My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 21

‘Alcohol is an excuse for all actions.’

In Korea, leniency due to intoxication is so common that people have a weak sense of aversion to doing something illegal under the influence of alcohol.

In fact, drunk driving is lightly punished, and even killing someone while drunk often results in a lenient sentence.

Only recently has the trend of leniency due to intoxication started to disappear, but older people still hold onto the mindset that one can be excused for their actions while drinking.

“Alcohol, huh….”

“The departure time that morning was 4 AM. If Park Geo-sik had been drinking before that, we can assume he was driving the boat while intoxicated.”

Of course, operating a boat under the influence is illegal. But in Korea, it’s hardly ever enforced. In the case of fishing boats, it’s practically common practice to stack boxes of alcohol on board and enjoy freshly sliced raw fish [sashimi] as a snack with the alcohol.

Would yachts really be any different when it comes to drinking?

“Of course not. The purpose of a yacht is either travel and parties or fishing.”

Simply put, when you buy a yacht, you either have parties or go fishing, and alcohol is an essential part of all these activities.

“Since he’s lenient with alcohol, he probably drove under the influence.”

“I suppose so.”

Alcohol numbs a person’s character and impairs judgment. One might think they’ve sobered up, but it actually takes a considerable amount of time to fully sober up.

In reality, if you drink until midnight, fall asleep around 2 AM, and wake up at 8 AM to go to work, the person will naturally think they’ve sobered up after sleeping, but in reality, they’re still intoxicated.

“Do you know what happened when they did a DUI check that morning?”

“Yeah. It was chaos. People flocked to the police station, claiming they were wrongly accused.”

People who couldn’t understand why they received a license suspension for drunk driving when they woke up and felt sober protested and complained.

But the judgment of being sober is as subjective as the judgment of being drunk.

Scientifically, just sleeping for six hours doesn’t eliminate blood alcohol content.

“Hmm. So, you think Park Geo-sik drove the yacht while drunk?”

“I think there’s a high possibility. Moreover, isn’t the election coming up soon?”

It’s the point when congressmen should start paying attention to the Election Management Committee [the government agency responsible for overseeing elections].

The fact that he called, and local and national assembly members came and raised their voices wasn’t because they thought he was wrongly accused, but because they didn’t want to be disadvantaged in the upcoming election.

“So, there must be some kind of reception or something going on.”

The Election Management Committee’s motto is a clean election, but that’s just for show. Turning a blind eye to illegal activities in elections is nothing new.

Of course, they have to be given appropriate compensation in return.

“Hmm….”

Kim Woo-sun nodded at Park Do-joon’s words. One of the common cases that police officers handle involves complaints related to election fraud after an election.

A tremendous number of complaints are filed, and Incheon is one of the regions where such complaints are frequently made. It’s one of the hotly contested areas.

Such complaints are filed in almost every election.

“Well, when a complaint comes in, the first thing you have to investigate is that side.”

Since the police can’t monitor the election all the time, the first thing they do when investigating is to request cooperation from the Election Management Committee.

In fact, the investigation is based on the data they hand over, so as Park Do-joon said, there’s a high possibility that everyone is trying to look good and offering receptions to get on their good side.

“Then the first thing we need to do is find out where he drank.”

“That’s right.”

Park Do-joon’s theory was this: Park Geo-sik, who drank and slept, wakes up and comes in the early morning. And he took the two people from that pier and went out to sea. But he still wouldn’t have been sober.

Whether he drank again there or was simply not sober yet is unknown. But it’s highly likely that Kim Woo-sun had lewd thoughts when he saw Kwon Mi-joo while drunk.

In fact, the two came here on their honeymoon, and judging by their clothes, they were quite dressed up.

Park Geo-sik probably flirted with Kwon Mi-joo, and Lee Hyung-woo tried to protect Kwon Mi-joo from Park Geo-sik.

“But being in a familiar space versus an unfamiliar one makes a big difference.”

“Well, it’s not wrong to say that even a mutt acts tough in its own territory.”

The swaying sea. An unfamiliar ship. On top of that, due to the fact that he was introduced by Congressman Soo Ho-jin, Lee Hyung-woo probably couldn’t resist harshly, and conversely, Park Geo-sik was in his familiar yacht.

Even though he was drunk, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d ridden a yacht while drunk, so he’d be familiar with it, and moreover, he was in a situation where he couldn’t properly judge due to being drunk. He probably attacked without hesitation.

“Well, if you push someone hard on a swaying yacht, they’ll fall into the water.”

And if you just hold them down to prevent them from resurfacing, Lee Hyung-woo can be easily subdued.

“And in the case of Kwon Mi-joo, she didn’t know how to swim in the first place.”

Whether Kwon Mi-joo jumped into the water first to avoid the threat, or whether Park Geo-sik, who had come to his senses, threw her into the water with the intention of eliminating the witness, is unknown.

But in the end, she died.

“There’s no evidence, though.”

This is the biggest problem. The Korean court system is based on the principle of evidence.

Even if there is a strong suspicion, if there is no concrete evidence, the person is presumed innocent.

Looking at the current situation, there is a very high possibility that Park Geo-sik is the murderer. But realistically, there is no decisive evidence that he committed murder.

“Wouldn’t it work if Soo Ho-jin testified?”

“Of course, it would be possible if Soo Ho-jin testified, but I don’t know. Would other congressmen just stand by and watch?”

Of course, if there is solid evidence that he is a murderer, they will cut ties without hesitation, but until then, they will try to protect him somehow.

If he is wrongly accused or the truth is not known, he may be able to receive appropriate benefits later.

“You don’t think politicians will ever help.”

“That’s obvious. After all, they can’t publicize or report on their protests to the media. That way, even if the truth comes out, they have nothing to lose. Conversely, if they succeed in hiding the truth, they can take a politically advantageous position.”

Politicians who know that would never accept it willingly.

“But there’s no evidence.”

“If you’re talking about evidence….”

Park Do-joon pondered for a while, then his eyes sparkled.

“Politicians are all the same. And Park Geo-sik probably thinks so too.”

“So?”

“How about using that to set a trap?”

“In what way? Who would help?”

“Isn’t there one person who can help?”

Park Do-joon smiled.

“There’s a suitable rival at the right time. Hehehe.”

***

Park Geo-sik regretted his momentary mistake.

‘Damn it, I shouldn’t have had more alcohol back then.’

Even when he went out after receiving the reception and sleeping a little, he went out with good intentions. He thought it was a good sign when he heard it was an event for a marriage proposal, and it reminded him of his youth.

That was good. But it was a big mistake to put them in a secluded location, go into the cabin, and drink a few glasses of alcohol inside.

In a situation where he wasn’t fully sober, he drank again and went half out of his mind, and he doesn’t know why the bride who was getting married looked so pretty.

Drunk, Park Geo-sik flirted with the bride, telling her to sit next to him and pour him a drink, and eventually crossed the line and even attempted sexual harassment.

When the groom, who had been trying to hold back, started to protest, he pushed him into the sea with all his might while drunk. Then, using an emergency pole, he pushed him into the water so he couldn’t float.

A person died in an instant, and when he came to his senses, only the woman, who had turned pale, remained. And the remaining alcohol left only the thought that he had to live. He only had the thought that he had to run away.

Park Geo-sik threw the resisting woman into the water and drowned her in the same way as the man, and hurriedly left the place.

Then he fell asleep while drunk, and when he woke up again and came to his senses, the regret was too late.

Park Geo-sik had no choice but to start destroying the evidence. He threw all the couple’s belongings into the sea, scooped up seawater and cleaned it several times, and thoroughly blocked the possibility of any remaining DNA using bleach.

And he came back. The incident, which he thought no one would know, was revealed when the bodies washed up on the coast of Ganghwa Island.

When he subtly found out that it was concluded that the two had committed suicide together, he breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a profiler intervened, and the direction suddenly turned to murder, and now the investigation was closing in on him.

If things continued like this, he would inevitably be caught. He was trying to cover up the incident at all costs, and because of that, his hair was falling out in clumps.

“Damn alcohol. It’s because of alcohol. It’s all because of alcohol.”

Even so, he kept pouring alcohol into his mouth. It was because the two people’s cruel screams wouldn’t disappear from his ears.

“Damn it. You bitch. Did you have to scream just because I touched your chest?”

He blamed it all on the two of them and put alcohol into his mouth once again. It was then.

Suddenly, his cell phone started ringing.

“What is it?”

He glanced at his cell phone and froze.

Soo Ho-jin. He was the most troublesome person to him, and he was the only person who knew the truth about this incident. After this incident broke out, he asked everyone he knew for help, but he couldn’t ask Soo Ho-jin for help.

“Damn it.”

Park Geo-sik stared intently at the phone. But he couldn’t avoid it. He picked it up with trembling hands.

“Soo Congressman. What brings you here at this hour?”

-Isn’t it too late to ask what brings me here?

“What are you talking about?”

-Director Park, I’m in trouble if you act like this.

“What?”

-The kids I introduced you to. I haven’t heard from them.

“…….”

At those words, Park Geo-sik felt dizzy. The worst-case scenario had come to pass. He was holding out, saying it didn’t matter now, but what if Soo Ho-jin went to the police and said he had introduced them?

“No, Soo Congressman, I think there’s some misunderstanding. I don’t know.”

-You may not really know. I think that will be revealed in the police investigation…….

“There’s some misunderstanding, Soo Congressman. It’s not that I’m really trying to do something. No, it’s really a misunderstanding.”

-I heard you called all the congressmen except me. Did you think that wouldn’t reach my ears?

“It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I thought Soo Congressman would be bothered…….”

-Thanks to that, I’ll have to go to the police station.

He felt faint. The thought that there was no longer any way to escape swirled in his head. At that moment, enlightenment dawned on him.