My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 20

“Is that so?”

But Park Do-joon didn’t bring up this story without a reason.

Could a colonel really ask a local election commission for a yacht?

That would be impossible. Of course, they might know each other, but such a request implies a quid pro quo [a favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something].

In other words, unless the person can offer something in return, they are unlikely to lend the boat.

‘Then there’s only one option left.’

A general, a star-level officer.

‘People separate the military and politics, but realistically, that’s wrong.’

The number of people who transition from being generals in the military to politicians is enormous. In particular, most of these people are high-ranking generals above the rank of lieutenant general.

‘If you know someone like that, it’s definitely possible.’

Of course, it might be a far-fetched idea. But it’s not impossible. Sometimes society works in strange ways.

– Oh? A general… Ah, wait a minute. Now that I think about it, we did talk about something like that while drinking.

“What do you mean by ‘talk’?”

– He said that he saved a general’s life while he was in the military.

“A life?”

– Boats are dangerous, you know.

If you slip on a boat, you fall into the sea, and if the boat doesn’t notice and leaves, you’re dead. Swimming and floating? That only increases your chances of survival if your location is known and you’re near the shore. If you fall into the open sea or the winter sea, you’ll die of hypothermia within 30 minutes.

“Can you tell me more about that story?”

– It was a story from when he was doing training in the military…….

The 2nd Fleet’s naval commander boarded his ship to check on the training situation, and the inside of the ship was in a state of emergency.

Everyone was nervous and watching the commander’s every move, and the captain couldn’t even breathe properly.

Naturally, everyone could only pay attention to the naval commander.

But when people of the naval commander’s stature move, many stars [high-ranking officers] move with them.

Moreover, since it was an official training exercise, there were almost 30 stars present.

In that situation, it was Lee Hyung-woo who noticed that someone was missing. The nervous people didn’t realize that one of the generals was gone, and neither did the commander.

Did the generals know?

Not really. Generals have ranks, so they rarely meet each other, and since each of them is a rival with promotions at stake, they were too busy keeping each other in check to think about whether the other person was missing.

But only one person, Lee Hyung-woo, knew this fact, and he urgently reported it to the captain. The navy urgently switched from training to search, and after an hour of searching, they were able to pull a two-star general out of the sea.

He had come out to smoke a cigarette when a strong wave caused the boat to bounce, sending him flying into the sea.

– He said that he still keeps in touch with him from time to time.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

It’s definitely a possible story. Every year, one or two people die in the navy due to accidents. The military fabricates documents to falsely report deaths, but people who have been to the military know how many people die in the military every year.

‘If you saved someone in that situation, they would be really grateful.’

Moreover, after an hour, even in the warm season, hypothermia starts to set in.

The further out to sea, the colder it is. If you are rescued when you feel your life is ending, who could be more grateful than the person who saved you?

“Do you happen to know that person?”

– Ah. I only heard that he retired and went into politics…….”

Park Do-joon nodded at those words.

“That’s enough. Thank you.”

Park Do-joon hung up the phone and searched the internet for politicians who were former military generals. The area was Incheon or a politician in the vicinity. And he was able to find it quickly.

“Bingo.”

***

“What? Lee Hyung-woo is dead?”

Soo Ho-jin, a member of the National Assembly [South Korea’s unicameral national legislature] in Bucheon, asked back in disbelief.

“Yes. He drowned in the sea.”

“D, drowned?”

At those words, Soo Ho-jin slumped into his chair and covered his face. He seemed to be in great shock. Well, it wouldn’t be a small shock to hear that the person who saved his life had died.

“That’s impossible. He’s such a good swimmer…… Why would such a guy…….”

In Soo Ho-jin’s mind, he even wondered if he had died in his place because he had saved him. But the next moment, Park Do-joon’s words woke him up.

“Have you ever introduced him to someone who owns a yacht?”

“Yacht?”

“Yes.”

“Yacht. Ah, that’s right. I introduced him to someone who owns a yacht.”

“What was the reason? Did he say it was because of a proposal issue?”

At those words, Soo Ho-jin nodded.

“Yes.”

Soo Ho-jin, who had been saved, cherished Lee Hyung-woo, and in fact, even after his discharge, the two often met for drinks and were close.

Then Lee Hyung-woo said that he was going to propose, and it was none other than Soo Ho-jin who suggested that he propose on a yacht with a great plan.

‘I thought it was out of the blue.’

Usually, even if you propose, you do it within a set range of actions.

A person who doesn’t have a yacht himself doesn’t suddenly borrow a yacht to propose.

Events such as renting a room and filling it with balloons or filling a car with balloons are possible, but borrowing a yacht to propose is not something that can be done in general.

‘But if someone else tells you, it’s a different story.’

And that was Soo Ho-jin. Soo Ho-jin regarded Lee Hyung-woo, who had saved him, as a real son, and even made unreasonable requests for him.

“Is that person Park Geo-sik? The chairman of the Incheon Election Commission.”

“How did you know that? Could it be?”

At those words, Soo Ho-jin’s face hardened. In this situation, there is only one possibility.

“Yes. We suspect that person is the culprit.”

“But why? There’s no reason for him to do that, is there?”

“That’s the problem.”

There are three important things in a murder case.

Method. Timing and motive.

As Park Do-joon expected, the method and timing were revealed. Now that the person who directly connected the two people has been identified, proving it is not difficult.

‘Moreover, Incheon and Bucheon are different regions.’

Of course, they may know each other by going back and forth during the busy election season, but since Incheon City and Bucheon City have different administrative districts, they may not know about the incident.

Because it’s not a case that the police have made public.

‘The problem is the cause [motive].’

If you kill someone, there must be a reason. But Park Geo-sik has no reason to kill Kwon Mi-joo and Lee Hyung-woo. They are not in a relationship where they would hold a grudge, nor are they in a relationship where they would steal each other’s money.

“Get that bastard right now!”

Soo Ho-jin got up from his seat and walked back and forth in the room as if he wanted to go and kill him right away. But Park Do-joon stopped Soo Ho-jin.

“Even if you step up to protest now, you’ll have to fight with other politicians. Can you do that?”

“I can. A hundred times, a thousand times! I don’t want to do politics while keeping my mouth shut for the sake of a murderer!”

“That’s the spirit. If there is solid evidence, you can step up later. Then they won’t be able to resist.”

“Evidence? What evidence?”

In fact, there is no evidence. Suspicion is there, but you can’t be sure that he killed them with that alone.

But Park Do-joon was thinking about one possibility.

‘There are many reasons why humans kill people. But the most common is women.’

Money, anger, or women.

This is one of the most common reasons for murder. But no matter how you look at it, there is no room for money in Park Geo-sik’s motive for murder.

Anger? There is no reason for someone like Park Geo-sik to feel anger towards people who have just promised to get married.

Of course, it could be for self-defense purposes, but there is no possibility that people who came to propose would touch or scratch Park Geo-sik’s nerves.

‘All that’s left is women.’

The victim, Kwon Mi-joo, was quite beautiful. Of course, logically speaking, it is safe to say that there is no possibility that Park Geo-sik would commit murder in order to do something to Kwon Mi-joo.

Decisively, there was no trace of rape on Kwon Mi-joo herself. She, like Lee Hyung-woo, drowned and showed no signs of resistance.

‘Yeah. It doesn’t make sense logically.’

But profilers should not judge logically. Criminals are not logical.

“Did Park Geo-sik like to drink?”

“Don’t most men like to drink?”

“Let me correct my question. Drinking with women. Did he like it?”

At those words, Soo Ho-jin’s face hardened slightly. That’s because admitting that means going to such places together. But Soo Ho-jin’s 고민 [worry/anguish] was short. He slowly nodded his head.

“The picture is complete.”

Park Do-joon was able to be sure of his actions.

# Reason for Murder

“Rape?”

“Yes. I think that’s probably the case.”

“Out of the blue?”

“You can tell by Park Geo-sik’s actions. By analyzing Soo Ho-jin’s testimony and his past actions, you can predict Park Geo-sik’s tendencies.”

Park Geo-sik is someone who has been receiving hospitality for a long time. He was revered by others and at the same time reigned over them.

The power of a member of the National Assembly in society is enormous, but in fact, he was able to receive considerable hospitality and money from them because he was the chairman of the election commission, who held the lifeline of such a member of the National Assembly.

“Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s a completely superior being.”

It is true that Park Geo-sik, as the local chairman of the election commission, has great power over the election itself, but once the election is over, he does not have much influence.

In other words, if a member of the National Assembly makes up his mind to kill him at this time, there is nothing he cannot kill.

“The two groups maintain a relationship with each other. And the common thing about such power groups is that they tend to ignore the people below them considerably.”

Even aides who work under them are considered slaves by members of the National Assembly. It is unlikely that the chairman of the election commission will be any different.

“But logically speaking, why would the chairman of the election commission kill two people? I still don’t understand.”

Kim Woo-sun said as if he didn’t know, of course. He is also an experienced police officer, so he knows that one of the most important things when investigating is the cause.

Of course, there are cases of random killings, but in the case of random killings, an unspecified number of people are indiscriminately killed.

The characteristic of such guys is that they have nothing more to lose.

But Park Geo-sik has so much to lose. Of course, he is not someone who would commit indiscriminate or random killings.

“That’s right if you say it logically. But isn’t there something that makes people unable to act logically?”

“Something that makes you unable to act logically? Ah, do you mean drugs or alcohol?”

“That’s right.”

It is very common for someone who seems like they would never hit someone to beat their family when they are drunk.

Even a so-called leader of society drank alcohol and shoved his subordinate’s face into a boiling stew because he didn’t like it.”