Chapter 53 I Felt the Power of Presentation
“Have you completed advance bidder registration?”
At the entrance to the auction hall, a male employee in a suit asked in an exceedingly courteous tone and posture.
“He is here as an observer.”
The female employee escorting me answered on my behalf.
The man at the entrance gave us a proper bow, then stepped aside to let us pass.
This is the first time I’ve ever received treatment this attentive.
From the outside, America might appear to be a society that values individuality and performance over hierarchy and formalities, but the reality is entirely different.
The higher one rises, the more strictly people judge every detail—clothing, speech, expression, attitude, and conduct.
Even from this alone, America did not feel like a country of freedom, but a country where one was expected to bear the consequences of that freedom.
When we entered the auction hall, soft classical music was playing beneath the chandelier lights.
Round tables covered in white tablecloths had been arranged with generous spacing, and every person seated there was an upper-class collector possessing restrained elegance.
“Whew…”
The unfamiliar atmosphere of the room, combined with the sensation of the suit constricting my body, made me instinctively straighten my shoulders.
“My goodness. They say clothes make the man.”
At that moment, Hailey recognized me and approached in a black dress.
It was a remarkably neat dress without any shine or excessive decoration.
“Hailey. What exactly are you planning? When did you even prepare clothes like this?”
“Hehe, you look rather impressive, though. Although you have the expression of someone wearing combat gear rather than a suit. Come to think of it, the car we’re presenting today is similar. It looks like a perfectly elegant sedan on the outside, but inside it carries a ten-cylinder engine with a monstrous 507 horsepower.”
Hailey spoke in a half-teasing tone.
“Anyway, enduring those uncomfortable clothes will be worth it. Ah, it’s about to begin. Wish me luck!”
The instant Hailey walked lightly toward the stage, the atmosphere in the auction hall changed.
“Next, we present auction lot number sixty-seven, a 2010 E60 M5.”
No sooner had the host spoken than the stage began to rotate, slowly revealing the car with its striking blue gloss.
Contrary to expectations, however, skeptical voices immediately swept through the audience.
“They’re already putting a car from that year into a classic-car auction?”
“They call it a modern classic. What a ridiculous play on words.”
As the murmuring grew louder, Hailey stepped onto the podium.
The moment she took the microphone, the room became quiet as if by magic.
It appeared that the fact that the daughter of the Sterling family herself had come out to give the presentation had caught their interest.
“Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Hailey Sterling. I have come here today because I wanted to personally explain this particular lot.”
Her voice was composed yet lively.
It was a trustworthy voice belonging to someone naturally capable of drawing people’s attention.
Come to think of it, she was student council president in high school.
“Now that I’m up here, I can see many familiar faces. Hi, Gemma, Jeffrey, Joseph! And I also see many faces I don’t recognize. Security, you did verify everyone’s identity properly, didn’t you?”
“Hahahaha.”
Hailey tossed a light joke toward the audience.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere relaxed in an instant.
“To all the collectors who love classic cars, you’ve noticed that classic-car prices have been rather unusual lately, haven’t you? I see vehicles in the field every day, so I feel it firsthand myself.”
“Certainly… Prices have easily tripled since the pandemic.”
“That’s right. More and more people are stockpiling them not because they love cars, but as an inflation hedge…”
Several auction participants began responding positively to Hailey’s words.
After the icebreaker came the stage of building common ground.
“But that doesn’t mean we can put just any inexpensive car up for auction. That is why we selected this E60 M5. As you all know, this vehicle carries the final naturally aspirated V10 engine to directly inherit Formula One technology. I’m sure you are all aware that, because of environmental regulations, we will never see an engine like this again. Furthermore, this model is equipped with a manual transmission, which is becoming rarer with every passing day.”
It seemed Hailey had not simply been idle while I struggled with the engine.
The last.
Naturally aspirated.
V10.
Manual transmission.
She had carefully selected only the words capable of making automobile collectors’ hearts race.
“Furthermore, this vehicle received an A7 rating from Sterling Selection. It is a remarkably high grade, one that only a handful of vehicles achieve in any given quarter. The restorer who brought this car back to such perfect condition is also with us today.”
A bolt from the blue suddenly struck me as I watched Hailey’s presentation with satisfaction.
The powerful spotlight aimed at the stage swung toward me.
“He received an extraordinary score of more than 4,300 points from the NCRS for a Corvette C2, and Heritage Classic described him as a promising restorer to watch. This is Jason Kwon!”
Ah…! Hailey, you little… So this was your plan from the beginning.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward me at once.
As I sat frozen in confusion, the female employee beside me leaned slightly closer and whispered,
“Simply stand and bow.”
Following her instruction, I rose from my seat and inclined my head lightly.
Small bursts of applause sounded from around the room.
Clap, clap, clap.
Of course, mixed with the applause were murmurs of surprise and curiosity that such a young Asian man had restored the car.
“And before the auction begins, we will make a special exception for this lot and start the engine so everyone can hear its engine and exhaust note!”
“Oh…”
Hailey was clearly determined to drive the point home.
Since such performances were uncommon at classic-car auctions, everyone wore expressions of anticipation.
Rooooar!
At her signal, the car started, and the sharp yet majestic exhaust note unique to the V10 filled the hall.
“Wow, a ten-cylinder really is different, isn’t it?”
“Hmm. Hearing it suddenly makes me want one. Perhaps I should pick it up for weekend drives. It doesn’t seem likely to lose much more value from here…”
Once sound was added to the visual presentation, the atmosphere intensified further.
It was a successful performance that not only captured the bidders’ interest and attention, but also vividly demonstrated confidence in the car’s condition.
“Then we shall begin the auction. The opening bid is forty thousand dollars!”
At the host’s announcement, everyone’s gaze returned to the front.
“Whew… She really prepared all kinds of things.”
“Hehe. You did well too, Mr. Kwon. And the effect seems quite clear.”
The female employee beside me smiled lightly and pointed toward the screen on the front right.
The opening price, current bidder, and current bid were displayed there in real time.
The price had already climbed past the mid-fifty-thousand-dollar range.
According to my appraisal skill, which allowed me to know the optimal auction price in advance, the expected value of this car was sixty-eight thousand dollars.
However, the bidding price rose far faster, as though mocking that estimate.
Beep—
Beep—
Electronic buzzer sounds came from around the room whenever someone bid.
Each participant placed a bid by pressing the button in their hand.
“We have seventy-one thousand dollars!”
The optimal winning price was surpassed in an instant.
“Oh! We now have seventy-five thousand dollars.”
Before long, the price had approached the previous auction record for the model.
Looking at the bidder numbers, a young man who appeared to be in his thirties and a man in his fifties seated at the same table were locked in a fierce battle of nerves.
Beep—
“Seventy-seven thousand! We have seventy-seven thousand dollars.”
Only a few seconds after my attention had been drawn to their table, the auction record for an E60 M5 was broken.
“Ha… Hahaha.”
Were auctions among the wealthy simply different?
With one or two presses of a bidding button, they were adding amounts comparable to what the Crown Victoria had cost at the public auction.
In any case, all auction proceeds beyond the thirty-thousand-dollar purchase price belonged to me, so I was screaming with joy internally.
Just as the battle of nerves between the two men remained evenly matched, an elegant woman in her sixties who had been sitting quietly in the corner smiled softly.
Beep—
[85,000 USD]
A new bid and a new bidder number appeared on the screen at the front.
A brief silence passed through the room.
“Eighty-five thousand dollars! Bidder number sixty-five.”
The two men turned their heads and glanced at the woman in her sixties.
However, she sat perfectly straight without so much as blinking.
“Any further bids? Three, two, one!”
After seeing her, both men slowly shook their heads.
“Yes! Sold to bidder number sixty-five.”
Large red letters reading [SOLD] appeared on the screen.
Beneath them was the clear figure of 85,000 USD.
“Jason!”
After the entire auction concluded several hours later, Hailey came running toward me like a child.
“Did you see it? The M5’s final price? It’s an all-time record. It’s the most expensive E60 M5 ever sold in America!”
Then she punched my chest lightly with her small fist, her voice brimming with excitement.
“Huh? Yeah… Exactly. It really turned into a huge success…”
I stared at her in a daze.
It still did not feel real.
After the M5, the auction continued with cars whose prices made eighty-five thousand dollars seem trivial, but I heard none of it.
“So? Was dressing up like this worth it?”
Hailey planted a hand on her waist and lifted her chin.
From Hailey’s perspective, there would not be much profit beyond the auction commission.
No, judging by the commission alone, this had been the least expensive car at the entire auction.
Yet she looked as delighted as though it had been her own achievement.
“Yeah. It exceeded my expectations. Thank you.”
I sincerely expressed my gratitude.
“What’s gotten into you, agreeing so readily? Hmm. Anyway, I was also testing the modern-classic market, so I gained something from this too. It will be a great help in establishing the company’s strategy.”
As I listened to Hailey’s excited thoughts on the auction, three familiar people approached us.
They were the two men who had remained in the bidding until the end and the woman in her sixties.
“Miss Sterling, did this young man truly work on that S85 engine?”
The man in his fifties, who was walking in front, addressed us while breathing heavily.
“Oh, Mr. Walter, hello! Yes. As I told you, Jason is a restorer even Heritage Classic has its eye on.”
Hailey lightly tugged at the sleeve of my suit jacket as she spoke.
“Hello. I’m Jason Kwon.”
“Unbelievable. Someone this young… Whew. I originally intended to bid only up to sixty thousand dollars, but when I heard that engine start, I lost all reason. It has been a very long time since I heard an S85 engine sound that clean.”
“There was no uneven note from any particular cylinder, and the aligned midrange tones were impressive. That must mean the rod-bearing clearances were perfect.”
The man in his thirties added from beside him.
“Hohoho. It feels wonderful to hear you both competing to praise my car. I’m already looking forward to my weekend drives.”
The woman in her sixties, who had been listening silently from behind them, extended her hand to me with warm words.
“This is Mrs. Margaret. She was quite an accomplished driver who even competed in rallies when she was younger.”
“Hoho. I can no longer drive like that now, of course. In any case, I’ll treasure it. Thank you, Jason Kwon.”
Even after Margaret left, the two men remained for a while and asked me various questions, mainly about cars and my restoration shop.
“You’re popular, Jason. It won’t hurt to get acquainted with our members. We don’t accept just anyone as a bidder.”
Hailey spoke while looking at the three business cards in my hand.
However, more than their social reputation or status, what remained with me was Margaret’s final remark that she would treasure the car.
Let’s continue building cars properly, with even greater care.
So that any car leaving my hands would be cherished wherever it went.
“What are you doing? We need to go settle the payment.”
When I remained standing there in silence, Hailey playfully poked me in the side.
“Yeah. But first, I need to change out of these suffocating clothes. More than anything else, this bow tie… It’s seriously embarrassing.”
I undid the top button of my shirt as I spoke.
It was a moment when I desperately longed for my short-sleeved Navy SEAL T-shirt.