My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 134

“I see……?”

Park Do-joon stroked his chin, considering the information. It certainly sounded suspicious.

“Thanks. That’s enough for me to go down and take a look.”

-Don’t forget our date.

“I know, I know.”

Park Do-joon already felt a wave of weariness at her words.

***

“Hmm, it is strange.”

The team leader nodded, agreeing with Park Do-joon. “There’s no way she would have come up [to Seoul]. No, she couldn’t have.”

“Right. But to fight over that issue… it feels forced.”

“Going all the way down to Jeollanam-do [a province in southwestern South Korea] means she was hiding her identity.”

Many people who work in bars try to find employment as far away from their hometowns as possible. This is because they worry about running into someone they know.

In fact, there are quite a few stories online about bar girls whose lives were ruined after encountering someone they knew.

Some women ran into a friend of their fiancé while preparing for their wedding, and the engagement fell apart. Some met a classmate there, and there are even stories of meeting their future father-in-law at a bar.

So, to reduce that possibility, they try to work as far away from home as possible. But usually, it’s within the same general area; for example, if they live in Seoul, they might work in the Gyeonggi-do area [the province surrounding Seoul].

But all the way down to Jeollanam-do?

“That woman must have been planning to completely reinvent herself.”

“I think so.”

No woman starts working at a bar thinking she’ll do it for the rest of her life. Once they earn enough money, they want to wash their hands clean and start fresh.

“But she was killed by her boyfriend?”

“Apparently, her boyfriend was a server at that bar.”

“Well, you can meet that way while working together… Marriage? Hmm, doesn’t seem very likely.”

“I think so too. In fact, the boyfriend has no real reason to kill her.”

You might meet someone because you’re lonely, but the woman probably wants to start over and live a respectable life. And the man is likely aware of that.

“Plus, there are plenty of opportunities.”

It’s not like there are no other women around, and people who are lonely might start dating, but it’s bound to feel more like a casual fling.

“But to push it to the point of murder…”

“Well, in these cases, isn’t the ex-boyfriend always the prime suspect?”

“I guess so.”

Being suspected just because they broke up, and having such a flimsy investigation proceed, makes it hard to escape.

Moreover, he’s a server at a bar, a so-called waiter. That means there are many confidential aspects to his job, so it’s very unlikely that anyone will testify for him.

Testifying for him would mean admitting that they work at a bar.

Furthermore, would they really testify for him against a big shot in that industry?

“I want to go there and check it out.”

“He won’t like it. If he’s called the emperor of the night in that area, there’s no way he doesn’t have connections with the police.”

“I know. That’s why I’m thinking of getting help.”

“From whom?”

“From a lawyer. I promised her a date.”

“What?”

At those words, the team leader looked at Park Do-joon, dumbfounded.

***

“You’re unbelievable.”

“No, is this a date? Do you even realize I put on full makeup?”

“I know.”

“But you’re going all the way to Jeollanam-do to meet that person?”

“We won’t be meeting for long anyway. Since we’re going, let’s eat something delicious nearby.”

“No, what good restaurants are there near a prison!”

“We’ll find some if we look.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Park Do-joon chuckled as he looked at Jung Yi-yeon pouting.

“Let’s have a real date later.”

“I’ll plan the course then. I just can’t trust you. My dad always said you can’t trust men, and he’s exactly right.”

“No, well… it’s not that bad.”

“Do you really think so, as a profiler?”

Park Do-joon couldn’t say anything to that and just drove quietly.

***

The reason Park Do-joon brought Jung Yi-yeon was because she was a lawyer. If you apply for a meeting as a lawyer, the suspect will be brought out even if you’re not their assigned counsel.

And the lawyer’s meeting room is more comfortable than a regular visiting area.

“Eat.”

Park Do-joon spread out various delicious foods in front of Kim Do-goon as he entered the room. In fact, you can’t bring outside food into prison.

Even if you go for a visit, most visits take place in a designated visiting area, and you can’t bring food beyond that point.

So, while people talk about bringing outside food, it’s more accurate to say it’s a deposit, a kind of advance. The visitor deposits money into the inmate’s account.

And if the prisoner has that money, they can use it to buy necessary items and food from the prison store.

But it’s not the same for lawyers. Lawyers have regulations regarding confidentiality with their clients, so they enter a separate space, and because there’s a table and chairs there, it’s somewhat possible to bring in food and share it.

Of course, strictly speaking, it’s a violation of the rules, but the guards usually turn a blind eye. Making a fuss would only make things more tiring for them.

“What’s this?”

“Are you having a hard time? I heard your story. You’ve been falsely accused……”

At those words, Kim Do-goon, who had been falsely accused, burst into tears.

“Here, here, eat. It’ll get cold if you don’t.”

“Th, thank you. Thank you.”

He stuffed chicken and pizza into his mouth while shedding tears. Food comes out in prison too, but not this kind of chicken and pizza. These kinds of foods can’t be mass-produced in the first place.

Of course, fried chicken is possible, but no matter how well you fry it in large quantities, fried chicken and *chicken* are completely different foods. Plus, this is half and half [referring to half seasoned, half original]. That means there’s seasoning here that you can’t even get in prison.

Furthermore, pizza requires an oven, so it’s impossible to make in prison. Seeing that, Kim Do-goon swallowed it down while shedding tears. And Park Do-joon poured him a cool cola to wash it down.

“Take your time. There’s plenty of time.”

“Cough, cough, cough.”

He crammed the food he hadn’t seen in a long time into his mouth. He was shedding tears, but that didn’t stop his hands and mouth.

‘There’s nothing like food to open someone’s heart. Especially in a controlled situation like this.’

Eating this kind of food is not easy in a situation where no one believes your truth. It’s impossible. Family members come to visit, but they can deposit money, but it’s not easy to eat food like this. Moreover, his sentence is a whopping 15 years. If he’s unlucky, he might not taste it again for 15 years.

“Take your time. Lawyer visits have plenty of time.”

“Thank you. Thank you.”

He ate like that for a long time, and after eating to some extent, an atmosphere was created where he could talk to Park Do-joon a little more leisurely.

“But have you heard about my case?”

“Yes, this is Attorney Jung Yi-yeon. She’s a lawyer who mainly defends those who have been wronged.”

“Ah…… um…… I’m Jung Yi-yeon.”

“Attorney, I’m really innocent. I really didn’t kill Mi-yeon.”

“Now, now, calm down and tell me the story carefully.”

Most of it was a rambling story, but it wasn’t difficult to understand the content. He said that he didn’t kill her, but he didn’t have money, so he used a public defender, but the public defender didn’t defend him properly.

‘Well, it’s hard to expect much from a public defender.’

If the other party is socially disadvantaged, they may be more active. Because they might get criticized later if it becomes an issue.

But he was a waiter serving at a bar, and of course, it’s hard to get proper support from within.

Because they are treated like commoners socially. And knowing that it’s clearly an illegal act, the judges and prosecutors would have almost certainly started the investigation with prejudice.

‘This is really difficult.’

Even if you tell them not to wear colored glasses, it’s impossible.

It’s true that he’s a suspicious ex-boyfriend circumstantially, and the profiler is directing them in that direction, so they probably just rushed in and beat him up [figuratively, meaning they aggressively pursued the case against him].

“We don’t know much about that case. Do you happen to know anything?”

“Yes? You don’t know?”

“Actually, we’re tracking down the guy who fabricated the case.”

In the first place, even if you’re a lawyer, it’s not easy to access case records. Knowing the general content and knowing the details are completely different situations.

“Let me ask you just one thing. You were dating, right?”

“Well…… yes. It would fall under the concept of ‘dating.’”

“But you didn’t think about getting married?”

“That’s……. No, actually, I didn’t think about it…….”

It was as expected. Of course, it’s not that there aren’t people who meet in that industry, get married, and live well. In fact, those people get married and take care of each other.

‘But the victim, Lee Mi-yeon, was very likely trying to go to Seoul.’

According to the information obtained, her family knew that their daughter was working in Jeollanam-do, and they actually came to her house and cleaned it for her.

But every time, Lee Mi-yeon meticulously hid the bar clothes called ‘club dresses’ and kept a suit set so they wouldn’t know.

“I didn’t really think about getting married either. I was thinking of saving some money and opening a small store.”

“Well, bars are lucrative.”

The reason why they continue to work in bars despite the illegal activity is because it’s lucrative. In fact, waiters’ salaries are almost at rock bottom. So they subtly appeal to customers for tips, and at this time, their relationship with the women is very important. If the woman and the waiter are not close, the women will ignore them altogether. Conversely, if they are close, they subtly encourage the customer to give a tip. The amount and frequency of tips vary, so waiters try to be friendly with the women if possible.

“So, I was just trying to be friendly and talk to her, and somehow we ended up dating.”

But that was only because they were both suffering in a foreign land and were emotionally connected, not because they were really dating with marriage in mind.

“I see. Then what was the reason for the breakup?”

“She said she was going up.”

“Yes?”

“To Seoul. She said she was going to quit this life and go up to Seoul.”

Park Do-joon doubted his ears at those words.

Because it was a completely unexpected statement.

“You were dating Park Geo-seok?”

At those words, Kim Do-goon frowned.

“That’s why I told you several times…… No, you said you didn’t hear? That bastard was the one who was clinging to her.”

“Clinging to her?”

“Yes, that’s actually one of the biggest reasons she quit.”

According to Kim Do-goon, Park Geo-seok was proud of meeting women and changing them. Lee Mi-yeon knew that too.