My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 178

“If I may offer some advice, bulletproof glass is not recommended.”

“Why is that?”

“Unless you’re in a country where bullets are flying around and public safety is uncertain, bulletproof glass is actually more dangerous in Korea.”

In Korea, the chances of getting shot are almost nonexistent, unlike countries where gunfire is common and public safety is uncertain.

People sometimes get the idea to install bulletproof glass in their cars and show off, but they could end up dead if an accident occurs.

This is because firefighters might need to break the glass to rescue victims, but they can’t break bulletproof glass.

“Even reinforced glass can stop most people’s attacks. And if someone is trying to stage an accident, the important thing is the vehicle’s mass.”

Speed and mass. The greater these are, the more certainly you can kill someone.

“If Lee Don-jung is targeting Woo Joo-hye, a truck is the most likely option. No matter how strong bulletproof glass is, it won’t stop that.”

“Then……”

“A modified vehicle is suitable.”

“A modified vehicle?”

“Yes, though it’s not common.”

Airbags are usually installed in the driver’s seat and passenger seat. But it’s not impossible to install airbags elsewhere. However, vehicle manufacturers don’t install them because it increases costs, so vehicle owners have to install them individually.

“Yes, I understand. But will that be enough?”

“As I said before, you also need to change the vehicle. I recommend a van from Company B. I hear it’s the safest vehicle currently available.”

Of course, it’s said that the company’s designs are so ugly that they’re not popular.

“Even so, driving an ugly car is better than dying.”

“Yes.”

Woo Joo-hye nodded at those words.

After his meeting with Woo Joo-hye, Park Do-joon forgot about it and focused on work. There were a lot of cases, but not enough time to solve them.

How much time had passed?

Suddenly, he received a call from Jung Yi-yeon.

“Yes, this is Park Do-joon.”

-Senior, it’s Yi-yeon.

“I know. What’s going on at this hour?”

-Woo Joo-hye had an accident. A rear-end collision on the highway…….

“What?”

-I just got the call myself.

“Luckily, it doesn’t sound like she’s seriously injured.”

-No, how do you know that?

“The manager would have called, right? Right?”

-Yes.

“If the accident was serious, the manager who was with her would have been dead or injured. And if the company had found out about that, they wouldn’t have contacted you first. Moonlight is employed by Woo Joo-hye, not The One Entertainment.”

-That’s true, but…….

“But the fact that they contacted you means that she’s probably not in a coma.”

-You’re so heartless, really.

“She’s not my girl, why should I worry and run around? And if a profiler starts doing that, they can’t catch the criminal.”

-Senior, you still think it’s that guy, don’t you?

“Isn’t that why you called me?”

-That’s right. The vehicle that caused the accident was a cement truck, they said.

“A cement truck?”

-You know, the kind with cement in the back that spins around and around.

“Ah, you mean a ready-mix concrete truck?”

Technically, it’s called a mixer truck, but in Korea, it’s usually called a ready-mix concrete truck or a ready-mix truck. It’s one of the larger vehicles, and when it’s filled with ready-mix concrete, its weight is enormous, making it a deadly weapon like a moving siege engine if an accident occurs. That kind of vehicle can definitely crush someone.

-Yes. That’s why everyone is in an uproar right now.

“I’ll head over there. You’re going to the scene too, right?”

-Yes.

“Okay. Tell them to preserve the scene. Tell them it’s a case of attempted murder, not just an accident.”

-What?

“When a traffic accident occurs, the top priority is clearing the scene. Because it’s blocking traffic.”

So someone needs to be there. Of course, due to the nature of traffic accidents, there isn’t much evidence to get rid of.

-Yes, Senior. I’ll send you the address right away.

Park Do-joon hung up the phone and got up from his seat. Then he looked at the team leader.

“Team Leader, can I go out and work on something?”

“Is it a new case?”

“Yes.”

“You have more than one or two cases assigned to you.”

The team leader glanced at the pile of documents.

“It’s Woo Joo-hye’s case. She just had a traffic accident.”

“What? Woo Joo-hye? That celebrity?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s beside the point, why are you going there?”

“Actually……”

Park Do-joon explained the consultation from last time, and the team leader frowned at his words.

“That’s a strange coincidence, isn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

“Then take Ji-soo with you. She still needs to learn. I’ll raise this as a cognitive investigation.”

A cognitive investigation means that the police recognize a crime and investigate it even if no report has been filed.

“Thank you.”

“Do a good job. This is a big case.”

“Of course. Ji-soo, let’s go!”

“Yes? Ah, yes!”

Lee Ji-soo, who was working at another desk, hurriedly followed Park Do-joon out.

Park Do-joon explained the situation while heading to the scene.

“It certainly could be an attempted murder. But how did she survive?”

“I don’t know? We’ll have to go and see.”

He didn’t know the details either. He needed to go and hear the story from the person involved.

When Park Do-joon arrived at the scene, the cleanup hadn’t started yet. That was because it wasn’t just any vehicle, and there wasn’t an easy way to haul away a ready-mix concrete truck.

“Senior!”

“Where’s Woo Joo-hye?”

“She’s at the hospital now. Miraculously, she doesn’t have any serious injuries other than bruises.”

“That’s a relief. But how did she survive?”

Honestly, Park Do-joon couldn’t help but say that. Woo Joo-hye’s vehicle was crushed by the ready-mix concrete truck and completely flattened.

The ready-mix concrete truck had pushed into Woo Joo-hye’s stopped vehicle and crushed it, completely flattening the car.

“Ah, she survived thanks to you, Senior, really.”

“Me? Thanks to Senior?”

“Ah, Ji-soo, you’re here too. Actually, Senior gave her some advice.”

So Woo Joo-hye had changed her car just in case. She didn’t have time to get a new car, so she bought a used van from Company B and paid for additional airbags out of her own pocket. She even reinforced the A-pillars [the vertical supports on either side of the windshield] that support the load, just in case.

“And she had some luck too.”

And at the time of the accident, she was traveling after finishing an event and was lying down in the back seat, taking a nap.

Fortunately, although the heavy ready-mix truck crushed the car, the pillars held up, and because she was lying down, there was some space above her, so she miraculously survived.

“However, the road manager who was driving was seriously injured. The other manager who was in the back contacted me.”

The driver had no choice but to sit upright while traveling, so he was more seriously injured than expected. But even so, the pillars held up, so he wasn’t severely injured.

“When you look at other vehicles that have had accidents like this……”

“That’s right.”

There was another case where other vehicles were crushed by this type of large ready-mix concrete truck, and all the occupants were crushed to death at that time.

“What about the other driver?”

“He’s claiming he fell asleep at the wheel.”

“Fell asleep at the wheel, huh……”

“Certainly, the last accident was also caused by falling asleep at the wheel.”

“That’s right.”

The last crushing accident was also caused by the driver falling asleep at the wheel.

Lee Ji-soo frowned as she listened to those words.

“If what Senior says is true, this will just end with an insurance claim, won’t it?”

“People were injured, but no one died.”

Of course, they might go to jail or something because they were at fault, but it’s likely to end just like that.

“What should we do?”

“In these cases, it’s definitely difficult to investigate. There won’t be any skid marks either.”

Skid marks are the black marks left by the friction heat of the tires melting against the road surface when a vehicle suddenly stops during emergency braking.

If it’s a simple accident, the presence of skid marks would indicate an attempt to stop, and the absence of skid marks would suggest that there was no attempt to stop, which could indicate intent to kill, but if it’s falling asleep at the wheel, there would be no skid marks, making it difficult to suspect intent.

“Let’s go to the vehicle first.”

“Yes.”

Park Do-joon took them to the vehicle.

“It doesn’t look like much.”

A huge truck and Woo Joo-hye’s flattened vehicle.

“You can’t approach.”

“We’re police officers.”

“Police?”

Park Do-joon presented his ID, and the police officer who received it tilted his head.

“Why is a profiler here?”

“There’s a possibility of attempted murder.”

“It’s a simple traffic accident. Why attempted murder all of a sudden?”

‘I guess so.’

A dedicated team investigates these highway traffic accidents. The problem is that the team in charge of these accidents only handles highway traffic accidents.

To put it nicely, they have excellent expertise, but to put it badly, they can easily cover up cases where other incidents are disguised as traffic accidents.

In fact, there are many cases where traffic accidents are suspected of being contract killings, but the reason why investigations are concluded as traffic accidents is precisely because of this type of situation.

The person in charge of the case is a traffic accident specialist, not a homicide detective.

“There are suspicious circumstances.”

“Don’t get too excited. The victim is a celebrity, but even so, attempted murder is a bit……”

Park Do-joon frowned at those words.

‘Well, strictly speaking, this is overstepping my authority.’

He is a profiler, but this isn’t his jurisdiction. It’s a cognitive investigation, but strictly speaking, there’s no accurate evidence related to it.

“If it goes well, I’ll give you the credit.”

“What?”

The police officer perked up his ears at those words.

“Don’t you want to get promoted?”

“Well……”

There isn’t a police officer in the world who doesn’t like promotions and achievements. Moreover, there isn’t much to show for achievements in this area of traffic accidents. They work according to the established rules, and there aren’t any variables.

“The victim is Woo Joo-hye. What if this is a real attempted murder?”

“Well……”

Of course, the media would go crazy, and the police officer who found out would receive an award.

‘This might really be an opportunity.’

For him, who had been assigned to the highway patrol and was only handling traffic accidents, this was an opportunity to get out of here.

“Let’s share the credit.”

“If that’s the case…… ahem! But what’s strange? Ah, I’m Kim Chan-beom.”

“Park Do-joon. Actually……”

Park Do-joon briefly explained the current situation. And Kim Chan-beom nodded as he listened to his words.

“Certainly, in that case, it would end with a simple traffic accident without any problems.”

If the driver admits to falling asleep at the wheel and is punished afterward, there’s nothing to investigate. Unlike other cases, there’s no evidence of murder to be found at the scene.

“Can we take a look?”

“Go ahead.”

He told the other police officers to let them see the ready-mix concrete truck. There wasn’t anything particularly strange about it.

“Is there ready-mix concrete in the vehicle?”

“Yes, there is.”

“I see.”

Park Do-joon looked at the ready-mix concrete truck and said.

“Let’s start by looking at the black box footage [the vehicle’s recording device].”

In fact, there wasn’t anything Park Do-joon could do here. He wasn’t a forensic investigator or a traffic accident expert.

But there were definitely suspicious aspects, so it was time to confirm them.

A Profiler’s Calling