My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 12

“So, you were confident they would believe it?”

“Yes. Moreover, they had plenty of time on the way back, so they would have colluded.”

“Colluded, huh…”

“They probably discussed something like this: Let’s pin the blame on President Jo Man-seong. And when we become representatives, we’ll cover up the incident.”

If they had enough time, they might have found another way. But time is short, and if someone else becomes the representative, they have no way of knowing if they can even hide their own sins.

“Ultimately, there’s only one choice in that situation.”

To pin the blame and submit the evidence.

“Of course, they will bring evidence, excluding the parts that could identify them.”

But if there’s evidence, investigating them is easy.

“How did you know they would all bring it? You said everyone would bring it without exception, and they really did.”

“Because they all pinned the blame together. So, they don’t trust each other.”

The person who brings the evidence will be able to keep their position. Someone will rise to the top and take Jo Man-seong’s place.

But what if they don’t bring the data themselves?

“Didn’t the Chairman say he would cut them off?”

“That’s right.”

“If they’re cut off, they have no power. Wouldn’t the remaining colleagues try to pin the blame on someone who has lost their power?”

“That’s definitely true. It’s too big of a deal to end with just Jo Man-seong.”

Chairman Bae Deok-gi glanced at the evidence and said. If an investigation starts, they’ll need other scapegoats besides Jo Man-seong. There must have been things that happened when Jo Man-seong wasn’t around.

And that would naturally be another director who has now been kicked out and lost power.

“They have to submit evidence to save themselves.”

“So, they handed it over so willingly?”

“Except for the evidence that they were involved.”

But that alone is enough. If they use this to pressure Kang Su-do and the players, they will have no choice but to tell the truth.

“You know all that?”

“Chairman, would you like me to show you a little magic trick?”

“Magic? Why magic?”

“It’s a simple card trick.”

Park Do-joon took out a deck of cards from his pocket.

“You carry something like that around?”

“It’s necessary for persuasion sometimes. Pick a card from here.”

“An old trick.”

Bae Deok-gi quietly picked the 7 of clubs from the deck. Then, Park Do-joon put it back in the deck and shuffled it. Then he divided it in half.

“Choose one of these.”

“I’ll take the right.”

“Then let’s do it with what’s left.”

He shuffled again, divided the cards in half, and then divided them in half again.

“Now I’ve divided them in half. Choose.”

“This time, I’ll go with the left.”

Park Do-joon did this several times, and in the end, only the 7 of clubs remained.

“Hmm. It’s amazing. But what does this have to do with this case?”

“Right now, Chairman, you probably think you chose it yourself. Right?”

“That’s right.”

“But I made the choice. Not you, Chairman.”

“What? But I clearly chose one side.”

“But I was the one who chose whether to discard it or keep it, not you, Chairman.”

“Ah!”

Of course, the chairman made the choice directly. It’s not difficult to hide the selected card while shuffling them. Most people can do it with some sleight of hand.

“The important thing is what you keep.”

If the person doing the magic chooses it, they’ll think it’s manipulation. So, they tell the other person to choose.

If they choose the pile that doesn’t contain the card, they say they’ll discard it, and if they choose the pile that contains the card next time, they say they’ll keep this one this time.

As a result, the other person is deluded into thinking they are choosing. But in reality, it’s up to the magician what to keep.

“They were tricked in the same way.”

They probably thought they had set a trap and could use the opportunity to pin the blame, but in reality, they were just moving according to Park Do-joon’s choices.

“Is that what a profiler does?”

“I’m a bit of a special case, but basically, to predict human behavior, you need to know the direction they will move in with that behavior.”

“Hmm…”

“Surprisingly, profilers are widely active overseas. In Korea, they’re almost meaningless except for the police. To be precise, it would be more accurate to call them psychological analysts.”

And the difference is that profilers specialize in analyzing the psychology of criminals.

“Interesting. Anyway, thanks to you, we won’t get blamed.”

Of course, they can’t stop this from going to the press. The players who are closely involved with the public will be losing their jobs en masse, so the fans won’t stay still.

“But if Hyunseong is the first to notice the signs, request an investigation, secure evidence, and submit it, it will be a clean slate.”

“Yeah. It will be.”

Bae Deok-gi nodded.

“Thanks to you, I had fun today. Let’s meet again next time.”

Bae Deok-gi said with a look of anticipation.

“I think there will be quite a few things you can do for me, hahaha.”

# The First Case

Metropolitan Profiler Team. The atmosphere there was so tense that you could hear a pin drop. That’s because the team leader had referred Han Seong-gi, who had assaulted Park Do-joon, to the disciplinary committee, and he was eventually suspended for one month.

No matter how much he claimed that his junior was rude, Han Seong-gi was the one who didn’t do his job properly in the first place, and Han Seong-gi was the one who hit first.

Moreover, according to Park Do-joon, Park Do-joon never leaked internal information; he just stated his opinion.

So, there was no way to hold Park Do-joon responsible, and as a result, only Han Seong-gi was disciplined.

‘Comfortable.’

But Park Do-joon was comfortable. Paying attention to the surroundings? It had been a long time since he had done that.

‘This is more comfortable.’

Originally, a profiler is a lonely job. The better you are, the lonelier you are. There’s too much they know to be able to laugh and joke with their colleagues.

People unknowingly lie. And profilers read those actions.

But the problem is that they can’t know exactly what those lies are about.

For example, what if you’re talking and the topic of food comes up, and signs of lying appear?

You can’t know if it’s a lie about whether they ate or about the menu they ate.

Profilers can only know that a lie was told.

Incompetent guys have to concentrate and look sharply to read those signs, but skilled profilers instinctively catch them in a momentary flash.

And there’s no way to resolve that distrust. You can’t just be talking and then suddenly ask why they lied, and you can’t ask if it’s a lie about whether they ate or about the menu.

As a result, the better a profiler is, the faster the distrust of humans accumulates.

Not only distrust of criminals but also distrust of lovers or wives accumulates, so many skilled profilers end up living alone or getting divorced even if they get married.

Because their hatred of humans is severe.

Even skilled profilers are like that, but from Park Do-joon’s perspective, who has regressed and knows the skills and true nature of other profilers, he doesn’t want to get involved.

Such a quiet space filled with tension. But regardless of their atmosphere, cases poured in.

“Hey, anyone got some free time?”

The team leader shouted as he came in with a new job. But most of the seats were empty, and there were only three people in the office.

“We just got here; we need to do the analysis now.”

“Ah, I’m going crazy.”

Most of the cases that come to profilers are murders, or rather, almost all of them are. If they drag their feet, they don’t know who the criminal will kill next, so they need to do it as quickly as possible.

Of course, it’s impossible to say which one to do first.

“Ah…”

The team leader’s gaze turned, and there was Park Do-joon. And the team members who felt that gaze sneered.

“There’s one hotshot over there. Send that bastard.”

“Why are you guys doing that again? Is it because of that Han Seong-gi bastard?”

“Who suspends their senior?”

“Who told him to assault a colleague inside the police station? And the reason wasn’t justified either!”

He was just acting up because he was embarrassed, so in some ways, it’s fortunate that he only got suspended for one month.

“Hoo. I can’t help it.”

Generally, profilers work in pairs as a basic rule. But Park Do-joon’s partner is suspended, and even if he’s released, they won’t be able to work together.

In the end, both Park Do-joon and Han Seong-gi will have to work alone for the time being. Of course, they could switch partners to someone else, but aside from Han Seong-gi, Park Do-joon has already been marked, so it didn’t seem like anyone would take him.

“I’m going crazy. Park Do-joon, you can do on-site analysis, right?”

“I can.”

“Go take a look. It’s a bit far. It’s Ganghwa Island. Well, the case itself won’t be difficult. According to the simple report, it seems like a suicide.”

At those words, Park Do-joon got up from his seat. Then, as he was about to go outside, he asked.

“Excuse me, Team Leader.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“I don’t have a car, so can I get reimbursed for the taxi fare?”

“You don’t have a car? Hey, buy a car soon.”

The team leader sighed and said.

“Bring the receipt.”

“Yes. I’ll be back.”

Park Do-joon left the police station while receiving disapproving glances from the other seniors and headed to Ganghwa Island. And in the taxi he was riding in, he quietly organized his thoughts.

‘If it’s this case, it must be the case where two people died.’

It’s a case where lovers died. If his memory is correct, the police treated this case as a suicide.

That’s because the two lovers’ marriage was facing extreme opposition from both families.

‘The second case I went on with Han Seong-gi. Han Seong-gi also said there was no evidence of murder and treated it as a suicide.’

And even then, he couldn’t say anything.

‘And the case itself ended with that.’

But will it still be the same when he sees it now? Of course, it could be. But Park Do-joon didn’t think so.

“I need to find something if there’s anything there.”

Park Do-joon muttered while looking out the window.

***

“Did you come alone?”

The investigator frowned as he looked at Park Do-joon.

“My partner is on vacation.”

“Ah.”

Even though Park Do-joon was the type to live alone, he had no intention of saying that his partner was suspended, so he made up an excuse, and the police nodded as if they understood.

“Come this way.”

He took Park Do-joon to the beach in Ganghwa Island. Two bodies had washed up on the almost deserted beach.

“Yo. Mr. Park Do-joon? Long time no see?”

“Agent Seo? What brings you here?”

“This is our jurisdiction too.”

Seo Joo-won approached and greeted him.

“I heard you had a fight?”

“Well, did the rumors spread that far?”

“It’s not an ordinary thing, is it? It’s not detailed, but a rookie and an existing investigator fought, and the only rookie is Mr. Park Do-joon, right?”

Park Do-joon smiled bitterly at those words. Well, it would be strange if rumors didn’t spread since he suspended his senior as soon as he came to work.