Artifact Reading Inspector

Chapter 85: Baroque Special Exhibition (2)

“Then, all I have to do is to appraise these three paintings. Will I then get my fee immediately?”

Hyoyeon nodded and looked at Elissa Kim.

“Of course, Elissa will take care of everything else. Oh, you must not know much about her. She is a great appraiser, good enough to be a member of the Chicago Appraisers Association.”

Chicago Appraisers Association was famous for appraising by using high-definition digital images and math formulas.

Haejin frankly didn’t know what kind of logic and method it was, but he thought it was so famous because it made sense and was effective.

However, the woman in front of him hadn’t mastered all the appraisal methods of the association.

Haejin kept looking at another painting, aside from the ones she had selected.

“Wow, that’s impressive. Then, we’ll see each other often in the future.”

Elissa Kim brightly smiled and answered, “I’ve already heard that you run an art museum with Picasso’s painting. You run a museum and appraise at the same time… that’s amazing.”

However, her tone was slightly strange. She stared into Haejin’s eyes as if she wanted a match.

“I just got lucky.”

“I’m looking forward to your conclusion very much.”

She crossed her arms. She looked like a teacher waiting for a student to answer her question.

Haejin could understand her competitive spirit. She must have received an elite appraisal education, probably at Rhode Island School of Design or NYU, and she was also a member of the Chicago Appraisers Association, so she must have great pride.

However, the first job she got in Korea was to select before someone else made the final selection, so that pride had been hurt.

“There’s nothing to look forward to. Two out of the three paintings are fake. As for Ruben’s, it even had a craquelure, so there’s no need to examine them more… and I’ve seen this Rembrandt’s painting just a while ago.”

One of the three photos Elissa showed her was the one that had been revealed as fake at a private auction in the States. The one Tom Keating hid the bomb…

This photo had been taken before the painting was completely ruined.

However, how did she find out that the painting was fake? At the time, even Haejin was confused and had to use magic to be sure. It had great quality…

Or did she know the painting had been ruined and was showing an old photo of it on purpose?

“You’ve seen this? No, how did you know this was fake?”

Elissa Kim was even more surprised than Haejin. Her eyes widened. She left the sofa and leaned forward.

“Why don’t you talk first? About the reason why you showed me this as one of three paintings?”

Elissa hesitated and sat back on the sofa.

“One of our members informed me. That it is fake.”

It turned out she didn’t know why it was fake. Haejin smiled.

She asked again, “Now it’s your turn to answer. How did you know this is fake?”

Haejin stood up and replied.

“That’s a secret. However, I’ll tell you that it has been revealed as fake at Anton Baret Auction. Originally, I should receive my fee for all three paintings, but as Ms. Elissa must have appraised while she selected, I’ll get the payment for only one fake. I’ll send you my account number.”

Hyoyeon slightly frowned.

“You’re going to leave like this?”

Haejin didn’t want to receive the fee for Rembrandt’s painting because Hyoyeon and Elissa also knew it was fake. It meant, unlike her parents, Hyoyeon was not going to trust and rely on Haejin.

She tried to test him, spending money when it wasn’t needed. She wanted Haejin to make a mistake.

Probably, she didn’t like what happened with the gilt bronze buddha and how Haejin had behaved in front of her mother.

“There’s nothing for me to do here. Anyway, I hope the special exhibition goes well.”

Haejin left the gallery while Elissa Kim ran after him.

“Hey!”

“Excuse me?”

Haejin looked back. She offered her hand.

“Let’s have a fair fight, just us young people.”

Haejin wasn’t going to fight… but he couldn’t say ‘not interested’ and leave, so he took her hand.

“Oh, okay. But what kind of fight are you talking about?”

She covered her mouth and laughed.

“Ha! You’re pretending to be ignorant? You have ambitions. Fine, I’ll go along with it. Honestly, this field is full of old men, and I’m saying us young people should have a fair fight. Oh, and for your information, I never lose when I pick something as mine.”

She winked and turned back. Her long hair touched Haejin’s nose. He could smell her shampoo, but it didn’t make his heart flutter. He rather thought it was ridiculous.

“That’s a strange personality. Although she is not good enough.”

Actually, she was a good appraiser for her age.

Haejin had received education about art from his early days and had knowledge far greater than that of his superiors, but Elissa must have gone through all the formal education before going to university to learn appraisal.

So, it hadn’t been more than 15 years since she started learning, but she could select among more than a hundred of paintings only with photos. Although she wasn’t 100% accurate, it was impressive.

The problem was that she was thinking of Haejin as her rival.

Haejin called Eunhae as he walked. He planned to do what Sungjun and his wife wanted, but Hyoyeon refused him. So, there was no problem. He was going to give Eunhae a gift, who was praying for the Baroque exhibition to be ruined.

“Hello?”

“It’s me, Haejin. I just finished helping Ms. Hyoyeon with her Baroque exhibition.”

“How did it go? I’m sure she couldn’t choose the right ones.”

Judging from her excited voice, she had been praying earnestly.

“Ms. Hyoyoeon didn’t work with the employees. She brought someone new from outside, Elissa Kim. I think she is a Korean American. She was helping.”

“Elissa Kim… I’ve never heard of her.”

“She said she is a member of the Chicago Appraisers Association.”

“Then she must be pretty good.”

“Yes. Anyway, I think one of Johannes Vermeer’s paintings is going to be a problem.”

“Vermeer’s paintings?”

Vermeer didn’t leave many paintings. So, all the known genuine paintings from him were known quite well.

It meant making a fake of Vermeer’s painting wasn’t easy.

“Yes. Because of the appraiser’s conscience, I’ll stop there. The rest is up to you… you know what I mean?”

“Ah! But please give me one more hint. I need to know what the appraiser I’ll bring should look at.”

If Haejin shows up at the exhibition and pointed a flaw, he would be officially declaring war with Hwajin.

So, Eunhae would have to take care of it on her own. She really wanted to ruin that exhibition and didn’t want to miss that chance.

“Concentrate on the background. There must be something strange.”

As soon as she heard that, she realized something and raised her voice.

“Is it Tom Keating again?”

“Probably.”

“Then, will there be a bomb hidden in the painting?”

Her voice had some hope… she was imagining the scene of the paint melting down at the exhibition.

“Well, I don’t know. Even if there is, you’re not going to pour water on that painting, right?”

Haejin doubted that, but that could happen. Being kicked out of where you thought you would work for the rest of your life was hard enough, and Eunhae had lost her inheritance at the same time.

“Maybe.”

She didn’t say no. Although she pretended to be fine, she was enraged.

“Well, I know you’ll do well, but don’t cross the line. Then I should go, I’m too busy…”

“Okay, thank you. Next time, I’ll buy you a meal and a drink.”

Haejin hung up and returned to his museum. However, there was someone waiting for him at his office.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Section Chief Seo Byeongsu, Seoul City’s Artifact Management Team.”

He was in his early 40s. Haejin thought he looked like a public official. Black horn-rimmed glasses, tired face, and somewhat bored eyes.

Looking at his face, Haejin felt the necessity to let him finish his business as soon as possible.

“Oh, yes. How can I help you?”

“The mayor had heard about the exhibition you are preparing now.”

Promotion pamphlets had been sent to the city hall and village offices. So strictly speaking, the mayor had seen and heard about it.

“Really?”

“Yes. He was also particularly impressed by the Goguryeo gilt bronze buddha statue. He has asked me to find out if it can become a national treasure.”

An artifact can become a national treasure in two ways.

First, the mayor or governor can ask for it to the Ministry of Culture’s minister (Artifact Committee must agree on it later.) Second, when a new artifact is found, the minister can have it researched to make it a national treasure.

In short, the artifact’s owner or owners cannot make it happen on their own.

“Haha! Of course. Please, sit here.”

In conclusion, to Haejin, the owner of the museum, he was the most welcomed guest. If he talks to the mayor well, the buddha statue can become a national treasure in no time.

“As the mayor is very interested, we should quickly make it a treasure. It can become a national treasure only after that.”

As the mayor had an election coming up next year, he welcomed the existence of such museums that brought more tourists.

It’s not like he would have to spend tax money on it, so he was clearly trying to back up like this and draw attention.

Regardless of his intentions, it was good for Haejin.

“Thank you. If you need anything, please contact me at any time. I’ll do my best to help you.”

“Then, I’ll take some photos. I’ll visit again later with the Artifact Committee’s members. Would that be fine?”

“Of course. As long as you make an appointment, you are always welcome.”

Now, Haejin had one more thing to promote the exhibition with. Exhibiting an artifact that was about to become a national treasure was better than talking about artifacts leaving an impression on people’s mind.

After a few days, the members of the Artifact Committee came to talk about the buddha again.

According to what Byeongsu told him, it would easily become a national treasure.

Pleasant news kept coming for about two weeks. One day before the start of Park Haejin Art Museum’s first special exhibition, Saeyeon Gallery’s Baroque special exhibition started.

Haevici Gallery’s Salvador Dali special exhibition also opened on the same day.

Haejin checked news articles about Saeyeon Gallery and wondered how Eunhae was doing. Then, someone came to see him.

“Sir, you have visitors.”

“Let them in.”

The person who came in was Elissa Kim.

She walked in with elegant legs and dropped something on Haejin’s desk. It was an invitation to the Baroque special exhibition.

“Why are you giving me this?”

“Ms. Hyoyeon sent it. She wants you to see how Saeyeon Gallery changes with your own eyes.”

“Oh…”

Haejin was going to hear what happened later, but it looked like he was going to watch the whole drama unfold at the scene.