Wanted to check this out cause the plot intrigued me. The story reminded me so much of the webtoon. "The Painter Of The Night," but with more drama and violence. First of all, let me just say that Lee Jun Ki is one of the most beautiful men I've seen. And such pretty eyes. They have a unique shape, but they're so pretty. Jong-Gil was such an enchanting character, visually and theatrically. Apparently because of him and this movie, the "flower boy" look started in Korea, and LJK was the first one ever.  The movie started off slow to me, but once Gong-Gil and Jong Saeng reach the palace, things get very interesting. The king's character was more complex than I realized. A lot of his weird habits and irrational decisions stem from the traumatic memories of his mother's death, and it literally drove him mad. I would have liked to see more of Consort Jang. She caught my attention the first scene I saw her in. My only real complaint about this film is that it ended too quickly. I think it could have easily been 30min-1hr longer because I personally wanted more scenes between Gong-Gil and the king. 8.5/10