My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 41

Find the Ugly Bastard

As the case truly began, Park Do-joon started his full-fledged profiling. What Park Do-joon said at the first meeting was the most basic of basics, and digging deeper wasn’t difficult.

“Let’s start with the main culprit. The main culprit probably isn’t the type who is good at handling rejection from others. He must have lived being revered by those around him.”

That’s why he’s furious at women’s rejection. In his mind, if women refuse to meet him, he strongly feels, ‘How dare you ignore me?’

“He has a strong ego but low self-esteem. At the same time, he’s likely the type who is physically fearful.”

“Wait a minute. What do you mean by physically fearful?”

“Um… I mean he’s not used to pain.”

“Are you saying he’s a coward?”

“It’s a bit different. Being a coward means being psychologically intimidated, and it’s hard for such a person to commit a rape.”

Kang Chang-soo couldn’t help but tilt his head at Park Do-joon’s words. Well, it’s not an easy thing to understand.

“To put it simply, he’ll have a considerable fear of physical pain. Considering that, there’s a possibility he hasn’t served in the military. Even if he did, he probably came out of what’s called a cushy position [an easy or privileged assignment]. Using his family’s power.”

“Is this some kind of magic?”

“Huh?”

“No, it just seems too detailed.”

Park Do-joon chuckled at Kang Chang-soo’s words. Well, he does hear these kinds of things often.

‘Profiling is in the realm of science, but…’

To someone who doesn’t know, profiling might seem like a coincidental, result-oriented miracle, but experts know it’s a science that synthesizes probability and statistics.

Even physiognomy [the art of judging character from facial features] or astrology are, strictly speaking, sciences that use statistics. It’s just that the times have changed.

“You know the reason he’s revered, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

“Then it’s strange that he’s weak to pain, right?”

“Yes.”

“Modern science has advanced, you see.”

“Huh?”

“Plastic surgery, I mean. Plastic surgery. It’s not like he doesn’t have money, and it doesn’t make sense that someone who hangs out at clubs doesn’t have time. Nevertheless, he chose the extreme option of rape instead of the rational method of plastic surgery.”

“Ah!”

If he went to a skilled doctor, it wouldn’t be difficult to make him handsome. If he has money and his status is secure, it would be easy to pick up women with just plastic surgery, but…

“That means he himself has a fear of pain.”

Especially a severe fear of physical pain.

Women get plastic surgery to become prettier, but that doesn’t mean there’s no pain.

Surprisingly, plastic surgery is painful.

But they want to be pretty even if they have to overcome that pain.

“But he didn’t.”

“What about the military?”

“Physical fear is similar in surgery or the military.”

The military is a space where men gather for the purpose of war.

In that place, physical harm such as hazing or beatings is commonplace.

“But I heard the military is better these days?”

“That’s what they said in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s.”

“……”

“What year is your canteen from?”

“1954……”

“I used a 1951 canteen.”

Park Do-joon definitely went to the military much later than Kang Chang-soo. But it’s still the same.

“The military has improved. But the military is the military.”

Physical pain isn’t just about assault. Even the obstacle course training alone is an extreme way to torment the body.

“That should be enough to identify the other party, right?”

A rich family, an ugly face, and on top of that, fearful.

“But it seems there’s a limit to tracking him down with that?”

“You can think of it the other way around.”

“What do you mean by the opposite?”

“Just find an ugly person with power, not just an ugly young man.”

“Huh?”

“From the start, this case was being concealed. What does that mean?”

He has a lot of money? If so, there are definitely advantages. He can hire expensive lawyers or give huge settlements to the victims or their families to get a favorable ruling.

“But concealing the case is a completely different political issue.”

That means this case is being judged at a fairly high level.

Even in the political realm.

And the people who can do that are limited.

“It looks the same to me……”

In the end, the police and other profilers had the same information provided.

But only Park Do-joon was able to dig this deep.

“Well, you can see it as a difference in skill.”

“A difference in skill, huh.”

Kang Chang-soo smiled bitterly and thought about who could do such a thing. And it didn’t take long for an answer to come. In fact, aside from everything else, the condition of being ugly was quite unique.

There are hardly any ugly people among politicians. Psychologically, it’s natural for votes to be concentrated on handsome people when voting.

But sometimes ugly people do become politicians.

“Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan… could it be?”

Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan. Nickname: Yakuza Boss [referring to a member of a Japanese organized crime syndicate]. It’s not a joke, he has such an intense appearance that you’d believe it if you really said that.

You can’t say he’s handsome, even with kind words.

“Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan… he certainly fits the conditions. He has a son, right? I think it was a brief issue on the internet… what was it?”

Park Do-joon pondered for a long time because he couldn’t remember for a moment. And Kang Chang-soo also pondered for a long time. That’s because it was an issue, but it was a photo with a personal picture, and it disappeared in an instant, perhaps because Kang Chang-soo had intervened.

“Ah, that’s right. It seems like it was ‘The Power of Strong Genes’.”

Kang Chang-soo nodded and said.

“There are no pictures now, but I remember seeing it back then.”

The meme ‘The Power of Strong Genes’ was attached to the photo because it clearly showed that this person was Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan’s son.

Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan is a famous politician and a hereditary member of the National Assembly who inherited his district from his father.

His family is rich, and thanks to his father, a multi-term member of the National Assembly, his wife is said to have been a very famous beauty in the area.

“But there was a saying, ‘Where did those genes go?'”

This was a carbon copy to the point where genetic testing was meaningless.

“I see. But why would the son of such a famous person do such a thing…? Did he just have bad parenting?”

“There must be some of that.”

Jeon Gu-wan himself is a three-term member of the National Assembly, and his father is a six-term member. So, the father and son have been members of the National Assembly in one district for 36 years.

“Around Jeon Gu-wan’s district, the power of the National Assembly member must be incredibly strong.”

The power of the National Assembly member itself is stronger in the city center, but in the district, the district is stronger.

What this means is that if you’re a National Assembly member in a big city, it’s easier to access vested interests and power than other National Assembly members.

But it’s the opposite when you go down to the district. National Assembly members in big cities are just National Assembly members when they go to the district, and they might be replaced next time. But in rural areas, even the postmaster of the town becomes a powerful figure, so it’s impossible to go against him in that area.

Moreover, in rural areas, people often vote out of inertia, so it’s often difficult to replace them even if someone else runs.

“It’s hard to nominate new people in such places.”

That’s because people already have the perception that someone is the ruler of that area.

In fact, there was a case where someone crossed the line, nominated someone else, and the original person ran as an independent, but in the end, the independent candidate was elected by an overwhelming margin.

“But just because that family has power, does that make him a rapist…?”

Of course, it’s common for the children of powerful families to do bad things. Because they can cover up anything anyway.

But just suspecting him based on that is another problem.

Being the target of hatred just because he has power is another kind of discrimination.

“I’m not just suspecting him based on that.”

“Huh? Then what?”

“Didn’t you say earlier that it was a brief issue on the internet?”

“There are other memes about genes besides that, aren’t there?”

In fact, there are quite a few such memes on the internet.

For example, the mother is in her 60s, the daughters are in their 40s, but they all look like they’re in their 20s, or the daughter has seven daughters and they all look like their mother, or it’s obvious that they’re the children of a star.

“That’s right. But this is a meme with a negative meaning.”

“A negative meaning?”

“To put it simply, it means that the entire nation laughed at him, saying, ‘You’re ugly.’ even if it was for a short time.”

“Ah, I didn’t think about that.”

“People don’t think about it if it’s not something they’re experiencing.”

Even if it was for a short time, the entire nation united and attacked him for being ugly?

“If he had high self-esteem, he could have used it.”

He could have acknowledged it and shown a close relationship with his father to draw his father’s votes, or he could have made his face known in advance and planned to inherit the district from his father once again.

“But he couldn’t do that.”

Jeon Gu-wan’s son, who usually knew that he wasn’t handsome, started to go completely astray because of that incident.

“It’s understandable, but……”

“Just because it’s an understandable situation doesn’t mean it’s forgivable.”

If you look at comedy programs, there are many people who make people laugh and earn money by using their ugliness as a meme, and then get married normally.

But the thought of ‘I got cursed at, so I should commit rape’ is something that ordinary people can never understand.

“But is that real……”

“We can’t know.”

Park Do-joon nodded. They can’t know for sure whether the person they’re expecting is really the culprit, or whether it’s just a coincidence that a person in a similar situation got caught.

“In that case, there’s a way.”

“There’s a way?”

“An anonymous tip.”

***

“What?”

The chief of the violent crimes unit, who received the report from Jang Chang-soo, asked again.

“We received an anonymous tip.”

“An anonymous tip?”

“Yes, they know who the perpetrator of the company incident is.”

“What are you talking about? That was passed on as unsolved, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right. But the same victim has occurred again. The method seems to be the same.”

The anonymous informant said that someone had given them alcohol at a club, and after that, their memory was cut off. But they regained consciousness in the middle and gave a tip that they saw the face of the perpetrator at that time.

“But why is that an anonymous tip?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know why they didn’t tell the story, but they say they know for sure who it is.”

“They know who it is?”

“Yes, they saw it on the internet.”

“Who is it?”

“They won’t tell me. But they say they’ll give me evidence if I come to where they are.”

“Really? Let’s go together.”

The team leader hurriedly got up from his seat.

But Kang Chang-soo clearly drew a line.

“They told me to come alone.”

“Come alone? Why?”

“They know that I’ve been tracking this case for years.”

So, the only person they can trust is Kang Chang-soo. The team leader frowned at the words, but he didn’t say anything. He can’t ignore the informant’s opinion.

In fact, some informants are burdened by that. Especially when the other party is a powerful person or a celebrity.