The Repatriation Fund and the Culture Street
Si-woo closed the file.
It was a quiet motion.
But the air above the table changed.
"Chairman Lee Jae-yong, I appreciate it, but I have to decline participating in this fund."
Lee Jae-yong’s expression did not change.
Not so much as a fingertip trembled as he set his teacup down.
"Is that so?"
He seemed neither surprised nor disappointed.
It was the kind of reaction that suggested he had expected that answer all along.
Silence stretched between them for a moment.
Lee Jae-yong spoke first.
"May I ask why?"
"The moment my name is attached to it, things get complicated."
Si-woo’s tone remained even.
"The moment government tax money goes into it, people will start asking why this piece was chosen first, why that one wasn’t, whether it’s too politically sensitive, and so on. In the end, I’d stop being someone who appraises relics and become someone who just watches his step."
Lee Jae-yong nodded in agreement.
"That is certainly true. There may even be people who say all the blame will fall on Appraiser Kim Si-woo. There are people dying because they don’t have money, and others will ask why we should spend so much on bringing artifacts back."
He admitted it readily.
"I’m someone who appraises relics. I’m not someone who goes around recovering them under the title of a national representative."
Lee Jae-yong slowly turned his teacup.
"You’re very candid."
"There’s no point in dressing it up in front of you, Chairman."
The corners of Lee Jae-yong’s mouth rose faintly.
It was too restrained to call it a smile.
"And yet,"
He set the teacup down.
"I think we need to talk about the reality of the situation. The political world is already moving. The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism has personally spoken about the need for this fund, and the ruling party’s culture committee chair used the phrase 'public-private repatriation model' in a closed-door briefing. The President is also taking a great interest in this matter. Singing Bird is drawing attention, and there’s nothing better for the new administration when it comes to building a record."
Lee Jae-yong continued, watching Si-woo.
"When politicians are laying out the board and conglomerates are lining up to play their parts, it would be stranger if Appraiser Kim Si-woo’s name weren’t at the center of it. People will start talking. Can you handle that?"
It wasn’t a threat.
It was a genuine question.
The risk was certainly large.
A cultural heritage repatriation project spoken of by the President himself.
If he were to refuse it, doubts would follow.
And with them, suspicion and jealousy.
Or maybe questions about political leaning, or something even worse.
This was the kind of proposal he couldn’t simply brush aside.
Refusing meant losing too much.
At times like this...
He had to calculate how to minimize the harm to himself.
And what he could get in return.
There was an enormous fund available.
It could be used for meaningful work, bringing back all kinds of cultural assets.
If that happened, his reputation would rise.
At the same time, he would wield tremendous influence across Korea’s cultural world.
This wasn’t just a foundation for recovering artifacts.
There were also plans for supporting other initiatives.
The highest figures in politics and business were backing it all at once.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t tempted.
But repatriating cultural heritage was no simple matter.
It could take years, a vast project with no clear end in sight.
He would have to find openings in the middle of it and break through.
His mind began to run.
What I can do is find the light of unrecognized, smuggled-out cultural assets and track them down. I can’t find things that are already known.
With the global influence he’d gained thanks to Nutflix...
Maybe he could help recover relics stolen during the Japanese colonial period.
But.
That wasn’t the path he wanted.
World-famous museums from the age of the great powers had long kept other nations’ relics in their collections.
Everyone criticized it.
But each country still found it difficult to recover what had been taken from them.
If they insisted it had been bought legitimately long ago, or threw out any number of excuses, there was no way to win diplomatically against the major powers.
He had no intention of standing alone and trying to take that on.
There were well over hundreds of thousands of Korean cultural assets overseas.
Recovering every one of them was impossible.
I’ll do what I can. I’ll find the relics that shine, and bring those back.
And in exchange for participating, he would of course take what he was due.
"Then, instead of participating directly, there’s something I’d like Chairman Lee Jae-yong to guarantee for me."
Lee Jae-yong’s gaze shifted slightly.
Interest.
"Please speak."
"Protect me from political interference."
Lee Jae-yong stopped moving the teacup in his hand.
"Protect you, you say?"
"The moment my name goes on this project, it’ll draw too much attention and probably provoke excessive expectations."
Si-woo spoke carefully.
"Every election season, the repatriation project will become an issue, my name will end up on banners, and whenever the administration changes, they’ll say they’re reviewing the direction again. Every time that happens, the fallout lands on me."
Lee Jae-yong took a sip of tea and nodded.
"A fair point. But completely blocking political interest is realistically difficult."
"Please set aside part of the foundation’s budget specifically for me, and prepare an independently operated team. I’ll build that team myself and move through it."
Lee Jae-yong watched him with evident interest.
"I’ll be responsible only for my part. I’ll act separately from the foundation."
Lee Jae-yong did not answer.
Instead, the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
"But if you act separately, people may start talking. If you fail to produce results, you could end up backed into a corner."
He set his teacup down.
"You want to assemble a team independently, without influence from anyone else. That means the personnel you can draw on will narrow as well. Can you handle that?"
"I can handle it."
"Ha ha ha."
Lee Jae-yong laughed.
"You really are full of confidence. Good."
He nodded slowly.
"When the foundation is established, I’ll create a separate team just for Appraiser Kim Si-woo. Give it a try."
For now, the crisis had passed.
"And is there anything else you want?"
At Lee Jae-yong’s words, Si-woo’s eyes lit up.
"How about developing a culture street around Eterna Gallery?"
Lee Jae-yong’s eyes moved faintly.
This was a different kind of interest.
"What exactly are you imagining?"
"Samjung buys up the land around the gallery."
Si-woo spoke with real conviction.
"Right now, the area around Eterna Gallery is being shaped into a culture street. If Samjung secures the surrounding land and develops another avenue for culture and the arts on top of it, that would be interesting. Galleries, workshops, art studios, restaurants, cafes. It would be even better if cultural facilities owned by Samjung and other companies were included too."
He made the suggestion with a trace of tension.
"And what about opening a small branch here from Raum Museum?"
Lee Jae-yong stroked his chin, thinking.
"What exactly do you want, Appraiser Kim Si-woo? As far as I know, you hold shares in Eterna Gallery. Is that why?"
Si-woo was genuinely startled.
So he knew about that.
"It’s not because of the shares. Of course, it would help Eterna Gallery, and it would benefit me too. I won’t deny that. But what I really want is something else."
He wet his lips and went on.
"I want people to be able to enjoy more culture in their everyday lives."
Lee Jae-yong listened carefully.
"Right now, if people want to see art, they have to go inside a gallery or a museum. They pay admission, walk quietly, and follow a set route to view the works."
He continued, still a little tense.
"I’m not saying that’s wrong. But I don’t think that should be all there is."
Lee Jae-yong listened without interruption.
"A street where you might naturally come upon a sculpture as you walk. Where you sit in a cafe, drink coffee, and see an installation piece through the window. A place where you can experience art naturally. I want to create a center like that."
Si-woo said, "After Singing Bird, a lot of people showed interest in me. I was grateful that they became curious about relics and took an interest in them."
He paused for a moment.
"It felt good to see people around me take interest and to see the area begin to change. And I personally started hoping that the area around Eterna Gallery would become richer, with more things for people to enjoy related to relics and art."
Lee Jae-yong said nothing for a while.
"...You mean bringing culture out beyond the gallery walls."
"Yes. Keeping it locked behind walls is preservation, not enjoyment."
Lee Jae-yong’s expression changed.
Not the eyes of a businessman.
It was the gaze of the man he had once been, back when he had majored in history.
"Appraiser Kim Si-woo, you’re an interesting man."
Lee Jae-yong gave a low laugh.
"You agonized for a long time over the 500 billion won fund, but your tone changes completely when you talk about a culture street."
He nodded readily.
"I’ll look into it. Though land acquisition and development are not simple matters. I’ll speak with the other companies as well."
Lee Jae-yong rose from his seat and extended a hand.
Time passed after that.
It was an early morning studio.
As promised, he had come for Kim Hak-joon Public Welfare Foundation’s commercial shoot.
A broadcast ad for terrestrial television.
A poster campaign to be installed at major locations nationwide.
A single schedule to film both at once.
Kim Hak-joon Public Welfare Foundation ran all kinds of welfare programs and support initiatives for vulnerable people.
The makeup artist had been applying makeup to Si-woo, then stopped and looked at his face in the mirror.
"Oh my, Appraiser-nim. Your skin is really good."
Her voice was full of admiration.
"Once I put makeup on you, you look just like an actor! Hoho!"
"No, not at all."
"But could I maybe take just one photo with you? I’m such a big fan. I’ve watched Singing Bird three times!"
He nodded readily.
"Of course."
The makeup artist beamed and pulled out her phone.
They took a selfie, and she kept thanking him over and over.
Then the makeup resumed.
He could stare at a relic for hours without blinking, but sitting in a chair and waiting while someone painted his face was not his idea of a good time.
Si-woo absentmindedly pulled out his phone.
He opened the news app.
An article about the Cultural Heritage Repatriation Foundation was already up.
After dinner with Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the government had made its official announcement.
Headlines lined up one after another.
Just like in the last article, Si-woo’s condition had been accepted perfectly.
He put the phone down.
He didn’t open the comments.
There was no need to look now.
Praise or criticism.
The dice had already been cast.
"Appraiser-nim, the makeup is finished."
He stood from the chair.
Then he stepped onto the shooting set.
The entire wall behind him was covered in green chroma key fabric.
That was where the background would be composited in postproduction.
Smiling faces of children.
Wrinkled hands of a grandmother.
A young man painting while seated in a wheelchair.
Those kinds of scenes would be layered in behind him.
When he took his designated place, the director looked up from in front of the monitor.
He took one look and his eyes widened.
"Wow, that’s fantastic!"
The director sprang to his feet and even started clapping.
The excessive praise left him flustered.
No, what did I even do...?
"You’ve got such a striking face, you could be an entertainer! Ha ha!"
Laughter rippled through the staff.
Si-woo waved his hand.
"Oh, no, not at all."
"My, and modest too."
The director laughed and moved back behind the camera.
"All right, just stand there comfortably. I’ll put the lines on the prompter, so please read them as they appear."
The lights settled over Si-woo’s face.
Black suit.
He spoke in a measured tone.
"Your small act of care can change someone’s tomorrow. Kim Hak-joon Public Welfare Foundation stands with you."
His voice was low.
He didn’t push it.
It was calm.
And yet that very calmness pressed at the chest.
"Your care can change someone’s tomorrow. Kim Hak-joon Public Welfare Foundation stands with you."
The set went quiet for a moment.
The director checked the monitor, then turned back.
"...Let’s do that one more time!"
The director said, unable to hide his excitement.
"The acting is excellent! No, is this even acting? He’s just speaking, so why does it hit so hard?"
It was embarrassing to be praised so much.
The director clapped and laughed.
"All right, one more take! Same feeling as before! We’re changing the line this time."
The second take ended. Then came the poster shoot.
"I’m someone who can recognize the value of relics. But the most precious thing in the world is people. In the places your hands reach, there are people desperately waiting for help."
And that was how the shoot ended.
It hadn’t even taken two hours, but he had sweated harder than anyone there.
When he went back inside to change clothes again, there were multiple missed calls from Representative Shin A-young.
When he didn’t answer the phone, a text came instead.
The news he had been waiting for had finally arrived.