For the Public Good
In the conference room of SBC Broadcasting Station's Variety and Culture Team 2, a man let out a deep sigh and clutched his head in both hands.
His name was Kim Dae-yu, the PD of SBC's long-running hit program Authentic & Masterpiece.
The show had been on the air for over thirty years, appraising whether items submitted by viewers were genuine antiques. When a piece was authenticated, it went through restoration and then to auction — a format that had held a loyal audience for decades.
Lately, however, this successful program had run into a serious problem.
PD Kim Dae-yu turned to the junior writer.
"Writer Park. Did you get ahold of Master Hong of Seosan?"
The junior writer shook her head.
"Well... I reached him, but he declined."
"Did you mention the appearance fee and the incentive?"
"Yes... I covered all of it. He said he doesn't do television filming..."
"Hah... this is actually driving me insane. What do you mean he doesn't do TV? He goes on other programs just fine..."
PD Kim's sigh grew heavier with every word.
The reason he was so troubled was simple. Shin Jeong-mun, the master artisan who had handled the show's restoration work for the past ten years, had stepped down due to old age and chronic illness.
If it had been an appraiser or a celebrity, finding a substitute would have been easy enough. Restoration was another matter entirely. When it came to cultural relics, a single misstep could send an artifact's value plummeting overnight, so the work had to be entrusted to a truly certified expert. And in that regard, Shin Jeong-mun occupied such an unassailable position in South Korea's restoration field that finding anyone to take his place was all the more difficult.
They had still tried, reaching out to every other restorer of cultural heritage they could find. Every last one of them had declined. Not wanting to appear on television was the excuse they gave, but their true feelings were likely all the same.
I cannot replace Shin Jeong-mun — and announcing that fact to the world was more than any of them were willing to bear.
"Huu... should we just scrap the restoration segment..."
The easiest solution, frankly, was to cut the restoration corner altogether. But it was not that simple. On Authentic & Masterpiece, one of the scenes audiences looked forward to most was watching an old relic, once authenticated, pass through restoration and emerge in its original, breathtaking beauty.
If we just pull the most popular segment on the show, the viewers will riot and the ratings will tank...
Not that he had any better options at the moment. PD Kim let out another sigh and wrapped up the meeting.
"Huu... let's call it here for today. For the time being, we'll proceed without restoration. And everyone — if you know anyone who does cultural relic restoration, please reach out to them."
"Ms. Seo-ah, looking at this, do you think it's authentic?"
"Hmm... from what I can tell, this jar is definitely the real thing! I'd say it would go for at least thirty million won!"
"Oh, that's quite a high estimate. Then tell me — if I offered to sell it to you for ten million, would you buy it?"
"Ten million!? Of course I would!"
"Ahahaha. Well then, shall we see? Let's check the appraisal. Show us the value, please!"
The figure that flashed across the studio monitor was fifty thousand won. In other words, it was a fake.
Seo-ah's face crumpled in shock, and the studio audience burst into laughter at her reaction.
"Ah, Ms. Seo-ah. You were completely wrong. Do you still want to buy it for ten million?"
"I really thought it was authentic. Can't you let me off just this once..."
Still, today's shoot went well thanks to Choi Seo-ah...
Some actors came on as guests, struck a few poses, and left. Choi Seo-ah, on the other hand, didn't care in the slightest if her image took a hit — she delivered variety-show reactions that actually landed. It was why, despite being an actress, she was booked for entertainment programs as often as she was.
"Alright, that's a wrap. Great work, everyone."
With PD Kim's cut, the cast and crew exchanged bows and the cameras stopped rolling. They hadn't managed any restoration work, but they had gotten through the shoot somehow.
It feels off, though...
A scene that had been in the show for thirty years was simply gone, and the absence left a strange hollow in the rhythm of the episode. Dae-yu was still turning over how on earth he was supposed to edit around it when someone came hurrying up beside him.
"PD-nim! Thank you for your hard work today!"
The person who had rushed over to greet him was none other than today's guest, Choi Seo-ah.
"You worked hard too, Seo-ah. I think we got a lot of great footage thanks to you. I appreciate it."
"Hehe. Really? I'm glad. Ah, but PD-nim."
"Yes?"
Seo-ah asked the question carefully, almost hesitantly.
"Why didn't we do any restoration today? That's my favorite part, you know. When an old artifact gets repaired and comes out looking brand new and gorgeous."
"Ah... well, about that..."
It hadn't been announced publicly yet, so he hesitated for a moment. Then he decided there was no point in holding it back.
It's not as if it's some great secret...
"The truth is, Master Shin Jeong-mun, who handled our restoration work, had to leave the show because of a chronic illness. We're looking for someone else, but he was in such a league of his own that it hasn't been easy."
Seo-ah looked stricken, as if she didn't know what to do with herself.
"Ah... I see... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
Dae-yu waved it off as if it were nothing.
"Oh, please. It's not as if you were the one who made Master Shin step down. I only hesitated because it hasn't gone out in the press yet."
Seo-ah asked one more question, still cautious.
"Is it that hard to find someone who restores cultural relics...?"
"Well, he was an extraordinary man. Everyone's turning us down because they don't want to be compared to him."
"Is that so...?"
Seo-ah fell silent, something turning over behind her eyes.
I wonder... could Master Kang do this too...?
She had no idea whether he could restore cultural relics. But of all the people she had ever met, she had never seen anyone as gifted at making things as Master Kang. And more than that — for one reason or another, she hadn't seen his face even once since the cat tower. She couldn't pretend there wasn't a part of her that wanted an excuse to see him again.
"Um, PD-nim... I know someone who runs a workshop, and his craftsmanship is incredible. Shall I ask him?"
The sudden offer caught Dae-yu completely off guard.
"A workshop...?"
"Yes. He's a bit on the young side, but his skill is the real thing. And he doesn't seem limited to any particular field, either."
"Cultural relic restoration isn't something just anyone can do... Hmm..."
It was a highly specialized field. Not the kind of work you handed to a stranger on a recommendation. Still... this was no time to be picky. And you never knew.
For all I know, the guy might actually be good.
Seo-ah watched his face, then asked, even more carefully than before.
"Would that be all right...?"
Dae-yu thought it over for a moment, then shook his head — not in refusal.
"No, it's fine. If you're going that far, I'm curious myself. Could I meet him?"
Seo-ah's face lit up at once.
"Ah, yes! Then I'll ask him and get back to you!"
The moment I stepped into the All-Around Workshop, I flipped on the lights and ran through the day's list of jobs.
Sung Kyung-hoon's driver. Yoon Jin-ho's Chinese cleaver...
Kitchen tools and golf clubs were still the commissions that came in most often. Word of mouth accounted for most of the work, so people tended to request the same kinds of things I had already made. Inquiries about custom mice came in plenty, but a mouse was a hard sell as a high-end piece, and most of those conversations never went further than the question itself.
"Alright. Let's get to it."
Work always went first-come, first-served. I started with the driver that had come in first, pulling up the full-body and hand photos the client had sent and checking them over once more on my phone.
Bigger than I expected. I'll make it a little larger than usual, then...
I took out the tablet I had bought not long ago and laid the design down on the screen.
Yeah. That should do it.
I had just finished the design and was about to start the actual work when the workshop door opened and someone came in.
Who's that?
A moment later, a voice I half-recognized called out.
"Master Kang!!"
"Ms. Seo-ah?"
"Master, why aren't you answering your phone?"
"My phone?"
I unlocked it and checked. Several missed calls from an unknown number.
"The last four digits are 5111 — is that your number, Ms. Seo-ah?"
"Yes, that's me. Wait... don't tell me you didn't even save my number!?"
Seo-ah stared at me, caught somewhere between disbelief and outrage.
"Ah, well... it's a celebrity's number. An actress's number, at that. If I ever lost my phone and it got out, you'd be the one in trouble."
A moment earlier she had been genuinely annoyed that I hadn't saved it. Hearing the reason, though, she seemed to find it hard to stay angry.
"Ahem... is that so? Well, if that's the reason, I suppose it can't be helped. Still, save it. There are only a handful of people allowed to have my number, you know."
"Understood. I'll save it. But what brings you here first thing in the morning? Do you have a commission?"
She looked at me with a bright, unclouded smile.
"Master! Have you ever thought about going on TV?"
"I'm sorry... going on TV?"
A moment later, Seo-ah carefully walked me through the situation at Authentic & Masterpiece.
"So the restoration master's seat is empty right now. I thought maybe you could give it a try."
I turned her down without a second's thought.
"I'll pass. Not interested."
"What...!? Why not? You're tall, and with a face like that you're pretty handsome — I think you'd actually be popular..."
I went to the fridge, pulled out a canned drink I had bought last time, and handed it to her.
"I know the show. My mother watches it all the time. I know it's quite popular. But if I went on a program like that, my face would be plastered all over the country. I have no interest in that."
The All-Around Workshop's address and phone number were both listed online. My photograph was nowhere to be found.
I'm not a celebrity. What's the point of my face being out there?
When I said I wouldn't do it, her voice drooped.
"I see... huu... well, it can't be helped. I understand. They said the appearance fee and the incentive are actually pretty good, though..."
"...The appearance fee and the incentive?"
Something in me sat up and paid attention. Whether she had been waiting for that or not, she launched straight into the details.
"Yes. They're having such a hard time finding a master that they raised the appearance fee quite a bit. And if a restored piece sells at auction, you get five percent of the sale as an incentive. Still not interested...?"
"Five percent of the sale...?"
"Yes. Five percent. If it sells for a hundred million won, that's five million for you. A billion, and you're looking at fifty million. And that's on top of the appearance fee, of course."
Five million. Fifty million...?
That was assuming a billion. Two billion would mean a hundred million won. Four billion, two hundred million. The more expensive the piece I restored, the more absurd those numbers would become.
When I didn't answer, her face fell all over again.
"But if you're still not interested, there's nothing I can do... I'm sorry. I'll just tell the PD that it didn't..."
I stopped her before she could make the call.
"I'll do it. The restoration work."
"Really!?"
Her whole face brightened. I put on a touch of bluster and answered as if I had thought it through.