Tag: Chapter 55

Painter Of The Night: Sex and drugs 💉💊

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 1 Comment

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/ 

Feel free to make some donations/sponsoring: Ko-fi.com/bebebisous33  That way, you can support me with “coffee” so that I have the energy to keep examining manhwas.

I have to admit that when I chose this title, I imagined that this analysis would be very short, for I mainly desired to talk about Min. However, the more I pondered about the content of this essay, I realized that I should actually include all the drugs in Painter Of The Night. This led me to examine all the other characters suffering from drug addictions. That’s how I made new discoveries again.

1. The drugs in Painter

First, it is important to list the drugs present in this manhwa. We have alcohol (chapter 75), tobacco (chapter 61) and opium (chapter 52).

And because Min and his friends brought opium to the Yoon’s residence and the main lead was present, the readers jumped to the conclusion that the main lead would smoke opium too. (chapter 52) And this perception got reinforced, when the butler confided this to the physician later: (chapter 55) Many readers had the impression that Yoon Seungho had been smoking opium, many went so far to imagine that he had been smoking opium right from the beginning. (chapter 5) However, this was just a lie. Yoon Seungho never smoke opium!!

2. Yoon Seungho’s true addiction

And now, it is time to prove my interpretation. First, you’ll realize the deception, once you read the side effects of opium:

“Short term effects may include: 1. euphoria, 2. relaxation, 3. analgesia” quoted from https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/opium/

This drug has a sedative effect, therefore the opium smoker falls into a torpor and semi-sleep. And we know that Yoon Seungho avoids sleep, for he is plagued by nightmares. (chapter 74) Hence consuming opium would even instigate his nightmares. In addition, observe that in chapter 5, Yoon Seungho was never euphoric nor sleepy. He could interact with the painter normally.

Nicotine causes a range of effects on both the body and mind, including:

Decreased appetite

Heightened mood […]

Sweating

Nausea

Diarrhea

Better memory

Increased alertness

https://www.verywellmind.com/nicotine-addiction-101-2825018

As you can see, nicotine increases alertness and memory. Therefore the lord never forgot the words from the painter during the day. They bothered him so much that he kept thinking about his own image: (chapter 05) As you can see, Yoon Seungho had a drug addiction, nitocine.

One might argue that he started smoking opium only later.

And now, pay attention to this image. (chapter 52) The noble in the background was the one smoking opium. Besides, the manhwaphiles will certainly remember how Yoon Seungho behaved in that scene. He heard Min’s words addressed to the painter, he walked straight to Black Heart in order to protect his lover, well aware that Min would invite the painter to join the party. (chapter 52) This means, he was conscious and alert. Besides, we saw him later getting in rage (chapter 53). Here, I would like the manhwaphiles to keep in mind that side effects of opium like euphoria, relaxation and analgesia last for at least 3 to 6 hours. So this outburst of rage is an indication that our protagonist was not under the influence of opium. He was not hallucinating either. He had grasped the whole situation, when he heard Deok-Jae predicting a terrible fate to the artist. In addition, this drug is not considered as a poison inducing psychosis.

“opiates are the only sedative drugs that possess an anti-psychotic effect.” quoted from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24563427/

However, this doesn’t mean that an user from opium won’t suffer from any psychotic symptoms. They are more related to withdrawals or to hallucinations due to the big consumption of opium. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/opiate-addiction/related-topics/opiate-psychosis/

However, one of the side effects of nicotine is heightened mood, this would explicate his outburst of rage and his irritability right after smoking tobacco. (chapter 52) This explicates why he beat Min and Deok-Jae so furiously, he wasn’t acting under the influence of hallucinations. He was perceptive, he had clearly understood the meaning behind the servant and the noble’s words. As you can see, the lord’s mood swings were more triggered by his addiction to nicotine. This explicates why the main lead had such a violent outburst in the shed after the abduction. He had smoked tobacco the whole day. (chapter 61) Remember how I compared him to dormant volcano, here he was boiling internally.

On the other hand, a person consuming opium will show signs of withdrawals 24 hours after the use. And these are the following signs of opioid withdrawal: Anxiety, insomnia, sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, shaking, yawning, restlessness, widened pupils, body aches, seizures, hallucinations, body aches, rapid breathing, fast heartbeat and more importantly irritability. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/opioid-withdrawal-symptoms#1

Min shows all the signs of a withdrawal in chapter 76. First, he vomits, but hides it under the excuse, he drank too much. He gets in rage, when No-Name calls him a fool. He can no longer keep his mask contrary to the altercation in episode 41, when Yoon Seungho compared him to a mouse: (chapter 41) Besides, we have another evidence that Black Heart has developed an addiction to opium with the following panel: (chapter 76) The gaze is different, an indication of the widened pupils. Furthermore, his restlessness is perceptible the way he approaches The Joker. This time, he has to meet the criminal personally. We could say that he rushes to meet the criminal. Like he said, he was “running out of time”… (chapter 76) These words reflect his own troubled mind.

However, you can see that the lord didn’t get any sign of withdrawal after that terrible night in episode 52. Yes, he got sick, but it is because he didn’t sleep and he had no clothes on. Therefore he caught a cold. Let’s not forget that he had lived for a week without eating or sleeping properly. But my most conclusive evidence is this panel:

(chapter 74) Observe the painter’s reaction. He is coughing, he doesn’t seem affected by the smoke, while he had a total different reaction in chapter 54: Note the euphoria and the sedative effect on the artist’s face. This explicates why he didn’t push the rapists away.

As a conclusion, Yoon Seungho is not addicted to opium, he never smoked it. The aristocrats chose his place to smoke it, because they wouldn’t be caught by their parents. That’s the reason why the noble said this to Black Heart. (chapter 53) They wanted to smoke this drug there, for no one would interrupt them. But because Yoon Seungho let them smoke opium, he became guilty by association: he was also an opium smoker. And the readers had fallen into the same trap. As you can see, I believe that the author is using the method on the manhwaphiles. They are misled by what they see and hear without questioning the authenticity of the statement.

The manhwaphiles will say that Yoon Seungho has another addiction: alcohol. (chapter 55) However, this is another deception. Yoon Seungho is no alcoholic either!! 😲

I have many evidences for this. First, notice that during the first sex orgy, there was no drink and food offered. It was simply sex!! (chapter 08) So his debauchery was linked to sex and nothing more. He would live for sex and nothing else. Furthermore, the manhwalovers will certainly recall the lord’s behavior in the tavern. He ordered wine(chapter 75), but notice that he never became drunk like the painter. (chapter 75) The main lead can consume wine in moderation contrary to the painter!! Therefore he has no addiction to alcohol.

And this is different for Baek Na-Kyum, who became a drunk after his abandonment. (chapter 1) Notice that each time, Baek Na-Kyum would drink alcohol, he could never stop until he almost lost consciousness and started hallucinating (chapter 19) or he would be so inhibited that he couldn’t walk properly. These were the sign of his addiction. I can’t forget the lord’s words in episode 75: (chapter 75) Here, he saw how the alcohol was affecting his lover’s behavior.

Notice that at no moment during the night (52-53-54), Yoon Seungho walked under the influence of alcohol. His feet were the proof that he never consumed wine to the point he would lose consciousness or started hallucinating. (chapter 53) He was walking straight. When the readers saw the following image, they saw it as a confirmation that Yoon Seungho was a drunk. (chapter 54) But in truth, he took some wine in order to overcome his pain, to give himself some “courage” to go through. He had longed for the artist’s warmth after a week of separation, but he knew that Baek Na-Kyum viewed sex as prostitution. He was alert enough to see the consequences of his decision (chapter 54), therefore he broke the bottle. (chapter 54) This is no coincidence that he destroyed the bottle of wine. He had the impression that this drug was the cause for his “hallucination”, he was seeing the painter in ecstasy which could only remind him of his own past. Besides, he didn’t want his companion to become a shadow of himself: (chapter 54) He recognized the perversion of the artist’s redness and lost gaze. He loved him for his pure gaze and blushing.

For an alcoholic, a single drop of alcohol is a synonym for a relapse. Hence the addicted has to avoid anything related to alcohol, like vinegar or medicine containing alcohol. So when the lord proposed the wine, he had no idea about the consequences of his offer. So imagine his reaction, when he heard this: (chapter 75) The lord was responsible for his relapse!! Naturally, this could only pain the lord, for the latter wanted to make his lover smile. On the surface, Baek Na-Kyum’s words were reflecting the truth, as the master had encouraged his lover to take the soju. Hence Yoon Seungho could only feel accountable for this situation. He decided to act as a mature man who should take care of his lover’s intoxication. On the other hand, during the whole dating, Yoon Seungho always remained clear-minded, this was another indication that he never abused alcohol.

So when he said this to Bongyong (chapter 78), I believe that Yoon Seungho never proposed too much wine to his lover afterwards. He had made the experience that if he did, he would be the reason why Baek Na-Kyum would become a drunk. In my opinion, the painter’s relapse was linked to his own suffering, he was tormented by the idea that Yoon Seungho would abandon him, his affection was not deep. Since they had no longer any sex, he had the impression that Yoon Seungho’s love for him was vanishing. As you can see, the painter’s dependency to wine was linked to his repressed libido and his fear of abandonment.

As a conclusion, Yoon Seungho was never addicted to opium or wine. However, this doesn’t mean that nicotine addiction is no big deal. In truth, this drug is as unhealthy as any other drug. The withdrawals are only perceptible, when a consumer stops smoking. The addiction is never obvious like opium or heroine. In addition, the body doesn’t just get poisoned because of nicotine, but the latter also affects sexuality and as such relationships.

“The investigators began to realize that smoking actually became a method of subtle communication for members of the couples being studied. Lighting up gave clues to each partner that it was time to talk, time to give space, or even time to defend yourself because a world-class argument was about to begin. federally funded study is scheduled to go on for another year, and hopefully, will provide methods to help counsel couples how to recognize cigarettes as an abusive third member of their relationship. If couples are going to weed the habit from their lives, the researchers say they will have to find other ways to relate to each other, and more often than just during the familiar after-sex smoke. And of course, as Jordan found, smoking can directly torpedo the sex, too.” quoted from https://www.webmd.com/men/features/want-better-sex

3. The truth behind Kim’s statement

But then why would the butler describe his master as a man addicted to wine and alcohol (chapter 55), if this was not correct? It is related to the situation how the lord became ill: the orgies and more precisely the presence of Black Heart.

What caught my attention is this: (chapter 33) Compare this sex orgy with the following one: (chapter 8) At Black Heart’s party, wine and tobacco were offered, while in Yoon Seungho’s bedchamber you only had books, pictures and sex. Besides, there were more guests. As you can sense, the parties were totally different: austerity versus luxuriousness. Yes, Min wanted to impress his host Yoon Seungho!! He desired to show him what a true sex orgy was. He desired to prove that he was the real hell-raiser, the real king among nobles.

Besides, another detail caught my attention: (chapter 33) The Joker and the bottle of wine!! The manhwaphiles will certainly recall how the villain offered the expensive alcohol to Yoon Seungho (chapter 19). Moreover, I realized that in episode 33, we have a slight change. While Black Heart is seen first with the pipe full of tobacco, (chapter 33), slowly the author brought the villain in connection to the bottle of wine: And at the end, we have this: (chapter 33) The pipe is no longer present, but Byeonduck focused on the bottle. In my eyes, she desired to outline that Min was slowly getting addicted to alcohol. This means, Black Heart is not only addicted to nicotine and opium, but also wine! Notice this:

  • chapter 43:
  • Chapter 83: .

In these two scenes, Min was serving alcohol or encouraging Jihwa to drink! And now, you have an explanation why the red-haired master became a drunk, when he got abandoned by his lover or tormented by the murder plan. Black Heart was the one introducing this addiction to the second lead. And this interpretation becomes more visible, if the manhwaphiles revisit the event around the failed gangrape.

chapter 51

The person laughing so loudly was in reality Min. You recognize him with his green hanbok. So he was visiting his “acquaintance” and was drinking wine there. While the maid thought, the lord would be the drunk one (chapter 51), I believe that Black Heart was the main consumer!! And now, you comprehend why Yoon Seungho fell into debauchery. (Chapter 55) There was this peer pressure coming Min, who loved luxurious parties. But these parties were no longer sex orgies, for the protagonist was no longer interested in sex. He needed to offer something else to his guests: alcohol and food. Therefore the last picture above is actually more deceiving the readers than anything else. It gives the impression that Yoon Seungho was consuming wine all the time, while in truth he was killing time with these parties. He was alert for the most part of time keeping his thoughts to himself.

But like I outlined above, Black Heart was the one who became more and more addicted. First nicotine, then wine and finally opium. But why? Notice that this coincides with his obsession with the painter. He grabbed the bottle of wine (chapter 33), when Yoon Seungho refused to share his painter with him. So when he heard that Yoon Seungho was organizing parties again, he envisioned that his plan had succeeded. Hence he visited the mansion, yet his loud laugh was actually masking his pain. (chapter 51) He was far from happy, for his fixation on Baek Na-Kyum had not disappeared at all. Therefore, it is not surprising that he started drowning his sorrow. However, alcohol was no longer effective, he needed something stronger to dull his agony. That’s how he discovered opium. And notice that when the lord got punched in the propriety, he felt no pain. (chapter 54) He didn’t protect himself, he had no strength because of the relaxing and sedative effect. He even laughed, a sign that he was under the effect of the drug. (Chapter 54)

However, this doesn’t mean that Min left the house happily! All the guests got evicted like vulgar commoners. His ego was definitely hurt, just like the other nobles’. Therefore on his way out, he told Kim that they had been evicted due to Yoon Seungho’s intoxication. He was under the influence of alcohol and opium. That way, appearances were saved. For the butler, the truth didn’t matter. He could just portray his master as a man living in debauchery, so that no one would ever blame him for this! The appearances were against him. He had indeed organized parties, but they were no longer sex orgies.

The most infuriating is that the butler was to blame for this “relapse”. He had made sure that the painter and his lord would no longer be together. Since he had no sex, then he could only offer wine and food. But there’s another point why I don’t believe that Yoon Seungho ever consumed opium. Since this drug was illegal in Joseon, the butler would have to dirty his own hands to buy such a thing. Besides, notice that the nobles brought the drug themselves. (Chapter 52) This shows that the aristocrats had to buy the opium themselves. This was too dangerous to give this task to a domestic, the latter could definitely betray them. So when Black Heart said that the main lead was smoking opium, his true goal was to ruin the main lead’s reputation. And for Kim, it was perfect. He needed his master to have a bad reputation so that he could live his life peacefully.

4. The connection between sex and drugs

In my opinion, Min’s addictions are his karma. He had to pay a huge price for plotting in order to obtain the painter. He became more and more addicted to the wine, and later to the opium, when he thought that his plan had succeeded. In other words, his opium’s addiction is the divine retribution for hurting the shaman. The irony is that his obsession for Baek Na-Kyum never disappeared. In other words, since he couldn’t have sex with the painter, he replaced sex with drugs. That’s how I realized the following connection. Baek Na-Kyum, Jihwa and Black Heart used drugs to cover up the absence of sex and indirectly love. For me, they somehow symbolize a subterfuge, to mask the absence of passion.

Notice that the artist’s libido is strongly intertwined with the paintings, so the moment he could no longer paint, he was forced to become chaste. Hence he started drinking. (chapter 75) This strong connection between sex and drugs gets even confirmed in the same episode. Notice that in that scene, Yoon Seungho had not sex with the painter for a while, and Baek Na-Kyum was definitely missing it. Naturally, his true desire was to get loved by his companion. For the low-born, sex is a symbol of love. Hence he drunk because of Yoon Seungho. (chapter 75) He felt the need to fill the void. But I believe that the incident with Nameless was a wake-up call for the artist. Through the hug and the music box, he realized that the lord’s affection had not diminished at all. And now, you comprehend why the painter is no longer addicted to the wine. He no longer feels awful and fears abandonment…

As for Jihwa, he drank, when he was happy, for he imagined that he would get his friend’s attention again, or when he was sad, for he had been repudiated. Once he got abandoned, he could no longer have sex… (chapter 36) and he drowned his sorrow in wine. (chapter 59) However, this association between alcohol and his lust for Yoon Seungho started changing, after Jihwa had sex with Nameless. Notice that in episode 83, he is no longer looking like a wreck. (chapter 83) He is still biting his nails, a sign of remorse and fears, but he is no longer obsessed with Yoon Seungho. From my point of view, the torments the second lead suffered in the second season played a huge role. He started drinking alcohol for another reason. (chapter 50) This time, he got afraid of the consequences for the murder. As you can perceive it, there was a slight shifting. This shows that the wine became less and less connected to his obsession with his childhood friend, his desire to have him. This explicates why he was so devastated at the end of the second season. Out of guilt and anxiety, he started drinking again. (chapter 76)

And now, we have to wonder why Lee Jihwa doesn’t seem plagued like in the past. (chapter 83)It is because his father got involved again, and visited father Yoon. The second lead imagines that after his father’s intervention, his problems will be solved. He won’t have to fear for his life, for Yoon Seungho will be sent away to his father. (chapter 82) He knows about his father’s plan. If Yoon Seungho is forced to submit himself to his father, he won’t be able to use his wealth and power to attack him. That’s the reason why he is no longer looking like a wreck. In other words, he is well aware what is going to happen to his friend. He witnessed the abuse, but he doesn’t care, for his “life is in danger”. 🙄 As for Min, he looks more healthy again (chapter 83), for he had to plot in order to achieve his goal. He needed to find a new puppet, lord Lee, and as such he needed to make a good impression. He had to become proactive and become more directly involved. Hence he needed to be more alert.

As for Yoon Seungho’s addiction, it becomes obvious why Yoon Seungho smoked in the past. It was not related to sex, but to his inner turmoil. He had to calm down his frustration and negative emotions. Notice that only he smoked during the day, a sign that this was not connected to sex at all. However, it started changing too. Yoon Seungho felt the need to smoke while having sex with the painter (chapter 45), for he felt something was missing. Consequently, this is not surprising why Yoon Seungho had a sex marathon in the shed after smoking the whole day. It was to contain his rage, but also to mask his strong desire for the painter. What caught my attention is that after their love session, the main lead started smoking again, exactly like in the past. (Chapter 74)However, there is a huge difference. In my opinion, he was trying to control his sexual desires. Remember the quote above: nicotine has a huge effect on libido. That’s another reason why Yoon Seungho was so chaste in the study: (chapter 74)

However, what caught my attention is that during the third season, we never see Yoon Seungho smoking. Though he hurt the painter and felt terrible, he decided to leave the mansion in order to hunt. He wanted to vent his anger and hide his anxieties: (chapter 83) This observation is important, for it shows that he is no longer using tobacco to hide his inner turmoil. That’s why I believe that Yoon Seungho’s addiction was originally linked to his traumas. It was his way to “anesthetize his emotions”, he had the impression that he would become more clear-sighted.

5. Personality and drugs

I have to admit that when I started preparing this analysis, I tried to discover why Min, who is a psychopath, would come to consume drugs. That’s how I discovered that personality indeed plays a huge role.

The Five-Factor Model of Personality

The Five-Factor Model of Personality is a group of five broad trait aspects that help explain personality differences and people’s behavior. The five traits include:

Extraversion- is when someone enjoys being around other people more than being alone.

Neuroticism- is the tendency to be in a negative, stressed, or anxious emotional state.

Agreeableness- is a set of characteristics perceived by others as being sympathetic, warm, kind, and considerate.

Conscientiousness- is being careful or diligent, hoping to do a job or task successfully, and to take obligations seriously. Conscientious people tend to be organized and efficient.

Openness to Experience- indicates how open-minded a person is, and is characterized by being imaginative and curious, and enjoyment in trying new things.

Generally, those who use drugs or alcohol are characterized by having high Neuroticism, high Openness to Experience, low Agreeableness, and low Conscientiousness.

quoted from https://www.fortbehavioral.com/addiction-recovery-blog/personality-traits-related-to-drug-use/

After reading this quote, you can recognize that Black Heart has a predisposition for addiction. He fits the following profile: “high Neuroticism, high Openness to Experience, low Agreeableness, and low Conscientiousness”. He loves experiencing new things (chapter 52), he is always seeking entertainment (chapter 66), a sign that he is not hardworking. He is very sensitive to criticisms, which was underlined in chapter 83 one more time. (chapter 83) Therefore I tried to find out if persons suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder could be suffering emotionally, though they are supposed not to feel any pain and empathy. And yes, such persons are definitely not happy, for they are often lonely.

“psychopaths may be unhappy due to the quality of their interpersonal relationships. Romantic relationships and friendships are critical to happiness. […] The results from our studies suggest that people with high levels of psychopathic tendencies are generally unhappy. They show low levels of positive emotions and life satisfaction, and high levels of negative emotions and depression. Further, this unhappiness is partially explained by the poor quality of their romantic relationships. ” quoted from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-happiness-doctor/201701/are-psychopaths-happy

This explicates why Min was so obsessed with Baek Na-Kyum. (chapter 9) He felt lonely, and hoped that the artist would give him the same gaze, when he looked at the protagonist. He had already snatched Lee Jihwa, but the latter was too obsessed with his childhood friend to look at him in a different way. Min was definitely longing for love, but he could never admit it. Striking is that Min picked his “bride”, exactly like the psychologist Love described it:

“For instance, Love notes that individuals high on the psychopathy spectrum prefer friends who contribute to their volatile lifestyles, such as criminals, fellow thrill-seekers, or ego-feeding suck-ups. Teaching psychopaths how to form healthier, more positive, interpersonal relationships with emotionally stable individuals, however, may help to reduce their antisocial behaviors.” quoted from https://qz.com/819283/can-people-who-have-psychopathic-symptoms-feel-love-or-be-truly-happy/

And now, you comprehend why Min was dissatisfied with Lee Jihwa in the end. The latter was a delinquent, a selfish man who desired Yoon Seungho’s constant attention. He could never give him the attention and love Black Heart was longing. (chapter 66) Hence he could only view the second lead as his puppet. That’s why The Joker had to use “drugs” to mask his emptiness and longing for affection.

On the other hand, the Five-Factor Model of Personality explicates why Yoon Seungho never fell into debauchery so deeply. First, he didn’t have many addictions despite suffering for a decade. His tumultuous sex life was influenced by the brainwashing and his traumatic past. In my opinion, the principles from Taoism were another reason why the protagonist never became a drunk or desired to smoke opium. Then he reads books, but no one knows this except the butler. Finally, he definitely worked hard, for he could gather wealth and create connections. From my point of view, the enemies are definitely underestimating his power.

As a conclusion, when in chapter 52 we had this cold war between Black Heart and Yoon Seungho, we didn’t assist to a sex party, but to a drug party: tobacco, opium and wine. There was no sex at all!! Hence Yoon Seungho had no erection… however, they attempted to turn this into a sex orgy (chapter 54), but fortunately they failed. Thus when I look again at this sex orgy (chapter 8), I can only view this as quite harmless: this party reflected the main lead’s purity. He is definitely no hell-raiser!! The real one is Black Heart, but father Lee has not realized it yet, for he believes in reputation and rumors. Since Min was able to keep his name intact, the lord Lee trusted in the noble’s integrity. He never discovered that his son was under the influence of a vicious and perverted man. I would say now, Jihwa is supporting a murderer. (chapter 83)

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

Painter Of The Night: Time ⏳ and crime (second version)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 3 Comments

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

This won‘t be a long analysis like “The end of the vicious circle”, for my main purpose here is to try to reconstruct Yoon Seungho’s terrible past, and as such its chronology.

1. The incident in the study

We know now for sure that the starting point of Yoon Seungho‘s downward spiral was the incident with Jihwa.

Chapter 77: The young boy was caught doing something immoral, though like I elaborated it in my previous analysis, there‘s no doubt, the main lead was drugged, and Jihwa had been somehow manipulated. While some might see two teenagers fooling around, I have a different perspective. Then I came to realize why the perception from the manhwaphiles diverges so much. It is, because the readers are actually projecting their own thoughts and expectations. Hence this is normal that certain readers are still expecting something innocent and pure. Yet, since I believe, Yoon Seungho was never a sodomite from the start, but was turned into one, for me the smile and gaze from Yoon Seungho in that scene seemed so fake and artificial, especially if you compare it to this one: (chapter 57) versus (chapter 77) In the first one he oozes innocence and affection, in the other he’s in ecstasy, roofied. However, we have to envision that this smile could have just been a projection of the butler, which means that this represents a distorted memory. Like I explained in my previous essay, the noble has the same gaze than the painter under the influence of opium and alcohol.

“Date rape drugs make a sexual assault, including rape easier  in one or more ways, such as:

  • making a victim more compliant and less able to say no
  • weakening a victim so they are unable to resist or fight back
  • making a victim fully or partially unconscious
  • weakening a victim’s inhibitions, so they consent to sexual activity they may otherwise decline” quoted from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320409#types

And if you pay attention to Yoon Seungho, he was not active at all. He was behaving like the painter in chapter 54.

2. Kim’s past actions

Observe the butler‘s actions. He opens the door without announcing himself. But remember the butler’s MO, it is to delay to deliver the information. We could observe this on different occasions like chapter 44 or 50. He never told the painter about the scholar’s departure(chapter 44), just like he only reported the conversation between Jung In-Hun and Baek Na-Kyum many weeks later. (chapter 50) That’s why I come to the conclusion that he never ran immediately to father Yoon in order to report the incident. The butler just needed to inform him later. While in the past, I used to think that he had used rumors again as an excuse, I have now a different perception. For me, it was someone else badmouthing the main lead, well aware that father Yoon feared gossips the most, (chapter 50) an older version of this image. This explicates why Yoon Seungho had regained consciousness and could fight back against the servants, when he got dragged to the shed. (chapter 77) Besides, observe that the main lead was sequestrated in the storage room on two occasions at least.

3. The shed and study

Hence Yoon Chang-Hyeon ordered to drag the young boy to the barn. (chapter 77) However, since it happened twice, I am deducing that this was not the case for the second time. But if you pay attention to Yoon Seungho‘s bedroom, you will notice that he was living in the actual painter‘s study. (chapter 77) And this means that the intelligent noble was in a privileged situation. Remember Jihwa’s words: (chapter 05) With this remark, the noble expressed a certain annoyance, for he would live next to Yoon Seungho. This truly shows that the painter’s room was a sign of Yoon Seungho‘s favoritism towards the low-born. So if the main lead had such a good reputation and was even favored by the eldest master, this signifies that he could only attract people‘s gaze. Thus some persons definitely envied or resented him, like Yoon Seung-Won and father Lee. And it occurred to me that the younger master had every reason to feel jealous of his elder brother. He might have had the impression that his father had no eyes for him. In other words, he could only benefit from such an incident. If his brother lost his father‘s favor, then he imagined that he would get noticed by his father. As you can imagine, I believe that someone must have poisoned Yoon Seung-Won‘s mind. From my point of view, only a grown-up could have access to the drug. I can‘t shake the butler‘s philosophy from my mind: „Ignorance is a blessing“! The person behind the plot knew about the children‘s weaknesses (innocence, longing for love and recognition, desire) and decided to use them to his advantage.

4. He is not in his right mind

But then suddenly it occurred to me that chapter 77 is a reflection of episode 5. Note the resemblance. Jihwa talked here about virginity by opening the commoner’s shirt. The manhwaphiles will certainly remember that during that night, the noble got rejected, for the lord’s mind was elsewhere! And here we have a proof that Yoon Seungho acted differently in the past. His mind was elsewhere due to the drug, but he didn’t stop his friend. Observe the similarity between the gestures: (chapter 5) (chapter 77) The young boy’s head stood above his childhood friend, exactly like with the painter. Jihwa also removed the shirt, but since the low-born stopped him, this signifies that Yoon Seungho had the opposite reaction. He was allowing his friend to kiss and touch him. However, the young noble couldn’t enjoy this moment, as the butler arrived so that the red-haired aristocrat ran away and abandoned him. Very early on, I had elaborated that Jihwa must have done something to his friend and ran away in order not to get caught. I had come to this deduction due to the incident with the door and the painter’s worries. He feared to have been seen.

5. The reflections in the kaleidoscope

That’s how I recognized a certain pattern in this story, the final proof that the story is built like a kaleidoscope:

  • chapter 05:
  • Chapter 16: Here, the artist was imitating the red-haired aristocrat’s actions in the past. The only difference is that he was the passive one!! Striking is that both chapters have something in common: one is always seducing the other, and the latter isn’t accepting the advances. In addition, the masturbation was not disclosed to anyone, yet someone notified Jihwa about the painter’s late return.
  • Chapter 17: I judge this episode as a reflection from chapter 5, for the gestures are similar: the hand on the painter’s shoulder. Furthermore, the readers will note the presence of the sweets, the butler carrying food, but he’s avoiding the lord’s chamber. At no moment, he reports Jihwa’s trespassing, his master only discovers the assault, for he hears the commotion. The artist wouldn’t have been slapped, if the staff had immediately announced Jihwa’s visit. Striking is the aristocrat’s confession: (chapter 17) Other common points with chapter 77: “seduction”, the violence of the noble, his rage because he feels that the painter is lying and had lost his virginity with Yoon Seungho. Besides, I would like to point out that the lord only discovered Jihwa’s assault through the gossip. He came too late, hence he couldn’t stop Jihwa from insulting and slapping the low-born.
  • chapter 50: Jihwa was living in anxieties that he needed alcohol, an indication that in the past he must have struggled as well. We have to imagine that back then, he feared that his father Lee would hear about this incident, but father Yoon never let transpire the incident to the outside world. From my point of view, father Lee must have denied his son’s actions, but the aristocrat with dragon’s eyes was no fool. And remember that I used the same chapter to outline that Kim communicated the information to his master in delay. Note that in this episode, time was essential. Both figures were struggling. While the one hoped, the murder would be done soon to put an end to his suffering, the other had the impression that he was running out of time. He couldn’t change the artist’s heart and mind, too wounded.
  • Chapter 57: The visit to the physician showed us the lord’s past. Back then he got hurt by his father, but he was still looking fine. More importantly, he still trusted his butler. Father Yoon requested some medicine, for he believed that his son was not right in his mind. The physician presented the box full of drug which Kim has been giving to his master since his youth.
  • Chapter 66: Here, Min arrived unannounced at the mansion and could observe in the lord’s chamber what Yoon Seungho had done. Here, he revealed the so-called culprit for the painter’s disappearance. The common denominators are: the delayed disclosure about the crime, the servants not doing their job and gossiping, the passivity of the butler.
  • Chapter 67: After the main lead had discovered the crime disclosed by Min, he rushed to father Lee’s mansion and caused a commotion. What caught my attention is that we had again an incident with a door. In addition, Jihwa couldn’t run away. He was trapped in the room, yet he refused to face his friend. The other similarities are another rejection and the delayed arrival of father Lee putting the blame on Yoon Seungho.

And now pay attention to the number of the episodes: 05 – 16 (1+6 = 7) – 17 (1/ 1+6) – 50 – 57 (50+ 1+6) – 66 ( 5+1/ 5+1) – 67 (6 / 6 + 1) – 77 (1+6 /6+1) Here we have the kaleidoscope. For me this is no coincidence. But more importantly, all these chapters contain seduction, but also rejection, resistance and the presence of drug.

6. Jihwa’s dream

And by putting these chapters together, we get finally the evidence that Jihwa was the boy in the protagonist’s room. Then it came to my mind why the red-haired master was still unhappy in his relationship with Yoon Seungho. When he was wooing his friend in his youth, he saw the friend’s smile and gaze and imagined that he had been accepted. (chapter 77) I also believed that he had to envision this smile from Yoon Seungho to justify his action. An older version from this chapter: (chapter 19) That’s why Jihwa was blushing the whole time. His dream seemed to have come true!! But unfortunately, they got interrupted. But he didn’t realize that this “dream” was just an illusion, and he had been played. Because he had opened the friend’s shirt, he noticed his virginity. That’s why he had an eye for that. (chapter 5) He had gained this experience with his friend. Since I see some parallels between chapter 77 and the first Wedding Night, which stands for illusion and dream, it becomes even more evident that Yoon Seungho had been drugged and both young boys got played. During all these years of separation, the second lead kept his virginity intact for his friend. Once the main lead got betrayed and abandoned, Jihwa saw finally that his dream could come true. Since Yoon Seungho’s gaze had haunted him for so long, he hoped to obtain the same gaze, as in his mind it was the symbol of love and affection. Besides, he had another reason for approaching his friend. Since he had caused his downfall, deep down he imagined that if they became a real couple, then he could do as if the time of their separation had never happened. They would live, as if nothing had happened.

And now, you comprehend why Jihwa was so sure that his friend would never purse and seduce another man! (chapter 17) Yoon Seungho had never done it to him. Remember my observation: the main lead had been totally passive in the study due to the drug. In fact, he had never rejected anyone, (chapter 52) because he had been trained as a kisaeng. And these observations made me recognize another important aspect: Jihwa, exactly like Baek Na-Kyum, has never discovered that sex could be a form of violence. From my point of view, the chapter 77 shows us that sexual assaults can take many different forms. Using a KO-drug is definitely a crime, but due to Jihwa’s lack of experience, he couldn’t recognize the true nature of the situation.

That’s why I believe that Jihwa will still help Min, because he feels bound to him by secrecy. He is acting like the butler, he wants to survive and not get caught, that’s his driven motivation. However, he will be cornered and forced to make a decision: save his own skin or help someone. In my first version, I had written that the moment he discovered Min’s actions, he would be able to judge the situation correctly this time. And this expectation became a reality. (chapter 100) Black Heart taught Lee Jihwa an important lesson, the importance of consent. Someone can be forced to sex, which the second lead never truly grasped. He had to pay a huge price for the stolen kiss and his betrayal 10 years later. Interesting is that Lee Jihwa ran away, because he rejected to be responsible for the painter’s death, a synonym for Yoon Seungho’s curtains. (chapter 100) This is what I had also written in the first version.

However, as you can imagine, I am expecting a growth from the second lead. He will make the opposite choice than Kim, save the painter, while I am more than ever convinced that the butler won’t change his bad habit.

7. The chronology

But let’ s return our attention to chapter 77. When the butler opened the door, the second lead ran away leaving his friend behind. But Kim didn’t report the incident right away, he started spreading some rumor. Why? It is because we have the presence of rumors in chapter 17, 50, 57, 66 and 67. And notice that 17, 57, 66 and 67, he never stopped people from gossiping, while in chapter 50 he revealed the intel as rumor.

Since all the episodes involve the unannounced visit of a noble (17, 50: here Seungho barged in the scholar’s room, 57, 66, 67), I could only come to the conclusion that father Lee was the one who paid a visit to father Yoon, and revealed the incident by naturally putting the whole blame onto Yoon Seungho. But unlike in chapter 67, father Lee visited discreetly the mansion, as he feared gossips. That’s why the physician mentions that Jihwa was supposed to have the illness (chapter 57), but he could never identify the issue. And now, you comprehend why father Lee was red, totally embarrassed (chapter 67), for he was well aware of the truth. We have many possibilities here. Either someone leaked the info to the father secretly, or the son must have confided to him about the incident. Remember that in chapter 68, the painter confided to her his deepest fears and struggles. Let’s not forget that the son had hired an amateur spy in order to be updated about the events occurring in Yoon Seungho’s mansion. Consequently, I am inclined that the incident must have reached father Lee’s ears, and in order to maintain his respectability, he preferred covering up the commotion by blaming the elder son Yoon.

Since father Lee had intervened and Kim chose to reveal the “truth”, father Yoon could only perceive the incident as a truth. Consequently, father Yoon ordered his servants to drag Yoon Seungho and to confront his son. From my point of view, father Lee was questioned as well, but as you can imagine, he covered up his own son’s action. Since everyone was pointing the finger at the main lead, no one sided with the young boy. In other words, he got not only blamed, but also framed.

Right after he asked his staff to drag him to the shed as a punishment. But as you can imagine, Yoon Seungho couldn’t have any idea why his father reacted like that, for he had been drugged. He had no recollection, hence he denied the existence of the incident. However, the father chose to believe Kim, as he had the crowd. Imagine his reactions: the main lead had to hear from him what he had supposedly done. I would like to point out that victims of rape due to KO-drug suffer from immense guilt, as they showed no resistance or even seemed to “enjoy” the incident.

The valet gaslighted the poor boy by making him feel guilty (chapter 77), but despite his harsh and cruel words, the young protagonist chose to continue trusting him and his words. Let’s not forget that Kim claimed that his father would fix his “problems”. (chapter 77) From my point of view, the young master was determined to show good will and to listen to Kim’s advice.

Because he was sent to the shed and we see the straw mat beating right after, we have the impression that this was the punishment he received for this incident. But this was an illusion created by the author. Why? First, when the father visited the doctor, the young boy was still looking fine. He had such a rosy complexion, and still admired and trusted the butler. However, the main lead’s gaze changed after the straw mat beating. He recognized that he had been betrayed and abandoned by Kim. Observe the slight movement of the iris. First, the iris is directed at Kim, then it moves in the opposite direction. By looking away, he clearly unveils his inner thoughts and emotions: he has been betrayed and abandoned by his butler. He resents him, yet until that moment he was still willing to trust despite the multiple betrayals. He is disillusioned.

But there’s another indication that the straw mat beating didn’t occur right away. It is, because of the following panel: (chapter 55) First, there’s no rain. Secondly, Yoon Seungho was feverish and his eyes were so bruised after the harsh punishment that I doubt he could still see clearly the boy’s gesture so from faraway. So for me, that’s the moment when he is dragged into the courtyard and not during the straw mat beating. In the past, I used to think, it was Yoon Seung-Won, but then after the latest episode I started doubting it. However, like one of my followers reminded me that Byeonduck had confirmed about Yoon Seung-Won’s identity. Yet, observe that the lord and the boy have no face. Why? It is because the two persons embody not only Yoon Chang-Hyeon and Yoon Seung-Won, but also father Lee and Lee Jihwa. The scholar Lee was the one who had asked for the flogging! That’s the reason why he said this to the lord years later: (chapter 82) This statement proves that he had done it before! Furthermore, the red-haired master is connected to the straw mat beating. (chapter 12) This explicates why Lee Jihwa resented the brother and the father, for in his eyes they were responsible for his childhood friend’s suffering. And since the father had done it once, then he had no problem to order a second flogging or straw mat beating, just like the king Yeonjo who punished the Crown Prince Sado so brutally. So because the eldest master next to Seung-Won is dressed differently in chapter 77: (chapter 77) I could only come to the conclusion that these two panels are not referring to the same incident.

From my point of view, Yoon Seungho received the second straw mat beating after the rape!! And this means that Kim had been present, but he had not intervened. (chapter 65) Here, he had been brought back to the past. Remember the past mirrors the present. In my eyes, the rape of the main lead occurred at the same time than the painter’s. It took place in fall. So when did Baek Na-Kyum get sick?

It was after the first sex marathon! He was dragged to the bedchamber and due to the long sex session, he got sick. Notice the parallels:

  • he is so wounded, but the father refuses to call for a doctor (chapter 33)
  • it is raining, and the painter got sick due to the wet clothes (chapter 27/29)
  • Father Yoon abandons his son and leaves him behind. He doesn’t even carry his son himself. (chapter 33) Note that Yoon Seungho called for a doctor, he even carried himself to the study and waited there, until the doctor had given his prescription.

And now, the manhwaphiles comprehend why I came to this interpretation.

What happened is the following. Once he had been abandoned by the father, the rapist could approach him and have sex with him. Kim heard the boy’s resistance, but he chose to remain outside, until the man was finished. (chapter 65) I am quite sure that the butler’s passivity was justified that it was done for the main lead’s sake. However, once it was over, the butler was forced to see the consequences of his bad choice. But the valet refused to become responsible and gaslighted the young master again. If he had not kissed Lee Jihwa, if he had put his prick in the hole etc… The main character had still acted like a dog and a cat, and this time he reported it to his master directly so that the latter came to the conclusion that Yoon Seungho was still useful for him. Or the eldest master knew about it anyway. But the main lead never got to discover that Kim had heard him outside the room, but had remained silent and passive.

And now, you comprehend why Yoon Seungho was so hurt and disappointed by Kim. Kim never protected him or even defended him at all. He made sure that the young boy would be blamed and should feel guilty or he remained paralyzed and speechless. He never rushed to his care. And since father Yoon speaks “chambers”, this means that the protagonist had already become the lord Song’s “favored servant.” But he had not reached the bottom, he needed to become a kisaeng. In my eyes, the young boy got punished, as he was still refusing his role as „favored servant“. And now, you comprehend why Kim threatened the doctor in chapter 33. The latter had reminded the butler of his own wrongdoings: (chapter 33) Back then, he not only followed his master’s requests, but also he did nothing at all. He stayed immobile and shocked. (chapter 77) I believe that when the valet looked at the young boy’s gaze and perceived his own true reflection (a disgusting and fake domestic), the man was surprised. He never imagined that he would be judged differently: (chapter 67) The main lead must have thought similarly. But due to the long exposure to abuse and to the drug, Yoon Seungho repressed these thoughts and emotions.

8. The beneficiaries

So if my theory is correct (Yoon Seungho was drugged), we have to question ourselves. Who benefitted the most from the protagonist’s downfall?

  • Yoon Seung-Won: he could finally obtain the study next to his father’s bedchamber. He would finally get some “recognition”. And note that the brother got dressed exactly like the main lead. He had finally reached his goal: he was the better son.
  • the pedophile
  • Father Yoon: I am convinced that the father made a deal with the rapist. Now, the author has revealed that it was Yoon Seungho in the kisaeng house (chapter 68). Father Yoon imagined that if he had sex with a kisaeng house, he would be cured. However, something happened in the gibang. The young boy refused which forced the nobles to intervene. Yoon Seungho got dragged and tied up by the black guards. Naturally, father Yoon could only jump to the conclusion that with such a rejection, Yoon Seungho was admitting his homosexuality. This could only reinforce the prejudices the father had about his son. The irony is that with such an attempt, father Yoon exposed that he was a man obsessed with sex. He never understood that sex is strongly intertwined with love and warmth. Thus I deduce that father Yoon never associated sex to affection. For him, it was either a synonym for power, submission or duty as the noble has to make sure that he has sons to continue the legacy. With this new insight, I come to the conclusion that the man was totally fooled by his surroundings and most importantly by the rapist. Everyone lied out of selfishness and cowardice, and let the young boy take the whole burden. Hence the father truly believed in his son’s homosexuality and out of resent and contempt, when he saw an opportunity to use his son for his own career, he was trained as a kisaeng. In my eyes, this idea was definitely suggested by the pedophile, though I doubt that he was directly involved in the incident in the kisaeng house. And the man dreamed of bringing greatness to the Yoons with his “connections”. However, this was just a pyrrhic victory, as both Yoons lost more than they gained, for the rapist hadn’t kept his promise.

That’s why I believe that the younger brother was indeed involved in the first incident misguided by the rapist, instilling his jealousy, an older version of Min and Jihwa. But the young son never imagined that his father would treat his brother like that. The panel from chapter 55 exposes Yoon Seung-Won’s guilt and silence. But as time passed on, he could still benefit from this. He finally got recognition from his father. (chapter 86) But it was in detriment of the Yoons’ power! The father lost everything, yet the younger master didn’t suffer much from it first, until he reached adulthood. Now, the father was putting his whole hope on him, and that’s how Yoon Seung-Won realized the existence of such a burden. That’s the reason why he contacted his brother again. He hoped to get an office through his brother’s connections and power. Remember that Baek Na-Kyum’s real torment started with the arrival of the learned sir to the mansion. Hence the moment “lord Song” came to the propriety, he started scheming to achieve his goal: he was bewitched by the young protagonist, he needed to taste him. However, from my point of view, the pedophile had sent the butler for this exact purpose. He must have definitely known how Kim would behave in there. I have already exposed that for me, the butler represents the poisoned gift from chapter 19. (chapter 19)

But since the whole tragedy was caused by delayed information, I deduce that timing is essential, especially when it comes to “justice”. Since the “accomplices” and “perpetratrors” never got punished, they imagined that they had escaped human justice. However, karma was waiting for them. Jihwa was never happy, though he had become the main lead’s lover. Why? It is because he had to live with his guilt. Moreover, he had wished to obtain Yoon Seungho’s love. In other words, he was living an illusion. The brother didn’t gain anything in the end, as his comfortable life and good reputation were based on Yoon Seungho’s suffering. Secondly, father Yoon almost lost everything. However, I doubt that all of them learned their lesson, just like the pedophile. This explicates why Yoon Chang-Hyeon schemed again in season 3. (chapter 94) He hoped to appear as a good lord, while his son had mistreated his own messenger.

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

Painter Of The Night: Love and Sex 👨‍❤️‍👨 (second version)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 18 Comments

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

Feel free to make some donations/sponsoring: Ko-fi.com/bebebisous33  That way, you can support me with “coffee” so that I have the energy to keep examining manhwas. It would also cover my expenses for the blog.

When I examined the sex scenes from the first season (see the analysis “Sex or Love?), I realized that each character had different expectations from the sexual encounters. They were either looking for sex or for love, but each time they were not able to express their desire and even to recognize the distinction. Why couldn’t they sense the difference? It is related to the way the characters were raised.

1. Sex and philosophy

On the one hand, Baek Na-Kyum was taught by the learned sir and Heena noona that sex and as such homosexuality was dirty (chapter 34), only spiritual love was allowed (chapter 19) (chapter 68). This signified that in his education, not only sex was prohibited, but also sexual desires were denied. Although love was expressed through hugs (chapter 66) (chapter 68) and caresses (chapter 10) (chapter 68), they were devoid of sexuality. The painter experienced love, but was not allowed to experience sexuality. He was only authorized to paint it for the scholar’s sake. On the other side, Yoon Seungho was raised the opposite: love was not allowed, as it was a sign of submission and weakness. Sex was permitted, because it was considered as a fight in order to defeat his opponent. These were the butler’s doctrines. That way, he could still have a connection to the main lead. If he came to love someone (the pedophile), the lord could definitely abandon the valet and reveal his betrayals. In other words, he used pity as a way to tame the lord. At the same time, sex also served to gain some benefit, as it was an exchange of favors (giving versus receiving), (Chapter 71). I connect this philosophy to the king and indirectly to the butler. With sex, the nobles could exchange some favors. These huge divergences in the mindset explicate why there were so many misunderstandings between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum, as their education diverged so much.

2. Sex and prostitution

Yet, despite the contrast, both educations had something in common: prostitution. Heena noona hates sex, because it is related to her work. The scholar rejects it, for it is beneath him. He expects the low-borns (Baek Na-Kyum and Heena noona) to become his prostitutes, if it’s necessary, while he can maintain his image of a proper scholar. Father Yoon used his son as a prostitute, and the main lead realized it after his father’s betrayal and abandonment. This explicates why “prostitution” stands in the center of the second season. For Baek Na-Kyum was brought to the mansion against his will, but he received certain privileges, his status was never clearly defined. Although Yoon Seungho thought, he had won the battle (chapt45), as the painter had accepted him as his sexual partner, he had to realize slowly that he was wrong. He imagined that since the artist had remained by his side and was accepting to have sex with him, he had achieved what he wanted: in his unconscious it was to be loved. Yet, it was just an illusion. The painter saw himself as a whore and the master as a man consumed by lust. As you can see, the noble was forced to judge the nature of the sexual encounters differently. He had associated sex to love due to their Wedding night, therefore he imagined that the moment the painter was accepting him, the problem was solved. He would be able to relive this wonderful moment, but however nothing like that happened. He felt never satisfied, as there were no feelings at all. Hence he even had sex during the day, believing that the artist’s lack of experience was the problem. (Chapter 45) While the lord became Baek Na-Kyum’s sexual emancipator, the painter became the lord’s teacher for love. This explicates why the low-born forced the lord to question his own identity and feelings.

But let’s return our focus on the common denominator: prostitution. As long as the painter chose to stay, because he had a roof over his head and could eat properly, we could definitely say that till 49 his stay at the mansion was indeed closer to prostitution than a master- servant relationship, because the commoner was never treated like a domestic. He only had sex with the lord and had some privileges. (chapter 46) He was never asked to do other work, although the artist tried to change his situation. Since he was behaving like a whore, he felt that he had no right to express any thought and emotion. He couldn’t show any pleasure. That’s why there were no feelings in their sex encounters, and the lord could sense the difference. Consequently, when the lord realized that he was still perceived as a man consumed by sex (chapter 48), he changed his behavior. He acted like a real client at the brothel (chapter 48), but at the same time he cornered the painter to have multiple climaxes in order to let him experience that he liked having sex with him. (chapter 49) As you can observe, the lord linked sensuality to love. If he could provoke ejaculations, then it meant that the artist was definitely feeling something for him. However, the moment the lord liberated the painter from his pejorative perception about himself (he is a prostitute), the painter reacted the exact opposite. Now, he was the one using Yoon Seungho, the latter was his plaything. (Chapter 49), his prostitute, for he was the one procuring pleasure to Yoon Seungho. As you can see, the roles had been switched. This means that now the painter had the upper-hand in their relationship. We could even say that the noble was willing to accept his fate. (Chapter 49) Yet there was a difference from the past. Yoon Seungho would feel pleasure as well. This is not surprising that Kim chose to intervene and separate the couple right after. Without sex, the painter had no power over the master. That’s the reason why the butler revealed his knowledge the morning after. The protagonist had to hear from his butler the real cause for Baek Na-Kyum’s passivity and torpor: (chapter 50). Through this revelation, the lord was indirectly confronted by his own reflection: he was indeed asking from Baek Na-Kyum sexual favors in exchange for his stay at the mansion. That’s the reason why the lord had a “relapse“ and kept his distance from the painter.

3. Abstinence and love

However, because Yoon Seungho was now associating sexual pleasure with the painter, the noble was no longer able to have sex at all. Don’t forget that Baek Na-Kyum symbolizes love. Seungho-Ya 😉 couldn’t even get an erection with a fellatio given by someone else. (chapter 52). This was important, because for the noble, it meant that he could no longer have sex with other partners. Without sex, the lord was forced to question himself and ponder on the true nature of his relationship with Baek Na-Kyum. He felt jealousy during that night, he was very protective as well. (Chapter 52) His sexuality had already become an expression of his love, although the main lead was still unaware of his own feelings. That’s why I come to the conclusion, chapter 52 was actually revealing Yoon Seungho’s monogamy, although it looked the opposite. And this becomes truly visible, when the gangrape was about to occur. He felt no urge, when he was with the guests, yet the moment he brought the artist to the bedchamber, he couldn’t stop himself from kissing his loved one. (chapter 54) He was definitely longing for his warmth. This explicates why the noble got so infuriated, when he was confronted with the consequence of his bad decision: (chapter 54) the artist was on the verge to be no longer monogamous, as he would be tasted by other aristocrats. In this scene, the lord would have indeed become a client and pimp, if he hadn’t chased away his guests. Although the painter was indeed upset afterwards about this incident (chapter 55), deep down he sensed that his master had protected him. This night was important for the main lead: he was forced to admit his own feelings for the painter. Therefore, we could say that the issue with the prostitution was solved after chapter 54. Yoon Seungho thought that the moment he confessed, the painter would get scared and run away, but it didn’t happen. Why? Love among men and especially between a brutal noble and a commoner, was a taboo, like Min had underlined. Secondly, if the lord had indeed feelings for him, he had behaved like a beast during that night. He had mistreated Baek Na-Kyum. In his mind, the artist would never accept him.Besides, the painter had clearly denied the affection from the main lead. In his eyes, the painter’s words were indicating a rejection. (chapter 54) Thus I conclude that Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum had come to an implicit agreement: they had a master-servant relationship (chapter 56), although Baek Na-Kyum started perceiving himself as a domestic from chapter 51 on again. He kept following the head-maid and Kim (chapter 51) in order to help them. Therefore the readers could witness the return of the white headband in chapter 52: his task was to paint for his master. (Chapter 52)

However, this new situation didn’t last long due to the artist’s abduction. The lord thought that since he had properly confessed to his servant (chapter 62) here, he whispered to Baek Na-Kyum that he adored him), he would bind the artist to himself.

4. The real relapse: sex, the symbol of submission

Nevertheless the commoner disappeared making Yoon Seungho think that the moment he revealed his vulnerability, he got betrayed and abandoned. This explicates why the noble punished the artist, when he was found. Since they had a master-servant relationship and the artist had run away, this meant that Baek Na-Kyum was rejecting the lord’s love. Hence he could only treat him like his sex toy (chapter 63), exactly like he had wished in chapter 49. The only difference is that this time, the painter was here for the lord’s pleasure. The roles had been switched again. As the manhwaphiles can perceive, the noble and painter had a similar reaction: they both tried to deny the existence of love in their relationship. That’s the reason why the noble stopped the artist from confessing: (chapter 63) They just had a sexual relationship which could provoke pleasure, but that was it. But in order to ensure that the artist wouldn’t run away again, he used sex to “tame“ Baek Na-Kyum. If the main lead could procure multiple climaxes to the artist, then the latter was forced to admit that only Yoon Seungho could be his “partner“. This explicates why the noble kept pointing out how the artist would react to his lover’s body. (Chapter 63) (chapter 64) He was moaning and would ejaculate constantly thanks to the main lead. Yet, during this second marathon, the noble was actually deceiving himself. (Chapter 62)

5. Love and servitude

Although he treated the painter like a servant, as the latter was asked to paint, Yoon Seungho couldn’t help himself cleaning Baek Na-Kyum and bringing him to his bedchamber. (Chapter 65) This shows that the painter had gained a new position: he was indeed a favored servant. He was allowed to spend the night in his lover’s bed and he could see the lord getting dressed. (Chapter 65) The slight change was that now the main lead was aware of this. This truly exposes the lord’s affection for the artist. He might have treated him like a plaything in the shed, in reality he had attempted to show “his skills“ as a lover. He had licked him, bit him and the painter had felt pleasure, though he kept saying no! This is not surprising that Yoon Seungho had denied the kiss in the study. (Chapter 64) Because that’s how he had been deceived that night in the study. (Chapter 49) Baek Na-Kyum had silenced him with the kiss, as the main lead was about to protest. (Chapter 49) When he mentioned the kiss, the symbol for love, in his confession, it was connected to sensuality and not affection. Hence he didn‘t kiss him at the end of the second marathon. As a conclusion, by bringing the artist to his bedchamber, the lord never realized that his action was betraying his words from the night before. They were definitely more than 2 naked bodies. The lord trusted the painter so that he could lie down next to him in the bed. (Chapter 65) Striking is that Heena noona’s intervention destroyed their terrible but short-lived master-servant relationship, because the noble was faced with the truth: he had brought back the artist to the mansion against his will. (chapter 65) What caught my attention is that the painter’s disappearance mirrored the lord’s wrongdoing. Lee Jihwa and the main lead had both kidnapped the artist. That’s why I believe that when he heard Heena’s words in the study (chapter 68), the noble could only come to the following conclusion: he could only let the painter choose his destiny. But the moment the artist decided to remain by his side, he needed to change Baek Na-Kyum’s position in the mansion. He was no longer a servant, but a noble guest. Hence the lord tied the scarf like aristocrats did. (chapter 69) Consequently, we could say that the painter had a similar status than Jung In-Hun. Yet, there was a huge difference: the owner of the mansion was now acting like the painter’s servant. Hence Deok-Jae’s words came true: (chapter 46).

6. Nobility and love

From chapter 69 on, there were two masters in the mansion: (chapter 71). Why? It is because the lord made the decision that the painter chose him, then this means that he became his wife, though at the end of season 2, he was not thinking about marriage yet. He was not aware of this perception. By becoming his official partner, the spouse obtains the status of his husband: nobility. This explicates why the lord ate with his lover (chapter 74) and allowed him to smoke. Then in season 3, he gave him ladies-in-waiting in order to give him some company. (Chapter 78) He even gave him the music box, which was mistaken as a dowry. However, the problem is that the painter was still fighting his own feelings for the protagonist due to Heena noona’s words and past experience with the scholar. He feared that this new situation was too beautiful to be true, hence he thought that the lord’s feelings would fade away. But there was another reason for doubting the lord’s affection: there was no sex. (chapter 74) The painter had come to associate sex with love too. Yet, the moment he relived his trauma, he only found comfort and safety in the lord’s embrace. (Chapter 76) The main lead didn’t reject the painter’s urge for a hug in front of commoners. At no moment, Yoon Seungho felt embarrassment. He treated him like a special treasure. That’s how the painter came to realize that Yoon Seungho‘s love for him was true and genuine. Consequently, he decided to rely on him and to trust him. That’s why in this panel, the painter closed his eyes: (chapter 76) We could say that he was reminded of his own past. When he was a child, he sensed love through hugs and caresses. Since the painter could feel the lord’s genuine affection and warmth, he recognized that even when there was no sex, love was present. All his senses made him perceive the lord’s love: (chapter 76) His words showed his care and concern, then he bought him an expensive music box. (Chapter 76)

7. The symbols for the couple‘s love

But by accepting the noble’s affection, the painter was also incited to question his affection for Yoon Seungho. On the other hand till chapter 94, he hadn’t voiced it yet. As you can see, the abstinence at the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3 had a important function. It helped the painter to admit the existence of love and more precisely the lord’s affection for him, a reflection of the lord’s situation in season 2 (50-54). Simultaneously, it meant that the painter could no longer deny his attachment to Yoon Seungho too. Therefore it is not surprising that in the bedchamber, when the artist tried to initiate a kiss, it could be perceived as the start of a love confession. (Chapter 80) And now, you comprehend why the painter didn‘t confess during that night. He got interrupted. The kiss was the symbol for their love. Thus it is no coincidence that just after his confession,. (Chapter 94) the painter initiated a long and sensual kiss with his “husband“. (Chapter 95) Since the painter had received caresses and embraces in his childhood, he came to view the kiss as the symbol for true love. And note that the kisses exchanged in the gibang were full of passion and love. This was the perfect combination of love and sex. (Chapter 95)

On the other hand, the lord had developed a different preference: the locked gaze, the warm embrace and the joined hands. Thus when he confessed his affection for the painter in the kisaeng house, observe what he did: (Chapter 96) This shows that Yoon Seungho has always longed for a pure and spiritual love in the first place. His sexual preferences were already palpable in the last love session (season 2): (chapter 72) We could say that he discovered all his sexual preferences thanks to the painter.

Thus my prediction in the first version that the painter would express his love through sex later came true. He tried to initiate it with a kiss. He was moved by the lord’s loving gaze and smile. (Chapter 80) But he failed due to the intervention of the butler and other schemers. Besides, the whispering of „Kyumah“ could only make his heart race. Let’s not forget that his painting in the sand (chapter 1) externalized his own philosophy: love and sex can’t be separated. Note that the couple is is hugging and kissing at the same time! 😍 This picture will represent the peak of their love! Striking is that when the couple confirmed their mutual affection, they did in the kisaeng house, the symbol for prostitution. This truly exposed that Yoon Seungho had been treated like a male night servant in the past. .

As you can imagine, I am expecting a new version of this love session. (chapter 72) in the next season, for the painter is still calling his lover “lord Seungho“ (chapter 99) (chapter 102) This means that he is still viewing himself as a low-born. But note that contrary to the past, Baek Na-Kum is now wearing a hanbok and he has no other clothes. Thus I am deducing that the painter’s next lesson is to drop his notion that he is a commoner. He will be taught to view himself as an equal to Yoon Seungho. Only when he has internalized that there is no gap between him and his lover, then he will be able to address him as “Seungho-YA!“ At the same time, both protagonists will come to realize that they can express their love differently. Poetry, painting and more importantly through their desire to protect their loved one. The lord will start protecting Baek Na-Kyum more actively, just like the painter will decide to show more interests in his lover’s skills and past life. Baek Na-Kyum will feel responsible for the bloodshed in the shaman’s house. In my opinion, the lord will confide to him what happened to Min and the other nobles. I am assuming this, for the lord remained silent, when the messenger of his father came to the mansion. He didn’t want to scare his lover because of his brutal outburst. (chapter 84)

8. Sex, passion and confession

What caught my attention is that unlike in the first season, where characters came to find love and had sex or the reverse, the second season presented each sexual encounter as a sex session, but at some point love came to the surface.

  • chapter 45: The trigger for the change is the noble’s words. The latter keeps talking to the painter asking for an reply. Hence in my eyes, there are glimpses of love the moment Baek Na-Kyum said this: It sounded like a confession, hence the seme became more passionate:
  • chapter 48/49: Here the lord acted like a client. Yet, notice that the lord is speaking again forcing to express himself. And the moment the painter cried and started voicing his own opinion, the sexual encounter was affected. (Chapter 49) The lord comforted the artist and hugged him: (chapter 49) An expression of love and affection, but the painter rejected it, as he mistrusted his own judgement. He couldn’t help thinking of the learned sir’s fake embrace. Striking is that despite the rejection, the painter kissed and hugged back his lover (chapter 49), which made the lord believe that he could only get embraced by the painter, if they had sex.
  • This explicates why in chapter 63, the lord forced the painter to hug him: . Although the second sex marathon starts like a pure sex session, the moment the painter calls Yoon Seungho differently, the lord’s attitude changes. The painter is turned around and faces his lover, a sign that they are getting closer. Striking is that again through their conversation, the painter is pressured to think about his own emotions. However, due to his own insecurities and fear, the noble still can’t trust the artist’s words, therefore there’s no confession. As you can see, love was not absent, it is just that both main leads were in denial.

Naturally, the night in chapter 58 and 70, 71, 72 and 73, are different. Although in chapter 58, the noble confessed and made love to the painter, he was also cornering his lover. The latter was not really able to move. He was trapped under his body, the lord was blaming him for turning him into a wreck. (Chapter 58) Thus he should become responsible for him. Yoon Seungho was unconsciously trying to push the painter to reciprocate his feelings, an imitation of Lee Jihwa‘s confession. Nevertheless, the painter remained silent, therefore it meant that his love was still denied. That’s why it stands more under the sign of dream and illusion. Consequently, the night in chapter 70, 71, 72 and 73 contrasts so much to the one from chapter 58. This time, it symbolizes the lord’s pure love. As such, the sex is already a real expression of love. That’s why the lord asked to be called intimately: Seungho-Ya (chapter 72) On the other hand, this love session was strongly intertwined with the notion of forgiveness and punishment as well. This is important, it reveals that Yoon Seungho had internalized that sex was the expression to redeem himself. He had been tasked in the past that if he desired to obtain “forgiveness“, then he should have sex. And by comparing all these sexual encounters, I came to the following conclusion: the lord’s words definitely contributed to change the nature of the sex session, just like the hug.

And observe that the lord started hugging the painter more often outside sex, but the painter could never sense his affection. In chapter 49, he judged the warmth as fake. In chapter 66, he had a flashback, hence he couldn’t witness his lord’s attention and care. But the lord discovered this kind of embrace, when he helped the painter in chapter 53: That’s how the noble experienced the embrace as a source of comfort and affection. Therefore you can comprehend, why I wrote above that the painter was teaching the lord how to love properly, but also why the embrace became the symbol for love in the lord‘s eyes. He had never been embraced before by a man. And Lee Jihwa had recognized the true signification of this gesture, when he spied on the couple (chapter 43). That‘s how he knew the friend‘s biggest desire: and was deeply hurt after this discovery (Chapter 57) However, this shows that Yoon Seungho is a quick learner, because he knew what to do, when the painter was in pain and destress. At the same time, it explains why he could fake the embrace in chapter 62: This hug stands in opposition to the one at the end of season 3: (chapter 102) The artist was forgiving his lover! Love represents selflessness, tolerance, forgiveness, warmth, affection and assistance which is transmitted by the embrace. Now, you understand why Yoon Seungho was still not satisfied after the sex session in the study, he was longing for the hug. (Chapter 84) In his unconscious, he knew that if the artist hugged him, he would have forgiven him. But he had no idea about it, thus he couldn’t suggest this. So far, he had experienced the embrace from the artist while having sex. Deep down, he had already internalized the embrace to forgiveness. So we could say that the absence of the embrace in this scene was the lord‘s punishment for the fake hug in the shed. And the painter let him discover the true nature of a warm embrace: (chapter 88) This is not surprising that this hug was not connected to sex at all. Yet it moved the lord so deeply. As the manhwalovers could sense it, season 3 was focused on love and sensuality. During that season, the couple was able to voice about their sexual desires and their preferences. (chapter 91)

As for the lord’s addiction to grab the artist’s hand, we have to envision that it is related to the lord‘s huge trauma. (Chapter 86) No one close to him had grabbed his hand in order to show their support. This gesture in the picture embodies abandonment. On the other hand, the painter had been the first one to take his hand and to swear “loyalty“. (Chapter 30) The joined hands were repeated in season 3 , the only difference is that this time, Baek Na-Kyum was doing it willingly. (Chapter 88) The symbol for support, company and responsibility.

As a conclusion, the dichotomy between love and sex in the relationship between the protagonists is no longer existing at the end of the third season. Both have come accept their love for each other. But it already started vanishing at the end of season 2. Although the painter had not confessed properly yet, the return of the embrace and his request for help are strong indications that Baek Na-Kyum was now accepting his affection. He was now trusting the noble, hence he revealed an important clue about the abduction.

Consequently, I am predicting that in season 4, we will see a new erotic painting of the couple, the symbol of their affection which will stand in opposition to the ones from season 1. It won’t be about conquests and as a tool to procure an erection for the nightly activities. That’s the reason why I am now expecting only one erotic picture: the document of their official union. (chapter 1) versus chapter 41 (chapter 41) Under this perspective, it becomes understandable why the couple neglected these pictures. They were all devoid of affection, it was more about prostitution and battle! And here is now the question? Where are these drawings?

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

Painter Of The Night: Home 🏰(second version)

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 4 Comments

This is where you can read the manhwas. https://www.webtoons.com/en/mystery/dr-frost/list?title_no=371   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/

1. What is home?

Before starting analyzing the manhwa under this aspect, it is important to define the term home. In a dictionary, this is what you find:

  1. the house, apartment, etc. where you live, especially with your family
  2. the type of family you come from
  3. a place where people or animals live and are cared for by people who are not their relations or owners
  4. someone’s or something’s place of origin, or the place where a person feels they belong
  5. your own country or your own area https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/home

As the readers can detect, home has a lot of significations. The reason is simple. It depends on the perspective. When people are asked where their home is, some will answer that their home is the place they are actually living, others will reply that it is the place where their family lives or where they were born and raised. But all have something in common: Home is where the heart is. To sum up, home is very subjective and personal.

2. Home and identity

Since home is related to our disposition (liking, family), it means that home represents a part of our identity, it even defines us. This explicates why psychologists sometimes visit their patients’ home in order to better grasp their personality and issues. (Dr. Frost, chapter 8) As you can see, home is strongly connected to identity and personality. In other words, without home a person loses his identity. This is no coincidence that homeless people often have no ID.

3. Baek Na-Kyum’s home

Consequently, the manhwaphiles can comprehend why Baek Na-Kyum had huge abandonment issues and a low self-esteem in chapter 46. He felt so lonely and lost, for he had no place he could call home. It was, as if he had no identity. When he deserted the mansion, he first thought of the kisaeng house and his noonas (chapter 46), until he remembered how he had been sent away by Heena noona. (chapter 46) This moment was terrible for the painter, because he had the impression to be abandoned a second time. Note that he is not calling the kisaeng house his home… for him, it was no longer a home, because his heart had been wounded there. Hence the manhwaphiles sense why the painter was using his mind in chapter 75 (chapter 75) and was restraining himself from falling more for Yoon Seungho. He had come to view the mansion as his home, and if he came to accept Yoon Seungho as his companion, then the latter would become his home, his family. Don’t forget my previous statement: Home is where the heart is. He was afraid of getting hurt a second time. If the lord came to have a change of heart, he could lose his new founded home.

Since the fight with Deok-Jae (which I am explaining more in details later), the painter had come to view the mansion as his home, hence he stated this to his lord: (chapter 58) And now, you comprehend why he stopped in the middle of the street during his escape. He had recalled how Heena had sent him away. (chapter 46) The painter had come to associate home to a family and as such to people. This explicates why the kisaeng had forbade him to bid farewell to his sisters. I am not saying that the kisaeng’s decision was ill-intended. She knew that if he met the kisaengs, the latter would have convinced him to stay. As you can see, he had experienced himself how his sister had abandoned him in the end. To conclude, for Baek Na-Kyum, in the past home was a synonym for family and a place.

4. Heena’s definition of home

But why would she coerce her brother to leave the gibang? Observe that she never gave her brother a choice. She never realized her wrongdoing, because she imagined that she had done it out of love, and it was for the painter’s best interests. Anyway, when Baek Na-Kyum reproached his lover his fickle nature (chapter 75), in my eyes, this perception should be applied to Heena noona who could send away her brother in such a way and never contacted him afterwards. That’s the impression she gives. (chapter 68) Observe how she blames her brother for not contacting her, while she had strictly forbidden him to come back. At the same time, the readers should question her behavior. How come that she never showed any concern for Baek Na-Kyum for 18 months, until she found out that he was living with Yoon Seungho? Why didn’t she contact him in the first place in order to check out if he was living properly? She gave him instructions, and the main lead listened to her, and now she is reproaching him that he should have disobeyed her. In my eyes, Heena noona acts more like a person with a fickle nature. She shows great care and concern in chapter 65 and 68, but she never searched for her brother’s whereabouts before. So far, the readers can only assume that she had no idea that he had been living as a drunk, and she only discovered his whereabouts by hazard. (chapter 64) Yet, this is just an impression because of this scene. Yet, in season 3, Heena confided to Min, and the latter revealed the content of her confession: (chapter 99) The idiom “bittersweet affections” indicated that the learned sir had expressed regret and disappointment concerning Baek Na-Kyum. This means that Heena knew that Jung In-Hun’s affection towards the low-born had been changing. As you can see, I come to the conclusion that Heena was already aware of the existence of tension between the painter and his former teacher.

What caught my attention in chapter 68 is the following: Heena noona is not even using the word “home”. At no moment, she employs this expression. When she parted from her brother in chapter 46, she mentions the noonas and when she asks her brother to follow her, she says: “Come with me”. As you can see, Heena doesn’t consider the kisaeng house her home. That’s the reason why I think that for her, the kisaeng house had been her workplace and she associated home more with people she cared about, similar to the painter. And this observation made me realize why the sister sent her brother away. Heena noona has never liked the kisaeng house, let’s not forget that she is a slave and she can not leave that place. And the guards could be judged as her wardens, they are keeping an eye on her, similar to the role played Yoon Seungho in chapter 45. For her, the kisaeng house was a synonym for prison and hell, where she kept meeting these terrible and violent rich nobles. (chapter 68) Hence in her mind, when she asked her brother to leave the kisaeng house, she imagined that she was helping the painter to escape from prison. Since she admires the scholar so much, she saw in him her helping hand. He would assist her brother to become a free man. The readers should notice that the learned sir always left the kisaeng house with the low-born (chapter 68), when there was a ruckus. So when the kisaeng made the request to the teacher (chapter 46), she envisioned that he would acquiesce her request, since he had done it so many times in the past (taking care of Baek Na-Kyum and becoming responsible for him). Moreover, she knew that the artist liked and admired Jung In-Hun. For her, the scholar was a liberator, because he acted so differently towards the kisaengs and Baek Na-Kyum. That’s the reason why she thought, she was doing the right thing for her brother, while in reality she was just projecting her own desires into the artist. And this interpretation was proven correct, because when she vanished from the gibang in season 3, she was no longer dressed as a kisaeng. (chapter 99) She was deserting the kisaeng house, and as such the noonas. And note the parallels between chapter 46 and 97/99. In both cases, the painter couldn’t bid farewell to the other kisaengs. (chapter 46) (chapter 99) It is because she was using her brother. In the first desertion, her choice was influenced by her unconscious. She had just projected her own thoughts and desires onto the artist’s. In season 3, she had made a conscious choice. In exchange of her brother, she would gain her freedom. Thus she used the expression “us” (chapter 97) This time, it was for her own sake. But the price for her freedom was that she had to sell her brother. She could still have a clean conscience by convincing herself that Yoon Seungho had killed her idol. At the same time, she needed to fake her death. (chapter 99) [For more explanations read the analysis “Heena’s curtains”] This means that she was betraying the eonnies one more time. And that’s how I had another revelation. In my eyes, after their separation, Heena had come to view her life in the gibang differently. She had been able to perceive the good aspects of her life as a kisaeng. She could live a comfortable life and as such get new hanboks. (chapter 64) That’s why I believe that she came to forget her brother, like “out of sight, out of mind”. But how did she come to view the gibang as a place of hell? In my opinion, it is related to Yoon Seungho! She knew about his misery. Thus I am deducing that the painter’s vanishing from the gibang coincides with the end of the lord’s misery. Thus I have the impression that her definition of home came to change. It was less connected to the kisaengs and the painter, as such to family. She came to like the place.

But let’s return our attention to episode 46. (chapter 46) Because she didn’t allow her brother to speak his mind, she hurt his heart and created more wounds than before. That’s why I perceive the argument in chapter 68 as important. For the first time, Baek Na-Kyum is not listening to Heena. Since home is where the heart is, her brother could only reject her proposition to come back to the kisaeng house. He had been abandoned by the noona. However, because he was afraid of his own feelings towards the aristocrat, he created new problems with his confession. His description reinforced her bad impression about Yoon Seungho. That’s why Heena noona will never believe that this place can become the artist’s true home. For her, this place can only represent a new prison, for she has a negative perception of nobles. Hence she needs to rescue her brother. (chapter 69) Besides, I believe that she has another reason. The lord is connected to her own guilt, but she is not admitting her responsibility. In the first version, I had expected that due to his confession, the kisaeng would never trust Baek Na-Kyum’s words later. And this was proven correct. Why? First, Heena noona embodies a certain kind of knowledge: prejudices. Because she has already experienced many things, she has the impression that she knows everything. However, she is not realizing that her world view is based on her own perception. Secondly, her superficial knowledge turns her into a blind and deaf person. What she sees and hears will be interpreted the way she perceives the world. I had even written this back then:

“Even if her brother tells her how well Yoon Seungho treats him and how much he loves his companion, she will have the impression that he has been brainwashed or coerced. Why? It’s because she has always treated her brother that way.”

In addition, she knows a part of the truth, while her brother was left in the dark entirely. Thus she reproached her brother his stupidity: (chapter 97) Contrary to him, she knows, because she saw and heard things, when Yoon Seungho suffered! Yet, her knowledge is totally superficial, like the last panel exposes it. She just jumped to (false) conclusions. That’s how she got herself manipulated. Because of her bias, she became an easy target of deceptions. That’s the reason why she believes herself in rumors. Like the scholar said it himself, (chapter 29) there exists a kernel of truth in the grapevine. Moreover, with her caresses and hugs, she used love to stop her brother from speaking his mind. (chapter 46) That’s the reason why Baek Na-Kyum could only express himself through painting, as he had become mute. Due to her decisions and actions and the scholar’s, she contributed to turn the artist into a boy full of insecurities, unable to express himself. Consequently, Heena noona was put in front of the same choice in season 3. Note that the return of the painter to the gibang coincides with her departure. This means that due to the couple’s love session, she was reminded of her own past. She was forced to recall why she had associated the gibang to hell in the first place. (chapter 96) She was definitely scared in that scene. That’s the reason why at the end, she utilized her brother to leave the gibang. (chapter 97) However, the gods wanted to confront her with the true consequences of her choices. She wouldn’t live with her brother, their paths would get separated. (chapter 99) She had to choose between her brother and her life, and she selected freedom over Baek Na-Kyum. This is no coincidence that their bloody reunion happens in front of the scholar’s home. (chapter 99) This mirrors that her original dream was to live with her brother and the scholar, but this was just an illusion. She had hoped that once the artist was by Jung In-Hun’s side, the learned sir would come to buy her, and they would live together. She counted on the learned sir’s affection for the painter. But this was never Jung In-Hun’s intentions and he excused his behavior by putting the blame on the protagonist. (chapter 99) That’s the reason why the kisaeng mentioned the bittersweet affections. The scholar came to see the painter as a burden. This new approach gives us a clue why the artist chose the noble over his noona in chapter 68. The lord might have been violent, yet unlike all the other characters he allowed Baek Na-Kyum to be true to himself and to express his thoughts and emotions. Let’s not forget that in reality he was the only one encouraging the painter to paint, which was the commoner’s true passion. He even praised him, while even Heena couldn’t restrain herself from criticizing her brother. Freedom is an important condition for calling a place or people home, next to comfort and safety. But when the kisaeng left the gibang, it was just a fake freedom, as her safety is strongly intertwined to the benevolence of the noble protecting her! (chapter 97) Hence I come to the conclusion that Heena associates home to the learned sir and not to her brother. Exactly like the artist, she made a choice. She sided with Jung In-Hun, the poor learned sir, who got disappointed with Baek Na-Kyum. But she believes now that he is dead. Hence by leaving the kisaeng house, she doesn’t realize that she is abandoning everyone: the eonnies and Baek Na-Kyum. She has no one by her side… except the noble who sent the guards. From my point of view, she is trusting the butler.

5. What is home for the couple?

In season 2, we could see the transformation of the meaning of home. For Baek Na-Kyum, the mansion of Yoon Seungho had become his home, like we could perceive it in chapter 46. or in chapter 58. Why? It is related to the way he was treated by the head-maid, the butler and even Yoon Seungho. All of them considered him as part of the mansion. The head-maid gave him advices, the butler through his comment indicated that he belonged now to the mansion. (chapter 52) And finally Yoon Seungho treated him well on different occasions by sharing his breakfast with him or sending him to the doctor or by protecting him from Deok-Jae. Yet I believe that the decisive factor is the momentary separation. Although the painter had lost his position as favored servant, the noble never sent him away. He let him live in the study and kept treating him well. The artist could sense that despite the distance, the noble was not willing to cut ties with him. This explicates why Baek Na-Kyum resisted to the vicious servant, when the latter tried to force him to leave the property. (chapter 53) This was his home now, and he wanted to protect what he had finally found. Despite the pain, he didn’t move. He was ready to do anything for his home. This gives us a glimpse of the painter’s future behavior, when his lover is targeted. There’s no doubt that he will fight for him. And now, if you compare the two following panels, you’ll realize the similarities between the two scenes: (chapter 46) (chapter 76) In both scenes, the painter has a revelation. In chapter 46, he is alone and has no place to go. However, he is strong enough to stand on his feet, while in episode 76, he is paralyzed by fear and becomes so weak. Yet, exactly like in the first image, he feels lonely, but since he can’t escape, this position makes him realize his vulnerability. He needs help and protection. That’s why the moment he realizes the noble’s presence (chapter 76), he seeks his embrace and warmth. (chapter 76) Only there he feels safe. This terrible experience opened his eyes: he has to rely on someone. (chapter 76) Thus for the first time, he requests assistance. So while in the lord’s arms, the painter can slowly calm down, however he is still very shaken, as he has just experienced a life-threatening situation again, revealing the traumas left behind by the first abduction and the blackmail. Yet, after a while he expresses the wish to go home. (chapter 76) With these words, it truly outlines that the mansion has become Baek Na-Kyum’s real home, a place where he feels comfortable and secure, which represents a continuation of chapter 46. While in chapter 46, he just considered the mansion more like a refuge or shelter, now he connects it to family. It has truly become part of his identity. But the embrace on the street let him discover that Yoon Seungho could become a home too.

Striking is that there’s a difference between the Korean and English version, when the lord replies to his request. In the original version, the lord is now admitting that the mansion is also his home now, whereas in the past it was just a prison and he wanted to have a companion by his side. In the English version, there’s only silence. This difference affects a lot the interpretation. By remaining silent, the noble is not acknowledging the mansion as his home, but this doesn’t mean that he has no home. In my opinion, Yoon Seungho perceives the painter as his home, hence he prefers remaining there hugging his lover. The painter gives him the warmth and love the lord has always been longing. That’s why he gives the excuse that they should stay there. It seems that the English version sounds colder than the original, yet I believe that Yoon Seungho is using his position in order to legitimate his refusal. Why do I think that the lord views the painter as his home? First, like I wrote above: Home is where the heart is. Secondly, I had already explained that Yoon Seungho would always follow the painter, because he considered him as his home and as such his family. So far, the lord has always perceived his mansion as prison and the bedchamber his cell. This explicates why the lord rejected the painter’s departure in season 3. He needed him by his side, as he had become his pillar. (chapter 85) Baek Na-Kyum represented the foundation of his home. Without him by his side, his “home” would crumble.

Striking in chapter 76, is that because the lord insisted to remain seated, the painter starts enjoying more and more the lord’s embrace, hence his head moves closer to Yoon Seungho’s and at the end he even closes his eyes. From my point of view, this long and tender hug let him sense that the mansion was not truly his home, but the lord. But this was not entirely conscious. The latter has become his family. That’s why he had been longing for his presence and warmth in the last days. (chapter 74) This was a new version of the chapter 51 and 52. And you all know the saying:  

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder”

This signifies that since both protagonists found their home, they found a part of their identity. Both protagonist could only become stronger. Thus the readers could assist to the return of the painter and lord’s memories. This is no coincidence that the painter could voice his wishes in front of his lover: (chapter 78) (chapter 84) And it was the same for the lord. That’s the reason why they both argued with each other and with others too. They could now stand on their own, but they still needed the support of the partner.

Under this new perspective, it becomes comprehensible why there was a change in season 3. There, both protagonists learned that home was not a place, but where the heart is. This is no coincidence that Yoon Seungho made the decision to renounce on his possessions, when he had the impression that his “bride” had died. That’s how he learned what home means. It is by his lover’s side, to be in his embrace, and not necessarily the mansion like during the argument exposed it. During the last scene, both protagonists were pushed to recognize that they are now a real family. Yoon Seungho is the painter’s home and it is the same for Baek Na-Kyum. This is perceptible in the final scene: (chapter 102) It doesn’t matter where they are. Home is where the heart is. Hence the first question he has is: (chapter 102) As long as he is by his side, everything is fine. This new definition of home appeared, when the painter and the lord confessed to each other. (chapter 96) (chapter 96) It didn’t matter where they were. Thus they could confess in a gibang. They felt safe together. And this is the same in the mountain. Observe that the painter is not asking why they are in the mountain and what the lord intended to do there. In fact, he was more focused on the past than the present. However, for the painter, home is not just a family, he liked to sleep in a warm bed and have a warm meal each day (chapter 68), since he had lived like a homeless for a while. Hence both will have to look for a real home, a house. Moreover, the lord will have to provide for the painter, and the latter will feel obligated to assist his lover. This means, in season 4, home should have a new definition. It is not just a family, but also the mansion and the country! Don’t forget that many people died in season 3.

6. Yoon Seungho’s bedchamber: a glimpse of his identity

Since I had elaborated above that home was part of an identity and the home would reflect the owner’s personality, I wish to examine Seungho’s bedchamber again. In other words, I will read his room: (doctor frost, chapter 9). What caught my attention is that the lord’s bedchamber is literally empty: There are only one big white vase, a red box, candles (chapter 55) and a windscreen. (chapter 55) The latter shows trees painted in black, there’s barely nature in the end. It mirrors the lord’s symbolic death. The emptiness of his room reflected the lord’s life. He was living like a zombie and avoided emotions, as he had no souvenir at all. Although he reads a lot, you never see them in his room. Why? It is because he separated his spirit from his body. In his bedchamber, he was a captive trapped in the past, hence he had nightmares. Moreover, I think that his bed is the source of his nocturnal panic attacks, as the colors are the same than the king’s. And now, the manhwaphiles can better comprehend why the noble has never considered his mansion a home. In this house, and in this room, he had traumatic experiences (abuse), which were so horrible that he had entirely repressed it. Nonetheless, the moment the painter calls the mansion his home, this has a huge impact on the lord’s life. The latter is now “forced” to consider the mansion as his home too. Hence in the Korean version, we have this panel: Then in season 3, the lord’s bedchamber became the painter’s bedroom too. Thus at the end of season 3, the painter visited the lord’s study in his lord’s absence. (chapter 98) This shows that he had conquered the bed. Season 3 exposes the painter’s conquest of the bedchamber. The turning point took place in chapter 87, when the artist went to the study on his own volition. (chapter 87) I can’t help myself thinking that in season 4, the painter will bring his possessions to the bedchamber for good contrary to season 3. (chapter 79) The music box was brought back to the painter’s studio after the argument. Since the lord bought a music box for Baek Na-Kyum, and the latter treasures this item, it also has a special meaning for the lord too. The music box represents the lord’s heart, but the main lead didn’t grasp the true meaning, until it was too late. So far, the broken music box got neglected after their argument (chapter 85), yet I am still hoping for its return, for the lord had recognized its true signification to the painter afterwards. (chapter 85) But we shouldn’t forget the lord’s Spring poem (chapter 92) Little by little, the lord’s study will be filled with treasures belonging to Baek Na-Kyum which are connected to the noble. This is relevant, because thanks to them, the lord can recall the good moments with the artist. Slowly the lord’s bedroom will become more and more a study. With the arrival of souvenirs, the bedchamber will be filled with life again. This will symbolize that the lord is slowly taking over the bedchamber, and filling his room with things he likes. Where is the orchid? So far, all the nobles had plants in their room: (chapter 43) (chapter 82) Hence I am wondering if Yoon Chang-Hyeon didn’t punish his son by taking away the orchid, when he painted on the servant’s body: (chapter 36).

7. Conclusions

Through this examination, I could expose that each character had a different definition of home, and their perception of home was never constant. However, I have neglected one figure: Kim. The butler associates home to the mansion and nothing more. He is not even including the staff or the lords. That’s the reason why he is switching alliances all the time. But if he is on the verge of losing his mansion, he will do anything to stay there… like for example betraying Heena. Remember that she sold her brother for his own sake, and she didn’t feel deep remorse, when she saw her wounded brother. She even asked an explanation for his wounds: (chapter 99) This new interpretation leads me to the following observation. In season 4, we will witness a new battle again, and it will be about the ownership of the mansion. Who is the true owner of the propriety? Kim, Yoon Chang-Hyeon, Yoon Seungho or lord Song?

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

Painter Of The Night: Truth and memories (second version) 🧠

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 7 Comments

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

Many readers are able to recognize the similarities between chapter 40 and 75, because both episodes contain the following elements:

  • The prank: (chapter 40) (chapter 75: repetition from chapter 74)
  • The presence of the bulletin board (chapter 40) versus (chapter 75)
  • The honest conversation between the protagonists, where Yoon Seungho is encouraging his lover to introspect himself (chapter 40) versus (chapter 75)
  • The color of the sky (chapter 40) versus (chapter 75)
  • The presence of memories: (chapter 40) versus (chapter 75)

Yet despite all the parallels, if I had to give a title to chapter 75, I would select “Memories” and not “Responsibility”, although the latter is still present in episode 75. Why? It is, because the painter talks about his past and youth and as such, he is forced to bring up memories. (Chapter 75) And this made me realize two things: Baek Na-Kyum embodies memories, hence we got many flashbacks from the painter (chapter 2, 11, 23, 34, 38, 40, 41, 46, 56, 57, 60, 66, 74, 75), whereas Yoon Seungho embodies truth. Note that unlike the artist, Byeonduck showed us only a few memories from the aristocrat (chapter 19, 25, 48, 55, 74 with the nightmare). Moreover, the latter is always confronting the painter with his questions and observations. The noble wants him to be true to himself and question his own motivation. (Chapter 75) And this observation made realize another aspect about Yoon Seungho, because unlike chapter 40, the aristocrat stands in the center of episode 75: the significance of memories in the lord’s life.

1. Memories and identity

In order to understand why I came to this conclusion, it is relevant to examine the memories in chapter 40 due to the parallelism. There, the painter recalled the questions and comments from Yoon Seungho, which incited the commoner to ask his teacher about his future. Once the scholar had succeeded, would he become responsible for the painter, like he had implied? And observe that during the confrontation, the artist used a statement from the past: (chapter 29) Thanks to the memories, the low-born had gathered courage and faced his teacher. However, this discussion led to a tragedy. Baek Na-Kyum got hurt, because his learned sir chose to destroy him in the worst possible way. With his words, he showed his true thoughts (chapter 40) and in order to reinforce his statement, he made sure that Baek Na-Kyum would perceive his real gaze: cold and ruthless. (chapter 41) But more striking is that the scholar used memories (the kisaeng house) to define the painter’s identity: he was born to be a prostitute despite his “lessons”. He puts the whole responsibility and blame on the commoner. As a conclusion, the memories served in the conflict to identify Baek Na-Kyum. Who was he really to the scholar? Was he his helping hand, like the low-born claimed, or was he just a “prostitute” according to the scholar?

2. Memory loss and identity

This connection between memory and identity in the manhwa is not random, because according to John Locke’s “memory theory”, a person’s identity only reaches as far as their memory extends into the past. In other words, memory is a necessary condition of personal identity. Thus, as a person’s memory begins to disappear, so does his identity. Therefore, we could say that without memory, there’s no identity. On the other hand, in my previous analysis, I had demonstrated that the lord’s unconscious was trying to force his conscious to remember his past, because he had repressed his traumatic past. This meant that he was suffering from memory loss. Hence we could say, that he lost his own identity. This is not surprising that childhood trauma and memory loss go hand-in-hand. Blocking out memories can be a way of coping with the trauma. It goes even so far that an adult survivor of childhood trauma can even believe that he was never a victim of childhood trauma. Consequently, in case of a permanent memory loss, it signifies that the victim even loses his own identity. Since my theory has been confirmed that the lord was a painter in his youth, chapter 75 actually exposed the memory loss in two different ways:

  1. First, the lord couldn’t even remember painting an orchid (Chapter 75), an indication that his short-term memory was defective due to his lack of sleep.
  2. However, the master’s hand could still paint a orchid without paying too much attention to his hand. It exposes that it was actually an automatic gesture, revealing that he had internalized such a gesture in the long-term memory. And note that when he did this, he mentioned his youth (chapter 36) Therefore I come to the conclusion that Yoon Seungho’s short-term memory is not working properly. Imagine, he could remember one incident from his childhood, but he couldn’t remember painting the orchid. Hence I believe that the lord can’t even reminisce the drawings in chapter 8 and 23 . Only thanks to Baek Na-Kyum’s mention, he was able to recall the drawing. Thus the manhwalovers can comprehend why I consider the artist as a synonym for memories.

3. Trauma and memories

But in the manhwa, there’s more than just memory loss due to a coping mechanism. Traumatic events such as sexual assaults, are encoded differently than more routine due to extreme fear. The victim won’t be able to remember everything, just details, the chronology will be mixed up due to existential fear, that’s why if you recall the following panel, you’ll truly grasp the real atrocity of Yoon Seungho’s suffering. (Chapter 65) While he can’t remember what truly happened due to his poor emotional and physical state, Kim somehow blames him. The young master is so confused that he has to defend himself. This means that after the first rape, the domestic didn’t even comfort the protagonist, but he used the victim’s vulnerable state of mind (who was confused due to this terrific incident) to manipulate the noble’s memory.

That’s why when police investigate a sexual abuse and interview a victim, the latter will always be interrogated twice. The first interview focuses more on the sensory and emotional memories, while during the second, the officers will try to reconstruct the chronology. This explicates why they always wait for quite some time for the second statement. It is necessary, as the memories are now stored and they can be retrieved, although due to fear and stress, the incident can never be properly reconstructed. As you can imagine, Yoon Seungho was not in the capacity to testify about the sexual assault. This terrible event affected his memory so much that he was not given the opportunity to denunciate the crime. He was made speechless in the end due to the insinuation and as such manipulation. I bet, he couldn’t even describe what had truly happened to him. That’s why he repressed the first rape.

4. Amnesia and manipulation

But now imagine this. You are exposed to physical and sexual abuse for more than a decade, this means that your memory will be definitely affected. You are living constantly in fear and stress, two important factors, which can trigger memory loss. [read more here: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-causes-memory-loss-4123636] Like I explained briefly above, terrific events are never encoded normally. This signifies in our case that the lord’s faculties to memorize were definitely affected due to the constant exposure, which can make him more vulnerable to false memories. Studies show that individuals with PTSD, a history of trauma, or depression are at risk for producing false memories, when they are exposed to information that is related to their knowledge base. This also signifies that they are more receptive for manipulations. Therefore I come to the next deduction that in chapter 68, Kim was definitely attempting to distort the past and create false memories. (Chapter 68) He mixed facts with lies in order to confuse his master’s judgement and memory. That’s the reason why it is important now to recall my initial statement: without any memory, there’s no identity. This signifies that in chapter 68, when Kim tried to give him memories, he desired to give him a certain identity: he was similar to his father. The latter would punish or imprison the boy and not release him. Giving a false reflection and identity is something Kim had never done before in front of his master, as he knew that his master feared his own image. However, he never imagined that Yoon Seungho would react differently. Instead of pushing away the painter, he let the artist choose his fate.

5. Making memories and forgiveness

However, in order to comprehend the topic memory, it is relevant to know how memory functions. The latter is divided in 3 parts: encoding, storage and retrieval. And in order to encode information, you have to utilize your senses. There are 3 types of encoding: semantic (words), visual and acoustic (sound). The manwhaphiles should recall that according to my interpretation, Yoon Seungho had been deprived of all his senses, therefore he lived like a ghost. And this signifies that he couldn’t make any memory at all. And with no memory, you have no identity and as such no life. That’s why when he cut ties with Jihwa the first time, he never mentioned the word “memories”, but time spent together: (Chapter 18) In my opinion, this shows that Yoon Seungho had no true memory in reality. He knew that they had sex together, but that was it. It was more like “the night is long and I need to kill time so that dawn can come faster.” Note that he never mentions their childhood together. With this interpretation, it becomes comprehensible that the main lead could act, as if nothing had happened between Jihwa and himself after the topknot incident. From my point of view, he had literally forgotten the incident, yet for Jihwa, it meant that he had been forgiven. (Chapter 59) And this explicates why Yoon Seungho barges in the mansion in chapter 67: he makes it clear that he won’t forget what happened. (Chapter 67) The real forgiveness occurred in chapter 59: Despite the caused pain, Yoon Seungho was willing to overlook the terrible action (chapter 59), but he made it clear that he would never reciprocate the feelings. This was real forgiveness from my perspective, whereas in the past, Yoon Seungho couldn’t remember anything. Jihwa had the terrible habit to use the past in order to torment his childhood friend, which always triggered buried emotions connected to memories, which the noble couldn’t control. From my point of view, the lord only had flashbulb memories which the readers could discover in chapter 55: (chapter 55)

“A flashbulb memory is an accurate and exceptionally vivid long-lasting memory for the circumstances surrounding learning about a dramatic event. Flashbulb Memories are memories that are affected by our emotional state.” quoted from https://www.simplypsychology.org/flashbulb-memory.html

These memories connected to emotions were the remains of his deeply repressed memories. The lord could only remember the feelings he had felt during his traumatic past. To sum up, the lord had no real recollection of his past, and the few things he knew were manipulations and lies explained by his butler. Therefore you can comprehend why Kim got scared (chapter 56), when he heard that lord Song asked for a meeting. The latter could definitely reveal new information and let the protagonist realize that he was truly suffering from memory loss.

6. Recovery from amnesia: memories

However, due to the exposure to arts, his eyes got healed, hence he could sense positive emotions and as such create good memories (visual encoding). From my point of view, when Baek Na-Kyum entered his life, the noble had started developing good memories, because so far, all he had were traumatic memories. However, Yoon Seungho’s capacities to memorize were under-developed due to the lack of practice. This explicates why he shows no interest to discover why the commoner stopped painting. This was not meaningful to him, and the readers should know that people will only memorize significant information. The emergence of his memory is visible in chapter 1. We see him speaking about his nightly activities so positively, but observe that he is only talking about recent and meaningful memories. (Chapter 1) Striking is that when Baek Na-Kyum confronts him with his poor image (“man consumed by lust”) (chapter 4), the lord is bothered. He is forced to ponder why he is described like that, hence he has to recall events from the past. At the same time, when the lord read the poem, he was encouraged to recall the original sijo. This shows that at some point, Yoon Seungho rediscovered literature. Words and paintings helped to create memories. Thus if you pay attention, you’ll notice that the more time passes on, the more memories the lord has. They are strongly intertwined with the paintings. The latter helped him to reminisce the sex sessions and his past. He can’t forget how the painter masturbated behind the door. He is even getting more and more good memories. (chapter 18) Then in chapter 19, he reminisces the painter’s facial expressions which puts him in a good mood. (Chapter 19) This explicates why Yoon Seungho was so moved by the painter’s confession during their Wedding night. For the first time, he experienced warmth and love, he even heard a love confession. This could only be stored as a wonderful memory. At the same time, he hoped, the artist would create a picture of this night in order to ensure that this memory was real. Moreover, note that in chapter 58, he externalized how much this night meant to him. (Chapter 58)

Yet, the manhwaphiles can detect that in his confession, the memory is not entirely described as positive: “haunt”. This explicates why I consider the Wedding night as a turning point in Yoon Seungho’s life. This memory is a combination of positive and negative elements. The lord wished to relive this, but he was not satisfied, because he knew that he had impersonated the scholar. Moreover, the manhwaphiles should reminisce that after this night, the lord will do terrible things to the artist and as such, he gets now terrible memories. That’s the reason why in my opinion, Byeonduck chose to expose the rape as a flashback from the master’s perspective. Because of his bad actions, Yoon Seungho feels huge pangs of conscience and can’t act like nothing happened. He is now forced to remember. However, in my eyes it is different from the past. Before, he was just a ghost, hence he was incapable to get memories, with Baek Na-Kyum’s help, he can get memories which will help him to face his own traumatic past.

7. Memories and learning

There’s one aspect, strongly connected to memory, which I didn’t mention so far: learning.

” Learning and memory operate together in order increase our ability for navigating the environment and survival. Learning refers to a change in behavior that results from acquiring knowledge about the world and memory is the process by which that knowledge is encoded, stored, and later retrieved.” quoted from https://opentext.wsu.edu/psych105/chapter/8-2-how-memory-functions/

As you can see, in order to change, the lord needs memories. Through positive and negative experiences, the noble can gain knowledge leading to a change of attitude which the readers could observe. Gradually, the noble learnt from his mistakes and good memories. Therefore, this is no coincidence that when in chapter 75, Baek Na-Kyum talks about his past and memories, he criticizes his master: (Chapter 75) He gives him the impression that he will never change, the lord wouldn’t even remember him after his death. Now, you grasp why he reproaches Yoon Seungho his fickle nature, he is indirectly referring to the lord’s memories. (Chapter 75) His feelings will fade away just like memories. He will forget him. What the painter doesn’t realize is the following: this date is actually an important moment in Yoon Seungho’s life. For the first time, he gets to discover the painter’s memories and past, which now the noble can store as his own. He will never forget this day, especially when he heard that the painter would cry because of him (a new version of chapter 21: (chapter 21) , but here out of concern. In other words, Baek Na-Kyum would like to be remembered. Hence he complains that the lord didn’t call for him. And this can only make the lord happy, because he can detect through the painter’s words that the latter is longing for his presence and care. From my perspective, Yoon Seungho has finally grasped why the artist is not truly honest with him. Therefore he can only tease his lover pushing him to make the first step. Let’s not forget that right now, the master is now treating his lover as his new lord. So the latter has to call for him. (Chapter 75) Here, the protagonist clearly displays that he has never forgotten his companion. Their date is so important for two reasons. It allows the noble to gather more information about the commoner, and get a really good memory before the next tragedy.

From my point of view, it will help him to face his own traumatic past. Let’s not forget that a rape is planned, so if the noble was to discover this, he would be definitely reminded of his own past. And this truly happened in season 3. Simultaneously he would be able to help his lover to recover from the traumatic incident. We shouldn’t forget that during the kidnapping, the lord’s smile was the reason why Baek Na-Kyum didn’t lose his sanity (Chapter 60) and could cope with the kidnapping much better. Note that he has no nightmare afterwards. And this detail is important, because we have to envision that while Yoon Seungho was exposed to physical and sexual abuse for a decade, he had no good memory at all in order to remain sane. Moreover, he never felt loved. Consequently, he couldn’t even think of anyone in a positive way. That’s why he was so damaged in the end. (Chapter 57) The presence of a loved one is necessary in order to cope with traumatic childhood abuse.

8. The impact of Yoon Seungho’s traumas on his mind and attitude

And this leads me to the next observation: Due to his childhood trauma, the lord’s memory was affected and didn’t work properly, as for a long time, his memory was not encouraged to encode events. On the other hand, because of Baek Na-Kyum, Yoon Seungho was forced more and more to face his traumatic past, therefore his fears and abandonment issues came to the surface. This explicates why he couldn’t pay attention to details and never questioned the circumstances of the first abduction. Note that during the night at the physician’s, he still doesn’t trust his own senses. (Chapter 58) This signifies that he is unsure if what he is experiencing is real or not. From my point of view, the memory loss and his life as ghost affected his brain and the way to encode and store information. Hence he has no real recollection of the incident with Deok-Jae (chapter 30 and 53). That’s why he is not asking for his whereabouts. However, I believe to see a turning point in chapter 75. By giving the lord the opportunity to have a real date, where he could hear and see that Baek Na-Kyum was definitely affected by him, the noble will react differently compared to the first abduction and after the painter’s first flashback. He will not lose his mind blinded by his emotions and insecurities, he knows that the artist chose him. And he won’t blame himself like for the first flashback. Remember that in chapter 66, he never called the physician. Why? Because someone told him that the painter needed the presence of a loved one to recover. Kim made sure that Yoon Seungho would feel guilty. Deep down, Yoon Seungho knew that he was responsible for the panic attack. (Chapter 66) But the real cause for all this was the butler’s silence and complicity. That’s why he remained by his side, until the artist had recovered. Thus I had predicted that after meeting Nameless, Baek-Na-Kyum would get a panic attack. (Chapter 75)

This is what I wrote in the first version:

“However, this time, the noble will wonder how this could happen. They had a nice conversation, where they exchanged thoughts. He is not responsible and it can’t be the alcohol. Moreover, he will recall his lover’s words: He won’t focus on his own emotions, but will try to calm down the artist and investigate why the painter reacted like that.” It is definitely possible that he brings back the painter to the mansion and decides to visit the physician in order to ask for an advice. From my point of view, thanks to the new memories, the noble is learning more about his surroundings and gaining more experience.”

However, the reality was that Yoon Seungho thought that the painter’s panic attack had just been triggered by the entertainers. (Chapter 76) He didn’t take his words seriously, for he believed that he had discovered the truth. Therefore the lord never investigated the circumstances of the kidnapping. Since he thought, he knew the truth, he had no reason to question this. Why did the Joker scare the painter so much? Thus the lord didn’t take the memories from the painter seriously. How could he, since he had been already informed? However, the revelation from Min had diverted Yoon Seungho’s attention from the real problem: the involvement of the helping hands (Kim, Deok-Jae, No-Name) and of the mastermind behind this.

9. Baek Na-Kyum’s memories and truth

What caught my attention is that Baek Na-Kyum is also hurt, though he has memories from his past. What he confessed to his lover represented a bad memory, and this made him feel guilty. Striking is that he believes, he knows the truth, as he can reminisce his past. Yet, he is making a huge mistake: memories are by no means facts, they are biased and even tainted. The artist took the scholar’s words as face-value. He never questioned his words, therefore he blamed himself for Jung In-Hun’s failure. Here, I would like the manhwaphiles to notice the parallels between Jihwa and the artist: both feel responsible for a tragedy, while in reality it was not the case. Both were victims of manipulations and lies.

My theory is that the learned sir imagined that he had finally the possibility to get a high position. Yet the incident in the gibang put an end to it, and this is definitely related to the erotic pictures. However, there is no ambiguity that Jung In-Hun was actually receiving his karma. Remember that in the Alternative Universe, the protagonist used Jung Na-Min as his artist name. In other words, the name of the artist must have had an effect on his career. Besides, let’s not forget that the teacher is preaching immobility, for people’s fate is always determined. (Chapter 6) They can not escape their conditions. Thus the gods chose to punish him the following way: he could never escape his own situation. He would remain a man with no wealth and connection. Thus no matter what he did, it ended with a failure. Therefore it is not surprising that he came to resent the painter, for he caught the attention of a powerful noble and this at least twice. The scholar was offered a position, but due to the incident in the gibang, the sponsor changed his mind. Hence he blamed Baek Na-Kyum for not securing a post. It was, as if he had stolen it from him. I think, Jung In-Hun published poetry, but couldn’t get recognition. Therefore he used the incident (discovery of the erotic pictures) in order to punish him and force him to give up on painting. He couldn’t allow that a commoner was more successful than him. At the same time, it was the reason why there was a ruckus in the gibang too. But now, we have to wonder why Baek Na-Kyum talked about his past. From my point of view, an important detail played a huge role at the inn: (Chapter 74) Observe that the woman has a similar hair dress than his noona. That’s why I believe that when he saw her, he must have been reminded of her. Note that when he speaks about the leftovers, he describes leaving food as a sin, but strangely, in chapter 40/41, he had the opposite attitude. (Chapter 41) He didn’t eat all the sweets or even skipped meals. (Chapter 41) In other words, he didn’t eat everything and committed a sin. This indicates a certain hypocrisy, simultaneously Baek Na-Kyum’s lack of critical thinking, when it comes to his noona. Moreover, he says the opposite of what he thinks. In chapter 74, he claims that the lord has changed(chapter 74), in episode 75, he claims that he has not improved his behavior. The painter’s memories clearly reveal Heena’s strong influence, which explains why he doesn’t make the first step in the end. He would like the lord to become responsible for him. But Yoon Seungho would like the opposite, because that way, the low-born can never claim that he was forced or pressured by him. In my eyes, Baek Na-Kyum still fears to be perceived as a man consumed by lust, if he makes the first move.

That’s why I believe that Yoon Seungho embodies the truth, while Baek Na-Kyum represents the past and memories. The commoner’s past will become the trigger for Yoon Seungho to decide to discover the truth about his own past and as such regain his own identity: he was a talented painter with a promising future. Since the low-born’s past with the kisaeng and the scholar are more recent, it is much easier for Yoon Seungho to unveil the lies concerning Baek Na-Kyum’s past in the kisaeng house. At the same time, thanks to the physician, Baek Na-Kyum is gathering information about his lover’s past (chapter 57), which will assist him to regain his lost memories.

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

Painter Of The Night: Refraction 🌈

~ Bébébisous33 ~ 7 Comments

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

Announcement: I updated the essay “Kim: a dog, a matchmaker or a father?”

You are probably wondering about the selection of such a title and its signification, especially if you are not familiar with physics. What is refraction exactly?

“Refraction is the bending of light when it goes from one medium to another so, when a ray of light passes through a glass prism, refraction of light occurs both, when it enters the prism as well as when it leaves the prism. Since the refracting surfaces are not parallel, therefore, the emergent ray and incident ray are not parallel to one another. In this case the ray of light is deviated on passing through the prism.” quoted from https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/refraction-of-light-through-a-glass-prism-1456391639-1#:~:text=Refraction%20is%20the%20bending%20of,when%20it%20leaves%20the%20prism.&text=In%20this%20case%20the%20ray,on%20passing%20through%20the%20prism.

People observe this phenomenon, when there’s a rainbow.

Jagranjosh

This spectacle can only occur, if there are rain and sunlight together. Due to the presence of water, the beholder perceive the existence of light, which is actually a combination of all colors. Although light seems colorless to our eyes, it is not correct. It is just that our brain is used to perceive light as such. Now, you are probably intrigued how I could associate the manhwa with laws of refraction, when the author never drew a rainbow. But refraction is not just limited to the rainbow. It is also perceptible under other circumstances, like for example: when the sunlight goes through a real glass prism

Jagranjosh

As you can observe, there’s a deviation and dispersion of the light through the glass prism. So when did the manhwaphiles witness this experience in Painter Of The Night?

Byeonduck applied laws of refraction in two episodes:

  1. chapter 55:
  2. chapter 74: Yes, the presence of the colorful bubbles are a sign of refraction.

And these episodes are quite important, for due to the refraction, the readers can finally perceive the presence of light and as such warmth. When the episode 55 was released, I had explained that these bubbles of light announced the revival of the lord’s body. He was no longer living as a zombie, he was finally becoming a real human. But only now, I’ve recognized the real signification of these bubbles of light. (chapter 55) I am not saying that my previous statement was wrong. It is just that I’ve realized the gravity of the lord’s wounds. Yoon Seungho opened the door of this bedchamber, which meant that he was letting the sunlight enter his room. This had a symbolical meaning: the noble was finally allowing the light to enter his inner world. That’s why in this chapter, the noble confessed. He was opening up to the painter and permitting him to see the darkness in his mind and heart. He was jealous and he expressed his murdering and suicidal thoughts (chapter 55), therefore he imagined that the painter would run away, too shocked by the obscurity of his inner world. And this signifies that until chapter 55, the lord’s soul and body were trapped in the darkness. Now, you might come to the conclusion that he was in a similar situation than Jihwa. Because the latter was figuratively deaf and blind, he had the impression to live trapped in a dark room, separated from the outside world. However, this is just a false perception. Jihwa was still in possession of his body, he could feel through his hands. Consequently, he could detect the presence of others. There’s no doubt that he felt lonely and was also lacking for warmth, however the protagonist was in the worst possible situation. He had been literally swallowed by the darkness. (chapter 74) He could feel nothing at all. Even his own mind was trapped in the darkness reinforced by his huge guilt triggered by father Yoon. Remember when I wrote that his body was covered by an armor, this referred to his loss of sensation. Imagine yourself in this situation: everything around you is dark and cold and you can feel nothing at all. No wonder why the lord came to believe that he was just a ghost. This is definitely the negative version of Blaise Pascal’s philosophy: cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). Yoon Seungho could only recognize his existence through his thoughts. And the chapter 74 was terrible for two reasons: it unveils to the manwhaphiles how the lord became a ghost. We see him disappearing in this blackness step by step:

  1. His powerlessness in front of brutality. He can’t protect himself (chapter 74) He can no longer yell for help and use his leg in order to defend himself, which contrasts to the beginning of his nightmare. (chapter 74)
  2. Then when his body starts flying in his terrible vision (chapter 74), this displays that the noble is losing the control of his body which can be explained with the usage of drugs. But he is still feeling the touch.
  3. Then the hands are covering up his mouth indicating that he can no longer express himself (chapter 74), but at the same time, it indicates the loss of sensation. This panel symbolizes that he is no longer possessing his body at all. All he has left are his eyes.
  4. Even at the end, he loses his sight… (chapter 74) This is the last vision he has before his eyes are also trapped in the darkness.

So the manhwalovers have now to question themselves: How do you leave this darkness, when you are surrounded by it? It is impossible, you can’t even feel the warmth of a body, because even your sense of touch is dead. In order to perceive the presence of light, you need colors… like I explained above. Light is composed by all the colors. And that’s how the lord could slowly leave his state of torpor. When he saw the erotic panels from Baek Na-Kyum, he could see the light, as they embodied love and warmth. That’s why he became so “addicted” to the pictures. They stood in opposition to the world he had been exposed to: sex, not as prostitution, but as a symbol for affection and warmth. The “colors” from the paintings helped him to see the light. After this new interpretation, it becomes understandable why he treasured so much the artist’s hands.(chapter 1) They were the reason why he could see glimpses of light in the darkness of his world. And since he became trapped in the blackness due to hands of scholars and officials, it is not surprising why Baek Na-Kyum’s hands are healing him. Therefore, when the painter touched his chest with his hand (chapter 73), he purified his heart. This explicates why in chapter 74, the noble is no longer interested in sex. The hand liberated his heart and allowed him to express his affection differently. At the same time, the loving gaze in the painter is the reason why the lord feels warmth in the end. All he ever wanted was to see light, but he truly discovered it through the painter’s embrace. (chapter 21) That’s why even in the darkness of the room, he could only be moved. Therefore he was focused on the painter’s body in the first place. The warmth made him realize the existence of light next to his body.

So when Yoon Seungho met the commoner for the first time, his eyes were already healed, as his eyes were exposed to colors constantly. No wonder, why the main lead fell in love at first sight. He had every reason to love the protagonist. The latter had saved him through the colors, making him view glimpses of light. Hence he could feel alive again. But more importantly, he could sense in the pretty face genuineness and naturality. But what the main lead didn’t realize is that Baek Na-Kyum was his mirror and as such his reflection. In other words, he was his glass prism. Since the painter felt attracted to him, the lord saw in the first painting (chapter 2) that he was handsome and attractive. That’s why he could experience his sexual emancipation afterwards. A part of his self-hatred disappeared. However, in order to liberate the lord entirely from his darkness, he needed to drop his fathers’ doctrines, which represented the biggest problem. His healing process got delayed due to Kim’s interventions and the painter’s own indoctrination. Striking is that Baek Na-Kyum was entirely healed by the lord, even before the latter has properly recovered from his own traumas. This clearly outlines his selflessness in the end.

And now, if I compare the first bubbles (chapter 55) to the ones from chapter 74, you’ll detect a huge difference. While there are only three colors in the first image (white, red, blue), the bubbles from chapter 74 remind us more of the colors from a rainbow. This coincidence with the character’s development. Yoon Seungho is seeing more and more light in his mind and heart. In chapter 55, only his conscious allowed the warmth and light associated to the painter to enter his inner world. But it is not the same with the unconscious… only in chapter 74, the light is entering his unconscious which explains why he is slowly remembering what happened to him. The lord can finally perceive his nightmares, while in the past they were just connected to terrible sensations. (chapter 38) I doubt that in chapter 38 and 59, he saw images. Due to the darkness of his inner world, he came to repress the horror he was exposed to. Thus it is not surprising that Yoon Seungho is not sleeping next to the painter, even after that night. (chapter 74) He still has this fear that Baek Na-Kyum might get affected by the blackness of his unconscious. At the same time, when he is facing the sleeping artist, it gives him comfort. Remember that the low-born is the glass prism of Yoon Seungho, hence his peaceful sleep helps the lord to relax. Note that he is lying in a fetal position, an indication of the return of his innocence. There’s no doubt that the visits in the painter’s study during the night (chapter 74) help the lord to relax and move on from his insomnia. Since he is now seeing light and feeling warmth thanks to the painter’s presence, he no longer feels the need for physical intimacy. Hence the lord can’t restrain himself showering Baek Na-Kyum with affection and care. However Yoon Seungho is not realizing that thanks to the artist, he is finally able to show his true self: a phoenix who got burnt by selfish and greedy people. This explicates why Yoon Seungho still perceives himself as a bad omen, because he can still see the blackness in himself. On the other side, this truly exposes the ravages caused by the traumatic experiences. From a sensitive, gentle, selfless and intelligent man, he became the opposite, reflecting the real image of the ones who destroyed him.

The irony is that the lord is not aware of his own transformation. In his mind, the painter has become his sun, hence he gave him a yellow-orange scarf. (chapter 74). When he sees the light next to the painter, he has the impression that it comes from the artist, while in reality, the painter is just mirroring his own light and warmth. Remember that the mirror in the manhwa has the form of the glass prism described above: (chapter 28) And in this panel (chapter 74), it is particularly visible, as the light coming from Yoon Seungho is reflected in the painter (glass prism), hence the colors are behind the artist’s head. This is not surprising why Baek Na-Kyum is so affected. Everything from Yoon Seungho is exuding love and care. At the same time, the lord serves also as a mirror for the painter. The latter can only sense love and warmth in the lord’s face and gaze. (chapter 74) He can only be smitten. But since the lord is also the glass prism for the painter, you can observe the refraction in this panel: (chapter 74) The painter’s affection is literally shining through the lord so that colors appear behind the lord’s back. The diversion becomes obvious for the readers, who are the beholders of such a phenomenon This is not surprising that the painter is falling more and more for Yoon Seungho. That’s why he blushes after a good night kiss. (chapter 74) He is now even longing for Yoon Seungho’s warmth, hence he stands up during the night and looks at the light in the lord’s chamber. (chapter 74) However, the lord is keeping his distance due to the darkness still existing in his unconscious. He fears that this could represent a nuisance to the painter’s peaceful sleep. Moreover, he still perceives himself as impure contrary to Baek Na-Kyum. What the lord fails to recognize is that the artist seems to have sleeping trouble now, because he is longing for his lover’s warmth too, another clue for the painter’s thirst for love and strong libido. There’s no doubt that as long as the commoner doesn’t claim the lord’s bed as his own and expresses the wish to share the bed with his lover, the latter will never suggest this to Baek Na-Kyum.

Because the lord allowed the light from the painter to enter his spirit and heart, he is shining like a sun, which coincides with the animal embodying the noble: the Phoenix. In other words, the nightmare from the aristocrat should be judged as a necessary healing process. (chapter 74) Slowly, the lord is getting rid of the blackness. He is turning his light to the Earth, the painter, mistaking his lover for a sun. Their blossoming love will definitely bring the artist to improve his talent and creativity. But it will have the same effect on the noble. The longer Yoon Seungho is spending his time with Baek Na-Kyum, the better the lord can perceive the colors and light. Through art, the noble will rediscover his lost passion: painting and even poetry. And in my opinion, in order to reconnect to painting, the lord needs to sense the colors for real. The painting in his nightmare was made of black ink and nothing more. (chapter 74)

Both are so fascinated by the colors coming from the refraction that they are seeing the world in bright colors now. However, their fascination for the light makes them careless. They are not paying attention to their surroundings. (chapter 74) In their innocence, they are not realizing that if there’s light, there exists darkness too. Consequently, they don’t detect that darkness is already gathering around them, preparing for the next attack. From my point of view, the darkness should be perceived either as an eclipse or as clouds. Imagine the lord’s reaction, when he loses his prism glass, he will feel definitely devastated. However, there is one thing that even darkness couldn’t destroy after all these years: the lord’s intelligence. He might have acted stupidly during the second season, but his mind was clouded by his emotions. Now that he knows that the painter chose him and is no longer pushing him away, he will be able to use his brain properly. He has more evidences for that. Baek Na-Kyum allowed him to put the scarf properly. Observe the difference between the first (chapter 74) and second image. (chapter 74) The knot is different and he has now a hat. The noble put the scarf exactly like in chapter 69. (chapter 69) Moreover, the new headgear, reserved for women, is a sign that Baek Na-Kyum is accepting his marriage officially. (chapter 74) Hence there is no ambiguity that his disappearance will lead to an investigation and Yoon Seungho will interrogate his staff. Finally, neither an eclipse nor the clouds can truly separate the sun from the Earth, consequently they won’t be able to disrupt this harmonious relationship for long. As a conclusion, the painter as a representative of all virtues could only become Yoon Seungho’s savior, as he brought light into his darkness. This explicates why Yoon Seungho views the commoner as his god and lord. (chapter 71) He was as strong as a god, when he entered his obscure world. No wonder why the noble is so humble and thankful towards his lover. He brought him back to life, hence his life can only revolve around the painter from now on. The sun will never sense his own light and warmth, unless it witnesses how the nature on Earth is blossoming. It needs the existence of another planet to realize the existence of its own heat.

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