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 last part, I’ll examine father Yoon and his relationship to time. I have to admit that there are more speculations as we have barely seen him so far, yet all of them are based on observations. First, we still don’t know his first name. Secondly, he has been mostly presented through the testimonies of characters until now:
- Baek Na-Kyum in chapter 1
by his father” [missing part], - Kim in chapter 35
, - Yoon Seung-Won
and Yoon Seungho in chapter 37
, - an older servant in chapter 37
- this time, through a memory from the main lead in chapter 55
- the physician in chapter 57
Yet, he is only seen in one chapter directly, the episode 44.
This signifies that we have never heard his voice and seen his true face as it was always through the gaze and words from others. That’s why we have almost the impression to be dealing with a ghost. Moreover, their description is rather uncomplete and doesn’t necessarily reflect the whole truth, as they don’t possess all the information. Yet the readers have one advantage compared to the fictive persons. They see father Yoon through the drawings so that we can see his gestures and get more knowledge about him. The panels represent reality and past that’s why I’ll study them more closely.
However, because of his indirect introduction, I believe to recognize a certain pattern. Since he is mostly introduced through others and everything revolves around the past, I am connecting him to the past. First, he is the reason why Yoon Seungho suffered so much to develop a trauma and had nightmares. Nonetheless, I sense that his cruel behavior towards his eldest son is related to the past as well. First, we know for sure that Yoon Seungho’s grandfather was an official
and he must have had a high position because Jihwa described that the Yoons were declining and he was referring to the father. If there is a downfall, it signifies that the Yoons had quite a high position. Striking is that the main lead is not mentioning here his father at all who was also working for the government according to the testimony of the commoner. Therefore we need to ask ourselves why Yoon Seungho is not mentioning it. The first deductions would be to say that he is no longer acknowledging his father or it is related to the purge which he wants to hide too. Since father Yoon was forced to withdraw from his post, just before the purge occurred, there’s no ambiguity that father Yoon is related to the plot. Yet, despite all these reasons, I feel that there’s more to it. I detect that father Yoon’s post could have been different from the one his father had, something not worth mentioning it. This would explain why his first name was never mentioned and his post is not described. He never made himself known as a good official, his name never got noticed. Imagine, father Yoon doesn’t get the high position he thought he deserved and feels betrayed. Because of his father’s power and reputation, he could have felt entitled to get the same high position like his relative. Because of his hurt pride, he resented the king (or other officials). And now, you can imagine how I perceive the father. I believe that he is a combination of Jihwa and Jung In-Hun. Jihwa was obsessed with the past and vented his anger towards others through his hands. Note that father Yoon is also using his hands to express his negative thoughts or feelings.
In chapter 44, his hand is not only shaking due to anger. He is clenching his fist exposing a certain brutality. If the son had been there, the former would have used violence against him, Yoon Seungho was indeed provoking him. And this negative judgement about father Yoon is confirmed much later, in chapter 57. Here, he grasps his son’s neck and squeezes it so much that he leaves marks on Seungho’s neck. Furthermore, the young boy’s face is covered with bruises. Besides, Byeonduck added the sound of the grasping indicating the speed and force father Yoon employed on his son’s neck. This was never a tender gesture, it exposed frustration and resent. Since he is using his hands in the same way than Jihwa’s and he is connected to the past through the reports made by the character, I believe that he is associated to the past. However, unlike the naive red-haired noble who is wishing to go back to the past, where he was living carefree and had a good relationship with Yoon Seungho, I think that father Yoon has a different judgement about the past. He actually resents the past. He felt humiliated or hurt, then he needed to get revenge.
So let’s return our attention to my first assumption. Let’s envision, father Yoon felt humiliated because he hadn’t received the official post he was eyeing. Due to the past, he couldn’t overlook this incident and his resent started growing so much that he started plotting. At the same time, he imagined that he was entitled and destined to achieve greatness that’s why he could only resent his eldest son.
In this panel I see a proof of his jealousy because Yoon Seungho’s good reputation is introduced with his so-called illness simultaneously. Note that his sickness is just reported by the father, yet the doctor has never been able to diagnose it. For me, there is no doubt that father Yoon used the son’s illness in order to diminish his good reputation. He didn’t want to get overshadowed by his own son. Imagine his frustration, based to my theory, not only he had not received the position he desired and requested but even Seungho’s notoriety was surpassing his own. Let’s not forget that khaki is the color of dragon’s eye hence I concluded that the father was judging himself as a dragon, while he was not in reality.
And since I expressed the idea that father Yoon must have this idea that he was destined to achieve greatness, then he is very similar to Jung In-Hun. Why do I think so? First, if you look at his chamber,, you’ll notice the presence of books on the shelves which reminded me of Jung In-Hun. [In case you don’t know, in psychology it is recognized that the way you decorate your house, it reveals your personality.] Remember that we often see Jung In-Hun surrounded by books. The latter even follow him to his bed. Observe that the books are piled up and are put next to decorations revealing that they are actually used as decorations. It was, as if father Yoon wanted show off his education by displaying his collection of books. Since there are a lot of decorations, it also indicates his need to expose a certain wealth. In other words, I judge him as arrogant and superficial as well. Finally, the way he puts the books and decorations in display exposes his controlling nature. The display of the shelves gives us the impression that there is a certain order.
But since he is very similar to Jung In-Hun, then this means that he is unable to have a great overview of the situation and to perceive people’s true nature. Furthermore, this signifies too that he is blind to his own shortcomings and his hypocrisy, not recognizing that he used sodomy and prostitution, although he hated it. Just like the scholar, he was betraying his own narrow-minded principles. Because of his lack of discernment, he misjudged Jihwa and Seungho’s personalities and had the impression, they were sick, either too nice towards commoners or were homosexuals.
It is definitely possible that this is related to tears. The father disliked seeing tears in the children, a sign of weakness and femininity in his mind. Another clue for this theory is Yoon Seungho’s behavior towards the scholar. He realized the teacher’s true nature immediately and could fool him so well. From my perspective, the main lead recognizes Jung In-Hun’s true character because he had already met such a character before, it was his father. 
That’s why he said such words towards Jung In-hun in the woods. He knew that his father was thinking like that, felt great satisfaction to humiliate him. Furthermore, this would explain why Yoon Seungho was always reminded of the past, when Baek Na-Kyum was rejecting him. Imagine, the lover would choose the despicable “father” over him. One might argue that the person he recognized in Jung In-Hun could be lord Song. However, it is not possible, as there is no fear and he is definitely not afraid of his father. Seung-Won might use his father’s name in order to ask his brother to reconcile with their father, but Yoon Seungho doesn’t change his mind at all. He burns the letter, sends a ruined painting to his father, mocking him as he knows how he hates sodomy. He is treating the scholar the same way than father Yoon. He has no respect for both of them and looks down on them. He is now strong enough to stand up against his father.
And since he is very similar to Jung In-Hun, I come to the following conclusion, he is a terrible judge of characters. My theory is the following: father Yoon believed in lord Song and relied on him a lot as the latter was always stroking his ego, while the latter planned to use father Yoon in order to climb the social ladders. Lord Song could have come from low nobility but had great ambitions. After betraying him, the father was forced to use his son to escape the purge and instead of blaming the right person, he actually resented his son. He had failed him in his eyes.
That’s why I believe that this scene will play a huge part in the future. First, not only Seungho refuses to support them but also he got more wealth and power than him. Father Yoon must disdain his eldest son terribly. He got “punished”, while in his mind his son succeeded. Since this delusional man full of arrogance didn’t learn his lesson from his mistakes, his disdain and hatred for Yoon Seungho must have reached a new peak the moment he received the damaged painting. Imagine how he must have felt, this was such an affront coming from his eldest son. Therefore I envision, father Yoon decides to work against his son again. He has been betrayed and humiliated by his son, then the latter must pay for this. First, he will hear that Seungho is sponsoring a low noble, hence in his mind, Jung In-Hun must be so good that he will plan to snatch him away from his rival, unaware that he got played by the scholar and Yoon Seungho. The former teacher will be abandoned by the protagonist sooner or latter and once approached by father Yoon, Jung In-Hun will decide to use the father, unaware what awaits him in reality. As you can imagine, I am already anticipating the real downfall of father Yoon. He never realized that he was the author of his own misery, he destroyed his own future by hurting his brilliant son due to his own blindness and arrogance. Since we never got to see father Yoon’s face, I am more and more convinced that he wears glasses, just like the teacher. And if this turns out to be true, then my interpretation of the glasses will be confirmed. As you can detect, I believe, we will have a repetition of the past, the father attempting to get revenge but failing miserably, too obsessed with the past and his so-called destiny.
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.
Here, the noble Baek Na-Kyum is running away. His heart is making the sound “thump, thump” and his face is red. Why? He is leaving the market place in a hurry because his eyes saw Yoon Seungho for the first time. However, on the surface it looks like he is just avoiding an embarrassing situation. His escape seems to be caused by his shame. He has been caught in the act saying something nasty, since the commoner smirked to him after hearing his bad comment. 
However, remember that first impressions can be deceiving. For me, the moment their eyes meet,
the innocent man’s faces blushes. Note that his reddening is actually stronger than when he was looking at his crush, his servant Jung In-Hun.
Then you have to imagine that his heart starts racing, a sign that he is physically attracted to the infamous low-born but we don’t see it yet. In my opinion, his reactions are not just the results of shame
He showed a similar reaction, when he was dealing with the merchant. He was enthusiastic too, imagining that he would get paid a lot.
However, the sound of the heartbeat (“thump”) diverges in the escape scene. The explication is simple. The arousal was masked by the run therefore the “badum/badum” turned into a “thump”, yet we have to imagine, it was already present. Once back home, the racing of his heart and his blush never stopped. Even lying down, he is still agitated, aroused and can’t calm down. He can’t forget Seungho’s face, engraved in his memory so that he is able to create a masterpiece. 
In this image, the manhwaworms hear the painter’s heartbeat for the first time which is actually triggered by Yoon Seungho’s return. He is so surprised by his physical reaction that he is left speechless first.
Observe that the racing of his heart is accompanied with his blushing face, just like in the alternative universe. The painter gets agitated as he can not control his body and his heart. He would like to hide this from the noble and gives a good excuse for his departure. The lord needs his bed hence he has to return to his own room. As you can see, the desertion in chapter 34 resembles a lot to the one in the first episode from the alternative universe. Since he can’t control the racing of his heart, he wonders about its cause and nature. 
He associates it to fear because he has always trembled in front of his lord before, while his noble version will always link it to embarrassment. Yet he notices the difference as he feels some butterflies inside. As the scene at the market resembles a lot to the chapter 34 and the special episode introduces their first meeting, it gives us another dimension of their true relationship. The painter was attracted to him right away and through Yoon Seungho, his real sexual appetite was awakened. But why don’t we witness the racing of the painter’s heart before, when it was clear that he was attracted to him physically before? He had wet dreams, erections and felt the need to masturbate before. 
, his mind was the only thing he could use, since he had been deprived of his own body and as such his heart. Hence when Byeonduck created this wonderful panel, she gave us a clue that the first day dream represented the first step of liberation of Baek Na-Kyum’s body.
Nevertheless, this only happened during a dream, hence his body was only superficially liberated. The biggest hindrance was his mind because it was also poisoned by the scholar’s doctrines. The wet dreams were relevant as it announced the return of his senses. There, all his senses were triggered and awakened. Slowly, he was regaining control of his own body. And now imagine what the painter must have experienced that he decided to give up on his own body. 
And the racing of his heart marks the pivotal moment in Baek Na-Kyum’s life. 
The reason for the return of his heartbeat is the sex marathon where he was confronted with his own image.
There, he saw his own pleasure and felt it as well. However, the shock was too big hence he fell ill. With this new revelation it becomes understandable why Yoon Seungho met so much resistance in the end. He had to fight on two different levels: liberate the painter’s body and mind. It was not just about denial of his own sexual orientation, but sex in general. At the end of the first season, he had succeeded to free the painter’s body but that was it. The second “confrontation” in chapters 48/49 marked the last battle 
where the painter’s mind is finally freed.
This was the new version of the sex marathon. Observe the parallels and divergences between the two pictures: 
The noble pleasured the painter and his refusals were just the last wall of defense in his mind.
Note that he is associating fear to his heart pounding illustrating that he hasn’t understood its signification. This was actually a love confession but the master couldn’t perceive it as such because it started with a reproach: “you scare me so much”. And now, if you look at the confession in chapter 49 where he speaks again about his heart 
, the connection between fear and heart racing has finally disappeared. On the other hand, the artist reduces it to a physical attraction. When their eye meet, he gets aroused, exactly like I had described with the scene from the alternative universe. This evolution exposes his lack of discernment. He is still unable to interpret the heartbeat “badum, badum” correctly. Therefore I don’t think, we can say that Baek Na-Kyum was denying his own feelings. It is just that he never understood what his heart pounding meant. And the source for his misinterpretation is the feelings he had for his teacher, just like in the alternative universe.
Observe that this expression is only connected to his eye and not his body. Jung In-Hun is handsome but that’s it. He doesn’t feel the need to hug or touch him. He is already content with buying him glasses.
This reminds me of Courtly love (Minne in German and Amour courtois in French) from European Middle Age. It is a literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various deeds or services for ladies because of their “courtly love”. There is no sex, their act of loving is purely mental. As you can imagine, this was just fiction, just like in our manhwa. In both versions, Jung In-Hun is in fact associated to dream and not reality. The cat is the one that brings back the noble Baek Na-Kyum to reality.
That’s why his courtly love for his learned sir is doomed to failure. It is just an illusion, a fiction because it doesn’t reflect people’s true personality. The characters in Medieval literature were portrayed as heroes, dedicated to their lady and people, while knights in reality were often the opposite. They were just soldiers and killed women and orphans for their lord. And notice that once the pure main lead recalls all the good deeds Yoon Seungho did for him, the heart pounding resurfaces accompanied with the blushing.
He is still denying the lord’s feelings but since there was a confession, the painter will be able to connect his heart racing to love. The good deeds have nothing to do with sex, yet his body is still reacting therefore you can comprehend why in the next chapter 60
, he screams Yoon Seungho’s name begging him to save him. The kidnapping was just the trigger for him to recognize that his lord had already entered his mind and his heart. 
and secondly thanks to the intervention of the cat. Coincidence is a proof that they have no control over their life and love life. It was, as if the invisible hand of gods had decided to have them met. Yet, determinism doesn’t use the idea of gods or of an exterior force leading the characters to encounter each other. If you pay attention to the way they meet, you’ll realize that their decisions, influenced by their liking and living conditions, were the reasons why they met in the street. The noble Baek Na-Kyum was strolling in that part of the town because he wanted to sell his erotic paintings. So because of his hidden hobby, he is led to go to a part of the town where commoners live. In other words, the protagonist enters Yoon Seungho’s world. On the other hand, Yoon Seungho as a low-born catches Baek Na-Kyum’s attention due to his unusual attitude. He shows neither remorse nor fear in front of the angry aristocrat. He is very defiant. That’s love at first sight. However, this is true love as sexuality is immediately included, while his affection towards Jung In-Hun was more related to the innocent and pure love of a child. Striking is that Yoon Seungho is exposed for his scandalous relationship with the son of a noble family showing that he doesn’t care about social status and distinction between nobility and commoner. It is also the same for the painter who sells his erotic paintings in order to buy glasses for his servant.
and after meeting the impressive and attractive seme, Baek Na-Kyum becomes so inspired that he creates a threesome. 
The painting could be seen as another evidence that the painter had to create such a work. There’s no real free will in the end. However, the idea of a threesome indicates that the innocent noble has indeed a kinky side which was triggered the moment he met Yoon Seungho’s eyes. And now, it explains why Yoon Seungho was destined to meet Baek Na-Kyum outside his mansion in the original manhwa.
He had to meet him at the tavern because it was the commoner’s world and since the noble was interested in the painter, he couldn’t just send for him. The latter could refuse but in his presence, Yoon Seungho imagined that the artist would never dare to reject the offer.
and why he gets caught in the end. If the cat had not appeared, then he would have never discovered the sexual intercourse. If he had never liked cats, he wouldn’t have played with him. 
Furthermore, he was strolling through the district where commoners live as he was on his way to sell his new painting. His so-called choices could only lead him to the place where the attractive seme was. This was no real coincidence again. Now, why a cat? 
, Yoon Seungho will be able to discover Baek Na-Kyum’s identity and the latter will be blackmailed. Notice that the merchant knows his true identity.
The painter will have to work for Yoon Seungho, yet the reason will diverge. The commoner has already set his eyes on the artist, since he hasn’t really forgotten him.
He remembers his face (“your eyes off”) and his words (“dirty buggery”). Their attraction was mutual and he needs to create a reason. As a conclusion, the introduction of the alternative universe makes us realize the dimension of determinism which is strongly linked to Nature (sex, cat). Baek Na-Kyum’s choice will be to acknowledge that his love for the seme is stronger than social norms, so that we can say, even if there exists determinism, there’s a certain liberty. Yet it is much more limited than it looks like as our decisions are influenced by our environment, experiences and past.
With these two pictures, it becomes obvious that he is imagining a time where he will live like the rich protagonist. Therefore the first impression would be to judge him as a person symbolizing the future. However, if you pay attention to his words, you’ll notice that he is speaking in the present (“can count”, “has”, “do not have”)
(chapter 6) 
(chapter 10)
(chapter 29) Therefore for me, Jung In-Hun is a person of present. And now here is the next question. What do these pictures have in common, excluding the present as tense? What caught my attention is though present is the utilized tense, he is actually referring to the past (“are still not painting”= didn’t paint /”does such things ” = didn’t do) or to the future (“are destined” = will be). The best example for this would be this panel. 
Notice that he is already thinking about the future, planning to use the painter, yet he speaks in the present. Strangely is that after realizing the importance of Baek Na-Kyum, he chooses not to bid farewell to his former student. Any normal person would recognize that he needs to treat the painter better from now on but no, he does nothing like that. Because of the contradiction between the different parts of time, I sense a confusion between past, future and present. My first explication is the following. In the scholar’s mind, his future is a certitude, that’s his fate. He is destined to have what Yoon Seungho has. Therefore, we could say, the present represents not only his strong motivation but also his future. In his eyes, his fate is to become rich and powerful. Thereby this is not astonishing that he talks to Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum about fate, path and destiny.
First, the main lead implies that the scholar is an intelligent person (“are” is omitted), while he thinks the opposite. Secondly, he fools the arrogant man that he will succeed with the examination since he employs “when” and not “if”. The condition is disguised behind the idiom “only that”. As you can detect, Yoon Seungho is selling these as facts, while it was not the case. Due to the tense, Jung In-Hun was manipulated and fell into his own trap. He thought, he was deceiving the protagonist, whereas it was the opposite and his major mistake was the employed tense: present. Moreover, note that in chapter 18, he only used two senses: the sight and the touching. But he isn’t employing his mind or better said, his brain, limiting his own skills. That’s why he couldn’t perceive the deception. Since he is so certain about his path, he doesn’t really have to utilize his knowledge and his brain. This explicates why he is a lazy person in the end and couldn’t become successful before.
by taking advantages of others for his own pleasure but is still envious of the main lead, the scholar is never satisfied with his current situation and resents everyone: Yoon Seungho, Baek Na-Kyum and the commoners. His real present is a constant reminder that he has not fulfilled his destiny. He doesn’t desire to be associated to commoners, although his clothes in the beginning don’t diverge so much from peasants’, while he wishes to resemble to the powerful main lead due to his wealth. As a conclusion, Baek Na-Kyum is the only satisfied with the present due to his modesty and selflessness. He has been accustomed to his social status. Due to his past, he knows what he should expect from the world which outlines that even if he was hurt in the past, he could move on but learnt from his bad experiences. Therefore he stands in opposition to Jung In-Hun who seems to have no real past and has not learnt from his mistakes at all. Now, you understand why. Since it is his destiny to have a high position, he doesn’t need to focus on the past or on the real present. That’s why he never reflects about his own actions and words, hurting the low-born, without noticing it.
For him, fate will always play in his favor, yet by acting like that, he reveals gradually his true colors. 
One might argue, he is just faking everything which is also correct hence this could be no real sign that he truly forgot the coercive persuasion. However, if you observe his behavior during the first season, you’ll realize that this is actually Jung In-Hun’s MO. In chapter 40, he almost killed the painter with his words
, yet the next morning he still believes that he can still use him as his pawn… just like he did in the past. It was always like that, each time Jung In-Hun hurt the artist, the latter would still remain faithful. In chapter 29, he already betrayed which the artist sensed but once they arrived the mansion, the artist was still willing to sacrifice his own life in order to protect his admired sir from the infuriated and jealous lord. Let’s not forget that he never changed his attitude towards him after the coercive persuasion therefore the teacher wrote a bad poem. It becomes clear that he took the commoner for granted. In my perspective, this reasoning is simple. Since the low-born’s destiny is to be a prostitute after stopping painting, the ow noble imagined that he didn’t need him in the first place. However, now it diverges. In chapter 44, it becomes obvious that the scholar plans to use him as a prostitute. It was as if in his eyes, their paths were now connected. The low born will help him to achieve his goal. And this explicates why he doesn’t say goodbye to the artist. He can’t imagine that the low-born might change his mind and feelings. He is so sure of his “affection” and his power over him. He believes in his destiny hence he doesn’t need to pay attention to the commoner, the latter will play his role.
unaware that with these exact words, he unveils his true personality. He is in fact the one who backstabbed him first violating his own doctrines.
, he could have used his popularity and even claimed to have a right to get his money earned through the paintings but he couldn’t bear the thought, he was living next to someone talented, mirroring his own lacking. Out of resent and jealousy, he abused the painter physically and mentally, that’s one of the reasons why he is describing it as a single event. He acted on impulse, until his anger and resent disappeared. And this attitude never changes. In chapter 10, he persuades the painter to stop painting hoping to get rid of a rival, unaware that he is actually ruining his own career and chances.
Then in chapter 22, he forgets that Yoon Seungho is his sponsor and insults him by describing him as someone with no education, since he has been mocked for his poor talent. To his surprise, Yoon Seungho isn’t hurt by his words, in fact he retaliates right away. He is in no place to criticize his benefactor, especially when he has no real talent.
He hurt the painter, until he regained his senses and recognized that he needed to treat the low-born differently, since he was relying on his relationship to his sponsor. 
In other words, not only he is neglecting the present due to his belief of destiny but he is so caught up with the present that he is always damaging his own career. Like my follower @SpringDayYum noticed it correctly, in reality Baek Na-Kyum symbolized his future, although he is also a person of the present. The latter was determined to do anything for him, willing to break his vow for his learned sir’s sake. As a conclusion, he never realized that he could have achieved his destiny by supporting the painter in his work. He would have gotten recognition for becoming his guardian and chose not, proving that fate and destiny are never determined. Choices are relevant and influence life.
which reminds us of “carpe diem” philosophy, living in the moment. Nonetheless there is a huge contrast as it is not linked to joy of life and pleasure. He only has negative emotions. That’s why for me, his mind isn’t truly directed towards the future. In fact, he is always jealous of others, especially of the artist and Yoon Seungho. Another evidence that he is a person of the present can be perceived in the scholar’s following words:
He has been waiting indicating that he has been actually doing nothing at all. In order to be judged as a person focused on the future, the teacher should have made plans for his career but he doesn’t. He is so different from Kim and Nameless. Both anticipate reactions and try to move things in the right direction, they have strategies, like giving an aphrodisiac for example or postponing the murder. Therefore I would say that the scholar is trapped in the present, while he dreams of his destiny, which is in reality an uncertain future. His dissatisfaction is the reason why he would like to change his situation but he has no idea how. He lives in an illusion that the world owns him something and at some point, it will happen.
Therefore we could say that he is not a man of foresight which is symbolized by his glasses. Like my reader @nonoboy-oops pointed out to me, “the glasses symbolizes his being unable to look as far into the future due to his selfish ways”. Since he is short-sighted, it signifies that he can only see what is really close to him. That’s the reason why he uses people and tricks that are near him, another indicator that he is strongly linked to the present. Finally, I interpret his bad sight as another evidence that he is lacking knowledge. He has a very bad overview about his real situation hence he makes bad decisions. He is unable to perceive people’s true nature as well. He doubts Seungho’s intelligence and education, although he could have sensed it, after discovering the existence of the deal. He is not capable to recognize Baek Na-Kyum’s talent too and jeopardized his own ascension by forcing the painter to drop painting. And his blindness is actually reflected in the panel above. The manhwalovers can only see one eye. Back then, I interpreted that he was hiding his true thoughts. As you can note, this single image offers so many possibilities. It shows his underhandedness and hypocrisy, simultaneously his lack of foresight and knowledge as he can’t see everything. It was as if he had lost one eye and perceives the world in only one dimension. Two eyes are necessary in order to judge distance which is a metaphor for predicting the future. As a conclusion, this image illustrates his lack of foresight and “blindness”. 
, I am quite sure that father Yoon will imagine that he can approach the former teacher. And that’s how he will meet his true destiny: becoming a prostitute. I know, these are just predictions from my part but there were already clues about this evolution, like I explained in the other essay mentioned above. The scholar won’t escape his fate in my opinion, his punishment for all the wrongdoings he inflicted on Baek Na-Kyum. 
Handicapped, Baek Na-Kyum would lose his life in the end, unable to earn a living. Jihwa might get away with it, yet he will be burdened by the knowledge that he is responsible for the painter’s misery. The crime doesn’t represent the end of his suffering but the beginning, as he will be the only one who knows what happened to the artist. The knowledge as such will be a heavy price to pay. As you can detect, for me Nameless is trying to change his client’s mind without imposing his opinion. The commoner might become his hands but Jihwa’s mind will be tainted and indirectly his hands.
That was the message of his unconscious but Jihwa chose to ignore it. Fortunately, the criminal voiced exactly what Jihwa’s righteous mind was expressing. Hence I come to the deduction that Nameless has already planned the best outcome for Jihwa. That’s why I came up with the following ideas. Either he will send away the artist, making him disappear. This explicates why he wanted the painter to be abducted outside the mansion. Since Nameless has already killed Deok-Jae, he could use his body
while faking Baek Na-Kyum’s death (“no one can recognize him”). So far, nobody has noticed Deok-Jae’s disappearance and his death is quite recent so his body must still be well preserved due to the winter. Another possibility is that Nameless has already decided to send back the painter to Yoon Seungho and will frame Deok-Jae for the crime. Many servants have already noticed his jealousy and the latter disappeared so suddenly. The second idea is actually my favorite because it fits Nameless’ good heart and sensibility. He must have realized the painter’s modesty and honesty. It can not be, it is too beautiful to be true. A criminal is helping our OTP!!
but chose not to intervene as he was sure that Jihwa felt uncomfortable with the idea. Moreover, he must have heard about the gossips in town how the noble suddenly changed for the better.
He was a reformed man desiring to settle down which couldn’t escape the former convict’s notice. Besides, Nameless must have noticed that valet Kim would even buy materials for Baek Na-Kyum.
Note that this is not the first time, the butler is doing it again for the painter (“Again?”). And if the ex-thief didn’t observe him personally, I am quite sure that Deok-Jae must have told him how the valet would take care of the low-born, just like he disclosed him the situation in chapter 51. Consequently the criminal seems to be the second person who had the best overview about the whole situation, especially since he is not directly involved, like Jihwa, Deok-Jae or Baek Na-Kyum or Seungho. A noble is deeply in love with a low-born and doesn’t care about social norms, something quite unusual.
Why is there this animosity in this scene when it was not like that in chapter 29?
Observe that Deok-Jae speaks in Kim’s name in the end, since he utilizes the personal pronoun “we”. Furthermore, the manhwalovers can sense that Kim has literally the vicious servant’s back, since he stands behind him. I would even add, I detect Kim’s confidence in the vicious servant, when the valet even entrusts the bought paintbrushes and ink stone to Deok-Jae. He even calls him “my good fellow”
, a sign of respect and trust. He doesn’t get upset, when Seok-Jae is rather cold and angry, indicating a certain patience and tolerance. He even puts his hand on the servant’s shoulder, a gesture illustrating his reliance and closeness towards Deok-Jae.
For me, they are quite close because when in chapter 47 Kim gets mad at him and yells that he should clean up the mess, it looks like Deok-Jae got away pretty easily, although he insulted his master.
Their close relationship is in my opinion one of the reasons why Deok-Jae thought, he could ruin the rice, imagining that he wouldn’t get caught and if the painter would ever complain, then he would have Kim’s support. Notice that when he is confronted with the wrongdoing, the mean domestic even justifies his action by wailing to Kim,
although the latter is his superior. He shows no fear and respect that’s why I believe that Deok-Jae had always seen in the loyal butler a backer. And now, you might wonder why I write about Deok-Jae and Kim’s relationship, when the main topic of this essay is how the story will evolve. This is quite simple: Nameless explained to Jihwa how he was able to kidnap the painter without getting caught. He faked an escape.
And remember, we had two escapes in the first season: chapter 4 and chapter 29. While the first one corresponds to the departure in chapter 46, the second is definitely a new version of chapter 29, where the artist ran away as he feared for his life and his teacher’s. Both disappearances are linked to danger and life. And what happened back then? 
Kim never envisioned that the surrogate father would bring the artist back to the mansion, sealing the painter’s life to Seungho’s mansion. From that moment, the butler realized that it was too late, he got aware of his lord’s feelings for the painter. He was present, when the protagonist flew towards the painter.
His feet were barely touching the ground. And that’s the moment when Deok-Jae started resenting valet Kim. He had been the one who received the worst beating. On the other hand, the butler must have felt guilty towards Deok-Jae hence he wanted to show his trust and a certain closeness to his accomplice “my good fellow”. 
If you compare both scenes, you’ll note a huge contrast. There’s no longer any fury and rage. Even if the cover has been removed quickly, exposing a certain nervousness, he is not agitated like in the past. That’s why I had the impression that he looks more resigned as the panel reminds me of his mouth in chapter 35, where he was on the verge of giving up.
Because of this association, I have the feeling that this time, the noble won’t throw any tantrum and vent his rage on his staff. I came to this idea that this is his turn to believe that this magical night with the painter was just an illusion due to his fever.
Let’s not forget that this time, he didn’t clean the painter’s body like he did in the past.
Furthermore he hasn’t yet viewed the last painting the low-born made which showed that the painter never saw their night in chapter 49 as something terrible. His mouth and facial expression revealed pleasure. Therefore I imagine that he won’t be looking for the painter right away. But what he fails to recognize is that there was a witness of their magical night, valet Kim who put their shoes next to each other.
That’s why I believe that valet Kim will be the one bringing back the painter, assuming his new role as surrogate father for Baek Na-Kyum therefore we would have a new version of chapter 29.
Besides, the readers shouldn’t forget that Kim took a similar role in the past. In chapter 24, Baek Na-Kyum was kind of abducted by Jung In-Hun and Kim was the one who discovered his disappearance and fetched him.
The other reason why I believe that the gentle and caring domestic will become the painter’s rescuer is that he always visits his lord’s room during the night and he must have seen the painter’s missing shoes. In my opinion, Nameless could anticipate Kim’s actions and envisioned that he would look for the missing painter. Imagine his reaction, when he discovers the painter. The latter is in a poor state and is reminded of the night of the rape where he had to fetch the hurt low-born.
He will console the artist, hug him and bring him back to his lord as quickly as possible. And once they arrive at the mansion, Baek Na-Kyum will be the one running into the lord’s arms.
The noble says the exact same words than the artist, like my follower @Denize59542085 truly noticed.
He was utilizing the imperfect due to the conditional sentence, a mixture of past and future linked to hope and dream. As you can observe, the use of tense has now switched. 
Like I had explained before, the artist is a person living in the present hence he embodies this time. On the other hand it is not the same with the noble. So the reason behind the artist’s doubts are different. It’s like a dream has come true, while for the red-haired aristocrat, it was, as if his dream and hope had been destroyed. And notice that right after seeing the hickey, he gets so shocked that he falls back on his butt and even moves away from the low-born.
The shock was so huge that he has no energy left in his legs. Moreover, it was, as if the second character was trying to run away from reality, his eyes couldn’t take the blow. But his nightmare doesn’t stop here, he has to hear the painter’ scream for his lover.
As you can sense, Jihwa’s senses are all confronted with reality. His own eyes saw the hickey, his own ears detected the intimacy between his ex-lover and the low-born. He can’t escape from the truth which he has been attempting so hard to avoid all this time. Now, his eyes and his ears are hurting him as they are revealing him the reality. 
(10), visiting Seungho’s mansion without an invitation 
as he wanted to investigate the painter (17), hiring an assassin
(43), showing the killer the target (50)
and visiting the criminal in order to remind him of his task. 
(51). The rational answer would be to say that he was wearing it in order to hide his identity. But in reality, there is a diverse motivation. The hat with the veil is used in order to cover his eyes and ears. While wearing such an item, he can avoid to be confronted with his crimes. His eyes can’t really see, just like his ears can’t really hear. This explains why he never questioned himself and his actions which I always criticized. Since he was veiling his eyes and ears, he was not facing the present and could escape from any responsibility. I would even add that this item reinforced his negative disposition. He would justify his actions with the past (f. ex. taking revenge on the behalf of the noble with the mole and accusing Seungho to be the cause for his evil actions
) and would rejoice if they worked out.
Observe that he only hears about the straw mat beating through his spy but he never witnesses the actual event. Hence he never sees the outcome of his decisions and actions. It would have been the same in chapter 17, if Seungho hadn’t intervened. 
, the spy he hired
, Min
and rumors 
. Concerning the second panel, it indicates that Jihwa has truly no idea about Seungho’s real power and wealth and is more relying on hearsay. Here, Jihwa is confusing the elder master’s situation with Seungho’s. The latter might have a bad reputation but his power is far from declining. This explicates why his brother contacted the protagonist in the end, he desired to get his support. The last picture is relevant as it outlines why Jihwa would always perceive Seungho as a man consumed by lust. He never witnessed how the lord would sleep with other men as he was never present. He could never judge with his own eyes that Seungho was actually fighting with other nobles rather than enjoying having sex with them. Fooling around implies pleasure which was never the case. In fact, with this statement it becomes clear why Seungho always had sex with Jihwa separately. Jihwa made sure to never be confronted with other aristocrats, preferring avoiding reality. It didn’t help him in the long term because he always heard Seungho’s conquests through others and this could only reinforce his prejudice. In other words, these private sessions could only increase the gap between them. Jihwa could never understand his childhood friend as he was influenced what people were saying because he never saw it himself. That’s why he got hurt in the end, he only got his knowledge by hearsay.
This idiom underlines that Jihwa is just using knowledge but neither his heart nor his eyes nor ears to understand him. He might know things but he can’t feel as he is himself deprived of his own senses. He’s deaf and blind in reality, very similar to the artist’s attitude in season 2 from chapter 45 to 49. In my opinion, Jihwa’s behavior reminds me of this picture with Baek Na-Kyum: 
you’ll notice that they are related to the past and not to the present. Jihwa was never a witness, when Seungho was directly wounded emotionally and physically. He could only observe the consequences of his suffering (the trauma), yet he knew nothing about their origins, only a name: lord Song. His knowledge is very limited, yet it gave him a certain feeling of superiority, explaining why Jihwa always considered himself as special. First, he knew certain things about his past as they were childhood friends. Secondly they had sex alone and finally Seungho always forgave Jihwa’s wrongdoings.
The reason for this is quite simple: both were living in the past, yet it changed the moment Baek Na-Kyum entered the two figures’ life, the person symbolizing the present. Let’s not forget that the protagonist’s tumultuous relationship with his friend got affected the moment the low-born created his first work. The sex at the pavilion affected not only Seungho but also Jihwa. While the former had come back to life without noticing it and saw a different image about himself, the other had the impression that he had been able to stimulate his friend for the first time and this gave him hope that he was closer to his dream. 
Only now I comprehend why the lord could see the painter’s virginity. Let’s not forget that in this scene, Jihwa touches Baek Na-Kyum’s body. So he is not relying entirely on his gaze. Like I mentioned above, the noble lived more through his body and his hand helps him to sense the painter’s virginity. Let’s not forget that the character has learnt himself through his own body to detect sexual experiences. From my perspective, he sensed through his hand the painter’s shyness, that’s how he discovered his secret. He acted as if he was a man with a bad sight. But he was not only blind before, he was also deaf therefore in the same chapter, he doesn’t hear Seungho’s annoyance about his bad reflection, he is a man consumed by lust.
In my opinion, Jihwa lived through his other senses (taste and touch) to feel alive. And that’s one of the reasons why he drinks so much in the end.
Happy or not, he drinks. Strangely is that in chapter 8, Jihwa has just bought an erotic picture but he looks at it without taking any pleasure. And this is important as it shows that his eyes are not sensitive, they are starting to come back to life. That’s why he can not be deeply moved by Baek Na-Kyum’s paintings in reality. For me, it becomes clear that due to the appearance of Baek Na-Kyum in Jihwa’s life, the noble is forced more and more to use his own eyes and ears, especially after hearing from his friend about the locked gaze between Yoon Seungho and the low-born. Hence we see many zooms on his gaze in chapter 13, 14 and 15 underlining that he is forced to use them. He has to witness with his own eyes the attraction between the two main leads and attempts to change it.
He had to touch it literally to realize the consequence of his wrongdoing, he had to sense it with his hand. 
His eyes are absent and observe, he is touching his body in order to detect the marks left by the main lead. And the manhwaphiles should remember that one of the mirror’s purpose is to help the beholder to perceive his identity. Unlike his friend, he is not avoiding the mirror but since he is blind, he can’t perceive himself and needs his hands to see. And it is quite similar in chapter 41: 
here he’s holding himself the big spoon that’s how he can see his own reflection the water. I hope, you can understand why I can not examine each scene where Jihwa’s eyes play a huge role. However, with this new discovery, I would like to incite the manhwalovers to read the manhwa from the start and pay attention to Jihwa’s eyes and ears. But because he has been deaf and blind for so long figuratively speaking, it is not surprising that Jihwa is a selfish person. He is trapped in his own world where his interactions with others are restricted and his world is linked to the past. That’s why he can’t live in the present. Who would like to be reminded of his disabilities? 
Yet, the beholder will recognize that the noble’s tears are barely visible. The tears don’t flow down the cheeks like in the latest chapter. From my point of view, this scene is very important as it explains Jihwa’s obsession with his friend in the end. In his presence, he was able to feel something, it moved his heart to the point to have some tears in his eyes. But he didn’t see with his own eyes, Jihwa detected it through his body and especially his hands. Note how Seungho is holding his hand on his friend’s shoulder and he is looking down. Both have no eye contact. 
or uses his hand to cover his tears 
(observe the position of his hands here) or hide his tears with the veil of the hat
or bury his head so that the tears are not visible
These gestures represent his resistance to accept reality. He is not able to face reality and the present hence he urges Nameless to kill the painter very soon. It was as if he tried to hurry the time so that the murder would happen very quickly. 
He couldn’t believe his own ears that the main lead would never be together with him. That’s why in the cabin, he is still in denial, until the criminal confronts him with the reality. Striking is that once the noble complains about his incompetence,
he shows him the kidnapped painter.
which leaves him speechless. Striking is that right after, the noble hides away from the commoner. First, he turns his back to Nameless and even hides his eyes behind his hands. Another sign that he is still avoiding the present and the terrible situation.
and observe that he is talking about the past again, using it as an argument. He criticizes Nameless for not doing his job illustrating that he is not taking any responsibility. But what the aristocrat fails to recognize is that Nameless is acting as the mirror, the mirror of fact, reality and truth!! His good heart made him detect the aristocrat’s guilty conscience hence he first postponed the murder hoping that Jihwa would change his mind. However, it didn’t work hence he reminded him of the severity of the crime
but the latter didn’t really budge, despite a certain hesitation. Each time, he urged the commoner to hurry up and finish it. I believe that’s how Nameless recognized that Jihwa would never see any responsibility after the crime despite a certain guilt. He sensed that Jihwa would become just like all the nobles who order a murder and then frame and blame low-borns for their wrongdoings. And this escapist attitude concerning the hit was present right from the start. What caught my attention is that in chapter 43, when Min incites Jihwa to kill the low-born, the upset noble is not using the personal pronoun “I” but “we”.
He is including the others with his question. It was as if he wanted them to share the responsibility. Sure, Min was the one who brought it up, yet Jihwa could have refused. This question also unveils a certain hesitation. In my opinion, he’s hoping that they will stop him. However nothing happens like that. Min shows no remorse. My point is that even if Jihwa was reluctant to commit the murder, he was the one who made the decision in the end and hired Nameless. Through their different meetings, the commoner recognized the presence of guilt but simultaneously the lack of sense of responsibility. Hence Jihwa is forced to look at his victim
and his misdeeds by Nameless.
But just like the mirror in Snow White, the mirror is also speaking and even letting him hear that he is no longer innocent as he played a key role in the target’s capture. He is no longer innocent, even if he had no idea about it.
The irony here is that Nameless is using the same strategy than Jihwa but in the opposite sense. Ignorance is no blessing in the end. Even if he was unaware, he has become part of the plan, a sort of accomplice. Therefore he is already accountable for the future event. As you can see, the commoner uses the exact two senses which Jihwa refused to use in the end: sight and hearing. But he even provoked the aristocrat by describing what his friend had been doing after he left him
leading him to verify his saying. As you can observe, Nameless is manipulating him for his own good. We all know that he wasn’t truly blind and deaf but since he was hurt, he chose to act as if he was blind and deaf, turning him into a selfish and lonely person. But Nameless doesn’t stop here with the confrontation. 
He has already committed so many wrongdoings but he still has an option to escape. He can drop the project. Let’s not forget that he would have killed the painter in affect if Nameless hadn’t stopped him. The criminal wants him to make a decision with a clear mind, similar to the painter who stepped out to clear his mind and face the reality. He is not allowing his client to act on his emotions. He recognized that Jihwa was again using the future, attempting to escape from the present and reality again. 
That’s why Jihwa’s eyes and ears play a huge part in chapter 60. Only here, I was able to recognize Jihwa’s real blindness and deafness, both related to his past and explaining why he was so obsessed with his friend. As a conclusion, the lord Lee Jihwa was not really living. Yet this was not so perceptible like with the main protagonist for his smiles and clothes gave a different impression. In other words, he is a mixture of the two protagonists: the painter due to his tears and his naivety and the powerful master Yoon Seungho due to his attitude towards life, his refusal to live in the present, escaping from reality. 
He doesn’t care about his lord or the painter, for only his interests matter. Since Kim has been following his master for a long time, he is well aware that the former is suffering and still living in the past. Striking is that when the butler portrays his lord to the painter in chapter 12, he talks about Yoon Seungho’s past and present:
But before, he elaborates that he still fears his lord after living with him for so many years. 
Hence it looks like the assistant is more linked to the present. However, this is only partially true. In reality, valet Kim has a strong connection to the future too. Why? First, if you contextualize his words, you’ll notice the existence of a purpose behind his comment. On the surface, the readers have the impression that the butler wants the painter to accept his new situation and perceive his master in a different light. Nevertheless, the order of the lord’s description is important. First, he explains his master’s terrible past, only to underline the consequence. Yoon Seungho has a terrible temper. Note that the lexical field employed by the valet is revolving around fear. This is especially perceptible, if you pay attention to the following picture: 
Note the painter’s reaction. He is scared, because the treatment with the ointment is presented like a threat and an order. The reality is that Yoon Seungho showed great care by sending his own valet, but due to the valet’s expressions, the lord appears more overbearing and threatening. That’s why I come to the conclusion that Kim is instilling fear in the painter, and if you pay attention to the protagonist’s attitude later, you’ll notice that he is indeed afraid. 
Hence he bows to the owner of the mansion, not out of respect but out of scare. Kim’s words were pretty effective, yet when he suggests to Baek Na-Kyum to go out for a walk, he is actually hoping that the artist will run away. 
How is it possible? Kim was present, when Baek Na-Kyum somehow defied his lord and even refused to obey him. 
(chapter 11). He will do anything for the noble except painting, and this even after getting slapped and insulted. Kim had observed the rebellious side from the artist. From my perspective, Kim hoped that by saying that the lord had mood swings and Baek Na-Kyum should accept his fate, the latter would make the opposite decision. While the first impression is to think that Kim desires to reconcile Baek Na-Kyum with the lord so that their relationship can improve, the reality is totally different from my perspective. Let’s not forget that Kim is someone from Yoon Seungho’s past, who knows his traumas very well, but doesn’t do anything to change his master. Since the latter is living in the past, Kim has been focused more on the present. Yoon Seungho should never change and behave like a child, so that he needs to relying on his butler, who became his eyes and ears. 
Even an outsider commented that there was no real control in that household. 
The servants could speak about Yoon Seungho behind his back and contribute to the gossips. The lord wasn’t even offended, when the door of his bedchamber was opened. He never investigated the matter. Finally the staff even didn’t take his order (keeping an eye on the painter) seriously, when asked. That’s why the painter could escape. Baek Na-Kyum’s appearance in the mansion revealed the master’s laxity. Note that so far, the staff has got punished only once, because they had obviously ignored his order. The gossips and the bad remark from the maid truly exposed that Yoon Seungho had no real authority and respect among his staff, and he was not such a terrifying master. Hence the butler’s words about the lord as a terrible master should be judged more critically. 
He is worried about the consequences of the painter’s escape. Let’s not forget that he helped Baek Na-Kyum to flee 
and the lord could definitely uncover his involvement. Hence he is worried. Nevertheless on the surface, it looks like he cares for the painter and the consequences of the sex marathon. As you can sense, in both interpretations he is already thinking about the future. And now, if you recall all the valet’s actions during the two seasons (until the chapter 68), you’ll realize that he has been working all this time for the future, while in truth he is determined to go back to the past. He wants to change the current situation, he would like the lord to behave like he used to. Consequently, I will try to list all his decisions showing that they are all related to the future. 
He is pushing away the commoner, making sure that this doesn’t happen again. The valet doesn’t desire that Baek Na-Kyum gets close to his master, because this would mean that he would lose his position. While in the past, I had imagined that Kim wished the protagonist to take over his role, I am thinking the opposite now. Only his life matters, and as such he was definitely benefitting from his position as butler. He could order medicine 
and buy items without being questioned. Since in chapter 39, the tailor requested a confirmation about the order, this truly exposes that Kim had a certain authority and power. Moreover, in chapter 45, with only one gaze, the butler is able to silence the tailor.
The way he is dressed and acts shows a man behaving like a noble (the hat, the hanbok and the headband), hence the tailor follows his recommendation. For me, the advice from chapter 23 was actually a warning, the painter shouldn’t use the “wedding night” in order to get closer to Yoon Seungho and become powerful. Note that Kim was wondering why the painter was joining them during the hunt. 
The lord was showing Baek Na-Kyum such a great respect, treating him like a honorable guest to the point that the main lead stopped him from falling. 
The butler was definitely worried about his own future, the painter could decide that once he had won the lord’s favor and heart that he needed to get rid of his rival: Kim. As you can observe, Kim represents the present, but a different kind: the status quo… the immobility which stands in opposition to Baek Na-Kyum’s present. However, like I have already outlined, Kim’s “present” is in reality the past. Moreover, he has another reason to separate the main leads. If it was known that Yoon Seungho had a relationship with a low-born, this would create a scandal, which the valet abhors. He hates ruckus, because he has no control over this kind of incident. Kim, as a butler, has a legitimation to be close to his master, but for the painter it is different, for their relationship is sexual and affectionate. As the manhwaphiles can sense, Kim’s philosophy and time contrasts so much to Baek Na-Kyum’s, which becomes more obvious during the second season. The moment the main character reflects on himself, he begins to attempt to understand the noble, while Kim doesn’t truly ponder on his own actions. He sways them under the rug, he needs to forget them. 
and complains that Yoon Seungho has not returned home for a while. While he fakes concern for his master, his true goal is that the artist remains in the lord’s bed.
In his mind, the moment Yoon Seungho returns, he will see the painter and will desire to have sex with the artist. Note that the painter has barely recovered. This shows that the valet is hoping that his master will be like in chapter 30: selfish and greedy… so consumed by lust that the artist will pay the price. Note the huge contrast between the chapter 12 and 34. In the previous episode, the master was portrayed as a terrible man with mood swings, now Kim’s words imply the opposite. His master has been feeling guilty and he remained away, as he couldn’t face the painter, which is actually true. With these words, his intention is quite clear: he is attempting to put his lord in a good light, the latter feels remorse and he did everything he could in order to help the painter to recover from the illness. First, he underlines all the good deeds he did, then he speaks for his lord’s regrets hoping that this would move the low-born’s heart. Why? Kim desires to ensure that the low-born is no longer pushing away Seungho, and it really worked even in a short term. But more importantly, it looks like he is working for his master’s interest, which explains why initially I misjudged the butler’s true intentions. However, here the butler is actually forcing the artist to accept his new situation: a servant whose role is to please this master and nothing more. He has no right and he just needs to listen to Kim’s words. This explicates why the valet let the painter drink an aphrodisiac in chapter 36. 
The butler is well aware that if his master sees the erection, he will act upon it. Therefore I deduce that in the valet’s mind, Yoon Seungho is indeed a man obsessed with sex, but he will make sure that he remains that way. He has an interest for this situation, the noble doesn’t pay attention to his surroundings and what the staff and Kim are doing behind his back. And this interpretation that Kim is only accepting the painter as a favored servant is confirmed in chapter 52: 
He is just a servant, and not a spoiled child, therefore he needs to do everything in order to please Yoon Seungho. This explicates why the painter puts on the white headband again. However, if you pay closer attention to the valet’s words, you’ll notice a contradiction. How can Baek Na-Kyum be a spoiled child, if he waits for the master to call? A spoiled child would refuse to follow a request… and would do whatever he pleases which is not the painter’s case. He was even so submissive to the point that Yoon Seungho complained about it. 
Why? Because of his strong will… once he makes a decision, he won’t change his mind at all. I would even say that Baek Na-Kyum embodies true loyalty, contrary to the butler who fakes loyalty, whereas he is only working for his own interests. With this new interpretation, it explains why Deok-Jae was in the painter’s room.
He had seen the painter approaching the master’s room, hence Kim and Deok-Jae imagined that he would run away due to his wounded heart, especially if the lords would treat the boy as their prostitute. 
Then the assistant gives the painter advices on how to behave in front of the lord indicating that he expects from him that he won’t talk to his master under the pretense that his master is not in a good mood, whereas it was the opposite. The noble had happily discovered that the painter was no longer rejecting him, because he was planning to paint their last session. The truth was that Yoon Seungho was just tired. By telling him how the protagonist is feeling, he is definitely hoping that their time spent together will end up in a sex session, so that the noble still remains oblivious to his surroundings. 
, when he hears that lord Song would like to meet his lord. Note the contrast between the previous panel and this one: 
As you can detect, the butler is showing no fear at all. He even gives the impression that everything is done for his master’s well-being and future. He is determined to make him happy. But in that moment, we have to question: what about the painter’s interest then, which he defended in chapter 50? 
Notice that in the last two panels, he uses the future tense twice (will, shall), another sign that he is linked to the future. However, he is not working for his master’s future, in reality he would like to go back to the past, which reminds us a lot of Jihwa’s mentality. However, there’s a huge difference between them. Jihwa wanted to go to the time, when both were quite cheerful and innocent, while Kim prefers the recent past, the time before the painter’s appearance. The other difference is that he doesn’t wait, just like the second lead. He makes plan and anticipates people’s movements. He observes his surroundings in order to judge their personality so that he can take advantage from this knowledge. Striking is that when the loyal butler converses with the doctor, he can’t help mentioning elder master Yoon and his reaction
While it looks like he feels concern, the fact that he covers his mouth is a strong clue that he is actually not expressing his real thoughts. He really hopes for the eldest master’s intervention. Observe that he employs the idiom ” hope” and the latter is strongly connected to prospect. And the final proof is visible in chapter 58 where his presence is only revealed through the bucket of water.
This exposes that he has never tried to discover the real identity of the creator and let his prejudice make the decision. He enjoyed the erotic publications, but that was it. One might say that since Black Heart is determined to overthrow Yoon Seungho and he is very manipulative, he could be perceived as a person focused on the future. However, if you pay attention to his schemes, you’ll recognize that they are never planned in the long run, rather decided in the moment, because he felt like it. It starts with the chapter 33, where he challenges Seungho by asking him to bring the painter to them.
He manipulates the crowd, yet he acts more in the moment, since he acts in such an ostentatious way. He doesn’t hide his intentions. The lord is no fool, he’s well aware of the significance of Min’s words and its outcome but he chooses to overlook it. And here it is again related to pleasure. He would like to taste the artist. Another clue for the lack of real planning appears in chapter 37. Here he lies so obviously and a careful person would have verified his saying. 
indicating that he wanted to play a prank and mock Jihwa. Notice that even if he incites the red-haired noble to have the painter killed, he never monitors Jihwa’s moves. He never ensures that his acquaintance has indeed hired the killer. He believes that his manipulations will work, underlining that he is not really planning carefully. I would even say that the lord is even overestimating his skills and power. And this becomes even more visible in chapter 52 and 53. First, he is not even capable to hide his involvement in the murder. 
He literally reveals the truth in front of the painter because he can’t control his emotions. He is definitely caught by surprise. If he was a real strategist, he would have hidden his cards much better. Fortunately for him, the lord was more focused on protecting Baek Na-Kyum in the moment that he didn’t hear the guest’s comments. This observation leads me to the following deductions. Min is strongly influenced by his emotions: either by his jealousy or his desire to enjoy or his pleasure to hurt others. This explicates why this character keeps provoking his host to the point he gets beaten.
He doesn’t even care, for him it was fun to make Seungho angry, to humiliate him… but note that no one witnesses Seungho’s humiliation. In his eyes, he had won the game hence he smiled.
Yet this is only partially correct because at the end, Seungho put an end to his manipulations. Min’s victories are only superficial, as his plans never truly succeed. He never got to taste the painter in chapter 54. Notice that in chapter 55, Min even reveals his intentions to Jihwa. 
His desire to taste the painter has grown so strong that he requires Jihwa’s assistance. The trigger for this change is the new erotic painting of Baek Na-Kyum he saw during that night. Note that he is not doing anything on his own. He has to use “hounds” in order to catch his prey, exactly like during the hunt. This displays how much Min values pleasure over caution therefore he should be just considered as a lazy mastermind who lets others do his dirty work. 
Since Jihwa is now confronted with the present and forced to make the decision himself, his choice is already linked to Min. Exactly like I had anticipated it, the red-haired noble didn’t decide to eliminate the painter. Hence thanks to Nameless’ good heart, Jihwa chose to send back Baek Na-Kyum to Seungho, however this means that he had disobeyed his master and surrogate father Min. That’s why the latter is forced to become more proactive in the end, he needs to plan something in order to achieve his goal. He can no longer live in the present, he needs to develop new strategies so that he can taste the painter. That’s why in chapter 69
, Black Heart is seen dressed like Jihwa. Due to his second failure, Min is forced to change his habits and become more directly involved in the schemes. And this will be his weakness, as he is not a good strategist in reality. Like I had pointed out above, his manipulations are more born in the moment, which we could observe in chapter 66 again. The Joker is still unaware that a servant disappeared and he just revealed Jihwa’s crime in order to punish his pupil. However, this means that if Baek Na-Kyum disappears or gets hurt again, the noble won’t believe that Baek Na-Kyum was trying to run away from him. There will be terrible consequences, and his friend warned him about this. 
Note that here again, he is utilizing the present underlining one more time he is not thinking about the future. The past pushed him to make this decision and observe that during his escape, he expresses no reproach towards his adoptive mother or to Jung In-Hun. He just remembers their nice gestures, the caress on the cheek 
and the teacher’s smile, 
, he has never criticized him for that night afterwards, although he could have, since he could have been raped. In fact, he has never brought it up, while the lord was actually expecting resent and rejection the next morning. He even confessed in such a way that he imagined that the artist would escape. But to his astonishment, the artist had remained by his side. Besides, note, it is not even present during the memories!!! Then when they meet again, he takes care of him and wants to make sure that Seungho feels more comfortable.
I have the impression that he is not using the past because he has no ill intention towards others and he doesn’t want to play the victim either. Moreover, I believe, in his eyes bringing up the past doesn’t change his actual situation: he was abandoned and that’s a fact. He accepts his fate as painful as it is therefore he doesn’t blame anyone either. Now, you understand why I associated Baek Na-Kyum to the present in this panel and why Jihwa embodies the past.
Observe how close the lord’s head is touching the painter’s. He is embracing him as if he didn’t want to be separated.
his future is now to enjoy his sexual encounters with the painter, never hoping that they will share what they have on their mind. As you can observe, he is gradually adopting the painter’s philosophy: enjoying the moment. Thanks to the painter, he has been able to move on from the past but he is no longer projecting a future too. Therefore he rejects Jihwa by saying that he will never reciprocate his feelings. 
He has given up on the future hence he can stipulate that Jihwa and him can never be together in the future (“ever”). Actually the climax is reached in chapter 58 which chronologically happens after Jihwa’s love confession and his rejection. When the master confesses his feelings for the low-born, he declares to his lover, he is no longer expecting a love confession from him, it will remain an illusion.
He is now embracing the painter’s philosophy. He is living in the moment, enjoying his time with him. That’s why I perceive this second wedding night stands under the sign of present too. The lord wants to love the painter selflessly and is expecting nothing in return. That’s the reason why the lord can sleep more peacefully during that night.
He started moving on from the past before 
and is no longer dreaming of an uncertain and even impossible future.
In chapter 35, the lord spent a terrible night as he was thinking how to reconnect with the painter (another reference to the future). These aspects are relevant in my opinion because it explicates why the lord hasn’t paid attention to his lover’s real desires or future yet. We know for sure that the low-born wanted to be able to read and write. He felt very embarrassed, when Seungho exposed his illiteracy. And now you understand why Baek Na-Kyum was left unprotected in the end. Because the lord was living more and more in the moment, he neglected the future and as such a real protection for his lover. As you can observe, in the beginning Seungho was a man living in the past but thanks to the artist, he transformed into a different person. And with Jihwa by his side, he could never move on from the past as the latter kept reminding him about it with the hope, they could be together one day. The problem was that with these actions, Seungho could never dream of any future as Jihwa kept him trapped in the past. 
etc…. 
Therefore I have come to the deduction that Baek Na-Kyum will definitely show the same attitude towards Jihwa like he did with Seungho. At some point, he will forgive him for his kidnapping and the terrible treatment he suffered afterwards. Let’s not forget that the artist is now the one discovering the past and heard that Jihwa was considered sick as well. And this is no coincidence. For me, the artist will come to understand what Jihwa and Seungho went through and help them to move on. Like I pointed out above, the commoner has always been able to move on from the past and has never held deep grudges. For me, the artist will serve as a model for his lover and will show him and Jihwa what true forgiveness means. But I have to admit that this is more a prediction, yet based on my observations and interpretation.
Although he has problems to accept the obvious, the master has loved him for a long time, he blushes because he is definitely moved. Notice that even in that moment, he is not thinking about the future. What does it mean if Seungho loves him and confessed to him? How will their relationship change? At no moment, he is projecting himself and the lord in the future. And while looking at this panel, I couldn’t help myself connecting to the following picture from chapter 1.
Thanks to the lord, the painter has also transformed. Instead of being drunk and not thinking, he has been able to paint and is thinking on his own. Now, he is not lying on the ground but sitting straight while pondering. He is still on his own but his solitude is here chosen and not forced. He left Seungho’s side in order to reflect about the master’s confession and love. And this is no coincidence that the painter’s former position is now mirrored by Jihwa’s. The latter is the one who has been rejected and abandoned by his surrogate “father”/lover. 
Their positions are quite similar, yet the only difference is that Jihwa is not even sitting on the wood. He is still kneeling as he has problems to process the rejection. He is in denial, although he remembers Seungho’s words. Since we know that he values the past so much, it is quite normal that Jihwa chooses to repress his friend’s explications. And now, you can imagine what I am about to tell. The chapter 59 is a new version of the chapter 1 which makes me think that something bad is about to occur, since we had the servant’s death in that episode. Another clue for this prediction is the color of Jihwa’s robe, when he faces the captured painter.
He was reminded of his past and the incident with the topknot. Like I had explicated in another analysis, this scene from the protagonist’s past is deeply intertwined with jealousy, rejection, fear of abandonment and his self-hatred due to the negative reflection perceived in the father’s gaze. Hence we have to imagine that Jihwa must have said something about father Yoon, abandonment and Yoon Seungho’s negative image which could only trigger the lord’s fury. The negative reflection is already implied with the idiom “common brute”. As you can observe, the red-haired aristocrat utilizes his knowledge of the past in order to hurt his lover and in my opinion, it was related to Seungho’s abandonment issues. The third evidence for Jihwa’s preference to use the past is visible in the following panel.
Imagine, Jihwa was even willing to get humiliated if in the end, the friend would maintain his relationship with him. At least, Seungho showed reactions towards him and not indifference. And now, it makes sense why Jihwa was never present at sex sessions with other nobles. He wouldn’t have been able to handle the situation, he would have suffered from immense jealousy. I guess, Yoon Seungho must have conceded to be his exclusive sex partner, when they met that’s why they were always alone. This observation leads me to the following deduction: Jihwa and Seungho had both abandonment issues and the red-haired character used the friend’s weakness in order to hide his own anxieties and abandonment problems. And since the red-haired aristocrat kept backstabbing Seungho (see the incident with the topknot and his insult “common brute”, the letter), it becomes clear why the main lead didn’t distinguish his childhood friend from all the other nobles in chapter 57.
One might argue that he was just referring to the letter and Black Heart’s insult here. Yet, now we know for sure that the former sex partner wounded his friend even before the appearance of the painter in their life. Because of his friend’s bad actions, the main lead could never reveal his vulnerabilities out of fear that his loved one would use it as a weapon to hurt him, something he had even experienced with his childhood friend. Jihwa did contribute to his loneliness as the former wanted him to rely on him, to look at him. This also explains why Seungho could never sense Jihwa’s attachment for him. 
but directed at him this time. And now you understand why Jihwa is so obsessed with the past. It was, as if he wanted to return to the past before the tragedy occurred but this was and is impossible. At the same time, his hopes made him project himself in the future. He would get loved by his friend as he was the only one constant lover in the main lead’s life. And now, it becomes more comprehensible why the aristocrat played with time. In his mind, time would help him: the past and the future were his motivations. The consequence of this mindset is that Jihwa was never satisfied with the present, the current situation where he saw Yoon Seungho fooling around with other men. 
The expression “the most wretched of states” is an indication that Jihwa must have been suffering as well and Seungho knew about this hence he was always willing to forgive his friend’s pranks and stabs.
Even the noble with the mole points out that after such a humiliation and fight, the person would distance himself from the offender for good. But Jihwa justified his behavior by pointing out that he had a special position in Seungho’s life without revealing too much. He was connected to Yoon Seungho by their past and knew about his nightmares and his insomnia.
And this shows that Jihwa’s prank was not the only plot he did behind his friend’s back. He knew exactly which trigger he could pull in order to infuriate and wound his lover. 
Observe that Jihwa is comparing the painter to a toy. These words are relevant for two reasons. First Jihwa tries to diminish the importance of the protagonist’s sex partners. They are just toys, while in reality he considers them as rivals. Consequently, he needs to make sure that they are just toys for his lover and nothing more. In his mind, they are no humans, just pawns for the friend’s distraction, he is trying to reassure himself in the end. But in my opinion, his mouth is actually contradicting his own heart, as he was never satisfied with the situation that Seungho had many lovers. He felt really upset and betrayed hence in his heart, he always resented his childhood friend which he finally admitted in his love confession. 
(we never saw his face on the way to the mansion here but based on his robes, we can definitely assume that he was happy. He imagined that because of the brother’s visit, he had a reason to pay him a visit and they would reconcile) quoted from 
The red-haired aristocrat just knows a little bit of his past but doesn’t truly comprehend Seungho’s suffering. He just saw the symptoms but is not aware of the real source of his nightmares (the true events). His obsessive love disorder stands in opposition to the painter’s pure adoration. While Jihwa only saw his friend’s flaws, the artist was doing the opposite. He idealized his learned sir to the point that he was used. With these two examples, Byeonduck clearly illustrates what true love really means: accept a person with his qualities and flaws and being selfless. Real love shouldn’t make someone blind as it can only lead to disappointment. 
, he couldn’t believe his own ears so that he had to ask her for a confirmation. 
this displays how his mind was refusing to see and hear what his heart and unconscious was already sensing. There’s a reason for his resistance. The manhwaphiles should remember that the painter’s conscious has always represented his strength but also his last wall of protection. This explains why it took the noble a very long time to be able to remove the doctrines imposed by Jung In-Hun on the low-born. At the same time, his unconscious was always the one telling the painter what he truly wished deep down. Consequently, we witness how Baek Na-Kyum dreams of Yoon Seungho’s love confession first but when it happens, his mind can’t process it. It’s too crazy to accept this truth. But if you pay attention, despite his reluctance to accept the obvious, his face is red showing how much these memories and this reality affect him. He is definitely moved. This reminds us of the lord’s attitude who denied his feelings for the low-born. We could say that Baek Na-Kyum is experiencing a similar situation. And the flashbacks reveal the disappearance of the scholar’s influence in Baek Na-Kyum’s life. He only appears once and just as a reminder. Back then, the low-born felt a little hurt by Jung In-Hun’s comment and now, he feels nothing. He just remembers his words and nothing more. Slowly, the painter is accepting the reality that Seungho loves him and has cared for him for a long time.
For the first time, he is deeply sleeping. Sure, one might argue that he is sick, yet I doubt that the illness explains everything. In my opinion, the fact that Baek Na-Kyum accepted his confession and made love in that room could only make him happy. For the first time, someone accepted him without criticizing or blaming him. He was allowed to be himself and to show his vulnerabilities without getting hurt. Jihwa never saw the real signification of Seungho’s gestures, when he spent the night with him. Since he is overlooking the present, he had the impression that this night together had brought them closer, while it was not the case. Seungho had sensed that Jihwa couldn’t give him the comfort needed. But since Jihwa had spent one night with him, it became a memory and a justification to claim that he knew his friend better than everyone else. 
He heard the painter’s confession addressed to the scholar. Thus he was well aware that his master was seizing the opportunity to make a move on Baek Na-Kyum, which he could only disapprove. That’s why he remained there, until the lord reacted to his passivity. This explains why Yoon Seungho had to order him to close the door by whispering. With his command, the noble forced him to obey him.
Here, their dynamic changed. In that moment, the loyal valet became just a servant who needed to listen to his master’s orders. And his presence during their “Wedding night” marked a turning point in the butler’s life as well. From that moment, he started acting more and more like a surrogate father or mother, though the noble treated him more and more like a domestic. This opposition is really perceptible in chapter 50: 
But let’s return our attention to the first season. After witnessing this “Wedding night”, the butler never divulged this incident to others. The manhwaphiles should question the cause and the signification for the butler’s behavior. He couldn’t approve such a relationship for two reasons. First, this would create a scandal
. For Kim, this meant that the other aristocrats would distance themselves from Yoon Seungho, since the butler has already internalized social values. Totally isolated, the noble would become more vulnerable. Therefore he could become the target of other aristocrats. In my eyes, Kim had imposed his own philosophy on Yoon Seungho: knowledge is power, but he needs to lie low.
(chapter 23) That’s why I come to the following conclusion: Kim might have been the Best man, yet in reality he was refusing to acknowledge this alliance. And now, the readers can grasp why he said those words in chapter 23. He was acting like a father disapproving the partner’s choice of his “son”. Hence he tried to advice the painter not to remember that night 
(chapter 36) 
(chapter 30). This action was clearly reminding the butler that he was in the end just a servant. Hence Kim resigned and had to support his lord’s choice. Yet, what he did is the following: he attempted to turn the artist into a prostitute or “favored servant”. At no moment, Baek Na-Kyum should be recognized as the master’s official partner. Therefore he asked the doctor for an aphrodisiac for the painter, or he hid the information about the incident at the library 
(chapter 50). He had to ensure that the noble would never recognize the nature of his feelings for the painter. This explicates why he criticized the artist for acting like a spoiled child 
(chapter 52). When he asked him to visit the lord’s chamber, he was reminding the artist of his situation: he was just a servant. Simultaneously, he wanted him to go to Yoon Seungho’s bedroom in order to witness that he had no special status, he was not a treasure. He incited the artist to see with his own eyes the master’s debauchery and feel disgusted. He hoped with such a situation, the artist would run away. Kim was well aware that the aristocrat was starving for love. In other words, till chapter 58, the butler was denying the existence of the Wedding and their union. He refused to be their Best man. 
(chapter 58)
and chapter 20 
Besides, remember what Baek Na-Kyum said in chapter 57. The assistant was supposed to fetch water, and observe the smoke coming from the bucket. 
This means that he witnessed how the painter was no longer rejecting Yoon Seungho. The artist might have not confessed, but this was enough for the butler. The latter could sense that it was only a matter of time, until the artist falls for his lord. The latter had finally opened up and revealed his vulnerability. When I saw how the shoes were aligned, my first impression was that Kim was responsible for this. I judged this simple gesture as a act of thoughtfulness and respect. Yet, if you look at the disposition of the shoes, you’ll realize that they are placed so that the owners can put immediately the shoes on, as if they would leave the place very soon, a sign for disapproval in my eyes. Yet, he didn’t interrupt them. Whereas one might say that Kim desired to respect their privacy and even supported his master by not stopping him, it could be interpreted differently. Here, he acted, as if nothing was happening. He was again denying the existence of their union. This explicates why he never mentioned the night to his master in chapter 62: 
(chapter 62). He could have talked to Yoon Seungho that he had heard how the artist had reacted to his confession. In other words, he was still refusing to become their Best Man, though he had a second chance. He knew how much the artist meant to him and because he was sick and shouldn’t have sex, Kim recognized the signification of that moment. And the last panel mirrors the evolution of Kim’s position. 
(chapter 70), he was acting on Kim’s order. Due to the way the domestic closed the door, you could sense that he was resenting the artist. 
(chapter 70). The latter had created so much trouble in two days: his supposed escape and the kisaeng’s appearance. However, by “playing cupid”, the servant was actually acting as their “Best Man”. In my eyes, he hoped, the artist would stop rejecting his master. There’s no doubt that after this night, the staff was happy. 
This explicates why Kim ends up in the backyard. The head-maid and the male servants have come to realize that Baek Na-Kyum is playing an important role in their master’s life. 
(chapter 51). 
(chapter 64) After each disappearance, the staff would get into trouble. This leads me to the following conclusion: The real Best men are Yoon Seungho’s domestics, for they accept this union and relationship. 
But this gesture just marks the beginning of the renewal of their intimacy. However, in this chapter we have a sort of repetition of their Wedding night. Hence, we need to ask ourselves why it came to this, although the lord is physically diminished. The kiss and the caress of the hand are just signals and not the real explanations, especially after the readers recall the protagonists’ long separation and the terrible night which could have led to a catastrophe. What is motivating Yoon Seungho to overlook his own exhaustion and to create a magical night? Striking is that before the release of episode 58, I had predicted the following:
and the former doesn’t even cry out of happiness. Moreover, he keeps refusing the lord’s advances. 
Besides, he is much more passive than in the reality where the painter continues moaning “my lord”
while blushing and holding the lord’s hand. He even expresses his satisfaction
and even gets an orgasm, when he hears the lord whispering such erotic and passionate words, 
while in the illusion, he got so scared that he decided to wake up. He was still rejecting the lord’s confession.
in front of Yoon Seungho if this was an illusion, there’s no room for ambiguity at the doctor’s. First, the artist is not drunk. But the most important aspect is that the master makes sure that this will feel so real. He ensures that all the painter’s senses are activated:
, the latter senses that Baek Na-Kyum has finally accepted him as a part of his life and even consider him as a part of his family “home with you”. For Yoon Seungho, it’s such a surprise because it’s now clear that Baek Na-Kyum no longer views him as a man consumed by lust but as a companion (“With you”). This represents such a huge progression because in the chapter 49, the main character who already lowered his expectations came to the compromise that they would just maintain a physical relationship hence sex was the only thing connecting them and nothing more. However, with these words “home with you”, the commoner truly reveals that his judgement about his “lord” has changed but the aristocrat has no idea about the extent. This is the return of hope and this is relevant as hope is often used as a synonym for dream. That’s why he laughs first
, he can’t believe his own ears and eyes. It was as if his dream has come true. Therefore he initiates the kiss in order to taste the water. But he’s not rejected at all hence he keeps pushing a little further.
From my point of view, he is impulsive, acting in the moment. He has no clue where all this could lead. However, he can’t accept this “dream” as a reality. That’s why he stops at some point questioning his own behavior. 
, caressing the painter’s butt. And this question marks the return to reality and resignation. 
underlining that only skills matter. This is how Jihwa and Yoon Seungho were raised hence the red-haired aristocrat hid his feelings behind the appearances and sexual experience and it must be the same for the protagonist too. Therefore I come to the observation that only rationality, manipulation and calculating are allowed among nobles, while feelings are disdained, considered as weaknesses. Hence for nobles, sex is a synonym for fights and the readers assist to prostitution among nobles. Let’s not forget the sex sessions Yoon Seungho organized are in reality an exchange of favors. Therefore Jihwa could claim that he had used Yoon Seungho in the chapter 18. The only difference is that unlike in the past, Yoon Seungho is no longer following his father’s orders, his former pimp. So the lord is doubting his actions. Is it correct to act like that? Is it correct to follow his feelings and to even dream of being loved? Since the master has already encountered many rejections, he can’t help himself doubting what is happening right now. That’s why he stops and decides to confess what his dream was all along and how it came to life. Yet simultaneously he makes it clear that he is not really hoping to get confessed. 
That’s the reason why he talks about that night and what it really meant to him. He wanted to mock the painter for his lack of experience, yet it affected him so much that he couldn’t forget the painter’s love confession, gestures and words from that night. 
it is clear that the noble has never forgotten too that the painter was longing to be loved back then.
, while he criticizes him for his behavior, since he was acting like a man obsessed with sex and never paid attention to him. Yoon Seungho can perceive the hypocrisy and the contradiction in his words. Nevertheless more importantly, Jihwa’s intention through his speech makes Yoon Seungho recognize his own selfishness. Here, the friend’s mentality serves as a mirror to the main lead. When he confesses, he desires to have the affection returned. Simultaneously, Jihwa’s despair must have reminded the noble of the painter’s struggle and agony as well. That’s why instead of bringing the OTP apart, Jihwa brings them even closer, just like in the first season. And now, you can understand why Yoon Seungho has a change of heart in the end and gives up on his dream to be loved by the painter. 
He has finally dropped the doctrines from his father and the other nobles. The wreck is admitting his defeat without feeling any shame. He is actually rejoicing in it because this is no longer a fight but a sign of love. That’s why we could say, this night announces the rebirth of the phoenix. By loving the low-born selflessly, he becomes a pure person again, just like he was in the past. And the purity is visible through the light. Unlike all the other nights where they had sex, the room is so clear and warm that this reflects the purity of Yoon Seungho’s love. And this explains why we don’t see the lord’s gaze during his real confession. 
(chapter 21)
(chapter 48). For him, this would be enough to make him happy as they represent a real treasure. The tears as a symbol of Baek Na Kyum’s purity can wash away all the sins Yoon Seungho committed and even destroy the corruption in his heart.
This represents the painter’s gaze at his lover, as Seungho is embodied by the moon and the night sky. The moon shines brightly and the stars are even visible. This picture oozes a certain warmth as the beholder can distinguish the snow flakes very well. For me, this picture mirrors the painter’s thoughts. Now, he is able to recognize and enjoy the lord’s affection. And this contrasts so much to the following panel from their wedding night. 
Here, it was the opposite. It’s the perspective of Yoon Seungho looking at the painter represented by the house. However, we don’t see the moon as the noble has acted as if he was the teacher. This was just an illusion which explains why the aristocrat suffered for a long time. He had to pay the price for his selfishness and greed. This explicates why his dream could never become true and why this hope is going to turn into a reality as he decided to become selfless and love the painter without expecting anything in return. Therefore I am not expecting any memory loss from the lord, like in the first season. Let’s not forget that back then, the noble wanted to have a painting of their night, as he was hoping to have a proof that this dream had not been an illusion. In my opinion, the painter’s confession is strongly connected to his work. Since the painter’s wrist has been hurt, he won’t be able to produce any work. It will take some time until the painter achieves the painting, where he expresses his feelings for the lord. The moment the master sees the picture, he will be so moved as the drawing will become proof that his desire has finally been fulfilled. 
where Baek Na-Kyum approaches the lord asking for his forgiveness with the hope that the latter will be willing to return the poem from Jung In-Hun. Observe the parallels between the two scenes:
And you know that there’s no coincidence in this manhwa. Blue is associated to care, trust, loyalty, and peace of mind. 
Then in the chapter 57, Jihwa is also on his knees, while the lord is sitting too as he can no longer stand due to his illness. Both beg the lord in the end. 
Striking is that everything is indeed related to love. The manhwaphiles should remember that the plagiarized poem deals with love. The scholar faked his affection for the painter with his poetry. 
, in the episode 57 the second lead plays now an active role because he is at the forefront. This time, he confesses. However, the real similarity is the following. Jihwa used the letter in order to get his friend’s attention.
In other words, the ex-lover’s advances are jilted which really upsets the red-haired aristocrat. In the chapter 57, the manhwaphiles don’t witness the rejection personally, we hear about this through the butler’s testimony. 
And this occurs again, when the aristocrat confesses to his friend. The latter’s mind is focused on the painter again. 
was just a lip service which the noble could sense. The irony in this scene is that while the low-born denies that he views the master as a man consumed by lust,
, due to his busy sex life. And notice that in the chapter 5, he only repeats the part “consumed by lust” but the allusion to his education is reduced to “what not”. Therefore this leads me to the observation that Baek Na-Kyum’s lip service did cause a change of heart but not a change of mind!! For the first time, Yoon Seungho is confronted with his negative image by someone so honest and direct. This reveals that no one has an idea how literate he is. The day before, he was upset when he heard these words but he just dismissed it, thinking that the painter had no idea about his true personality. But the moment the painter refers to the incident, he is omitting the part about his intelligence and education. And this is important because the artist is the only one who gives a true reflection to the protagonist, while Jihwa is not complaining at all. 
Both were confronting the protagonist with his bad reflection, yet their intentions and approach were different. First, the painter never intended to hurt the noble with his lip service. Secondly, he somehow admitted his wrongdoing 
hence he expressed his apology. Striking is that he’s not blaming the counterpart. There are no reproach expressed here. His apology might be insincere, yet he admits to be in the wrong, whereas the red-haired noble is reprimanding his friend and never questioning his actions. That’s why he is the one forgiving and not apologizing. Now, you understand why he’s blaming his childhood friend. He had to hurt him because he had changed
Now, the lord is even holding the painter’s hand, instead of holding the pipe. And observe that they talk to each other in this scene again. There’s another real conversation. 
and he expressed his feelings
. He argued with him showing that he was noting his presence as a spirit, a mind and he wasn’t just a man obsessed with sex. Consequently, Jihwa could only fail as he never exchange his true thoughts and feelings. Even when they had sex
, they would talk to each other with a certain honesty. And this was not the case with Jihwa. Besides, by only having sex with him and not sharing his mind, he contributed to Seungho’s mental isolation and loneliness. Seungho was first attracted by the painter’s works, hence there was a mental connection between them before their first meeting. And from the moment they were together, they kept talking to each other, while it was never the case with Jihwa. He was not listening to his friend’s words, even when the latter warned him or reminded him that he didn’t know him that well.
It was, as if his words meant nothing. This is not surprising that Yoon Seungho could only consider himself as a spirit using his body to get revenge on the double-faced nobles. This explains why the main lead can’t distinguish Jihwa from Min in the end. Both are treating him the same way. Both assume, they know him so well
and can do anything to him, justifying their actions with this excuse. As a conclusion, this manhwa reveals that love can only work if there’s a real communication and attraction is not the main component. 
, while confessing as he recognized his bad actions. He had no hope and was actually expecting to get rejected. However, Jihwa looked at the friend’s face on his knees, searching his closeness in order to convey his feelings properly. 
But the low-born kept rejecting him which made the aristocrat suffer. Consequently the loved one had to suffer due to their “rejections”. And we have the same case here. Yoon Seungho became the real victim of Jihwa’s pranks.
Back then, the low-born had put the scholar on a pedestal indeed. He had confessed that he pined on him and would respect him so much and as you can detect, Jihwa is actually saying the opposite. Yoon Seungho is far from being admirable that’s why the protagonist’s heart can never be moved. 
Hence this is the other cause for the failure of his confession. Jihwa could never obtain what he wanted, the admiration in Yoon Seungho’s eyes as the red-haired master never reflected real admiration in his eyes. As a conclusion, he couldn’t get past the image of a man obsessed with sex. How can Yoon Seungho love him back, if the noble judges him like all the others? In order to love someone, the main lead needed to perceive himself differently, as he already hated himself so much. 
He showed him an attractive man, worthy to be desired. Besides, he was indeed physically attracted to him. Sure, now he is not admiring the lord spiritually but once he accepts the noble, the latter will reveal his qualities which he could never reveal as he never felt loved. Baek Na-Kyum will discover a new side of Yoon Seungho: educated, intelligent and even patient. Jihwa says that he knows the reason for this reckless behavior, however I believe that Jihwa doesn’t grasp the whole dimension of the main lead’s suffering.
The lord came personally later and stood there, like he was on a podium, while the painter was lying on the ground. Just before, he had been rolled up in a mat. And observe, the scene at the tavern is really similar, although the perspective diverges. The lord kicked the friend so that the latter fell down. 
The main lead is standing, while the other is lying on the floor, hurt, exactly like the painter. Let’s not forget my theory that Jihwa is the noble version of the painter. But there are actually more parallels between these two incidents hence it is necessary that I outline all the similarities by listing all the elements contained in both incidents:
, whereas we have a letter reminding the lord of his terrible past.
Both are just pieces of paper, yet they have such an impact on the main lead. Both causes immense pain in the main character’s heart. In the first case, it was as if his identity had been erased. Let’s not forget that the protagonist perceived himself as a ghost but thanks to the erotic pictures, he could feel alive. And the moment the painter portrayed him, he saw a different reflection about himself, like I mentioned above. It could liberate him from his self-hatred, he saw that he was desirable. Simultaneously, the drawings were a proof that he was actually a man defeating his enemies, the double-faced and treacherous nobles, as a part of his “revenge”. As for the letter, it was a reminder of his terrible past. It’s clear that Lord Song is someone terrible based on Kim’s reaction. I have to admit that after giving some thoughts, I have come to the conclusion, the mysterious lord must be an older version of lord Min. But let’s get back to the comparison. Both pieces of paper caused a scene: a punishment. While Jihwa received a kick, 
the painter was condemned to the straw mat beating. One might say that the last punishment is worst as Baek Na-Kyum could have become handicapped or even worse, he could have lost his life. However, the kick in a public place for a noble is already a big humiliation. Not only he appears as a weak person but a kick is a treatment rather reserved to commoners. His reputation can only be affected (rumors). Let’s not forget the importance of honor for an aristocrat. Having a title is a synonym for respect and privileges, yet the boot on his arm gives the impression to the folks that Jihwa’s lacking of honor. It was as if he was a low-born despite his nice appearance.
(chapter 12)
after his release.
in the chapter 13 by pushing him very hard onto the floor hence we could say the kick Jihwa receives in the chapter 56 is the punishment for his gesture towards the servant and the foot on his throat is the sanction for the prank with the letter. Jihwa is indeed treated like a commoner. People might say that Jihwa is acting according to his status, as a noble is entitled to mistreat commoners. Nonetheless, my impression is that one of the main messages from this manhwa is that “prejudices” will only lead to suffering: karma. Baek Na-Kyum got sanctioned for rejecting and denying his own homosexuality, whereas one of Jihwa’s prejudice is about the commoners. This is not surprising that his suffering keeps increasing as he is never questioning this doctrine that low-borns are no real humans, not worthy of any respect. My readers are well aware that Baek Na-Kyum was living according to the scholar’s doctrines, therefore we have to imagine that Jihwa has also been living following the social norms of the nobility: commoners are low lives.
therefore he constantly gets disgraced in front of them (chapter 18, 36, 43, 57). This is his karma for defending such unjust norms. That might be the common norm for back then, but since Baek Na-Kyum has suffered because he defended doctrines condemning sodomy, it becomes clear that Jihwa’s role as a character has another purpose: the lack of respect for low-borns. 
But this one is less obvious because he loved his teacher, a low noble. Since I sense that Jihwa is very similar to the painter, then we have to conclude that Jihwa has two prejudices. The artist denied his homosexuality and he saw the nobles as nobles only good in appearance. That’s why I believe that Jihwa is more prejudiced towards commoners, yet he isn’t truly admitting his homosexuality. I am well aware that some might doubt this interpretation. First, the manhwalovers should remember that Baek Na-Kyum came to deny his sexual orientation due to the intervention of the low noble. So his natural homosexuality was repressed. Since Jihwa has been in love with Yoon Seungho, he’s also a natural homosexual. And it looks like Jihwa’s sexual orientation has also been repressed somehow. Remember that we have this: 
Observe, this time the lower lip is going down. Therefore I come to the conclusion that he is actually reproaching his friend for living marks on his body, a proof of his hidden homosexuality. Besides, if he was rejoicing, we should see the exclamation mark and not the suspension point. Another evidence of his not truly outlived homosexuality is the following: he hides the hickeys the moment the servant barges in his room. 
Yet, the moment he hears about the visit, he doesn’t pay attention that the hickeys are still visible. Then at the pavilion, he tries to suggest to move to his bedchamber. 
He is definitely trying to influence Yoon Seungho with this rhetorical question. He doesn’t want to be seen by his staff. But for me, the biggest clue that he is not truly admitting his sexual orientation is in the chapter 18: 
He could legitimate his sodomy by saying that he had some favor to ask. Yet, this was just a cover and everyone was well aware that Jihwa was in love with the noble. So there’s a certain hypocrisy, which is quite similar to Baek Na-Kyum’s who accepted to work for the main lead for his scholar’s sake. 
in order to save his face. Here, we can definitely perceive how much he values his reputation and honor. That’s why he couldn’t go to his friend and beg to take him back, after witnessing the love session between Seungho and the painter. Jihwa was well aware that he could no longer approach the friend, because this would mean, he would go back on his word. Hence he knew that he had to initiate something so that Yoon Seungho would come to see him. So the painful reminder was the only way to force the noble to encounter him. That’s why the noble laughed, when he saw his former friend. His trick had worked. Yet the moment, his friend put him together with Min, he could only get hurt. He was treated like all the others, while he saw himself as different, since he had feelings for him. Hence he tries to legitimate his action with the letter, he was trying to explain that he was only one who knew his dark past. 
where the wolf symbolizing Yoon Seungho is tamed by Baek Na-Kyum, the innocent rabbit. When I saw this very cute story, it made me smile because it illustrates the taming of the main protagonist. 
quickly, like in the chapter 57. Let’s not forget how he yelled at Deok-Jae for his so-called prank.
The next morning, he is no longer wearing it. He gave his robe to the painter as cover.
It definitely marks the moment of his “death” and announces his rebirth. It has not occurred yet, since he is still feverish but we should consider it as a part of his rebirth: he rises from the ashes. It becomes clear that the rebirth of a phoenix is related to fire and you all know the expressions “to burn a fever” or “to burn out a fever”. As you can observe, fever is indeed linked to fire. That’s why I came to the realization that Yoon Seungho is in reality a phoenix which would explain why father Yoon was so jealous of his son. How can a dragon exist next to a phoenix? Both are mystical animals, yet let me remind my readers that father Yoon has only the eyes of a dragon, he’s not a real dragon. Nonetheless, my association to a bird for Yoon Seungho was actually correct , it’s just the choice of the bird was wrong. 
That’s why I feared for his life after reading the first season. Since the start of the new season, I had to review my prediction and now I believe that he will get terribly hurt. My thoughts were that he would either lose his title or get a scar… due to a big injury. I came to this belief after recognizing that this character is very similar to Baek Na-Kyum. Since the latter got raped in the first season, I am anticipating that the noble will suffer a lot as well. It will take him a while before he becomes a true crane and that’s only because of his fateful encounter with Nameless. But as Jihwa is the mirror of Baek Na-Kyum, this means that the painter is actually a crane too. And this is definitely no coincidence that in the chapter 45, Baek Na-Kyum is covered with a cloth where the pattern contains cranes. 
That’s why I came to the conclusion, Baek Na-Kyum is actually a crane but due to his social status, he was a lamb. I have to admit that in the manhwa “Serene Bird” which is very similar to “Painter Of The night”, the pure and innocent Yoo Chung is called a crane by the seme
which can only reinforce my interpretation. Baek Na-Kyum is the one who will bring good fortune, freedom, honor, royalty, happiness, balance, grace, prestige and love to our protagonist Yoon Seungho. 
Yoon Seungho might have power but since this is a norm among nobles not to go after the nobles responsible for a commoner’s death, the protagonist can’t use officials in order to get justice. They might suffer some inconveniences but they won’t be punished harshly, like losing their title. However, this incident makes the main character realize that in order to protect his lover, he needs to elevate his social status.
Imagine the humiliation for Jung In-Hun. He is indeed used by the powerful seme and has to confirm that Baek Na-Kyum is a noble in exchange for the sponsorship. We shouldn’t forget that the painter’s origins are unknown and the head gisaeng handed over the artist to the low noble, implying that the latter had become his official guardian.
As for the women from the brothel, they would never reveal his true origins since they are well aware of the negative repercussions. 
Secondly, the scholar arrived at the mansion shortly after the painter’s occurrence. Third, when his study was always next to the lord’s chamber and he was sleeping in a bed reserved for a master. Even the doctor got confused because the painter was dressed like a low-born but he was sleeping in a nice bed, when he examined him for the first time.
At the same time, a wolf is very loyal and protective which the criminal does, when it comes to Jihwa. A wolf can definitely be tamed too, yet it still keeps his dangerous aura.
Valet Kim must have decided to ask for his help remembering their first visit and how good and qualified the doctor was. The latter took his time and talked a long time with the father, like we can witness in this panel. The father had to sit down indicating that the doctor didn’t fulfil his wish right away. He had to persuade the expert. 
Unfortunately, despite his doubts, he did follow the father’s wish. So when the doctor visits the lord for the second time, he is able to diagnose that the young aristocrat is really sick. 
Here, he can observe the symptoms. As a conclusion, despite his doubts about the mysterious illness diagnosed by the father, he did prescribe the medicine and kept giving it to valet Kim. Strictly speaking, he has still not questioned the real use of that medicine because after his second visit, the patient was indeed unwell. It’s important to note that until now, Yoon Seungho has kept drinking this medicine, ordered by his own father. 
Valet Kim was the one taking care of it all this time. Yet this has nothing to do with insomnia, since Baek Na-Kyum asks if his “usual medicine” is related to his sleeping problems 
and the doctor denies it. He replies that he has been taking it since his youth and back then, insomnia was never brought up. All this indicates that the corruption is still effective due to the drug. No one has ever questioned the true purpose for that medicine, neither Yoon Seungho nor valet Kim nor the physician. That’s the reason why he is still agitated in my perspective.
, 
, 
etc). Jung In-Hun’s influence and shadow has disappeared for real. Like I wrote once, the lord has been the cure for Baek Na-Kyum, so is the painter for lord’s. The artist will be the one who purifies the main lead. And now, I come to the second part of this essay: purification.
For the first time after the lord’s confession, Yoon Seungho is looking at the painter’s gaze. He is no longer avoiding his eyes showing that he has regained some confidence. He no longer fears his eyes. he has gathered enough courage to face his lover. He would like to read the painter’s thoughts and emotions, as he knows about his transparency. Furthermore, both protagonists are quite close and this hasn’t happened since the chapter 54. 
However, we could say that he is just looking for an excuse to approach the master as he keeps starring at him. Hence we have two pictures about Yoon Seungho’s handsome face from his perspective. 
. 
Back then, the painter didn’t hide his pleasure and reciprocated the kisses making the lord so happy. That’s why I believe that in the next chapter we will witness a kiss, as the hat will be the trigger for the kiss. And since I’ve made a connection between the chapter 39 and 57, I also think that this chapter should be judged as a new version of the chapter 39:
, just like the night was light blue. 
They used a blue robe as bed. And we had also the presence of white as well in during their Wedding night: the white candles and the paper in the background and the white bottle. 
Back then, the painter was under the influence of alcohol, yet the lord once commented that the low-born was delirious, another reference to the lord’s actual sickness. Notice that in the final panel 
there is no distance between them, the painter doesn’t need to stand on tiptoes. They are now equal which is an indication that their relationship can work for real now. Consequently I am expecting a confession. Let’s not forget that the painter has just dreamed about a confession coming from Yoon Seungho and like I am pointed out before, his visions always became a realit. Consequently, I am quite sure, his wish will become true. 
He couldn’t believe, that this was real, it was so beautiful that it felt like a dream.
Therefore we should expect a renewal of this scene: a hug, the reference to a dream and a love confession. The manhwalovers are well aware that Baek Na-Kyum had a dream and loved to be confessed. I have the impression that the painter will change his words: From “it feels like a dream” it will become “my dream has come true”. Back then, he was doubting if all this was true therefore I am expecting that this time, there will be no insecurity from his part. He will accept it as a reality which will make him happy. And he will shed tears of happiness again. That’s why I am even more convinced that the next chapter will be a renewal of their wedding night but quite different. After kissing, hugging and even caressing each other, they will share the same bed 
Observe that during the first real dream, the painter imagines the unknown man to be Yoon Seungho and not Jung In-Hun showing that his “love” for the scholar was actually more mental. In reality, his adoration was just the result of the coercive persuasion and the painter’s coping mechanism. In order to stop and forget the abuse, he idolized the scholar.
It reminds us of the night from the chapter 48 and 49 because of the disposition of the candles. That’s why the manhwalovers are not sure if this is real or not first. However, the black frame between the pictures is the clue that we are witnessing a dream. And if you look carefully, you’ll notice that this dream is inspired by that night. Not only the room is the same but also the words and the gestures. Compare the pictures from the chapter 49 to the ones from the chapter 56:
And now, you understand the lord’s words in the previous picture (chapter 49). He was right, he noticed the contradiction between the painter’s words and his physical reactions. And because of this rough session, Baek Na-Kyum was finally forced to admit that he liked having sex with the lord.
The commoner’s unconscious wants him to remember his first night as he felt loved and ecstasy at the same time.
(chapter 49, then he recollects Jung In-Hun’s fake hug so that he judges the warmth coming from Yoon Seungho as not real) 
(chapter 54) 
(chapter 55) 
And this observation made me realize how similar both protagonists are in reality. One might have been a homosexual right from the start, while the other wasn’t, yet both have a huge heart hence they are really passionate. They both possess a strong will and used their mind for many years in order to control their unconscious and body. One did it because he suffered a huge trauma like rape and abandonment, consequently he viewed himself as ghost and the other started denying his sexuality because he was exposed to coercive persuasion and feared another abandonment. 
Now, the dream feels more real as the gestures are more precise. The painter has discovered his own heterogenous zones (the nipples, his ear, his butt). 
The lord entering his room during the night, while he is in his bed.
Here, we have the same expression.
They hug the same way.
Chapter 34 
The commoner dreamed to be called in an intimate way (Na-Kyumah) . What he doesn’t know is that the noble is already calling him Na-Kyumie which shows that for the noble, his social status doesn’t matter in their relationship. He doesn’t call him “Baek Na-Kyum” or “the painter” or the “low-born”. Observe that he always mentions him like that in front of Kim and he already did it in the chapter 11 (based on the English version). But the painter never got the chance to witness it.
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 