My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 351

The World of Devils

Oh Bang-hwan felt like he was losing his mind. Kwon Kang-won, of all people, was dead. And the most suspicious individual in the situation was, undeniably, himself.

“No, I didn’t kill him.”

“If it wasn’t you, then who did?!”

The police were aggressively investigating Kwon Kang-won’s death from the outset. They had no choice. Oh Bang-hwan had suffered losses because of Kwon Kang-won, paid a hefty fine because of him, and nearly ended up in jail. He’d managed to avoid imprisonment by paying a substantial bribe, but that didn’t guarantee his complete safety.

“I’m going crazy. Why would I kill that bastard?”

Kwon Kang-won might feel aggrieved, but eliminating a guy like that in this area was insignificant. Oh Bang-hwan was a local big shot, and in South Korea, a local big shot wielded power akin to a regional president.

“You, do you even know the gravity of this case…?”

“Hey, you son of a bitch! Do you know who this man is?!”

As the police officer raised his voice, someone approached and struck him on the back of the head.

“Chairman Oh, are you alright?”

“Chief Oh, who is this bastard?”

“He’s a newbie who just transferred here and doesn’t understand the local customs.”

“No, how can they pin this on me like this?”

“Now, now, I’m sorry. Let’s go to the chief’s office. Have a cup of tea.”

As the chief acted like he would do anything to appease Oh Bang-hwan, the officer who had been hit in the back of the head protested.

“Chief, this isn’t right. Who is the most suspicious person right now?”

“You bastard, why would Chairman Oh kill a nobody when he has everything?”

“What?”

“Hey. Does the chairman lack money? Does he lack influence? He’s a man dedicated to education and the development of this region. Do you think he would care about a teacher who just snitches?”

“That’s…”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“No.”

“It’s illegal to just shut up and beat someone without evidence, you bastard.”

The officer was silenced. It was true, after all.

“See, that’s why you get demoted, tsk tsk. Chairman Oh, come this way. I’ll treat you to a cup of tea.”

“Ahem, these guys who don’t know the local ways are a real problem.”

Only then did Oh Bang-hwan reveal his resentment and swagger away. Watching him, the officer cursed.

“Ah, shit.”

“See? I told you not to mess with Oh Bang-hwan.”

“Chief, is this normal?”

“Hey, Detective Kim needs to learn the rules of this area. How long are you going to be like this?”

“Ugh!”

Detective Kim sighed as he watched his chief walk away, grumbling.

“Shit, should I quit?”

He had been demoted here from his previous post for offending a higher-up. But this place was even dirtier than that, and he couldn’t adapt at all.

“Detective Kim, why are you out here?”

Jung Yi-yeon approached Detective Kim, who was outside smoking a cigarette to relieve his frustration, and asked him a question.

“Ah, Attorney Jung.”

“Did you get chewed out by the higher-ups again?”

“Ah, well, they told me not to investigate that bastard Oh Bang-hwan. Haa~ shit.”

Detective Kim scratched his head while holding a cigarette in his mouth.

“Ah, is that so?”

Jung Yi-yeon had a strange expression on her face at those words. That was because she had heard from Park Do-joon that the corrupt higher-ups were actually right in this case.

“But why are you here at this hour? I told you that I would contact you separately if there were any special circumstances. It’s difficult if you keep coming here.”

“No, well, I was just thinking of offering some help…”

“Help? A lawyer can’t interfere with a police investigation.”

“I’m not a lawyer, I’m a police officer, so it’s okay.”

Park Do-joon, who happened to be approaching, walked up to him, extended his hand, and shook hands.

“I’m Detective Park Do-joon from the Metropolitan Profiling Team.”

“Metropolitan Profiling Team? Ah, I’m sorry. I’m Detective Kim Man-hyuk. But I didn’t submit a case to you?”

“The case was submitted through Moonlight Law Firm.”

“Ugh, this is still interference, but…”

“Well, we’re trying to catch the real culprit, so please bear with us. I’m a police officer too.”

“Even if you’re a police officer…”

Kim Man-hyuk wasn’t entirely happy because the chief, who acted like he would do anything to appease Oh Bang-hwan, was also a police officer in the end.

“Of course, I don’t have any personal gains or motives. As I said, I’m a profiler and a person who pursues the truth.”

“Even if you’re a profiler, isn’t the culprit obvious?”

Who else but Oh Bang-hwan would kill Kwon Kang-won? In fact, the students and other people around him all had good feelings about Kwon Kang-won. There were hardly any real teachers like him.

The only ones who disliked him were Oh Bang-hwan and some teachers who were punished for manipulating grades in connection with the case he reported, but the only one among them who didn’t have an alibi was Oh Bang-hwan.

“That’s why I came. And sometimes, preconceptions can ruin an investigation.”

“Are you saying that I’m investigating with preconceptions?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Ugh.”

Kim Man-hyuk couldn’t deny those words. It wasn’t a lie, after all. He actually had some preconceptions.

“But instinctively, that guy is the culprit.”

“Oh Bang-hwan is a bad guy. That’s an undeniable fact. But that’s not proof that he’s a murderer.”

“Aren’t you the same? You’re doing this because that guy has some money, right?”

“It doesn’t make sense to pin an unfair crime on someone just because they have money.”

Kim Man-hyuk frowned at those words. Seeing Kim Man-hyuk, Park Do-joon smiled wryly.

“Of course, I’m not saying you’re a bad police officer. But sometimes, objective neutrality is also necessary for the police.”

“But my gut feeling is…”

“Gut feeling can give you direction. But can you tell the difference between gut feeling and preconception?”

“Shit, I can’t say anything.”

Kim Man-hyuk crumpled his cigarette and threw it away in annoyance, as he was refuted every time he spoke. But he didn’t get angry. As Park Do-joon said, not everything he did was right.

“Then let’s hear about that profiling or whatever. Are you saying that Oh Bang-hwan isn’t the culprit in your eyes?”

“Yes.”

“Simply because he’s rich?”

Park Do-joon shook his head at those words. How nice would it be if he could judge so easily?

But it wasn’t that simple, and it wasn’t that complicated either.

“It’s not the money; it’s the behavior that’s the problem.”

“Behavior?”

“Oh Bang-hwan hasn’t hired a lawyer yet.”

“So? Maybe he thinks he can cover up his case this time too, right?”

“Is that really the case? His behavior pattern is quite different compared to previous cases.”

“Different cases?”

“It’s his first murder case, but it’s not the first time Oh Bang-hwan has appeared at the police station.”

Oh Bang-hwan had been investigated by the police several times for manipulating grades. And every time, Oh Bang-hwan appeared with a huge number of lawyers. So the police were too busy dealing with the lawyers to interrogate Oh Bang-hwan.

“But this time, he came without a single lawyer.”

“So?”

“Do you know what people misunderstand?”

“What?”

“The belief that the police, no, the public authority will protect good people.”

Detective Kim Man-hyuk frowned at those words. It was a very unpleasant thing to say as a police officer. But he couldn’t argue that it was wrong. When he thought about it, he was digging into Oh Bang-hwan simply because of his gut feeling.

“Are you saying that Oh Bang-hwan also thinks that way?”

“It’s a preconception. And he probably also thinks, ‘Who would dare to pin a crime on me when I didn’t actually kill him?'”

“Just that?”

“Oh Bang-hwan isn’t a person without money. But at the same time, he’s also a person who is greedy for money.”

Did he receive hundreds of millions of won when he manipulated the grades? No. It was only around 10 million won [approximately $7,500 USD]. At most, it was about 20 million won [approximately $15,000 USD].

“But in a murder case, the lawyer fees are expensive even if he’s innocent.”

Park Do-joon said that and looked at Jung Yi-yeon.

“How much would you charge if it were you?”

“If it’s Moonlight, we’d probably ask for about 30 million won [approximately $22,500 USD].”

“That expensive?”

“Of course, there are standards set by law, but this kind of case is about protecting someone with money. Of course, we’d form a super-luxury defense team, right? 30 million won here is excluding former judges. If we start adding former judges, this money won’t be enough.”

And that minimum amount would probably be around 30 million won. Depending on the situation, it could exceed hundreds of millions.

“Even if that person was framed?”

“That’s right. Being suspected of murder has nothing to do with that.”

That’s why he probably didn’t hire a lawyer this time because he didn’t want to spend his money.

“So you’re saying that he’s not a murderer simply because he didn’t hire a lawyer?”

“That’s just one of many reasons. The biggest reason is that he doesn’t have an alibi.”

Usually, not having an alibi is itself a suspicious matter. But he doesn’t have an alibi, so he’s not the culprit?

“What?”

“He has money and power. If he wanted to kill someone, wouldn’t he hire someone to kill them instead of doing it himself?”

It was a simple statement, but at the same time, it was the most logical statement. That’s normal, logically speaking. Of course, Kim Man-hyuk had something to say.

“Are you kidding me? What, does anyone hire people to kill other people? There has to be a line.”

“That’s my point. Oh Bang-hwan is the head of a school foundation. He doesn’t have connections with hitmen. So in the end, what’s left is for him to move himself and commit murder.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Isn’t that bastard the one who killed him?”

“What benefit would he get from doing that?”

“Benefit?”

“There are several types of crimes, but the purpose of crime is largely divided into two categories: revenge and gain.”

In fact, most crimes are committed for the purpose of revenge or gain. Some criminals commit crimes that don’t fit that, but those are usually treated as abnormal crimes.

Committing crimes to save face, or committing crimes for friendship.

Sometimes, people commit crimes without any purpose at all, and those crimes are called crimes due to abnormal causes.

“But in Oh Bang-hwan’s case, all the crimes he has committed so far are related to profit. But in Kwon Kang-won’s case, it’s revenge. You’re a police officer, so you know, right? It’s extremely rare for a criminal’s tendencies to suddenly change. Especially if that criminal has a lot to lose.”

“Ugh.”

Kim Man-hyuk couldn’t deny those words. That was true. Criminals don’t suddenly change. For example, thieves only steal. If they sneak in to steal and there’s someone there, they’ll be startled and run away. They don’t suddenly threaten them with a knife and rob them.

A Professional Profiler