Heaven Above Heaven
When the appraisers sat in stunned silence, Hyun-tae, serving as the show's MC, ventured a cautious question.
"Um, Master Jeong Cheolhun. How does it look? The condition of the restored celadon?"
Appraiser Jeong barely managed to collect himself and rose from his seat.
"Well... I'll need to take a closer look first."
As Jeong Cheolhun stood and approached the celadon, the other appraisers followed close behind. They laid their hands on the piece themselves, inspecting its condition from every angle.
Is this even possible...?
It had been hard enough to believe from a distance. Up close, the thing was even more absurd.
Judging by their faces, the appraisers beside him were thinking the exact same thing.
"Is this really a restored piece...? Those photos of it before the restoration weren't fakes, were they?"
"There's no way... We wouldn't have any reason to lie about something like that in the first place."
"Then what on earth is this...?"
After some time had passed—once they had apparently finished their examination—they returned to their seats one by one.
And the first to speak was none other than Appraiser Jeong Cheolhun.
"There's something I need to ask first. Is this truly a restored celadon? Is this really the same cracked piece we saw in the footage earlier?"
Hyun-tae tilted his head at the question.
"Yes, that's correct. Is there something wrong with the celadon? Are you suggesting it might be a counterfeit?"
A counterfeit...?
That was impossible. Jeong had spent a lifetime picking out countless S-grade fake celadons from the genuine article. When it came to celadon, he could say with confidence that his eye was among the very finest in South Korea. If the piece sitting in front of him now was a fake, he would have no business working as an appraiser ever again.
If a counterfeit indistinguishable from the real thing could be made, how would anyone appraise anything?
"That's not it. It's not a fake... it's not a fake. It's not a fake, but... well..."
The words simply would not come. Appraiser Jeong asked for a brief pause, had them stop recording, and turned to the producer.
"Sorry, PD Kim—could I take a look at the footage from when it was being restored?"
"The restoration footage?"
In the clip they had aired, Cheolwoo's restoration work had flashed by in an instant. Jeong wanted to see the process at proper length.
"We have it, but it might be a bit dull. He works in complete silence—doesn't even make a sound breathing."
"I'd still like to see it, even just for a moment."
"Hmm..."
They had installed a small camera inside the plastic enclosure, so it wasn't impossible. It simply hadn't made for particularly entertaining television, which was why they had shown only the tiniest sliver of it earlier.
Well... show it now and edit it later.
"All right. One moment."
PD Kim rummaged through the broadcast files, and a moment later the studio monitors filled with footage of Cheolwoo at work.
It wasn't the raw, uncut recording—but even as an edited version, it ran well over twenty minutes, a far cry from the fleeting glimpse they had aired before. With no sound at all and nothing but restoration work on screen, it ought to have been tedious.
And yet there was not a trace of boredom on any of the appraisers' faces.
"How does someone that young work with such delicacy...?"
"He's mixing at that ratio? Without even weighing anything...?"
What stunned them most of all, however, was the brushwork.
"He finished that in a single pass?"
"One pass, and he filled it that cleanly?"
A cascade of admiration. By the time the footage ended, the only sounds leaving their mouths were awed murmurs of "Wow..." and "Incredible..."
Once the video was over, Hyun-tae—who still didn't fully grasp just how extraordinary what they had watched truly was—turned cautiously to Jeong Cheolhun, the senior appraiser among them.
"Master Jeong, what do you think? Now that you've seen Restorer Kang Cheolwoo's process as well, how would you rate his skill?"
"......"
Jeong was silent for a moment. The studio went still.
Then he rose from his seat and began to speak, choosing his words with care.
"First, I believe I owe an apology."
"An apology? All of a sudden, what...?"
"A short while ago, before I had seen the restoration process or the finished piece, I made remarks that dismissed Mr. Kang Cheolwoo... no, Master Kang. I sincerely apologize for that."
Hyun-tae stared at him, astonished. He had worked alongside Jeong Cheolhun on this program for more than ten years, and the man had always been fiercely proud. He was not someone who offered apologies lightly.
"Hahaha... I don't think I've ever seen this side of you in all the years we've done this show. So what you're saying is that Master Kang Cheolwoo's skill is that outstanding?"
Appraiser Jeong nodded.
"Yes. I was honestly astonished. Not even an hour ago I was thinking, 'What's a kid this young doing calling himself a restorer?' But now, after watching that footage and seeing this result, I find myself wondering whether the nation itself ought to step in and designate him an Intangible Cultural Heritage without delay."
Hyun-tae decided to raise the stakes a little further.
"That's extraordinarily high praise. This may be a somewhat rude question, but how would he compare to Master Shin Jeong-mun? Is Restorer Kang's skill truly superior, the way he claimed?"
Jeong Cheolhun nodded again without a moment's hesitation.
"Yes. He is several levels above. I have never in my life seen anyone with those hand skills. And more than anything, this celadon—now that the restoration is complete—is at a level that simply defies all reason."
"Defies all reason?"
"Yes. I turned it this way and that, held it up to the light, examined it from every possible angle—and I could not find a single trace that it had ever been restored."
"Ah... so that's why..."
"Yes. Before I saw the footage, I suspected the images of the celadon before restoration had been fabricated."
Hyun-tae's expression shifted to one of genuine shock.
He was that incredible?
The truth was, Hyun-tae had assumed the PD had brought Cheolwoo on as a one-off guest for the buzz. But if Jeong Cheolhun was talking like this, it meant the young man's skill truly belonged in the heavens.
"I'd like to hear what the other appraisers think as well."
Hyun-tae put the question to the rest of the panel, just in case. Their opinions, however, were unanimous.
"I agree completely. When it came to restoration, I believed Master Shin Jeong-mun was the heavens themselves. But above those heavens, there was another heaven."
"Same here. Honestly, if no one told you this celadon had been restored, not a soul in the world would be able to find a single trace of it."
The MC's expression changed once more.
This is going to be even bigger than I thought...
This was no ordinary restorer. He was a young man in his early twenties—and a rather handsome one at that. And his skill, they were saying, stood above anyone else's in South Korea.
There was no world in which this didn't become a sensation.
PD Kim Dae-yu seemed to be thinking the exact same thing.
This is it... this is it...! This is a guaranteed hit!
This went far beyond simply finding a replacement restorer. The skill was one thing—but given Kang Cheolwoo's age and striking looks, a media frenzy was all but certain.
After the appraisers conferred among themselves a while longer, the moment of truth arrived: the unveiling of the appraised value. It was, without question, the most popular segment on Authentic & Masterpiece.
Hyun-tae cranked the energy as high as it would go.
"Now then—please reveal the value of the fully restored celadon!"
"The celadon has been appraised at four hundred thirty million won! Wow, that's got to be the most expensive piece we've valued recently, isn't it? Master Jeong Cheolhun, what went into this appraisal?"
Appraiser Jeong answered in a voice calmer than before.
"I had placed the original, pre-restoration value at around three hundred million won. Given the year of production and the quality of the glaze, it already possessed considerable worth—but the cracking and chipping were extensive, so I judged there would be a significant depreciation on that account."
"Which means..."
He nodded.
"Yes. Through this restoration, the celadon can be said to have fully recovered its original value."
"So you're saying the restoration itself is worth over a hundred million won?"
"Yes, that is my view. If anyone other than Restorer Kang Cheolwoo had done this work—no matter who it was—I do not believe this price would have been reached."
The celebrity guests and the appraisers sitting with them were all astonished. In all the years they had known him, Jeong Cheolhun had never once praised a restorer to this degree.
"Hahaha... I do believe we may have invited a truly extraordinary restorer onto our program. Ah—but it seems we've already reached the end of our time. As you all know, the celadon featured today will go straight to auction. The auction time and location are..."
With the auction procedures explained and the closing remarks delivered, the recording came to an end.
The instant it did, PD Kim clenched one hand into a tight fist.
Yes...!!
It was a producer's instinct, pure and simple: this was going to be a sensation. It had to be.
A week after the restoration work, once the broadcast had aired, I started becoming quite the recognizable face around town.
"Aigoo, our little superstar. Time to get up now."
My family, of course, was the first to give me grief about it.
"Mom... could you please stop with the whole superstar thing?"
"Why would I? Our son is a superstar. Oh, and before you head out, leave me one autograph."
"An autograph?"
"Mm-hmm. My friend—the class president—watches Authentic & Masterpiece too, you know. When I told her about you, she begged me to get a signature. You should've heard her pleading."
My face burned so hot I thought it might catch fire.
An autograph... I'm going to lose it...
I had known the program was fairly popular. I just hadn't imagined it would generate this much of a stir.
And it was no different at school.
The moment I walked into the lecture hall, Se-hyeon came running over from the far side of the room to start in on me.
"Oh, well look who it is. The handsome master artisan himself—Master Kang Cheolwoo?"
"Shut up..."
"What was it they said? They thought Master Shin Jeong-mun was the heavens, but above the heavens there was another heaven..."
I couldn't take it anymore. I locked Se-hyeon in a headlock.
"I said shut up..."
"Okay, okay...! Mmph...! I'll stop! I'll stop!!"
Only after hearing him swear it several times over did I finally let go of his neck.
"Haa... if I'd known my face was going to get this famous, I never would have gone on the show..."
"Still, the money's rolling in huge, right?"
"The money...?"
Come to think of it, the auction payment still hadn't come through.
When is that supposed to arrive?
Then, right at that moment, my phone chimed.
What's this?
I unlocked it and checked the notification—and every last one of those mortifying memories was instantly healed.
Getting my face out there might not be so bad after all...?
I had only worked a few hours, and thirty million won had landed in my hands. That was far too much money to turn down the next restoration job just because I was embarrassed.