My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 208

“A large fleet will be coming from China soon. That’s when we can quickly turn things around,” the captain said, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Meanwhile, at the Coast Guard, Park Do-joon and Lee Ji-soo were meticulously reviewing enforcement records, trying to identify the most suspicious vessels.

“It wouldn’t be the South Sea. They’ll depart from the shortest distance, making the Pyeongtaek area the most likely point of entry,” Park Do-joon stated.

Incheon, he reasoned, was too far south, and the Coast Guard’s surveillance there was notoriously strict.

“But I still don’t understand what’s so important about these GPS enforcement records,” Lee Ji-soo admitted, scratching her head. “Turning off the GPS is illegal, of course, but it seems unreasonable to suspect a fishing boat of smuggling just because of that.”

“Ah, the enforcement records themselves aren’t the key,” Park Do-joon clarified.

“Pardon?”

“It’s the *image* of enforcement that I’m after, not the actual records,” he explained.

Lee Ji-soo looked surprised. “You need the image of enforcement?”

“Exactly. When people see enforcement, they tend to be more careful, at least for a while.”

He elaborated that this was how enforcement typically worked. No one appreciated surprise crackdowns, with the risk of fines.

“The Coast Guard is already making noise about conducting intensive crackdowns. In that situation, most fishing boats will turn on their GPS, even if they find it annoying.”

“Ah, I see,” Lee Ji-soo responded, understanding dawning on her face. They wouldn’t want to risk a fine.

“But there will be some who *can’t* turn on their GPS.”

“You mean smuggling ships,” she concluded.

“Yes. A fishing boat that needs to travel to China, outside of authorized fishing areas, can’t afford to have its GPS active.”

“So, the reason I asked the Coast Guard for enforcement is to force that inconvenience, to put them in a bind.” Park Do-joon said. He wanted to make them think, ‘I avoid trouble because it’s a nuisance, not because I’m afraid.’

“And those records can be easily monitored. Of course, knowing that, smuggling ships will likely turn off their GPS,” he added.

“Ah!” Lee Ji-soo exclaimed, finally grasping the full picture.

A sudden disappearance of GPS signals could mean one of two things: either the fishing boat sank, or the GPS was intentionally disabled. But during an intensive crackdown, no one would intentionally turn it off.

“Most likely, everyone else will keep it on,” Park Do-joon predicted.

Except for the smuggling ships.

“If a fishing boat’s GPS suddenly turns off while heading towards China, the answer is obvious,” he stated.

“But there’s no concrete evidence of smuggling right now, is there?” Lee Ji-soo asked.

“There’s no time for that. They must be in a hurry. And this is the time when large fleets come over from China.”

“So?”

“Avoiding the police is like an instinct for criminals. Why does the crime rate skyrocket in other areas when there’s a major incident in one district?”

“Ah, I see,” Lee Ji-soo replied, nodding in understanding.

When a large Chinese fleet approached, the entire Coast Guard went on high alert, focusing on cracking down on the Chinese ships. This left other sea areas almost unguarded.

“It’s the perfect opportunity for smuggling,” Park Do-joon declared.

In other words, if they were planning to smuggle, this was their only chance.

“And tracking them isn’t difficult either.”

The Coast Guard’s radar was far superior to that of fishing boats. Turning off the GPS was useless if they were being tracked by radar. The speed of the patrol boats allowed them to intercept the suspect vessel as soon as the GPS signal disappeared. The sea offered no hiding places.

“So, we have to seize the opportunity we’re aiming for,” Park Do-joon concluded.

***

“Ugh, this fucking smell,” Hwang Do-gyu groaned, pinching his nose against the overpowering fishy odor emanating from the fishing boat. The captain, however, seemed unfazed.

“This is heaven compared to what it’s like on Chinese ships. You’d want to die,” the captain said nonchalantly, as if it was a common sentiment.

“Fucking hell,” Hwang Do-gyu muttered, grinding his teeth and lighting a cigarette to relieve his frustration.

“Hey, turn that off right now,” the captain snapped.

“What?” Hwang Do-gyu asked, surprised.

“Do you know how far the light travels in the open sea? If you want to call the Coast Guard down on us, keep smoking.”

“……Fucking hell,” Hwang Do-gyu cursed, throwing the cigarette he had just lit into the sea.

“Just bear with it. We’ll arrive in China tomorrow afternoon,” the captain said, steering the ship with an excited air. After sailing for about two hours, he stopped the ship and waited.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going?” Hwang Do-gyu asked, confused.

“Are you stupid? What if we get caught after crossing over to China?” the captain retorted.

If that happened, they’d likely spend the rest of their lives in a Chinese prison.

Unlike Korea, China’s laws were far from lenient.

“It’s better to have those kids come over to the Korean side,” the captain said.

Chinese fishing boats often lacked GPS, and even if they were caught, the fines were minimal, unless they were caught smuggling or trafficking.

For safety, it was much better for the Chinese fishing boat to come to them than for them to cross into Chinese waters.

“Just wait a bit. They’ll be here soon,” the captain assured.

After waiting for about two hours, they spotted an old wooden boat approaching in the distance. Hwang Do-gyu was terrified.

“Isn’t that thing going to sink?” he asked, aghast.

“I’ve seen that boat for 20 years, and it’s been fine,” the captain replied dismissively.

“Crazy,” Hwang Do-gyu muttered.

The boat wasn’t made of synthetic plastic. Hwang Do-gyu frowned, looking at the wooden boat, which was so rotten that there were holes in the railings.

But they had no choice. The police were already closely tracking them.

“Hurry up and get over here. Hurry!” the captain shouted.

“Ugh, shit!” Hwang Do-gyu exclaimed, blocking his nose as he crossed over to the dilapidated boat. The smell was so overwhelming that the stench from the Korean boat seemed almost pleasant in comparison.

“Uweeek!” One of his subordinates couldn’t stand the smell and started vomiting.

“Hurry up and cross over! Ah, please hurry up. We’ll get caught by the Coast Guard at this rate!” the Korean captain urged them.

‘They’re going to make a fuss about the GPS being disconnected,’ he thought.

They needed to get to the management waters as soon as possible and turn on the GPS. It was a particularly dangerous time due to the intensive surveillance.

“This sucks, really,” Hwang Do-gyu complained.

With no other choice, the four men boarded the Chinese ship.

“Take care,” the Korean ship captain said.

The Korean ship immediately turned around and left, leaving Hwang Do-gyu’s gang alone on the wooden boat, heading towards China.

“Hmm,” Hwang Do-gyu muttered, trying to ignore the smell as he looked at the crew members. Their clothes were so dirty that he couldn’t even tell when they had last been changed, and the stench was unbearable.

‘If it weren’t for that incident….’

He’d probably be at a room salon [Korean-style hostess bar] right now, drinking happily with women.

‘Let’s just stay quiet for a while,’ Hwang Do-gyu thought, deciding that they should stay in China until things calmed down back in Korea.

“Hey, boss,” one of his subordinates whispered, approaching Hwang Do-gyu.

“I have a bad feeling, boss,” the subordinate said.

“What, you bastard?” Hwang Do-gyu snapped.

“No, that’s….”

“If you’re going to talk, talk properly, you bastard,” Hwang Do-gyu said, annoyed.

“No, I just have a feeling….”

“Do you think I’m happy about this? Did this bastard eat his brain for breakfast?” Hwang Do-gyu retorted.

He was about to scold him further, but he was chilled to the bone by the next words.

“My house is near the harbor, and a boat this small doesn’t need twelve people, boss.”

“……What?”

“There are twelve people here besides us and the captain,” the subordinate said.

That was far too many people for such a small boat. Moreover, they weren’t out here to fish; they were simply picking them up.

“Moreover, those bastards… aren’t fishermen,” the subordinate added.

“How do you know that?” Hwang Do-gyu asked.

“I lived watching only fishermen for 19 years before I ran away from home,” the subordinate explained.

He had run away from home, unwilling to become a fisherman like his father, and ended up as a gangster. That’s why he knew better than anyone what fishermen generally looked like.

“Those bastards are too clean,” the subordinate said.

“Those guys? Clean?” Hwang Do-gyu asked, confused.

“No, there are dirty guys too, but….”

Only then did Hwang Do-gyu realize that something was amiss. Among the twelve, about four looked dirty. The remaining eight were relatively much cleaner. Their skin was much whiter compared to the other four.

“What the fuck?” Hwang Do-gyu muttered.

Only then did Hwang Do-gyu feel a chill. They were huddled together, talking to each other, and they were also glancing at them while talking.

“This is fucked up…… What is it? Hey! Gather around!” Hwang Do-gyu shouted, urgently calling his subordinates.

The subordinates, who were half-dead from seasickness and the smell, sensed that something was wrong and gathered around. The Chinese also noticed the change in atmosphere.

“Those bastards, they’re quick to catch on?” one of the Chinese men said.

In the meantime, someone stepped forward while speaking Korean.

“Who are you? You can speak Korean?” Hwang Do-gyu asked.

“I can speak a little Joseon language [derogatory term for Korean],” the man replied.

That’s what Chinese people used to demean Koreans, implying it was the language of Joseonjok [Chinese-Koreans] people.

“Well, now that it’s come to this, let’s finish it,” the man said.

He shouted something in Chinese, and at that moment, the ship began to slow down.

“N, no way?” Hwang Do-gyu stammered.

The Chinese crew members, who had been huddled together, slowly turned around and began to approach, holding things like steel pipes and axes in their hands.

“W, what? Fuck,” Hwang Do-gyu exclaimed.

“What else? Why are you asking when you already know?” the Chinese man said, grinning.

The four men froze.

“No way……,” Hwang Do-gyu whispered.

“You guys caused too big of an accident. Even the higher-ups are burdened,” the Chinese man said.

“Hey, you son of a bitch!” Hwang Do-gyu roared.

They had definitely caused a big problem. And if that problem leaked out, the Jindo Group would suffer a critical blow.

From the Jindo Group’s perspective, they had to cover up the incident at all costs.

No matter what.

“These son… of a bitches. Do you think my brother will just let this go if he finds out!” Hwang Do-gyu shouted.

“Finds out and does what? Do you think that bastard will even bat an eye if you die?” the Chinese man retorted.

“Fuck, he’s my brother!” Hwang Do-gyu yelled.

“Hmph, you’re just a gangster. In the end, all you have to do is give them money, and they’ll all shut their mouths,” the Chinese man said dismissively.

Hwang Do-gyu claimed that he was a real brother, but the other side had no intention of listening.

“Don’t resist and stay still. The pain is only temporary if we just cut off your heads,” the Chinese man said.

After all, they were in the middle of the open sea. If they killed Hwang Do-gyu and his gang here and threw them into the sea, it would be impossible to track them.

The Jindo Group had no intention of protecting dangerous guys, so they ordered them to be killed.

“You son of a bitch!” Hwang Do-gyu screamed, desperately looking around for something to use as a weapon.

But there was nothing.

The opponents were armed with axes, steel pipes, and even spears used to catch large fish.

‘Is this how I die?’ Hwang Do-gyu thought, feeling dizzy. He couldn’t believe that his fate would end like this.

“Kill them!” the Chinese man shouted.

Just as they were getting closer, a ‘poong~’ sound came from the distance.

“What is that?” one of the Chinese men asked.

“Fuck, it’s the Coast Guard!” another exclaimed.

A Coast Guard patrol boat appeared in the distance. The Chinese fishing boat had discovered the ship, which was approaching with its lights off in the darkness, too late.

Everyone’s attention had been focused on Hwang Do-gyu, so they hadn’t noticed it.

“Hurry, go faster!” the Chinese man shouted.

The boat accelerated rapidly and began to speed away. The sudden acceleration caused the men who had been standing to lose their balance and fall.

“Agh!”

“Do it right!”

But the captain was driving the boat like a madman. He had no choice. They were clearly in Korean waters.

“What should we do?” one of the Chinese men asked.

“What else? Drown those bastards first!” another replied.

Even in this desperate situation, the Chinese men were trying to kill Hwang Do-gyu and his gang.