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/
Since I spent so much time on the analysis “Conscious versus unconscious, part 1”, I decided to write something quite short so that I can rest and gather some strength for the second part which will be long in my opinion. That’s why in this essay, I’ll focus on different scenes from the first and second season where the protagonists’ hand and mouth played a huge role. Consequently we can observe the characters’ progression and determine the nature of Baek Na-Kyum’s mouth and its relationship to Yoon Seungho’s hand.
First, I would like to compare both slaps.
(chapter 11)
(chapter 53). Notice that although these drawings are illustrating the same gesture, the perspective diverges. In the first one, the focus is on the lord, while in the second, the recipient of the slap is in the center. Why did Byeonduck switch the perspective? I could use my earlier explanation that in chapter 53, the creator wanted to let the noble appear as a vengeful ghost and not as a human. However, there exist other explications.
First, the change of perspective reflects the evolution of Yoon Seungho’s personality. In chapter 11, he was acting on his own negative emotions hence we could judge him as self-centered and selfish. His anger was triggered by the ruined painting and the painter’s words hence with his slap, he wanted to shut his mouth. He refused the artist’s point. He didn’t pay attention to the artist’s feelings. On the other hand, in chapter 53, the noble has already put the painter as his first priority because he is acting on the artist’s behalf. With the change of the perspective, it helps the readers to feel the lord’s heartache, when he realizes what he has just done. He hurt the servant because he disliked seeing Baek Na-Kyum mistreated and insulted, yet the latter got hurt. That’s why the author zooms on the lord’s gaze, the moment he witnesses the result of his action. 
(chapter 53) The gaze, the mirror of his soul, reveals his shock and agony. The hand hurt the loved one, although it was meant to defend him. At the same time, by putting the painter in the center of the drawing, the author enhances the painter’s bravery. (chapter 53) Just like in the past, he is willing to get hurt if he can protect someone, although the readers are well aware that neither Deok-Jae nor Jung In-Hun deserves such generosity as they have been acting against the main lead behind his back. Notice that during the thrashing, the painter kept asking the lord to stop but the latter had become deaf due to the immense fury he felt before he intervened. His inner emotions were more important that the words coming from the painter’s mouth. The lord could only hear the painter’s words after the warm embrace.
But let’s go back to the comparison. There is another huge difference between the two slaps. This time, the low-born is anticipating to receive the slap, while in the past, he had no idea that his behavior would trigger such a fury. Whereas in chapter 11, due to the perspective, the lord appeared more cruel and selfish, it also intensified his rage and pain. People could feel his immense anger, his unconscious decided to unleash his deeply repressed emotions. That’s why the hand is not visible in this panel but his gaze and face. The hand betrays his inner emotions, but the eyes mirrors his feelings. We have to imagine that until chapter 49, the lord lived as a ghost therefore he repressed all his emotions. That’s why he was so indifferent to people and kept smoking while watching through the window. He was so detached from the world, because he had been controlling his heart all this time. His mind never allowed his heart to feel anything and to express any emotions. The smoke kept his hands and lips busy. That’s the reason why Jihwa could never win the lord’s heart in the end. Yoon Seungho’s mind had decided to keep his distance from anyone, even from his childhood friend.
Now, I’ll compare the meal shared between Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho. Yes, in the second season, we have a new version of a shared meal. Now, you might wonder where it occurred during the first season: it’s in chapter 23!!
(chapter 23) Note that here the lord is taking away the apple from the painter. He’s eating his frugal meal. Furthermore he stands above him and his gestures clearly indicate that he has been following and observing the artist before eating his fruit. Here, he appears as selfish and self-centered. He takes without asking. This stands so much in opposition to the shared meal in chapter 47. 
(chapter 47) This time, the roles are switched, the aristocrat is willing to renounce to his own meal. Besides, he is also giving up on his own seat to Baek Na-Kyum. In other words, the latter is now the one standing above the aristocrat because it was as if he had become the master, since he is sitting on the lord’s seat. Even the noble reminds him to remain seated so that he can keep eating. This contrast emphasizes so much the powerful protagonist’s huge transformation. He is selfless, benevolent and really caring.
On the other hand, the comparison illustrates the growing closeness between the two figures. Whereas in the chapter 23, he bites in the apple where the low-born bit the fruit, in chapter 47, he puts his finger directly in the painter’s mouth.
(chapter 47) Now, there is a direct contact between them. One might argue that this is related to their sex sessions, which is true. However, let’s not forget that the unconscious is voicing itself through the hands, hence despite the experienced intimacy, his unconscious is still unsatisfied. Therefore in chapter 47, the hand feels the need to touch his mouth. Sure, someone might say that he wants to ensure that the painter is not hurt. However, he could have used his eyes and just look at the mouth. That’s the reason why I feel that the gesture was revealing something else. The hand is expecting something from the mouth! Deep down, the lord is wishing to hear something from the painter but nothing has happened so far. At the same time, observe that the lord is smoking right after. It was as if this gesture (caressing the low-born’s mouth) had bothered him so much that his mind decided to control the hand again. Consequently he starts smoking. He needs to act as if he was indifferent. This explains why right after his mouth is revealing the thoughts of the mind: 
. The smoke is helping him to calm down and control his emotions, yet the mouth can no longer mask the influence of the unconscious because of the choice of words. As you can detect, the use of the smoke is no longer effective. Notice that “hurt, “embrace” belong to the vocabulary field of emotions. So the mouth is not truly rationale. As a conclusion, the mouth is revealing little by little the truth. Furthermore, the hand displays a certain longing: the lord’s unconscious is expecting to hear something from the painter’s mouth. What is it exactly?
In order to understand the new discovery, it is important to remember the analysis “Conscience versus unconscience” where I explained the function of the mouth concerning Yoon Seungho, The mouth embodies the mind and as such the conscious. On the other hand, the lord’s hand is acting on the order of the unconscious. Now, I would like you to pay attention to the following pictures: 
(chapter 11)
(chapter 12)
(chapter 26)
(chapter 31)
(episode 48)
What do these pictures have in common? The lord’s hand and the painter’s mouth. Yoon Seungho’s hand is always close to the Baek Na-Kyum’s mouth. If you pay attention, you’ll detect that his hand is slowly moving away from the artist’s mouth. While in chapter 11 and 26, he covered it up with his hand as he couldn’t bear hearing the truth, little by little, the hand is moving away from the artist’s mouth so that in chapter 48, the hand is now more on the throat than on the mouth. This illustrates that the lord has slowly got used to the painter’s mouth and as such his words. He could slowly get used to the low-born’s honesty and sincerity. This explicates why the master is more and more caring towards the painter. Yet, in chapter 47, 
his mind didn’t allow his mouth to become emotional and confess his love to the painter.
I could have picked more of these images, yet I feel with this high amount of drawings it is enough to confirm my observation. Nevertheless notice that in chapter 12, Yoon Seungho’s hand is caressing the painter’s lips and as such the mouth. This drawing is important as it reveals that his unconscious is treasuring the artist’s mouth and lips. This explains why he kisses the painter more and more. The painter’s mouth and as such his lips are so precious to him, although Baek Na-Kyum’s mouth keeps hurting him with his words. Why? From my point of view, his eyes noticed the honesty in the painter’s face, despite the lie he told him during their first meeting. For the first time, his gaze met someone so transparent and honest, hence he could only treasure him and his mouth. Since I have already stipulated that Baek Na-Kyum serves as a mirror, then I have come to the following conclusion:
Baek Na-Kyum is the mirror of the truth and his mouth reveals the truth.
Remember two things. The mirror has the following functions:
- to perceive his true self and personality;
- to predict the future
- to reveal the past
- reveal desires and illusions
- beauty, vanity and superficiality
- truth, reality and as such wisdom
The first purpose of the mirror is visible during the sex marathon. Here, the painter is confronted with his true identity. Then we have in chapter 28 the vision in the mirror reflecting the artist’s deepest desires and the future. With Jiwha, the author used the mirror as an illustration for beauty, vanity and superficiality (chapter 3 and 41). And now, Baek Na-Kyum is the mirror of the truth and brutal honesty, just like in the fairy tale Snow White. Remember how the Queen reacted to the reality. She tried to kill her rival but she never destroyed the mirror as she treasured it. We could say that Yoon Seungho is acting like the Queen from Snow White, but unlike in the fairy tale, the rival is Jung In-Hun, a vicious and double-faced man. Despite the heartache, the master is hoping to hear something positive, something about himself and about the painter. If the latter confesses to him, the lord will be able to love himself. As long as the artist views him as a man consumed by lust, he can only see himself as such and detest his own image. Just like the Queen in Snow White, the protagonist keeps asking the commoner and each time the “mirror” keeps rejecting him: 
But the painter’s mouth is telling the brutal truth. The lord has never confessed to him hence it is a lie that Yoon Seungho loves him. At some point, the Queen gets defeated by Snow White, however I am not expecting the same ending here. The lord will be forced to confess. He has to be reveal his true emotions if he wants to hear a love confession from the artist. We shouldn’t forget that the artist works as a mirror. The moment Yoon Seungho declares his affection to the painter, the latter will reciprocate his feelings because he will mirror his emotions.
My readers might have not forgotten that I often wrote that the painter was brutally honest, especially at the pavilion 
(chapter 25) and in that bathroom. Each time, he spoke, his sincerity hurt the lord. With his words, the artist confronted Yoon Seungho with reality. The lord could no longer lie to the painter and to himself: the love confession was addressed to someone else and he knew that. I could even say that the slap in chapter 11 was a violent reaction because with the ruined paintings and with his words (refusal of working for him), he had rejected Yoon Seungho which the unconscious could not accept. Hence the constant rejection was always very painful for the lord, the painter’s mouth kept wounding his heart, the unconscious, since the conscious was denying the existence of any feeling. Baek Na-Kyum’s mouth is the mirror of the truth. The lord’s conscious has to accept the crude honesty: he is in love with Baek Na-Kyum. As long as he continues denying it, his unconscious and heart will always be wounded by the painter’s mouth. That’s why he needs to stop denying this. Simultaneously, this explains why the artist’s mouth has a calming effect in chapter 53 
. For the first time, the painter’s mouth is showing concern and care. There is no rejection, the artist’s voice and words let transpire feelings which the unconscious has been longing for a very long time. That’s why in that moment, the lord can’t help touching the painter’s cheek and white head-band. The unconscious has finally received something it had been longing: acceptance and warmth. But this is just a brief victory as the moment is ruined by Min’s appearance. However, through this examination, it became obvious that Yoon Seungho needed to confess first. And this observation was proven correct. Yoon Seungho admitted his attachment to the painter in chapter 55.
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or in the chapter 2 
or in the chapter 16 
or in the chapter 35 
or in the chapter 40
In the last one, he places a red dot on the painter’s forehead. What do all these images have in common? The lord’s hand. Through his hand, the noble externalizes his emotions and his desires. 
(episode 20)
(chapter 31)
(chapter 33)
(chapter 39). His kisses externalized his true desires and feelings. Funny is that his kisses had already caught my attention therefore I even wrote an essay about these. 
(chapter 5) 
(chapter 12; here he is blowing the smoke into Jihwa’s face) , in the chapter 33
, in the chapter 35
and in the chapter 44
. One might argue that this is due to his addiction, yet if you pay attention, the noble didn’t smoke in the painter’s presence during the first season. When he did, he was always away from Baek Na-Kyum. Observe that the moment he catches the painter speaking to Jung In-Hun in the courtyard (chapter 35), he gets so upset that he drops his pipe and prefers grabbing the sword. Moreover, the chapter 5 doesn’t counter this observation, as the artist approached the lord on his own and this unexpectedly. My explication for this habit is his need to control his lips and hands. His mind is making sure that these parts are still under its ruling. Without realizing it, the main character felt that his hands and lips would escape his control if he didn’t smoke. In other words, he used the smoke in order to benumb his body, similar to Baek Na-Kyum’s habit to drink in order to ease the pain. Yoon Seungho needed to ensure that his body would follow his mind, since he perceived himself as the spirit. If his body had moved on its own, he would have detected that he was more than a spirit. However, since the lips and the hands were controlled by the smoking, Yoon Seungho’s unconscious had to find another way to express itself.
. Now, I’ll use other pictures from the first season, where the feet betray the lord’s love for the painter, in order to confirm my perception. In the chapter 15, he can’t help himself walking to Baek Na-Kyum before asking him to join him and Jihwa in their sex session. 
He is definitely longing for the painter’s closeness. Then in the chapter 16, he hinders the painter from leaving his room by hugging but for that he had to stand up quickly and follow the low-born. 
In the chapter 19, he stops in order to observe the scene and later he visits the painter’s chamber.
Here, he wants to take care of the painter, be by his side, hoping that the latter has forgiven him.
In the last two pictures, he can’t stand the thought that the artist is so close to the scholar. He needs to separate them. In the second drawing, although he claims that he would have killed Baek Na-Kyum, if the latter had left with the teacher, I doubt that he would have done that because of the way he is carrying his sword. He has no strength left. His hand is betraying him and we shouldn’t take his mouth too seriously. This mouth represents the conscious and as such his mind. The mouth externalizes reasoning and rationality so that he can be cold, manipulative and distant. In this scene, I suspect that with his words, he is actually trying to convince himself and the painter that he isn’t attached to the low-born. This explains in different occasions, he says painful things, as the reason stands in opposition to the emotions.
In this scene, his mind decides to kill his rival because he prefers being hated for a real cause. In the chapter 39, he teases the painter for his blushing. 
With these three examples, you grasp the importance of the mouth. Yet, if the readers compare the three scenes altogether, they will notice that the mouth lets transpire more and more the noble’s feelings. First, he seems detached, then in the second panel his words reveal his resent and in the last one, they will observe his jealousy behind his joke. His mind told him to cover up his negative feelings, he couldn’t act like that in front of the painter, like he did during the night after the rape. In fact, the mouth never truly embodied the lord, it just represents his reasoning and calculating, standing in opposition to his other body parts, where the emotions can come to the surface, unfiltered. As a conclusion, I determine that the hand, the lips and the feet embody the lord’s unconscious, while his mouth symbolizes the conscious. Striking is that the gaze is related to the hand, the lips and the foot so that I come to the observation that the eye serves as the trigger for the unconscious to express itself.
All this was triggered by the painter’s “confession” and his facial expressions. That’s why we always had a love session at the end of each sex session. Remember that right after that scene, the painter has to eat in his chamber and not at the kitchen. As time passed on and with the painter’s facial expressions and gaze, the lord’s hands and lips were always able to express the unconscious:
In the last two pictures, he rushed to the scholar’s former room, his feet exposed his inner thoughts and emotions. He was really enraged hence he felt the need to destroy the book, the latter representing the vicious low noble. His feet led him there and his hand wanted to do something as he was terribly pained. Both body parts revealed the noble’s unconscious.
His hands, eyes and his lips were only reacting to the low-born. His inner struggle was even stronger than before, as his love had deepened that’s why he switched to opium and even added wine.
In the chapter 52, he rushed to Min’s side in order to protect Baek Na-Kyum from Min. Observe that in this scene, the feet, the hand and the mouth are working together. 
The gaze betrays his true emotions: he is furious therefore he starts a fight with Black Heart and the tongues are the weapons. However, this scene exposes the powerlessness of the drugs on his unconscious. Despite the opium and the wine, his hands, feet and lips were able to act on their own and defend the painter efficiently. That’s how strong his love for the painter has become. Therefore the more profound his affection is, the more furious he gets, when the painter gets hurt. 
hence his mouth is voicing his agreement. These words mirror the cold and rational mind, the conscious. Since this is his conscious speaking, he will show them that he feels nothing for Baek Na-Kyum, however his eye is actually betraying his inner emotions. Yet the moment he is outside his room, his thoughts are revolving around the painter and his denial that the latter is special to him. 
Nevertheless, while he is talking to himself, his own feet lead him to walk straight because of his gaze. 
Sure, one might say that his feet led him to the painter’s chamber as he was walking in the right direction, yet he only stops walking the moment he hears the painter’s scream coming from his chamber. Strictly speaking, the aristocrat would have continued ambling, if he hadn’t heard the painter’s shout. This shows that the lord has no control over his own body. Note that his heart is telling him the opposite of his mouth revealing Yoon Seungho’s dilemma. Moreover, since he is talking to himself, it discloses that he needs to convince his mind with his mouth. Even his own mind is wavering. In other words, we could even say that he is trying to brainwash his body and mind that he feels nothing for the artist and the mouth represents the final instance of the mind. Furthermore, he is so focused on his mind that he doesn’t even realize where he is really going. The heart expresses itself through the feet, while the mind uses the mouth to fight the noble’s unconscious. This is not surprising that Byeonduck even drew two pictures of the lord’s feet
underlining here the meaning of the noble’s feet. They represent his unconscious. I have the impression that they reflect his inner conflict either. We have to remember that the noble hasn’t been in contact with the painter for a week, thereby he has been missing Baek Na-Kyum’s closeness. On the one hand, he would like to be close to him again, yet since his mind and mouth said that he would offer his lover to his guests, he is torn apart. That’s why he walks in the direction of the painter’s room, yet he is actually about to pass by the low-born’s study without stopping, until the yell pulls him out of his torpor. 
We could say that this flashback symbolizes the noble’s inner conflict. While his hand and eyes are affected by the painter’s presence, he remembers the voice of his mind contradicting the gesture of his hand. From my point of view, this hallucination is the first visual expression of his unconscious. For the first time, his repressed desires are revealing themselves directly. That’s why his mouth attempts to convince his body and his wavering mind that he doesn’t love the painter. The sudden appearance of this memory reveals the growing influence of his unconscious on the mind. This explains why right after, the lord’s mouth expresses the opposite. To summarize, little by little, the noble’s unconscious is getting the upper hand, nonetheless his mouth is still resisting.
who was the first to note the difference between the servant and the lord. While Deok-Jae didn’t take off his shoes before entering Baek Na-Kyum’s room, the main character did. And I see it as a confirmation of my judgement about the feet. They express the noble’s deeply repressed desires: he loves his lover so much that even in a hurry, he still took the time to remove his shoes. 
Yoon Seungho appears all of the sudden 
and starts pushing and slapping the servant. I compared him to a spirit or ghost in my former analysis about this chapter 53, yet simultaneously these drawings reveal the strength of his unconscious. This reflects not only the depth of his love for the painter, but also it exposes now that the unconscious has taken control of the noble entirely. Even the mouth is now revealing his true desires: Who are you 
Finally, his deeply repressed desires have been satisfied. He is now able to sense the painter’s warmth and love. He even hears his voice reminding him that he needs to calm down. However, in his embrace, the lord is still under the influence of the unconscious. Therefore the manhwalovers can observe the lord’s tenderness. In his embrace, the aristocrat’s hand starts touching Baek Na-Kyum’s hair and white head-band
, a displeasing sign for his eyes as it is a reminder of the huge social gap between them. Let’s not forget that the unconscious rejects any form of social norms. The gesture of his hand exposes his deepest desires. Right now, he would like to caress the man’s face and if Min hadn’t appeared, the lord would have kissed the artist. The separation affected the lord so much. His urges for closeness kept growing, although he tried to fight these with drugs and the fight with the servant triggered the lord to act on his instincts. So by beating the servant, his unconscious was finally able to express itself. At no moment, the mind intervened as the lord’s body was controlled by the conscious. However, at the end of the chapter, Min ruins the reunion because he ignites a fight by kissing the artist.
We shouldn’t forget that in that scene, the lord is still under the influence of his unconscious therefore he pushes Black Heart so violently that the door breaks.
Yoon Seungho can’t bear the thought that someone might take away Baek Na-Kyum. The idea that someone else even kisses his loved one can only infuriate the noble. Let’s not forget that during the season 1, he got so resentful that he even wanted to kill Jung In-Hun. From my point of view, this push could be perceived as a new version of the event in the chapter 26, when he grabbed the sword in order to eliminate the scholar. The hands were already the ones voicing the unconscious the best, especially if you recollect the first chapter, when the noble grabbed the artist’s hand and put them on his loins. Furthermore, the eyes were the trigger for his unconscious hence we see this 
His unconscious is well aware of Min’s black heart, hence he needs to do anything so that the artist doesn’t get hurt. Furthermore his gaze is aiming at Min, it was as if he was expecting an attack from his opponent. But by unleashing his unconscious, he is actually exposing his vulnerability. His heart is indeed in the open, furthermore his body is acting on his own. He guards the loved one, unprepared that the next attack won’t be directed at his treasure but at himself. 
As you can sense, I desire to understand the powerful protagonist as he represents the biggest puzzle and attraction in this manhwa. That’s why I keep making so many theories. Some of them came true, others didn’t and others are still not confirmed (drug-facilitated gangrape and Yoon Seungho wasn’t a homosexual right from the start). 
However, this time the debauchery and distance occurred first and not after the sex marathon. I see the planned sex session 
in the chapter 54 as a new version of the sex marathon 
because if it had really happened, the artist would have been forced to satisfy 4 aristocrats: Seungho, Min and the two others and it would have become a sex marathon in the end. I could even add the kiss in the chapter 50 
as the painter is not awake. Back then, he did it in order to have the painter drunk some water, in the second season, he just feels the desire to be tender, show his affection. He is no longer pressured, he is just following his heart. I could keep comparing like that but since the main goal of this essay is to elaborate my conjectures, I would like to stop here. However, this explication is important as it was the reason why I came up with the ideas.
, in the chapter 53 the artist embraces the lord entirely. 
I have the feeling that this shaking is not really the result of fear. For me, it looks like Baek Na-Kyum is rather more emotional and agitated by the commotion. The hug illustrates his growing influence on Yoon Seungho. Now, he is able to calm down the protagonist, while in the chapter 30 he couldn’t at all. The scene in the chapter 54 displayed how much power the low-born has over Yoon Seungho therefore this is not surprising that Min is now eyeing him. The commoner has indeed become the lord’s weakness in the enemy’s opinion and the best weapon to harm his opponent. By contrasting the two gestures, it becomes clear that love is in the center of the second season, while in the first one, it was more to separate the painter from the scholar’s influence. 
But since Min has no problem to have sex with men, he doesn’t feel any shame to kiss the painter’s lips. Since Min is called Black Heart, it confirms my conclusion that love is in the center of the second season, since the heart is the symbol for love. 
Observe that she didn’t show the mouth or the cheek, which would have been a clue that the painter had been hurt and now we would be able to place the picture in the evolution of the story.
Let’s not forget that Min is now well aware that his plan with Jihwa’s failed. Hence I believe that he will do something on his own. He has two reasons to remove the painter from Yoon Seungho’s side. First, he knows that once Baek Na-Kyum disappears from the protagonist’s side, the latter will collapse. Secondly, he envies Yoon Seungho hence he can only get even more curious about Baek Na-Kyum, his greed will lead him to organize a kidnapping. In other words, one might come to the conclusion that Nameless will do something against the painter first. And let’s not forget that based on my examinations, Jihwa is similar to the painter. He is an innocent man whose soul has been tainted by the negative influence coming from Min and his minions. Since the painter caused a servant’s death in the first chapter, I can imagine that something might occur due to Jihwa’s decision to hire Nameless. He might become responsible for valet Kim’s or the painter’s injury. Another possibility is that the vicious noble tries to organize something huge twice in order to get the artist. Let’s not forget that Jung In-Hun did try to use the painter 5 times (10-24-30-35-38) and only succeeded once (10). The same occurred with Min. The latter created a situation where the innocent painter hurt the main lead with his words 
And if we remember the scene in the chapter 35 where both are sitting next to each other without becoming intimate first, then we realize that the aphrodisiac, organized by Kim, didn’t help the noble in the long term. During that evening, the painter could have observed Yoon Seungho reading and writing and become curious, but it never came to this, for the low-born was fighting against the effect of the drug. However, now the young man is no longer in need of the drug, he has already accepted the noble physically. That’s why I am expecting a second invitation from Yoon Seungho asking the artist to paint in his chamber. Yet, this time, I believe that there will be a real exchange. Remember that I told you that the noble will become the commoner’s teacher and from my point of view, it will come soon. From that moment, the painter will see the lord in a different light so that he will become more and more attracted to Yoon Seungho spiritually. It had already started at the end of the first season, because Baek Na-Kyum was already acting as Seungho’s student (he used critical thinking). He questioned Jung In-Hun’s words and actions. Yet the sensual love was masking the spiritual influence and undetected admiration. As for the lord, who has been longing for spiritual love, he will realize that he has always desired physical love too but thought, he just wanted to be accepted as a spirit. But now, he is no longer a spirit but a man with a heart hence he needs to recognize that physical and spiritual love can coexist. In reality, spirituality and sensuality don’t stand in opposition but complete each other that’s what both need to recognize. The painter admired Jung In-Hun so much that he wanted to make love to him, however the influential noble could never grasp it because he was too obsessed with the idea to replace Jung In-hun with himself. Moreover, he still has no idea about the coercive persuasion. As you can observe, the second season is about the discovery of spiritual love. The painter is on his way to perceive a new side of Yoon Seungho and the latter will not only get what he desired the most but will realize that he has always wished something else too: real intimacy. What Seungho meant with 
was in reality sharing their hearts and opening up. But in order to realize this, Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum will have to face danger. Yoon Seungho has to get aware that due to their relationship, the painter has become a target. So far, the lord has been more concerned with the artist’s health hence he has not anticipated that someone might decide to harm his loved one. That’s why I believe that the painter could get really injured. And in my opinion, the same could occur to the powerful aristocrat as well. So far, he was physically strong, yet he is not a god. In other words, he is not invincible and the chapter 54 proved it. The main character was hurt emotionally
and mentally 
during that night. I consider this chapter as very important because it shows the lord’s vulnerability at its best. I know, some of my readers have already anticipated that Yoon Seungho would get hurt by protecting his lover and based on my observations, it could indeed become true. Or he becomes literally devastated, when he loses his valet Kim hence the painter will witness his vulnerability. Besides, Byeonduck has the tendency to use pain as a way for the characters to grow mentally and emotionally. Let’s not forget that the rejection of the scholar’s doctrine was a very painful process, therefore I am already envisioning more heartache in the future. The fear of losing the loved one will hit them hard, only then they will realize their true feelings for each other. Both will feel the same pain, when the other is physically or mentally hurt. That’s how they will realize that there is more between them than just sex.
I couldn’t help myself associating the painter’s departure with the scholar. Let’s not forget that in the chapter 29, the low noble convinces the commoner to return to the mansion as the former needs him so that he can still be sponsored by the lord. Besides the vicious man hopes that the low-born can discover secrets about Yoon Seungho. With “second desertion” and “Jung In-Hun”, I had this idea. What if the painter decides to leave the mansion due to the return of the scholar? We shouldn’t forget that now the teacher is aware of the lord’s feelings for the painter and he has already decided to use this info for his benefit. 
He plans to use the painter again and this time, he won’t hide his true thoughts. Since in his eyes, Baek Na-Kyum is a prostitute, he will ask the painter, that the latter should behave like one and serve him. While in the chapter 40, the low noble rejected the painter and refused to take his responsibility for him, I imagine that the scholar will do the exact opposite in the second season. He will ask the painter to take responsibility for him and spy on the lord. Because the painter refuses to betray Yoon Seungho, he has become attached to him, he prefers leaving the mansion so that he is no longer forced to act against him. Let’s not forget that in the first season, Baek Na-Kyum decided to lie to the scholar and protected Yoon Seungho. With this idea, we would have a new version of the chapter 38, 40 and 44. This time, the artist is escaping because he thinks that’s the best way to help Yoon Seungho. And just after his desertion, the second assassination or kidnap takes place. On the other hand, once the flee is discovered, unlike in the past, Yoon Seungho doesn’t beat his servants but instead run after his loved one which would contrast to his passivity in the chapter 44. Once he catches the painter, he has to fight against Min. This is where I imagine that the lord gets hurt or the valet. So what do you think about this theory of Jung In-hun being the cause for the second escape? First, this would mean that with this action, the scholar ruins all his chances with Yoon Seungho so that the teacher can only seek support elsewhere and ends up meeting father Yoon. Because of these terrible experiences, both main leads would be able to see beyond their intimacy and sense their spiritual attachment. On the other hand, I have to admit that for me, the lord was already spiritually attracted by the painter through the paintings and once he met him for the first time, his heart started racing. He became physically attracted by him hence he grabbed his hands and let him touch his loins.
This gesture indicates that his body was already reacting to the painter’s presence, yet the lord never realized it.
, yet I believe that the painter will only discover it at the end. We should remember that the poem started the whole drama. Without this miserable copy, the main lead would have never invited the low born to his mansion and decided to sponsor him. Then the artist would realize what the separation truly meant at the beginning of the second season. 
Notice that the clothes and positions of the painter and the noble are quite similar. 
Back then, the lord got surprised and pleased with the drawing because he saw the vividness of his own gaze. He saw desires, beauty and attraction therefore he could finally see that he was alive and even desirable. That’s why he was finally able to enjoy sex for the first time at the pavilion. With the first painting, Seungho was able to see his own reflection, a proof of his life. This outlines how big his trauma is that he fears to confront himself in a mirror. You might argue that he used a mirror during the sex marathon and as such could view his own image. 
However there was the painter between him and the mirror. Secondly, his gaze was always focused on his sex partner and his facial expressions. As a conclusion, he never looked at his own gaze and reflection the whole time.
Due to the water, Seungho’s facial expressions and his gaze were destroyed. Jihwa’s petty action had a devastating effect on Yoon Seungho. It was, as if he had been personally attacked. Someone wanted to erase the evidence of his life. No wonder that Yoon Seungho went totally berserk, when he saw the painting ruined.
This explains why he kissed the painter’s eye so tenderly. 
He treasured them for they mirrored beauty and tenderness. The positive reflection in the painter’s gaze made him feel lovable and alive. But Yoon Seungho was confronted with two issues after their wonderful night. He knew that the love confession was addressed to the scholar. The second problem was that during the first season, Baek Na-Kyum was so focused to deny his sexual orientation and had such a low self-esteem that he never drew his face properly which bothered the noble extremely. He desired to see his own reflection in Baek Na-Kyum’s eyes and in the drawings. Therefore the lord was annoyed with the fourth drawing
not just because he had imagined that the commoner had painted their wedding night but also because he noticed the absence of the low-born’s gaze. Before the rape, he even complimented that the artist had a vivid memory. Striking is that he used the word “vivid” which is an allusion to the lively master’s gaze. Therefore I have the impression that while the lord was pleased with his own reflection, he was also annoyed that the painter had no eyes and facial expressions in the drawing. Consequently he imagined that if they had sex there and this time, the painter could remember their intercourse, then the low-born would produce a work where both gazes are viewed: vividness and admiration. But what the aristocrat failed to recognize is that he confused vividness for love. Right from the start, the protagonist had fallen in love with the painter but he didn’t get aware of it due to his inexperience and his philosophy (he is just a spirit). He had no idea that his heart had been racing for the painter. As a rational “spirit”, he explained everything with the need to see his vivid gaze in the works again. He was longing for adoration in the painter’s gaze because his need for recognition and love was so strong. As a conclusion, he was longing to experience the lovely gaze coming from the painter, a sign that he was lovable and admirable. This need implies how much he must have detested his own image that he has to look at the painter’s gaze to feel loved. 
Observe that in all the paintings, the faces are missing. There is no facial expression and no gaze. They just mirror sexual activities without any feeling. No wonder if the lord couldn’t appreciate them. Little by little, the painter was losing his “passion” reflecting his dying heart, while the lord lost his interest in the drawing as he was expecting to see the return of the painter’s glance full of admiration. This explicates why the lord keeps looking the painter’s face all the time. He is bothered, when the latter cries like in the chapter 42 
or he is full of expectation, when he looks up at him in the chapter 49.
He really hopes here to hear the “admiration” confession hence his eyes are directed the painter’s. He wants a confirmation in the painter’s gaze that he is desirable and admirable.
Slowly, the paintings are becoming more precise and oozing more and more emotions. They reflect the progression of Baek Na-Kyum’s relationship with Yoon Seungho. While he was lacking of passion in the first drawing, in the second the artist shows pleasure, yet his eyes are still close. The problem is that the lord never got to see this drawing as it was thrown away by the master, because the latter wanted to protect the low-born from Min’s vicious words. When the lord saw the first painting, he was displeased for two reasons: the feelings and his vivid gaze were missing. That’s how he realized that his intercourses with the painter meant nothing to his lover. The latter was just a machine, a prostitute and was ignoring his affection. 
, he looks at his gaze immediately. He knows that his eyes reflect his inner thoughts and emotions. He is so transparent for the powerful main lead. Now, I can understand why Byeonduck decided to revise the following drawing since the painter’s facial expression is important to explain Yoon Seungho’s future reaction.
, I am somehow expecting that the last painting represent the painter’s love for Yoon Seungho contrasting so much to the one with Jung In-Hun. In the picture, the painter would be in the center. His eyes would be directed at Yoon Seungho and the latter would look back at him. In my opinion, the final picture will contrast so much to the inauguration picture the painter produced for the low noble. This would become the ultimate symbol of their mutual love.
The lord was the one who helped the painter to liberate his mind and body from the doctrine imposed by Jung In-Hun. He represents the White Mind. Thus Jung In-Hun became his enemy. Strangely, the lord has the impression that he didn’t win against the scholar, because he has not been able to get the painter’s heart. But he is wrong in the sense that Baek Na-Kyum has already realized the learned sir’s fakeness. The scholar never liked him, hence all his words and actions were fake. His mind is no longer poisoned, and became white again. On the other hand, this doesn’t mean that he has really perceived the scholar’s true personality, like the painter’s confession displayed in chapter 75: 
He has no idea that he has been manipulated. 
and asking questions. 
. As you can observe, the noble with his intelligence and purity of the mind became the “hero”, although the emancipation was a very painful process. Hence the artist could only resent White Mind. 
. Because of my first observation, I came to the following conclusion. This image shows that Baek Na-Kyum will be the one assisting the lord to free his heart from the past and trauma. His heart has been poisoned, therefore he can’t love the artist properly. This interpretation explicates why in the past and in this season the lord’s actions were and are terribly wrong (rape, the forced fellatio, etc…). The corruption of his heart is the cause for all the artist’s suffering, but at the same time, the painter symbolizes his cure. And due to the kidnapping and its consequences, the lord was forced to face his own fears and traumas. That’s why I consider the night of the revelation (chapter 62-63-64) the lord’s medicine. Let’s not forget that despite all the noble’s words 
(chapter 62), he wasn’t able to follow his own doctrine. The next morning, Baek Na-Kyum was lying in Yoon Seungho’s bed. 
This scene exposes that the painter was definitely more than just a sex toy. Therefore the manhwaphiles can grasp why I associate the painter to a white heart. The commoner embodies purity, love, generosity and kindness, whereas Min as Black Heart represents corruption, hatred, greed and jealousy. Note that the more Yoon Seungho secluded himself from the nobility, the more he became tender and nice to Baek Na-Kyum. Notice that he was even considered as a reformed man by the folks in the chapter 45, as he was no longer meddling with the other aristocrats. This confirms my interpretation that nobility embodies corruption. 
, Seungho’s heart got manipulated and brought the painter to the other nobles for a sex orgy. Because of these two significations, I came to realize why Min claimed that the main lead was so easy to understand. From my point of view, Min discovered the reason for the protagonist’s extravagant behavior, when Jihwa insinuated the existence of a secret concerning Yoon Seungho’s past.
(chapter 36) Min didn’t need to know what kind of trauma the lord suffered, for him it was enough to know that the lord’s heart had been terribly wounded. Because of this revelation, Min got aware of Seungho’s weakness. Back then, I was relieved that Jihwa didn’t say much but now, I perceive it differently. Min with his black heart understood the signification behind these words.
(chapter 53) Black Heart had many reasons to wish his death. He sensed that he was getting obsessed with the painter. With his death, he would remove the cause of his own suffering. In other words, he recognized that Baek Na-Kyum was dangerous to him. Besides, I believe that Min had a similar perception of the painter than Jihwa’s portray of Baek Na-Kyum 
in chapter 43. The manhwaphiles will certainly recall his words about the artist:
(chapter 43): A witch had seduced a noble and could fool the noble. 
(chapter 52): Baek Na-Kyum was consumed by lust. From my point of view, The Joker had already detected that he had not the upper hand in his relationship with Baek Na-Kyum. And when he described Jihwa in chapter 66 
, this portrait was actually mirroring his own personality. He had not the courage to kill the painter himself, he needed Jihwa’s hands to do so. That’s why he convinced the second lead to hire a killer. That way, he wouldn’t become responsible for Baek Na-Kyum’s death, he wouldn’t be plagued with remorse. But his plot failed, because Nameless didn’t act in the rush. Notice that in the chapter 54, the vicious noble used the painter again in order to wound his enemy. When Black Heart started laughing and declared this, 
He was even left speechless. Unlike the main lead, the painter was physically and socially much weaker, hence he could never use force against his master. Because of Baek Na-Kyum’s firm denial, Yoon Seungho’s heart get wounded leading him to make a bad decision. In his eyes, he had been rejected one more time, hence he could only offer the boy to his guests. The wounds in his heart (
the straw mat beating, the seclusion 
, the gangrape 
) explained why he kept hurting the painter over and over again. This was the result of corruption, thus I come to the conclusion that he is very similar to Jihwa. Yet the difference between them is that Jihwa kept his innocence and naivety, while the main lead turned into an adult because of this traumatic experiences (gangrape, betrayal and abandonment). Since we have two corrupted hearts (Seungho and Jihwa), it is now understandable why both have similar hallucinations. 
(cr. to @PrincessJihwa) They represent their fears. The red-haired aristocrat has the impression that his friend became a victim of a seducer, while the other envisions, the painter has become a prostitute and is enjoying sex with others. And my assumption that the protagonist’s illusion was mirroring his own past and trauma was finally confirmed in chapter 74. In this picture
And this gesture reminded me of the painter’s reaction with the mirror. In the chapter 28, he saw a vision in the mirror 
which he despised thereby he destroyed this image by damaging the mirror. 
This represented the painter’s fear. 
(chapter 64), which the “loyal” butler witnessed but never revealed. 
(chapter 65)
(condemned for theft twice) as well, but unlike the main protagonist, he has kept his heart pure. That’s why he was moved by the second lead’s torments. He will be the one helping Jihwa getting rid of the corruption. The purification has already started: he convinced Jihwa not to kill the painter by confronting him with reality. He made him face the brutality of a murder: 
(chapter 60) Yoon Seungho was able to defeat the teacher in reality and I believe, Nameless will be the one who can defeat Min too. And this prediction was confirmed with the final episode from the second season: 
(chapter 76). The Joker got upset, because he witnessed how Jihwa was indeed to Nameless’ words. Black Heart had to close the commoner’s mouth. As you can see, the strong link between black/white and mind/heart made me think of the yin and yang
. We could say that this image represents the main characters in the manhwa: Seungho/Jihwa (black heart, white mind) and the painter/Nameless (black mind, white heart). Put together, they complete each other, they help each other to heal their wounds. At the same time, it is a fight because they need to remove from each other that poison: a process full of heartache and tears. This explains why Painter Of The Night is not a manhwa for entertainment. The manhwalovers can feel the pain of the characters. What made me smile is the following: 
(chapter 74) When I saw this picture, I instantly connected it to Ying and Yang. As the manhwaphiles can witness it, many of my interpretations got verified later. And if you contextualize this panel, you’ll realize the meaning of Yoon Seungho’s position. Just before, he had woken up from a nightmare, a sign that the poison from his past was coming to the surface and as such was slowly leaving his mind and heart. So by facing the painter’s face, the noble is actually taking his cure: the painter’s face is helping to find peace and get purified. From my point of view, although the main lead has ready transformed into a phoenix, the noble’s purification is not truly finished, as he hasn’t dealt with his traumatic past. None of the culprits from his past got punished… none of them met their karma!
(chapter 74). It is possible that the king heard from someone that Yoon Seungho had been asked to spy on him. Due to the purge, the main lead lost his mind, hence he was sent to the mansion. However, for the father, this incident meant that Yoon Seungho had revealed the truth. That’s why he humiliated him as a sodomite. At the same time, it helped him to maintain his good notoriety. By cutting ties with his son, he could keep his dignity (black heart). Besides, this would also explicate why Seung-Won is acting like that. 
(chapter 37) The latter wanted to use Yoon Seungho’s connection to get a position in the government. His heart and mind have been exposed to corruption, since he decided to live with his father. Sure, this is an interpretation based on my theories, but this would explain why father Yoon has been barely introduced, but his shadow is omnipresent. The other ultimate villain is naturally the king, since he is like a ghost in the second season. Let’s not forget my latest theory: Lord Song is in reality the king, but Yoon Seungho has not realized it yet. Since Yoon Seungho and Nameless resemble so much, I am expecting a fight between father Yoon/King and Yoon Seungho/Nameless. However, this ultimate battle won’t occur in the season 3. In my eyes, the two protagonists need to defeat Black Heart and Jung In-Hun first. Besides, both main leads have still issues with their surrogate father and mother: Kim and Noona. On the other hand, we should still expect suffering, as the main and second characters (Jihwa, Nameless) haven’t healed all their wounds. 
(chapter 76). The reality was The Joker got more furious and glared at Black Heart. 
From my point of view, Min’s weakness will be the painter. I have always said that Min could understand the powerful protagonist so well, as he had the impression that they were similar. However, he is wrong, it is just that he envied the alpha so much that he started copying him: the clothes, the sex orgies, the erotic publications, the opium etc. He mixed up cause and consequence. And in chapter 76, the readers can already sense Min’s downfall: he vomits due to the abuse of opium. 
In order to appear calm and normal, he gives a fake explanation about his nausea. For me, there’s no doubt that Black Heart got so upset and jealous, when he witnessed this embrace: 
The lord proved to Min that he was brave. He felt no discomfort and shame, when he hugged the commoner in front of people. Black Heart’s mockery from chapter 54 has become now inefficient. And Min’s words clearly proves to me that during the night of the gangrape (52-53-54), The Joker was determined to ruin the relationship between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum, so that the latter would live the mansion. But he failed, just like he didn’t succeed in chapter 66 as well. 
(chapter 53). Furthermore, he questioned his master. Besides, he denied the lord’s love. 
(chapter 66) Baek Na-Kyum refused to leave his side. He anticipated that the painter would follow his sister, therefore he waited for him at the kisaeng house. 
(chapter 69) But nothing happened like expected. The painter chose to stay at the mansion. Hence I believe that Min will envy the noble even more than before, so that he has a new plan: taking away the painter from Yoon Seungho, which would have the same effect: destroying Yoon Seungho. While The Joker imagined that would help them in a second abduction
, he never anticipated a rejection from the so-called ruthless and greedy criminal. In the shed, he even discovered that Jihwa had sex with the commoner, a sign that the second lead was moving on from his first love. Since a second abduction is no longer possible, Black Heart will have to find a new method to get the painter. What caught my attention is that all the attempts from Min have something in common: he is refusing to take any responsibility for Baek Na-Kyum (for the murder, the gangrape, the rape and the abduction). If the painter had returned to the kisaeng house, the aristocrat would have asked to taste the artist, because this place is similar to a brothel. In other words, he would asked the commoner to treat him as a client. This explicates why he is Nameless’ enemy who stands for responsibility. As for the latter, his meeting with Min made him realize that there was in reality a conspiracy. 
(chapter 76) and Jihwa had been manipulated by his acquaintance. There’s no ambiguity that Nameless hates plots… that’s why I am expecting that the criminal approaches Yoon Seungho in the 3rd season. Besides, Baek Na-Kyum has already revealed his involvement: 
That’s why I have the impression that the commoner will even confess on his own that he played a role in the abduction. As a conclusion, we should see white as a symbol for courage and responsibility, while Black for cowardice. If this comes true, then the painter will forgive Nameless, as Baek Na-Kyum’s strength is forgiveness. At the same time, the manhwaphiles should remember that such a gesture could help the artist to overcome his trauma: he won’t get scared,
if he sees another jester. That’s why I view this manhwa as a good example to show a huge trauma can be overcome: the past should never be buried, and the victims should face their traumas. Simultaneously, the culprits should admit their responsibility and be punished for their wrongdoings. 
The former is pushed away, the moment the protagonist witnesses the painter’s return. Among the victim of the physical abuse, there is Deok-Jae. The manhwaphiles discover his face for the first time in the chapter 30. The domestic’s face is covered with blood and bruises, when he opens the door to Jung In-Hun and the painter. 
However, the author introduced him for the first time in the chapter 29 
which didn’t catch my attention as I was too focused on the lord’s behavior and reaction. [I want to thank taeminiebaby for her tip, this shows that everyone is welcome to contribute to my analysis] This gradual introduction is quite important for two reasons. First, his face gets more and more features. While the man has no visage in the first drawing, Byeonduck gave him eyebrows and a mouth in the second drawing. And the climax of his presentation is in the chapter 30, when Deok Jae opens the door. Striking is that in the two scenes, he always stands close to a door. These two observations are quite important because I’ll refer to it later. 
The explication is quite simple. Baek Na-Kyum was a low-born hence he couldn’t be a guest. On the other hand, his job was so different from the servants’ as he painted erotic pictures of sodomy. Due to all this, the staff could only disapprove the artist. In other words, due to his undefined position, the servants couldn’t view him as a part of the staff but just as an outsider. That’s why the low-born could escape. On the other hand, they never witnessed how the noble started having a relationship with the artist (chapter 20/21; chapter 25/26/27) therefore they just thought, he was only important because of the paintings.
What caught my attention in this drawing is the first comment. His words reveal that the domestic must have stood by the door of the bedchamber, when he heard the artist’s moans. Therefore we should ask ourselves when and why he was spying on his master and the painter. Striking is that he mentions the lord’s chamber and the moan sounded similar to pain. Thanks to this info, we can already reduce the number of probabilities and almost figure out when he was observing the painter. Naturally, I can only mention the sex sessions that we could witness. 
Remember that during that night the door of the lord’s chamber got open and no one could see the perpetrator of this wrongdoing. Every reader speculated that a servant must have opened it but we wondered about the reason for this action. Many manhwaphiles complained about the lord’s leniency. Furthermore since we didn’t see any face, we were clueless about the motivation behind this action. From my point of view, during that night Deok-Jae could have been the one observing the door. Since no one talked about the event happening, then it is clear that Kim must have been the one opening the door and he left it open in order to force the painter to leave Seungho’s side. However, I am quite sure that the loyal butler wasn’t the only one who paid attention to what was happening in the lord’s chamber. Why? It is because of Jihwa’s words in chapter 17. 
With his statement, it is clear that someone was observing the door and the painter’s move. Jihwa is using the expression “servants” in order to hide the identity of the informant. There is no doubt that the domestics had no idea how Seungho felt attracted to the painter, since he kept organizing sex sessions (8,12-15). Besides, observe how the noble implies that the spy must have observed the low-born, until he returned to the study, while I doubt that Kim would have kept observing the artist till the end. The heard footsteps indicate that the valet was running away. From my perspective, Deok-Jae must have witnessed how Jihwa left Yoon Seungho’s chamber but he didn’t see or hear the painter leaving the master’s room and worried that Seungho would make a move on the commoner. Annoyed, he could have misled the butler so that the latter would interrupt them. He knew that if Kim intervened, the master would never scold him. Besides, he had no right to open the door. We shouldn’t forget that during that night, the lord hugged the painter before the latter tried to leave the bedchamber.
Imagine that their shadows were visible from the outside due to the candles light hence Deok-Jae could have seen how the master had got close to Baek Na-Kyum. The other reason for this supposition is that the painter cried during the masturbation… which is also related to pain. We shouldn’t forget that the low-born felt embarrassed to have an erection. He was still in denial about his homosexuality. This could explain why the moans were so similar to pain. 
From my point of view, Deok Jae was spying on his lord for an important reason and used valet Kim to stop this event. Now, you are wondering why as well.
Even valet Kim wears one. He thought if he had no white headband, this would reduce the distance between him and his master. Furthermore he might catch the lord’s attention that way. The second observation is that he is often seen next to doors. We can see him standing next to the door of Jung In-Hun’s chamber in the chapter 29,
in the chapter 45, then in the chapter 47
in the chapter 52 and finally in the chapter 53. 
Sodomy with a commoner is considered as degrading and filthy. I have to admit that I was totally wrong concerning Deok-Jae’s resent.
The painter mentions that he has been tipped off by a servant. He says no name but if you contrast this to the following picture.
He acted as a jealous concubine we can see in Chinese or Korean historical dramas. Killing the rival is another typical trope too hence this is not surprising that he is determined to have the painter killed so quickly. This discloses Deok-Jae’s urgency, he needs to act now as the painter is no longer favored. His action to ransack the painter’s room reminds me of the concubine’s plot trying to ruin clothes. Now, I understand better his jealousy and resent for both protagonists. 
(chapter 38), he is now determined to remain in this mansion as a servant. This outlines how much the mansion means to him. It has indeed become his home. If he’s a servant, then he can’t be called a prostitute. For Deok-Jae, it is really important to perceive him as a prostitute because he has no other explanation for the lord’s behavior. How could he fall for someone like him, when he on the other hand had worked at his place for a long time and paid attention to his appearance? That’s why he can only insult the painter
Observe his look. He is not disgusted by the drawing as such, he is not rejecting sodomy. He resents the artist, he wished, they would have switched places.
By breaking the low-born’s hand, Deok-Jae is determined to change the painter’s status and image. If he loses his hand, he will lose his job and become a prostitute. His wish is to turn the painter into a gigolo so that he can get rid of a rival and his prejudice about Baek Na-Kyum will come true. Let’s not forget that’s how exactly the domestic is perceiving him. This pejorative perception he has about the artist is also confirmed with the following drawing.
The domestic must have witnessed it but due to his jealousy, he resented the artist too much to accept this truth. The painter wasn’t willing to become the lord’s partner but he was forced to. The servant is using the image of a prostitute in order to wound the artist. He claims that everyone is saying this, yet we are all aware that the head-maid of the kitchen declared the opposite. From my point of view, the servant is using every possible mean to make the painter leave the mansion. First, he creates a mess in his chamber out of revenge and enviousness. When the boy appears so suddenly, he has to change his plan, he needs to make him leave the place so that his wrongdoing won’t be revealed. He uses violence to pressure the artist to depart from the domain. But this doesn’t stop here, he needs to become more vicious so that the artist will give in. That’s the reason why he mentions the rumor about the painter in front of him. Notice that Baek Na-Kyum is more hurt by his words than by his brutal gesture of his hand. But the servant doesn’t stop there, he keeps envisioning the painter’s future: he will become a whore. He definitely wants this to happen.
His obsession to perceive the painter as a seducer justifies the harsh words Baek Na-Kyum has to hear. He was a prostitute right from the start and he will become one at the end. He has to because if not, how could he explain Yoon Seungho’s sudden change? Baek Na-Kyum won’t escape his fate and Deok-Jae will make sure that this really occurs. In reality, the domestic is projecting his own mentality into the painter. He wished, he had become a favored servant so that he would benefit from it. He would get expensive clothes, fine dishes, wouldn’t need to work etc. He is actually acting like the negative image the nobles Jung In-Hun and Min have about low-born. They would do anything in exchange for changing their conditions.
, then the manhwaphiles only hear the sound of the thrashing. The vengeful shadow is slowly killing Deok-Jae, almost turning him into another shadow too. The irony is that while he is getting beaten, he has to hear from Yoon Seungho: “Who do you think you are to put hands on him?” Now, I believe, I can answer his question. Deok-Jae viewed himself as a future concubine, waiting for the lord’s favors but at the end, he is so hurt that he can’t even walk straight. He crawls out of the room. 
While some readers think that his death is unsure because we only see a black veil next to blood, I believe to see another evidence for Deok-Jae’s death in the presence of the door! 
We shouldn’t forget that secret and door are strongly connected to each other that’s why in many languages there are expressions linking a secret to the door: coming out, behind closed doors, sortir du placard (French), à huit-clos (French), hinter verschlossenen Türen (German), detrás de puertas cerradas (Spanish), a porte chiuse (Italian) etc. Furthermore, since I have already explained that Nameless mirrors Yoon Seungho and the second season is inspired by the events in the first season, we should see Deok-Jae’s death as a new version of the lord’s killing in the chapter 1. Unlike Yoon Seungho, Nameless has to hide the servant’s body as he is just a commoner, while the noble had used his right to dispose of the low-born. Besides, let’s not forget that Baek Na-Kyum was responsible for the domestic’s death in the chapter 1 due to his lie. As I have already declared that Jihwa is the noble version of Baek Na-Kyum, then his order to have the painter killed is the reason why Deok-Jae ends up dead. 
Back then, the love declaration revolved around respect and admiration indicating that the artist loved the scholar spiritually. Since the lord considered himself as a spirit until the chapter 49, no wonder these words must have moved his heart. The irony is that the painter was in reality longing for sensuality. He desired a physical love as the admiration was not fulfilling enough. Moreover, Jung In-Hun kept pushing him away. In other words, the low-born confessed because he longed for warmth and love and felt the need for sensuality. The spiritual love he continued clinging on till the chapter 20 kept hurting him as it was actually one-sided. Besides this spiritual admiration couldn’t satisfy the low-born entirely as his repressed sexual desires hadn’t been removed completely. Due to Jung In-Hun’s rejection in the chapter 19, the painter chose to look for sensuality in order to ease the pain. Yet, the spiritual love was still present. 
. For the readers, it becomes more comprehensible why he told his friend he knew nothing about him. Yet for the first time, he met someone different… the painter was honest and so easy to understand, yet so difficult to control. All this time, he was sexually attracted by the painter but since in his eyes, he was just a spirit, he imagined that he felt the same way with Baek Na-Kyum. In his mind, the painter was just like the other men he had met. 
and since the painter had spoken about adoration and respect, the noble thought, the painter was still speaking about the mind and not the heart. As you can observe, it makes sense why it took the noble so long to discover that his heart was the reason behind all his actions and not his mind. He had been misled by the painter’s confession as well. Finally, this also explicates why the aristocrat decided in the chapter 49 to drop his perception as a spirit as he felt, he would never get anything from the painter, except the physical relationship. At least, the painter had accepted him as his partner, it was better than anything else. 
This picture really reveals the lord’s illusion. He still believes that his mind is ruling his life and that his decision to just accept the painter as his sex partner will satisfy his need and longing. However, the reality is different. The hanbok he wears the next morning 
reveals that his heart is already bleeding and deep down he is hurting again. What he imagined, his mind was still ruling his life was no longer true. He had become a man a long time ago and his last decision could only hurt him even more. On the other hand, with his confrontation, he helped the painter to abandon the scholar’s doctrine for good so that he could finally liberate himself and become a free spirit.
From that moment, he made his own choice, accepted his homosexuality and his relationship with Yoon Seungho. But in that moment, he also decided to ignore his heart due to the bad experience made with Jung In-Hun. He got scared that the warmth he felt with Yoon Seungho was fake so he made up his mind that he should keep his distance from the lord. He could only have a physical relationship with the protagonist. The painter made the mistake to still mistrust his body and indirectly his heart.
Because of this decision, he wounded Yoon Seungho again. 
Yoon Seungho’s “obsession” for spiritual love could never become concrete because their encounters were revolving around sex. On the other hand, we shouldn’t forget that right from the start the painter was longing unconsciously for more than just spirituality. Deep down, he hoped for sensuality too. In reality, both protagonists were longing for the same thing, love… but since the noble viewed himself as a spirit and the other was forced to only admit spiritual adoration, they could never say what they were both looking and expecting. However, the more Baek Na-Kyum experienced sensuality with the main lead, the more the artist felt the lord’s love. Hence he had these memories where the lord expressed his love.
They hug each other without feeling the need to express sexual desires. This was also another source for their misunderstanding. The lord had never received an embrace outside their intercourses. The only hug he received in the past occurred in the chapter 26 and it was to save Jung In-Hun. Baek Na-Kyum didn’t hug the noble for solace and comfort but it was for someone else. 
(Chapter 5) That’s why in this scene he couldn’t get erected in Lee Jihwa’s presence, chapter 5] Remember what I said about him: he was like a zombie and this was indeed correct. He lived through his mind therefore he read so many books and owns a huge library. From this observation, the manhwalovers can now better grasp why he never cared about his bad reputation as hell-raiser. The image he had about himself was so different from what the beholders saw. He considered himself as a free spirit. Besides, this interpretation confirms my statement in the analysis “The heart and the mind” as well where I explained that he confused his heart with his mind. Since he never considered himself as a man but as a spirit, he couldn’t recognize the existence of his heart. This explains why he makes such a mistake in chapter 53. Moreover, I feel that my association of the eagle was so point on either, as the latter flies high in the sky. That’s the reason why this bird symbolizes free spirit. 
(chapter 32) he was already living under the illusion that he was just following his mind. He made the decision consciously that he would have more rounds with the painter, whereas in reality, he already was under the influence of his heart. He felt unsatisfied with the first round as he had just forced the painter to acknowledge his sexuality. Deep down, he wanted Baek Na-Kyum to accept him as his “husband” but despite the painter’s facial expressions and his climax, the noble sensed that there was something missing. So he kept having sex with him until the painter felt sick. In chapter 49, it was different, as he had already learnt to pay attention to his lover. Nevertheless, this indicates that the lord’s learning process was not complete. During that night he finally accepted the existence of his body. On the other hand, this also illustrates that he was slowly giving up on the idea that the painter could ever open up to him. Striking is that both made a similar decision during that night. While the painter chose to accept the lord only physically, the lord made the same decision. That’s the reason why in the end, I believe that when I confused the noble’s thoughts with Baek Na-Kyum’s, it doesn’t change much, as the thoughts are quite similar. Both acknowledge the existence and influence of the body. We could say that their expectations were aligned. This outlines how similar the two characters are. Both were living under the influence of their minds. One was brainwashed, while the other chose to live as a spirit in order to avoid any pain. Nonetheless, I believe that he was also brainwashed.
(Chapter 50) How strange that the moment he comes back to life, he has to die a second time, he can’t let his body take the lead. That’s why he remembers the painter’s sleeping face. His mind is telling to distance himself from Baek Na-Kyum, yet his heart is showing him something else: the painter.
(Chapter 50) The man gets torn due to the conflict. Therefore I have a different interpretation of the last panel. One might say that he becomes a ghost again. It was as if he was vanishing again… disappearing in the books. 
(chapter 52) when he got a fellatio. His heart was telling him that he could only get attracted to the painter, therefore he doesn’t feel the need to have sex with his guests. Striking was his passivity as a host. He said nothing and did nothing except smoking. He was not taking the lead literally speaking contrary to episode 8. Since he was only a shadow of himself, there was no real desire. At the same time, it also explains why he remained passive to Min’s attacks. The latter was acting like the guest of honor, and as such taking the lead. There was no fire in Yoon Seungho to fight back and this illustrates why he gave in in the end.
(Chapter 51) Baek Na-Kyum from far away had the impression that this was his lover’s laugh. The lord was masking his wounded heart with these fake parties. Either he laughed so loudly in chapter 51 or ignored his guest’s remarks in chapter 52. 
(chapter 52) In the last picture, he still wondered why the painter came to his side, he must have heard about the rumors. But since Black Heart understood the lord’s actions perfectly, he kept rubbing salt into the wound so that the host finally gave in. 
(Chapter 52) Nonetheless, there was a certain rage and brutality in his gaze. Thereby he might have been defeated in that moment, yet.he had not lost the war. Why? It is because he was boiling internally. He was furious. His mind chose to give in to prove Min’s words wrong. But why? It is related to his brainwashing and past trauma. He shouldn‘t take it to heart. 
(Chapter 50) If he does, it will bring him only misery. And in the bedchamber, it looked like Kim‘s words were correct. Black Heart had bothered him so much that the only solution he had was to give in. That way, he would no longer be bothered. He would be left alone and find his „peace“. However, deep down, he was so annoyed and angry. Notice that his rage changed him. He became proactive allowing his body to take the lead. 
(Chapter 53) Thus in the shaman‘s house, the lord fulfilled his wish. He wouldn‘t stop because someone had asked him to.
(Chapter 102) As you can see, Min was put in a similar situation, the only difference is that he was now the target of the protagonist’s fury. The gods decided to reveal to Black Heart how wrong his thinking was. A life of a commoner is not different than the noble’s. Yoon Seungho‘s heart got broken, the moment he saw the painter‘s bloody face. 
(Chapter 102) Therefore he transformed into a shadow with a bleeding heart. 
(Chapter 102) This is no coincidence that Min couldn‘t stop the main lead. How can a human influence a shadow? It is impossible. As you can see, Min‘s joke in front of his friends came to bite him in the end. 
(Chapter 101) In the shaman‘s house, he was not beaten to death, but stabbed to death. This was the usual punishment for a noble. The irony is that because the painter was unconscious, he couldn’t stop Yoon Seungho. The latter let his body take the lead and committed murder. He couldn’t act differently, as he had lost his reason to live. The main lead had once again confused the mind and the heart. This explicates why he couldn’t detect that the painter was just unconscious. And that‘s how Min became a spirit. 
The children can indeed enjoy the beauty in simple things, while the scholar’s mind is only focus on his books and his hunger for power and admiration. 
Therefore he can’t really enjoy life as he is left unsatisfied with his situation. As you can observe, the manhwa offers a similar philosophy. Jung In-Hun is just an adult who lost his inner child a long time ago.
In fact, his inner child died at the moment he got betrayed by his own father so that he stopped living for real. He was like a zombie, the mind was the only proof that he wasn’t truly dead. His thoughts were the remains of his existence and this explains why he detests the idea that he is a man consumed by lust. For him, the body was just a tool thereby he never paid attention to his own body. His sex sessions were just a tool to deceive people, to hurt his father and ensure that he wouldn’t get wounded again. This explicates why he is no big eater, why he was even willing to give his whole lunch to the artist.
They were the expressions of his innocence and purity in the end, which the aristocrat felt. We could say that through the publications, the noble rediscovered the forgotten childhood and innocence. And this coincidences with the narrator’s life. The latter used to love painting but was forced to renounce his passion, painting. So by meeting Baek Na-Kyum, the lord is encouraged to paint again. 
(chapter 8) 
(chapter 23) 
(chapter 36) 
Remember when he even grabs the painter’s hands, he is treasuring them. There is indeed a certain candidness in his gestures and comments.
Thanks to the painter, the lord’s heart started beating again. He was able to reconnect with emotions that were buried by his huge trauma. However, since he had to use strategies to force the painter to paint, he explained everything with his eyes and mind. Although the low-born rejected him in the chapter 49, the aristocrat overlooked an important aspect: 
and it is the same for the painter. The latter is the one who offers comfort and warmth to the lord, only him can soothe the noble’s extreme emotions.
and has no idea about the real world, therefore the lord warned him before his departure to the city. As for the conceited man, since he is alone on his planet, he is left unsatisfied. And we all know how arrogant and conceited the low noble is. The two adults represent each of them a negative feature which people should avoid in their life. Knowledge is good but without experience, it is reduced to nothing. 
He shouldn’t feel wounded. On the other hand, he kept asking why. As you can see, the painter’s mind is controlling his heart. I had the impression that he would be the first one to recognize his emotions, because he is the only one who talks about his heart. 
And this assumption was proven correct: The Joker is determined to taste Baek Na-Kyum. However, he is not wise like the fox in The Little Prince. In truth, he embodies the negative version, because he is not reflecting on his own behavior and emotions. He has no idea why he is so obsessed with the painter: for me, there’s no doubt that he is confusing lust with love. He definitely got upset, when he saw the couple hugging 
That’s why he felt the urge to vomit. Min is too focused on looking at Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum that he is not recognizing his true motivations behind his actions. That’s why he said this: 
In my opinion, The Joker needs the presence of others in order to feel his own existence. In other words, while the fox in the original story asked the prince to tame him, the fox in Painter Of The Night is acting the opposite. He is trying to tame the others, but he keeps failing all the time.
(chapter 70) 
, he starts acting like a child again: he plays pranks
(chapter 70) 
(chapter 74) or he is teasing his lover. 
, These are signs of the return of his innocence. The readers can feel the inner child in Yoon Seungho. 
we have to envisage other possibilities. The protagonist has to be seen elsewhere. In order to divert attention, he needs to create a huge scandal. Therefore if a sword is used, then Nameless could be involved and they will frame the guest who is high with the excuse that he acted under delirium. 
His reaction was terrible: he was so enraged that he started beating all his servants since they hadn’t noticed the commoner’s escape. The staff should have kept an eye on him. And note how many parallels exist between the chapter 29/30 and 52:
before getting dragged to the lord’s room for a sex marathon, I have the impression, the manhwalovers could witness a new version of the sex marathon, especially if my theory is correct that the author might have developed her chapter 53 as a reflection of the chapter 30. However, there will be a huge variation: the chronology. We have a change of clothes, then the visit to the lord’s chamber. Finally the low-born discovers his ransacked room, while the lord is angry due to Min’s words and behavior. This divergence will lead to a different outcome. 
He only intervened, when he saw that the maids were still looking down on the commoner. Back then, the aristocrat had to warn them. I envision that the lord will intervene the moment Deok-Jae starts getting violent. Because of that, Yoon Seungho could decide to drag the servant and punish him for his behavior. We would still have a dragging, like in the chapter 30 but this time, the person is different and the lord has a reason. Deok-Jae committed a crime. Yoon Seungho could grab the domestic by the topknot and punish him, like he did with Jihwa.
Yet, I have the impression that Baek Na-Kyum could act differently and no longer remains passive, like in the chapter 18. This time, he pleads for leniency. 
He never replied and criticized him for his attitude. From my point of view, the low-born has really changed, has already rediscovered his identity and found a certain confidence. He is now part of the mansion hence he needs to be proactive. He hasn’t forgotten the valet’s words: he is not a spoiled princess and as such, he can’t expect rescue from anyone. He needs to fight for his own place. My prediction is that he will question Deok-Jae about the reason for his action. As we experienced in the chapter 52 how the commoner would even question the lord’s actions and behavior.
This could be the new version of the painter’s plea. 
That’s what the readers got to witness. However, I believe that the painter wasn’t feeling real pain in fact. He was more scared of his own reactions, feeling pleasure. We shouldn’t underestimate the power of the brainwashing and the criticisms expressed by Jung In-Hun. I interpret that the painter must have felt pleasure but refused to admit it. He chose to act like a whore following the teacher’s words so that he could still deny that he was a homosexual per se. As a prostitute, he had been forced to sex, hence he shouldn’t feel any ecstasy. It was an excuse, a subterfuge for his own conscious. Deep down, a part of him wanted to keep following the scholar’s words. Due to the lord’s action, the painter had a breakthrough and finally dropped the teacher’s doctrine for good. And in my opinion, the painting is reflecting this. 
Because of the connection with the chapter 41, I have the feeling that Min considers the main lead as an easy target, for he views him as a pheasant. In an earlier analysis, I had imagined, the pheasant was Jihwa. And this interpretation was confirmed with the chapter 43 
In both episodes, he used his words to poison the second lead’s heart and mind, so that the latter would suffer so much. Remember after each suggestion, the noble felt so tormented: chapter 51 
and chapter 76 
. He is so plagued by his existential fear and remorse that he feels like dying. But as you can imagine, due to my previous analyses and the evolution of the story, I would like to add another signification. From my perspective, we should consider Baek Na-Kyum as the pheasant too, for both ukes are mirroring each other. By living next to Yoon Seungho, the painter was slowly metamorphosing. Therefore I come to the conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum was indeed the deer in the first hunt. The scholar’s words were represented by the arrowheads and the lord’s sword symbolized his phallus. 
In other words, the first hunt announced the rape and the painter’s loss of innocence in episode 25 and the lord’s abandonment in chapter 40. 
As you can observe, the chronology of the hunt was not respected. But this interpretation allows us to be able to predict the future season and Black Heart’s personality. Since the two main leads are going through a metamorphosis, it signifies that this phenomenon will occur to Jihwa and Min as well. Since Min believes that the main lead is an easy prey, this signifies that he considers the host as a pheasant too. Moreover, I think that the vicious noble has the impression that he is similar to Yoon Seungho, that’s why he can understand him so well. Therefore he views himself as a pheasant, but in this battle for the painter, he attacks his rival with his beak, similar to the arrow points, unaware of the main lead’s true nature. The latter is a phoenix, based on different essays. This mystical bird embodies fire and passion – the flames of true inspiration. Moreover, it brings good luck, harmony, peace, balance, and prosperity. This signifies that by defying the phoenix, Min’s fate is doomed. His fight against him will bring only misfortune and destruction. Hence Heena’s words 
(chapter 68) seem to be true: Yoon Seungho will ruin misery to his adversaries. But in chapter 52, the noble had not gone through his spiritual death. That’s why the Joker had the upper hand in episode 52 and could hurt the main lead’s heart. As you can observe, I felt this chapter was announcing Min’s chronicle of a death foretold. And this perception was confirmed with chapter 76. His addiction to opium is already destroying The Joker, therefore he vomits and he loses his temper in front of Nameless. 
(chapter 56), he wasn’t able to copy him entirely. This was a poor imitation. In other words, the Joker is short-sighted. He was able to defeat the protagonist in chapter 52, yet the one who definitely put the final blow to Yoon Seungho was not Black Heart, but the painter. His words in chapter 54 definitely wounded Yoon Seungho’s heart: 
with his words in order to undermine his judgement and as such destroy him. 
. And the criminal behaved exactly like in chapter 54. He killed Deok-Jae and no one dared to suspect him.
(chapter 54) That’s why I am expecting a new version of this scene in the third season, and in my opinion The Joker will be the victim… let’s not forget that in Yoon Seungho’s words (chapter 11), the scholar’s life was threatened. This means, a noble will be targeted in the future. As a conclusion, I am predicting Black Heart’s slow destruction and final death. But he doesn’t turn into a beautiful bird like Yoon Seungho (phoenix) or Baek Na-Kyum (from a deer, he metamorphosed into a pheasant before becoming a crane!). Min has already transformed into a crow, consequently he wears a black hanbok in the final chapter 76! 
This is important, as it contrasts to Min’s gesture. The lord decided to look up, because he was wounded. He acted, as if he chose to ignore Min’s attacks. This stare at the ceiling was not connected to fun, rather to faked indifference and pain. His heart was wounded and he was trying to hide his vulnerability. At the same time, I also believe that he was also pondering, wondering why the artist came to visit him, although he had never asked for him. From my point of view, Black Heart’s poisonous words created a certain insecurity in him. Let’s not forget that in that scene, Min was describing the artist as a man consumed by lust. Besides, his butler had revealed to him that Baek Na-Kyum had become so easy, as he was now viewing himself as a prostitute. In other words, Yoon Seungho felt insecure and doubted the artist’s innocence. The position of his head symbolized the opposite, deep thinking, while it represented Black Heart’s carelessness and confidence, contrasting to Yoon Seungho’s doubts and mistrust. Min was not noticing his surrounding, as he was too focused on his own pleasure, while Yoon Seungho was looking up on purpose. The host was actually attempting to avoid Min’s arrows hurting him. Min was criticizing the main lead, insinuating that he was a killjoy. If he hadn’t sent away the boy, they could have fun. 
(chapter 66). the nobles would always fight against each other. This explicates why Black Heart had the upper hand in chapter 52 and why the main lead remained passive and silent for a while. He was applying what he had been taught: hide any weakness…. yet in this scene, the lord was definitely in pain. Then the author zoomed on the lord’s mouth, like she often does. 
In other words, the protagonist had the impression that he got the upper hand in the end. Black Heart had revealed his own “desire” and as such “exposure”. By giving in, Yoon Seungho was deceiving himself. His mind was telling him that he had found the perfect tool to control Min, while in reality he was playing into Black Heart’s hands. And now, you can understand why Yoon Seungho was infuriated, although he was smiling. 
(Chapter 52) In my opinion, he must be mocking the other noble. He feels that his fellow is just too stupid and naive. Yet Min is actually overlooking an important aspect. There is an explanation why the other aristocrats are calling the protagonist a lunatic. Yoon Seungho is indeed revolutionary as he rejects social hierarchy and as such criticizes nobility with its privileges. During the 18th Century, libertines were fighting for liberty and equity and this is not surprising that the French revolution began 1789. Remember what I told about libertines, sex was just one aspect in their life, they advocate reforms and changes in the tripartite society, in the rigid social hierarchy. That’s what Black Heart is overlooking, whereas the nobles sensed this aspect but were not able to define it. 
His retreat was not a defeat, he was just ignoring their opinion. Yoon Seungho just saw them as nobodies hence he had no reason to fight back for his reputation, since he never valued his notoriety. What Min perceived as a first victory was nothing in Yoon Seungho’s eyes.
(Chapter 52) No noble imagined that the main lead had an interest in government posts. Admittedly, only the readers know the reason why he is sponsoring Jung In-Hun. It happened because of the painter. However, I detect another manipulation here because of the following picture: 
[chapter 11] The noble has always been honest in front of the painter hence his words outline how powerful the main lead is in reality. He already has connections in the government but he never made it public therefore aristocrats thought, he was indulging himself in lust. While he went to sex orgies, he did pay attention to what was happening at the capital, yet he never showed up there due to his trauma. I would even add that he even influenced the government, but always unofficially and indirectly so that people would never make any connection to him. His power seems to be quite important since he proclaims that he can ruin the teacher’s career. This can be also the explication why he even adjoins that he will never get caught with Jung In-Hun’s murder. 
(chapter 52) But this doesn’t stop here. He even confesses Jihwa’s involvement.
(Chapter 52) How can I not judge him stupid? I guess, opium has already confused his mind and reduced his vigilance. He is indeed careless and thoughtless. Besides, in the picture above, I noticed another important detail. He started insulting Jihwa as sodomite. This word “sodomite” reflects his opinion about sodomy as such. He is no homosexual per se, he just uses sodomy to submit the other masters. He is indeed similar to Yoon Seungho in that aspect. Both perceive sex as war, however the powerful noble did it out of resent towards nobility, whereas the other wanted to establish himself as the new ruler among the local aristocracy. Black Heart desired to prove his superiority over the other lords. the main lead had a different goal, it was to tarnish and ruin the image of the nobility. One might argue that the outcome is the same… which is correct, yet due to this, Min jumped to the false conclusion. Min assumed that Yoon Seungho had the same intention. 
(Chapter 52) The painter gets upset with the kiss but instead of letting his emotions take control of his thoughts, he ponders about the cause of these negative feelings. Why is he upset? 
(Chapter 52) 
(chapter 43) but this signification is reinforced with this chapter. To summarize, Min treats everyone as pawns, including nobles. This outlines his arrogance. He considers himself as a puppet master, a great mastermind hence he is superior to everyone, including Yoon Seungho.
(Chapter 43) Therefore I believe Min defends the values perpetuated among the aristocracy: titles give lords the right to consider themselves superior to commoners and to treat the latter as bugs. Min is the representative of this mentality, for him low-born have no value and no right. They can be killed or be mistreated, this is the normality for him. And this mentality is faulty as Min is neglecting an important factor: commoners. They represent the majority and play a greater role in the masters’ life. The result is that he made a huge mistake because of this source of info. He just relied on his fellows, however I have always said that Yoon Seungho used rumors and has always acted in front of other nobles. In other words, Min has a false image about the main lead and there is no doubt about it.
(chapter 8) Furthermore, after having sex one time, he remained by the painter’s side observing his expressions and reactions. He understood what the painter meant to the protagonist.
(Chapter 9) However, his judgement is only partially correct as his perception is also influenced by the reports he received through his connections, like I wrote above. After the two challenges, Min could no longer approach the main lead hence he had to rely on other sources.
(Chapter 41) Min never took it seriously. He only saw it as an empty menace. The problem is that Min’s perception is mostly influenced by the rumors existing about Yoon Seungho. I doubt, he is aware that the main lead has shadow guards. I even suspect that he never heard Yoon Seungho’s thread made in front of the painter.
This scene is really important, as the strong seme demonstrates his power over the low noble. He shows him his powerlessness, he confronts him with the reality. He is not a god. He has no real authority, hence he can’t change the world like he would like. In this scene, the scholar has to recognize that Yoon Seungho stands above him. Moreover, the former makes him realize that the protagonist was never a new member of his cult. He never fell for his deceptions, he perceived his true abilities (the plagiarism and his poor poetry). That’s why Jung In-Hun got upset. For the first time, he met someone who was superior to him in all aspects (financially, physically and mentally) and couldn’t be manipulated, as he had wished. As a conclusion, the creation of the new cult was born out of the scholar’s arrogance and blindness. He thought, he was like a god due to the painter’s admiration. By the way, this explains why the intellectual asked the powerful main lead to follow him to the capital, he imagined that if Yoon Seungho accompanied him to Hanyang, then he would receive people’s attention due to the presence of the “famous” noble next to him. He wanted to use the main character’s reputation and attraction. He desired to create a situation where he could get the impression that he was also admired. Despite the scene at the hunt, the low noble hasn’t given up on his “dream”. He still wants to be regarded as a new god, receiving respect and admiration.
As a conclusion, the painter was more a fanatic than a man in love. It was the painter’s mind which was focused on the scholar and not the heart. From my perspective, the low noble had achieved to transform the painter’s love for him into an idolization or better said to fanaticism. That’s why in the artist’s first confession, the low-born voices yearning, aching and not just respect and admiration. The “I pine for you” reveals a certain pain. It can’t be simply explained by the coercive persuasion, since the latter had repressed it. The low-born had sensed that a distance had been created. Since Jung In-Hun was like a god, the painter could only watch him from far away, since he was just a commoner. There is another reason why I associate the first confession to fanaticism, it is the significance of the mind compared to the heart. 
hence the low-born could only recall the low aristocrat’s voice and mouth. Baek Na-Kyum was indeed indoctrinated, influenced by the learned sir’s speeches, therefore he used the same words. He also looked down on others (sodomite here). This explains why he became a victim at the end, since he was confronted with internal and external fights. Yoon Seungho wanted to get erotic paintings and later to have him as his true partner. In order to keep following the 7 rules, the low-born always used his brainwashed mind, cold reasoning, like f. ex. “I am painting it for the teacher’s sake” or “Seungho is just a man consumed by lust” and struggled against his sexual desires, his own heart. The painter’s mind was full of rules and “despise” hence he couldn’t judge Yoon Seungho differently. By connecting the doctrine or the new religion to rules and disdain, the scholar wanted to kill the painter’s empathy and as such his heart. Consequently Baek Na-Kyum always repressed his sexual desires as they are connected to the heart.
He, as a low-born, was asking his “idol” to take his responsibility. The low noble should take care of him, especially after the latter had supported him. Yet the scholar refused for many reasons. First, a god is not supposed to take care of their believers personally. The latter can just pray but never request it from their “god” directly and make them responsible. Then Jung In-Hun was under pressure, for he wasn’t sure if he would be able to succeed. Besides, he was jealous and resentful as the painter was treated better than him, a noble. Moreover, the artist had disobeyed him as he had lied to him. But like I mentioned it above, he had detected that his influence over the painter had seriously decreased. He was distancing from him, he no longer worshiped him like in the past. His questioning and his lies pushed the noble to hurt the low-born in order to remind him of his social status. As a person raised at the brothel, he was filthy, in particular as he had violated the 7 rules. The artist had succumbed to sodomy, the greatest sin in the scholar’s eyes. He needed to punish him. He was a nobody, whereas he stood far above him. His words and gaze were vicious and cruel for that reason: he is a god and Baek Na-Kyum committed blasphemy. He needed to destroy the man.
His sentences are broken, he voices fear because it feels so different from before, where he only used his eyes and brainwashed mind for the learned sir. Observe that in this picture he is covering his eyes, he fears the noble’s gaze. Let’s not forget that Jung In-Hun’s gaze was the weapon that killed the painter’s identity.
In the scholar’s gaze, he saw his own reflection: he was filthy, he was just a whore. Hence he is afraid of Yoon Seungho’s gaze. How does he perceive me, that’s why he is thinking. During that night, he becomes blind and deaf due to the injury caused by the teacher’s reproaches and abandonment. This is no surprise that his ears and eyes were destroyed. Like I had pointed out before, these organs are essential for indoctrination and for idolization [Remember the comparison to the Nazi event]. So during that night, the sex didn’t succeed to comfort the painter, because the latter was not looking for sex but for comfort and love. We shouldn’t forget that he asked for embrace. He wished to be hold. The problem was that the painter was confused, he didn’t know what he wanted. Besides, the noble had no idea how to show love.
That’s why we should perceive a positive development in the painter. He is no longer fearing the gaze of others. He is thinking on his own, hence he can no longer become a victim due to fanaticism again. I perceive that Baek Na-Kyum has reached a turning point in his life. He could definitely confront Yoon Seungho, like he did in the past. Remember when he yelled at him this: 
Even Kim had such bandages. So the bandages can’t served as evidence for this theory. 
which is much smaller than a wall? He could identify the persons painted in the drawing. So his sight was good enough back then. I distrust that within a week, the servant’s eyes could become so bad without any cause. The first beating occurred months ago, at the end of the summer. Now, we have winter. If so, his sight would have deteriorated more progressively.
Even the valet Kim didn’t get spared, his battered eye was on the left side. However, the latter is not suffering from a loss of sight. 
Then he pushed him hard with his shoulder.
His intentions were to insult and hurt the painter. If he had such a poor sight, then he could have used this as an excuse in order to hide his true objectives. He never did it.
Thrashed is a synonym for flogged. In other words, the domestic wished that the painter had been flogged hence he is definitely referring to the straw mat beating. Back then, the painter escaped the punishment because the lord intervened personally.
That’s why Deok Jae says that Baek Na-Kyum should have received the punishment. Imagine, the artist never really suffered from the straw mat beating,
yet it took a few days for him to recover.
In the chapter 12, Baek Na-Kyum leaves his room for the first time before meeting Yoon Seungho indicating that he was indeed wounded, although he didn’t get really flogged. Jihwa even expected Baek Na-Kyum to be more injured after hearing the news that he had received the straw mat beating. 
This outlines the severity of that kind of punishment. This sentence can definitely cause disability or even death. Loss of sight is a disability. 
Deok Jae hates him so much for two reasons. While the artist was spared by Yoon Seungho, Deok Jae never received the same care. The lord never went personally there to stop the punishment. The opposite happened, my assumption is that the master was present, when he ordered the flogging. This would explain why Deok Jae expressed it that way: “If that bastard Yoon Seungho hadn’t beat me”. Since he was present during the punishment, it was as if he had beat him personally. This would stand in opposition to the painter’s fate. The latter was saved by Yoon Seungho personally. 
(Chapter 51) 
(Chapter 51) And now, if we look back at his first appearance, he was indeed recommended by hearsay. Min was the first one mentioning him to Jihwa. So in the following panel, the speech bubble represents Min’s voice. He is the one describing Nameless to Jihwa.
(chapter 51) The minions must be the musicians and the dancer. As you can observe, the man is not just some criminal driven by greed and brutality, he has abilities for he was able to impose himself as the leader of this band. I detect that he is methodical and quite decisive. Remember that he gave instructions to Jihwa in the chapter 50. 
(chapter 50) Strictly speaking, he is a strategist which is visible when he tells Jihwa that he has other channels. 
(Chapter 51) If you regard her clothes, you’ll note that her appearance resembles the one belonging to maids. 
(Chapter 47) The colors of the jacket and skirt are quite similar. However, there is a huge difference between the two maids. Although the servant in the picture above is the head-maid at the kitchen, she doesn’t own any expensive hair pin or ring, while it is different with the woman sleeping with Nameless. She possesses two jade rings and a golden hair pin. This is not something a maid would own. We have 2 possibilities. Either the woman disguised herself as maid by wearing such clothes and hid her real identity or she is a maid close to a lord and the latter gave her jewels for her sexual services. The third possibility is that she works as a gisaeng which would explain the contrast between the jewels and the clothes. She belongs to the lowest social class, yet she has to distinguish herself through her hair dress and jewels. This idea was proposed by one of my readers Anyway, in my opinion, Nameless approached her for a reason. He is digging for information. We have two possibilities: either he is spying on nobles (the clients of the gisaeng house) or he wants to know more about the painter. Let’s not forget that the latter was raised in a brothel. While Jihwa believes that Nameless is doing it for money, I think that he is using his body for information. Why do I come to this conclusion? It is quite simple. Since I sensed so many parallels between Yoon Seungho and Nameless, I am using the protagonist as role model. Because the noble used his body in order to defeat nobles and to hide his own self from others, I believe that the commoner is acting the same way. Both have a negative reputation through gossips and hearsay. 
(Chapter 51)
(chapter 50) that’s why he ordered him to stay home in the chapter 50 and here asks if he has been drinking. He can perceive people’s personality very well. I would even add that Nameless’ heart must have been touched, when he noticed Jihwa’s bad habit: biting his finger nails. He must have sensed that this noble had still an innocent soul. Striking is that although the red-haired noble is just a wreck and even insults the “criminal”,
(Chapter 51) Even the evil domestic got scared, when he experienced this gaze. 
(Chapter 51) That’s the reason why this zoom on his chin covered with tears was preceded with the drawing of Nameless’ face.
The latter looked at Jihwa’s mouth and tears, while the commoner allowed the noble to voice his worries and anxiety. His eyes don’t express any disdain or arrogance in the last painting. Here, we could say that Nameless is not cold-hearted, quite the opposite, he is sensitive. Sure, he doesn’t allow the red-haired aristocrat to mistreat him, yet he shows a certain curiosity and concern towards his client. In fact, this reflects the purity of his heart. He senses the noble’s sinlessness which stands so much in opposition to the criminal’s reputation. In this scene, the manhwaphiles can detect another similarity with Yoon Seungho again. The gaze and action reveal more than any word. And here is the next question: why would No-Name be quite nice to Jihwa? 
(Chapter 54) reminded me of Jung In-Hun’s behavior in the first season. He used commoners in order to dig up some secret so that he could blackmail Yoon Seungho.
(Chapter 29) Therefore I have the impression that the commoner is behaving like him, yet this time it is in order to unveil the identity of the mastermind. That way, he could protect Jihwa and at the same time, he would be able to get rid of a heinous person. On the other hand, since Min has become aware that his plot failed because the assassination didn’t take place, Black Heart can only condemn the red-haired aristocrat and Nameless. It is definitely possible that Min chooses to hurt Jihwa as retaliation which can only push the criminal to become very hostile to Min. From my point of view, Nameless will become a great helping hand for Yoon Seungho in the future. With his Black mind, he can even predict what villains will do. The protagonist’s mind is too pure to recognize the viciousness in the scholar. He might have perceived his hypocrisy and stupidity, nonetheless he still doesn’t know what Jung In-Hun afflicted to the painter. From my point of view, this explains why Yoon Seungho couldn’t defeat the scholar so quickly. He was too naive in this aspect. However, the main character needs to have someone with a black mind so that they can anticipate the scholar and father Yoon’s moves.
What caught my attention is the following expression: “sent him away”. Here, he imagined that putting some distance between the painter and the teacher would help him. His relationship with Baek Na-Kyum would improve, as you know the saying “out of sight, out of mind”. Nonetheless it didn’t happen like he had anticipated. Because Jung In-Hun had hurt the painter so deeply, the latter couldn’t forget his learned sir due to the agony. In other words, although the lord was physically closer to the low-born, the latter couldn’t perceive him at all, for his mind and heart were elsewhere. They were too focused on his own heartache and negative image. As you can observe, distance and closeness were in the center of the noble’s thoughts. He realized that the saying “out of sight, out of mind” is not true.
The latter felt comfortable and trusting enough to relax and fall asleep confirming what he had sensed before, when Baek Na-Kyum kissed and hugged him. 
So he needs to distance himself from the painter, creating a separation. Only then, the painter’s mind and heart will sense the emptiness left by the noble’s absence. On the other hand, Yoon Seungho will suffer for a while, he will be the one who can’t sleep and cry, hiding his pain in front of his servants, his acquaintances and the painter himself. We shouldn’t forget that we never saw the lord crying, it is something he has never been able to do, but he needs to in my opinion in order to overcome his traumatic past. Yoon Seungho will recreate the same situation, he will become the lover forced to be separated but who longs to return to his love. The noble is really a romantic one in the end. He is willing to be in agony, until Baek Na-Kyum gets aware of his own feelings but also of the protagonist’s affection. 
The master wanted the artist to discover the fraud and at the same time, he wished to correct the painter’s opinion about him. He was determined to prove to the low-born that he wasn’t a “man consumed by lust” but also a learned sir. This negative image had truly bothered him in the chapter 5 
to the point that he couldn’t have sex with Jihwa. However, the low-born didn’t realize the switch, too happy that his learned sir had come to the mansion (chapter 7). The poem had lost his purpose, since Jung In-Hun was close to him. He had his learned sir by his side, there was no separation any longer so that the artist didn’t feel the need to read it. This explicates why Baek Na-Kyum never changed the negative perception he had about Yoon Seungho, as he never looked at the poem again. On the other hand, that’s how the noble discovered that the painter couldn’t read. The sex sessions with different sex partners contributed to this negative reputation, the stigma “man consumed by lust” got reinforced. The painter saw it with his own eyes and even seemed to experience it.
Both are very similar because of the weather and the situation. Nonetheless the changes are quite telling. In the second drawing, the commoner is walking on his own underlining his loneliness. He has not been accepted by the servants at the mansion, while in the chapter 51 it is clear that now the staff recognizes him as a member of the mansion. Pay attention that in the chapter 51 Baek Na-Kyum is following the head-maid from the kitchen and later the valet Kim. He is no longer isolated and rejected. Secondly, in the picture above Baek Na-Kyum is just walking to the mansion but he is not paying attention to the lord smoking by the window. Only on his way to his room, he spots Yoon Seungho sitting at the window, therefore he stops walking for a brief moment. 
This happens very quickly, then he starts walking again in the direction to his study. This action is interesting because it reveals that the painter only remains there as he has no other home. Yoon Seungho as such was never the reason why he decided to remain by his side, just the notion “home” was good enough for the artist. We shouldn’t forget that the mansion is big contrasting so much to the tiny appearance of the master. The difference of size underlines the significance of the artist’s motivation: he is walking towards the mansion. His gaze just gets distracted by the lord’s appearance at the window but that’s it. This interpretation is confirmed later with the chapter 46. 
The commoner is following the head-maid, yet his body and head are turned to the lord. In this episode, he doesn’t make a pause to look at him, he keeps starring at the opened window, where he can observe his “lover” laugh. The other huge divergence is the wealthy protagonist’s attitude. He is no longer passive, sitting alone while smoking. He is drinking with another aristocrat, making jokes and laughing. 
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