Artifact Reading Inspector

Residential slum area in the suburb of Gyeonggido.

Between the old houses that were in the high ground, a man in his 20s was going up with a black cat in his arms.

He didn’t like the hair sticking to his cheek because of the sweat and kept cursing.

“xx… he had to live in this place. Enko, do we have to climb more?”

He asked the black cat. Enko jumped off with a ‘meow’ and started to walk in front of him.

“I am tired, so let’s go slowly. Okay?”

Surprisingly, the cat waved its tail and walked slowly as if it understood. The man moved.

About a while later, the cat stopped and stared at the entrance of a house.

The blue iron gate was old. The painting was worn out by more than half and the walls had various scribbles from children.

“This is it?”

The cat tilted its head and went in.

The man pushed open the gate and followed the cat. He frowned to see the scattered kitchen utensils while opening the door of the kitchen.

“What? No one’s here?”

The cat meowed at the sky as if it understood him. It went to a corner of the yard and started to smell.

There were excrements of animals and trash. The cat put its nose toward a part of it and started to dig.

The cat was acting strangely, so the man just looked at it. About 10 minutes later, something black was revealed.

“Stop!”

At this, the cat stopped and jumped into the man’s arms.

He hugged the cat, knelt down, and went through that black stuff for a long time. Then, he moaned and took out his phone.

“I found the Holy Book…”

He was speaking in Chinese. He spoke seriously.

“But it has been burnt. Yes, I will send the remains via airmail. I’ll need more men. Yes, I understand.”

The man hung up and stood up. His hardened face and sharp gaze made it clear he was extremely angry.

“How dare you destroy the Holy Book…”

He took the cat and quietly left.

Byeongguk poured Makgeolli (Korean rice wine) in his cup and spoke.

“My instinct says it’s Ando Hadake, but it might not be him.”

“But it might be him. No, I think it is him. I cannot think of anyone else.”

After realizing Ando Hadake was after him, Haejin could not just go home, so he took Byeongguk and went to drink Makgeolli.

“There is a huge possibility.”

“Hu… I think it is natural for him to come after me. He’s lost four billion… but how was that porcelain buried underground for two years?”

Byeongguk stopped drinking Makgeolli and asked, “And how did you know that it had been underground for two years?”

Haejin flinched, but he tried his best to act naturally.

“The soil on the surface of the porcelain was not too old, but not too recent, either. Enough to fool a non-expert.”

“Hmm… you certainly have keen eyes. Anyway, two years… then it might have been a while since Ando Hadake expanded his business to Korea.”

“It can be. Funnily, they value Korean artifacts more than Japanese artifacts.”

“Right? If you think about it, you cannot be the only one Ando Hadake wants to fool. It’s also not just him. There are many who wants to rip people off with fake artifacts. I think Ando Hadake had planned to fool someone else but changed his target to you because of what you did.”

That made sense. Ando Hadake had lost four billion, and the easiest way to get that money back was to con Haejin in return.

“Then, how did he get the info about me? And he dragged in none other than Hwang…”

“I think all the info about you is in his hands by now. Yang Sojin is probably in it as well since you fooled her… and that Hwang must have joined in that process. I am sure Hwang and the owner of that porcelain have nothing to do with each other.”

If this was true, then Ando Hadake had great power… Haejin thought he might send the yakuza after him.

Byeongguk read it on his face and smiled.

“Are you worrying about the yakuza?”

“With that kind of power, I should worry about them.”

Even with magic, facing yakuza who shot from afar would be dangerous.

“If the yakuza had that kind of ability, they would be working openly in Korea by now. There are things they can do and things they cannot do, even if he has lost a huge amount of money. I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

“Then…”

Haejin drank Makgeolli and leaned toward Byeongguk.

“Byeongguk, how about this?”

“Huh? What?”

An idea had flashed through Haejin’s mind.

“If Ando Hadake is trying to get that four billion back, I can just pretend to get fooled and pass it to someone else.”

“Pass it? To whom?” ƒ𝗿e𝘦𝚠𝗲𝚋n𝚘ν𝙚𝗹.𝑐o𝙢

“Who is the person who would be the most delighted if that Moon Porcelain is real?”

“That’s…”

Byeongguk thought about it and widened his eyes.

“Mizno Toru… if he hears about it, he will certainly try to buy it. He is still mad about the Joseon White Porcelains. He has stolen countless buddhas and white porcelains from this country, so he won’t let go of a chance to get it.”

“So, we let him know about this and make him buy it at 1.5 billion…”

Byeongguk drank Makgeolli and nodded.

“Good, good. I happen to know a friend who is close to the executive director of Misaru Electronics’ Korean branch. Well, he was a grave robber who used to sell to that director… but anyway, if he hears about this, he will bring him.”

“I hope he’s not Japanese. Ando Hadake’s man won’t sell that porcelain if the buyer is a Japanese.”

“No, even Maisaru Electronics can’t smuggle artifacts openly. They have Koreans that they use as ‘faces’ for this kind of business. Don’t worry.”

A few days later, the owner of the porcelain called. He was asking if Haejin had found a buyer, and he implied that if he didn’t, he should buy it himself.

“I have found someone. He is very important to me and works for someone who has great influence in this country.”

“Someone important?”

“Someone with great power. This cannot go wrong, so if you try to fiddle with the price at the meeting, I would be in huge trouble. You understand?”

“Oh, of course. It won’t happen.”

He must have thought that kind of person was worth selling the porcelain, even though Haejin wasn’t buying himself. Maybe he was content because Haejin would lose a lot when the porcelain turns out to be a fake later.

They set an appointment and Haejin went to Insadong.

“Did he call?”

Sujeong was still locked up in the restoration room. Byeongguk smiled and greeted him.

“Yes, he asked me if I have found a buyer. I got an appointment first. What about you?”

“I’ve been waiting for you. Let’s see… wait for a moment.”

Byeongguk picked up his phone, looked for the number and called someone.

“Hey, it’s me. You remember what I told you about two days ago? Yes, the Moon White Porcelain. Yes. Do you want to see it? Of course, you should bring an appraiser. Don’t you know that not getting a proper appraisal can put us behind bars these days? Okay then, I will send you the address. Bring your appraiser. Okay then, see you later.”

Byeongguk hung up and smiled.

“I casted the bait. He is bringing an appraiser from Insadong. It is good enough to fool a real appraiser, right? If it turns out to be fake on the spot, I won’t be able to walk around in Insadong.”

“Hahaha! Don’t worry. No appraiser can easily conclude that it is fake.”

“Okay, then let’s eat something. We have enough time.”

They had a meal and went to where the porcelain was.

On the way, Byeongguk made calls to check the situation, he looked like an office worker.

“I think you would have been a good office worker.”

“Hey, how can I be an office worker when I have learned so little? At my time, only kids of the wealthy families learned.”

“It’s not like you are my father’s peer. You were born in 1962. You are much younger than my father. I heard that it happened during my father’s time, but…”

“No, my father made me become a farmer because he thought I was stupid. I couldn’t stand it, so I ran away. I tried to make some money and ended up becoming a grave robber. I didn’t want my kid to be like that, so I let her study abroad… at least I didn’t get crazy about money thanks to your father. If it hadn’t for him, I would have sold anything including Korean artifacts to earn money. Hu… no one knew he would leave us so soon.”

“Yeah.”

“Anyway, do well today. I’ve done this many times but, honestly, I’m worried about you.”

“You can trust me.”

After more driving, they arrived at the site. The owner ran out to greet them. There was a middle-aged woman next to him, probably his wife.

“Oh, you’re here! And this is…”

He looked at Byeongguk.

“Oh, he will help me. The buyer will be here soon… oh, there he comes.”

A luxurious car came in. Byeongguk waved his hand at it.

“Here! Here!”

“They are…”

Byeongguk hastily answered and ran to the car as it parked.

“The man who will buy the porcelain.”

The man who got out of the back seat was a big man in his 40s. He was more than 180cm tall and had broad shoulders. He looked like the boss of a gang.

“Hello. I am the Executive Director Gang Changgyu of Haeju.”

The owner shook hands with him in confusion. The following process was boringly simple.

Changgyu’s appraiser appraised for more than two hours but concluded that it was real.

1.5 billion was given to the owner and the porcelain was quickly packed.

When the car left with it, the wife of the owner left with the money. The owner said it had been a good deal and offered them to have dinner together.

There was no reason to refuse, so they ate and drank till early in the morning. They went to karaoke as their fourth place. The owner sang for a long time and suddenly asked with a red face.

“The man I saw earlier who worked for a politician had a different aura. His force was overwhelming.”

“He is not a politician but someone who has a big influence on politics.”

“Oh… a businessman who can influence the politics?”

“Yes, you are smart.”

“Then, who is he?”

“He is not a Korean but a Japanese. He has great power in the political world.”

“A Japanese?”

“Do you know of Mizno Toru?”

At that moment, the porcelain owner’s face turned pale.