Protected: Painter Of The Night: The peasant and the animals
Tag: mature Yaoi – BL Manhwa
Painter Of The Night: The scarf, a small but significant detail 😉 (second version)
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/
It would be great if you could make some donations/sponsoring: Ko-fi.com/bebebisous33 That way, you can support me with “coffee” so that I have the energy to keep examining manhwas. Besides, I need to cover up the expenses for this blog.
Everything started with an exchange between me and one of my followers, @itscathyboo. The latter was asking about the signification of Lee Jihwa’s red scarf. Then she asked the same question concerning the painter’s blue navy scarf. Her last question caught me by surprise, for in my eyes the scarf always looked more grey than blue. From that moment on, I started investigating the artist’s scarf and as such the other characters’ too. By examining closely the muffles, I was able to come to new interpretations.
1. The lord’s gifts
That’s when I realized that the lord had already ordered clothes for the painter even before visiting the tailor shop in chapter 39. Why? No one has ever wondered about the circumstances how the artist came to wear the shirt in Mountbatten pink. It suddenly appeared in episode 35: 
(chapter 34) 
(chapter 35) Besides, I have already said that every event will occur twice, though we don’t witness everything directly. This means that the lord visited the tailor twice.
While rereading the episode 34, a detail caught my attention. Compare the hanbok at the end of chapter 33 
and the one in episode 34: 
. Striking is that the second hanbok has a pattern (bird). This indicates that the lord had dressed up!! It was, as if he wanted to impress the painter, a new version of episode 23.
But when he entered the bedchamber, it was already dark. So where did he spend his time between the moment he left Min’s domain and arrived home? Remember that when he departed from Black Heart’s pavilion, the sun was still up. (chapter 33) So where did he go during that time? In my opinion, he must have stopped at the tailor shop and buy new clothes for Baek Na-Kyum, but also for himself. Why?
Due to Min’s words, the lord got reminded how precious Baek Na-Kyum was. Moreover, he had not forgotten that his only servant and possession had gotten sick due to the thin but wet pink shirt. Consequently, he decided to act as a good and caring lord. However, he couldn’t just order a shirt for someone else. He needed an excuse for ordering a new attire. So he went to the tailor and bought a hanbok for himself and added the shirt with the pants. Why do I think so? It is, because of the tailor and lord’s behavior in chapter 39. The former had never seen Yoon Seungho purchasing clothes for someone else. 
(chapter 39) Yet, we know that the protagonist had already bought the new attire. In addition, the lord tried to hide his relationship from people
(chapter 39), hence he asked the tailor and Kim to leave the shop. As you can see, in that scene Yoon Seungho paid attention to his “image”.
That’s the reason why I believe that he bought the new clothes in “secret”. But when he arrived in the bedchamber (chapter 34), he had not the Mountbatten pink shirt with him. This signifies that he must have brought it to the study, because that’s the place he had carried himself the sick painter. And remember that in episode 84, he said this: 
(chapter 84) So he must have been looking for Baek Na-Kyum in chapter 34 too. And naturally Kim approached him and told him this in my opinion. He had brought him back to the bedchamber, because it was the warmest room in the mansion, a new version of this panel:
(chapter 34) That’s how he recovered, and the painter must have been thankful for his generosity. Hence he was waiting for him in the bedchamber. It is possible that he encouraged his lord to be careful. That way, the butler would appear as caring and selfless, while in truth he was hoping that his master would turn into a sex machine again and lust for sex. As you already know, Kim’s MO is always to report information in delay. I came to this theory, because of the lord’s words in the bedchamber. Note what he stated before letting the artist leave his room: 
(chapter 34) He might have been reminded by the butler, while in reality the valet desired to achieve the opposite. Besides, since Kim’s other MO is always mixing a lie with a truth, I deduce that Kim lied to his master to a certain extent. Consequently I assume, Kim told him that Baek Na-Kyum was waiting for him in the bedchamber. This would also explain why the lord dressed up too, but his facial expressions exposes his hesitation and doubts. 
Therefore he decided to go to bed without any ceremony and started removing his beautiful hanbok. With this interpretation, we could explain why the noble was surprised by the painter’s reaction. 
(chapter 34) Why would he leave the bedchamber, when he was supposedly waiting for him. But when he heard the artist’s justification
(chapter 34), he accepted the artist’s decision for a different reason. Baek Na-Kyum was himself too weak. As you can see, the butler’s lies backfired, since minus (lie 1) and minus (lie 2) makes +. The butler’s trick didn’t work out like planned, yet it caused Yoon Seungho some pain, for the latter had the impression to stand in front of a huge puzzle. He couldn’t understand Baek Na-Kyum at all and even predict his moves. That’s why he spent the whole night trying to figure out the artist’s behavior. So when the artist returned to the study, he must have found the clothes left by Yoon Seungho. That’s the moment he started wearing the Mountbatten pink jacket.
And now, you comprehend why the main lead got so upset and jealous the next morning.
(chapter 35) He had offered him clothes, given his own room for a while and even allowed him to leave the bedchamber the night before, and the next day he had to see him smiling to Jung In-Hun!
Furthermore, when the artist arrived in the domain, he only had his tools with him and that was it. Consequently, I deduce that Yoon Seungho bought him the new clothes so that he wouldn’t get cold and sick. This means that on his way home (chapter 34), Yoon Seungho made sure that the artist would be better clothed. This is important, because it shows a change in Yoon Seungho. Slowly, he is dressing up, showing a certain pride as a noble. By dressing up his servant, his only possession and treasure, he is making a statement, the painter was representing him, though I don’t think Yoon Seungho has ever realized this dimension. For him, it was just important that Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t get sick. The manhwaphiles can sense this mentality, when they observe the chapter 39. 
The lord entered the tailor shop dressed up, but he wasn’t the only one dressed up. Kim was also wearing a hanbok with a hat. Like I had already mentioned it before, the valet did it in order to outline that he was the lord’s right-hand. He was also making a statement. Baek Na-Kyum wasn’t the only one receiving good clothes. This truly shows that in Joseon, a close servant was perceived as a representative of his master.
I am suspecting that the lord didn’t just order this shirt for the painter
(chapter 78), but he must have bought another one: the burgundy one that Baek Na-Kyum is wearing in episode 84. 
(chapter 84).
So the change of clothes in chapter 34 could be an indication that he bought a new hanbok as well. Let’s not forget that when Min provoked him, the latter was reminded that Baek Na-Kyum was his only possession, his treasure, 
(chapter 33). Hence I believe that he must have realized that he needed to pay more attention to his “companion and servant”. Besides, the manhwaphiles will certainly remember that in chapter 52, the lord was dressed up with a beautiful hanbok, while Min provoked him again.
(chapter 52) As you can detect, I see a strong connection between treasure and clothes. Besides, Min, the tailor and the painter’s clothes are often mentioned or seen together. 
(chapter 41)
(chapter 74) Therefore I came to the conclusion that Yoon Seungho must have bought clothes in chapter 34.
Thus when he visited the tailor with the artist in episode 39, it was to order winter clothes: 
(chapter 44) But no one truly paid attention to the previous gifts Yoon Seungho had made to the artist. Besides, he even gave the artist socks. 
(chapter 36). In episode 30, he had no socks. 
(chapter 30)
Though the new clothes were not a real sign for a couple set, Yoon Seungho desired to make a statement. The painter Baek Na-Kyum was his everything. Moreover, he desired him not to get sick. Furthermore, the manhwaphiles shouldn’t forget that in chapter 38, he let the painter carry his own jacket: 
(chapter 38) In fact, during the first season, he allowed the artist to wear his own clothes on two occasions: chapter 26 
and 38. Then in the second season, he offered his own scarf to the artist in episode 69 and his hanbok in episode 71 
.
That’s how I came to the following deduction. After each wrongdoing, the lord offered new clothes: chapter 34 and 69!! Therefore I am inclined to think that after his recent relapse, the master must have given him new clothes. Moreover, if his companion was in danger to catch a cold, he would offer his own clothes. As a conclusion, the lord offers clothes as exchange for his mistakes, a sign of repentance. That’s his way to beg for the artist’s forgiveness. Simultaneously, he also buys new outfits for himself so that the latter are somehow matched to his companion. 
(chapter 35) (chapter 34) and 
(chapter 84): grey-burgundy versus black -red. The similarities of the colors should outline their appartenance. Both are belonging to each other. And now, you comprehend why the new shirt is burgundy. It was selected by the noble displaying his own mental disposition. He is not truly alive, he is still tormented by his past and pangs of conscience.
“Burgundy: a dark purplish red, it is more sophisticated and serious and less energetic than true red. It indicates controlled power, determined ambition and dignified action and is often favored by the wealthy.” quoted from https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-red.html
2. Blue or grey?
Now, it is time to examine Baek Na-Kyum’s scarf. First, before interpreting the symbolism behind this item, it’s necessary to determine the color. The majority saw it as blue and they were right. 
https://www.schemecolor.com/blue-grey-dark-gradient.php 
(chapter 69) However, they were referring to the one in episode 69. What everyone failed to recognize is that the scarf in episode 69 is not the same than in episode 44. Note the slight difference: 
In episode 44, it is definitely grey and there’s no blue. That’s how I realize that in episode 69, Yoon Seungho offered his own scarf to the painter!! In other words, in the first season, the noble bought a set of clothes for the artist and himself: a grey muffler with a hat for the artist, a dark blue grey scarf for himself! That’s how I realized that when the lord ordered new clothes for Baek Na-Kyum, he bought new clothes for himself too which led me to the discovery in chapter 34. This theory explicates why in chapter 69, he only brought the muffler and no headgear, for the noble is expected to wear his hat. This means, he desired to obtain couple clothes. That sounds cute, right? But there’s more to it.
3. The choice of the colors
What caught my attention is that grey and blue have something in common. They are associated to melancholy, sadness and depression.
“Blue: Negative keywords include: […] depressed and sad, too passive, self-righteous, superstitious and emotionally unstable, too conservative and old-fashioned, predictable and weak, unforgiving, aloof and frigid. It can also indicate manipulation, unfaithfulness and being untrustworthy.” quoted from https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-blue.html
“Grey: Negative keywords include: indecisive, non-emotional, indifferent, boring, sad, depressed, lifeless, lonely, isolated”. quoted from https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-gray.html
This truly outlines the noble’s mental state at the end of the season 1. He was actually depressed and sad! Why? It is because he had decided to release the painter. When he made love to the painter, he realized that he couldn’t console the artist. He sensed that if the artist remained by his side, he would become a “prostitute” and we know for sure that Yoon Seungho hates prostitution. This means that he had decided to give up on Baek Na-Kyum and was revoking his previous decision. 
(chapter 42) Therefore he made the following resolution. He encouraged the low noble to bid farewell to Baek Na-Kyum with the hope that the artist would decide to follow his “master”. 
(chapter 44) Though he was smiling here, we have to envision that deep down, he was sad and depressed. And I have another evidence for interpreting the lord’s smile in such a way: the painter’s smile. (chapter 44) His smile was fake too here, he was heartbroken. How could he smile, when he asked to throw away his last creation? So when the noble questioned the scholar about the painter, he hoped that the learned sir would meet the artist so that the latter would beg Jung In-Hun to take him. However, the former teacher refused to meet the artist, for he saw no reason why.
From my point of view, Yoon Seungho explained Baek Na-Kyum’s depression with the teacher’s imminent departure. Naturally, he had no idea that the scholar had already betrayed and abandoned the artist. Therefore he thought the artist would follow Jung In-Hun. That’s the reason why Yoon Seungho ordered the hat and the scarf for the artist. He desired Baek Na-Kyum not to suffer from the cold weather. It is also possible that he wished to leave a present to the artist, as a reminder of their time together, something similar to the fake poem. He hoped that Baek Na-Kyum would remember him as a generous noble. But he bought the dark blue grey one for himself, so that he could think of the painter with this scarf. They would be somehow connected with the muffle.
In fact, he bid farewell to the painter, without saying it explicitly. He imagined that since the low noble had left without biding farewell to the artist, the latter would run away. And if this happened, then the wealthy aristocrat would no longer be obliged to sponsor the scholar and could abandon the low-noble. This explicates why the door was left wide open. (chapter 44) This stands in opposition to episode 69, where the main lead hoped the opposite and made the following request: only to the gate. Here, he wished the opposite, but he wasn’t sure if his wish would come true 
(chapter 69), for Heena could take him away. This explicates why he followed Kim’s suggestion by threatening the kisaeng out of fear, she might return and ask for her brother.
But let’s return our attention to episode 44. And now, you comprehend why the lord chose such dark and depressing colors (grey- dark blue grey). He was himself wounded. How do I know this? The reason is simple. He put himself the scarf on the painter. 
(chapter 44) That’s the reason why the low-born had a knot made for nobles. Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t know how to do it. Hence in the second season, when he put on the yellow scarf, he knotted it differently: 
(chapter 74) 
(chapter 74) Byeonduck only exposed the lord’s action in episode 69. 
This was his leap of faith, whereas in chapter 44 this gesture had the opposite signification: resignation, loneliness and sadness.
And since I have already discovered that the lord had witnessed the artist’s disappearance and return, you comprehend why the noble felt so happy. He had the impression that the artist had truly chosen him!! Hence they had a second sex marathon, and the lord wrapped his lover in the hanbok with the cranes 
(chapter 45) which reminds me of the hanbok from chapter 34: .
This discovery is very important, because if you recall the noble’s statement in front of Heena, everyone thought that Yoon Seungho was lying blatantly: 
(chapter 65) It was not entirely correct. In reality, he was copying his father’s MO. He was reporting a delayed information, in other words he was paltering!! He couldn’t tell the kisaeng that her brother had tried to commit suicide, because that’s what he believed. So when she intruded in the mansion, for the lord, she represented a certain relief, as the lord had a reason to blame the painter. He had tried to escape with his sister’s help, that way he was in no way responsible for the artist’s suicidal attempt. 
(chapter 65) Notice that he covered the artist’s mouth in that moment, for he didn’t want him to reply to his statement. He didn’t want to hear anything.
The use of paltering in this scene truly confirms my theory that Kim is the real source of Yoon Seungho’s misery, as he represents the worst role model. This is not surprising that the protagonist became a ghost, and acted as a selfish and violent noble, when he desired something for the first time: the painter! From my perspective, Yoon Seungho is not just a reflection of the eldest master Yoon, but also of Kim. It is also very likely that the butler influenced father Yoon in a negative way too due to his belief and misguided advices.
Hence after their Third Wedding night, the lord bought his lover a new scarf, yellow. This reflected his happiness and relief. 
For him, the painter had become the sun and light in his life. Thus Byeonduck created panels with refraction. 
(chapter 74) This is not surprising why he was smiling in that episode which could only move the low-born’s heart. Therefore you comprehend why I associated the painter’s clothes in chapter 84 to the ones in episode 44. The readers couldn’t miss the return of the burgundy (chapter 84), a sign that the lord was troubled and depressed. However, one thing was missing: the scarf!! Where is it in episode 84?
It is a sign of the lord’s distress. That’s why he couldn’t pay attention to his lover. Due to the separation, he couldn’t be present to knot the scarf properly. And because he distanced himself from Baek Na-Kyum, the latter started dressing up as a servant again. We have to envision Kim’s intervention again, a new version of this panel: 
(chapter 52), like for example: “He should do something in this mansion, since he is a servant. He has caused enough trouble to his master.”
Hence I came to the following interpretation: the scarf is a reference of the painter’s nobility! That’s the reason why it is not present in chapter 84, because we have the return of the white head-band!! Observe that each time, he had the scarf on, he never wore the head-band, a symbol for servitude! (chapter 44)
(chapter 51)
(chapteer 52)
And now put yourself in the wealthy protagonist’s shoes, when he saw this: 
(chapter 61) Not only it gave the impression that the painter was suicidal, but also it signified that Baek Na-Kyum was rejecting to be treated like a “noble”. It was, as if he was claiming that he was just a servant, a low-born!! Therefore it is not surprising that Yoon Seungho chose to treat him as a domestic afterwards.
However, note that he never put him the white headband on! In fact, he brought him back to his bedchamber, for he preferred keeping an eye on his lover, for he feared that the artist could abandon him with his death.
(chapter 84) The absence of the scarf seems to symbolize that the painter has lost the lord’s favor. Yet, like I have already stipulated before, this is just an illusion. This separation exposes the lord’s agony and self-loathing. However, once he returned to his lover’s side, he paid attention to his well-being. This is not surprising that during their reunion, the main lead took care of Baek Na-Kyum’s comfort and put the cover under his butt on the cupboard. 
(chapter 84) This was his way to “protect the artist’s comfort and health”. 
(chapter 84) He is making sure not to hurt his wife. To sum up, the artist’s muffle always reflects the lord’s emotional and mental state, but also mirrors Baek Na-Kyum’s real status. In Yoon Seungho’s eyes, the artist is a noble.
4. Kim’s scarf
Yes, by looking at his scarf, I also made another huge discovery. It started with chapter 57: 
The butler has a white scarf, and everyone is aware of the meaning of this color: innocence and purity. When we all saw this picture, we all envisioned that the butler had rushed to his lord’s side, once he had discovered his disappearance. The way he intervened gave the feeling that he had followed his master like a loyal dog desiring protecting his master.
However, one detail caught my attention. When he entered his master’s bedroom, pay attention to the way he was dressed: 
Where is the scarf? But more importantly where is the hanbok? And this little detail made me realize that we were all victims of a trick. The valet never rushed to his master’s side. He took his time, for he chose to dress up. 
(chapter 57) But why would he dress up? It is because he imagined that lord Song was waiting for Yoon Seungho at the tavern. He wanted to make a good impression. Striking is that the hat is covering the white heat-band, while he is wearing the scarf. The hanbok and the scarf indicate that Kim is acting as a noble in the end. However, since he hates nobles for he views them as brutal liars, he is not dropping the white headband and his hat is not the same than his master’. On the other hand, I believe that unconsciously, the hat is there to mask his real status. Let’s not forget that we should always differentiate between conscious and unconscious in this manhwa. In my eyes, Kim has always viewed himself as an aristocrat due to his pride and entitlement, because he acts like one! On the other hand, due to his hatred for nobility, he can’t become a noble entirely. Besides, he hates responsibility, hence he chose to remain a butler, the lord’s right-hand. That way, he can always avoid accountability. This explicates why we have a combination of both. The manhwaphiles should keep in their mind that the butler embodies hypocrisy. He hates sodomy, yet he pushed his master to become a kisaeng.
But let’s return our attention to the butler’s actions. The latter changed his clothes before leaving the propriety. However, because of his scared face
(chapter 56), there’s no doubt that he was not eager to meet lord Song so soon!! (chapter 56) This means, he decided to arrive late on purpose, a new version of this situation: 
(chapter 50). Kim wanted his master to take the whole burden, while at the same time, he desired to give the impression that he was acting as Yoon Seungho’s guardian. This explicates why first he brought Baek Na-Kyum to the physician, before going to the tavern.
(chapter 57) As you can detect, the valet took his time in the end. However, once he got there, he realized the absence of lord Song, hence he only intervened after Yoon Seungho had caused a ruckus. He definitely faked concern and care , while in truth he was not willing to become responsible for the meeting. He arrived late, because Yoon Seungho should clean up the mess made with the frightening lord Song. Let’s not forget that lord Song got banished too. 
(chapter 83) And there’s no doubt that the butler is the one who caused this mess. That’s why he felt so scared (chapter 57) and was trying to buy some time. Yoon Seungho should take the blame. However, he never pondered why lord Song would ask for a meeting in a tavern!! I doubt that this is a place that such a noble would be frequenting!
Striking is that after putting the protagonist on the wooden planks, the butler vanished one more time. Where is he, when Jihwa confesses? 
(chapter 57) This is the last image we have, before Jihwa comes to his friend’s side and kneels in front of him. 
(chapter 57) Where is Kim? He let the two nobles cause a ruckus… However, he portrays himself as a martyr. 
(chapter 57) He had to deal with two terrible nobles, while he let everything happen. During this whole time, he remained passive, though he gives the opposite impression. Another important detail is his next reaction. 
(chapter 57) He hides his whole face, when he expresses relief!! I am suspecting him to be smiling and happy here. Lord Song was not present, this was what mattered the most for him. As you can see, because of the butler’s scarf, I discovered many new elements.
5. Jihwa’s red scarf
So what does Lee Jihwa’s red scarf represent? Note that the color of the muffle is burgundy.
“Burgundy: a dark purplish red, it is more sophisticated and serious and less energetic than true red. It indicates controlled power, determined ambition and dignified action and is often favored by the wealthy.” quoted from https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-red.html
Striking is that in that scene, Lee Jihwa was the one under pressure, therefore he had no controlled power. 
(chapter 57) On the other hand, in front of people, he expressed his wish, he wanted to love Yoon Seungho more openly. Thus we could say that he had not given up on his dream and was still determined to achieve it (“ambition”). Nevertheless, since the red is associated to passion and love, we could say that the scarf was announcing his love confession. Nonetheless, red is also associated to blood and as such to anger. This is not surprising that this love confession was full of resent and reproaches. (chapter 57) He blamed his childhood friend for ruining him. 
(chapter 57) He was definitely trying to wound the protagonist with his words, especially when he stated this: 
(chapter 57) How could he say this, when he knows about Yoon Seungho’s terrible past? 
(chapter 83) Was he trying to remind him that he used to be treated like an animal? He was terrible because of his boldness and his “sodomy”, yet Lee Jihwa is generous enough to overlook his recklessness. Did he want to say that Yoon Seungho should be thankful that Lee Jihwa is willing to embrace him despite his past status, when he was just a kisaeng? 
(chapter 57) This is not surprising that Yoon seungho could only reject the red-haired noble and why Lee Jihwa regretted his actions later.
(chapter 61) The expression of regrets resemble a lot to the love confession in episode 57 due to the idiom “ruin“. And it is very likely that the criminal‘s terrible description about the murder could have reminded Lee Jihwa of the past and as such of the purge. Striking is that the second lead had no red scarf during the abduction, hence his words 
(chapter 60) were not referring to love at all. He only thought of his affection and friend in the shed, but said nothing. However, Nameless could perceive his true thoughts, thereby he stopped him.
One thing is sure: I judge the red scarf as something negative. The second lead’s love was superficial, for it is only covering the throat, and as such it is connected to the mouth. He might have said “I adore you” to his friend, yet this was not a real true love, for Lee Jihwa has never treated his friend properly. He has always abandoned him, when he felt cornered and was afraid of getting caught. The red scarf symbolizes Lee Jihwa’s superficial and selfish love. That’s why he waited for his friend, he desired him to make the first move. (“burgundy = passivity”)
This contrasts so much to the protagonists’ clothes. Both are wearing shirts in pink or red or hanboks in burgundy (chapter 34, 44 and 45). Yoon Seungho’s affection might be dark, but it is related to his darkness which occurred in his youth. Yet, note that for the first time, the lord chose a more bright red, a sign that his darkness is slowly getting removed from his soul. This explicates why the painter is now the one wearing a burgundy shirt. He is taking away his darkness, removing the poison from his soul. He is now worrying for his lover’s mental state. The shirt reflects his concern and care.
As a conclusion, even the scarf plays a huge role in this story.
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Protected: Painter Of The Night: Harmony among the chaos (third version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Neglected thefts § (second version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night / Doctor Frost: Wishes ✨
Painter Of The Night: Sex and drugs 💉💊
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
Feel free to make some donations/sponsoring: Ko-fi.com/bebebisous33 That way, you can support me with “coffee” so that I have the energy to keep examining manhwas.
I have to admit that when I chose this title, I imagined that this analysis would be very short, for I mainly desired to talk about Min. However, the more I pondered about the content of this essay, I realized that I should actually include all the drugs in Painter Of The Night. This led me to examine all the other characters suffering from drug addictions. That’s how I made new discoveries again.
1. The drugs in Painter
First, it is important to list the drugs present in this manhwa. We have alcohol
(chapter 75), tobacco 
(chapter 61) and opium 
(chapter 52).
And because Min and his friends brought opium to the Yoon’s residence and the main lead was present, the readers jumped to the conclusion that the main lead would smoke opium too. 
(chapter 52) And this perception got reinforced, when the butler confided this to the physician later: 
(chapter 55) Many readers had the impression that Yoon Seungho had been smoking opium, many went so far to imagine that he had been smoking opium right from the beginning. 
(chapter 5) However, this was just a lie. Yoon Seungho never smoke opium!!
2. Yoon Seungho’s true addiction
And now, it is time to prove my interpretation. First, you’ll realize the deception, once you read the side effects of opium:
“Short term effects may include: 1. euphoria, 2. relaxation, 3. analgesia” quoted from https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/opium/
This drug has a sedative effect, therefore the opium smoker falls into a torpor and semi-sleep. And we know that Yoon Seungho avoids sleep, for he is plagued by nightmares. 
(chapter 74) Hence consuming opium would even instigate his nightmares. In addition, observe that in chapter 5, Yoon Seungho was never euphoric nor sleepy. He could interact with the painter normally.
Nicotine causes a range of effects on both the body and mind, including:
Decreased appetite
Heightened mood […]
Sweating
Nausea
Diarrhea
Better memory
Increased alertness
https://www.verywellmind.com/nicotine-addiction-101-2825018
As you can see, nicotine increases alertness and memory. Therefore the lord never forgot the words from the painter during the day. They bothered him so much that he kept thinking about his own image: 
(chapter 05) As you can see, Yoon Seungho had a drug addiction, nitocine.
One might argue that he started smoking opium only later.
And now, pay attention to this image. (chapter 52) The noble in the background was the one smoking opium. Besides, the manhwaphiles will certainly remember how Yoon Seungho behaved in that scene. He heard Min’s words addressed to the painter, he walked straight to Black Heart in order to protect his lover, well aware that Min would invite the painter to join the party. 
(chapter 52) This means, he was conscious and alert. Besides, we saw him later getting in rage
(chapter 53). Here, I would like the manhwaphiles to keep in mind that side effects of opium like euphoria, relaxation and analgesia last for at least 3 to 6 hours. So this outburst of rage is an indication that our protagonist was not under the influence of opium. He was not hallucinating either. He had grasped the whole situation, when he heard Deok-Jae predicting a terrible fate to the artist. In addition, this drug is not considered as a poison inducing psychosis.
“opiates are the only sedative drugs that possess an anti-psychotic effect.” quoted from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24563427/
However, this doesn’t mean that an user from opium won’t suffer from any psychotic symptoms. They are more related to withdrawals or to hallucinations due to the big consumption of opium. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/opiate-addiction/related-topics/opiate-psychosis/
However, one of the side effects of nicotine is heightened mood, this would explicate his outburst of rage and his irritability right after smoking tobacco. 
(chapter 52) This explicates why he beat Min and Deok-Jae so furiously, he wasn’t acting under the influence of hallucinations. He was perceptive, he had clearly understood the meaning behind the servant and the noble’s words. As you can see, the lord’s mood swings were more triggered by his addiction to nicotine. This explicates why the main lead had such a violent outburst in the shed after the abduction. He had smoked tobacco the whole day. (chapter 61) Remember how I compared him to dormant volcano, here he was boiling internally.
On the other hand, a person consuming opium will show signs of withdrawals 24 hours after the use. And these are the following signs of opioid withdrawal: Anxiety, insomnia, sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, shaking, yawning, restlessness, widened pupils, body aches, seizures, hallucinations, body aches, rapid breathing, fast heartbeat and more importantly irritability. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/opioid-withdrawal-symptoms#1
Min shows all the signs of a withdrawal in chapter 76. First, he vomits
, but hides it under the excuse, he drank too much. He gets in rage, when No-Name calls him a fool.
He can no longer keep his mask contrary to the altercation in episode 41, when Yoon Seungho compared him to a mouse: 
(chapter 41) Besides, we have another evidence that Black Heart has developed an addiction to opium with the following panel: 
(chapter 76) The gaze is different, an indication of the widened pupils. Furthermore, his restlessness is perceptible the way he approaches The Joker. This time, he has to meet the criminal personally. We could say that he rushes to meet the criminal. Like he said, he was “running out of time”… 
(chapter 76) These words reflect his own troubled mind.
However, you can see that the lord didn’t get any sign of withdrawal after that terrible night in episode 52. Yes, he got sick, but it is because he didn’t sleep and he had no clothes on. Therefore he caught a cold. Let’s not forget that he had lived for a week without eating or sleeping properly. But my most conclusive evidence is this panel: 
(chapter 74) Observe the painter’s reaction. He is coughing, he doesn’t seem affected by the smoke, while he had a total different reaction in chapter 54: 
Note the euphoria and the sedative effect on the artist’s face. This explicates why he didn’t push the rapists away.
As a conclusion, Yoon Seungho is not addicted to opium, he never smoked it. The aristocrats chose his place to smoke it, because they wouldn’t be caught by their parents. That’s the reason why the noble said this to Black Heart. 
(chapter 53) They wanted to smoke this drug there, for no one would interrupt them. But because Yoon Seungho let them smoke opium, he became guilty by association: he was also an opium smoker. And the readers had fallen into the same trap. As you can see, I believe that the author is using the method on the manhwaphiles. They are misled by what they see and hear without questioning the authenticity of the statement.
The manhwaphiles will say that Yoon Seungho has another addiction: alcohol. 
(chapter 55) However, this is another deception. Yoon Seungho is no alcoholic either!! 😲
I have many evidences for this. First, notice that during the first sex orgy, there was no drink and food offered. It was simply sex!! 
(chapter 08) So his debauchery was linked to sex and nothing more. He would live for sex and nothing else. Furthermore, the manhwalovers will certainly recall the lord’s behavior in the tavern. He ordered wine
(chapter 75), but notice that he never became drunk like the painter. (chapter 75) The main lead can consume wine in moderation contrary to the painter!! Therefore he has no addiction to alcohol.
And this is different for Baek Na-Kyum, who became a drunk after his abandonment. 
(chapter 1) Notice that each time, Baek Na-Kyum would drink alcohol, he could never stop until he almost lost consciousness and started hallucinating
(chapter 19) or he would be so inhibited that he couldn’t walk properly. These were the sign of his addiction. I can’t forget the lord’s words in episode 75: 
(chapter 75) Here, he saw how the alcohol was affecting his lover’s behavior.
Notice that at no moment during the night (52-53-54), Yoon Seungho walked under the influence of alcohol. His feet were the proof that he never consumed wine to the point he would lose consciousness or started hallucinating. 
(chapter 53) He was walking straight. When the readers saw the following image, they saw it as a confirmation that Yoon Seungho was a drunk. 
(chapter 54) But in truth, he took some wine in order to overcome his pain, to give himself some “courage” to go through. He had longed for the artist’s warmth after a week of separation, but he knew that Baek Na-Kyum viewed sex as prostitution. He was alert enough to see the consequences of his decision 
(chapter 54), therefore he broke the bottle. 
(chapter 54) This is no coincidence that he destroyed the bottle of wine. He had the impression that this drug was the cause for his “hallucination”, he was seeing the painter in ecstasy which could only remind him of his own past. Besides, he didn’t want his companion to become a shadow of himself: (chapter 54) He recognized the perversion of the artist’s redness and lost gaze. He loved him for his pure gaze and blushing.
For an alcoholic, a single drop of alcohol is a synonym for a relapse. Hence the addicted has to avoid anything related to alcohol, like vinegar or medicine containing alcohol. So when the lord proposed the wine, he had no idea about the consequences of his offer. So imagine his reaction, when he heard this: (chapter 75) The lord was responsible for his relapse!! Naturally, this could only pain the lord, for the latter wanted to make his lover smile. On the surface, Baek Na-Kyum’s words were reflecting the truth, as the master had encouraged his lover to take the soju. Hence Yoon Seungho could only feel accountable for this situation. He decided to act as a mature man who should take care of his lover’s intoxication. On the other hand, during the whole dating, Yoon Seungho always remained clear-minded, this was another indication that he never abused alcohol.
So when he said this to Bongyong
(chapter 78), I believe that Yoon Seungho never proposed too much wine to his lover afterwards. He had made the experience that if he did, he would be the reason why Baek Na-Kyum would become a drunk. In my opinion, the painter’s relapse was linked to his own suffering, he was tormented by the idea that Yoon Seungho would abandon him, his affection was not deep. Since they had no longer any sex, he had the impression that Yoon Seungho’s love for him was vanishing. As you can see, the painter’s dependency to wine was linked to his repressed libido and his fear of abandonment.
As a conclusion, Yoon Seungho was never addicted to opium or wine. However, this doesn’t mean that nicotine addiction is no big deal. In truth, this drug is as unhealthy as any other drug. The withdrawals are only perceptible, when a consumer stops smoking. The addiction is never obvious like opium or heroine. In addition, the body doesn’t just get poisoned because of nicotine, but the latter also affects sexuality and as such relationships.
“The investigators began to realize that smoking actually became a method of subtle communication for members of the couples being studied. Lighting up gave clues to each partner that it was time to talk, time to give space, or even time to defend yourself because a world-class argument was about to begin. federally funded study is scheduled to go on for another year, and hopefully, will provide methods to help counsel couples how to recognize cigarettes as an abusive third member of their relationship. If couples are going to weed the habit from their lives, the researchers say they will have to find other ways to relate to each other, and more often than just during the familiar after-sex smoke. And of course, as Jordan found, smoking can directly torpedo the sex, too.” quoted from https://www.webmd.com/men/features/want-better-sex
3. The truth behind Kim’s statement
But then why would the butler describe his master as a man addicted to wine and alcohol (chapter 55), if this was not correct? It is related to the situation how the lord became ill: the orgies and more precisely the presence of Black Heart.
What caught my attention is this: 
(chapter 33) Compare this sex orgy with the following one: 
(chapter 8) At Black Heart’s party, wine and tobacco were offered, while in Yoon Seungho’s bedchamber you only had books, pictures and sex. Besides, there were more guests. As you can sense, the parties were totally different: austerity versus luxuriousness. Yes, Min wanted to impress his host Yoon Seungho!! He desired to show him what a true sex orgy was. He desired to prove that he was the real hell-raiser, the real king among nobles.
Besides, another detail caught my attention: 
(chapter 33) The Joker and the bottle of wine!! The manhwaphiles will certainly recall how the villain offered the expensive alcohol to Yoon Seungho (chapter 19). Moreover, I realized that in episode 33, we have a slight change. While Black Heart is seen first with the pipe full of tobacco, 
(chapter 33), slowly the author brought the villain in connection to the bottle of wine: 
And at the end, we have this: 
(chapter 33) The pipe is no longer present, but Byeonduck focused on the bottle. In my eyes, she desired to outline that Min was slowly getting addicted to alcohol. This means, Black Heart is not only addicted to nicotine and opium, but also wine! Notice this:
- chapter 43:
- Chapter 83:
.
In these two scenes, Min was serving alcohol or encouraging Jihwa to drink! And now, you have an explanation why the red-haired master became a drunk, when he got abandoned by his lover or tormented by the murder plan. Black Heart was the one introducing this addiction to the second lead. And this interpretation becomes more visible, if the manhwaphiles revisit the event around the failed gangrape.
The person laughing so loudly was in reality Min. You recognize him with his green hanbok. So he was visiting his “acquaintance” and was drinking wine there. While the maid thought, the lord would be the drunk one
(chapter 51), I believe that Black Heart was the main consumer!! And now, you comprehend why Yoon Seungho fell into debauchery. (Chapter 55) There was this peer pressure coming Min, who loved luxurious parties. But these parties were no longer sex orgies, for the protagonist was no longer interested in sex. He needed to offer something else to his guests: alcohol and food. Therefore the last picture above is actually more deceiving the readers than anything else. It gives the impression that Yoon Seungho was consuming wine all the time, while in truth he was killing time with these parties. He was alert for the most part of time keeping his thoughts to himself.
But like I outlined above, Black Heart was the one who became more and more addicted. First nicotine, then wine and finally opium. But why? Notice that this coincides with his obsession with the painter. He grabbed the bottle of wine (chapter 33), when Yoon Seungho refused to share his painter with him. So when he heard that Yoon Seungho was organizing parties again, he envisioned that his plan had succeeded. Hence he visited the mansion, yet his loud laugh was actually masking his pain. 
(chapter 51) He was far from happy, for his fixation on Baek Na-Kyum had not disappeared at all. Therefore, it is not surprising that he started drowning his sorrow. However, alcohol was no longer effective, he needed something stronger to dull his agony. That’s how he discovered opium. And notice that when the lord got punched in the propriety, he felt no pain. 
(chapter 54) He didn’t protect himself, he had no strength because of the relaxing and sedative effect. He even laughed, a sign that he was under the effect of the drug. 
(Chapter 54)
However, this doesn’t mean that Min left the house happily! All the guests got evicted like vulgar commoners. His ego was definitely hurt, just like the other nobles’. Therefore on his way out, he told Kim that they had been evicted due to Yoon Seungho’s intoxication. He was under the influence of alcohol and opium. That way, appearances were saved. For the butler, the truth didn’t matter. He could just portray his master as a man living in debauchery, so that no one would ever blame him for this! The appearances were against him. He had indeed organized parties, but they were no longer sex orgies.
The most infuriating is that the butler was to blame for this “relapse”. He had made sure that the painter and his lord would no longer be together. Since he had no sex, then he could only offer wine and food. But there’s another point why I don’t believe that Yoon Seungho ever consumed opium. Since this drug was illegal in Joseon, the butler would have to dirty his own hands to buy such a thing. Besides, notice that the nobles brought the drug themselves. (Chapter 52) This shows that the aristocrats had to buy the opium themselves. This was too dangerous to give this task to a domestic, the latter could definitely betray them. So when Black Heart said that the main lead was smoking opium, his true goal was to ruin the main lead’s reputation. And for Kim, it was perfect. He needed his master to have a bad reputation so that he could live his life peacefully.
4. The connection between sex and drugs
In my opinion, Min’s addictions are his karma. He had to pay a huge price for plotting in order to obtain the painter. He became more and more addicted to the wine, and later to the opium, when he thought that his plan had succeeded. In other words, his opium’s addiction is the divine retribution for hurting the shaman. The irony is that his obsession for Baek Na-Kyum never disappeared. In other words, since he couldn’t have sex with the painter, he replaced sex with drugs. That’s how I realized the following connection. Baek Na-Kyum, Jihwa and Black Heart used drugs to cover up the absence of sex and indirectly love. For me, they somehow symbolize a subterfuge, to mask the absence of passion.
Notice that the artist’s libido is strongly intertwined with the paintings, so the moment he could no longer paint, he was forced to become chaste. Hence he started drinking.
(chapter 75) This strong connection between sex and drugs gets even confirmed in the same episode. Notice that in that scene, Yoon Seungho had not sex with the painter for a while, and Baek Na-Kyum was definitely missing it. Naturally, his true desire was to get loved by his companion. For the low-born, sex is a symbol of love. Hence he drunk because of Yoon Seungho. (chapter 75) He felt the need to fill the void. But I believe that the incident with Nameless was a wake-up call for the artist. Through the hug and the music box, he realized that the lord’s affection had not diminished at all. And now, you comprehend why the painter is no longer addicted to the wine. He no longer feels awful and fears abandonment…
As for Jihwa, he drank, when he was happy, for he imagined that he would get his friend’s attention again, or when he was sad, for he had been repudiated. Once he got abandoned, he could no longer have sex… 
(chapter 36) and he drowned his sorrow in wine. 
(chapter 59) However, this association between alcohol and his lust for Yoon Seungho started changing, after Jihwa had sex with Nameless. Notice that in episode 83, he is no longer looking like a wreck. 
(chapter 83) He is still biting his nails, a sign of remorse and fears, but he is no longer obsessed with Yoon Seungho. From my point of view, the torments the second lead suffered in the second season played a huge role. He started drinking alcohol for another reason. 
(chapter 50) This time, he got afraid of the consequences for the murder. As you can perceive it, there was a slight shifting. This shows that the wine became less and less connected to his obsession with his childhood friend, his desire to have him. This explicates why he was so devastated at the end of the second season. Out of guilt and anxiety, he started drinking again. 
(chapter 76)
And now, we have to wonder why Lee Jihwa doesn’t seem plagued like in the past. (chapter 83)It is because his father got involved again, and visited father Yoon. The second lead imagines that after his father’s intervention, his problems will be solved. He won’t have to fear for his life, for Yoon Seungho will be sent away to his father. 
(chapter 82) He knows about his father’s plan. If Yoon Seungho is forced to submit himself to his father, he won’t be able to use his wealth and power to attack him. That’s the reason why he is no longer looking like a wreck. In other words, he is well aware what is going to happen to his friend. He witnessed the abuse, but he doesn’t care, for his “life is in danger”. 🙄 As for Min, he looks more healthy again
(chapter 83), for he had to plot in order to achieve his goal. He needed to find a new puppet, lord Lee, and as such he needed to make a good impression. He had to become proactive and become more directly involved. Hence he needed to be more alert.
As for Yoon Seungho’s addiction, it becomes obvious why Yoon Seungho smoked in the past. It was not related to sex, but to his inner turmoil. He had to calm down his frustration and negative emotions. Notice that only he smoked during the day, a sign that this was not connected to sex at all. However, it started changing too. Yoon Seungho felt the need to smoke while having sex with the painter
(chapter 45), for he felt something was missing. Consequently, this is not surprising why Yoon Seungho had a sex marathon in the shed after smoking the whole day. It was to contain his rage, but also to mask his strong desire for the painter. What caught my attention is that after their love session, the main lead started smoking again, exactly like in the past. (Chapter 74)However, there is a huge difference. In my opinion, he was trying to control his sexual desires. Remember the quote above: nicotine has a huge effect on libido. That’s another reason why Yoon Seungho was so chaste in the study: 
(chapter 74)
However, what caught my attention is that during the third season, we never see Yoon Seungho smoking. Though he hurt the painter and felt terrible, he decided to leave the mansion in order to hunt. He wanted to vent his anger and hide his anxieties: 
(chapter 83) This observation is important, for it shows that he is no longer using tobacco to hide his inner turmoil. That’s why I believe that Yoon Seungho’s addiction was originally linked to his traumas. It was his way to “anesthetize his emotions”, he had the impression that he would become more clear-sighted.
5. Personality and drugs
I have to admit that when I started preparing this analysis, I tried to discover why Min, who is a psychopath, would come to consume drugs. That’s how I discovered that personality indeed plays a huge role.
The Five-Factor Model of Personality
The Five-Factor Model of Personality is a group of five broad trait aspects that help explain personality differences and people’s behavior. The five traits include:
Extraversion- is when someone enjoys being around other people more than being alone.
Neuroticism- is the tendency to be in a negative, stressed, or anxious emotional state.
Agreeableness- is a set of characteristics perceived by others as being sympathetic, warm, kind, and considerate.
Conscientiousness- is being careful or diligent, hoping to do a job or task successfully, and to take obligations seriously. Conscientious people tend to be organized and efficient.
Openness to Experience- indicates how open-minded a person is, and is characterized by being imaginative and curious, and enjoyment in trying new things.
Generally, those who use drugs or alcohol are characterized by having high Neuroticism, high Openness to Experience, low Agreeableness, and low Conscientiousness.
quoted from https://www.fortbehavioral.com/addiction-recovery-blog/personality-traits-related-to-drug-use/
After reading this quote, you can recognize that Black Heart has a predisposition for addiction. He fits the following profile: “high Neuroticism, high Openness to Experience, low Agreeableness, and low Conscientiousness”. He loves experiencing new things (chapter 52), he is always seeking entertainment
(chapter 66), a sign that he is not hardworking. He is very sensitive to criticisms, which was underlined in chapter 83 one more time. 
(chapter 83) Therefore I tried to find out if persons suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder could be suffering emotionally, though they are supposed not to feel any pain and empathy. And yes, such persons are definitely not happy, for they are often lonely.
“psychopaths may be unhappy due to the quality of their interpersonal relationships. Romantic relationships and friendships are critical to happiness. […] The results from our studies suggest that people with high levels of psychopathic tendencies are generally unhappy. They show low levels of positive emotions and life satisfaction, and high levels of negative emotions and depression. Further, this unhappiness is partially explained by the poor quality of their romantic relationships. ” quoted from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-happiness-doctor/201701/are-psychopaths-happy
This explicates why Min was so obsessed with Baek Na-Kyum.
(chapter 9) He felt lonely, and hoped that the artist would give him the same gaze, when he looked at the protagonist. He had already snatched Lee Jihwa, but the latter was too obsessed with his childhood friend to look at him in a different way. Min was definitely longing for love, but he could never admit it. Striking is that Min picked his “bride”, exactly like the psychologist Love described it:
“For instance, Love notes that individuals high on the psychopathy spectrum prefer friends who contribute to their volatile lifestyles, such as criminals, fellow thrill-seekers, or ego-feeding suck-ups. Teaching psychopaths how to form healthier, more positive, interpersonal relationships with emotionally stable individuals, however, may help to reduce their antisocial behaviors.” quoted from https://qz.com/819283/can-people-who-have-psychopathic-symptoms-feel-love-or-be-truly-happy/
And now, you comprehend why Min was dissatisfied with Lee Jihwa in the end. The latter was a delinquent, a selfish man who desired Yoon Seungho’s constant attention. He could never give him the attention and love Black Heart was longing. 
(chapter 66) Hence he could only view the second lead as his puppet. That’s why The Joker had to use “drugs” to mask his emptiness and longing for affection.
On the other hand, the Five-Factor Model of Personality explicates why Yoon Seungho never fell into debauchery so deeply. First, he didn’t have many addictions despite suffering for a decade. His tumultuous sex life was influenced by the brainwashing and his traumatic past. In my opinion, the principles from Taoism were another reason why the protagonist never became a drunk or desired to smoke opium. Then he reads books, but no one knows this except the butler. Finally, he definitely worked hard, for he could gather wealth and create connections. From my point of view, the enemies are definitely underestimating his power.
As a conclusion, when in chapter 52 we had this cold war between Black Heart and Yoon Seungho, we didn’t assist to a sex party, but to a drug party: tobacco, opium and wine. There was no sex at all!! Hence Yoon Seungho had no erection… however, they attempted to turn this into a sex orgy (chapter 54), but fortunately they failed. Thus when I look again at this sex orgy (chapter 8), I can only view this as quite harmless: this party reflected the main lead’s purity. He is definitely no hell-raiser!! The real one is Black Heart, but father Lee has not realized it yet, for he believes in reputation and rumors. Since Min was able to keep his name intact, the lord Lee trusted in the noble’s integrity. He never discovered that his son was under the influence of a vicious and perverted man. I would say now, Jihwa is supporting a murderer. 
(chapter 83)
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My Reddit-Instagram-Tumblr-Twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: The dragon and the shaman 👹 (fourth version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: “It hurts…😭”
Protected: Painter Of The Night / Doctor Frost: Revenge (second version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Kyumah’s Third eye
Protected: Painter Of The Night / Doctor Frost: Hate crime 🤬🩸 (third version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Shame and love
Protected: Painter Of The Night: The sun is down 🌇(second version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Treacherous colors 🟪 🟫
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Sex and passion 😍 (second version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Tears and characters – part 2 – second version
Painter Of The Night: Tears 😥 and characters – part 1 (Version with only 10 pictures)
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/
I mostly used the following website as a source of inspiration: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/tears
What caught my attention in chapter 76 was Min’s tear combined with the laugh 
(chapter 76) which was totally new in the manhwa. We never saw such a combination: a single tear with a laugh. Moreover, for the first time, The Joker had shed a tear. The manhwalovers will certainly recall that so far, we had tears of happiness (chapter 21) and sadness 
, (chapter 59) but never tears out of laughing.😂🤣 Therefore I came to recognize the significance of this scene. First, it divulged a lot about Black Heart’s personality, and announced a turning point in his life. At the same time, this observation gave me a new idea, which I will elaborate in the second part. Striking is that until now, I had examined the painter and Jihwa’s tears, yet I had never focused on this topic itself. Hence in this analysis, I would like to study not only the weeping of the characters, but also the absence of their tears.
But before beginning with the real topic, it is necessary to define tears and their origins. There exist three types of tears:
- Basal tears: This is a normal and vital function in order to keep our eye moist.
- Reflex tears: They are triggered, when you get something in the eye, or when you cut an onion.
- Emotional tears: These are the tears, when one is overcome with emotions (sadness, joy, eg.) Striking is that these tears are richer than the two others. They contain proteins and hormones like endorphin. The latter serves to relieve stress. The fact that these tears are richer is important, because like I had mentioned in my analysis about Jihwa (Water and fire -part 1), the red-haired aristocrat’s tears are a signal of the revival of his eyes. From that moment on, he is less blind. That’s why I associated tears to life, especially if you combine it to water. Without water, there’s no life.
1. Tears and pride
The connection between tears and life is relevant, because it explains why Jung In-Hun is never seen crying. He has a heart of stone. Consequently, Byeonduck drew the learned sir next to a rock in two occasions: (chapter 6) and 
(chapter 22). The rock is a metaphor of his heart: he will remain cold-hearted. Striking is that even after the humiliation during the hunt, he never shed a tear. He was only frustrated and angry at his opponent and sponsor. His huge ego had been hurt by the main lead’s mockery, but despite his wound, he chose to look up to the sky, apparently waiting that fate/karma would punish the wealthy noble for his wrongdoing. This outlines that the learned sir still believed in his superiority. In other words, Yoon Seungho had not reduced the scholar to tears with his words, which stands in opposition to the second lead’s reactions.
“To reduce someone to tears”: to cause a person to cry through insults, frustration and belittling” quoted from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/reduce+(one)+to+tears
In chapter 18, the main lead had reduced Lee Jihwa to cry through his reproaches and belittling. 
(chapter 18)
This huge difference between the two figures (Lee Jihwa and Jung In-Hun) shows that the childhood friend is still a human despite his egoistic and prideful attitude. He was overcome with negative emotions (pain, sadness, frustration and anger), while the other only feels resent and anger. Hence through this expression (“reduce to tears”), the manhwalovers can recognize the connection between pride and tears. And if you compare both situations, you’ll notice that during their argument, the main lead lowered himself and faced his childhood friend.
This reveals that the true intention of Yoon Seungho was not to humiliate his ex-lover per se. He didn’t desire to show his superiority to him. He had acted in the moment after witnessing Jihwa’s outburst. The former felt betrayed, as the second lead had acted behind his acts on different occasions (the spy, the slapping of Baek Na-Kyum, the ruined painting). Yoon Seungho still showed a certain respect towards his ex-partner by sending him away accompanied with a servant. Note that in the woods, he left the low noble on his knees without looking back. In other words, he showed no remorse towards Jung In-Hun, while it was not the case with Jihwa. There’s no doubt that the noble was indeed moved by Jihwa’s tears. However, it wasn’t obvious, because he didn’t touch his face and wipe his tears. The readers can only grasp it, when they compare both scenes (18-22). Through this comparison, I recognized that Jihwa’s tears were connected to his wounded pride. It becomes even more evident in chapter 21. It was, as if the red-haired second lead had an outburst. We have to envision that he literary burst into tears.
“Burst into tears: to begin suddenly to cry” quoted from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/burst+into+tears
This explosion of emotions is visible, as the lord ruined his room.
He broke out to tears. And note that in that moment he was standing with a sword in his hand, another evidence that his tears were triggered by his frustration and bruised ego mixed with sadness and anger. And now, you comprehend why he represent a negative reflection of Baek Na-Kyum, the latter embodying humbleness and modesty. However, unlike the scholar, Jihwa was slowly learning his lesson and as such changing. Since the low noble’s heart is made of stone, he will never change in my opinion.
Jihwa reached the bottom, when he got confronted by Yoon Seungho at the tavern in chapter 57. He was not only pushed to the ground, but the latter was never able to stand up in front of his friend again, contrary to chapter 18. At the end, the second lead gathered his courage and confessed his love on his knees in front of commoners. And this truly outlines that Jihwa had finally realized that his bond with his childhood friend mattered more than his pride. He had to make a choice and selected affection over his ego. 
(chapter 57)
In addition, by comparing it with the episode 18, the manhwaworms can notice a divergence in the main lead’s attitude. Contrary to before, he no longer showed any respect towards his friend. He never lowered himself, but he was forced to sit down by valet Kim. For me, this is no coincidence, the sickness was a good excuse for the butler. If his master sat down, then the public humiliation would be lessened and as such, this would cause less ruckus. Important is that after his answer, Yoon Seungho left Lee Jihwa behind without paying attention to him. He never asked Kim to take care of his former lover. This displays that the gap between them had so much increased that their relationship would never be like before. This was even reinforced by the lord’s words: “Do not harbor any longing for me. There is not the slightest chance of my ever returning such sentiments.” (chapter 59)
Striking is that in the second season, Yoon Seungho was taught the same lesson by the painter. The former had to give up on his title and devalue himself in order to remain by Baek Na-Kyum’s side. That’s why in chapter 71, he called his lover Lord Na-Kyum and treated him as a master after that. But pay attention that the main lead never shed a tears due to his wounded ego. Yet this doesn’t mean that he is similar to the learned sir. In fact, the main character felt more like crying, when he was reminded of his past. 
(chapter 56). This signifies that his tears are not related to pride, but to his traumas. The lord can no longer weep due to the constant exposure to physical, mental and emotional pain. However, since he has been taught not cry in the presence of the butler, in chapter 56 it was, as if he was blinking back tears.
“to blink back tears: to try to stop oneself from crying” quoted from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/blink+back+tears
How do I come to this conclusion? It’s because the butler avoided his master’s gaze, when the latter threw the letter (chapter 56) He acted, as if nothing was happening. Furthermore, it was the butler who asked the painter to stop crying after the rape: “Would you stop crying? Your eyes will be sore later”.(chapter 26) And since the painter’s fate is to go through the same suffering than the rich noble, it signifies that the butler must have said the same thing to his master in the past. There’s no ambiguity that father Yoon must have a similar mind-set too.
2. Tears, pain and emotions
As you can see, Yoon Seungho isn’t still capable to cry, as he has long internalized that he is not allowed to show such emotions. In his past, he was coerced to repress his tears. He was forbidden to show any emotion and pain, though he was repeatedly confronted with terrible events (rape, physical and mental abuse, gangrape, drugs, brainwashing, betrayal). This explicates why the lord chose to live as a ghost. If he was a spirit, he could no longer feel emotions and as such pain. I would like to point out the strong connection between emotion and hurt, though the latter is no emotion. It is an emotional experience. However, the chapter 56 indicates a slow transformation, as the lord feels the need to hide his gaze behind his hand and even turn away his head from Kim, like you can observe at the top of the composition. In my perspective, the lord must have sensed something in his eyes, but out of fear and habit, he preferred masking his wound.
2. 1. Baek Na-Kyum the role model
There’s a reason for Yoon Seungho’s gradual metamorphosis. Baek Na-Kyum cried, when he was physically (chapter 11, 25) and emotionally wounded (chapter 11, 41, 42)
Besides, right from the start the noble was moved by the painter’s tears, hence he felt the need to touch his face and wipe his tears. 
(chapter 2) And now, you can imagine which idiom I am about to bring up:
“Moved to tears”: to elicit such a strong reaction or overwhelming reaction in one that it causes one to cry. Quoted from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/moved+to+tears
2. 2. The painter as the trigger of emotions
Since the noble was forced to repress his emotions and as such tears, it is normal that in chapter 1, he wasn’t moved to tears. Furthermore, living without any emotion, it signifies that he couldn’t detect and recognize them in chapter 1. He never realized that he was actually showing happiness first and later a certain sadness, when he killed the servant. However, the tears from the painter (episode 1) triggered something in his heart.
He sensed a slight pain, that’s why he asked him to stop crying. Let’s not forget that right before the artist started shedding tears, the noble reminded him of the death of the servant. He put the whole blame on the low-born, as the latter had lied to him. According to the main lead, the painter was responsible for the domestic’s death. After hearing this, Baek Na-Kyum was moved to tears. This incident is important for two reasons:
- The tears are connected to empathy. He feels pity and sorry for the deceased man.
- At the same time, they also express the artist’s guilt. Note that in the shed, the low-born never denied the lord’s statement.
And now, if the manhwaphiles look at the panel again, they will notice that the noble’s behavior displays remorse and compassion. Hence he asks him to stop crying, while wiping his tears. Consequently, during the night of the rape, we have a repetition of this scene: the lord feels uncomfortable in the presence of the tears (remorse), but also a certain compassion towards the painter. However, when his hand is rejected, the main lead tries to blame the artist for the situation. But this time, Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t accept the criticism and defends his position. Furthermore, he expresses a death wish: “I hate you so much I could die, sir”. (chapter 26) Only now, I truly realize the significance of this scenes. These words pained Yoon Seungho so much that it triggered emotions, which had been buried for a long time. That’s why we witnessed an outburst: “But if I am to be hated, I might as well be hated properly. Don’t you agree?” (chapter 26) But since he had forgotten how to cry, he could only show strong emotions like pain, rage and jealousy through violence.
However, we shouldn’t overlook that the painter had mentioned his death. In my eyes, it truly exposed the lord’s fear. He couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from the painter. If the lord had been able to cry, he would have. But he could only explode and in my opinion, in that scene he hadn’t just murderous, but also suicidal thoughts. This was the first version of this panel, though the lord never expressed it: “If I killed them all, and myself, would it be easier…” (chapter 55).
By killing the learned sir, he would push the painter to kill himself and the noble would have definitely followed him in his death. And now, you comprehend why in the hallway, the lord wondered about his own reaction. This was totally new to him, he had never felt anything like that before. Simultaneously, the manhwalovers can grasp why we haven’t witnessed the lord’s weeping yet. He needed to feel pain and emotions first. As a conclusion, during that night, the lord felt guilty, empathy, envy, rage and jealousy. Therefore I interpret that by witnessing the painter’s tears, the lord was taught to feel pain and emotions. Hence he stands in opposition to the scholar who chose to vent his anger and jealousy onto the painter, each time he felt humiliated. 
(chapter 75) This truly exposes the teacher’s cruelty and ruthlessness. We could say that the painter reinforced his admired sir’s cold-heartedness. Therefore I come to the following conclusion: Jung In-Hun will never feel remorse or empathy. He is destined to become a monster, as his wounded pride will just arouse brutality, resent and thirst for revenge.
3. Tears and indifference
Because of the strong connection between tears and emotions, I realized that the absence of tears isn’t just a sign of heartlessness, but also of indifference. There’s another person who never sheds a tear. It is the butler Kim. When in the pavilion he saw the painter lying on the ground, he was not moved to tears. The only comment he made was: “And here I was wondering why he lent me a horse…” (chapter 25) This means that he felt no empathy for the painter. However, he is different from the teacher. How? While Jung In-Hun senses no sympathy, the other tries to feel nothing. That’s why he gave his master the following advice: “Perhaps it would be best, if you did not take it to heart…” (chapter 50) In other words, Yoon Seungho should act, as if he had no heart. This explicates why he is annoyed, when he is facing someone in tears. He feels uncomfortable, especially if he is responsible for the incident. From my point of view, after Yoon Seungho got raped, the domestic made sure that the young lord would stop crying by making feel guilty and dirty. “Please!! No… It’s not…!” (chapter 65) Besides, I have the impression that he was turning his back on Yoon Seungho, when the teenager grabbed his shirt. Like I had pointed out above, tears are linked to a guilty conscience. And now, you comprehend, why Kim never cries. He is indifferent, because he doesn’t want to feel any pain and remorse. What is funny is that there exists a slang expression which connects tears to insensitivity:
“Two tears in a bucket” (rude slang): doesn’t matter, who cares. Said to express acceptance of or unconcern for the consequences of something. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/two+tears+in+a+bucket+fuck+it
And look at this: we always see the butler carrying a bucket around. 
(chapter 56) I couldn’t help myself laughing, when I discovered it. I have no idea, if there’s such an expression in Korean. This slang expression comes from “to cry buckets”, which signifies that the person is like a cry baby. This new discovery made me realize that Yoon Seungho played a similar role to his admired valet than Baek Na-Kyum to his learned sir. Since the main lead was constantly facing terrible experiences, due to his cowardice and powerlessness the domestic chose not to take to heart. The more he witnessed, the more unconcerned he became. Therefore I deduce that Kim will never change his mind-set. He will prefer detachment, cowardice and blindness, because that way he is not suffering: neither regret nor heartache.
While Baek Na-Kyum contrasts so much to the valet, it means that Lee Jihwa stands between them. He is a mixture of indifference and empathy. This is particularly palpable in chapter 36. At the tavern, he cries out of frustration and anger, thereby he calls Yoon Seungho an “asshole” due to his wounded pride. Yet at the same time he feels a certain empathy for his childhood friend: “But I… know him best of all… I can… I can understand it all. Everything…” (Jihwa, chapter 36) He knows that he suffered a lot in the past. However, his compassion is quite superficial, because his bruised ego and pain are more important than his ex-lover’s traumatic past. As you can imagine, I am predicting that Jihwa will change in that aspect again. As time passes on, he will show more caring and respect towards others. However, as the readers can anticipate it, Nameless will serve him as role model. Besides, he has already triggered in him the right emotions:
- regret: “I have ruined it all myself” (Jihwa, chapter 61)
- empathy: “…I do. I pity you.” (Nameless, chapter 61)
On the other hand, the noble brings the goodness which was buried in the criminal’s heart to the surface. That’s why I come to the following deduction. Nameless might have not shed a tear until now, but he wasn’t indifferent. Contrary to the butler, he had a job, where he was forced to bury his compassion. In my opinion, he was confronted in a similar situation than Yoon Seungho. The only difference is that Nameless had to witness many wrongdoings committed on people close to him that at some point he chose to stop crying. In other words, Jihwa will teach the commoner to feel emotions (pity, caring, admiration, eg.) again so that at some point, we should expect Nameless to have tears in his eyes. Though he is not crying like the low noble and the domestic, he is not truly devoid of emotions. So far, he used his mask to protect his heart.
4. Tears and diligence
I am quite sure that you are surprised with such a heading. Nonetheless, there’s a reason for this selection. You all know the saying
“blood, sweat and tears”: a huge amount of effort, dedication and hard work. quoted from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Blood+Sweat+and+Tears
What caught my attention is that neither Jung In-Hun nor Kim are seen hard-working. I had already demonstrated in the essay entitled “Jung In-Hun’s worries and problems” that the scholar was more and more stressed, when he realized that he needed to pass the exam in order to get the high position as official. Before he envisioned that the powerful noble would give him a high position without putting any effort. As for the butler, he is only forced to work hard (chapter 12, 25, 33, 56), when he has to take care of the painter. However, if you pay attention to his action, you will notice that he doesn’t work like a real intendant. That’s why I am stating that he is not diligent. He shows no real authority around the staff. He lets them eat the painter’s dishes (chapter 17) or leave the mansion without any permission (chapter 12, chapter 51). Furthermore, Deok-Jae attempted to sell the stolen red dresser. That’s why the worker in episode 29 described the household as hush-hush. There was no real control over the domestics. In my opinion, Kim is not a true hard worker, as he is not taking any responsibility in the mansion. He prefers simple tasks, like sweeping
(chapter 65), bringing lunches or announcing the arrival of a guest. And this observation made me realize that the lord started working hard, the moment he desired to woo Baek Na-Kyum. He dressed up, ordered some medicine for excessive drinking, organized two hunts, started strolling through downtown. Yet, this is no real work. And note that Jihwa behaved in a similar way, when he sensed danger from the painter. He also dressed up, had to plant a spy and trespass the mansion on different occasions. From my perspective, Yoon Seungho will start working the moment he behaves like a master. He needs more than just give orders to his staff. He has to control them and pay attention to finances. From my point of view, it is also his duty to take care of them as well, as the head of the mansion. To sum up, he has to learn how to manage the mansion. That’s why I believe that the lord’s tears will only return, the moment all the conditions are met:
- hard working
- deep emotions which he can not control and repress
- emotional pain linked to his traumas
- he drops the habit to hide his face, when he is wounded. Like I mentioned above, he still hides his pain and emotions in front of his so-called loyal servant Kim.
That’s why after comparing these 5 characters concerning their “tears”, I realized Jihwa’s true position and Nameless’ role. The second lead is not truly the painter’s negative reflection. Therefore I created a table to summarize my interpretations.
| – | -/+ | + | |
| Pride | Jung In-Hun | Lee Jihwa / Yoon Seungho | Baek Na-Kyum/ Nameless |
| Empathy | Valet Kim | Lee Jihwa / Yoon Seungho | Baek Na-Kyum / Nameless |
| Diligence / hard work | Jung In-Hun / Valet Kim | Lee Jihwa / Yoon Seungho | Baek Na-Kyum / Nameless |
As you can imagine, the persons in the middle were in the beginning of Painter Of The Night selfish, lazy and quite superficial. But as time passed on, they were affected by the painter. The latter with his tears moved the lord’s heart which created a riff between the protagonist and his lover. The latter was forced to cry and as such to change.
And now, you are wondering when I will talk about Min and his tear! As you can anticipate, I can only examine him in the second part. This essay already has more than 3700 words! Furthermore, I haven’t mentioned Heena noona and Yoon Seung-Won yet. As a conclusion, there’s so much to say about the tears, which is no surprise, because many manhwaphiles call this work “PAIN”ter of the night. Many readers are crying buckets while reading this story.
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.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Tears 😥 and characters – part 1
Painter Of The Night: Sex or Love? ❤️ Version with only 10 pictures
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/
In this essay, we will try to answer what the characters have been seeking during their intimacies. Did they want sex or love?
If we look at the first sex session, it becomes clear that Seungho was looking for sex, or more precisely speaking, for excitement and arousal. He wanted to see a new erotic painting so that he would get aroused from it again. That’s the reason why in the chapter 1 he asked to the painter while taking care of the noble:
This truly reveals that sex as such didn’t create much pleasure in his sexual life. The paintings Baek Na-Kyum created were the only tools that could arouse him. On the other hand, Jihwa has always been longing for Seungho’s love, but used sex as an excuse to get closer to him. He even hoped that at some point his childhood friend would come to fall in love with him. In other words, for Seungho the sex session was more for sex, more precisely for sexual stimulus, while it was love that motivated Jihwa hence he made love to Seungho.
Yet at the pavilion, this situation somehow changed. Seungho showed arousal without any external 
(chapter 3) stimulus, his phallus was still erected after Jihwa’s first climax. It looks like Seungho was attracted by Jihwa… so much that his appetite couldn’t be satiated. This gave Jihwa the impression that something had been triggered in Seungho. He was finally appealed to him, this gave him the illusion that his dream had come true. He mistook the excitement as a sign of “love” making him believe that he had now more privileges than the other sex partners. In his mind, the sex at the pavilion was love and even love for him, while in reality for Seungho it was just the discovery of real pleasure in sex. He had finally come to love sex with men. Since he kept seeing the painting in his mind, it was as if he was making love to himself. Hence I interpret that for the powerful noble the sex at the pavilion is a mixture of sex and love. He finally comes to love sex with men and to love himself as a seme. He feels his own attraction.
That’s why he says: “I can’t think of anything else”
These words truly expose that he isn’t paying attention to Jihwa’s needs and doesn’t focus on giving him pleasure. It was all about his own ecstasy and sexual enjoyment. But since Jihwa is used to Seungho’s selfishness, he didn’t pay too much attention. He was just happy that Seungho had now become a real homosexual and even felt enticed by him. That’s why he acts as if he was a lover after the sex session at the pavilion. Now, imagine his disappointment. In chapter 5, Jihwa comes back only to discover that the attraction and excitement was so short-lived. He can’t focus on him because of the painter, hence he sends the noble away:
“In any case, I am not in the mood today. You may leave”. (chapter 5)
Then later, the young noble is reminded by Seungho that he was just looking for sex and nothing more, while we know for a fact that Jihwa has been longing for his love all this time.
Here, it becomes clear that Jihwa never really understood Seungho’s true motivations behind the sex parties. He really thought that the rich noble was just looking for sex as a diversion and entertainment, while there was another motivation behind all this: the revenge against the father. He never imagined that Seungho was not a homosexual for the start. He must have explained the issues with the arousal that Seungho had no deep feelings for the sex partners. However, deep down, the powerful master was longing for something else: genuine love.
Then we have the “wedding night” in the painter’s chamber (chapter 20-21). During that night, Baek Na-Kyum confessed his “love” for the learned sir. He was longing for his love because he had been rejected by the low noble before (chapter 19). The drunkenness allowed him to express his love based on an illusion and manipulation. That’s why we see him kissing Seungho so tenderly and even embracing him while caressing his back: 
(chapter 20)
On the other side, the lord was rather looking for sex. He had been wanting to taste the young man and Jihwa’s words
“Yoon Seungho has fallen into sodomy that he is now reaching for a low-born” (chapter 18)
gave him another justification for this move. Since people kept saying that he was interested in the young man, why shouldn’t he do it for real? That’s why after the long kisses, when he noticed the sexual desires and ecstasy on the low-born’s face due to his blushing and moaning,
the lord suddenly pulled up this butt and removed the artist’s pants quite violently.
These simple gestures reveal his strong desire to have sex with the young man. He is so impatient, he is only focused on his own needs. He has finally the opportunity and is even able to create some arousal in the low-born. He is definitely looking for a good sexual experience with him. However, the long kisses mixed a certain tenderness before are demonstrating that Yoon Seungho was definitely feeling more than sexual desires. The foreplay did last quite some time which was unusual for him. He didn’t even realize the lack of inexperience in the commoner, although he should have sensed it with the innocent confession and kiss. But he is stopped by the commoner who finally concedes to be a virgin. Striking is that Baek Na-Kyum puts his hand on Yoon Seungho’s shoulder while crying,
he is even sitting on his lap. Both are facing each other, their bodies are so close touching each other. Strangely, the noble is not angry at all. He is a little annoyed that his “appetite” has not been fulfilled, yet he doesn’t get angry or violent.
This closeness and the hands on his chest have a calming effect in my opinion that’s why despite his comment showing a certain annoyance, he accepts the tears and the break. Furthermore, this marks the pivotal moment during their “wedding night”. For the first time, Seungho is forced to pay attention to his partner’s needs leading him to create pleasure. Because Baek Na-Kyum spoke about his fear and about being a virgin, Seungho has no other choice to be more careful. And from that moment, if you pay attention to their conversation, you’ll notice that Seungho keeps asking about the well-being of the low-born:
“Why are you so quiet?” / “If you do not tell me… I cannot help you“
He makes sure that the other feels comfortable and even comforts him, when he feels pain after the first penetration. And notice that he is hugging the young man, while kissing him. His gaze has totally changed. While in the first part, you could sense pure lust in his eyes, now his gaze is much softer and oozing warmth. He makes sure that his partner takes pleasure and feels good during their encounter. This contrasts so much to the sex scene at the pavilion with Jihwa, where he ignored Jihwa totally and was only focused on himself and his urges. He even apologizes for taking the low-born’s virginity which was preserved for someone else.
(chapter 21)
Here, he is smiling and his gaze is full of warmth. For the first time, he has experienced how to make love. He came for sex but found love. By giving ecstasy in his partner, it made him feel good. But this is not the end. Baek Na-Kyum hugs him, which Seungho likes very much. He is feeling warmth and tenderness. Yet, he has to hear the name of the loved one which bothers me. However, he decides to return the huge despite the “misunderstanding”, he wants to give the embrace Baek Na-Kyum is longing for. Therefore he puts him on his lap.
Simultaneously, he asks to be called differently, to let him know that he is not sir Jung In-Hun. He definitely hopes that Baek Na-Kyum will remember calling him “my lord”.
And he kisses the young man with such a gentleness. He is no longer looking for sex but love. That’s why when the low-born confesses that making love to him made him so happy, he can’t help himself to kiss the eye and the tears again.
This gesture shows tenderness and love. He has never heard before that he could make someone happy. He, who has felt so miserable for so long and only saw himself as someone repulsive and terrible, is finally able to evoke genuine happiness. The sincerity moves the lord so much. The tears, the hug, the words have reached his heart. And the climax of their wedding night is when Baek Na-Kyum admits that he likes him by whispering it into his ear, a very sensitive place.
This gesture and the simple words have an impact on him. So far, he has never been confessed before. All his sex partners were just interested in his body and wealth, even Jihwa, who loves him, was too scared to confess his love for him out of fear that Seungho might reject him for good. For the first time, he felt loved and made someone happy. While he was looking for sex in the beginning, he found love in the end. All this time, he could never connect sex with love. But since he could pleasure the young man so well, he believes that once the man is sober and remembers, he will remember the ecstasy he felt thanks to him. That’s why Seungho believed that the commoner wouldn’t reject him, besides he is used to be sought out. He is well known for his good performance in bed. He thinks that the pleasure felt can move the young man’s heart so that he can switch his place with the teacher. His gestures contrast so much to the first part where he was brutal and rough… in the second part, he is gentle and sensitive. He listens to the low-born’s whispering and sees the tears. His behavior stands in opposition to his attitude at the pavilion with Jihwa where he was blind and deaf. He could only think of his own image from the painting.
Now, if we analyze the sex scene at the pavilion in the chapter 25, we come to realize that here Seungho was expecting to find love. He had imagined that the painter had remembered their night together as Baek Na-Kyum had mentioned that he was keeping something embarrassing in his belongings. Imagine his surprise, when he discovers that the painting was about the masturbation. For Seungho, their first night together was unforgettable hence he is annoyed that the artist has not remembered it. That’s why he tries to repeat the same gestures from that night. He kisses him 
(chapter 25
and explains his actions hoping that this would trigger his memories and their love making would be renewed. But none of this happens because he is rejected by the uke. He never expected a violent rejection. He never imagined that pleasure and love are not the same thing. That’s why he decides to force himself onto the poor artist. He really thinks that his performance will convince the young man to accept him as his partner. So he went to the pavilion in order to find love but it ended up in a violent sex session. Notice that unlike in the chapter 3, he pays attention to the low-born’s reaction. He wants to witness the sexual enjoyment but he only hears and sees pain. He hugs him trying to mimic the same gestures from that night . But he fails and for many reasons. First, he didn’t face the uke but took him from behind, just like he did with Jihwa. So this position doesn’t create intimacy, furthermore he believed that sexual performance was the reason why Baek Na-Kyum cried out of joy during their wedding night. He never thought that feelings play a much bigger part. Actually he has been in love with the low-born right from the start (a growing attraction was there) but since he has never felt anything before, he can’t technically recognize these feelings as love. The low-born went to the pavilion with no expectation and experienced raw sex with such a violence that he couldn’t love the noble. However, like I described it before, the wet dream from the chapter 2 reveals that Baek Na-Kyum desired Seungho so much. He wished that he had become Jihwa and even replaced him. As a conclusion, it started with love and became raw sex for the master, while it was just violent sex for the painter.
In the chapter 31 and 32, it is quite clear that this was all about sex. Seungho wanted him to accept his true sexual orientation, to witness his own sexual enjoyment by seeing his own facial expressions. At the same time, Seungho was still longing for love. That’s why he kisses the man right in the beginning. Sure, he wants to be the cause of his arousal, hence he ensures that he provokes an ejaculation.
Therefore he uses his hand and says this: “This time I will see you get hard for me.“
This is again brutal sex but unlike in the chapter 25, his goal is to give sexual enjoyment to the young man. He has to because if not, the artist would never been able to admit his homosexuality. Hence we can say that the master has learnt his lesson from the rape. He can’t force himself like that, yet he is still quite rough.
On the other hand, Baek Na-Kyum has to accept everything from the master. He can’t reject him as he had promised to do everything he wanted. So the sex with the lord is like a task, an order but at some point, he experiences pleasure in the sex. Furthermore, the noble hasn’t given up on his own sexual needs hence he is not satisfied with one session. This sex marathon is a mixture of love and sex… deep down, the noble is looking for love but he has no idea how to get it. If he is able to evoke ecstasy in the commoner through sex, then he thinks that he will be accepted by the young man. So his sexual performance which made him quite famous becomes his “hindrance” which he doesn’t realize. Besides, he is still quite selfish… it is only, when Baek Na-Kyum has collapsed that he realizes his mistake. And here, it ends with a gentle kiss announcing the change in Yoon Seungho. He can no longer be proud, act like a master. He has to lower himself therefore the kiss marks a pivotal moment in the noble’s life. 
(Chapter 32) He has realized that his behavior has not been normal. He is confused hence he doesn’t get angry, when he is criticized by the doctor later. He knows that his emotions made him blind so that he somehow endangered the painter’s life. He must definitely feel guilty but he sees it as his duty to make sure that Baek Na-Kyum can recover.
During that time, he starts sleeping elsewhere. He visits his sex friends and even participates in sex orgies. 
Here, it is quite clear what the protagonist’s real intention was. He was looking for sex in order to understand what led him to act like a crazy person in the presence of the painter. What was he looking for? During the separation, he makes a huge discovery: sex is not his true motivation, he gets aware that he has been longing for the painter’s attention and affection. 
Besides, due to Min’s words, he gets aware that he wants Baek Na-Kyum for himself. He is “his”. He knows that now but he has no idea how the artist will react after his recovery. He could definitely blame him for his illness and the sex marathon. Little by little, the main lead is learning to differentiate sex and love. What I mean is that he has learnt that sex is a way to express love, making the partner feel sexual enjoyment and pleasure is making love. It is about to give and not just to take. That’s why from that moment, the seme is focusing on pleasuring the artist. He feels that he needs to wait so that Baek Na-Kyum will come to fall in love with him and will express the need to have sex with him. So he is definitely waiting for Baek Na-Kyum’s move.
But unfortunately, it doesn’t happen like he expected it. Instead of being a love confession like during the first night, the artist is crying. He is so sad and upset that at the end he asks to be hold.
Striking is that Baek Na-Kyum is asking for comfort and love because “being hold” indicates that he wants to be embraced. This is the proof that he is longing for love, yet his mind is very confused. What does he want? Sex or love? The gestures stand in opposition to the words.
On the other hand, the lord is well aware that Baek Na-Kyum can not have fallen in love with him just like that. He knows how deep his love for the low noble was. That’s why he is still hesitating. He doesn’t want to be a replacement, a surrogate like during their “wedding night”. He wants to make the things quite clear.
He will be his sex partner, his lover, the one who embraces him. He feels the huge difference from the love confession in the chapter 20, besides he sees the drawing with Jung In-Hun and he is so turned off. First, he feels the lack of passion and love in the kiss which can no longer be explained by the lack of experience. Besides he realizes that this is related to Jung In-Hun. That’s why he gets jealous and grabs him by the hair.
He is just like during the “wedding night” as his rough side emerges again but this time for a different reason. He is not looking for sex, he wants love but feel that Baek Na-Kyum isn’t giving what he wants. He acts more like a prostitute, someone who is forced to do something. He grabs the Seungho’s phallus without passion, he is just about to be penetrated without any preparation. This contrasts so much to their first night, where Seungho had to be patient and was listening to the uke’s words and moans. So in the noble’s eyes, the young man is looking for sex. Yet the words are reflecting something else which the lord doesn’t realize. All this leads him to think that Jung In-Hun asked him to sleep with him for a favor.
While the lord longed to hear that he was admired and pinned by the young man, he has to listen to a different confession:
“That night I spent with you, my lord, that too… My lord, you… you scare me so much, my heart starts pounding…“
He finally admits that he remembers their first night together and did it willingly but at the same time, he confesses how scared he is in front of Yoon Seungho. As you can observe, the parallels with their first night are so obvious. He holds the lord again begging him to embrace him, while in the chapter 20 he pleaded the lord to be more gentle. Back then he explained that he was scared because he was a virgin. The hug, the tears, the plead are repeated in the chapter 42 but they are triggered by something else: the huge pain caused by the teacher. The teacher is no longer admired, Baek Na-Kyum wants to be hold in order to overcome the rejection and abandonment. Notice the opposition, in their first night he was so pure, a virgin, and now he has become a prostitute. He has been so hurt that he can’t even say the word “prostitute”. He is accepting his homosexuality and is even accepting the lord as his partner because he has no one to turn to.
Striking is that the noble has a similar reaction than in the chapter 21. He is annoyed but no longer angry. At least, he has been able to obtain something. He is no longer rejected but you can feel his dissatisfaction. He would like to be loved and admired like Jung In-Hun, but this will do now for him.
And notice that now they are facing each other, Seungho is no longer taking him from behind. This underlines Baek Na-Kyum’s acceptance and willingness. Furthermore, it outlines their closeness and intimacy. While having sex, Baek Na-Kyum can’t help himself taking the hand of the master and puts it on his stomach. “So it’s all the way in…”
Here again, there is a huge difference between the words and the gestures. He speaks like a “prostitute” or someone looking for sex, while with the hand, he shows gentleness and warmth. This time, Baek Na-Kyum is calling Seungho “my lord”. The noble has finally been able to take the teacher’s place for real. And what caught my attention here is that during the wet dream, Baek Na-Kyum wanted to switch places with Jihwa, while in reality the opposite happened. Seungho wanted to switch places with the teacher and become Baek Na-Kyum’s lover. Despite the raw sex which bothers the protagonist, Seungho can’t help longing for love that’s why at the end, he hugs him and kisses him. 
(Chapter 42) Here, there is a mixture of tenderness and passion. He is attempting to evoke other feelings in the uke. He actually shows his love for the commoner. While during their first night, the artist cried out of happiness, here the tears are expressing immense sadness and pain. This is the reality: he had never been truly accepted by the low noble. He always saw his social background, a low-born raised at the brothel. He is admitting his sexual orientation which he is now connecting to prostitution. The painter doesn’t see the love in Seungho’s gestures, too immersed in his own suffering. In other words, the lord wanted love here but only got the opportunity to have sex, while deep down Baek Na-Kyum was longing for love but just asked for sex. However, Seungho attempted to shower him with love at the end but the painter didn’t see it, just like during their first night.
As a conclusion, in his mind the lord was seeking for sex and ended up finding love, while Baek Na-Kyum was longing for love and ended up having sex, unaware that his dream of being loved had come true, but he never expected that Seungho would be the one who would come to love him.
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Painter Of The Night: “Happiness” (second version)
This is where you can read the manhwas. Doctor Frost: https://www.webtoons.com/en/mystery/dr-frost/list?title_no=371 Painter of The Night: 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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Unlike the other essays, this won’t be very long, because I would like to focus on Byeonduck’s words about the protagonists. When she was asked if Seungho and Na-Kyum could ever be happy, she replied this:
“In their own way, why not?”
Many readers were bothered by her words, as they had the impression that the author was implying that they would get separated ways due to the expression “their own way”. Moreover, her idiom implied that the main lead wouldn’t be able to procure happiness to the other and the reverse. With her answer, the Painter Of The Night’s stans had the feeling that this story could have a rather tragic ending… especially if they are not together. There’s no doubt that the majority desperately wants to have a happy ending.
One of the reasons why her reply was so open and mysterious is understandable. If she had revealed the ending, the tension and anticipation would have been lost. However, while reading Doctor Frost, I realized one important aspect, which would explain why Byeonduck would say such a thing. When the teenager Yeonshik, who suffered the Seowol catastrophe, was about to leave the mental institution, Doctor Frost gave him the following advices:
(chapter 149). This means, this terrible incident with these painful memories will always be a part of his life and he will always have to fight to find the right balance. That’s why he describes the patient’s life as a long journey 
, where the figure has to find a way to overcome his trauma. 
(chapter 149) As you can see, a patient suffering from flashbacks and PTSD is on his own in the end, the psychologist can only give him support, advice and comfort, but in the end Yeonshik is the one who has to work on himself and find the right balance.
And since both main leads from Painter Of The Night have been exposed to coercive persuasion and traumatic incidents, both are suffering from PTSD. Besides, I had already portrayed Yoon Seungho as someone suffering from Dependent Personality Disorder too. In other words, both main leads have mental and emotional scars and issues. And this leads me to the following conclusion: we have to imagine that at the end of the story, Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum will never be people without any issues. Both will never forget their past, however they will find a way to overcome the trauma. In other words, this won’t end with: They lived happily ever after. No, since this story is quite realistic, when it comes to mental issues, I have the impression, Yoon Seungho’s mental issues won’t entirely vanish. However, there’s no ambiguity that he will find a way to keep the right balance. The lord will shine in the future as a Phoenix, but he is a human after all, hence he will always be vulnerable. The lord will find his happiness, when he sees Baek Na-Kyum smile because of him. 
(chapter 63) But note that it took the lord a long time to recognize and externalize this thought. And so far, the painter has still no idea what truly makes him happy.
That’s why the two characters will have to figure out what can them make happy. I am sure that Yoon Seungho will have other wishes in order to enjoy life. Each of them have to overcome their issues and past differently.
But I have another explanation for Byeonduck’s words and it is related to Mahatma Gandhi:
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.”
Striking is that until the end of the second season, the painter’s words and thoughts are still not in harmony. He is still hiding his true emotions 
(chapter 74) and thoughts 
(chapter 74) from his lover. 
(chapter 75) He might have asked for his help in chapter 76
, yet it was a spontaneous and natural gesture. But once he starts thinking with his mind, the closeness won’t remain. There’s no doubt that the painter is still afraid to admit his attraction and affection to Yoon Seungho. The negative image of sex, influenced by Jung In-Hun and Heena noona, has not been entirely removed. Furthermore, Yoon Seungho never revealed to the artist that he knows now about the kidnapping. He detained information from his lord Na-Kyum. That’s why I deduce that the painter and the aristocrat will have to discover on their own that for happiness, they must be open and truthful to themselves and to their partner. A white lie, lie by omission or a silence can have devastating consequences.
As a conclusion, I am expecting that the manhwaphiles shouldn’t expect a happy ending like in fairy tales, even if the author drew such images.
Yoon Seungho will always have mental issues, but at the end he won’t let his traumas take control of his life anymore. Yet this doesn’t mean either that this story will have a tragic ending due the expression “in their own way”. Both protagonists have to recognize that first, they need to liberate themselves from their past and traumas. Yoon Seungho is still suffering from partial memory loss due to his huge traumas. However, thanks to the painter who creates good memories for the noble, the latter is slowly recovering from his amnesia. This is important, for it signifies that Yoon Seungho is regaining his identity and as such returning to his old self. But by slowly remembering his past, he is getting the chance to discover the truth about the causes for his misery. Little by little, Yoon Seungho is realizing the butler’s betrayal and abandonment, 
(chapter 77) just like he is now remembering that lord Song is responsible for his martyrdom. 
(Chapter 59) Compare the lord’s attitude in season 1. 
(chapter 37) So far, he only blamed the father. Sure, in season 3, he still reproaches the father‘s responsibility, but observe that his blame is more related to the Yoon Chang-Hyeon‘s bad choices. 
(Chapter 86) He trusted the wrong people, in other words, he sensed that his father had been misguided. This explicates why he blames the father for the absence of his critical thinking. 
(Chapter 86) He never pondered on the question how the tragedy could occur. He was simply satisfied with the easiest solution: Yoon Seungho was responsible for this. This conversation is important, as it actually outlines how different the lord is from his own father. At the end of season 3, Baek Na-Kyum asked his lover this: 
(chapter 102) How come that he left his side? For the main lead, it sounded like a blame, while in reality, it was a question. By asking Yoon Seungho this, he is pushing the lord to investigate the matter. Discovering the truth is relevant, for it will reveal that Yoon Seungho’s crime had been planned all along!! He was incited to kill people, thus he had the sword in the hand. And since the situation mirrors the past, the main lead will slowly unveil the truth about his own past. Now, you are probably wondering how this is related to happiness. The answer is simple. As long as the protagonist is trapped in the past, he could never become happy. He couldn’t simply move on. But by leaving everything behind, he makes a clean start, and he is forced to rely on himself and as such to trust himself, if he wants to take care of the painter properly. 
(Chapter 102) That’s the reason why the author said that they will find happiness on their own.
On the other hand, Baek Na-Kyum needs to realize that only honesty can lead him to happiness. He allows others to rule his life.
(chapter 74) At the end of the second season, Heena noona’s influence is still palpable. In that aspect, Yoon Seungho is much further than the artist, as the lord is no longer in denial about his love for Baek Na-Kyum. Yet, at the end of season 3, Baek Na-Kyum makes a similar experience. He recognizes that his sister has been manipulating him in order to achieve her goal. 
(Chapter 97) Furthermore, because he listened to the ghost Jung In-Hun and the comments from the staff, he fell into the trap set by Min. Once facing Black Heart, he got aware of the deception right away. 
(Chapter 99) In other words, due to the last tragic incident, he experienced that he should mistrust people’s words. He shouldn’t take their statement as face-value. This is important, for the artist is learning to become more and more independent. His critical thinking is developing. As you can observe, both main leads have to find their own way to become happy. But they can only become happy, if they discover the truth and as such their past. Thus I am deducing that Yoon Chang-Hyeon will never find happiness, for he never tried to discover who was behind the bad reputation of the Yoons. This explicates why he is repeating the same mistakes from the past in season 3. He still trusts valet Kim.
I hope, this essay gives a satisfying answer to the manhwaphiles worried about the future evolution and ending of this terrific and unique manhwa.
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.
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