This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
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- “You may not always trust the people you love, but you can always love the people you trust.”
- “The best proof of love is TRUST.”
- “When mistrust comes in, loves goes out. -Irish proverb”
What do these quotes have in common? They all underline that trust is more valuable than love, and trust is a condition for true love. Without this virtue, love is unstable, and can even vanish. Striking is that chapter 69 was centered on faith and confidence. Baek Na-Kyum chose to remain by Yoon Seungho’s side despite his fear and doubts.
Although he had to listen to many arguments from his sister, he decided to believe in the lord’s love confession. Yoon Seungho did exactly the same: he chose to wait for the painter’s resolution. Therefore this signifies that he decided to trust the artist’s will. In other words, both protagonists took a leap of faith, although they were scared and full of doubts.
That’s why when the lord put the scarf around the painter’s neck and added that he believed in the artist’s words
, Baek Na-Kyum could only be moved. With these words, Yoon Seungho was not only showing his care and gentleness, but he was expressing his confidence in the low-born. The latter could feel it through his eyes and ears. Simultaneously, Baek Na-Kyum reciprocated this mark of faith. First, he obeyed to the noble’s order.
Secondly, he allowed the main lead to touch him with the scarf. This submission was different from the past, because the painter was totally honest here and not wounded. Then after covering the artist’s throat, the lord pays attention to the low-born’s reaction.
He sees with his own eyes that this simple but tender gesture has already affected Baek Na-Kyum. The latter keeps blushing and if the manhwaphiles look carefully at the commoner’s gaze, they will detect a glimpse of hope due to the light in the eyes.
This explicates why Yoon Seungho allows his loved one to follow his noona to the gate in order to bid farewell properly. As you can observe, both main characters are starting trusting each other despite the wounds and fear. They are actually applying what the famous author Ernest Hemingway once wrote:
The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.
However, the improvement of their relationship coincides with the deterioration of Baek Na-Kyum’s bond with Heena noona. This is not surprising that the kisaeng is already jealous of Yoon Seungho.
She blames him for affecting her relationship to her “brother and son”. That’s why she glares at the protagonist. Their mistrust is actually mutual. 
In her eyes, the main lead can be the only reason why Baek Na-Kyum is no longer listening to her advices and requests. In the past, he used to be so obedient and never talk back to her. He rejected not only her suggestions, but also her hand. 
For the first time, she was pushed away, that’s why she got so shocked. In that moment, she could no longer be blind, hence the author zoomed on her gaze. 
And now, you are wondering why I am talking about chapter 68, when my main focus was chapter 69. The reason is simple: Heena noona is actually becoming more daring and defiant, because she feels legitimated in her actions. She has the impression, Baek Na-Kyum has become submissive due to the noble’s abuse. Let’s not forget that the artist also portrayed Yoon Seungho in a rather negative light before 
and he even added that he didn’t want to love him. With such words, the kisaeng’s prejudices about Yoon Seungho could only get reinforced. No wonder that she can’t trust the painter’s decision. Since Baek Na-Kyum was not brave enough to become responsible for his feelings and let the aristocrat take the “blame”, the noona could only take his words as face-value. Yoon Seungho was accountable for this situation, and the painter’s affection for him was not real, just an illusion. Since the painter didn’t trust himself, Heena noona couldn’t trust him as well. This explicates why she remains blind and deaf in chapter 69 and why Byeonduck drew her without eyes in this panel. 
When the painter gave her the scarf, she is not capable of recognizing the signification of the gesture, because she doesn’t trust Baek Na-Kyum’s judgement. In her eyes, her son and brother has the impression, he is mature enough to take care of her, but the reality is different. She is sure that Baek Na-Kyum is making a huge mistake, he is trusting the wrong person. That’s why I judge the last panel as a contradiction to the following picture: Mistrust versus trust. If you compare both images, you’ll notice the difference in the attitude. Baek Na-Kyum is lowering his head, putting his faith in the lord’s hands, while Heena noona is looking straight, exuding a certain confidence and defiance. She is definitely not trusting her adoptive son and brother. It was, as though she was closing her eyes to reality. She can’t come to terms with the new situation and her son’s decision. That’s why her eyes are missing, whereas in the panel with Baek Na-Kyum, the perspective is the reason why the readers can’t see the painter’s gaze. However, due to the slight bow, the artist shows trust and respect.
Besides, if I examine the characters’ behavior more precisely, I detect a huge switch. While in chapter 65, Heena noona appeared fearless, confident and selfless, in episode 69, she is reckless, arrogant and selfish. Why do I perceive her like that? First, she ignores the fact that the lord treats her as a guest despite her status, because he appears the moment she leaves. It was, as if he wanted to pay her a certain respect, especially in the moment he answers her question
and adds that one of his servants will accompany her to the kisaeng house. Secondly, she questions Yoon Seungho’s decision, ignoring the fact that she did violate laws by entering the mansion with her guards. 
The tone she speaks to Yoon Seungho is disrespectful, because her sentence is not even completed. But this doesn’t end here. When she starts arguing with him “What kind of…”, the lord replies while remaining calm. 
Sure, he is firm, when he justifies his resolution, yet simultaneously this indicates that Yoon Seungho is listening to her despite her rudeness. I have to admit that it took me some time to interpret the following image: 
My first impression was that the lord was approaching Heena, but after pondering for a while, I came to a different deduction. In fact, this is the opposite: Heena noona is the one approaching Yoon Seungho, although the words from the protagonist gives the impression, he is confident and determined. In other words, the kisaeng keeps defying the host. She is the one threatening the main lead, this explicates why Baek Na-Kyum intervenes and puts himself between them. However, unlike in chapter 30
, the painter is here protecting Yoon Seungho. That’s why he yells at Heena: 
This displays that he is not protecting his sister here, he definitely disapproves her attitude. That’s why Baek Na-Kyum sides with the lord and is grateful for his behavior. 
Another evidence for the kisaeng’s threatening attitude is the master’s exhausted gaze. The return of “lord Seungho” exposes that the low-born is truly grateful with the lord’s decision and generosity. The commoner is able to recognize his honorable manners. Moreover, this shows either that the painter is trusting his words. This is not surprising that the noble is surprised and touched by the “thank you” 
, as it is a first for Yoon Seungho. No one has ever thanked him before, his guests took everything for granted, not even the painter. And with the return of respect, trust can only flourish and as such love. This new gaze from the aristocrat astonishes the painter as well. In my opinion, the painter witnesses a different gaze for the first time: his gaze is no longer impenetrable.
He can see through him, and sense his true soul. That’s why Baek Na-Kyum is moved and feels awkward. 
And now, you understand why the author chose to draw Baek Na-Kyum’s chin
, which is similar to the following panel: 
(chapter 35). Back then, the lord was exhausted and on the verge of giving up, until he saw the artist’s blush, which made him smile and gave him strength and hope again. In my opinion, the painter is in a similar situation, in the sense that he is already sensing that Heena noona is determined to reject Yoon Seungho. There’s a certain disappointment, that’s why he sends the kisaeng away.
He realizes that Heena noona is not willing to show any compromise and respect towards Yoon Seungho. She has already made up her mind. Although he still loves her, the confrontation before has created a certain mistrust and riff between them.
Another important aspect is the hug between Baek Na-Kyum and his “adoptive mother”. 
Note that here the artist’s gaze is missing. From my perspective, the embrace is less affectionate and genuine, especially if you compare it to this hug: 
Don’t get me wrong: both characters still love each other, yet the disagreement from before and Heena noona’s behavior has already disturbed Baek Na-Kyum. Furthermore, observe that the kisaeng seizes the opportunity to influence her “son”. 
Therefore I judge the embrace as less honest and more selfish from her part. She keeps attempting to change his mind. She is refusing to accept his resolution, hence neither the hug nor the scarf let her forget her decision: Baek Na-Kyum should follow her and not remain by Yoon Seungho’s side. This explicates why the warning from the servant in front of the kisaeng house ignites her resistance to resign to her fate. It pushes her to fight back. 
She can not trust her “son’s” judgement, because in her mind the painter has been negatively influenced by the main lead.
However, I believe that Heena noona is mistaken here. The origin of her argument with the artist is not the noble. In my opinion, she never trusted the artist from the start. Why? She feared that he would cause trouble. Let’s not forget that in the past, Baek Na-Kyum’s cry in front of her getting beaten was his way to protest and his desire to protect her. 
Because she wanted to keep him out of trouble, she relied on the scholar to take away Baek Na-Kyum from the kisaeng house. In her mind, she was actually making the best decision: she was protecting him. However, she never reflected on the impact of her choice. She let the painter consider himself as a burden. Why? He couldn’t help her, moreover he had the impression that he was a source of trouble. 
That’s why he was entrusted to the scholar. The more she relied on Jung In-Hun, the more Baek Na-Kyum’s self-esteem was affected. This explicates why Baek Na-Kyum couldn’t tell her that he was still illiterate. That’s why his low self-esteem is palpable in chapter 40. He feels very embarrassed, when he has to admit that he can only read a few characters. 
The worst is that the kisaeng still doesn’t know that he can’t write. 
If he revealed his illiteracy, he feared that she might get upset. Moreover, there is no ambiguity that the scholar made sure that Baek Na-Kyum would be blamed for his incapacities. Since Heena noona always viewed the teacher as a trustworthy person, but she didn’t trust the painter’s personality, the artist could only internalize the criticisms from Jung In-Hun. In his eyes, he must have been too stupid and was responsible for his inability, especially when Heena noona kept praising the low noble. Besides, since Baek Na-Kyum had been abandoned since his birth, he felt pressured to please Heena noona and never question her words and judgement. He followed her advices and prejudices blindly with the hope that he would get trusted by her. There’s no doubt that she loves him, yet love without real trust can only deteriorate the relationship in the long run. And now, imagine how the painter must have felt, when she entrusted him to Jung In-Hun. His insecurities must have increased. 
Moreover, due to her words, when she is justifying her resolution with the painter’s love and admiration, she gives the impression that she is trying to impose her own feelings onto her “adoptive son and brother”.
Furthermore, I would like to point out the following problem: Heena is called “noona” by Baek Na-Kyum and not mother. So strictly speaking, she is just an older sister, yet she acts like a mother. So why is she not called “mother”? It was, as if she didn’t want to assume her responsibility as a mother. If she is just a noona, she is less accountable. Then if we take into consideration that she kept using the low noble in order to protect the young boy, we have to question her intentions: did she feel too burdened by Baek Na-Kyum, hence she wanted to share her responsibility with the scholar? Or did she use the boy in order to get the scholar’s attention and love in order to create a bond with him? I do believe that calling her “Heena noona” must have reinforced Baek Na-Kyum’s insecurities in the end. On the other hand, in chapter 69, she definitely acts like a mother, who is unfortunately narrow-minded and selfish. She doesn’t trust her son.
Moreover, since his childhood Heena noona kept sending him away, hence he continued experiencing abandonment over and over again… That’s why his bound with the scholar was reinforced, he represented his last anchor. 
And now, the manhwaphiles can sense why Baek Na-Kyum’s critical thinking was never developed. His desire to be accepted led him to become submissive and silent. Furthermore, he was never allowed to express himself (anger, powerlessness, fear etc.) The hug was used to shut his mouth. Due to her overprotectiveness, the kisaeng affected the painter’s personality: she increased his insecurities so that he withdrew more and more, and found refuge in painting. At the same time, he tried to please Heena noona more and more, therefore he adopted her prejudices and her admiration for the scholar. From my perspective, the kisaeng’s biased vision is the result of her own seclusion. She lives in the kisaeng house, hence she doesn’t interact with commoners in general. Her judgement about people is based on her own experiences, therefore she generalizes: rich nobles are all bad. She doesn’t realize that commoners and poor nobles are also humans, hence they can also be selfish and ruthless. Remember what I wrote before: her perception is influenced by appearances. What she sees leads her to judge people. Servants are humbly dressed, then she thinks, they are modest and not sneaky.
What bothers me the most is that she has never wondered why Baek Na-Kyum didn’t write her all this time. Moreover, it looks like she never wrote to him, because she doesn’t say “reply”, but write. Why doesn’t she write to him too? It was, as if she didn’t want to keep in touch with him. And the way she deals with the new situation is quite telling: she is again forcing her perception without showing any respect towards the artist. Since neither her words, nor the caress nor the hug helped her, she has to find another way. That’s why I believe that she will hurt the painter in the end.
For me, Heena noona is represented by the following quote: Love makes people blind. This explicates why she misjudged Jung In-Hun, and why she disliked seeing Baek Na-Kyum’s cry. On the one hand, she associated his tears and shouting to trouble, on the other hand she couldn’t bear the thought that her son was in pain. Hence she thought caress and love were the right answers for these terrible situations. At the same time, she must have felt uncomfortable too, hence she is called Heena noona. Sure, the kisaeng is a honest and loving “adoptive mother”, but love is not enough to raise a child, especially if you are really young. From my point of view, she was definitely too young, when she adopted him and got too overwhelmed by the huge weight of responsibility. Hence she relied on others to share her “burden”.
And in that chapter, Baek Na-Kyum is slowly distancing himself from her, indicating that he is maturing. 
As a son, he wants to become responsible for her. Hence he gives her the scarf. He would like her to trust him, something he never did in the past. That’s why he smiles at the end. He would like to reassure her. There is no ambiguity that if Heena noona participates in the kidnapping, because she has been misled, the painter will definitely confront her and even criticize her for her bad decisions, and reveal the truth about the scholar.
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caught my attention. Striking is that neither the noble nor the painter cared too much about that gesture. The artist was too shocked due to the huge scandal, and the main lead had the impression, he just wanted to taste the artist out of curiosity and interest. So there was no deep meaning in the caress, yet this gesture was witnessed by the scholar Jung In-Hun.
(Chapter 18) And this not only shocked him, but more importantly, it really made him jealous. 
Imagine, he was upset, because the painter had been the recipient of a caress from the powerful noble. Yet, he didn’t feel repulsed, just displeased and resentful But if he was jealous, then it signifies that he desired to have received this mark of attention. That’s the reason why I come to the conclusion, Jung In-Hun would have even accepted the noble’s advances, if it meant that he would get some benefit from it. And this interpretation is even confirmed, when you compare it with its reflection in chapter 35. 
(Chapter 35) In other words, although the caress from Yoon Seungho was anodyne, his gentleness was genuine, whereas it is the opposite with the teacher’s stroke. Moreover, if you compare the vocabulary field, you’ll notice the contrast: duty/work versus entertainment. And although the low noble is aware that Baek Na-Kyum has been very ill, he just sends him back to his “work”. He makes sure that the artist doesn’t fall for the lord’s generosity. He should remember that this is just work, and not entertainment. Moreover, the teacher reminds the painter of his promise: he is his servant. As the manhwaphiles can detect, in chapter 19, Jung In-Hun was already jealous of the painter, because he was receiving the lord’s attention and affection. But this was just a caress, therefore envision how he must have felt, when he heard this from the painter: 
(chapter 35) He must have realized that he was on the verge of losing the artist’s favors. That’s why he reminded the painter of his “loyalty” and “promise”. In chapter 35, Yoon Seungho was the one jealous, hence imagine the resent and jealousy Jung In-Hun must have felt in chapter 19. Yoon Seungho had even cut ties with another aristocrat due to the low-born. But unlike the scholar, Yoon Seungho’s jealousy was much more intensive to the point he would have killed the artist, if he had set a foot outside the mansion, though I doubt that he would have done it for real. 
But why are these characters jealous? 
(Chapter 19) In truth, he projected his own thoughts onto the painter. He wanted to be the one getting closer to the powerful aristocrat, and would do anything in exchange for his own interests. Simultaneously, he needed the artist to remain obedient and loyal, so that he wouldn’t become a rival. And now, if we examine the protagonist’s jealousy in chapter 35 with this definition, we recognize that it is related to the sex marathon. Yoon Seungho had envisaged that after that event, the painter had finally accepted him as his partner, and their relationship had changed. Besides, after his return, Baek Na-Kyum had been in his bed and had never reproached the sexual encounter leading to his illness. Therefore, he had envisaged that the commoner was slowly accepting him. 
(Chapter 35) Moreover, he caresses his head 
(chapter 35) after finally asking him about his interest. This scene made him realize that he needed to get to know Baek Na-Kyum better, and their relationship shouldn’t only be limited to sex. Hence he invited the painter to his bedchamber that night. In my opinion, he really hoped to initiate a conversation. That’s the reason why he was writing something, he hoped that Baek Na-Kyum would ask, but due to the aphrodisiac and the “warning” from Kim, the artist didn’t dare to speak. As a conclusion, we could say, Kim would have totally succeeded to ruin Yoon Seungho’s plan, if the brother hadn’t appeared that night. At the end, Baek Na-Kyum did earn the lord’s trust, he was able to sleep by the lord’s side. 
(chapter 35) 
(chapter 46), we see the painter deciding his own fate. He prefers remaining in the mansion. 
(chapter 67), unaware that she is trusting a terrible servant who is determined to hurt her son. This reminds us of the chapter 35, where Jung In-Hun risked the painter’s life. I have to admit that after comparing the scene from episode 19 with 35, I had the impression that Jung In-Hun could have been demonstrating his affection in order to show off to the lord that the painter would only listen to him. Let’s not forget that in chapter 30, the teacher tried to sell off Baek Na-Kyum by telling Yoon Seungho that the artist would only obey to him. And in both cases, Jung In-Hun never recognized the real situation: he was putting his life in danger. And observe that we have many parallels in chapter 69 with chapter 30 as well. We have the painter’s intervention
(Chapter 69) He notices the artist’s concern and attention towards his mother. This explicates why he allows the painter to follow the kisaeng to the front gate. However, as you can observe it, the painter is not realizing that the lord is paying attention to his facial expressions. In my opinion, Yoon Seungho is trying to make the painter smile, when he gives his consent. 
(chapter 69) This explains why he asks him to follow his mother only to the front gate. That’s the limit of his trust. I would even add, he can’t bear Baek Na-Kyum out of sight. That’s how much he loves him. He needs to feel his presence close to him. And exactly like in chapter 35, the readers sense the importance of the door. While in episode 35, the gate was associated to life or death, now the door symbolizes trust. Within the building, he will put his faith in the artist’s words. Finally, we have another allusion to chapter 35: the reference to coldness. 
(chapter 35) 
And this parallel reinforces my perception about the valet. He is a hypocrite, because he incited the lord to go to the window, while claiming that it was cold. That’s why I perceive the chapter 69 as a good sign. Yoon Seungho is definitely willing to trust the painter. He let him make his own choice, and the moment Baek Na-Kyum expressed that he was not leaving the mansion
(chapter 69), the lord could only feel relieved. That’s why he had a softer gaze right after.
(Chapter 80) He had once again listened to the butler’s advice… How can I be so sure? It is because the real author of the threat was the butler and not the lord. 
(chapter 69) Yoon Seungho will never order someone to eliminate a person. He will always use his own hands. We have many evidences for this: the hunt and the scenes with the sword. 
(chapter 77) The young boy was looking at someone else. He would stop looking at him like that. 
(chapter 57) The butler would lose his influence over the boy. Under this new light, you comprehend why he decided to betray father Yoon after the straw mat beating. The young boy was rejecting him and despising him. 
(chapter 77) Yoon Seungho’s gaze was telling all his emotions and thoughts. That’s the reason why the butler isolated his master for so many years. And note that in chapter 69, he projected his own thoughts onto the painter again. Since the butler has always backstabbed, betrayed and abandoned Yoon Seungho, he imagined that the artist would have a change of heart too… like Kim always did in the past. Naturally, this is the negative version of a change of heart: not compassion and remorse, but resent and jealousy!!
(chapter 77) If the painter leaves the mansion, the butler will make sure to portray the painter in a negative light. But there’s one thing that Kim overlooked: Yoon Seungho’s ability to learn!! Remember that jealousy is there to make the partner realize that he needs to improve his behavior. Since he mistrusted the painter’s choice, he realized later that he needed to earn the artist’s trust first. Therefore he made the following promises: 
(chapter 70) and he would always ask for the artist’s consent. 
(chapter 71). Furthermore, the artist’s reproach in the tavern 
(chapter 75) must have been an eye-opener for the wealthy aristocrat as well. How can he expect “loyalty and trust” from Baek Na-Kyum, if he is himself a fickle man by nature? With such words, the artist encouraged the lord to stop wavering and doubting his lover. He needed to show his love and trust first, before expecting it right away from the low-born. And now, you comprehend why Yoon Seungho started courting Baek Na-Kyum. He needed to show his trust and love in order to obtain it. And in chapter 80, he finally succeeded it. Therefore the bride’s abduction is doomed to failure. Kim won’t be able to achieve his goal. However, there’s one thing that this incident will make the lord recognize that he trusted the wrong person. He should never have listened to the butler’s advice and threatened the kisaeng, because this meant that he was mistrusting his lover! 
(chapter 50) I tried to find answers by speculating. However, my assumptions were totally wrong due to the lack of information. Only time and new chapters helped me to understand the story much better. Thereby I could better anticipate its progression, and comprehend the reasons for the characters’ actions. Due to the constant examination, I made the following observations:
(chapter 33) 
(chapter 56), and there’s always a drop of sweat on his face. However, if you pay attention, you’ll notice that the valet is never seen washing. He carries the bucket around, and that’s it, which stands in opposition to Baek Na-Kyum. The latter cleans his own underwear, but also the protagonist’s face
(chapter 55). 
(chapter 16) Here, he was wondering how the painter was able to create the painting, while he didn’t seem to look at them the whole time. What caught my attention are two elements:
(chapter 49) The painter expressed his thoughts: he only saw the noble as a sex toy, the main lead was the one who should give pleasure to Baek Na-Kyum. Yet despite the hurt, Yoon Seungho was willing to accept this situation. They would no longer exchange their thoughts and emotions. He was already lowering his expectations. At the same time, he couldn’t help caring for the low-born. He caressed his cheek and kissed him gently at the end.
(chapter 50)
(chapter 50) And this scene reminded me of the main lead running to the scholar’s room in chapter 28/29
, after witnessing the artist’s desertion. There was a time jump as well. Therefore I came to the conclusion that the night in chapter 48-49-50 has the same importance than the night with the forced sex and fellatio. This explicates why the lord has a sword again. Back then, he took the weapon due to his jealousy, hence we can definitely conclude that he is angered again due to the return of his jealousy. So chapter 50 was not only a reflection of the episode 16, but also of the episode 28-29. 
(chapter 58), as the presence of the butler is perceptible through the bucket of hot water and the readers can hear the low-born’s moaning, we have another clue that the valet was listening to their conversation in chapter 50.
(chapter 50) What had triggered his fury and jealousy?
(chapter 21). The paper in the book is very similar to the poem in chapter 4. Remember the theory I exposed in the essay “hypotheses about the second season”: Yoon Seungho had not returned the original poem, but given the artist his own poetry. So if he didn’t give back the scholar’s poem, then what did he do with it? I doubt that he would have kept it, hence I deduce that he must have asked his assistant to throw it away, exactly like the painter in chapter 44. However, Kim must have read it and kept it, well aware that this could be of use later. From my point of view, the butler must have entrusted it to the teacher with the hope that he would leave the mansion. And I can imagine that when Jung In-Hun left his room, he didn’t take it with him. That’s why it ended up again in the butler’s hand. However, if the lord discovered that the poem had not be thrown away, he would have realized that Kim had disobeyed him. That’s why I came to rule out the first possibility. 
, the readers should expect that this picture will be used twice during the second season. Because I already exposed that Heena noona recognized the painter’s presence due to the inauguration painting
(chapter 65), it is definitely possible that Kim planted the picture in such a way that Yoon Seungho’s jealousy would get triggered, a new version of the panel from episode 41. Let’s not forget that the aristocrat was not present, when Baek Na-Kyum decided to discard the drawing. Kim was quite clever with this move. As he knew that the noble had now just a purely physical relationship, he could only get infuriated, when he saw the picture. He had already sensed the painter’s admiration in the drawing: the image oozes pure adoration and spiritual admiration, something Yoon Seungho has always been longing. Hence the noble could only get wounded with this terrible experience. I can imagine that Kim could have praised the picture in front of his master (a new version of chapter 44
), then added that Baek Na-Kyum had trusted him with the picture to give to Jung In-Hun. Kim hoped with this intervention not only to separate the couple, but even to have the painter killed by the main lead, a new version of chapter 35. 
But what he didn’t expect is that the noble would rush to the teacher’s room, and not to the study. However, his delay could be explained differently. He had been busy giving the sentence to Deok-Jae, the straw mat beating. And this leads me to the following observation: denunciation. In chapter 28, Deok-Jae covered up for Kim’s betrayal, for he hoped that Kim would come to protect him. 
(chapter 51) The man believed the butler, because he had not covered up for him about the prank with the spoiled rice. Finally, I discovered that this expression “how strange” was used by someone else: 
(chapter 37) It was the fake servant who had mentioned the purge! This means that someone had betrayed the Yoons, tattled on them! At the same time, the words from the old bearded man implied that the patriarch Yoon had been the denunciator. Thus he could expect the purge.
(Chapter 37) As a conclusion, the expression “how strange” is connected to denunciation and deception! I have two other evidences for this interpretation. Jihwa had also spoken like that, when he had heard from the amateur spy that his master had a change of heart! Here again, we have spying activities and denunciation. 
(chapter 13) Finally, observe that in season 3, Baek Na-Kyum is portrayed and stigmatized as a traitor. 
(chapter 91) The maid’s statement (“I’m surprised…”) truly exposes that the painter had such a reputation among the staff. The so-called treacherous nature of the painter served as a justification for Kim’s punishment. The butler’s kindness had been used against him. He had been sentenced to the straw mat beating, because he had allowed the noona to enter the mansion for the painter’s sake! In that scene, the maids had been tasked to leak a certain information to the couple: the existence of the kisaeng’s letters. That way, the painter could accuse his lover of his deception. He had kept away the letters from his noonas. However, the separation didn’t take place, because the painter didn’t hear the comment from the maid. He was no spy! 
(chapter 91) But Yoon Seungho is one, for he is the surrogate son of the butler… who listens to conversations in the shadow! 
(chapter 77) His presence was undetected in the courtyard, until Bongyong wounded the painter. Here, he came out of the shadow! 
(chapter 78)
(chapter 50) That way, he could separate the couple. Due to their last sex session, he had discovered that the protagonists were getting closer to each other. He made sure to utilize Yoon Seungho’s hatred for prostitution. And keep in mind observations with the comment “How strange…”: we had spying, deception, contradiction and denunciation. The spiritual love stands in opposition to prostitution. 
, whereas the butler didn’t consider him as a servant in chapter 23
, another evidence for the valet’s hypocrisy. 
(chapter 68) or the window. This is important, because that way, he is getting prepared to fight against his biggest opponent, lord Song who stands behind Kim. However, there exists one huge difference between Kim, Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum. The protagonists are no secret agents, they are both detectives. They want to understand their partner and their past, but since both were victims of crimes, this means that their role is unveil the truth so that both can get justice. 
or “wench”
. So right from the start, Baek Na-Kyum grew up in a rather secluded place, it was not the place for children. Therefore, he never had the chance to make friends so that he couldn’t exchange his thoughts with his peers. That’s why he is seen painting on his own in the first chapter. Since he couldn’t play with other children, he overcame his loneliness with painting. And remember that social isolation plays a huge role in coercive persuasion. 
Hence while the low-born grew up, he was not only deeply influenced by this negative image of rich nobles, but also not allowed to voice his resent. From my perspective, the artist must have felt no liking to interact with other people. On the one hand, he was happy among his noonas, on the other hand the strangers visiting the brothel were all perceived by him in a negative light. That’s why I come to the conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum’s isolation was even reinforced by these incidents, creating the perfect situation for the coercive persuasion.
Yet observe how the scholar is hiding his face from the innocent boy. The artist could never witness the teacher’s facial expressions and gaze. And if we combine these two observations, we recognize why the artist questioned the genuineness of the main lead’s hug in chapter 49. 
Note that he didn’t see the lord’s gaze in that moment. He was actually hiding his face from the protagonist. Moreover, he didn’t pay attention to the lord’s words 
, too overwhelmed with the last sex session. If he had truly listened to his words, he would have sensed the noble’s unhappiness and regrets. He was definitely expressing some self-reproaches here. The problem was that in chapter 29, Baek Na-Kyum realized the scholar’s betrayal after a warm embrace due to his words, explaining why he was rather critical to this warm embrace. Yet here the artist made a mistake. He judged the gesture without paying attention to the lord’s remark. And this shows to me that Jung In-Hun took advantage of the artist’s affection to fake care and love. Yet, while he was faking warmth and love, he never said anything, since either the faces are covered 
(chapter 65)
(chapter 2) I am quite certain that he adopted her perception of the world due to his negative experiences. Besides, I believe too that Heena noona was already influenced by the scholar. She already mistook for a hero and misjudged his personality. Therefore I come to the conclusion that the painter’s skills to lead a conversation weren’t developed at all. The scholar had no interest to teach him, because this would have led to critical thinking. Furthermore, he is just a low-born. Finally, he had no reason to talk, because this would mean that he had to explain the situation. Why did the rich noble become violent? So he was doing the exact same thing than the butler: he was swaying the violence under the rug by letting take the wealthy and violent aristocrat the blame. Since no one discussed these incidents, the painter could never voice his anger and developed his conversation skills. That’s why it tool a long time for Baek Na-Kyum to finally listen to the main lead properly. He experienced a similar situation than Yoon Seungho in truth. Yet there was a huge difference between them. Yoon Seungho could read books, hence his thinking could improve, whereas it was not the case for the artist. He had to find another way to voice his emotions. Therefore he came to paint in my opinion. This was the only place where he could express his emotions properly, yet his pictures were only reflecting warmth and love, but nothing about his negative emotions: rage in face of injustice and violence. 
Yoon Seungho’s words expressed the same emotions the low-born sensed, when he saw the main lead’s face. He was also sent back to these violent incidents. And now, you understand why the painter didn’t feel repulsed by the rather brutal confession. When Baek Na-Kyum met the protagonist, he could only reject him because of his past experiences. He saw in him the typical violent noble. However, surprising is that Yoon Seungho allowed him to express himself. That’s why Baek Na-Kyum lied, even yelled at him or criticized him by calling him a man consumed by lust. This explicates too why the painter was only honest during a confrontation in the end. While in his past, he could never voice his thoughts and emotions, he could with Yoon Seungho, as the latter never sent him away or shut his mouth with a warm embrace. Remember how the noble asked him to explain the situation about the ruined painting. He gave him the opportunity to speak, and kept asking for an explanation. He did the same thing in the barn as well. And now, you understand why the painter could only fall in love with the main lead, unlike in the past, he could freely express himself. Therefore I consider the chapter 68 as an evidence that Baek Na-Kyum isn’t suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. His love confession reflects his inner conflict.
(chapter 46)
When she claimed that she had seen everything, Baek Na-Kyum told her what others saw (the lord’s affection) and that the latter had already confessed. For me, since each character has flaws, some more and others less, Heena noona is not different. She doesn’t realize that love is not enough to raise a child. The true goal of education is to let the children become independent. And this can only happen, when they are encouraged to voice their emotions, exchange their thoughts with others and question things. Overprotection can lead to misery in the end. Sure, her temper and personality served as a good role model: she is affectionate, definitely brave and willing to sacrifice herself for her son. But since she judged people based on appearances, she didn’t realize the teacher’s hypocrisy and sent her son to misery. 
Since in the past, the teacher had given her impression that he was caring and selfless, then she imagined that he would continue doing the same, if she made the request. However, the problem was that the moment she trusted the artist to the scholar, the latter had lost the key to enter the kisaeng house. It was, as if the key of the door had been removed, since Heena noona requested from Baek Na-Kyum to never come back. But this meant that the painter had become a burden for Jung In-Hun. Furthermore, this new panel 
, while he remained totally passive, when the main lead punched Min. 
So the lord became the hand of justice for the painter, and Baek Na-Kyum didn’t mind in the end.
and only displayed with the second episode from the Alternative Universe: 
. This explicates why he desired to have replaced the second lead (chapter 2) and got aroused during the threesome. The brush was focused on the lord’s hand touching the butt (chapter 9).
He deeply desired to have sex with Yoon Seungho, but his conscious kept denying the obvious. And his lack of honesty is still present in the second season, hence he still perceives Yoon Seungho as man consumed by lust which is visible in the paintings.
The artist legitimates his wish to stay at the mansion, because it is for the teacher’s sake, then later for the protagonist, who is in love with him. At no moment, he wants to become responsible for his feelings. He keeps resisting his affection and attraction towards the main lead. Why? 
, chapter 6: sex with a stranger 
, chapter 56 
) expose his deepest sexual desires, the main lead should pleasure him. This explains why Baek Na-Kyum is never facing the lord and always passive in his wet dreams. This shows his reluctance to admit his kinky side. Imagine that he ejaculates, when he hears “you’ve made a wreck of me”, but not when the lover whispers “I adore you”. He even got erected again, when he saw the butler in front of the barn, which was noticed by the aristocrat, and he even had a climax in the courtyard.
His reluctance to admit his affection is strongly intertwined with his strong sexuality. There’s this fear that he might get perceived as a man consumed by lust himself. If he accepts his love and as such his huge libido, he might get looked down and excluded. This is understandable, because he has abandonment issues. I believe, the readers should remember that the artist was scared of people’s opinion during the first season. From my perspective, although he has come to accept his homosexuality, he is still under the influence of the social norms: a man shouldn’t love another man. Besides, let’s not forget that Jihwa, as a reflection of the painter, has a similar mindset. He uses sex in order to disguise his emotions. As long as the painter is not honest to himself and as such doesn’t respect himself, he can’t be genuine with the noble. In my eyes, Baek Na-Kuym continued viewing the lord as a man obsessed with sex for many reasons. First he was too hurt by the teacher’s words. He never paid attention to the lord’s words and gestures. However, as time passed on, he never reviewed his perception out of convenience. With such an image, the noble was responsible for the sexual intercourses, and this attitude was even reinforced by the maid’s comments.
But now, he is facing a dilemma, because his noona offers him the possibility to leave the mansion, but he refuses her proposition for futile different reasons: the scholar, his living conditions, the painting, the lord’s love… Only once cornered, he finally admits his love, but he describes it as something negative 
(chapter 61) 
(chapter 62). He questions things and people’s behavior , that’s why he is so obsessed with the “why”. He desires to understand the motivation behind the painter’s words and actions. In other words, he is looking beyond the appearance and surface. However, Baek Na-Kyum was surrounded by Heena noona and Jung In-Hun, people who value appearances very much. That’s why the head-kisaeng said that she saw everything.
But what did she see and hear? She discovered through the town gossips that the painter had caused a commotion by running away. Then she saw the artist tied up and breathing heavily, and the noble’s lie could only contribute to reinforce her negative perception she had about Yoon Seungho. Besides, when she claimed that she recognized the artist’s painting
And thanks to @shoei’s comment, I realized that the butler could have played a role here. Remember that the butler was asked in chapter 44 to throw away the picture of Jung In-Hun’s inauguration. And since we have a scene where Kim gave the ruined painting to Yoon Seungwon, I believe that in chapter 65, we had a repetition of this scene, but the readers were not able to witness it. The valet showed her the painting in order to confirm the painter’s identity. The other evidence for this theory is the absence of Kim’s eyes, when the head-kisaeng states that she recognized the artist’s painting. Therefore Heena noona jumped to the wrong conclusions. She had the impression that Baek Na-Kyum was still in love with his learned sir, and the hell-raiser was just abusing his power and position. But like I have already written many times, reality is far more complex and appearances should always be queried. From my point of view, the noble will help him to get stronger to the point that he won’t care about people’s gaze and gossip. 
(chapte 18), Yoon Seungho had already been moved by the painter’s tears.
Therefore the painter was not obliged to respect Yoon Seungho. However, the truth is that the main lead had other intentions in the beginning, if you examine the first two chapters carefully. 
Furthermore, the painter hadn’t worked for almost one year after vowing to never paint again. Hence it took Yoon Seungho some time, until the absence of new works made the lord realize that he could no longer live without them. He needed new erotic drawings. Besides, in the first chapter, we shouldn’t forget that Yoon Seungho even visits the painter to the tavern, which is really unusual for him. Let’s not forget that the noble only went to the tavern in chapter 57 after receiving the fake letter from lord Song. This is not a place the lord usually visits, rather Jihwa. This outlines the huge respect the lord showed towards the low-born. A high noble goes to a tavern, even talks directly to Baek Na-Kyum. In the lord’s mind, the artist should have felt flattered. And then we shouldn’t forget that when the artist was sitting in the study, he noticed the expensive paper and the different brushes at his disposal.
This shows that the protagonist had made preparations for his arrival. Therefore I come to the conclusion that the noble had intended to invite the artist to work for him. He was his admirer and fan, hence he treasured the artist’s hands so much. 
However, the painter couldn’t recognize the respect and admiration the main lead was showing, because it was directly connected to sex. Since the lord had been brainwashed to accept sex as a normality (he lets the low-born touch his loins!!), the artist could only feel repulsed and scared due to the scholar’s indoctrination. Sex and physical touch are dirty, that’s why Baek Na-Kyum lied to the noble in the end. He disregarded the noble’s genuine compliments and effort. Since the noble had been hurt and disrespected, he retaliated and showed his anger. Striking is that the lord stopped talking after the second lie, though he was very talkative before. He is left speechless. 
and even organized the bed. 
Imagine this: a noble is taking care of a commoner. Yet at no moment the painter wondered who took care of him. 
(chapter 8) and 
(chapter 23). 
And when the noble with the mole requests from him to send away the artist, his guest of honor, he evicts the arrogant aristocrat.
if he paints for him, then the lord will help his learned sir in his career. With this new approach, the lord thought that he had finally been able to achieve his goal. But note that with this proposition, the lord was actually selling himself. He was in fact the one asking for a favor, in exchange he would offer his connection. Sure, we shouldn’t forget that the noble had not truly promised anything to the scholar (just an empty promise), but Baek Na-Kyum was not aware of this. At the same time, it revealed the lord’s mentality. This was his way to achieve his goal: prostitution. Sure, sex was not directly involved first, but since the artist was supposed to create erotic pictures, the boundaries were already dilued. And this is not surprising that the moment Jung In-Hun realized that Yoon Seungho was not impressed by his skills, he decided to use the painter as prostitute. However, in my eyes, the lord had already become one, the moment he offered that deal to the painter. And this shows that the lord was showing himself disrespect in the end, just to get the painter working for him. As you can observe, both protagonists didn’t respect themselves in truth, consequently they were not able to respect each other.
Either Jihwa is moaning or the painter is blushing or moaning
, but the lord is always focused, starring at this partner. That’s why the moment the lord had sex with the painter, it affected the artist’s status. The latter could only be judged as a prostitute, because he was also doing it for a favor, for the scholar’s sake. Therefore the following pictures mirrors the prostitution, both protagonists act as whores in the end.
While in the drawings from the first season, the protagonists switched the role of the “whore”, in the following painting they are portrayed both as such. 
That’s why the painter was not paying attention to details. As a conclusion, the moment the noble proposed the deal, he not only lowered himself, but also affected the painter. That’s why the teacher’s words are so painful, because he is actually the one benefitting from this deal. The moment the painter has sex with the main lead, he is indeed a prostitute. Yet the irony is that he is not doing it for himself, but for the scholar: 
This is the height of hypocrisy. Simultaneously, with these words, he makes sure that the painter can’t even enjoy sex, making him feel terrible.
(chapter 8), on the other hand, when he claims this in front of Min, he is hiding the truth as well. Yoon Seungho had to make a deal with the painter, hence the latter wasn’t truly a plaything… but a person who was using the noble’s wealth and power for his loved one, the teacher. And by praising the painter’s talents, he contributed to expose the artist to danger, to make him the target of envious or jealous aristocrats. In these moments, the main lead showed an immaturity. However, we shouldn’t underestimate the role played by Kim here. The latter ensured that the artist would lose his title “honored guest”, when he suggested to his lord to visit him in the study in chapter 11. 
He never wondered about the origin of the wine. When the lord criticizes the poem, the painter says that he is not allowed to make fun of it, because he is just a man consumed by lust. Nonetheless, Baek Na-Kyum has also no right to say this to Yoon Seungho either, because he is just a commoner. That’s why the master reminds him of his own social status, he is just a peasant. And we have a new version of this situation in chapter 41, when Baek Na-Kyum yells at the main lead, although the latter was caring and showed concern. He desired to know the origin of the painter’s sadness. However, the artist was unwilling to explain the cause for this. That’s why the lord slapped the artist, reminding of his place. He was a lord and the host here. 
, especially if you contrast this to the one in chapter 62: 
Furthermore, when the painter begged for the lord’s mercy, he was willing to do anything else, except to paint, 
, he was forgetting one important aspect: he was actually breaking his promise to the main lead. He was actually taking advantage of the main lead, because this meant that the latter would be the only one who didn’t get what he truly wanted. Baek Na-Kyum was here only loyal to the scholar, he was willing to sell his service for the main lead in exchange for his sponsor of the teacher, yet he was still refusing to create erotic pictures. Simultaneously this showed that the commoner started mistrusting the teacher, as he was suspecting his involvement. In other words, he was trying to call off the deal, while the scholar would benefit the most from him. And now, you can understand why the lord got upset and felt betrayed, leading the lord to threaten the artist: the low-born was trying to change the content of the deal, while Yoon Seungho was selling his wealth and connections for the artist. And since this story is build like a kaleidoscope, the new version of this incident was in chapter 38, when the artist chose to lie to his learned sir in order to protect Yoon Seungho. As you can see, both protagonists were disrespecting each other… sure, the master was more brutal, when he felt disrespected and hurt, but this doesn’t mean that the artist was totally blameless. 
showing his desire that he never wanted him to be a servant. As you can observe the painter’s status was never clear, the lord had no real idea what he truly desired, as his unconscious and conscious stood in conflict. For me, he was already in loved, his heart and gaze had been moved by the painter’s talents. But since he was always rejected, he tried to find ways to achieve his goal, to keep the artist by his side, nonetheless he complicated more and more the situation and created walls between him and the low-born.
Yoon Seungho is unable to stop the artist so that he admits his submission and decides to choose the artist as his master: 
However, this time the commoner’s hand is not led to the loins, but to the master’s eyes and hand. That’s why I believe, the nature of their relationship will honestly change in the future. Now, they will start sharing what they have on their mind, the biggest wish Yoon Seungho ever had: 
(chapter 45) 
, but he never tries to please the lord… “he is always on the receiving end”, like Yoon Seungho observed in chapter 45. Finally, in chapter 49, the painter tells him that the noble is only there to procure pleasure to him: 
He is not allowed to protest, he has to accept his situation: he is there to procure pleasure. Yoon Seungho was definitely not pleased and even hurt, yet he let him have his ways, because he sensed the genuineness in the kiss. And now, the manhwaphiles can comprehend, why the lord treated the painter as a sex toy during the second marathon. He was following the words expressed by the painter to the letter, but he was switching the roles. Since he had been treated as a sex toy, then he was allowed to do the same. However, he refused to kiss the artist
, because as a sex toy he is only there for a sexual intercourse and nothing more. And this was reflected in the last painting
so that this rumor will become a reality:
That’s why the moment the painter accepts his strong libido and his love for the rich main lead, this means he starts respecting himself. Consequently, when the master releases him and allows him to leave the mansion, he shows finally respect in its purest form. And with respect comes love! Thus, this will be reflected in the relationship between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum.: both won’t be a prostitute, a servant, a noble or a sex toy any longer: they will be two men in love with each other. 
(chapter 48) But strangely, the main lead never realized it, until each time the commoner had to externalize it. How did he not see it before, and how didn’t the noble recognize that the artist hadn’t changed his perception about him in the second season? Thus I will try to answer these two questions in this essay.
here, no servant is sent to announce the noble’s arrival, which is quite rude; chapter 10
, chapter 12
, 17, 43). He acts, as if he owns the place. Moreover, the noble with the mole requests from the host to send away the artist (chapter 8). 
He acts, as if he had a saying in this, nevertheless he is just a guest and not the owner of the house. Moreover, he requests the whole attention from the main lead, as though the latter had to follow the guest’s desire. 
. No wonder, Yoon Seungho got infuriated and ejected the man. The painter’s presence revealed the disregard the noble had for the host. Striking is that even after getting dragged by the topknot, the aristocrat demanded an explanation for this humiliation. He didn’t realize his wrongdoing. This is not surprising that the Joker’s friend noticed the change in the protagonist. 
(Chapter 8) For the first time, the protagonist didn’t allow his peers to look down on him and requested more respect. 
(Chapter 19) He imposed himself upon the main character, yet Yoon Seungho didn’t feel upset. In fact, he just accepted the suggestion by a silence. It was, as if the protagonist was not allowed to refuse the invitation. More surprising is the place where The Joker suggested this: the brothel, an indication that the Yoon residence is considered as the noble kisaeng-house. I would even say, his mansion is the real place for pleasure and vices. And now, you comprehend why Yoon Seungho was pressured by the nobles in chapter 33. In the past, he would have given in, yet this time he showed them that there was a line not to cross. 
(Chapter 33) Imagine what would have happened, if the noble had followed their suggestion. The artist would have indeed turned into a prostitute.
(Chapter 52) In Yoon’s residence, there was no parent or authority to interfere. This explicates why father Lee blames the main lead for his son’s sodomy. He corrupted Jihwa, while in reality Jihwa treated Yoon Seungho like his possession and his personal concubine. He was the one visiting his place and not the other way around, like a husband visiting his “wife” 
(chapter 67) explicating why Jihwa could only get infuriated and jealous. The “husband”, treated like a concubine, was unfaithful. The second lead was even perceived by the town folks as the mistress
(chapter 45), in other words the mistress of the house (the second definition: a mistress is a person of authority and power). This explains why he could trespass the mansion, like he desired. He considered Yoon Seungho’s mansion as his property, where he could enter at any time. 
(chapter 57), yet his friend was the one participating to the sex session. At no moment, he reproached him his behavior. In Jihwa’s eyes, only Yoon Seungho was responsible for this due to his past. Yet, he never tried to change the situation. I would like to remind the readers that the origins of Yoon Seungho’s bad notoriety are quite complex. Many people had an interest that Yoon Seungho focused on sex and nothing more: Yoon Seungho (he wanted to hurt his father), father Yoon (covering up his cowardice and own misdeeds), lord Song (making sure that the main lead doesn’t retaliate), Kim (leading a peaceful life and covering up his own wrongdoings), the nobles… and in the end Jihwa. The latter always wounded the main lead by using the past in order to attach the protagonist to him due to his neglecting father. Since the second lead had obtained a certain control over Yoon Seungho, he saw no reason to change. He could outlive his sexuality and have sex any time he wanted. Sure, his dream was to obtain the childhood friend’s love, yet he never saw the urgency, because he believed that time would help him. For him, there was this hope that at some point, the main character would confess. Yet, with Baek Na-Kyum’s appearance in Yoon Seungho’s life, the fragile balance was destroyed due the sex at the pavilion. For the first time, Yoon Seungho felt true desires and pleasure. This detail is important, because it truly outlines that Yoon Seungho was living like a head-kisaeng. He had sex without feeling any pleasure, just to serve others. 
(chapter 33) 
(chapter 52) Everyone among the aristocrats did see the main lead as a head-kisaeng, who had to please her guests. Thus Byeonduck created such panels indicating that the nobles had always taken advantage of Yoon Seungho. 
(Chapter 54) They look like conniving creatures. Their wish would get granted in the detriment of the host. And now you comprehend why the lord got so angry, when he saw this. 
(Chapter 54) It was not just a reflection of his own past as an uke, but he saw his actual reflection. His house was a brothel and nothing more, and his guests were taking advantage of him. That’s why he got so infuriated and evicted the aristocrats. They truly showed no respect to him. It took many months for the lord to recognize this. And now you comprehend why he abhorred the idea of prostitution. He wasn’t even realizing that he was still doing it. Therefore Yoon Seungho could only come to the conclusion in chapter 55 that he needed to confess. First, this night made him realize that all this attempts in the past were to win the painter’s heart. Yet he was well aware that with his last action, he had almost sold his loved one to nobles, thereby the painter could only reject him. Besides, he had another reason to expect this outcome: his self-hatred. 
(Chapter 29) Since a kisaeng belongs to the lowest class in Joseon society, the servants could look down on their master. Despite his title, he was living like a head-kisaeng, therefore the staff showed no respect towards their lord. 
(Chapter 32) This explicates why they didn’t follow his order, when he asked them to keep an eye on the artist. Nevertheless, as time passed on, the noble started acting more like a lord, hence the head-maid accepted his reprimand and decided to treat him differently. That’s why she bowed to Yoon Seungho in chapter 46. 
(chapter 46) And by comparing the two last pictures, the readers con detect the butler’s absence. the latter was responsible for the past situation, because he didn’t want to get into trouble. As long as the lord was acting like a head-kisaeng, providing entertainment for the local aristocracy, the valet could lead a peaceful life and definitely sway his misdeeds under the rug. Moreover, he could even use the master’s authority and act like a lord. 
(Chapter 33) The lord fell for this illusion, and he would have never realized it, if the painter had not entered his mansion. I also fell for this illusion myself for a while, calling him an alpha, while he was disrespected the whole time. However, this doesn’t mean that the main lead is powerless. He has indeed connections to the government (exactly like the kisaeng-house) and he is definitely rich, because he is a trendsetter. Min keeps copying his clothing and the master’s windscreen is the same at Min’s pavilion and the noble with the mole. That’s why Yoon Seungho never got to see his true reflection. In his mind, he was either busy reading or fighting with nobles, while in reality he was having sex for the most part of the time. Moreover, no one truly gave him a true reflection, since they had no interest to switch the situation.
(Chapter 2) Therefore the main lead’s gaze in the picture mirrored the image of a man showing true interest, warmth and beauty. Later, he only got to see the ruined painting, which triggered a huge anger, hence he didn’t pay attention to the image. Then in the third picture, 
(Chapter 16) Here the second lead was exploring an unusual position. Although the protagonist could have noticed this reflection “man consumed by lust”, because Black Heart commented it as lewd
, he still didn’t observe it. His gaze and mind were all focused on the painter and his face. Then in chapter 41, he never saw the multitude pictures of him having sex with the low-born
(chapter 47) And it is in this chapter that he gets to discover his reflection… or better said, Baek Na-Kyum hadn’t changed his judgement about him, which provoked the next crisis. With the last painting, Baek Na-Kyum reproduced the situation, where the master was focused on provoking reactions in his partner in order to force him to abandon his torpor. 
(Chapter 41) For him, every action from Yoon Seungho was caused by his obsession for sex, while the lord was trying to win his heart.
(Chapter 2) Simultaneously, Baek Na-Kyum destroyed it because of his jealousy (under the influence of his unconscious). The manhwalovers shouldn’t forget that in that wet dream, he wanted to take Jihwa’s place, attracted by the lord’s huge penis. Yet, he justified it with his doctrine. Furthermore, the second painting with Jihwa is created on a small sheet of paper reflecting the loss of the red-haired noble’s influence. 
(Chapter 44) from that moment, the protagonist was no longer hosting any sex orgy which led Min to take over this role. Jihwa’s gesture symbolized that the childhood friend was not allowed to fool around with other men. However, he was quickly replaced by the painter. Let’s not forget that in the noble’s mind, Jihwa was just visiting him for his own sexual desires. He never recognized the childhood friend’s feelings. He had no reason to see otherwise, since the second lead treated him poorly. 
(Chapter 59) That’s why, after having sex with Jihwa, the “head-kisaeng” neglected his guest and went directly to Baek Na-Kyum for the painting in chapter 15, because the noble is already interested to taste the artist. At the same time, the low-born got his first sexual experience with the main lead. 
Yet we never saw him directly, we could only hear his footsteps. The manhwalovers only got clues about the identity of the “culprit” in the next chapter, yet there was still some mystery left. As for Jihwa, he heard about the late departure from the lord’s room the next morning through the guardian. 
However, at some point, I could recreate the incident. Like I had exposed it previously, Deok-Jae was responsible for this incident, which was also confirmed by the author herself (she liked my tweet). He had been spying on the painter’s moves, because he saw the artist as a rival. Nonetheless, the evidence for this theory was truly exposed in chapter 53. Deok-Jae had listened to the way Baek Na-Kyum sounded, when he was aroused.
So in chapter 16, out of jealousy, Deok-Jae sent the butler to the lord’s bedchamber telling him that the artist had already left. His true intention was to separate the low-born from Yoon Seungho and his move did succeed. Yet, I doubt that Kim was very happy, as he could have been in trouble. And this incident was repeated in the second half of the first season. Jihwa opened the door of the study in chapter 43. 
And here is the question? How could he know where Yoon Seungho was? Actually, he should have gone to the master’s bedroom. There’s no doubt that Deok-Jae played a huge role here. He tipped him off again, but this was caught by Kim. Deok-Jae wanted to use the aristocrat in order to bring apart the couple. He knew that the butler would no longer assist him. Yet he failed in the sense that Jihwa didn’t interrupt them. The former was just too shocked. 
However, in his mind, it was not a complete failure. He had already anticipated Jihwa’s jealousy and fury and its consequences. He already envisioned the painter’s murder. That’s why he knew the identity of the client hiring Nameless.
The vicious domestic had used the red-haired noble as a chess pawn. He desired to get rid of Baek Na-Kyum through an assassination. It was already palpable in chapter 51. He urged the joker to kill the low-born in a hurry. 
That way, he wouldn’t get his hands tainted, and if Jihwa got caught, the second lead would become his scapegoat and feel the lord’s wrath. We have to imagine that the jealous servant had no time and opportunity to tail Jihwa’s moves. Yet, he could control him, each time he entered the mansion. As a conclusion, Deok-Jae had been manipulating the second lead in the shadow too. Jihwa was in reality manipulated by The Joker and the commoner. Yet, there was a witness of the second incident: Kim. Why do I think like that? Note that in the next chapter, Deok-Jae is sent away to the capital.
He is the servant following the scholar. Kim made sure that the guardian would be sent away, so that there would be no longer any trouble. He had the same reaction than his master. But he was not doing it as a favor for his lord, far from it. His desire was to avoid any uproar or big incident. Deok-Jae had become a source of danger, a thread to his tranquility. For Kim, if his master often had sex with Baek Na-Kyum, then in his eyes he had achieved his goal. The lord would lead a quiet life, and he could act like the lord of the mansion. First, he could use the lord’s money, as he saw fit 
and he could give orders to other servants, especially the guardian after his return, although he never got the authorization.
Note, the butler is employing the imperative tense. Therefore I come to the following observation: in this scene, he used his power to force Deok-Jae to give up on his “dream”, becoming the master’s favored servant. This explicates why the butler kept asking Deok-Jae to bring the material for painting to the study. 
His real intention was to make him accept the new situation: Baek Na-Kyum was now the favored servant and not him. 
No wonder, why Deok-Jae called him a 
He was not only abusing his position, but also choosing the lord’s partner. This explicates why Kim described the painter as favored servant. This status was just temporary, and it was linked to Kim’s tranquility. As long as he was acting as the lord’s sex toy, everything was fine. And now the manhwaphiles can comprehend, why Kim never revealed the conversation at the library. He didn’t have any reason to. Furthermore, it could lead to another outburst, the lord could seek revenge on the teacher. While hiding his knowledge, the butler could do anything he wanted, leave the mansion without any permission. With this new approach, it becomes obvious that Kim never bought the ink and brushes, because he was kind to the painter or felt concerned for him. the painter had everything he needed. He used him as a justification in order to put the guardian in his right place, to make him give up. This was a new version of chapter 12: 
Since the painter was a kind and gentle person, Kim mirrored his behavior. However, Deok-Jae was a jealous bully, therefore only authority and power could pressure him to give up. This explicates why Deok-Jae started acting like a bully behind the butler’s back, although I doubt that the valet was not unaware of it. Since the head-maid took care of it and defended the artist, the butler didn’t feel the need to intervene directly. His main goal was to lead a tranquil life. And this scene should be judged as a new version of chapter 45: 
This time, Kim used his position to scold the servant. Yet he didn’t truly punish him, because he had no authority. He swept the incident under the carpet, because the lord could question his competency. For the butler, the rivalry and jealousy were not his business, it only became one, if he got into trouble. As you could see, each incident is repeated twice in each season, yet there’s an escalation and the painter becomes a victim of these incidents. At the same time, I would like to point out the following deduction. It becomes comprehensible, why the butler keeps feeding his lord the aphrodisiac. When the lord acts like a man obsessed with sex, Kim can have his hands free and enjoy quite a nice life. He leaves the mansion, gives orders and even buys things. That’s why he keeps telling others, that they shouldn’t worry about the permission from Yoon Seungho. The master never paid attention to it. 
The door was broken due to Min’s action and in the same chapter, Deok-Jae crawled past the Joker. It was, as if he was passing his torch to his successor. 
Kim got caught this time, exactly like Deok-Jae. He couldn’t run away like in the past. And now, all the culprits involved in the incidents with the door were discovered during the second season, which gives us a clue that Min will also be caught in the end. 
and 
That’s why I have the feeling that Kim was already aware of the kidnapping, but chose to remain silent (repetition of the night 29/30). Yet, he wasn’t sure if the doctor had witnessed him as silent accomplice, hence he needed to verify what the physician had observed. Consequently, I perceive this panel 
That’s why I believe that he was acting like in chapter 29/30: feigning ignorance. But since the painter had returned, he needed to change his plan without revealing too much, hence he used the expression “I believe”, in order to mask his knowledge. 
Since the physician is copying the butler’s words, I am more and more convinced that Kim was already aware of the abduction. The doctor had to act the same way than Kim. But now after chapter 64, just like Deok-Jae represented a source of danger to his tranquility at the end of the first season, the valet judges the artist now as a cause for uproar. Moreover, he is losing his master’s trust. 
That’s why in his eyes, the painter needs to leave the mansion. Deok-Jae was sent away and now Kim is attempting to do the same. This explicates why Kim confronted the lord with the truth. 
He used his misdeeds to make him feel miserable and he reinforced his self-hatred so that the noble would keep his distance from the low-born. He is not just opening Pandora’s box here, he is opening a way for the commoner to depart from the property, hence the door is open here. First, Kim had imagined that Baek Na-Kyum would follow his sister Heena, the moment when he would see his sister. Yet, it didn’t happen like expected, and he got caught 
As a conclusion, Kim is trying his best to separate the couple. While he acts kind towards the painter making him believe that he is doing it for his interest, he acts the opposite towards his master. He utilizes the truth in order to hurt the main lead, since he can’t use his position, like he did with Deok-Jae. However, like I said before, this won’t work like Kim has envisioned it. Therefore he will be forced to act directly in the end, revealing his true personality: a coward who never wanted to take any responsibility and let others suffer so that he was never confronted himself with a terrible situation. His tranquility was paid with the suffering of others. 
This is the same door, the main character went through during that famous night, when he was walking under the influence of his unconscious: 
Back then, he went through the courtyard to the painter’s room and I believe, Yoon Seungho is following the same way. However, this time, it is a conscious choice. He feels the need to keep his distance from the commoner. He has definitely heard that he was considered as a bad omen for Baek Na-Kyum. 
The chapter 68 is definitely a new version of chapter 53, yet this time Yoon Seungho didn’t intervene. 
. So far, it was just mentioned in chapter 68 
. Yet, it was already changed. From “if you paint for me, then… ” it became “if you stay here…”. This is important in my opinion, as the painting seems to have lost its purpose. 
, because he knows that the lord has feelings for him. However, he is keeping his distance from him, a similar situation than in episode 41-42. Furthermore, the manhwaworms should remember that the night in chapter 41-42 was a new version of the episode 20-21: the first Wedding night. In during both nights, the artist cried. 
In the chapter 41 and 42, his tears were the symbol of his agony. His heart started getting frozen. 
As a conclusion, the following episodes will contain elements from chapters 20-21 and 41-42. But let’s focus on the following elements contained in episodes 41-42:
Baek Na-Kyum was trying to hide his sorrow, and Yoon Seungho wanted to help, but had no idea how. They argued. Yoon Seungho refused the painter’s advances, which he felt half-hearted and not genuine. 
Furthermore, he is now intrigued by Yoon Seungho, he might resent him for his misdeeds, yet he can’t truly reject him. Therefore I am expecting a new version of this chapter, full of sadness, while the painter tries to discover the reason for his distance and isolation. 
And that’s how I believe that the topic of painting will resurface again. Yoon Seungho will finally reveal that he used to paint, which would infuriate father Yoon. And this will lead the painter to request from the lord to paint for him, a new version of: 
, the red box which corresponds to the painter’s item: 
And that’s how Yoon Seungho is invited to paint for the painter, so that we have a new version of chapter 36. 
And he paints a plant again 
This time, the lord is the one struggling, because he hasn’t done it for a long time. However, the moment when the artist sees the lord’s work, the low-born can’t help himself smiling, surprised by the main lead’s talent. The painter will compliment the noble for his picture, a new version of this panel: 
The redness will be replaced with a smile. And that’s how Yoon Seungho starts crying. For the first time, he made someone smile again, a source of joy for him. 
And now you can imagine what I am expecting. This time, the lord is saying something similar to this: 
Just like in chapter 42, Yoon Seungho can’t stop weeping. Finally, it is important to recall that in chapter 20-21, the lord gave a false apology 
. Since he experienced a genuine apology in chapter 63
, but to a victory. Furthermore, the painting will force the aristocrat to rely on his own senses, so that he won’t any longer rely on the butler’s words. From that moment, Kim won’t be able to distort reality and make the lord doubt his judgement. He saw and felt the painter’s admiration through his painting. However, this doesn’t mean that the lord’s transformation is completed. He might be reborn during the next episodes, yet he has still a long way to go before truly shining. He needs to change people’s perception about him and it will start with the staff. From my point of view, the head-maid will approve the changes and can only encourage the artist to remain by Yoon Seungho’s side. Little by little, Kim will lose his privileged position among the domestics. And Min will become more and more impatient. His desires for the artist will make him go crazy, overlooking the presence of another shadow: the second Joker, Nameless, the one who ruined Deok-Jae and Min’s original plan. There’s no ambiguity that the buffoon will also be responsible for the failure of the second abduction.
(chapter 68) As you can detect, the absence of her eyes reflect her blindness. The feelings she is projecting onto the painter’s are actually her own. 
(chapter 68) Now, we know why Baek Na-Kyum was so indoctrinated in the end. His own sister was also a victim of the manipulator, whom I had already diagnosed as a person suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder. Note that she uses the same vocabular than the scholar. 
(chapter 18) Hence I come to the conclusion, the teacher used the school in order to manipulate the commoners and the gisaengs. While he portrayed himself as righteous and kind, he described the powerful nobles as violent and arrogant, so that he would get the admiration from the commoners. In truth, he was deceiving them, since he looked down on them. Yet he needed them in order to get some connections to the powerful and rich nobles visiting the gisaeng house. On the other hand, since he didn’t want to get too close to the gisaengs, he employed the innocent boy as a shield, misleading Heena noona to think that Jung In-Hun had feelings for her brother. That’s why he hugs the protagonist so tightly. 
(chapter 67) However, the second component (“Performing actions without any expectation of reward or external gain“) doesn’t apply, because he is not doing it for free. Let’s not forget Kim’s philosophy, which was exposed in chapter 65:
(chapter 65) He hates scandal and trouble. The gisaeng created such a uproar that Kim almost lost his credibility in front of his master. 
(chapter 67) He had never received the authorization from his master. However, the manhwalovers should recognize that he painted his master in a rather negative light, while leaving a good impression on her. 
(chapter 67) In my opinion, we have here a new version of the painter’s escape from the first season: Kim acting as a shadow helped the artist to run away (chapter 29-30). However, the problem is that he got caught by Yoon Seungho. 
(chapter 68) What should he do now? I would like to remind the manhwaphiles that Kim had not only disobeyed his master’s order, but he had acted, as if he was a lord. He had given the permission without Yoon Seungho’s consent. 
(chapter 68). Note that the protagonist doesn’t menace to kill the gisaeng. He just desires to send her away, but he is now determined to punish his butler for his disobedience. He usurped his position, and as a lord he is allowed to do so. And that’s the moment, when Kim starts speaking the truth, which many readers associate to something positive.
Note, that in that chapter, the lord had the sword in his hand, and strangely the valet came late. As you can imagine, this is no coincidence. In my opinion, butler knew that something bad had happened and in order to escape his lord’s bad mood, he arrived late on purpose (lie by commission), but at the same time he revealed his knowledge about the cause for Baek Na-Kyum’s depressed mood in order to divert his master’s attention. That way, he could put the blame on the absent noble, but also on the painter. The latter had disregarded him due to the scholar’s words. At the same time, he made the lord feel insecure, because it showed him that he had behaved exactly like a client, a man obsessed with sex. That’s why with the butler’s intervention, the master had a relapse. What mattered for Kim was a peaceful life, the rest is 
(chapter 68) Initially, it looks like he is appealing to the lord’s heart, but in reality the main point is the noble’s judgement. The valet is reprimanding his master for his lack of discernment. He misjudged the painter’s behavior. This is relevant because in this panel, I view a first emotional manipulation. His real intent is to make the lord doubt his own judgement, like “look, back then you made the wrong decision… therefore you could be wrong here”. But the readers know that Yoon Seungho is right. Heena is determined to take away his lover, so his initial judgement about Heena is indeed correct. In his eyes, she represents a source of thread, he might lose the artist. One might argue that Yoon Seungho is sequestring the painter which is also correct, yet like my reader Luzy pointed out, this is the painter’s decision. Neither Kim nor Heena nor Yoon Seungho have to make the decision for him. And here, Kim and Heena are trying to do so. The problem is that Kim got caught. But let’s go back to my initial thought. Kim used his knowledge (the lord’s misjudgment) in order to make his lord doubt himself. and he appealed to his emotions for that. This type of manipulation is called gaslighting:
(chapter 68) Here, he is using the past in order to distort reality and memories while speaking truth. What Kim doesn’t mention here is his involvement in that incident. 
(chapter 65) Kim is destroying the lord’s confidence, so that Yoon Seungho will rely on Kim’s judgement. 
(chapter 64) He literally looked away, because truth wasn’t helpful in this case. Feigning innocence and ignorance was more appropriate. 
(chapter 68)
(chapter 68) Here, Kim is mentioning the past, where he played an active role between the father and son. In other words, he is reminding the master that he is acting like a mediator. However, this revelation exposes the servant’s manipulation. He was one of the causes for the falling apart between father Yoon and the eldest son. We have to imagine that he never revealed the real reason for Yoon Seungho’s rebellious nature to father Yoon. And here, he is behaving like in the past. He tries to intervene between Baek Na-Kyum, Heena noona and Yoon Seungho, as if he had the right to. 
(chapter 68)
He had been already prepared mentally by his butler. He was as wounded as Baek Na-Kyum, when the scholar had voiced his true thoughts about the painter. 
(chapter 68) He slowly takes the artist in his arms. He doesn’t rush to her side, remains silent and immobile. His passivity reflects his true personality, but Heena is too focused on her young brother to grasp the situation. 
(chapter 68), but also his quality: his honesty
(chapter 69) 
(chapter 72) From that moment on, Yoon Seungho was no longer viewing the valet as the unofficial lord. We could say that he had lost his status as “hero” in the main lead’s eyes. 
What caught my attention is that before Byeonduck added the first picture with the moon, the manhwaphiles behold Seungho looking up at the sky.
And this is no coincidence, as the first image represents the lord’s state of mind. The dead tree indicates the absence of life. Furthermore, the moon seems so distant, underlining that during that night the main lead is not himself. The absence of light in the buildings exposes his pain and the loss of hope: his heart is no longer beating. This stands in opposition to the picture from the first episode,
where there were a full moon, a huge amount of trees with leaves and light in the building. Striking is the difference of the perspective reflecting how the main lead perceived himself: he was a spirit denying the existence of his heart, hence he was free and never considered himself trapped in the domain. However, in chapter 64, the lord is finally recognizing his mortality and his imprisonment. Notice the emptiness of the property exposed by the immense empty courtyard.
Surprising is the change of perspective again. This time, the beholder is gazing at the mansion from the sky. Besides, the moon seems closer too. And just like before, it is important to take the previous panel into consideration. 
Observe the contrast. Due to the perspective, the manhwaphiles sense the intimacy and closeness exposing the change of the lord’s feelings for the artist. While I once wrote that the rain symbolized the painter’s tears (tears of happiness), I would like to add that the rain was also a metaphor for the noble’s tears. He was feeling happy, was able to exude warmth and tenderness. And let’s not forget that the artist is the mirror of the master. Baek Na-Kyum’s tears represented the noble’s tears who couldn’t cry. That’s why he was so sensitive to his crying. He felt the same emotions, yet his eyes were unable to show this expression: sadness and wound. And now, the readers understand the signification of the chapter 64. Since it stands in opposition to their Wedding Night, it reflects the low point of the relationship between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum. However, there’s no doubt that they will move on from this. First, we have the painter’s fighting spirit and resistance. He was even willing to risk his life in order to protect Deok-Jae and received a huge slap.
so much. Furthermore the sex in episode 64 is linked to immorality, shame and shock. 
The manhwaphiles will detect the absence of love and warmth in the intercourse, as there is no fire and light in that episode. The pleasure is only connected to pain and humiliation. 
(chapter 43) While Baek Na-Kyum’s problem is sex, Jihwa’s struggle will be crime, like trespassing, abduction and murder. Like I had already mentioned it in another analysis, crane is connected to happiness, honor, longevity and good fortune. However, this doesn’t signify that the person embodied by the crane encounters good fortune. Due to Baek Na-Kyum, the second Justine, the red-haired aristocrat is forced to change and Nameless becomes his guide. 
That’s why Jihwa will play a different role than the commoner. Jihwa’s fate will be connected to justice, but he will suffer and his tormenter and liberator will be Nameless. The red-haired aristocrat is ignoring true moral values like charity, selflessness and justice, while his unconscious has not forgotten it. This will be his inner struggle, while Baek Na-Kyum was rejecting sex, connecting it to something dirty. Furthermore, unlike in the French novel from the 18th Century, where evilness and injustice win at the end, as the heroine dies, the manhwaphiles witness in the manhwa the spiritual death of the culprit, Yoon Seungho. This is represented by the following panel: 
(chapter 5) This marks the return of his older self, but a worse version, as there is no light. The yellow bougie on the candelabra is a symbol for coldness, frigidity and selfishness. Yet, since there is no light in chapter 64, the absence of light is a metaphor for the non-existence of life. In other words, we are witnessing the death of the phoenix. When I say that this is his spiritual death, it signifies that the lord’s heart is no longer beating for the painter. He closed his heart, and since the heart was in possession of his mind, this means that neither his heart nor his mind are alive. Yet, the manhwaphiles shouldn’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that Yoon Seungho’s love for Baek Na-Kyum vanished for good. It’s just that his self-hatred has taken over his mind and heart, therefore he is not able to give any love and warmth to his lover. 
Now, you understand the signification of chapter 64. The latter doesn’t reveal his true personality, the violent and obsessed side to the painter
Jihwa’s words became reality and as such truth. That’s how the town folks will judge it too. 
They will condemn the lord Yoon like Jihwa, because they became the victims of lord’s fury and despair. Due to his obsession with the painter, his domestics behaved like ruffians towards the inhabitants. This is quite similar to the scene in chapter 30, where his staff had to experience the lord’s brutality. 
We have to understand them. They were desperate to please their master, as they feared his brutality. They didn’t want to experience another huge beating. And the tailor plays a huge role in the birth of the huge scandal. 
With his small action, he will trigger a huge storm, so that the lord’s reputation as alpha and king will be literally destroyed. Therefore from my point of view, we are witnessing the lord’s gradual death. Despite his bad reputation, the inhabitants never avoided Yoon Seungho in the past, as he had money and connections. However, we shouldn’t forget the incident in chapter 54, where he evicted the nobles. The latter will no longer respect the powerful lord, and the chapter 64 announces that the protagonist will first lose the inhabitants’ support. He will truly become an outcast. One might argue that he already had a bad reputation as hell-raiser, yet with this scandal, there’s no ambiguity that no officials and no merchants will like to be connected with him. But this situation is just short-lived, because after the scandal, the main lead becomes tranquil again. The absence of a new scandal for 2 weeks and his attitude towards the painter in chapter 76 display that Yoon Seungho is able to get the town folks’ support like in the beginning. They definitely judge him as a reformed man. This explicates why the shop owner is still showing respect towards the master. 
(chapter 76)
That’s why the yellow candle is also a metaphor for the painter.
I believe that he didn’t cry after that night. And the manhwaphiles can note the vanishing of the painter’s physical reactions, if you compare it to the sex scene in the barn
or in front of the storage room. 
In chapter 1, the room was bright contrasting to the darkness in the storage room in chapter 62-63. Back then the main character was intelligent and cunning, as he was not aware of the influence of his heart. From chapter 62 on, the lord is no longer in possession of his smart and bright mind, as the darkness of his heart has taken possession of his mind. Yet, since the painter was able to hear and see the lord’s love on two occasions, 
From my point of view, this second marathon has affected his creativity. He couldn’t paint due to his injury, but he remembered the orchid from Yoon Seungho. In my opinion, the lord’s words from that night 
(chapter 64)
(chapter 66). There’s no ambiguity that in that moment, Yoon Seungho blamed himself for the artist’s flashback, until the abduction was unveiled. But the artist experiences a rebirth… as a painter. He won’t create any erotic painting in my opinion forcing the noble to create erotic pictures. But naturally this is just a theory. The reason for this is that we have the presence of the brushes under Yoon Seungho’s head. 
His dream became real. I perceive this scene as the evidence that Jihwa’s role is quite similar to the artist’s. The latter’s dreams always turned into reality. But there’s more to it. Now, I comprehend the meaning of the following images differently.
The painter’s dead gaze is the reason for the main character to have dark eyes. Observe that the noble’s hand is holding the painter’s head, indicating that the lord is responsible for the artist’s spiritual death. The darkness of Yoon Seungho’s heart was brought to the surface due to Jihwa’s action. Due to his misdeed, he caused the noble to become oblivious of the truth, his gaze is covered by a shadow. As you can observe, the new episode gives us the opportunity to perceive Jihwa’s prediction under a new light. That’s why Baek Na-Kyum is able to move on from the scholar.
Secondly, I couldn’t restrain myself thinking about the butterfly effect. While many readers were mad at Yoon Seungho for his brutality and ruthlessness in chapter 64, they seemed to have forgotten that everything happened because of Jihwa’s action. The latter let the painter kidnapped. Nonetheless since he was returned, in Nameless and the red-haired aristocrat’s mind, nothing had happened. A small change, and yet it destroys the fragile relationship between the two protagonists, affects the bond between Yoon Seungho and Kim and ruins the lord’s image in the town. Jihwa’s greed and jealousy led to the main lead’s self-destruction. Sure, the lord is not innocent either. Therefore he will be punished. The main lead loses everything: Baek Na-Kyum’s trust, his “life” and even his position as lord of the mansion. Their “spiritual” death is his punishment. That’s why I believe that Jihwa has not met his karma yet. He will definitely suffer just the painter and will be punished. So far, he has not been exposed to physical and sexual violence, that’s why I am now predicting this. The relationship between Jihwa and Nameless won’t be romantic. Jihwa will see the butcher’s true face at some point. 
He follows the lord till the end, never rebelling which contrasts to the painter’s behavior during the first season. He won’t even try to run away after that night, as he will keep his promise. However, this new vow is not without consequence. 
(chapter 64), she played a different role in the end. She instigated fear in the painter and confronted him with a negative reflection so that the artist stopped opening up. He never revealed his true emotions and thoughts in front of Yoon Seungho. Even the influence of the wine didn’t push him to confess his affection, contrary to chapter 21. In other words, Heena noona is no emancipator, just like Kim. Note the pattern, the butler’s stans hoped that he would become the painter’s helping hand, but he never did. When he encouraged the painter to leave the mansion, he was well aware that Black Heart was waiting for him at the kisaeng house. 
And due to this final panel, I come to the conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum’s departure from the brothel was linked to the success of his career as a painter and his homosexuality. They chose Jung In-Hun, as he was a low noble with no wealth and connections. From my point of view, the adoptive mother or sister wanted Baek Na-Kyum to remain in the shadow. We can assume that she imagined, by living with the scholar, the painter would keep painting, but he wouldn’t be able to outlive his sexual orientation. There’s no doubt that Heena noona imagined that he would be abused. And the appearance of the kisaeng with two guards 
signifies that Baek Na-Kyum is indeed connected to power in the end. Since I consider him as a phoenix, this could be an indication that he could be more than just a filthy low-born, like Jihwa and Jung In-Hun imagined. 
(chapter 31) Consequently in chapter 34, the painter sensed a change of perception about his body after the sex marathon. For the first time, he detected his heartbeat and the butterflies in his stomach, which were triggered by the main lead’s presence.
(chapter 34) The parallels can be observed by the absence of the eyes of the protagonists in certain panels. Compare the picture with the mirror 
(chapter 63) Striking is that the character represented with eyes plays the role of the liberator for his sex partner. Due to the sex marathon, Yoon Seungho had helped the painter to free himself from his torpor, since due to the coercive persuasion, the artist had come to deny not only his sexual orientation, but also the existence of his own body. That’s why he could no longer admire his learned sir like before after the sex marathon. By recognizing the existence of his own body, the painter couldn’t feel the same attraction towards the teacher. And since the sex marathon played a huge role in his healing process, we have to imagine that the sex scene in the barn has the same signification for Yoon Seungho. He is on his way to be liberated from his self-hatred, but as you can imagine, it will be a painful process. Back then, the painter got ill and the lord ran away from his responsibility. That’s why this time, the blinded person will be the one suffering from the sex marathon: he will feel like dying, when he realizes that he wounded his lover blinded by his prejudice and anxieties. 
(chapter 63) He has no guarantee that this is true, and love is like a leap of faith. This isn’t something that you can grasp or see. Besides, he would have no control over him, if he accepts the confession. Loving means taking risks, which is linked to fears. This displays how much the master has been brainwashed. Since the painter disappeared in his mind, he came to acknowledge his father’s doctrines one more time before dropping them completely, when he discovers the truth. 
(chapter 63) 
(chapter 65)
(chapter 69) He had ruined his relationship with the artist. Because he refused to make the leap of faith in the shed, Yoon Seungho decided to make the opposite choice. He let the painter decide about his own fate, yet he was definitely living in agony. The wounded, fearful and desperate gaze revealed his turmoil. 
(chapter 40)
(chapter 62)
(chapter 63) And if we take the chapter 41/42 into consideration, the painter did request that the lord should be particularly rough.
(chapter 42) As you can see, the chapter 40 can not be really detached from the sex scene which follows the teacher’s betrayal. Another contradiction is that the painter is just asking the lord to stop, since Baek Na-Kyum is exhausted, while the aristocrat believes that the commoner is pushing him away, begging him to let him go for good.
(chapter 63) But this divergence comes from the fact that this scene is a new version of the sex marathon, which I mentioned above. Back then, the painter made a similar request. As conclusion, the violence of the sex in chapter 62-63 is strongly connected to an emotional wound, a repetition of chapter 41/42. And in my opinion, the artist understood the situation and the lord’s motivation. Hence he doesn’t feel badly about Yoon Seungho. Notice that the next night, Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t think badly of this sex marathon. 
(chapter 40) 
(chapter 63) What caught my attention is the contrast between the two declarations. While the artist’s feelings for his admired sir seem to be very strong (I adore you), his words don’t really correspond to his affection, because his feelings have already diminished. He did lie to his teacher and protected the main lead in chapter 38. That’s why the “I adore you” should be judged as an exaggeration. It was, as though the painter desired to convince himself and his teacher that he was still attached to him. Besides, he needed to persuade him not to abandon him, after hearing so many reproaches. This observation leads me to the conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum made up his mind to still follow his teacher out of loyalty despite the harshness of Jung In-Hun’s words. On the other hand, the author used a litotes (“I do not dislike you”), implying that in fact his attachment is much stronger. And this is exactly what happens during this scene. Despite the harshness, the painter is forced to question his true feelings for the main lead and recognize them. He is even willing to confess, yet he is stopped. I doubt that Yoon Seungho would have perceived it as a love confession, as he hates meek words. I can use this panel as a reminder:
(chapter 48). Yoon Seungho is exactly like the painter, he loves strong and metaphorical confessions, like “you’ve made me a wreck” or “I will never let you go”. But let’s return our attention the scholar and Yoon Seungho. Both nobles act the same way. Both can’t accept the artist’s declaration, yet their motivation diverges. The teacher finds it disgusting to be connected to a commoner, whereas Yoon Seungho is too afraid of being lied. He has the impression that this dream can never come true. Yet, while contrasting them, we see the painter’s determination who is willing to overlook the reproaches expressed before by both aristocrats. And he remains faithful till the end. That’s why he waited for Jung In-Hun at the gate in episode 44. 
He needed to see with his own eyes, how the learned sir had truly abandoned him. This represents another explication why the low-born didn’t react like Kim and Min anticipated. He didn’t follow his sister out of loyalty, compassion and a certain trust. However, Heena noona was able to sow seeds of doubts. 
(chapter 40) In this picture, the scholar leaves the painter behind, a metaphor for his abandonment. He even repeats this action, when he leaves for the capital. In chapter 62-63, Yoon Seungho sees in the commoner’s escape a rejection and betrayal. 
(chapter 62) This panel illustrates the thoughts of the protagonist: the commoner has turned his back on him.
(chapter 40)
(chapter 40) 
(chapter 62) 
(chapter 63) In both cases, the aristocrats questions the commoner’s motivations for his actions. While Jung In-Hun’s interrogation serves him as an occasion to break his promise by putting the blame on Baek Na-Kyum, the other character is more curious to know about the reasons for his desertion. From my point of view, this shows the noble’s desire to comprehend the painter better. And this illustrates that his obsession with the “why” is well meant. Why is he pushing him away? If he knows the cause, he could find a solution in order to bring the painter to his side. 
(chapter 40) The painter became happy, when he heard that the civil service examination would take place soon. He immediately thought of his learned sir and envisioned that this would please his former teacher. Jung In-Hun’s excitement became the painter’s joy, this is how the painter was thinking in that scene. 
(chapter 40) 
(chapter 29) By contrasting both panels from chapter 40, the readers can detect the painter’s lie. He expects something from the low noble. He is indeed hoping that Jung In-Hun will keep his promise and he will take his responsibility for him, since the painter supported him. 
(chapter 40) The former had Yoon Seungho’s attention all the time, and we all know that Jung In-Hun’s desire is to get attention and admiration. Striking is that the comparison enlightens the materialistic and narcissistic side of Jung In-Hun, while Yoon Seungho appears purer. He is just content with a smile. Besides, he would like to be the source and recipient of Baek Na-Kyum’s smile, whereas the other wishes to get favors (clothes, a room closer to the lord’s chamber, the favor to spend the evening in the bedchamber etc). That’s why by contrasting both chapters, the protagonist’s purity and simplicity become even more palpable, which is hidden due to the violence employed during that confrontation. 
Furthermore, if we take the chapter 41 into consideration, since we have a flashback of the incident at the library,
then the readers can recall that in this episode, Baek Na-Kyum was so heartbroken that he asked from Yoon Seungho to be embraced. He needed a shoulder as solace and comfort. The low-born literally begged him, while crying to be hold in his arms, but the noble didn’t know how to respond to this request.
(chapter 41) He only knew sex. In chapter 62, the lord hold the artist in his arms, only to betray him afterwards. The warmth is faked. 
(chapter 62) Yet, if you pay attention, you’ll observe a second hug in the barn: 
(chapter 40) while in chapter 63, it is the turn of our seme to reveal his expectations and desires. 
,(chapter 62) while the scholar calls the artist a fool
. (chapter 41) He is just jealous, furious and repulsed. Yoon Seungho is seeking closeness and uses sex in order achieve his goal, therefore he is is refusing to stop. He is so desperate to remain intimate with the painter, while the other noble has only one thought: keeping his distance from the low-born. 
(chapter 63) and words 
(chapter 63) have a huge effect on the upset protagonist. They trigger the noble to open up and reveal himself. That’s why the chapter ends with a face to face: the aristocrat is not decided to look at the painter’s eyes directly. 
(chapter 40)
(chapter 62) 
(chapter 62) 
(chapter 71) and Yoon Seungho’s outburst 
(chapter 70). Furthermore, when the painter is able to calm down the main lead by calling his name “Lord Seungho” and showing a blushed face, the aristocrat initiates a real conversation 
(chapter 62) 
(chapter 71) There was a “love confession” in the barn, but the lord didn’t use the typical expression for that: 
(chapter 76). The only problem is that Baek Na-Kyum is still fearing his own emotions for the infamous noble. Therefore he has not confessed yet, which will be the reason why both main leads will suffer again. The painter has just opened up and is not trusting Yoon Seungho entirely. 
and words remind us more of obsession than of love. First he corners the painter against the wall, making him visualize what his future situation will look like. He won’t be able to escape from Yoon Seungho’s control and monitoring. The lord will always stand within his reach. Secondly, the expression “I will never let you go” indicates that the rich main lead will cling onto him, he will remain sexually close to him. That’s why they are still connected through their bodies. By clinging onto the artist, the aristocrat reveals his dependency. He can’t live without the painter, hence all his thoughts are revolving around him. This definitely looks like an obsession. The reason is simple. Baek Na-Kyum has now given a certain sense in his life, his presence makes him feel emotions, positive 
(chapter 57)
Let’s not forget that he was trapped in his own house, like the doctor pointed out in chapter 57.
In other words, his moves were controlled and he was forced to remain by his father’s side as well. However, I realized at the end of the second season that these traumatic experiences are not just related to father Yoon. This night from chapter 62 to chapter 65 exposes all the crimes the young protagonist was exposed to. First, we have the imprisonment 
(chapter 61) 
(chapter 74). Then he was raped in the shed and butler Kim was a witness who betrayed and abandoned him.
(chapter 74) Consequently, I come to the conclusion that this statement
(chapter 57) The protagonist had lost his sanity and there’s no doubt that the king didn’t want to be confronted with his own wrongdoings. In the first version of this essay, I had assumed due to Yoon Seungho’s behavior, that the latter had been sexually abused by his father. This theory was developed based on previous observations, like for example, Jung In-Hun, as a new version of father Yoon and the painter’s surrogate father, seemed to be a pedophile due to his strange behavior in chapter 29. 
However, now I believe that the real sexual predator was the king himself, who was definitely an old-bearded man. Since he is mentioned in episode 76
, it becomes more obvious that Yoon Seungho’s tragic fate is intertwined with the monarch. Therefore I deduce this. The king is a combination of Jung In-Hun and father Yoon. He’s an arrogant, stupid, selfish, emotional, violent, jealous, impulsive and obsessive man. Why? First, jealousy is a common denominator between the two fathers, like it is palpable in the following panel: 
Yet, the disgust for sodomy is not a real argument in reality. In order to collaborate my theory, I will introduce another manhwa called “Dine With A Vampire”, created by Pangin and Pinko. The characters serves as an example. 
, although the former hates homosexuality
. Just like Jung In-Hun, Sungha is a hypocrite. Yet, he abused his schoolmate physically 
and sexually for so long that at the end, the main lead became a shadow of himself, a zombie. Therefore there was no light in his eyes. 
Kwon Sungha resents the protagonist, because he can’t accept his own sexual orientation and blames the poor uke. That’s why the antagonist is rough and violent during the intercourses. 
He even shows some sadistic tendencies, because he enjoys it very much, when the victim is crying due to pain.
Therefore it signifies that each time the main character sheds some tears, his behavior will incite the seme to become more brutal. As a result, it is better to repress tears. 
Each time, he tried to run away, he was caught and tormented even more than before.
His life is already controlled by Sungha, who tells what he has to eat
, how he has to dress and when he should come home. 
The villain is ruling Sooin’s life like a vicious tyrant. 
He is reliving his past. Notice how he avoids the other main lead’s gaze. He hides his eyes behind his arms and apologizes to his lover. He is already imagining that he will get punished. His behavior is so conditioned that in order to escape a punishment, he apologizes, although he knows that Sungha is dead. Even in his sleep, he is plagued with nightmares. 
As a conclusion, Sooin is not allowed to touch him. As you can envisage, Sooin is never kissed nor hugged. However, despite his hatred for sodomy and the abuse, he is not willing to give up on his sexual partner. He is so obsessed with Sooin that he even envisions to keep him captive in a cage, though he plans to marry a woman coming from an influential family. The irony is that after getting betrayed by the main lead, the former “lover” is not questioning the reason behind the treachery. In fact he blames Sooin for everything. He reproached him that the latter never smiled in front of him
, but now he is giving his smile towards another man. The antagonist, who has now become a vampire himself, definitely perceives the uke as his possession. The description of Sungha’s behavior indicates that Sooin was his obsession, but not his love. 
Moreover, the main character is dressed like his father. Both wear a robe with long sleeves without any pattern and even the color is quite similar in the beginning. 
This shows that he has internalized not to draw attention through his clothes. However, the moment he wants to impress the painter, he starts wearing a different color (blue), like in his youth. And the more time passes on, the more he dresses up in order to attract the artist’s attention, which is already visible in chapter 23.
This evolution displays that his original taste for clothes was influenced by the abusive sex partner. Striking is that the beautiful hanbok in chapter 52 
reminds us of the king, as the phoenix is a symbol for the Joseon monarch. That’s why I am more and more convinced that the traumatic past causing abandonment issues is caused by the father and the Joseon monarch. And it becomes more understandable, why the lord could only fall for the painter during their Wedding night and desired to renew this night. He was hugged for the first time
in chapter 74 takes place in the mansion: 
that’s why he couldn’t yell or defend himself. Who could help him in front of the most powerful person in Joseon? He was like a low-born next to the monarch.
And since we have a repetition in the story, it means that this must have happened in the past. Besides, I doubt that father Yoon would have questioned such a behavior. He definitely hated Yoon Seungho’s strong will. Consequently, I believe that the king must have had a similar attitude. He wanted to obtain the main lead’s love, yet unlike Yoon Seungho, the king became violent and angry by such a submissive behavior, which could only contribute to the protagonist’s silence and fear. 
(chapter 60). Besides, the readers should remember that the main lead tasked the artist to paint his sexual intercourses, therefore it is definitely possible that Yoon Seungho’s request was influenced by the king’s. The latter could have had the desire to have his sexual intercourses with Yoon Seungho portrayed as well. However, since father Yoon hates sodomy and doesn’t want to be associate to this, he had every reason to hate the painter. The pictures were a proof of the eldest master’s hypocrisy. 
, therefore I am expecting the opposite with the king. The latter imagined that they would send him a virgin. Besides, it is a custom to send virgin concubines to the ruler.
This panel symbolizes the purge which the main lead witnessed. It started with the following question: Why would the monarch eliminate the families close to the Yoons? In my opinion, someone revealed to the sovereign that the protagonist had been trained by the nobles close the eldest master Yoon. They had tainted his sex partner and even ruined him, although there’s no ambiguity that the ruler’s attitude (jealous, violent and possessive) contributed to this evolution: the main lead was slowly becoming a zombie. From my point of view, there are three persons who had a desire to destroy Yoon Seungho and through him his father: the culprit of the first rape (my theory is now that it was father Lee), the butler who witnessed it, and like I mentioned it above, the artist who stole Yoon Seungho’s work. This leads me to the following conclusion: the butler could have revealed it to the king, faking his care and concern for his master.
“Imagine… the poor boy was gangraped by the families close to father Yoon.” But he never mentioned the training, as Kim’s MO is always to tell half-truths. This would divert attention from the other perpetrators. When the king confronted Yoon Seungho, the latter couldn’t reveal what had truly happened, because this would mean that his father was involved. Hence he remained silent, which was perceived as a confession. As a revenge for the dirty trick, the ruler ordered the purge which the main lead had to witness. The latter was so devastated that he was literally destroyed. The king didn’t expect such a reaction, hence he sent him back to the mansion, only to hear later that father Yoon had punished his own son. The latter believed that the main character had betrayed him by revealing the indoctrination and prostitution. 
From my point of view, when Kim realized that Yoon Seungho was suffering from memory loss and had even forgotten his relationship with the king, the butler decided to use lord Song as the scapegoat for the lord’s suffering. He created fake memories, a mixture composed of half-truths. Father Yoon and lord Song were blamed, while the real perpetrators for Yoon Seungho remained hidden.
That’s why he doesn’t want them to meet. He never expected that the noble would write a letter to his master, although the letter was fake. Lord Song was definitely father Yoon’s rival. Another possibility is that it was indeed lord Song who had decided to betray lord Yoon and expose the plot. But like I mentioned it above, I am suspecting that this is just another lie from the valet. For that, he used the main lead’s situation in order to divert father Yoon’s attention. Father Yoon was too mad at his son, hence he didn’t realize that in the mean time, the other noble had revealed the plot to the king. Therefore the father could only resent more his son and chose to punish him by betraying a second time.
Under this new approach, it becomes understandable why the butler encouraged Yoon Seungho to lead a life in debauchery. That way, he wouldn’t attract the king’s attention: 
If he was so obsessed with the main lead (mind and heart) to the point he wanted to keep him away from others, then he would have never used him as a whore. However, even this point can be refuted. First, even Jung In-Hun, who hated homosexuality, was willing to betray his own doctrines for his own interests. Let’s not forget that in the other manhwa “Dine with a vampire”, the antagonist has no problem to use his sex partner for his own interests. In one incident, he makes sure that Sooin interrupts him with his girlfriend, so that the villain is not forced to have sex with her. At the same time, he uses this as an excuse to punish the uke. Furthermore, I portrayed father Yoon as especially greedy and ambitious, hence despite his jealousy and obsession, he had a big dream. Besides, he hates sodomy so by using his son as a prostitute, he can remain clean and perceives his son as dirty, since he is the source of his “misery”. As for the king, notice that the latter doesn’t have a bad reputation. This shows that his sexual orientation and even perversion is a secret. The king could have a similar attitude than Sungha: he hates homosexuality, but he can’t stop his urges. So for his own career, father Yoon taught his son that sex is a battle, therefore he described love as a weakness. However he made him believe that if he obeyed him, then he would benefit him: 
Only the father was somehow able to control him. That way, he would bind his son’s mind and heart to him. This would explicate why the lord chose to become as a ghost in the end. Imagine, he had been ripped apart by his own father and by the king. The body was possessed by the other nobles, while the father was still possessing his mind and heart. He had no freedom at all. After writing this, I feel so horrible. Father Yoon was definitely ruling his son’s life and the monarch tried to change this, but failed as he was himself too selfish, violent and ruthless. 
First, this indicates that the eldest master Yoon is still paying attention to Yoon Seungho’s behavior, and Kim is well aware of it. Imagine that Yoon Seungho used his bad reputation as a notorious hell-raiser in order to torment his father, yet the latter never intervened. This signifies that he could bear the humiliation, because the truth had not been unveiled. The father turned his own son into a black sheep, a sign that there’s actually something wrong in a family. However, it becomes a different story, when he hears that Jihwa has already confessed in public. It means that his son could definitely fall in love and this could also reach the king’s ears. If the lord maintains a terrible reputation, then no one will try to become his partner, hence the king’s position remains untouched. Notice that Kim is worried that the elder master hears about the confession, indicating that he is well aware about his doctrines. Love is a taboo. I doubt, he is referring to sodomy as such, because it is well known that Yoon Seungho sleeps with men. As a conclusion, this panel reveals that the lord was keeping an eye on his son all this time. Since he never meddled before, in his eyes, his son’s rebellion was nothing to worry about. Consequently, this is not surprising that the father and Seung-Won imagined that once asked by them, Yoon Seungho would obey and help them, because he had always done it before. Yet, this time, the main lead refused. 
With these words, the lord is actually questioning the reason for the painter’s behavior. Why did he push away the lord before? The artist replied that this had nothing to do with him, he didn’t dislike it. Then in chapter 40 and 41, he pushed the painter to question his own motivation. Why would he support his former teacher? What does he expect from him? Then we have the chapters 45 and 47, where the main character keeps asking about the artist’s reason for his behavior. Why did he remain by his side? Why is he so indifferent and submissive unlike in the past? I judge it as his obsession and there’s a reason for that. Sure, one might say that he would like to know why the painter stayed by his side. He is so desperate to be loved, he is still wishing to feel loved. However, there’s another motivation behind this obsession. In my opinion, this obsession to the “why” is related to his past and as such to his father and the king. He saw his negative reflection in his father’s eyes, the man he wanted to please at any cost. He must have wondered why his father tormented him so much, why he betrayed him, why he lied to him, why he was so fixated on him, since he had the impression that he was unlovable and even a monstrosity. The lord must have been young back then to perceive his father’s true motivations: jealousy, obsession and his immense greed and ambition. And after being sent to the capital, he met a similar person: the ruler who didn’t treat him better.
And this actually shows that when he was the uke, no one cleaned him. He had to do it himself. That’s how he learned the basics. 
, therefore he refused to become a vampire. His goal in his life was to help the vampire, however this could not be right. Sooin and Yoon Seungho needed to love themselves, so that they could become independent and love their partner. The moment Yoon Seungho treated the painter with respect, the latter showed more confidence again. He could play pranks again. As long as they were full of insecurities, they could never love their partner properly. 
Hence he became the only witness of his master’s wrongdoing. However, like I mentioned it before, the butler is responsible for the forced sex due to his words. First, he gave the impression that he showed concern for him, when he discovered the scar on his face. 
Secondly, once he met him in the hallway, he didn’t dare say anything and even avoided his gaze. 
He looked definitely uncomfortable and even scared by him. Why? It is because for the first time, the butler had to face himself his master’s mood swings. So far, the painter had been the only one facing the noble’s bad temper. In my opinion, when the butler claimed that he feared his master
, he was definitely lying, for he had always been his right-hand. That’s why he never criticized his lord before. He didn’t have the need to do. However, Kim’s position got affected with the rape. Due to his involvement, he triggered the lord’s trauma, hence he was confronted with the lord’s terrible mood. 
Therefore many readers and me included thought that Kim’s words from chapter 12 were true. Yet, the reality is different, as this situation only appears in episode 25 and 26. Hence he decides to act behind his master’s back after his last meeting in the hallway. 
He got surprised by the lord’s action, nevertheless he knew that the lord’s emotional state hadn’t returned to normality. The butler recognized that the main lead was still boiling inside due to his anger and pain, though his expression was cold and detached. Kim sensed that another fight between the master and the low-born would occur, since the latter couldn’t calm down and even reproached him his silence before. 
Because the painter was brave enough to resist the noble (the scar) and criticize the butler, the latter could already imagine the artist’s reaction. Furthermore, the domestic knew about the existence of the love triangle, since he had heard the artist’s love confession addressed to his learned sir. 
As you can observe, each time Kim was the only witness of Yoon Seungho’s actions and wrongdoings. First, he impersonated the scholar and slept with someone, who seemed not to love him. Secondly, he forced himself on the painter in order to obtain what he was longing: love. Yet, at no moment, the butler criticized his master, he chose to remain silent. One might say that he was in no position to express his opinion, as he is just a servant. However, like I described it in the analysis “The birth of the zombie”, the lord relied on Kim’s suggestions and actions all the time. This explicates why the head-maid keeps asking for Kim’s help and advice. 
(chapter 17)
(chapter 65) For he could act as his advisor, this means that he could have told the truth to his lord. There’s no doubt that through his conversation in the woods, he recognized that there could be a misunderstanding between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum. Yet, he chose not to reveal this information, because that way, he would create a situation, where the lord would be rejected. In other words, the scene in the pavilion was a new version of the Wedding night. Besides, the manhwaphiles should recall that the butler played a huge role there as well, because he created an incident: the disappearance of the expensive wine. 
In other words, the criminal is actually trying to bury the truth as well. He is also asking the victim to lie by omission. Unlike the loyal servant, Nameless threatened the painter.
And now, you can understand why my connection to chapter 26 was correct in the end. However, there’s a huge difference between Nameless and valet Kim, both representatives of the future. The butler wasn’t feeling sorry for the victim and the perpetrator at all, while it’s the opposite for the hired assassin: 
(chapter 60) 
(chapter 66). Valet Kim only fakes concern and care, because his motto is: 
With his lack of response and his desertion from the bathroom, it is clear that the servant was running away, for he didn’t want to face his own responsibilities. He was literally leaving the artist’s side. The change of clothes was a good excuse for him not to witness Baek Na-Kyum’s tears. I am quite certain that the low-born’s reaction must have reminded Kim of Yoon Seungho’s past as well. Striking is that both characters, Kim and Yoon Seungho, were annoyed by his cry and tears.
Why? It is, because the tears expose the wound and represent the proof of a misdeed. And their common reaction leads me to the following deductions: 
He was hiding his eyes from his assistant, while he was somehow laughing. In this scene, it becomes visible that the lord is hurt, and this represents a proof that Kim must have requested from him to stop crying in his youth too. The noble has already internalized the gesture: he is not allowed to show his tears in front of his assistant. Moreover, although he is deeply wounded, he can’t shed tears, since he has long forgotten how to do so. And this was for me another clue that the main character must have encountered so many bad experiences that he could no longer cry. This assumption was proven correct, when Byeonduck allowed the readers to witness the noble’s nightmare: his past is indeed very tragic and painful. 
(chapter 3) Thanks to his invisible mind’s eye, the lord was able to reflect on himself and recognize his wrongdoings. Unlike the red-haired aristocrat, the protagonist felt huge pangs of conscience very early on, while it took his friend a long time to recognize his mistake. He was the one responsible for losing his lover.
(chapter 61) 
(chapter 62) And observe that the moment, Jihwa realizes his huge mistake and expresses remorse, he drops his doctrine about the distinction between nobles and commoners. He doesn’t mind being embraced by a low-born, even a criminal. Notice what Yoon Seungho is experiencing happens the next night after Jihwa’s emancipation. Since we had a scene with three persons in the woodshed
, then I had the feeling that in the grange, we could have a scene with 3 people as well (past, present and future). So I predicted that this night would have the same impact for the powerful protagonist, yet that his rebirth would be accompanied with pain and a tragedy. And my predictions were correct: during this night, the third person in the shed is the perpetrator of Yoon Seungho’s rape which was witnessed by the butler.
I mean, why would the domestic answer to his question during the night, while we clearly saw that the teacher was already lying in his bed before? My first explication was that Kim was trying to help his master, because the scholar’s death would have caused a real scandal. Nevertheless, my interpretation has changed. He did it in order to secure his position: if Yoon Seungho had killed a noble, he could have been persecuted and as such the butler’s fate would have been affected. There’s no ambiguity that after the rape, Kim knew how his lord was thinking and feeling. However, if you read the manhwa, you’ll never see him acting behind the scene. You come only to this observation after examining the chapters carefully. The sudden appearance of the old servant who asks the low noble to follow him outside, while the former wonders about this action. Besides, I had clearly pointed out the theory that the assistant must have been responsible for the painter’s first escape. It was his first direct involvement, and his disobedience could have been noticed by his master. We have to envision a new version of this situation: Kim encouraged the painter to flee by telling him where the scholar was. 
He never anticipated that as a low noble, he would mistrust the low-born’s statement. And if you pay attention to the evolution of the story, you’ll notice that Kim’s actions are gradually revealed during the first and second season. During the night of the forced sex, Kim acted behind the scene, yet the chapter 29 marked a turning point in the butler’s life. He got punished for his betrayal, although the protagonist got unaware of this: 
Why? For he was the lord’s right-hand, he was forced to beg for Yoon Seungho’s forgiveness. All the staff expected this from the valet, since he was the closest assistant to Yoon Seungho.
Notice that Kim was sweating and looked pale, indicating a huge discomfort. He never imagined their return, just like he never expected the noble’s outburst. Nothing could stop him, he became so infuriated and violent that he wasn’t even spared.
Why this miscalculation? From my perspective, it is related to the butler’s judgement about his master. In his mind, Yoon Seungho is just a man consumed by lust, hence he envisioned that the painter was just a plaything. He believed that once out of the sight, out of the mind. 
As a conclusion, he decided to use the lord’s thirst for the painter to get rid of Baek Na-Kyum. Observe that he never asked for his master’s approval for the aphrodisiac. He already started giving orders on his own: Deok-Jae was asked to let the painter leave the mansion, then he bought the expensive medicine. But since he was just a butler, he used the closeness to his master to obtain what he wanted. This exposes that Kim already abused his position, in season 1. He claimed to the doctor that his master would have given his approval, because he knew that the aristocrat would never investigate his moves and whereabouts. 
However, we all know that Yoon Seungho’s desire is to be loved for himself and not because of his status, wealth or a trick. When the valet went so far to buy ink and brushes for the painter, it gave the impression that the butler was caring and gentle.
(chapter 56) 
(chapter 58) Under this new light, it becomes comprehensible why the lord questioned his presence at the physician’s While many readers, including myself first, thought, was attempting to bring them closer and as such to play cupid in the end. The reality was the opposite. He always created misunderstandings and problems. 
And now, if the manhwalovers compare both panels, they will note the increasing of violence expressed by Yoon Seungho. While many resented the protagonists for his brutal words, they actually indicate that the main lead is already sensing the manipulative side from the butler. Let’s not forget that in chapter 62, Kim declared this: 
A sword! And remember that I have already pointed out that there’s a strong connection between the butler and the sword due to chapter 1, 26, 35, and 50. That’s why I come to the deduction that Kim desired to get rid of the painter through his master’s sword. Hence he said those words: 
(chapter 61) 
(chapter 62) 
First he was with him, when the latter was still innocent and sensitive.
In my opinion, this was a deliberate decision from Byeonduck. She wanted us to hope that Kim would help the painter, only to discover his cowardice and selfishness at the end. However, if you reread the story again, the abandonment and betrayal were predictable in reality. Why? In two occasions, he didn’t intervene… the Wedding night (chapter 20) and the sex marathon (chapter 33).
However, each time the painter had to pay a huge price for Yoon Seungho’s misdeeds. In chapter 33, he was more concerned that the painter would reveal his involvement in the escape. This explicates why Kim declared this in chapter 65: 
The lord was in reality the fire and because Kim spoke to him in chapter 62, the noble was full of mistrust and pain. 
(chapter 36) He dared to scold Baek Na-Kyum blaming him for his relapse. He reprimanded him for acting like a master. He reminded him of his own status: 
, hence he couldn’t transform totally into a vengeful ghost in a long term. 
Kim was the darkness, consequently the noble turned his back on the light, but he could still feel some warmth through the painter’s words 
(chapter 1) in case his wish didn’t get fulfilled, and why he became so “bloodthirsty” after the rejection. Just like a drug addict who becomes violent, if he is unable to get his drug, he felt the urge to release his anger. 
(chapter 1) It was, as if he was in withdrawal and couldn’t bear the thought, he hadn’t obtained what he desired. So when I compare the painter and his work to a drug, it puts the low-born in a bad light. Nonetheless this is not my intention at all. For me, the painter represents his cure in reality. Let’s not forget that the powerful aristocrat’s heart has been poisoned, corrupted by his father, therefore in order to get cured, he needs to find another “poison”, it’s like fighting a poison with another poison. 
(chapter 3) We see here the lord intoxicated by the new drug. It did release him from his prison, his self-hatred. Moreover, it helped him to see more clearly for the first time. His eye in his mind was now free from any corruption. Nonetheless the next day, he is faced with a different image. More precisely, his ears have to hear a terrible truth. Now, he is a man consumed by sex, which causes him to become pensive and depressed. He is no longer feeling the urge to have sex with Jihwa.
And now, the manhwaphiles comprehend the true nature of the new drug: the painter’s gaze is liberating the lord’s senses, very similar to Jihwa. This is not surprising that the first two paintings
(chapter 10) he makes show our lord looking at the painter. Imagine, in the second image, he even has two sex partners by his side, yet his attention is directed at the creator and not his partners. This painting exposes their locked gaze and their growing intimacy. Baek Na-Kyum’s gaze has become the lord’s obsession, his new drug. The paintings Baek Na-Kyum creates exude warmth, beauty and naturality which stands in opposition to the world, where the lord is living: fakeness, superficiality, distance and coldness. But the lord’s attraction towards the painter increases so much that he would like to taste the artist. In other words, if he devours Baek Na-Kyum, he might get high again because the pictures are no longer enough to satiate his urges. Now, you can understand what this means. Having sex with the low-born signifies, he is “increasing” the dose. Note that this coincides with the third painting, where he is looking at Jihwa and not at the painter.
(chapter 19) Notice that the moment the painter confesses to Seungho, he puts his hands on his shoulder and then he kisses him. But this doesn’t end here, later he puts his hands around his shoulders. 
(chapter 20) For the first time, the noble is embraced. And now, if you look at all the sex sessions he had with Jihwa or the others, the main lead was never truly hugged.
(chapter 8) 
(chapter 9) 
(chapter 15) [I am not quoting the paintings again which could be added to this list] One might argue that in the first panel, the sex partner is hugging the main lead from behind. 
(chapter 20) Yet, the more time passes on, the more the low-born holds the noble more tightly.
(chapter 21) The painter voices the wish to be embraced. That’s why the former puts him on his lap.
(chapter 21) You can sense that Yoon Seungho is willing to fill the gap and feel as close as possible to Baek Na-Kyum. He hugged him on his own first, yet the artist was the one embracing him fully at the end. 
(chapter 26) This was a gesture of defeat and submission and never an embrace full of love. One might argue that the noble had already hugged the painter before, 
(chapter 16) hence the artist’s hug during their Wedding night can’t mark the start. Yet, if the manhwaworms look at the way the master held the commoner in chapter 16, they’ll notice that the lord is hugging Baek Na-Kyum from behind. He was definitely restraining him from leaving his bedchamber, like a predator catching his prey. Sure, there’s no doubt that there exist emotions behind his gesture. Nonetheless, the hug was more under the influence of the unconscious. Consequently it is different from the night in chapter 19. Here, the lord was more looking for sex, whereas in chapters 20 and 21, it was a mixture of sex and love. However, at the end love became triumphant and the lord was no longer interested in sex. 
Once he became sober, he realized his mistake. His mind had become clearer again. In my perspective, the “cure” helped him to release his emotions, which he had been repressing for so long. This explicates why he was reminded of his tragic past and relived his traumatic experience. He had decided to become numb in order not to feel any pain. The problem is that the moment he discovered love, he was not recognizing that he was allowing his heart to feel pain as well. Love and pain can’t be separated.
(chapter 22) 
(chapter 30), as if they were a treasure to him. The roughness vanishes gradually, for the lord changes for the better as well. But more importantly, in the following gestures, the readers can sense his desire to hug the artist. And as time passes on, the gesture becomes more obvious and pronounced. It started with an arm,
(chapter 22) then it was the chest
(chapter 42) until it became a real hug.
(chapter 49) However, the real climax is reached in chapter 58. This time, the aristocrat in love is holding him so tightly with his both arms. 
(chapter 58) There is no gap between them, the artist is no longer putting some distance with his head, unlike in chapter 49 (third panel above) or the lord is grabbing the neck to make sure that the artist keeps kissing him (second panel above). Yet, while they make love 
(chapter 58) , the lord is no longer holding him and gazing at him, he is just grabbing his hand and whispering his love confession. This signifies that the lord has truly given up on his dream and has accepted reality. The painter’s gaze and hug were just an addiction and he is admitting that he will never be loved. He will see this night as a wonderful illusion but he won’t feel any anger, despair and pain after that night. We could say that the lord has finally defeated his inner demons and addiction. He is free from his past and can now use his mind clearly.
(chapter 61) Baek Na-Kyum purified the lord so that the latter has truly become selflessness and no longer needs sex. He won’t organize any sex session or any party with wine and opium. In my opinion, the last debauchery symbolized his final relapse. Observe that during that week, he had no sex and wasn’t even aroused, when a noble gave him a blowjob
Imagine his emotions, when the low-born did this. In that scene, the master was acting like a monster, nevertheless it didn’t stop the artist to embrace him despite the slap and his ugly behavior. But for Baek Na-Kyum, it was the same as well. He also longed to be embraced hence for him, their Wedding night represented a dream, where he could express his desire and experience what he wanted to have. He wanted to express his love, shower his learned sir with his affection. Strangely, it started with a hand 
(chapter 30) forcing the low-born to accept him as his new master. However, notice that the painter’s hands become more decisive and grab more firmly Yoon Seungho’s wrist in chapter 42. 
(chapter 42) This reflects the evolution of their relationship. The painter is here accepting the aristocrat as lover. Simultaneously, he is touching the place where the lord’s unconscious is voicing his desires. And this gesture triggers the lord later to put him on his lap, attempting to embrace him. And the more the lord hugs the painter, the more the latter is affected by it. The reason is simple. Just like the main lead, the commoner was deprived from warmth and love for so long and receiving it for the first time, this could only move the main lead. The manhwaphiles should remember that the artist asked the master to hold him in chapter 41
(chapter 41), exposing his need for comfort and embrace. Yet back then, the lord was confusing love with sex hence he couldn’t give correctly what the painter desired. He was not able to distinguish the difference. In truth, both were lost persons mixing up sex with love due to their terrible fathers. 
He keeps blushing displaying his emotions. He is really loved, displayed by the lord’s words and gestures. That’s why the hug is reciprocated but it is too beautiful to be true. Consequently the noble doubts its existence.
In chapter 30, the candlestick falls on the ground due to Baek Na-Kyum. The latter has been placed on the cupboard by the protagonist, because the latter wants to corner him and limit his resistance. As you already know, the yellow bougie on the candlestick embodies the noble. Since there is no light, there’s no warmth and yellow outlines his selfishness, reflecting his actual disposition and behavior. He is anything except loving and warm. The fall of the candle represents his inner turmoil. The painter’s escape upset him so much that he was destabilized. He felt so powerless, as he couldn’t stop the low born’s desertion. It was, as if his world had been turned upside down.
(chapter 21)
(chapter 25) 
(chapter 39) 
(chapter 42)
(chapter 45) 
(chapter 50) 
(chapter 54)
In my opinion, he experienced the artist’s tender gaze during their first night together which moved his heart so much, though he didn’t realize it right away.
This was the gaze he wanted to receive and this was his reaction.
The painter was blushing and his eyes were half-open but he looked directly at him exuding desire and love, thereby the aristocrat felt desired and loved for the first time. So until chapter 49, he hoped to relive the same gaze and facial expression (blushing) but it never truly occurred again. This explicates why he was happy, when the artist would redden in his presence. He had the feeling that he had progressed and was getting closer to his dream. Yet since he had been rejected many times and had made huge mistakes (chapter 25, 26, 30-32), he would rather glimpse at Baek Na-Kyum, already pleased that the painter was no longer rejecting him and even showed a certain pleasure like in chapter 39. 
His eyes are wide open, there’s no blushing, rather fear or doubt. In other words, Baek Na-Kyum’s eyes and facial expression oozes the exact opposite of their wedding night. This was, as if Yoon Seungho was confronted with reality. He will never be loved by Baek Na-Kyum. Out of heartache and fury, he made a wrong decision. After recognizing his huge mistake, he decided to confess without looking at the painter ever again. He truly feared his gaze. Imagine, the artist had made such an expression that in his mind, the low-born’s gaze could only get colder and more resentful. 
, when he kisses the commoner. Why? Here, he is only looking for his own satisfaction. He feels frustrated and wants to fulfil his own wish and desires. Then later he only looks at him through the mirror for a while but he is more focused on the painter’s reactions. The main lead wants the sex partner to accept his homosexuality and him. After that, the rich protagonist is more interested to feel ecstasy without paying attention to the painter’s facial expression. That’s also the reason why the noble doesn’t notice the artist’s poor health condition. Therefore the absence of such a picture during the sex marathon outlines the protagonist’s selfishness. Only after realizing that the low-born is sick, he changes his attitude and gives him a tender kiss with water.
Yet here Yoon Seungho is not starring at the painter’s gaze, he is rather focused on his reaction.
It is because he still fears his gaze and has already resigned that he will never receive such tender expressions. But most importantly is that when they both climax, the lord is not forcing the artist to look at him, contrary to chapter 21
, while the painter is looking on the other side.
Therefore the noble doesn’t witness what is happening in front of his eyes. Note the contrast between this night and their first night. Here, the noble grasps the painter’s chin in order to force him to look at him and to recognize his true identity. He is apologizing, yet deep down he was voicing his wish. He desired the painter to recognize and accept him. On the other hand, in chapter 58, he makes love to the artist, without looking at his facial expressions or gaze at any moment.
The gaze will be cold again, he won’t say a word. There’s no doubt that the moment he realizes what truly happened, he will become so infuriated that he will retaliate. Yet this time, the victims of his anger won’t the domestics in his mansion, but the nobles. And if I am wrong, so be it, however I explain why I came to this conclusion.
, 
and Yoon Seungho in chapter 37
, 
and he must have had a high position because Jihwa described that the Yoons were declining and he was referring to the father. If there is a downfall, it signifies that the Yoons had quite a high position. Striking is that the main lead is not mentioning here his father at all who was also working for the government according to the testimony of the commoner.
It is definitely possible that this is related to tears. The father disliked seeing tears in the children, a sign of weakness and femininity in his mind. Another clue for this theory is Yoon Seungho’s behavior towards the scholar. He realized the teacher’s true nature immediately and could fool him so well. From my perspective, the main lead recognizes Jung In-Hun’s true character because he had already met such a character before, it was his father. 
That’s why he said such words towards Jung In-hun in the woods. He knew that his father was thinking like that, felt great satisfaction to humiliate him. Furthermore, this would explain why Yoon Seungho was always reminded of the past, when Baek Na-Kyum was rejecting him.
Here, the noble Baek Na-Kyum is running away. His heart is making the sound “thump, thump” and his face is red. Why? He is leaving the market place in a hurry because his eyes saw Yoon Seungho for the first time. However, on the surface it looks like he is just avoiding an embarrassing situation. His escape seems to be caused by his shame. He has been caught in the act saying something nasty, since the commoner smirked to him after hearing his bad comment. 
However, remember that first impressions can be deceiving. For me, the moment their eyes meet,
the innocent man’s faces blushes. Note that his reddening is actually stronger than when he was looking at his crush, his servant Jung In-Hun.
Then you have to imagine that his heart starts racing, a sign that he is physically attracted to the infamous low-born but we don’t see it yet. In my opinion, his reactions are not just the results of shame
He showed a similar reaction, when he was dealing with the merchant. He was enthusiastic too, imagining that he would get paid a lot.
However, the sound of the heartbeat (“thump”) diverges in the escape scene. The explication is simple. The arousal was masked by the run therefore the “badum/badum” turned into a “thump”, yet we have to imagine, it was already present. Once back home, the racing of his heart and his blush never stopped. Even lying down, he is still agitated, aroused and can’t calm down. He can’t forget Seungho’s face, engraved in his memory so that he is able to create a masterpiece. 
In this image, the manhwaworms hear the painter’s heartbeat for the first time which is actually triggered by Yoon Seungho’s return. He is so surprised by his physical reaction that he is left speechless first.
Observe that the racing of his heart is accompanied with his blushing face, just like in the alternative universe. The painter gets agitated as he can not control his body and his heart. He would like to hide this from the noble and gives a good excuse for his departure. The lord needs his bed hence he has to return to his own room. As you can see, the desertion in chapter 34 resembles a lot to the one in the first episode from the alternative universe. Since he can’t control the racing of his heart, he wonders about its cause and nature. 
, his mind was the only thing he could use, since he had been deprived of his own body and as such his heart. Hence when Byeonduck created this wonderful panel, she gave us a clue that the first day dream represented the first step of liberation of Baek Na-Kyum’s body.
And the racing of his heart marks the pivotal moment in Baek Na-Kyum’s life. 
The reason for the return of his heartbeat is the sex marathon where he was confronted with his own image.
There, he saw his own pleasure and felt it as well. However, the shock was too big hence he fell ill. With this new revelation it becomes understandable why Yoon Seungho met so much resistance in the end. He had to fight on two different levels: liberate the painter’s body and mind. It was not just about denial of his own sexual orientation, but sex in general. At the end of the first season, he had succeeded to free the painter’s body but that was it. The second “confrontation” in chapters 48/49 marked the last battle 
where the painter’s mind is finally freed.
Note that he is associating fear to his heart pounding illustrating that he hasn’t understood its signification. This was actually a love confession but the master couldn’t perceive it as such because it started with a reproach: “you scare me so much”. And now, if you look at the confession in chapter 49 where he speaks again about his heart 
, the connection between fear and heart racing has finally disappeared. On the other hand, the artist reduces it to a physical attraction. When their eye meet, he gets aroused, exactly like I had described with the scene from the alternative universe. This evolution exposes his lack of discernment. He is still unable to interpret the heartbeat “badum, badum” correctly. Therefore I don’t think, we can say that Baek Na-Kyum was denying his own feelings. It is just that he never understood what his heart pounding meant. And the source for his misinterpretation is the feelings he had for his teacher, just like in the alternative universe.
Observe that this expression is only connected to his eye and not his body. Jung In-Hun is handsome but that’s it. He doesn’t feel the need to hug or touch him. He is already content with buying him glasses.
This reminds me of Courtly love (Minne in German and Amour courtois in French) from European Middle Age. It is a literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various deeds or services for ladies because of their “courtly love”. There is no sex, their act of loving is purely mental. As you can imagine, this was just fiction, just like in our manhwa. In both versions, Jung In-Hun is in fact associated to dream and not reality. The cat is the one that brings back the noble Baek Na-Kyum to reality.
That’s why his courtly love for his learned sir is doomed to failure. It is just an illusion, a fiction because it doesn’t reflect people’s true personality. The characters in Medieval literature were portrayed as heroes, dedicated to their lady and people, while knights in reality were often the opposite. They were just soldiers and killed women and orphans for their lord. And notice that once the pure main lead recalls all the good deeds Yoon Seungho did for him, the heart pounding resurfaces accompanied with the blushing.
He is still denying the lord’s feelings but since there was a confession, the painter will be able to connect his heart racing to love. The good deeds have nothing to do with sex, yet his body is still reacting therefore you can comprehend why in the next chapter 60
, he screams Yoon Seungho’s name begging him to save him. The kidnapping was just the trigger for him to recognize that his lord had already entered his mind and his heart. 
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 