My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 30

“Do you really believe that I am innocent?”

“I do. It must have been hard when you shouted yourself hoarse, but no one listened.”

Kim Woo-chang, choked up again at those words, paused for a moment, hiccuping, and then spoke.

“That’s right. Everyone said that. They said they knew I was guilty, so I should admit it. That five people died because of me, and more could die… They called me a devil.”

“Did they say anything else besides that?”

“No.”

‘You stupid bastards.’

Park Do-joon cursed the police officers who had yelled at him in his mind.

But thanks to them, things became easier.

“Why didn’t you call a lawyer?”

“A lawyer?”

“Calling a lawyer is the right of the accused. Call a lawyer right now.”

“But I don’t know any lawyers…”

“If you ask the police, they will call a state-appointed lawyer for you.”

Indeed, legally, a lawyer should be present when interrogating a suspect, but the police often forcibly kick out lawyers to find out even one more thing.

The reality is that lawyers who are powerless or timid sometimes get kicked out without resistance.

“I can’t trust a lawyer the police bring in.”

‘His distrust of the police has already solidified.’

In this situation, it’s a good thing for Park Do-joon. If he can’t trust the police, he’ll try to find someone else, and he’ll think that Park Do-joon is his only ally now.

“Then, shall I call a lawyer I know? Ah, I’m a police officer too.”

“But you know I’m innocent, right?”

“I know. But the higher-ups have already decided on an answer and don’t even pretend to listen to me.”

“Those son of a bitches.”

Kim Woo-chang gritted his teeth in anger.

‘Okay, he’s properly hooked.’

Now that psychological rapport is complete, it’s not difficult to get Kim Woo-chang’s cooperation in the interrogation.

‘But I shouldn’t act rashly.’

If I tell him to call a lawyer first and start the interrogation without a lawyer, seeds of suspicion will inevitably grow.

“For now, shall I call a lawyer I know?”

“Please do. I have no one to trust.”

How desperate must he be to ask the person who came to interrogate him for help? Park Do-joon took out his cell phone to call a lawyer he knew, but then he realized something.

‘I don’t know anyone, do I?’

Before the regression, he knew a few lawyers who understood his style and catered to it, but now he doesn’t know anyone.

Most of them probably aren’t even lawyers yet.

‘What should I do? The lawyer I know right now…’

But he can’t say something stupid like, ‘I don’t know any lawyers,’ now.

If the trust he worked so hard to gain is broken, it will be irreversible.

‘Someone I know… I know one person.’

There’s only one person. He doesn’t want to call her, but he has no choice.

***

“I thought my senior was calling me to ask me out on a date.”

Jung Yi-yeon said as she entered the interrogation room, and Park Do-joon forced a smile at Jung Yi-yeon and said.

“We have a client here.”

“It doesn’t matter, work is work, and life is life.”

“Haa…!”

“I’m Jung Yi-yeon.”

Jung Yi-yeon handed Kim Woo-chang her business card and smiled.

“I checked the case records on the way here. You’re charged with murder.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t worry. The investigator Park Do-joon here is only interested in the truth.”

“Well, what about the lawyer?”

“Me? I’m naturally very interested in winning.”

Jung Yi-yeon smiled and pulled out a chair to sit next to Kim Woo-chang.

Then, she took out a recorder from her bag and placed it on the table.

“From this moment on, I will start recording as Kim Woo-chang’s attorney. Do you both agree?”

“I agree.”

Park Do-joon expressed his opinion verbally to that action.

Taking out a recorder means that everything will be recorded.

“Then, we will now begin the interrogation of Kim Woo-chang.”

“Yes.”

Jung Yi-yeon, despite clearly knowing Park Do-joon, drew a firm line and looked at Park Do-joon with a different look than before.

‘She’s still the same.’

She seems careless and has a much higher tension than Park Do-joon, but Jung Yi-yeon is surprisingly meticulous and a true embodiment of ambition.

In fact, there were more than one or two people who underestimated her because of her sloppy appearance and were knocked out.

“Let’s talk about it one by one. Mr. Kim Woo-chang, what is the reason you moved to that village?”

“That’s…”

Anyone else would have urged him to confess that he was the culprit. But Park Do-joon induced him to talk about the parts where he felt wronged first. That way, he would trust him and show his true feelings.

‘It’s understandable that he’s angry.’

What the police said was just a brief summary.

Originally, Kim Woo-chang was a typical city person and had no dreams of returning to the countryside.

However, after his wife miraculously survived cancer, he chose to go to a place with good air for his wife, and that’s why he returned to the countryside.

But since he came, the village had been constantly pressuring him to give them money.

They saw him as a rich person from Seoul and made all sorts of excuses to ask him for money.

At first, he gave them little by little because he was worried that his wife would be stressed.

200,000 won [approximately $150 USD] for a village feast, 300,000 won [approximately $225 USD] for a senior citizen feast, 300,000 won [approximately $225 USD] for a festival.

But the demands were endless.

Then, when there were no more excuses to ask for money, they demanded 3 million won [approximately $2,250 USD], saying that he should share the cost of installing water.

‘That’s absurd.’

It was installed 25 years ago, and it was supported by the government, so it wouldn’t have cost much.

But now they’re asking for 3 million won.

Furthermore, it wasn’t like Kim Woo-chang had to build a new house and connect to groundwater.

Kim Woo-chang bought and remodeled an existing house, which meant that the person who originally lived there had already paid the installation fee.

“So the fight got bigger. I thought it was too much.”

Furthermore, what made him angry was that they were trying to exploit his wife.

His wife had cancer and returned to the countryside for recuperation.

But since she was younger than the other residents and looked fine, they called her to do farm work or village work whenever there was something to do, and even when she explained that she wasn’t feeling well, they scolded her, saying, ‘You look fine, what nonsense are you talking about?’

‘It built up and exploded.’

Eventually, voices were raised and a fight broke out, and the villagers gathered and assaulted him, and Kim Woo-chang, angry, reported them all for assault.

‘This is the truth that the police didn’t tell.’

Park Do-joon wasn’t surprised because he already knew that the local police, who were in cahoots with the local residents, would fabricate the case from the beginning.

However, the problem is what happened after that.

“So, who are the ones who mainly demanded money? Are they the nine people involved in this case?”

“Yes, it’s them. That’s why I’m suspected of killing them out of resentment.”

“So, why did you go to the village hall after that?”

“I went because the villagers were gathering there and eating something.”

“Why?”

“I was going to try to reconcile.”

Although he was angry, it’s never easy for someone who sold everything in Seoul and came down here to pack up and go back to Seoul or move to another place.

So, he went there thinking of trying to reconcile somehow.

“But what did you take with you? You know there’s CCTV, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

“You were filmed carrying a black bag…”

The police side was convinced that the bag contained pesticide.

“It’s too small to be alcohol.”

“It was money.”

“Money?”

“Yes, 5 million won [approximately $3,750 USD] in 50,000 won bills.”

He decided to offer a whopping 5 million won to reconcile.

Well, since they had already filed a lawsuit, it would be impossible to reconcile with words.

“But you went there and came back right away. Why did you do that? If you went to reconcile, shouldn’t you have waited?”

“I was going to, but I thought it would never end.”

“Never end?”

“I wondered if they would really reconcile and accept us if I gave them 5 million won this time.”

Well, that’s probably true. It started with 200,000 won at first, but the amount gradually increased. And that behavior eventually went to the level of demanding an absurd amount of 3 million won.

‘This is blatant extortion.’

Once they think they’ve caught a sucker, these types of people will never let go.

5 million won? They’ll never let it go.

Since they’re involved in a mutual assault, they only need to give money to one person, but conversely, Kim Woo-chang has to reach an agreement with each of them.

“So I came out. I didn’t think it would work.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“Did you see the water purifier in the village hall?”

“Yes, I saw it.”

“We put that in. The village asked us to. We’re still paying the rental fee.”

“Yes?”

“When I saw that, I suddenly came to my senses.”

They would demand endlessly, and they would never accept him as a member of the village.

“I see.”

Park Do-joon nodded at those words. He definitely understands psychologically.

‘And behaviorally, he’s not lying.’

When humans lie, they unknowingly show it. It’s the so-called body language. It’s what people do unconsciously when they speak, and unless someone has really practiced it and is deliberately lying, they can’t hide it.

A popularly known body language is that they look away when they lie.

So in Korea, they teach you to look away when you’re being scolded, but in foreign countries, they teach you to fix your gaze.

They think you’re not reflecting if you look away.

‘Looking at this person’s behavior pattern…’

The body language itself is not lying.

He moves his hands around while talking about his injustice. He keeps doing that even though he’s uncomfortable because he’s handcuffed.

‘That means he’s not lying.’

When humans lie, they cross their arms or try to distance themselves from the other person. But if they really want to convey something, they try to face the other person closely and the instinct to express something with their hands is manifested.

‘Verbal communication is 30%. Physical communication is 70%.’

That’s what a linguist said. That’s how much body language is uncontrollable by people and plays a role in conveying the truth.

“What did you do after that?”

“I came home. And I put the money back in the safe. And I had a shot of soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] and fell asleep.”

“What happened after that?”

“I was sleeping when the police barged in and dragged me away.”

“I understand.”

He had heard enough of the statement. And Park Do-joon was convinced while listening to it.

‘This person is not lying.’

At least there are no lies in what he said to him.

‘That means this person is not a murderer.’

He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.