Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121 - Portrait Of Titus (2)
Chapter 122 - Visitor From The Desert (1)
Chapter 123 - Visitor From The Desert (2)
Chapter 124 - Visitor From The Desert (3)
Chapter 125 - Visitor From The Desert (4)
Chapter 126 - Rookie Of Boston Red Sox (1)
Chapter 127 - Rookie Of Boston Red Sox (2)
Chapter 128 - Buddhist Scripture Written With Gold (1)
Chapter 129 - Buddhist Scripture Written With Gold (2)
Chapter 130 - Buddhist Scripture Written With Gold (3)
Chapter 131 - Chaebol, Painting, And Happy Tears (1)
Chapter 132 - Chaebol, Painting, And Happy Tears (2)
Chapter 133 - Chaebol, Painting, And Happy Tears (3)
Chapter 134 - Enemies Are Everywhere (1)
Chapter 135 - Enemies Are Everywhere (2)
Chapter 136 - More Paintings (1)
Chapter 137 - More Paintings (2)
Chapter 138 - To Florence, Italy… (1)
Chapter 139 - To Florence, Italy… (2)
Chapter 140 - To Florence, Italy… (3)
Chapter 141 - People Who Are After The Masterpiece (1)
Chapter 142 - People Who Are After The Masterpiece (2)
Chapter 143 - People Who Are After The Masterpiece (3)
Chapter 144 - The Medici And The Aristocrats (1)
Chapter 145 - The Medici And The Aristocrats (2)
Chapter 146 - The Medici And The Aristocrats (3)
Chapter 147 - The Medici And The Aristocrats (4)
Chapter 148 - The Medici And The Aristocrats (5)
Chapter 149 - Drawings In The Charity Auction (1)
Chapter 150 - Drawings In The Charity Auction (2)
Chapter 151 - Drawings In The Charity Auction (3)
Chapter 152 - Drawings In The Charity Auction (4)
Chapter 153 - Drawings In The Charity Auction (5)
Chapter 154 - Now, To London… (1)
Chapter 155 - Now, To London… (2)
Chapter 156 - Now, To London… (3)
Chapter 157 - Now, To London… (4)
Chapter 158 - Seeing The Light Again (1)
Chapter 159 - Seeing The Light Again (2)
Chapter 160 - Seeing The Light Again (3)
Chapter 161 - Seeing The Light Again (4)
Chapter 162 - Uninvited Guest (1)
Chapter 163 - Uninvited Guest (2)
Chapter 164 - Uninvited Guest (3)
Chapter 165 - Uninvited Guest (4)
Chapter 166 - Dark Shadow (1)
Chapter 167 - Dark Shadow (2)
Chapter 168 - Dark Shadow (3)
Chapter 169 - Change And Progress (1)
Chapter 170 - Change, And Progress (2)
Chapter 171 - Change, And Progress (3)
Chapter 172 - Appraiser Talks Through Appraising (1)
Chapter 173 - Appraiser Talks Through Appraising (2)
Chapter 174 - Appraiser Talks Through Appraising (3)
Chapter 175 - Appraiser Talks Through Appraising (4)
Chapter 176 - Appraiser Talks Through Appraising (5)
Chapter 177 - Inheritance Left By The Parents (1)
Chapter 178 - Inheritance Left By The Parents (2)
Chapter 179 - Inheritance Left By The Parents (3)
Chapter 180 - Inheritance Left By The Parents (4)
Chapter 181 - Star Appraiser (1)
Chapter 182 - Star Appraiser (2)
Chapter 183 - Star Appraiser (3)
Chapter 184 - Terms Of Return Of Artifacts (1)
Chapter 185 - Terms Of Return Of Artifacts (2)
Chapter 186 - Terms Of Return Of Artifacts (3)
Chapter 187 - Terms Of Return Of Artifacts (4)
Chapter 188 - Terms Of Return Of Artifacts (5)
Chapter 189 - Artifact From North Korea (1)
Chapter 190 - Artifact From North Korea (2)
Chapter 191 - Artifact Match (1)
Chapter 192 - Artifact Match (2)
Chapter 193 - Artifact Match (3)
Chapter 194 - Artifact Match (4)
Chapter 195 - Artifact Match (5)
Chapter 196 - What Happened In Austria (1)
Chapter 197 - What Happened In Austria (2)
Chapter 198 - What Happened In Austria (3)
Chapter 199 - What Happened In Austria (4)
Chapter 200 - Bait To Catch The Big Fish (1)
Chapter 201 - Bait To Catch The Big Fish (2)
Chapter 202 - What The Depressed Man Left (1)
Chapter 203 - What The Depressed Man Left (2)
Chapter 204 - Where The Faith Leads Him To (1)
Chapter 205 - Add Painting To Painting (1)
Chapter 206 - Add Painting To Painting (2)
Chapter 207 - Add Painting To Painting (3)
Chapter 208 - Finally, To There… (1)
Chapter 209 - Finally, In There… (2)
Chapter 210 (End) - Epilogue
Categories Genre: All, Completed, Fantasy, Supernatural Status: Completed ______
Total Chapters in book: 210
Estimated words: 468205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2341(@200wpm)___ 1873(@250wpm)___ 1561(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 468205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2341(@200wpm)___ 1873(@250wpm)___ 1561(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 210 Page No. 209 Page No. 208 Page No. 207 Page No. 206 Page No. 205 Page No. 204 Page No. 203 Page No. 202 Page No. 201 Page No. 200 Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Using Magic (1)
He planned to go straight to the auction house.
No matter what kind of story the porcelains had, they were already in his hand. He didn’t want to
bother other’s business. He also didn’t want to announce that he had them now.
“Oh… I shouldn’t do this…”
He knew that he didn’t have to, but he went past the Korean Auction, his destination, and went deep
into Insadong.
He wanted to see the faces of those who dared to play with the valuable artifacts of the ancestors.
“Is that-?”
On the first floor of an old building, he spotted a sign saying ‘Cheonjin Appraising Agency’. He was
doubting his idea again but, in the end, he went inside the building.
Ding…
He opened the door. The bell rang while making a clear sound.
“Welcome. Have you come for an appraisal?”
A woman in her mid-thirties looked at Haejin and smiled.
She was pretty, so it didn’t seem like she would belong in a place with old-fashioned stuff. The woman
looked more like the employee of a big company.
“Yes, I came to have a white porcelain appraised,” Haejin said.
“White porcelain? Oh… could you please wait for a moment? Can I bring you some coffee?”
“Anything.”
She opened the door and came out with a cup of coffee which she then gave to Haejin.
About ten minutes later, Haejin was finally asked to go in.
“Oh, a young CEO. Sit here… this is my friend. He is a very good expert so please show us the item.”
“Hmm… okay.”
The man who greeted Haejin warmly was in the early 50s. He was wearing a modernized Hanbok
(traditional Korean cloth) and he somehow looked familiar.
If a man working in Insadong looked familiar to Haejin, there was only one possible reason: Haejin
had met the man when he worked with his father.
“You brought white porcelain? Many people bring them nowadays. The white porcelain is basically
just a white bowl, so it is hard to appraise unless you are a real expert.”
He started his scheme before Haejin even took out the porcelain. The man in his 40s next to him
smiled oddly and kept looking at Haejin and the appraiser back and forth.
Haejin saw the people of Insadong with his father only when he was very young. Since he stayed
mostly abroad, except for those who excavated with his father, few knew Haejin’s face.
Haejin must have seen often the man when going around Insadong with his father to learn. Well, he
didn’t get attached to them, so he was not going to go easy on him.
Anyway, he then put the small water container on the table and slowly unwrapped it.
A snow-white porcelain with some blue painting was revealed.
“I don’t even know your name. Your name is not Cheon Jiin, right?” Haejin asked.
The appraiser flinched, he then replied, “Of-of course not. I am Gang Cheolsang. Everyone knows me
at Insadong. However… this is odd. I think I saw this just a few days ago.”
“Really? Actually, I got lucky earlier today and bought this. I wondered how much it is worth and came
here.”
“You bought it today? Then…”
“From an old man. He said that those precious-looking porcelains were all fake and kept sighing, so I
bought them all at 1,000,000 won each because I thought maybe it was worth more than that.”
“1,000,000 for each?”
Cheolsang was shocked. He probably felt like Haejin had stolen something that should have been his.
“Yes. I thought of it as gambling and spent 5,000,000.”
“Khmm…”
Cheolsang and the man next to him stared at the porcelain. They were distressed.
What will happen? Will they keep insisting that it was fake? Or would they show some respect to this
precious Blue Flower White Porcelain?
Actually, there was nothing that could be done if they just kept saying it was fake. Porcelains could not
really be measured scientifically.
They could only guess the period, the kiln it was made in, its shape, colors and patterns.
So, even experts were sometimes wrong.
It was somewhat different, but a typical example would be of the well-known painting called ‘Painting
of a Beautiful Woman’ from the artist Cheon Gyeongja.
Although the artist said that she never painted the painting, the expert said that she did. Who was in
the right?
As a result, Haejin could not sue Cheolsang even if he kept insisting that the porcelain was fake.
“Sadly, I don’t think it’s real.”
“Really?”
“First, you need to know a few things. The people who don’t know much about porcelains, they find
the Blue Flower White Porcelains as beautiful because of their splendid color. Therefore, a lot of fakes
are made. Judging from the color and the patterns, it is from the mid or late Joseon. However, its
conditions are too good for them to be from that period. Can you also see the letters at the bottom?”
“Yes. It says ‘Park’.”
The word was written under the porcelain. It must have been the last name of the artisan who made it.
“Artisans didn’t use to engrave their names on Joseon White Porcelains since they valued their
anonymity.”
The expert then closed his mouth.
Those were the only reasons why it was fake? Haejin almost laughed.
The porcelain was in good condition because it had been preserved well without making it come in
contact with the air. Moreover, even though artisan would normally not write their name when it comes
to White Porcelains, it just meant that Hajin’s was even rarer.
The appraiser had to come up with a different reason to say that it was fake, but he couldn’t find it.
Haejin thought about accusing him; however, he decided against it.
He didn’t want to openly admit that he would be making a huge profit.
However, he couldn’t back off now. A spell kept hovering in his mind.
He knew this was coming. Because of the growing pain, he would have been eventually forced to use
the magic. Today was the day.
He started to record with his phone while dipping his index in the water on the table. He then waved
his hand.
“So, is this fake?”
“Ah… it must be some really bad news for you since you bought it for 1,000,000 won. However, I am
sure that it is fake.”
“Really?”
Haejin waved his hand to draw the pattern he wanted while quietly saying the spell. He then felt like
something was leaving his chest.
He felt like vomiting while his head hurt like hell.
“Excuse me? What did you say?”
“Nothing. Hmm… this is really fake, right?”
He was terrified and scared. He feared that he might grab his chest and fall but, at the same time, he
wanted to find out whether the spell would work.
“No. It’s real,” Cheolsang’s face turned red after he said that.
“What?”
“Uh? What are you saying?”
The man next to him was also surprised. He even stood up. However, he was less surprised than
Haejin.
“It’s real? Really?”
“It’s-it’s real,” Cheolsang couldn’t control himself. He looked at the guy next to him, he was about to
cry.
“Then, why did you tell me that it was a fake earlier?”
“Because I already said it was a fake before! To rip that ignorant old man off!”
He wanted to make excuses, yet his mouth kept saying things he didn’t want to say. Panicked, he
screamed and wailed; however, he couldn’t say what he really wanted.
“Haha!”
Even though Haejin casted the magic, he could only make some hollow laughs. How could this be
called magic? It was more like a curse.
“What is wrong? Are you crazy?”
The guy grabbed Cheolsang and shook him.
“Shit! I don’t know! There’s something wrong with me!”
“Then, you must have tricked the original owner. I will not let this go.”
Haejin showed them his phone to let them know that he had been recording.
Their faces turned pale, the appraiser then replied, “It is all his fault! He couldn’t recognize something
so valuable! If I had told him it was real, you think that old fox would have sold it to me? He doesn’t
deserve to own this!”
“Stop! Please!”
The man tried to stop Cheolsang, but the truth kept coming out of his mouth.
“I understand. Then, goodbye.”
Haejin picked up the porcelain, tried to control his shaking legs and left the agency. All his strength
had been drained out of his body. Maybe it was right, he had really cursed the man.
“Uh…”
He eventually leaned on a wall and threw up.
The spell he had just used had the effect to make others tell only the truth. It was one of the many
spells he knew. He thought it would be fun, but…
He was supposed to draw the spell with blood. However, he just used water to make it lighter so it
wouldn’t last for long. That’s good.
Even though it was very close, he took a cab to return. At first, he planned to go to the auction right
away, but he was feeling really bad. He even wondered whether he should go to the hospital.
He couldn’t even take a shower, he just fell on his bed since he was feeling both dizzy and weak.
He just laid there without thinking. He smiled. It was weird, strange, but also felt good. He knew that
Insadong was full of frauds, but everyone thought of antique dealers as frauds exactly because of
people like Cheolsang.
Punishing those frauds felt great. It was different from the pleasure he used to feel when working to
earn money.
He always felt like he was sinning because of his father’s original sin, robbing, but maybe he could
now do the right thing with his newly obtained power and knowledge.
He continued to think like that and soon fell asleep.
“Pant… pant…”
Opening his eyes, he saw that it was still bright outside. However, he then looked at his clock, it was 8
o’clock.
“What? A day has passed?”
The date on his phone said that it was the next day. Surprisingly, Haejin had slept for more than 16
hours.
While getting up, he jumped lightly and shook his arms. To his surprise, his body was full of energy.
The emptiness he had felt had been replaced by a mysterious energy.
“Shit… I have been hooked.”
That strange energy brought fear in him. He felt like the devil’s power was now in his body.
He walked around in the room for a while, but he couldn’t come up with a good plan. It was because
he could feel that the pain had been greatly decreased during the dream last night.
Will the pain get worse again if I stop using the magic? Probably.
But what if it’s not a curse? It must be a fortune worth greater than winning the lottery.
He decided to stick to his original plan and go to the auction. He took a shower, put on his clothes and
left the hotel.
The Korean Auction was located next to Insadong. It was the biggest antique auction agency in
Korea. Most rich people got their antiques in there. Of course, those who were much richer than them,
the so-called trillionaires, had many other ways to get their things.
“Welcome. Are you a member of the Korean Auction?”
Haejin decided to forget about the curse for now.
Father, just let me live a decent life from now, okay?
Total Chapters in book: 210
Estimated words: 468205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2341(@200wpm)___ 1873(@250wpm)___ 1561(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 468205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2341(@200wpm)___ 1873(@250wpm)___ 1561(@300wpm)
______