That was well thought out and well said though, sadly, folks with short attention spans won't read it thru. I wish I could upvote a lot. I had similar thoughts in an earlier post at
http://www.mangago.zone/home/mangatopic/5638809/
I'm so devoted to Saezuru Tori was Habatakanai, I save my indepth analyses for understanding Yoshiro so I'm kinda happy you've done all the deep thinking for me here.
Girl... this is longer than my essay
I just love how you dont see Seungho as just an evil lord .....he went from wanting just pleasure to wanting affection and its so fun to see him so confused and shocked all the time while he experiences sadness,jealosy and fear in case Namkyun leaves him,i agree Namkyun is really confused and hurt and doesnt have any selfvalue but at least he isnt blinded by love for inhun anymore. For Seungho to truly win Namkyun’s heart i think he should let him go first give him the freedom to stay or leave and not threaten him anymore ... btw awesome analyze
Honestly but i commend the effort
I really enjoyed reading this, holy shit! Nice job. I wouldn’t have even put any of this together on my own, I appreciate you for laying it out ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
I want to no what you said but i have the fucking attention span of a squirrel
Again, what a great analysis from you. I savored every single word. All I could think of while reading it is that... "Damn, if the author really went into all that depth with her script, plot and storyline then she is a genius". So now I really hope she did, haha. Back to you analysis, something I disagree with is probably that NK is still not moved on from the teacher influence. He seems like he has just accepted his faith now but if the teacher comes back and tells him he was wrong and he actually likes him back... well, I am afraid NK will probably believe him and will give up on everything to be with him.
That was a dissertation. But I like that analysis. I agree that BNK is confronting reality. The reality that he made all those decisions for teacher without verifying the teacher's intent for him. But I also sense that BNK is broken. The fact that teacher, the learned one, could misread him and the situation so badly, and hurt him so cruelly. BNK finally sees how much the teacher actually looks down on him and for how long as well. I think he realizes he was looked down on from the very beginning and it never really changed. I believe Seungho is very aware of who is the catalyst of BNK's distress. And it pisses him off. The shocker is the young Lord still acquiescing to BNK's request for sex anyway. BNK is not facing Seungho as a prostitute. Prostitutes are practiced and intentionally seduces. But by willingly engaging in sex, without any reason connected to protecting the teacher, he is trying to hurt himself more than what the teacher's words had already did. And I don't think it will work.
The reality is, In Hun was BNK's shackle keeping him in that manor. In Hun was not aware of that and he possibly shot himself in the foot. I don't think he has another backer to vouch for him for his government recommendation yet. So BNK's decisions and actions after this will heavily affect the "Learned One". I don't think BNK is in love with Seungho, but he sees him as human at times. Whether or not that's enough for him to not attempt to escape again, we'll have to wait and see.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts in such a deep and relevant manner! I am now curious to have your opinion on how will Nakyum and Seungho end up bonding in a more authentic and romantic way. For me, it seems almost impossible as long as the teacher is still around messing up with Nakyum's mind. I think we could all somehow agree about Seungho's character evolution towards his behavior with our innocent painter. But unfortunately, it's still not the case for Nakyum. He still sees SH as an oppressor. Even if Nakyum stops longing for his teacher, what will make him switch to SH? What are your theories on that? What potential events will make him fall in love with Seungho in your opinion?
Sorry.. I meant to like it..
First, the attempted assassination will have consequences on their relationship. If Seungho saves him, then BNK could be thankful. This can also make BNK realize that Seungho is not invincible and has enemies, if Seungho is hurt. I had imagined that Seungho could let himself hurt in order to have the painter worried about him and taken care of him.
Another possibility is that BNK is hurt and can no longer paint. His hands are damaged for a while... And BNK will be surprised that Seungho keeps him by his side. So far, BNK still believes that Seungho is only interested in his body and the paintings. He has not realized the power he has over Seungho. So if he can no longer paint, BNK would think that he has no reason for staying there. But the opposite happens. Seungho shows more care and concern than before and this would lead BNK to question his motive.
Then he needs to observe Seungho outside the chamber. He has no idea that Seungho is far more educated than Jung In Hun. BNK has always admired In Hun due to his education and if Seungho could show him this side... like f. ex. Seungho invests his time to teach him to read and write and even composes a poem for him, naturally BNK would fall for him. This is what I am expecting.
I have also the impression that Seungho will decide to join the government and pass the civil service examination at some point.
I do think , he has distanced himself from the teacher that's why in the chapter 44, he asks the servant to throw the painting away. Sure, in the chapter 42, he shows that he has internalized In Hun's values. He thinks his words reflect the truth. In Hun was partially right: BNK is a homosexual and loved painting sodomy. But the fact that he said "he wants to think of nothing" illustrates to me that he is trying to forget IN's words.
His departure without saying goodbye was the final straw for BNK. He knows now for sure that In Hun has never seen him as a person, just as a low-born and prostitute. The painter had high regard for him as he was his teacher but the moment Seungho decides to teach him reading and writing, BNK will perceive Seungho in a different light. Furthermore, there is another difference which shows the change of IH's status in BNK's mind and heart. He doesn't call IH "learned sir" but "my teacher". He is no longer a noble ("sir") in BNK's eyes, but just a teache, whereas BNK calls Seungho "my lord". In other words, Yoon is treated as a sir, while IH is no longer perceived as a sir. He has lost his nobility status in BNK's eyes.
DUDE, your analysis is so engaging! It’s long and yeah im one of those people who have the attention span the size of a teaspoon so its a miracle I read the whole thing. I was having trouble explaining what im feeling about YSH and BNK because I feel like something HAD changed especially for Seungho but its so subtle that I’m hesistant to actually call it out and im afraid to read too much into it. You basically spelled it out for me and was even able to bring up symbolisms i wasn’t even paying attention to before. What amazed me with this manhwa is you can feel the strong chemistry of the couple right off the bat without changing them too drastically to the point that you can’t recognize who they are anymore from who they were initially. It’s a peeve of mine to see cold characters who went complete 180 unreasonably after just ONE pivot point of the story(admittedly there are some that COULD pull it off, it’s possible but it’s a feat. It usually comes off unnatural and forced to me). This is the reason why I love this manhwa—the characters stay true to who they were before but there are subtle changes that when they manifests, it strikes better in the kokoro. In the latest chapters, Seungho was still his psycho violent self(with the slapping and his harsh, mocking words and love for humiliating NK) and Nakyum was still his confused self(his actions contradicting what he’s saying, sobbing in pain while asking to be embraced), but just the panel of Seungho looking hesitant and annoyed when Nakyum asked him to hold him or them making out with eyes CLOSED while SH holds NK, hit differently and harder(literally and figuratively) than usual because they’re built up from previous chapters and more subtle. This is why readers who were still uncertain about SH before(like me) because of his violent nature suddenly flipped and started approving him for NK. At least that’s what I observed every time i check comments about the latest updates of this manhwa.
Anyway idk if i downvoted(if i did im sorry it was my fat thumb _(´ཀ`」 ∠) i meant to upvote)
You wrote yourself a long reply LOL. But I am glad that this analysis was able to catch your attention till the end.
Yes, Seungho has this violent side but first, we shouldn't forget that he is living in a different period, where servants and low-borns had no right at all. Till the end of 19th Century, slaves could be killed, just like that. Since he is a noble, he was just moving along the laws. Look how Jihwa and the teacher look down on commoners. They are also cruel to low-borns: see how Jihwa slapped BNK or In Hun caned the painter's calves. So far, they had no real reason to kill a servant.
However, there is this huge difference between Seungho and all the other nobles. He had no problem to touch BNK's hands right from that start or let BNK touch his loin. And this small gestures outline Seungho's open-mindedness, which I value very much. He teased the teacher for looking down on commoners (chapter 6). All the sarcasms and ironical remarks from Seungho towards the teacher showed that he disapproved In Hun's mentality: not to teach properly to low-borns, to say that they should remain where they belong... Seungho disagreed with it, if not... he wouldn't have made fun of the teacher back then.
Seungho reminds me of a dormant volcano and BNK is the only one who can ignite reactions from Seungho. He is unable to control his emotions, once they are coming out. But he has definitely softened compared to the beginning.
Welp i got too excited so i just had to babble lol You’re right! I haven’t noticed Seungho having no prob holding Nakyum’s hand. That does say something about his open-mindedness. Man, you’re making me root for SH more haha now if only Nakyum learns a bit of confidence and stand on his own two feet, I’ll let him off be with Seungho without any prob. (●'◡'●)ﾉ
This is a really huge compliment! Thanksa lot! (▰˘◡˘▰) Honestly, you can go to my account and see all my analyses there. I have put them under favorites.
As you can see, I am a huge fan of Seungho. But I wrote an analysis about the first chapter and about Seungho a few weeks ago. I won't say that Seungho is a saint but he is just the product of his environment and his traumatic past. See my theory.
i really admire your analysis. finally, someone who dives deep down into story! this is too good, keep up the good work
Thanks for the compliments. You can find my other analyses on my blog (see my homepage). SO far, I wrote 27 analyses about this manhwa. This is for free what I am writing.
In this analysis, I will compare two major scenes (chapters 20-21 versus chapters 41-42), which happened both in Baek Na-Kyum’s study and chamber. In this chamber, our main lead, Yoon Seungho, has sex with the painter BNK.
The moment the lord Yoon Seungho forced the painter to live in his mansion, the latter was sent to the room next to Yoon Seungho’s bedchamber. One of the reasons for this was that it was much easier for BNK to enter the lord’s chamber in order to paint the erotic scenes. However this also outlined the special status the noble gave him. The noble would have never let someone live close to him whom he didn’t trust. He knew that the painter represented no thread to him.
Now, you are wondering why these scenes should be compared to each other. First, both scenes mark a turning point in the relationship between the lord and the painter. Secondly, through the comparison, you get a better understanding of the chapter 42 and why it also illustrates a crucial moment for the painter, whereas the chapters 20-21 marked a pivotal moment for Yoon Seungho.
What caught my attention was the way both scenes showed so many parallels. Let us a take closer look:
1. both scenes were predated with an argument between the painter and the teacher Jung In-Hun. In the picture below, you can observe Seungho witnessed from far away how BNK got upset.
The lord can not hear the content of the conversation but he observes that BNK is hurt and upset due to the teacher. The latter has just discovered that the invitation and the support from Yoon Seungho has nothing to do with Jung In Hun’s abilities. Then he resents BNK. In the chapter 41, Yoon visits the painter’s study because he heard from the servants that BNK wouldn’t leave his room and would keep painting without eating much. As you can see, the lord pays a lot of attention to the mental health of the painter. He knows from the way BNK is acting that something is wrong. The reason for BNK’s strange behavior is that BNK had just heard before from Jung In Hun that he was born to be a prostitute. His love for In Hun was so pure and for the teacher, BNK was just a prostitute.
The quarrel started because BNK asked the teacher what would happen to him, once JIH would succeed the civil service examination. JIH refused to take any responsibility for BNK as he claimed that he was already experiencing a huge change and getting a lot of benefit from YSH. BNK had to hear from the one whom he admired the most that BNK was just a prostitute in his eyes. BNK was definitely hurt. Nonetheless, SEungho never witnessed their conversation, unlike in the chapter 19. And in this chapter (19), the rich lord knew that the expensive bottle of wine that had disappeared had been snatched by the painter due to his emotional state. Since YSH had already figured it out that the painter was upset, he decided to visit BNK’s chamber. In other words, in both cases, the lord showed some concern about the painter and wanted to keep an eye on him.
2. In both scenes, the painter made the first move on Seungho, which contrasts so much to BNK’s normal behavior. The latter has always kept pushing away the rich lord. He always tried to avoid his touch and even his gaze.
In the chapter 42, BNK didn’t kiss the lord right away, he asked Seungho first to hold him. However, there was no reaction from the lord, since BNK had yelled at the noble before which led Seungho to slap the painter for his disrespect. Unlike in the chapter 20-21, there was no quarrel between the lord and the painter… but there was a huge misunderstanding. BNK mistook YSH for the teacher and thought, Jung In Hun was visiting, hence he kissed him. Back then, he was under the influence of alcohol, yet this revealed his deepest wish. He wanted to confess his love for the teacher. Striking is that in both kisses, Seungho keeps his eyes opened.
In the chapter 20, he was surprised and shocked, in the other chapter he is uncertain about the kiss. He has no idea why the crying, visibly upset BNK is asking for his embrace. Nonetheless, BNK’s kisses did affect Seungho whom I have been described in another post as someone detached and emotionless. While he criticizes BNK’s kiss in the chapter 42, this would not arouse him, in the earlier chapter he made no complaint. He saw it as an opportunity to finally taste the painter. He was not annoyed by the lack of inexperience unlike in the chapter 42. However, both kisses have something in common. Both outline BNK’s innocence and purity. These kisses are not here to excite the partner but to express a deep and pure love (chapter 19) or to ask for warmth and comfort (chapter 42).
3. The other similarity is the presence of Jung In Hun in that chamber, although the teacher is not physically there. In the chapter 19, the love confession BNK made was actually addressed to Jung In Hun and not Seungho. Furthermore, BNK kept calling Seungho “my learned sir” and that’s how the painter used to call his beloved teacher. Since BNK was drunk, he mistook the wealthy lord for his loved one. I would even say that BNK is actually imagining JIH’s presence. He is not really seeing the teacher as the author gave us a few pictures from BNK’s perspective. It was as if he wished, the teacher would be there. He drank so much in order to drown his sorrows but to be more precise, he drank in order to escape from reality, like he was in ecstasy. He preferred living in an illusion than facing the reality that the teacher has never loved him and will never loved him. For BNK, this night is like a dream. In other words, this night where BNK lost his virginity was an illusion and a dream. That’s why at the end, he cried out of happiness and even told Seungho that he was happy. But for Seungho, this night had another signification. First, he thought that it wasn’t too bad if BNK mistook him for JIH as he could finally taste the painter. However, as time passed on, he could no longer bear hearing from BNK “learned sir” hence he proposed BNK to call him “lord”. As you can see, the shadow of JIH in the room did bother Seungho. And for Seungho, this night in the chapter marked a pivotal moment as well. He heard a pure and innocent love confession and at the end, when BNK told him that he was so happy and his heart was full, Seungho’s heart was moved and touched. I doubt that Seungho had ever heard before that he could make someone happy. Since BNK had kept his virginity intact for his loved one and confessed to Seungho indirectly, this night gives the readers the impression of a wedding night. Back then, the husband usually joined the bride much later. But the problem here is that all this was also an illusion and a dream for Seungho as everything said and done was addressed to the learnt sir and not to our main lead. This explains why our seme is looking for a renewal of this night later.
As I had mentioned before, in both scenes the readers felt the presence of In Hun in this chamber. In the chapter 42, his shadow is indicated by the drawing,
Notice Seungho’s reaction: his gaze shows his displeasure and shock.
Although BNk is kissing him and even asking him to embrace him, the lord refuses and becomes even angry at BNK. He doesn’t want to become intimate with the painter because this is related to Jung In Hun. Our seme is even quite brutal and even grabs BNK’s hair. He even criticizes BNK’s kiss saying that with such a move he can not be excited. But this rejection from the lord doesn’t even upset the painter, hence he becomes more proactive. He grabs Seungho’s loin, undresses himself, he would have sex with the seme without any preparation. The lord is actually surprised by BNK’s actions because this doesn’t resemble him at all. He acts as a prostitute that’s why Seungho asks if the teacher has talked the painter into it.
But by comparing these two scenes, I noticed some differences as well. We can observe a huge contrast between these two scenes. While earlier, Seungho was just looking for sex, he found love or better said, he tasted the illusion of love and enjoyed it very much. BNK was a virgin, totally inexperienced and innocent who asked the noble to be careful with him. And in the chapter 42, the opposite is happening. BNK is actually acting like a prostitute... it was as if he was looking for sex but this is not what Seungho wants. I say prostitute because BNK is acting as if he was doing a job and not seeking love and affection. He considers himself as a prostitute as he has received support from the lord all this time and he thinks that Seungho has always perceived him as such. There is no seduction in this scene as BNK has been "forced to prostitution". Actually, the painter's words contradict his words and his actions. He doesn't say that he wants sex because he keeps begging for the lord's embrace. Being hold is connected to warmth and affection. And here, the reader can feel the pain and despair from the painter. Jung In Hun's words ("you are born as a prostitute") are still in his mind. Here, BNK is doing the exact opposite of the night in the chapter 20. He is no longer running away from the reality and living in an illusion, BNK wants to face the reality. The slap from Seungho should be considered as a wake up call. Baek Na-Kyum can not ignore the lord's status, he can not mistake him for someone equal to him. In both scenes, BNK overlooked the lord and this is not what Seungho wants. He wants to be perceived as the person he is: a lord who worries about the painter.
Then in order to underline the contrast between both scenes, while their first night took place during the night, the kiss in the chapter 42 happens during the day. As you can see, the time reinforces the idea of illusion (chapter 20-21) and of reality (chapter 41-42). So since BNK is facing reality, he has decided to follow his lord’s orders (painting erotic pictures) and he acts as a prostitute because he really believes what Jung In Hun said before. He is taking the teacher’s words as face value, while in reality Jung In Hun has no idea that Seungho is treating BNK as a lover and even “wife”. Back then, it was a custom that the lord visits the chamber of the wife and concubine. But BNK is not really aware of all this. And just like in the chapter 20, Seungho is annoyed and even jealous of the place In Hun has in BNK’s mind and heart.
Striking is that even in the chapter 42, their first night is even mentioned. The painter confesses that he did enjoy the night, he even concedes that he likes painting such erotic pictures. Since he is facing reality, BNK admits for the first time his homosexuality which had been suppressed by the teacher all this time. But at the same time, he is admitting that he is a prostitute which is shown through his actions. However, he can’t even say this to the lord. What caught my attention was the contrast between these scenes when it comes to eloquence. Although BNK was drunk in the chapter 20-21, his confession was well spoken (“I admire you”, “I pine for you”), in the chapter 42 he is neither sick nor drunk, yet he is unable to talk properly. He stutters and can’t even finish his sentences “I’m… a …”). The pain is so strong that he is left speechless.
He is so hurt that he wants to have rough sex (“harder”, “so it’s all the way in”). He wants to be physically hurt so that he can no longer feel any pain in his heart. It was as if he wanted to erase the words In Hun spoke from his mind. Hence he says “So I can’t think of anything else”. Strangely, BNK’s gesture and position show the change in their relationship. He is now facing the lord, he even grabs the noble’s hand and puts it on his stomach. It is such an intimate gesture outlining that this is much more than senseless sex. BNK has not realized the contradiction between his words (“harder”/ “to hold me”) and his actions (grabbing his loin/putting the hand on his stomach). We can see that BNK is actually lost and confused.
However, just like the night from the chapter 20 changed everything for Seungho, this night changes everything as BNK is no longer running away from reality. He is no longer suppressing his homosexuality and he is accepting to have Seungho by his side. Just thinking about In Hun causes pain to BNK here, while he was in ecstasy in the chapter 20. He even wrinkled the painting of the ceremony with In Hun which shows the huge pain in his heart. For him, paintings are treasures. This gesture reveals some changes in BNK. The painter is well aware that the teacher has abandoned him as the former doesn’t want to assume any responsibility. Therefore, his disrespect for the picture is a sign of disrespect for the teacher. Although he has internalized In Hun’s words and views, he is so affected that he no longer admires In Hun like before. In the chapter 42, he no longer calls Jung In Hun "learned sir" but "my teacher" which illustrates that BNK no longer views IH as a noble ("sir") but as a simple teacher. He only sees Jung In Hun in his actual position and not as his social status. We all know that despite being a noble, JIH is not rich and influential. He belongs to the lower nobility. IH is no longer put on a pedestal. But BNK has still some respect for IH as he calls him "my teacher". So there is still a string between the teacher and the painter but it is about to disappear.
There is another common denominator in both scenes: the tears. While BNK cries out joy and happiness in the chapter 20, here his tears are linked pain and sorrow. Furthermore Seungho put the painter on his lap while kissing him and even embraced him. And this shows that Seungho is longing for warmth, love and tenderness. But despite this night, Seungho is well aware that BNK is not loving him yet. He has sex with him because BNK has confessed before that he has never hated the things he did with Seungho which represents a huge step for the lord.
However, the huge contrast is that Seungho is unaware of the reason for BNK’s distress and pain in the chapter 42. Hence he made no move on BNK and was even a little rough as he thought that In Hun had asked him to do such a thing. This reasoning illustrates that Seungho has not realized that BNK has already moved away from the teacher. Besides, he never noticed that BNK lied for him twice. Yet after this night, Seungho has finally sensed the change in their relationship and BNK’s relationship with the teacher.
In conclusion, this chamber is full of symbolism. Here, a noble could feel warmth and love for the first time, although it was just an illusion. Yet he became addicted. As for BNK this room represents the place where he decided to confront reality. In this room, the lord joins the painter which seems to indicate the future position in the couple: Seungho is willing to meet the painter.
That's it. Feel free to comment.