My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 492

“So, I have no interest at all.”

Park Do-joon said this while slightly raising his hand. However, the man who had just called out for twelve *Gombang* workers [construction laborers] didn’t even glance at Park Do-joon, whose face looked pale. He quickly picked out the most robust-looking people, loaded them into a van, and sped away.

“Okay, it’s almost over.”

“Where is he, anyway?”

“There, the one in the black jumper.”

As Jung Yi-yeon grumbled, Park Do-joon spoke quietly. His gaze remained fixed on the person selecting workers, so no one even noticed they were talking.

“Huh? Who?”

“Three o’clock, black jumper, navy pants.”

At his words, Jung Yi-yeon and Lee Ji-soo subtly turned their heads before quickly looking forward again.

“Okay, confirmed. But that guy? How do you know?”

“He doesn’t seem interested in us.”

“It’s just bad timing. That’s him.”

“How do you know?”

“He hasn’t done anything.”

“Nothing?”

“Yeah, nothing.”

At the dawn labor market, they were hiring bricklayers, *Gombang* workers, assistants… They hired many people. Naturally, those who were interested eagerly raised their hands and went over.

“But he never raised his hand. Why do you think that is?”

Lee Ji-soo’s face hardened at those words.

“You’re saying he might be watching us?”

“He must have seen you two. He’s pretending not to notice now, though.”

In the chaotic atmosphere, it was impossible to know when he had seen them. However, he was acting as if he had no interest in working amidst the people at the labor market who were eager to find jobs.

‘That’s what makes him stand out more.’

Living one day at a time. That’s the reality of the labor market. Some complain about the high labor costs, but you’ll know once you work there. Manual labor is never easy.

It’s not just about being able to go out and work without rest.

“He’s skinny, looks like he has little experience with *Gombang* work, dressed in all black, wearing a jumper that’s not suitable for the season…”

Park Do-joon was still looking at the person selecting workers, but he had already analyzed the suspicious points in his head.

“…He glances this way but doesn’t really try to do anything.”

“Suspicious.”

“Yeah.”

With that kind of jumper, it’s highly likely he could conceal a knife around his waist without it being noticeable.

“No one else?”

“Not really.”

Of course, he wasn’t the only man who looked at Jung Yi-yeon and Lee Ji-soo. But they were more desperate to earn money than to look at pretty women. Naturally, they tried to grab a job by raising their hands rather than looking at Jung Yi-yeon and Lee Ji-soo.

This market always has fewer people looking for workers than people wanting to work.

“Then, according to the plan?”

“Yeah, according to the plan.”

Park Do-joon nodded and turned around. Then, he went to a corner, picked up a phone, and said:

“This is Area 3. Have you found anyone suspicious?”

-No one in Area 1.

-About two in Area 4.

-Area 5 is a bust.

-One suspicious person in Area 2.

“We have one suspicious guy here too. Let’s move out.”

-Understood.

“Good luck.”

Park Do-joon said that and hung up. Then, he looked at the crowd that was slowly dispersing. Some lingered, hoping someone might come late, but Jung Yi-yeon and Lee Ji-soo left the place as agreed and slowly headed to the bus stop.

“I wonder if he’ll take the bait? Hehehe.”

Park Do-joon smiled as he watched the man in black clothes, who seemed to be hesitating slightly, looking at Jung Yi-yeon and Lee Ji-soo as they walked away.

Following Park Do-joon’s plan, the two slowly moved by bus. It would be strange for someone who came to do manual labor to drive a car, and, decisively, showing the route they were taking would increase the chances of the culprit following them.

And the culprit, who had been hesitating for a moment, got on the same bus as Jung Yi-yeon and began to follow them, pretending not to notice.

‘He’s really following?’

She took the bus to her accommodation with a very nervous expression. Of course, it wasn’t her real accommodation. The police had rented an empty studio apartment.

Amseong-dong had many empty studio apartments, and it hadn’t been painted with fluorescent paint like Bunghwa-dong yet, so it was a good situation to catch him.

‘Wow! This is crazy.’

She tried to calm her trembling heart and headed to the studio apartment she had scouted in advance. There was no problem entering since she had already received the password.

“Are you okay?”

The police officer, who had been contacted in advance, checked the window and asked.

“Ah, yes, well… I’m not okay, to be honest.”

“Undercover work isn’t easy.”

He said with a bitter smile. He had been waiting here just in case, but fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t planning to do anything crazy in broad daylight.

“We need to be sure, first.”

“Yes.”

Jung Yi-yeon nodded, trying to calm her trembling body, then went to the window and opened it wide. On the surface, it looked like she was just airing out the room, but in fact, the purpose was to show that there was someone in this room.

About 30 minutes after she went inside and opened the window, someone rang the bell.

“Who… is it?”

“It’s me, Yi-yeon.”

At those words, Jung Yi-yeon breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door.

“That guy?”

“He scouted around here for a while and then left.”

“Around here?”

“He must have checked for CCTV or something.”

“Then that guy must be the culprit.”

“Probably.”

If that wasn’t the case, there would be no reason to check here or follow Jung Yi-yeon.

“Are you sure that guy is the culprit?”

“Well? We’ll have to wait and see.”

Park Do-joon said, looking out the window.

“If he’s the culprit, he would have taken the bait.”

Late at night.

In the darkness, a man briefly looked around the street before quickly sticking to the wall. Then, he skillfully began to climb the gas pipes attached to the wall in the darkness.

“I can’t do this anymore. I need to leave this place quickly.”

The man, known as the Bunghwa-dong Squirrel, had already decided to leave this place. The police pressure was increasing, and seeing them painting fluorescent paint to stop him, he knew this was not going to be easy.

He had tried to wipe off the still-wet paint with his fingertips, thinking it might be easily removed, but it required several rubs with thinner to remove it, and the dry cleaner said they couldn’t remove it from his clothes in one go.

“There was no place like this. Should I go south this time?”

There were many factory areas, and the cops of those *ppangz* [slang for police] were incredibly incompetent.

“Hehehe. Looks like I’ll get to stretch my legs properly before I go.”

He had been thinking about doing one last job before leaving, and then he saw a woman. He didn’t know why a woman as pretty as the ones on TV was working in the manual labor market, but the Bunghwa-dong Squirrel’s eyes went crazy when he saw her. He should have been suspicious, but he was already being controlled by his lower body rather than his brain, so he couldn’t even consider that it was a trap.

And at that time, Park Do-joon, who had expected the Bunghwa-dong Squirrel to come, was diligently making all the preparations.

“Now we just have to wait to catch him?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Park Do-joon’s eyes flashed.

“This kind of thing needs a show.”

“A show? Why for this?”

“Well, it’s also about making allies, but…”

Park Do-joon said, looking out the window.

“There are people who need to be reassured.”

Park Do-joon immediately contacted a reporter. But this time, it wasn’t the reporter he usually contacted, but someone from the broadcasting station.

“Isn’t this overstepping your authority?”

The police officer said with an uncomfortable expression.

“No. The chief approved it.”

“No, even if he approved it…!”

Chief Seo Joon-ha also felt a bit of resistance to Park Do-joon’s words at first. Because Park Do-joon wanted to capture the criminal on camera and broadcast it.

But Park Do-joon persuaded him well. He said that if the arrest scene was broadcast properly, his name would be known, his recognition would increase, and it would be advantageous for his promotion. And Seo Joon-ha was tempted by those words and fell for it.

Of course, they couldn’t broadcast it live. They would have to film it on-site with a camera and then blur the faces.

“Tsk, what if he doesn’t come? The reporters will be annoyed.”

“What are they going to do if they’re annoyed? It’s not like the reporters think well of us anyway.”

“That’s true.”

The police officer, sighing deeply, clicked his tongue and went into the rented house next door after asking for understanding.

“Will he come today?”

“He will come.”

If he hadn’t scouted this area, he wouldn’t have been sure. But he had confirmed where Jung Yi-yeon was and even scouted the surrounding area before leaving.

‘That means he’s decided to commit the crime.’

But that doesn’t fit the criminal’s behavior pattern of not committing crimes in his safe zone, including his living space.

That means one thing. He has decided to leave this place in the near future.

Of course, that’s not proof that he’s coming today. But hunting is basically only possible when the intended prey is in the desired location.

For example, if the woman he’s targeting leaves for another city or goes back to her parents’ house, the hunt will inevitably fail. Given the impatience of a sex offender, he won’t be able to stand it.

‘Moreover, he didn’t even show up at the labor market this morning.’

If he had come to the labor market, he might have considered the possibility of not coming today.

But he can’t always get *Gombang* work, and he didn’t come to the labor market today? That means he has a plan. And it wasn’t difficult to guess what that plan was.

“So, we just have to wait.”

Park Do-joon nodded and said. As he left, Jung Yi-yeon approached Park Do-joon and asked:

“Detective.”

“Yeah?”

“But why did you really want to broadcast it? I don’t understand? I know you’re not the kind of person who worries about the chief’s future. Making allies is just an excuse. The chief doesn’t seem like someone who will repay the favor later.”

Park Do-joon could only laugh at those words from Jung Yi-yeon. The police officers, who should be suspicious of everything, just brushed it off without saying anything. But Jung Yi-yeon, who knew him well, suspected those words.

It wasn’t a bad feeling to have someone know and worry about him.

“Actually, the show isn’t for the chief, but for the people in this area.”

“The people in this area?”

“The rumors about the Bunghwa-dong Squirrel have already spread everywhere.”

“That’s true.”

“Then, in this situation, how much buzz will there be if we announce to the media that we caught him?”