My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 355

“Of course. But you know, if it’s a real affair, you’ll be at a significant disadvantage in a divorce lawsuit. The punishment I’m talking about isn’t criminal. I’m talking about the serious losses you can realistically experience.”

“Ah, I see.”

“If you get caught having an affair, you have to pay a huge amount in alimony during the property division. In addition, Oh Bang-hwan’s wife contributed to the formation of the property while working as a director, so he would have to give her a lot in the property division.”

“That would be Oh Bang-hwan’s biggest weakness, considering he commits crimes for property.”

“That’s right. And when you file this kind of affair lawsuit, the first people you attack are people like drivers or secretaries.”

“If they are of the opposite sex, they are likely to be suspected of the affair, and if they are not, they probably know about the affair. In fact, many people make unfavorable testimonies against employees in divorce lawsuits in exchange for compensation.”

“So, Oh Bang-hwan kept his driver around to hide that?”

“That’s highly likely. From a realistic point of view, his behavior patterns suggest such adulterous elements. However.”

“However?”

Kim Man-hyeok frowned at the word ‘however,’ and Lee Ji-soo asked Park Do-joon with curiosity.

“Detective Park, what do you mean by ‘however’?”

“It feels like there’s something more.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.”

Park Do-joon shook his head. A profiler is not a god or an omnipotent mind reader. If there is a lack of information, there is no answer.

“You didn’t learn much about divorce-related matters, did you?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess.”

“That’s the problem. In profiling, divorce is a completely unknown area.”

“To be precise, adultery isn’t a criminal or civil matter. Therefore, it’s an area a profiler will never be in charge of. So, scientific analysis has hardly been done in this area.”

“Fortunately, I have some experience, so I know this pattern is similar to adultery.”

“When did you experience that?”

“It just happened.”

“To be exact, it was experienced before the regression [time travel/reincarnation]. The important thing is that the level of analysis that can be done now is only up to that point.”

“The important thing is that it looks like an affair, but it’s not a typical affair.”

“What do you mean it’s not a typical affair?”

“It’s hard to express. The most important thing is the phone.”

“The phone?”

“Yes, according to the driver, in this case, meetings are usually at the request of the man.”

“Oh Bang-hwan is not young, nor is he a handsome middle-aged man. He is a typical elderly man with a protruding belly, fat, and half bald.”

“Usually, at this age, many people have affairs based on other emotions rather than passionate love.”

“And women often meet expecting money from the other man. It’s not an age to comfort each other’s loneliness.”

“But according to the testimony, he suddenly canceled appointments after receiving a call every time and made time.”

“Hmm.”

“He certainly did.”

“Then, from both of their perspectives, it means that the other person is in a more powerful position. Does that make sense?”

“That’s the problem. From a realistic point of view, Oh Bang-hwan should be in a more powerful position.”

“But the woman could be in a more powerful position, right? If the woman is younger.”

“The woman is in a more powerful position? Of course, it could be seen that way. If the real affair partner is a pretty woman in her 20s, the younger woman may be in a more powerful position.”

“But at the same time, she would only be the object of an affair.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means she is the object of money. Not a dating partner. According to the driver, they seemed to meet two or three times a week. If she is a woman in her 20s, would she really think of Oh Bang-hwan as a dating partner?”

“I guess not.”

“She wouldn’t even dream of dating, let alone marriage. If she is a woman in her 20s, isn’t he almost older than her father?”

“In that case, the other side will show a passive form.”

“The woman’s side?”

“Yes.”

“Because it won’t be fun to meet. As a result, would they meet two or three times a week? No, they can meet. If Oh Bang-hwan, who gives money, asks, they will meet, but would his mistress call Oh Bang-hwan first and ask him to meet? That’s unlikely.”

“And you know what? On the one hand, if the other person is an adult, an excuse is possible.”

“An excuse?”

“Humans can lie. Just because you met a young woman doesn’t mean it’s evidence of an affair.”

“Aha!”

“They could have met for other purposes, and there are many ways to get out of this case anyway. Nevertheless, Oh Bang-hwan is thoroughly hiding it.”

“In my opinion, Oh Bang-hwan was committing a serious problem. And it would be a socially criticized behavior.”

“And he can’t talk about it.” Kwon Kang-won’s face became serious at Park Do-joon’s words.

“If we identify that, it will prove his innocence [in the murder case].”

“But Oh Bang-hwan is not revealing it even though he is suspected of murder.”

“Let’s investigate the phone first.”

“If we dig into the phone records, we’ll find something.”

“Probably nothing will come out.”

“Yes?”

“You’ll see.”

Park Do-joon smiled bitterly.

***

“A burner phone [a prepaid, disposable phone]?”

“Yes, the phone is already turned off, and tracking is impossible.”

“You were right, Detective Park.”

“Since they heard about Oh Bang-hwan’s movements from the driver, it wasn’t difficult to track the phone records for that date. Oh Bang-hwan is a murder suspect. So, they found the phone number, but funnily enough, the phone number was a burner phone. But Park Do-joon was not particularly surprised or disappointed because he already expected it.”

“Is he trying to hide an affair?”

“Maybe, but…”

Park Do-joon was lost in thought while looking at the outgoing calls and the origin.

“What does the higher-up say?”

“The higher-up is suddenly tearing Oh Bang-hwan apart, asking if this is a killer’s phone number.”

“A killer… I wonder?”

“Park Do-joon wondered if he was really a killer. He shook his head at the thought.”

“He won’t be a killer. I think the person who called was probably a teacher.”

“A teacher?”

“A teacher?”

“The two were startled by Park Do-joon’s words. A teacher… But soon, as if they understood, the two nodded.”

“If it’s a teacher, it’s certainly possible to have an affair.”

“Considering the power of the chairman of the educational foundation, it is not impossible. Teachers should be role models for students, but not all teachers have good character.”

“Unfortunately, Korea prioritizes grades over character.”

“Because of this, some teachers are not worthy of social respect, let alone human interaction.”

“Ah, most of the call areas are around the school.”

“Lee Ji-soo also nodded, realizing this. When you make a call, traces remain of which base station you used to make the call. Of course, the other person also moves around and makes calls from time to time, but since there are many call experiences, it is not difficult to identify which base station was used intensively.”

“This place is near Ogi Middle School. Is it a middle school teacher?”

“Detective Kim Man-hyeok said, rummaging through the list of teachers at Ogi Middle School in his head.”

“For now, it is highly likely to be a middle school teacher.”

“Then, identifying the other person should be a priority. But will we be able to find out who it is?”

“The phone is turned off. It is highly likely that Oh Bang-hwan smashed it the moment he was caught.”

‘That’s true, but…’

“Nevertheless, Park Do-joon couldn’t hide his uneasiness.”

“Ogi Middle School.”

“It was one of the many schools in this area, and it was natural for the police to rush there because they couldn’t possibly not know the unique features of the call that Park Do-joon found.”

“However, the problem was not solved just because the police rushed in.”

“We don’t know.”

“The principal raised his voice. He confidently argued with the police.”

“Does it make sense that we would kill someone? We don’t even know who Kwon Kang-won is!”

“No, then there’s no reason to make calls from here, right?”

“I don’t know about that. No, you don’t even know who made the call in the first place, right? How can you come here out of the blue and demand that we hand over a murderer? You don’t even know.”

“The chief couldn’t say anything to that. That was actually the case. In the case of the victim, Kwon Kang-won, he was a teacher at Seonghong High School, not Ogi Middle School, and Seonghong High School is in a completely different city.”

“So, there’s no way the people at Ogi Middle School wouldn’t know about them.”

“And Park Do-joon, who came to the scene following Detective Kim Man-hyeok, clicked his tongue and stepped forward.”

“Rushing won’t solve anything. Didn’t another profiler come?”

“That’s…”

“The chief was just looking around. Seeing that, Park Do-joon seemed to know something.”

‘He didn’t even apply.’

“This is a big case. So, he would have wanted to take all the credit for himself, so he wouldn’t have requested a profiler.”

“In fact, in terms of timing, it’s the beginning of the case, so there’s no need to call one.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“Park Do-joon didn’t say anything about it. There was no point in him saying anything anyway.”

“First, gather all the teachers.”

“Who are you? Huh?”

“The principal was about to raise his voice again. But he couldn’t help but flinch at the next words.”

“Someone at this school is currently suspected of contract killing. What would the parents say if they knew that fact?”

“And the principal’s face gradually turned pale.”

‘I knew it.’

“Even if the police yelled at him, it was natural for the principal to try to protect the school from his perspective.”

“Furthermore, the police don’t actually have any strong evidence. It’s just that the phone was used frequently here.”

‘What needs to be protected is the school.’

“If the police suddenly argue, the teacher is also part of the school, so they become the object of protection. But Park Do-joon cleverly limited the object of protection to the students. And this difference is bound to be bigger than the principal thinks.”

“If you refuse, we will have no choice but to limit students from coming to school for the time being for safety reasons.”

“Who says so?”

“What if the culprit really goes out of control and takes the students hostage?”

“……”

“Furthermore, you shouldn’t forget that you are also a teacher here.”

“In other words, it was a warning to be careful because you are also one of the suspects. And at those words, the principal swallowed hard. If that actually happens, his life is over. He refused the police’s legitimate request and tried to protect the culprit, so things got out of hand.”

“I just want to talk to the teachers. I’m not going to arrest them.”

“Well, that’s about it…”

“The principal retreated as if he had no choice. Park Do-joon clicked his tongue as he watched the principal go to the broadcasting room for the broadcast.”

A Natural-Born Profiler