Chapter 47
I’m translating the chapter into publication-form HTML, keeping narration in flowing paragraphs and styling the flashback material as an in-universe display block.CHAPTER_TITLE: The Bird Box That Crossed Time
Peninsula Hotel.
The place known as the “lady of the Orient” still carried itself with dignity, even after nearly a century had gone by.
Its white facade and green roof formed a graceful harmony, and a classical fountain sent jets of water high in front of the main entrance.
As the car stopped at the hotel doors, a doorman came at once to open them.
Inside the lobby, the high ceiling and glittering chandelier drew the eye upward.
Gold-leaf accents gleamed softly across the marble columns, and antique furniture had been arranged throughout the space.
The whole place felt like a preserved remnant of Hong Kong’s most glamorous era.
“Your check-in has already been completed. I’ll take you straight to your room.”
They passed the front desk where ordinary guests were lining up and went directly to the VIP elevator.
Even the elevator interior had been decorated with old-fashioned mirrors and gold trim.
They rode up to the top floor, then crossed the corridor and opened the suite door.
A spacious living room unfolded before them.
Floor-to-ceiling windows stretched across the wall.
Beyond them lay a sweeping view of Victoria Harbour.
The blue sea and, beyond it, the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island stood like a painted screen.
When the sun went down, it would probably turn into a breathtaking night view.
“Wow... the view really is amazing.”
Even Director Choi Min-ho, who had been filming, lowered his camera for a moment and simply looked out in admiration.
“This is the Peninsula’s Grand Harbour View Suite. It’s one of the most expensive rooms in Hong Kong. The room itself is over 150 square meters.”
Manager Park Seong-jun added the explanation from beside him.
I was curious how much it cost per night, but I didn’t bother asking.
I’d look it up later on my own.
“Please rest. We’ll be waiting in the lobby, so call us anytime.”
Park Seong-jun bowed politely and stepped back.
Everyone unpacked in their own rooms and took a short break.
Today was free time, with no official schedule.
We rested for a while, passing the time.
When I went back down to the lobby, Shin A-young was already waiting outside.
Even in a light dress and sunglasses, she looked polished.
“Mr. Si-woo, what would you like to do? How about shopping or a Michelin tour? Hong Kong has an incredible number of Michelin-starred restaurants.”
At Shin A-young’s bright question, I fell into thought.
Eating something good or sightseeing would have been nice, but one thing had already taken hold in my mind.
“Could we go to Hollywood Road or Cat Street?”
“The antique street?”
Shin A-young shook her head as if she couldn’t help herself.
“That does sound like you, Mr. Si-woo. You came all the way to Hong Kong; you could at least relax a little. And you want the antique street.”
Director Choi Min-ho, who had been listening, brightened at once.
He picked up his camera and said in an excited voice, “Oh, nice. Kim Si-woo the appraiser’s Hong Kong antique street exploration. This is going to look great on film. What if you find another jackpot item?”
Seeing the director make such a fuss, Si-woo gave an awkward smile.
“Director Choi, don’t get your hopes up too much. Hong Kong is already a place that countless appraisers have combed through. Realistically, finding anything will be difficult.”
He said that, but in truth he was a little excited too.
There was always such a thing as if.
* * *
“Hollywood Road and Cat Street are geographically close, but their atmosphere is worlds apart.”
Park Seong-jun, seated in the passenger seat, looked back and continued his explanation.
“If Hollywood Road is a street of refined antique galleries, Cat Street is more like a noisy flea market. The mood is completely different.”
“Could you tell me more?”
At Si-woo’s question, Park Seong-jun explained in detail.
“The galleries on Hollywood Road handle museum-grade genuine pieces. Qing imperial relics, Ming dynasty porcelain, things like that. Prices run from hundreds of millions of won to tens of billions. By contrast, most things on Cat Street are either elaborate reproductions or just tourist souvenirs. I’m not sure whether there’ll be anything there for someone like you to find, Mr. Kim. Where would you like to go?”
He decided the moment he heard it.
He had no interest in the famous expensive pieces.
The place no one paid attention to.
Cat Street was the place he wanted.
“Take us to Cat Street.”
As they climbed along Hong Kong’s famously winding slopes, the scenery changed at once.
“That’s Hollywood Road over there.”
Following the direction Park Seong-jun pointed, neat galleries lined the street.
The antiques visible through the glass were displayed one by one like works of art.
“And the narrow street running below it is Cat Street.”
A sloping lane descending by steps came into view.
In contrast to Hollywood Road’s elegance and order, it had the feel of a crowded market alley.
When they got out of the car, Cat Street’s distinctive energy hit at once.
Narrow lanes packed with tourists.
Stalls and shops crammed tightly along both sides.
In front of the shops, all kinds of things were piled up in chaotic heaps.
“All right, shall we have a look around?”
Shin A-young said, adjusting her sunglasses.
Director Choi was already filming the area with his camera.
Si-woo walked slowly down the alley, examining everything one by one.
The first shop.
The display shelves were full of jade bracelets and all sorts of necklaces.
But most of them were crude imitations of real pieces.
Another shop.
Bronze censers and animal figurines were laid out there.
They looked plausible at a glance, but they were fakes.
Reproductions that had been artificially rusted recently.
“There really doesn’t seem to be anything genuine here,” Si-woo muttered.
Park Seong-jun replied from beside him, “Right. This place has already been picked over for decades by antique hunters from all over the world. These days, selling reproductions to tourists is basically the main business.”
Still, he didn’t give up and kept walking through Cat Street, looking carefully.
He went into shop after shop, inspecting the items on display in detail.
Porcelain, paintings, calligraphy, jade ornaments, wooden dolls...
The variety was broad, but nowhere did anything truly shine.
That was only natural, he supposed.
It wasn’t as if something like that would be easy to spot.
He wandered through the alley and visited dozens of shops, but there was no result.
Park Seong-jun was right.
Still, it was fun enough.
The bargaining atmosphere between tourists and merchants was pleasantly lively.
Shin A-young was moving from shop to shop, looking at small trinkets.
“Isn’t this cute? Should I buy one?”
She held up a palm-sized wooden cat figurine and showed it to Si-woo.
“Yes, it’s cute. You should get it.”
Had they been wandering the alley for about an hour?
His feet were starting to hurt, and he was getting tired.
It seemed better to head back now.
He felt a little sorry for Nutflix’s filming crew, who had been trailing behind with heavy equipment.
“Should we head back now?”
At that, the crew’s faces visibly brightened.
Walking around in hot weather while carrying heavy cameras was no easy task.
“I was hoping to rest a little too. Shall we go back to the hotel and have some tea?”
Shin A-young agreed with Si-woo as well.
Just as they were about to turn back with a trace of regret.
“Thief! Somebody help!”
An urgent shout in Korean rang out through the alley.
He turned his head reflexively.
A man up ahead was sprinting toward them, clutching a black handbag.
“Move! Move!”
When the man yelled, people screamed and scattered to either side.
The alley instantly turned into chaos.
The man seemed intent on escaping into the narrow passage beside where Si-woo stood.
When Si-woo didn’t move, the man tried to shove past him.
At that moment.
Whip—
Si-woo’s hand shot out like lightning and caught the man’s wrist exactly.
At the same time, his leg hooked in.
The man lost his balance and was yanked up into the air.
Thud!
“Gah—!”
With a cry, the man crashed to the ground.
Si-woo immediately twisted the man’s arm behind his back and pinned him down.
“Ugh...”
The man struggled and groaned, but it was useless.
Clean. Precise. No wasted motion.
The nearby tourists, stunned by the scene, stared for a moment, then started clapping.
Someone took out a phone and began recording.
“Oh no, my things!”
Old Lee, the owner of Lee Antiques, came running over with a pained expression.
The thief had crashed into the stall as he fell.
Odds and ends had spilled everywhere in a messy heap across the floor.
“We’ll handle this man from here.”
Park Seong-jun stepped forward with a hard expression and held the man in place while he spoke.
The manager, Lee Ming, standing nearby, pulled out his phone and reported it to the local police.
“Phew... thank you so much. Huh? Are you Mr. Kim Si-woo the appraiser?”
A Korean tourist who had arrived late was panting when she looked up and asked in surprise.
She had been uncertain at first, but seeing the camera crew must have confirmed it.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Thank you so much! You saved me! My passport, credit cards, and cash were all inside...”
The woman hugged her bag and let out a breath of relief.
Her hands were still shaking.
“Are you all right? It doesn’t look like anything inside was damaged.”
“Yes, thankfully. I’m traveling alone, and if I’d lost it, I’d have been in real trouble. How can I ever repay you...”
“There’s no need to repay me. Someone else would’ve stepped in if I hadn’t.”
Meanwhile, Old Lee, the shop owner, sighed as he looked over the items scattered on the floor.
“Good grief, what a bolt from the blue!”
He examined the things spread across the ground.
Fortunately, what had fallen from the shelves was mostly old books, wooden objects, and cloth goods.
The pickpocket had only kicked up a cloud of dust when he went down.
For all the noise, very little had actually broken.
Amid the mess of old books and odds and ends scattered everywhere, Si-woo’s gaze stopped on one spot on the floor.
“......!”
A black metal box beneath the shelf the pickpocket had knocked over.
It was nothing but an ugly lump of scrap metal, rusted over and caked with grime.
And yet a dazzling golden radiance was rising from it.
This is...
Si-woo’s pupils widened.
The instant he faced that light, the noise of reality was cut off, and the world around him began to blur slowly like paint spreading across canvas.
What is this?
Crackle...
An unknown noise rang in his ears, and his vision grew hazy.
Chuff-chuff, whooo...!
The whistle of a steam locomotive struck his ears.
March 1939, Vienna, Austria.
A cold winter wind swept across the platform.
It had been one year since Nazi Germany annexed Austria.
Boots pounded the floor.
A train station had been thrown into chaos, filled with the mixed cries and sobs of Jewish people.
The Nazis were seizing Jewish property and driving them out.
Behind a pillar in a corner.
A man in an old coat urgently grabbed the hand of his young daughter and pulled her close.
Joseph Weiss.
He was one of Vienna’s most renowned watchmakers.
In his hands was a wrinkled bundle of papers.
“Anna. Look at your father.”
His daughter, twelve years old and dear enough to make his heart ache, was already pale with fear.
“Listen carefully. Father will go to America first and settle things there. They only wanted my skills. Your visas, and your mother’s... were denied.”
Joseph’s voice trembled ever so slightly.
“You have to board the ship to Shanghai with your mother. I managed to get the tickets through a great deal of trouble. Right now, Shanghai is the only place that will take you without a visa. Understand? Just hold on a little longer, and I’ll come get you soon.”
“Father... I’m scared. Can’t we go together?”
Tears finally spilled down his daughter’s face.
Joseph’s chest tightened painfully.
“It’ll be all right. We’ll see each other again. And... here, look at this.”
Carefully, Joseph took something from inside his coat.
A beautiful metal box, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.
Its surface was adorned with exquisite enamel work, flowers and vines woven into the design.
Click, click, clack.
With trembling fingers, Joseph wound the spring and pressed the button.
Click.
The oval lid opened softly.
And from inside, a tiny bird sprang up.
It was a jeweled bird, every feather meticulously crafted from ruby and emerald.
Tweet-tweet, chirp, trill...
A clear, crystalline birdsong filled the air.
The tiny bird tilted its head as if alive.
It fluttered its wings and sang.
There was a vitality in it that no machine should have had.
A faint smile, almost enchanted, spread across Anna’s tear-streaked face.
“Your grandfather passed this down to me. It’s a miracle made by the legendary Swiss craftsmen, the Frères Rochat brothers.”
Joseph placed the bird box into his daughter’s small hands.
“You must never lose it. This is our promise.”
“A promise?”
“Yes. If Father is delayed, you and your mother come to New York. Wind this spring where you can see the Empire State Building, and I’ll come find you when I hear the bird sing.”
Joseph held his daughter and wife in a crushing embrace.
That was when it happened.
“Juden! Schnell! (Jews! Move it, now!)”
A Nazi officer’s shrill shout rang over the platform along with the pounding of boots.
There was no more time to linger.
“Anna, this isn’t goodbye. We’re only apart for a little while!”
Joseph gave her a smile and forced his heavy feet forward.
---