My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 236

The Devil Exists

“Sunbae, help! Help me!”

“You called me out for a date and suddenly you’re shouting for help? And ‘sunbae’ [a Korean term for a senior colleague or mentor]? I told you, even if you say it in cute Japanese, it’s not cute at all.”

Park Do-joon frowned at Jung Yi-yeon’s words.

“No, I didn’t want to, but our company’s lawyer kept telling me to ask for your help.”

“So, this is a date?”

“No, I’ll give you a real date later.”

Watching Jung Yi-yeon wink, Park Do-joon sighed deeply. He had expected it. Profiling is one of the most powerful weapons the police have. It’s not easy to refuse an opportunity to use such a weapon externally.

Of course, it has to be done unofficially.

“I’ll treat you to a full course if you want. So, please, just this once.”

“Where did you even hear the word ‘full course’?”

Park Do-joon shook his head and asked.

“Oh, that lawyer from Busan keeps saying it.”

“Stop it. Don’t follow the Busan-style full course. Unless you want to fill up on pork and rice soup [a common and hearty dish in Busan].”

“Huh?”

“It’s a thing. But what’s the case about?”

“It’s a child abuse case.”

“Child abuse case?”

“Yes, but the situation isn’t good.”

“That’s a bit…”

Park Do-joon shook his head. Honestly, he didn’t want to help with child abuse cases. He had just finished solving a child rape and murder case.

“I don’t want to help people who abuse children. Besides, that’s not even an area a profiler should get involved in.”

Most child abuse cases occur with the guardians. So, the evidence is clear, and there’s no reason to claim another culprit because there are no guys who would have a grudge against the child and inflict harm.

“The child is dead, but the victim claims she didn’t kill her.”

“Murderers always say they didn’t kill.”

“I know. I know, but my sunbae says she really didn’t kill her. I think so too.”

“What are you talking about?”

“She’s a single mother.”

“A single mother?”

“Yes.”

According to Jung Yi-yeon, the victim’s parent is a single mother who recently had a child and is raising it alone. At that, Park Do-joon clicked his tongue and said.

“It might sound cruel, but that doesn’t mean we can be sure she’s not the culprit. Women’s hormone balance collapses rapidly after giving birth. Moreover, in this case, it seems like there’s no one around to take care of her, so she can really break down mentally.”

And that stress often goes to the child. In reality, only those who know, know how much child abuse is committed by mothers who have given birth every year.

That’s how secretive and quiet child abuse is.

“I know. I know that part too. Well, theoretically… but that’s why it’s strange.”

“What is?”

“The child was scheduled for adoption.”

“Adoption?”

“Yes, the child’s mother is a high school sophomore.”

“High school sophomore?”

If she’s a high school sophomore, she’s still a minor. Of course, it’s not that there are no minor single mothers.

“Then the care?”

“The family is taking care of her. Still, she’s their daughter.”

“So, the family is taking care of her, and she was scheduled for adoption?”

“Yes, moreover, the family that was going to adopt her isn’t a complete stranger either.”

They are distant relatives on the father’s side, who have not been able to have children despite years of effort. So, the two families decided to adopt and raise the child.

“They could have seen her if they wanted to, right?”

“Yes, well, it might be a bit difficult given the characteristics of being a young age of 17, but she was still in a situation where she was being protected.”

“But the child died, right?”

“That’s the problem. The fact is that the child died, but she didn’t die at home. To be exact, the child was found dead, and the local police are pushing it as child abuse.”

“Suddenly pushing it as child abuse?”

Park Do-joon had a strange expression at that.

That’s because such cases are rare.

“It’s the same as what Sunbae said. If it wasn’t you, who would kill the child? Something like that.”

“Huh?”

Park Do-joon frowned at that. Police officers often try to make their work too easy. So, when investigating a case, they create a culprit and pin it on them.

Of course, it’s something that shouldn’t be done. But for a police officer of poor quality, what’s important is the performance of the case, not the life of an innocent victim.

“Ugh, it’s a case in another district.”

“Yes.”

“Give me the case records. I can’t interfere as I please.”

But if it’s a truly unfair situation, he couldn’t just let it go.

“Thank you, Sunbae.”

Jung Yi-yeon smiled brightly and confidently took out a file from her bag and handed it over.

“You brought it with you.”

“Because I trust Sunbae.”

“Why don’t you just say we’re going to hold hands and sleep well?”

“That’s not what I want.”

“If you can’t say it properly…!”

Park Do-joon could only laugh at Jung Yi-yeon’s words.

***

“A child abuse murder case…”

The case itself was simple.

No, there wasn’t really anything at the moment. The investigation was being conducted with a clear direction.

“The student who became the mother of the deceased child and her parents are the main perpetrators of the abuse. The reason is that they thought she ruined their daughter’s life…”

The team leader said nonchalantly while looking at the report.

“It sounds plausible, but that’s the end of it.”

“What do you think?”

“The reason for the child abuse seems plausible. But anywhere you go, you can make excuses.”

There is also motiveless murder, or more accurately, what the industry calls murder due to abnormal causes, so it’s not easy to identify the cause.

In fact, although it is expressed as motiveless murder, it is not that there is no cause at all. So, profilers call it murder due to abnormal causes, saying that the cause is not the existing causes of murder… resentment, love-hate, money, etc., but other abnormal causes.

“But it looks clumsy to me?”

“Right? If this was a real murder due to child abuse, they wouldn’t have disposed of the child’s body like this.”

The child’s body was found not inside the house but outside the house. To be exact, the body, which was roughly covered with branches and leaves in a forest that people don’t frequent, was found by a passing resident, and the police investigation began.

“If it was a real murder of child abuse, they wouldn’t have disposed of the body so carelessly.”

They would have taken it as far as possible and, of course, buried it deeply to make sure they were never caught.

“But how can it make sense to roughly cover the body near the house?”

It’s an action that doesn’t make sense in terms of profiling, or rather, common sense.

“By the way, it’s too cruel. Who would do this to a mere 8-month-old baby…”

Lee Ji-soo said, looking shocked as she looked at the child’s picture. The child’s body was dyed blue. Someone had beaten the child to death.

“I told you. Don’t say, ‘There won’t be any big cases.'”

Lee Ji-soo looked somewhat depressed at Park Do-joon’s words.

“Still… this is too heartbreaking a case.”

“Yes, it’s too heartbreaking a case. That’s why we need to be more careful.”

“No, what kind of crazy bastard does this?”

“We have to find that out.”

Of course, it’s not easy. It can’t be easy. It’s hard for ordinary people to understand that they beat to death a child who can’t even crawl, let alone walk, with resentment.

“So, the police are going to take it easy.”

Due to the characteristic of being a single mother, the only people who would know about the child’s existence are the family members. And the only people who would have a grudge against the child are the family members. That’s the police’s judgment.

“You guys, don’t investigate with the answer already in mind.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying for decades.”

“You’ve only been in the job for a year.”

“But that’s what’s been said in the police.”

“Ugh.”

The team leader nodded at those words and said.

“That’s right.”

“Then what should we do about this case? We can’t interfere without permission, can we?”

“That’s the problem.”

Even if they are police officers, there is a high possibility that there will be problems later if the district is different and the person in charge is different. Even when a criminal is on the run, they give up the pursuit if they cross the district, not only because of laziness but also because if they cross the district and arrest them, the police in other areas will be very upset.

It’s the same with criminals found at the scene, but if the profiling team interferes and overturns a case that has already been decided, it will be difficult to hear good things. No, they’ll probably want to beat them to death.

“But what about the victim?”

Even if murder due to postpartum depression is treated leniently, punishment cannot be avoided, and the stigma of killing one’s own child will haunt her forever.

“That’s the problem. In most cases, that kind of ending ends in suicide.”

Most people won’t be able to endure the pain of losing their child and being falsely accused of killing their own child.

“Then do we just leave it?”

“We can’t just leave it.”

The team leader glanced at Park Do-joon.

“Is it possible?”

“I don’t have any vacation days.”

Park Do-joon shrugged his shoulders and said. Not caring about the region or jurisdiction and crashing into it? That’s not difficult. It’s not like Park Do-joon has never done it before. But at that time, he took a vacation and did it alone. But now he has no vacation days left.

“I’ll send you on a dispatch.”

“Yes? But team leader, this will definitely cause problems later.”

It will cause 100% problems.

The other party won’t just let it go.

“I know. I know. But it’s not a situation we can ignore. If we’re unlucky, three lives are at stake.”

If they push forward as the police judge, the single mother is likely to commit suicide, and the single mother’s parents may even die from the shock.

“If you care about the police’s honor, you’re not a police officer.”

The team leader said firmly. And Park Do-joon smiled bitterly inside at those words.

‘It’s funny that not protecting honor is the first action to becoming a police officer.’

In other places, they tell you to cover up what’s wrong in order to protect honor. Even if an innocent victim is generated in the process.

That’s why the police became unlike the police, became a powerful organization, and received the public’s disapproval.

What if the police had exposed their flaws and punished them in any pain? Maybe it would have hurt for a long time, but they would still have been able to stand proudly in front of the people.

However, because the promotion of managers was prioritized over the dignity of the organization, they were ultimately forced to become corrupt.

“I’ll allow it for now, so go and see the situation.”

“Yes.”

“And Ji-soo, you go down with him too. No, can you go?”

The team leader looked worriedly. That’s because this is clearly an act of rebellion within the police.

So, there is a possibility that Lee Ji-soo will be disadvantaged later. Judging from the police’s actions so far, there is a 100% possibility that there will be some disadvantage.

“Of course, I have to go. Why did I become a police officer? I didn’t become a police officer to protect high-ranking officials.”

Fortunately, Lee Ji-soo said firmly.

Natural Born Profiler