My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 177

Of course, some violent organizations masquerade as security firms, but the company will screen those out.

“Still, I’m asking the detective just in case. Attorney Jung here said Detective Park Do-joon is very skilled.”

“I’m just a profiler, though?”

There’s no legal basis to start an investigation or imprison Lee Don-joong.

“Still, we might have overlooked something. Honestly, even with hiring bodyguards, I still feel uneasy. I don’t think Lee Don-joong is the type to give up easily. I may lack experience, but even my father says he’s not that kind of guy…”

“Uneasy, huh.”

Park Do-joon nodded, looking at Woo Joo-hye. It would be incredibly unsettling. People experienced in the legal field often develop a gut feeling, and sometimes, it’s quite accurate. Someone like Jung Yi-yeon’s father would probably have a very keen sense.

‘He’s definitely trying to protect her at all costs.’

Park Do-joon thought, looking at Woo Joo-hye. But, unfortunately for her, he already knew how this would end.

‘And he’ll fail.’

Woo Joo-hye isn’t in his memories. She’s not in his future memories, and her case isn’t in his case memories, which means the record was erased due to the side effects of regression [referring to Park Do-joon’s ability to relive past events].

If she had survived, he would have remembered a future project she appeared in, but there’s nothing. Even if she had died in a simple accident, he probably would have remembered, but that’s not the case… which means she was murdered.

‘But seeing as she’s even hiring bodyguards, killing her won’t be easy.’

The probability of her being murdered is 100%. If so, he needs to know the method. Park Do-joon briefly considered various murder methods and calculated the possibilities.

‘So, what method will they use?’

Stalkers sometimes resort to extreme measures when their feelings aren’t reciprocated, such as murder or assault.

Usually, they directly attack their target. But that’s only for people who have no other choice but to act directly.

“I don’t understand why they stalk when they have so much to lose. Don’t you think so, Detective?”

At Jung Yi-yeon’s words, Park Do-joon shook his head and corrected her misconception.

“Stalking is a crime that has nothing to do with money.”

“Huh? Nothing to do with money?”

“Yeah.”

“But most stalking offenders are poor and insignificant, right?”

“That’s a common misconception. Stalking is ultimately caused by obsession. That’s more a matter of personal character than financial status.”

Stalking is a crime often committed by people with low self-esteem, but that doesn’t mean it’s exclusively committed by them.

Many stalking crimes are exposed to the public. Crimes that end in murder or kidnapping are mostly committed by people who are not socially recognized and have low self-worth.

Their inferiority complex leads to an obsession to prevent the other party from leaving.

However, that doesn’t mean that socially successful people don’t stalk.

In fact, successful people stalk in different ways. But because people equate ‘stalking’ with ‘failure,’ they often don’t recognize such behavior as stalking.

For example, chaebol [large Korean conglomerate] heirs who try to ruin celebrities because they rejected their advances are exactly those kinds of people.

Even if people find out about such incidents, they don’t recognize it as stalking. They have enough wealth to reframe the ending of stalking as unrequited love.

Moreover, this type of stalking proceeds quite differently from general stalking. If someone with 10,000,000 won [approximately $7,500 USD] stalks, it’s treated as a crime, but if someone with 100 billion won [approximately $75 million USD] stalks, the end will probably be marriage and later divorce.

In fact, there’s a strange case where a sports star met a woman who was stalking him on social media, and they got married because she was beautiful.

Before meeting, it was stalking, but after meeting, it became love, so it’s really ambiguous to judge whether it’s stalking or not.

“Maybe the reason for the divorce would be jealousy or something like that.”

“Ah…”

People who have nothing can only escalate it into a crime, but people who have something will succeed in marriage, and after that, breaking up is ultimately a matter of family law, not criminal law.

“You’ve seen in novels how rich people are obsessed with women and ruin them if they don’t reciprocate, right? Why don’t you think of that as stalking?”

“Uh…”

“Stalking can be unrequited love or a crime, depending on how you frame it.”

Even if a rich person is reported for stalking, if lawyers are mobilized, it will end as unrequited love.

“The male protagonists in romance novels who are obsessed with women? That’s also stalking, strictly speaking. The only difference between them and other ordinary people is their handsome looks and wealth.”

“Wow, I suddenly don’t want to read romance novels.”

Jung Yi-yeon shook her head. She hadn’t thought about it that way.

“It’s not that people with money don’t stalk. It’s just that they have more ways to retaliate.”

Park Do-joon said, looking at Woo Joo-hye.

‘Not a direct murder… or poison.’

Lee Don-joong has too much to lose for that.

‘Lee Don-joong isn’t the type to admit his losses.’

He’s the kind of person who would berate his employees for a 10% drop in sales. Would such a guy try to kill someone using a method that could directly implicate him?

The possibility is low. He’ll look for a way to harm the other party while protecting himself. In other words, there’s a high probability he’ll package it as an accident.

‘And the biggest possibility of an accident for a celebrity is…’

Of course, the possibility of an accident is always there. But the easiest and most convenient thing to do is still just one thing.

“If it were me, I’d change the car first.”

“The car? Why the car?”

“Since she’s with a bodyguard, they can’t attempt kidnapping or murder. It’s not easy either.”

“That’s…”

“Woo Joo-hye is a star, right? There will be people watching wherever she goes.”

If she goes to an official event, there will be reporters lined up, and even if it’s not an official event, there will be people who recognize Woo Joo-hye.

“And I don’t know Woo Joo-hye’s house, but considering she’s a star, the security must be pretty tight, right?”

“That’s true. The security is no joke. Especially recently.”

“And in this situation, they’ll increase security, not decrease it.”

“That’s also true.”

“And the company knows about the stalking problem, right? So, who would be the most suspected person if something happened to Woo Joo-hye?”

Of course, it’s Next World and Lee Don-joong.

“No matter how much money and power Lee Don-joong has, direct murder is difficult. So, what’s a way to kill someone indirectly in Korea?”

And in the first place, if it’s a direct murder, the police will naturally investigate. Especially if it’s a big star like Woo Joo-hye.

The cases that the police prioritize are the ones that get media attention.

In reality, even murder or kidnapping cases have a lower priority than simple theft cases that go to the media.

But Woo Joo-hye is a successful star in Korea. Of course, if something happens to Woo Joo-hye, the media will be buzzing, and there’s a 100% chance that the agency will report the stalking.

“But if it looks like an accident, the story changes.”

“An accident?”

Woo Joo-hye flinched. Well, looking back on her life, she couldn’t help but be scared.

“You’re a celebrity, right? There’s no way not to drive a car. They could just buy a huge truck and run her over. Moreover, since she travels all over the country, there will be times when she uses secluded roads with few people.”

At those words, Woo Joo-hye’s face turned pale. She hadn’t even thought of that.

“Is that possible?”

“It’s not realistically impossible. In fact, if I were trying to kill Woo Joo-hye, I would choose that method.”

It would be noisy at first, but it would eventually be settled as a traffic accident. And if it’s settled as a traffic accident, the perpetrator’s sentence isn’t that long.

Murder is at least a 10-year sentence, but if it’s settled as a traffic accident, it’s about a maximum of 3 years.

“Moreover, if it’s a traffic accident, it’s very easy for Lee Don-joong to avoid suspicion.”

Large trucks are common in Korea. Traffic accidents involving celebrities are common, and there are definitely people who die as a result.

“But the police…”

“Yes, the police may suspect.”

They know about Lee Don-joong’s stalking, so there’s no way they wouldn’t suspect that someone was hired to cause an accident.

‘And wouldn’t I have suspected that?’

If he had recognized it as a simple traffic accident, it probably would have remained firmly in his memory, Park Do-joon thought.

“But proving it is a completely different matter.”

How will they prove it? There’s no way to prove that the car owner received money.

“Lee Don-joong is a cash-rich man. In the first place, tracking cash transactions is impossible, as web hard drives [online file storage services] are used for bribery.”

In other words, even if the police suspect, there’s a high probability that it will end there.

“Yi-yeon, as a lawyer, have you ever heard of contract killings using vehicles around you?”

“Uh, um…”

After thinking for a moment, Jung Yi-yeon sighed deeply and said.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Right, at this point in time, even if you use a traffic accident to commit a contract killing, it’s not easy to prove whether it’s a contract killing or a simple traffic accident. But just because there’s no record doesn’t mean there’s no case.”

Even traffic accidents are common cliché accidents used in novels and movies. But in reality, there aren’t many records of contract killings done in that way.

“Most of the cases will probably be treated as simple traffic accidents.”

“That…”

Woo Joo-hye’s face turned pale.

“What kind of car are you driving now?”

“It’s a domestic van.”

“Hmm, if it’s the car I know, I wouldn’t recommend it much…”

Domestic van. It’s the most used vehicle by celebrities in Korea. The space is well designed, and the shape is pretty.

People often call it a celebrity car because they think celebrities drive foreign vans, but surprisingly, they don’t prefer them now.

First of all, because the shape is so unique, people suspect that celebrities are riding in it, so people gather around the car.

Moreover, the price is over 300 million won [approximately $225,000 USD] per car.

Because it’s expensive and only attracts people’s attention, celebrities tend to avoid it now.

“It’s a well-designed vehicle, but… well.”

It’s not a bad vehicle. But if someone is determined to kill you, it’s not a vehicle that provides reliable protection for the occupants.

“I can’t afford to buy an armored car…”

At her words, Park Do-joon shook his head from side to side.

“Lee Don-joong won’t shoot a gun unless he’s crazy. Armor is meaningless.”

“Yes?”

“Tempered glass and bulletproof glass are different.”

Ordinary vehicles use tempered glass, not bulletproof glass.