My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 341

The biggest reason is that selling organs is far more profitable than killing people for meat. From a purely financial standpoint, creating and selling human meat simply doesn’t make sense.

This doesn’t mean the claim that China doesn’t consume human meat is entirely accurate, but rather that experts consider organ trafficking to be the more likely scenario.

“However, there are things like human meat capsules, but those are considered medicine, at least from a Chinese perspective.”

Human meat capsules are made by processing stillborn babies into medicine for sale. It’s not about actively killing people, but about grinding up stillborn or aborted fetuses and encapsulating them for perceived health benefits, a practice the government doesn’t deny.

Actual cases have been exposed through investigative broadcasts. Stillborn or aborted fetuses aren’t profitable for organ trafficking, so they’re sold in this manner.

“Ugh.”

Lee Ji-soo looked like she was about to be sick.

“It’s a grim reality, but we need to differentiate. To the average person, eating human meat is an unspeakable crime, but if profilers like us can’t distinguish motives, we can’t track down the culprit.”

Historically, there have been instances of people consuming human meat. I can’t deny its existence. However, it’s almost never a cultural norm, and it’s practically vanished in modern times.

“In other words, it’s either a mental disorder acted out by someone with a cannibalistic fantasy, or a tool for a criminal to flaunt their cruelty.”

However, if the goal was to display cruelty, they wouldn’t hide in the first place. Therefore, the culprit is likely an addict with a fantasy centered around human meat.

“Addiction?”

“According to historical accounts, human meat is said to have a unique taste.”

Of course, the taste as meat itself is unremarkable, but the unique aroma is what stimulates cannibals.

“Could they be someone who commits violent acts?”

“No, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that way this time.”

Not all cannibals are insane or exhibit sadistic and violent behavior. Although, many notorious cannibals throughout history do display such tendencies.

“For those individuals, cannibalism is the ultimate pleasure derived from consuming the person they killed. It’s like a trophy.”

In fact, some serial killers keep parts of the victim’s body or belongings as trophies. They derive pleasure and satisfaction from possessing them.

“But even that has its limits.”

Initially, they enjoy reliving the memory, but as time passes and it becomes commonplace, they seek new targets and trophies.

The time they spend reliving their pleasure with the victim’s belongings is the psychological cooling-off period. Naturally, like with any addictive substance, that period shortens over time.

Consequently, the intervals between murders decrease, and the number of victims increases.

“But this is Cheongdam [a wealthy district in Seoul], not some back alley. It’s not a place where violent tendencies would go unnoticed. If they were that violent, the media would likely have already exposed them.”

Of course, wealthy individuals can conceal their darker sides. However, there’s a significant difference between being rude and tormenting someone to the point of killing them.

It’s not just about raising your voice or getting angry; it involves physical actions like kidnapping or torture.

“Then that leaves only one possibility: someone who genuinely has a fantasy about the act of cannibalism itself.”

The most well-known examples are the Japanese cannibalistic killers, Issei Sagawa and Tsutomu Miyazaki. Both were cannibalistic killers, but otherwise, they didn’t display overtly aggressive tendencies.

And the common thread between the two was their intense fantasy surrounding the act of cannibalism.

“The problem is that the average person doesn’t realize that.”

Cannibalism cases have occurred in the United States, Russia, China, and Japan. But can we confidently say that Korea is entirely immune?

“So, there’s a high probability that this case is similar?”

“Likely.”

Park Do-joon reviewed the documents once more and said,

“According to the coroner, the victim is a male in his early 20s and appears to be Korean.”

“Yes, then there’s a strong possibility that the culprit has a fantasy about men in that age range.”

“About men?”

“It’s true that male cannibalistic killers are more common, but female cannibalistic killers do exist.”

Mental illness doesn’t discriminate based on gender. However, men are statistically more likely to use extreme force than women.

If a man tries to overpower a woman, most women have limited means of resistance.

“But it’s not impossible for a woman to deceive and subdue someone.”

Park Do-joon pondered this for a moment. A case suspected to be the first of its kind in Korea. Moreover, given that it occurred in Cheongdam-dong, the culprit is likely wealthy.

“From my perspective, the culprit is likely a woman. It’s common to have cannibalistic fantasies about the opposite sex.”

In fact, examining the inner lives of Japan’s two notorious cannibalistic killers reveals that their fantasies about cannibalism were the core issue.

Issei Sagawa had a cannibalistic fantasy about a woman who showed him kindness, and Tsutomu Miyazaki had a cannibalistic fantasy about underage girls who comforted him. His mental illness manifested in that direction.

“So, someone being nice to you can actually be a trigger for murder?”

Song Pil-man’s eyes widened at Park Do-joon’s words.

“Yes.”

“No, that… is that even possible?”

“That’s why we’re considered crazy.”

Others express gratitude when someone is kind to them; they don’t contemplate eating them.

“The problem is that these individuals are difficult to track down.”

“Difficult to track down?”

“Yes, one of the characteristics of these criminals is their extremely poor communication skills.”

In fact, Issei Sagawa and Tsutomu Miyazaki both exhibited significant social isolation due to their communication difficulties.

“It’s somewhat different from the violent tendencies displayed by European and American cannibalistic killers.”

Park Do-joon repeatedly emphasized the cultural influences on crime. This type of case is a prime example.

“An isolated person…”

Song Pil-man looked disgusted at the thought of an isolated woman. It would be nearly impossible to find them. But Park Do-joon had considered all of this and prepared a profile based on it.

“Of course, it’s not entirely hopeless. The culprit is probably a pretty woman. And there’s a very high chance she’s had plastic surgery.”

“…?”

“Detective, this is Cheongdam-dong.”

Cheongdam-dong: Korea’s plastic surgery mecca. Hundreds of clinics are located in this area alone.

“I know. But we still need to narrow it down.”

“Plastic surgery? How do you know?”

“I told you they’re an isolated type, right? And the victim is a man.”

“Yes.”

“It’s easy for women to seduce men, but it’s difficult to subdue them at the same time.”

You can seduce them and take them out, but no one is going to die just because you suddenly hold a knife to their throat and say, ‘Die!’

“In fact, women often use alcohol or drugs to incapacitate men.”

Once they’re incapacitated, killing them isn’t difficult.

“But would a man drink to the point of incapacitation with someone who isn’t his type?”

Of course, they could use [Rohypnol] roofies or other drugs, but regardless, the process of a man and a woman consuming something together is essential.

“Moreover, this can’t be done in a public restaurant.”

There are too many eyes to drug someone’s food or drink, and even if they succeed, they’ll inevitably be caught on CCTV when they leave.

“In other words, a private space where the two are alone. Probably a motel or something. And the fact that a man and a woman go to a motel together implies that the woman’s appearance matched the man’s preferences.”

After that, it’s easy to eliminate them. After incapacitating someone with alcohol or drugs, they can simply put them in their car and drive away.

“But if you look at it that way, a contradiction arises. I said, right? The culprit is someone who leads an isolated life and has poor social and communication skills.”

“Well, in the world of women, appearance is also a hierarchy.”

Lee Ji-soo nodded in understanding. A pretty woman is either the center of attention or likely ostracized.

“And women with unattractive appearances are not protected anywhere.”

If she’s pretty and popular, her communication skills can’t be poor. If she’s pretty and ostracized, men will gather to protect her.

She might be socially awkward and a bit dark, but the likelihood of her having a cannibalistic fantasy about men and acting on it is low.

“And cannibalism is an extreme form of mental illness, even among human mental disorders. It doesn’t just manifest because someone had a tough time in school.”

A single act of kindness offered in a situation where there is truly nothing else. This kind of mental illness arises when the obsession with that kindness is twisted to the extreme.

“Someone being kind to you, regardless of appearance, could be the trigger.”

“That’s right.”

Issei Sagawa and Tsutomu Miyazaki were similar cases. Issei Sagawa was isolated and bullied in France because of his poor social skills and being an uncommon Asian at the time. When the victim felt sorry for him and treated him well, his mental illness turned in that direction. Tsutomu Miyazaki developed a distorted possessiveness towards children when underage children with no prejudice comforted him while he was crying in an isolated situation.

“So, the first victim, could it be…?”

“You never know. In fact, substitutability is a strong factor in these cases.”

There’s a desire to kill and eat someone who is kind to you, but it’s also difficult to kill and approach that person. Furthermore, if it’s someone who has had plastic surgery, as Park Do-joon suspects, the man probably knows her real appearance, so she can’t secretly eliminate him.

“Moreover, there’s a high possibility that people around them know about that target.”

They went out together, and the man disappeared? Then, of course, the woman who went out with him will be the first suspect.

“So, they’ll look for someone who can replace them.”

“Well, it’s not difficult to find such a man on the internet, is it?”

My Job is Profiler