I don’t know how many of us are into the characters of Tree, but I am loving each and every one of them..or  maybe slightly lesser for those Mil-Bon dudes. But not Yoon Pyung, or simply Pyung. He’s one of the bad guys and the real culprit behind the murders, but he’s one of my favorite characters. As much as I want Mil-Bon to be caught or simply die, the selfish side of me doesn’t want this masked man to get the same punishment. Or face his death when the drama ends. That would be sad if it does happen.

Not sure how this would turn out, but I’m going to try sticking to what I planned and aimed beforehand. Just expect some little squealing from me in between.

Yoon Pyung was actually the servant for Jung Do-Kwang’s family and he escaped Taejong’s pursuit of the Jeong’s family after Jung Ki-Joon wrote a provocative essay during a royal examination. He and his young master hid themselves amidst the slaves in Banchon after his father’s death.

Years passed by, and now he’s back into the scene, being a warrior alias assassin to Mil-Bon.

He goes around killing his targets easily as he’s almost undefeated by them. He claims to be Lee Bang-Ji’s apprentice, while the latter is said to never regard him as one. Nevertheless, he possesses the skills as good as Kang Chae-Yoon’s skills, but for now, he’s no challenge to the palace guard. He’s less skilled than Moo Hyul and has lost to him.

Although he’s basically the Root’s servant, he serves faithfully to the leader of Banchon, Do Dam-Daek and respects her. He’s also the leader of the Jungmo, or Root Legion. Being the most skilled swordsman in Mil-Bon, he’s one of Jung Ki-Joon’s most trusted man in carrying out his mission. He’s one skillful man, but he knows how to respect the people above him.

“There’s nothing Pyung can’t handle.” ~Jung Ki-Joon

Quite amazing, huh? He’s just one of the minor characters, but I’m always looking forward to his appearance. He’ll make his entrance quietly, bringing shock to the people around him and viewers like me. He wields his sword around, kicking his opponents down, but he has this feelings of him admiring Moo Hyul. Maybe it’s just me, but every time Moo Hyul appears in front of him, he goes into saying, “Moo Hyul.” His voice sounds like the mix of fear and admiration, but maybe I’m just imagining it too much. The husky voice of him is quite something, eh?

His clothing and hairstyle are somehow different for others, so I paid a close attention to him…

He makes his first appearance after the first murder occurs, and after that, he continues to appear here and there, running ‘errands’ for Mil-Bon. Fitting his role as an assassin, he chooses to wear dark-colored hanbok and prefers to work at night. His long, straight hair is somewhat too unrealistic at times, but fortunately he is someone who manages his hair well. Maybe he also realizes that his angelic face would be weird if he don’t pay his attention to his mane of glory.

Don’t be fooled by those fair skin and low gaze. He’s completely changed once he puts on his half mask. Say goodbye to his angelic face, because if you’re his target, he’d kill you in no time, except if you’re skilled like Chae-Yoon. He’d jump, run, fly (?), and fight until he thinks he’s not safe anymore and escapes. His mask, although it has the Phantom of the Opera vibe, is one of the things that makes him different from others. He definitely have a dozen of those in his possession.And his hair? Yum. I love this hairstyle the most, with some fringe covering the mask.

Suddenly, he starts to hang out freely during the day, and moreover, he can be found at the bookstore. The hanbok and the normal style of Banchon people doesn’t look too normal on him,and when he first appear with this style, I thought to myself, “He looks like an alien in a normal world!” I prefer him with his mask and his black hanbok. Light colors just make him brighter and more out of place.

Notice by this time, he might be thinking that his fringe has finally gotten into him, and decides to bring it all to the back. Still, he lets down some of his beautiful hair, and not forgetting, his identity mask.

The return of my favorite fringe, minus the mask. Probably because it’s during the day, he chooses to tie his hair into a ponytail. A wise choice for a preparation to enter the jail. He is, after all, a fashionista at heart, so he must have some good ideas on what the style he should choose, right?

At last, his new freedom gives him a new inspiration on his hairstyle: no more fringe or any untied hair, just bring it all to the back. No more mess, no more itchiness. Now that line should be included in a shampoo ad. Guess that he’s going to keep this style for quite a while.

I know, I know, at this point, it isn’t much of an introduction to him. But I have the urge to spazz about him so badly and I know I have to do this! Anyway, I simply don’t want him to die. Make him disappear, but don’t give me a single hint about his death. Gosh, he’s one of the coolest assassin, and a cool guy shouldn’t be easily killed, although he’s clearly the bad guy, right? Right? But then, I’m anticipating the moment where they are going to reveal the real thing that happened between him and Lee Bang-Ji. I’m hoping the issue is not going to be abandoned after being hinted and somehow, it’ll provide a background of him. *edit: it turns out that Lee Bang-Ji treated him nothing more than an exchange for his mistakes to Mil-Bon. Lee Bang-Ji only made Pyung a killer, but not his disciple. It’s quite sad for Pyung actually as he regards him as his teacher.

Oh, before I forgot about it, Fanderay has made a very beautiful drawing of Pyung and I totally didn’t expect him to be chosen as the main focus of the drawing!

*In case some of you are looking for the real name of the actor playing one of the assassins in Tree with Deep Roots, Yoon Pyung, he’s Lee Soo-Hyuk. This is his first time doing a period drama or sageuk, but he sure can fight and pull of his character well. His past works include KBS Special Drama White Christmas, movie The Boy from Ipanema, and upcoming MBN drama What’s Up and MBN sitcom Vampire Idol. Okay, he totally looks like one, so him being a vampire isn’t a bizarre thing at all.