Artifact Reading Inspector

Chapter 175: Appraiser Talks through Appraising (4)

“How can I help you?” Haejin asked. The lawyer replied, “Actually, there is this lawsuit our law firm is handling, and we have met some troubles. We have hired the best appraiser in Korea, but he didn’t find anything. It now turns out that you are even better than him. I was a fool for not knowing about your skills, and I am your lawyer…”

Eunhae smiled, “However, this museum was established only a few months ago. Plus, we’ve never had a reason to ask for your help until now. You came here to meet me for the first time, only like, about a month ago. It is only right that you didn’t know much about us, but what is that lawsuit about?”

The lawyer, Yang Usik, smiled bitterly. Then, he sat down and began to explain, “It is a little tricky. Three years ago, a man named Gang Taeju came to our law firm. He said he had a small gas station.”

“Then he must have quite a lot of money,” Haejin commented.

Gas station owners always earned a lot. They were probably earning less than previously, but they still earned more than most people…

“It turned out that he has three gas stations. He is quite famous for being rich in Seocheon, Chungnam,” Usik said.

“And?”

Usik then continued, “And he bought a painting. Oh, I suddenly can’t recall the name. It was drawn by Lee Gyeongyeong. No, was it Lee Gyeongyu?”

“You mean artist Lee Gyeongyoon?”

Usik’s face brightened up, “Yes, Lee Gyeongyoon. Mr. Gang happened to get a chance to buy his painting.”

Lee Gyeongyoon was the grandson of the 11th son of King Seongjong.

He was neither far nor close to the royal family, so he could neither become a government official nor have influence as a royal. So maybe, it was natural that he turned to art.

“Happened to?” Haejin asked.

More than nine out of ten cases when it comes to antique purchases that involve ‘happened to’ would end badly.

As there were more fake antiques than genuine antiques, getting something good by mere chance is almost impossible.

If someone has something really good, he or she would try to get more money for it or try to sell it to someone who can appreciate its true value.

If the buyers don’t know much about antiques, the seller must explain and teach them about why it is good.

So, it is bothersome compared to selling it to a person who is knowledgeable about antiques as the seller would get less money.

“Yes, he got an offer at an expensive imported car club,” Usik explained. It sounded a little funny, “Oh… and?”

“I don’t know much about art, and although Lee Gyeongyoon’s paintings are not extremely expensive, they can’t be bought at a few million won, right?” Usik asked. Haejin confirmed, “Of course. His best paintings are worth more than tens of millions.”

“That is what Mr. Gang Taeju thought, too. At the time, he paid 55 million won for the painting and even wrote a contract immediately,” Usik continued.

“He was rushing. He should have had it appraised before paying for it,” Haejin commented. Usik sighed, “Hu… but the painting already had a certificate. Mr. Gang could buy it only because there was a certificate. However, that same certificate turned out to be the problem.”

“Was there something wrong with it?” Haejin asked. Usik started to explain from the beginning, “Let me go back to the start. After Mr. Gang Taeju bought the painting, he boasted about it for some time. He never bought a painting or porcelain before, so he felt that having the painting truly made him a wealthy man.”

“Some people do think like that,” Haejin admitted. Usik continued, “Yes, my father-in-law is also a local rich man with a few buildings, but he never learned much, and his children didn’t like to study, so he wanted a doctor or a prosecutor as his son-in-law. Well, he got a lawyer son-in-law instead… anyway, Mr. Gang was very content about it, but then he took a photo of that painting and sent it to an appraisal expert in Seoul.”

“Why did he so suddenly have it appraised?” Haejin asked.

“He wanted to know if he had paid too much or little for it. So, he wanted to find the exact price of the painting. However, when the appraiser saw the painting, he gave up on it,” Usik answered.

“Oho… he gave up appraising?” Haejin’s curiosity was aroused, and he sat down next to the lawyer. Usik explained, “More accurately, when he saw the photo, he said the painting was fake, but when Mr. Gang asked him again, he gave up while saying he couldn’t appraise it well with a photo…”

He must have been nervous about appraising with only a photo.

“I can understand that. Appraising an artifact only with photos is never easy,” Haejin commented. Usik agreed, “Yes, I learned that only a while ago. Anyway, Mr. Gang was shocked. The painting for which he paid 55 million won could be fake. But then, he made a very foolish decision. He sold it to a foreigner and sent it abroad. He offered Mr. Gang 30 million, so he could at least get that amount of money back. Then, he sued the person who sold him the painting for selling a fake.”

Haejin then said, “Oh… he was a fool.”

Usik smiled bitterly, “Yes, he was a fool. He thought he wasn’t losing as he had gotten at least 30 million for the painting, and he had the photo as evidence…”

“However, the lawsuit couldn’t go well as the painting itself is abroad,” Haejin guessed. Usik confirmed, “Yes, he had lost the chance to verify its authenticity. Mr. Gang was disappointed, but he was going to just stop there, but he received a blow back. The seller took a photo of the painting’s old certificate and sued Mr. Gang for falsely accusing him. Now, neither of them can back off.”

“That’s interesting. So how are things going now?” Haejin asked. Usik then answered, “Unfortunately, Mr. Gang, our client, is about to lose. The painting is abroad and all we have is a photo. Additionally, as they have the photo of the certificate, they are using it as evidence.”

“Hmm… it is complicated,” Haejin commented. Usik continued, “Very complicated. In fact, the law firm has almost given up on it. My bosses have made me handle it, but almost no one is helping me. I was also told to reach an agreement before the final sentence. However, I just saw you appraise, and you seemed different from the other appraisers, so I thought maybe you could save us…”

“I see,” Haejin stroked his chin, apparently thinking. Eunhae then led Usik out of the room, “I’m sorry. Mr. Park is thinking now, so why don’t we give him some time?”

How could any man say no to such a beautiful smile?

“Oh, of course. Then I’ll wait here,” the lawyer replied.

“Thank you. I will go in and ask what he will do,” Eunhae said before leaving Usik outside and going back in. Haejin then raised his head to look at her, “Why did you take him outside?”

“Just in case. You might not be able to help him because of other matters, so I was going to make excuses after hearing what you have in mind,” Eunhae replied.

She was wise as she even thought about things which Haejin didn’t think of.

Haejin then explained himself, “No, I was just wondering how I am supposed to appraise that painting, but there’s no way.”

“I thought so, too. Even though you have those… great abilities, we need objective proof. I think the only way is to bring that painting back,” Eunhae said. Haejin commented, “However, they would have done that if it had been possible.”

“At least, we should ask,” Eunhae then brought Usik back again. Haejin asked, “Do you know where that painting is right now?”

Usik, however, grimly shook his head, “No, the buyer sold it to someone else. We don’t know where it is now.”

“Then, what about the certificate? Who issued it?” Haejin asked again.

“The Korea Appraisal Committee. It is practically the most reliable certificate of an artifact in this country,” the lawyer answered.

Haejin knew well about the Korea Appraisal Committee and its members, so he was shocked to hear that. However, the court didn’t know much about antiques. They had no choice but to trust the committee’s opinion.

“Then let’s forget about it and let me take a look at that photo. I must see it if we want to know whether I can help you or not.”

Usik was glad to hear that.

He was about to take out his phone, but then he looked at Haejin again, “Even though our law firm is on a contract with your museum, I cannot ask you to help for free. We should write a contract first.”

Haejin could have helped for free if it had been ordinary people without much money, but he had no reason to help a law firm without charging money.

“Okay, but you should know that it will cost you a lot if I help you. I’m not bragging about this, but I am the most expensive appraiser in the world. However, you won’t have to pay me as much as this is about a not-so-expensive painting,” Haejin replied.

“You can charge us a lot. In fact, this lawsuit has been on the news already, so paying you is nothing if we can turn the tide. We can also make our client pay your fee, anyway. Please wait for a second,” Usik then left the room and called someone. The lawyer came back after about five minutes and apologized, “I’m sorry. I wanted to bring the photo myself, but it is not possible… would it be alright if I send you a digital image?”

“It’s fine. Since it is a photo anyway, it doesn’t matter. As long as it is in high definition, of course,” Haejin replied. Usik then confirmed, “It is a high-definition photo.”

“Then send it to me through email. I must examine it closely, so using my phone wouldn’t be good,” Haejin said before giving Usik his business card that had his email address.

Next, Usik took a photo of it and sent it to someone, and Haejin received an email in less than a minute.

“Let me do it,” Eunhae quickly used the projector to show the photo.

The painting showed a relaxed landscape of a desolate mountain with two cows.

Haejin stared at it for some time and grinned. He then looked at Usik while saying, “I can see why the appraiser couldn’t give you an answer.”

“What? Really?” Usik smiled brightly as if he had met his savior.

“If you had shown this to another appraiser, he or she would realize that there is something wrong, even though one can’t be 100% sure,” Haejin said. Usik asked, “It is that obvious? But why…”

Haejin then continued, “Why no appraiser of the Korea Appraisal Committee helped? Of course, they couldn’t help. Every member of the committee knows each other. They have studied together, so it wouldn’t be easy to openly point out a mistake from one of their own. Sometimes, they don’t even realize there’s a problem, but they often acquiesce about it.”

The lawyer then started saying, “And this time…”

“I can help you. Should I testify in court?” Haejin asked.

“Have you really found objective evidence in this painting?” Usik then asked.

“Yes. The person who made this painting was a good artist but didn’t know much about the mid-Joseon period scholar noblemen. Of course, it is great news for us.”