Artifact Reading Inspector

When Haejin arrived at his museum, he was very much surprised to see the two clients waiting for him there.

He asked, “Why have you come? It’s Saturday. I could have not been here.”

Saebom looked down and fidgeted with her fingers while saying, “I just thought you might be here…”

Haejin then turned to Eunchae.

She waved her hand and spoke as if it was nothing, “I was going to call you if you were not here. I know your phone number.”

Haejin recalled giving her his business card, “I see. Please, come in.”

The museum looked mostly the same as yesterday even if it was Saturday.

It was because Haejin opened it on Saturdays for students, but not all the employees came to work, of course.

Everyone enjoyed the weekends except for the researchers and staff members who had to be around.

Both Haejin and Eunhae usually didn’t work on weekends, but they came today because they were worried about the members of the Trinitatis showing up again.

Haejin went into his appraisal room, thinking Saebom and Eunchae would come in one by one. But to his surprise, they came in together.

They must have had a conversation while they waited for Haejin as Eunchae’s hand was now on Saebom’s shoulder.

It looked like Saebom had told Eunchae about her misfortunes.

However, they had come for completely different reasons.

“I, um, this is…” Saebom took out a painting from the painting container.

This time, her uncle wasn’t with her. There had to be a reason for that, but Haejin didn’t ask. He just guessed she must have brought another painting, and he was right.

Although the painting’s height was short, its width was very long. Saebom couldn’t fully unroll it on the table.

She then looked at Haejin who said, “I’ll do it. Just leave it there.”

Eunchae, whose face was turning red by the minute, then started to protest about what happened to her in anger, “Oh, I went to Yu Hanwol and told him about your appraisal. I thought he would say he had made a mistake and give me a refund! But, oh my… I thought he was a good man, but how could he be so shameless? He said he couldn’t give me a refund because your appraisal was wrong.”

She was now fuming with her usual calmness was gone. And in the end, the reason for all her anger could just refer to her last sentence.

However, Haejin couldn’t really understand that Yu Hanwol.

It wasn’t like he looked down on housewives, but Eunchae wasn’t an ordinary housewife. She was the executive director of a five-star hotel. Offending such a person couldn’t be good.

Even supermarkets give a refund when customers insist on it. Haejin hadn’t imagined he would refuse to give Eunchae’s money back when she even had a certificate.

“Let’s do it one by one. Who came first?” Haejin asked.

Eunchae then lightly pushed Saebom, “Please take a look at her painting first. I’m fine.”

“No, you should go first. You came first,” the girl, instead, replied.

Haejin could see that the nice battle could take quite some time. So, he gestured to Eunchae, “Mrs. Eunchae, you came first, so let me take care of your matter first. Um…”

Then, Eunhae ran into the room while saying, “Oppa! I… oh, I’m sorry. Mrs. Eunchae, I didn’t know you were here.”

Eunhae froze when she suddenly saw that they had clients.

Eunchae, however, smiled playfully, “Since when you two became so close?”

“Oh, it’s, it’s… we speak casually when we’re alone,” Eunhae stammered with her red face.

“Oh, you’re enjoying your youth!” Eunchae covered her mouth and laughed. Then, she turned serious in a flash and explained, “Oh, you see, I went to Maeokdang Yu Hanwol with the certificate Mr. Park gave me. But he refused to give a refund! I got so angry that I came here as soon as I woke up in the morning. I didn’t even make my husband’s breakfast.”

“But would that be okay?” Eunhae asked.

“He’ll eat if he gets hungry. I’ve decided to not to be suppressed by him anymore,” Eunchae replied.

“That’s good.”

Eunchae then continued, “You should do that, too. Now that I think about it, I can’t even understand why I used to fear him so much. Oh! I’m sorry. I was too talkative, wasn’t I?”

Maybe it was because they hadn’t been close before. Now, after meeting a few times, Eunchae was openly expressing herself. It was hard to believe that she was the executive director of a luxury hotel.

“No, it’s okay. But why did he say he couldn’t give a refund?” Eunhae asked.

“Hu, that man insisted this painting was Heo Ryeon’s. However, I had this feeling the moment you told me that it was a fake painting: I can’t be the only one who bought a painting from him,” Eunchae replied.

Haejin then said, “Well, I don’t know that Yu Hanwol and how his lessons are, so…”

Eunchae explained, “The lessons are nothing much. They are about eastern paintings. Yu Hanwol is famous for his peony paintings, and his lessons are where the rich wives of politicians and businessmen gather.”

Haejin looked at Eunhae at this.

He just felt like Eunhae would know everything about politicians and businessmen.

However, she shrugged and shook her head, “I don’t know him, either. It’s not like I attend every social meeting. Besides, Mrs. Eunchae and I are in different generations. We go to very different gatherings.”

“I see. So, you asked others if they had bought paintings from him?” Haejin asked.

Eunchae nodded hard and showed them her phone which had photos of about a dozen eastern paintings, “These paintings were all sold by Maeokdang.”

“All of them? So many?” Haejin was shocked.

If they were all fake, that Maeokdang was very, very bold.

Additionally, the forger who had made the paintings was great as well.

Haejin couldn’t appraise the paintings on a small phone screen, but he could be sure that they hadn’t been drawn with a single style.

The forger was capable of imitating the style of multiple artists. It meant he or she was a very skillful artist.

To compare in western art, it was like being able to imitate both Rembrandt’s and Vermeer’s style.

That is why Haejin couldn’t think for all those paintings to be fake.

“Yes. I was so surprised to find that out, too… and they all have paid a lot. One of them even paid more than a hundred million. So, I asked them to send me photos of their paintings,” Eunchae replied.

“Wow… the total sum would be quite big,” Haejin commented.

Eunchae then said, “We’ve lost almost 700 million in total.”

“Hmm… then have you reported it to the police?” Haejin asked.

Eunchae hesitated before replying, “I thought about it, but it’s not that easy. Yu Hanwol has many prosecutors and judge friends. Additionally, his brother is the Supreme Court Justice… and although you have appraised mine as fake, we don’t know whether the other paintings are fake, too… so if you could appraise them…”

Haejin couldn’t understand why Yu Hanwol was selling fake paintings when he had a Supreme Court Justice brother. Anyway, he raised his hand to say refuse, “No. It’s not like the owners of the paintings have asked me to appraise. I cannot appraise unless they officially ask for it. I cannot appraise all the paintings with just photos as well.”

“But I read news articles about how you testified in court. You appraised with only a photo back then,” Eunchae replied.

“It was only possible because I was lucky. I could appraise the painting only with its content. However, there’s no guarantee I can do it with all these paintings. Of course, I can appraise if the owners all come with them,” Haejin replied.

Eunchae looked troubled, “I’ve already asked, and most of them were reluctant to accuse Maeokdang. They are all either friend with him or have friends who are friends with him…”

Haejin explained, “Then there isn’t much I can do for you. Even if he is openly trying to commit fraud, it wouldn’t be right for me to reveal it. It’s not like I’m a prosecutor or bringer of justice.”

“I’m just too angry. I don’t mind paying much for good paintings, but this is fraud. I cannot just forget about it and move on,” Eunchae said.

“Then you should call the police or something as I can explain why it is fake if anyone asks. I will testify for you in court,” Haejin replied.

Now, Haejin turned to Saebom, “Did you come because you have another painting to be appraised?”

“Yes,” the girl confirmed.

“Okay, then let me take a look at it first,” Haejin grabbed the sides of the table and pulled, and two boards, each 1m long, came out.

Haejin had ordered that special table as artifacts came in all shapes and sizes. It could be extended to a maximum of 3m.

“Wow…” Saebom exclaimed in surprise.

Haejin smiled, “It’s cool, isn’t it?”

He then fixed the top with tweezers and unrolled the painting.

It was about 150cm long and about 35cm tall.

It was a landscape painting with rocks and erect pine trees. It was quite magnificent.

“Did you know about this painting?” Haejin asked.

Saebom hesitated and then nodded, “Yes…”

“Then why have you brought it only now?”

Saebom, however, just fidgeted with her fingers and didn’t say anything.

There had to be a story behind it… then, Eunhae lightly poked at Haejin, “Why don’t you tell your appraisal first?”

It looked like she already knew something.

“Okay. First, this appears to be Owon Jang Seungeuop’s painting. This is even more expensive than Sim Sajeong’s painting,” Haejin explained.

“Really?” Saebom had been tense, but she smiled for the first time at hearing the painting was more expensive than the one she had sold.

“Why would I lie? But why did you bring it only now? You could have brought it sooner. It would have taken care of most of your problems,” Haejin asked.

“I…” Saebom hesitated again, but she managed to talk, “I couldn’t let my uncle find out about it.”

Haejin had a bad feeling about it, “Why would you not let your uncle know about it?”

Eunhae answered instead of Saebom, “The lawyer said there was something strange with her uncle. The fund Saebom’s father loaned illegally had gone into his account, too.”

Haejin turned to Saebom who lightly nodded, “I didn’t know, but the lawyer told me so… my uncle does not know about this painting, so I brought it in secret.”

There was one good news, at least.

“Hu… okay. I will buy this painting, too. I really want it as this is one of Jang Seungeuops’ painting that has never appeared before. I will buy it at a good price.”

But then, Eunchae chimed in, “Um… sorry to interrupt, but why don’t you sell it to me? I can pay you well for it, too.”

This time, Haejin spoke instead of Saebom, “This is expensive.”

Eunchae then said, “Oh, but why are you trying to ruin a deal when the owner is not saying anything? As the old saying goes, bargaining is always good…”

Haejin explained, “But I am your competitor in that bargaining now. And at the same time, I’m the expert who just appraised this painting.”

“So how much do you think it is worth?” Eunchae asked.

“Hmm… about 700 million to 900 million?” Haejin gave an estimation of the price.

Saebom was surprised to hear this, but before she could say anything, Eunchae raised her finger, “Okay, 900 million! I’ll buy it.”

Haejin thought about paying more than that to get the painting, but he decided to give up.

Compared to himself, who just wanted one more painting to exhibit in his museum, she looked more eager.

“Mrs. Eunchae, you are richer than I thought,” Haejin just commented.

Eunchae smiled and put her arm around Saebom’s shoulder, “I need a good painting to hang at the hotel. Actually, that is why I bought that Heo Ryeon’s painting… as it is Jang Seungeuop’s, no one would say I’ve paid too much for it.”

After that, she left the room with Saebom.

Eunhae closed the door behind them. Then, she sighed deeply.

“It looks like that uncle is addicted to gambling.”