My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 101

# It’s Dark Under the Lamp

Park Do-joon quietly relayed to the team leader only the information he possessed.

The team leader’s expression hardened upon hearing this.

“Wang Su-jin? Are you certain it’s her?”

“Ms. Seo Ju-ran is absolutely sure,” Do-joon confirmed.

“Huh? That crazy woman. What does she think this is, just waltzing in here?”

“Isn’t that precisely why she *can* come in? The saying ‘it’s dark under the lamp’ [meaning the safest place is sometimes the most obvious] exists for a reason.”

“Ugh, true enough.”

“Moreover, Wang Su-jin’s appearance has changed significantly, I hear.”

“Changed a lot?”

“Yes, fortunately, Ms. Seo Ju-ran has a sharp eye.”

Originally, Wang Su-jin was a somewhat plump woman with permed long hair.

Almost the stereotypical wealthy housewife.

But this time, she was noticeably thinner and sported a tightly permed, typical middle-aged woman’s hairstyle.

“Plus, her makeup style has changed, giving her a sharper image.”

“Changed her makeup? Well, women can completely transform their image with makeup alone.”

If she lost weight and changed her hairstyle, it’s highly likely that people without a keen eye, or those who didn’t interact with her frequently, wouldn’t recognize her.

“Moreover, makeup style has a significant impact.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

At the time of the crime, Wang Su-jin projected a slightly chubby, good-natured image.

This was due to her physique and appearance, but also because her makeup was specifically designed to create that impression.

“In that situation, it’s definitely difficult to verify her identity, even if she comes inside the police station.”

It’s hard to imagine that a criminal who committed fraud worth tens of billions of won would brazenly enter a police station.

“As for identification, you can get a fake one for 500,000 won online [approximately $400 USD].”

In fact, Wang Su-jin impersonated various identities when she committed the fraud. So, creating a new fake ID to match her altered image wouldn’t be difficult.

They check IDs upon entering the police station, but that’s to verify and record the identity, not to compare it with existing photos.

“Wang Su-jin said the Economic Crimes Unit came, right?”

The team leader pondered for a moment. It’s true that the Economic Crimes Unit is one of the places where police corruption can take root most quickly. Due to the nature of their work, dealing with a lot of fraud, there’s a high possibility of being swayed by sweet talk, and in big cases, pressure comes from all directions.

“What do you think?”

“It’s probably Seo Su-min, the team leader of the Economic Crimes Unit.”

“Team Leader Seo Su-min? Well, she doesn’t have much pride as a police officer.”

Team Leader Seo Su-min leads the Economic Crimes Unit, but she’s not a particularly trustworthy person.

“She’s the type who chose the police as a job, not as a public servant with a sense of duty.”

“Well, most people choose it as a job these days.”

The two are completely different. If you have pride and a sense of justice as a police officer, you’re less likely to be corrupt.

But a salaried worker who sees the police force as just a job becomes corrupt when given the opportunity, and wants to quit just like any other worker.

“There’s no other way with the current examination system.”

A system that doesn’t select real police officers, but just hires workers. As a result, police corruption continues to occur.

“Those bastards too, ha…”

The team leader glanced at his team members doing their work.

‘I guess so.’

The path of a profiler is lonely, rough, and difficult. They are psychologically worn down, and a sense of self-disgust comes from not being able to trust anyone.

Of course, that’s the case for a *proper* profiler. But people who just parrot what they were taught in school, without learning or judging for themselves, have no reason to experience that.

Because the profiles of violent criminals are readily available, and they’ve memorized them, but there’s no such thing as profiling ordinary people.

So, they don’t realize how many lies permeate everyday life.

“So, what do you think?”

“I think it’s probably a kind of warning.”

“A warning, huh…”

“No matter how much her image has changed and she has a fake ID, she’s still a wanted criminal. She wouldn’t be happy to come to the police station.”

Moreover, if she encounters someone with a sharp eye like Seo Ju-ran, she could actually get arrested.

There are cases where a police officer with a good memory recognizes and arrests a criminal on the bus in a fleeting moment.

If the police recognize her face and arrest her in a split second, it’s game over for the criminal.

“She certainly wouldn’t come to hang out for a drink.”

“Yes, if she was trying to meet secretly, there’s no reason to come to the police station. I think it’s for the purpose of sending a warning.”

“I agree. This isn’t just a social call.”

By appearing at the police station, she’s showing off her presence and putting pressure on the other party. It’s a surprisingly effective method of intimidation.

People often think that intimidation is done quietly and secretly, but this is a misunderstanding that arises because they only recognize intimidation as a crime.

“Intimidation is basically an assertion of one’s presence.”

Unlike other crimes, the purpose of intimidation is to make an impression on the target. Therefore, in some cases, intimidation is carried out publicly and forcefully.

For example, the Russian president used a readily available radioactive substance to eliminate a rival, effectively announcing that he was the culprit and completing the act of intimidation.

“But it doesn’t seem like Wang Su-jin to use such methods at all, does it?”

“Of course, that’s true.”

Park Do-joon nodded. That’s because publicly asserting oneself to the target implies having overwhelming power to suppress the other party.

In the first place, intimidation is a crime. And the more powerful you are, the more blatant it becomes.

If the criminal is weak and has no power to resist, the crime will take a more secretive form. The more power you have, the more public the crime becomes – that’s the characteristic of intimidation.

For example, if a neighborhood thug threatens to kill someone, he’ll probably be punished for making threats. But if a gang member does it, people will be too afraid to report it, and if a journalist does it, they’ll be protected in the name of freedom of the press, and if a politician does it, the police and prosecutors will conspire to make his words come true.

In other words, how publicly a crime is committed is a measure of the power of the criminal behind it in cases of intimidation.

“But does Wang Su-jin have that kind of power?”

“It’s hard to say.”

Even though the punishment is relatively lenient in Korea for committing large-scale fraud, it’s still fraud after all.

Wang Su-jin is a criminal and a target of the police.

There are clear limitations in the current system to seeing the money she defrauded as a source of power.

“Moreover, if she was trying to cover up the case with money, there’s no reason to come to the police station.”

“Hmm…”

The team leader frowned as he listened and pondered.

“What do you think?”

“I probably think the same as you, Team Leader. We should assume there’s someone behind Wang Su-jin.”

“I guess so?”

The damage amounts to 18 billion won [approximately $15 million USD]. And Wang Su-jin, who ran away with that money.

The fact that Wang Su-jin has succeeded in evading capture for four years suggests a high probability that information is being leaked from the inside.

‘Moreover, Seo Ju-ran died at the hands of someone.’

She’s alive now, but in my memory, she definitely died.

‘The cause of death was beating.’

That’s a method men often use. The place of death was outdoors.

‘Then there’s a very high possibility that the culprit is a man.’

She would have killed him accidentally, so there’s a high possibility that there’s a man behind her. Or someone who can mobilize such a guy.

“Hmm…”

The team leader nodded as if he agreed and said quietly.

“What does Seo Ju-ran say?”

“She said she was thinking of secretly digging into it if I hadn’t asked.”

“Well, it’s about time.”

There isn’t a resident reporter who doesn’t dream of hitting the jackpot while working as a resident reporter. Of course, the main role of a resident reporter is to act as a living messenger to call senior reporters when something happens, but it’s common practice not to interfere with investigations.

‘To be exact, it’s because they don’t want to get screwed over.’

Senior reporters don’t do unnecessary investigations because they know they’ll be in serious trouble if they mess with a real criminal organization.

Ironically, new reporters don’t know that, so they do investigations, and that has become a tradition that the contents of voluntary investigations are not touched.

“Why did she come?”

Intimidation is the goal. But it’s important to understand the purpose of that intimidation.

Simply to cover up the case? Seo Su-min is too low-level for that.

Moreover, the damage amount is as high as 18 billion won, and it was even broadcasted. It means that it’s not a case that can be controlled by a team leader.

“It’s not to cover up the case.”

“That’s right. Moreover, it’s only been six months since Seo Min-soo became the team leader.”

In other words, she wasn’t in charge at the time.

“It’s a strange case.”

“What’s the purpose?”

“I wonder?”

“Ugh, it’s complicated. Profiling related to fraudsters or intimidation isn’t well-documented… This is, geez.”

Profiling related to violent crimes is quite specific and complete, but there’s almost nothing comprehensive about fraudsters or intimidation.

In the end, when it comes to fraud or intimidation, profilers have to rely on their own judgment in the areas they know.

Park Do-joon was thinking when something flashed through his mind.

“Earlier, Team Leader, you said that Team Leader Seo Su-min is a police officer just doing a job, right?”

“Yes. She’s a police officer as a job. It’s best not to expect any sense of duty from Team Leader Seo Su-min.”

The team leader said, clicking his tongue.

“You seem to know her well.”

“I’m the same team leader as her, but I’m her senior.”

The team leader’s tenure as team leader was long because he was stuck in promotion due to the nature of leading the profiling team.

“What type is she?”

“Well, she’s a typical career-oriented police officer who prefers internal affairs, avoids risks, and only tries to improve her performance record.”

Park Do-joon rubbed his chin at those words. As he was doing that, the situation was gradually becoming clearer in his mind.

“Then, what is the possibility that she will commit a crime?”

“Possibility of committing a crime?”

“Yes, Team Leader, you don’t have good feelings for Team Leader Seo Su-min, do you? So, let’s make an objective judgment.”

“Objective… I see.”

If a profiler has too much prior knowledge about the other party, there is a high possibility that subjective views rather than objective judgments will influence their assessment.

And the team leader certainly knows her too well. He saw her grow up as a junior officer and become a team leader.

A Professional Profiler