My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 143

Unlike Park Do-joon, who strived to maintain his sharp profiler’s edge, his subordinates often seemed inept. He’d step in and finish their work himself if they couldn’t handle it properly, which, unsurprisingly, made them resentful.

From Park Do-joon’s perspective, a profiler’s mistake could allow a perpetrator to escape or lead to another victim, so he relentlessly pushed his team to perform. However, his subordinates blamed him, the team leader, arguing that it was just a job and their salary remained the same regardless of their effort.

Eventually, he was killed by Han Sung-gi.

‘Thinking back, it was odd.’

He was the one who improved their performance and skills, yet they preferred Han Sung-gi, who accepted bribes and engaged in corruption.

‘I guess that’s just the nature of the police force.’

‘It was a lonely existence.’

For decades, he returned home to nothing but a cold, empty apartment. He’d sleep and then go straight back to work.

‘Come to think of it… when was the last time I cooked a meal?’

A sudden realization. Before the regression, he always had ingredients at home. But he never had the time, or perhaps the inclination, to cook.

Most of the time, he’d eat out or grab a convenience store lunch box on his way home.

Naturally, these everyday, ordinary moments had faded from his memory over the decades.

“Senior, what are you pondering so deeply?”

“Huh? It’s nothing.”

Reflecting on all this, Park Do-joon felt a pang of something unfamiliar. Throughout his life, the only person who seemed to genuinely like him, without ulterior motives or suspicion, was Jung Yi-yeon.

‘It’s strange to realize that again.’

Park Do-joon cleared his throat, feeling awkward, and asked, “So, are you enjoying this?”

“It’s one of my favorites.”

“Is that so?”

Park Do-joon nodded.

“Then let’s keep watching.”

***

“Hmm, based on their dynamic, it seems like a classic case of Stockholm syndrome [a psychological condition where hostages develop positive feelings toward their captors]. The person is being harmed, right? And it’s not even like the perpetrator is attractive, yet they’re emotionally bonded? And she’s a top-tier ‘Madonna’ type? It has to be Stockholm syndrome…”

“Ugh, stop it!”

Jung Yi-yeon playfully slapped Park Do-joon’s arm as they left the theater, his analytical mutterings trailing behind them.

“Can’t you just enjoy it, Senior? Why do you have to analyze it with Stockholm syndrome?”

“Ah, well…”

“I know! Just stop!”

Park Do-joon awkwardly cleared his throat as Jung Yi-yeon playfully slapped him again.

“Okay, I’m sorry. But still… it was entertaining. The acting was good, too.”

“Enjoy cultural experiences purely, purely!”

“Purely…”

Park Do-joon felt a strange twinge at her words.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t even remember the last time I saw a movie before the regression.’

He had dedicated his entire life to his work, neglecting everything else. When did that start?

‘I think it was after I put my brother in jail?’

Even though he was a police officer, and his brother had made a mistake, he couldn’t shake the guilt. After that, he distanced himself from everything and threw himself into his work.

‘It’s all in the past now, though.’

Park Do-joon felt a strange melancholy wash over him.

“Senior, why do you keep spacing out when we’re supposed to be on a date?”

“Ah, sorry. I’m just feeling a bit awkward. I haven’t done anything like this before.”

“Well, you’ve never been interested in anything outside of work, even back in school.”

“Was I?”

“Didn’t you know? You were the aloof, handsome type, quite popular with the girls.”

“Was I?”

“See, see? Is that what you call aloof…? Seriously, you’re just indifferent.”

Watching Jung Yi-yeon’s animated expression, Park Do-joon chuckled without realizing it.

“Why are you laughing?”

“No, it’s just… it feels unfamiliar.”

He recognized the feeling. He knew what it was. But he could barely recall the last time he’d experienced such an emotion.

“So, what should we do now?”

“Let’s go eat somewhere with a nice atmosphere.”

“Gukbap [a hearty Korean soup with rice]?”

“Ugh, seriously. If you were joking, that’s minus 10 out of 10.”

As they chuckled and walked out of the theater, Park Do-joon’s phone began to ring incessantly.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“Senior, you didn’t leave it on during the movie, did you?”

“No. I put it on vibrate.”

“Then that’s a relief… What’s making it ring so much?”

“I wonder?”

Park Do-joon tilted his head and answered the phone. He heard the team leader’s urgent voice on the other end.

“Are you busy?”

“Well, I’m busy if you say I’m busy, and I’m not busy if you say I’m not busy. Why do you ask?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, but we have an emergency. We need you to come back.”

“Pardon?”

Park Do-joon frowned. He was off duty today. That meant another team was on call.

“Shouldn’t you assign it to another team first?”

“We’ve already assigned it, but the situation is unprecedented.”

“Pardon? Unprecedented?”

“Yeah. Our collective knowledge isn’t enough. I heard you’ve studied a lot of Western cases?”

“Ah, that’s true.”

To be precise, he also knew about future cases, but that wasn’t the point.

The important thing was that even if he had forgotten the specifics of some cases, the underlying experiences and memories remained.

“So, we really need you here.”

“Is it that urgent?”

“We’re on total lockdown to prevent any leaks to the press.”

Park Do-joon’s face hardened. Preventing leaks to the press meant it was a serious incident with potentially significant societal impact, or an exceptionally brutal crime.

They wouldn’t go to such lengths for a simple murder or assault.

“I understand. I’ll head over right away.”

“I’ll text you the address. Come straight here.”

Even though he was off duty, he had to go if they needed his expertise. Despite his regression, he hadn’t abandoned his commitment to catching criminals.

Knowing that a person’s life could depend on his speed, Park Do-joon turned to explain the situation to Jung Yi-yeon, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh?”

Just as he was wondering if he should leave without saying anything, he saw Jung Yi-yeon approaching from a distance. But her expression was grim.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oppa, I’m sorry, but I think I need to go in. Something serious has happened.”

“Something serious?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I can’t give you any details because it’s company-related.”

“It’s okay. I have to go to the station anyway; they just called me in.”

“The station?”

“Yeah.”

“By any chance…”

Jung Yi-yeon asked cautiously, “Is the dispatch location Seodaemun-gu [a district in Seoul]?”

“Oh? Wait a minute. They said they’d send me a text… Ah, that’s right, Seodaemun-gu.”

Park Do-joon stared at Jung Yi-yeon.

Could this really be a coincidence? It couldn’t be.

“I think we should go together?”

***

Park Do-joon and Jung Yi-yeon headed to the scene together. Upon arrival, Park Do-joon immediately sensed that something was amiss.

‘The way people are reacting is strange.’

When a murder occurs, the area becomes chaotic. The police and forensic teams are dispatched, inevitably creating a commotion.

And the police officers, while dealing with residents, usually display more annoyance than a sense of justice or conviction. They feel sorry for the victim, but this is their daily routine.

Forensic investigators, in particular, tend to focus on their work, largely ignoring the surrounding activity.

‘But this is utter chaos.’

That’s what a typical crime scene looks like… but for some reason, this place was different. Even the National Forensic Service agents in their white suits seemed disoriented.

“This area is off-limits.”

“I’m Detective Park Do-joon from the Metropolitan Profiler Team.”

Park Do-joon showed his ID. The police officer checked it, nodded, and stepped aside.

“I’m here to look for my father.”

Park Do-joon bit his lip. The fact that Jung Yi-yeon’s father was involved suggested a deep connection to the case.

“Okay, I don’t think it’ll be easy for you to enter the scene.”

Park Do-joon directed her away and went inside, where a scene of pandemonium was unfolding.

“Ugh!”

“Gack!”

Several violent crime detectives were desperately trying to distance themselves from the scene, vomiting uncontrollably.

Violent crime detectives are rarely shocked by a typical murder scene, so Park Do-joon frowned.

Judging by their age, they weren’t rookies, and the fact that it wasn’t just one or two people suggested the situation inside was far worse than he had imagined.

“Do-joon, you’re here?”

The team leader, emerging from the building, looked pale. Park Do-joon asked, “What’s going on?”

“Ah, it’s a murder case.”

“A murder case? It’s not like we haven’t seen those before. Why are you acting like this?”

“Well… just go inside and see for yourself. This is something I’ve never experienced before… I can’t even describe it.”

Even the experienced team leader was shaken. It was clear why he had specifically requested Park Do-joon, with his extensive knowledge of various cases.

“Is it this building?”

“It’s in the basement. Ah, change into one of these white protective suits first. Just in case.”

“Yes.”

Park Do-joon changed into a protective suit and cautiously descended the stairs. He opened the iron door and immediately recoiled at the overpowering stench.

“Ugh.”

But the smell was the least of his concerns. The scene before him was a murder scene, but also a grotesque spectacle he could barely stomach.

“Ah, you’re here?”

Park Do-joon turned toward the familiar voice. Seo Joo-won from the National Forensic Service was standing nearby.

“Wear a mask.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Park Do-joon put on a mask, but it did little to alleviate the smell. However, the stench quickly faded into the background as he took in the scene.

“What happened here?”

“We don’t know. This isn’t really our area; it seems like it’s more for the profilers.”

“I guess so.”

Park Do-joon surveyed the large basement, a space of approximately 165 square meters. In the center of the room, a bizarre tableau: a magic circle-like design composed of letters and symbols of unknown origin.

And in the middle of the circle, a corpse. But it wasn’t just a dead body. The corpse had been not merely dismembered, but disassembled, with arms, legs, organs, and head all meticulously arranged separately.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?”

“No.”

Park Do-joon shook his head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall anything similar.

‘Damn it, is this a problem with my fragmented memories again?’

He had vague recollections of some cases, but others were completely blank. Perhaps this was one of those.

He couldn’t have overlooked such an outlandish case. It was impossible.

This was a case that would have mobilized every profiler in the country; there was no way he wouldn’t know about it.

“What do you think?”

As Park Do-joon stood transfixed, the team leader, who had briefly stepped outside, returned.

“It seems like there was some kind of religious element involved.”

“Right?”

“Yes, it looks like some kind of demon worship ritual.”