Artifact Reading Inspector

Anyone could inform the government anytime, but the local excavation agencies would not let Haejin and his people excavate in its area.

Local researchers would also want to excavate, of course, so if a museum in Seoul were said to excavate out of nowhere, they would protest.

Because of this, to claim the exclusive rights, Haejin had to know what the bracelet was first.

Of course, the more important an artifact was, the more likely Haejin’s museum would get to excavate that tomb.

“Let me take a look first,” Haejin said.

The golden bracelet seemed extraordinary, even to the ignorant eyes. Unlike other golden bracelets, it was as thick as a watch strap. It also had various jewels that made it appear even more luxurious.

Haejin could see why Byeongguk had been so confident.

“It used to belong to a royal of Shinra, right? I don’t know much about history, but I said ‘Eureka!’ when I found it! There’s no way this is the only bracelet in that tomb,” Byeongguk said.

“You are right. This must have belonged to a high aristocrat or member of the Shinra royal family.”

“Really?” Joy appeared in Byeongguk’s eyes. He had found a great historical site that could be on school books, in the future, as soon as he became a senior researcher, so it was a huge honor for him.

Haejin explained, “Yes. Members of the Shinra ruling class are found with gold and silver bracelets. However, for this being to be found at the entrance of the tomb is a little unexpected. The Japanese must have made a mistake while they tried to retrieve it in a hurry, or something else must have happened. This shouldn’t be lying at the entrance…”

“Royal? Then this is really important,” Byeongguk said.

If the tomb belonged to a king of Shinra, instead of an ordinary aristocrat, it had incredible historical value.

Byeongguk and Eunhae both came closer in surprise.

Haejin then said, “To whom exactly it used to belong to, we will have to excavate the tomb to find out, but what is certain is that the tomb belongs to a high aristocrat, at least Jingol. That is probably why Ogrua Takenoske wanted to rob that tomb so much. You have found a great treasure, uncle.”

(Shinra society had 8 classes. The top two consisted of royals. The highest was Seonggol (Holy Bone) and the second highest was Jingol (Real Bone).)

Then Eunhae pointed at the bracelet and asked, “Why do you think this was from the royal’s or high aristocrat’s?”

Haejin explained, “Look closer. This bracelet was made with two gold plates. Can you see?”

“Oh, yes. I can.”

Haejin continued, “The craftsman attached decorations of various shapes with gold threads, gold beads and jewels, then bent the gold plates. It is too luxurious for ordinary aristocrats. Only the royals and the highest aristocrats can do this kind of accessory. And as bracelets were important in funeral rituals of the ruling class along with earrings and belts, it was made with even greater care…”

“Oh… so, if someone who isn’t a high aristocrat wears such a bracelet, he or she can get into trouble?”

“Yes. Anyway, uncle, you’ve done so well.”

Byeongguk shrugged his shoulders and put on his unique I-am-so-proud-of-myself expression. It used to appear on his face when he came out of a grave with Haejin’s father with artifacts.

Byeongguk then said, “Hhhh… no one else would have been able to find it. It was in such a tricky place. There were so many rocks around it, and it was on a steep slope. No one would have thought there was a tomb there.”

Haejin replied, “Of course, that is why I let you handle it. If it had been someone else, I wouldn’t have hired him as the researcher of this museum.”

“Yeah, right. Then what are you going to do now? Shouldn’t you tell the government?” Byeongguk asked.

Hearing this, Haejin turned to Eunhae and asked, “Are you going to tell the provincial government of Gyeongsangnamdo?”

Eunhae shook her head, “It might be bad for us if we tell just them. I am going to also report it to the city hall of Seoul and get the permission to excavate from it.”

“However, the provincial government won’t like it.”

Eunhae continued, “For now, we should let the officials fight among themselves. Excavation institutions close with Gyeongsangnamdo’s provincial government will try to take it. We must make it clear that we are involved in this first.”

“Okay then.”

“We know a lot about the tomb and already found a treasure, so even if things go wrong and we have to work together with a few other institutions, we would be able to lead,” Eunhae explained.

“We should.”

Who was going to excavate, that didn’t really matter. What mattered was to restore the tomb and the artifacts damaged by the Japanese.

Haejin just wanted to get a chance to exhibit the artifacts in his museum. That was his small wish.

On the other hand, the director of the museum, Eunhae, thought they had to lead the excavation as they had started and found a meaningful artifact. Haejin could understand that.

“Then, we should restore it more perfectly and ask for permission to excavate as fast as possible.”

“Okay. I will let the restoration team take this now. And… we need to talk,” Eunhae said to Haejin.

He then replied, “Huh? Okay. Uncle, let’s go have a drink later.”

They hadn’t met for some time, so they had to have makgeolli together, or Byeongguk would feel bad.

“I’ve been working so hard that just makgeolli won’t be enough. I heard you came back with lots of money. Buy me some meat,” Byeongguk requested.

“How did you know that? Okay, I will buy good beef, so wait. Oh, and call Sujeong, too.”

Byeongguk replied, “There’s no need for that. She’s going on a date with her boyfriend after work…”

Sujeong must have been neglecting Byeongguk after she started to date her boyfriend.

“Why are you pouting because of it? It’s only natural. Anyway, see you later.”

“Okay!”

Haejin then followed Eunhae to her office. The moment she went in, she picked up a file on her desk and gave it to Haejin.

Haejin asked, “Why are you in such a hurry? Is there something wrong?”

Eunhae frowned, “No, it’s not that urgent, but… I cannot take care of it on my own.”

“What do you mean?”

“See for yourself.” Eunhae then pointed at the file. Haejin sat down on the soft sofa of the office and opened the file.

“SH Global? Pyramid marketing fraud?” Haejin asked.

The document was about the fraud of a pyramid marketing company that invested in Chinese antiques.

This is what had happened. They promoted and lured people in by saying they could earn a huge sum of money by investing in stocks related to Chinese antiques. However, they took 15 billion won and ran away.

They even invited the investors to China and showed them the Chinese antiques they had bought.

Eunhae explained, “Yes. They made people invest about 3.9 million won each, telling them they would give back 14.7 million in five months…”

“Ha… this is ridiculous. Antique is not something a company can sell at a high price after making a group purchase…” Haejin said.

Eunhae continued, “However, people don’t know much. Although the actual price of antiques is rising in China, only a few know how much the price has soared and how many fakes are in the market.”

“Hu… anyway, why are you showing me this? You can’t be asking me to look into this fraud. Has someone asked for my help?” Haejin asked.

Eunhae brought a business card from her desk and gave it to Haejin.

It belonged to Prosecutor Ha Yeonjin of Seoul’s East Prosecutor’s Office.

“Prosecutor Ha Yeonjin? Do you know her?”

Eunhae replied, “She came here when we were in Europe. She left the file and her business card as she didn’t know when we would come back…”

“So, she wants me to help with the investigation? But isn’t this too much? She can’t be asking me to go to China and find out about the antiques those people have invested in, right?”

Eunhae just shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know, either. All we have is that file she left. Should I call her and ask?”

“Hmm… no. I will call her and ask.”

Eunhae then asked, “But what if you end up being forced to help? It’s not like it will get us money.”

“I am worried about that, too, but you said those people lost 15 billion won. Think about how they must be feeling. If I can help them with little effort, I should,” Haejin replied.

Eunhae’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t seen this coming while saying, “Oh… I didn’t know you were so kindhearted.”

“I’m not saying I will just help them out of pity… I’m no volunteer. However, I can help a little with the knowledge I have. Let’s call her first. We don’t know what she has to say.”

Haejin called the number in the business card, and a female voice was soon heard.

“Yes, this is Ha Yeonjin.”

“Hello, I am Park Haejin. I heard you came to my museum a while ago?”

“Oh, I’ve been waiting for your call, Mr. Park.” Yeonjin’s voice immediately brightened at hearing Haejin’s name.

“Yes… I just read the file you left… may I ask why you gave this to me?”

“Actually, I need your help,” the woman replied.

“But I don’t have much time…”

“It doesn’t require much time and effort. Hmm… I cannot tell you about it on the phone. Can we meet and talk? I promise you, it won’t take long. It’s something you can do very easily.”

“Well, okay then,” Haejin accepted.

“My office is close to your museum, so I will get there before lunchtime. Why don’t we have lunch together and talk?”

“Okay, that would be good,” Haejin replied.

“Then I will meet you soon.”

Judging only from her voice, she appeared to be nice. Maybe because she didn’t have that unique attitude of prosecutors looking down on people.

Yeonjin arrived exactly 10 minutes before lunchtime.

She was armed with a black two-piece suit and loafers. Haejin could see that she was determined to solve this matter.

After a short greeting, they went to a samgyaetang restaurant in front of the museum. Yeonjin didn’t waste time and took out the documents from her bag.

“The file I left at your museum is just a simple outline of the case. This is what we actually want your help with.”

Haejin took a look at it, and it was about porcelain.

“What is this? Is this the porcelain that the fraud company bought?” Haejin asked.

“Yes.”

“But what about it?”

Yeonjin explained, “The company bought fake porcelain in China and showed it to investors to make them invest. Those investors thought things were going well after seeing them and worked hard to recruit more people in Korea.”

“Okay…”

Yeonjin continued, “We have arrested most of the people from SH Global, including the CEO. The lawsuit is about to start. They have hidden most of the money they got, but we are looking for it now.”

“Then isn’t it almost over?” Haejin asked.

“Catching the people is almost over. Why would I come to you because of such a matter?” Yeonjin asked.

“Then?”

Haejin thought it was getting too boring, but then Yeonjin said something unexpected.

“SH Global bought fake antique in China, showed it to Korean investors, got their money, and fled. We thought that was all.”

“What?”

Yeonjin stroked her hair in agitation, then said, “We thought all the porcelains SH Global bought were fake, but we were wrong. What is ridiculous is that even those frauds think the porcelain they bought is fake.”