Chapter 12
It was already past ten at night when they arrived at Eterna Gallery in Cheongdam-dong.
Shin A-young was waiting at the entrance.
A pale white blouse showed beneath her camel-colored long coat, and she wore heeled shoes.
Even at that late hour, she looked perfectly put together.
Jeong Hae-won stood beside her, and unlike usual, his hair was a mess.
He looked as if he had been dragged out in a hurry; his tie was loose, and his shirt was wrinkled.
When Shin A-young saw Si-woo, she broke into a bright smile.
"Welcome. You can't imagine how surprised I was when I got your call. Heo Yun-bok, of all things."
Jeong Hae-won ran a hand through his disheveled hair.
"Haha. I was asleep, but after getting a call from the representative, I rushed straight over. An unpublished Shin Yun-bok work, she said. I thought I must have heard wrong in my sleep."
"You came all the way from Namhae to Seoul, so you must be exhausted. Please, come inside first."
Shin A-young led the way into the gallery.
They passed through the softly lit exhibition hall and headed for the workroom.
A white cloth had been spread over the wide table, and various appraisal tools were laid out in readiness.
Si-woo carefully took two scrolls wrapped in bojagi out of his bag.
The moment he unfolded the wrapping, Jeong Hae-won's expression changed.
"This is..."
He put on gloves and slowly unrolled the first scroll.
Cheonggeum Sangnyeondo.
A painting of a courtesan playing the geomungo while a scholar sat beside her holding a fan.
"Hah!"
A short exclamation escaped Jeong Hae-won.
At a glance, it was no ordinary work.
"First, the silk ground and the pigments. The brushwork is exquisite."
He lifted a magnifying glass and examined the painting in finer detail.
Shin A-young watched in silence, holding her breath.
After studying it for a long while, Jeong Hae-won raised his head.
"I'll look at the second work as well."
Wolha Milhoedo.
A man and a woman meeting secretly under the moonlight, separated by a wall.
Jeong Hae-won studied this painting even more carefully than the first.
He shone ultraviolet light across it, examined the weave of the silk, and checked the cracking of the pigments.
He scrutinized it as though he refused to miss even the faintest trace of brushwork.
Time passed, and Jeong Hae-won, flushed with excitement, slowly lifted his head.
"Ha..."
A deep breath of relief left him.
"For now, it appears to be authentic."
Shin A-young, tense, asked the question he was waiting for.
"Are you certain?"
"The aging state of the silk, the cracking pattern of the pigments, the characteristics of the brushwork. Everything matches the traits of a late Joseon-period work."
Jeong Hae-won pointed at Wolha Milhoedo, visibly energized.
"The delicate yet daring composition, the way the figures move, even the flow of the lines. This is beyond the reach of another painter trying to imitate it. It matches the same style as the works in Hyewon Jeonsincheop."
"Then?"
"Of course, I can't make a final judgment yet."
Jeong Hae-won was cautious.
"We need more precise scientific authentication. Carbon dating, pigment analysis, X-ray imaging... For a work of this caliber, the verification must be far more rigorous. We should also seek cross-checks and consultation from experts at the National Museum of Korea or Kansong Art Museum."
"How long will that take?"
"Even if we keep the schedule tight, it will take at least three months to get academic verification."
"Can't it be shortened any further?"
Jeong Hae-won lightly shook his head.
"Even three months is tight. If this proves to be genuine, it will be a national treasure-level work. If we carelessly misjudge it, the entire art world will be humiliated. On the other hand, the moment it passes proper verification and is confirmed authentic, the value of these works will soar to astronomical levels."
Jeong Hae-won paced before Wolha Milhoedo as he spoke.
"Let's start with Cheonggeum Sangnyeondo. A genre painting depicting a secret meeting between a courtesan and a scholar. An unpublished work not included in Hyewon Jeonsincheop. The preservation state is also good. I'd value this at somewhere between 3 billion and 5 billion won at minimum."
Si-woo held his breath.
"And Wolha Milhoedo."
Jeong Hae-won's voice rose.
"This is on another level entirely. You know Wolha Jeongin from Hyewon Jeonsincheop, don't you? It's held by Kansong Art Museum. A work that will never, ever come onto the market. But this appears to be a companion piece to Wolha Jeongin. No, it may even be better than that, and it's right here in front of us."
"What would the price be?"
Jeong Hae-won paused as if doing the calculations in his head.
"Wealthy collectors who gather Korean art, corporate chairmen, overseas museums... There are countless people who would love to own Wolha Jeongin but never can."
"So?"
"My personal estimate is 3 billion to 5 billion for Cheonggeum Sangnyeondo, and at least 8 billion to 15 billion for Wolha Milhoedo. But depending on the atmosphere at auction, 20 billion is possible."
"20 billion?"
Shin A-young drew in a sharp breath.
"If Kansong Art Museum's Wolha Jeongin ever came to market, it would easily exceed 30 billion. Wolha Milhoedo, as a probable companion piece, is a work of comparable value. Twenty billion is not an exaggeration at all. It might fetch even more."
Jeong Hae-won looked back and forth between the two scrolls.
"What's more, if the two are sold as a set, there will be a synergy effect. The same collector will want both. Together, they'd start at a minimum of 8 billion. To be honest, I can't say how high they might go."
As he listened to Jeong Hae-won, Si-woo remembered the numbers he had seen in the status window.
Cheonggeum Sangnyeondo, at least 3 billion. Wolha Milhoedo, at least 5 billion.
The status window had not been wrong.
Jeong Hae-won looked at Si-woo.
"Si-woo, how on earth did you get your hands on these?"
"Well. That's..."
He explained how it had happened.
He had seen the scroll photographs on an antique gallery site online, thought they were no ordinary pieces, and made contact; then he had gone all the way to Namhae to see them in person.
"You saw the photos online and went all the way to Namhae?"
"Yes. That's how it turned out."
"That's truly remarkable."
Jeong Hae-won sounded genuinely impressed.
"There are so many antique photographs floating around the internet, and yet you looked at one and judged it might be authentic enough to travel all the way to Namhae. And if it was a high school senior who didn't know the value of what they had, you could have taken advantage of that in the middle, but you didn't. That's remarkable."
It wasn't that he didn't have greed.
He simply didn't want to use the status window that way.
"Si-woo, you definitely have an eye for this."
Shin A-young looked at Si-woo with a gaze that held a strange, heated intensity.
"An eye for recognizing the real thing."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Si-woo told them that the owner had entrusted him with handling the two works.
Shin A-young's eyes gleamed.
"Then may we purchase them through our gallery?"
He had no other obvious place to sell them anyway.
There weren't many places that could buy something like this.
Eterna Gallery was trustworthy.
It would be better than selling them to a stranger, even if he'd already made a single transaction with her.
Shin A-young already held Si-woo in high regard.
And on top of that, she wanted to promote the matter connected to Katou Kiyomasa's sword.
"If you buy them at a fair price, I'll consider it."
"Of course."
Jeong Hae-won cut in.
"As I mentioned earlier, scientific authentication is necessary. And my side will appoint a lawyer to handle the appraisal fees, the complicated procedures, and the legal consultation."
Just the appraisal fees alone would likely run into tens of millions of won.
"I appreciate your goodwill."
"Also, if these works are proven authentic, there's a strong chance the state will express interest in purchasing them."
"The state?"
"Yes. In the case of national treasure-level cultural property, the government can exercise a right of first purchase."
"What do we do then?"
"Si-woo, you don't need to worry about that. It's not compulsory."
That was a relief.
"It's merely a preemptive purchase right. The owner can refuse it. Though, of course, we'd have to negotiate."
Shin A-young added an explanation.
"If a government purchase offer comes in, negotiate first. If the price is satisfactory, take it; if not, then send it to auction. But if you try to export it overseas, the government can force the purchase."
Shin A-young made a proposal.
"How about signing a preliminary contract with us in advance? If the appraisal confirms authenticity, we'd first conclude a conditional agreement to buy the works through our gallery."
"What kind of conditions?"
"You said the appraisal would take three months. We can prepare the contract before then. We'll draft the preliminary agreement, and we'll store the works in our vault."
Eterna Vault had perfect humidity and temperature control.
He hadn't had anywhere suitable to keep them, and now a solution had appeared.
There was no way he could store two priceless works in a tiny one-room apartment.
"The vault has a fully equipped climate-control system. It also has its own backup generator in case of a power outage. It's monitored around the clock, and security is strict. And yes, it's insured as well."
When Shin A-young finished explaining, Jeong Hae-won said confidently, "Eterna Gallery's vault is top-tier in Korea. You don't need to worry."
After some thought, Si-woo asked the most important question.
"Then how would you set the price?"
Shin A-young thought for a moment.
"Fifty billion for Cheonggeum Sangnyeondo, one hundred billion for Wolha Milhoedo. How about we buy them together for 150 billion?"
Keep calm.
It was an absurdly enormous sum.
Of course, if he took them to auction, he might get even more, just as Jeong Hae-won had said.
But the auction process was complicated.
There would be scheduling, catalog production, marketing, and at least six months to see it through.
On top of that, auction fees alone would take 10 to 15 percent of the hammer price.
He also had to consider the possibility of a failed auction or a sale at a far lower price than expected.
Taking all that into account, 150 billion was still an astonishing figure.
"To be frank..."
Shin A-young's expression turned serious.
"I want to own these works myself."
"Own them?"
"Yes. I'm not putting them up for auction."
Shin A-young said it decisively.
"Unpublished works by Hyewon. You may encounter something like this once in a lifetime, if at all. I want to keep them permanently as part of our gallery's collection."
Jeong Hae-won nodded as well.
"The representative is right. Works like these can't be measured by money alone."
Shin A-young continued, "And if an ordinary person like Jun-hyeok were to send them to auction, things would become even more complicated. Starting with tax issues, then contract review, legal consultation, artwork storage, negotiation with the auction house... it's not something you can handle without experts."
He agreed completely.
"By contrast, if you sell them to us, we'll take care of everything: appraisal fees, trust arrangements, legal consultation, and tax processing."
"Yes. That's what I was thinking too."
From Jun-hyeok's point of view, he needed money he could count on.
His father's hospital bills were urgent.
"Good. Then let's proceed with a preliminary contract for now."
"Good."
When he held out his hand, Shin A-young smiled and took it.
"By the way, it's already past eleven."
Only then did he realize he was hungry.
Now that he thought about it, he hadn't eaten anything on the way up from Namhae.
All he'd had was a single sandwich on the KTX.
He had been too tense while carrying the works to remember a meal.
"Have you eaten?" Shin A-young noticed at once.
"Not yet."
"Then come with me. There's a decent place nearby."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Jeong Hae-won said he had a personal appointment early tomorrow morning and left first.
Only Si-woo and Shin A-young stepped outside.
They left the gallery and walked through the alley.
The night streets of Cheongdam-dong still glittered.
Luxury shop windows glowed, and people crowded the sidewalks.
About five minutes later, Shin A-young stopped in front of a building.
Luna Bar.
The first floor was all glass, so the interior was visible at a glance.
Under the dim lighting, a long bar counter and a cluster of tables came into view.
There were quite a few people there, even at that late hour.
Once they stepped inside, soft jazz music drifted through the room.
A bartender was making cocktails at the bar, and people at each table were deep in conversation.
The instant Shin A-young entered, every gaze in the room turned toward her at once.
In her camel-colored long coat, she stood out immediately even in a place like this.
The manager behind the bar counter spotted Shin A-young, went pale with shock, and hurried over.
"Re-representative!"