My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 3

“Ugh……”

After clutching his head for what felt like an eternity of five minutes, Park Do-joon felt the headache subside, and only then could he grasp his situation.

“Right. I definitely died. Did I die and regress? So, why did I… die again?”

He remembered dying. He remembered chasing something and dying because of it. But he couldn’t recall what it was.

“What the… What kind of messed up situation is this?”

No matter how much he racked his brain, the memory eluded him.

“Is this a side effect of regression? This is ridiculous. I’m actually regressing and muttering about the side effects of regression.”

He chuckled in disbelief, then gave a bitter laugh.

“If I regressed by someone’s power, it must be the past. And if they regressed me, it must be my first day at work.”

As if expecting it, he muttered to himself and picked up his old phone to check the date. Then, he smirked.

“Just as I thought.”

As expected, he had regressed to his first day as a profiler.

The first day he was proudly starting his career as a profiler in the police force after years of studying.

“If it’s here, it’s obvious what it would be.”

A cramped studio apartment. The space where he prepared for the police exam and lived for a considerable time after passing.

“Seeing the police uniform hanging there.”

And the police uniform hanging in the corner of the studio apartment. It signified that he had passed the police exam.

“Hoo.”

Park Do-joon got up and took a deep breath, organizing his thoughts.

“So, I died. And I don’t remember why or what I died from, but one thing is certain.”

The one who sent him back to the past wanted something.

“I can’t know what it is, but.”

Park Do-joon glanced at the police uniform. A uniform he had worn little despite spending his life as a police officer. Later, wearing it became embarrassing.

“I’ll have to play along for now.”

He said with a bitter smile.

***

The Korean police force is operated quite pre-modernly. There are many cases, but the enthusiasm of the police is not very high.

Of course, they still try to do their best. And one of those efforts is the profiler.

There aren’t enough of them, but there are still profilers who help the police solve cases.

Originally, profilers existed in each province, and they were only responsible for cases occurring within their jurisdiction.

However, due to the chronic shortage of profilers and the issue of assigning nationwide cases, a metropolitan profiler team was formed, and it was Park Do-joon’s first day at work there.

“Hey, is this guy brand new?”

“Look at him being clueless.”

“I bet 10,000 won [approximately $8 USD] he’ll throw up at the crime scene this time.”

“I bet 20,000 won [approximately $16 USD].”

“Hey, if everyone bets on him throwing up, isn’t that unfair?”

“But this guy, a newbie on his first day, is wearing casual clothes instead of a uniform.”

“Kids these days are so out of it.”

The profilers smirked as Park Do-joon arrived. Seeing their reactions, Park Do-joon smiled bitterly.

‘This was the atmosphere.’

Good? No, it couldn’t be called good. It was their own stagnant league.

When the metropolitan profiler team was first created, they mainly selected experienced and skilled people from each region, so the seniors all had a bit of a 꼰대(kkondae) [a Korean term for an older person who is condescending or acts superior] attitude.

Since they were the leaders in their respective regions, hazing the new recruits was inevitable.

‘Before the regression, I at least wore a uniform to work, but.’

Park Do-joon wore casual clothes instead of a uniform this time. In the first place, not many police officers wear uniforms to work. Unless it’s a front-line police box, most of them wear plain clothes.

The same goes for profilers. They themselves are wearing casual clothes while talking about uniforms.

‘Then and now, no, now is the past.’

Park Do-joon smiled at the seniors who were filled with joy at the thought of hazing the new recruit. Seeing that, the seniors said, dumbfounded.

“Where is this newbie smiling?”

“Hey, the world has gotten better. A newbie who hasn’t even been at work for 30 minutes is smiling?”

Park Do-joon quietly said to the seniors who were trying to haze him.

“Stop it.”

“What? Stop?”

“Huh? What do you mean stop?”

“Look at this guy. Has he lost his mind?”

“Isn’t it obvious that you’re trying to haze the new recruit so blatantly?”

“What?”

“Did you just say hazing? Are you talking about yourself? Do you think the profiler world is a joke?”

“You’re profilers, aren’t you? I’m a profiler too. So why are you talking about new recruits? Even in the military, orders between soldiers are prohibited.”

“You, this bastard……”

The senior profilers were taken aback by Park Do-joon’s direct confrontation.

It’s not like they haven’t received new recruits before, and most of them come in frozen stiff. The first day at work, the first seniors, and the first murder scene are enormous burdens.

“I don’t believe that profilers, who are said to be elites in the police force, would commit such pre-modern criminal acts as hazing new recruits.”

“Crime?”

“I came here to work, but if you harass and threaten me without giving me any work, that’s clearly a criminal matter. I have the right to file a complaint, you know?”

“Wow. A real madman has come.”

Everyone said, dumbfounded. But the next moment, they lost their words.

“Since I have to fight with crazy people for the rest of my life anyway, isn’t it okay to be a little crazy?”

“……”

It’s an undeniable fact. If you become a profiler, especially a police profiler, the cases you’re assigned to are violent crimes, and they’re bound to be cases committed by insane people who aren’t in their right minds.

The reason they were betting on whether the new recruit would throw up at the first crime scene was also because the cases were mostly extreme scenes due to the nature of being a profiler.

“They say you were the top of the class on this exam, are you smart? Or are you crazy?”

“I’d like to say the latter.”

The team leader chuckled at Park Do-joon’s words.

“You guys got a taste of your own medicine.”

“Team leader!”

“Hey, how are you going to beat a guy who comes to work saying, ‘I’m a madman’? Are you really going to yell at him? The investigation room is downstairs, so you’ll be back from the investigation soon.”

“Ugh.”

Everyone clicked their tongues at Park Do-joon’s unexpected behavior.

“Well, whether you’re crazy or not, welcome. We’re too busy anyway.”

“Thank you, Team Leader.”

“Hey, Han Seong-gi, you be the new recruit’s partner.”

“Yes? No, why should I be taking care of such a greenhorn?”

Park Do-joon turned his gaze to Han Seong-gi at the mention of his name. Then, a bitter smile rose from within.

‘Han Seong-gi, the guy who killed me. No, the guy who is going to kill me. But……’

He remembered that. Han Seong-gi betrayed not only himself but the entire team and eventually killed him. But he doesn’t remember how or in what way he betrayed him.

Only one thing. He only remembers that he killed him.

“You’re the only one without a partner anyway.”

It would be nice to have enough people, but the profiler department is always short of staff. So, even though it’s called a team, it ends up being just two people.

They can’t gather in large numbers like in American dramas, nor can they provide private jets.

“Ah, damn it, how am I supposed to teach a guy who still has baby fat on his head……”

“Teach him well.”

‘I think I’ll do better than you.’

Han Seong-gi had a strong sense of inferiority towards Park Do-joon in the previous life as well. Now, the difference in skill is bound to be even greater.

Even if the memories of the cases are vague, Park Do-joon is far superior in profiling techniques and skills.

Right now, Han Seong-gi was only a three-year senior.

“We’re busy, so go. Oh, and I bet 100,000 won [approximately $80 USD] that the new recruit won’t throw up.”

“Wow. Such favoritism.”

“Shut your mouths and get to work.”

At those words, each of the profilers grumbled and headed to their seats, and Han Seong-gi narrowed his eyes and looked at Park Do-joon before nodding.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Detective Han.”

“Call me senior.”

“I’m more comfortable with Detective Han.”

“Crazy bastard.”

Han Seong-gi frowned but didn’t say anything more and took Park Do-joon outside. A case had just occurred, and they had called for a profiler.

The place they arrived at was a decent villa in Seoul. And when they arrived, the police were already surrounding the area, and officers with police lines were controlling the onlookers.

‘I remember this place. Right. This was the first crime scene.’

He remembers the place. However, what happened after that is vague.

“Who are you?”

“Metropolitan Profiler Team.”

“Salute.”

When Han Seong-gi presented his ID, the police officer saluted and let the two inside, where people were already investigating the case, and people wearing vests that said ‘Forensic Investigation’ were taking pictures of the scene.

“Hey, Joo-won, what’s going on?”

“Well, it’s murder, murder.”

The forensic investigator with the camera shrugged and said.

“Some crazy bastard stabbed the victim in the back with a knife.”

“Really? No other evidence?”

“There are fingerprints on the knife, and the door is locked.”

At those words, Park Do-joon glanced around.

‘It feels really strange. Is this what they call déjà vu?’

He definitely came here once. But it’s not in his memory. So, it’s a familiar yet completely unfamiliar space at the same time.

“Who’s next to you?”

“The new recruit who just came, someone give him a bag.”

At those words, one of the forensic investigators smirked and took out a bag, handing it to Han Seong-gi, who tossed it at Park Do-joon’s chest.

“You’re dead if you throw up at the scene.”

The moment he went inside, he smelled the stench of a rotting corpse. Park Do-joon’s face hardened as he examined the scene. But other than slightly narrowing his eyes, there was no change.

It was a smell he had lived with for decades. A nightmare-like smell that he could never forget. A smell that was embedded in his body like the victim’s soul, and it wouldn’t come off easily.

“It looks like it’s been a while.”

Park Do-joon said, watching the flies flying in front of him.

“It’s been at least two weeks……”

“What, how do you know that?”

Han Seong-gi made a nasal sound as if he was holding his breath, but Park Do-joon, the new recruit, continued to speak normally.

“I think I know because of the flies. I don’t know much about the realm of forensic investigation, but if the flies have hatched and are flying around like this, it must have been a long time.”

Park Do-joon glanced around the small officetel [a Korean term for a multi-purpose building containing both residential and commercial units].

“The officetel itself is newly built, and the windows seem to be closed, and if the door was locked, there wouldn’t be many routes for flies to enter this house, and as a result, a small number of flies inside the house would have laid eggs. Otherwise, the number of flies cannot be explained.”

“Huh? Are you really a newbie? That’s right. It’s been three weeks since he died.”

Seo Joo-won stuck out his tongue at Park Do-joon’s words.

“Who found him?”

“His parents. They came after not being able to contact him for three weeks and found him.”

“What a terrible thing.”

Han Seong-gi clicked his tongue. He looked at the now-dead victim with a pitiful expression. And then a police officer approached him.