My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 45

“So, you’re saying he uses fear to control the guys in the area, making them his underlings?”

“That’s right. Bullies usually do that. Isn’t that what they call a ‘shuttle’ [someone who runs errands and is generally exploited]?”

That’s definitely true. They’re proud to have shuttles.

They don’t care about other people’s lives. All that matters is being able to bully, exploit, and use others.

“So, we’re starting with the school.”

Could this kind of relationship have formed so quickly?

Of course not.

“There must be records at the school.”

***

Kang Chang-soo went to the high school that Jeon Bu-man had graduated from and asked if he could see his student record. But, of course, the school refused, citing the lack of a warrant. Nevertheless, they continued to argue their case.

“Jeon Bu-man wasn’t that kind of student. He was dedicated to his studies and worked so hard. He had good relationships with his friends, and they trusted and followed him.”

“That’s right. Jeon Bu-man was the class president and even the student body president in his third year. There’s no way he would commit a crime.”

The teachers at the school desperately defended him, and even Kang Chang-soo began to wonder if they were investigating in the wrong direction.

But Park Do-joon sneered at the teachers who were so vehemently defending him.

“Don’t play word games. Aren’t you ashamed as educators?”

“No, what are we doing?”

“We’re just telling the truth.”

“I don’t know when the word ‘truth’ started to mean lies.”

“What do you know?”

The teachers flared up, and Park Do-joon sneered at them as he said,

“There’s a contradiction in your words.”

“A contradiction?”

“Jeon Bu-man is a high school graduate.”

“Yes?”

“He was good at studying, class president, and even school president. Moreover, this is a rural area.”

Universities have regional quotas [a system designed to ensure representation from different geographic areas]. Since rural areas lag behind Seoul in terms of educational infrastructure and private education, they give some extra points through regional quotas.

“Isn’t that strange? Besides, his father is a famous politician. Why couldn’t someone like that go to college?”

“Huh?”

At that point, it’s stranger if he *didn’t* go.

“Even if his grades were just average, the university could have boosted his interview score. In fact, the children of powerful people often get into prestigious universities that way.”

Moreover, there are many local universities around here. Among them, there are some that are considered prestigious, and there’s even one quite famous university in Jeon Gu-wan’s district.

“But he didn’t go, which means…?”

“It’s beyond the level that could be covered up.”

During election season, the opposition will try to latch onto anything and tear it apart.

Of course, their children’s grades and college admissions are one of the main targets.

People in Korea are very sensitive about that.

“They claim that even with average grades, admission is possible due to high interview scores, but what if that’s not the case?”

If the other side latches onto the lies, it’s certain that a college admission scandal will break out because his grades were so bad.

So, if his grades were so low, even Jeon Gu-wan couldn’t send Jeon Bu-man to college.

He couldn’t create a weakness for himself.

“Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan wouldn’t do such a thing! You haven’t even seen Jeon Bu-man’s records in the first place, have you?”

The man, who appeared to be the principal, raised his voice as if he was angry. Park Do-joon coldly retorted to his words.

“That’s why there’s a contradiction. If Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan handled things cleanly, then he competed fairly with students of the same level. But in the end, he couldn’t go to college. Then, we can’t help but suspect a lack of academic ability.”

The teachers couldn’t say anything to Park Do-joon’s words. Because Park Do-joon was right. Jeon Bu-man couldn’t be described as good at studying, even with kind words.

They tried everything. They raised his performance evaluation scores and even had a teacher secretly go to his house to tutor him and give him the test questions.

But Jeon Bu-man’s grades were still at the bottom.

From the beginning, Jeon Bu-man had no desire to study.

“As you know, the total number of freshmen in universities nationwide is now slightly less than the total number of high school graduates.”

So, that means that unless you’re completely brain-dead, you can go to college.

“But he didn’t even go. Or rather, *couldn’t* he go?”

“……”

The teachers couldn’t respond to Park Do-joon’s words.

Park Do-joon got up from his seat and said to Kang Chang-soo.

“Let’s go. It’s certain that we don’t have a warrant anyway.”

No matter how logically right they are, they have no way to see his student record or grades without a legal warrant.

The two of them glanced back at the faculty room as they left. Then, Kang Chang-soo came up and asked.

“What do you mean he couldn’t go? I know there are some local universities that don’t even have a cut-off line?”

“Ah, of course, that’s true.”

Realistically, the number of students has decreased so much that some local universities have a severe shortage, and you can get in just by submitting an application.

“What I meant by ‘couldn’t go’ isn’t a matter of grades, but a matter of management.”

“Management?”

“Didn’t they say he was the class president and even the student body president?”

“Yes, they did.”

“Then he *could* go anywhere. But Jeon Gu-wan didn’t send him because he was afraid he would cause trouble there.”

They didn’t show Park Do-joon and Kang Chang-soo his student record, but in fact, they provided much more useful information than that.

“Maybe his grades and student record aren’t properly written either.”

Direct manipulation of grades would be difficult, but they would definitely give him perfect scores on performance evaluations.

“Well, the records in his student record will also be packaged as favorably as possible.”

Kang Chang-soo clicked his tongue at Park Do-joon’s words. He didn’t know they could extract so much information from their actions.

“And their actions told us one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Fear. They fear Jeon Gu-wan.”

“Yes? How did you know?”

“We only asked if we could see Jeon Bu-man’s student record.”

And they could have just said they couldn’t show it without a warrant. In fact, that’s true.

“We didn’t mention any crimes, we only mentioned our identities.”

“And?”

“But they desperately tried to protect Jeon Bu-man. Is it normal for all the teachers, not just one or two, to do that?”

If it was the homeroom teacher, who was his direct teacher, he might do that out of pity. But later, even the vice-principal stepped in to desperately defend him. In fact, how often would the vice-principal directly face a student?

“They were trying to protect Jeon Bu-man. What kind of mind did that protection come from?”

Because they’re kind? That’s not possible. If that were the case, things wouldn’t have come this far.

“It’s fear of Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan.”

“That’s right.”

If he said just one word to the Office of Education, he could wipe out this school.

“This school is a private school. If necessary, he can even replace the chairman of the board.”

So they desperately defended him and tried to protect him.

“Then it seems like we can’t get help from the school.”

“It doesn’t matter. Going to the school was just a way to maintain the pretense that we’re targeting Jeon Bu-man.”

“Yes? Then how are you going to find the other criminals?”

Kang Chang-soo was surprised because he was trying to see the records of people related to Jeon Bu-man or get help from the teachers.

“I told you, it’s a gang. And the purpose wasn’t rape in the first place.”

Park Do-joon pointed to the stores in front of the school as he left.

“This kind of rural area is very small.”

***

“Jeon Bu-man? That son of a bitch?”

The merchant in front of the school frowned as soon as Jeon Bu-man’s name came up. She was selling various snacks to the students.

“Do you know anything?”

From the beginning, Park Do-joon knew that he wouldn’t be able to get information from the school.

So, from the beginning, he targeted the merchant in front of the school. If they had been hanging out together since high school as expected, the people doing business in front would likely know.

Of course, if he had been attending normally, they wouldn’t know who he was.

“Don’t even mention it. I’ve never seen such a dog-like bastard in my life.”

Listening to the old woman’s words, it didn’t seem like he had been attending school normally.

“What happened?”

“That guy is a gangster, not a student. He’s rotten to the core.”

It wasn’t just once or twice that he gave his name at a nearby store and ate on credit.

“There are often kids like that, aren’t there?”

“There are. To be honest, if you become friends with the kids while doing business here, you get to know their faces.”

If you do business in front of the school, you see a lot of things. Which kids are dating, which kids are good at studying, which kids are rude……

“Honestly, I’m the same, but credit? I can give it. Close kids sometimes get credit.”

“But?”

“But this bastard doesn’t think about paying it back.”

“Hmm……”

It doesn’t seem like Jeon Bu-man doesn’t have money. Jeon Gu-wan probably gives Jeon Bu-man a generous allowance.

‘It seems like he didn’t intend to give it back in the first place.’

As expected, the whole story came out in the next words.

“Do you see that Flower Blossom Snack Bar down there?”

“Yes.”

“It seems like he ran up about 4 million won [approximately $3,000 USD] in credit there.”

“4 million won?”

“Yeah. It’s understandable. It’s not like he’s eating alone, his gang comes and eats.”

Finally, the information he was looking for came out. Information related to the gang. As soon as that information came out, Kang Chang-soo perked up his ears.

“How many people are in that gang?”

“Well, it varies depending on the situation. Sometimes six people. Sometimes seven people. Well, there were about four guys who always stuck together?”

Those guys went to the store and ate on credit in Jeon Bu-man’s name, so 4 million won was quickly filled.

“Is that so? But why aren’t they open now?”

In a little while, the children will be coming out of school. Of course, around this time, they should be boiling tteokbokki [spicy rice cakes] and frying tempura [battered and deep-fried vegetables or seafood] in advance, but Flower Blossom Snack Bar was closed with the shutters down and not moving.

“That’s why he’s a son of a bitch. 4 million won is too much.”

And it’s not exactly a secret that Jeon Bu-man’s father is Jeon Gu-wan. He told them himself that his father is Jeon Gu-wan.

So the owner of Flower Blossom Snack Bar contacted the district office, told them the situation, and asked for money.

“So they didn’t give it to him?”

“They gave it to him.”

That was good so far. But the next day, Jeon Bu-man brought his gang and caused a scene at Flower Blossom Snack Bar, saying that he had been embarrassed.

Breaking the furniture and throwing all the food prepared for business.

“So Flower Blossom called the police.”

“So I thought it would end somehow, but the next day, they suddenly came in droves saying they were doing a hygiene inspection, and eventually they were suspended from business.”