My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 656

# A Real Match

Hong Woo-jong couldn’t hide his discomfort. Everything was going according to plan—or so it seemed.

But investigating the series of botched plans revealed a common denominator.

“Just who is this Park Do-joon bastard?” he muttered.

It was as if Park Do-joon were his nemesis, sent from above, constantly derailing his carefully laid schemes.

“It’s not like he’s deliberately targeting me,” Hong Woo-jong conceded.

With his influence, extracting information from within the police force wasn’t difficult.

But when he reviewed the data, it didn’t appear that Park Do-joon was intentionally targeting him. He was simply interfering while pursuing his cases.

“Can’t call this a coincidence anymore, can we?”

The problem was that these interferences had completely twisted his grand scheme. According to his original plan, his brother, Hong Geun-jong, should be dead. He, Hong Woo-jong, should be wielding considerable power in both political and economic circles as the successor of the Daeguk Group, solidifying his position as the next presidential hopeful.

But what was the reality? Hong Geun-jong was alive. He had targeted Hong Min-young as a temporary measure, but even Hong Min-young had survived. He had managed to secure a seat as a National Assembly member through sympathy votes after his father, Hong Chang-sik, died, but that was only a temporary boost.

Hong Geun-jong wasn’t a fool, and even Hong Min-young, who had completely stepped away from the succession race, had joined forces with Hong Geun-jong to corner him.

Even within his own New People’s Party, individuals hostile to him were gaining influence.

He was now a three-term assemblyman who had secured his position based on sympathy votes and money inherited from his father, but at this point, becoming president and seizing control of the country seemed impossible.

“This is troublesome.”

To achieve his grand plan, he had to take everything, no matter the cost. But everything had gone wrong.

“Wang Woo-hwan, what do you think?”

“Although it’s an extreme measure, I believe there’s only one way,” Wang Woo-hwan replied.

“You mean I have to kill him?”

“Yes.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to send a killer after all. Even if it’s risky.”

Whether it was with a gun, a car, or a bomb, Hong Woo-jong simply concluded that Park Do-joon needed to be eliminated.

But an unexpected problem arose.

“Well, it seems difficult for us to find someone,” Wang Woo-hwan reported.

“What? Why? Is it because I didn’t give you enough money?”

“We’ve been blacklisted in the industry.”

“Blacklisted?”

“Yes.”

“No, you crazy… what nonsense are you talking about?”

“Well, haven’t all the killers we hired been arrested?”

“Tch.”

That was right. It seemed like an unbelievable coincidence, but every killer Hong Woo-jong had hired had been apprehended. The ones who targeted Hong Geun-jong in the beginning, the ones who targeted Hong Min-young, even the ones used to kill the police… even the elusive bomb terrorists—all caught.

“Rumors are spreading. Brokers suspect we’re working with the cops.”

“So you’re saying we can’t hire anyone?”

“Realistically, yes. Of course, we could hire someone if we tried, but…”

But those available wouldn’t be skilled, and they wouldn’t keep their mouths shut if caught.

Why were they secretly hiring through brokers in the first place?

Wasn’t it to protect themselves even if the criminals were caught?

“Then you need to find another way, don’t you?”

Wang Woo-hwan’s lips felt parched at Hong Woo-jong’s words.

‘His stress levels are definitely rising significantly,’ Wang Woo-hwan thought.

Hong Woo-jong had been relieving his stress through sadism. But recently, he hadn’t been able to indulge as much as he wanted.

That was because most of the networks that supplied women had been eradicated. After the Korean organization was wiped out, he received supplies through Chinese organizations, but even that pipeline had been dismantled by Park Do-joon. After that, he resorted to kidnapping and relieving his stress through the remaining small-time criminals, but the targets weren’t to his liking, and the numbers weren’t sufficient, so it was clear that his stress was building up.

“Then we need to find another way, don’t we?”

Even under normal circumstances, Hong Woo-jong preferred to devise his own methods, make his own plans, and execute them himself, rather than delegating. He was the type who didn’t trust plans made by others and tried to overturn them regardless.

“How about targeting his family?”

“Family?”

“Targeting the closest people is an old but reliable method.”

“Certainly.”

Many people would give their lives for their family or loved ones. Sometimes, they knew it was dangerous, they even knew it was a trap, but they still walked right into it.

“If we can lure them to a place they can never escape from, we can kill them for sure.”

“Good idea.”

And the beauty of such cases was that it didn’t matter if you used a professional killer or just some street thugs.

Because once they were dragged into a dark and secure location, killing them was easy, and there wouldn’t be any evidence.

“Korean law doesn’t prioritize investigating missing persons. Moreover, Park Do-joon is a nuisance even within the police force. Considering the tendencies of the police I know, in such cases, they’d rather handle it as a simple missing person case than actively investigate to find Park Do-joon.”

“Really? Is that so? Then who would be suitable? That brother of his and his family?”

He already knew all the relevant information about Park Do-joon. Choosing a target wasn’t difficult.

“No, I don’t really recommend them.”

First of all, it’s true that they’re close, and it’s also true that they’ll move to save them. But the influence of their company is quite significant.

Of course, Sky Industry doesn’t have the power to overthrow the country. But because it’s related to companies involved in national security, things are more complicated than you think.

“If you mess with Sky Industry, the National Intelligence Service [NIS; South Korea’s primary intelligence agency] will get involved. As you know, Sky Industry was designated as a national security facility by your brother, Hong Geun-jong.”

“Damn it. That son of a bitch.”

In fact, as a condition for Park Do-joon helping Hong Geun-jong, Sky Industry was able to supply military equipment, taking responsibility for national security. Therefore, if someone goes missing from within, it becomes a matter for the National Intelligence Service to investigate, not just the police.

“The police are one thing, but the National Intelligence Service is troublesome.”

Bribes don’t work, and the NIS has more power than a National Assembly member when it comes to investigations.

“If necessary, you’ll have to control the National Intelligence Service, Assemblyman. Do you think you can do that?”

“Not yet.”

The NIS is loyal to those in power. But it’s debatable whether Hong Woo-jong truly held power. Of course, that’s relative, and there would come a day when he could use the NIS like a slave, but at this point, it was impossible for a three-term assemblyman to obstruct an investigation.

Moreover, it was even more impossible if he didn’t have good relationships with other National Assembly members.

“Then what other options are there? His junior colleague?”

“It’ll be difficult. His junior is also a police officer. Police officers are more likely to consider the possibility of their own death. And that woman is quite smart…”

She might leave traces somehow.

“Then the only one left is that girlfriend of his.”

Hong Woo-jong’s face turned sour as he thought of Jung Yi-yeon. It was awkward to target her. He already had many enemies. In that situation, touching Jung Yi-yeon was dangerous.

The Moonlight Law Firm, run by Jung Yi-yeon’s father, had outstanding legal capabilities that surpassed any other. They weren’t considered the best in Korea for nothing.

If such a powerful entity went crazy and started poking around, things would get very complicated.

“That’s precisely why I think we should target that woman.”

“Why?”

“The Moonlight Law Firm’s status is too high. And the person in that position has more than one or two enemies.”

“Oh? So you mean hide the tree in the forest?”

“That’s right.”

The Moonlight Law Firm may have risen to the top in Korea, but in doing so, it had created a vast number of enemies.

Naturally, many of them wanted to harm the people at the Moonlight Law Firm.

“If we add a few false pieces of evidence, they won’t be able to track us.”

“After that, we can lure out Park Do-joon and dispose of him?”

“If we leave behind appropriate evidence, Park Do-joon will come looking on his own.”

“Won’t he call the police?”

“If we leave ambiguous evidence, the police won’t move.”

It’s amateurish to directly threaten him and say, ‘Come to such and such place.’ Nothing is more foolish than that.

If you do that, he’ll call the police, guaranteed.

“So we have to leave evidence behind. Park Do-joon is a smart guy. He’ll probably understand the situation when he sees the evidence.”

“What if he doesn’t come to save her?”

“Then that’s even better for us.”

If we give the related information to Moonlight, they’ll try to eliminate Park Do-joon no matter what. Then we can get rid of Park Do-joon without suffering any damage.

“Good idea. Then how are you going to kidnap that Jung Yi-yeon or whatever? Are you going to kidnap her on the street? That won’t be easy, will it?”

“It’s not difficult to lure her to a secluded place. She tends to go directly if she’s asked to take on a case.”

There are quite a few lawyers who will travel to remote areas if it’s a significant case. Moreover, Jung Yi-yeon isn’t the type to back down from a case.

“I like it.”

Hong Woo-jong smiled contentedly.

But Wang Woo-hwan’s heart sank at the next words.

“So this time, you’re responsible for handling it.”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t it about time you stopped failing? If you fail again, I’ll honestly have to consider you incompetent. And that means you’re not helpful to me.”

Madness flickered in Hong Woo-jong’s eyes as he spoke. Wang Woo-hwan could see it.

This was the last chance Hong Woo-jong was giving him.

And if he failed here, even his family would be in danger.

“I understand.”

Wang Woo-hwan had no choice but to bow his head.

“You still haven’t found Wang Woo-hwan?” Park Do-joon asked.

“Yeah, the US handed over the data, but unfortunately, we can’t pinpoint his location with the information they gave us. It’s confirmed that the bomb terrorist was hired by Wang Woo-hwan, though,” Lee Ji-soo replied.

It’s unknown what happened to the bomb terrorist who went to the US. He wasn’t officially arrested, after all. He simply became one of the many missing persons.

And it’s not like the CIA is an organization that operates righteously, upholding the law and principles.

But the CIA, believing that they could help catch him and prevent future acts of terrorism, returned a favor. They handed over the information they obtained from him.

“There’s some additional information. First of all, Wang Woo-hwan is in Korea. He’s been virtually expelled from the organization, and Wang Woo-hwan and Hong Woo-jong have been blacklisted by various killer organizations.”

“Certainly, this is information that’s hard for the police to access.”

Lee Ji-soo clicked her tongue as she heard those words.

“In Korea, the only ones who can access this kind of information are the National Intelligence Service, but they won’t share it with us.”

“Ugh, that’s true.”

“Anyway, it’s highly probable that Wang Woo-hwan was the one who hired him.”

Team Leader Jo Sang-gyu handed over the report.