My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 541

“It was me! The shoe killer! That was me!”

“What the hell are you talking about? That’s nonsense. You’re just a petty criminal. Someone else already confessed.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! Isn’t the first victim the one wearing red shoes? You don’t know how much she spread her legs, begging to be spared, do you?”

Enraged by being ignored, Chang So-man became agitated and began blurting out details of the crimes.

“Killing that little brat who bragged about studying is a big deal? You don’t know how much he begged me to spare him when he was dying, do you? What’s the point of being good at studying? You’re the same! When you’re dying, you’ll spread your legs and beg me to spare you!”

Chang So-man, shouting at the top of his lungs, suddenly realized what he’d done. He felt countless eyes staring at him from beyond Lee Ji-soo, who was glaring at him with a hardened face.

“So you killed them?”

Lee Ji-soo asked in a very calm voice. And then, she stabbed Chang So-man with a dagger.

“One thing is for sure. You pretend to be smart, but you’re a moron, and an incurable one at that.”

At those words, Chang So-man snapped back to his senses. He turned his head, almost involuntarily, and looked at the CCTV [Closed-Circuit Television] camera on the wall.

The red light indicated it was recording.

Chang So-man contorted his face and said.

“Lawyer, call… immediately.”

In the end, Chang So-man had no choice but to pay the price for his crimes. He shouted at the top of his lungs in front of so many people that no one would believe he was being wronged.

In particular, the detailed description of the crime scene, details that hadn’t been released to the public, was the most definitive evidence that he was the culprit.

“I was really scared this time,” Jo Sang-gyu said, sweating profusely.

What would have happened if they hadn’t caught Chang So-man?

The thought alone was terrifying. No, beyond ‘terrifying,’ the police would probably have the label of ‘incompetent’ permanently attached to them.

“It would have been dangerous, right?”

“It would have been.”

Chang So-man, initially unsure of himself, was becoming more confident in his crimes and causing trouble.

“If he thought he was at an advantage in that situation, he would have sent the next victim’s evidence to a real media outlet instead of the police.”

The moment he sent the victim’s belongings to the media to promote his victory, the police would have been under tremendous pressure.

“We probably would have been criticized until the moment we caught him.”

It wasn’t just a matter of being criticized; it was likely that the police would have been left with the worst black mark in their history.

“Catching him before it was revealed and catching him after it was revealed are seriously different.”

“What? Is it that different?”

“Yes, people don’t feel that the beginning of an incident is the death of the deceased.”

Humans are terribly selfish. So they often misunderstand the occurrence of an event. To them, the occurrence of an event is when they recognize it.

“There’s a difference between saying that an incident is happening and we couldn’t stop it, and saying that an incident happened but we arrested the perpetrator.”

Although there were as many as four innocent victims, most people, absurdly, don’t pay much attention because they think the case has already been solved.

“So the treatment is different the moment they recognize it’s over.”

“That’s right.”

That’s why, even if it leaked out now, people would just look at it with curiosity and wouldn’t be shocked or angry.

“That’s a sad thing.”

“It is a sad thing.”

Park Do-joon shrugged his shoulders.

“What can we do? That’s what humans are.”

Park Do-joon, a profiler who understands and tracks humans.

“Sometimes, I don’t want to be that kind of human.”

He just smiled bitterly.

# The Vanishing People

Jo Sang-gyu is a somewhat vague leader who likes this and likes that. Cha Dae-hoon is the type to exert strong leadership, and Lee Chang-man is the type of leader who only looks up and flatters, while Jo Sang-gyu can be seen as a type of leader who tries to coordinate in the middle without making enemies as much as possible.

But even Jo Sang-gyu’s main job is as a police officer.

There were also conditions that he could never accept.

Bang!

“Absolutely not.”

“Hey, you! Is now the time to say you can’t?”

“Chief, did I say anything when you told me to catch the criminal? That’s what we have to do. So I just let it go. But this isn’t something we should be doing, is it?”

“This guy, really! We’re just trying to get along well with each other.”

The chief would have been the type to bully with power and rank in the past, but this time, even he couldn’t do that. Because even he thought that what he was asking for was too absurd.

“Get along well with each other? Is selling out our police to the political arena getting along well with each other?”

“No. It’s not selling out, it’s cooperation, cooperation.”

“Profiling is not for advertisers. Why should we do that for them?”

The National Assembly election was approaching. As the fierce election battle was being prepared, the chief’s request was beyond unreasonable and absurd.

Provide profiling for a specific political party.

“We are the police. The police are civil servants. Civil servants have a duty to be neutral.”

“So, cooperate…”

“I said no.”

“Hey, you! Why are you being so heartless?”

When the chief raised his voice, Jo Sang-gyu raised his voice even louder.

“If you don’t like it, fire me and ask directly.”

“What?”

“If you don’t like it, fire me and tell them to do it directly.”

Why would he only call him and say it secretly? Isn’t it because if this goes out and becomes a big deal, they’ll just cover it up and hide it as Jo Sang-gyu’s sole decision?

Of course, Jo Sang-gyu could never accept that condition.

“This guy, really…!”

“Oh, I don’t know. Sue me.”

Jo Sang-gyu, showing a different side of himself than usual, came out of the chief’s office and returned to the profiler’s office, panting.

“Team leader, what’s wrong with your face?”

“What is it?”

“It looks like someone beat you up with words.”

Park Do-joon, who was doing paperwork, tilted his head and asked, looking at Jo Sang-gyu.

“Ah, that…”

At those words, Jo Sang-gyu was about to speak but closed his mouth.

“What is it?”

“If you tell me, I’ll help you.”

“Ugh…”

At those words, Jo Sang-gyu’s head was in turmoil.

‘I can’t keep ignoring this.’

The fact that the chief is acting like this means that an order has been issued from above. And once that order is issued, they won’t give up.

If he keeps refusing, in the worst case, they might approach each profiler individually and make demands.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Of course, he would be free from responsibility, but if a problem occurred during the election, a large number of the already insufficient profilers could be fired.

Because the other political party that found out about that fact would never let it go.

“Actually, it’s like this…”

Jo Sang-gyu tells Park Do-joon the truth and asks for help.

“…So, the higher-ups are telling us to help… but from our point of view, you know.”

“Ah, that’s not difficult.”

“It’s not difficult?”

It’s never easy to resist pressure from the higher-ups. But he says it’s not difficult?

“It’s not like I have a strong backing like you.”

“Ah, don’t worry. I’ll make you a strong backer.”

“Are you going to introduce me to the chairman or something?”

Jo Sang-gyu is subtly expecting it. But Park Do-joon had no intention of doing that.

“Would that stop anything? Chairmen are also dying from headaches because of politicians.”

“Ugh, that’s right.”

“But we can keep them in check.”

Park Do-joon chuckled and approached his seat. Then, he picked up the phone and pressed the extension number.

-Yes, I answered the phone.

“Ah, Officer Yoo, this is Sergeant Park Do-joon from the profiling team.”

-Huh? What’s up, Sergeant Park?

“Well, the chief is looking for you like crazy, and he was asking if Team Leader Jo Sang-gyu had seen you.”

-Who? Me?

“Yes, is there something wrong?”

-No, not at all?

“Go see him once. The chief seems to be in a hurry.”

-Okay. I’ll go right away.”

It was a short conversation, but Park Do-joon ended the conversation with that.

“You said you’d make me a backer? But why Officer Yoo?”

“Officer Yoo is a hardcore political fanatic.”

“Huh? Really?”

Jo Sang-gyu’s eyes widened at the fact that he had no idea. It’s understandable because they’re both sergeants, but they’re not close or acquainted.

But Park Do-joon, who has regressed [referring to his past life], knows that he is beyond a supporter of a specific political party and is at the level of a fanatic.

“He’s also a fanatic of the opposing party that demanded that from us. So, talking about politics in front of Officer Yoo is taboo. It almost always leads to a fight.”

“No way?”

“The chief knows that too.”

But he came to find him? The chief will pretend that it’s nothing, but he’ll have chills down his spine.

“If Officer Yoo finds out about this, he’s 100% going to snitch to his supporting party.”

Then the chief will be fired that day. The media will probably be excitedly talking about the news, saying something about organized election interference by public officials.

“Just like we’re mayflies, so is the chief.”

If a problem arises, the chief will cut it off and the politicians will try to slip away.

“Officer Yoo doesn’t know anything, does he?”

“He doesn’t know anything. But his very existence is a message and a messenger.”

If they exert pressure, he’ll blow it up. And the chief will never want to risk his life.

“Huh!”

“There’s no reason to fight directly.”

Now the situation has changed. The chief has to cut off the pressure coming from above to save his own neck.

“Well, he’ll probably make some excuses.”

Saying that a supporter of the opposing party came to visit him once, suspecting something… In that situation, the party that demanded the profiler won’t be able to make unreasonable demands anymore.

“Huh.”

It’s not a politician, it’s a demand from a political party. He was racking his brains over how to overcome that problem, but seeing him solve it so easily, Jo Sang-gyu couldn’t help but stick out his tongue.

“I knew it was the answer to talk to you.”

“Well, that’s it.”

Park Do-joon said that and shrugged his shoulders. Then, he got up from his seat and grabbed his clothes.

“Where are you going?”

“I took a half-day off today.”

“Ah, that’s right. Anyway, thanks for saving me.”

“You’re welcome.”

Park Do-joon chuckled and left the police station. Then, he took a taxi to the subway station. He usually drives his own car, but he was planning to leave his car because he had a drinking appointment today.

“Hum hum hum~!”

It was a different kind of commute than usual, so Park Do-joon headed to the station with a relaxed mind. A drink with friends. The relaxation that one drink gives lowers a person’s stress more than you think.

Before the regression, he hated even that and refused it, but now he’s trying not to live like that.

A Profiler by Trade