My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 235

“Revenge, you say…”

“Then, should Mr. Kim Chu-geun sell the place?”

“It won’t be easy.”

That day, Kim Chu-geun vehemently protested Park Do-joon’s suggestion, flying into a rage. He dismissed it as nonsense, not even allowing Park Do-joon a chance to explain before kicking him out.

“Just from that reaction, you can see his affection for the place… no, it’s more like an obsession. You can tell how strong it is.”

“Hmm.”

“Think about it simply. When was the last time you saw a household ordering rice from a rice store?”

“Uh, come to think of it… you’re right. Almost never, huh?”

“These days, everything is mass-produced.”

At the supermarket, rice is sold precisely by the kilogram, with the producer and production area clearly marked.

Of course, Kim Chu-geun’s rice store also sells such rice, but he also sells small quantities of rice that he has already opened.

It’s a sales method that’s rarely seen these days.

“Moreover, it’s common to have it delivered from the supermarket.”

If there were restaurants that could consume rice in large quantities, he could at least make some profit, but as the investigation into this case revealed, this area is geographically underdeveloped, and there aren’t many restaurants that consume large quantities of rice.

“The store is probably barely breaking even.”

It’s more like he comes out to work at his own store as a hobby, not as a way to make a living.

“If that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have been able to buy Hwang In-chul drinks during work hours in the first place.”

“Ah, I guess so. And there weren’t any other employees there.”

“Exactly.”

The fact that he’s holding onto it means that Kim Chu-geun is obsessed with the store. And his sister, Kim Suk-ja, knows this, so she’s enduring it in her own way for her brother’s sake.

“Seriously, what kind of messed up situation is this?”

The actions they’re taking to protect each other are resulting in a ridiculous situation where they’re harming each other.

“So, what do we do? It seems like they can’t give up to protect each other.”

“We have to persuade them. Tell them there’s no need to sell the rice store.”

Park Do-joon said calmly.

***

“Hmm…”

Park Do-joon met with Kim Chu-geun and Kim Suk-ja. Kim Chu-geun came out because he was told that they would protect his rice store. However, Kim Suk-ja looked uneasy at Kim Chu-geun’s words.

“Regarding what your husband did…”

“Husband, my ass! That bastard!”

“Brother.”

“Did I say something wrong? I told you to break up with that guy so many times! But in the end, that bastard killed someone! A child, no less! And you still like him?”

“That’s not it…”

“What do you mean it’s not! You’re so stupid…!”

“Stop. Both of you, stop it.”

Unable to watch any longer, Park Do-joon mediated between the two. It was obvious. They always talked like this, so it was no wonder they couldn’t communicate.

‘No wonder persuasion doesn’t work.’

He thought he was persuading her, but Kim Chu-geun was leading the conversation in a way that was more like scolding, so there was no way a proper conversation could have taken place.

Most communication breakdowns occur when one party’s way of speaking is aggressive.

“Let’s simplify things. Kim Chu-geun, you want Kim Suk-ja to get a divorce, right?”

“Of course. That son of a bitch…!”

“Just answer, don’t add any explanations. You want a divorce, right?”

“Ugh… yes.”

“And Kim Suk-ja, you’re worried that Hwang In-chul will retaliate against Kim Chu-geun if you get a divorce, right?”

“That’s… yes, that’s right.”

Kim Chu-geun’s face showed discomfort at those words.

“Do you think I’m so scared of that bastard that I’ll sell the store my father left me and run away?”

“Brother, you don’t know that man. He’s the kind of person who would kill someone!”

“Let him try! Even if he kills me, he can’t take the store!”

“So, you’re telling me to let you die?”

Watching them, Park Do-joon shook his head.

They were both continuing to talk in the wrong direction.

“Okay, okay, calm down… Neither of you has any reason to do that.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“This case is about the rape and murder of a child. He’ll get at least 20 years in prison for that.”

“20 years?”

“Yes, and there’s also an attempted rape charge.”

Even though the police set a trap, it’s a fact that he attempted rape, and it’s clearly an attempt.

In fact, he was arrested with his pants down and his genitals exposed.

“This case has become a big issue. The punishment will be severe.”

“Then?”

“Ah, of course, if he’s found guilty.”

The two of them froze at those words.

“What does that mean? You said that bastard is the culprit?”

“There’s no evidence. Nothing at the scene, no DNA or anything, can prove that Hwang In-chul is the culprit.”

“Then…”

“Then does that mean he’ll be out soon?”

So, Park Do-joon turned to her.

“That’s why I asked you to meet here. Do you happen to have any evidence?”

“Evidence, you mean…”

“I heard that he was at home after work that day.”

Kim Suk-ja squeezed her eyes shut at those words. Then, she took a deep breath.

“Ah, that…”

“If you saw anything that day, please testify.”

“Testify…”

Her eyebrows trembled as fear crept in. But at the same time, hope seemed to appear as well.

“The stronger the sentence, the longer he’ll be in prison. As a child sex offender, he’ll have to wear an electronic anklet even after he’s released.”

“Then…”

“We can prevent him from approaching.”

At those words, Kim Suk-ja took a deep breath and said with difficulty,

“Actually… he was home that day. Yes, that day, my husband… no, that bastard came home looking flustered.”

She had been preparing dinner at home after work as usual. But Hwang In-chul came home in a hurry. He took off his blood-soaked clothes and threw them into the trash can, then drank a lot of alcohol without eating dinner and fell asleep.

“And after that?”

“After that, he didn’t eat anything for days and only drank alcohol.”

She didn’t tell him to stop drinking. Because all that would come back was a fist. She bought him as much alcohol as possible, hoping he would just drink himself to death.

“But after a few days, he became normal again.”

Of course, he didn’t stop drinking, but he didn’t obsessively monitor his surroundings or drink to the point of being unconscious.

“Is that all?”

Lee Ji-soo said with a look of pity. It was definitely circumstantial evidence. But it was just circumstantial evidence. They couldn’t arrest Hwang In-chul with that.

“That’s…”

After hesitating, Kim Suk-ja opened her mouth with difficulty.

“That day’s clothes… are still at home.”

“What did you say?”

“Are you saying they’re really at home?”

This was something they hadn’t even imagined. Not even Park Do-joon had expected it.

“Yes, that day… I should have thrown out the trash.”

Kim Suk-ja had been waiting for a chance to escape from Hwang In-chul. But she couldn’t because of retaliation. That’s why she felt something was wrong when she saw Hwang In-chul looking more flustered than usual that day.

“He’s the kind of person who wouldn’t even bat an eye no matter what crime he committed.”

In fact, even when he went to prison for beating someone up while drunk before, he nonchalantly came home, drank, and fell asleep until the police came and dragged him away.

She felt something was wrong with the way he suddenly threw away his clothes in a flustered manner.

“Could it be that’s why you kept the clothes?”

“Yes.”

She thought that maybe it could be an opportunity, so she secretly took the clothes and hid them.

“But I didn’t know what kind of case it was.”

“Then where are the clothes…?”

“I hid them in a place where that man would never look.”

Kim Suk-ja clenched her fist and said,

“It seems like the opportunity for me to escape has come.”

***

“The freezer…”

Kim Suk-ja said that she put the clothes Hwang In-chul wore that day in a black bag and hid them in the freezer. Hwang In-chul only knew how to beat people up, not how to cook.

He wouldn’t even take out food from the refrigerator, let alone melt and cook something from the freezer.

“Can you give them to us?”

“Gladly.”

Park Do-joon was able to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that he had finally caught the tail.

***

“The DNA test results are out.”

The team leader said with a stiff face.

“The blood on the outside of the clothes matches the victim’s blood. Hwang In-chul’s skin cells were found on the inside.”

“Then?”

“We’ve got him for sure.”

“Nice!”

“We finally caught that son of a bitch!”

The police cheered. No matter how much he denies it, he can’t deny the DNA. Moreover, there’s the testimony that he came home covered in blood that day.

“We’ll finally save face.”

The violent crimes team leader sighed deeply and said,

“Good job, good job.”

For the past few days, the police had been working hard to uncover his other crimes. But they had never succeeded. He had a whopping seven previous convictions. Most criminals with that many convictions know the law as well as any police officer.

“He won’t be able to get out of this one, right?”

“He won’t be able to get out. DNA is the most powerful evidence recognized by the court.”

Moreover, he has seven previous convictions. With that many, the aggravated punishment will be incredibly severe.

Of course, the crimes he committed in the past and murder are different crimes, but he has already proven that there is no possibility of rehabilitation.

“Good job, really.”

The police only looked happy. But the profiler team leader didn’t seem happy.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, I’m just feeling a bit 착잡 [chakjap – a Korean word meaning ‘bittersweet’ or ‘complicated’].”

“Huh?”

“You know from this case. The 기회성 [gihwaseong – opportunistic] rapist is already an established profile. But no one but you thought of that…”

“I know what you mean.”

There are many variables at a crime scene. That’s why a profiler should never have fixed ideas. But the biggest reason why the investigation went awry in the early stages of this case was that most profilers identified the perpetrator as a child sex offender.

So, the analysis went wrong, and in the end, they were just chasing after the wrong guys.

“Should we increase practical training a bit?”

“I think we should.”

Park Do-joon also nodded.

‘The decline in skills isn’t a problem that started yesterday or today.’

It’s good that profiling departments have been established in Korea. But the truth is that they still have a hard time adapting when a case with even slightly more variables comes up.

“Hoo, but at least the case seems to be solved thanks to you.”

“I hope there won’t be any big problems for a while.”

Lee Ji-soo smiled with a relieved expression. But when the team leader and Park Do-joon heard those words, their faces hardened as if they were about to rot.

“No, why are you two like that?”

“You said the one thing you shouldn’t have said.”

“Huh?”

“Do you know what the one thing you shouldn’t say in a hospital is? ‘It’s quiet today.'”

It’s one of the superstitions that arose because patients flock to the emergency room when you say that.

“It’s the same with the police. If you say there won’t be any more big problems, a bigger case will break out.”

“Eh, no way.”

“No way? You can’t ignore jinxes.”

But Lee Ji-soo didn’t believe those words. Not until something happened.

Profiler by trade