My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 318

In reality, most celebrities experience such generational shifts. No matter how popular they are, as time passes, the next generation will inevitably rise.

‘But Singal-dong is recognized as a criminal, huh?’

That implies Singal-dong was likely investigated for some crime, and in the process, the Seven Days case was exposed.

‘But still, it doesn’t quite add up?’

Of course, it’s possible. It’s common practice to question a captured criminal about other potential offenses.

‘But that’s not quite right. Realistically, pursuing additional crimes is difficult, and proving them is even harder.’

For instance, imagine someone causing a fatal accident while driving under the influence. Naturally, the police will inquire about other possible crimes.

However, according to Lee Jung-yeon, from the moment the accident occurs, at least three lawyers will rush to the defense.

Even attempting to pursue additional charges without solid evidence is futile.

Moreover, few would confidently pursue further accusations when facing the might of Shinguk Ilbo, a powerful media group.

‘That’s how investigations truly unfold.’

Pursue additional crimes? Realistically, with a lawyer involved, it’s practically impossible.

Naturally, Park Do-joon would remember Seven Days as simply fading into obscurity due to a lack of popularity. He didn’t directly interfere, and realistically, it’s impossible for the police to obtain evidence of him using threats to obstruct the singer’s activities.

‘Then the possibility is that he was directly involved.’

That’s the only way the police would investigate Seven Days, and Park Do-joon would recognize it as a crime.

‘Directly involved… Then rape? No, that’s unlikely.’

It’s not that he’s incapable of such an act. However, in reality, even if someone like Singal-dong commits rape, the crime is rarely exposed. Even if the victim is a famous girl group like Seven Days, the media would likely remain silent.

‘No, wait. Let’s rethink this. Why did I recognize this as a crime?’

Whatever he did, Shinguk Ilbo would have suppressed it, and given the nature of the Korean media, they wouldn’t report it.

In fact, there was a case where a reporter beat another reporter to death – a cruel act of shoving his face into a boiling pot because he disliked him – yet the media remained silent, and the public was unaware.

Each media outlet has its own slant and competes, but there’s an unspoken rule against targeting media figures. Being the child of a family with Shinguk Ilbo’s power makes one virtually untouchable.

“Hmm.”

“Sunbae [senior colleague], what are you pondering so deeply?”

“Oh, nothing. It just seems Shinguk Ilbo would cover up anything.”

“They would. Honestly, no matter how hard Sunbae tries, nothing will appear in the media unless Shinguk Ilbo is in a truly precarious situation.”

“Precarious? Is there any chance Shinguk Ilbo will be in danger?”

“Well, it’s true they’ve lost some influence compared to the past.”

There was a time when 70% of the nation watched Shinguk Ilbo, but now it’s less than 20%.

“From the beginning, why did Shinguk Ilbo cling to a general programming channel? It’s because their influence as a newspaper has diminished.”

“That’s true. But Shinguk Broadcasting doesn’t have very high viewership ratings either, does it?”

“Well, you can guess what those guys are thinking, so there’s nothing we can do.”

Even though general programming channels have become established, Shinguk Broadcasting is the only one struggling with viewership. Some broadcasts even surpass terrestrial channels, but Shinguk Broadcasting has received so many warnings from the Korea Communications Standards Commission that its channel identity is heavily skewed.

‘Later, their broadcasting license was almost revoked… Oh? Now that I think about it, there was such a time?’

General programming channels are legally required to have a certain level of programming, comprehensively including dramas, news, entertainment, and animation in specific proportions. That’s why it’s a general programming channel, not a current affairs channel.

However, Shinguk Broadcasting hardly adhered to that. To be exact, they couldn’t. Because the broadcasting station itself was so biased, and that bias affected the programs, good outsourced programs avoided Shinguk Broadcasting, creating a vicious cycle of financial losses and declining production quality.

‘Later, there was news of a potential sale, probably?’

It reached a point where they ambitiously entered broadcasting but had to sell due to losses. It was a financial black hole for the newspaper.

In reality, who would watch a program constantly spouting a specific ideology, even if it’s labeled as entertainment? However, they later reduced such programs, expanded broadcasts aimed at the elderly, and attempted to remove political colors except for current affairs, eventually managing to stabilize.

‘That was a tough time, really. Wait, maybe…….’

Park Do-joon had told Lee Ji-soo, “Revenge is patience. If you wait and look for an opportunity, there will be a chance to turn things around.”

‘I told her the best timing is when their power is waning.’

And if Park Do-joon’s memory is accurate, there’s definitely a point when Shinguk Broadcasting loses its power and falters. He remembers it clearly because it’s not a crime-related incident.

However, at that time, Shinguk Broadcasting invested heavily in attracting talented PDs [production directors], and they survived by creating several successful programs with them.

‘But there is a weakened moment, right.’

And what if someone targeted that weakened moment?

“I think I know who targeted it.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“No, never mind. First, find out about that Singal-dong.”

“It’s not difficult to find out. But it will be difficult to punish him.”

“I know. But I think there might be another way, so find out first.”

Park Do-joon was contemplating meeting the man who would commit the act – no, take revenge – before anything happened.

Park Do-joon immediately contacted his manager and arranged a meeting with the president of Chamgru Entertainment. Looking at his face, he was certain.

‘This is the person.’

They say a person’s life is visible on their face. Of course, Park Do-joon doesn’t believe in physiognomy [the art of judging character from facial features]. But a person’s actions reveal their beliefs, and those beliefs are also reflected in their expression.

“I heard from the manager. But there’s nothing the police can do, is there?”

Cha Ji-seung, the president of Chamgru Entertainment, drew a firm line, his face filled with anger.

‘Anger…….’

I wonder how long that anger will last? I don’t know, but the more intense the anger, the greater the possibility of revenge.

‘I can’t take revenge right away, but.’

He will take revenge later. Moreover, judging from the situation, the members of Seven Days are completely unaware of this situation.

That means he is doing his best to protect them without telling them. In other words, he is likely the type who doesn’t compromise his beliefs.

If he were someone who prioritized money, he would have coaxed the Seven Days members into providing entertainment.

In this industry, there are plenty of those guys, and all the Seven Days members are adults.

“I know. There are limits to solving it with the power of the police. But as a profiler, I might be able to find a way.”

“The other party is a media conglomerate. What can we do now?”

‘Not now.’

Even though he said there was no way, the anger on Cha Ji-seung’s face did not disappear.

‘He’s the kind of person who might look for an opportunity to strike later.’

In this situation, various emotions are bound to be revealed on a person’s face: feelings of despair or regret.

But on Cha Ji-seung’s face, anger was stronger than despair, and there was almost no regret.

“If Seven Days disappears, what will happen to Chamgru?”

“It will go bankrupt as it is.”

Cha Ji-seung smiled bitterly, and then a hint of regret appeared on his face. Seeing that, Park Do-joon was convinced.

‘This is the person.’

He probably attacked Singal-dong at some point. He would have attacked Singal-dong when Shinguk Ilbo was weakened and in danger, and Singal-dong would have judged that his position was in danger.

‘And the time when the general programming channel is in danger is the time when Singal-dong is in danger.’

If Park Do-joon’s memory is correct, Shinguk Broadcasting will be in danger in about two years. And if there’s talk of bankruptcy, someone has to take responsibility.

‘And Singal-dong is the executive director.’

In fact, he is virtually the same as the president because he is a member of the chairman’s family. If he had properly managed the company, there would have been no talk of bankruptcy, so Singal-dong’s position would inevitably become unstable at that time.

It’s not like a chaebol [family-owned conglomerate] family will go bankrupt just because one company does, but the amount of money invested in Shinguk Broadcasting was so enormous that it couldn’t be seen as just a ‘small loss.’

‘Is the target of revenge Singal-dong?’

If he reveals the Seven Days case at the exact moment when they are weakened, the already bad position of Shinguk Broadcasting and Singal-dong will plummet to the bottom.

‘And an investigation related to that was conducted. But I don’t know why it came to my ears.’

No matter how much Cha Ji-seung looked for an opportunity, it’s still questionable that Park Do-joon knows. Even if he talks about it, the media wouldn’t publish an article, so if he knows, it means it should have turned into a case.

In fact, in the original history, the case was full of tragedy.

In the original history, Seven Days didn’t listen to Singal-dong, and he completely blocked Seven Days’ broadcasts and events. In the end, Seven Days couldn’t appear anywhere and was forgotten.

In fact, if it had ended there, it wouldn’t have been a tragedy. But Singal-dong tried to take revenge on Cha Ji-seung and Seven Days for not listening to him and relentlessly harassed them.

In the process, a member who had been a victim of bullying in the past couldn’t overcome the psychological pain and chose to commit suicide.

Cha Ji-seung, shocked by that fact, was burning with revenge and tried to reveal what Singal-dong had done.

At that time, Shinguk Broadcasting’s re-approval issue became urgent, and Singal-dong’s position was also precarious due to that responsibility, so it was the time when Singal-dong’s power was the weakest, which had a stronger impact on Singal-dong than expected.

And to protect his position and cover up the case, Singal-dong used a method of directly attacking Cha Ji-seung.

At that time, Cha Ji-seung was murdered by someone, and Park Do-joon suspected Singal-dong’s contract killing, but due to the power of Shinguk Ilbo and the pressure from above, he was unable to finish the investigation.

However, Park Do-joon can’t know that.

But Park Do-joon intuitively knew that something would happen to Cha Ji-seung if things continued like this.

A Natural-Born Profiler