My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 16

“So, you can ask his friends.”

“But there wasn’t anyone like that?”

“It’s a sensitive matter.”

His friend died. And while his family is writhing in pain, who would lend a camera and then brazenly ask for it back? No one would lend a camera to such a person in the first place.

“He’s probably keeping quiet.”

Park Do-joon said, staring intently at the call history.

***

“The camera? Yes, I lent it to him.”

Confirmation wasn’t difficult. All he had to do was call the number in the recent call history and ask. Lee Hyung-woo’s friend took a deep breath, as if trying to compose himself, and said,

“Was he into photography?”

“Yes. Hyung-woo said he was going on a trip with his girlfriend and asked if he could borrow my camera.”

‘Just as I expected.’

It was a case with many loose ends. Han Sung-ki had treated it as a straightforward suicide, but the more he delved into it, the more evidence suggested otherwise.

“Was that camera expensive, by any chance?”

“It’s a Leica camera.”

“Leica? Wow, those are incredibly expensive, aren’t they?”

People often think of Japanese cameras first, because they offer good value for money. But the really high-performance ones are German.

Especially Leica, which has established itself as a top-tier professional camera company.

If you can buy a decent Japanese camera for around 1 million won [approximately $750 USD], you’d have to pay at least 3 million won [approximately $2250 USD] for a Leica.

With the money for one Leica camera, you could buy a premium Japanese camera and a decent lens, so it’s understandable why people often think of Japan when it comes to cameras.

But buying a Leica camera signifies that this person is a true camera enthusiast.

“It is expensive. Very expensive… but what can I do? I can’t ask a dead guy for it, and I can’t go to his mother and ask for it either.”

Calling her ‘mother’ instead of ‘parents’ suggests they are close and visit each other often.

“And no matter how expensive the camera is, it’s not worth more than a friend’s life, is it? Sigh, that poor bastard.”

“Did he say anything specific when he borrowed it?”

At Park Do-joon’s question, the friend shrugged.

“What guys talk about when they meet is usually the same. Complaining about life, complaining about marriage.”

“Complaining about marriage? Are you married?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“Ah, he mentioned he was going to register his marriage when he got back.”

Park Do-joon clenched his fist at those words. A solid piece of evidence that it wasn’t suicide had surfaced.

“Could you tell me more about that?”

“Well, it’s not really a secret.”

Lee Hyung-woo had been talking with a friend who knew that their families were against their relationship, and they had both been compromising and enduring it. But now they had both decided to move forward, regardless of the opposition.

Of course, this wasn’t just about her being pregnant but also about registering their marriage, no matter what.

“Why didn’t you tell the police about that?”

“The police didn’t even call me.”

‘I knew it.’

Since the police had already concluded it was a suicide and were investigating accordingly, they wouldn’t bother questioning the people around him.

“Would you be willing to testify to that?”

“It’s not a problem, but is it important?”

“It doesn’t seem like a suicide.”

“Not a suicide? Everyone said it was suicide…”

“From my perspective, this isn’t suicide. A person who is about to die wouldn’t borrow a camera. Is Lee Hyung-woo the kind of person who would cause trouble for his friend right up to the moment of his death?”

The friend shook his head. He chose nursing school because he wanted to help people. He didn’t have the brains to become a doctor, but he thought he could become a nurse since there was a shortage of male nurses. A guy like that wouldn’t take his most prized possession with him if he was planning to die.

“Just one more thing to confirm. Lee Hyung-woo’s military service was in the Navy, right?”

According to the records, Lee Hyung-woo had clearly served in the Navy. But just in case, Park Do-joon asked again for confirmation. And the friend nodded.

“Yes. He was stationed on a ship in the Navy.”

“Stationed?”

“Yes. I enlisted in the military with him. You know, the buddy system.”

“I know. So, you’re saying he lived on a ship.”

In the Navy, being stationed on a ship is a bit different from being stationed on land in the Army. It’s sea duty. Soldiers who work on ships often have the opportunity to transfer to land duty.

In such cases, most choose land duty, but some refuse and remain on the ship.

That’s usually referred to as being anchored.

“Did you hear anything else besides that?”

“Not really…”

Well, there’s no reason to call a friend from his honeymoon. This was enough.

‘This could change the direction of the police investigation.’

Park Do-joon took the friend’s testimony to Kim Woo-sun, and Kim Woo-sun presented it to the investigators, urging them to investigate properly. But most of the police officers subtly showed their displeasure.

“That’s probably all there is to it. There’s no real evidence.”

Seo Joo-won shrugged.

“Why did Agent Seo come here?”

“I got pushed back because of seniority. They want me to find some kind of evidence…”

A definite testimony that it wasn’t suicide had emerged. Naturally, they should investigate that to find out if it was an accident or murder.

“But wasn’t there anything at the scene?”

“That’s the problem. They’re telling me to go back and check again…”

“There’s no point.”

Finding evidence at the scene where the body was washed ashore, not the scene of death, is impossible.

“Were there any results from the autopsy?”

Park Do-joon hadn’t received the autopsy results yet. But Seo Joo-won, being from the same National Forensic Service, might know something.

“Well, I asked just in case. But it seems like neither of them had any injuries.”

“Drowning…”

Park Do-joon pondered for a moment after hearing that.

“Wait a minute.”

Then, after checking something on his phone, he cautiously spoke.

“I think this might be a murder case.”

“Yes? A murder case? Out of the blue?”

He already knew from before that they had drowned. But suddenly, a conviction?

“Actually, I heard that Lee Hyung-woo served in the Navy.”

“The Navy?”

“Yes. And combat swimming is mandatory in the Navy.”

In the Navy, all soldiers are required to know how to swim. Of course, they don’t need to be as good as athletes.

But all Navy soldiers learn to swim at least enough to avoid drowning. Usually, the standard is the ability to swim 25 meters [approximately 82 feet].

“Of course, floating is the most basic skill for Navy standards.”

In fact, even if you only know how to float, drowning is rare.

Of course, it varies depending on the state of the sea, but in a calm sea, you can survive by relaxing and lying down, as your body naturally floats on the water.

“That’s the case even in fresh water. And seawater is saline.”

Seawater has stronger buoyancy than fresh water, making it much easier to float.

“Oh? Then?”

“It means it’s not a situation where he would accidentally drown.”

To accidentally drown, a person would have to be completely helpless in the water. If you learn at least how to float, the possibility of drowning becomes very low.

“What did you just confirm then?”

“I checked the sea conditions that day. They provide that information for fishermen.”

And the sea conditions that day were calm. But a person who came from the Navy and was so accustomed to ship life that he was ‘anchored’ drowns in the sea?

“Could it be that when Kwon Mi-joo fell into the water, he tried to save her and they died together…?”

“I don’t think so.”

One of the things they teach in the Navy is not to approach a person who has fallen into the water rashly. Like the saying that a drowning person will grab at a straw, they will try to grab anything to survive, and even a person who is good at swimming can get caught up in it and die.

Such incidents actually happen from time to time.

“But aren’t they lovers?”

“Of course. But if that were the case, there would have been injuries on their bodies.”

“Ah!”

The strength of a person struggling to survive is stronger than you think. If such a person tried to cling to someone else, there should have been at least scratch marks.

But there’s nothing like that.

“In the end, the fact that a person accustomed to the sea drowned means that someone must have killed him.”

“But how?”

Leaving aside Kwon Mi-joo, Lee Hyung-woo is a robust man. He wouldn’t just let someone kill him.

“There weren’t any drug components found in their bodies either.”

“In the sea…”

Park Do-joon looked at the sea visible from the scene.

“He might not have been able to resist.”

***

A swimming pool in Incheon. Park Do-joon secured a spot there with the detectives. Their eyes showed their dissatisfaction, but no one complained in this place where Kim Woo-sun was personally present.

“You bastards, aren’t you doing your job properly? Suicide, you say? But the circumstantial evidence says it’s not suicide!”

“We’re sorry.”

“Seriously, you guys. These days, you just sit in your chairs and investigate with monitors, so the world is easy for you. Should I transfer you to a police box? Huh?”

The police officers couldn’t say anything because they were at fault, and after that long speech ended, they reluctantly turned their attention to Park Do-joon.

“Everyone, first, I want to show you the scene of the murder.”

“The scene of the murder?”

“Is this the scene of the murder?”

“No. That’s not it. But I think I know how one of the victims, Lee Hyung-woo, died.”

Everyone was puzzled by Park Do-joon’s words, but no one questioned him closely. Anyway, he said he would show them.

“Um. First, is there anyone here who is good at swimming?”

At those words, several of the police officers raised their hands, and Park Do-joon designated one of them. It was someone similar in age and build to the victim.

“Let’s go inside the swimming pool together.”

Since they were already wearing swimsuits, it wasn’t difficult for the two of them to enter the swimming pool.

“Seriously, what are you going to do?”

Not an adult swimming pool, but a children’s swimming pool with a depth of only waist height. There, Park Do-joon said to the detective.

“Lie down here.”

“Lie down?”

“Yes. To be exact, float on the water.”

“Floating is nothing.”

It wasn’t difficult for a swimmer, and he quickly floated, looking at the ceiling.

“As you know from the autopsy records, the victim drowned. There were no injuries or anything like that on his body.”

“So?”

“So, isn’t it suicide? How can you kill someone like that without any injuries?”

“You can kill them like this.”

Park Do-joon subtly approached the detective floating on the water and gently pressed his chest. Then the detective sank into the water.

Glug, glug, glug.

Surprised, he tried to resist, but he couldn’t resist, flailing his arms and legs. Park Do-joon saw that and quickly released his hand, and the detective quickly stood up.