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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Today, I’ll examine the trailer announcing the new start of the second season. First, I would like to thank my follower @Dream Island for mentioning my blog on youtube because thanks to her (I assume so), my blog is more visited than before. I don’t know how many times I watched the trailer but it made me so happy since we are able to get a few glimpses of the second season.
Byeonduck tweeted the link for the trailer, the korean version, too where you could get a better view on one image from the trailer. First, I worked on the korean version until the English version was released. Hence the release came much later. I had to change the pictures and give more explanations. Here, I have to thank my follower @seunghohoe for the translation and the update because without this person I wouldn’t be capable to write that much. In other words, I am examining the trailer and the images from Lezhin where you get to see two more drawings from the second season.
We see how a naked Yoon Seungho carrying a person enveloped by the lord’s robe from one chamber to another. There is no ambiguity that Baek Na-Kyum is in the noble’s arms, especially if we read the comment. Since the latter is covered with sweat, you can imagine what happened before. They had sex and now the artist seems to be exhausted, even sleeping because his arms are hanging. So my assumption is that the master is bringing his lover to his own chamber. Let us not forget that there is only one door separating his room from the master’s room.
Now, you are wondering why he is wrapped with the noble’s cloth. One could say that he wants to hide the painter’s face, his identity. However, I doubt that because of his behavior in the first season. Let’s not forget that he generated gossips with his visit to the tailor shop intentionally. He knew that the tailor would spread the rumor, especially with the foreplay at the shop, hence he wasn’t surprised, when Min asked him about the painter in the episode 41. This was actually his answer to the challenge in the chapter 33. He used the hunt in order to warn the challenging noble Min.
That’s why Min is now using Jihwa in order to hurt Yoon Seungho as he wants to dethrone the alpha in the sodomite community and become the new king.
Since there is no secret about the partner’s identity, especially when there are so many rumors circulating about the fiancee,
there exists another reason for enveloping the painter in his robe. In my opinion, the master wants to ensure that the painter doesn’t get sick again due to exhaustion like the last time. Let’s not forget that he got huge pangs of conscience because of the sex marathon. The low-born spent 10 days in the master’s bed before recovering from the illness. 
(Chapter 33) This image represents a flashback from the chapter 33, where our protagonist recalled the artist’s terrible face, while he has to hear the other aristocrats describing the person he loved. The memory outlines that this incident left a deep impression on Yoon Seungho that he could still remember the painter’s sick face. Therefore the protagonist wants to keep his painter safe, in the warmest room in the mansion where the noble can attend to the commoner’s needs (giving him water, cleaning his body). I even anticipate he will do everything himself. However, we shouldn’t forget that the master’s deepest wish is to share his own bed with the uke. Only with him, he can finally relax and sleep. We all know that the lord is suffering from insomnia since he hasn’t overcome his trauma from the past.
Now, if we pay attention to the other two drawings from Lezhin, we can recognize the bodies of Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum.
Both are in the master’s bedchamber recognizable due to the folding screen in the background. Since the legs from the man lying on the floor are thinner, we can guess that this is the painter, whereas the lord is on his knees. I assume that both are kissing. However, in the second picture, the position are switched.
You might wonder why? The breasts are more muscular, while the man on the top has a smaller chest. The other clue is the short dark hair (in the right corner on the top). First, I thought the person was not wearing a topknot but the lock is indicating otherwise. However, I am still maintaining that the painter is on the top because not once we saw a lock of Seungho’s hair while having sex. His coiffure was always perfect. So for the first time, the readers are witnessing the painter caressing the lord’s chest.
Remember that in my manual, I had declared that we should pay attention to the artist’s hand because it signalized a change in the low-born’s emotions and state of mind. Here, it looks like the commoner is taking the initiative revealing Baek Na-Kyum’s growing feelings for Yoon Seungho. Imagine how the master must be happy in this situation, he always longed to be loved, to sense warmth. Now the manhwalovers can envisage, the commoner is little by little making the noble’s dream come true. No wonder, if Yoon Seungho treats Baek Na-Kyum as his bride. But my impression is that both images could be from two different smut scenes indicating the progression, the painter becomes more and more proactive during their sexual encounters. This scene will happen much later in the second season. This is my prediction. Seungho will ask the painter to wear a topknot so that the social gap will completely disappear. In my opinion, this is connected to the improvement of Baek Na-Kyum’s education. The moment he is really literate, he can be judged as a noble.
Simultaneously the comments are revealing a lot about the attitude of people about this extraordinary couple.
“About that fiendish first son of master Yoon. Yoon Seungho.” “From what I hear, he’s met his match”.
We have to remember that in the past the seme was introduced as a hell-raiser, he always had different sex partners, even went to sex orgies but he could never get taken. No noble was able to get his affection or even attract his attention. In other words, he had a very bad reputation. The irony is that now, a low-born, has been able to conquer the powerful lord’s heart. Imagine the humiliation for all the aristocrats who were his sex partners once. They must feel insulted and I detect that these rumors will cause more resent and hatred among the local nobility. And the reader can sense a certain disdain towards the innocent lover in this remark “he’s met his match”. He is just fiendish like the eldest son Yoon. The people are looking down on Yoon Seungho and the painter, the second comment could be expressed by nobles. Hence I envisage that Jihwa’s plan might receive more support, because so far, only three aristocrats were involved: Min, Jihwa and the man with the mole on the cheek. The other guests left, when it became too dangerous.
What I mean is that with this kind of negative rumors, Jihwa will feel consolidated with his decision, since he thinks that he is acting for his childhood friend’s benefit. With Baek Na-Kyum by his side, the seme is even more mocked and secluded than before. Once the painter is killed, Yoon Seungho’s reputation won’t worsen any longer and the seme will return to his side to heal his wounds, this is what the red-haired man is thinking. Jihwa is not realizing that he is just a tool and he is not helping his friend at all. He didn’t even question how Min could give him the info about an assassin right on the spot. This indicated that Min must have used the killer himself before. But Jihwa is so stupid and blinded by his arrogance and entitlement. As a conclusion, the rumor in the pictures will accelerate the attempted assassination. There is no ambiguity that the artist will survive but this will be a painful process for our both protagonists.
But let’s go back to this wonderful picture. Here, Seungho is revealing his gentle side and concern for his lover as he keeps looking at him while walking. So why is he moving the painter? Bringing him to his own bed is full of symbolism. He makes a statement to the servants: this is his lover and partner. Baek Na-Kyum is even called the lord’s fiancée. While the gossipers are making fun of Yoon Seungho, they are right at the same time, the powerful noble truly views Baek Na-Kyum as his bride.
So the more Baek Na-Kyum is seen in the noble’s chamber, the more it sends the message that the painter is his “wife”, like he announced it in the chapter 40 in the first season. 
(Chapter 40) By placing the red dot on the forehead, Yoon Seungho made the painter look like a bride. This wasn’t just a joke, he really wanted to assume his responsibility and become the painter’s “husband”. The rumor circulating now confirms my explanation about his actions.
Then if we take a closer look to the noble’s robe, we notice two things, the presence of the burgundy color and cranes as pattern. 
This is what I wrote about the cranes:
In many cultures cranes symbolize happiness, honor, longevity and good fortune. In some areas they are even said to be mystical, magical, or holy creatures. Strictly speaking, the crane is a sign of good luck.
Jihwa was the one who had such birds as pattern on his robe for that’s how he perceived himself, whereas he was just a pheasant. However, I doubt that Yoon Seungho is viewing himself as a crane since we never saw him looking at his own reflection in the mirror. For me, he associates the painter to a crane, the one who brings him happiness and good fortune. That’s why he is carrying Baek Na-Kyum so carefully because he pays attention to his lover’s health condition. Yoon Seungho has learnt his lesson and he is someone who reflects a lot about his actions and behavior, unlike Jihwa and Jung In-Hun. That’s why I can not understand why some readers keep calling him a psychopath. He is admitting his mistakes and learning from them, he is able to prioritize the painter’s interests.
Burgundy: a dark purplish red, it is more sophisticated and serious and less energetic than true red. It indicates controlled power, determined ambition and dignified action and is often favored by the wealthy. https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/
The reappearance of the burgundy reinforces my impression that the master has come back to life, however he is still less active as he is only focusing on his lover and keeps refusing meddling in politics. So from my point of view, this scene has to happen before the attempted assassination. I hope, my assumption is correct. He thought, warning Min and cutting ties with Jihwa would be enough but he is underestimating the nobles’ stubbornness and the viciousness. Min and Jihwa believe that their titles are a protection and Yoon Seungho won’t retaliate. In the worst case, Jihwa will become the scapegoat and Min can remain untouched as he is not the one who hired the assassin. They all think that Yoon Seungho’s mercilessness could only affect the commoners, yet they never heard him saying that humiliating a noble excited him, 
(chapter 18) when he felt nothing as the straw mat beating occurred. For him, this was a normality, although I am somehow suspecting that he wasn’t entirely honest. It did affect him because his admired painter had been hurt. Nevertheless, when in the chapter 18, Yoon Seungho felt excited and as such alive due to the breakup with Jihwa, he showed his beastly instincts. And if we recall the whole first season, the manhwaphiles will notice that Seungho showed excitement, when he humiliated the nobles. Let us not forget that he humiliated not only Jihwa, but also his friend (the man with the mole), Jung In-Hun and Min. He revealed his true personality in the woods, where he was the one who killed the deer and the pheasant… therefore I assume that terrible things could/will happen to the nobles in the woods. 
(Chapter 41) They all underestimated Yoon Seungho because they only judged him as “a man consumed by lust” and a “hell-raiser”. He has been hiding his cards and claws very well all these years in order to protect himself. He is definitely keeping an eye on what is happening at the capital. And this was already visible in the first season with following image:
He has shadow guards and they visit him during the night. The existence of the shadow guards indicate that the powerful noble has a huge network and can get info very quickly but can give secret orders too, like f. ex. eliminate annoying aristocrats. He doesn’t need to hire someone from the market place. And this is how Yoon Seungho will intervene after Baek Na-Kyum gets hurt.
But let’s go back to my favorite picture from the second season.
Burgundy is associated to red and as such to blood. Here, it occupies the biggest part of the drawing underlining its importance. Hence I consider burgundy as a bad omen as well, there will be a carnage… and the nobles won’t be spared. Baek Na-Kyum, enveloped in the burgundy cloth, will be the cause and trigger for the purge. But since his head is wrapped, it appears that Yoon Seungho will never allow the painter to witness this. He knows how sensitive the artist is, he already fainted, when a mere servant was executed. Imagine his reaction, if he viewed the execution of nobles. Hence this picture should be judged as a foreshadowing of the future events. Yoon Seungho will retaliate in the shadow, not in the open but he will be ruthless, in particular to people who betrayed him, like Jihwa. Remember that my theory is that Yoon Seungho created this image of hell-raiser in order to divert attention and deceive his enemies, even his family. My prediction is that the revenge will occur in the woods and he will use his shadow guards for that.
Finally, I would like to point out the contradiction between the comment by the gossipers and the lord’s behavior. They are describing the master as a man obsessed with sex, making fun of him by calling the painter “his fiancée”, whereas the readers are the only ones knowing the truth. He is just a man in love taking care of his loved one, showering him his care and affection so that the painter will love him deeply in return. These comments reveal how deceived gossipers are, they have no idea that they are laughing at someone that is much more perceptive, intelligent and powerful than they think he is. That’s why I called Yoon Seungho the master of deception many times. He was able to create such a fake image of himself that they don’t perceive his dangerosity. He is like an eagle waiting for the right time to attack, as long as the crows don’t bother him too much, he can let them play… however, if he, as an eagle, becomes the target, he will ensure that the leader of the crow colony will be erased.
Now, we have this image where both protagonists are walking on the street. Striking is that the noble is wearing a very festive robe, a combination of pink and black. This illustrates that the relationship with the painter has improved, the pink indicates that the master is in love, yet he is trying to hide it under the black exterior robe. At the same time, he put this apparel on in order to impress his lover. Before, he never really paid attention to his appearance but once in love, he acts differently. He knows that neither power nor wealth could ever buy the painter’s heart. He has to use different means in order to earn his trust and love: making sure that he is well treated by the servants, listening to the artist’s words, treating him like the master in their relationship.
What caught my attention in this scene is that Baek Na-Kyum is walking by the lord’s side. If you compare to the chapter 40, when they were returning to the mansion from the tailer shop, the low-born was just following the noble. He was walking behind him all the time.
(Chapter 40) This symbolized that there was still a gap between these two men. Now, it is different. Baek Na-Kyum stands next to him so that we can say the painter’s status has been elevated. The artist is also dressed with expensive winter clothes that’s why the social disparity is less visible. Only the hairdressing reveals that Baek Na-Kyum is no lord. However, little by little, the crevice between Yoon Seungho and his loved one is disappearing. Now, we have to wonder why the painter at the end of the trailer turned his head.
What caught his attention that he stops paying attention to Yoon Seungho? Maybe he heard the killer doing a show and this made him curious.
I even had this thought that the man dancing could become a new motive for a painting. Imagine the irony… the assassin is portrayed by the painter while doing a show, whereas the man is waiting for the right opportunity.
But that’s just an idea and this would create an occasion for the painter to divert his topics and improve his talents.
As a conclusion, although we could only see a few glimpses of the new season, it was already enough to confirm many observations from all my analyses written about the first season. Simultaneously, the manhwaphiles could notice the changes of Baek Na-Kyum’s behavior so that his relationship with Yoon Seungho improves to the point that he becomes the official bride in the rumor, although he is mocked there. He is shown caressing the lord’s chest, taking the initiative in their sexual encounter. Moreover this is definitely a slap for Jihwa who waited for so many years for his friend’s love.
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(chapter 2) or the wet dream in the chapter 6 
where the painter’s repressed natural desires resurface. The readers are a little confused because initially they have no idea how to judge these drawings. Are they reality or fiction? This is in particular visible in the following picture: 
On the surface, it looks so real, while in reality this image was a vision in Baek Na-Kyum’s dream which marked the start of his unleashed unconscious. In the wet dream, we had a similar question. The beholder wondered if these images were true memories or fantasies. 
(Chapter 2) These were a mixture of both, although the more pictures we got, the more it became an illusion, a phantasm. As you can observe, the boundaries between seem and real were sometimes not clearly defined. The beholder had to distinguish this.
as much as he is expressing his love for the low-born, Jihwa imagines to see something else. Baek Na-Kyum is the one who seduces the powerful lord hence he believes to detect a cunning smile on the artist’s face. 
(Chapter 43) The red-haired man is too biased towards the young low-born because he has so many prejudices against commoners. He believes that each low-born has no principle and virtue and will do anything in exchange for power, money in order to improve his life. However, the reality is different from the illusion Jihwa experienced. 
(chapter 3) Furthermore, it seems that each time Yoon Seungho had a sex session with Jihwa, he had no other sex partners. 
(chapter 13). Notice that Jihwa wasn’t present at the sex orgy in the chapter 33 hence he trusted Min’s words when the latter told him that the seme was hopping from one bedchamber to the other. From my point of view, Jihwa never participated in that kind of events that’s why he was able to have a clean reputation. 
(Chapter 18) With these words, the red-haired noble implied that his friend had to choose between him or Baek Na-Kyum as Jihwa had no intention to share him with the artist. 
His servants have to clean his mess here. He became himself a drunk. 
(chapter 36) 
(Chapter 12) Nevertheless, it contrasts to the first case as in this scene every action is real, it just depends on the interpretation of the participants. Here, the red-haired uke is observing from far away how Yoon Seungho is treating the low-born. We have to remember that his perception of the reality is limited because the lord is turning his back to him and is in front of the painter. Secondly he stands too far away to be able to hear their conversation. In other words, he can’t see Yoon Seungho’s facial expression nor the painter’s face as the master’s shoulder is covering his face. Based on these parameters, I selected all the pictures Jihwa could witness due to the movement of Seungho’s arm and hand: 
(Chapter 12) 
(Chapter 14) All this led the jealous man to the conclusion that there was something going on between the commoner and his childhood friend. However, we have to remind to the readers what Jihwa couldn’t see in the pictures above. The uke was avoiding the master’s gaze. Either he closed his eyes or looked down. If he had witnessed it, Jihwa would have realized that the fascination was coming more from his childhood friend than the reverse and as such, Baek Na-Kyum didn’t seduce the lord in this chapter. For him, the reality was that the low-born was using his position and influenced the lord in a bad way. He was already showing some favoritism. This perception of the reality was definitely influenced by his biased view about commoners. 
(Chapter 12) Here, the master is actually threatening the commoner. So his words stands in opposition to his gentle demeanor. 
(Chapter 12) 
It was, as if the protagonist would awake the beastly instincts living inside the boyfriend. However, this rape doesn’t change the fact that Soo-Young has some love and affection for Si-Jung. He confesses to himself that he would like the boyfriend to find him and support him. 
(chapter 43) Here he is described by his friend with a black heart. However, in the first season, he was shown in different chapters (8, 9, 19, 33, 36, 41 and 43), but he was among others and as such, he was never properly introduced. His presence increased until the chapter 43 marking a pivotal moment. In the first version of this essay, I desired to prove that Min would play a bigger part in the second season. And this was proven correct. Nevertheless, I still need to introduce him. But who is this man, what do we know about him in the first season?
(chapter 41) and even put his other hand on his waist. 
(Chapter 30) He was so upset, hence imagine how he felt, when he sensed Min’s hand on his wrist and then waist. With such a gesture, Yoon Seungho could only get more irritated. And here, our main lead only pushed his hand and insulted him by comparing the man with a mouse . 
(Chapter 33) As conclusion, anyone observing the scene in chapter 41 would come to the conclusion, that this man wanted to have Seungho as lover, just like Jihwa, but in a different role. He would like to be the top. As conclusion, the lord Min was a seme who seemed to be interested in Seungho. Thus he considered Baek Na-Kyum and the red-haired master as rivals, whom he needed to eliminate. And that‘s how Yoon Seungho perceived his gesture and words in the woods. This explicates why he compared him to Lee Jihwa. In the main lead’s mind, Black Heart was paying attention to his every moves and was always updated about his interactions with the painter out of jealousy. The reality is that Min was terribly envious of the main lead. His real center of interest was in truth Baek Na-Kyum. Thus he kept looking at him during their first meeting. 
(Chapter 8) 
(chapter 9)
(Chapter 36) Naturally, here Kim had played a huge role in this deception too, as he allowed to leak information to the red-haired master’s servant. 
(Chapter 41) Yet, Min knew that Jihwa wouldn’t be able to resist and run to the lord’s mansion. He had already calculated that the childhood friend would discover the truth. He would be hurt and realize his mistake. He even ridiculed Jihwa by comparing him to a dog. 
(chapter 43) Here, he reminded me of Seungho with his sarcasm and his ironical comments from chapter 6. 
(chapter 6) He enjoys making fun of Jihwa and is as cunning as Seungho, though in reality the main lead‘s true personality is totally different. 
(Chapter 43)
(Chapter 33) It was, as if he wanted to ensure that the artist meant nothing to the protagonist. As you can see, the vicious man gave the impression that he was jealous of the painter. His reproach towards the main lead sounded similar to the childhood friend’s. 
(Chapter 18) 
(chapter 41) It was, as if he wanted to play with Jihwa and get rid of Baek Na-Kyum at the same time. The latter is viewed as a source of danger, for Min keeps thinking about him. The noble considered the artist as a witch who put a spell on him, Here, he was projecting his own thoughts. 
(Chapter 43) It looked like both ukes represented a threat. He was definitely using Jihwa so that if anything would go wrong, only the red-haired aristocrat would be blamed. The man with the black heart tried to diminish the consequences of the murder. He said that the murder should look like an accident, hence this attempted murder can never happen at the mansion. Back then, I had envisioned that they would wait, until Baek Na-Kyum left the mansion, and this expectation was proven correct.
(Chapter 43) He had already anticipated Jihwa’s reaction. While Min declared that it was funny, when Jihwa came crying, he added that he was disappointed that he only saw just tears. He wanted him to “come with his tail between his legs”. 
(chapter 52) and in season 3 
(chapter 92) But this was just a deception, his real target was the painter. However, after season 3, I realized that in truth, Black Heart had only been a puppet himself, though Min seemed to be like a personification of the devil… his lies, his words in order to incite Jihwa to commit a crime, his words ridiculising Jihwa and even Seungho.
(Chapter 16) Here, the main lead desired to discover the painter’s sexual preferences. So when Min stroke the main lead’s waist, he never realized the true signification of his action.
(Chapter 41) The main lead could only assume that Min was interested in him, he wished to become his only partner. Deep down, he desired to become the top, but since Yoon Seungho was not willing to change his position, Black Heart was willing to remain a uke. Note that Min invited the main lead in chapter 19 to the kisaeng house, and offered him wine, right after the main lead had cut ties with his childhood friend. 
(Chapter 19) It was, as if he was wooing him, hoping to take over Lee Jihwa’s place. Then in chapter 33, Min is the one asking for Baek Na-Kyum. 
(chapter 33), he would seek his company 
(chapter 51) 
(chapter 52) and he was jealous of the painter, for the protagonist was only paying attention to him. 
(Chapter 101) Note that he even pushed Lee Jihwa to become a top. 
(Chapter 100) It was, as if Min was not interested in the painter at all. His true goal was to get rid of Lee Jihwa and Baek Na-Kyum, his rivals. But we know the truth… Black Heart wished to be noticed by Baek Na-Kyum, thus he said this to him in the shaman’s house: 
(chapter 99) But if he wanted to become his lover as uke, he would be not different from Jihwa. However, this man is definitely not seeking for Seungho’s love. His actions and words don’t fit the profile of an uke, of a person longing for Seungho’s love, rather he fits the profile of a hunter and player. 
(Chapter 56) But Min was still in denial, hence he justified his requests as an urge, while he was also longing for the painter’s affection.
(Chapter 43) And remember that Jihwa is a noble… and in the bible, God got aware of Adam’s original sin, hence the latter was banished from paradise. Thus I had been expecting that Lee Jihwa would lose his title as noble, as his crime would be discovered. And this prediction became true which the author revealed in the creator‘s note. 
(chapter 102), he was again giving the impression that he had acted like a jealous man who was longing for Yoon Seungho‘s attention. He had acted like a vicious concubine, but in Joseon, „jealous concubine or queen“ would get sentenced to death, like the Queen Yun and the concubine Jang Ok-Jun. 
(chapter 101) No one in his right mind would torment a loved one like that. Yoon Seungho was not recognizing what jealousy and envy are and what these emotions could trigger people to do! Black Heart would torment Baek Na-Kyum, for the latter was rejecting him. So imagine the king‘s reaction, when he discovers that Min got killed. 
(Chapter 102) First, he lost his loyal helping hand, secondly he got misled and even betrayed by Lee Jihwa. In other words, the opposite had happened. Instead of obtaining Yoon Seungho, the king lost his “wife“ who decided to kill himself. To conclude, the villain from season 2 and 3 was in reality a pawn, the shadow of the true villain, lord Song. This explicates why Min‘s behavior was particularly ambiguous in season 1… All his actions and words could be perceived as a jealous man who desired to become Yoon Seungho‘s top!! The king would have never approved such a thing! And this could be the other reason why he will vent his anger on the Lees.
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