588575.

He didn’t see or hear anything. He won’t tattle too. Nonetheless, he is acting only like that, when it concerns Yoon Seungho. It is a different story, when it comes to father Yoon. That’s why Kim still keeps thinking about his previous master. (chapter 57) By examining Kim again, I have to admit that I suddenly had this question: who gave the painting to Yoon Seung-Won? Did the valet act on the lord’s order? (chapter 37) Or did he decide to act on his own? Let’s not forget that during that evening, the valet had been reprimanded by Yoon Seung-Won for lying to him. It is possible that the valet chose to give the painting in order to put the blame on Yoon Seungho, as he feared that the young master could report his lie and behavior to father Yoon. The latter might not be present at the mansion, but there’s no doubt that he asked his trusted servant to keep an eye on his eldest son, whom he considered as a troublemaker. This would explain why the main lead keeps taking the medicine. And now, you can grasp why Kim is more loyal to father Yoon than his actual master. The latter gives him more freedom, yet he expects from him more responsibility. Under the ruling of father Yoon, the butler could avoid any trouble by tattling on the young master Yoon Seungho or by faking ignorance, when it was necessary. Since father Yoon put all his trust in the valet, he was not able to see evil or hear evil in the end. Kim framed innocents or he feigned ignorance. As a conclusion, Father Yoon was put in the same situation than father Lee due to Kim’s actions.

As a final conclusion, Byeonduck’s work exposes the huge importance of a father in a child’s development. Unfortunately many people still think that mothers are much more important than fathers. This explicates why in many countries, mothers receive more often custody of their child than fathers. Yet, the judges seldom question the mother’s abilities. The irony is that mothers are not per se good mothers, exactly like Stromae described it in his song, although he only talked about fathers: “Mister “know-it-all” would’ve inherited it, is that it? Does it come from sucking our thumbs, or what”. This applies to mothers as well. Being a parent means work, dedication and affection. There’s nothing intuitive.

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.

Painter Of The night: Pandora’s box – part 1

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 5 Comments

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.

Now, you are wondering how this story from Greek mythology is connected to the manhwa. [I am posting links for people who are not familiar with this story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNk-zV2T7bI https://www.thoughtco.com/what-was-pandoras-box-118577] While examining Min, I recognized his ultimate weapons, knowledge and as such secrets, and these elements play a huge part in Pandora’s box.

Prometheus brought humans fire, a sign for knowledge, and Zeus decided to punish Prometheus and humankind, by creating Pandora, the first woman. The latter had flaws hidden behind her beautiful face and gentle manners, curiosity was one of them. In other words, she was a poisonous gift, but Epimetheus, Prometheus’ brother, didn’t realize it. When Pandora was entrusted with the box, her curiosity couldn’t help her from opening the lid of the box, that’s how diseases and catastrophes appeared on Earth bringing misery to humankind. Pandora desired to know the content of the box, it means, she wished to discover the secrets of that box. As you can observe, in this story knowledge is associated to punishment. Humankind should be punished, because they had fire brought by Prometheus. At the same time, when the box was opened, the secrets in form of diseases and other misfortunes were revealed, bringing misery to people. And strangely, Epimetheus discovered in the box the last secret: a butterfly embodying hope. With hope, life on Earth was still bearable. Hope was the solution to the released secrets. And in Painter of The Night, the painter is represented by the butterfly (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?

I am quite sure that the manhwalovers have already found an answer: Min, since the latter uses knowledge and secrets as his tool in order to achieve his goals. Let me you give an illustration. In chapter 36, 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.

And now, you understand why Min used the same method to wound Yoon Seungho in chapter 52/53/54. He ridiculed the protagonist because the latter was treating the low-born like a precious treasure. 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.

What caught my attention is that in chapter 43, Black Heart used his knowledge about Jihwa’s love for Yoon Seungho in order to manipulate the childhood friend. He described the painter, Jihwa’s rival, as a manipulative witch 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.

Then in chapter 56, in front of Jihwa, Black Heart voiced his wish to taste the painter, exposing his interest for the low-born. 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.

I consider the chapter 66 as the turning point for Min. The latter is not aware that he is jeopardizing his position, too sure about his superiority and his knowledge. Let’s not forget that Min made a terrible mistake in chapter 66. 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.

As a conclusion, chapter 66 displays Min’s miscalculations. He thought, he knew Yoon Seungho well, while he didn’t. Why? It is related to Jihwa’s knowledge. The latter keeps saying that he knows the protagonist, whereas it is not correct, as he doesn’t understand what the main lead went through. 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?

Black Heart saw Yoon Seungho’s protective attitude towards the commoner. First, he would refuse to share him (chapter 33), then the protagonist would humiliate him in order to protect the painter’s identity (chapter 41). Min imagined that Baek Na-Kyum was treated like a treasure, especially due to the incident at the tailor’s shop. In the second season, the main lead had even kissed him in order to protect the low-born , 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: That way, he didn’t need to take the responsibility for the wrongdoing. Since history repeats itself in Painter Of The Night and the past is slowly revealed, we have anticipate that the incidents from the first season will resurface: the rape, the reproach 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.

But there’s another Pandora in this story, someone who uses knowledge and secrets as weapons. Yes, that’s Nameless. There’s no ambiguity that he is using commoners in order to obtain his intel. 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. This panel can be considered as a proof that Nameless misjudged Deok-Jae’s true personality: The latter was in reality greedy! (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.

From my point of view, Nameless will realize that his knowledge was really superficial and led him to make huge mistakes. Besides, he needs to question his role. He might have pitied the painter during that night, yet the criminal acted as their hands. He is an accomplice and is responsible for the nobles’ misdeeds. His actions are the reason why the nobles can be ruthless and violent and still call themselves honorable and pure.

At the same time, I believe, the appearance of the gisaeng will play a huge role as well. I have to admit that since Nameless was seen with the gisaeng (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.

And remember that Pandora’s box was a punishment because humans had received “knowledge” in the form of “fire”. This story is important because it shows that no one can have the whole knowledge and as such possesses truth. And now, you comprehend why Jihwa, the teacher, Nameless and Min made mistakes. It’s because Yoon Seungho never revealed his true thoughts and emotions in front of Jihwa and he never showed his true self in front of Min. Jung In-Hun never got to experience the true power from the main lead. The latter never showed him his real capacities. Finally, the main lead also used rumors in order to deceive people. No one met the real Yoon Seungho, except the painter who got to hear and see everything: his true power (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.

As a final word, all those who imagined that they knew the past, the lord’s true personality and skills, the reality (aristocracy is corrupt, while the commoners are just victims), they will recognize that they were all wrong, the moment the secrets are leaving Pandora’s box. They will be punished for their “knowledge”.

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.

Painter Of The Night / The Beast Must Die: The Joker – part 3 (second version)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 12 Comments

This is where you can read the manhwas. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter   The Beast Must Die: https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/beast_en  But be aware that these manhwas are mature Yaois, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes.

So far, I had compared Min to a snake, a wolf, a crow and a magpie, however my analysis of this character didn’t do him any justice. The moment I recognized the affinities between Min and The Joker, 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:

“In philosophy, nihilism is the complete rejection of moral values and religious beliefs. It is such a negative outlook that it denies any meaning or purpose in life.” https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nihilism#:~:text=In%20philosophy%2C%20nihilism%20is%20the,existing%20political%20and%20social%20institutions.

Due to this association with The Joker, I had the following realization: lord Min seems to suffer from a mental disorder, and to be more accurate, from an Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). The distinction between “sociopath” or “psychopath” is here more or less irrelevant because in the end, the specialists always diagnose such patients as a person suffering from ASPD. Then if you make some research about The Joker’s personality, you will discover that even psychologists and psychiatrists tried to determine his mental issues, that’s how fascinating this supervillain is.

Here, the author Arash Javanbakht M. D. is referring to the character from the movie Joker (2019)

But what caught my attention is that The Joker’s mental disorder changes according to the stories, like the author Scott A. Bonn Ph. D. pointed out. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/wicked-deeds/201911/is-the-joker-psychopath Therefore, it is important to determine the identity of The Joker I am referring to. I have to admit that since Min’s behavior reminds me more of The Joker from The Dark Knight, that’s how I came to the diagnosis of an Antisocial Personality Disorder. If you read the article mentioned above, the author confirms that The Joker’s profile (The Dark Knight, 2008) does fit the characteristics of a psychopath. But since our topic is Min’s personality, it is relevant to describe the symptoms of such a mental disorder. I am just quoting the following symptoms from two websites, other sites showed similar info:

  • socially irresponsible behavior
  • disregarding or violating the rights of others
  • inability to distinguish between right and wrong
  • difficulty with showing remorse or empathy
  • tendency to lie often
  • manipulating and hurting others
  • recurring problems with the law
  • Hostility, significant irritability, agitation, aggression or violence
  • general disregard towards safety and responsibility (quoted from) https://www.healthline.com/health/psychopath#signs /

And when you compare this to Min’s behavior, you’ll notice the similarities which I will outline now. First, he breaks laws and social norms without feeling remorse (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 , chapter 43 . 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 ). He pressures Yoon Seungho to bring the artist to their party so that he can taste him (chapter 33, chapter 52). Observe that although Black Heart is often seen with other aristocrats (chapter 8, chapter 33 chapter 43, 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.

And now you understand why Min enjoys being in Yoon Seungho’s company. If he is capable to manipulate the main lead, then Black Heart will consider it as a proof that he is far superior to the main lead, whom he considers similar to him. That’s the reason why he told his acquaintances that Yoon Seungho was so easy to understand. (chapter 52) This explains why Black Heart continues targeting the main lead with his tricks (chapter 52/53/54). Not only he simply can’t get enough, but also he is determined to prove his supremacy. The manhwaphiles comprehend now why in chapter 66, Min even visits directly the protagonist’s mansion on his own indicating that he has been keeping an eye on Yoon Seungho. Observe that for the first time, he comes alone, unlike in chapter 8 and 52. 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.

Striking is that the author zooms on the character’s mouth and chin, revealing that Min has the intention to hurt Jihwa through the main lead. I noticed a certain pattern: Byeonduck always focused on Min’s mouth each time Min envisioned to hurt someone. Remember this panel from the episode 53:

This was just before the character kissed Baek Na-Kyum. The zoom on his mouth was announcing Min’s mischief. He had planned to irritate the host and desired to annul the painter’s action. The artist’s embrace had stopped the “vengeful ghost, the beast”. But Black Heart wanted the main lead to continue with his violent and irrational behavior in order to be entertained. Note the contradiction between his words (“not the sort to stop simply because someone asks you to”) and his action: he doesn’t ask anyone but steals a kiss from Baek Na-Kyum while separating both protagonists. 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.

But let’s return our attention to Min’s mischievous plan. Observe that in chapter 66, he is doing the same thing again: He says the exact opposite of his true thoughts. While begging for the protagonist’s mercy, he is hoping for the opposite reaction. However, his plan can’t work like in chapter 53 because of the painter’s presence. The reason for this is simple. The lord is embracing the unconscious commoner underlining the importance of the hug. Although Baek Na-Kyum is unconcious here, just his presence is now strong enough to stop Yoon Seungho from getting violent and enraged. Baek Na-Kyum is so vulnerable that the lord can only focus on him, whereas it was the opposite in chapter 53. In other words, this episode marks Min’s defeat. He is not able to manipulate Yoon Seungho like in the past and the painter represents his antidote.

And now, you are wondering why I consider this episode as an evidence for Min’s impulsiveness. It is related to the guardian and Deok-Jae’s death. Min is not aware that a servant among the main lead’s staff has already been killed, therefore he doesn’t realize the consequence of his revelation. Min’s thoughts are always revolving around entertainment and ruckus, hence he doesn’t pay attention to details. He has no idea of the consequences of his intervention. We could already perceive his impulsiveness in chapter 52 , 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. But he fails again, as Yoon Seungho is only seen with the following reaction: 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.

Another affinity to the symptoms for psychopathie is that Min shows a disregard for safety and responsibility. First, he was willing to provoke the protagonist, although he saw that the noble had almost killed a servant with his beating. 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.

And now there’s only one symptom left from the list: “Hostility, significant irritability, agitation, aggression or violence“. So far, we never saw Min becoming irritable or violent, which explains why I didn’t even realize myself his true personality: he is a psychopath. But if you pay attention to my previous observations, you’ll notice a certain MO. He just uses his pawns to hurt others and enjoys seeing people aggressive and in pain. From my perspective, Min will never employ force directly, but prefers using people in order to voice his hostility and aggression. He will never dirty his hands, which stands in opposition to the Korean Batman, Nameless. Yet this doesn’t mean, Black Heart isn’t aggressive at all, quite the opposite. I will name two examples in order to prove my interpretation. Note that Min manipulates Jihwa to have the painter killed soon after Yoon Seungho humiliated Black Heart in the woods. (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.

In the last panel, his smile made me think even more of The Joker than before. He takes pleasure in inciting crimes and imagining people in pain. And now, if you recall The Joker’s behavior in The Dark Knight, you’ll note some similarities. He wants to prove to Batman that even good men can turn into criminals. The Joker is the reason why the famous prosecutor Harvey Dent turns into Two-Face, because he wants to denounce the hypocrisy of Gotham society and its rules. That’s why The Joker keeps breaking laws and committing crimes. He abhors society and its norms, hence he is determined to destroy it. And now, you understand why Min chose Jihwa as his pawn and target in the end. He knew that Jihwa could trigger Yoon Seungho’s violence, he was determined to prove that he could turn a rather innocent man into a criminal.

Furthermore, after reading the following quote,

“When psychopaths view others as prey, their lack of feeling and bonding to others allows them to have unusual clarity in observing the behavior of their intended victims. As demonstrated by the Joker in The Dark Knight, psychopaths are unencumbered by the anxieties and emotions that normal people experience in interpersonal encounters. This is because psychopaths are unable to form emotional attachments or feel real empathy with others, although they often have disarming or even charming personalities.” https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/wicked-deeds/201911/is-the-joker-psychopath

the manhwalovers will notice that Min considered Yoon Seungho as his prey very early on. In my opinion, this conversation played a huge part in his decision: 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.

After showing point after point that Min’s personality shows many signs of ASPD, it is important to understand the real nature of this mental disorder. After comparing him to The Joker and reading the first part of this essay, you have the impression that people suffering from ASPD are all criminals and they are potential serial killers. However, it is not true, because this mental disorder doesn’t necessarily mean that the affected person is a killer. If you pay attention to Min’s words, he keeps talking about fun and scandal. This observation leads me to the following explanation: The Arousal Theory of Motivation. This psychological conception tries to elaborate what stimulates people.

“Each person has a unique arousal level that is right for them. When our arousal levels drop below these personalized optimal levels, we seek some sort of stimulation to elevate them.” https://www.verywellmind.com/the-arousal-theory-of-motivation-2795380

Since Min keeps seeking entertainment, it shows that he is a person with an abnormally low arousal. Therefore he needs strong stimuli, like violence and attention. And now, you understand first why Min is often seen in company with other nobles. He needs to attract their attention, hence he challenges Yoon Seungho in chapter 33 or in 52. It is the same on the street, when he smokes the opium so openly. It occurs at his friend’s place as well (chapter 43). Notice that he is the one who talks the most and proposes the murder. What caught my attention is that despite the objections from one noble and Min’s friend, the vicious man is able to give a whole speech why Jihwa should have the artist eliminated. No one stops him talking, indicating his skills as orator but more importantly this displays that he likes being in the center of the attention. However, as you can imagine, attention is not enough for him. He needs stronger stimuli than just admiration. He feels the urge to see pain and blood. And this made me think of the other manhwa entitled “The Beast Must Die” written by Lee Hyeon-Sook.

Striking is that we have in the image the same topics: Joker/card, mask and blood. And this is naturally no coincidence, as the protagonist is a psychopath too, in other words, another Joker.

In this manhwa, the main character Lee Ki-Rin approaches the rich but mysterious student Kang Moo. 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.

Striking is that Kang Moo never committed a crime, until Lee Seorin committed suicide. She was the trigger for him to change his behavior. While he claims in front of his future victim that she was just an excuse, (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.

As you can sense, I like this story, because the real villain of this story is not the abnormal one, but the ones who are supposed to be mentally sane and normal. The secret fraternity was perverted by one member so that the 5 members started committing crimes and never got punished. (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.

And now, you understand why Black Heart is often surrounded by people and is even close to the noble with the mole. I believe, he sensed that he was different, but he could never reveal his true self. This explains why his friendship with the noble with the mole was so calm and so harmonious. Hence Jihwa expressed his admiration for their relationship. But their relationship was in reality fake, because Min could never remove his mask. His friend might have sensed his lies and his “Black Heart”, nonetheless I doubt that Min truly confessed his true thoughts in front of the aristocrat with the mole. Moreover, their bond changed the moment Min met the painter. For the first time, Black Heart was attracted, hence he looked at Baek Na-Kyum, while having sex with Yoon Seungho. Furthermore, he saw genuine attraction in the painter’s gaze because of Yoon Seungho. Let’s not forget that Min considered the protagonist as a person similar to him. The commoner was not attracted due to his power or wealth but by the person himself… meaning that he didn’t care about his bad reputation and bad habits. That’s how Min got fascinated by the artist. Since he saw the pure desire in Baek Na-Kyum’s eyes during the intercourse (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. Min was witnessing how Baek Na-Kyum was escaping from him: first a paramour, now a mistress. There’s another evidence for Min’s attachment to the painter. Like my reader @Lahuno66666 pointed it out correctly, Min is always talking about Baek Na-Kyum, exactly like the main lead. Note that in each chapter Min appears, he always mentions the artist: (chapter 8), chapter 33 , chapter 36 , chapter 41 chapter 43 , chapter 52 , chapter 53 , chapter 54 , chapter 56 , chapter 66 This outlines the importance of the painter in Black Heart’s thoughts. Thanks to her observation, I realized that Min has a similar mentality than Yoon Seungho. Both were confusing the mind with the heart. While Yoon Seungho was in denial of his feeling as he had the impression, he had no heart, the vicious noble is unable to distinguish his heart from his mind due to his ASPD. Furthermore, his so-called “obsession” (love) has never been noticed by the nobles, because when he talked about Baek Na-Kyum, he always talked about Yoon Seungho as well. The latter misunderstood Min’s actions and words. He just thought that Min was just jealous of him, while in reality the source of his envy was the artist. We shouldn’t forget that in chapter 8, Min chose to remain by Baek Na-Kyum’s side , while the main lead was having sex. This truly indicates that the commoner was much more intriguing and alluring than sex. The manhwaphiles should remember my remark about The Arousal Theory of Motivation. Min decided to remain inactive and observe the painter, exposing how much entertained and attracted he was towards Baek Na-Kyum. IT stands in opposition to the sex Yoon Seungho was having: Min was so fascinated by the sexual arousal in the painter’s gaze that he let the nobles alone! Note that he wasn’t even talking in that scene!! It contradicts so much to Min’s usual behavior (talkative, laughing, committing wrongdoings). This displays the artist’s real power. No wonder that Min tried to catch his attention in chapter 52, while the painter was standing at the door. When he saw the new painting, he must have felt so bothered that he felt the need to mock his host and the artist. 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. He would like to be the one in that painting. As you can observe, Min was behaving like the main lead, all his thoughts and emotions were revolving around the painter, that’s why he felt bewitched. However, since he always mentioned Yoon Seungho with the painter, no one noticed his obsession. Jihwa couldn’t, because Black Heart was always talking about the commoner in such a negative way and had even suggested a murder and a rape. How could he notice that Min was in love with Baek Na-Kyum, when he was trying to hurt him? The red-haired noble’s blindness is understandable, because he was doing the same thing to his childhood friend. He would hurt him in the name of love.

Since Min is suffering from ASPD, it explains why Min is causing pain to others. For he is devoid of any feeling, he can only sense them, when he sees them in others. And now, you can understand why he is seeking pleasure and fun all the time. He needs pain and fun in order to feel something, in order to feel alive. But exactly like Kang Moo, the more time passes on, the more he feels this emptiness and his urges keep growing. And the painter became the trigger for Min to become more aggressive and reveal his true face. His jealousy and envy could only worsen. First, he tried to use the support from the other nobles to satisfy his immediate urges in chapter 33, but the main lead refused to share the commoner with him. That’s the moment he decided to remove Yoon Seungho from his throne. He saw how daring Yoon Seungho became, he would even fondle the artist at the tailor shop. I can only envisage that this event must have caused some jealousy and envy… That’s why he challenged Yoon Seungho properly this time and touched his waist. However, he was defeated with an insult: “a mouse”. And remember that at the end of the scene in chapter 41, Min wondered how good the artist would taste. For me, it is clear that Min was so annoyed by this defeat that he wanted to retaliate, like “if I can’t have Baek Na-Kyum, then no one should have him”. As a conclusion, Min is already in love with the painter, but his “love” is associated to so many negative emotions that Black Heart can’t deal with them. Due to his love which he explains with witchcraft, he feels weak, powerless, jealous, greedy, ruthless… and now, you understand why when I compared him to Nameless, I came to the following observations: Min is selfish, jealous, manipulative, poisonous, ruthless, greedy, dishonest and even disloyal. All these feelings are in truth related to Baek Na-Kyum. That’s why Min is able to insult Baek Na-Kyum (“witch”, “charlatan”) and order the murder on the person he is obsessed with. Min can’t accept that he is captivated by a low-born. He needs some abstruse explanations for the emotions he is feeling. In other words, he is in denial!

Because of this new revelation, it becomes necessary to examine once again the chapter 53/54. He kissed the painter, because he couldn’t resist the temptation. He got so jealous that the painter would embrace a vengeful ghost and even accept a slap without getting upset. Imagine, he saw how Baek Na-Kyum was willing to embrace the main lead with all his flaws: rage, brutality and his terrible reputation. Another reason for getting jealous!! At the same time, he felt the need to mock Yoon Seungho due to his jealousy and envy. He had to make him suffer, because he was “suffering” himself. And now, the readers can grasp why Min was even willing to risk his face. He couldn’t contain his negative emotions, he felt the need to provoke the “monster”… In reality, he was mocking himself. How could he feel captivated to the painter? I can even imagine that he accepted the punches, because these could serve as a wake up call. And now, you understand why Min felt the need to retaliate against Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho the next morning. He sensed that he needed more than before to remove the artist, as his desires for Baek Na-Kyum kept increasing, and as such his envy and jealousy had become insufferable. As you can observe, Min is a really complex character. To reduce him to a psychopath is not correct. Sure, it helps the readers to comprehend his personality better, however by analyzing another psychopath, we could definitely perceive his true thoughts and emotions.

My final word is the following: Psychopath or not, such people shouldn’t be judged like beast or monstrosity, because in reality, normal people can become murderers or criminals. Don’t forget that Holocaust was only possible due to the participation of “willing helpers” who were actually normal and sane. However, we can criticize and condemn people and characters for their wrongdoings. Ordering a murder or a rape is a crime, therefore Min is indeed a criminal psychopath.

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.

Painter Of The Night: The Joker – Part 2 (second version)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 18 Comments

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.

In the first part, I had associated lord Min to The Joker and elaborated why both characters were similar. And for that, I had used the definition of the joker, which I am quoting again:

  1. a special playing card that can be given any value and is used in some card games instead of any other card
  2. someone who likes telling funny stories or doing stupid things in order to make people laugh
  3. a person who has done something that annoys you  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/joker

While comparing Min’s words and behavior to the definition, I came to realize that the manhwa Painter Of The Night had another Joker. And now, the manhwaphiles have already guessed the identity of the second Joker: Nameless.

If you look carefully at his role, you’ll notice that he is indeed an entertainer. (chapter 43) So his job corresponds to the second definition. That’s why he is wearing a mask. Striking is that his mask is very similar to The American Joker:

  1. The thick eyebrows
  2. The open mouth
  3. Both give the impression that the face is frozen (mask versus make-up)

Furthermore, Nameless is indeed someone who annoys others, as he is a criminal. (definition 3) He commits wrongdoings for his clients who are all nobles. He is even quite famous among the aristocracy, as Min even described the commoner as ruthless, greedy and unscrupulous. But most importantly, Nameless acts exactly like a special playing card (definition 1), since his function is very similar to Black Heart’s. First, he breaks laws (trespassing, abduction, murder, hiring spies), because the joker is not supposed to follow the game rules. Secondly, the Korean jester is an extremely beneficial and harmful card to the figures in Painter Of The night. Observe, that Nameless’ interventions have a devastating and beneficial impact on Jihwa and the main couple. While the characters had to suffer due his actions, the latter helped the protagonists to realize their true feelings and face reality. Nameless noticed right away that Jihwa was not the type to order the murder of a person. He noticed the noble’s nervousness with his bad habit: biting his fingernails. (chapter 50) Therefore he chose to mislead the red-haired client, because he hoped that with time, the aristocrat would change his mind. However, in order to give Jihwa the impression that he was taken seriously, he gave a false excuse and explained that he needed some time. As you can see, exactly like Min, the commoner manipulated the instigator. Later, when the latter criticized the criminal for his inaction, the latter was the one who reminded the red-haired lord of the gravity of the crime: he intended to kill a person. The irony is that the assassin, a symbol for immorality, was actually playing the role of consciousness: (chapter 51) In my point of view, it is very important, because it shows that Nameless has a huge sense of justice and morality. He can distinguish from right and wrong, and is well aware that killing someone is in truth a terrible crime. And thanks to his intervention, he stopped Jihwa from committing a grave sin. He forced the lord to face reality, by describing in the most horrible but real way possible the things he would do to the painter, so that Jihwa would truly see the consequences of his choice. Nameless brought pain to the red-haired master, but at the end, Jihwa could finally admit his mistake and regret his actions. He was responsible for ruining his relationship with his childhood friend. What caught my attention is that Nameless’ words had such an effect on the lord that the latter even vomited. It was, as though Nameless’ words had such power that they could remove the poison from Jihwa’s heart. His words and actions worked like an antidote, which reminds us of the words used by the noble with the mole: As you can observe, Nameless embodies truth and Min lies, and Black Heart’s lies were the reason why Jihwa had been “poisoned” and deceived. Only reality could make him perceive the truth. Striking is that Nameless had already planned that Jihwa would never give the final hit order, therefore he had already envisioned to return the painter to Yoon Seungho. Min might have suggested the plan, but since Nameless executed it, he is also responsible for their misery and liberation. Consequently, the abduction made the painter realize his feelings for the main lead. The latter would have never recognized it, if he hadn’t been facing death. In front of death, social gap and social status didn’t matter any longer. What is truly important were the persons’ actions that moved the person facing his imminent end. The manhwaphiles should remember that Yoon Seungho’s smile was the last thought Baek Na-Kyum had, revealing that the lord’s smile must have touched his heart back then, giving him some hope. That’s why at the end, he screamed for Yoon Seungho’s help and the way he called the main lead showed a certain intimacy: lord Seungho. The result of the abduction on the main lead is clear. He recognized his powerlessness and recognized that he couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from Baek Na-Kyum. Furthermore, the chapter 66 displays how the main lead is no longer denying his affection for the painter in front of witnesses. Don’t forget that Yoon Seungho is carrying the artist in front of Min and his staff during the day, which contrasts so much to the incident of the broken door with Min. Back then, only Min saw it and the protagonists denied both the main lead’s love for the commoner. Simultaneously, this panel stands in opposition to the incident in chapter 45, because the lord is not naked, a sign for his obsession with sex, but he is not even hiding the identity of his lover. The abduction destroyed the relationship between the two protagonists which was only based on sex, yet simultaneously the kidnapping helped them to change the nature of their relationship, to come to a spiritual love, something the noble had been longing all this time. And this explains why there won’t be any dichotomy later: sex or love. In the future, sex will become one of their ways to express their love for each other. Yet, I am quite sure, both will reveal their affection through other actions: painting, poetry and teaching. As you can conclude, Nameless has a similar effect than Min in the end. Both bring misery and pain, yet they help the characters to perceive truth and accept reality. And now you understand why I had this revelation: Nameless is also a Joker.

But let’s return our attention to our initial observation: Nameless’ role as dancer and clown. What caught my attention is that although Min and Nameless act like entertainers, Nameless distinguishes himself from Black Heart, because he is not doing it to distract himself (chapter 66), but to make people happy. In other words, that’s his job. Therefore, we can say that he is doing it in order to survive, contrasting so much to Min who considers fun as hobby. This is understandable, as the noble is not forced to work, he lives on his wealth and status. Whereas the noble is doing everything for fun, the other is actually living from fun. At the same time, I can’t help myself sensing that Nameless’ work as clown and dancer exudes a certain selflessness, as entertaining the public means making people happy, even if the performers are earning some money through their show. Their performance is rewarded by donations. As a first conclusion, while Black Heart stands for leisure, lightness and selfishness, the other embodies survival/work, seriousness and a certain selflessness. Another divergence is that while Black Heart is using other nobles to pressure Yoon Seungho (chapter 33) and hide his true wish (taste the painter), the clown is working with musicians and another dancer. This exposes that Nameless is actually team-oriented. Moreover, we know for sure that Nameless has a good relationship with his workers, since they gave info to Jihwa. And now, you can understand while examining Black Heart, I had the following revelation: Nameless stands in opposition to Black Heart.

NamelessMin
selflessnessselfishness
Work/survivalhobby
truthlie
team-orientedloner
generositygreed
understandingjealousy
compassionateruthless
honesthypocrite
loyalDisloyal – traitor
Antidote„poisonous words“

The criminal is not greedy, as he doesn’t even accept the money offered by Jihwa at the end. He is compassionate, as he feels pity for Jihwa’s situation. Moreover, he decides not to mutilate the artist, although it signifies that he is taking some risk. Sure, he is here not soft-hearted, quite ruthless. Yet, let’s not forget that he is here wearing his mask. In that scene, the criminal scares the victim so much for a reason: he is trying to ensure that this incident remains a secret and that no one gets hurt in the end. He is loyal towards his client, since he is acting for Jihwa’s best interest (not dirty his hands by murdering a person), willing to get rid of a possible thread.

Thanks to the observation of one of my readers, I came to the realization that Black Heart lives through the anger and pain from others, because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t feel alive, whereas the other is just living through the pain of others in order to survive. Yet, he has a heart despite his crimes. He is in fact an disillusioned man due to his past and bad experiences, and this can be sensed in the following panel: He knows the brutality and hypocrisy of aristocracy. And this leads me to the next deduction: when Min described Nameless in chapter 43 , he was in truth portraying the nobles. The butcher’s actions were reflecting their own attitude: immoral, manipulative, greedy and ruthless. And now, the manhwaphiles can grasp why Nameless behaved differently in front of Jihwa. Since the latter was different, he had to act differently. In other words, he has a similar function than the painter: the mirror. He gives a true reflection of the red-haired noble’s personality. Hence the pain Nameless afflicted on others had a different cause. He was just doing it in order to protect himself. Yet, unlike the noble, the criminal has never given up on his consciousness and righteousness. He might be brutal and frightening, yet in his mind he does it for a good reason: protect himself or in the last case protect an innocent noble. Since the latter is not a coldblooded person, Nameless feels the need to stop that person from dirtying his hands, as he is well aware that he will be plagued with huge pangs of conscience.

And now, if the manhwalovers observe the way Nameless uses his mask, they will note that he only wears it, when he is acting as a criminal. Naturally, I am excluding the scene, where he acts as a real entertainer. Let me give you examples:

  1. On the roof top, he is actually trespassing the property and taking a look at the mansion.
  2. When he abducts the painter (a memory from the painter, chapter 61), he is wearing the mask.
  3. When he threatens the artist before releasing him (chapter 65):
  4. But the most decisive clue occurs in chapter 54: When he realizes that Deok-Jae will use his knowledge in order to blackmail Jihwa, the “butcher” puts on his mask, when he decides to get rid of the vicious servant. Slowly, his face disappears behind the mask. Hence I come to the deduction that the mask symbolizes his role as criminal, yet at the same time, it exposes that this doesn’t represent Nameless’ true identity and personality. There’s a different person behind the mask, whereas it is different for Black Heart. Min’s face is the mask itself, the symbol for his hypocrisy.

As you can detect, the more I analyze Nameless, the more it reveals how different he is from the noble. That’s why I had the following revelation: Nameless is Min’s real nemesis. Because of this deduction, I came to the conclusion: Nameless is Batman in the manhwa. Why? First, just like Batman, Nameless has two identities: the entertainer and the “ruthless butcher”. And note that the commoner often acts like Batman during the night: (chapter 50) (chapter 66) Secondly, he is wearing a mask, when he acts like a criminal, hiding his identity. At the same time, he is hiding his true personality (thoughts and emotions) behind the mask as a way to protect himself, very similar to the American Hero, who is full of doubts. One might argue that this association is incorrect. Batman can’t be considered as a criminal, since he fights villains. However, if you pay attention to Batman’s actions, you’ll notice that he breaks laws and rules, he is not working with police, he acts on his own. And if you include the movies from Christopher Nolan, Batman refuses to work with his friend Rachel Dawes, since he doesn’t trust prosecution office and Gotham justice. Finally, let’s not forget that at some point, Batman is even considered as a criminal by authorities, as he is blamed for the death of many people. And both have indeed a tragic past, suffering from a trauma, which is perceptible through the tattoos. Furthermore, Nameless does have a sense of justice…. like I pointed out earlier: he is well aware of the painter’s innocence. Yet, there’s no doubt that there are divergences between Nameless and Batman, as the former belongs to the commoners, whereas Bruce Wayne is really rich. The criminal is not powerful, unlike the American hero who can use his wealth and connection to fight against villains. But since the low-born stands in opposition to Min and I considered the latter as a new version of The Joker due to the similarity of their mentality, I can only perceive Nameless as Batman, the one who will be able to defeat Min. And in chapter 66, their antagonism is already palpable.

What caught my attention is the following panel: Why did Byeonduck decide to show us the roof, when the guardian gave us an explanation about the commotion? It is important, as it represents Nameless’ deception. When I saw this panel, I was immediately reminded of this image: . The roof top is associated to Nameless, which is also a place linked to Batman. Then my follower @BlackPearl1301 noticed that the new guardian looked a lot like the servant serving Jihwa before: (chapter 50). The color of the clothes are the same. Thanks to her, I could finally put the puzzle together. It looks like Nameless planted a spy in Jihwa’s mansion in order to know how the lord would behave after giving the hit order. And this is not surprising why Nameless would know that Jihwa had been drinking all this time, even before removing the veil from the hat. Sure, he noticed the trembling hand, but this could be caused by nervousness and anxiety.

But let’s return our attention to the new guardian. How could they hire someone so quickly? The manhwalovers should remember that only Nameless knows about Deok-Jae’s disappearance and death, therefore he was well aware that Yoon Seungho’s staff might look for a replacement. Since the criminal no longer needs a spy to observe the red-haired master’s move, he needs to plant a spy in order to know if Baek Na-Kyum will remain silent or not. Since Nameless is well aware of the nobility’ mentality, he can use it to his advantage. The aristocrats never pay attention to servants and as such commoners. The criminal is right in the end: Min doesn’t even recognize that there’s a new guardian, although he has been at the mansion before twice (8, 52) and he even saw Deok-Jae getting beaten. Besides, I would like to remind my readers that there’s no coincidence in Byeonduck’s work. She focused a great deal on the guardian and his explanations. Since he was delivering a similar explanation than Nameless had made up, I truly suspect that the domestic is informing Nameless in the end. And note that in chapter 66, Min reveals in front of Yoon Seungho Jihwa’s involvement. Kim and other servants must have heard the aristocrat’s words. And with this new revelation, Nameless’ strategy becomes obsolete. The criminal will realize that Jihwa is in danger, because he knows about Deok-Jae’s death and he is also responsible for this situation. He hired the servant on the red-haired client’s behalf. Therefore Jihwa could take the fall for this. With Min’s revelation, Yoon Seungho could decide to retaliate. Yet, in this moment, I detect Min’s arrogance and stupidity. He has the impression that since the painter was not hurt, there’s nothing to fear. However, Min didn’t notice the change of the guardian and once Deok-Jae’s death is revealed, Yoon Seungho could use it to go after the nobles. Who knew about the kidnapping? The manhwaphiles should remember the words from the noble with the mole: As you can observe, Nameless’ plan was ruined by Min’s action, who believes that he is protected. However, he doesn’t realize that his favorite weapon, a secret, could be turned against him, as he is not aware of the existence of another secret. Since Min is responsible for Jihwa’s fate and the latter will blame Nameless for the servant’s death, the criminal will feel responsible for the red-haired noble. At the same time, Min made himself a new enemy who is definitely ruthless and smart. Since Min was responsible for Jihwa’s corruption, I believe that Nameless will be the one who will fight against Min and will defeat him in the end. That’s why he reminds me of Batman. The reason why I can’t truly associate Yoon Seungho to Batman is that I have the impression, the main lead will use the legal system to go after the people involved in that conspiracy. I have the feeling that he will be responsible for a purge and no one will ever imagine that it was triggered by the painter’s kidnapping. Nevertheless, I anticipate that in the future, Nameless will come to work with Yoon Seungho. There’s a reason for that. While Nameless represents truth and secrets, Yoon Seungho stands for justice and power, like I demonstrated it before. That’s why I believe that Nameless knows a lot more about the painter and his past, though he is not aware that Baek Na-Kyum is that person. The fact that the Joseon Batman was seen with a gisaeng, makes me think that he was looking for info. Then I couldn’t help myself thinking that Nameless must have witnessed something similar in the past, when he made a very realistic description how to get rid of the painter. Let’s not forget that this story is constructed according to the principle: history repeats itself. So there must have been a painter in the past as well. Finally, Jihwa is linked to secrets either, as his favourite sentence is: I know Besides, I had explained that Jihwa seems to be involved in the past and felt guilty. Therefore I sense that both characters will discover that they have much more in common: the past and their involvement with the two main leads’ past.

And now, the manhwaworms can grasp, why I came to the idea that Nameless and Yoon Seungho will work together. The moment they are collaborating, they will definitely uncover what truly happened in the past and brought justice to the responsible ones. At the same time, we could say that Nameless is already working like the hand of justice, though he is not truly aware of it. He killed Deok-Jae who was a criminal in reality. The man never got punished for his misdeeds: the theft, the treason, the bullying, the poisoning and the trashing of Baek Na-Kyum’s place. The vicious domestic met his karma. Sure, nowadays no one would receive a death sentence for such crimes, yet in that period it is a different story.

As a conclusion, Nameless has a similar function than Min, yet unlike the noble he has kept his heart pure. The darkness of his mind has a different origins than Baek Na-Kyum’s: he must have experienced injustice and even witnessed crimes committed by nobles, but they put the blame on commoners. Back then, he must have felt powerless, exactly like the main character. That’s why he chose to become a criminal in the end. If he became the nobles’ dirty hands, then he would get protected. As for Heena, I perceive her as Rachel Dawes, the one who fights for justice, even if there’s corruption.

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.

Painter Of The Night: The Joker (part 1)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 24 Comments

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.

After reading the title, I am quite certain that the manhwaphiles have already guessed the identity of The Joker in Painter Of The Night: Lord Min. I have to admit that I connected Min to The Joker the moment I saw this panel: In this picture, the character’s facial expression stands in opposition to his words. First, he expresses his surprise and shock with his face, while in reality he is just asking for a confirmation. Therefore the contradiction indicates that he knows something and he is expecting a certain outcome. Secondly, his open mouth and big eyes oozes a certain lightness and ease, whereas he is talking about a serious topic: the death of the painter. Because of the discrepancy, the manhwalovers can detect Min’s fakeness and as such hypocrisy. He is neither shocked nor moved by the low-born’s death. And this important panel made me think of The Joker, the villain from Batman. [https://shiftermagazine.com/film/evolution-of-the-joker-1966-2019] Why? It is related to the contrast between seriousness and comedy, intelligence and stupidity, genuineness and fakeness represented by the character’s face and behavior. The famous antagonist is often portrayed with a huge smile and a hysterical laugh, very similar to Min. (chapter 54) Furthermore, The Joker’s eyebrows are quite distinguished due to the make up and Min is recognizable with the special form of his eyebrows too. Besides, the Joker’s make up outlines the importance of his eyes too. Observe that Min opens his eyes so much, reminding us of The Joker’s from 1966. (the actor on the left). Although The Joker is dressed like a clown due to his make-up, his actions have nothing to do with comedy at all. He actually embodies destruction, chaos and death, therefore his disguise contradicts his behavior, explicating why I came to associate Min to The Joker. Due to this connection, I came to realize the character’s true role and personality. This explicates why I will divide “The Joker” in two parts. In this essay, I will only focus on Min’s function in the story as a joker, while in the second part, I’ll study his personality.

First, it is necessary to take a look at the definition of a joker, because it explains why the authors Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson came to give the name to their supervillain:

  1. a special playing card that can be given any value and is used in some card games instead of any other card
  2. someone who likes telling funny stories or doing stupid things in order to make people laugh
  3. a person who has done something that annoys you https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/joker

These different significations explain why joker has a lot of diverse synonyms: card, actor, clown, buffon, jester, trickster, prankster etc. That’s why I would like to study Min’s behavior under the aspect of a joker first. What kind of joker is he?

First, Min could be considered as a special playing card. The joker doesn’t abide to the card rules. This signifies, the joker represents an exception to norms and conventions corresponding to Black Heart’s behavior. First, Min shows no respect social norms and traditions. That’s why he doesn’t feel bothered smoking opium so openly on the street. He has no problem to have sex with a low-born, hence he asks his host to bring the painter to him twice (chapter 33, 52) (chapter 52) And notice that his desire to taste the painter contrasts so much to Jihwa’s words in chapter 18. The joker in chapter 52 even insulted Jihwa as sodomite, showing that he doesn’t consider himself as a homosexual per se. His sex with other men has nothing to do with love. Unlike the main lead, Min associates sex with fun. Since sleeping with a commoner is considered as a taboo, Min can only get curious and feels the desire to experience sex with Baek Na-Kyum. And now, you understand why I associated Min to The Joker from Batman. Both show no respect laws and social norms, they are breaking them, bringing uproar, chaos and destruction in the end. (chapter 53) Here, the readers can observe that Min is criticized for creating a ruckus contrasting to “discreet fun”. Hence we can describe Min as an extremist. He loves scandal so much that he takes pleasure in ruining friendship and relationships. And since for Min and The Joker, laws, social norms and true values (love, friendship, family) should be eliminated, then we can describe them as nihilists.

“In philosophy, nihilism is the complete rejection of moral values and religious beliefs. It is such a negative outlook that it denies any meaning or purpose in life.” https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nihilism#:~:text=In%20philosophy%2C%20nihilism%20is%20the,existing%20political%20and%20social%20institutions.

However, both characters are not advocating destruction of the social system for its own sake. They commit crimes and violate social norms due to their selfishness and their own pleasure. There exists no real plan behind their actions. Since Min is associates to extremism and annihilation, you can comprehend why Min’s actions lead to the destruction of the door in chapter 53 and to his bloody face . He literally ignores manners, even risking his own safety. He knew Yoon Seungho’s anger and rage, as he was a witness of the topknot incident concerning Jihwa. (chapter 59) Even if it is Jihwa’s friend who is speaking here, we have to imagine that Min was also there due to his words in chapter 53: He must have seen how Jihwa was powerless and couldn’t stop his childhood friend to humiliate him. Besides, Min had even seen what the host had done to Deok-Jae, therefore he was well aware of the repercussions, if he kept provoking the protagonist with his mockery. And now, the readers can understand why the joker is a synonym for trickster or prankster in the end. Because the joker is not attached to rules and laws, he can play tricks and fool people around him.

And now, if the manhwaphiles behold the Joker as card, they all will notice that the joker is dressed like a jester or buffon. https://depositphotos.com/vector-images/joker-card.html

During the Middle-Age and Renaissance, the jester or also called fool, was a member of a household of a nobleman or a king hired to entertain his guests. And the manhwaphiles can understand why a joker is “someone likes telling funny stories or doing stupid things in order to make people laugh” (definition 2). However, The jester’s role shouldn’t just be reduced to an entertainer, as he could also use insolence to make critical comments. That’s why in the Korean movie “The king and the clown”, the clowns put on a performance ridiculing the council members by implying that they receive expensive gifts for favors. In this movie, it becomes visible that a clown is walking on a thin line between success and failure. His closeness to the king can lead to fame, but also to loss of freedom and tragedy. And now, if you remember the role played by Min, you’ll observe that in chapter 52, he was indeed acting like a jester, mocking the host dressed like a king. 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. (chapter 66) With his mockeries, he expressed his wish to taste the painter and Yoon Seungho understood his insinuations, therefore the main lead voiced Black Heart’s wish and even accepted his request, because he was terribly annoyed by Min’s interrogation. That’s why we can say, Min was in that scene not only a jester, but also a trickster (referring to the third definition). He manipulated the main character to achieve his goal.

At the same time, the joker can be in different card games an extremely beneficial or an extremely harmful card because of his special function. And this fits Min’s role concerning our main couple. While bringing misery to Baek Na-Kyum (the idea of the murder and a gangrape), he actually forced Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho to realize their true feelings for each other. When Yoon Seungho imagined that the artist would never love him, because he considered himself as a prostitute, the lord never questioned his own emotions. This illustrates that Yoon Seungho had deeply internalized social values and father Yoon’s doctrines in the end: a noble is superior to a low-born, and no aristocrat would lower himself to admit his affection to a commoner. An abnormity in this historical period and since Min shows no respect to social values, he could only question the lord’s behavior and actions. And now, you understand his role as jester in chapter 52. First, he cornered the protagonist and forced him to be in denial. This reminds us of a fool who makes critical comments leading the monarch to question himself and his politics. In Yoon Seungho’s eyes, since he was the noble, only the commoner should confess his affection. However, when the mischievous aristocrat kissed the low-born, the main lead could only react instinctively. He had to push away Black Heart. For Yoon Seungho, Baek Na-Kyum was his lover, even if he was in denial. But observe that the main lead wasn’t the only one who had internalized certain values. The artist had a similar mind-set. For him, it was impossible that such a powerful and rich aristocrat could love him, who comes from the brothel and has unknown origins. That’s why he denied the aristocrat’s feelings. 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.

But let’s go back to our initial observation. Min as the joker can be an extremely beneficial or an extremely harmful card to our main couple. We have another incident, when this is palpable: The abduction and the murder. When the painter was fearing for his life, he recalled the noble’s gentle smile 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 before “destroying” the painter with sex. That’s why I view this panel as a parallel to the one where the painter was screaming Yoon Seungho’s name. Remember how I described this night (chapter 62-63-64): it symbolized the death of the phoenix. In chapter 66, the noble is finally admitting his complete defeat, he lost the war against Baek Na-Kyum. First, he admits that he can’t resist against the painter’s protest. 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. And this explains why Min has to provoke Yoon Seungho again, by revealing Jihwa’s involvement. Since Min has realized that the main lead is no longer in denial and doesn’t consider it as a scandal and secret, then Min has to use another secret in order to annoy the main character. Since he couldn’t ruin the relationship between the painter and the noble, he needs to destroy the friendship between the red-haired aristocrat and the main lead. Note that in that scene, Min even recommends the main lead to be lenient and not become angry at Jihwa. Here, Black Heart is actually using an antiphrasis. He is actually hoping that with his words, the main lead will become angry at his former friend and retaliate against him. This scene is important as it exposes Min’s nihilistic mentality. He feels the need to annihilate something, if it is not the painter, then it must be Jihwa.

And the joker doesn’t realize that his actions have the opposite effect. This new revelation is the reason why Yoon Seungho surrenders during the next night. 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.

But the irony is that Min is not realizing that he is helping the main couple.

For him, commotion and annihilation are a synonym for fun. That’s why he is a joker and as such The Joker. He is trying to tell funny stories or make stupid things in order to make himself laugh. He is the actor and the spectator at the same time, which is quite similar to The Joker from Batman. From my perspective, they both are trapped in their own world, therefore they can ruin relationships and kill people. This explicates why Min could even laugh, though he was getting punched. It was, as if he couldn’t feel any pain, as his “joke” had provoked such a reaction. And now, you understand why The Joker is wearing a make-up as a clown in the end. He isn’t only the joker from the cards, but also the jester from the Middle-Age. At the same time, he embodies selfishness and destruction contrasting to the real function of a clown. But his role is not just to bring chaos and ruin Gotham, but also to question the society and its values.

Let’s return our attention to Black Heart. Since he failed to hurt Yoon Seungho and even separate the main couple, we have to envisage that the more the scandalous relationship will get support, the more this vicious man will get bothered. The reason is simple: normality stands in opposition to uproar and ruckus. At some point, their relationship will be accepted signifying that he won’t be able to taste Baek Na-Kyum. Note that each time, the noble asked the main lead to bring the painter to their sex session, he used the other nobles as an excuse. That way, he could hide his own desire and weakness. This shows his own hypocrisy. He will never reveal his attraction to the painter. He will use “fun” or “the other nobles” to hide his own secret. The irony is that the more he meddled, the further he got from the painter. Consequently, his urge to taste the painter will increase more and more, while he has to witness how the main lead gets closer to Baek Na-Kyum. This can only annoy the jester. His interest for the artist can be explained by the following:

  • his jealousy towards the main lead
  • his attraction towards the painter
  • Baek Na-Kyum represents the opposite of Min: sincerity, genuineness and selflessness. Don’t forget that Min witnessed how the artist reacted to Yoon Seungho’s charisma and deep down, Min wished to provoke such reactions as well.

After describing Min’s role, the manhwaphiles can grasp why this character is liked by many readers. He reminds us of the supervillain from Batman. Min’s weapons are secrets, that’s why he could manipulate Jihwa and the main lead in the end. And now, it is important to ask ourselves: who will stop Min and destroy him? Where is the Batman in Painter Of The Night? With this, I would like to incite my readers to find an answer to this question, but I have to admit that I have already found the answer (or better said, a possible answer).

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.

Painter Of The Night: “HAA…” Flashbacks

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 13 Comments

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.

If I asked the manhwalovers about the number of flashbacks used in chapter 66, they would certainly reply that there were 2 flashbacks. The first one is, when Baek Na-Kyum remembers that night where he had a near-death experience and the second one would be, when he is lying in his study with Yoon Seungho next to his bed. They would give such an answer, because they would use the black frame as reference. The latter represents a memory or a dream in Painter Of The Night. In other words, the manhwaphiles would invoke a literary phenomenon:

“Flashback is a device that moves an audience from the present moment in a chronological narrative to a scene in the past. Often, flashbacks are abrupt interjections that further explain a story or character with background information and memories. […] Flashback can occur as a sudden thought sequence, a hazy dream, or a vivid memory. It can be announced or unannounced in the line of narrative.” https://literaryterms.net/flashback/

However, we have more than 2 in reality, as Byeonduck used a different type of flashback too: the psychological flashback linked to PTSD.

“Flashbacks are psychological phenomena during which a person relives a past event or fragments of a past experience. […] Conversely, some flashbacks may be devoid of visual and auditory memory and may lead a person to experience feelings of panic, helplessness, numbness, or entrapment. Many individuals report the onset of flashbacks after surviving a near-death experience or another traumatic situation.” https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/flashbacks#:~:text=Flashbacks%20are%20psychological%20phenomena%20during,fragments%20of%20a%20past%20experience.

Striking is that the author linked both phenomena together in order to explain the reason for Baek Na-Kyum’s behavior. He was having a panic attack in form of a flashback, which terrified him so much that he left the bed in his distress and walked randomly in the room. His survival instinct had kicked in. Because of the flashback, the protagonist had lost his sense of orientation and couldn’t see where he was going, as all his thoughts and emotions were revolving around the trauma. He had the feeling that he was reliving his past experience. This explains why the chapter 65 ended with the following panels:

The readers had here to fill the blank and explain, why the painter was first lying under the cover to finally end up in the room next to the cupboard on the floor. Yet, Byeonduck never showed us this. She just offered us the result requesting from the readers to imagine the whole scene. By doing so, she forced the manhwaphiles to put themselves into the artist’s shoes. That way, she let them feel what Baek Na-Kyum was experiencing.

But let’s return our attention to the flashbacks. When the episode 66 starts, the time of the narration has actually changed. We are already reading a flashback, although this time Byeonduck didn’t use the black frame. There’s a reason for that. She employed a time jump, but not in the future, like k-dramas often utilize it, but a time jump in the past. The first scene of chapter 66 happens right after Yoon Seungho says those words in chapter 65. And if you read the chapter again, you’ll notice a huge white space between the next following panel. Yoon Seungho is opening the door leaving the painter in his bedchamber (chapter 65). As a conclusion, the beginning of the episode 66 has to placed between the last words and the opening door. Hence we have a fourth flashback in episode 66.

First, she showed us the protagonist tying the painter on the bed, then covering his mouth and finally putting him under the cover so that he could get rid of noona Heena easily. He recreated the situation Baek Na-Kyum was exposed to, when he had been abducted. And if the beholder pays attention to the way the painter is lying in the bed, they will realize another important aspect: the cover that the painter used as protection and comfort has become a prison or a trap now. The cause for this heartbeat is not excitement or surprise but fear. And this panel is very important for two reasons. First, it is a new version of chapter 34, where the painter was crying that the scholar hadn’t asked for him and used the cover as solace. Besides, in this chapter, his heart started racing with the main lead’s appearance. In both chapters, the main lead was the cause for the heartbeat, yet the reasons for the racing heart are totally different. It is important, because it shows us that the kidnapping left a deep wound on the artist’s psyche. When the main character recreated the condition of the abduction, he triggered a flashback. Because Baek Na-Kyum couldn’t scream for help and his head was held under a bag , he had difficulties to breathe, therefore in Seungho’s room, he starts suffocating too: “HAA, HAA”. Furthermore, during the kidnapping, the threads and the knife in his mouth showed that Nameless knew how to scare the low-born. He triggered all the painter’s senses and aroused them to the maximum so that the artist wouldn’t be able to speak so easily. This explicates why the artist felt the abduction as a near-death experience. This is not surprising that when he woke up the next morning, he was trembling and felt scared. But if the manhwaworms looks at the criminal’s actions, they will conclude that Nameless was indeed ruthless. He knew how to terrify the painter. He tormented the painter psychologically. Nonetheless, since Nameless neither murdered nor atrophied the painter, in his eyes he was actually very kind and even merciful. He even felt pity for him, as he was well aware of the artist’s innocence. The latter was just a plaything caught in the middle of the fight between two nobles. Because of his words, I believe that Nameless stands in opposite to Kim’s philosophy. While the latter chose cowardice and indifference for his self-preservation, the “butcher” made the opposite choice. By becoming the dirty hands of the nobles, he was sure that the nobles would protect him, because if they didn’t, their crimes could threaten their position. He would always stand on the winning side. However, by acting like that, Nameless contributes to perpetuate injustice and reinforce the harsh treatment on commoners. As you can see, the flashbacks (memories of the painter) were used to explain why the low-born had a flashback (panik attack) at the end. By reproducing the condition of the entrapment, Yoon Seungho helped to unveil the truth unconsciously. The painter’s body revealed the terrible secret and the readers got a glimpse of Nameless’ true mindset too.

So when the lord opens the door and sees the artist on the ground, he looks angry, because his lover caused him some trouble. This impression seems to be confirmed, as the moment he removes the cloth from the painter’s mouth, the lord criticizes him. However, from my point of view, we need to differentiate between the actions made by Yoon Seungho’s mouth and hands again. While the latter are under the influence of his unconscious, the mouth represents the mind and as such conscious. Note that he removes the cloth, although he could have ignored it. By liberating Baek Na-Kyum’s mouth, he is actually endangering his situation. Let’s not forget that since that terrible night, the lord has returned to his older self, therefore he has the impression that he is no longer using his heart. But he noticed that the painter was in a terrible condition, therefore he couldn’t ignore his lover. From my point of view, the two panels reveal that Yoon Seungho’s affection for the painter hasn’t changed one bit in the end. He continues saying that he is restraining himself, since he is not even able to refuse Baek Na-Kyum’s resistance: “But you have your ways”. From my point of view, we have here a new version of the lord’s confession: (chapter 58). The irony is that in chapter 66, the painter is a wreck, yet the lord is admitting his defeat displaying Baek Na-Kyum’s real power. The other divergence is that this time, it is a conscious choice. This is not a dream or an illusion. Yoon Seungho states that he can’t win against the low-born’s will. In other words, their relationship is progressing again. Due to the resemblance of the chapter 58, the readers have the feeling to witness another flashback. Nonetheless here, the noble hears a reply to his confession, unlike in the past: The nature of the confession has changed: this is an admission for his silence. He lied and apologized in order to survive. These panels expose how deeply traumatized the painter is. He is still trapped in his flashback, reliving his near-death experience and doesn’t realize his lover’s presence. Therefore his gaze is directed elsewhere. I would even say, his gaze is lost in the flashback. What caught my attention is the protagonist’s reaction, when he hears the painter’s words and heavy breathing. He is not only surprised and shocked, he is also paralyzed. For me, the last panel shows the main lead’s realization. He must have recognized the painter’s real condition: he is traumatized. And in my opinion, the painter’s confession and behavior triggered a flashback in Yoon Seungho too, which we don’t really see, but can sense more or less. Observe his discomfort and his fixe stare. He seems lost as well, very similar to the commoner’s gaze. Besides, the aristocrat doesn’t move one moment, although some time has already passed. The sister has already left the house and Min is now standing at the door. The last picture even shows us Min’s perspective. He senses the lord’s worry and pangs of conscience too. From my point of view, the lord is reminded of his own bad past experience due to the artist’s behavior and words. The other clue for this interpretation is the lord’s phobia of the cover. (chapter 35) Therefore I come to the conclusion that we have another flashback here, but Yoon Seungho’s is not revealed, only through his gaze and the observations I made: the fear of the cover and the commoner’s past as a repetition of the main lead’s tragic past. Let’s not forget that this scene is also a new version of chapter 53: , back then, the main lead was the one who was in a dissociative state and the painter embraced him, when he sensed his fury and pain. However, this time the roles are switched. And this explains why the noble hugs the painter, attempting to give him some comfort. Yet, in my opinion, he has no idea about the real cause of the artist’s trauma in that moment, therefore he feels responsible and terrible. That’s the reason why he remains so passive and silent. He feels the need to console Baek Na-Kyum, but note that he doesn’t even attempt to dress the painter or to put him in a better position. He stays kneeling in an uncomfortable position, using his body and hands to protect Baek Na-Kyum from others. And now, the manhwaphiles can comprehend why I chose such a title. The flashbacks are not just memories, but also psychological phenomena due to PTSD.

And now it is time to focus on the last flashback. I have to admit, it took me some time to fully grasp what it really represents. The first confusion is the chronology of the episode. Before the appearance of the flashback, we have a zoom on Yoon Seungho’s face indicating that he heard Min’s confession: Lee Jihwa is behind the painter’s disappearance. And right after, the flashback starts so that it feels like a caesura. Therefore many readers felt confused. In order to comprehend its true nature, the manhwaphiles should remember the definition of the flashback in fiction. It is either a memory or a hazy dream. That’s why we need to question ourselves about the nature of this scene. Is it a dream or a memory? And who is the person having a flashback?

For me, there’s no doubt that this can’t represent the lord’s memory. First, the chronology shows that the flashback happens during the next night due to the way the lord and Baek Na-Kyum are dressed. The lord is still wearing the hanbok from the morning and this time, the painter has his own expensive clothes on. From my point of view, the lord took care of the artist personally. Unlike in chapter 33, Yoon Seungho took his responsibilities for his wrongdoings and didn’t delegate it to the doctor or his assistant. It was his way to show repentance. Secondly, I believe that the owner of this flashback is Baek Na-Kyum due to the ending and the two following drawings: The images are almost identical, yet in the second picture, there’s no black frame, therefore this means that it represents reality. And now, you can better grasp the nature of Baek Na-Kyum’s flashback. It is a mixture of dream and memory. The lord stayed by his side the whole night (a new version of chapter 55) and at some point, the artist opened his eyes briefly, just like the lord nodded to Baek Na-Kyum’s question unconsciously , as he felt his presence, but never realized it in the end. In other words, the painter also detected the lord’s presence by his side, even opened his eyes for a second, heard him even calling his name . The tragedy is that exactly like during their Wedding Night, the painter won’t be sure, if what he sensed and saw was reality or a dream. Therefore I come to the conclusion that this is a new version of chapter 58, where the roles are reversed. Back then, the lord thought that this night with Baek Na-Kyum was too beautiful to be true and it is the artist’s turn to feel the same way. This flashback shows his wish mixed with a memory. And now, during this night, the lord expressed his regrets and showed his tenderness, just like in chapter 58. He took the hand with delicacy and touched the wrist and the wound with his finger carefully, ,as though he wanted to heal himself the bruise. For me, this scene was so beautiful and moving, as it reflects the noble’s growth. He doesn’t just feel huge pangs of conscience, but he is determined to redeem himself in the end. When he touches the scar, he feel sorry for Baek Na-Kyum’s wounds which he hadn’t seen due to his self-hatred. At the end, he treats Baek Na-Kyum’s hand like a treasure. Yet, note that he is not kissing it. First, I interpret his gesture as a sign of regret. Secondly, a kiss is linked to sensuality and the noble is no longer for such a love, especially after that terrible sex marathon. Moreover, I believe that lord Seungho has the impression that he is not worthy of the painter, hence he puts a finger between his eyes and the low-born’s hand. The absence of his eyes is not necessarily referring to his blindness. For me, it points out that the lord has finally recognized the true value of his hands: the painter’s beautiful spirit and soul. Besides, they helped him to see the truth. Why? I have to confess that this scene made me remember their first meeting in chapter 1. Although the lord called them “talented hands”, he grabbed them in a rather rough way and put them on his loins. He only valued them, as they helped him to have a better libido. And now, his gesture has a different meaning. The hand made him recognize that the drawings had an effect on his heart and soul. At the same time, the artist made him realize his hypersexuality. As you can observe, by contrasting these two scenes, you can detect the noble’s development. But since the painter only opened eyes shortly, the noble decided not to remain by his side, because he had the impression that the artist didn’t wish to see him after what he had put him through. That’s why he sent for noona Heena. He knew the importance of his sister, since the commoner had tried to protect her before. That’s why we see the sister by the painter’s side the next morning. She symbolizes reality. Consequently, I believe that the following picture from the flashback illustrates the artist’s true wish. He desired the lord by his side, but the reality was different. His noona was by his side. This didn’t upset the painter, because he received a warm embrace full of love and compassion, something really important in order to heal his wounds, contrasting to the hug in the barn symbolizing fakeness and coldness.

As you know, Baek Na-Kyum’s dreams were always connected to reality, as they often announced the future events. However, here I feel that the dream is connected to reality differently: it is connected to the past. The lord was indeed present in his study. The flashback is influenced by a memory mixed with a wish. Consequently this flashback stands in opposition to the first one, where the painter relived his trauma due to the memories linked to his terrible near-death experience. Both flashbacks were influenced by memories, yet in the last one, the painter will have the impression that it was too good to be true. There’s no ambiguity that Yoon Seungho will keep his distance from the artist. Just like during the first season after the chapter 35, he won’t ask for sex. The gesture with the hand was pretty clear for me. The aristocrat will be content, if he sees the artist by his side from afar. However, this doesn’t signify that Yoon Seungho will leave his mansion for sex orgies. No, it is impossible. Since he knows that Jihwa hurt his lover, he has to be by his side to ensure Baek Na-Kyum’s safety. Therefore I come to the conclusion that Yoon Seungho will start paying attention to his mansion and staff. He will ask for answers, like for example: How could the guardian let Min walk in the mansion so freely? He will give strict orders. From my point of view, the main lead will start acting like a real lord and pay attention to the behavior of his staff. At the same time, Yoon Seungho will also have a flashback of that night, where he beat Deok-Jae, who had hurt his lover. He will interrogate Kim about his whereabouts and investigate the circumstances of his disappearance.

Although the painter is now unsure, if the lord was by his side or not, it’s only a matter of time, until the painter approaches the noble again. I am expecting a new version of chapter 52. Why? Due to the analysis of the flashback, I think that despite the new sex marathon, the artist is not resenting Yoon Seungho. I explain his reaction the following: In the barn, the aristocrat’s words left a deeper impact than anything else. For the first time, someone was refusing to abandon him (even if it sounded so possessive and obsessive). Furthermore the same person even expressed that his smile and presence could be the source of his happiness , something he had never heard before. Finally, we shouldn’t forget that Baek Na-Kyum’s ears have always been very sensitive to words, explaining why the commoner was so devastated by Jung In-Hun’s last sentence. Finally, the lord’s confession revealed that he never considered him as a whore in the end, as his request was just a smile and not his body. Finally, I believe, noona Heena’s presence will also have an influence in the painter’s thoughts and emotions. Baek Na-Kyum will be able to appreciate that Yoon Seungho allowed her companionship, willing to accept a gisaeng in his house, although the low-born heard him calling her a wench or harlot before. Unlike the past, the artist is no longer blind or deaf to the noble’s gestures. There’s no doubt that they will rekindle, but their relationship will mature. The lord will try to find a different connection and I am already imagining him asking again: Another flashback from the past…

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.

Painter Of The Night: Yoon Seungho’s hanboks

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 12 Comments

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.

In this short essay, I’ll examine the clothes the main lead is wearing during the second season, especially the last two hanboks.

(chapter 62) [I already examined the clothes from the first season, here are the links:

  1. https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/10/painter-of-the-night-the-significance-of-clothes-part-1/ (Seung-Won /Min /Yoon Seungho)
  2. https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/11/painter-of-the-night-the-significance-of-clothes-part-2/ (Yoon Seungho)
  3. https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/14/painter-of-the-night-the-significance-of-clothes-part-3/ (Jihwa)
  4. https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/18/painter-of-the-night-the-significance-of-clothes-part-4/ (Jung In-Hun)]

Before starting analyzing Yoon Seungho’s clothes again, it is important to remind my readers about the hanboks the protagonist wore during the first season. What caught my attention is that the lord has always used his clothes in order to make a statement. When he was around Jihwa and the other local nobles, he was simply dressed, as he didn’t feel the need to impress them and demonstrate his power. He was confident in front of them, that’s why he was just wearing a simple hanbok with long sleeves. At the same time, his color was very similar to the one his biological father was wearing. (chapter 12) (chapter 57) It was, as if by imitating father Yoon, he would get some recognition and love. Yet, he had another reason to use hanboks with a single color. His surrogate father, valet Kim, is also dressed simply. However, it changed the moment, Yoon Seungho made love to the painter. Since he knew that he had acted as the scholar’s replacement, he needed to attract the painter’s attention and used his clothes in order to impress the commoner so that the latter would fall for him. That’s why he chose a purple hanbok with short sleeves. Imagine that he had worn the same hanbok, when he visited the scholar and back then, it was to demonstrate his wealth and power. And this shows that in his mind, the hanbok would do the trick in order to win the painter’s love and admiration. The lord thought that the cloth would expose that he had everything what the low scholar didn’t have. But his effort went unnoticed by the painter. In other words, the presence of the painter started affecting his clothing. At the same time, his choice of clothes were not always a conscious decision, which we could sense at the end of the first season. In chapter 39/40, he selected a pink robe with a black hanbok. This represented his actual state of emotions. He had just shared his bed with the painter for the first time and felt pleased and refreshed, like a happy man in love. However, he was trying to hide his emotions, therefore the pink was covered by the black hanbok. And since he wore a hanbok with short sleeves, it is palpable that here again, he desired to seduce and impress the artist. In conclusion, the lord felt the need to become desirable in the artist’s eyes and used his hanboks for this purpose, indicating some insecurities. Simultaneously, his selection was influenced by his emotions and unconscious. Striking is that in chapter 39, he had not the valet by his side to dress him up. Therefore Kim had no influence in the selection of his hanbok for that romantic date. And it happened again in season 2. When the main lead chose the blue hanbok with short sleeves, Kim was taking care of the painter. Therefore I come to the conclusion that Kim has some influence, in the way the main lead is dressed. This explains why we saw him helping the lord to get dressed in two occasions and each time, he chose the same hanbok: in chapter 11 and chapter 47 . And this is no coincidence. This outlines the importance of Kim in Yoon Seungho’s life. He is his right-hand, he is the only one allowed to see his hair down and comb it, a privilege that Baek Na-Kyum has never got to experience yet. However, little by little, the readers can perceive the painter’s increasing influence through the hanboks.

First, we have the apparition of drawings on his hanboks. In chapter 45, Yoon Seungho has a robe with cranes on it. And due to this panel, we have the impression that the lord perceives the artist as his symbol of good fortune. Consciously, he ordered such a hanbok, because he considered himself as the crane for the painter, yet in his unconscious it is the opposite, especially when you look at the way he is carrying the painter with the hanbok. Then in chapter 50, his black hanbok with a red design displays an progression. There are not only birds, but plants (leaves). In that scene, it represented his heart. It was, as if his heart had been wounded and he was bleeding to death. During the night before, he had been rejected one more time and had the impression that he could only be Baek Na-Kyum’s sex partner and not lover. But the one who pushed him over the edge was not the painter, but Kim who revealed at that exact moment the reason why Baek Na-Kyum had been behaving like a doll. With this revelation, the lord could only distance himself from the painter, as he couldn’t bear the thought that the artist would consider himself a prostitute. And here, I would like my readers to incite to question Kim’s motive to unveil this incident that morning? For me, there is no doubt that it was no coincidence due to the selection of the hanbok. The valet could sense the master’s mood and let’s not forget that even Yoon Seungho described Kim as very perceptive. But if we look at the hanbok again, we will notice that the addition of plants in the pattern illustrates the importance of nature for the noble. So it looks like nature is gaining the upper hand, it reached the climax with the beautiful hanbok where you see the phoenix among plants and herbs It looks like Yoon Seungho’s unconscious has finally been able to perceive his true identity. Therefore I come to the conclusion that his relationship with Baek Na-Kyum helped him to find his true self and the clothes reflected his transformation. He is indeed a phoenix, but he feels like dying due to his unrequired love. With this new approach, you can comprehend how the painter is represented in the hanboks. He is nature himself: the trees and the flowers making the main lead feel alive. That’s the reason why during the second season, the aristocrat wears hanboks with a design. The pattern is a metaphor for the low-born, which is not surprising, since he is himself a painter. That’s why in chapter 65, he wears a black hanbok with plants at the bottom. He has the impression, he is dead, but there are remains of nature. It shows the lord’s determination to have the painter by his side. However, the plants are at the bottom symbolizing his actual position, the main character is trying to diminish the painter’s place in his heart. But it is in vain, as the white/grey shows that there’s still some life and light in Yoon Seungho. The phoenix died during the last night. And this shows that despite the noble’s words and behavior, his affection for the painter has not vanished entirely. That’s why I am optimistic in the end. Yoon Seungho is no longer able to live without Baek Na-Kyum. Besides, we all know that nature can never truly disappear.

At the same time, the colors and the designs were not purely influenced by his unconscious. In chapter 52, he was staging himself as a king in order to mask his despair and vulnerability. The hanbok exposed his vulnerability, which didn’t escape Min’s notice. This contrasts to his clothes and behavior during the first season, he is masking his powerlessness with the robe. However, the beautiful hanbok left such an impression on the envious aristocrat that the next morning, Black Heart also picked up a hanbok with a design. The irony is that his design was totally different. It reminds us of the smoke of opium or even worse: someone full of hot air. He talks a lot, but doesn’t know much which is true. He has no idea what really motivates the main lead. And with Min’s new hanbok, I consider it as an evidence that Yoon Seungho is indeed the phoenix and we just need to wait, until he raises from his ashes… the moment he abandons his self-hatred and love selflessly like he desired in the past. But let’s return our attention to the blue hanbok with phoenixes on it. I assume too that deep down, the main character wished to catch the painter’s attention from afar. He has such a magnificent hanbok that he could be distinguished from all the other nobles. And you are now all wondering about the return of the simple robe with long sleeves. It was, as if he had returned to his old self. First, I had imagined that the light blue could still be judged as a good sign, as this color symbolizes peace of mind. Furthermore

“Pale blue inspires creativity and the freedom to break free.” https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-blue.html

However, I was wrong for two reasons. I had overlooked that his selection is also influenced by his conscious. In his mind, since he hadn’t strangled the painter and had restrained himself for the abandonment, he had the impression that he was very calm and rational. Yet, in reality, he was boiling inside that’s why he smoked at the window again. It was again to numb his emotions. Old habits are hard to die. Besides, he had another reason to wear such a hanbok. We can imagine that Kim must have helped him that morning to dress.

And now, if you pay attention to the role played by Kim as his assistant for the morning, you will notice that little by little, he is losing his territory to Yoon Seungho and as such to Baek Na-Kyum. Compared it to the chapter 11, Kim was alone helping him to dress, then in chapter 35 he is seen once again giving a green hanbok to his master. However, in the second season, notice that we only witness him one time helping his lord to get dressed: chapter 47. At the same time, for the first time, Baek Na-Kyum is present. A huge sign that both protagonists are getting more and more intimate. And in chapter 50, Yoon Seungho was already dressed, when Kim joined him in the scholar’s chamber indicating that he was not present, when the lord prepared himself. Kim arrived late, which Yoon Seungho reproached him. Therefore I come to the conclusion that the aristocrat was the one who selected his hanbok that morning. And this situation happened again in chapter 56. And notice that this time, he chose a hanbok with short sleeves indicating that he wanted to impress someone again. For me, there’s no doubt that he had the painter in his mind. Since he had heard that Baek Na-Kyum had not run away after his first confession, the lord had hope again, mixed with some insecurities. And now, you understand why Yoon Seungho felt so betrayed after his second confession. He had treated the artist tenderly, had been given hope a second time, only to discover the next morning the painter’s disappearance. No wonder why he felt so hurt and betrayed and couldn’t see the truth. And now, note that in chapter 65, Yoon Seungho got dressed in front of the artist without Kim’s assistance, while the painter was still in the bedchamber half-naked. This final scene indicates that despite the rough treatment, the painter has become even more intimate with Yoon Seungho. The progression is even more palpable, when you compare it with the scene in chapter 47: The bed has disappeared and there’s the painting between them. Secondly, he sits like a servant with his head down. Here, he is acting like a domestic, while in chapter 65, he is sitting on the bed. His place has not only changed, but he is also able to touch the lord’s cloth. Finally Baek Na-Kyum is even wearing the lord’s shirt and like I mentioned it above, there’s no servant by their side. All this points out that the lord is determined to share his bed with the artist. Sure, he has a reason: he fears the painter’s desertion and feels that he needs to keep an eye on him himself so that this won’t happen again. Therefore the manhwaphiles can comprehend why I am optimistic. It signifies that this incident forced the aristocrat to no longer rely on Kim’s assistance and information. He will do it himself. Hence it is just a matter of time, until the lord shows him his hair down. Simultaneously, it reveals the loss of Kim’s influence over Yoon Seungho. The latter will choose his clothes himself and even at some point we can imagine that he asks the painter for this. For me, there’s no doubt that the valet played a huge role in the selection of the lord’s hanboks in the past, but now he is slowly removed from his side, which I perceive as a good sign. You’ll know why in the next essay.

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.

Painter Of The Night: Loyalty

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 11 Comments

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.

After reading the title, the manhwaphiles are already aware of the topic of this essay: valet Kim. But unlike the last texts, I decided to make some predictions about the future events, as I believe that Kim will play a central role. As you can deduce, my ideas are also inspired by my own interpretations about this character and his actions. Not only my perception about him, but also my own discoveries about other characters will play an important part for my predictions.

In the past, I used to describe the valet as loyal or faithful, as he remained by the main lead’s side. Furthermore he acted as his right-hand, like for example dressing him up, bringing his lunch or even fetching the painter for his master. But due to chapter 64, I questioned his loyalty towards Yoon Seungho and came to the deduction that he was just faithful to the mansion and as such to the Yoons. Now, if you examine the definition of loyalty, this is what you find:

loyalties: your feelings of support or duty towards someone or something: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/loyalty

As you can observe, this quality is strongly connected to support and duty. The person will do anything for a certain person, which seems to confirm that Valet Kim is indeed loyal to the Yoons. However, if we include the famous quote from Woodrow Wilson, 28th US president,

“Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.”

we can perceive, the valet stands in opposition to this description. That’s why I come to the conclusion. He is not even loyal to the mansion Yoons, he is only loyal to himself and his own interests. Notice that he is not willing to sacrifice himself for the painter, just like he didn’t sacrifice himself for Yoon Seungho back then. In truth, the butler’s mentality is the opposite: he will do anything to survive. Self-preservation is his leitmotiv. That’s why Kim’s is passive and indifferent to the protagonists’ fate. Therefore I come to the conclusion that Kim isn’t in reality loyal to the Yoons, but to himself, the guardian of the mansion. Now, you understand why he abhors so much the idea of a scandal. If there is no trouble, then he can live his life in peace, away from any worry and concern. And now, you understand the real cause of his cowardice. And if I include another quote about loyalty,

“it’s not about who is real in your face, it’s about who stays loyal behind your back”

the manhwalovers comprehend why the butler acted behind his master’s back in the end. He was not loyal to him, his true purpose was to survive and to lead a peaceful life. That’s why he was against Yoon Seungho’s relationship with the painter in the beginning, and since he remained silent after the “Wedding night”, the lord thought that his valet was faithful. From my point of view, Yoon Seungho made a huge mistake again. He hasn’t perceived his assistant’s true mentality yet. He believes that valet Kim remained by his side out of loyalty and duty, however he’s mistaken. Sure, the assistant felt guilty, but this doesn’t mean that he regretted his decision. He had no reason too. First, he never got punished. Secondly, after the purge and the main lead’s sacrifice, Kim chose to remain for another reason. He knew the mansion and the town, and once the previous staff left the property, Kim would become the right-hand of the master. He actually benefited from the incident. While the main lead was sick, Kim could do, as he pleased. That’s how he learned to take some liberties. I am even wondering if his gesture in this panel is indeed genuine: Imagine that the protagonist had succeeded with his suicide, then this means that father Yoon could have returned to the mansion. And with his return, there’s no ambiguity that father Yoon wouldn’t have let live him like before. He had definitely another reason for saving Yoon Seungho’s life. Hence the main lead mistook his gesture as a act of kindness. Note that the main lead kept living according to father Yoon’s principles and Kim knew it. So his bad reputation was not a real scandal, because he kept making deals with other nobles.

And observe, we have a repetition of the past and the butler is determined to keep the same attitude: silence and indifference. Consequently I judge him in a very negative way now. The man is very similar to Jung In-Hun in reality. His selfishness and his cowardice are the reasons why the painter is treated like a pawn and an object. Both views the low-born in a similar way. The only difference is that Kim acts so gentle in front of the protagonists, hence neither Baek Na-Kyum nor Yoon Seungho expect a betrayal from his side. Now, you grasp why the servant bought the ink and the brushes to the artist. If he becomes a servant of this mansion, then the scandalous relationship will remained hidden. No uproar. Let’s not forget that Jung In-Hun betrayed the painter on several occasions: the coercive persuasion (past), then his request to spy on the lord implying that he could sleep with him (chapter 24), the false hug (chapter 29) and finally the abandonment in chapter 40.

That’s why I am convinced that Kim will betray the protagonists again. How? He will mask the truth, and use Deok-Jae’s disappearance as an explanation. I doubt that once his body is discovered, he will be recognized, since Nameless stated that he would make sure that no one could identify the victim. Besides, he already used the servant as a scapegoat in the past.Note, that Deok-Jae was put in the front line, whereas the butler remained in the background. He had chosen the guardian as his scapegoat, hence the vicious man got punished the most and resented the valet so much afterwards. He had every right to do so. Both worked together to let the painter escape, but once the desertion was discovered causing the lord’s fury, they envisioned that they could use ignorance as an excuse. And here, I see another evidence that Kim was behind it and Deok-Jae followed his order. That’s the reason why Deok-Jae used the personal pronoun “we”, he wanted to share the responsibility with the butler.

Kim will bring up all the servant’s misdeeds and use him as a justification. The latter was jealous of the painter and tried to abduct him. The vicious servant attempted to sell the red dresser, then he spoiled the artist’s rice and finally the incident with the hurt wrist will resurface. Yoon Seungho will recall, how the painter even stopped him from killing the man. Kim will use this to his advantage. Deok-Jae will become the scapegoat of the abduction. The maids will testify in his favor, as they saw how jealous Deok-Jae was. The servant will let the lord feel guilty and even put the blame on the doctor, saying that the latter remained silent and he could have intervened. However, his attitude towards the artist will change, since this incident caused an uproar in town and tarnished his tranquility and reputation. Besides, there’s no doubt that noona Heena will request that the painter returns to her side, once he has recovered from his wounds. The valet will be happy, if Yoon Seungho is forced to send away Baek Na-Kyum. This will mean the end of his trouble, once the painter leaves the mansion. By doing so, Kim is helping Min in the end, as the painter will be left without any protection. In my eyes, Kim is Yoon Seungho’s real enemy, because he fakes loyalty and care, while in reality he prioritizes his own interests. He is a hypocrite, but a different kind, which is much more difficult to perceive. I had questioned his behavior right in chapter 45, but it took me 19 chapters to really grasp his personality. Let’s not forget that the painter had two enemies during the first season, the scholar and Jihwa, and since Byeonduck likes using parallels, we have to imagine that Kim and Min are the main lead’s enemies. Besides, Kim is also a surrogate father for the main lead. Consequently, he will use the main lead’s insecurities and self-hatred to his advantages. One might argue that the servant tried to plead to his master in the barn. He defended the artist. However, note the expression used by the servant: “I do not believe”. He never brought up any evidence, he just asked his lord to believe him. He never mentioned Deok-Jae and his desertion. Moreover, how could Yoon Seungho trust his words, since the latter betrayed him in the past? Note that the doctor acted the same way. He just voiced his belief, as he couldn’t mention the abduction. If he had pointed out the marks, then the noble could have asked him about his whereabouts… he could have been suspected of his involvement. Let’s not forget, the physician became an accomplice the moment he acted, as if nothing was happening. So he was definitely involved. Hence I think, Kim will use his words in the barn to his advantage and the physician could become the second scapegoat. Another evidence for this negative judgement about Kim is my association to the animal embodying his personality. While the dog is linked to loyalty and even described as man’s best friend, the animal represents negative aspects which are visible in different expressions:

  1. ‘It’s a dog-eat-dog world’: cruel, highly competitive
  2. “gone to the dog”
  3. a dog’s life: A life that is difficult, unpleasant, or boring.
  4. She’s a real dog – unappealing
  5. as a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly : Foolish people are apt to repeat their missteps. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/dog

Finally, I would remind my readers that I had noticed some similarities between Jihwa and Kim. Both knew the main lead’s past and are responsible for his misery. The reason for their wrongdoings: their selfishness. Another parallel was their cowardice. Both acted behind the main lead’s back. Yet, both had a different behavior: while one was too active and sensitive, the other was too passive and indifferent. Due to their affinities, I come to the deduction that Byeonduck has planned to use them as mirror. From my point of view, while the noble will try to redeem himself and change for the better, the latter will never learn from his mistakes. The evidence for this: Jihwa expressed regrets for the first time in his life. He recognized his wrongdoings, which is not the case with Kim and chapter 65 showed. The butler will never become a man, responsible for his actions and decisions. My reasoning is the following: Kim plays a similar role than Jung In-Hun and we know that the scholar didn’t change his thinking and behavior. Even after abandoning him, he imagines that he can still use him.

That’s why now I am no longer expecting a redemption for Kim. Because I have already predicted his death since the first season, I am more and more convinced that he will be killed by Yoon Seungho himself, a new version of chapter 1: “die like a dog”. However, this time, the main lead will have a reason for his execution. Kim betrayed him by not revealing what he knew and allowed his loved one to get hurt again. And in my opinion, Kim is the reason why Yoon Seungho was trapped in the end. He was never a good example for the main lead to grow up. He never taught him how to become a true master. His passivity, indifference and selfishness influenced the lord in a bad way, but the aristocrat never noticed it, because Kim took care of him. He relied on the butler one more time and imagined that he was still a good servant. That’s why they had this master-domestic relationship and this explains why the main lead is using it again against the painter, which doesn’t contradict Kim’s philosophy. The painter was just a favored servant.

As a conclusion, loyalty is not what defines valet Kim, rather cowardice and selfishness. But due to his gentleness and discrete behavior, people around him misjudge him and their mistake is the reason why they suffer in the end: Deok-Jae, the main lead and quite certainly the physician. And note that the painter always got blamed for Jihwa’s misdeeds, so people will become responsible for Kim’s wrong decisions.

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.

Painter Of The Night: What if…

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 14 Comments

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.

In this composition, I will present a theory about the causes for Jihwa’s trauma and childish behavior, until he met the criminal Nameless which led him to face reality and change for the better. I would like to remind my readers that there’s no guarantee about this assumption, yet this idea was developed based on my discoveries and interpretations about the characters.

Before disclosing my theory, it is important to explicate how I came up to it. First, since we have a repetition of the episodes from season 1, it signifies that the author is determined to apply the saying: history keeps repeating itself. In other words, the actions Jihwa did in season 1, are happening again, even if there are some alterations. And this signifies that Jihwa must have done it in the past as well, as the story is going in circle. Let me give you an example: Jihwa hired a servant among Yoon Seungho’s staff in order to spy on him. 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. As a conclusion, Jihwa must have also hired spies among the Yoons’ staff, when he was a teenager, either directly or through his own servants.

Secondly, I had observed that the red-haired noble was like the negative version of the painter, or better said, the other side of the mirror. https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/10/22/painter-of-the-night-lee-jihwa-another-puzzle/

Although he embodies many negative features (selfishness, arrogance, violence etc.), he is associated to innocence as well, but in a different sense: naivety and as such ignorance. Yet, unlike the painter, he has the impression that he is a man full of knowledge and experiences. Let’s not forget that he often uses the idiom “I know”. (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,the noble with the mole even repeats Jihwa’s expression (“You know”), indicating that Jihwa must have often said it in front of him, like in this scene. Although in chapter 59, the latter is not repeating this precise expression, his words imply the same. Because he was a witness of the protagonist’s terrible state, he knows Yoon Seungho the best, just like he is aware of the good relationship between Min and the noble with the mole. We could say that he is so sure about his insight. And now, if you combine both discoveries, you will come to the conclusion: Jihwa must have hired spies in the past and imagined that he had discovered what was happening in the Yoons’ mansion. But why would he do that?

It is related to the main lead’s isolation. One day, Jihwa and his childhood friend got separated all of the sudden. 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.

And if we take into consideration that Jihwa is similar to the artist, this means that his love for his childhood friend was very similar to Baek Na-Kyum’s feelings for the scholar. But since he is his negative version, this signifies that Jihwa couldn’t accept to be separated from Yoon Seungho, while the painter accepted to be sent away and to love the low noble from far away. In other words, whereas the commoner loved the teacher selflessly, the second character did the opposite. Hence Jihwa tried to get in touch with his friend, and decided to know what was happening in the mansion. Therefore the red-haired noble hired spies, but this was discovered and the servant or servants got punished. The result was that the main lead’s situation worsened, but the latter had no idea why and what was happening around him due to his isolation. Back then, Jihwa was quite young and must have felt guilty. Out of love and in his attempt to help his friend, Jihwa chose to keep intervening, but it always backfired causing the red-haired aristocrat to feel so guilty.

Let’s not forget that during season 1, due to Jihwa’s mischief, Yoon Seungho chose to cut ties with him. This is important, as it demonstrates the red-haired lord’s responsibility in their separation. And since the events keep repeating themselves, I believe to see this as a clue for my theory. Secondly, Jihwa still had info about Yoon Seungho through his servant, after cutting ties with him. 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.

Since Jihwa was so young and didn’t realize that he had been played, the burden of his responsibility became so heavy that his unconscious repressed his “responsibility”, while deciding to adopt a new philosophy: he is entitled to do everything for himself, and since people and especially commoners suffered due to him, he justified their deaths with: they’re just low-borns. Due to his guilty conscience, he became blind and deaf and at the same time, he imagined that if the main lead came to love him, then it would erase the past and his wrong decisions. It would be, as though nothing had happened. Notice that in chapter 60, the aristocrat has the feeling that no crime occurred, since the painter was returned to Yoon Seungho’s side. But since he was a teenager and had no adult to confide and trust, he couldn’t grasp that it was not his entire fault. Furthermore, I am quite certain that Jihwa is not aware that his love for Yoon Seungho was the trigger and marked the start of Yoon Seungho’s misery. In his mind, he explained with the terrible personality of father Yoon as the source of his misery.

So since he had internalized to act in the shadow and could never witness the consequences of his wrong decisions (the hired spies got killed or severely punished, asking for help and trusting the wrong person f. ex.), but he had huge pangs of conscience, he continued acting like a spoiled child later. At the same time, he hated himself so much due to his guilt that he envisaged unconsciously that if the childhood friend came to love him, then he would be forgiven. However, for him, he was responsible for the wrongdoings, but never got punished. And this explains why he used his love to commit other wrongdoings, because he was never caught and punished.

Once the father abandoned Yoon Seungho, the red-haired lord seized the opportunity to rekindle with the protagonist. He believed that now, he could get what he wanted right from the start. He had loved him all along and finally the lord was free. However, since the main lead had been forced to prostitution, Jihwa found another obstacle. Therefore he imagined that if he could create pleasure in his friend, the latter would come to love him. Yet, in his unconscious, he desired to obtain his forgiveness. That’s the reason why when he confessed to his friend, he talked about knowledge and forgiveness. 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.

That’s why he was so obsessed with the past and his childhood friend. With this new approach, this would show to the main lead that he had never been abandoned and was loved, but Jihwa’s love was the cause for his misery. That explains why Jihwa could never reveal it, because it would signify his admission of his guilt. Why do I connect Jihwa with a possible participation in the purge? First, he is so often using the idiom “I know”. Secondly, I couldn’t help myself thinking of the nightmare Jihwa had about bloody hands. Back then, I just considered it as a premonition, but let’s not forget that the painter’s wet dreams were always connected to repressed desires or memories. 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:

  1. The confession of his crime (chapter 18)
  2. His love declaration (chapter 57)

This is no coincidence that we have this combination. His love is linked to crime. Furthermore, his actions during the first season were caused by his love Yoon Seungho. Now, you understand why I came to this deduction that Jihwa’s love is strongly connected to a crime and the second character feels very guilty. Let’s not forget that in his confession, he puts the responsibility on the main lead and even adds that he is forgiving him. And if you pay attention to his words in chapter 60, Jihwa says:

Back then, we assumed that he was talking about his behavior during the first season, but if we take into consideration that he already acted like that in the past, then his words have another signification. Besides, we have the word “All”. This idiom could be a clue that he is thinking about the past. Notice that he is admitting his guilt. But if my theory is correct, then he has still a long way to go, as he is not recognizing his wrongdoing committed towards the painter. He is neither apologizing nor asking for forgiveness. Everything was done out of love, an irony, when you think that Yoon Seungho feels the exact opposite. Therefore I believe that the more the situation will escalate, the more the red-haired noble will be confronted with his past and his remorse.

The final argument for this idea is the role played by Nameless. In my opinion, the criminal is ruthless, because he was involved in a crime and saw himself as a victim due to his social status. Through his terrible experiences, he learned that by working for the nobles, he is safer. Yet he despises aristocracy, as he considers this class as corrupt and as the cause for his misery. For him, they are to blame for the crimes, and the servants helping them are no better. Hence he lived a nomadic life, so that he wouldn’t be attached to anyone. However, their relationship will deteriorate the moment Jihwa realizes that the abduction had terrible consequences and he will blame Nameless for this. At the same time, Nameless will refuse to become his scapegoat, as Jihwa had still requested to have the painter abducted. From my point of view, their relationship will force them to see the truth: both are responsible, as Nameless became Jihwa’s hands and took his remorse as a sign for purity. From my point of view, Jihwa was too young back then to become the guilty one. From my point of view, he was just a pawn for the purge, just like Min used him. The real culprits are father Yoon who plotted and the one who revealed the plot in order to get some benefit. Besides, I doubt that Jihwa truly knows about Yoon Seungho’s sexual abuse, as only Kim is aware of that secret (the closed door). The red-haired aristocrat might know about the prostitution and the sacrifice, yet he is not aware that his love for his friend was the start of Yoon Seungho’s misery.

As a conclusion: What if Jihwa’s love for Yoon Seungho became the cause for their misery? What if the red-haired noble didn’t bear the thought of losing his loved one and made wrong choices contributing to the main lead’s traumatic past? At the end, he felt so terribly guilty that he became blind and deaf and even hated himself so much. What if he imagined that by getting the main lead’s love, he would get his forgiveness? If this theory is true, then it explains why Jihwa became so ruthless towards commoners in the end. He couldn’t bear the thought that he had caused the death of so many people. Let’s not forget that during a purge, the servants from the noble families get punished as well.

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.

Painter Of The Night / Dine With A Vampire: Yoon Seungho’s obsession and its origins (second version)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 5 Comments

This is where you can read the manhwas. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter  https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/dine_vampire But be aware that these manhwas are mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents:  https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/

Due to the title, I am quite sure that you are all expecting that my focus in this essay will be about Yoon Seungho’s last confession, since his last action 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 and negative. In my opinion, the artist made him feel less lonely and empty. Consequently, he can’t bear the thought of being separated from him. This exposes that the core issue has not been solved: his Dependency Personality disorder which is strongly connected to his abandonment issues. Since the butler had become his helping hand, the lord’s statement “I will never let you go” lets transpire a change. The lord is now dependent on Baek Na-Kyum. It was, as if he had just replaced the butler with the painter.

However, what the readers shouldn’t forget is that the master’s behavior is actually unveiling his own past and mirroring his past traumatic experiences. The main lead is acting the way he was taught, or even I would even say, the way he experienced it himself. There’s no doubt that he is replicating father Yoon’s gestures. The first evidence for this deduction is the way he grabs the artist’s neck in chapter 62. (chapter 57) Let’s not forget that he was trapped in his own house, like the doctor pointed out in chapter 57. In other words, his moves were controlled and he was forced to remain by his father’s side as well. However, I realized at the end of the second season that these traumatic experiences are not just related to father Yoon. This night from chapter 62 to chapter 65 exposes all the crimes the young protagonist was exposed to. First, we have the imprisonment (chapter 61) (chapter 74). Then he was raped in the shed and butler Kim was a witness who betrayed and abandoned him. (chapter 65) Hence, later the main lead questions the butler’s appearance and interruption: (chapter 64) That’s why I come to the conclusion that the main lead isn’t just utilizing the same expressions and actions from his father’s, but also from all the perpetrators: the rapist in the cabin and his main sexual partner, the king. (chapter 74) Consequently, I come to the conclusion that this statement mirrors the king’s obsession for Yoon Seungho. Yet, unlike the main lead, the monarch was unable to keep his “promise”, as his obsession, blindness and selfishness led him to make terrible decisions. He ended up destroying the young man, hence he was forced to send him away. (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. However, now I believe that the real sexual predator was the king himself, who was definitely an old-bearded man. Since he is mentioned in episode 76, 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.

Here, the antagonist Kwon Sungha is in a hidden relationship with his former best friend Joo Sooin, 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.

The reason for his violence is simple. This represents his antipathy for sodomy. He has internalized it so deeply that he can’t hate himself due to his huge ego and selfishness. He can only turn his resent towards the object of his obsession. He sees in Sooin the cause for his deviation and his “misery”, as he can’t live normally and follow the social norm which is that homosexuality is repulsive. That’s why in the end, Kwon Sungha gives such a negative reflection towards Sooin. What the victim sees in the abuser’s eyes, is only resent and the image of being a monster, while in reality Sooin is not perceiving his own true reflection, but the picture the former friend has about Sooin and homosexuals in general. This explains why the main lead has such a low self-esteem and self-hatred as a result. He despises his own image and has the impression, he is not lovable. He has the feeling that he is nothing worthy, hence he has no goal in life. He has given up on himself, since he sees no hope and no way out. 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.

Hence when Sooin has sex with the vampire Park Chi-Hwan, who helped him to get rid of Kwon Sungha, the uke is triggered by the vampire’s word and is reminded of his past experience with Kwon Sungha. 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.

The villain views sodomy as filthy, therefore he rejects any intimate and tender gesture from the uke. 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.

And now it is necessary to summarize all the elements indicating that Sooin has been abused sexually, physically and emotionally:

The lack of light in Sooin’s gaze, his self-hatred, a negative image about himself, plagued with nightmares, words can trigger the victim and he is reliving his past, his entire life is controlled by the abuser, the attempts to flee, the lack of warmth and tenderness, punishment if the abuser is angered, the feeling of being trapped, living a hell. Like I described, Sooin had become a zombie, was no longer living his own life.

And now, I am quite sure that the manhwaphiles will recognize these symptoms in Yoon Seungho’s behavior. And this is no coincidence that Yoon Seungho is so obsessed with the painter’s tears. Due to the repetitive abuse, the main lead had to stop crying, if he didn’t want to infuriate his father and later the king. That’s the reason why he can no longer cry and Kim and the noble asked the painter to stop crying. 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 shows that he has internalized not to draw attention through his clothes. However, the moment he wants to impress the painter, he starts wearing a different color (blue), like in his youth. And the more time passes on, the more he dresses up in order to attract the artist’s attention, which is already visible in chapter 23. 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. Due to the position of the candles, it looks like the noble’s fate is already determined. He will be a sacrifice for the monarch. He will become his plaything. However, in order to ensure that the favored courtesan would never get power over the monarch and would remain under the control of his father, the latter had to indoctrinate his son. Thus the father created these rules: sex was just a battle and the teenager was not allowed to confess. Then I remembered the scholar’s words: Striking is the word “courtesan” in this picture. It’s here linked to the kisaeng-house, however the expression as such implies the royal court. This definitely shows that there’s a strong connection between the brothel and the palace. Since the learned sir mentioned it in Yoon Seungho’s library, I am more than ever convinced that father Yoon transformed his mansion into a brothel in order to train his son as a future courtesan. Let’s not forget that the nightmare in chapter 74 takes place in the mansion: We never see the palace, only the hands of the nobles. That’s why I come to the deduction that father Yoon must have asked the noble families close to him for help. They were supposed to train his son. After getting drugged and gangraped, the noble’s strong will was broken. The father did it intentionally. He needed to turn him into a obedient puppet who would never make any request or even try to escape from his father’s claws through the king. That’s why I believe that when he went to the capital, his heart had already died. He was in a similar state than Baek Na-Kyum in the beginning of the second season: passive and submissive. Since we have two rapes with the painter (one is planned), I assume that the lord had this terrible fate:

  1. The rape in the shed
  2. The gangrape leading to the sexual education as prostitute:
  3. The second rape which I associate to the king : 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.

However, like Sungha from Dine with a vampire, the king was a very possessive and jealous man who hid his homosexuality. Nevertheless, I guess, he got fascinated by his plaything that at some point, he wanted to possess the main lead’s body and heart. Let’s not forget that Yoon Seungho’s obsession in the beginning of the second season was this: 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.

From my point of view, father Yoon was too simple-minded to realize that among the palace, there were rivals and enemies who would target his son. Since I have developed the theory that Yoon Seungho’s painting had been stolen by Jeong Seon, his special relationship to the king could have been perceived as a source of threat for the painter. The theft could have been discovered. I had stipulated as well that a painter could have been kidnapped and killed, especially if we take into consideration Nameless’ words who seems to know how to deal with artists: (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.

Moreover, it is also possible that the main lead tried to escape from his hell, but he was betrayed and abandoned. The fact that his description of the flee is so vivid makes me believe that he could have done it himself once. He thought, he had succeeded, before he was caught, because he had been betrayed by the person whom he trusted the most: Kim. Moreover, the main lead had another enemy in my opinion: the culprit of the first rape, as the latter had not been caught. There’s no doubt that in the shed, Yoon Seungho is acting like father Yoon and the king. Both mistreated him, but were unable to give him love, whereas they expected from him total obedience and even attachment.

To sum up, when the lord was brought to the capital, he was confronted with a bearded man again, hence the second rape occurred. That’s why the king thought that the teenager had lost his virginity to him. Let’s not forget that during the Wedding night, the lord never expected this, 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.

I have to admit that this idea came to my mind, when I wrote the essay “The birth of the zombie”. 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.

And now, you are wondering about lord Song. 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.That’s why he doesn’t want them to meet. He never expected that the noble would write a letter to his master, although the letter was fake. Lord Song was definitely father Yoon’s rival. Another possibility is that it was indeed lord Song who had decided to betray lord Yoon and expose the plot. But like I mentioned it above, I am suspecting that this is just another lie from the valet. For that, he used the main lead’s situation in order to divert father Yoon’s attention. Father Yoon was too mad at his son, hence he didn’t realize that in the mean time, the other noble had revealed the plot to the king. Therefore the father could only resent more his son and chose to punish him by betraying a second time. He abandoned his son and punished him in the worst way: not only he castrated him, but also he ruined his reputation for good. That’s why the terrible reflection is engraved in Yoon Seungho’s memory. 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.

It is also possible that after the purge and huge revelation, the king decided to offer Yoon Seungho to his officials as retaliation. Observe that we often have two events of the same nature: two rapes, two incidents with the door, two “escapes” etc. Since the protagonist had been tainted, then he was nothing more than a prostitute which led to a real breakdown. Hence the young man was sent away from Hanyang. One might argue that this theory is not possible, since I had already stipulated that the king was obsessed with Yoon Seungho. How could he offer him to his officials? Let’s not forget that Yoon Seungho almost did it, when he got rejected in chapter 54: If he was so obsessed with the main lead (mind and heart) to the point he wanted to keep him away from others, then he would have never used him as a whore. However, even this point can be refuted. First, even Jung In-Hun, who hated homosexuality, was willing to betray his own doctrines for his own interests. Let’s not forget that in the other manhwa “Dine with a vampire”, the antagonist has no problem to use his sex partner for his own interests. In one incident, he makes sure that Sooin interrupts him with his girlfriend, so that the villain is not forced to have sex with her. At the same time, he uses this as an excuse to punish the uke. Furthermore, I portrayed father Yoon as especially greedy and ambitious, hence despite his jealousy and obsession, he had a big dream. Besides, he hates sodomy so by using his son as a prostitute, he can remain clean and perceives his son as dirty, since he is the source of his “misery”. As for the king, notice that the latter doesn’t have a bad reputation. This shows that his sexual orientation and even perversion is a secret. The king could have a similar attitude than Sungha: he hates homosexuality, but he can’t stop his urges. So for his own career, father Yoon taught his son that sex is a battle, therefore he described love as a weakness. However he made him believe that if he obeyed him, then he would benefit him: . He requested that his son would never fall in love with a man so that he would have the upper hand in front of the king. 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.

This theory also explains why valet Kim wondered about father Yoon’s reaction in chapter 57. First, this indicates that the eldest master Yoon is still paying attention to Yoon Seungho’s behavior, and Kim is well aware of it. Imagine that Yoon Seungho used his bad reputation as a notorious hell-raiser in order to torment his father, yet the latter never intervened. This signifies that he could bear the humiliation, because the truth had not been unveiled. The father turned his own son into a black sheep, a sign that there’s actually something wrong in a family. However, it becomes a different story, when he hears that Jihwa has already confessed in public. It means that his son could definitely fall in love and this could also reach the king’s ears. If the lord maintains a terrible reputation, then no one will try to become his partner, hence the king’s position remains untouched. Notice that Kim is worried that the elder master hears about the confession, indicating that he is well aware about his doctrines. Love is a taboo. I doubt, he is referring to sodomy as such, because it is well known that Yoon Seungho sleeps with men. As a conclusion, this panel reveals that the lord was keeping an eye on his son all this time. Since he never meddled before, in his eyes, his son’s rebellion was nothing to worry about. Consequently, this is not surprising that the father and Seung-Won imagined that once asked by them, Yoon Seungho would obey and help them, because he had always done it before. Yet, this time, the main lead refused.

Although the damaged painting wasn’t sent to his father by the father, it is important to examine its signification. 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.

If we take this aspect into consideration, then the story gets another dimension. Byeonduck would show us, how a sexual abused victim becomes a perpetrator himself later, which is often the case. And this would explicate why the lord never acted before towards his sexual partners. He might have cut Jihwa’s hair or dragged them by the topknot, yet he didn’t rape them. And since the painter is a low-born, he is put in the same situation than Yoon Seungho in the past, vulnerable and defenseless against the authority of the king, the supreme lord. And remember that he asked the painter to call him “my lord”, and his sex partner might have requested the same calling. However, when the painter whispers “Lord Seungho” for the first time, it pushes the main lead to act differently, like I pointed out in the former analysis. In this perspective, the chapters 62 and 63 get another signification. The painter’s expressed apology 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, he stopped him, because back then the lord had a similar reaction. He proclaimed, he loved the man, while deep down, he only feared and even detested him. We know for sure that the main lead has never been in love before, father Yoon ensured this. That’s the reason why his third love confession resembles more to an obsession than to love. This is how the king treated him. And read the last two chapters under the perspective that the king is Yoon Seungho and the powerful noble the painter, now you understand why Kim has the intention to intervene this time. He knows why the noble is acting like that. Then we understand why the lord chose to become blind and deaf to the truth, as he was reliving his own past and he knew very well what he had done back then. The painter’s words can only be lies, since he was forced to lie in front of his abuser. Therefore he can not use his brain like during the first season. As for people asking a punishment for Yoon Seungho’s wrongdoings, I can only reply: if my theory is true, then the man needs therapy more than anything else. He is a perpetrator, because he has been conditioned by his father and the king, and since he is willing to change and even shows remorse, he needs help more than anything else.

I have to admit that my initial intention in this essay was different, although I chose the title “Yoon Seungho’s obsession”. While reading the last two chapters, a detail caught my attention: his obsession for the painter’s motivations. (chapter 62) Then in chapter 63: In fact, I noticed that the lord was fixated on “why”, although he doesn’t use it constantly, he often makes allusion. It is already palpable in chapter 21, when the lord wonders about the artist’s reaction: 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.

By meeting the painter and falling in love with him, the lord is forced to reflect on his past and indirectly on his father’s behavior. I perceive the recurrence of the “why” as a sign that Yoon Seungho is changing. He definitely affected the painter with his critical thinking, just like the artist affected his life as well. Both are forced to question themselves. Slowly, the aristocrat is liberating himself from his father’s claws and the king’s obsession. However, in order to transform totally, he needs to realize that he is making Baek Na-Kyum suffer the same bad experiences than his father did. At the same time, he needs to remember that the king was just a selfish and possessive monster. The image he saw in the king’s gaze was the reflection the ruler had for himself: too selfish and arrogant to resent himself for being a sodomite. Hence the words lord Seungho said to the painter didn’t reveal Yoon Seungho’s obsession, rather the king’s. But the latter betrayed and abandoned him, when he discovered that he had been lied to. This observation explicates why the protagonist’s so determined to use his position as lord to claim the painter as his possession. Experiencing this terrific experience, where he couldn’t escape from his father and the king’s tyranny, he came to the conclusion that his position as a lord and master was the only way to protect himself from danger and misery. If he was a powerful lord, then no one would be able to abuse him like in the past. That’s why it is urgent that the lord realizes that his approach is wrong. He needs to get rid of this doctrine: relationship is a balance of power. The moment he is no longer a lord and he treats Baek Na-Kyum as his real lover, he can experience the artist’s happiness and love. As a final word, I would like to point out that the main lead is not a new version of his father or the king. He is definitely different, since he doesn’t see the artist as dirty and filthy, though he is a commoner. Besides, he was caring enough to give up on his own bed, pay the visit of the doctor and the expensive medicine for him and even wash the painter himself after their intercourses. 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.

That’s why I believed that Yoon Seungho could redeem himself and could change for the better. Just like Sooin from Dine With A Vampire, the main lead must find a purpose in his life, must gain more confidence and realize that he is lovable. More importantly, he has a different disposition: he has always reflected on his own actions, whereas I suspect it is not the case for the king and the eldest master Yoon. In my eyes, both seem to blame others for their own misery. Even after leaving his abuser behind, Sooin hadn’t still found his place in life. He thought that his only value was to give blood to the vampire, 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.

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

Painter Of The Night: “Fire and darkness – valet Kim – part 1” second version

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 2 Comments

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. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents:  https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/

The main topic of this essay will be the butler Kim, as I believe that he will play a huge role during this fateful and tragic night. However, before writing any prediction, it is important to analyze the evolution of his relationship with Yoon Seungho. The gradual change of their bond explains, why there’ll be a confrontation. As we are about to witness a turning point in the main lead’s life, it signifies that this will affect Kim as well. That’s why in the first part, I’ll focus on the change of Kim’s attitude towards his lord, before imagining a possible continuation of chapter 62. From my point of view, the rebirth of the phoenix, which is another clue for the fire, is strongly connected to valet Kim, because the latter represents a part of his past. In order to get reborn, you need to cut ties with the past. Yet, at the same time, the servant is connected to the future [see for that, the essay called “Past, present and future – part 3”], as he keeps scheming. Consequently, I come to the conclusion that the butler will be the trigger for the lord’s final metamorphosis, whereas Baek Na-Kyum is the cause for Yoon Seungho’s change.

In my first essay about Kim entitled “The helping hand”, https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/painter-of-the-night-the-helping-hand/

I had described, how the butler would act as if he was helping his master from behind the scene. Nevertheless, initially he disapproved the main lead’s desire to have the painter as his lover, hence he advised Baek Na-Kyum not to remember anything. He didn’t desire Baek Na-Kyum to recall their Wedding night, because if he did, this could definitely affect Kim’s position. Striking is that with his advice, he acted as a father rejecting the son’s choice for his partner. But he couldn’t do it so openly due to his social status: he is just a servant, a commoner, therefore he has no right to meddle in his master’s life.

What caught my attention is that during the terrible night of the rape and its consequences, the valet played a huge role. First, he was the one who brought the low-born to the pavilion, just like he was the one who had to fetch him and bring him to the bathroom. 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. Because the painter was brave enough to resist the noble (the scar) and criticize the butler, the latter could already imagine the artist’s reaction. Furthermore, the domestic knew about the existence of the love triangle, since he had heard the artist’s love confession addressed to his learned sir. As you can observe, each time Kim was the only witness of Yoon Seungho’s actions and wrongdoings. First, he impersonated the scholar and slept with someone, who seemed not to love him. Secondly, he forced himself on the painter in order to obtain what he was longing: love. Yet, at no moment, the butler criticized his master, he chose to remain silent. One might say that he was in no position to express his opinion, as he is just a servant. However, like I described it in the analysis “The birth of the zombie”, the lord relied on Kim’s suggestions and actions all the time. This explicates why the head-maid keeps asking for Kim’s help and advice. (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.

But let’s go back to the reprimand expressed by Baek Na-Kyum towards the servant who seems so gentle and caring. Since Kim has never told the artist the truth, the former can be accused of lying by omission. Kim envisioned that if the past was buried and never mentioned, then it was, as if nothing had happened. And this reminded me of Nameless’ behavior and thoughts. Since the painter had been sent back to Yoon Seungho, it was, as if no crime had been committed. 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: (chapter 60) (chapter 66). Valet Kim only fakes concern and care, because his motto is: The contrast is surprising, because one would expect that after spending so much time with Baek Na-Kyum and his master, he should have come to like or pity them.

This explicates why hearing these words, the butler could only feel guilty. Hence he didn’t reply. To be more precisely, he was almost left speechless, because he was stuttering. At the end, he just added that he would bring him new clothes. With his lack of response and his desertion from the bathroom, it is clear that the servant was running away, for he didn’t want to face his own responsibilities. He was literally leaving the artist’s side. The change of clothes was a good excuse for him not to witness Baek Na-Kyum’s tears. I am quite certain that the low-born’s reaction must have reminded Kim of Yoon Seungho’s past as well. Striking is that both characters, Kim and Yoon Seungho, were annoyed by his cry and tears. Why? It is because the tears 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:

  1. The main lead was asked not to cry, when he was wounded in his past. No one provided him comfort as well. His father had already rejected him and the valet thought, it was not his business to do so. He was just a servant in the end.
  2. During the first and second season, we encountered a wounded main character, who could only become infuriated or laugh in a cynical way. Remember his reaction, when he received the fake letter. He was hiding his eyes from his assistant, while he was somehow laughing. In this scene, it becomes visible that the lord is hurt, and this represents a proof that Kim must have requested from him to stop crying in his youth too. The noble has already internalized the gesture: he is not allowed to show his tears in front of his assistant. Moreover, although he is deeply wounded, he can’t shed tears, since he has long forgotten how to do so. And this was for me another clue that the main character must have encountered so many bad experiences that he could no longer cry. This assumption was proven correct, when Byeonduck allowed the readers to witness the noble’s nightmare: his past is indeed very tragic and painful. (chapter 74) The absence of the noble’s tears made me realize this: Yoon Seungho stands in opposition to his childhood friend. While the latter could cry so easily, the other lacked the ability to do so. Yet, the protagonist compensated his disability with his mind’s eye. (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.

Now, you might criticize me for mentioning all this, while I had written above that valet Kim was in the center of this essay. The reason for this is the following: I believe that the tears will be the symbol of Yoon Seungho’s rebirth. Since Jihwa expressed regrets for the first time, I have the feeling that we will see the lord crying at some point. And remember that I had already announced that Jihwa and Seungho were put in the same situation, hence we had two similar panels. (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.

And now, let’s return our attention to the so-called loyal butler. Once the latter saw his master returning to the bathroom, he detected that a terrible incident would happen. Therefore he must have witnessed how the lord went grabbing his sword. This explicates why he made sure that the scholar Jung In-Hun would leave his room. He sent the white-bearded servant in order to lure the teacher outside the building, so that his master wouldn’t be able to kill him. 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. (chapter 12)Since the butler had always acted in the shadow, he imagined that he would success like in the past. Yet, he never expected that Jung In-Hun would ruin his plan. While the valet acted as a selfless and genuine person, the learned sir behaved the opposite. However, their attitudes have something in common: fakeness and selfishness. There’s no doubt that the butler envisioned that he could act like in the past, thus history is repeating itself. Yoon Seungho had been exposed to the same situation, where he was abused sexually and couldn’t escape. Yet, contrary to the past, neither the painter nor the scholar acted like the butler had anticipated, because the valet didn’t judge the scholar’s personality correctly. He thought, the former teacher would fear for his life after hearing from the painter that his life was in danger. 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? For he was the lord’s right-hand, he was forced to beg for Yoon Seungho’s forgiveness. All the staff expected this from the valet, since he was the closest assistant to Yoon Seungho.

The domestic had imagined that once the artist had deserted the house, Jung In-Hun would follow him after hearing from him about the events of the previous night. His involvement was visible the moment he remained silent, while Deok-Jae claimed his ignorance about the whereabouts of the low noble. Kim never refuted the vicious servant’s words, when the latter spoke in his name (“we”). Notice that Kim was sweating and looked pale, indicating a huge discomfort. He never imagined their return, just like he never expected the noble’s outburst. Nothing could stop him, he became so infuriated and violent that he wasn’t even spared. 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.

That’s why from that moment (chapter 30), he changed his strategy and chose to treat the painter as his master’s sex toy or prostitute. Hence he provided the artist with an aphrodisiac, so that the painter would get an erection in the lord’s presence. Due to the sex marathon, Baek Na-Kyum almost lost his life, hence he thought that if this sexual intercourse was renewed: the noble couldn’t restrain himself and would have sex with the artist, until the latter dies. Consequently, he brought back the artist to the lord’s bedchamber just before the commoner woke up and he portrayed his lord in a positive light. Yoon Seungho had taken care of him himself and had left the house, because he felt so guilty. 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. Yet, this scene revealed the butler’s deceptive personality in reality. He spent his lord’s money without asking. He left the mansion on his own and I doubt, his master was aware of his actions. Then he kept sending Deok-Jae to the artist’s study so that the vicious servant would get more and more jealous. If you examined Kim’s behavior more carefully, you would notice that he was acting more and more on his own, to the point that he was no longer waiting for his master’s authorization. That’s why he brought the painter to the physician. (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.

In the past, the butler had always acted as his advisor and assistant through his suggestions, but it was no longer possible. The more time passed on, the more the master recognized that the butler was overstepping his boundaries. The aristocrat was slowly distancing himself from Kim. Hence each time the domestic acted above his position, his master got angry and reminded him of his own position. And now, if the manhwalovers compare both panels, they will note the increasing of violence expressed by Yoon Seungho. While many resented the protagonists for his brutal words, they actually indicate that the main lead is already sensing the manipulative side from the butler. Let’s not forget that in chapter 62, Kim declared this: “I believe” stands in opposition to “I know”. For the domestic is well aware that Yoon Seungho has huge insecurities and as such has an immense mistrust, he will never listen to Kim’s words. By saying “I do not believe”, the valet was influencing the noble to imagine the opposite. From my point of view, he wanted the main lead to kill the painter. Why do I believe this? First, the panel above illustrates that Kim’s head and body stand in the dark. That’s why Yoon Seungho’s face and eyes are in the shadow as well. Secondly, chapter 62 should be a new version from an episode in the first season. The painter was sent to the shed in episode 1. And look what do we have here: 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: But it backfired on him. He was the one who got threatened with the sword. That’s why the domestic kept monitoring the door of the shed. (chapter 61) (chapter 62) (chapter 64) He was curious to know if the lord had executed the low-born. As a conclusion, Kim represents the darkness, which is totally understandable, because he embodies Yoon Seungho’s traumatic past.

In chapter 50, the weapon was cutting the book and as such Jung In-Hun, yet the noble was definitely angered by Kim’s words, and his gesture was not random. In chapter 62, the menace was much more precise: he would cut off his tongue. This exposes the gradual loss of the butler’s manipulations. From chapter 62 on, Kim is no longer protected from his master’s fury and criticisms. Yet, at the same time, we could observe why the lord’s threads became more visible. It was related to the servant’s words. While in chapter 50, Kim was quite reserved and his advice was full of respect, in chapter 62 he is no longer hiding his true thoughts. Here he is openly making a statement and “criticizing” his lord indirectly. Kim is slowly leaving his status as domestic, he is acting more and more as a senior, just like Yoon Seungho called him “the old man” in chapter 23. As the manhwaphiles could observe, during the second season, the valet is more and more perceived as a servant and no longer as a surrogate father. This means that from chapter 50 on, Kim and the lord just have a master-servant relationship and nothing more. On the other hand, the domestic has always considered Yoon Seungho as his puppet, although he didn’t show it so openly before the appearance of Baek Na-Kyum. There’s a reason for that. Yoon Seungho never tried to have a relationship and never fell in love before. Until his encounter with the painter, Yoon Seungho only had eyes for his butler. First he was with him, when the latter was still innocent and sensitive. He knows his past and secret. In the main lead’s mind, Kim remained by his side out of loyalty and concern. While in the first version of this essay, I imagined that Kim would stop his master from committing another wrongdoing out of worry and care, I only realized my mistake, when the chapter 64 came out. In my opinion, this was a deliberate decision from Byeonduck. She wanted us to hope that Kim would help the painter, only to discover his cowardice and selfishness at the end. However, if you reread the story again, the abandonment and betrayal were predictable in reality. Why? In two occasions, he didn’t intervene… the Wedding night (chapter 20) and the sex marathon (chapter 33). 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: He had tried to harm the commoner through his master, but his scheme always failed. As for the remorse, they were always short-lived, like we could in the same episode: The lord was in reality the fire and because Kim spoke to him in chapter 62, the noble was full of mistrust and pain.

And notice that Kim’s attitude towards the painter was never free of criticisms and order. (chapter 36) He dared to scold Baek Na-Kyum blaming him for his relapse. He reprimanded him for acting like a master. He reminded him of his own status: He was just a low-born, hence he should approach the lord. Kim could do so, because both are commoners and the butler stands above the artist. Nevertheless, don’t forget that in that scene the lord had guests. Making such a suggestion was not the right thing to do: it would expose him to danger… one of the nobles could request the artist as a sex partner. That’s why I come to the conclusion that Kim had intended to create a situation where the artist would get gangraped during the night of Min’s visit. That way, Baek Na-Kyum would get so upset that he would flee the house. In other words, this would have become a new version of the night of the rape. Yet, Yoon Seungho protected his lover which Kim hadn’t anticipated.

To sum up, the fire in the cabin symbolized the lord, hence he couldn’t transform totally into a vengeful ghost in a long term. Despite the valet’s manipulations, the lord did follow his heart, hence he provided some warmth for his lover. 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 and genuine facial expressions.

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

Painter Of The Night: “Fire and darkness: Baek Na-Kyum” (second version)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 6 Comments

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. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents:  https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/

In this essay, I will focus on the painter’s situation and emotions during the sex session in the barn. After reading it for the first time, all the readers had a very negative perception of this sex session due to the verbal violence and the roughness.

In the first part, I compared Yoon Seungho to a demon coming from hell, asking for pain and blood from the person who hurt him the most recently: Baek Na-Kyum. The vengeful ghost has the impression, he is living in hell, since he has been lied, betrayed and abandoned by the painter. Because of his immense suffering, the lord’s heart is set on taking the artist to hell as well. The main lead’s goal is not just to torment the low-born like hell, but also to keep him by his side in the end. Behind his madness, Byeonduck lets transpire the noble’s dependency on the painter. He doesn’t want to be alone. This becomes very obvious in the following panels. First, Seungho attempts to diminish his love confession: By using an antiphrasis “in the heat of the moment”, the noble is actually saying the opposite, which he doesn’t realize. He was serious and meant it for real. Besides, the depth of his affection for the commoner is truly unveiled, when he expresses his despair and powerlessness in the following panel. The first statement outlines not only the limitation of the master’s strength and control (“I would never have been able”), but also the irremediable outcome (“Never”). It exposes Yoon Seungho’s exasperation and dependency on the artist as well. This explains why Yoon Seungho was infuriated and wounded and was deaf to any reasonable argument. And the last panel reminds me of the scene in chapter 30, where the noble beat his staff, as his order had not been truly followed. In fact, he was expressing his powerlessness and despair. However, this time he can’t criticize his servants for the escape, since he was the one next to Baek Na-Kyum. This explicates why the lord is only targeting the artist with his violence, 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.

But let’s return our attention to the initial thought: Yoon Seungho is determined to punish the painter for his lies, betrayal and abandonment. The reason for this terrible behavior is simple. The noble is himself so tormented, because he was reminded of his own past again, where he was hugged and lied, before being backstabbed and left behind. As you can detect, the lord is mirroring the sins he was exposed to. Therefore Yoon Seungho faked a warm hug 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.

Like I had mentioned it in the first part, the noble was so wounded by the painter’s words during that night and now he is determined to hurt his lover, just like he did. With these observations, I deduce that the main lead is actually reflecting every word and gesture from the painter in order to afflict pain. And since the noble is denying the necessity of affection and respect between him and his lover, the manhwaworms have the feeling that a second rape is about to occur reminding us of the scene at the pavilion.

However, I believe that this sex session shouldn’t be perceived as rape, especially if you compare it to the scene at the pavilion. 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: Therefore, the artist can perceive the lord’s despair and pain in the end. Baek Na-Kyum’s silence and passivity were the reasons for the lord’s insecurities. The artist never expressed anything expect that it felt good. Note that in the barn the commoner is not rejecting Yoon Seungho contrary to the past: 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. So when the artist faces his lover again, he apologizes a second time, yet this time it is different. The main lead has realized that he did wound Yoon Seungho with his silence during that night and in the barn. He never gave any real explication for his disappearance. That’s why in chapter 63 the nature of their interaction changes: there are more feelings, when they face each other. On the other hand, it never becomes a real love session, as the noble rejects Baek Na-Kyum’s confession. He can’t trust his words, that’s why he interrupts the artist. But since he only knows sex in order to keep the painter by his side, he can’t stop the intercourse. He has to fight his “opponent”. And now, the chapter 48/49 gets a new signification. Back then, the lord had witnessed how the painter reacted during their sexual intercourse. He got so many ejaculations pleasing the noble so much that he couldn’t help smiling and commenting on it. After the artist’s confession, Yoon Seungho made love to the painter for a long time, because he knew that he was pleasuring Baek Na-Kyum. As you can sense, the noble’s sexuality became dependent on the painter’s pleasure. Hence the lord imagines if they have sex for a long time, Baek Na-Kyum won’t leave him. That’s why he repeats his thoughts from episode 49: 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: Here, his heart was admitting his surrendering, hence I come to the conclusion that this sex session shouldn’t be judged as a rape. The painter is recognizing that with his silence and indecisiveness (he wondered about his feelings in the barn), he hurt the lord. However, the artist still hoped to get a kiss from his lover at the end which he didn’t get. This contrasts so much to the scene in the pavilion: the forced sex started with a kiss. 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.

And this is truly a sign that in this dark room, Baek Na-Kyum started sensing his own feelings for Yoon Seungho which is symbolized by the fire. Confronted with pure sex, Baek Na-Kyum got aware that he didn’t like the idea of pure sex and being treated like a sex toy. The lord coldly applied his words from that night in chapter 49, yet this time Baek Na-Kyum was there to pleasure the noble. The latter felt that sex was the only thing he could do in order to attach the painter to himself. However, the painter got exhausted and wanted to take a break which led to another misunderstanding. The lord mistook the rejection from Baek Na-Kyum as a new abandonment. Hence Yoon Seungho imagined that he needed to make a wreck of the painter in order to make him surrender.

But the problem is that while hurting the painter, Yoon Seungho was not realizing that he was himself betraying the artist. For the second time, the artist was hugged, while the warmth was fake, just like the false excuse. For the second time, he was betrayed and lied to, while embraced. He had been deeply hurt by Jung In-hun’s betrayal in chapter 29. 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. Despite the pain and rage, the noble can’t give up on the painter.

The fire in the storage room symbolizes the feelings from the protagonists in the end. Although both are wounded, the painter is slowly recognizing his affection for his lover, while the lord reveals his real source of happiness and his biggest wish:

Now, you can understand why I chose the title “Fire and Darkness”. The noble’s darkness and fire will affect the artist so much that once the former recognizes his mistake, he will feel terrible due to his huge pangs of conscience. And this is not surprising that at the end, the main lead let the artist choose his own fate. Yoon Seungho made the necessary leap of faith and decided to trust Baek Na-Kyum and show his affection for him. After the second sex marathon and the revelation of the kidnapping, Yoon Seungho is forced to recognize that his own negative feelings pained his companion terribly, almost causing a terrible tragedy: the loss of his loved one. This incident definitely opened his eyes: first he needed to demonstrate his trust in the painter in order to be trusted.

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

Painter Of The Night: “Crime and Punishment – part 3”

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 3 Comments

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.

In the first part, I mentioned that Yoon Seungho was a combination of Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov. In this essay, I’ll underline the parallels between the main leads from Painter Of The Night and Crime and Punishment in order to define Yoon Seungho’s future path. The affinities are not random, as both works are actually portraying a society shaken in the grip of decadency, injustice and misery.

Before starting the comparison, I need to introduce briefly Rodion Raskolnikov. He is a poor 23 years old student, who has a loving mother and sister by his side. Yet he had to drop his studies due to his financial struggles. The young man is unfortunately influenced by Nihilism, a mode of social criticism in Russia in the 19th century. This political doctrine didn’t acknowledge any constraint from society on the individual, refusing any religious, metaphysical, moral or political absolute. In other words, for Raskolnikov, he is neither bound by family, nor restrained by laws, social norms and faith. Hence he perceives himself as superhuman. This mentality leads him to plan the murder of a pawnbroker. With this crime, he wants to prove the veracity of his belief. He stands above society. However, what he never expected is the torments following the crime. His guilty conscience represents the center of Dostoevsky’s novel, showing there exists another form of punishment, the stress, doubts and anxiety of trying to avoid punishment and later his remorse.

Due to his crime, he alienates himself more and more from others to the point that he finds his actual situation unbearable. This makes him realize the emptiness of his belief and his actual true condition: he is a human after all and no superhuman. The torments of his guilty conscience pushes him to confess his crime to Sonya, a prostitute. He imagines that their situation is similar, because as a whore, she lives on the margins of society too. She would stand below society, while he would stand above it. However, he recognizes his mistake, since she is sacrificing herself for her family. So her so-called sin, a symbol for selflessness, stands in opposition to Raskolnikov’s, the climax of selfishness. But thanks to Sonya’s love and support, he decides to confess to the authorities and with time he comes to accept himself as a man. In fact, only Sonya’s love was able to move the protagonist to drop his contempt for humanity. We could say that the superman transforms into a human, recognizing his true condition: full of flaws and in no way extraordinary, compared to others. Simultaneously, he becomes more humble and caring.

His condition as superhuman explains why first Rodion pushes away anyone trying to help him to the point, he ends up completely alienated from society. The start of his growing isolation is the result of his pride and intellectualism. The young man considers himself superior to others, so that he can not relate to anyone. Because of this mentality, he views people as tools and uses them for his own interests. He is cold and detached, since he differentiates people into “ordinary” and “extraordinary” which legitimates him to judge them if they are valuable or not for society. Because the pawnbroker abuses her position to let people suffer, Rodion Raskolnikov decides to eliminate her. He justifies his murder as an utilitarian act, he helped society to get rid of someone with no value and utility. Yet, Sonya as his “teacher”, forces the main lead to question his nihilistic belief in the end.

As a conclusion, the Russian protagonist has the impression that he is very different from others, he stands above everyone because of his intelligence and his belief. But at the end, he is forced to drop his doctrine and is transformed into a human, able to love and admit his wrongdoings. He rediscovers his humanity and as such he loses his arrogance.

Striking is that his portray is very similar to Yoon Seungho’s. Both are anti-heroes because of their actions. While the Joseon version commits rape 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.

What caught my attention is that he seldom leaves his mansion and if he does, it is always related to Baek Na-Kyum. The latter forced to change his habits. He had to go to a tavern (chapter 1), then he visited his friend Jihwa at dawn (chapter 3) 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).

And now, if we look at the reasons why the protagonist hired the artist in first place, the manhwaphiles realize that it is connected to his unconscious but also to his conscious. In the first case, his gaze and heart were moved by the warmth and love exuding from the images. In the second case, the master wanted to have his victories immortalized. Moreover, the paintings would serve as a proof of his own existence as a spirit. Finally, he couldn’t bear the thought that he could never get new paintings, he needed stronger stimuli. That’s why he told to Baek Na-Kyum in chapter 55 . Note the similarity with Rodion’s thinking. The low-born’s function was first defined by his utility. Yoon Seungho desired to use him as his new toy in order to entertain himself. Striking is that even the words outline the lord’s loneliness and burden. He wasn’t happy at all, he needed distraction. Therefore, I perceive, Yoon Seungho’s brutal honesty as a proof of his own overestimation. He considered himself so superior and level-headed, while in reality he was deeply hurt and isolated. He was deceiving himself. Besides, he could never show his education to others which explains why his own image diverges so much to the one Jihwa and the others have about him. He never recognized the real nature and consequences of his actions. For him, he was just focused on fighting the nobles, while for others, it looks like he was obsessed with sex. Yet we all know that he never felt sexual pleasure before seeing his first portray with his sex partner. What caught my attention here is that the lord doesn’t even acknowledge the artist as human, he is a toy. He has neither rights nor feelings. And this cold and detached judgement corresponds to the lord’s mentality from back then. He was just a ghost hence he didn’t need to pay attention to others and their feelings. They were just tools for his own interests.

Just like Rodion who saw himself as a superhuman in the beginning and accepted his true condition at the end (being a normal man), I see a similar evolution here. Little by little, the noble is transforming into a human. He is slowly dropping his doctrines and belief one by one:

  1. It started with the liberation of his body, the lord realized that with his body he could feel pleasure. 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.
  2. Then when the aristocrat tasted the painter for the first time, he experienced love and warmth for the first time as well. He met someone who could love someone else spiritually. Secondly, the main lead discovered sensuality too. That’s why he was no longer interested in having sex with other nobles and was waiting for a renewal of this wonderful encounter. In that moment, the master’s heart was determined to gain the artist’s love, while he was thinking that he was just asking for a spiritual love through a lovely gaze. However, the main lead believed that his decision had been made by his mind. He rationalized and justified each action rationally, until he was confronted with reality.
  3. In that moment, he could no longer repress his emotions, which he had been numbing all this time with the wine and smoke. The rejection reminded him of his traumatic past hence he couldn’t control his outburst. He felt helpless, angered and painted therefore he couldn’t decide rationally. He acted on impulses. Yet this terrible experience made him realize at the same time that he was powerless. Neither his force nor his caring side (he brings his own robe himself) could move the painter’s heart. And if you observe the lord’s behavior, you’ll notice how he makes decisions more and more on affect (from chapter 25 to chapter 33). His emotions are clouding more and more his judgement. It was, as if his heart was taking possession of his mind or his mind was put off. Nonetheless, the readers observe the return of his rationality, which is linked to his huge pangs of conscience. Because of the painter’s sickness, he was faced with the painter’s fragile constitution. Since he was a spirit, he hadn’t taken into consideration the painter’s true condition. The latter was a human and could die. That’s why the lord felt such huge pangs of conscience. Reality was showing him that his dream (spiritual love) was just an illusion. And his remorse and guilt remind us of Rodion, this is his actual punishment. He is forced to change in the end, although he is not really realizing the gradual metamorphosis. That’s why he had sex with nobles again. He imagined that since it was just an illusion, he could return to the way he lived before. However, he was wrong. Notice that between the chapter 33 and 34, we observe the return of Yoon Seungho’s rationality. Once separated from the painter, he realized Baek Na-Kyum’s importance in his life due to Min’s challenge. What caught my attention is the words he said to Min. He declared the painter his possession (“what’s mine”). 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. Therefore I come to the conclusion, the lord was still living like a spirit in chapter 48 and could only be offended by the painter’s words: “He is a man consumed by sex”. In his eyes, he was never a man but a ghost. All this time, I had imagined, he was only bothered by the expression “consumed by sex”. However, I perceived it a differently now. He was annoyed too that he was perceived as a human.
  4. However, it changed the moment, the painter decided to accept him as his sexual partner. In that moment, the noble was cornered. If he couldn’t share his mind with the painter, 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. What caught my attention in this scene is the absence of Seungho’s response to Min’s questioning and mocking. It was, as if his body was present and his mind elsewhere. From my perspective, this symbolizes that the mind and the body are still separated from each other, mirroring the struggle between the conscious and unconscious. This signification explicates why the noble behaved so differently. In one moment, he was cold and detached, willing to offer the painter to his guests, although he was infuriated, and the next moment, he was protecting him from the vicious servant. Yet, the result of his bad decision was caused by the dichotomy between mind and body. The noble might have acknowledged the existence of his body but he was still denying the existence of his heart. If he had feelings for the painter, then this meant that he was a human after all.
  5. That’s why the moment he recognized his huge mistake in chapter 54, he decided to give up on the painter. He was finally accepting his condition as a human. No man would ever love someone like him. He was selfish, brutal and very emotional, putting the blame on the painter. His reasoning was so that the commoner would run away. As you can see, I consider the first love confession of the master as the end of the separation of body and mind. The lord has finally accepted his condition: he is a man made of flesh and blood with a soul. However, he still considers himself as a noble, something he has internalized due to his father’s principles. So from a spirit to a ghost inhabiting a body to a noble, the lord’s condition has changed a lot. However, his transformation is not complete.
  6. But since he considers himself as a noble, the status of Baek Na-Kyum hasn’t changed yet. He is still viewed as a servant. That’s why he imagined that the artist had remained by his side out of duty. And now the chapter 58 marked another turning point, the lord was finally giving up on the following doctrine. He admitted his defeat, the painter had won the battle and the lord was no longer a victorious champion. The artist was so powerful that his master became a wreck. However, note that the notion of battle has not entirely vanished, the struggle is still present. He is willing to love the painter selflessly, but he expects respect for his gestures. And now, imagine how he must have felt, when he is told that the painter escaped and was even suicidal, since he abandoned the warm clothes. Yoon Seungho had the impression that he had been rejected again. That’s why he was on the verge of killing Baek Na-Kyum and himself. He had the impression, all his changes had brought nothing. It was, as if it was never enough. So he sent the painter to the storage room and chose to calm down. Notice that his emotional outburst is quite controlled and short-lived, compared to the first explosion of negative emotions (chapter 25). Only one word can bring him back to reality. 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. When he starts smoking again, he is trying to dominate his urges. However, let’s not forget that he gave his robe to the painter, revealing that his love for the painter is still intact. What caught my attention is that he is not running away either or trying to numb his pain with drugs. He seems more collected. And since his mind was in the second part of the series more clouded than before, I believe that we will see a different master in the next chapter. He won’t react like in chapter 26, when he couldn’t even handle a small gesture of refusal. . 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.  

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.

Painter Of The Night: “Crime and punishment – part 2”

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 18 Comments

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.

In my first part, I had briefly described, how the manhwa Painter Of The Night has similarities with the Russian novel “Crime and punishment”. The anti-hero Dorion Raskolnikov, a poor student, is plagued with a guilty conscience after committing two murders. One might think that the student killed the pawnbroker due to his terrible financial situation, yet in reality it is different. Since the protagonist considered himself superior to others, developed the idea of superior humans, who were not bound to society norms and rules. Consequently, he justified his crime as an utilitarian act. However, during the assassination, he was forced to kill the pawnbroker’s sister, as she witnessed his misdeed, already revealing that he was no god. Moreover, after committing the crime with a certain brutality, he started feeling guilty, reminding him more and more of his true condition. He was just a human after all, like all the others. The burden of remorse became so heavy that he felt the need to confess. First, he admitted his crime to Sonya, a prostitute, and finally to the authorities.

Like I mentioned in the first part, Jihwa reminds me a little of Dorion Raskolnikov because of his terrible guilty conscience. Yet, there is a huge difference between them. Dorion Raskolnikov is a nihilist and he is totally alienated from society, which is not the case for Jihwa. The latter trusts people, especially his fellows from nobility. That’s why he talks to his friend and Min about his special relationship with his childhood friend.   His immense trust is palpable, when he takes their words as face-value (chapter 37). That’s why despite their similar situation, the burden of a crime, Jihwa’s torment is different in reality. He is not planning a murder because he considers himself superior to others or due to his philosophy. In fact, he feels remorse and suffers anxieties, even before the murder has taken place. And this reveals his purity in a certain sense. His conscious knew very well the gravity of the crime but his heart, blinded by his selfish desires and his trauma, chose to ignore it. Therefore Rodion’s course diverges so much from Jihwa’s path. While the former discovers his true condition and reconnects with his humanity, the red-haired noble will lose his innocence, chased away from Garden of Eden, and the readers will witness his transformation into an adult, into a real man.

It all started with a simple sentence. Although Jihwa had the impression, it was just a suggestion, in fact it was an order, as lord Min was using the imperative tense. And this is no coincidence. The snake had to deceive the naive noble by letting him think that he was making a choice. In order to seduce to commit a sin, Black Heart tried to diminish the gravity of the wrongdoing with the idiom “Just”. First, it creates the illusion that this is an easy solution to his difficult situation. Secondly “Just” is so short and yet so deceptive, because it hides the horror of reality. The most interesting part is that during that meeting, the second lead acts like a child. He doesn’t speak with the personal pronoun “I” but “we” showing that he is not differentiating himself from the others. It was, as if he considered Min and the others as his parents and had not his own identity. He is not able to make the decision on his own. This scene shows his lack of maturity. Sure, he questions Min’s words with this interrogation. Realizing that his first attempt was not successful, Black Heart knows how to trigger the naive man by turning Yoon Seungho into a victim of a low-born, a seducer bewitching his friend.That way, Min gives the lord a justification, he will do it as an utilitarian act and save his friend from the greedy commoner, while in reality Black Heart is well aware that jealousy is actually the real reason for the assassination. And here, I see another similarity with Dorion’s justification. The latter used his nihilistic philosophy for the murder, while in truth, it was a gesture of selfishness and arrogance, since he believed he was above law and faith.

However, since the murder didn’t take place, then it means there’s no crime and as such no punishment. It looks like Jihwa was able to maintain his innocence and purity. And that’s exactly how Nameless is thinking. The criminal’s words have an impact on the aristocrat, leading him to think that nothing happened. However, both are totally wrong. The abduction was a crime and the horror the painter was exposed to and what he had to hear and fear, will leave terrible marks in the painter’s mind. Let’s not forget, how he was suffocated till he fainted and Byeonduck truly outlined the gravity of the misdeed. sure, this image comes from a nightmare but it is influenced by his traumatizing experience. This will definitely leave a huge trauma on Baek Na-Kyum, which will be followed by nightmares. And Seungho will realize, how his loved one was hurt and since he was exposed to a similar situation, his thirst for revenge and punishment will be definitely huge. Besides, he will blame himself again. First, he was unable to protect the painter from the nobles, and secondly he punished him himself, though he was truly innocent. That’s why I am expecting a purge, organized by the protagonist. However, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying, he will act like with his staff. He will use his power and connections.

Since there’s a crime, there’ll be a punishment. And in this chapter, the manhwalovers can observe Jihwa’s “immaturity” once again. “It [the murder] is of no consequence”. Observe that Jihwa didn’t renounce on the assassination, because he realized the real gravity of the crime. Nameless described the killing as horrible as possible so that he would get a shock, unable to face the brutality of reality, and it worked. However, Jihwa decides to give up, as he recognizes the futility of the action. He will never obtain, what he really wanted. And for me, the expression “it is of no consequence” shows Jihwa’s lack of maturity. The abduction and the horror he was exposed to made him run away, while the painter couldn’t. While Jihwa was able to escape and to vomit to overcome the shock, Baek Na-Kyum never had the chance to do so. So there will be consequences, which neither Jihwa nor Nameless are expecting. Why? First, Nameless has the impression, Jihwa acted as a jilted lover and imagined, he had acted on an impulse. That’s why he feels sorry for him. He looks like he was a passionate and genuine lover. Nonetheless, he has no idea what the red-haired noble did to his childhood friend and why Yoon Seungho rejected him. But more importantly, he is not aware of Min’s participation and manipulation. He has no idea that Jihwa was the puppet used to hurt Yoon Seungho, so that the latter would be humiliated and lose his place as alpha among the nobles. Remember what I wrote before, Min gave Jihwa an order and nothing else. So when he visited the noble in chapter 56, he actually reminded him to give the order for the murder. At the same time, Min knew that there would be an abduction, as Min had recommended to make it look like an accident. Notice that when he asks to be part of the plan, he is acting, as if he was only a participant and Jihwa was the mastermind. He wants Jihwa to take the blame, in case something goes wrong. However, since he is using the imperative tense, this signifies that Min is giving an order and this is really important in my opinion. He is truly a puppet master, letting people think that they make their own decision, while in reality he corners them and forces them to decide what he really wants. Even Seungho fell into his trap in chapters 52-54.

While Nameless doesn’t know about Min’s involvement and request, the red-haired noble is unaware that his hands are already tainted by blood. Yes, he is responsible for Deok-Jae’s death. And in my opinion, the servant’s death will become a tool for Yoon Seungho’s vengeance and justification for punishment. Let’s not forget the friend’s words during that dinner: Even Min could face punishment, if they are caught which reveals Yoon Seungho’s true power. However, Black Heart dismisses the point by saying that they just need to make it look like an accident. However, the way Deok-Jae was killed doesn’t look like an accident. Since the condition is not met, this means, Yoon Seungho has a justification to go after them. And now, here is the question: who will be framed for the crime? Jihwa could definitely been betrayed by Min, which will symbolize Jihwa’s Fall of Eden. However, there is another possibility that Jihwa doesn’t face any punishment immediately and someone else becomes the target. Let’s not forget that in “Crime and punishment”, a painter is framed and we have a false confession too.

I have the impression that the noble with the mole could become Yoon Seungho’s target. Why do I come up with this idea? First, Jihwa seems to admire the relationship he has with Min. Besides, the red-haired aristocrat seems very close to the man dressed in purple. The latter visited him after the humiliation suffered in chapter 8, so did the second lead after discovering Yoon Seungho sleeping with the painter in chapter 43. So they both confide to each other. Secondly, let’s not forget that Byeonduck’s work contains a certain pattern. Min challenged the main lead twice during the first season (33-41) and the second season (52-54). Then Jihwa was humiliated once in season 1 (chapter 17-18) and it occurred in chapters 56-57 in season 2. Yet, the man with the purple role was dragged away in chapter 8 but nothing has happened to him yet. Imagine Jihwa’s reaction, if something like that happens to his friend. He will definitely agonize, because he will feel responsible for his friend’s misery and will blame Min for abandoning him. The admiration expressed above outlines his innocence one more time. Finally, Crime and punishment is also my source of inspiration. Due to a false confession and accusation, Dorion decides at the end to confess his involvement. And this could definitely happen in Painter Of The Night. Jihwa takes his responsibility and decides to confess the crime. This would turn him truly into a man. But okay, this last part is just a speculation.

Nevertheless, right now, Jihwa has no idea that his decision to abduct the painter has consequences, just like Nameless is not considering an abduction a crime. Both are living in an illusion, though Nameless believes, he knows the world so well. Their short-lived peace will end soon and the comfort experienced with Nameless will leave a bitter taste first, the moment Jihwa hears about Deok-Jae’s death and its consequences. There’s no doubt that Jihwa will resent Nameless for the murder. He already criticized him for involving the vicious domestic in their plan. I believe, Jihwa will blame him for this and Nameless will confront him with his initial decision. He was hired to kill someone. Even if the money was returned, it doesn’t mean that everything is erased. Jihwa made the decision to hire Nameless and as such, he needs to take his responsibility.

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.

Painter Of The Night: “It all started with…”

~ Bébébisous33 ~ Leave a comment

Please support the authors by reading the manhwas on the official websites. This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents:  https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night

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Now, you are wondering why I chose such a title, because it offers so many possibilities. And that’s exactly the reason why I selected this title. I didn’t want to reveal immediately the real topic of the subject. Furthermore, I desired to look at the manhwa under this aspect, since it helps the readers to get a new understanding of Yoon Seungho’s actions and behavior.

1. … A painting

It all started with a painting, which caught Yoon Seungho’s attention and aroused him so much, that he became slowly dependent on the erotic pictures made by Baek Na-Kyum to the point that he had to use them all the time. (chapter 1) However, the moment Baek Na-Kyum stopped publishing, the addicted noble realized his terrible situation. He needed to have the creator by his side, since he couldn’t give up on his “addiction”. The paintings had become his drug and the moment the author stopped publishing, it made the lord recognize, that he needed to become the supplier. He couldn’t remain a buyer, since he was put in a vulnerable and insecure position. Therefore we could say as well, it all started with the painter’s vow.

Because of Baek Na-Kyum’s resignation, the lord suffered immensely, yet simultaneously the latter didn’t want to change his habit for his nightly activities. That’s why he had to find the source of his addiction: the anonym artist. And now, the first image gets another dimension. His smile not only expressed his happiness, but also exposed his intoxication at the same time. In other words, his euphoria was more artificial, as he was in the presence of his drug. This explicates why the lord was so self-centered and selfish in the beginning. He was prioritizing his own needs. Don’t get me wrong… I am not saying that his feelings for the low-born were not genuine, it was actually a combination of both. His unconscious had sensed the painter’s sensitivity and felt a certain closeness, yet because of his debauchery, the lord had perverted it and was behaving like a drug addict. Now, it becomes more understandable why Yoon Seungho had already announced a death sentence, (chapter 1) in case his wish didn’t get fulfilled, and why he became so “bloodthirsty” after the rejection. Just like a drug addict who becomes violent, if he is unable to get his drug, he felt the urge to release his anger. (chapter 1) It was, as if he was in withdrawal and couldn’t bear the thought, he hadn’t obtained what he desired. So when I compare the painter and his work to a drug, it puts the low-born in a bad light. Nonetheless this is not my intention at all. For me, the painter represents his cure in reality. Let’s not forget that the powerful aristocrat’s heart has been poisoned, corrupted by his father, therefore in order to get cured, he needs to find another “poison”, it’s like fighting a poison with another poison.

First, the painter confronts him with his own reflection (beautiful, attractive), which he has never experienced before. This drug is even more addictive than before, procuring new sensations. He becomes so high that he can’t control his erection and feels the need to have sex so early. (chapter 3) We see here the lord intoxicated by the new drug. It did release him from his prison, his self-hatred. Moreover, it helped him to see more clearly for the first time. His eye in his mind was now free from any corruption. Nonetheless the next day, he is faced with a different image. More precisely, his ears have to hear a terrible truth. Now, he is a man consumed by sex, which causes him to become pensive and depressed. He is no longer feeling the urge to have sex with Jihwa. And now, the manhwaphiles comprehend the true nature of the new drug: the painter’s gaze is liberating the lord’s senses, very similar to Jihwa. This is not surprising that the first two paintings (chapter 2) (chapter 10) he makes show our lord looking at the painter. Imagine, in the second image, he even has two sex partners by his side, yet his attention is directed at the creator and not his partners. This painting exposes their locked gaze and their growing intimacy. Baek Na-Kyum’s gaze has become the lord’s obsession, his new drug. The paintings Baek Na-Kyum creates exude warmth, beauty and naturality which stands in opposition to the world, where the lord is living: fakeness, superficiality, distance and coldness. But the lord’s attraction towards the painter increases so much that he would like to taste the artist. In other words, if he devours Baek Na-Kyum, he might get high again because the pictures are no longer enough to satiate his urges. Now, you can understand what this means. Having sex with the low-born signifies, he is “increasing” the dose. Note that this coincides with the third painting, where he is looking at Jihwa and not at the painter. During that night, he asked the commoner to join them. He was clearly expressing his interest in the artist. The locked gaze was no longer satisfying. This is also not surprising that the next day, he has no problem to cut ties with his long-time lover Jihwa. The artist has slowly replaced the sex partners. Without realizing it, the lord is becoming monogamous. Observe that from chapter 16, he has no nightly activity at all, contrary to the past. He makes a relapse in chapter 33, due to his guilty conscience. However, the moment he realizes that some nobles, especially Min, are looking at his “drug”, he recognizes what it really means, if he came to lose his new “drug”. His life and situation would be worse than before. Baek Na-Kyum’s gaze only belongs to him, hence he is willing to face a negative reflection.

Notice that the moment he is no longer obsessed with the paintings but with the artist’s love, he is no longer interested in his nightly activities. After chapter 21, he waits for the painter. He has already become monogamous. The long awaited picture serves a different purpose. Yoon Seungho would like to have a proof that he is loved by the painter. The image no longer represents his victory over a man and as such the noble he despises, but the mark of their love. He doesn’t feel the need to get aroused by the pictures.

2. … a kiss and embrace

Striking is that the moment he has sex with the artist, he discovers a new world: love and warmth. That’s the reason why this night still haunts his mind till the chapter 58. It all started with an innocent kiss but most importantly with the painter’s hug. (chapter 19) Notice that the moment the painter confesses to Seungho, he puts his hands on his shoulder and then he kisses him. But this doesn’t end here, later he puts his hands around his shoulders. (chapter 20) For the first time, the noble is embraced. And now, if you look at all the sex sessions he had with Jihwa or the others, the main lead was never truly hugged. (chapter 8) (chapter 9) (chapter 15) [I am not quoting the paintings again which could be added to this list] One might argue that in the first panel, the sex partner is hugging the main lead from behind. However, this gesture reminds us much more of a fight than of a real embrace, corroborating my initial interpretation of sex sessions. In truth, they are battles, where the ukes are the defeated ones. It looks like the noble is restraining the protagonist from moving. It’s, as if he was trapped. From my perspective, there is always a distance between him and the sex partners, especially in the threesome. (chapter 10) The lower part is focused on Min, while the mouth is busy kissing the other aristocrat. Yet Seungho’s chest, eyes and mind are neglected. Striking is that the main character is portrayed with no arm exposing his incapacity to hug anyone. And now, you understand the importance of the hug. During their first night, the painter keeps hugging the lord, although his gesture is quite reserved in the beginning. This ignites a desire in Yoon Seungho, the latter feels the need to return the embrace and hug the artist. (chapter 20) Yet, the more time passes on, the more the low-born holds the noble more tightly. (chapter 21) The painter voices the wish to be embraced. That’s why the former puts him on his lap. (chapter 21) You can sense that Yoon Seungho is willing to fill the gap and feel as close as possible to Baek Na-Kyum. He hugged him on his own first, yet the artist was the one embracing him fully at the end. (chapter 21) That’s why we could say that it all started with an embrace, the real cure. The painter’s gaze accompanied with the hands on Seungho’s shoulder created a new euphoria. This explicates why he was so obsessed with that night, why he attempted to renew this wonderful experience. In chapter 25, he tried to hug the painter from behind but failed terribly. (chapter 26) This was a gesture of defeat and submission and never an embrace full of love. One might argue that the noble had already hugged the painter before, (chapter 16) hence the artist’s hug during their Wedding night can’t mark the start. Yet, if the manhwaworms look at the way the master held the commoner in chapter 16, they’ll notice that the lord is hugging Baek Na-Kyum from behind. He was definitely restraining him from leaving his bedchamber, like a predator catching his prey. Sure, there’s no doubt that there exist emotions behind his gesture. Nonetheless, the hug was more under the influence of the unconscious. Consequently it is different from the night in chapter 19. Here, the lord was more looking for sex, whereas in chapters 20 and 21, it was a mixture of sex and love. However, at the end love became triumphant and the lord was no longer interested in sex.

And now if you perceive the painter’s gaze and hug as “drugs”, you can imagine why Yoon Seungho became so infuriated, hurt and violent at the pavilion. Like a person on withdrawal, he couldn’t control his emotions and behavior. Once he became sober, he realized his mistake. His mind had become clearer again. In my perspective, the “cure” helped him to release his emotions, which he had been repressing for so long. This explicates why he was reminded of his tragic past and relived his traumatic experience. He had decided to become numb in order not to feel any pain. The problem is that the moment he discovered love, he was not recognizing that he was allowing his heart to feel pain as well. Love and pain can’t be separated.

With this new perspective, it becomes understandable, while the lord hugged the artist while bathing. (chapter 59) He became addicted to the hug. The problem was that the painter seemed to have forgotten their lovemaking. On the other hand, the lord couldn’t forget the painter’s arms therefore he often grabbed the artist’s arm (chapter 22) (chapter 30), as if they were a treasure to him. The roughness vanishes gradually, for the lord changes for the better as well. But more importantly, in the following gestures, the readers can sense his desire to hug the artist. And as time passes on, the gesture becomes more obvious and pronounced. It started with an arm, (chapter 22) then it was the chest(chapter 40) , (chapter 42) until it became a real hug. (chapter 49) However, the real climax is reached in chapter 58. This time, the aristocrat in love is holding him so tightly with his both arms. (chapter 58) There is no gap between them, the artist is no longer putting some distance with his head, unlike in chapter 49 (third panel above) or the lord is grabbing the neck to make sure that the artist keeps kissing him (second panel above). Yet, while they make love (chapter 58) , the lord is no longer holding him and gazing at him, he is just grabbing his hand and whispering his love confession. This signifies that the lord has truly given up on his dream and has accepted reality. The painter’s gaze and hug were just an addiction and he is admitting that he will never be loved. He will see this night as a wonderful illusion but he won’t feel any anger, despair and pain after that night. We could say that the lord has finally defeated his inner demons and addiction. He is free from his past and can now use his mind clearly. (chapter 61) Baek Na-Kyum purified the lord so that the latter has truly become selflessness and no longer needs sex. He won’t organize any sex session or any party with wine and opium. In my opinion, the last debauchery symbolized his final relapse. Observe that during that week, he had no sex and wasn’t even aroused, when a noble gave him a blowjob. Sex has become irrelevant thereby we can conclude that his transformation is complete. He has become a truly reformed man. (chapter 61) And as much as it pains me that the lord won’t look for the artist right away [that’s my theory and since Byeonduck liked a tweet where I expressed this], I believe, this picture symbolizes something positive too. The lord’s mind and heart are at peace. Now, he can think and see lucidly and once he discovers Baek Na-Kyum’s painting and the tools left in the study, he will recognize his mistake.

3. … the arms and hands

And because it started with a hug, it becomes comprehensible why the lord loved hugging his lover. In reality, he wished to be embraced too and the hug in chapter 16 externalized his deeply repressed desires. This is not surprising that a hug from the painter could stop Yoon Seungho’s rage and fury. Imagine his emotions, when the low-born did this. In that scene, the master was acting like a monster, nevertheless it didn’t stop the artist to embrace him despite the slap and his ugly behavior. But for Baek Na-Kyum, it was the same as well. He also longed to be embraced hence for him, their Wedding night represented a dream, where he could express his desire and experience what he wanted to have. He wanted to express his love, shower his learned sir with his affection. Strangely, it started with a hand (chapter 30) forcing the low-born to accept him as his new master. However, notice that the painter’s hands become more decisive and grab more firmly Yoon Seungho’s wrist in chapter 42. (chapter 42) This reflects the evolution of their relationship. The painter is here accepting the aristocrat as lover. Simultaneously, he is touching the place where the lord’s unconscious is voicing his desires. And this gesture triggers the lord later to put him on his lap, attempting to embrace him. And the more the lord hugs the painter, the more the latter is affected by it. The reason is simple. Just like the main lead, the commoner was deprived from warmth and love for so long and receiving it for the first time, this could only move the main lead. The manhwaphiles should remember that the artist asked the master to hold him in chapter 41 (chapter 41), exposing his need for comfort and embrace. Yet back then, the lord was confusing love with sex hence he couldn’t give correctly what the painter desired. He was not able to distinguish the difference. In truth, both were lost persons mixing up sex with love due to their terrible fathers.

Nonetheless the latter rejected the affection from Yoon Seungho in chapter 49, as he had been reminded that a hug could be fake. So he was still doubting the protagonist’s feelings. The significance of the embrace explicates why the low-born is affected in chapter 58. He keeps blushing displaying his emotions. He is really loved, displayed by the lord’s words and gestures. That’s why the hug is reciprocated but it is too beautiful to be true. Consequently the noble doubts its existence.

But because it all started with a kiss with a hug and love confession, we have to imagine that the artist will feel the same need than the protagonist in chapter 22. He will long for his lover’s arms, especially after that terrible experience. That’s why I am convinced that the moment Baek Na-Kyum returns to the mansion, he will definitely try to embrace Yoon Seungho, missing his warmth and protection so that we have a new version of the hug in chapter 53.

As a conclusion, we have two protagonists deprived from their own body due to their fathers’ abuse. Finally, both were able to find what they had been longing for a long time. And since the lord is no longer a man consumed by sex, he will be able to show his love differently, supporting his love in his education and his talent. Yoon Seungho will become his sponsor and drop the surrogate father for good.

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