My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 479

Once the recruitment begins in earnest, it must be done offline.

They wouldn’t want any third party overhearing the conversation in the process.

“But isn’t it possible that they made the payment?”

If they actually rented a place like a hotel, it would be impossible for us to track it.

“I know. But the obsession with control isn’t just limited to those moments. Do you think the Chinese spy organization would trust Sang-am-du and Jo Seung-dang from the start?”

Of course not. They can’t ignore the possibility that they might report them to the National Intelligence Service [South Korea’s primary intelligence agency] or the police. So, what’s the solution?

“They need to be monitored from the beginning.”

And to do that, they need to be in their own territory.

“And the most likely place for that is…”

Park Do-joon compared the payment records for a long time before pinpointing one place.

“Here it is. Tokyo Sushi.”

A fairly luxurious restaurant with private rooms.

“Are you sure?”

Japanese restaurants, especially high-end ones, often operate with private rooms. And that type of building is very conducive to planting listening devices inside.

“Tokyo Sushi, huh…”

Park Do-joon searched for the restaurant Tokyo Sushi on the internet. Then he chuckled.

“It’s too expensive.”

“Why is that?”

“Logically, it’s too expensive compared to the general wealth level of this area.”

“Isn’t sushi expensive to begin with?”

“It is. It’s expensive. But even so, it’s too expensive.”

Even considering the fancy decorations and private rooms, the price is too high. Of course, the food is excellent, but still.

“Do you know what the characteristic of places like this is?”

“What is it?”

“They’re often used for business entertainment.”

Sushi is already classified as an expensive food, and a structure with private rooms is often used for lobbying.

“Especially if it’s well soundproofed.”

In fact, private rooms are often just for show. So, the soundproofing effect isn’t very significant. But there are hardly any cases where soundproofing is done well.

Since restaurants are inherently noisy places, you can’t hear what someone is saying next to you unless they’re shouting.

“Investigate this Tokyo Sushi. It’s probably connected to the Chinese. They must have had excellent soundproofing installed through the company that built it.”

Soundproofing isn’t done as a service. In the first place, soundproofing is necessary for people to come and have confidential conversations, and also, in order to eavesdrop, the surroundings must be quiet so that the recording is clear.

“Chinese, huh.”

At those words, Yoo In-hye frowned. She couldn’t believe that the place they had been desperately searching for months was slowly being revealed.

“This can’t be.”

Yoo In-hye reported the fact. And the National Intelligence Service quickly investigated Tokyo Sushi. Of course, they didn’t know anything at first, but once it was identified, tracking it wasn’t difficult. And the answer was something they hadn’t expected.

“The owner is Korean, but…”

The owner is definitely Korean and is actually paying taxes properly. But when you look at his other assets, he doesn’t have enough to run Tokyo Sushi.

Moreover, Tokyo Sushi is famous as a popular restaurant that makes a lot of money, but he himself isn’t that well-off.

“There are probably many Chinese employees. Isn’t that right? You must have heard from the place that did the construction that they installed excellent soundproofing.”

At those words, Yoo In-hye’s eyes shook. Because that was true. In fact, Tokyo Sushi is a Japanese restaurant, but a significant number of the employees working there are Chinese.

“And most of the employees are fluent in Korean, so other people probably wouldn’t think they’re Chinese.”

“How did you…?”

“In order to cultivate a spy group in that kind of store format, you have to avoid suspicion.”

Park Do-joon shrugged and said.

“If you go there and the Chinese speak awkwardly, most people tend to think they’re a bit low-level.”

That’s the reality. It’s understandable to have Chinese employees at a local barbecue restaurant, but people don’t like the idea of using Chinese people at a high-end sushi restaurant like this.

“There’s a boss, but he’s probably just a figurehead.”

Park Do-joon stroked his chin and said.

“Realistically, if public officials go there to drink or receive entertainment, they should assume they’re being 100% bugged.”

As expected, as Park Do-joon predicted, Tokyo Sushi was famous in this area as a place for business entertainment or meeting between families before a wedding.

“The common feature of restaurants for business entertainment and meetings between families before a wedding is luxury.”

No one would try to have a meeting between families before a wedding at a snack bar.

“The National Intelligence Service must be in chaos.”

“…”

Yoo In-hye couldn’t say anything at those words. Because that was true. The National Intelligence Service had no idea, and then suddenly a fixed spy base-like thing popped up, so they were busy poking around there.

“Well, you guys can take care of catching them.”

He can identify suspicious places, but if the National Intelligence Service can’t even catch them, they’re incompetent.

“And at this point, the National Intelligence Service will probably ask you to bring anything you have, right? Or am I wrong?”

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t they tell you to dig up some information from me?”

Yoo In-hye couldn’t answer easily at those words. Because that’s what actually happened. The fact that Tokyo Sushi was suspicious was revealed from various sources.

The owner of the store, the people working there, and the space right above that was rented out in the same way but never operated even once.

Even the contractor who did the construction when the place opened said that he did most of the work, but the final touches were suddenly terminated, so he didn’t finish it.

Of course, in order to plant listening devices, outside personnel couldn’t do the construction.

“You don’t have to lie. The National Intelligence Service will never ask for help, really.”

Every day, they try to use their brains to exploit the other party, but they never try to ask for help themselves. It’s because of their pride. They treat the police even more like that.

“Even if I give them information, they’re not the kind of guys who will accept it and ask for help or be grateful.”

Rather, they would think, ‘He’s a useful guy,’ and order their subordinates to find a way to squeeze more out of him, and since it would be difficult to send new people, the order would have been given to Yoo In-hye, who was already there and had formed some kind of friendship.

“I won’t say anything.”

“Well, go ahead.”

Park Do-joon wasn’t particularly disappointed or anything because he knew that the National Intelligence Service wouldn’t give a proper answer.

“Well, thanks to you, they won’t bother me anymore.”

“Okay. I admit it. The higher-ups told me to bring back anything I could get. But do you really have to go that far?”

“I have to. Well, you’ll find out later.”

Park Do-joon chuckled. He would like to go comfortably too. But he knew too much about the internal organization called the National Intelligence Service, so he needed a safety device.

“Now, let’s fight in earnest. Sang-am-du and Jo Seung-dang. Let’s arrest those two.”

“Is that going to be easy? There’s no clear evidence.”

A major investigation into Sang-am-du and Jo Seung-dang has already taken place. But there is no solid evidence. He should investigate the restaurant he suspects, but that doesn’t mean they are spies.

“Of course. But there’s something else. You’ve already secured the photos, right?”

“What photos?”

“The spies who worked on Sang-am-du and Jo Seung-dang. They must have run away by now.”

“Ah…”

Was it possible that the National Intelligence Service hadn’t secured the photos at the point when they identified the company? It’s impossible.

Of course, spies wouldn’t upload their photos to the internet. But Tokyo Sushi is in the middle of an entertainment district, and there are countless CCTVs everywhere. There’s no way to avoid them all. There’s a limit to covering your face every time you go outside. So, they must have revealed their faces somewhere, and that must have been captured on CCTV.

No matter how much of a Chinese spy they are, there’s no way to delete videos from a third party’s store.

Park Do-joon was so sure of that. Then, at those words, Yoo In-hye sighed deeply and took out a file from her bag and handed it over.

“I can’t hide it.”

“Well, do you hide something like this? Did they tell you not to give it to me?”

“No, it’s not that…”

The National Intelligence Service’s order was to use the photos as bait to coax him into finding out something.

“But you’re giving it to me just like that?”

“I’ve never learned how to negotiate with someone who reads my mind.”

What’s the point of negotiating at a time when everything is already being predicted?

At those words, Park Do-joon chuckled. Then he took it and looked at it, saying.

“Don’t worry. I’ll give you that much in performance.”

“Then I’d be grateful… How are you going to persuade them without evidence? No, in the first place, would the two of them open their mouths even if you persuaded them?”

A focused investigation is already underway on the two of them. But the more they investigate, the more they show that they are unlikely to open their mouths.

“That’s not difficult.”

Park Do-joon took out one photo each from the two files. And he smiled as he looked at it.

“Betrayal can be more painful than you think. Hehehe.”

Park Do-joon first went to Sang-am-du. And Sang-am-du was keeping his mouth shut as expected.

“No, what did I do wrong!”

“I already know. You handed over the data through negotiations with the Chinese.”

“I didn’t do anything like that.”

“It’s already out as a result of analyzing the computer log files. You accessed the central server and deleted Jo Seung-dang’s access records themselves, right?”

“That’s ridiculous. There’s no way that could be!”

‘I knew it, this bastard is right.’

In fact, the question Park Do-joon just asked was a kind of trap. If he was really wronged, he wouldn’t have said that there was no such thing, but he would have said that he had never accessed it in the first place.

‘But he must be really good.’

No matter how much Jo Seung-dang is another criminal, it’s never easy to access other data and steal it. As with all military research institutes, unless it’s an area you’re preparing for, it’s usually not easy to access it. But Jo Seung-dang belongs to the department in charge of tanks, not the department in charge of firearms.

In other words, in order to secretly approach someone, someone has to open the way and even erase the traces afterwards.

“It’s no use denying it.”

“I don’t know.”

Of course, Sang-am-du is just denying it. And Park Do-joon knows that, so he brought the most powerful weapon to shake him.

“I already know that you, Jo Seung-dang, and Huairen are in an adulterous relationship.”