Artifact Reading Inspector

Chapter 89: Meaning of the Dokkaebi Sculpture (2)

Yaerin came and stood in front of the sculpture.

“This one? Yes, probably. Although it would be a little expensive… but why? It looks like a dokkaebi.”

As Yaerin said, this red coral sculpture was less than 10cm tall.

It had a horn on its head and thick eyebrows, bulged eyes, and a distorted face. It looked quite fierce.

A sash went around its body and it held strange things in both hands. It was standing on a turtle.

“How much is it?”

When choosing an antique without a price tag, you should ask the price first.

As antiques have no cost of manufacture, their price is up to the seller’s mind. It is also human nature to name a higher price when the buyer is interested.

“Ho… you’re interested? Personally? Or for Hyaeju?”

“Why do you ask? Just tell me the price.”

Yaerin looked at Haejin and turned around.

“Wait here. I’ll find out.”

Even she didn’t know the price of every artifact in that storage. She had to ask her aunt or someone who managed that place.

When she left, Hyaeju glanced at Heajin and asked, “Do you want to buy it?”

She was confused as Haejin had asked about porcelains and suddenly focused on an ugly-looking sculpture.

“Well, let’s hear what Ms. Yaerin would say first.”

Haejin didn’t talk about it for now and used magic in secret. He knew what the sculpture meant, but he wanted to find out who made it and why.

“Oh, okay.”

Hyaeju was a little disappointed when Haejin didn’t tell her anything, but she didn’t say anything more.

She just waited.

About 10 minutes later, the sound of a woman’s heels was heard from the entrance.

Yaerin came coldly and crossed her arms.

“280 million won.”

“So, it is for sale. 280 million…”

Haejin stroked his chin. Yaerin crouched to see the sculpture and asked, “This can’t be Hyaeju’s gift for her in-laws… why are you interested in this?”

“Don’t you know what this is?”

Yaerin flinched, but soon she smiled and looked at Haejin.

“What is it? Speak honestly. I won’t raise the price, even if this is worth more than ten billion.”

“Really?”

Haejin was half joking, but because his eyes were serious, Yaerin flinched again.

“Re, really. Really!”

“Haha! Don’t worry. It isn’t that valuable.”

“Really?”

Yaerin was nervous. Haejin smiled at her.

“Technically, this isn’t a dokkaebi.”

“But it looks like dokkaebi.”

“This is a god called Guaiseong(魁星) from the Chinese mythology. He used to be a human and became the god of study. He was mainly worshipped by people who wanted to pass the exams.”

“Oh!”

Hyaeju was so surprised that she covered her mouth with her hands. Yaerin could see why Haejin had stopped in front of that sculpture. She put her hand on Hyaeju’s shoulder and nodded.

“Although Guaiseong was a great scholar, he was very ugly and small. He passed the royal examination, but the emperor saw his ugly face and canceled that. In despair, he jumped down from a high place to kill himself.”

“Oh…”

Both Yaerin and Hyaeju nodded at this.

“However, a sea turtle rescued him. That is why this Guaiseong’s has one foot on a sea turtle.”

“Oh, that’s why that sea turtle is there.”

Yaerin went even closer to the sculpture, absorbed in Haejin’s story.

“Usually, Guaiseong is carved with a brush in one hand. It is to choose the great scholars among the names in the Sky Emperor’s list. And, in his left hand, he sometimes has a Gongin that is used to measure the abilities of candidates, or he has the Seven Head Stars of the North (the Big Dipper) in his hand like this.”

“The Seven Head Stars of the North?”

“Yes. Guaiseong is the first star of the Seven Stars of the North. Which is why he has the Seven Stars in his hand like this.”

“Oh… that’s why its name is Guaiseong. I thought that was a strange name. However, what is this in his other hand? This isn’t a brush.”

As Yaerin said, there was a strangely tilted stick instead of a brush in Guaiseong’s hand.

“That’s an ume flower branch.”

“Why does he have an ume flower branch?”

“As ume flower is the first flower that blooms, it has the meaning of getting ahead of others. And, look at how Guaiseong is raising one leg from behind. It symbolizes the Head of the Seven Head Stars of the North, so it means being the head of the group.”

“Wow…”

“In conclusion, Guaiseong is the first star of the Seven Head Stars of North and the god of exams, so it has the meaning of wishing you to pass the exams. As this sculpture has special objects and posture, the artisan has made this with care, wishing for someone to pass an exam with the highest score. In addition, as it is made of coral, I guess it was ordered by a very wealthy family.”

Yaerin was surprised, but she just stared at the sculpture as if she had gotten a blow on the head.

“My mother-in-law would really like it. I could feel that they were all worried about my fiancé’s brother. When I went to visit a few times, he wasn’t even there except on the first day. The mood was so bad because of it.”

Hyaeju put her hands together. She was clearly touched by that sculpture.

“Then, they will surely like this. No parent doesn’t like someone worrying about their child. Although it is a little expensive.”

“It’s okay. I can afford that.”

Haejin couldn’t stop envying those girls with the silver spoon. That artifact was worth 280 million, and she said she would buy it immediately.

“Then, it’s settled. Ms. Yaerin? Ms. Hyaeju wants to buy this.”

“Oh, okay. I cannot do it myself, so you should go up and tell my aunt. Then someone will come down to get this.”

As the artifact was expensive, the gallery’s owner had to sell it herself.

“Okay, then I’ll go up. What about you and Mr. Haejin?”

“Huh? I have something to talk about with him…”

At that moment, Hyaeju looked at Yaerin and then Haejin. Then, she quickly left with a smile.

Yaerin snorted at seeing Hyaeju leave and turned to Haejin.

“Huh! Don’t care about that. And, I have a question.”

“Okay.”

“According to my aunt, she got it from an art dealer from Gunsan in the early days of this gallery. She got it at a low price, luckily.”

“Really? Then, she bought it at a low price and is selling at a high price.”

Actually, although the price was almost 300 million, it wasn’t that expensive for the value of the sculpture.

“However, she told me that she had bought something else with it.”

That was why she wanted to stay behind to talk.

“You mean you want me to appraise it?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… why? Is it something your appraisers cannot handle?”

Yaerin crossed her arms and frowned.

“You mean those appraisers who said that sculpture is a dokkaebi sculpture made in Joseon?”

“Haha, did they? Hmm… it shouldn’t be that hard.”

It was a slightly difficult artifact. It wasn’t studied by many people like buddha statues and porcelains, and as it was only popular during the Qing times, it had a limited period.

Nevertheless, experts are called experts for a reason, so to appraise it as a dokkaebi like a non- expert like Yaerin…

“This gallery only has experts of eastern paintings, western paintings, and porcelains.”

“Oh… then how do you have buddhas appraised?”

Each appraiser has an area of expertise. For instance, to appraise eastern paintings properly, you should spend decades to get experience and knowledge, so you cannot be perfect about sculptures at the same time.

In that perspective, Haejin, who had mastered all kinds of antiques including paintings, porcelains, and sculptures, was rather inhumane.

“Sometimes my personal appraiser comes to help, or we bring appraisers from outside.”

Then, the staff went down and took the coral Guaiseong. The deal was going on fast.

“So, you haven’t brought an appraiser outside for this one.”

“Yes. So, stop talking vaguely and decide if you are going to do it or not.”

Yaerin pushed Haejin. He, however, moved and went past her.

“I’m done for today. I’m tired.”

“Oh, really? Are you doing this because you think I won’t pay you?”

“Of course not.”

In fact, Haejin was thinking about the past he had seen through magic.

That coral Guaiseong sculpture was an imitation. An artist saw another Guaiseong sculpture that was made during the Qing period and imitated it. The important thing was that he made something else after making that imitation.

Haejin was getting a headache while trying to figure out where it was. Normally, he wouldn’t have refused that kind of offer, but now, he just didn’t feel like it.

“Huh! You’ll regret it if you just leave…”

“Me? Why?”

“Because it would be something you have never seen before.”

Haejin had traveled all around the world with his father. So, something he had not seen yet was tempting.

“Are you sure?”

“Leave if it isn’t. I’m not asking you to go on a date with me. Why are you so merciless?”

“Khmm… that’s not about being merciless.”

Haejin and Yaerin went up, arguing like that but, to their surprise, there was a strange situation.

Yaerin’s aunt looked nervous, and Hyaeju was standing in front of her. She looked angry. There was also another woman…

“Hyaeju, what’s wrong?”

Yaerin ran to Hyaeju and asked. She spoke in a cold voice.

“Your aunt says she won’t sell it to me. I thought you would sell it to me. Were you lying?”

Yaerin looked at her aunt. However, her aunt, who seemed to be in her 40s or 50s, dragged her away from the scene.

“It’s… there’s someone else who really wants to buy it… she said she will give us double the price I told you. I don’t have a choice.”

“However, you should give it to the person who asked first.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. How can I say no to the wife of the president of Hanseong Bank? Your father would do the same.”

“You can’t do this. She is my face. She came here because she trusted me. How can you humiliate me like that?”

“I’m sorry. Tell her I’ll give her something better at a low price later.”

Yaerin’s aunt returned to the scene(?) and smiled to the wife of the president of Hanseong Bank.

“Haha, I’m sorry. I’ll send it to you without a problem.”

Hyaeju was enraged at this. She turned red and started to even shed tears. Haejin couldn’t just stand by. He turned to Yaerin’s aunt.

“Even an art dealer should have morals. How can you do this?”

“An art dealer?”

Yaerin’s aunt fiercely frowned.