Protected: Painter Of The Night: “Right here beside you.”👬

February 19, 2023March 9, 2023 ~ Bébébisous33

Painter Of The Night: The shadowy plot(s) 👀 from the past 🙊

February 4, 2023February 5, 2023 ~ Bébébisous33 ~ Leave a comment

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

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There is a reason why I selected the illustration of season 4 for this essay, though my focus is the past, and more precisely Yoon Seungho’s suffering. It is because the darkness surrounding the protagonist not only refers to his tragic youth, but also it reflects the situation of the manhwalovers. The latter are still in the dark concerning his torment. His terrible secrets have not been totally unveiled. So far, the author allowed the readers to see glimpses of his past, like f. ex. the gangrape or the suicide of his mother. But these were just small pieces of the puzzle, thus it is still impossible to have a complete picture of his martyrdom. There are many reasons for this. The main victim never testified about his suffering, he refused to open up to Baek Na-Kyum. (chapter 84) Then many witnesses vanished (chapter 86) or the ones alive preferred telling lies in order to hide their own wrongdoings or are simply in denial about their own culpability. Finally, the victim, the perpetrators and accomplices had no idea about the whole truth. They only know or knew certain facts, because many of them were deceived as well. What exactly happened to Yoon Seungho? How could this take place, though he belonged to one of the most powerful noble families? Now, you are probably expecting that I will give you answers to all these questions, and recreate the past. But I have to admit that it is not possible, for I don’t know the whole chronology. Consequently, I added “shadowy” in the title. To conclude, my real intention is more to offer new pieces from the riddle than create a whole new “story”. The main source for this new insight is the painter’s fate which is a reflection from the noble’s past and torment. This means that Byeonduck left traces in season 1, 2 and 3! That’s how I discovered that he had been abandoned and betrayed by everyone, kidnapped, treated as a male kisaeng, robbed, abused, raped and even gangraped at least twice, tortured and finally drugged! But like mentioned above, it is difficult to give the proper order and the persons truly involved in the crimes. On the other hand, what I can guarantee is that Yoon Seungho’s nightmare is linked to conspiracies. I came to this conclusion, because if you compare all the seasons, you will detect the presence of plots. There exists at least 3 main plots in each season, though there definitely exist more. The conspiracies are all connected to incidents.

1. The conspiracies

To validate my theory, I will use the first season as an example. The incident with the ruined drawing was actually initiated by Min and his friend with the mole. Black Heart had slapped his friend (chapter 9), so that the latter visited Lee Jihwa to arouse his jealousy. It was to push him to commit a crime so that Baek Na-Kyum would be removed from the main lead’s side. As you can see, there were 3 people involved, though the readers only saw the result. (chapter 12) They had the impression that the red-haired master had acted on his own. However, he had been manipulated, incited to commit a crime. But my point is not to diminish his wrongdoing, rather to expose the involvement of the schemers. Hence at the end of season 1, the author unveiled their true role and as such their identities. (chapter 43) However, observe that when Lee Jihwa went to the pavilion, the noble with the mole had other guests. 2 nobles left the place, as they refused to participate in a murder. (chapter 43) Funny is that they are now witnesses of Min’s crime. This can have repercussions in season 4. Black Heart had been the one who had suggested the assassination to Lee Jihwa. And the aristocrats were still there, when he had made this proposition. (chapter 43) But the two empty seats also serve as a metaphor for the existence of other helping hands: Kim and No-Name! The latter was about to get hired by the young master. Hence I deduce that this scene was to display the existence of accomplices who had always been acting in the shadow. Or we could say that the number of conspirators increased! However, I would like to point out the existence of a second conspiracy: the stolen wine. (chapter 19) And this is related to Kim and the gibang. Yet, the butler ruined Black Heart’s plan. To conclude, we have two main plotters in season 1, but the butler’s bad intentions were not detected, for Yoon Seungho’s bad actions were more eye-catching. People had the impression that the valet was defending the artist’s best interest. From my point of view, the number of persons involved in the plot kept increasing, as they needed more and more accomplices. The reason is that their plans didn’t work out like expected. At the end of season 3, Min involved the kisaengs in the gibang, while Kim asked the assistance of the staff, the maids (chapter 91) and the servants (chapter 97). Thus I deduce that in the past, the same must have happened. Many people were involved in the downfall of Yoon Seungho and his family. But who was the real target in the end? It is difficult to say with 100% certainty.

While Min serves as a reflection from the main mastermind in the past, his actions are not entirely clear. Note that he kept changing his mind and heart. On the one hand, he wished to have the painter killed, then later to have the young artist by his side as a source of entertainment. Yet, there is no doubt that he wished to have sex with Baek Na-Kyum right from the start. (chapter 8) Thus in season 2, he came to this resolution: (chapter 56) He had planned to rape him before having him eliminated. This shows his inner conflict. From my point of view, the painter’s death is connected to the incident in the gibang. (chapter 1) Baek Na-Kyum was a witness of Min’s wrongdoing, just like the painter was a witness and victim of his crimes in the shrine. (chapter 99) One thing is sure: Min was full of greed and jealousy. He was determined to harm and ruin Yoon Seungho. Hence I come to the deduction that the real target of the conspiracy in the past was Yoon Chang-Hyeon. And his son was used against him.

Interesting is that in the first season, the plots were not obvious, except one: the painter’s murder! The conspiracies only came to light, when the readers paid attention to details. The best example is the incident with the open door: (chapter 16) This doesn’t look like a crime. However, it is one! It was done on purpose, to separate the couple. Someone had intervened in order to interrupt this session, and as such someone had been spying on them. Deok-Jae only revealed his spying activity from chapter 16 in season 2: (chapter 53) Yet, the one opening the door had been Kim. This gesture can be considered as trespassing and invasion of privacy, the new version of this scene. (chapter 16) But instead of revealing the truth, the butler sided with Lee Jihwa, and allowed him to trespass the propriety again. In my eyes, the butler thought (chapter 17) that Yoon Seungho would come to perceive the painter as a man consumed by lust. He imagined that he would caught them fooling around. As you can see, this ruckus was also a plot, though it doesn’t look like one. Why would the maids gossip in the courtyard? (chapter 18) From my point of view, the valet expected that the lord would fear people’s gaze and a scandal. Thus he would send away the painter to protect his “reputation”, but the opposite happened. Under this perspective, the manhwalovers can grasp why it is difficult to calculate accurately the number of plots and accomplices. Besides, some were naïve pawns, others not. And since I examined the first season more closely, it is necessary to analyze the vanishing of Jung In-Hun. His disappearance is strongly intertwined with Yoon Seungho’s secret. How so? The learned sir was determined to find the lord’s vulnerability and as such secret.

2. The scholar’s disappearance

Many readers have the impression that the learned sir is still alive, for they never saw his corpse or his execution. Since they had somehow witnessed Jung In-Hun’s departure, they knew that the learned sir could not have been killed in his humble home. I had already detected very early on, like other manhwaphiles, that the murder scene had been staged. (chapter 88) Thus many readers jumped to the conclusion that the learned sir had already switched sides and was plotting against the main lead. They had his following words in their mind: (chapter 29) Thus many concluded that he had participated in the prank, faking his death. On the other hand, the manhwalovers believed to have seen Heena’s death! (chapter 99) However, observe that we never saw her corpse. She was still alive in this panel. I had already pointed out that her murder was actually faked. Her mouth was not covered, hence she could have screamed, but she remained silent (blank speech bubble). Secondly, she never moved her legs… contrary to Yoon Seungho’s behavior in the gibang. (chapter 68) That’s the reason why I came to the conclusion that Heena’s curtains didn’t take place. Hence I deduced that in the past, someone’s death must have been “faked” too and this vanishing must have affected the main lead’s fate. The other deduction is that the learned sir must be “dead”, as the author is working with positive and negative reflections. I had already presented this theory in two different compositions (“That day” and “The secret behind the library“) However, for each murder, the culprit must have a strong motive. For me, the mastermind behind his death is the pedophile himself. This man, (chapter 37) who is the king in my eyes. [For more read the essay “The face of lord Song“]

3. The reasons for the assassination

Why would he eliminate the learned sir? In the past, I had said that he had ordered it out of jealousy. He believed that Jung In-Hun had become Yoon Seungho’s lover, for his brother had mistaken his identity. (chapter 37) Since Baek Na-Kyum was wearing a hanbok, Yoon Seung-Won thought that the person hidden under the hanbok was no commoner! Thus he called him a fellow. However, this motive is quite thin! Yet, two new details caught my attention. His visit to the “fake shaman” and his request. Notice what he told the man:(chapter 29) He was announcing to the dark haired man his true intention. He desired to abandon and betray Yoon Seungho the moment he reached the first place in the civil service examination. He saw him as a burden. This is important, because his words represent a confession of his “sin”!! The scholar was admitting to the commoner that once he reached the first place, he would cut off his ties with the protagonist. But actually, the latter is connected to the pedophile. It was, as if he was saying that he would betray the king, for the young main lead is close to the king. On the other hand, he needed to reach the first place for this. And now, you have the explanation why he got killed. He needed to vanish, before he participated in the next round! The mysterious lord Song needed to remove him, before Jung reached the first place and betrayed his “lover”. In a certain way, the man could justify his action that he has been protecting Yoon Seungho from a future betrayal. However, there is no ambiguity that the true motive was jealousy. But he had naturally another motivation. It was important that the lord’s past never came to light either, as his secret was strongly intertwined with the ruler’s past actions. To conclude, the pedophile had every reason to order his assassination. But he was not the only one behind his death. Other people had an interest in this crime as well.

Jung In-Hun’s ”dream” stands in opposition to Yoon Seungwon‘s statement who somehow promised his father that he would reach first place. That’s the reason why the father boasted in the bedchamber. (chapter 86) However, in reality, he was relying on the king’s help and intervention. And this confession to the “fake shaman” represents the learned sir’s karma. He had asked the painter to act like a spy (chapter 24), not realizing that he could be spied himself! He didn’t grasp that he exposed his weakness to the commoner: the civil service examination. Thus the man had constantly drops of sweat on his face and interrogated Jung In-Hun. (chapter 29) The girl was there to create a certain closeness. He was acting like Kim, asking why! But the stupid and arrogant learned sir thought that because the man was a commoner, he was ignorant and could be manipulated like the painter! (chapter 29) He thought that the low-born would buy his lie here… but in my eyes, it was the opposite. He had already perceived the learned sir’s true nature. But he acted, as if he was agreeing. In other words, the scholar fell into his own trap. He envisioned that the man was “powerless”, but he overlooked his connections. The manhwalovers can see the contradiction, for he had approached the man due to his connections! .As you can see, I am more than ever convinced that the scholar has long been murdered. He was betrayed, exactly like he had planned to abandon Yoon Seungho! The pedophile must have heard from the servant about Jung’s plan, as he had confided it to the worker!!

Thus the man decided to meet Jung In-Hun himself, and give him a warning. He described the Yoons as powerless due to the purge. (chapter 37) But this doesn’t end here. (chapter 37) Yoon Chang-Hyeon was portrayed as a traitor! The “fake servant” implied with his statement that there was a conspiracy, and the patriarch was involved. But in exchange to save his own skin, he had tattled on the others! He was trying to insinuate that if Jung In-Hun interacted more with the Yoons, his reputation could get tainted. He could get suspected of “treason” too, or he could get betrayed too. While the man met the learned sir during the day, the brother went to the villa in a hurry during the night. (chapter 37) So it looked like the “scholar” had not grasped the warning. And if Yoon Seungwon had been informed about the content of the conversation between the learned sir and the “fake shaman”, it is not surprising that he rushed to his brother’s side. He could use this opportunity to warn him about a betrayal. However, he couldn’t do it so, because he imagined that the learned sir was present. This would explain this image: (chapter 36) Hence he chose a different approach: filial duty. And the brother’s observation could only corroborate the pedophile’s perception. The scholar was Yoon Seungho’s lover, but he was also a backstabber. But let’s return our attention to the “mysterious lord Song”‘s statement: Yoon Chang-Hyeon is a denunciator, not a man of honor. (chapter 37) Due to his denunciation and crime, he had to leave the mansion so suddenly leaving the protagonist behind. That’s what the old bearded man implied here. However, I believe that this declaration is a mixture of truth and lie! That’s how I could make the sudden connection: (Chapter 67) Lee Jihwa had not only been denunciated, but he had been confronted by his friend! And the traitor was right by his side. As you can see, chapter 67 was a reflection from episode 37!! These two episodes have another common denominator: the betrayer had made the following suggestion. (chapter 67) In exchange for his “survival”, he should help Black Heart and allow him to act on his behalf. This was the new plan. That’s how he started impersonating Lee Jihwa. That’s the reason why I come to the conclusion that in the past, the impersonation must have happened, but it took place in the beginning. Secondly, I am assuming that a traitor must have suggested to Yoon Chang-Hyeon to leave the mansion and abandon his son behind! (chapter 27) And who is it? For me, it is Kim acting on the pedophile’s behalf. Striking is that in episode 27, the learned sir escaped death thanks to the intervention of the old bearded domestic and Baek Na-Kyum. Thus it came to my mind that the pedophile could even claim that he had eliminated the learned sir, because Yoon Seungho had attempted himself to kill him in the past. He had acted on his behalf. And what do have all these chapters have in common? SPYING and tattling! In episode 27, the servant unveiled a part of the past, (chapter 27) Someone had tattled on the Yoons in the past, but the patriarch was turned into the traitor himself which the young main lead came to believe. Thus Yoon Seungho could say this to his father: (chapter 86) However, I am suspecting that this is not true, someone else tattled on the powerful family and made a false accusation! As you can imagine, I am inclined to think that father Lee must have been behind this! Why? It is because he can no longer do it! Thus in season 3, he approached the patriarch Yoon. (chapter 82) If the lord Seungho had truly committed a crime, he should have reported it to the authorities. The stupid Yoon Chang-Hyeon never wondered why the elder Lee visited him during the night and asked for his assistance. Furthermore, the elder Lee had been allowed to enter the bedchamber and see the huge drawing which could have been perceived as a sign of treason. He was eyeing at the throne. (chapter 82) Note that the aristocrat mentioned “punishment” in this context. So maybe, he denunciated the patriarch so that the whole family would get punished. Father Lee was definitely played in this scene, hence I believe that someone had already anticipated his reactions. He would seek revenge. But this doesn’t end here. I had connected “rash departure” to “treason and spying”. And now, observe what Yoon Seungho said to his butler (chapter 50) He had sent Jung In-Hun away in order to get rid of him! However, because of the expression “I thought”, I am quite certain that this idea had been suggested to him by the valet! I would like to underline that in this episode, the valet was acting as a tattler! (chapter 50) But in order to hide his own crime, he portrayed it as a rumor (It may not be accurate”). This truly underlines the butler’s MO. He used information and turned it as gossips to hide his spying activities. The shadow… Simultaneously, he turned gossips into a verity!! This is no coincidence that in season 3, the same method was employed. Yoon Seungho was supposed to have murdered the scholar and Deok-Jae! My avid readers can sense the leitmotiv in all these episodes. RUMORS are turned into a reality, and as such a CRIME! Even here… (chapter 37) (chapter 37) But Kim is not the only spy and traitor! The younger brother Seungwon is also one! Thus he was introduced in the same chapter. And I have an irrefutable evidence that the old bearded man was in contact with the younger master. Only recently, I realized that the man never mentioned the protagonist’s name, he just said “this one”. This idiom implies that there is another one!!! This is the evidence that he was in contact with Yoon Seungwon. Finally, why would the man talk about the elder master Yoon the entire time? It is, because technically Yoon Seungho is just the elder son. This means that the pedophile never officially gave the title to the protagonist. These were empty words. (chapter 86) But since our beloved man started living in the bedchamber, this became a reality. That’s the other reason why Yoon Seungho was encouraged to live in debauchery and not to take the civil service examination. But this only occurred, the moment the lord returned living in the mansion and not before!! Secondly, I realized that this statement about Yoon Chang-Hyeon will become a reality for the “fake servant” himself. (chapter 37) Not only he justified his return to the familial domain with the main lead’s lunacy (“under the pretense of some problem with this one”), but also he accused his own son of a crime. (chapter 94) This means that he acted as a traitor, tattling on his own relative. Finally, observe that once confronted with brutal reality, the father did run away. (chapter 87) The white bearded man’s words became a reality. However, since the fake servant, the mysterious lord Song, judges the elder master Yoon as a troublemaker and hypocrite, there is no ambiguity that the elder master Yoon will get into trouble. Since he did it in the past, he can only get suspected in the present.

Besides, because the scholar is now dead, the pedophile can only put the whole blame on someone else refusing to become responsible for this. He has always acted in the shadow. We have three possibilities: he puts the blame on Yoon Seungwon, and say that he had done it out of jealousy. Or Yoon Chang-Hyeon had intervened, because Jung represented an hindrance to the Yoons’ dream. Besides, he was supposed to stay in the mansion in Hanyang, and that’s where the rest of the family is living. (chapter 86) But the worst would be that the painter is blamed for his assassination. He did it out of resent! But this would expose the true thoughts of the schemers, the pedophile and Kim. That’s how they act, when they feel offended and bothered.

Striking is that the protagonist has no idea, that the banishment was staged, for he was told the same lie. In his mind, the father lives in exile.: (chapter 37) One thing is sure: the father’s dream will turn out to be an illusion. For me, the younger brother’s biggest wrongdoings are spying, tattling and badmouthing. And the best evidence for this interpretation is this situation: (chapter 44) He had given the ruined painting to his father, putting the blame on his brother, well aware that the latter would get angry. He was observing his father’s reaction. (chapter 44) Yet, there is a difference to the past. Here, he had been fooled! He truly believed that this was his brother’s doing, whereas in truth the butler had been the one who had fooled him. (chapter 38) And this is important, because when the letter was given to the brother, Jung In-Hun witnessed the wrongdoing from the butler!! (chapter 38) And now, you know why the learned sir had to die!! He had caught the valet in the act. He had betrayed Yoon Seungho, though he didn’t realize it. The learned sir tried to discover the content of the letter, and as such was prying on his sponsor’s weakness.(chapter 38) Hence I come to the conclusion that KIM played a huge role in the learned sir’s death as well. I would even say that he was the one who pushed the others to have the scholar and the painter killed. Both knew about the butler’s tricks without realizing his significance. (chapter 37) Hence I deduce that as the story progressed, the role of the butler started changing. Now, I see him as a the main plotter, while all the others are now his pawns. We could say that the valet has gradually followed the pedophile’s path. However, there is no ambiguity that it was not the same in the past!

4. A new plot

I am quite certain that many manhwalovers are doubting my theory that the fake servant is the king and the main culprit in Yoon Seungho’s nightmare. Why? It is because in chapter 83, we saw a dark haired man, and according to Lee Jihwa, this was the mysterious lord Song. (chapter 83) How can he be the same than the one from episode 37? The change of his hair color could be explained by a huge shock. But this is rather thin as a justification. Besides, now I am more inclined to think that these are two different persons, and that the main culprit is the one from episode 37. Why? It is because he smoked and utilized the same expression: “strange”. (chapter 37) An idiom that Yoon Seungho constantly utilized: chapter 16, chapter 21, chapter 50, chapter 71 (chapter 71). This means that he couldn’t understand, for he has a different way of thinking. This outlines his narrow-mindedness and his tendency to plan everything. He doesn’t like surprises.

Since the readers saw the hanbok and the beard, they imagine that he is the main culprit. But I would like the readers to keep in mind that Baek Na-Kyum’s fate is the clue about the main lead’s suffering. And how many people desired to have him by their side? TWO! Yoon Seungho and Min…. and we could say that both kidnapped the artist! The main lead did it in episode 1, and the other in episode 99! This means that Yoon Seungho should have two main sexual abusers in the past! However, in difference to the young lord, the painter only had sex with the main lead. Min always failed to taste him! That’s the reason why I am suspecting that the man from chapter 83 could represent the “first sexual abuser”. Besides, observe that he is not smoking! (chapter 83)

Because we saw the purple hanbok, we all imagined that he was representing the king or was connected to the palace. But is it true? Notice that one of the guests only has a moustache beard (chapter 83) which is actually connected to commoners. [For more read the essay “Painful departures“] Remember that Min tried to deceive people by wearing a similar hanbok which Lee Jihwa would often wear. (chapter 69) Hence I started wondering if the mysterious man with the beard was not impersonating someone, for example “lord Song” and in reality he was just a merchant. Why merchant? It is related to the shungas and the hanboks. The king can not be involved in trading directly. However, this is what Yoon Seungho told to the learned sir: (chapter 22) Nevertheless, the main lead could have never been involved in commerce, for he lived as a prisoner for many years. And this is what was said about the ruler: (chapter 76) He is not so wealthy. How come? Yoon Seungho’s fortune must have a different origin.

Besides, I would like to outline that when Min was facing the ghost Yoon Seungho, he denied his responsibility by putting the blame on the childhood friend: (chapter 102) Min had never predicted that the young master would run to his friend and denunciate him to Yoon Seungho. However, since Black Heart had employed the assistance of servants (chapter 101) , the kisaengs (chapter 95) (chapter 96), the officer (chapter 98), No-Name, the doctor with the drugs and butler Kim, this signifies that behind the name Lee Jihwa stand many people! As you can see, the name “lord Song” doesn’t refer to one person, but many… My theory is that No-Name is the true owner of the title, but that’s how he ended up losing his home and his name! That’s the reason why I believe that in this image (chapter 83), we only see one of many persons hiding behind the name “lord Song”. To conclude, I came to the theory that the men from chapter 37 and 83 are both “lord Song”, though the one from episode 37 can only be the king. But if the man in episode 83 was impersonating lord Song, and as such was dressed up as a royal, he was actually violating laws.

I would like to point out that Min had three goals, not only to ruin Yoon Seungho, but also to get rid of Baek Na-Kyum and Lee Jihwa. Why? It is because he had framed them for the incident in the gibang. (chapter 1) Furthermore, Lee Jihwa could testify that Black Heart was the mastermind of the murder. Thus I deduce that in the past, the mastermind must have had three intentions as well:

remove Yoon Chang-Hyeon from his son’s side. That way, he could outlive his sexual fantasies. (chapter 50)
ruin the Yoons which represented a thorn to his power, hence the young man was incited to hate and blame his father.
get rid of all the potential witnesses and accomplices.

We shouldn’t overlook that Min used to be the main lead’s sexual partner too. Hence we could say that he was trying to get rid of a former lover and potential rival! That’s why I can’t help myself thinking that the man in purple could have been fooled himself. (chapter 83) Here, he was smiling… but don’t forget that in this story, karma always retaliates immediately! The best example is the scholar who wished to discover the noble’s secret, but didn’t realize that his vulnerability and intentions were revealed. In episode 83, this smiling man tried to drive an edge between the two childhood friends, and he could definitely witness how the two sons entered the room before the arrival of the elders! Therefore his punishment should have been separation as well. (chapter 83) The main lead was slapped and called animal, hence there is no ambiguity that at some point, the man must have suffered as well, unless he let others take the fall for him. We know for sure that the main lead was tortured, and as such arrested for a crime he didn’t commit! Besides, I would like the manhwaworms to keep in mind the importance of cosplay and “coup de théâtre”. We had the perfect illustration in chapter 37, (chapter 71) chapter 87) and episode 92. The schemers in the past had definitely played with illusions and tricks. Thus I am expecting that it is now the pedophile’s turn to get fooled.

One possibility is that father Lee denunciated the Yoons saying that they were planning a coup d’Etat, and had already selected a new king. And don’t forget that he was wearing clothes that was indicating that he belonged to the royal family!! Thus his identity could have been mistaken. To conclude, for me, the man with the purple hanbok represents the reason why Yoon Seungho suffered. This led to the purge of the noble families close to the Yoons. But since the real “lord Song” had allowed people to use his name, he became the culprit for all the wrongdoings committed by others. Hence he lost everything. (chapter 82)

5. The poisoning

Another possibility is that the man with the purple hanbok got poisoned, and Yoon Seungho was framed for the man’s death or injury. I am suspecting a poisoning incident in the past. If it didn’t take place during that fateful night/day (chapter 83), then it definitely must have taken place before. But how did I come to this conclusion? According to my observations, karma always retaliates right away, though the “wrongdoer” has no idea, as the person doesn’t see the connection between the “punishment” and the sin. But I would like to point out that in each season, we had poisoning. (chapter 36) Here, the painter was forced to take an aphrodisiac under the pretense of his health. This action was repeated in season 2 (chapter 54) and 3. (chapter 100) The nobles made him smoke opium or drink the aphrodisiac. The purpose of such drugs is to obtain the painter’s submission and control his mind and reactions. Striking is that each time, the perpetrators were “punished”. Kim was insulted and his plan didn’t work out. (chapter 37) As for the young lords, they were evicted like commoners and later the others were even killed. As you can see, each time the poison was employed, there was a retaliation.

But note that in season 2, Deok-Jae had put stones in the painter’s rice. (chapter 47) (chapter 47) If the painter had not eaten with the lord, the latter would have never noticed the incident. However, he believed the maids’ words. (chapter 47) Hence he never investigated the matter. But this prank represented a serious issue. This could have been judged as an attempt against the owner of the mansion. (chapter 47) And now look at this panel: (chapter 83) Yoon Seungho had refused to take the drug! The bowl reminded me of the one from chapter 47! Finally, the butler had tried to give his master the drug in season 3 (chapter 77), but the latter had again rejected it and this twice. (chapter 77) Kim calls the drug “medicinal tea”, truly an euphemism. It is also possible that the real target of the poisoning was Yoon Seungho, but since he was protected by the gods, someone ended up taking the “drug”. Because he was wearing a purple hanbok, the investigator mistook his identity, a royal member. Hence the Yoons were suspected of treason. Don’t forget that during this party, there was a kisaeng by their side. (chapter 83) And the latter are trained to cook dishes for the clients. My avid readers are certainly recalling that since season 2, I have been waiting for a poisoning incident which became a reality at the end of season 3. Thus I come to the conclusion, that such an incident should be shown in season 4, one in the past and the other in the present.

To conclusion, since many people were hiding behind the name “lord Song”, it became a taboo. However, as the king had achieved all his goals thanks to this name, (chapter 56), he came to adopt this title in order to hide his identity and actions. Byeonduck explained in her notes that Baek Na-Kyum had no idea about Min’s name. And this is the same for Yoon Seungho. The pedophile could continue hiding behind “lord Song”, as the latter was blamed for everything. The pedophile could divert attention from his own tricks. That’s the reason why he would never write any letter to Yoon Seungho under this name. This means that at the end, the main culprit, the king, will be perceived as the main responsible for Yoon Seungho’s torment, similar to Min’s situation, just before got killed. Though many other people were involved, Yoon Seungho was able to judge the joker’s actions correctly, he was the main mastermind behind the plots. This explicates why the gods made Yoon Seungho forget the old bearded men’s face. (chapter 44) This was a blessing in disguise. The moment the main lead faces the king, Yoon Seungho will be able perceive the truth. The king was behind his torment, and the butler had been his helping hand all along, the professional spy planted in his family. However, I don’t think that the monarch will admit his crimes and apologize for his wrongdoings. He will need a scapegoat, and this can only be the butler, the only one who knows the truth!

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

Protected: Painter Of The Night: The riddle ❓❔ with the bed cover 🛏️

November 19, 2022January 14, 2023 ~ Bébébisous33

Painter Of The Night: Painful departures 👋🩸⚰️

October 27, 2022October 30, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33 ~ Leave a comment

Announcement: The essay “Powerful fellatios” was updated.

Before elaborating my new discoveries, I would like to repeat the following principles on which the story was developed:

There is always a reflection within the same chapter.
The next episode is mirroring the previous one, naturally with slight changes.
Each season is reflected in the previous and the future one.
The author is working on positive and negative reflections.
Thus the story is going in circle.
Thus the lord’s destiny is reflected in the painter’s.

Like explained before, the reason for this huge amount of reflections is that her story is constructed like a kaleidoscope. Therefore it is not surprising that I keep contrasting many images and chapters with each other. That way, we can get new insight about the past. At the same time, the author can not expose the whole truth for two reasons. We don’t have a narrator, and since it is a manhwa, the narration is really limited. Moreover, Yoon Seungho might confess to Baek Na-Kyum about his traumatic past, yet his testimony will never mirror the entire verity. Why? It is because as a victim, he didn’t know everything. He had no idea what people would think and do behind his back. Since he had no idea about a conspiracy in season 1, 2 and 3, I conclude that it was the same in the past!! Hence it is up to the readers to fill the blanks and as such to solve the puzzle.

Striking is that after the end of season 2, I had examined the topic “farewells” [For more read essay 195 “Farewell” ] which sounds quite similar to the title of this analysis. One might fear that I could repeat myself. However, this is just a deception, for I am focusing now on season 3. With the new panels, I could get new clues about the painter’s departure from the gibang. So far, I had stated this: Heena did it for the painter’s sake. It was to protect him, (chapter 46) This was actually implied by Heena’s words and gestures, yet I had already questioned this, for Heena appeared as dishonest. Now, it is time to expose my new interpretation concerning Baek Na-Kyum’s eviction from home.

1. Exits in episode 94

What caught my attention is that chapter 94’s main topic was departure. How did I come to this perception? First, we have the well which reminded Yoon Seungho of the scholar and his poem. The latter had given the poetry referring to exit to the painter as a farewell gift. Why was the lord thinking of Jung In-Hun in that moment? It is because he had read the letters from Heena and as such her accusation against him. He had killed the learned sir, hence in the lord’s mind, it was only a matter of time until Baek Na-Kyum would bring up the subject and decide to leave him. The letters are not destroyed, for he asked this to the painter: (chapter 94) Yoon Seungho had two reasons to expect such an outcome. First, it was related to Yoon Seungho’s offer to Baek Na-Kyum. (chapter 44) Secondly, Baek Na-Kyum had already showed to the main lead that he could leave him at any moment. (chapter 85) Finally, what mattered to the artist the most was the lord’s love and trust. (chapter 85) He believed in his affection while thinking that Yoon Seungho would keep his promises. But if there was a slight doubt about him, in Yoon Seungho’s mind, the painter would choose his noona over him, like he had experienced it in the study. To sum up, in the gibang, the lord was fearing the artist’s departure. Moreover, when the painter confessed his love to the noble, he was also leaving the scholar’s side. His path was no longer following the teacher’s. Thus when he said this (chapter 94), he was actually biding farewell to Jung In-Hun. He was moving on. Finally, if you include these panels from chapter 94, , the painterofthenight-stans can notice that people are about to leave. In the first image, the young artist is chased away by the comments from the other children. Then the painter is standing in front of his noona Heena, he has just left the side of the sitting nobles. He is definitely crying, he wished to be embraced and taken away by Heena from the room. As for the last picture, we see two “nobles” leaving the painter behind. They are the ones leaving the gibang, for the exit is close. The painter ‘s face had been beaten, hence we could view drops of blood on the ground and the white head-band.

Interesting is that these three departures were all painful. First, Baek Na-Kyum’s heart got broken, for he was excluded by the children forcing him to live in the gibang. After that, he lived in seclusion. The children used their words and gestures to make him leave. Simultaneously, this panel indicates that the painter had left the kisaeng house and strolled through the streets. Then in the second image, the nobles were more aggressive, for they had removed the painter’s pants. As the manhwalovers can detect, the violence was increasing, thus when the painter’s visage was wounded, it represents the high peak of violence against the painter. Under this new light, it becomes comprehensible why the author chose not to follow the chronology. In this panel, the painter had still a braid (chapter 94) (chapter 94), but not here. This means that the rejection from the “peasants” happened afterwards. And now, if I include Jung In-Hun’s departure, the latter is supposed to have been killed, it becomes palpable that in Painter Of The Night, departure is strongly associated to blood, desertion, imprisonment and death. But this doesn’t end here.

2. The painter’s departure

I couldn’t help myself connecting this scene (chapter 94) with this physical assault in front of the learned sir’s home: (chapter 99) In these two scenes, the painter got so hurt that he was bleeding. In addition, the painter’s hair was free. In front of Jung In-Hun’s house, the perpetrators had removed his headgear, while in the gibang, the white head-band was on the ground. To conclude, the painter’s short hair was visible. Don’t forget that the short hair was indicating that the artist was an orphan. So by removing the headgear for noblewomen, Min and the black guards made sure to expose that the victim was just a low-born without any family. But let’s return to our comparison. Min was wearing a similar hanbok than the noble in the gibang. Furthermore, the black guard resembles a lot to the aristocrat with the hunting outfit in the kisaeng house house. The painter’s white headband is now serving as a cover for masking the black guards’ identity. As you can see, due to these similarities, I came to the conclusion that this scene (chapter 94) was the reason why Baek Na-Kyum left the gibang. Why do I think so? First, it is related to Heena’s absence.

3. Heena’s role

Where is she? Why didn’t she come and protect her brother? The perfect excuse would be that she was busy with a client. And this leads me to the following observation. Note that in this scene, Heena was standing in front of the door. (chapter 94) She was actually the one hindering the painter to run away. She didn’t act like Jung In-Hun at all (chapter 68). She let her brother hear the laughs from the younger masters. It looks like she is consoling her brother, yet she is not, for she is not embracing him. She is grabbing him by the shirt which reminded me of this gesture: (chapter 97) Hence I deduce that this scene in the gibang (chapter 97) is a reflection of the incident in the painter’s youth. (chapter 94)

As you can see, these two scenes share so many parallels that I came to the conclusion that in both cases Heena was stopping her brother from leaving the room. (chapter 94) The table and the kisaeng were in his way. In other words, in this scene, she didn’t let the painter leave the room. However, the huge difference is that contrary to episode 97, she was acting under the influence of her unconscious/subconscious. This means that she was not doing it on purpose contrary to her confrontation with her brother in the annex. Here, she desired that her brother wouldn’t return to Yoon Seungho’s mansion. He should remain by her side and follow her. In chapter 94, she could have acted like the scholar (chapter 68) But she did not. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that she had bad intentions here. However, her passivity caught my attention. She was immobile and silent. (chapter 94) Hence Byeonduck drew her without mouth. Her behavior contrasts so much to this scene: (chapter 65). Thus she gave more the impression of being righteous and truly concerned.

Moreover, another detail caught my attention: (chapter 94) The presence of the moustache beard!! Three of them have one!! (chapter 94) The painterofthenight-lovers will certainly recall Yoon Seungho’s words: (chapter 44) However, there exists a difference between the painter and the lord’s association for beards in my opinion. The latter suffered due to old men wearing a long moustache beard with whiskers. (chapter 82) (chapter 83) (chapter 37)

“Noblemen’s grooming styles for facial hair found in thirty portraits handed down from the Joseon Dynasty are as follows. Facial hair is classified into three types: beards, moustaches and whiskers according to its location. Twenty one portraits show that the subjects groomed all three types of facial hair.” Quoted from http://www.rjcc.or.kr/journal/article.php?code=7079

But there exists another style of moustache beard.

The remaining nine scholars also grew and trimmed their moustaches in the 八shape neatly, and had beards in an inverted triangle long enough to reach the lower part of the neck. However they do not have whiskers in their portraits. Quoted from http://www.rjcc.or.kr/journal/article.php?code=7079

Striking is that Kim is also wearing such a moustache beard. (chapter 87) However, so far in the story, this type of moustache beard was only present among commoners and not nobles!! (chapter 39) (chapter 45) (chapter 45) (chapter 64) (chapter 78) Hence I started suspecting if these two persons were truly nobles in the end. (chapter 94) Just because they are wearing clothes destined to aristocrats, this doesn’t mean that they are truly lords. And don’t forget that when the painter was attacked in front of the learned sir’s home, many people were disguised. The kisaeng Heena was dressed like a commoner’s wife (chapter 99), Min was cosplaying Lee Jihwa, the guards were covering their mouths, Baek Na-Kyum had been wearing a expensive scarf and a headgear for noblewomen, (chapter 99) so that he had been mistaken for a young master. (chapter 91). Therefore I came to the conclusion that the painter has repressed the link between the moustache beard and nobles. Since the noona kept saying nobles, what made Baek Na-Kyum shudder in the past were nobles. But the connection between the beard and nobility is existent in the painter’s subconscious. This explicates why Baek Na-Kyum would show such a respect to valet Kim, he would call him sir and listen to him. (chapter 52) However, the more time passed on, the more the butler kept pointing out that he was just a servant, so that this moustache beard is losing its meaning, the symbol for power and nobility. At the same time, the painter met more and more people with beards, like for example the tailor (chapter 74), the physician (chapter 74), Bongyong (chapter 78) and finally Yoon Chang-Hyeon (chapter 87). However, note that when the patriarch left, the main character only paid attention to his gaze and not his beard. (chapter 87) This explicates why Baek Na-Kyum is not mentioning the beard concerning nobility, while Yoon Seungho never made the connection between the old bearded men and Kim, though the latter has now a moustache beard! To conclude, I don’t think that this physical assault (chapter 94) was really done by nobles. Moreover, we shouldn’t forget that the gibang is not only visited by aristocrats, but also by commoners (rich merchants, small shop owners, workers). (chapter 99). That’s the reason why I came to the following theory. These persons wounded the painter on purpose and in my eyes, it was suggested by Heena. (chapter 94) She couldn’t ask nobles to commit such a crime due to her social status, hence she asked the assistance of low-borns. Striking is that the painter was mostly hurt by commoners in the different seasons: The servants (chapter 13), the maid (though not intended) (chapter 36, here the painter is drugged against his will), Deok-Jae , Nameless, (chapter 60), Kim (chapter 66) [As you already know, for me Kim was the one who tried to kill the painter during the abduction], Bongyong (chapter 78), the calligrapher with his insults (chapter 91), the maids with their reproaches (chapter 91) (chapter 98) and the black guards from Min. (chapter 99) The commoners are often the helping hands of the nobles. But as you know, Heena has been denying their existence and involvement. Why? It is because she has been a helping hand herself. Under this new approach, you comprehend why I came to the deduction that Heena had utilized people to make her brother desert the kisaeng house. This is no coincidence that in chapter 97, the painter was accompanied by 2 servants (chapter 97), two commoners who neglected him totally. By the way, the one with the green shirt and white jacket vanished later. He was not seen in the mansion. Anyway, the two domestics wouldn’t even follow the lord’s orders properly, for they never stayed by the painter’s side. And since it is a reflection from chapter 94, I deduce that the two “nobles” acted the opposite. They played their role perfectly to the point that the painter was terribly wounded and he never doubted their identities. They were just nobles! And that’s the point. That way, no person was truly blamed for the incident.

Hence Heena didn’t suggest the painter’s exit right after this incident, she had to wait for his recovery, and naturally she had to blame someone: the nobles!! She played with his prejudices in the end. The first evidence for this theory is that during that fateful night, Baek Na-Kyum didn’t go straight to the teacher’s home, for he first returned to Yoon Seungho’s mansion. This time, she couldn’t convince her brother to follow her suggestion, an indication that the indoctrination was no longer effective. This stands in opposition to chapter 94, where the painter’s self-esteem was ruined. Thus he chose to listen to her advice without resisting. This explicates why during their first farewell, the readers were able to see the painter’s face and the white headband on his head!! (chapter 46) This was the “positive” reflection of this scene: (chapter 94) No matter what… Baek Na-Kyum should leave the kisaeng house. What caught my attention is that she only presented her argument, the moment the painter was about to leave her. Thus he recalled her words when he was on his way to the gibang (chapter 46) and as such to the scholar’s home. (chapter 46) Moreover, I am now doubting that Baek Na-Kyum and Heena were seen in front of the gibang. (chapter 46) Why? It is because of the building and the absence of the cheongsachorong (the blue and red lantern). First, the gibang is surrounded by a wall made of stones! (chapter 19) (chapter 69) (chapter 93) Secondly, there is no window next to the entrance of the building contrary to the image from chapter 46. Consequently, I deduce that Heena had left the gibang with her brother saying that she was meeting a client, and just before entering the mansion, she sent away her brother. This explicates why he had only taken his tools and nothing more. Remember what the noonas said in chapter 93: (chapter 93) She implied that the noona was not present in the kisaeng house, while in reality she was punished, trapped in a storage room. And now, you comprehend why Heena said this to her brother: (chapter 46) He couldn’t bid farewell to his noonas, for he had already left the kisaeng house. But he had no idea that he would be sent away during that day. The other evidence for this theory is that the painter went to his lover’s home before visiting the scholar’s house. (chapter 97-98) Furthermore, the night before, the noona had implied that Heena had left the gibang. Thus I conclude that Baek Na-Kyum was truly abandoned by Heena in the end, but he got deceived by her gentle words and gestures. The physical abuse in the kisaeng house and her kind gestures had played a huge role in this. He could no longer be protected there. She justified this that it was for the painter’s best interests. She knew what the artist truly desired. However, this was not true, as she had manipulated him and she had never asked him. Under this new light, you comprehend how Heena could deceive her colleagues so easily with this statement: (chapter 93) He had suddenly vanished without voicing such a desire before. And note that in chapter 97, she was already acting on Min’s orders, a sign that in the past, it was different. She had done it on her own accord. In the annex, the kisaeng was definitely scared, hence she was trembling. (chapter 97) I have always said that the painter’s departure from the kisaeng house (chapter 1-46) was related to a crime, but the noona was not aware of this, or deep down she knew, but she chose to close an eye to this. Why do I think that this is related to murder? Simply, because in front of the scholar’s house, she faked her death and the painter had been wounded too. (chapter 99) Finally, we have this execution in chapter 1. During that night, Baek Na-Kyum should have died. But let’s return to episode 97. Here, she was resenting her brother. (chapter 97) She was totally unhappy which stands in opposition to chapter 46 in my eyes. Hence she was looking for new tissues at the tailor’s. (chapter 64) This would explain why she never looked for her brother afterwards. This shows that unconsciously, the painter had judged her betrayal and abandonment correctly, but he had been deceived by her argumentation and attitude. In other words, he was in denial.

4. The purpose of these reflections

I believe that these incidents are created to expose the transformation and evolution of characters. Heena felt powerless and scared, when she was young. Due to her anxieties (according to me, genophobia) she made wrong decisions, thus she let the protagonists suffer. She was definitely a victim due to her social status as kisaeng, for it was not her choice to become a kisaeng. Nonetheless, the problem is that in chapter 94, she utilized the painter as her shield. The real victim in this scene is not Heena, but Baek Na-Kyum. She had brought the table and let the painter approach the nobles. Why did they want to confirm, if he was a girl or a boy? (chapter 94) The clothes were indicating that he was a boy!! Moreover, why did she let him approach these men? It was during the night, for he was wearing his night clothes. So he should have slept. In my opinion, she utilized the painter in order to explain why she couldn’t perform her duties as a kisaeng. She was constantly followed by the painter. Simultaneously, she could utilize this incident to portray herself as a victim of violent and filthy nobles. She could lie to her brother, and explain that when he was not with her, she had to bear such an attitude. He would believe her, for he had experienced it once. She was clearly avoiding her fate as a kisaeng. Furthermore, she could explain why she was not working or sharing her bed with the other noonas. (chapter 87) So in this scene, (chapter 68), Baek Na-Kyum had the impression that she was telling the truth. It looked like she was a victim of violence, while in reality, Yoon Seungho was the real victim. He got dragged and tied up! Today, I just discovered another evidence for this interpretation! (chapter 68) The blue skirt is revealing her presence. She is next to the door and observe that there is a table to her right!! Exactly like in chapter 94! But it was much bigger. This means that she left the room. And since the table was not present in this image, (chapter 86), I deduce that Heena explained her desertion by taking away the table so that she had the perfect excuse to leave this room and abandon Yoon Seungho. It was not her business. But if she left the room during that night, she could have followed her brother. But she never did it. She let her brother imagine that she was suffering. (chapter 70) Terrible, right? However, since the painter had been deceived by impressions, he came to believe her version and lies. But there is more to it. Because the artist was so young, he never realized that he could have detected her manipulations!! How? She should have become a wreck… have bruises on her body, but she never had any.

This new interpretation is truly important, because it made me realize why Heena got punished in the storage room. 😮 (chapter 93) Since she excused her vanishing by saying that she had to remove the dishes and as such was busy in the kitchen, it is normal that she was imprisoned next to the kitchen 10 years later!! Here, we can recognize the kitchen by the door made of wooden planks: (chapter 95) But there exist two other evidences why Heena is associated to the kitchen. Remember the painter’s thoughts in the inn: (chapter 75) They let see that he was thinking of Heena, though he spoke of his noonas. However, the presence of religion was introduced with food. (chapter 75) This truly exposes that Heena preferred working in the kitchen. That way, she could avoid sex with the clients. Another interesting aspect is that when she was sitting at the table with nobles, she was not talking to her neighbors. . (chapter 93) She was not even serving the noble next to her. (chapter 93) Once again, she was passive and immobile. Since she was doing nothing, she could hear her brother’s name and turn her head. (chapter 93) Under this new light, it becomes understandable why Baek Na-Kyum didn’t detect her presence in the patio. It was not her usual place. At the same time, the readers can grasp why the artist didn’t mind eating in the kitchen with the maids and felt comfortable around the head-maid. (chapter 46) This was reflecting his past relationship with Heena. And now, you comprehend why Heena never paid attention to the painter’s education. She had not the time and the motivation to do so. She was busy in the kitchen during the evening and night, yet keep in mind that the painter was her excuse to keep her distance from the nobles in the beginning. This explicates why Yoon Seungho crashed the table in the gibang: (chapter 99) This was Heena’s karma. She could no longer use the table as an excuse to betray and abandon a young boy. Moreover, we could see this gesture as a compensation for the past incident. (chapter 68) Finally, the lord could voice his frustration and his resent for the kisaeng who had “deceived” him. Now, I am wondering if during that night, the rice had not been spoiled too. The most important aspect is that she had definitely seen the abduction and sequestration, yet she did nothing. But if the food was spoiled, then I can understand why she acted that way. She didn’t want to be punished. But if this theory is correct, , it depends on if she was involved in this incident or not. Yet I don’t believe that she was responsible here. She preferred Yoon Seungho taking the fall. So she took the table with her colleague and left the room. (chapter 68) How do I come to this idea? It is because there is a progression in the responsibility. But we will see, if the lord’s anger was caused by spoiled rice. One thing is sure: the butler is recreating events from the past. And shortly after the painter’s departure from his noona situated in chapter 46, (chapter 46), we had this incident: . (chapter 47). That’s the reason why I am connecting the kisaeng to the food. And I had already demonstrated that there exists a link between the gibang and the lord’s kitchen.

That’s how I made a new connection between Heena and Nameless. The latter is a butcher, and he was seen in the kitchen. (chapter 60) And now, we know for sure that the chicken blood was used to stage the crime scene in the scholar’s house. (chapter 101) For me, Nameless was behind this prank. It sounded so harmless, but the reality is totally different. Consequently, Heena can become the prime suspect in the scholar’s disappearance. Remember that according to me, Yoon Seung-Won went to the gibang after leaving his brother’s mansion and discovered that he had been deceived. For me, there is no ambiguity that Yoon Seung-Won and lord Song are behind the learned sir’s murder, for both had a huge interest for his vanishing. But in my eyes, Heena is the link between the nobles, lord Song and No-Name, because the kisaeng house is frequented by all kind of people. I have already mentioned that the learned sir must have gone to the kisaeng house after meeting the fake servant. (chapter 38) This encounter took place during the day, however he returned during the night. So he must have spent some time elsewhere. Because of the connection between Heena and the kitchen, I think, she will have to take the fall for No-Name’s crimes. Under this new light, I comprehend why Byeonduck declared that she had no longer planned Mumyeong and Lee Jihwa. Both were already receiving their punishment, when they fled. But since I detected a connection between Heena and No-Name, I am quite sure that she is also responsible for the downfall of No-Name. And don’t forget that during the incident in the bedchamber, we had a party!! (chapter 83) Then I had already demonstrated that the kisaeng had already visited the mansion, for she knew where the painter’s room was. (chapter 65) So she could have worked in the kitchen… helping the other maids. To conclude, the kisaeng had committed the following wrongdoings. She had manipulated her brother with a mixture of belief and prejudices to cover up her own fears and wrongdoings. While in chapter 94, she stopped the painter from leaving the room unconsciously, it was no longer the case with Yoon Seungho, as she was standing in front of the door. (chapter 68) She contributed to his abduction and sequestration. But this doesn’t end here. She was also a witness of his sexual abuse, but she chose to close an eye. Thus she said this to the painter: (chapter 68) For her, sex had become a synonym for torture and death. Her wrong choices reinforced her fears about sex in my eyes. Every time, she decided not to face the truth, she preferred being blind. Thus the goddess chose to punish her by letting her deceived by impressions. (chapter 88) (chapter 66) Here, she couldn’t help her brother, though the “sequestration” was nothing compared to what Yoon Seungho had experienced at such a young age. She had deceived her brother in the past, and now she was put in the same position. She was the fool one. In addition, she was forced to be confronted with reality, because she needed to admit her wrongdoings. Since she was behind this assault (chapter 94), she had to see her brother wounded, the consequences of her lies and manipulations. (chapter 99) Yet, each time she refused to become responsible. She always had a perfect excuse: the nobles were to blame for this, the lord had acted like a spoiled child etc…. In front of the scholar’s house, it was because her brother had not listened to her. Besides, Min was also accountable for this. (chapter 99) She never pointed her finger to the black guards, for she knew that they could reply that she was responsible for her brother’s resistance. She had not been able to convince him to follow Min. She preferred blaming innocent people (Baek Na-Kyum, Yoon Seungho and “Jihwa”) than recognizing her own guilt and her bad choices. Since in the past, she stood in front of her door, her punishment was to remain outside. She could never enter the room (chapter 66). (chapter 96) She even got sequestered herself. (chapter 93), therefore it is not surprising that at the end, she was determined to leave the kisaeng house. But this doesn’t end here. The painter had been denied the right to bid farewell to his noonas a second time because of Heena (again), (chapter 99), this means that her punishment will be that she will never see her colleagues again. Since she faked her death (chapter 99), her karma will be that she gets killed for real. In my opinion, Heena is destined to suffer and die a horrible death. Remember that in this story, karma will be 1000% worse than the crime itself. She will be definitely blamed for the murder of many people. Since she claimed that nobles were filthy and violent liars, her doctrines and belief could be used against her, the moment the police investigate Black Heart’s death. .(chapter 102) She is a Christian, hence she could be accused of sacrilege too. In my eyes, Heena will never be able to bid farewell to her brother again. His words in the mansion will become a reality. (chapter 69) As you can see, I am detecting a progression in her wrongdoings. She is getting more and more involved, though there is no ambiguity that she was deceived herself in season 3. But this doesn’t excuse her crimes, for she refused to listen to her brother and called him an idiot. At no moment, she pondered on the situation. Her decisions were strongly influenced by her emotions (fear, anger and hatred). That’s the reason why I am convinced that if she is not dead (my theory), her attitude towards her brother will worsen to the point that she will call her brother a bird of misfortune! (chapter 68) Remember her metaphor concerning the gibang, it was viewed as a nest. She was already comparing her brother to a bird. (chapter 93) Thus the only thing that is missing is “of misfortune”. And she can only adopt such a belief, for everything she had planned never worked out. She imagined that she could exchange her brother for her freedom (chapter 97) which represented a betrayal of her own doctrines. But the result was that Min was killed, hence her situation can only deteriorate. If she can escape punishment concerning the nobles’ killing, she has then an opportunity to change her situation by putting the blame on her brother. Why? It is because Baek Na-Kyum will be perceived by Kim and the pedophile as the bird of misfortune. They will be reunited by this “belief”. This reinforces my conviction that the departures in season 4 will become very bloody and painful. The irony is that her metaphor with the bird revealed more about her own thoughts than she imagined. She just needed to give him some warmth, feed Baek Na-Kyum, and that was it. He had a bed and he could eat. A smile and a caress on the cheek were enough to motivate the painter. Her affection was fleeting and trivial in the end. However, while writing this essay, I realized why Baek Na-Kyum ended up drawing in the courtyard. It is because this was the only place where he could be in peace. In the room, he got assaulted by the nobles (chapter 94) or he had to witness his noona getting “beaten” by a violent noble (chapter 68). As you can see, the kitchen and the courtyard seemed to be the only place where he was left alone, until he got assault in the courtyard. Naturally, it was only possible during the day. Thus the learned sir had such a memory. (chapter 01)

5. Conclusions

The story is not only reflecting Heena’s metamorphosis and downfall, but also it serves as an example for the painter. Through her, he can grasp why Yoon Chang-Hyeon had such a cold gaze towards his own son. The ruin of their relationship will make him realize why the father could turn his back on his own son, the refusal of admitting his wrong choices and guilt. If he recalls their last argument, he can already notice the change in her gaze. (chapter 97) Fake concern versus anger and resent (chapter 97) The only difference is that here her fury and hatred were addressed more towards Yoon Seungho than the painter. However, gradually she was slowly revealing her anger towards her brother. At the end of season 3, her exit is quite sudden and brutal: staged death! (chapter 99) But by faking her death, she not only hides her desertion, but also she is not able to bid farewell to her brother. He is left behind unconscious, so he can not notice her “death”, while in her mind, she can only remember this image: (chapter 99) Baek Na-Kyum lying unconscious and his head covered in blood. Will she feel remorse and blame herself for his “death”? If she is still alive, it is possible, however the moment she realizes that Baek Na-Kyum escaped death and as such staged his curtains, she can only resent him, for he deceived her. In reality, she was the one who deceiving everyone: Jihwa and the other nobles. To conclude, she played a bigger role in Yoon Seungho’s suffering in the end.

Painter Of The Night: Happy laughter 😄 and fearful agony 😧

October 23, 2022December 9, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33 ~ Leave a comment

What is the common denominator between all these images? The painter’s mouth is wide open. This implies that the painter is laughing! In other words, these pictures are showing a happy Baek Na-Kyum. The laughter is not just a symbol for joy, but also an indicator for social bonding, cooperation and as such social acceptance. Note that in all these scenes, the painter is not laughing alone. He is either facing his lover and the “witnesses” of his marriage.

On the other hand, what caught my attention is that in the story itself, the manhwaphiles never saw the painter laughing in the present!! The only time, he was caught laughing happened during a dream. (chapter 87) Naturally, this vision reflected the past due to the presence of the noonas. But if you read my previous analysis, you are aware that the painter’s nocturne visions are always composed of three elements: memory, nightmare and desires which will come true at some point. The readers will certainly recall the painter’s wish in the bedchamber: (chapter 81) However, here again, this was not real, for he was imagining it. He had restrained himself, for he felt that his actual life was like an illusion. It was too good to be true. Thus I conclude that in both visions, the painter wished to laugh and as such to be happy. And this observation led me to the following deduction. In season 4, the manhwalovers will witness Baek Na-Kyum’s laughter. But this doesn’t end here. All the quoted pictures share another similarity which is the absence of the sound!! There is no HA, HA, HA…. Thus I deduce that in season 4, the readers will even hear Baek Na-Kyum’s laugh!! 🤣

1. Evidences for this prediction

First, I would like to remind my avid readers the following rules: Yoon Seungho’s actions will always be reflected by the painter’s and the reverse. Secondly, each scene in a season will be mirrored in other seasons. Striking is that the readers could witness Yoon Seungho’s joy and laugh in season 1. Thus this means that the painter should laugh in season 4. Interesting is that the author had separated the lord’s laugher in two different scenes. In episode 1, the protagonist had his mouth wide open, because he was so happy to meet his idol. (chapter 1). His mouth was exposing his emotions: happiness. It was, as if he was laughing internally out of joy. Then in the pavilion, the author let us hear Yoon Seungho’s laugh, while we couldn’t see his face. (chapter 25) As you can see, Yoon Seungho was not truly seen “laughing”. This is what we saw right after: (chapter 25) Either the sound was missing, or the readers couldn’t see his open mouth. Then in chapter 51, Byeonduck created an ambiguous situation. (chapter 51) Who was laughing here? The main lead or Min recognizable with his green hanbok? This confusion was deliberate. It was to give the impression that the lord had moved on, he was not missing his partner. This image served to divulge the reality: this happiness was fake. Another interesting aspect is that we couldn’t see the lord’s mouth, for it was too far away. It was more or less drawn from the painter’s perspective who was walking in the courtyard. (chapter 51) The purpose of this trick was to deceive the painter, Yoon Seungho would no longer care for him. However, this trick didn’t work out like imagined due to the maid’s words. She wished that he would remain in the mansion. But let’s return our attention to the laugher in this panel. I would even add that there was no real social bounding, for Black Heart was enjoying about Yoon Seungho’s misery and loss. He believed that the painter had died. And if it was Yoon Seungho who laughed, then this was to mask his pain. Then in chapter 70, he was caught laughing. And observe that the author separated the sound from the face: (chapter 70) Yoon Seungho would even hide his face from the painter, as he was looking down. His laugh was barely perceptible, and when the author revealed his face, Yoon Seungho used his hand to mask his smile. (chapter 70) It was, as if Yoon Seungho was not allowed to smile or to laugh at all. I would even go so far to say that laughers were actually forbidden in the mansion. Striking is that in season 3, for the first time, we could see and hear the lord’s laughter contrary to season 1 and 2.. (chapter 78) This illustrates the progression of the lord’s healing. He was getting happier, and he would interact more and more with people. Yet, in this scene, the lord’s laughter was not loud contrary to the one in the pavilion. Then in the gibang, his laugh was also fake, for he was masking his pain. (chapter 93) Thus the author didn’t let us see his mouth once again. But the painter could see the difference between a sincere laughter and a fake one, as he had already heard and see the lord’s true laugher! Because the lord laughed in all 3 seasons, I could only assume the painter’s laughing in season 4. But I have another proof for this prediction. In season 3, the painter’s laughter was shown in visions (chapter 81, 87) or through the testimony of the maid. (chapter 91) However, the manhwalovers have to envision that, when he caught the pervert with the maid together, he was totally embarrassed. Hence his laugh was fake! In other words, I am doubting that he truly laughed. That’s the reason why Baek Na-Kyum denied to find the situation funny. (chapter 91) As a conclusion, expect a picture with Baek Na-Kyum ‘s laughter reflecting his happiness and sincerity. And this is definitely related to his marriage: I have another proof for this expectation, the lord’s mouth in this scene: (chapter 87) Here, he was making fun of his father, and used the rumors about his imminent marriage. That’s how I realized that in season 3, the lord had often played the role of the Joker (chapter 78-79; 87; 89-90-91), until he was replaced by Black Heart. That’s the reason why I have been predicting that in season 4, Yoon Seungho will play a huge prank on the old bearded men, especially the mysterious lord Song, with his marriage. But while making this connection between the lord’s laughter and the painter’s, I had another revelation: the mouth wide open is not just the expression for laughter, but also for fear and suffering.

2. Anxiety and torture

Look at this image: (chapter 102) There is no HAHA, this shows that this situation is not funny. Yet, Black Heart is still smiling, he is even explaining that they were just playing. However, this smile is totally fake, for he is already scared. Hence he is stuttering. Moreover, he is trying to downplay the whole situation, as he describes it as a game. But the closer Yoon Seungho got to him, the more the villain got scared. (chapter 102) On the other hand, Black Heart’s mouth remained wide open, but it slowly exposed his true emotions. As the manhwalovers can detect, the sound “Haa,” is not expressing joy or happiness, but huge anxieties. Thus I couldn’t help myself thinking that in season 4, the painter’s laughter will be reflected with the heavy breathing from fear and pain. Someone will have a mouth wide open out of fear!! And this connection was already present in chapter 1: (chapter 1) versus (chapter 1) Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho had both flashbacks (chapter 66), while Min was smiling. He was internally laughing, for it found it entertaining. [For more read the essay HAHA Flashbacks”] And this fear was exposed by the sound: HAA (chapter 99) But this doesn’t end here.

The sound HAA is just associated to anxiety, but also to moan. Hence I couldn’t restrain myself thinking that the wide open mouth can not only express pleasure, but also pain caused by TORTURE! Let’s not forget that the painter had been hiding his moaning out of pleasure in the past (chapter 84), but in the gibang, he dropped this habit for good: (chapter 96) This connection between pain, pleasure and laughter appeared in chapter 91, as the story is based on the following rule: there is always a reflection within the same episode. I would like the manhwaphiles to observe this image: (chapter 91) Here, the lord had changed position provoking pleasure to the artist. Before, the maid had laughed so loudly in order to get the painter’s attention. (chapter 91) According to my interpretation, she hoped that Baek Na-Kyum would discover the existence of the kisaeng’s letters so that the painter would feel betrayed by Yoon Seungho. He had ordered to hide the correspondence. But for that, she needed to explain the reason for her loud laughter. Hence she revealed the incident with the pervert. The irony is that due to his pleasure and embarrassment, Baek Na-Kyum didn’t pay attention to her words. He already felt ashamed, after the servant had exposed the situation in the bathroom. (chapter 91) Thus he avoided his lover’s gaze. And note that in chapter 25, the lord laughed, before he raped the painter. (chapter 25) This episode exposes the connection between laugh and pain. Here, you can see that the painter is also screaming out of pain, the negative reflection of Yoon Seungho’s laugh. Baek Na-Kyum’s mouth was wide open. When people are tortured, they will usually scream their pain and fear.

quoted from https://www.dramasrok.com/2015/04/dong-yi-recaps-episode-45-60/

The last image is taken from Dong-Yi, a historical k-drama, which I am employing as a reference. The beholder can detect a huge difference between this scene (chapter 37) and the one from Dong-Yi. The absence of the sound. Moreover, the manhwalovers can not see the mouths from the victims either. The torture was already finished, for they had removed the tools and the „suspects“ were covered with blood. And this leads me to the following observation. The author selected a perspective from far away, and didn’t add the sound on purpose. This shows that the pedophile was not present, when the torture took place. He only arrived afterwards. This exposes his cowardice. Secondly, since I had outlined that the author had separated the sound (HA HA) from the lord’s mouth concerning the laughter, I am quite certain that she will use a similar processes for the torture. Naturally, I am also assuming that torture from the past could be slowly revealed. Consequently, my prediction is that the negative reflection of the painter’s laughter will be the yelling combined with fear and pain. This signifies that people will suffer in season 4 and probably die. Another evidence for this prediction is that the author often focused on the characters’ mouth. And this is what we have: (chapter 77) (chapter 86) (chapter 98) In the last scene, Heena was sort of “punished”, when she confessed to the main lead. That’s the reason why I believe that in season 4, we will see people screaming out of pain and fear. It can be in the present or in the past. The interrogation and torture should be exposed in my eyes contrary to chapter 37. Why? It is because Baek Na-Kyum needs to know what happened to Yoon Seungho to understand him. There is no ambiguity that the painter will suffer again, for in this work “pain” is necessary to change the painter’s mind and heart. Remember that he was “tormented”, when he finally admitted that he believed in his lover’s innocence. (chapter 99) Despite the “torture”, he still claimed that Yoon Seungho was no murderer. Thus I conclude that in the next season, it should be the reverse. Yoon Seungho has to make a new leap of faith believing in the painter’s innocence and purity. Hence I am expecting an arrest in season 4. Finally, we shouldn’t overlook that each word Yoon Seungho said became the truth, so when he stated this (chapter 65), he was already warning the sister. She could face human justice. However, this idiom suddenly caught my attention: “the wrath of humans”. It can be a reference to the authorities, but also to the inhabitants. The latter could get infuriated by the police work and put the officers under pressure or in the worst case, the inhabitants could decide to do their own justice: lynch mob. According to me, many commoners died in season 3. Hence this could upset the town folks who would ask for real justice. And if Yoon Seungho’s fiancée is acknowledged by them, then it will be impossible for the pedophile to use the authorities to achieve his goal, separate the couple and hide his own crimes. Thus his last puppets will have to take the fall. Another important aspect is that when Yoon Seungho warned the kisaeng, Kim was also present, though he still remained in the background. (chapter 65) As you can imagine, I am already sensing a bad ending for Heena and Kim. Striking is that in this scene, while the noona was seen constantly with her mouth wide open, yelling at the host and calling for her brother, the latter was having a flashback. This is no coincidence, especially if you recall that Heena was connected to Baek Na-Kyum’s tears: (chapter 68) (chapter 94) In fact, this reinforces my conviction that the painter’s laughter will be contrasted with people’s moaning and yells out of agony. At the same time, I think that Heena is connected to scandal, but in season 2 and 3, she failed to create a ruckus. Why? It is because in the past, she had helped to cover up the crimes committed in the kisaeng house.

3. Conclusions

Under this new perspective, the manhwalovers can comprehend why I used the following emojis in the title: 😄😧 Both of them have a open mouth, the only difference are the eyes. Out of fear, the eyes get bigger, because the body is in survival modus. On the other hand, when these persons got tortured, they closed their eyes out of agony,

reminding us of the painter’s suffering in the gibang. Yet, the closed eyes and the open mouth is quite similar to the painter’s laughter: The readers can grasp why I made this connection between suffering and happiness in the end.

Protected: Painter Of The Night: Perfect lovemaking 💞👨‍❤️‍👨

October 6, 2022October 23, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33

Protected: Painter Of The Night: Suicide ⚰️🪦

September 25, 2022October 13, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33

Protected: Painter Of The Night: Chapter 69 ☯️♋ revisited

September 16, 2022October 1, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33

Painter Of The Night: Fortune-telling 🔮 (second version)

June 5, 2022July 17, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33 ~ Leave a comment

After reading such a title, my avid readers are now imagining that the topic of this essay is a prediction concerning season 4. But no… far from it. In this text, I will explain the importance of fortune-telling in Painter Of The Night. But before going into details, it is important to define fortune-telling.

fortune-telling, the forecasting of future events or the delineation of character by methods not ordinarily considered to have a rational basis. Evidence indicates that forms of fortune-telling were practiced in ancient China, Egypt, Chaldea, and Babylonia as long ago as 4000 BCE. Prophetic dreams and oracular utterances played an important part in ancient religion and medicine. Predictive methods of fortune-telling include astrology (interpretation of the movements of heavenly bodies as influences on earthly events), numerology, and the utilization of objects such as playing cards, tea leaves, crystal balls, dice, fire, water, and scattered salt. Fortune-telling as a process of character analysis can take such forms as graphology (study of handwriting), physiognomy (study of facial characteristics), phrenology (study of contours on the skull), and palmistry (study of lines on the palm of the hand). Quoted from https://www.britannica.com/topic/fortune-telling

As you can see, there exist different methods to make predictions, but anyone will say that so far in the manhwa, we only had dreams or nightmares revealing the future.

1. The utilization of objects

However, this is not correct, for the lord had a vision, when he killed the boar. (Chapter 83) But what was the vision telling to the main character? The problem with visions is that their message is never clear. It is up to the fortune-teller. The beholder can interpret the hallucination differently. Here, one might say that the blood let Yoon Seungho see that one servant, in our case Kim, was working against him with 2 nobles: Min and Jihwa. It was already predicting Min’s death, for the blood pond was touching the noble on the right, while the other nobleman with the hat is not connected to the blood. The red-haired master only lost his topknot a second time. This is no coincidence. The vision showed that Black Heart would die by the hand of 2 people, Yoon Seungho the child and Yoon Seungho the adult. Thus Byeonduck created such a panel: (Chapter 102) The lord was in a dissociative state. In his rage, the main lead was brought back to his own past, when he was a victim of gangrape. (Chapter 102) He was acting like in trance, the painter’s bloody face had opened the Pandora’s box. (Chapter 101) Remember his confession in the bedchamber: (chapter 55) Simultaneously, this vision (chapter 83) could display the argument between Yoon Seungho and his childhood friend in front of the scholar’s house. The servant was the witness, and he got spared thanks to the red-haired master’s appearance. (Chapter 100) But if so, this means that the domestic will die, after his master abandoned him and ran away. Remember that the blood spurt is linked to the person without a hat. (chapter 83) Another possibility is that Min was shown in the middle, and he was the puppet of the two elders, father Lee and Yoon Chang-Hyeon. Note that when we saw them in season 3, both were wearing their hat. (chapter 82) (chapter 86) And if I consider that this vision is referring to Kim, then it already announces his doom. Another possibility of interpretation is to say that the boar embodies the king, which Yoon Seungho defeats by removing from his side Lee Jihwa and Min, both were used as tools to control and tame the main lead so that he would remain by the pedophile’s side. This means that the moment he executed Black Heart and cut off the friend’s topknot, he was finally able to escape from the ruler’s claws. And if the noblemen are referring to the elders, the message doesn’t change. The moment the main lead killed Min, he wounded the king so that the elders are affected, one more than the other. And Kim didn’t stop his young master, for the butler thought that with his suicide, he could finally free himself from his task of taking care of Yoon Seungho. With his suicide, Kim would be able to live in peace. He would no longer be tormented by the main lead’s suffering. In his mind, his suicide was the natural outcome of such a long suffering. As you can see, this hallucination can be interpreted so differently. And the more information we will get in season 4, the more precise the interpretation of this vision can become.

Then we have the painter’s vision in the mirror which worked like a crystal ball. Here, the artist saw himself embracing Yoon Seungho which he rejected. (Chapter 28) As you can see, blood and a mirror were used as objects for “fortune-telling“, though the main characters had no idea about their signification. While the painter rejected this “hallucination“, Yoon Seungho had the impression that it was real. Thus he turned around. He imagined that the two nobles were approaching him. (Chapter 83) I have always said that Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum are shamans, but they have no idea about their true identity. This means, none of them considers himself as a fortune-teller, though both have this gift. They have no one telling them about their skills, they can predict the future and even repel evil spirits.

Yet, the nightmares and dreams represent the biggest part of fortune-telling in Painter Of The Night. On the other hand, it is also possible that Byeonduck reveals later that other skills were used in the past (like handwriting or physiognomy), for face-reading was popular in Joseon (see for example the Korean movie The Face reader), and we have the lord’s beautiful handwriting. (Chapter 92). Keep in mind that since the lord wrote a poem in season 3, this means that he must have done it in the past too, but this twice. In season 1, he wrote one, when he switched the paper, yet it must have occurred before, for we had two circles, which corresponds to two full moons. My friend Luzyla brought my attention that in the whole story, Byeonduck only drew one full moon, and this in chapter 1. This announced the beginning of a new circle!! The third one and observe that the moon was far away, very high up in the sky, while the night sky was very dark. (Chapter 1) There was no moon light which I consider as a reference to the painter‘s absence in Yoon Seungho‘s life. Under this perspective, the manhwaphiles understand why in episode 102, Byeonduck drew such a moon. (chapter 102). Their trust and love had been tested, thus I am assuming that season 4 will be the beginning of the 4th circle, where the protagonist will face the main culprit for his suffering: the mysterious lord Song, the king.

2. Dreams and visions

But let‘s return our attention to the dreams and nightmares of the characters, which were reflecting the future. First, the readers can recall all the painter’s wet dreams. They all became true, like I had written in previous analyses. Baek Na-Kyum dreamed of receiving a love confession from Yoon Seungho and being called tenderly (chapter 56), and it became a reality. (Chapter 91) But the artist never accepted these visions, for he was rejecting sodomy and later he was in denial about his affection for the main lead. Yet this is no longer possible. The artist has already confessed and is determined to remain by the noble’s side, no matter what.

Concerning the nightmares, I am quite certain that you remember the lord‘s which is the longest in the whole story. (chapter 74) Here again, we have an allusion to the bloodbath in the shaman‘s house, for the position of the hands reminds us of Black Heart’s reaction before the main lead stabbed him. (Chapter 102) Nevertheless, I believe that this nightmare was already announcing to the protagonist that he would dirty his own hands, and kill people. On the other hand, the readers should keep in their mind that since the story is going in circle, the nightmare was also a reference to the past and Yoon Seungho’s suffering. But the aristocrat was not the only one having nightmares, the manhwaworms will certainly recall Jihwa‘s torment (chapter 50) and Baek Na-Kyum‘s nightmares in the bedchamber. (Chapter 34) and (Chapter 98) In the last one, he believed to see the scholar’s corpse. The artist had even an auditive hallucination. (Chapter 98) This means that a similar situation will occur. Someone will repeat Jung In-Hun’s words. (chapter 98) How could he be with the man who killed his family (for example Heena)?

3. Dream or nightmare?

However, there exists another person who had a premonitory dream, but I just realized it recently! In addition, you are wondering where this dream was. (chapter 45) Yes, in chapter 45!! How did I come to this conclusion? The first clue is the black frame. (chapter 45) Byeonduck always uses it in order to indicate that we are dealing with a memory or a dream. Secondly, in this scene we are supposed to see Baek Na-Kyum with his lover, both kissing tenderly, yet in the same chapter, the author let us see the reality of their interaction. (chapter 45) The painter was more acting like a robot, he was not able to procure pleasure to Yoon Seungho. He was not talented. As you can see, the introduction allowed us to see the dream of a fortune-teller concerning Yoon Seungho and the painter. But wait… (chapter 45) Who is who here? In this image, the artist is lying on the bed, he is recognizable by his slender and smooth leg and his thin foot. The lord is on the top, the beholder can identify him with his bigger and rounder butt. However, in the second picture, their position is switched. (chapter 45) The painter is on the top, he can be identified by his flat chest, while the lord is lying on the bed. Here, we see the artist showering Yoon Seungho with love, giving everything so that Yoon Seungho feels so good. One might argue that this can not be possible because of the lock of hair on the temple. Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t have one. (chapter 45) But don’t forget that we are here dealing with a premonitory dream. In my opinion, the lock of hair is implying that Baek Na-Kyum will be wearing a topknot in the future, similar to this situation: (chapter 87) This means that the person saw in this dream that Baek Na-Kyum would become the lord’s partner, and he would even be dressed like a noble (a topknot and white pants). Don’t forget that in season 2, he was still wearing grey pants and not white. (chapter 46) And this vision came true in season 3: (chapter 79) This is the same position, but from a different perspective. (chapter 45) But who has been foreseeing this scene or better said, who was recalling this dream, as it was a memory triggered by words? KIM! Don’t forget that he was present, when he heard this grapevine about the fiancée. However, I have more evidences for this interpretation. First, I have already pointed out that the butler was the one spreading rumors. (chapter 45) Moreover, it is related to the vocabulary employed by the commoners: black sheep. It is very similar to a bird of misfortune. Besides, who can call Yoon Seungho the black sheep of the Yoon family? The person behind this insult reveals that he knows the family very well. But why would he do such a thing? The reason is simple. This vision for the butler was not a dream, but a nightmare!! 😮 Why? It’s because it was announcing that Yoon Seungho would cut ties with the pedophile, his unofficial “husband”. Kim had made sure that no information about Yoon Seungho would leak to the outside for almost 10 years, the town folks didn’t know lord Yoon at all. But due to Bongyong and his loose lips (chapter 45), a rumor started that Yoon Seungho had a fiancée. Thus Kim chose to spread rumors in the village to kill the grapevines about the existence of Yoon Seungho‘s fiancée with another gossip. He used Jihwa and the incidents in the past… One might argue that it is not possible, because it looks like the rumor about the existence of Yoon Seungho’s sodomy existed before than the presence of a fiancée.

But please now read carefully chapter 45 again. After hearing this rumor, there was a caesura (the title), which we could judge as an indication for a time jump. Besides, this is what we see right after. (chapter 45) The owner of the stand is sitting and he has a white scarf, but in the next panel, the person is standing, and has a red scarf. (chapter 45) Moreover, the headcover on one player is much slightly darker. This is another indication that there could be a time jump between these two panels. But one might argue that the rumors about Yoon Seungho’s homosexuality were existing before the grapevines about the fiancée. (chapter 45) But not necessarily. Imagine, the butler had such a dream, and his memory got triggered, when he heard the commoner talking about the incident with Bongyong for the first time. But don’t forget that the man is a traveling merchant, so in the butler’s mind, the trader would leave the town and as such he wouldn’t be able to mention this to others. But he never imagined that the man would meet his friend. (chapter 45) In order to ensure that no one would take this rumor seriously, Kim made sure to spread the rumors about Lee Jihwa and Yoon Seungho’s sexuality.

First, we could see in chapter 40 that no one knew the lord in town. (chapter 40) His joke with the red dot was not even noticed by the woman and seller of the mirror!! Both were totally indifferent. Though he had made a joke, his action had caused no wave. Besides, we should question why the man would say that even dogs would know about his homosexuality. This implies the intensity of the grapevines. It displays that someone was deliberately leaking this information to the outside. Furthermore, one witness is saying that Yoon Seungho‘s affairs used to stir up the village… when did it happen? (chapter 45) Moreover, which affairs was he referring to? He has no idea about the masturbation in the tailor’s shop and the red dot on the painter’s face. As for Lee Jihwa’s humiliation, it was definitely not leaked to the outside as well. Besides, remember the comment from the red-haired master’s servant. (chapter 41) Striking is that (chapter 45) this statement was immediately denied by one player. As you can see, people were confused for one reason. Someone had spread a different grapevine as counter-measure. But why did Kim do this?

First, no one should be aware that Yoon Chang-Hyeon had been sent away from the family mansion. From my point of view, no one knew that the protagonist had been abandoned by his family and was the owner of the mansion. But this doesn’t end it. I have already pointed out the existence of a fake marriage between Yoon Seungho and the pedophile. In my eyes, the main character has always been the king’s ghost bride. The rumors about the main lead’s sodomy were there to ensure that no one should expect a marriage of the protagonist. The latter was already married, but the king can not claim him. And now, you comprehend why he has hanboks with designs. He was sending him clothes as a reward and a reminder that he was already taken. Note that he was always wearing a hanbok with a design, each time he had kept his distance from the painter. (chapter 34) (chapter 45) Here, Baek Na-Kyum had just returned to the mansion after his second desertion. (chapter 52) The lord had kept his distance from the artist for one week, though I believe that he still came to see him (chapter 51),(chapter 51) for the painter’s scarf was put on the way Yoon Seungho did in the courtyard in chapter 69. (chapter 69) And now, you comprehend why Kim criticized the painter in the courtyard. The lord would come to see him ensuring that he was well covered. The butler had every reason to view this dream (chapter 45) as a nightmare, for the king would get infuriated, and he could vent his frustration on the butler. He had not done his job properly. Observe that in chapter 45, Kim was acting more like the lord of the mansion, as he left the mansion without permission, he also bought ink and paper without the main lead’s knowledge, and even gave an order to Deok-Jae in order to reinforce his jealousy. (chapter 45) Now, I have the proof for this interpretation. The guardian was on his way back to the gate, so why did the valet ask him to bring the items to the painter’s study? Actually, Kim could have done it himself, it is not so that his master was waiting for him or had been requesting his presence. (chapter 45) Now, you are probably thinking that this essay has reached an end. But no… Why?

4. The other definition of “fortune-telling”

As you can see, this term has another signification which is not well known among people. In truth, this idiom is used in psychology. I discovered this, while I was looking for a word describing the butler’s mind-set. Everything started with this thought triggered by these two panels. (chapter 87) What if the butler had been saying the truth? He had no idea what was going on inside the room of the kisaeng house. But as an outsider, he observed this. Nobles were going to and from lord Yoon’s chambers. The readers had the impression that the young master was getting raped in the bedchamber. Yet, like I had pointed out, this is definitely not true, for the teenager was dressed. (chapter 87) We could detect the presence of a stock, this means that in the bedchamber, he was physically abused. And the butler could have jumped to the wrong conclusion, exactly like in this scene. (chapter 77) He had seen the kiss between the two boys, but because of Yoon Seungho’s smile, he had assumed that Yoon Seungho was consenting. (chapter 77) However, like mentioned before, the protagonist was under the influence of a drug. So in his eyes, it was, as if the young boy had been the one kissing Lee Jihwa. Because of this scene, he assumed that the two boys were fooling around. He jumped to the wrong conclusion that Yoon Seungho was a sodomite, something Kim truly abhors. So my idea was that the butler could have made the same mistake concerning the bedchamber: he made an assumption, and he jumped to the wrong conclusion that Yoon Chang-Hyeon was treating his son as a prostitute for his own greed and ambition. Because of these two expressions “assumptions” and “wrong conclusion”, I started researching for this. And this is what I found:

“As a therapist, I define this pattern of behavior as “making assumptions.” Some cognitive behaviorists call this behavior fortune-telling. Fortune-telling is considered a cognitive distortion leading to depression and anxiety. Cognitive distortions are irrational beliefs that have become habituated because they have been reinforced over time. […] Burns discusses the fortune-telling bias as “jumping to conclusions.” He states that people jump to conclusions because of impatience to achieve a resolution to confusing unresolved situations. In haste, people mentally make inferences without adequate supporting evidence. These inferences and conclusions may be negative or catastrophic, but people draw them in order to feel the situation is resolved.” Quoted from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sustainable-life-satisfaction/201909/are-you-guilty-making-too-many-assumptions

Striking is that these persons fortune-telling are trying to fill the blanks by their own thoughts and experiences, in order to control their life, yet they have always negative expectations. This shows that they are motivated by fear. While they guess, they believe to know the truth and to know people, thus they can make rash decisions. And now, you comprehend why Kim always says this: “I thought…” And because they think, they know people, they don’t feel the need to talk to others.

“Assumptions damage our capacity to relate to others. If you are always assuming you know how others think and feel, you stop listening and communicating and leave them feeling trapped or misunderstood. And relationship difficulties, whether at work or home, can lead to low self-esteem and depression. quoted from https://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/counselling/making-assumptions.htm

This explains why Yoon Seungho felt so lonely in the end. The butler was not talking to him due to his mind-set. But naturally, he had other reasons to do so. He had to hide his own wrongdoings, he had made wrong decisions. He had jumped to wrong conclusions.

But this doesn’t end here. There exist 10 types of cognitive distortions, and in my opinion, Kim has many of them: All-or-nothing, overgeneralization, arbitrary interpretation/interference, selective abstraction, mental filters, jumping to conclusion (fortune-telling and mind reading), magnification and minimization, should statements, labeling, emotional reasoning, discounting the positive. I am not giving all the definitions of these types, for it would be too long. But you can read them in the links I posted below.

All-or-nothing thinking is also known as black and white thinking or polarized thinking. This type of thinking involves viewing things in absolute terms: Situations are always black or white, everything or nothing, good or bad, success or failure.²All-or-nothing thinking is associated with certain mental health conditions, including narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD).³ Quoted from https://www.verywellmind.com/ten-cognitive-distortions-identified-in-cbt-22412

The butler only sees two categories: friend or enemy. There’s no between. Hence if there’s a disagreement, he will view the other as an enemy.

“Arbitrary inference is “the process of forming an interpretation of a situation, event, or experience when there is no factual evidence to support the conclusion or where the conclusion is contrary to the evidence” [1]. https://www.psychologytools.com/articles/unhelpful-thinking-styles-cognitive-distortions-in-cbt/

And this is exactly what the butler did, when he saw the two boys (chapter 77) He ran away, and didn’t question the boys in order to discover the truth behind the stolen kiss. There was never a trial, for he had already acted as the judge and the witness. For him, the perpetrator was his master due to his huge smile, but he had not been paying attention to Lee Jihwa’s facial expressions (blushing) and his actions. In my opinion, he was already expecting the worst in Yoon Seungho, though the butler was not conscious of this. He repeated the same mistake, when he went to the shed in chapter 63. He thought that Yoon Seungho was raping Baek Na-Kyum in the shed, which was not the case. He ran away too, thus he assumed that Baek Na-Kyum would decide to leave the mansion.

And now, you have the explanation why the maids asked this to the butler: (chapter 17) This is an expression that he would often use. We could witness this cognitive distortion (should statement) in front of the shed. (chapter 77) This explains too why Yoon Seungho is called a black sheep, a bird of misfortune. (chapter 87, labelling)

Kim doesn’t accept arguments, for him a quarrel is something negative, as he has the impression that his authority is questioned. He is overgeneralizing, for he views nobles as violent liars. Thus he said this to the main lead: (chapter 68) But here, like I pointed out before, he was excluding himself from this incident. Let’s not forget that he had been the one dragging him to the shed.

I have been describing Kim as a fake shaman for quite some time, and now this new discovery reinforces my interpretation. He is a fake fortune-teller, someone who has mental problems. From my point of view, he had already a negative attitude about the young master, when he met him for the first time. Don’t forget that he only served him for a decade, this means that Yoon Seungho’s downfall coincides with Kim’s arrival. In my eyes, it is related to the description father Yoon had made about his own son. Remember what he said to the doctor: (chapter 57) He had been ill, since he was very young. But the physician mentioned the good notoriety about Yoon Seungho: he was intelligent. Striking is that Kim has never mentioned this. Either he is not aware of this, because he only met the protagonist after hearing the negative comment from the father, or as a person suffering from cognitive distortion, he is only remembering the negative aspects. I had already exposed that this was not related to sodomy, for sexuality was not relevant, when he was just a child. From my point of view, Yoon Chang-Hyeon saw in his son’s questioning and critical thinking a problem. He was not respecting the elders, and Kim is definitely a reinforcer of social norms. From my point of view, the drug administrated was not to treat him for sodomy, but in order to obtain his obedience. We were all assuming that the visit to the doctor must have occurred after the stolen kiss, but it could be the opposite. Why? It is because the physician revealed the valet’s second visit which occurred after the incident in the kisaeng house. (chapter 57) And now, imagine this. What if the purpose of the drug was to make Yoon Seungho submissive? Thus the young boy was smiling, and doesn’t remember the stolen kiss. Striking is that cognitive distortion has an impact on memory, it can create distorted memories. And this would confirm my previous assumption that here, the butler was mixing two memories together. (chapter 65) Since the butler has always been expecting the worst unconsciously, I am suspecting that he is the one who offered Yoon Seungho to the king! That way, he imagined that his master would be protected, unaware that he had never been forced to have sex before. There’s no ambiguity that his cognitive distortions led to Yoon Seungho’s suffering. Hence the father and the king will be quite surprised when they discover the verity. Kim badmouthed the main lead calling him a bird of misfortune, though lord Song views him differently, as he keeps sending him hanboks with cranes and phoenix, asymbol for good fortune.

Due to his fortune-telling and mind-reading, the butler had never confided to the protagonist, he was never close to Yoon Seungho. I would even go so far to say that he even tormented him (see the flashback triggered in chapter 81). He had lied, for he had only told what he had already interpreted. The readers will certainly recall his MO: to mix a truth with a lie!! This is the evidence of a cognitive distortion, though in the past it was not done consciously. His so-called predictions were all fake, for he always made a wrong interpretation! This brings me back to the beginning of this essay. A dream and vision are difficult to discern, and they can have many meanings, but the valet only knew one way how to read them: in a negative way. And when it happened, the valet saw his false predictions confirmed, while in truth he had just mixed causes and consequences. Because he had jumped to the wrong conclusion, he had contributed that the tragedy would take place. Deep down, he knows this, but he is refusing to admit it. This explains why he is plagued by his guilty conscience, as long as the young man remains by his side. Thus he said this to the painter: (chapter 87) He was talking about himself here. For the valet, there’s only one solution: “Out of sight, out of mind!” Hence he hoped that the father would take away Yoon Seungho from the mansion.

5. Baek Na-Kyum’s role

The manhwalovers understand the painter’s personality and role. He stands for hope and change, thus his dreams are always connected to something positive. He stands in opposition to the valet. The artist’s role is to teach the butler a terrible lesson which he will pay with his life in my opinion, as the lord’s vision implied in chapter 83. Kim is just an ignorant servant. He can never make real predictions. In addition, he doesn’t know people at all. How so? Don’t forget that the painter is a butterfly, and the moves from a butterfly are never predictable. The butterfly can have a terrible impact on others, the so-called butterfly effect. Therefore all the valet’s schemes were always doomed to failure in the artist’s presence. (chapter 45) And the nightmare Kim had will become a reality, and this shows that he was never loyal to Yoon Seungho. Here, he saw the lord relaxed and enjoying his time, but this couldn’t make the butler happy for two reasons. He feared the king’s reaction. The latter would never accept being rejected. Secondly, he realized that he would lose his position as the ghost lord. The valet rejected this vision exactly like all the other characters, but this was pointless, since he is fighting against the gods. When the butler had a real vision, he denied its existence, he preferred his own fortune-telling and mind-reading. He envisioned that since these two tools had helped him in the past, he could succeed again.

Protected: Painter Of The Night: Naïve 👦🏻😮

March 20, 2022February 16, 2023 ~ Bébébisous33

Protected: Painter Of The Night: The true face of faith ⛪⛩️ (second version)

March 12, 2022September 9, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33

Protected: Painter Of The Night: “The intriguing maids” (second version)

February 10, 2022February 13, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33

Protected: Painter Of The Night: Busted!! (second version) 😬

January 1, 2022September 17, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33

Protected: Painter Of The Night: Interpretation of a nightmare (second version)

April 12, 2021August 30, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33

Painter Of The Night: How strange…🤔🧐 (second version)

February 25, 2021February 4, 2023 ~ Bébébisous33 ~ 3 Comments

I have to admit that when I read the chapter 50 for the first time, I was quite confused. Why would Yoon Seungho rush to the teacher’s bedchamber with a sword? Why would he comment „How strange…” at the end? (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:

The story keeps repeating itself, as it is constructed like a kaleidoscope, hence we always have reflections in the characters’ words and behavior.
Each incident happens twice: two door incidents (16; 43); two sex sessions at the pavilion, two slaps; the incident with the sword/knife (1, 18: two servants are stabbed/26, 35) etc.
Each action from Yoon Seungho will be copied by the painter, or it is the reverse: Yoon Seungho caresses Baek Na-Kyum‘s cheek (18, 50), the artist reciprocates the same gesture (55, 59). What caught my attention is that each stroke on the cheek was never truly perceived by the recipient. The protagonist was either sleeping or too shocked by an incident, so that they couldn’t detect the gesture. They missed the genuineness and warmth coming from the other protagonist.
All the characters have reflections with others: Jihwa versus Baek Na-Kyum, Heena noona versus father Yoon; Nameless versus Kim; Jung In-Hun versus Kim but also Min and father Yoon, Baek Na-Kyum versus Kim etc. The latter is also a water element, exactly like the artist. Therefore he is often seen with a bucket of water (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).

Yet I still had no idea what truly triggered Yoon Seungho’s anger and frustration in chapter 50. And then, while analyzing the chapter 16 in connection with the essay entitled “Desires and communication”, I made this discovery: Yoon Seungho used the same expression there: (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:

The painter was actually watching, without giving the impression, he did. Yoon Seungho’s words imply a certain deception.
Simultaneously, they outline a contradiction. He was not looking, yet he could recreate the position perfectly.

The noble didn’t realize that during the sex session, Jihwa described the scene to attract his friend’s attention. That’s the reasony why the artist could create the painting, as he listened to the aristocrat’s words. In other words, he was spying on them by listening to their conversation. Since there is the same expression in chapter 50, this means that the latter is a reflection of chapter 16. The manhwaphiles should remember that we have a sex session during that night. (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)

Since I explained that the expression “how strange…” was connected to deception, contradiction and spying, I recognized that something similar must have happened during that night (chapter 50). Besides, we also have a time jump. Suddenly, there’s morning, and the lord has rushed to the scholar’s room with a sword. (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.

Because of the connection with the painter’s escape and the incident with the opened door (chapter 16), I couldn’t help myself linking the chapter 50 to Kim and his actions in the shadow. Like I have already pointed out, Kim was observing the event of the night (25-26-27-28) in order to ensure that the protagonist wouldn’t cause too much trouble. Moreover, the manhwalovers should recall that he played a huge role in the low-born’s escape. While Deok-Jae informed Baek Na-Kyum about the scholar’s whereabouts, we have to imagine that the teacher must have talked to the butler about the destination of his trip. Jung In-Hun will always choose to talk a domestic closer to the master than to a simple guardian. Besides, Kim was the one who brought him to his room and the library (chapter 7). Therefore I am quite certain that Jung In-Hun must have mentioned to the valet where he was going. Consequently, I came to the following observation: the butler must have monitored Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum during that night (chapter 48-49).

From my point of view, Kim was standing behind the door, and he must have heard the low-born’s words.(chapter 49) , reminding us of the “spying” in chapter 16 (listening to their conversation). Because the confession gave the commoner the upper hand in the relationship, and the main lead had not protested, this meant that Baek Na-Kyum was getting closer to Yoon Seungho. He was almost on the verge of becoming the official partner, while the protagonist was resigning to his fate: he would never be able to converse with the artist. Since I demonstrated that the butler was spying on them in chapter 58 (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.

In my perspective, the butler had every reason to spy on them. First, the invitation to share his meal with the artist was already announcing that the latter was getting more and more favored to the point that he was almost treated as the noble’s official partner. And now, you understand why Kim revealed the incident between Jung In-Hun and Baek Na-Kyum the next morning. He needed to separate the couple, and he used lie by omission and truth in order to achieve his goal. But this doesn’t explain why Yoon Seungho who was tender and humble during the night became a wounded fury the next morning. The hanbok clearly indicates that the protagonist’s heart is bleeding. (chapter 50) What had triggered his fury and jealousy?

For we have another incident with the sword in the first season (chapter 35), where Kim manipulated the master to witness a conversation between the teacher and his former pupil, in order to provoke his jealousy. We have to imagine that in chapter 50, the butler made a similar move. He let the main lead discover something reminding him of the painter’s love for Jung In-Hun. We have three possibilities: he let Yoon Seungho see

the scholar’s poem
or the picture of the teacher’s inauguration
Deok-Jae’s insult: Baek Na-Kyum was a whore so that Kim could bring up the conversation in the library

What caught my attention is this panel: (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.

So what about the second possibility? Since the painting with the scholar appeared in two chapters during the first season (41-44), 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 28) Observe that Deok-Jae’s treacherous action in chapter 47 (the spoiled rice) had not been exposed to the lord! Thus I am deducing that Kim must have tattled on Deok-Jae about the insult, and told to the vicious servant that Baek Na-Kyum had complained to his lover! He had denunciated him! This would also explain why Deok-Jae resented so much the painter later. (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)

Under this new light, it becomes now understandable why Kim decided to reveal the incident at the library to his master. (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.

And now it becomes more understandable why Yoon Seungho had a relapse. How strange is it that the moment he gets closer to the painter, he experiences a setback? No, it is, because there is someone interfering in his life. Kim was determined to sabotage their relationship, he didn’t want the painter to become the lord’s official partner. But what was his motivation? First, it was to preserve his own position, for he is the unofficial lord of the mansion. Secondly, he could justify his action by saying that he was helping the mysterious “lord Song”. The latter is supposed to be Yoon Seungho’s unofficial partner. That’s the reason why Kim kept calling Baek Na-Kyum a favored servant. The butler was hoping that this would fuel Deok-Jae’s jealousy and greed. At the same time, he hoped that Yoon Seungho would get tired of him. However, since time was not helping him, then he needed to take things into his own hands. Yet, for that he could only act in the shadow, exactly like in the terrible night during the first season. And now, the manhwalovers comprehend why there’s the return of the headband in chapter 52. The butler’s scolding in chapter 52 triggered the artist to act like a servant, whereas the butler didn’t consider him as a servant in chapter 23, another evidence for the valet’s hypocrisy.

And now if I examine the last panel again with this new approach, I come to a new interpretation: The lord’s real spirit has not been perceived by the painter yet, just his body, hence he is embodied by a shadow. This doesn’t really represent his true self. Besides, the lord is associated to a shadow, because he is the puppet of his own butler, who keeps working in the dark. At the same time, he is a shadow, for his fate is to learn from his surrogate father, Kim’s spying activities. He hears conversations behind the door (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.

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

Protected: Painter Of The Night: The life of women 👯‍♀️in Joseon (second version)

February 10, 2021September 12, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33

Protected: Painter Of The Night: Baek Na-Kyum: a fiancée, a wife, a favored servant or a prostitute? – part 2 (third version)

July 26, 2020June 15, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33

Painter Of The Night: “Master and Man” (second version)

June 19, 2020July 4, 2022 ~ Bébébisous33 ~ 2 Comments

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

Yes, I chose this title because of the Russian short novel written by Leo Tolstoy. In this story, the rich land owner Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov died by saving the servant’s life Nikita, because he realized that the low-born’s life was as worthy as any other man. Furthermore, he also got aware of his own selfishness, for he was responsible for their predicament. They were caught in a snow storm and the noble initially abandoned the peasant. However, at the end, the lord changed his mind and revealed another side from himself. This outlines that status is very superficial and the readers witness the master’s conversion leading a huge change in his behavior and thoughts towards commoners and low-born.

In the following analysis, we will examine the lord- low-born relationship between the nobles Yoon Seungho and Jung In-Hun and the commoner Baek Na-Kyum, when the latter becomes sick. All this was triggered because one of my followers asked me this: Why didn’t Seungho return home for days? From my point of view, the conversation between the nobles and Yoon Seungho, triggered by Min (chapter 33), forced the lord to realize that the artist was indeed a precious treasure, and he was not willing to share him. (chapter 33) At the same time, due to Black Heart’s words, the noble was reminded of the painter’s health conditions. Although the lord was talking about the artist, as though the latter was just an object, the reminder forced him to recall that Baek Na-Kyum was a human who could die. That’s why he returned in the end. His abandonment reflected his cowardice, he didn’t desire to be confronted with the consequences of his bad behavior. Consequently, just like in the Russian novel, the main lead was reminded that the low-born was just a human. As you can see, both characters had a similar disposition and also a change of heart.

Striking is that the butler tried to cover up his master’s cowardice and abandonment. He diverted Baek Na-Kyum’s attention by showing his concern for his master.

But before this, the servant Kim mentioned that the lord’s room was the best, as it was the warmest. (chapter 34) Kim’s remark was in fact insinuating that the lord had been very generous and caring for him. He gave the impression to the low-born that the noble was treating him like a noble, as the latter had sacrificed his bed for his recovery. However, this was not true, as the lord had brought the artist to the study before the doctor’s arrival. (chapter 33) At the same time, the butler was not entirely lying either. The lord had indeed shown generosity and care, since he had called for the physician. Yet, once he had heard about the doctor’s precription, the aristocrat had ran away from his responsibilities (chapter 33) and left everything in Kim’s hands. Remember my statement: Kim is always telling half-truths. Kim was in reality the one who brought him to the noble’s bed. (chapter 33) He needed to portray his master in a much more positive light in order to obtain the painter’s cooperation. The valet hoped that the artist would follow his order (chapter 34) and become the lord’s sex toy:

So in my opinion, while Yoon Seungho had indeed showed worries and benevolence towards the painter, he was relying on his right-hand, therefore he never came to verify if Baek Na-Kyum was recovering properly. The irony is that although the valet treated the painter as a honorable guest (bringing him to the lord’s chamber and taking care of him as if he was his master), in truth he was just viewing the low-born as an object and tool. was truly making sure that Baek Na-Kyum would get the best treatment, but the domestic used the opportunity to praise his master indirectly.

And now you understand why Yoon Seungho didn’t return to the mansion. First, he felt guilty, as he knew why the young man got so sick. His remorse were definitely bigger, as the artist could lose his life. He even heard the critic from the doctor.

His guilty conscience is actually visualized in the chapter 33. He has no erected phallus and looks exhausted. (chapter 33) While he was at the sex orgy, he remembered the exhausted young face of the painter, while they were talking about him.

The black coloring about the head is a sign for flashback and memory. We saw in another chapter that Byeonduck uses the color black to announce that this is a flashback. However, I feel that Yoon Seungho avoided his mansion because he was confused too. He wanted to find out if his “obsession” for the painter was related to sex. We shouldn’t forget that in the past, the lord used to go to such parties very often which is revealed during the chapter 33.

It becomes clear that the moment he slept with Baek Na-Kyum, he dropped off his visits there. Yet after the sex marathon, he started visiting the sex parties again. the relapse was a sign of his torment. But there are other explanations as well. He thought that going back to the sex parties could help him to lower his strong libido for the uke. He wasn’t sure if his urge for Baek Na-Kyum was caused by the lack of sex, as he had stopped going to these sex orgies or if it was related to something else, to the person itself. Furthermore, I believe that by going back to the sex orgies, he experienced that he was no longer interested in sex, but he was looking for something else. He wanted to be with the artist. And now, you comprehend the second relapse in chapter 51: The lord was suffering, but unlike in the past he couldn’t keep his distance from his lover. He needed to sense his presence. He was no longer his sex partner, but he wasn’t treated like an object or a servant. During these two separations, Yoon Seungho was full of worries for Baek Na-Kyum which he was trying to forget, yet he couldn’t. At the same time, he was reflecting on his past actions:

– Why did he force the man to sleep with him for so long and overlook his current state? What drove him to drop off his visits to the sex parties, when he used to go there very often?

I perceive the lord as someone who does think deeply, hence he wouldn’t be spending so much time in front of his window in general. From my point of view, Yoon Seungho had to introspect himself and was making sure despite his sense of guilt that his “obsession” or love for the painter was not related to his strong stamina but to his desire to share his thoughts with him. He wanted to have a true companion. Let us not forget that Yoon Seungho has never experienced love before and has never received love from his father. So he had no role model, hence he was confused and couldn’t recognize the true cause for his behavior. He didn’t know how to show love. So far, the world he grew up was full of treacherous and vain hypocrites where there is no love. Let us not forget that even Jihwa doesn’t reveal his love for him. Furthermore, his past made him experience sex without pleasure and even without love. However, the moment he met the painter, he could finally connect his sexual orientation with ecstasy. In the first season, without the painter he was experiencing if his “obsession” with the painter was related to sex or to something else. Like I had truly recognized, the noble had not realized the existence of his feelings for the commoner. I believe that he couldn’t name his affection as love due to his lack of knowledge. He was confusing his mind with his heart. There is no denial that he was already in love with Baek Na-Kyum, as the man affected him so much right from the start. The moment they met, he acted differently. Besides, love is never a constant feeling. It changes all the time. Moreover, there are different kind of love. He was attracted by the painter due to his paintings, then due to his face and gaze… little by little he fell for him. However, the lord never realized it, unlike his servant Kim. However, in my opinion, the butler only judged it as an obsession and not as love. He imagined that his master had fallen too deeply into sodomy (chapter 18) In my eyes, the butler’s cowardice is connected to the social norms. He had deeply internalized the social values from Joseon, hence he represents a reinforcement of authorities. As you can see, there are many explanations for his behavior: guilty conscience, out of concern, self-introspection… On the other hand, he is only partially running away from his responsibility, as he had asked the servant Kim to take care of the artist. This is why this “abandonment” stands in opposition to the scholar’s. The latter betrayed during the rape, as he didn’t intervene and acted as if nothing was happening. And the next day, he brought him back to the mansion and abandoned him by letting Yoon Seungho drag him to the bedchamber. At no moment, he tried to stop his sponsor. That’s why he remains invisible in chapter 32.

But if we look back at the first picture at the beginning, you’ll notice that Kim’s words are reflecting something else. (chapter 33) He was acting as a mediator between the master and the low-born which looks like a good thing. In reality, he was meddling in their relationship. Who was he to intervene? That’s why he acted like a father. With his words, the butler was implying that his lord had been affected by his illness, hence he remained away. However, I believe that in the valet’s mind, there existed a different explanation. For Kim, his master was just a coward. That’s why he said this comment in front of the physician: (chapter 33) He anticipated that his master was avoiding to face the consequences of his selfish behavior. For me, Kim doesn’t truly love his master. He views the Yoons as terrible, but he will never confront them. But for his own safety, he needed to deceive the painter. Let’s not forget that Kim had played a role in his escape and the low-born could reveal it to his master. That’s why he needed to fake his care and concern for the painter so that the artist wouldn’t mention the past. Thus he begged the young man not to wander around as a sign of care and gentleness.

Simultaneously, Kim needed to manipulate the painter so that the latter would realized that he had won Yoon Seungho’s trust. He desired to obtain his obedience. What appears as mediation was in reality manipulation, which would create misunderstandings. He hoped that Baek Na-Kyum wouldn’t go to the teacher’s side. He was well aware of his master’s jealousy. In other words, this scene revealed many important points:

– The lord might have been away but he thought about him and made sure that he would get the best treatment

– Yoon Seungho’s behavior has drastically changed, he hasn’t returned home hence there is something upsetting the lord

The loyal assistant is acting like the lord’s lawyer. And here, in the chapter 34, we can see the contrast with Jung In-Hun’s attitude. Baek Na-Kyum asked Kim about the teacher. Was he worried about him? Has he asked after him? Kim denied all of his questions which upset the young man.

That’s the reason why he cried in the bed, covering his face. His gesture revealed his pain, but it also indicated that he didn’t want to be confronted by reality. Kim showed him that his admired sir had abandoned him, but the artist was in denial. He only explained it as a lack of concern. He was veiling his face in front of the truth. On the other hand, this scene was important for another reason. It truly exposed the learned sir’s stupidity and blindness. Without the artist by his side, Jung In-Hun meant nothing to the protagonist. Note the contrast between the butler and the scholar’s attitude. The former had understood the artist’s importance, though he didn’t like it, while the learned sir seemed to be in denial. The low noble didn’t even imagine that Baek Na-Kyum could lose his life. Then if you compare both aristocrats, you’ll detect the huge difference. Although both nobles were away from him, one kept his distance out of concern and guilt, the other felt nothing. The words Kim said did affect the painter, he could sense that the powerful noble had been caring and kind. Kim’s words made sure that the low-born wouldn’t push away his master like in the past, and wouldn’t blame him for his sickness. At the same time, the butler was trying to “tame” Baek Na-Kyum.

And Yoon Seungho’s humbleness and selflessness was revealed with the kiss. (chapter 32) However, the valet Kim was not present, hence when he lied to Baek Na-Kyum, he had no idea that in reality his words were containing more truth than lies in reality. That’s why I chose the kiss as illustration for the analysis. The roles were switched. The master acted as a servant, and the low-born was now the lord. The male lead was acting like Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov from the Russian novel. Yoon Seungho was even willing to give water to the exhausted man. This situation was repeated in chapter 76: (chapter 76). The lord made sure that the painter would feel better with the water. But let’s return our attention to chapter 33. In the bedchamber, the main lead was to blame for Baek Na-Kyum sickness, as he hadn’t paid attention to the artist’s condition. He had acted selfishly, exactly like the protagonist from Master and man. Both realized their huge mistakes, came to regret and took some responsibility, although the chronology in the Russian story diverges. But this shows that both aristocrats came to realize that commoners were humans and no possessions.

This is not surprising that In-Hun’s indifference and even selfishness hurt the young man more at the end. It was really visible in the next chapter. The young man had to hear that what Yoon Seungho did was not normal (chapter 35) and his preparations for the exam were more important than the painter’s life. (chapter 35) For the first time, Baek Na-Kyum could sense that Jung In-Hun was selfish and not kind. Moreover, he even reminded him that as a low-born the noble shouldn’t spend so much money for him. Indirectly, Jung In-Hun was telling him that if he had been Yoon Seungho, he would have done the opposite: not giving him the best room, not sending for the physician and not spending so much money for the medicine. In that chapter, Baek Na-Kyum could finally see glimpses of Jung In-Hun’s true personality. Therefore I think that the servant’s words did influence the young man, he didn’t blame and resent the noble for his condition. He saw the caring gestures, although he was absent… whereas Jung In-Hun was absent due to his own interest. (chapter 35) Here, the low-born’s head is down which indicates a certain resignation and pain. While the one did change his behavior and showed a new side to the young painter, the other remained indifferent. The caress on the cheek could no longer mask the learned sir’s lack of concern and selfishness. (chapter 35) No wonder that after his departure, the artist was disappointed and heartbroken.

To sum up, one aristocrat felt remorse and guilt, hence he tried to redeem himself by taking care of the artist to his own detriment, he even left the mansion for days, the other acted like usually. Here, we can see some similarities between Yoon Seungho and Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov. Both are able to feel empathy. Baek Na-Kyum started seeing the powerful master’s caring side. Due to Kim’s words, he thought that the lord even sacrificed his own comfort and health for the young man… just like the Russian land owner sacrificed his life for Nikita, the peasant. The chapters 34 and 35 are important, because they marked a turning point in Baek Na-Kyum’s life. The perfect image that Jung In-Hun had been able to create was starting showing cracks. Little by little, the painter could sense that his relationship with the teacher was defined by his status, while Yoon Seungho’s behavior made him realize that he was not treating him like a low-born, but like a human. This explains why later Baek Na-Kyum lied to the teacher for the first time. The lord had showed him his vulnerable side and had even let him stay by his side, when the brother visited him. The artist felt the learned sir’s lack of empathy and concern for him and his selfishness. In his eyes, he was just a low-born, and Baek Na-Kyum could already sense it. Therefore he lied.

But let us not forget that he still hoped that the servant Kim had not told the truth, hence he went to the teacher in order to get confirmation. Yoon Seungho’s conversion was also visible, because after his return, he spent the whole night thinking how he could improve his relationship with the artist. And notice that from the chapter 36 on, he started lowering himself in front of the painter literally and figuratively. The blow-job in this chapter

contrasted so much to the blow-job in the chapter 28.

Their places had been switched: the low-born had become the master. First, the noble acted like a master with the soft punishment (chapter 36), until he saw the painter’s erection. He was willing to give up his position as master. That’s why he prioritizes the painter’s pleasure all the time. (chapter 36) So their relationship master-servant stopped at this moment, hence he lets him stay by his side, when the brother Seung-Won is in his chamber.(chapter 37) Notice that his position had changed. He was sitting by the lord’s side. He even asked the artist to sleep by his side and let him stay in his bed without waking him up the next morning. As you can observe, the characters’ position illustrated their actual position in their relationship. When Baek Na-Kyum woke up the next morning, he was alone in the bedchamber. The lord preferred to leave his bed and eat elsewhere. In other words, Kim’s words from chapter 33 became a reality. He let him rest in his bed. Yoon Seungho showed so much consideration that in the chapter 39, he even went to the kitchen in order to fetch the low-born. (chapter 38) He didn’t even send his loyal assistant. He had become the “servant” himself. In other words, we witnessed the lord’s slow conversion during the chapter 36 and the small changes from that moment. The nature of their relationship had changed, hence he claimed Baek Na-Kyum as his bride unconsciously. (chapter 40) So both characters, Yoon Seungho and Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov transformed into a different person, more selfless and caring. They were willing to sacrifice things for them: status and pride. On the other hand, the nature of Baek Na-Kyum’s relationship with the teacher changed for the worse: from a teacher to a student, it became a lord-servant relationship, and the painter sensed the change of their relationship. But let us not forget: Jung In-Hun never considered the young man as a student, for him he had always been a low-born. It is just that he was so good to deceive the commoner.

And these observations in the first season were confirmed in the second season. The only difference is that this switch of social position from chapter 33 on was more momentary. The lord still viewed himself as a noble, he never realized his transformation. Yet in chapter 71, the noble chose to confirm the change of status: (chapter 71) Baek NA-Kyum was no longer a low-born, but a noble, while the main lead was his “servant”. This explicates why the noble was no longer asking for him in the evening (chapter 74) and visited him secretly during the night. But this switch of position didn’t remain a secret, the moment the lord embraced his panicked lover. (chapter 76) At the end of the second season, the lord’s true personality is more and more unveiled: he has a kind and generous heart, and he is able to reflect on his wrongdoings, which contrasts to Jung In-Hun. And now, you can comprehend why right from the start, I was fascinated by the infamous sodomite. The first season let us see glimpses of his warmth and selflessness. This means, the noble’s courage and strength will shine more and more.

As a conclusion, Yoon Seungho is a figure that resembles the noble Valmont from the “Dangerous Liaisons” and the land owner Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov from “Master and man”, a man full of redemption despite his sins. As you can see, from a simple question “Why didn’t he return to the mansion?”, it became an analysis about master and servant and the transformation of Yoon Seungho.

And here again, I could use a classic story for an inspiration and comparison which shows how well written this manhwa is.

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

Chapter 94 negative reflection	Chapter 97 positive reflection
Painter in tears	Painter smiling, even when he gets scared
Heena brings a table with food.	Baek Na-Kyum returned to the room in order to fetch the “paper”.
Heena says nothing and feels sorry for the painter –	She talks the whole time
She remains next to the door.	She approaches her brother in the room.
She grabs him by the shirt	She grabs him by the shirt
BNK wants to be hugged	Heena wants to hug her brother, but she is rejected
BAek Na-Kyum believes her	Baek Na-Kyum reproaches her to tell stories
Heena doesn’t weep	She is now in tears
Heena definitely portrayed the nobles as ruthless and filthy.	Now, she found a nobleman who would help them
Heena stands in front of the entrance.	Heena stands in the way to the door.

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