Chapter 51

After a while, the first porcelain ever made in Europe partially revealed itself from the center of Coco, and then—

Kororo!

It was sucked back in again.

Coco also flew away, its light rays fluttering.

"Well, play with it well."

At least it didn't disappear, which was fortunate.

'If I sell this, it should fetch at least 1 billion won, right?'

I looked up how to get pottery appraised and sold on the internet, and it came up quickly.

[ Korea Ceramic Culture Appraisal Institute ]

Register here.

Hand over the item.

Wait for the appraisal.

Receive the item and the report.

Register it for auction.

—It was quite a lengthy and complicated process.

Moreover, the antique that Coco had eaten was from Europe.

The institute clearly stated that they only handled 'Korean ceramics.'

If domestic institutions couldn't appraise it, I would have to go to international auction houses like Sotheby's or Christie's in New York.

But I couldn't just take a few days off right after opening the cafe to go abroad. It wasn't certain that it would sell immediately.

"I knew this would happen."

So, it was time to use the "Combination" coupon I had drawn as compensation.

I have an idea to find out the appraisal value, and I have a wonderful friend to help me realize it.

"Tam! Let's go!"

—The power of "Quality Conversion" is activated.

—Item: Mokhyu A4 paper

—Quantity: 259.38

—The estimated work time is 17 minutes and 15 seconds.

—Do you want to start the conversion process?

But something unexpected happened.

—The "Eagle Eye" skill has been activated!

—!!!Warning!!! 'False elements' detected.

—!!!Warning!!! The materials are returned. Check the 'False Mark.'

Suddenly, the "Eagle Eye" skill activated.

I took the papers that Tam had spit out and checked them again.

"What's wrong? What's the problem?"

The materials related to the first European porcelain had 'False Mark,' i.e., red lines drawn through them.

"These people should have checked more carefully."

I picked up a pen and started going through the papers one by one.

I intended to underline the incorrect information.

But upon closer inspection, the phrase 'first in Europe' had red lines drawn through it everywhere.

"Ha ha, what a stroke of luck?"

So, the piece in the museum wasn't the first in Europe, but the one I had!

Coco had told me the truth, and Tam had just confirmed it.

"Tam, Coco! You guys are amazing! I can't believe it!"

I happily underlined everything.

It was funny, but even in the auction house listings, there were red lines occasionally.

'How ridiculous.'

I didn't know why the information was incorrect.

Maybe it was a forgery, or they had gotten some minor facts wrong.

But it was amazing that I had found something that even such a big company couldn't.

'Should I start an appraisal company? Or an auction house?'

While having these whimsical thoughts, I gathered the papers again and gave them to Tam.

It should work now, right?

—The power of "Quality Conversion" is activated.

—Item: Mokhyu A4 paper

—Quantity: 225.72

—The estimated work time is 15 minutes and 55 seconds.

—Do you want to start the conversion process?

"I'll use the Combination coupon."

—The "Preview" skill has been activated!

—Please select the result.

—A. 118 sheets of Mokhyu Premium A4 paper

—B. The registration procedure for the porcelain tea set

—C. The latest appraisal report for the porcelain tea set (2013, Art Curial Germany)

—It worked!

"Yess! Yess! Yess!"

I was going to use the "Lucky Strike" if the "Preview" was insufficient, but it wasn't necessary.

"C option, let's go!"

—The "Quantity to Quality Conversion" has started.

Tam's yellow and red light rays formed a circle and started spinning faster and faster, like a fan!

The work time was 15 minutes.

I waited anxiously.

'It can't be just 500 million won, right?'

Then the message appeared.

—The "Quantity to Quality Conversion" is complete.

—Please "consume" the converted item.

—Time limit: 7 minutes

I picked up the fallen papers.

Sure enough, the titles were in English.

[ CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY ]

[ CERTIFICATE OF APPRAISAL ]

When I ran them through a translator, they turned out to be certificates of authenticity and appraisal. The subsequent pages were filled with various descriptions.

'I did it!'

I was about to translate the entire text when I quickly flipped through the pages.

Chak— Chak—

I only needed to find the numbers that looked like prices.

Chak— Chak—

And there it was, right in front of me.

[ ······to be worth around €1,700,000. ]

'One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million······.'

1.7 million euros.

I quickly converted it to Korean won using Naver.

"Billions······."

2.2 billion. 2.2 billion won.

Based on 2013, considering inflation, it could be even more now.

"······What a windfall."

The world spun, and my head felt dizzy.

I got up from my chair and walked to the bed.

And I flopped down.

'······What a windfall.'

All sorts of thoughts flooded my mind.

2.2 billion?

Can I really sell this for 2.2 billion?

What should I do with 2.2 billion? Move first?

No, should I save and grow it more?

But can I sell it in Korea?

Will there be buyers?

If they buy, will they pay the right price?

Should I really go to a foreign auction house?

I just opened the cafe; it's a bit difficult to take a few days off.

No, it's still the early stage where employees are adapting and sales need to be monitored, so I have some leeway.

'But I've never been abroad before?'

That night.

I couldn't sleep easily, my head spinning with thoughts.

*

The next day.

The afternoon at Cafe Amuse was, as usual, leisurely and moderately lively.

Just standing at the counter and looking around the cafe made me feel good.

'This is my cafe? Hehe.'

I was even considering bringing a blanket to spend a night here. It's my cafe, after all.

Then two female customers came in.

"Welcome, this is Cafe Amuse."

Their faces were familiar.

"I'll order here. One hot Americano, one hot cafe latte, and... what did you want to eat?"

"Lemon cream macaron! I've been thinking about it all the time."

"Ah, then two lemon cream macarons and one cranberry dacquoise, please."

They seemed to be the people who sat at the table next to Im Hee-ju on the first day of the soft opening.

'Not many people have pink hair, after all.'

But I didn't show any recognition.

These days, employees don't particularly like recognizing customers' faces. If the customer shows a 'I'm a regular here' sign, then it's not too late to recognize them.

"Yes, will you be dining in?"

"Yes!"

After the customers settled in, Im Su-jeong also came to me and said the same thing.

"Those people were here on the first day, right?"

"Yes, that seems to be the case. Please tell your mother how much we appreciate it."

It was clear that the promotional effect was working.

They probably didn't drive over an hour to get here that day.

Most of them likely lived nearby.

There could be repeat customers who came back because of the taste.

"Yep! By the way, I talked to my mom yesterday, and she said she wants to come again."

"Ah, anytime you visit, it's an honor!"

And another helper, Min Chae-yeon.

Quite a few customers seemed to have come because of Min Chae-yeon's posting.

Even the customers sitting at the front tables were like that.

"Is there a boutique nearby? Should we check it out?"

"I'm tired, really. We've taken enough photos for today."

The age group in this residential area is relatively young, but these customers were different from the neighborhood visitors.

They were dressed up to take photos for SNS or their profiles.

"Hey, you need to look your best when you come out!"

"How many photos do you need?"

"I don't have a specific goal, but... about 100? That way, I can get a few good ones."

"Crazy. Just live for Instagram."

I barely managed to suppress a laugh as I overheard their conversation.

Out of gratitude, I opened Min Chae-yeon's Instagram.

I also wanted to check the post she made yesterday.

[ Likes 6,197 Comments 39 ]

It was 4,000 yesterday, but now it's 6,000.

Several more comments asking for cafe information had been added.

"Phew."

Good vibes were flowing.

It seemed to be catching the eye of the neighborhood people, and the help from celebrities was also paying off.

'The sales must have increased today?'

I pressed the POS machine to check today's sales.

Yesterday's daily sales were 32.

It's only 4 PM today, but it's already approaching 40.

For a small, obscure cafe that hasn't been properly promoted yet, this was definitely a successful start.

'Kang Tae-joon said he gets about 50 a day?'

Breaking 50 at the Shinchon branch is just a matter of time.

'Good, good.'

I'll start promoting on SNS when the photographer comes tomorrow morning.

And after the evening interview for the assistant staff, the Duo of Pil-sung will have more breathing room.

'Then, just one week.'

I wanted to observe the progress for a week and then, based on that data, hit the gas pedal.

I was confident.

Our Amuse's potential is endless.

But then.

"Is Mr. Shin Yu-won here?"

The expected customer had arrived.

"I'm Shin Yu-won. Are you the lawyer?"

"Yes, I'm Kim Gyu-tae. Nice to meet you."

He looked to be in his early to mid-40s.

His hair was neatly cut and combed back, and he wore thick-rimmed glasses.

A brief smile flashed and disappeared.

I could tell what kind of person he was.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Shin Yu-won."

I had verified him multiple times last night using "Quantity to Quality Conversion" and "Eagle Eye."

This meticulous and stern feeling? I actually liked it.

"Would you like a drink? I'll bring it to you."

"Water is sufficient."

"Ah, okay. Please take a seat at that table."

I brought two glasses of water to the table and sat down across from him.

"Thank you for coming."

"No problem."

Kim Gyu-tae adjusted the angle of the coaster to be parallel with the table edge and bowed.

"Let me introduce myself again. I am Kim Gyu-tae, the head lawyer of Hyunma Law Firm."

He extended his business card with a graceful gesture.

[ Cultural and Art Law Specialist Kim Gyu-tae ]

A talented individual with dozens of experiences in legal consultations and consulting related to domestic art transactions, and capable of English interpretation.

He would be my reliable guide for the journey into the unknown world, filled with all sorts of complex languages and symbols.

I started the conversation lightly.

"Did I contact you too late yesterday?"

"No, we don't have day or night in our line of work."

Kim Gyu-tae adjusted his glasses and continued.

"Actually, it was better that you contacted me quickly. We can't miss such a good opportunity."

Kim Gyu-tae had immediately switched to work mode during our first call last night, asking various questions about the porcelain.

Perhaps because he lacked significant international auction experience, this was a good chance to build his career.

I liked his enthusiasm even more.