Baek Yoo Shin

## Baek Yoo Shin(뱈유신)

* Older
* Younger

### Affiliations

Bi Yeong Pal Mu
Bi Yeong Ship Mu (formerly)

### Status

Deceased

**Baek Yoo Shin**, known professionally as **Heuk Rang** (Hangul: 흑랑; Hanja: 黑狼), was the captain of Bi Yeong Pal Mu. Alongside Yoon Yeon Lee and Yoo Ja Gyeom, he was one of the masterminds behind the Jeogwa Revolution.

## Appearance

Yoo Shin was a pale-skinned and tall man with silver eyes covered beneath his wavy ash hair. He also wore a gold dangling earring on his left ear. As captain of of Bi Yeong Pal Mu, he wore a red baji jeogori, albeit his jeogori was quite concealed by a grey joki with black linings at its openings. He also donned a short-length black blazer with jade accents worn in an upturned collar that had a jade colour on its reverse. He kept this blazer open and tucked in grey arm guards that had black linings. His joki was held together with a white bandage-looking belt, where an indigo apron-like cloth with white distinct designs on its end, as well as a small red ribbon hanged from. Additionally, Yoo Shin tucked his red baji in grey shin guards that had black linings. He sported white beoseon and a jade hye that had white accents, dark grey toe and heel caps, and straw soles. Yoo Shin occasionally carried a sword that had a red hilt, where a red sword knot (that closely resembled a norigae) hanged from.

In his youth, Yoo Shin had disheveled hair that reached his neck, and he typically revealed his eyes more as compared during his adulthood. He also wore a jeogori and knee-deep baji tucked into tight arm and shin guards, respectively, and a joki held together by a belt. Prior to being the captain of Bi Yeong Pal Mu, he wore a black jeogori tucked in arm guards, over which he wore a dark grey joki with black linings on the arms and faint wavy designs. Yoo Shin also had a sword with an azure ribbon tied at its hilt.

## Personality

Yoo Shin was a devoted follower of Yoon Yeon Lee despite her devious plans and deeds such as assassinating the late queen Ahn Young and his co-guard Baek Ryung, but he also had high respects to the king. He held pride in handling perilous situations and occurrences started by their opponents, to which Yoo Ja Gyeom remarked that he was rather irresponsible, since the outcome of the missions he headed seemed to be a failure. He was also manipulative and performed things in secrecy, such as keeping the coroner's mouth shut by not revealing the results of the autopsy and talking with Hyun Bin's guard in private about the midnight incident of attacking the king.

## History

Yoo Shin and Gil Mu Jin were old acquaintances in their youth, particularly when they were still part of Bi Yeong Ship Mu along with Baek Ho. Yoo Shin and Mu Jin often clashed and trained together to hone their swordsmanship skills, which usually ended with Yoo Shin's defeat. At a young age, Yoo Shin had a desire to become captain of Bi Yeong Ship Mu.

Though they were close comrades, Yoo Shin regarded his senior as his rival, which quite possibly later grew into envy over Mu Jin's captainship of the king's guard. Eventually, Yoo Shin was able to grab hold of this title, after believing that Mu Jin had died in the fire initiated by Yoo Ja Gyeom.

### Jeogwa Revolution

*Main article: Jeogwa Revolution*

After the death of King Jin Hyul, Yoo Shin led an army of men to concretize the coup orchestrated by Yoon Yeon Lee, setting the palace on fire and massacring many people in the palace grounds. At some point, it is hinted that Yoo Shin and Mu Jin had an encounter, with Mu Jin's arm being severed most likely by Yoo Shin himself. As Crown Prince Yi Jeok and Yi Hwi fled the burning palace, Yoo Shin was entrusted by Yeon Lee to kill the queen.

He was then reprimanded by Yeon Lee for his idleness after carrying out her order, telling him to chase after the escaping Crown Prince and kill him. Leading his men, he threw a dagger at Hwi, injuring his left chest. He then sensed that the boys were not far away and ordered his men to find them.

This, however, failed due to the interception of Wol Young Hwa as she took them into her home. Weeks had passed, and the crown prince was not yet located. Sometime later, Yeon Lee angrily ordered him and Ja Gyeom to search for the missing crown prince. As a result, he commandered a search party, taking with them boys within the age range of seven to eleven years old; and those who had a birthmark on his nape, similar to the crown prince. In the end, however, they were unable to find him.

## Plot

### Compact Heist Arc

One midnight, Heuk Rang arrives at the chief state councilor's residence where the compact was stolen and whose barn is set to fire. He is then ordered by Ja Gyeom to catch the perpetrators, who he believes involve the former Crown Prince Jin Yeon. Yoo Shin then promises to hand over the compact and the Crimson Moon, but the chief state councilor tells him not to worry about the compact since the Crimson Moon has taken a fake. However, the chief state councilor asks him to make haste in capturing the Crimson Moon since they have taken the real compact. While in pursuit with the Crimson Moon, Yoo Shin throws a poisoned dagger at him and wounds him. He then orders Baek Ju and Baek Ah to find and capture the Crimson Moon.

### Chase Arc

After the Royal Army raided the slums, Heuk Rang notices a wound on the king's face. He orders to call for the court physician and reprimands Baek Ryung for her carelessness. He informs the king that the queen mother has been waiting for him.

Prior to Hyun Bin's and Yeon Lee's departure to the Valley of the Kings, Heuk Rang and the Bi Yeong Pal Mu are assigned by King Jin Won to escort the party. Hyun Bin leaves her bodyguard Gwak Ji Ryeon in exchange for the Bi Yeong Pal Mu. Outside, he advises the king to avoid going out of the palace in disguise until they return from their journey. Afterwards, he leaves the king to go to the Valley of the Kings.

### Revolt Procurement Arc

At the palace training grounds, Heuk Rang shows confiscated weapons from Ah Ri Sa and Nam Hyeon to the chief state councilor. In line with this, he explains that trade inspections and security around the borders have been tightened. However, despite the efforts to lessen the rebel attacks, the chief state councilor tells him that those will not be enough and suggests the summary execution on those who will be involved in the revolt.

They are interrupted by the coroner's servant who shows him the autopsy report of the assassins who attacked Won. Upon seeing the report, he orders him to bring him the coroner immediately. The coroner tells Heuk Rang that the wounds were not the cause of the assassins' death but on the failure of their vital parts. Heuk Rang strictly orders the coroner to never divulge such information to anyone else. As the coroner left, Heuk Rang calls forth a guard and Baek Ah appears. The captain orders Baek Ah to call Ji Ryeon to talk with him urgently.

### Plague Arc

At the training grounds, Heuk Rang interrogates Ji Ryeon him about the night the king was attacked. From his previous review of the autopsy, it revealed numerous blade wounds on the bodies of the assassins which are very much similar to the swordsmanship style of his old acquaintance and are therefore not possible to resurface since the death of that person.

He continues to blackmail Ji Ryeon into admitting if he really was the one who single-handedly killed the assassins. Ji Ryeon then admits that he was aided by the Crimson Moon during the incident, making him conclude that the Crimson Moon was taught the swordsmanship style by his old comrade who he believes has survived after all those years. He asks Ji Ryeon why the Crimson Moon would help him in this endeavor, which also perplexes Ji Ryeon. To make up for his pride, he adds that the Crimson Moon received a deep wound on his back during the encounter, giving Heuk Rang a hint.

During Jin Won's excursion to Moon's End Village, he goes missing while at the clinic. In reality, he gets embroiled in an "accident", earning him several injuries. Upon knowing about his disappearance at the time, his guard Baek Ryung returns to the palace to mobilize a search party for the king. However, the Queen Mother becomes infuriated to know that the king has gone missing from the eyes of a royal guard, ordering for her execution. Heuk Rang slays her himself, while Yeon Lee rebukes the competence of Bi Yeong Pal Mu, comparing its performance as lesser than its predecessor. Afterwards, she sternly orders the captain to find the king at the village. As Heuk Rang closes his subordinate's eyes, he becomes frustrated at the Queen Mother's remarks.

He and his troops eventually locate the king at the clinic and informs him of Baek Ryung's demise. Initially surprised, Won returns with them back to the palace.

### Rebel Army Suppression: Setting in Motion

Following King Jin Won's incident at Moon's End Village that almost cost him his life, Heuk Rang strictly orders his subordinates, especially his personal guards, never to leave the king's side to ensure his safety. Following Baek Ryung's death, he assigns Baek Lin, Baek Ju, and Baek Sa as the king's new personal guards.

### Rebel Army Suppression: Execution

Bi Yeong Pal Mu split into two units in eradicating the rebel army. Heuk Rang leads the unit assigned to raze Bi Hwa Rim, the rebel army's headquarters, utilizing a strategy that trapped the rebels in escaping the fire they ignited. As the rebels fled from the mountain engulfed in an inferno towards a safer area behind the mountain, Bi Yeong Pal Mu forces await and corner them at that area, urging them to surrender or killing them if they resisted.

In the midst of the operation, Baek Ju grows uninterested with capturing the rebels at the mountains in a rather slow-mannered process, regretting that she was not assigned with Baek Ah's unit at Yu Hyang Ru. She tries to go up the mountain to personally fight the rebels, but Heuk Rang stops her and advises her not to underestimate the rebel forces, claiming that they were trained by an ex-royal guard. Moreover, their strategy is designed in a way that would minimize their own losses while maximizing the rebels' casualties. Afterwards, he orders his archers to open fire once more at the rebel forces.

### Bridal Selection Arc

Sometime after the bridal banquet at the palace, Heuk Rang accompanies Jin Won with his entourage on the way to the royal court. At night, the Queen Mother summons Heuk Rang to ask about Jin Yeon. Bothered with her suspicious feeling, she orders the captain to investigate Nabi at once. Before he leaves, he informs Yeon Lee of rumors regarding the forfeiture of Hyun Bin's inherited land in Seo Seo.

### Minister Retrieval Arc

Two days before the execution of Seon Woo, the king and his Bi Yeong Pal Mu guards manage to corner the Crimson Moon by using the ex-minister as bait. Later, Mu Jin and Baek Ho arrive as backup and thwart the handful of soldiers. Heuk Rang reunites with his former comrade Mu Jin and mocks his arm's crippled state, asserting that he shall not let them escape. He also realizes that Mu Jin is indeed the one who taught the Crimson Moon his signature sword technique. As Jin Won orders Heuk Rang to take on the rebels, Mu Jin releases a smoke bomb, and the rebels disappear.

Though initially dumbfounded after the rebels seemingly vanished into thin air, Heuk Rang recalls the existence of an underground secret passage beneath the king's chambers, thinking of it as the escape route of the rebels. The captain then orders his men to enter the tunnel and catch them.

Vaguely seeing the rebels cornered at the end of the passage, Heuk Rang and several others fire at them with arrows. At that point, a smoke bomb is released once again and clouds the soldiers' vision. Afterwards, water leaks out from the ceiling after Mu Jin punctures through the wall that forces water from the canal above to flood the tunnel.

As he and his subordinates escape the tunnel, Heuk Rang angrily orders to locate the rebels immediately. After turning the lights on, the rebels are found, though the each of them appears to be carrying the ex-minister. In any case, Heuk Rang orders Baek Ah and Baek Ju to merely chase the three of them.

Later, Heuk Rang reports to the king about the successful escape of the three rebels, along with their retrieval of ex-minister Seon Woo. Much to Jin Won's rage, he immediately orders to mobilize the soldiers and seal all gates. He threatens the captain to find the rebels; otherwise, losing them would be the day they would also lose their lives. Afterwards, the captain takes his leave.

### Persecution Arc

Following Nabi's surrender as the one who killed the baby prince, Dan Ah heads to Nabi's quarters. Though his cohorts are initially adamant not to let Dan Ah in during their investigation, Heuk Rang arrives and grants her permission to let her see her maidservant's chambers herself.

### Crimson Moon Rebellion

*Main article: Crimson Moon Rebellion*
As the rebel army's revolt commences in the palace, Heuk Rang fights and kills dozens of rebels. At some point, Baek Ju and Baek Lin notify him that Hyun Bin and her daughter are not in their quarters, suggesting that someone else might have gotten to them first. Heuk Rang then assigns Baek Ju to locate them, while he tasks Baek Lin to accompany him to the Queen Mother's quarters.

As they disperse, Heuk Rang wonders why reinforcements are still not arriving, thinking if rebels are blocking them. However, he knows that they do not have enough number to do so, later realizing that some ministers may be on Jin Yeon's side and some may also be most likely sitting on the fence waiting for the outcome of the battle. Despite his frustration and anxiety, he steels himself to save the Queen Mother and Jin Won, else he will be done for if the current regime loses. However, as they arrive at the Queen Mother's quarters, Mu Jin and his men have already arrived, with Yeon Lee's chambers lit on fire.

Heuk Rang then battles Mu Jin in a death battle, asserting to his former subordinate that he is now captain of Bi Yeong Pal Mu and that he shall not lose to him a second time. In the end, Mu Jin gains the upper hand and severs Heuk Rang's right arm, later leading to the captain's defeat and death.

## Quotes

* (To Mu Jin) "*I just can't win against you, Brother Mu Jin! You never hold back… Just wait and see! Next time, I'll definitely beat you! And I will be the captain of Bi Yeong Ship Mu, too!*"
* (To Yeon Lee) "*Yoon Yeon Lee… I hold no regrets for my actions.*"
* (To Mu Jin) "*I will not lose to you again! I am the captain of Bi Yeong Pal Mu now!!*"

## Trivia

* His alias "Heuk Rang" in Hanja (黑狼) means "black wolf". Like the other members of Bi Yeong Pal Mu, his alias was formed out of an adjectival color and a noun.
	+ Notably, his adjectival color (black) is the only one different from the other known members' (white).
* Mu Jin severs Heuk Rang's arm during their death battle, a parallel to how the former lost his own arm possibly by Yoo Shin's own doing.
	+ Incidentally, the events when these occurred deposed their erstwhile allegiances: Heuk Rang lost his arm during the Crimson Moon Rebellion that deposed King Jin Won from his throne, while Mu Jin lost his arm during the Jeogwa Revolution that deposed Crown Prince Yi Jeok from the palace. Moreover, these allegiances ascended to the throne as kings during respective events.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 0.1
2. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 88
3. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 10
4. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 17
5. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 20
6. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 24
7. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 31
8. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 38
9. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 40
10. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 44
11. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 49
12. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 52
13. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 55
14. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 56
15. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 57
16. ↑ *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 70
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 81
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 *Twelve Nights* webtoon, chapter 82