The Qianlong Dragon Vase Comes Home
In the basement storage vault of Eterna Gallery in Cheongdam-dong, a heavy iron door clicked shut, sealing the space off completely from the outside world.
After being swiftly repacked at the airport, the vase had been brought straight here.
A specialist from Crosier Fine Art set the Qianlong Family-Dragon Vase onto the worktable.
“We’ll begin the inspection process now.”
Richard Kim, Crosier Fine Art’s Asia representative, spoke as he pulled on a pair of white gloves.
On his tablet was the condition report prepared in the United States.
“I’ll be conducting a precise comparison between the condition recorded before departure and its current state.”
It felt different from what Si-woo had seen at the airport.
Under the storage vault’s specialized lighting, the colors of the vase seemed even deeper and more lustrous.
Richard Kim began examining the surface carefully, shining a special lamp across the porcelain.
He called up the photographs stored on his tablet one by one.
They were detailed images of the vase taken in San Francisco before departure.
“There’s a two-millimeter surface wear mark confirmed on the mouth.”
He pointed to the rim of the vase and compared it against the tablet screen.
“Current condition: identical. No change.”
Richard’s voice remained steady.
“I’ll compare the dragon motif on the upper body with the local photographs.”
An assistant used a magnifying lens to inspect it in detail.
“Pattern condition identical. No color bleeding or flaking.”
He continued.
“Cracking pattern in the glaze on the lower body is the same as in the photos. No abnormalities.”
Richard swiped through images taken from multiple angles.
“Internal contamination check. No issues.”
An assistant carefully inserted a small endoscopic camera into the vase.
“Internal deposit position is the same as in the local report.”
Their eyes were razor-sharp.
They gave the impression that not a single speck of dust, not a single crack from minute vibration, would escape them.
Watching the process, Si-woo felt a quiet admiration rise in him.
So this is what the world’s best shipping company looks like.
Even the way they spoke, even the smallest movement of their hands, carried the dignity of professionals.
The expensive shipping fee had been worth paying.
When he voiced his admiration, Jeong Hae-won nodded as if it were only natural.
“They have to check that thoroughly to prevent problems later. Transporting works of art is a matter that requires attention to no end of details.”
“I see.”
After about an hour of breathless inspection, Richard Kim finished organizing the tablet screen and nodded.
“A total of forty-seven checkpoints have been confirmed. There was no shock during transport, no damage, and no deformation caused by changes in temperature or humidity.”
Richard Kim looked at Si-woo and spoke with absolute certainty.
“Please take your time to review it, then sign the final acceptance form.”
The screen was densely filled with inspection items.
Each one had been checked off with a note reading No Issues.
Since he had been checking alongside them the whole time, several times over, he had no hesitation about signing.
He wrote his name on the tablet screen.
The signature was complete.
At last.
This was the moment the Qianlong Family-Dragon Vase officially fell into his hands.
“Thank you for your hard work. It’s perfect.”
At Si-woo’s thanks, Richard Kim replied with a professional smile.
“Thank you for using our service. It was our honor to be entrusted with such a precious piece.”
The staff from Crosier Fine Art and the security personnel finished packing up and left the storage vault.
Shin A-young stepped up beside him.
“Congratulations, Si-woo.”
“Thank you, Director.”
Meanwhile, Jeong Hae-won, unable to hide his excitement, put on a pair of pure-white gloves and brought a magnifying glass up to his eye.
He swept over the vase’s surface in one-millimeter increments.
Holding even his breathing in check, he stared at the nine dragons gleaming with a brilliant, almost uncanny light.
“This is insane. It really is insane.”
Jeong Hae-won let out a deep exclamation.
“Look at this fencai technique. This wasn’t simply painting color on a surface. They introduced Western shading methods and gave light and shadow to every single scale on the dragon. That’s why, even though it’s flat, it feels as if it has a tangible, three-dimensional presence the moment you look at it. This is the sort of detail that was only possible when the technical craftsmanship of the Qianlong era had reached its peak.”
Shin A-young asked him, “So, Advisor Jeong Hae-won, you also believe this is genuine?”
“There’s no room for doubt. Especially when you look at this pale pink color.”
Jeong Hae-won pointed to the dragon’s mane.
“That distinctive pale pink could only be achieved by finely grinding gold into the pigment at the time. It was the highest-grade pigment, one that no one would have even dared to use unless it was for an imperial piece. If this were a fake, it would never be able to imitate the depth of this color.”
He studied the rim and went on.
“What’s even more astonishing is the state of preservation. You said it was used as an umbrella stand?”
“Yes, that’s what the seller claimed.”
“And yet it hasn’t cracked or broken in any major way. That’s because it was fired at high temperature using top-grade kaolin intended for imperial deliveries, so the hardness is extremely high. There are some rain marks and dirt stains inside, but the glaze layer is so thick that nothing has penetrated the surface. A professional cleaning process will remove it completely.”
Jeong Hae-won carefully set the vase down.
Shin A-young crossed her arms and asked, “Advisor, what do you expect the auction estimate to be?”
Jeong Hae-won stared at the vase for a moment and let out a small breath.
After thinking it through, he said, “...Honestly, I’d be thinking around thirty billion won, but that may only be the starting bid.”
He had reason to hesitate.
At a Mainbridge auction in the UK, a porcelain piece from a similar period had once sold for eighty billion won.
In another case, a piece from the Qianlong era had opened at six hundred million won and climbed to twenty-one billion because of competition among Chinese tycoons.
Taking that into account...
“Qianlong is one of the emperors the Chinese love most. And this is a dragon motif that symbolizes imperial authority. They won’t be able to resist it. If the bidding gets heated, I think it could easily go past thirty billion won.”
Shin A-young kept her eyes on the vase and said, “How would you like to handle the Qianlong Family-Dragon Vase, Si-woo? I don’t think our gallery would be able to buy it outright.”
A bitter smile touched her lips.
“We’ve recently acquired works worth hundreds of billions of won. This Qianlong piece is at least thirty billion, and if it attracts competition, who knows how high it could go. Unfortunately, it’s beyond what we can carry.”
Si-woo had expected as much.
No matter how Eterna Gallery looked at it, the piece had a value too great to absorb.
Above all, it didn’t fit the direction Eterna was pursuing.
“Then what do you think is best?”
Shin A-young’s eyes sharpened again, businesslike as ever.
“It should go to Hong Kong.”
“Hong Kong?”
“Yes. Hong Kong is the heart of the Asian art market. It’s especially where Chinese tycoons gather most heavily. We should consign it to a main auction at Sotheby’s or Christie’s.”
Shin A-young made the suggestion confidently.
“Eterna will act as your exclusive agent, Si-woo. We’ll handle everything from choosing the auction house and negotiating the consignment to transport, promotion, and even receiving payment after the hammer falls.”
Jeong Hae-won, who had been listening from beside them, nodded.
“I fully agree. If an individual faces Sotheby’s or Christie’s directly, they are inevitably reduced to the weaker party. At best, you lose the consignment fee exemption; at worst, you end up shouldering additional costs such as insurance and transport.”
He adjusted his glasses.
“But if a gallery steps in as the agent, the situation changes. Waiving the full commission is only the beginning. Through negotiation, we can even secure a rebate structure in which part of the buyer’s fee is returned to us.”
His voice held firm conviction.
“This is not merely about securing the top promotional slot. We can have it assigned to a solo auction during the evening sale, the crown jewel of Hong Kong auctions, and even have a guaranteed minimum hammer price written into the contract so there’s no need to worry about a buy-in. Of course, that’s only possible because the value of Si-woo’s piece is that extraordinary.”
Shin A-young added to Jeong Hae-won’s opinion.
“We’ll only take a five percent fee on the hammer price as our agency commission. Most agencies take more than ten percent, but you’re one of our own, Si-woo, and since Nutflix is featuring our gallery as well, we can give you terms like that without difficulty.”
It was an excellent offer.
Frankly, it was generous enough that Si-woo almost wanted to stop her.
Crosier Fine Art had already been a huge help in getting the piece brought in under contract.
But since the gallery was willing to handle all the troublesome negotiation and procedures, there was no reason to hesitate.
“All right. I’ll leave it to you, Director.”
Shin A-young smiled brightly and held out her hand.
“You won’t regret it. This auction will become a global issue.”
Her eyes were full of confidence.
Director Choi Min-ho, filming the scene from the side, found himself smiling without realizing it.
He lowered the camera and checked the image again through the viewfinder.
The fierce heat of a major auction house. If we can capture that, and then film the moment the piece sells...
It would deliver a massive catharsis to the viewers.
So that’s why Yang Dong-seok kept asking me to take over as documentary director. He’d gotten plastered that day and forgotten all about it, so I just went along with it, but I had no idea it would turn into something this huge.
He had the feeling this might be the best decision of his life.
Lifting the camera again, Choi Min-ho was certain of it deep inside.
This documentary is absolutely going to succeed!
* * *
Han Ji-yeon, a culture reporter for Joa Ilbo, had risen to real power in the culture department.
Ordinary reporters now found it difficult to address her casually.
It made sense. Her exclusive interviews with Kim Si-woo had repeatedly exploded into massive hits, pulling in enormous view counts.
When she first landed the solo interview with him, people had looked at her with envy and spite.
But now no one dared look at her that way.
Everyone had to mind Han Ji-yeon’s mood.
She was the reporter boosting the department’s profile more than anyone else these days; if you poked her for no reason, only you would suffer for it.
Han Ji-yeon sat at her desk, staring at her laptop screen.
Her monitor was lined with articles she had written about Kim Si-woo.
Every one of them had passed several million views.
Her own recognition had grown too, and lately all kinds of tips and story leads had been pouring into her inbox.
Just checking them one by one was exhausting.
This is really... getting hard to keep up with.
Han Ji-yeon scrolled through her mailbox.
There were more than a hundred unread messages.
Back then, she hadn’t even been getting spam.
There are so many emails asking for Si-woo’s contact information too...
Han Ji-yeon smiled to herself, calling it the kind of complaint only a person with too much on her plate could make, and began sorting through the mail.
In fact, just a year earlier, she had seriously wondered whether she should quit journalism altogether.
Every day had been the same: rewriting press releases, running coffee errands while reading the room around her seniors.
Back then, she had truly felt as if she couldn’t breathe.
She had thought journalism simply wasn’t her path.
But now...
Han Ji-yeon looked around.
The senior reporters who used to look down on her now greeted her first.
She had become the real power in the culture department.
It’s all thanks to Si-woo.
Just then, her phone rang.
The moment she saw the caller ID, Han Ji-yeon’s eyes widened.
Si-woo?
She answered before the phone could ring a second time.
“Yes, Si-woo!”
At once, silence settled around her.
All eyes turned to Han Ji-yeon.
Kim, the reporter beside her, shot her a sidelong glance.
Park, seated behind her, had even stood up and stretched his neck as far as it would go.
“Reporter Han Ji-yeon, I hope you’ve been well.”
“Oh, yes! I’ve been well thanks to you, Si-woo!”
Han Ji-yeon answered brightly on purpose.
“Actually, I’m calling because I have a favor to ask today.”
“A favor?”
Han Ji-yeon picked up her pen.
“I’d like to do an interview.”
“Oh, that’s not a favor at all. I’m the one who should be asking you for one.”
“Ah, but this time it may be a little special.”
“Special?”
Han Ji-yeon pricked up her ears.
“The Nutflix documentary crew will be accompanying us. Would that be all right?”
“...”
Han Ji-yeon’s jaw dropped.
She barely managed to keep her voice from rising too high.
The reporters around her kept stealing glances.
Han Ji-yeon hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand and lowered her voice as much as she could.
“N-now... did you say Nutflix?”
“Yes. We’re currently producing a Nutflix documentary. They said they’d also like to film this interview.”
For a moment, Han Ji-yeon’s mind went completely blank.
Nutflix? A documentary?
That could only mean something huge was happening.
The mere fact that a global OTT giant like Nutflix was getting involved would already create a major splash.
She had no idea what would come out of Si-woo’s mouth next.
This is definitely going to be another blockbuster. I have to take it, no matter what!
When Han Ji-yeon still didn’t answer, Si-woo’s voice came over the line.
“If you’re busy, I can ask another reporter...”
That snapped her back to reality, and she blurted out in a rush.
“No! If it’s you, Si-woo, I’ll make time even if I don’t have any! I have plenty of time! I’ll come right away!”