My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 39

“But I still feel uneasy. I only train at night, but what are the chances of a young woman sleeping alone in a place like that?”

“I guess you’re right.”

If she were with someone, they would have taken her to a motel or home. They wouldn’t leave her in a place where she could freeze to death.

What’s strange about her being alone is that there are hardly any women who go to clubs alone.

“So, I insisted on an autopsy.”

And the drug test came back positive for GHB [gamma-hydroxybutyrate, a central nervous system depressant], which turned it into a murder case.

“I just wonder if the case would have been handled properly from the start if I had kept my mouth shut back then.”

“I understand what you mean.”

From his experience, he couldn’t have imagined they would dismiss it as an accident.

But a considerable amount of time would have passed before they reopened the investigation as a murder, and eventually, the evidence would have been lost.

‘Well, it happened over time.’

He probably said that during the first case, and the police likely treated the second and third cases as accidents as well.

‘Is it guilt?’

If he hadn’t said that in the first case, the police might have investigated it as a sex crime and caught the culprit then.

But he didn’t, and as a result, two more people died.

“That’s why I can’t let it go.”

“I understand.”

“But honestly, I don’t know if there’s a solution. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but everyone is shaking their heads.”

“I’ve done some rough analysis. It might be different from what my predecessors would have done, though.”

“In what way…?”

“First of all, the car is a ghost car [a vehicle with falsified or untraceable registration].”

“Yes.”

“But when I checked when the original owner lost the car, it was six years ago.”

To be exact, the death occurred six years ago. Of course, they would have lost the car before that.

“The ghost car came from Kangwon Land [a South Korean casino resort], but I don’t know where exactly.”

That’s obvious. Ghost cars are illegal. Due to the nature of pawnshops dealing in cash, they wouldn’t leave any traces of where they sold it, and even if they did, they wouldn’t report it to the government.

“But I think these criminals borrowed it for a different purpose.”

“What? A different purpose?”

“Yes.”

Park Do-joon nodded. None of the previous profilers had made this prediction. They just assumed the culprit was in their mid-20s and part of a team of three or more habitual offenders.

And they said that at least one of them would have a drug record. But that wasn’t enough to track them down.

Of course, there weren’t many people in their mid-20s with drug records, but even after investigating all of them, nothing came up. But out of the blue, borrowing the car for a different purpose?

“Another crime?”

“No, it’s not that. The usage period is too long for that. It’s probably just for show.”

“Just for show?”

“Yes, ghost cars usually serve three main purposes.”

The first is practicality. With a ghost car, you don’t have to pay taxes or insurance, and you can violate traffic laws or skip highway tolls without any consequences.

Since no one knows who owns it, you can save a considerable amount of money as a result.

“The second is for criminal purposes.”

But criminal use is short-term, and the car is abandoned after the crime. Considering the time of disappearance and the period it was used for the crime, that’s not it.

“The third is for ‘showing off.’”

Ghost cars are ridiculously cheap. In the case of a B company car, a ghost car costs about 7 million won [approximately $5,300 USD]. Considering the original price is close to 100 million won [approximately $76,000 USD], and even buying it used would cost at least 50 million [approximately $38,000 USD], it means you’re buying it for a real bargain.

“Looking at that, they probably bought it to show off. And the purpose is to lure women.”

It was an unexpected remark.

No one had ever made such an analysis before.

“Some men think they can get any woman if they have money.”

Of course, that’s a delusion. There are very few women like that, but even they aren’t stupid. Having a nice car means it’s worth meeting them, but it doesn’t mean they can immediately have a relationship with them.

“Just trying to pick them up with a nice car and have a relationship.”

So-called show-offs.

They’ll do anything for their sexual desires.

“And when I look at this case, it seems like the third type.”

They didn’t use it to commit any crimes, and the car is too flashy to be used for practical purposes.

That leaves the third option, which is driving around to show off.

“Yeah, there are often guys whose brains are below their waist.”

For example, guys who make 2 million won a month [approximately $1,500 USD] and buy an imported car. Can they really afford it?

They can never afford it. The monthly payment will be more than their salary from the start.

But in their minds, this moment is more important than the future.

“Many profilers overlook this part.”

It’s natural because profiling is based on serious crimes. But these show-offs don’t seem to be very involved in crime.

“But realistically, they are quite close to crime.”

“Why?”

“Because their judgment criteria are the same as criminals.”

“Judgment criteria?”

“Yes, the immediate present, not the distant future, that’s their general thinking.”

Do criminals worry about the future when they commit crimes? No. That’s the biggest difference between ordinary people and criminals. Ordinary people consider the impact on the future when they do something.

“But criminals’ thinking is simple: don’t get caught.”

Don’t get caught. That’s the biggest difference between criminals and ordinary people. In fact, most people can’t move rashly because of thinking about the future.

“But criminals think they won’t get caught. Or they move with the thought, ‘Will I get caught?’ And those show-offs are exactly that type.”

It’s not quite a crime, but they don’t have any values or thoughts about the future, they just think about how to hook up with a woman.

“Well, the crime of adultery under the pretense of marriage has disappeared [referring to the decriminalization of adultery in South Korea].”

“What does that have to do with it?”

“It does. It means there’s no way to punish them if they don’t ask the other person for money during the relationship.”

They drive around in an imported car, pretending to be a successful doctor, prosecutor, or from a wealthy family to seduce the other person.

Then they spend one night and it’s over. No responsibility, just pleasure.

“Wow, I never thought you could think of it that way.”

“Because I’m a profiler. Generally, you have to think like ordinary people or judges, but people like me have to think like criminals.”

“Um, pleasure… But what does that have to do with this case?”

“It has to do with this case. I think this is an accident.”

“What?”

Park Do-joon’s words made their faces bewildered. Kang Chang-soo looked bewildered. Three people died, but he says it’s an accident.

“Are you kidding me? Three people died. And you’re saying it’s an accident.”

“An accident is an accident. It can’t be helped. Even if hundreds of people die.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because I have to think like a criminal. The famous collapse accident [referring to the Sampoong Department Store collapse]. People were clamoring for them to be punished for murder, but in the end, they weren’t punished for murder. Why?”

“That’s…”

“Because there was no intent to kill.”

The owner of that Sampoong Department Store did crazy things because he was greedy for money, but he didn’t think he should collapse the building and kill hundreds of people.

As a result, hundreds of people died, though.

“You can’t get closer to the truth with just anger.”

That’s why Park Do-joon sometimes feels cold, and that’s why people keep their distance from him.

“So, you’re saying this is an accident?”

“Yes, maybe other profilers would have thought it was murder.”

In that case, the profile would naturally focus on people with a criminal record.

“In fact, GHB is also a trap.”

“A trap? What do you mean?”

“GHB, also known as a date rape drug, is already easier to obtain on the market than you think.”

Korea is no longer a drug-free country. Once, they proudly proclaimed that Korea was a drug-free country, but it’s been a while since Korea gave up that title.

“Especially in clubs, if you try hard enough, you can find a suitable broker.”

“That’s… But…”

“Even the front-line police know that. But a drug-related case involving a drug broker, what kind of data are they studying from years ago?”

When the times change, the profiler method must also change. But Korean data tends to be updated incredibly slowly. That’s because there’s almost no communication between the field and professors.

The front-line doesn’t give work data to criminal psychology professors, so criminal psychology professors conduct education based on past theories.

Naturally, it’s almost impossible to respond to changes in the times.

“So, what do you think, Mr. Park Do-joon?”

“The age is between mid-20s and early 30s. It’s probably a gang of three or more people.”

Up to this point, it was the same as the previous profilers. But the content from here on was completely new.

“They won’t have a criminal record, and not all members will be handsome. Also, all three of them will have a lack of affection. And at least one of them will be quite wealthy. Realistically, one person will be followed by two or more people, supporting them like subordinates. The wealthy person will probably have more wealth than the average person. And he will have a very condescending personality towards people. The followers will be ignored by him, but they will follow him because they can receive more compensation than that, in this case, women or money. And looking at that, the rich person is not just rich, but someone with a guaranteed status who is definitely on the fast track.”

“Oh…? Um, it’s definitely different.”

Park Do-joon’s profiling is definitely different from the profilers who have come so far. The characteristics are clear, and even what kind of tendencies they have are revealed.

Of course, the profilers also analyzed, but what they said was that they were rapists in a group of three or more with a drug record.

“But why did this analysis come out?”

“Because men in this period have the strongest desire for sexual relations.”

In fact, most of the guys who try to pick up women even by buying a car unreasonably are in their mid-20s to early 30s.

“Men in their early 20s aren’t that desperate.”

They have to go to the military, and there’s not much of a gap between them and their friends. But from their mid-20s, the gap between them and their friends widens, and their interest in women increases more than in their early 20s.