{ Original Name: 귀야곡 | Publisher: Lezhin | Audience: Mature }
It’s officially back!! The jaw-droppingly beautiful manhwa about two princes (I only realized as I’m writing this that Jaeshin’s technically a prince too since his dad is King Yeomra of the Underworld lol) is back on Lezhin! I’m so, so excited to see one of my favorite stories return.
Admittedly, The Ghost’s Nocturne season 2 started weeks ago on the Korean Lezhin site. I’ve been buying the raws and using Google to translate since 1) I’m still a beginner with Korean and can’t understand more than 10% of the dialogue and 2) I’m an impatient person. The MTL translation is terrible, and I usually have to use my skills of inference , but I’m able to get the gist of what’s happening. But now the official English version is out. No more nonsensical translations!
That’s not the only surprise though: the Lezhin US version is uncensored. I nearly spit out my coffee this morning when I saw the non-light sabered drawings. LEZHIN, CAN’T YOU WARN A GIRL BEFORE YOU DECENSOR?! I’m not complaining though. It was just a shock to my system.
Every single time I read this manhwa (and I’ve re-read it so many times, I’ve lost count), I’m just blown away by the art. If there really is a heaven, I imagine that it looks exactly how C.R. Jade draws. The characters are beautiful, but what I love most is the style and coloring. The whole web comic looks like a painting, and the art is so vibrant but soothing and serene at the same time. I mean, just look at the promo photo for season 2!
Anyway, this is supposed to be a recap so let’s goooo.
Spoilers for episode 35 and mature subject matter below.
The prince’s attendants are whispering to each other at the start of the chapter, discussing how the prince is once again acting strange and how there are red marks on his body. Eunuch Ahn scolds the girls and they quickly disperse. We then see Lee Nok getting dressed, red kiss marks litter the back of his neck.
Then, we get a flashback to what I’m assuming is the night before when he and Jaeshin are together. When Jaeshin tries to kiss Lee Nok’s neck, the prince stops him, worried about the marks that he’ll leave. Jaeshin being Jaeshin just continues to do whatever he wants, but there’s a moment of tenderness that’s not normally seen in their time together: Jaeshin grabs and holds Lee Nok’s hand. Now back to the present, Lee Nok remembering the events of the night before, mulls over why he can’t stop thinking about Jaeshin. He crouches down, confused and unsure of these feelings of his.
Sir, the little blush on your face!
The confusion Lee Nok feels is understandable. The relationship with Jaeshin is supposed to be purely transactional. Jaeshin is helping to keep the ghosts away from the prince and the prince is providing Jaeshin with the yang energy he needs to survive in the human realm. That’s all it’s supposed to be. Plus, Jaeshin does whatever he wants and never listens. Their first few encounters can technically be labeled as sexual assault, if you think about it. So yeah, it makes no sense for Lee Nok to have genuine romantic feelings for Jaeshin.
Alas, this is a BL romance manhwa.
As the reader, we knew where this was going from the beginning, the typical enemies to lovers trope, but I must say, I’m very much enjoying the slow, slow burn between these two characters.
The only thing missing from the premiere chapter? Puppy Jaeshin AKA Geumdong. We’ll see him again very soon, but since we can never have enough, here’s a little screenshot from the previous season of our little pup.
Read The Ghost’s Nocturne on Lezhin
