My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 230

“Would children use a place like this as a hideout? If this *was* a hideout, shouldn’t there be items that kids would consider special?”

Things that might seem insignificant to adults but are treasures to children—small, pretty stones, beads, toys, things children would cherish—are nowhere to be found here.

In other words, this isn’t a hideout.

“Then they brought the victim here from somewhere else.”

At Park Do-joon’s words, Jung Yi-yeon looked around the exterior of the building.

“The starting point, you mean.”

“Yes, the problem is, there’s no mention of that location in the police records.”

It’s only recorded as the place where the incident ultimately occurred.

“So, we need to find that initial location.”

The terrain can tell us about the situation at the time. And the situation reveals what kind of person the culprit is.

“Will that be easy?”

“Easier than you think. We just need to avoid attracting the police’s attention.”

Park Do-joon grinned, pointing at the sky.

“When an incident like this happens, the police will check the CCTV [closed-circuit television] footage first. The fact that there’s nothing there means we can investigate without running into them.”

And that wasn’t such a difficult task.

“Let’s find out. Let’s see what path the culprit took.”

***

Park Do-joon began to survey the area around the abandoned building. The surroundings were mostly run-down and dilapidated.

“Not many CCTVs around here?”

“It’s a planned redevelopment zone.”

As a result, the government isn’t investing much money in improvements.

“Besides, this neighborhood is pretty poor.”

Even if there are thieves, they’re petty criminals, and no one’s going to bother installing CCTVs that will soon be torn down just to catch them.

“But we can’t really track anything this way, can we?”

“True. But that’s why we can make assumptions.”

“Assumptions?”

“In this case, there are no witnesses and no evidence. That means the culprit didn’t encounter anyone while bringing the child here. We don’t know the exact time the child went missing, but it must have been during the day. But how likely is it to find a route with no people around at that time?”

“Ah, I see.”

The children were out playing. And then, for some reason, the child disappeared. The incident probably happened on the way home after parting with the other children.

The missing child was found at 11 a.m. the next day. And the last time they were seen was around 4 p.m. The autopsy revealed the child’s time of death was 3 a.m. The cause of death was excessive bleeding.

“There’s no way an eight-year-old child would be wandering around alone until dawn, so it’s reasonable to assume that the accident happened while returning home after playing with friends. So, the time of the incident is likely around 4 p.m.”

That is, a time when there are usually plenty of people around. But no one saw anything, and there’s no CCTV footage.

“Such a route is bound to be limited in this area.”

Even if it’s a planned redevelopment zone, even if it’s a run-down area, it’s not like *no one* ever goes there.

“Didn’t the child scream?”

“Fear can paralyze people. Most kidnapping victims can’t scream. Even adults can freeze up, so would a child be able to scream?”

Especially if the other person is an adult male. If a strange adult male yells, most children freeze and can’t move.

“Plus, the way I see it, this was an accidental crime.”

“An accidental crime?”

“Yes, the location is strange, and the scene doesn’t suggest a planned incident.”

If they had a sexual fixation on a specific child and were targeting them, they would have tried to leave the neighborhood, not stay close to the house.

“And they would have tried not to leave a body at all.”

But they abandoned the body in an abandoned building near the house?

“In other words, we can assume that the culprit didn’t foresee the child’s death.”

“Why?”

“You saw that building earlier, didn’t you?”

Park Do-joon turned his head and stared in the direction of the large abandoned building.

“There are signs of people living there. The culprit must have seen that too. So, there are three possibilities. First, they didn’t care if they got caught. But such criminals are rare. Second, they deliberately abandoned the body there. But deliberate abandonment in a specific place is usually a symbolic act. However, that building is newly built. It has nothing to do with the victim. In other words, there’s no symbolism. So, that leaves only one thing.”

“…They panicked, abandoned the body, and ran away.”

“Correct.”

They must have realized something was terribly wrong. But they also knew it was too late to turn back, so they panicked and fled.

“That means the crime was impulsive. And looking at that, there’s a high possibility they were drunk. There are hardly any guys who would think of committing a sex crime against an 8-year-old child while sober. If they did it sober, it would be a planned crime by a child sex offender, but there’s no sign of planning in the appearance of the incident.”

“Alcohol….”

It was something no one had mentioned until now. Most people recognize this case as a crime by a child sex offender. In fact, the local police suspected and investigated it that way.

‘But they failed.’

If Park Do-joon is right, it’s no wonder they failed. The profiling is completely different.

“But you commit such a crime because you drank alcohol? Doesn’t that seem off? Most sex offenders have a definite type, don’t they?”

Lee Ji-soo didn’t understand that part. People have their own preferences. In fact, even serial killers, when sexual motives are involved, focus on victims with specific characteristics.

“Ah, don’t you know about that? Well, they don’t cover this kind of thing much in school yet. Because it’s relatively minor.”

“Minor?”

“There are opportunistic sex offenders.”

“All sex offenders will look for opportunities to commit crimes, won’t they?”

At those words, Park Do-joon shook his head. It’s not wrong, but it’s not entirely right either.

“That’s true. They each have their own tastes. But the opportunistic sex offenders I’m talking about focus more on opportunity than on a specific type.”

“I don’t know what you mean, *sunbae* [senior colleague/mentor].”

“Simply put, it’s this: when they decide to commit rape and carry it out, it doesn’t matter who the target is.”

Most sex offenders have preferences. Sometimes it’s external features, such as appearance or hair color. Sometimes they are obsessed with age groups, such as young women or middle-aged women.

“But these opportunistic sex offenders don’t care what type the target is, as long as the opportunity arises.”

Whether it’s a young woman, a girl, or an old woman in her seventies… it doesn’t matter to them. What matters is that there is simply a target in front of them that they can use to satisfy their sexual desire and that there is an opportunity to rape them.

“Huh? There are cases like that?”

“Yes, and there are more such cases than you think.”

Rape cases against elderly people in their seventies, who are not generally seen as attractive women, have actually occurred.

Rape of infants who are only a few months old has also occurred in extreme situations such as battlefields.

“No matter how extreme the situation is, aren’t the victims of such incidents generally seen as vulnerable? Usually, even in special situations, such people are recognized as objects of protection. In the first place, even if they are sex offenders, they don’t see such targets as women.”

For example, when the Titanic sank, the first priority for escape was children, the second priority was women, and the third priority was the elderly.

That is the social norm and is still the general perception today. But even if the situation is extreme or the opportunity arises, will they recognize it as a rape target? No, will they even recognize it as an opportunity in the first place?

“They can be the target that they abandon to survive, if they are selfish. But they don’t recognize them as rape targets.”

“Then the key to this case isn’t the child… but the timing when rape is possible.”

“You’re learning well.”

Park Do-joon looked around and said. The timing to kidnap the child. And the timing to not get caught.

“And the common thing that those guys show is usually low self-esteem. No, at this point, it’s not just low self-esteem, it’s almost self-esteem that’s been thrown in the gutter.”

“You commit such crimes because of low self-esteem?”

“It’s not just a personal problem. In fact, people around him probably don’t think much of him.”

Self-esteem is inner strength. That’s why many people say to build self-esteem. But that doesn’t mean that self-esteem is absolutely strong externally.

Self-esteem can protect itself from external attacks, but it cannot completely block those attacks.

“Even if the opportunity arises, raping a mere eight-year-old child can only be seen as a lack of judgment as an adult. In other words, the other person is in a state of extremely impaired judgment… probably drunk.”

Park Do-joon thought it was right to act while drunk and see an opportunity.

“But isn’t it difficult to track someone that way?”

At those words, Park Do-joon shrugged.

“I told you.”

“People around you don’t think much of you. Are those people around you family?”

“Yes?”

Lee Ji-soo didn’t understand those words. But the moment she turned her gaze to where Park Do-joon was pointing, she couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Ah!”

***

“A guy who causes trouble when he’s drunk?”

An old woman who looked to be about sixty asked indifferently at Park Do-joon’s question.

“Yes.”

“There are too many to count.”

An old sign read ‘Daepot House’ [a small, casual eatery]. A place that sells simple side dishes, *soju* [Korean distilled spirit], and *makgeolli* [Korean rice wine].

Rather than a proper bar, it’s just a place where locals can stop by at night and have a comfortable drink.

“He’s often drunk. He’s probably in his 40s or older. He’ll be quite aggressive when he’s drunk.”

At those words, the old woman snorted.

“Most of the guys who come here are those kinds of bums, what are you talking about?”

“There must be something else besides that. He hits on grandmothers when he’s drunk, or something.”

The old woman frowned at those words.

“Ah, that Hwang guy?”

“Hwang?”

At those words, Lee Ji-soo’s eyes widened. She didn’t think anyone would actually mention someone in response to Park Do-joon’s question.

“That Hwang guy hits on everyone when he’s drunk. Even if he gets rejected, he can’t seem to stop himself.”

“Do you know his name exactly?”

“I don’t know! I only know him as Hwang because everyone around here always says ‘Hwang guy, Hwang guy.’”

“Can you tell me more about him?”

“Well, he’s a guy who turns into a beast when he’s drunk.”

These shabby *Daepot* houses have a limited number of customers. And that guy called Hwang has been coming here to drink for a considerable period of time.

“He only drinks *makgeolli* all the time, and he’s not a pleasant drunk.”

He hits on women everywhere, and he’s even swung his fist. Once, there was a couple who came, and he blatantly hit on the woman even though her husband was there, so the police were called and it was a mess.

“He even hits on old women like me when there are no other women around.”

The old woman’s face was full of disdain.

Well, how pathetic would such a person look?

“Anyway, the guys who know him call him Hwang, but he’s quiet when he doesn’t drink.”

But this is a bar. It’s a space where it’s hard not to drink. So, it’s not a place where the excuse that he’s quiet when he doesn’t drink can hold much weight.

“Do you have any records of him paying with a card or something?”

“I don’t have anything like that.”

It’s an old *Daepot* house at first glance. Judging from the fact that there’s still a notebook labeled ‘Credit Ledger’ in the corner instead of a card machine, it’s a place that only accepts cash.