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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Some of my readers might not know what Fall of man is referring to. Fall of man is the term used by Christian theologists to describe the expulsion of Eva and Adam from paradise after eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now, you know where this expression comes from. It’s from the bible and more specifically from Genesis 2-3. It explains the story of the original sin.
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In the Garden of Eden, God planted two trees and he asked Adam and Eva not to eat the fruits from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, Satan, taking the form of a snake, convinced Eva to disobey God’s order. She took a bite from the forbidden fruit and after tasting it, she gave it to Adam so that Adam committed the same sin. Once God discovered their disobedience, he chased away the woman and the man from the Garden of Eden. This represents the end of paradise for humans. The forbidden fruit is actually an apple therefore eating the apple from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolizes the original sin, the loss of innocence and indirectly death too. Since Eva and Adam were expelled from paradise, their fate is associated to death. Now, Eva and Adam can no longer live forever and are confronted with evilness, hardships and temptation their whole life. Humans can only return to paradise after their death, if they behave as good Christians and are true believers.
Now, you are wondering where the common denominators between the Genesis and the manhwa Painter of The Night are, since the Korean story is actually a book with many explicit sex scenes. First, eating the apple is often viewed as a representation of sex. The snake embodying temptation and evilness seduced Eva to discover sexuality hence Adam couldn’t resist her so that they had an intercourse for the first time. That’s the reason why women during the Middle-Age were judged so negatively in Europe. Catholic Church reproached them of being the cause of the original sin. If Eva, the archetype of women, hadn’t listened to the snake representing the devil/Satan, Adam wouldn’t have fallen to temptation and he would never have had sex. Therefore sex and nudity are often related to Satan, like in this picture.
Notice that Satan’s sex reminds us of a vagina, he is not eating men through his mouth but also through his sex. Therefore we can take note of the demonization of the woman’s sex. This explains why women were often suspected to be witches. This is also the cause why Catholic Church only encouraged sex for procreation. Sex should never be linked to pleasure. Now, you can understand why sex is perceived as dirty and enjoyment is associated to sin. During the Middle-Age, Christians should never enjoy sex and only judge it as a duty so that God could get more believers. As a conclusion, the original sin and Fall of man are connected to the discovery of sexuality, copulation and joyance.
Then we have to remember that the expulsion from the Garden of Even is linked to the Tree of Knowledge between good and evil. What should get your attention is the word Knowledge. If you read my analysis about Spring Awakening (part 1 and 2), you know the importance of sex education. Wendla, one of the protagonists of Spring Awakening, got pregnant because she had no idea about sex and its implications. Her mother never told her how women got pregnant. That’s why I pointed out earlier that the original sin is linked to the discovery of sexuality, the knowledge what sex means and implicates.
In order to grasp better the similarities between Fall of man and the manhwa, I am listing the following elements:
- The presence of the forbidden fruit, an apple, symbolizing temptation and sin
- Three people were present during the original sin: the snake, Eva, Adam
- Garden of Eden personifying Nature
- Sex
- Knowledge
Maybe you have already recognized the picture chosen above as an illustration for this analysis. It comes from the chapter 23. Let’s contextualize the episode. Here, we have Yoon Seungho who invited Jung In-Hun and Baek Na-Kyum to go hunting. The hounding occurs after Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum had their first sexual encounter together.
What caught my attention is the presence of the apple in this chapter.
Notice that Baek Na-Kyum is the one eating the apple and later, the fruit is taken by Yoon Seungho who bites in the apple tasted by the painter.
So their actions resemble a lot to the ones from Eva and Adam in the Garden of Eden. Hence we can say that the painter is Eva and the lord Adam fitting their part in the couple. The woods correspond to the garden of Eden because the forest embodies nature, just like the location created by God. Then you might now ask who the snake is. Here, the loyal valet personifies the snake but his role diverges from the Genesis. He is not seducing the artist to get knowledge, to discover sexuality. He acts the opposite in reality.
Note that he pleads for ignorance, while the snake tempted to taste the fruit and get knowledge. He advises the low-born not to remember his coition with the lord. And we come to the most important part, the biggest contrast between the bible and the manhwa. The intercourse has already happened whereas in the bible, the sex only takes place after eating the fruit because they become aware of their own nudity and body. It looks like the chronology has been changed. Another difference is that Baek Na-Kyum is still innocent as he has no memory about that fateful night, while the lord is in the knowledge. Knowledge is what separates them. In other words, in this scene from the chapter 23, the chronology and the role of the snake diverge, yet it looks like the Genesis inspired our author. However, there is more to it.
Since eating the forbidden fruit means sex, then we have to return to their first sex together. Striking is that Yoon Seungho might have had a lot of sexual experiences due to his past, but their first night together represents a first for him too. He was able to discover what lovemaking is. So eating the forbidden fruit has a divergent signification for the master. He discovered a new side of sex, it is not just about having pleasure but giving joyance to his partner, feeling loved and admired and returning the same affection and warmth to his loved one. So he gets a new knowledge.
(chapter 20) 
(chapter 21) That’s why he is embracing the uke wholeheartedly and kissing him so gently. Once he has tasted the forbidden fruit, lovemaking, he can no longer return to his old-self. He wants to renew and even deepen their relationship but for that, he needs the painter to remember. He is well aware that the drunkenness had an impact on the artist’s consciousness hence the next morning after their lovemaking, he visits the artist’s chamber waiting for him. The latter had to go out because of nausea and vomiting.
And now pay attention to the words and actions of the noble who has already fallen deeply in love.
First, he is wearing an dark purple robe with short sleeves. We can observe that he has dressed up especially for the painter. Now, you might realize my mistake. While treating the different clothes of the protagonist (the significance of clothes, part 2), I overlooked this chapter. However, it actually confirms my observations made there. When it comes to win the artist’s heart, Yoon Seungho pays attention to his appearance and wants to use his charismatic image in order to attract the man’s attention and awake sexual desires.
In other words, he improves his apparel because he wants to seduce him. Is he here acting like the snake, the devil seducing the uke to temptation? But if you look more closely, you’ll notice that there is a book with an illustration on the table. There are two men fornicating. This is not random, the master put it there in order to trigger the hint about their lovemaking. However, the painter pays no attention to this picture. Yet this doesn’t discourage the master hence he speaks about the events of the night before.
The irony is that Baek Na-Kyum committed a crime, he stole a bottle of expensive wine. Here, we can see another reference to the original sin and the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eva committed a sin by disobeying to God’s words and here, we have the painter who acted like a thief. We could even add that the bottle could be another representation of the forbidden fruit. Does this mean that their fateful night embodies another Fall of man? It seems so because Seungho is acting like God here, commenting about the low-born’s actions through insinuations and trying to confront him with his theft. The moment the painter is faced with his wrongdoing, he decides to lie about it.
Instead of chasing the commoner away for his larceny and as such expelling him from the garden of Eden, the noble just laughs it off.
On the other hand, the readers should keep in their mind that the commoner is in fact committing another sin. However the knowledge of their sexual encounter hasn’t resurfaced, since sex and knowledge are what matters. That’s why there is no Fall of man here. Yoon Seungho, the combination of God and Satan, is patient and even very lenient. Hence he doesn’t punish the artist for his sins, on the other hand the master doesn’t renounce so easily. He wants the painter to get the knowledge, to remember his first sex and their fateful night. Therefore he initially implies that he saw the painter during that night but Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t comprehend this signal.
Therefore the master refers directly to sex hoping that this would finally trigger the artist’s memory.
The irony is that Baek Na-Kyum is still clueless till the end. He has no recollection despite the repetitive insinuations of the lord. Each time, Yoon Seungho became more and move obvious to the point he had to mention pregnancy.
Even when he is given the medicine for his hangover indicating that the master is well aware of his sin, the artist remains innocent and pure. So due to his lack of knowledge, he can’t be expelled from paradise. However, we have to remember that in that scene, Yoon Seungho acted like a corrupted God, since he doesn’t condemn him for his crimes. Yet there is no ambiguity that the lord would have acted differently from God in the Genesis, if the commoner had remembered their lovemaking. He never wanted to make him leave the mansion which could be seen as paradise. Instead the main protagonist wanted to keep him there forever. That’s why we can interpret the manhwa as a new adaptation of the Genesis because we have two “scenes” referring to the Genesis 2-3: their fateful night together and the scene in the woods. The apple and the bottle were the forbidden fruit, whereas the learned sir and the loyal valet Kim were the snake. 
(Chapter 19) Baek Na-Kyum was seduced by an illusion, he was tempted by his “pure love”, although I have to say that here the painter’s unconscious played a huge part. The bottle that was stolen by the low-born was later used by the lord as lubricant hence we have this picture in the chapter 20.
This is just like in the bible. Baek Na-Kyum gave the forbidden fruit to the protagonist. That’s why I keep writing that each drawing has a purpose and deep meaning. Then we have the first original sin where Yoon Seungho was playing two roles, God and Adam, since he is the master of his domain. The Garden of Eden is the mansion and the forest simultaneously. While sex occurred in the first place, in the chapter 23 the focus is on the knowledge. Will the painter remember their fateful night? The moment he remembers, he loses his innocence and purity. That’s why the servant Kim advises him not to remember.
However, it is too late because the moment Baek Na-Kyum feels that he committed a sin, he catches a glimpse of a image from that fateful night.
The feeling that he did something wrong is related to the flashback therefore I would say that the last drawing personifies Baek Na-Kyum’s loss of innocence. The Fall of man is about to happen.
Interesting is that although we have two scenes referring to the original sin, the readers never witness the expulsion of “Eva and Adam” from the garden of Eden all this time. The reason is that Yoon Seungho chose to be patient, nevertheless he demanded the artist to paint hoping that at some point the low-born would recollect their wonderful night.
Because of this request, the painting becomes the symbol of the original sins. The aristocrat would like to engrave this night forever because it felt so beautiful, it was for him as if he had reached the paradise. That’s why when the noble hears that Baek Na-Kyum is transporting with him a painting causing him embarrassment and blushing, the lord misunderstands the content of the painting.
The noble thinks that the painter has finally recalled their memorable night hence he is so happy. That’s why later he decides to invite him to the pavilion through his loyal valet.
Now, you can understand what the scene at the pavilion means. This is the new version of the expulsion of paradise, the actual Fall of man, the revelation of all sins. Here, Yoon Seungho thought that he would see a painting of their sexual encounter so that the artist would become his lover. He was so wrong and misunderstood the low-born’s action. In the chapter 25, he really believes that if he acts like in their first encounter, the uke will accept him. 
(Chapter 25) But he is rejected. The forced sex seems to be the only way for the lord to claim the painter as his lover and partner (in his opinion), hence the rape becomes the expulsion of paradise for both men.
Baek Na-Kyum remembers that he confessed his love and lost his virginity to the lord, it is as painful as losing his virginity. The rejection and the forced sex make the lord realize that what he experienced during that memorable night was just an illusion and he can not experience it again.
(Chapter 26)
The commoner has the impression that since he has lost his purity, he can no longer remain by the low noble’s side hence he whispers the name of his learned sir. Both realize that they lost something important… Both lost their innocence. Baek Na-Kyum experienced sex for the first time, fully aware, whereas the lord was hurt that the painter could never treasure their unforgettable night. They are like expelled from the Garden of Eden therefore the following chapters are so painful for both protagonists. Both meet hardships, the lord keeps getting rejected and criticized, while the artist is forced to do a fellatio and later to have a sex marathon. However each time, Yoon Seungho fails to win the man’s heart because he hasn’t understood yet that feelings are important when it comes to lovemaking. He can never act as if sex was a fight. Feelings can’t be forced.
Now, you can understand why the rape had to happen at the pavilion. It is a combination between nature (woods) and civilization (mansion) so that they would feel the banishment. Yoon Seungho can no longer imagine that the love he received during that night was directed to him, this is the end of paradise hence he gets jealous and angry. He would really love to become the recipient of such a love. Both made a terrible experience with sex, something connected to pain and gain a new terrible knowledge. Sex and love are not really similar but the lord had no idea how to gain the painter’s affection. 
(Chapter 23)
Fall of man just occurred once, however we have two original sins. The first one was when the lord took the teacher’s place
(chapter 26) and the other is when the artist stole the bottle of expensive wine and lied about his action.
The latter paid a huge price for his sin, just like the powerful noble. It took them a long time to overcome their trauma, the pain of rejection and betrayal. Yoon Seungho also made the mistake to act like God, because he thought that his wealth and power were convincing enough to win over the painter. However, he was just a human as his assets meant nothing to the commoner. Hence he had to pay for his sins. Let us not forget that Baek Na-Kyum sinned twice when he had sex with the lord for the first time. He stole the bottle and later he didn’t resist the temptation, when he imagined the low noble’s visit. He couldn’t bear the rejection from the teacher and had a hallucination. He might have forgotten it but he was the one leading their intercourse so he is not entirely innocent either. Deep down, Baek Na-Kyum always wanted to have sex before and even fantasized about the lord (the wet dreams in the chapter 2 and 6). Furthermore by stealing the wine, he sent the wrong signal to the seme (see my analysis about Breakups, chagrin and alcohol).
Nevertheless, I am not stating that Baek Na-Kyum is the reason why the lord sinned. We are no longer in the Middle-Age, where women should be blamed for the Fall of man. No, even if Baek Na-Kyum is a new version of Eva, both persons are equally responsible for their sins. No one is innocent, however the uke appears more virtuous due to his purity and chaste love through his heartfelt confession, hence the rape is a terrible “punishment” for the painter. He, who never connected sodomy to violence and sin before he met the low noble, has to discover another side of homosexuality. It is not just about love and warmth. It is a harsh fall for the artist that’s why it is important for the artist to rediscover his first perception of homosexuality. Sodomy can be something natural and as pure as love between a woman and man. Hence their relationship improves the moment the noble learns from his mistakes and is willing to give up on his pride and position as master, he starts prioritizing the low-born’s pleasure. Little by little, the painter is discovering the joyance connected to sex and no longer denying his own sexual orientation.
After the Fall of man, Eva and Adam had to work and encountered many hardships, yet they got children: Cain and Abel. In other words, their love became fruitful. Therefore it becomes clear that the noble will be able to become the real recipient of the painter’s love. It is just a matter of time. However, in the bible, Cain killed Abel out of jealousy. Should we see it as another allusion to what will happen in the second season? Will the valet Kim become the victim of the attempted assassination on Baek Na-Kyum? Honestly, this is what I have been fearing for a long time. I hope, I’m wrong because this would mean that Yoon Seungho would lose the only person who knows him so well and shows such an understanding. Imagine his pain and this will reinforce his need and longing for the painter’s love.
This will be my final words for this essay. If someone commits a sin, it is possible to find redemption that’s why forgiveness plays a huge part in Christianity. Repentance and admitting his sin are the conditions. It is the painter’s choice to forgive the lord for his sin, just like the lord forgave the artist for his sins (larceny and lie). It is just a matter of time until the painter forgives Yoon Seungho entirely, since the lord has already started protecting his painter and showers him with his care and attention. No servant is allowed to speak ill about Baek Na-Kyum and he has to be treated like a master. That’s why his clothing has also changed. Little by little, the artist’s status is elevated. But here is the next question: who will confess first? Will the lord be able to express his feelings, since he is not skilled in this matter/field?
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Striking is that once he is home, the low noble takes off his hat, even his robe in front of his rich and powerful guest. You might wonder why, in particular when you know about the teacher’s pride and arrogance. You are correct to assume that this action is deliberate, he wants to reveal his true financial condition to Yoon Seungho, showing him that as a noble he is not well enough and needs the support of a sponsor. At the same time, we shouldn’t forget that the lord chose a dark purple robe with short sleeves in order to deceive the teacher too. Just a reminder about the meaning of dark purple: 
His speech only illustrates arrogance, entitlement and disdain for commoners contradicting his attitude. The protagonist is no fool, in fact he misled the low noble on purpose. The seme forced the teacher to make lip service in order to obtain a sponsorship, yet simultaneously it actually served to reveal his true thoughts and his true personality: a hypocrite and obsequious (greasy) noble. 
Sure, he immediately puts these back but the fact that in that particular scene he reveals his true self in front of his “fan” just after removing his glasses is significant. This gesture symbolizes and announces what is about to occur. He displays his true emotions and expresses his arrogance and contempt towards the painter. In his eyes, the artist is just a man consumed by lust hence he is a prostitute. He was raised in a brothel therefore he can only live like a whore. This signifies that if the noble takes away his glasses in the second season, we have to observe his future comments and attitude.
He thinks that as a noble, he can touch the powerful lord so easily. He even comes to the belief that since he is controlling the artist, he stands on the same level than the main character. He doesn’t even notice the killing gaze Seungho is oozing. The learned sir has definitely a poor sight, when it comes to people and situations. He believes that his “intelligence” and knowledge gained through the books is enough for his career, but the man is definitely lacking experiences. He has no knowledge of the world and people, he has never meddled with other dirty, scheming and treacherous nobles before. 
And this is exactly what Yoon Seungho is telling him before his departure. He is warning him about what could happen to him in the future. Remember that I associated him to the library where he is buried by the books. Even the books are following him in his bedroom. 
So we could say that Jung In-Hun is naive in a certain sense. He needs to learn through bad experiences in order to understand the harshness of life and to comprehend his own delusions. 
The robe hasn’t changed at all reinforcing the idea of his poor financial situation. He doesn’t own many clothes. Simultaneously, he wants to keep this appearance as simple and humble as possible hoping that the lord would decide to buy him some clothes. But nothing happens here. On the other hand, he has to witness how the painter gets so many special treatments. He is hired to paint erotic pictures signalizing that he is talented. Then the artist is invited to the hunt, although he is just a low-born. Moreover the master pays attention to his moves (prevent him from falling) and he is even invited by the lord to join him at the pavilion. A doctor is called for him, the main lead even accepts to buy expensive medicine for his painter. The latter has the right to sleep in the master’s chamber, to spend the night with him, to wear the noble’s clothes and to get new winter clothes at the same tailor shop than the master’s. All along, Jung In-Hun listed all the favors the commoner received, while the teacher got nothing in return, only free lodging and a free access to the noble’s huge library. That’s why he loathed Baek Na-Kyum so much and lashed out to him in the chapter 40. The glasses could no longer contain his negative emotions towards the commoner.
(here the belt looks purple)
During the hunt, he had chosen to confront the powerful lord and humiliate him by accusing him of hypocrisy and telling him that he was a talented man full of potential. It ended up in a disaster as he never expected the lord to know the origin of the poem he gave to Baek Na-Kyum. Furthermore he has to hear that he is far from being skillful, a terrible statement for the arrogant man. 
Then when he visits the artisan, he wants to impress him because he needs his help. He has to dress like a quite rich noble so that the craftsman will be willing to help him for the investigation in Yoon Seungho’s past. Remember that he even gave money to the man, yet we truly know his own financial situation. He has no real fortune and only his title that distinguishes him from the commoners. 
The peacock will never be powerful like Jung In-Hun hopes. These are my predictions. 
That’s why Min is now using Jihwa in order to hurt Yoon Seungho as he wants to dethrone the alpha in the sodomite community and become the new king. 
(Chapter 33) This image represents a flashback from the chapter 33, where our protagonist recalled the artist’s terrible face, while he has to hear the other aristocrats describing the person he loved. The memory outlines that this incident left a deep impression on Yoon Seungho that he could still remember the painter’s sick face. Therefore the protagonist wants to keep his painter safe, in the warmest room in the mansion where the noble can attend to the commoner’s needs (giving him water, cleaning his body). I even anticipate he will do everything himself. However, we shouldn’t forget that the master’s deepest wish is to share his own bed with the uke. Only with him, he can finally relax and sleep. We all know that the lord is suffering from insomnia since he hasn’t overcome his trauma from the past.
(Chapter 40) By placing the red dot on the forehead, Yoon Seungho made the painter look like a bride. This wasn’t just a joke, he really wanted to assume his responsibility and become the painter’s “husband”. The rumor circulating now confirms my explanation about his actions. 
(chapter 18) when he felt nothing as the straw mat beating occurred. For him, this was a normality, although I am somehow suspecting that he wasn’t entirely honest. It did affect him because his admired painter had been hurt. Nevertheless, when in the chapter 18, Yoon Seungho felt excited and as such alive due to the breakup with Jihwa, he showed his beastly instincts. And if we recall the whole first season, the manhwaphiles will notice that Seungho showed excitement, when he humiliated the nobles. Let us not forget that he humiliated not only Jihwa, but also his friend (the man with the mole), Jung In-Hun and Min. He revealed his true personality in the woods, where he was the one who killed the deer and the pheasant… therefore I assume that terrible things could/will happen to the nobles in the woods. 
(Chapter 41) They all underestimated Yoon Seungho because they only judged him as “a man consumed by lust” and a “hell-raiser”. He has been hiding his cards and claws very well all these years in order to protect himself. He is definitely keeping an eye on what is happening at the capital. And this was already visible in the first season with following image: 
(Chapter 40) This symbolized that there was still a gap between these two men. Now, it is different. Baek Na-Kyum stands next to him so that we can say the painter’s status has been elevated. The artist is also dressed with expensive winter clothes that’s why the social disparity is less visible. Only the hairdressing reveals that Baek Na-Kyum is no lord. However, little by little, the crevice between Yoon Seungho and his loved one is disappearing. Now, we have to wonder why the painter at the end of the trailer turned his head. 
But Jihwa overlooked it. From my point of view, the red-haired lord made two huge mistakes. First, he misjudged the warning because of a misunderstanding. 
he has been using him all this time, this is no novelty for the seme. However, the readers know very well that these words are not reflecting the entire truth. Jihwa had been waiting for Seungho’s love. Interesting is that these words reinforced the impression the main character had about his childhood friend and this deepens their misconception. Yoon Seungho misunderstands Jihwa’s motivation behind his actions. He can’t detect the love his friend has for him since on the surface, it seems like Jihwa is disregarding his authority, acts behind his back and puts informers in his mansion. Hiring an amateur spy could be for another reason, like discovering his secrets so that he can be blackmailed. The irony is that due to his plot, Jihwa even encourages the former friend to seduce the low-born. Yoon Seungho even teases the red-haired noble by announcing that he will turn this gossip into a reality. 
(chapter 22) He enjoys humiliating nobles, it gives him sensations, whereas punishing commoners or killing servants is nothing extraordinary. 
(chapter 41) His chagrin is so deep that he is losing little by little his dignity. In chapter 41, he even has his hair loose and sleeps on the street like a commoner. He no longer acts and dresses like a noble. All this illustrates that Jihwa did love his friend but his lack of consideration and egoism were the reasons why he could never get close to the seme. The irony is that Yoon Seungho has already experienced Jihwa’s betrayal hence this is no surprise if the main lead will know right away who was behind the attempted assassination. The problem is that the main lead never thought that the moment he is in a relationship with the painter, he has to protect his loved one very well. This is no longer amusing and exciting when your loved one gets hurt. This will teach him a lesson so that he will be better prepared, when his other enemies start targeting him.
(chapter 18) He never cared for his reputation or seclusion anyway. Then we have to remember that from early on Yoon Seungho was aware of Baek Na-Kyum’s feelings for the teacher. In my opinion, he must have even thought that they were in a relationship because Baek Na-Kyum treasured the teacher’s poem so much, was willing to get punished instead of his “learned sir”, when the latter was suspected of the “crime”. In addition, he has never heard the low noble’s words about his disdain for sodomy and erotic pictures. He observed as well that the painter was keeping his distance from him despite the arousal and his advances (chapter 16). From my point of view, the seme got aware that the artist was faithful to the teacher, yet he misjudged the true nature of their relationship. Hence he never anticipated that the painter was a virgin, influenced by the power of the erotic paintings, the place he was raised and the blushing caused by the teacher. 
(chapter 36) 
(chapter 19) Right from the start, the low-born is the one controlling their encounter. Like I had mentioned in another analysis, their “first night” together has two phases. The first one is when Seungho is just looking for sex but he is stopped by the artist, when the latter admits his fear since he is a virgin. The second phases is where both make love. In both phases, Baek Na-Kyum is the one affecting the lord’s actions and decisions. Yoon Seungho might have taken advantage of the situation, he is mistaken for the learned sir, but in reality Baek Na-Kyum was the one leading the sexual encounter. The alcohol made their “first night” possible, while for Jihwa it increased his pain and distance to Yoon Seungho. 
(chapter 25) It was as if they had an one-night-stand and the other has already forgotten their memorable night… because it meant nothing to the uke. Imagine the irony of the situation. The painter kept his virginity for the teacher but once he lost it to another man, he doesn’t want to enter into a relationship with the man who took his virginity. He values more the feelings than the sexual encounter. This explains why the master uses force in order to submit the painter. He can’t accept the rejection or we could say the breakup in Seungho’s eyes. Then since he has internalized that sex is war through his sexual encounters with the other nobles, he believes that he can act the same way with the commoner. He just needs to defeat the artist sexually and the latter will accept his fate. However, he never expected that the outcome would be different. He might have forced the artist to sex, in reality the painter was never defeated as he mentioned Jung In-Hun, the loved one.
(chapter 35) Only then he is able to have hope again because he no longer perceives hatred, rejection… he even catches the artist’s blushing. And this outlines the painter’s purity, strength and determination. 
(chapter 19)
(chapter 21) We have to wonder why. My explanation is the following. Deep down, the uke knew that Jung In-Hun would never have sex with him, would never accept his feelings. However, his unconscious, meaning his repressed sexual desires, was unleashed, he wanted to have sex with a man, he had already dreamed of it twice and each time, it was with the powerful noble. So the painter’s unconscious allowed him to reveal his true sexual orientation, something he had kept hidden due to the brainwashing. So the alcohol not only reveals the chagrin caused by the rejection, it helped the painter to reveal his true desires and identity. That’s why the artist couldn’t remember the night spent with the powerful lord, it was like a dream and we all know that we always forget dreams.
Based on one cloth, it is not enough, furthermore the color is difficult to discern: grey or khaki. We discovered that Byeonduck is very particular about the colors and the kind of clothes her figures are wearing. We already know what yellow, orange, black, red, burgundy, pink, green and blue mean. The clothing can give us clues about the person’s true personality. Besides, we have to observe if the headband will resurface again or not and if yes, under which condition, though I doubt it. Furthermore, I was always able to associate the figures to animals (Baek Na-Kyum as a lamb, Yoon Seungho as eagle, Min as magpie/crow and snake, Jung In-Hun as a chameleon, a peacock and a snake, Jihwa as pheasant). Since we will see the younger brother and his father more often, we should try to find the fitting animals. We should do the same for any new character. It helps to discern the person more correctly. 
His inaction was reflected in his refusal to meddle in politics as well therefore he refused to follow Jung In-Hun to the capital. However, I anticipate that Jung In-Hun’s “career”, his brother’s decision to take the civil service examination and the failed attempt of assassination on Baek Na-Kyum will provoke a change. He will be forced to take matters into his own hands. This means that at some point, we won’t view the protagonist smoking like before. My theory is that the lord will become Baek Na-Kyum’s teacher and he could become a real sponsor for the painter encouraging to paint something else too. As for Baek Na-Kyum, we could see a change in his behavior through his hands. First, he touched the main lead on the shoulder with his hand 
Then during the sex marathon, he brushed the man’s stomach. 
But here, the noble is taking the initiative again, attempting to show his feelings for the painter.
Striking is that he not only leads the painter to return to the mansion and as such allows him to become a sodomite officially, but also passes through the door himself. So does this mean that this door marks a turning point in Jung In-Hun’s life as well? Will the readers see him selling himself to an official for his own interests? I am inclined to believe so. Therefore pay attention to his gestures and his “lip service”. Will we see another progression where the teacher’s first sexual encounter symbolizes the climax of this evolution? 
Baek Na-Kyum could play a huge role as mediator so that the relationship between Yoon Seungho and the other servants improves. They finally accept him as their true master. Before they showed no respect and loyalty towards their lord (gossiping, the opening of the door of his bedroom, the expressed criticism from the maid in front of his loyal valet). Right now, they just fear him hence they are no longer talking about him behind his back. 
Nevertheless, their position will be different. The climax would be that Yoon Seungho lays under the cover just like the painter so that there is no longer a master-servant relationship. In the picture above, there is still a gap between our protagonists. Consequently the cover as wall will disappear. Strictly speaking, look at the position of the cover.
Then the library became a terrible place for the artist who not only had to hear harsh words but also was abandoned there. I can imagine that the artist won’t connect this place with good memories. 
Besides, he was beaten and brainwashed in a similar place by the low noble Jung In-Hun hence I am quite sure that the low-born doesn’t connect books with good memories. This would explain why he dropped his lessons. However, I have already anticipated that Yoon Seungho will be the one who teaches the low-born how to read and write. So where will this happen? At the library or somewhere else?
The pavilion was important, because this is the location where Yoon Seungho liberated himself from his self-hatred and accepted his sexual orientation. 
There he saw himself in a different light that’s the reason why he asked the artist to meet him there after the hunt. Therefore the pavilion is linked to a bad memory for Baek Na-Kyum. Will this place appear again and have another symbolic meaning? I have the feeling that the pavilion could become the place where the master will teach the commoner. This would erase the event of the rape but at the same time, become the location of Baek Na-Kyum’s emancipation, just like it occurred to Yoon Seungho. The pavilion could symbolize the protagonists’ liberation in the end. And this would also help the servants to perceive their lord differently and even accept his relationship with the low-born. They would no longer judge him as a sodomite but as an open-minded and caring lord. Remember that he is a supporter for the education of commoners (chapter 6). This could be what he defends later, when he has to go to the capital…
The author wanted to let the bibliophiles recognize the jealousy of the main lead. He doesn’t say anything but the zoom on the hand represented the lord’s vision. Hence for the second season, we have to question the chronology. Why is there a zoom on the hand in this moment? How about the gaze? Or will the focus on Baek Na-Kyum’s hand reveal another progression, like f. ex. he finally caresses the lord’s face or chest? So far, we never saw him caressing his face or his arms with such a tenderness, while we could observe the main lead kissing the low-born tenderly twice. 
We sometimes had the impression we had entered the character’s mind and were witnessing things through the character’s eyes. I could name the fellatio as example. Here we can understand the seme’s fascination for the painter’s gaze. He saw the acceptance in his eyes. 
But we also entered Jihwa’s mind too. 
to foreshadow the future of our protagonists or reflect the painter’s natural desires or to liberate the uke from the coercive persuasion done by the vicious teacher.
It would be interesting to witness this because this would mean that Seungho is finally able to accept his own identity and he no longer needs to perceive his own reflection in the painter’s gaze, he is longing for love and acceptance there. 
They were not detail-oriented, especially the artist’s facial expressions were still missing. So we have to pay attention to his future creations. They will serve as an indicator of his feelings for the lord. Simultaneously, the drawings will reflect an improvement in his self-esteem. So far, Baek Na-Kyum has a low self-esteem created by the teacher. 
That’s why there is no facial expression on his face and he stands far away from Jung In-Hun in the painting of his inauguration. His erotic paintings should ooze love and warmth as time passes on and maybe the artist will be encouraged by Seungho to draw something else. In other words, the readers should look carefully to the future paintings.
but behind the irony, we can detect his true thoughts. Through his ironical remarks, we might even discover more clues about his traumatic past. Moreover he often uses metaphors, like when he compares Min to a mouse and in the final chapter he spoke about “lip service” which was quite ambiguous. He loves teasing the painter. 
Savor the noble’s intelligence, sarcasm and his jokes. 
or “boy” (chapter 31). Even there he didn’t insult the low-born despite his jealousy and anger.
(chapter 3)
(chapter 5)
(chapter 12)
(chapter 21)
(chapter 36)
(chapter 41)
, he didn’t feel the need to attract attention and admiration because he had already succeeded with his plot. He was so happy that he didn’t pay attention to his image. However, he is still wearing his topknot therefore he is demonstrating his power to others: he is a noble. This is totally different in the chapter 36. 
, the reader often sees the red-haired noble laughing and smiling so that we can definitely say that he is cheerful and good-humored. He likes wearing different clothes, drinking, having sex with Yoon Seungho and he even buys erotic books hence all this reminds me of an epicurean, someone appreciating life and its pleasures which is also linked to yellow. He can be sometimes analytical for he observed his childhood friend’s gaze and behavior in the chapter 14/15 
and remembered his friend’s words.
He fears that the painter might become the protagonist’s new sex partner because his chamber is next to the master’s.
He shows a certain creativity, when he plays a trick on Baek Na-Kyum by ruining the second painting. Simultaneously, this action revealed a negative side of Jihwa, he acted like a coward. I can even add that his cowardice is even confirmed, the moment he visits the artist’s room a second time without his friend’s knowledge. He never wanted Yoon Seungho to discover his presence. However, he can’t restrain himself when he sees the painting with the masturbation and slaps the poor painter. He is just too emotional that he admits his crime in front of the painter and his friend. 
His impulsivity and his jealousy were the reasons why he got caught in the end.
this picture reminds me of the myth of Narcissus who looked at his own image until his death. Here, Jihwa believes in the strength of his beauty. He can’t envisage that his friend is immune to his handsome face. Striking is that we have yellow and orange dominating in this drawing as if it was signalizing a danger, a bad omen for our second character. 
and he even shows no remorse for the unjust punishment (straw mat beating). He even laughs about it, not caring about the damage. For him, the painter is just a commoner hence he can do anything he wants. He has such a misconception about commoners, he is very prejudiced and judgmental. For him, all the low-born are uneducated, greedy and selfish. They would do anything in order to change their life and social status. Yet he he is totally wrong as he is generalizing. In reality, he just projects his own thoughts into Baek Na-Kyum. His entitlement leads him to believe that he can even mistreat any commoner, any servant. 
He is as ruthless and brutal as Yoon Seungho. Jihwa justifies every action. It is always for his friends’ best interest (revenge/Saving Seungho’s reputation), whereas in fact, it is for his own benefit. He is selfish but still shows a certain lack of confidence because he tries to get rid of a rival through tricks. As you can detect, he is a mixture of arrogance and lack of confidence. He uses others in order to hurt his rival (Seungho in the first case and the hired assassin in the second case). This is just another act of cowardice. Fact is that he feels threatened by the painter, he senses that his friend is attracted by the low-born. 
Another example for his boasting is when he dresses up to pay a visit to Yoon Seungho. He already imagined that the former would be hurting on his own because of Seung-Won’s call. That’s why he chose the robe with the crane. He definitely wanted to make a statement: “Without me, you’ll never be happy”. But the opposite happened. Once hurt, he can’t hide his pain and has to exteriorize it, hence he goes to his acquaintance, the man with the mole. 
He can’t hide his tears in front of the others… 
or without the seme’s knowledge in order to plot something against Baek Na-Kyum or to spy on his friend. 
Finally, I would like to examine the last clothes Jihwa is wearing in the chapter 43 and 44. What caught my attention is that he is wearing an exterior robe with short sleeves, has a red belt and a huge hat covered with a veil. On the one hand, with his apparel he is attracting the attention of people, especially at a place where there are many commoners. At the same time, he is attempting to hide his identity. This contradiction reflects the character’s true personality: he is arrogant and stupid enough to believe that he can walk just like that without his identity being discovered. I am quite sure that people will remember his appearance. Besides, he chose his favorite color… So the pheasant who perceives himself as a crane is about to experience the harshness of life. He has no idea that this impulsive decision marks his downfall. He is too foolish and blinded to realize that he has been played by Min. 
All the persons Kwon Soo-Young meets only view his crutch and his weird walking. It was as if his disability had taken over his identity and his existence that’s why the former boxer is so infuriated with their “sorry attitude”. Strictly speaking, first impressions scar the unfortunate man even more. 
However, he never got to see the double personality of his admired hyung, his dark and violent side because the first impressions were deeply engraved in his memory. I haven’t read much of this manhwa but I have the feeling that the constant defeat of Soo-Young’s fights were actually no coincidence and his hyung was behind it. The more the main lead wanted to unleash his anger and fury due to the unfairness in his life, the more he punched into the air because hyung wanted him to rely more and more on him. The offer proposed at the end of the first chapter looks good on the surface.
but because of the way they met for the first time 
and pushes him away, whereas on the other hand, he went to the boxing club and wished that his hyung would find and help him. 
Deep down, Soo-Young has already sensed the danger of the offer and the violent personality but he is struggling to admit this because of the first impressions he had about Si-Jung and the experience he made through his abusive father. Bad people will never smile and be caring, they will always be violent. And this leads me to the introduction of the other protagonist: Park Tae-Sung. 
Striking is that after seeing his bruised face, Tae-Sung wonders if he hasn’t met him before. And this underlines that so far, Soo-Young hadn’t made any impression on him, he expected that he would behave like the other creditors begging for more time aso. What caught the mafia boss by surprise is the sudden attack of the former boxer.
Besides only when he is able to stand up, the chief gets to see Soo-Young’s handicap. As we can observe, the disability has another signification in the gangster’s eyes: he sees it as a strength. Despite his handicap and original disadvantage (position), Soo-Young didn’t fear him and was able to change his situation. The latter is even capable to overcome the mobster’s strength. At some point, he stands up in front of the gangster before going after him. 
First I wasn’t certain if Min was the one who participated at the sex session in the chapter 8 because his face looked a little different but now, I can say for sure that he was present (pictures from the chapter 8 and 9) 
where he touches the seme’s waist, a very intimate place. One of my readers objected that Min was an uke in the chapter 8 hence he could never become a seme. 
If the beholder looks again at the picture of the penetration, then the person notes the similarity of Min’s action with Baek Na-Kyum’s gesture in the chapter 41. 
Note that Min is standing on the one side, whereas Yoon Seungho is sitting on the other side and the others are lying on the floor. It was as if the powerful noble was sitting on a throne. Moreover, we have to imagine that Min’s gaze is directed at our main lead. However, if you pay attention more closely to the picture, you’ll detect that most of the nobles’ heads are turned to Min’s side underlining his growing influence. The fearless noble might still be sitting on the throne, yet Min has already attracted attention. Besides, the exchange of words is not harmless in this scene too. In reality, he is already challenging the seme. 
And this reminds me of the way he hurt the pheasant during the hunt. He shot arrows… which makes me think of the small beak of a magpie. This black and white bird has to use its beak a lot in order to eat the whole content of the egg. Seungho killed the pheasant, he was not afraid of dirtying his hands. 
He had a style of robe that he doesn’t usually put on. Furthermore, he always kept his hat on his head indicating that he couldn’t feel comfortable in such a shabby house. He gave a different impression about himself, as if he was concerned about his appearance and image. He was acting like a typical noble, vain, superficial and with an air of entitlement. That’s why he had chosen the exterior robe with short sleeves in order to demonstrate his wealth. Only rich and powerful lords wear that kind of robe. Now, you can understand why the low noble felt comfortable around Yoon Seungho and revealed his true thoughts about the commoners. Due to the clothes, the teacher thought to perceive the lord’s personality. Yet, Seungho did it in order to deceive the man. Nonetheless, I doubt that Jung In-Hun wasn’t just talking in order to impress the man. His contempt for commoners did represent his true thoughts, however I have the feeling that Jung In-Hun was particularly harsh in words because of Yoon Seungho as he believed that he would look down on the commoners. In other words, here these clothes should be perceived as a disguise from my point of view. Now, let’s pay attention to the color. First, Yoon Seungho was wearing green announcing a turning point in his life, then he wore blue as he wanted to impress the painter and was somehow irritated at the same time due to the negative description of himself, “a man consumed by lust”, and now for the teacher, he chose dark purple. And this is what I found about purple and dark purple:
During the chapters 35 and 36, Yoon Seungho chose a dark green robe, the color symbolizing envy and jealousy. Here he had to witness how Jung In-Hun was flirting with his painter. He could imagine how the commoner would blush due to the stroke on his hair and the caress on the cheek. The exhausted man had done everything in his power to win the man’s heart but he had always failed: threads, his position as master, sex appeal, new clothes, a master’s bed, taking care of his health at any cost, giving up his chamber and his sexual expertise as a fine lover. None of this worked. That’s why he was so desperate at the end and even willing to kill the low-born out of jealousy. The cloth reflects his inner emotions and fragile state of mind. The irony is that at the end, he is no longer jealous or envious the moment he notices the uke’s erection. He literally gives up on these bad emotions which is somehow reflected with a simple gesture due to the brother’s visit. 
He gives up on his jealousy by covering the artist with his green robe. Simultaneously, by putting his own robe on the artist, he is making a statement. This is his trusted partner and lover hence he is sitting by the lord’s side. The noble is protecting him with his name and he makes it clear that he is taking his responsibility. That’s why after sharing the same bed, the aristocrat wants to make it official as soon as possible and sends him to his own tailor.
This explains why he is helping him later.
Let’s take a look at the other nobles. 
Have you noticed the difference? Jihwa, Jung In-Hun and Seung-Won prefer having an exterior robe with short sleeves unlike the main character. The only exceptions for our beloved seme are, when he visits the teacher Jung In-Hun
Notice that he never put down his hat while sitting in front of the protagonist. We can’t say that he was in a hurry because a table full of dishes had been brought in the meantime. Seungho showed a certain respect from his side. And this exposes the nature of their relationship. Seung-Won doesn’t treat Seungho as a real brother, only as a tool hence he feels uncomfortable. Besides, it reinforces the impression that he is not honest with him. The clothes as a disguise and shield are mirroring his intention. He is not opening up to Seungho, in reality he is trying to deceive him. A foolish attempt which unveils his naivety. As you can observe with the analysis of Seung-Won’s clothes, we could determine that they reflect their personality, their state of mind and the intention of the characters. So the question asked by my follower was correct, the clothes have a deeper meaning.
His robe has no short sleeves, unless he hunts, just like the seme. 
(chapter 35)
(chapter 41)
Because he was wearing the master’s clothes, it illustrates that the lord wanted to make a statement. From now on, Baek Na-Kyum is his partner and as such, he should be treated like a master. However, only after his long illness, he is willing to wear the master’s clothes. 
But before his outburst of rage he was quite idealistic and even devoted to the artist as he wanted to eat his lunch with him. And this explains why he chose a even darker blue robe after he had heard the reproach from Baek Na-Kyum (“he was a man consumed by lust”) and after the rape. He was even more cold, emotionally unstable, unforgiving and conservative. That’s why he can’t get aroused by Jihwa in the chapter 5 or he has an outburst after taking his bath in the chapter 25. 
It did mirror his state of mind. A simple gesture and he would literally explode. That’s why his robe is not closed. In my opinion, he must have some difficulties to breathe due to pangs of conscience. Besides, it reinforces my impression that he is someone who prefers comfort over looks. Even happy, he paid no attention to the way he was dressed, he couldn’t even wait to meet the painter in the chapter 11. He is not vain, quite a natural personal. But the open robe is also a sign of his torment too in my opinion, when he is having some trouble. Finally, we shouldn’t forget that blue is connected to royalty and I have the impression that he chose this color in order to impress the painter and to demonstrate his power. He was a majestic master. The darker the blue, the more he wants to appear majestic. 
Sure, this was not the first time that our low-born had seen the lord naked, yet this time it diverges because he is exposing his phallus directly to the painter. He is using his sex-appeal to invite the painter to join him. So the lack of robe here has a purpose. Then after the sex session with Jihwa, he doesn’t wear his light green robe properly. The man is revealing his naked chest. On the one hand, I believe that this has to do with seduction, on the other side this displays his comfort in front of the painter. Here, the latter is not perceived as a nobody, rather as someone where the lord can be himself. He is natural, playful and quite relaxed. 
This is the first time that he is so close to the commoner, there are no distance and no painting between them. He is approaching him so carefully as he has sensed this man’s shyness. Therefore he is wearing the light green robe, when he masturbates the young man for the first time. Everything is new, I doubt that he did something similar to Jihwa, in particular with this special position.
He is embracing the man showing his need to feel close to the low-born. For him, the social gap is non-existent. Only his desires matter. Striking is that after this event, Seungho starts wearing again the lighter blue robe. Interesting is that each time, he chose it, he was in a good mood.
He knows the painter’s daring attitude, when it comes to Jung In-Hun. The other clue is that he asked his servant Kim to attend the artist personally and take care of the wound on his lip. Striking is that he knew where the innocent man had been injured: the cut on the lip. So he must have paid attention to the artist’s face. 
From my point of view, the lord is someone self-reflecting a lot. How do I come to this conclusion? 
In the bathroom, he is recalling what led to the rape and the fact that he is remembering shows that he is not denying what happened. He wants to know how this could happen since he had never planned the rape. A person without remorse or regret wouldn’t even give a thought and would never attempt to remember like that because bad memories are quite painful. In the bathroom, he cools down and is no longer angry, rather remorseful. Therefore he makes the decision to bring the injured painter his own clothes. 
The deadly gaze he gives to Kim on his way back is a defense mechanism in my opinion. He doesn’t want to be confronted by a critical and reproachful gaze. We all know that he is truly sensitive, when it comes to gaze. And notice that he even attends the poor low-born himself. He stands by the bathtub and looks at him and even wipes the tears from his eyes. 
However, the noble doesn’t truly realize the real impact of his action. He thought that even if he coerced him to sex, the painter would no longer resist him and accept him as his partner. He is a lord after all. That’s why he shows a certain lack of understanding first. 
Just after the rape, he does the same. He had already felt remorse, when the uke whispered Jung In-Hun hence he left the pavilion.
This terrible and somehow empty gaze serves as a shield, he is so lost in his thoughts and he doesn’t even want to see or hear anything that could resemble a disapproval or reprimand. In other words, the regret or remorse are always connected to a certain cowardice. He doesn’t want to face any admonishment and wants to seclude himself. However, as time passes on, I believe that he reflects on his behavior and has some pangs of conscience. Hence he went himself to release the painter from the straw mat beating and he personally fetched the horse and brought back his own clothes to the commoner. He has a certain self-awareness. And let’s not forget that he personally confirmed that the wound on his lip was healing. 
This gesture illustrates that the lord is definitely taking the blame for the injury.
Here, he can’t blame anyone like in the past (see the straw mat beating, the rape and the fellatio due to the way Baek Na-Kyum is dressed: half-naked and touching his body). He can’t run away either because if he did, the artist could die. He has to face his wrongdoing. Yet we can detect a progression in his change of behavior: he has lowered himself even more than before. When he recognizes that his simple gesture didn’t work, he gets even more concerned. 
He observes a different reaction: there is no resent or hatred like in the bathroom, although what he did, was far worse in his eyes. Therefore he lets the painter leave his bedroom. The low-born could have died and the master is well aware of this fact but he is content enough that there is no hatred from the painter. The pangs of conscience are the reason why he broods the whole night. Besides, he has to find a way to get closer to Baek Na-Kyum. 
The artist is surprised by this sudden brutal behavior, nevertheless he doesn’t complain. What caught my attention in this scene is the alternation of his attitude towards the commoner. First, he is aggressive, then when Jung In-Hun asks the artist to search for a weakness, he has already distanced himself from the low-born. 
Yet, when he witnessed Baek Na-Kyum’s shocked face, he gets aware that he needs to treat the artist better if he wants to convince the painter to act as a spy. That’s why Byeonduck zoomed on the low noble’s mouth. 
He becomes very close to the uke, touches his shoulder with his head and hands, then he kisses his hands. He is definitely seducing the innocent man. One might object that this is just an act but fact is that he is using his body in an alluring way in order to convince the painter. It is like a job he has to do. He knows that Baek Na-Kyum will never ask him for a sexual favor because he has indoctrinated him that he views homosexuality as filthy and disgusting. Sure, one might argue that he has only taken over the part of the pimp. However, what the uke didn’t realize is that he has the upper hand in their relationship. If he had been a corrupted person, he could have proposed a deal: “Sleep with me and you’ll get your info”. Imagine the irony of the situation: Jung In-Hun is here asking the painter to do anything, including sleep with the lord, in exchange for weaknesses, whereas at the same time, the learned sir is forced to become touchy and to caress the painter’s hands with his lips. We have to wonder who is here the whore. The low noble knows that he is safe with the artist and the latter will never come up with the idea to exploit this situation. 
Nonetheless, the elements of prostitution are right here. He is willing to use sex in order to achieve his goal and he is willing to use his body to seduce the naive man. And if we compare his behavior towards Baek Na-Kyum in the past, we will observe that the low noble always kept his distance from him. It was especially visible in the chapter 7 at the teacher’s arrival. While the artist was almost jumping on him, the learned sir could only take a step backwards while making a disgusted face. 
The only time, he touched the man, it was to prevent him from painting so that he would leave the mansion. Nonetheless, he was barely touching the uke’s chin (chapter 10).
But it was not obvious and he thought that this was a small token, nothing in comparison to what he would get from Yoon Seungho’s support. However after the chapter 24, the low noble’s attitude changes drastically. Jung In-Hun keeps touching him illustrating that sex and homosexuality that he abhors so much are now part of Jung In-Hun’s world. 
(chapter 29)
Then he tries diminishing the lord’s action by declaring that he wasn’t seriously ill. These words do affect the painter. Here, he is able to sense that the low noble doesn’t value him very much. The candid man has to remind the learned sir that his condition was pretty serious. He is already hurt. And just before leaving, this is what Jung In-Hun says: 
This time, he is caressing the cheek with his full hand… Observe the progression. From the head, the teacher went closer to the lips. He is truly increasing his seductive gestures. Imagine that all this time, Yoon Seungho had to witness their interactions. No wonder, when he declares that he would have killed the painter if he had left the domain with the low noble. For him, it was as if they were having sex in front of him.
(chapter 2) or the wet dream in the chapter 6 
where the painter’s repressed natural desires resurface. The readers are a little confused because initially they have no idea how to judge these drawings. Are they reality or fiction? This is in particular visible in the following picture: 
On the surface, it looks so real, while in reality this image was a vision in Baek Na-Kyum’s dream which marked the start of his unleashed unconscious. In the wet dream, we had a similar question. The beholder wondered if these images were true memories or fantasies. 
(Chapter 2) These were a mixture of both, although the more pictures we got, the more it became an illusion, a phantasm. As you can observe, the boundaries between seem and real were sometimes not clearly defined. The beholder had to distinguish this.
as much as he is expressing his love for the low-born, Jihwa imagines to see something else. Baek Na-Kyum is the one who seduces the powerful lord hence he believes to detect a cunning smile on the artist’s face. 
(Chapter 43) The red-haired man is too biased towards the young low-born because he has so many prejudices against commoners. He believes that each low-born has no principle and virtue and will do anything in exchange for power, money in order to improve his life. However, the reality is different from the illusion Jihwa experienced. 
(chapter 13). Notice that Jihwa wasn’t present at the sex orgy in the chapter 33 hence he trusted Min’s words when the latter told him that the seme was hopping from one bedchamber to the other. From my point of view, Jihwa never participated in that kind of events that’s why he was able to have a clean reputation. 
(Chapter 18) With these words, the red-haired noble implied that his friend had to choose between him or Baek Na-Kyum as Jihwa had no intention to share him with the artist. 
(Chapter 12) Nevertheless, it contrasts to the first case as in this scene every action is real, it just depends on the interpretation of the participants. Here, the red-haired uke is observing from far away how Yoon Seungho is treating the low-born. We have to remember that his perception of the reality is limited because the lord is turning his back to him and is in front of the painter. Secondly he stands too far away to be able to hear their conversation. In other words, he can’t see Yoon Seungho’s facial expression nor the painter’s face as the master’s shoulder is covering his face. Based on these parameters, I selected all the pictures Jihwa could witness due to the movement of Seungho’s arm and hand: 
(Chapter 14) All this led the jealous man to the conclusion that there was something going on between the commoner and his childhood friend. However, we have to remind to the readers what Jihwa couldn’t see in the pictures above. The uke was avoiding the master’s gaze. Either he closed his eyes or looked down. If he had witnessed it, Jihwa would have realized that the fascination was coming more from his childhood friend than the reverse and as such, Baek Na-Kyum didn’t seduce the lord in this chapter. For him, the reality was that the low-born was using his position and influenced the lord in a bad way. He was already showing some favoritism. This perception of the reality was definitely influenced by his biased view about commoners. 
(Chapter 12) 
It was, as if the protagonist would awake the beastly instincts living inside the boyfriend. However, this rape doesn’t change the fact that Soo-Young has some love and affection for Si-Jung. He confesses to himself that he would like the boyfriend to find him and support him. 
A guided tour of Yoon Seungho’s domain 🏡 (second version) (only accessible with a password) Use the second password 
🎉
First, his fist is clenched indicating that there is resent, frustration and even hatred. However, his hand and wrist are shaking revealing a certain fear. Seungho doesn’t want anyone to witness his vulnerability and weakness. 
the moment they first met. Like I mentioned it in another analysis, their first encounter marks a change in the lord’s life. He is actually inviting the low-born to enter his personal space. From that moment, Yoon Seungho kept touching him. Either he wiped the tears on the artist’s face
(chapter 1) or he caressed the hand 
with his cheek (chapter 2) or pushed the low-born 
. I also believe that the hypnotic gaze helped the commoner to come closer to the lord, just like it served to unleash the commoner’s unconscious. 
This explains why Jihwa and Min decided to have the painter killed. As a conclusion, the lord created a fake image of himself as a powerful and self-assured noble with a strong stamina which no one ever questioned. All this underlines how big his fear is to reveal his vulnerability and sensitivity. His strong stamina was the result of drinking a lot of replenishing medicine (aphrodisiacs), no one has been really suspecting that he was no homosexual right from the start, even the readers were fooled by Byeonduck. The lord is a master of deception hence he could only fall for someone who symbolizes the opposite: naturalness and unrestraint. You all know the saying: opposite attracts.
and favoritism, then his sexual charisma 
, 
, 
None of this worked. Only by giving up his position as a noble and lord, he is able to be accepted by the painter. With the fellatio, Yoon Seungho is willing to appear weaker in front of the low-born. 
This position reflects his change of mind. He had already noticed that Baek Na-Kyum was moved, when the latter saw him at his lowest point.
This explicates why the lord has no problem to reveal his vulnerability in front of the uke, when Seung-Won appears. Later the protagonist even requests to the commoner to share his bed with him. By hugging him so closely he showed his true personality. 
There is no disguise and deception from his part. He is literally naked in front of the artist. He had dawned to him that naturalness and sensitivity could be the only tool… That’s the reason why Seungho chose to reveal his weaknesses. However, we shouldn’t forget that Seungho is not manipulating here the low-born, his deep feelings were the cause for all of this. The kiss at the end of the sex marathon marked another pivotal moment in the noble’s life. 
Here, he wants to know if the low-born came back because of the low noble’s request, if he has been asked to sleep with the powerful lord in order to get some info. That’s why he keeps questioning the teacher’s words.
The sudden request accompanied with tears and a certain resignation leads the noble to think that Jung In-Hun has now asked him to have sex with him. Like I mentioned it before, Baek Na-Kyum had internalized the teacher’s words and come to believe that he was indeed a prostitute. All his actions contrast to the spontaneity and the naturalness Baek Na-Kyum exuded before. He was no longer fighting and his gestures were stripped of warmth and genuine sensuality. Yoon Seungho saw the behavior of a prostitute in front of him, resigned to his fate… selling his body which is not what the noble is looking for. At the end, he was convinced that despite the tears, Baek Na-Kyum was doing it on his own accord because the commoner has never been able to lie and hide any ulterior motives. There is a reason why Yoon Seungho fears so much this idea that the painter might sell his body and it is related to his own father. The latter sold his own son in order to save his own skin and as such treated his son as a prostitute, while he was himself the pimp. Now, you understand why he wasn’t willing to sleep with the artist. 
And let’s not forget that the returned poem in the chapter 7 could be a different poem but Baek Na-Kyum failed to notice it. Hence just like Baek Na-Kyum, the readers will discover a new side of our protagonist in the future, like f. ex. his refined sense of poetry which was just implied in the chapter 4.
During this occasion, Jihwa can look again at Seungho’s gaze and what he observes annoys him the most. He sees that Seungho is starring (again) at the painter which means that the noble is neglecting his sex partner. Each time, the powerful lord wants to examine the painter’s reaction and look at his gaze, as if he was drawn to the uke’s eyes. We could even say that both gazes seem to have a hypnotic effect, they help them to unveil their deeply repressed unconscious. Besides their hypnotic gaze serves as a mirror, they see each other as attractive and alluring. There is no contempt and disdain, they perceive themselves as normal and natural, unaware of the effect caused by the gaze. This could be judged as an contradiction to Sartres’ theory, sometimes the gaze from the other can liberate oneself. 
By contrasting both images, the beholder detect the difference in the distance. It was as if Seungho had got closer to Baek Na-Kyum. However, we have to imagine that this is just an impression due to the perspective. Nonetheless it reflects their increasing closeness. Little by little, the noble is definitely getting closer with his seduction but just virtually. We have to remember that each sexual gesture is addressed to the young painter. The climax of their developing intimacy represents the following picture. 
The low noble had never looked him in the eye because he would have revealed his true thoughts, his soul. Besides, the artist would have recognized the disdain for him and his social status. That’s why the voice and words played a huge role in the commoner’s brainwashing. 
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 