My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 584

The National Intelligence Service giving me, of all people, a vacation? Park Do-joon couldn’t wrap his head around it, but he stood up from his seat nonetheless.

“Let’s go.”

Park Do-joon nodded and followed them. They led him to a vehicle, ushered him inside, and drove off.

“I have no idea where you’re planning to go.”

Judging by Jo Sang-gyu’s nonchalant tone, he’d likely received instructions from higher-ups but couldn’t reveal the reason, only telling them to proceed.

“We’re not going anywhere specific. It’s just a secure location for discussion.”

“Indeed.”

It’s nearly impossible to eavesdrop on conversations inside a moving vehicle unless a microphone is planted inside.

Moreover, vehicles used by the National Intelligence Service would undoubtedly have countermeasures in place.

As expected, soft music played. Even if someone wanted to listen in, the subtly outward-facing speakers would make it impossible to eavesdrop from outside.

“What’s this all about?”

“We need someone to investigate a case.”

“And why me?”

“Do you have about a month, or precisely 37 days, available?”

“37 days?”

“Yes.”

“It’s too specific to be meaningless… Yes, I have nothing special planned.”

“It’s not just about having nothing planned; you must have no contact with the outside world at all. No family events, no meetings with friends.”

“I don’t.”

“No phone calls either.”

“How can someone live for 37 days without making a single phone call?”

Park Do-joon asked, dumbfounded.

“That’s what’s required. Of course, we’ll create a suitable excuse for you before you leave.”

“Excuse?”

“Yes.”

“What’s going on that requires all this?”

“…….”

“I need to know to make a decision. Don’t think you can pressure me with the National Intelligence Service’s name. Didn’t they tell you that upstairs?”

At Park Do-joon’s words, the NIS agent lowered his voice slightly, cautiously.

“A murder has occurred.”

“So what? That’s the police’s job, isn’t it?”

“The location is where the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) [South Korea’s standardized college entrance exam] question writers are.”

Park Do-joon grabbed his head at those words.

“Good heavens.”

“You understand immediately.”

“I have a rough idea.”

CSAT question writers are called in one by one as the CSAT question period approaches. They live in complete isolation for at least three months, creating the CSAT questions until the test is over.

A city within an island? No, it’s more like a fancy prison. No cell phones, no internet, no outings, no face-to-face meetings….

The only ways a CSAT question writer can leave that place are a sudden family death or the end of the CSAT.

“And a murder happened there?”

“Yes.”

“Considering the timing… the CSAT questions should be mostly done.”

“How did you know?”

“My high school teacher disappeared suddenly once. He vanished and reappeared after the CSAT. It was over three months, almost four. Later, I heard rumors that he had been taken as a CSAT question writer.”

“Taken… It’s illegal to disclose that.”

“It is illegal. But does not disclosing it mean the people around won’t know? If a homeroom teacher disappears for almost four months without contact, there’s no other reason.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

If it were related to a real crime, they would report it to the police, but the school doesn’t report it, the police don’t investigate, and even the family doesn’t react.

If the high school teachers don’t know where that person went, then they are fools.

“Besides, the timing matches.”

The CSAT usually takes place in November. So when does the CSAT question submission take place? Recruitment usually starts in July, and they are isolated in late July or early August.

Generally, they are recruited and enter three months in advance, and the CSAT questions are all completed in about two months at most. What they do after that is just killing time or reviewing the questions.

In other words, with the CSAT 37 days away, most of the CSAT questions should have been submitted.

“That’s correct. And according to regulations, those who have contact with them are prohibited from leaving.”

“That can’t exactly be called a vacation.”

Park Do-joon sighed deeply. Some might say a month isn’t a vacation, but no internet, no games, no letters, no outings.

Everything needed must be purchased only through state-designated personnel, and if there is a genuine need to access the internet for submission-related matters, access is only possible through designated terminals monitored by surveillance personnel.

Banking and other tasks are also handled by a representative from the bank, and the tasks are carried out under the supervision of that representative.

“Once you go in, there’s no coming out.”

In fact, there was an incident where someone who went to fix a printer tried to remove a jammed piece of paper and was suddenly stopped by a surveillance agent who said, ‘You can’t pass,’ and was confined for over a month. That’s how important the CSAT is in Korea.

“So, there’s no way out for me either.”

“We can’t make exceptions.”

Even someone who just briefly passes by or comes to repair equipment is treated that way, so there’s no way they would let a police officer who needs to conduct preliminary interviews and stay with them for the investigation leave.

“That’s why we need someone skilled.”

“Hmm….”

Since they can’t rely on numbers, they need to bring in a limited number of police officers. So the conditions are strict.

They need to be skilled, out of contact for over a month, so they must be unmarried or have no family, be tight-lipped, and have security clearance.

“That’s me.”

In Park Do-joon’s case, he still has the security clearance he received when solving the spy case, his only family is his brother’s family, and he’s not particularly sociable.

He has a girlfriend, Jung Yi-yeon, but she’s not clingy, so she won’t say anything.

“Hmm, this isn’t just a simple murder, is it?”

“…….”

“The biggest concern is probably the leakage of CSAT questions?”

At those words, the NIS agent nodded.

“How did you know?”

“There must be more than a few people watching.”

Of course, they would be monitoring at every point. But if they found the culprit using that, there would be no reason to come to me. That means the culprit committed the murder in a blind spot, and there’s a high possibility that the exam paper was leaked in the process.

“That’s right. We believe it was an accidental incident that occurred while trying to leak the questions.”

“I understand. Then I’ll help you.”

It will be stifling, but it’s not an incident to ignore.

“But let’s confirm one thing.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“Are console game consoles allowed?”

“Oppa [Korean term for ‘older brother’ used by females; here, a term of endearment].”

“Yeah.”

“But why me too?”

“No, I didn’t say anything.”

Park Do-joon was led by the NIS agent and eventually arrived at the hotel where the question writers were confined. And there, he met someone he didn’t expect: Jung Yi-yeon.

“Hehehe, I know. I know.”

‘I don’t think so.’

Why did Jung Yi-yeon suddenly come here? Of course, the reason is understandable.

It’s because of the law. A lawyer must be present during interrogation. The problem is that the accompanying lawyer can’t leave either. In some ways, they can become even closer than the police.

That increases the possibility of information related to the CSAT leaking out.

‘Why Yi-yeon of all people?’

But the lawyer the NIS brought is Jung Yi-yeon. There aren’t just one or two lawyers, and there are even lawyers among the CSAT question writers.

You might suddenly ask why a lawyer is a question writer, but social studies questions include legal issues, so they need someone to review them.

But the NIS specifically called Jung Yi-yeon and even put her in the room right next to mine. The reason was that the lawyer called in as a question writer could also be the culprit.

‘The NIS can’t not know about my relationship with Yi-yeon.’

If they didn’t know, would they have given her the room next door?

‘Are they trying to mess with me? Or were they that upset that I was bringing a console?’

But what can I do? No cell phone, no internet… TV? Park Do-joon isn’t someone who likes TV in the first place.

So he was thinking of playing the console games he had been putting off. Console games can be played without an internet connection.

‘These bastards are really messing with me.’

Someone once said that marriage feels like you have to play games, watch adult videos, and clean, but your girlfriend never goes home.

From that perspective, this is the same. She’s right next door.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

Park Do-joon grumbled and put his luggage in the room and came out. The only good thing is that, due to the nature of the investigation, Park Do-joon is using the room alone to prevent others from entering.

“Let’s go to the crime scene first.”

Since there’s nothing needed for the investigation in his luggage anyway, Park Do-joon immediately threw down his luggage and headed to the location where the murder occurred.

“Is it here?”

“Yes.”

Park Do-joon went inside and frowned. The place was none other than the conference room.

“Hmm, it seems they manage all the questions here.”

“Yes, how did you know?”

“There are printers and computers, aren’t there?”

Park Do-joon said, pointing to a corner. There were computers and printers.

“If they were the ones creating the questions, there would be no reason to have them.”

They pile up materials and books, compare them while creating questions, and then submit them, and this side stores them electronically.

“There’s no need for that in other places.”

People who don’t need to share questions with each other, like those in Korean, English, or Math, have no reason to talk to each other.

“And that computer doesn’t seem to have internet access.”

“Yes, it’s only for storing the created questions. There’s no internet connection in case of hacking or other issues.”

“What about computers with internet access?”

“They’re in the staff office over there.”

The staff office is staffed by at least one person 24 hours a day, and the computer is protected by security programs and passwords, which are changed once a day.

“What if they need to print something from that computer?”

“Printing is possible here because there’s a printer. If they absolutely have to use that side, they transfer it using a designated USB.”

“They can’t write questions on this computer?”

“No, it’s for searching purposes.”

They even reset the search history several times. Even accessing the search history can lead to inferences about the question types.

“That’s why we’re taking it so seriously.”