My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 180

She was left with no choice but to tremble until the paramedics forcibly extracted her from the wreckage.

“Thank you. If the detective hadn’t told me to change my car…”

“It was just good luck.”

Park Do-joon nodded.

“Do you think he’s the culprit?”

“We need to investigate, but it’s highly probable.”

Further investigation is necessary, but using a vehicle to run someone over and disguising it as a traffic accident is never easy.

“To proceed, we need to confirm something. Has Lee Don-joong contacted you recently?”

“I don’t know. I blocked his number.”

“Hmm, I’d like to see the call logs.”

To understand someone’s psychology, accurate information is crucial. Stalking is a potential motive, but it doesn’t fully reveal his psychological state.

“Isn’t being stalked enough?”

“Stalking encompasses a range of emotions.”

From simple obsession and possessiveness—thinking of the other person as one’s property—to distorted self-love, believing the other can’t hate them, or even hatred disguised as love, tormenting them because they hate you.

“To interpret those emotions, we need the specifics.”

“Okay, I understand. I’ll have the office unblock the number and get you the information.”

Just then, the door burst open, and a middle-aged man with graying hair rushed in.

“Joo-hye, are you okay?”

“President.”

“Are you badly hurt? Seriously injured?”

Park Do-joon recognized him immediately. It was Woo Jin-sung, the president of The One Entertainment and a former A-list actor.

“What happened? I heard a cement truck crushed the car…”

It must have been a chaotic scene. After all, being crushed by a cement truck usually means certain death.

“I survived thanks to the detective’s warning.”

“Warning? Now that you mention it, you said you changed your car recently, right?”

Woo Jin-sung had been curious when he learned she was suddenly changing her car, even opting for a used one because she couldn’t wait for a new model.

But a warning?

“Could it be… that crazy bastard?”

At the word ‘warning,’ Woo Jin-sung’s eyes hardened. There was only one person who would try to harm her at this moment.

“It’s just a suspicion for now.”

“But that guy…”

“Now, now, calm down. We’re investigating. If he’s confirmed as the culprit, we’ll catch him.”

“Thank you. You saved Joo-hye. But who are you?”

“I’m Park Do-joon. I’m with the Metropolitan Profiling Team.”

Park Do-joon greeted Woo Jin-sung and said quietly,

“Let’s talk outside. Just a moment.”

“Um…”

Woo Jin-sung looked at Woo Joo-hye with concern.

Park Do-joon nodded quickly.

“Come out when you’re done talking. I’ll be waiting outside.”

“Thank you. If you don’t mind, please wait at our company. It might be faster to get the data there.”

‘He’s quick-witted.’

Ultimately, whatever he requested, they would have to go to The One Entertainment. But the fact that he suggested it first showed he was smart and perceptive.

“I’ll wait there.”

Park Do-joon greeted them, left the hospital, and headed to The One Entertainment.

A short while later, Park Do-joon met Woo Jin-sung.

“Thank you. I didn’t know you were the one who caught the real culprit in the Jin-woo case last time.”

“It’s our job.”

After a brief greeting, Woo Jin-sung handed him several documents.

“These are the text messages Lee Don-joong sent to Joo-hye.”

“There are quite a few.”

“He was polite at first, but later, you can see how obsessive he became…”

“Just a moment. Let me read them.”

Park Do-joon began to read the messages one by one. Initially, he was polite and maintained a respectful distance. Then, at some point, his tone suddenly changed.

“When was this?”

“Ah, this period? It’s when Joo-hye started distancing herself from him.”

Woo Joo-hye wasn’t naive, and she couldn’t have been unaware of his interest in her. But even if the other person is an advertiser, there are boundaries. And Woo Joo-hye had no romantic interest in him.

“Moreover, there’s a sixteen-year age difference.”

Of course, if there was love, marriage would be possible, but Woo Joo-hye had no feelings for him.

Furthermore, this was after Lee Don-joong had assaulted his employees.

In other words, if Lee Don-joong’s actions became public, Woo Joo-hye’s reputation could be damaged.

Who would want to be associated with someone who hits pregnant women, of all people?

“Hmm, it seems Lee Don-joong wants a trophy wife.”

“A trophy wife? What do you mean by that?”

Woo Jin-sung asked.

“I don’t know Lee Don-joong’s past well, but realistically, it doesn’t make sense that he hasn’t married until now.”

Lee Don-joong is forty-six years old. Although late marriages are increasingly common, it’s still quite late.

“He’s rich, his company is successful, and he’s considered a highly eligible bachelor. Yet, he’s still unmarried.”

Park Do-joon said, staring at Lee Don-joong’s photo.

“Also, according to the investigation, he used to be involved with a criminal organization. He seems to have laundered his funds and his company was fortunate enough to grow.”

Such cases do exist. The world is full of surprises.

“If so, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have women around him, but their ‘quality’ probably isn’t what he desires.”

Bar girls or gold diggers.

“Some successful men want trophies as a reward for their success. They want someone who can showcase their success, rather than seeking love, genuine feelings, or mutual respect.”

In fact, some wealthy people in the United States even marry by contract. The term is three years. After three years, they divorce with a generous settlement and find a new wife.

“That’s called a ‘trophy wife’—a symbol of one’s success.”

A proof of one’s success, that’s what a trophy wife represents.

“The problem is that the women around him aren’t suitable as trophy wives.”

There are matchmaking agencies, but meeting women who are solely interested in money won’t suffice as a trophy.

“So, you’re saying he wanted to parade Joo-hye around as a kind of showpiece?”

“Yes, that’s right. This kind of psychology has existed for a long time.”

Park Do-joon scratched his head.

“In the past, it was common for a successful commoner to marry the daughter of a fallen noble family. That was also a concept similar to a trophy wife. Would there have been genuine love between them?”

Considering that marriages were arranged in the past, they probably didn’t even know each other.

In fact, many people saw their spouse for the first time at their wedding.

“A wife as a symbol of success. The problem is that Lee Don-joong is successful, but he’s not ‘high quality’.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Trophy wives serve two purposes.”

“One is appearance—showing off that you are successful and can marry a beautiful woman whenever you want, and that you can replace your wife whenever you want. The man who divorces every three years embodies this type.”

“The other is a marriage that pursues honor. Wanting to marry into a fallen noble family, as I mentioned earlier, falls into this category. And looking at Lee Don-joong’s tendencies, he leans towards the latter.”

He has plenty of money. Pretty women? He probably had plenty of them around him before. As the CEO of Next World, he likely still has women approaching him from all sides.

“But if he’s really from a criminal organization… a woman’s appearance isn’t the primary concern.”

The honor that comes with it is what’s important.

“The problem is that the standards of honor in modern society are different from those of the past.”

“What do you mean? The standards of honor are different between modern times and the past?”

“In the past, honor was mainly based on lineage. But now, social status takes priority.”

In the past, honor was prioritized based on lineage, such as nobles and aristocrats.

Even if they lost power, they were still nobles or aristocrats. Therefore, one could marry them, provide support, and gain honor.

“But that’s not the case now.”

This conflicts with Lee Don-joong’s desires in two ways. Anyone with influence can easily discover Lee Don-joong’s criminal background.

Moreover, they would naturally know that his current actions are criminal.

“And probably… Lee Don-joong is the type to hit women. Parents who know that would never let their daughters marry him.”

If he hits his own employees, wouldn’t he hit his wife?

“Just because he hits his employees?”

“No, if I were to use that as the sole reason, I shouldn’t be a profiler. The fact that Lee Don-joong hits his employees proves that he lacks respect and consideration for others. Also, Lee Don-joong even beat a pregnant woman. He may claim it’s equal punishment for men and women, but the truth is that he doesn’t even recognize the need to protect vulnerable individuals.”

Park Do-joon believed that Lee Don-joong was merely using gender equality as a defense when it became a social issue, and that he had no genuine awareness of socially vulnerable or protected individuals.

“And judging from that, Lee Don-joong is a smart guy.”

“Why?”

“By doing so, he has at least garnered some support from certain groups in society. Thanks to that, his crime is being somewhat excused.”

The conflict between men and women is at its peak, and some extremist groups have latched onto Lee Don-joong’s claims, defending him online.

“He has the ability to grow a company.”

If he were just a stupid gangster, he would likely be facing severe consequences.

“And the company is a public place. Committing violence in such a setting means he’s accustomed to it. You mentioned the victim installed a camera to expose it? That suggests such incidents had occurred at least twice before the filming.”

They wouldn’t install a camera for a one-time event.

“It probably happened habitually… which means he’s desensitized to violence.”

“But isn’t she family?”

“As I keep saying, what he wants is a trophy wife. As the term suggests, in such cases, the target is treated as an object, not a human being.”

It’s not ‘I love you and I respect you,’ but ‘You are a tool to enhance my image,’ that’s the perception of a trophy wife.

Just because a successful man marries a beautiful woman doesn’t automatically mean she’s a trophy wife. There are many people who have successfully married beautiful women out of love and mutual respect.