This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
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Next to Yoon Seungho’s suffering, Baek Na-Kyum’s lineage represents the second biggest mystery. Thus many readers have already developed their own theory about the painter’s clan. However, the problem is that the author focused more on the noble’s traumatic past than on the painter’s genealogy. We could say that she barely left any clue about Baek Na-Kyum’s origins. The only information we have is this panel:
(chapter 01) But after studying the manhwa so closely, I discovered the existence of rules in the manhwa which helped me to dig up new information. I am listing the laws of Painter Of The Night again in order to avoid repeating myself. I will refer to them later in my argumentation (rule 1, 2, eg.). That way the readers can better grasp how I came to new revelations and theories.
- The story is going in circle, thus Baek Na-Kyum’s path is similar to Yoon Seungho’s, yet it started much later. The reason is simple. The artist only began suffering the moment the noble’s condition improved. Thus it signifies that when the low-born was outcast and rejected
(chapter 94), Yoon Seungho experienced the opposite.
(chapter 57) He was admired which created a source of jealousy. While the painter discovered sexuality and his homosexuality very early on, Yoon Seungho was pure, but through incidents he was forced to become a sodomite. While Heena and the scholar tried to repress Baek Na-Kyum’s sexuality, the father pushed his son to have sex out of fear and high expectation. - There’s always a reflection within the same chapter so that we can perceive the characters’ emotions and thoughts.
- Each episode is reflected in the next or previous season.
- The previous episode will always be mirrored in the next so that every chapter is connected to each other with reflections.
- Karma is always retaliating and it will be 1000 times worse. In addition, the son always pays for the father’s sins.
- The black frame is indicating either a vision or a memory.
1. Baek Na-Kyum as baby
And now, it is time to return our attention to the image from chapter 1.
(chapter 1) What caught my attention is the presence of the black frame related to the servant’s narration. This indicates that this panel and the following represent memories, but they can not be the recollection from the servant, as the latter is just repeating what he has been told. I recognized it while reading episode 101.
1. 1. Comparison between episode 1 and 101
Observe that we have the same situation. A servant was informing Lee Jihwa about the last events:
(chapter 101) Striking is that the author used the same method to introduce the memories. First, we see the servant talking before viewing the memories.
(chapter 101) And now, compare it to chapter 1:
(chapter 1) The order is the same, though the episodes are actually contrasting each other. How? Remember that in episode 1, Yoon Seungho followed the servant’s suggestion, whereas Lee Jihwa refused to do so. The latter chose to run away and vanish.
Striking is that the author added this picture
(chapter 101). She was implying that this panel symbolized the vision from the witness, the tailor. This explicates why you see the wall on the left side. The tailor was observing Min in the shadow. This is important, for these images are reflecting the truth, revealing that the servant from episode 101 was actually lying. Thus I deduce that the domestic from chapter 1 was also lying, but contrary to the episode 101, he thought, he was telling the truth. We could say that he was acting as the fake “mirror of truth“. How do I come to this deduction? Simply because the servant in chapter 101 was actually deceiving Lee Jihwa and Yoon Seungho. Note that in the beginning of episode 101, Seokdae tried to defend himself by feigning ignorance.
(Chapter 100) He denied his responsibility by putting the blame on someone else („I was told“), yet once facing the young master Jihwa, his declaration exposed his lie.
(Chapter 101) He knows something!! Consequently, I come to the conclusion that in chapter 1, the domestic had been deceived about the painter’s childhood too, but he had no idea, while Seokdae was only partially involved in the scheme. The latter had been left in the dark that he could risk his life.
(chapter 1) So in episode 1, the servant was not aware that he was lying to the protagonist, when it comes to the painter’s past. However, the domestic with the brown hanbok lied in one aspect, the publication of the book.
(chapter 1) One might have the impression that I am digressing from the main topic. Yet the manhwalovers should keep in their mind that the servant from episode 1 served one purpose: to show us the memories of an important witness, someone who watched Baek Na-Kyum growing up. Thus we have three different pictures. First, he is a baby, then a young infant
(chapter 1) and later almost a grown-up
. (chapter 1) This signifies that the witness was close to Baek Na-Kyum which explains why the domestic trusted the source of his information. However, contrary to episode 101, she never divulged the identity of the witness. It is because the person wished to hide in the shadow.
Another similarity is that a third person is mentioned in the statement in order to give a certain credibility to their declaration. The head-kisaeng or the captain of the guards are the witnesses, but their absence in the image indicates that they are actually used as alibis. In addition, the manhwaphiles will recall that the episode 101 begins with the childhood friend’s sentence (the loss of the topknot), while the domestic got spared. On the other hand, we have the opposite situation in episode 1.
(chapter 1) It ends with the domestic’s death, while the incident with the topknot is mentioned in the middle. At the end, the painter is dragged to the mansion. As you can see, both chapters reflect each other. That’s how I had this revelation
(chapter 01) It made me realize that this image represented the view of a WITNESS! Someone was present, when the baby was brought to that place. This corresponds to the “dragging“ at the end of episode 1 (rule 2) In the beginning of the story, the adoptive parents (Heena and Jung In-Hun) were not aware of the situation, thus I am assuming that this was different in the past. The “biological parents“ or the “father“ knew about his whereabouts. Hence we need to find out the identity of the witness, though I already gave different clues. He was close the painter and watched him growing up.
1. 2. The fateful place
Moreover where did the domestic deliver the infant? Anyone would say that this was just the house of kisaeng. BUT no, as this panel reveals the entrance of the gibang.
(chapter 99) The soil and the position of the pillars of the main gate are different. I can now announce the precise location, and this with certainty. Yes, I discovered the place thanks to rule 4!!
(chapter 4) This is the door! You can recognize it thanks to the pillar on the side.
Another detail caught my notice: The shadow of the rooftop on the ground.
(chapter 4) Here, the shadow was bigger indicating that it was early in the morning. The painter had just woken up. Consequently, I deduce that the baby was brought to the mansion during the day. This signifies that Baek Na-Kyum was never abandoned! He was entrusted to the owner of that mansion!
(chapter 1) You can recognize the gate in the background. This is the domain, which you see when the lord is arguing with the painter in the courtyard.
(chapter 4) Pay attention to the background in this picture. And now, you are probably thinking that the owners of that mansion are the Yoons, as we observed the main lead living there. Nevertheless, I had already pointed out that this was not Yoon Seungho’s mansion. This is the Yoons’ domain:
(chapter 51) The courtyard is different. According to me, this is the mansion of the Lees. [For more read the essay 360: Lee Jihwa’s special relationship with Yoon Seungho] And since episode 1 and 101 reflect each other, this can only reinforce my interpretation that the Lees are involved in Baek Na-Kyum’s past, for we have Lee Jihwa present in chapter 101. Baek Na-Kyum was brought to the Lees, thus the scholar Lee keeps calling Baek Na-Kyum a peasant! He knows about his true origins. I had always said that the man was revealing his knowledge with his insult. But does it mean that this was the vision from Lee Jihwa’s father?
1. 3. The identity of the witness
(chapter 1) I don’t think so and this for two reasons!
(chapter 1) First, the person was keeping an eye on the painter like mentioned above. Secondly, the artist is seen each time with the white head-band! In the last picture, he is seen drawing very young, whereas in this picture, he is much older.
(Chapter 2) This item is connected to the scholar Jung In-Hun. Thus the learned sir reminded the artist to have it on his head in chapter 38
(chapter 38). Besides, father Lee views him as a peasant and not a servant. This observation gets reinforced, when you look at the memories from the painter. In his childhood, he was never wearing a white head-band.
(Chapter 94)
(chapter 87)
(chapter 68)
(chapter 70) This means that this panel
(chapter 1) represents a distorted memory from Jung In-Hun. 😮 The other evidence for this signification is the absence of the landscape. We don’t see the gibang in the background. Striking is that it coincides with the following statement: “we know not of his origins“. From my point of view, it reflects that the scholar has long repressed the true origins of Baek Na-Kyum. He came to adopt this vision that the main lead was a servant, for people living in the kisaeng house are considered as „slaves“. Striking is that the painter was seen for the first time with the headband in this panel:
(chapter 94) Thus I assume that it was done on purpose. They used “his girly features“ as a fake excuse to beat him, but the intention behind this violence was to force him to wear the white head-band! As you can see, everything is pointing out that the learned sir and father Lee were somehow involved in this. But I have three more conclusive evidences for this theory. First, it is related to the reflection in chapter 101.
(chapter 101) Look where the red-haired master and the servant are! It is in front of the teacher’s home! In Painter Of The Night, there is never a coincidence. This is a sign that Jung In-Hun is related to Baek Na-Kyum’s past and knows his true origins. However, by treating him like a low-born, he came to view him as one. But this doesn’t end it. Remember the rule 2: the reflection within the same chapter. The painter remembered the words from the gibang:
(chapter 1) Jung In-Hun would employ such expressions like fiend and sodomy
(chapter 18), he was repeating his admired sir’s idioms. Besides, “hell-raiser” is also an indication that the learned sir was a Christian who converted Heena. Thus I deduce that when father Lee received Baek Na-Kyum as a baby, he entrusted him to the learned sir Jung In-Hun who had no connection and no wealth so far. So when the lord described him as such in episode 7, it was not entirely correct. The reality was that the man had been working for the Lees, but he had been “abandoned” at some point. The scholar was his helping hand explaining why he would appear in this scene.
(chapter 68) This was the night of the fake sexual lesson.
And this new discovery led me to the following conclusion. The moment Baek Na-Kyum was forced to wear the white tissue coincides with the loss of Lee Jihwa’s topknot because of rule 5. In my eyes, the painter helped Yoon Seungho to obtain his topknot which occurred after this incident.
(chapter 57). However, there was a price to pay for the main lead’s emancipation. Lee Jihwa had to lose his topknot!!
(chapter 59) Without a topknot, the red-haired master no longer looked like a real noble. He had lost his position. Hence I believe that the painter was forced to wear the headband. As you can detect, there was a chain reaction linked to the social status: lord or not, low-born or not.
1. Baek Na-Kyum and the gibang
However
(chapter 1), since Baek Na-Kyum was so young, he needed a mother to feed him. Thus he was brought to the gibang. And that’s how he ended up in the kisaeng house. This means that Baek Na-Kyum is actually a noble! I would even add that he belongs to the royal family. And this would explain why the painter was forced to wear a headband, the moment Lee Jihwa lost his topknot. We also have the explication why the painter was living in the annex.
(chapter 87) He was definitely living in comfort. But what was the purpose to let him wear the white tissue? Dressed as a slave, no one would have wondered if he had been killed. Remember the scholar‘s words: a servant is viewed as an object and possession.
(Chapter 10) So a lord is following social norms, when he sentences a slave to death.
Nonetheless, where are the real proofs? First his name! Why was he called Baek Na-Kyum, if he has been abandoned? He should have only a name Na-Kyum. Secondly, why did the main lead let cut his hair? It was to indoctrinate him, to make him realize that he had been abandoned by his parents!! They deceived him with the long hair. It was implied that with short hair, he would be recognized as a boy.
(chapter 94) However, the purpose was to let him experience rejection and isolation. It appears to me that his resent for nobles was part of the brainwashing as well! That way, he would never think that he was coming from a noble family.
(chapter 94) This means that such a scene was created in order to ruin the main lead’s self-esteem, and naturally Heena who witnessed it was also influenced. Since she was a minor herself, she couldn’t detect the schemes behind such scenes. Don’t you find it weird that the young child was brought to that room? Under this new approach, the learned sir’s neglect concerning the painter’s education appears in a different light.
(chapter 6) The painter was never destined to become a farmer. The neglect was done intentionally. And when you recall his words in the library, you can only view his words as pure lies again:
(chapter 40) He was never born to be a prostitute, but he was sent there on purpose. Under this new perspective, it becomes more comprehensible why Heena sent Baek Na-Kyum to the learned sir. He was the one who had brought the artist to the gibang, and now he was getting older. One might refute this point, for she declared this:
(chapter 68) Nonetheless, the beholder can detect the presence of a drop of sweat on Heena’s cheek. So she was deceiving the artist here. Why? Yes, in her mind, the painter was Jung In-Hun’s son and as such the learned sir should become responsible for the painter, for he was his father. But she had to lie in order to persuade him to leave the mansion. There’s no ambiguity that the head-kisaeng had no idea about the deal between the Lees and Jung In-Hun in the past, I believe that she must have discovered the truth at some point..
2. The noble Na-Kyum
But wait… I have more evidences for this theory. The poem from the scholar! Chapter 4 is a reflection of episode 1 (rule 4).
(chapter 4) This was inspired by the poetry from Wang Bang-Yeon!
(chapter 4) In this poem, the famous author was referring to the death of the young king Danjong who had been killed by his uncle Sejo. Danjong was just a teenager, when he died! As you can see, the text is actually an allusion to royalty and exile. Under this new light, it dawned on me that the scholar Lee had been entrusted to take care of Baek Na-Kyum, but the latter chose to delegate this to the learned sir. There was a reason behind this. For me, he was eyeing at the mansion himself! One might refute this point, for the elder Lee said this:
(chapter 82) But note that the man never said that this was his house, just the household of the Lee. Since the artist is related to the king, this signifies that he is related to the elder Lee too, as the family ruling over Joseon belongs to the Lee clan. Hence I am suspecting that Baek Na-Kyum could be the true owner of this mansion.
(chapter 1)
“The very night of Danjong’s murder, Sejo’s sleep was haunted by the appearance of Danjong’s mother who denounced him for his evil and left him with this malediction: “You have stolen the throne and killed my son. Yours too shall die.”
When Sejo awoke, he discovered the curse had been fulfilled ― Deokjong (the crown prince and his eldest son) was dead at the age of 20. In fury, Sejo had Danjong’s mother’s tomb dug up and her bones and remains scattered into a river.” Quoted from https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2019/11/721_278751.html
If you read the analysis “The Dark Knight”, you are already aware of the importance of a curse in Gothic literature. We know that the lord is right now stigmatized as a bird of misfortune, thus I deduce that when the artist was a baby, he could have been labelled as such too. I am suspecting that he was condemned, for his mother had died by giving birth.
(chapter 1) Note that the baby had no hair, so he was only a few weeks old. From my point of view, Baek Na-Kyum could have been sent away for that reason. Either he was perceived as a bird of misfortune (rule 1) or the father wished to protect his son from harm, for he was in a vulnerable position. His mother had died. Within the family, he would be protected. As you can imagine, I am sensing another manipulation and scheme, where the king chose to listen to people. One thing is sure: the artist is no peasant, but a nobleman, I would even say, he belongs to the royal family.
And Yoon Seungho has already detected the painter’s true origins. Thus he keeps removing the headband.
(chapter 53) How does he know it? In my opinion, it is because Baek Na-Kyum resembles to the king. The only difference is that he has no beard. This would explain why Yoon Seungho said this:
(chapter 55) Why would he get upset? Why would the painter’s face evoke such emotions? He is reminded of his abuser. This is no coincidence that the main lead had such a flashbulb right after, where you could see Lee Jihwa and his father, as they looked like Yoon Seungwon and his father.
(chapter 55) They are all related. And now, you comprehend why the author wouldn’t reveal the face of the mysterious lord Song in chapter 83
(chapter 83) We could have seen the resemblance, as in this picture he was much younger. As the manhwalovers can sense, I detected a strong connection between the Lees and Baek Na-Kyum. Observe that the moment Lee Jihwa lost his topknot (the symbol for nobility and adulthood), the painter received a purple/burgundy hanbok!!
(chapter 102) The colors are already insinuating that the artist belongs to the royalty.
What the painter considered as a curse (his girly feature) is actually a blessing. Yes, his face is the evidence of his lineage! And now, you comprehend why he was beaten by these people
(chapter 94), why he was forced to have short hair and wear a white head-band!
(chapter 71) If the pedophile came to the gibang and crossed the main lead’s path, he couldn’t recognize his relative (son or nephew) due to the hair and the clothes. Besides, I am certain that my avid readers can recall my other theory: the painter was stolen as a child. This new interpretation would corroborate this theory. The painter has been robbed of his true identity, he had been kidnapped, when he was brought to the kisaeng house!! Besides, if he is the true owner of the mansion, then this signifies that Father Lee succeeded in his coup d’Etat (rule 1, rule 3). In season 3, we have an attempted “coup d’Etat” with Yoon Chang-Hyeon eyeing at the seat.
(chapter 86) Moreover, I would like to point out that we have the topic: siblings’ jealousy. This is definitely possible that father Lee is related to the artist, an uncle for example. Finally, if the painter is the king’s son, this is no coincidence that Baek Na-Kyum suffered so much. He was paying for his father’s sins (rule 5). At the same time, if Baek Na-Kyum has to face the infamous lord Song, as his son/nephew, he is put in a position where he can criticize his father/uncle. How could he abandon him and treat Yoon Seungho like that?
3. Baek Na-Kyum’s murder
I had already detected that the painter was supposed to die in chapter 1. But with this new discovery, I have another explanation for his assassination. Baek Na-Kyum was not only a witness of the pedophile’s crime, but also involved in Lee Jihwa’s humiliation. Furthermore, he was on the verge of becoming an adult. Thus he could claim his inheritance. In my eyes, his existence represented a source of threat for father Lee. The latter had completely forgotten the boy (like the saying: out of sight, out of mind), until the incident with the topknot occurred. Since the learned sir and father Lee had neglected him on purpose, they had another reason to get rid of him. Since Yoon Chang-Hyeon viewed his son as a small adult who should dedicate his time to study in order to contribute to the Yoons’ reputation, it is possible that the painter’s father could have made the opposite decision. He should grew up in a more carefree environment, or maybe he could avoid being affected by a curse. Naturally, the scholar Lee has every reason to remove the painter from Yoon Seungho’s side.
(chapter 82) All his past crimes could come to the surface! He had not taken care of the painter, and he had been neglected on purpose. He had committed a crime (disobedience to the king), thus he was a traitor. On the other hand, they could use the last publication as a justification for his death! He had threatened the ruler, he was blackmailing him with his secret. There’s no ambiguity that lord Song had no idea about the true identity of the artist.
And now, imagine this. What if Yoon Seungho had killed the painter? Jung In-Hun and father Lee could frame the main lead for the murder and accuse him of killing the king’s relative. The poem would serve as an evidence for the painter’s identification. The protagonist had committed treason… That way, the patriarch Lee could kill two birds with one stone. Yoon Seungho would be forced to leave his propriety (in chapter 1, he was living next to Yoon Seungho), and even lose the family’s mansion. He would destroy the Yoons totally. There exists this possibility that father Lee had already announced to the lord Song that his son/nephew had been kidnapped and died.
(chapter 37) Notice that here only 3 men were arrested and tortured. It was, as if the sons had to pay the crime for their father. That‘s how the noble families close to the Yoons died out.
(Chapter 37) They had lost their heir. So far, we still have no idea about the cause for the treason: Coup d’Etat or attempt of assassination on the king or spying or murder of a royal member (here Baek Na-Kyum)? But this purge is associated to inheritance and the loss of a heir. There’s no ambiguity that the painting in Yoon Chang-Hyeon’s bedchamber was used as an evidence that the elder master Yoon was eyeing at the throne
(chapter 83) imagining that Yoon Seungho through his “marriage” would become the crown prince. Since the author mentioned “torture”, I have the impression that the main lead was brought to the bureau of investigation and got tormented there. He was naturally framed, he had been acting as a spy. He was hoping to become the king’s successor as his “bride”. So once the artist had been executed, the scholar Jung could have claimed that he had been raising the painter the whole time and receive a huge compensation for his benevolence! And the Yoons were the culprits.
Anyway, there’s one thing that I am certain. The accusation from the past was revealing father Lee’s true desires. He was power-hungry and greedy, hence he projected his own thoughts and emotions onto the patriarch Yoon. But by running away, Lee Jihwa ruined everything! The scholar Lee can no longer aim at the throne.
And if the king were to face Baek Na-Kyum, he would recognize his relative due to his face, especially he would share some similarities with the mother. Since the painter’s face was wounded at the end of season 3
(chapter 102), I am assuming that his visage won’t be bruised again, so that his foot could get hurt, for the lord and the butler had a broken foot in chapter 77. (rule 3)
(chapter 77) And that’s how the ruler could discover the truth!! Therefore the culprits would be detected easily: father Lee and naturally Kim, as both knew the real identity of Baek Na-Kyum, but chose to remain silent. Yes, knowledge will become Kim’s downfall in the end. Why do I think so? For me, the feet in this panel are Kim’s
(chapter 1), but like mentioned in a different analysis, No-Name got framed for the painter’s disappearance. How did I come to this assumption? It is because the author is often portraying the butler by his feet!
(chapter 66: According to me, this is Kim and not No-Name)
(chapter 77) Don’t forget rule 1 and 3. Nevertheless, the main point for this interpretation is the way the painter ran:
(chapter 4) He made the same sounds than the butler:
(chapter 17)
(chapter 85) Here he had faked running. Since he had been introduced with his feet in chapter 1, she needed to create reflections later. Finally, I would like to point out this:
(chapter 7) Their meeting here is an indication that their past must have crossed before because of rule 1!! Since the painter was so devoted to the learned sir, the valet could only jump to the conclusion that the man had truly taken care of Baek Na-Kyum properly.
4. Conclusions
As a conclusion, the first panel is containing many clues about Baek Na-Kyum’s lineage! Only through long reflection, I could reconstruct his past partially. I am well aware that my perception of father Lee and Jung In-Hun contains more speculations concerning their motivations, since I am still lacking some information. Yet, I am convinced that Baek Na-Kyum is related to the Lees and the king. And the painter ended up in the gibang, because the scholar needed a woman to feed the boy. It was to make sure that the boy was not connected to the household Lee. This would have raised questions, if suddenly a baby had appeared in the mansion. Thus Baek Na-Kyum was entrusted to the noonas through the scholar. There’s no doubt that the painter’s face will play a huge role, for during that time, the scientists didn’t know the existence of DNA! It was not possible to take a paternity test. Besides, the author is always avoiding long narration. She uses “chance” and “coincidence” to deliver much information in a short time! Within 26-28 episodes, she has to give all the answers to the readers, while the story is still going on! And that’s how I realized the importance of the door:
(chapter 04) The protagonists’ fate got switched the moment they passed a door. Thus the painter didn’t suffer here contrary to the young master
(chapter 68). He might have been sad, yet he was not exposed to violence and humiliation. But here, it was different:
(chapter 94) He had entered the room. In my eyes, this door had a special meaning
(chapter 4) It is where the main characters’ destiny was affected, hence the lord expressed this:
(chapter 4) He recognized that the artist was not a servant or slave, but a free man. His words became a reality. He is not embracing a peasant, but a noble, even a member from the royal family. He was speaking the truth, while all the readers were thinking that Yoon Seungho was a hypocrite. We could say that the main lead was under the influence of the spirits/unconscious, thus he caught the artist right on time. At the same time, “peasant” is again a reference to father Lee which reinforces my theory that the scholar Lee is deeply involved in the couple’s suffering.
As for the scholar, since he never mentioned his involvement in the painter’s life
(chapter 1), officially Heena raised him, the readers can grasp why Baek Na-Kyum never considered the learned sir as his “father”. He had been raised in the gibang by the noonas, but not by the learned sir. He was just a companion and a friend, whom he felt indebted and attracted to due to his “gentleness and fake selflessness”. This is not surprising that the servant in episode 1 got executed in the end. The servant had lied, because he had repeated the scholar’s words. And the latter had lied about the painter
(chapter 1) He had actually painted animals and nature in his childhood, thus the noonas kept his drawings.
(chapter 94) The man had trusted the learned sir’s testimony without verifying the facts. He had not detected the presence of a blackmail!
(chapter 1) This truly shows that ignorance is indeed no blessing, and people shouldn’t trust others according to their appearances or social status. At the same time, the servant had forgotten that Yoon Seungho was a noble, though he was dressed like a peasant in the bedchamber.
(chapter 1) He was not even wearing a hanbok here, and his head-band was different too. As you can see, both protagonists shared the same experience. They were not treated according to their social status. To sum up, my theory is that the valet Kim brought Baek Na-Kyum to the Lees, who decided to get rid of the painter by entrusting him to the scholar Jung. And Heena became his accomplice, the moment she became his surrogate mother. Let’s not forget that in season 1 and 2, the learned sir was the only one seen with children: girls.
(chapter 6)
(chapter 29) and Baek Na-Kyum
(chapter 68) This shows that the painter embodies the link between the head-kisaeng and the learned sir. Jung In-Hun had entrusted her the baby.
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(Chapter 83) But what was the vision telling to the main character? The problem with visions is that their message is never clear. It is up to the fortune-teller. The beholder can interpret the hallucination differently. Here, one might say that the blood let Yoon Seungho see that one servant, in our case Kim, was working against him with 2 nobles: Min and Jihwa. It was already predicting Min’s death, for the blood pond was touching the noble on the right, while the other nobleman with the hat is not connected to the blood. The red-haired master only lost his topknot a second time. This is no coincidence. The vision showed that Black Heart would die by the hand of 2 people, Yoon Seungho the child and Yoon Seungho the adult. Thus Byeonduck created such a panel:
(Chapter 102) The lord was in a dissociative state. In his rage, the main lead was brought back to his own past, when he was a victim of gangrape.
(Chapter 102) He was acting like in trance, the painter’s bloody face had opened the Pandora’s box.
(Chapter 101) Remember his confession in the bedchamber:
(Chapter 100) But if so, this means that the domestic will die, after his master abandoned him and ran away. Remember that the blood spurt is linked to the person without a hat.
(chapter 82)
(chapter 86) And if I consider that this vision is referring to Kim, then it already announces his doom. Another possibility of interpretation is to say that the boar embodies the king, which Yoon Seungho defeats by removing from his side Lee Jihwa and Min, both were used as tools to control and tame the main lead so that he would remain by the pedophile’s side. This means that the moment he executed Black Heart and cut off the friend’s topknot, he was finally able to escape from the ruler’s claws. And if the noblemen are referring to the elders, the message doesn’t change. The moment the main lead killed Min, he wounded the king so that the elders are affected, one more than the other. And Kim didn’t stop his young master, for the butler thought that with his suicide, he could finally free himself from his task of taking care of Yoon Seungho. With his suicide, Kim would be able to live in peace. He would no longer be tormented by the main lead’s suffering. In his mind, his suicide was the natural outcome of such a long suffering. As you can see, this hallucination can be interpreted so differently. And the more information we will get in season 4, the more precise the interpretation of this vision can become.
(Chapter 28) As you can see, blood and a mirror were used as objects for “fortune-telling“, though the main characters had no idea about their signification. While the painter rejected this “hallucination“, Yoon Seungho had the impression that it was real. Thus he turned around. He imagined that the two nobles were approaching him.
(Chapter 83) I have always said that Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum are shamans, but they have no idea about their true identity. This means, none of them considers himself as a fortune-teller, though both have this gift. They have no one telling them about their skills, they can predict the future and even repel evil spirits.
(Chapter 92). Keep in mind that since the lord wrote a poem in season 3, this means that he must have done it in the past too, but this twice. In season 1, he wrote one, when he switched the paper, yet it must have occurred before, for we had two circles, which corresponds to two full moons. My friend Luzyla brought my attention that in the whole story, Byeonduck only drew one full moon, and this in chapter 1. This announced the beginning of a new circle!! The third one and observe that the moon was far away, very high up in the sky, while the night sky was very dark.
(chapter 102). Their trust and love had been tested, thus I am assuming that season 4 will be the beginning of the 4th circle, where the protagonist will face the main culprit for his suffering: the mysterious lord Song, the king.
(chapter 56), and it became a reality.
(Chapter 91) But the artist never accepted these visions, for he was rejecting sodomy and later he was in denial about his affection for the main lead. Yet this is no longer possible. The artist has already confessed and is determined to remain by the noble’s side, no matter what.
(chapter 74) Here again, we have an allusion to the bloodbath in the shaman‘s house, for the position of the hands reminds us of Black Heart’s reaction before the main lead stabbed him.
(chapter 50) and Baek Na-Kyum‘s nightmares in the bedchamber.
(Chapter 34) and
(Chapter 98) In the last one, he believed to see the scholar’s corpse. The artist had even an auditive hallucination.
(Chapter 98) This means that a similar situation will occur. Someone will repeat Jung In-Hun’s words.
(chapter 98) How could he be with the man who killed his family (for example Heena)?
(chapter 45) Yes, in chapter 45!! How did I come to this conclusion? The first clue is the black frame.
(chapter 45) Byeonduck always uses it in order to indicate that we are dealing with a memory or a dream. Secondly, in this scene we are supposed to see Baek Na-Kyum with his lover, both kissing tenderly, yet in the same chapter, the author let us see the reality of their interaction. 
(chapter 45) The painter was more acting like a robot, he was not able to procure pleasure to Yoon Seungho. He was not talented. As you can see, the introduction allowed us to see the dream of a fortune-teller concerning Yoon Seungho and the painter. But wait…
(chapter 45) Who is who here? In this image, the artist is lying on the bed, he is recognizable by his slender and smooth leg and his thin foot. The lord is on the top, the beholder can identify him with his bigger and rounder butt. However, in the second picture, their position is switched.
(chapter 45) But don’t forget that we are here dealing with a premonitory dream. In my opinion, the lock of hair is implying that Baek Na-Kyum will be wearing a topknot in the future, similar to this situation:
(chapter 87) This means that the person saw in this dream that Baek Na-Kyum would become the lord’s partner, and he would even be dressed like a noble (a topknot and white pants). Don’t forget that in season 2, he was still wearing grey pants and not white.
(chapter 46) And this vision came true in season 3:
(chapter 79) This is the same position, but from a different perspective.
(chapter 45), a rumor started that Yoon Seungho had a fiancée. Thus Kim chose to spread rumors in the village to kill the grapevines about the existence of Yoon Seungho‘s fiancée with another gossip. He used Jihwa and the incidents in the past… One might argue that it is not possible, because it looks like the rumor about the existence of Yoon Seungho’s sodomy existed before than the presence of a fiancée.

(chapter 45) The owner of the stand is sitting and he has a white scarf, but in the next panel, the person is standing, and has a red scarf.
(chapter 45) Moreover, the headcover on one player is much slightly darker. This is another indication that there could be a time jump between these two panels. But one might argue that the rumors about Yoon Seungho’s homosexuality were existing before the grapevines about the fiancée.
(chapter 45) But not necessarily. Imagine, the butler had such a dream, and his memory got triggered, when he heard the commoner talking about the incident with Bongyong for the first time. But don’t forget that the man is a traveling merchant, so in the butler’s mind, the trader would leave the town and as such he wouldn’t be able to mention this to others. But he never imagined that the man would meet his friend.
(chapter 45) In order to ensure that no one would take this rumor seriously, Kim made sure to spread the rumors about Lee Jihwa and Yoon Seungho’s sexuality.
(chapter 40) His joke with the red dot was not even noticed by the woman and seller of the mirror!! Both were totally indifferent. Though he had made a joke, his action had caused no wave. Besides, we should question why the man would say that even dogs would know about his homosexuality. This implies the intensity of the grapevines. It displays that someone was deliberately leaking this information to the outside. Furthermore, one witness is saying that Yoon Seungho‘s affairs used to stir up the village… when did it happen?
(chapter 45) Moreover, which affairs was he referring to? He has no idea about the masturbation in the tailor’s shop and the red dot on the painter’s face. As for Lee Jihwa’s humiliation, it was definitely not leaked to the outside as well. Besides, remember the comment from the red-haired master’s servant.
(chapter 41) Striking is that
(chapter 34)
(chapter 45) Here, Baek Na-Kyum had just returned to the mansion after his second desertion.
(chapter 52) The lord had kept his distance from the artist for one week, though I believe that he still came to see him
(chapter 51),
(chapter 51) for the painter’s scarf was put on the way Yoon Seungho did in the courtyard in chapter 69.
(chapter 69) And now, you comprehend why Kim criticized the painter in the courtyard. The lord would come to see him ensuring that he was well covered. The butler had every reason to view this dream
(chapter 45) Now, I have the proof for this interpretation. The guardian was on his way back to the gate, so why did the valet ask him to bring the items to the painter’s study? Actually, Kim could have done it himself, it is not so that his master was waiting for him or had been requesting his presence.
(chapter 45) Now, you are probably thinking that this essay has reached an end. But no… Why?
(chapter 87) What if the butler had been saying the truth? He had no idea what was going on inside the room of the kisaeng house. But as an outsider, he observed this. Nobles were going to and from lord Yoon’s chambers. The readers had the impression that the young master was getting raped in the bedchamber. Yet, like I had pointed out, this is definitely not true, for the teenager was dressed.
(chapter 87) We could detect the presence of a stock, this means that in the bedchamber, he was physically abused. And the butler could have jumped to the wrong conclusion, exactly like in this scene.
(chapter 77) He had seen the kiss between the two boys, but because of Yoon Seungho’s smile, he had assumed that Yoon Seungho was consenting.
(chapter 77) However, like mentioned before, the protagonist was under the influence of a drug. So in his eyes, it was, as if the young boy had been the one kissing Lee Jihwa. Because of this scene, he assumed that the two boys were fooling around. He jumped to the wrong conclusion that Yoon Seungho was a sodomite, something Kim truly abhors. So my idea was that the butler could have made the same mistake concerning the bedchamber: he made an assumption, and he jumped to the wrong conclusion that Yoon Chang-Hyeon was treating his son as a prostitute for his own greed and ambition. Because of these two expressions “assumptions” and “wrong conclusion”, I started researching for this. And this is what I found:
(chapter 17) This is an expression that he would often use. We could witness this cognitive distortion (should statement) in front of the shed.
(chapter 77) This explains too why Yoon Seungho is called a black sheep, a bird of misfortune.
(chapter 87, labelling)
(chapter 68) But here, like I pointed out before, he was excluding himself from this incident. Let’s not forget that he had been the one dragging him to the shed.
(chapter 57) He had been ill, since he was very young. But the physician mentioned the good notoriety about Yoon Seungho: he was intelligent. Striking is that Kim has never mentioned this. Either he is not aware of this, because he only met the protagonist after hearing the negative comment from the father, or as a person suffering from cognitive distortion, he is only remembering the negative aspects. I had already exposed that this was not related to sodomy, for sexuality was not relevant, when he was just a child. From my point of view, Yoon Chang-Hyeon saw in his son’s questioning and critical thinking a problem. He was not respecting the elders, and Kim is definitely a reinforcer of social norms. From my point of view, the drug administrated was not to treat him for sodomy, but in order to obtain his obedience. We were all assuming that the visit to the doctor must have occurred after the stolen kiss, but it could be the opposite. Why? It is because the physician revealed the valet’s second visit which occurred after the incident in the kisaeng house.
(chapter 57) And now, imagine this. What if the purpose of the drug was to make Yoon Seungho submissive? Thus the young boy was smiling, and doesn’t remember the stolen kiss. Striking is that cognitive distortion has an impact on memory, it can create distorted memories. And this would confirm my previous assumption that here, the butler was mixing two memories together.
(chapter 65) Since the butler has always been expecting the worst unconsciously, I am suspecting that he is the one who offered Yoon Seungho to the king! That way, he imagined that his master would be protected, unaware that he had never been forced to have sex before. There’s no ambiguity that his cognitive distortions led to Yoon Seungho’s suffering. Hence the father and the king will be quite surprised when they discover the verity. Kim badmouthed the main lead calling him a bird of misfortune, though lord Song views him differently, as he keeps sending him hanboks with cranes and phoenix, asymbol for good fortune.
(chapter 87) He was talking about himself here. For the valet, there’s only one solution: “Out of sight, out of mind!” Hence he hoped that the father would take away Yoon Seungho from the mansion. 
(chapter 74), it is the opposite with the painter.
(chapter 55) The chapter begins in medias res
(chapter 56), which means that there’s no introduction, the story starts in the middle of the action. And now, it is important to question ourselves about the intention of the author. Why did she change her MO? I found the answer the instant I realized the importance of the two following aspects. The light… and the sound, in this case: HAA…
(chapter 56) In the past I used to think that this scene had occurred early in the morning. But now, I am thinking otherwise. In truth, right after receiving the letter, the butler went to the bedchamber directly and woke up his master!! This signifies that this scene took place during the night. But how did he do it? He just needed to remove the light from the bed and lit other candles. That’s the reason why the candles are positioned like during the night of the brother’s visit.
(chapter 56) Besides, the manhwaphiles should remember the way the room was enlightened, when Baek Na-Kyum was keeping company to his lover.
(chapter 55) It was quite dark.
(chapter 55) And strangely, the main lead could sleep comfortably. He was not plagued by a nightmare.
(chapter 55) He could even sense the artist’s presence unconsciously, therefore he confirmed his affection for the painter. And now, you can imagine what happened. Once the valet received the letter, he went to the bedchamber directly and sent Baek Na-Kyum back to his bedroom under the pretense that he would take care of his master himself. However, the moment Baek Na-Kyum had left his side, the valet lit more candles
(chapter special episode 3) Note that there’s no candle placed next to the entrance of the lord’s bedchamber for that reason. The noble only feels comfortable, if the light is situated close to his face, because that way he won’t see any shadow. Thus we have such a scene in the first season.
(chapter 35) The candles are always placed next to his bed. And now you comprehend why the lord moved to the patio during their first night together.
(chapter 38) He didn’t want to disturb the painter in his sleep, for he needs light during the night, but only next to him. This explicates why Yoon Seungho woke up from his nightmare right away, when the bougie had been blown out.
(chapter 74) But how did it happen? Was it the work from the wind or the candle was extinguished by the protagonist’s heavy breath or was Kim behind this? Because I had no answer before, I had not mentioned this observation. Fortunately, my friend Luzyla came to my rescue and gave me the answer which I totally support. Kim must have intervened during that night, because for the first time, the nightmare was becoming more precise. But how did she confirm my suspicion? It is because the butler had this image, when he tried to convince the painter that nothing would change. This panel
(chapter 87) represented the butler’s memory. This means that the butler must have seen him from the outside. He didn’t want the painter to discover the lord’s suffering. And it worked, for the lord never let this transpire to the painter after that night. And now, you comprehend why the butler had to make sure that the couple would no longer sleep together at the end of the second season. But let’s return our attention to episode 56.
(chapter 34) The entire time he acted, as if Yoon Seungho was fine, for he was conscious. Then he gave the letter to his master and knelt far away from him while looking down.
(chapter 86) The former has long internalized that he is scary and dirty. Yet the truth is that the butler’s gaze reflects his hatred, for he considers him as responsible for his own misery. Don’t forget that he is tormented in the presence of Yoon Seungho. The latter is a reminder of his own sins. To sum up, for Kim, the reason for his distance and avoidance is simple. He doesn’t want to be confronted with Yoon Seungho’s suffering, for he is refusing to admit his own guilt. The protagonist already knows about this unconsciously. Thus he hid his gaze the entire time.
(chapter 56) The first “HAA”
weren’t laughs, but the sign of a panic attack. Yes, for the first time the manhwaphiles discovered the lord’s health issue (flashback), but no one truly grasped, not even me. I had imagined that his heavy breathing was related more to pain and his illness. I only recognized the existence of the panic disorder in episode 66, though I was already aware of his PTSD.
(chapter 86) He pretended he saw and heard nothing. But how can I be so sure that it was the night? Simply because all the windows were all closed. Thus Byeonduck drew such an image:
(chapter 56) Besides, observe that there is more light in the bedchamber, when the butler entered the room later:
(chapter 56)
(chapter 56) He wanted to wash off his hands on this. The moment he conveyed the message to the master, it was no longer his responsibility. If lord Song had truly sent the missive, then Kim could say that this had been his master’s decision to refuse to follow the request, if they were confronted for their disobedience. This means that Kim was lying, when he said, “I am sure lord Song will understand”. He was just expressing an expectation, but there was no guarantee that the mysterious man would be very understanding. In addition, one idiom caught my attention: “If” This was a condition and not a real statement. Kim never said that since Yoon Seungho was ill, he could refuse the invitation. This signifies that the valet refused to confirm the noble’s illness. It was Yoon Seungho’s choice to say if he was feeling ill or not. To conclude, he refused to assume any responsibility. And now, you comprehend why Byeonduck added a drop of sweat on the butler’s face. This was showing his discomfort and deceptions. The man didn’t want to be associated to the noble and become responsible for him.
(chapter 56)
(chapter 56) he proposed to fetch the boy. Why? It is because the butler didn’t want to be confronted any longer with the lord’s panic attack, though he had been the one to trigger it! But he didn’t care, for his true goal was to save his own skin. Should lord Song get angry, Kim could definitely use the truth to his advantage. He had delivered the letter right away, and the noble had been well enough, since he woke up and read him the content.
(chapter 56) 🙄 Under this new light, I couldn’t help myself shaking my head, when I read this from the butler.
(chapter 56) His words implied that the lord had woken up on his own, whereas in reality the butler was the cause for this. Kim knew that his master would never go back to sleep after their conversation. This explicates why the candlestick was placed again at the head of the bed.
(chapter 68), his fate was strongly intertwined with the artist’s. But it changed, when the lord heard that Baek Na-Kyum was blamed for his insomnia and he hadn’t been able to meet the artist during broad light
(chapter 79), he punished Kim. It was, as if the butler had failed to protect the artist. And because the painter‘s visit to his bedchamber had taken place during the day, it revealed his loneliness. That‘s the reason why I believe that this conversation pushed the lord to give the maids to the artist. They should become his ladies-in-waiting so that he had someone he could talk to. However, Yoon Seungho never let the butler know about the true reason for his punishment. He used the father as subterfuge. Finally, we shouldn’t overlook the valet’s pledge: he swore that he would serve the lord.
(chapter 77) This means that he was now judged as accountable for his actions in front of Yoon Seungho. However, Yoon Seungho made a huge mistake, because the moment he brought up the father, he was acting as if Yoon Chang-Hyeon was the owner of the mansion. He was now Young master and not Lord Yoon. Yet, his duty was to be a loyal domestic to the protagonist. And now, you comprehend why Kim was reminded of the past, it is because he was put in the same situation than in the past. And what did he do? He made the exact same decision. He sided with Yoon Chang-HYeon, but there existed two divergences from the past. The first difference is that the elder master would listen to his words, and the second is that he lied to his master.
(Chapter 86) He refused to acknowledge him as the owner of the mansion. He took the seat in front of his father. He was now acting as the lord Yoon.
(chapter 85) Strangely is that in that scene, we never heard any STEP, STEP, STEP like here:
(chapter 97) There was no sound, therefore I deduced that Kim didn’t run to the study. However, observe that the butler is breathing heavily. It was, as if he was out of breath: HUFF HUFF.
(chapter 87) Yes, that’s his other principle to justify his cowardice, his fear of responsibility. He implied that he had rushed to his master’s side right away to alert him. If asked, he could legitimate his passivity by saying that the father had barged accompanied with 2 guards. But why didn’t he get caught by the protagonists? Simply because he is no longer caring a light contrary to the first season.
(chapter 20)
(chapter 25)
(chapter 36) The night had already fallen, when Yoon Chang Hyeon was present in the mansion. If the butler had carried a chandelier, the painter or the noble would have sensed his presence. Thus I deduce that the butler’s function in the protagonist’s suffering was to lit the room, the moment the pedophile and other sexual abusers approached his prey. That’s the reason why his nightmares are triggered by the sound of a lit bougie and the light accompanied with shadows.
(chapter 26) This scene took place in the courtyard. This is the bathroom for the staff which you can see in the background
(chapter 30), the grey building with grey bricks. And it happened again in episode 32
, in episode 55
And now look what we have in the third season:
(chapter 77)
(chapter 82),
(chapter 94) and
(chapter 98) He is no longer carrying any light, not even for his master. Why? It is because he can spy without being detected. Thus he approached the messenger only after the main lead had left the study. Don’t you find it weird that he acts as if he knew nothing
(chapter 82), while he presents himself as the senior domestic in the mansion?
(chapter 82) This represents a contradiction. If so, he should have been informed immediately. Thus I come to the conclusion that this scene reveals his incompetence and betrayal. Did he aid the messenger, when the latter got beaten? No, he only made his appearance, after the incident had occurred. And this is not surprising that the other domestic looked down on the butler.
(chapter 82) He already knew that he had betrayed his own master through the letters. So I doubt that he viewed Kim as trustworthy. Another important element is that when the butler is seen in connection with the light, he speaks much more, while in the darkness, he remains silent. This is naturally connected to his spying activities. Simultaneously, the words coming from the butler often appear as empty. They remain quite superficial, for the butler is always putting conditions. “If there is anything I can do…”. That’s the reason why the butler doesn’t feel any real concern for the main leads in the end. This is not his business. And now, you are probably wondering why I used “quarrel” in the heading. It is because in episode 85, the butler had heard the argument between the couple. This is relevant, because the butler chose to recreate the same situation in episode 98!! 😲
(chapter 98) In this image, Byeonduck portrayed the servants arguing. They are stressed and screaming at each other: “I told you”. They give the impression that they are trying to do anything for their master. Nevertheless pay attention to the previous image:
(chapter 98) The light is coming from the butler’s back. How is it possible, since there is no torch next to the gate?
(chapter 98) By using the idiom “damn brat”, the servant reveals that he looks down on the painter. This can give the impression that the latter has been bullied, which is not wrong either. All the servants, including the maids, pushed the artist to leave the mansion. They also abandoned him in the bedchamber, which is something similar to episode 56!!
(chapter 98) The women knew that the artist wasn’t feeling well. But they never sent for the doctor and gave him any true comfort. They kept criticizing him. Yes, all the servants bullied the artist. The butler never realized that through his badmouthing, the staff would imitate him. They would chatter idly and fake concern, yet Kim is actually silent in front of his master. He just says the minimum, for the most part, he has to feign ignorance. He acts, as if he was blind and deaf, but in front of the staff he behaves the exact opposite. And this huge gap makes it possible to perceive his conniving personality. However, the main lead didn’t pay attention to the insult („damn brat“), as they had faked their concern. The lord had the impression that they had indeed done their best, hence the main lead felt the need that he had to do the research on his own.
(Chapter 99) He believed them.
(chapter 86) So the valet had the feeling that nothing had changed. However, like I mentioned it above, he never realized that his fate was now linked to the painter’s and as such he was responsible for his well-being. Thus he got surprised with this new kind of order. For the first time, the valet was tasked to investigate outside the propriety.
(chapter 98) Many readers, including myself, were quite confused first. However, note that there’s light coming from the building. From my point of view, this is the gate. However, this scene took place before the arrival to the mansion. I believe that this scene represents the moment, when the lord left the office of the investigator. But I can not be 100% sure. However, one thing is sure. Byeonduck wanted us to notice the importance of the light and the silence. The lord was pondering deeply, thus he didn’t pay attention to Kim. But now, the noisy domestics brought the main lead back to reality.
(chapter 97) The painter didn’t run away immediately. He remained quite some time in the domain, therefore after the last tragedy, the lord will have the time to ponder about the painter’s question.
(chapter 38) and he woke up in the middle of the night.
(chapter 84) However, the lord got the opposite impression, for when he entered the study, the painter was sleeping on the floor in the dark.
(chapter 02) This explicates why he would always extinguish the candles.
(chapter 97) However, he never realized that the painter could only fall asleep in the dark, because he always sensed his lover’s presence. This means that when he reached the aristocrat’s hand, it also gave him some comfort.
(chapter 97) Because the artist’s fate is similar to the noble’s, I deduced that this fear is connected to the artist’s past. Why does he fear darkness? It is linked to the vanishing of the candle light!
(chapter 6)
(chapter 34)
(chapter 56) In the past, the painter used to sleep with the candle night on. For him, the light gave a sense of safety. There’s no ambiguity that he wouldn’t sleep alone, though we have to imagine that the noonas would leave him behind at some point, if they had to work. Thus I came to the deduction that the candlelight was to create the illusion that he was not alone.
(chapter 34) Finally, since the butler is a reflection from the learned sir, this signifies that he is also connected to light.
(chapter 86) This means that the one trapping Yoon Seungho was not Yoon Chang-Hyeon, for the latter had a green hanbok. Besides, I started wondering why Jung In-Hun carried away Baek Na-Kyum and left the gibang with him.
(Chapter 70) Why would he do that? He could have bring him back to his chamber!! Why walk through the countryside and for a long time? It is because he was not allowed to be in the gibang. Remember that he used to sleep in the annex.
(chapter 87) He entrusted Yoon Seungho to Kim. But in my opinion, during the same night, the young noble was dragged to the annex, where the pedophile was waiting for him with probably other guests. That‘s the reason why Jung had to spend a long time outside the gibang. Maybe that‘s how he received his position as teacher. Remember the commoner’s remark:
(chapter 29) People believed that he had already passed the exam, while it was not the case. Then I started wondering this. Why does the painter associate the learned sir to the moon? It is because the learned sir would visit him during the night.
(chapter 94) The light from the moon comforted the artist, it became his companion, for the artist still feared the darkness. However, since the painter described that he would always cry because of his noonas, I am sensing that the scholar must have dragged the artist quite often outside the gibang. And this could coincide to the sexual abuse Yoon Seungho was exposed to. Kim said that the sexual abuse took place in the bedchamber.
(chapter 50) Both give each other comfort and warmth so that they feel safe. Maybe the FWOP; FWOP sounded like a lullaby to the artist’s ears.
(chapter 49) 😂 




(Doctor Frost, chapter 180) As you can observe, fear and hatred are the main components for unleashing agitation and violence. But this can only work if the medias are amplifying these emotions. Yes, I am talking again about propaganda. And today in the newest episode, the commissar used the fire as a metaphor to describe the evolution of terror.
(Doctor Frost, episode 183) This means that you can stop the fire from spreading, if you observe the fire path. In other words, if you pay attention to the evolution of the hate crimes, you can slowly put an end to the climate of terror. Important is to find its origin. Then she added this. The fire becomes the most effective in the winter forest.
(Doctor Frost, chapter 183) Here the manhwaphiles should see the forest as a symbol for society and humans.
(Doctor Frost, chapter 183) This signifies that the people will get easily influenced by their fear and rage, if there exists a cold climate. A society without compassion and affection. And with only one spark, the forest can get destroyed. This signifies, the absence of love and understanding play a huge role in creating an environment full of hatred and violence. This is not surprising that because of the Coronavirus, intolerance and violence are on the rising, since people are getting more and more isolated and scared. And now, here is the next question: What symbolizes the winter forest in Painter Of The Night and more precisely in episode 93?
(chapter 93) On the other hand, many readers were greatly disappointed by Yoon Seungho’s behavior. He had prevented Heena from meeting her brother, and the painter was left in the dark. But the lord had also sentenced her to seclusion.
(chapter 93) In their eyes, he was indeed a hoodlum or a bastard. According to the blogger
(chapter 93) Yes, he had done it again… he hadn’t trusted Baek Na-Kyum and had become violent or ruthless again. But after reading my introduction, you can already anticipate what I am about to say. The winter forest was in fact Baek Na-Kyum’s family. The noonas and the painter had been missing each other so much, but because of Heena’s belief and intervention, she had destroyed this family. Yes, I see her as a religious fanatic who unfortunately got brainwashed by Jung In-Hun and now by Kim. This is no coincidence why Heena is sent to a cold and dark room
(chapter 93), while the noonas and the artist are sitting in a comfortable room. Hatred versus love… even the colors in the picture reflect the true emotions of the characters. Now, it is time to elaborate my interpretation.
(chapter 93) So where was the lord? I will give you the answer below. Striking is that during the whole time, the artist didn’t notice his absence, until his lovely sister asked him about his whereabouts:
(chapter 93) Her question reminded him of Yoon Seungho, therefore the artist looked for him, and got surprised, because he didn’t see his husband by his side.
(chapter 93) This scene is important for two reasons. First, the behavior of the kisaeng clearly showed that she had been left in the dark as well. She was not lying, as there was no drop of sweat on her face. While she had no idea where her brother had been this entire time, Heena knew this the entire time!! 😬 But she kept silent and as such, she hindered her sisters to meet the painter as well. But this doesn’t end here.
(chapter 93) The kisaeng had not only been left in the dark, but she had also been lied. How did I come to this interpretation? The caring noona employed the expression “you’ve flown the nest already”. With this idiom, she implied that Baek Na-Kyum had willingly left the kisaeng house. He had made this decision on his own, for he felt the need to leave the gibang, whereas the readers already know that this was the opposite. He had been forced to leave by Heena.
(chapter 46) Like I had already pointed out, the kisaeng had made sure that Baek Na-Kyum didn’t bid goodbye to his noonas. Heena had lied to them saying that this was the boy’s desire and he was now old enough to leave the mansion. This explains why the nice noona employed the idiom “I know”. This is a signal that she had been told by her sister!! But the most infuriating is that Heena left her colleagues in the ignorance for 18 months. None of them knew where the painter was exactly. In the beginning, they had actually no idea that he first lived with the scholar. Besides, notice that the kisaeng complained to the artist. Why didn’t he visit them once in a while? The older sister had given him an order not to!! The most astonishing is that the gentle noona showed great understanding. She accepted the painter’s white lie.
(chapter 68) Heena put the whole blame on the painter, though the latter had been following her orders. She showed no understanding contrary to her sister. Besides, since she knew where he was, why didn’t she contact him in the end?
(chapter 76) Back then, Nameless had been confronted with reality: the protagonists were just two men in love and their affection was deep and genuine. So imagine what it meant for the lord, when he saw this scene in the shadow:
(chapter 93) There’s no doubt that he was seeking for their approval. To conclude, he remained in the background in order to judge the kisaengs correctly. Would they behave like Heena or not? In fact, Yoon Seungho had made a jump of faith. He had trusted the painter’s heart. However, he couldn’t let Heena ruin this happy reunion. Therefore she got excluded. She could have made a ruckus.
(chapter 93) In her eyes, he was a handsome man. Another fell under his spell as well:
(chapter 93) This is important, because this shows that the kisaengs are not thinking like Heena at all. They don’t resent him, because he is a noble.
(chapter 65) I would even add that they couldn’t recognize him, and I am now assuming that they had not heard about Yoon Seungho yet. They couldn’t put a name on him, he was just a fancy companion.
(chapter 93) In the first version, I had blamed Heena, yet I have to admit that I made a mistake, because I had paid too much attention to this image.
(Chapter 93) Here, they whispered quite loudly and actually blamed the noona for her negative description. But this declaration contradicts the previous one.
(Doctor Frost, chapter 175) It created the illusion that Heena had been badmouthing Yoon Seungho and desired to obtain the support from her eonnies. But who had called him a rake and a pervert? The noona herself!
(Chapter 93) However, they were just repeating what they had been told. Hence it didn’t work. Why? First, it is, because the painter appeared alone. They could see with their own eyes how well he was doing.
(Chapter 93) Naturally Min!! How do I come to this conclusion? Simply by recollecting his words in the tavern:
(chapter 93) He was actually portraying himself as an immoral person lacking in sexual restraint. He would not know fidelity. But the moment the kisaengs got caught, the lord proved their words wrong. He remained calm and treated them well despite the insult.
(Chapter 93) He made no fuss and accepted their apology. The most striking is that he ended up apologizing to the noonas.
(Chapter 93)
(Chapter 95) The manhwaphiles should recall the following rule: a scene will be reflected in the next episode. There is no doubt that the valet was the one who ruined the Yoons in the end by causing mistrust and jealousy. He destroyed the family. Therefore Kim sent the ruined painting to the father, and even refused to give the letters from the brother. He made sure to create misunderstandings, silence and tensions between the Yoons, portraying each of them like a monster or a selfish and common brute. This is not surprising that for the father, the son is a monster:
(chapter 86) Kim was successful, for he could change their personality entirely. He used social norms, people’s superstitions, fears and flaws to his advantage. Why? It is because he had to hide his own wrongdoings and betrayals. That’s the reason why the lord’s mansion could be considered as a winter forest as well. But since Heena resents powerful nobles, her negative emotions and her bias made her the perfect tool for the next scheme. But Min and Kim failed. Why? It is because they had two different approaches: The valet preferred using the scholar‘s death for the smear campaign, whereas Black Heart wished to destroy the affection and trust between our beloved couple. Moreover, since the noonas had stopped Heena from approaching her brother with their warm welcome, the kisaengs‘ attempts to ruin the relationship between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum were rather half-hearted. The noonas were lacking determination and stubbornness.
(chapter 92) The lord saw that the painter was looking elsewhere and his gaze was full of longing. Secondly, he had promised his lover to fulfil all his wishes.
(Chapter 91) He didn’t want to break his promise. I am wondering if this idea was not suggested by the butler, because the meeting in the inn was no coincidence. The noble Min made sure to trigger the painter’s memory with the presence of the kisaeng and the blue-lavender hanbok. As you can see, Yoon Seungho didn’t have much choice in the end,
(chapter 93) First, I thought that the man with the green hanbok was Black Heart, since the kisaeng facing the man in green resembles to one who followed him to the tavern, the one under the purple jacket. The color of the skirt is the same.
(chapter 92) However, at some point I began doubting this, for for the green shade is a little different. Moreover, I was reminded of this panel:
(Chapter 59) On the other hand, Min appeared later as the doppelgaenger of Lee Jihwa.
(Chapter 96) So we have to wonder if Min switched clothes three times during the same evening. But it is definitely possible, for each episode is reflected in the next.
(Chapter 66) The Joker could serve as a witness, and Black Heart couldn‘t lie at all, as he needed to keep his trust. Besides, it is possible that he must have noticed the disappearance of the Spring poem. Don’t forget that it had vanished in the inn, and Min was the last one seen with it.
(Chapter 92). Their sudden meeting could be the reason why he disappeared.
(chapter 93) Now, they know that the young painter lived with the scholar. How come? Baek Na-Kyum didn’t tell them, because the noona asked him this question. This means that she wanted a confirmation. And now, we have to question ourselves this: who told them about the painter’s past? One possibility is that it was Yoon Seungho, but I doubt it, for the noona didn’t recognize him outside. From my point of view, the noona had left her brother’s side. There was a time jump, because the kisaeng was now wearing a different skirt, khaki!! This means that now, she was acting on the order of someone. Like mentioned above, it could be Min via the other kisaeng. But there exists another eventuality: the Yoons! Don’t forget that khaki is the color of Yoon Chang-Hyeon.
(Chapter 44)
(chapter 57) Besides, just a few episodes ago, he had mentioned the scholar and the civil service examinations, and the story is following this rule: the next chapters will reflect the previous ones. Moreover, in season 2 and 3, the father was seen in the kisaeng house. Finally, in front of the learned sir‘s home, the manhwaworms could identify the guards from the patriarch.
(Chapter 99) This scene outlined that Black Heart and Yoon Chang Hyeon were working together, and they had planned to blame the Lees. But the irony is that the father was doomed to fail, because he was using the noonas‘ goodness and innocence. So the scholar was mentioned for one reason. The kisaeng desired to push Baek Na-Kyum to question his sponsor about the learned sir‘s well-being and whereabouts. The purpose was to generate a quarrel. Note that the other helped her colleague. As you can see, the hat and the change of the color of the noona’s skirt was an indication that there was a time jump. Thus I am deducing that the kisaeng was not present the entire time. Remember that the magician Byeonduck is always creating a fake continuity.
(chapter 93) When she mentioned the learned sir, Yoon Seungho entered the room.
(chapter 93) What could the noonas say to this answer? They couldn‘t call the main lead a liar! And note how he introduced himself:
(chapter 94) That‘s the reason why Yoon Seungho went to the well later. My explanation is that he had been suggested to go there by the noonas, while the latter had proposed a different idea to their brother: the walk to the pond. But why? In reality, the schemers envisioned that Yoon Seungho would behave like a hoodlum, he would kill the kisaeng Heena. Remember the threat expressed to the noona: 
(Chapter 69) But like I had explained, this menace was voiced by Kim, which was only validated by Yoon Seungho afterwards. And naturally, this threat had been revealed to the schemers: Min and the patriarch. They all imagined that the main lead would punish Heena for her accusations. Kim had experienced this scene in the courtyard
(chapter 68) He had taken these words as face-value. But he never recognized that the main lead would never use violence against Baek Na-Kyum‘s family, and this was already perceptible in chapter 68. He never barged in the study, when the noona called him a bird of misfortune.
(Chapter 68) He respected their privacy, the opposite of the butler.
(Chapter 93) This gesture (blowing the candle) outlines that he was indeed trying to stop the fire, a symbol for hatred and fear, from spreading.
(Chapter 93) This time, the noona had no longer the hat, but she was wearing the orange skirt again. The only explanation is that she had left the room. Since the kisaengs had no drop of sweat on their face, their admiration and surprise were genuine. But now take a look at this
(chapter 93) We have the return of the hat! Moreover, another detail caught my attention: the paper is blank! Where are the calligraphes? One might argue that it was too difficult for the author to draw them, but I can only refute this point by using this scene.
(Chapter 36) Here, the handwriting was even smaller compare to this calligraphy:
(chapter 65) First, the noona couldn‘t see her brother‘s painting, until Kim showed her the picture with Jung In-Hun which he had kept!
(Chapter 65) Kim was embarrassed in that scene, like the drop of sweat indicates it.This was the negative version of chapter 93. Don’t forget that Heena had been manipulated by Kim, when she visited the lord’s mansion. The latter had shown her the painting from the painter and then he must have told about the flashback in the bedchamber and the second marathon session in the shed.
(chapter 68)
(chapter 4) and he had never returned it. He had replaced it with another sijo, according to me with the original sijo.
(Chapter 7) It doesn‘t matter, if the scholar had deceived the painter. The latter viewed the paper as a treasure, a memory from his learned sir. 
(Chapter 93) The father was mocked for his dream!! He was portraying the elder master as a poor and weak noble! He was even compared to the learned sir. We have two proofs for this signification:
(chapter 86) This was the father‘s karma. He had insulted his own son, made him feel little and even jealous
(chapter 86) Remember that karma will always retaliate shortly, and the punishment will be even worse. The irony is that the lord was actually repeating the butler‘s words!
(Chapter 93) This symbolizes that she was not acting here. The drop of sweat on their face showed their embarrassment. They could not deny his statement, for the learned sir was indeed poor and with no connection. They anticipated that the lord would boost about his talent, but no he was showing humbleness. On the other hand, he outlined his wealth and power, which the noonas couldn’t contradict. His words were indeed reflecting a certain reality. Another important detail is their reply to the lord‘s statement: the points of suspension which I connect to the butler. Since chapter 77, the latter had switched loyalty and was now serving the elder master Yoon.
(chapter 93) “I heard” indicates that she wasn’t the entire time with Baek Na-Kyum. This proves my previous statement that the woman must have left the room leaving her siblings inside at some point. Secondly, the drop of sweat on the cheek is a signal for a lie. This means that the kisaeng was well aware of Heena’s arrest. She was actually covering up. It was, as if she was working for Yoon Seungho, while in reality she was acting on someone else’s behalf.
(chapter 69), and back then the lord had showed leniency. However, Heena didn’t want to acknowledge his benevolence. Thus she sent letters to her brother, in which she called Yoon Seungho many names: a rake, a hoodlum, a bastard and finally a murderer…
(chapter 93) One might bring up the freedom of speech, but there’s a reason why in Germany total freedom of expression is not allowed. During the Republic of Weimar, parties were authorized to announce their hatred for democracy and republic. The result was that right-extremist parties as such the NSDAP led by Hitler became more and more powerful. This is no coincidence that this republic vanished. The NSDAP could spread fear and hate against democrats, Jews and other minorities. Hate speech encourages hate crimes. Yes, this is the consequence of the butler’s philosophy: “don’t take it to heart”. This saying symbolizes indifference and as such passivity and silence which contributes to create the perfect climate for hatred and fear.
(chapter 91) They didn‘t go to the calligrapher right away. One week had passed, since the elder master Yoon had visited the mansion. This signifies that Heena is forced to face the consequences of her past actions.
(chapter 88) This is no coincidence that she was sitting the same way in the “jail”, than when she discovered the blood. However, this time she was facing the door.
(episode 9) The real culprit had sent him letters each day for years… The content of the correspondence was always the same:
(episode 9) That’s how he got brainwashed and convinced that he had indeed committed a crime. In jail, he was isolated and due to the suffered injustice, the prisoner definitely suffered from an emotional and mental breakdown, explaining why he was receptive to manipulations. That’s why you see the mouth and the letter together. So imagine that Baek Na-Kyum had read all the letters and all of them were saying the same thing over and over again. Since the painter is someone with a low self-esteem, he would have started doubting his own judgement. This is gaslighting. Naturally, Kim never intended him to read them. The whole purpose was to create a quarrel in the couple. I am quite certain that Heena never asked about her brother’s well-being. She was already convinced that the lord was a rake and a bastard. Her letters were full of contempt and hatred, something Yoon Seungho could sense in the correspondence.
The reflection of this scene.
(chapter 87) But note that Yoon Seungho never used any violence at all. He just asked her to remain quiet and cause no trouble.
(Chapter 69) And who was there during that night? Black Heart. This is important, because in the first episode, the noona had badmouthed the main lead, but she was well aware of the truth.
(chapter 87), since the rumors of his union in town were already spreading. The purpose of this smear campaign was to portray the lord as someone who was not interested in monogamy and fidelity. And who had an interest to oppose this union? The father!! As you could detect, through these comparisons I could connect Yoon Chang-Hyeon, Kim, Heena and Black Heart together. In the end, this badmouthing couldn’t succeed, for her eonnies were different. They were more innocent and less selfish, they had been left in the dark concerning the lord’s past. They never admired the learned sir in detriment of Baek Na-Kyum. They certainly don’t reject sexuality and they have less prejudices. As you can see, I detected a war of rumors, reminding me of the war of the waves during World War II.
(chapter 175) Because of this comparison, I couldn’t help myself thinking of the water vapor as the grapevines in Painter Of The Night. They’re everywhere and no one can stop them. And now, you comprehend how the noble’s reputation got ruined.
(chapter 175) That’s how hatred and contempt were spread. And Lee Jihwa listened to them, this is no coincidence why his mind and heart got poisoned. As long as he remained by Kim and Min’s side, his heart and mind would always be clouded. This means that Yoon Seungho was able to stop a fire, before it ruined the winter forest. People were upset, for he had such a cold gaze, when he remembered his interaction with Heena.
(chapter 93) But he was just mirroring the schemers‘ thoughts and gaze. He had to remain cold. So what does Heena’s isolation mean? Yoon Seungho has no idea, but he is clearing her mind from the brainwashing.
(Doctor Frost, chapter 183) There exists two methods. First,
(Doctor Frost, chapter 183) And we could clearly detect this in the confrontation between Heena and Yoon Seungho:
(chapter 93: In the Korean version: Your little brother will be with me now) For Heena, the painter should live with the scholar. This was her faith:
(chapter 46), though I am quite sure that it was in truth her biggest wish. She was in love with the learned sir herself. By looking him in the eyes, she could detect the lord’s determination and frankness. This was his choice. The problem is with deprogramming is
(Doctor Frost, chapter 183) That’s the reason why nowadays, psychologists prefer the other method
(Doctor Frost, chapter 183) And now, you comprehend what happened. The deprogramming didn‘t work out, for Heena was approached by the schemers again. They used another noona to deceive the sibling, for they could no longer use the women close to Baek Na-Kyum. Thus Heena was still under the influence of the haters.
(Chapter 98) Since she resents nobles, I deduce that the so-called witness was a commoner. In my eyes, it can only be Kim who justified his silence by saying that he could do nothing. He was the only one who knew, because the other had been already killed.
(chapter 93). Hence their punishment for their deceptions couldn‘t be so harsh.
(Chapter 99) The symbol of their dinner and reunion was pushed away. In my eyes, this ruckus put them in a bad light. However, I believe that these deceptions were necessary, for the bond between Heena and the other noonas
(Chapter 99) was quite strong. In this scene, they had sided with the kisaeng again, hiding the fact that they had seen leaving Heena with Lee Jihwa. They knew that the kisaeng was running away from the gibang, for she was not dressed up.
(Chapter 99) Hence the moment the kisaengs see how the brother was hurt by Min, they will realize the deception from Heena who abused their affection and loyalty. They will definitely blame themselves for their lies, and since I discovered connections between Yoon Chang-Hyeon and the noonas, I have the impression that Yoon Seungho will discover the backstabbing coming from his own father. According to me, the schemers had planned to frame the main lead for Heena‘s death (well), but the puppet masters‘ karma is to receive the sentence that they had planned for the main lead: accusation of violence and murder. The more I am analysing, the more I am sensing that Yoon Chang-Hyeon will be judged as an accomplice of Lee Jihwa’s crime in the nobles‘ bloodbath. He had helped Lee Jihwa and deceived Black Heart. And if the kisaeng is alive, the survivor will recognize the deception from the guards.
(chapter 80) Heena could have pushed away his hand, her movements were not restrained
(chapter 93) Secondly, he introduced his partner to his family properly.
(chapter 93) It is here necessary to contrast this introduction with this one:
(chapter 01) In the beginning of the story, the protagonist was not presented as a lord, but as a master!! This means, he belonged to the Yoons. However, Baek Na-Kyum is now viewing the protagonist as the real lord of the mansion. He is independent, which means that the artist is not truly acknowledging Yoon Chang-Hyeon and Yoon Seung-Won as his family. And if you compare the first episode with chapter 93, you’ll realize the similarities. Back then, Heena had mentioned the main lead in order to scare the painter, she had used rumors…
(chapter 64) But she started worrying for her brother, when she realized that he wasn’t living according to her belief: abstinence. And now, we have to question ourselves this: why did Yoon Seungho encourage his bride to sleep in the kisaeng house?
(chapter 93) Naturally, he had many reasons to do so. First, he wished to keep his promise. Secondly, he had sensed the painter’s sadness.
(Chapter 93) But Yoon Seungho never imagined that he was himself the cause for this heartache. The painter could detect the lord’s agony and low self-esteem. He knew how hurtful it is to be called names like rake or bastard or hoodlum. And the lord’s selflessness got rewarded: his biggest wish came true during that night. There was someone who loved him despite his flaws and wrongdoings. We could say that their stay was to confirm his marriage with the painter to the noonas. At the same time, season 3 exposed the slow transformation of Yoon Seungho. Little by little, he was showing an interest to his own past and no longer accepting the justification that he was just a bird of misfortune. Don’t forget the master’s previous statement:
(chapter 86) He was already pondering on the question why the family name was sullied. This shows that Yoon Seungho is slowly uncovering the truth, and he is now using Kim’s MO: deliver the information in delay, feign ignorance and act, listening to conversations behind the doors. This is no coincidence that he is recovering his memories as well. This is important, because he is less manipulable and as such no longer weak to brainwashing.
(chapter 88) When the lord got embraced, the painter whispered this to his ear:
(chapter 91) This represented Baek Na-Kyum’s first mini-love confession. His action was supported by his words. Therefore the lord could realize the honesty and genuineness of the painter. He could be embraced and as such accepted, he was no monster. Yes, it was the opposite of the love session in the physician’s office. Back then, the painter had remained silent.
(chapter 62) And this made me realize the signification of whispers in the manhwa. They stand in opposition to the hate speech and brainwashing!! This is no coincidence that the noonas whispered, when they noticed that Yoon Seungho was totally different from the description which Heena was supposed to have spread.
(chapter 18) The whisper contrasts so much to the rumors, anonymity versus personal. Thus I conclude that the whisper represents a weapon against the brainwashing and terror. This is not something that a spy can hear from the window or the door! Hence you have Yoon Seungho whispering this to Lee Jihwa
(chapter 18) or Yoon Seungho saying this to Heena:
(chapter 92) reflects the nature of their relationship: Love and closeness. Even outside and in front of the calligrapher, the lord felt the need to know his lover’s thoughts, the positive version of this rumor:
(doctor Frost, chapter 83), you should just replace the name Juhwan Park by Heena. She was just manipulated by the butler and Min’s trick. They used her strong belief and prejudices. However, I had the feeling that Heena could come to her senses, because she remained silent and her gaze was different.
(chapter 83) Besides, what caught my attention is that she never replied to Yoon Seungho. She never fought back like in episode 65:
Why was she so passive? It is because the exclusion from the reunion represented the biggest punishment for Heena. She has always seen herself as a knight in shining armor. Imagine all the noonas could see the little brother and enjoy his company, while she couldn’t. I was hoping that she would start regretting her actions. As you can see, I really viewed Heena more as a victim, blinded by her faith and her own suffering than as a big perpetrator. There’s no doubt that she rejects sex because of a traumatic experience. Yet, due to her blindness and selfishness, she was an accomplice to her brother‘s suffering in the past, and unfortunately, she made the same decision.
(Chapter 97) Seeing the corpse in the well was the trigger for her to believe everything she saw and heard without questioning the coincidences and appearances. She didn‘t doubt the testimony of the so-called witness.
replacing these three fake feasts:
(chapter 87)
(Chapter 99) On the other hand, the resent for Heena didn‘t turn Yoon Seungho into a fool or a person full of prejudices! He still trusted the noonas, as he believed in his lover‘s heart and his genuine confession! The fire couldn‘t spread in the gibang! The lord showed mercy towards the kisaengs and the domestic Seok-Dae! Hence no one will ever come to believe that Yoon Seungho is a murderer. In their eyes, he makes nothing but hot air!! 😉 