My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 696

“Yes, and the trigger that set off Song Do-jong wasn’t money.”

“Not money, but the prostitution itself?”

“Yes, if it were about money, he wouldn’t have specifically targeted the women involved in prostitution.”

“True.”

When committing murder, people often project their emotions onto the target. While pleasure-seeking killers choose based on their preferences, revenge-driven killers choose targets that reflect the object of their revenge.

“Perhaps Song Do-jong’s mother was involved in prostitution. And he probably had an extremely bad relationship with her.”

“How can you confirm that? He didn’t even call her.”

“I checked the visitation list at the detention center. His parents didn’t come at all.”

“Even though his son was arrested for murder?”

“Yes.”

“Huh!”

No matter how bad the relationship, one would think they would visit at least once when something like this happens. Whether to scold him, cry about why he did it, or apologize for raising him wrong.

But not even once?

“It means they crossed the point of no return a long time ago.”

At those words, Jo Sang-gyu frowned.

“It’s not that such cases don’t exist. But why provoke him with that? He’s already given up and confessed everything, and the parent issue doesn’t affect his sentence at all.”

“It’s to make him attack Kim Song-rim.”

“Kim Song-rim?”

“Yes, I subtly provided false information, suggesting he was played by that woman.”

“Seriously?”

“Song Do-jong dedicated his life to destroying the lives of prostitutes. What do you think he’d do if he found out his life was manipulated by one?”

He’d probably do anything to get revenge. But the problem is, Song Do-jong is already locked up and has no way out.

So, how would he get revenge?

“Are you saying he’ll shift the blame?”

“It’s not impossible. What does lying mean to Song Do-jong?”

It means nothing.

Perjury? Defamation? False accusation?

No matter what he does, he has no future.

“Only one thing matters: screwing over the other person.”

“Then….”

“Of course, it’s just a possibility.”

In reality, Song Do-jong probably doesn’t know Kim Song-rim, and they’ve never met. Park Do-joon did throw bait by talking about Kim Song-rim’s past, but the chance of Song Do-jong taking it and lying isn’t very high.

“But if it’s about misogyny, especially against a woman who’s a prostitute, whom he hates the most, he’ll do anything to get revenge.”

And all he can do in that situation is lie.

“If he just says one word….”

“Yes, even the government can’t block a warrant.”

This is a case where eleven people died. If a suspect confesses to being an accomplice, rejecting the warrant? Heads will roll.

“So, you provoked him?”

“Yes.”

In a situation where his trauma is triggered, if a target he can project onto and attack comes to mind, he’ll try to attack that target. Naturally, the stronger the trauma, the greater the likelihood of attacking the substitute.

“Let’s wait and see. See how he reacts….”

Park Do-joon was anticipating that.

It was a subtle bait, but before long, Song Do-jong took the bait. He seemed to use his head to get revenge, but in the end, that resentment was something he created himself, so he eagerly grabbed the only option available in that situation.

“Detective! Detective, that guy changed his statement! He said he was supplied with women by Kim Song-rim!”

Lee Ji-soo was dumbfounded and shouted, bringing the statement.

“Why are you shouting? It’s giving me a headache.”

“No, how did you know he would make that statement?”

“I subtly threw him bait, suggesting he was played by that woman.”

“They’ve never even met, have they?”

“The important thing isn’t that. Song Do-jong extremely hated his mother because she was involved in prostitution. And he projected that and committed murder. How do you think he’d feel about the person that’s projected onto?”

“Pardon?”

Park Do-joon clicked his tongue at Lee Ji-soo, who looked completely clueless.

“In the current situation, Song Do-jong won’t be repenting, right?”

“No, he won’t.”

“Then who is he blaming for ruining his life?”

“Of course, his mother… Ah, I see?”

He committed murder, and he’s ruined because of his mother. More precisely, because of those dirty prostitutes.

So, Park Do-joon’s words that he was played by Kim Song-rim, who is involved in prostitution, would have triggered his trauma.

“He’s still trying to project his trauma about his mother onto someone else.”

“That’s right.”

He’ll project his mother onto Kim Song-rim and want to get revenge on Kim Song-rim as if he were getting revenge on his mother.

“But why did that lead to changing his statement?”

“Because I made it that way.”

“Pardon?”

“I told you, I said, ‘You were played by Kim Song-rim.’”

“Yes, you did.”

“There’s nothing to do in the detention center, and there’s plenty of time. So, what would he do during that time?”

“He would have mulled over those words.”

“Right, he would.”

It might actually be a suspicious situation. And Kim Song-rim might know him. And he might have even developed the idea that Kim Song-rim used him to get rid of unwanted people.

“You know why people are told not to think and worry alone, right?”

“You mean confirmation bias?”

“That’s right.”

When someone starts to worry alone, the worry rarely leads to good results.

Because there’s a trap called confirmation bias inside human worries.

For example, when you start worrying about event A, you might think you’ll judge it neutrally and in a balanced way, but surprisingly, that’s extremely unlikely. Humans have already made a slight prejudgment.

Judgment is only possible if it starts with a 50:50 possibility, but since information has already been acquired, the judgment starts with a 51:49 difference.

Naturally, the longer the worry, the more the weight starts to shift towards the 51 side.

Of course, no matter how he worries, psychologically, he has no choice but to lean towards the side where 51 already exists.

“On top of that, Song Do-jong is already full of misogyny and hatred for prostitutes. So, would that be 51:49?”

“It’s already over 70:30.”

“That’s right.”

The judgment has already been made internally, but only he doesn’t know it. Naturally, the more he worries, the more suspicious he becomes, and the more he suspects Kim Song-rim.

“So, he just blurts it out first?”

“There’s nothing he can change anyway.”

He’s already sentenced to death.

So, he blurts it out first, and even if it’s not true, he has nothing to lose.

Of course, the person being accused will be dumbfounded.

“You calculated all that?”

“There’s nothing I can’t do, right? Psychology is ultimately a science. If you know statistics or behavioral patterns, you can predict them, and if you start to understand them, you can control them to some extent.”

In reality, profilers generally use methods to track down suspects by understanding their psychology, but profilers who are more skilled than that use the suspect’s psychology to set traps and safely arrest the criminal by making them fall into those traps.

“I’m still far from that.”

“Do you think it’s that easy?”

“There’s only a one-year difference between you and me….”

At those words, Park Do-joon just smiled. In reality, there’s a difference of decades.

“The important thing isn’t that, but that Song Do-jong changed his statement. And Kim Song-rim is probably in a panic.”

Song Do-jong would have claimed that Kim Song-rim knew he was committing murder but left him to get rid of unwanted people.

“That’s right.”

“Yes, and even if she’s an accessory, it’s for a total of ten murders. If she even profited from it, she’ll get at least 30 years.”

“But this doesn’t make sense, does it? If you investigate a little, it’ll turn out to be nonsense.”

Park Do-joon shook his finger at those words.

“That’s why we have to be slightly wrong.”

“Slightly wrong?”

“We’re not mind readers, and we can’t read all the psychology, right? So, we can be wrong. That’s why profiling isn’t used as evidence in court.”

“Well, that’s….”

Profiling helps to guide the investigation process, but it has absolutely no influence as evidence in court. Because there’s a possibility of being wrong, as Park Do-joon said.

“So, it’s okay to be slightly wrong.”

“Pardon?”

“A story, you know, just has to be plausible. Hehehe.”

“No, so do you think that makes sense? Who would believe the words of such a crazy person?”

Someone was vehemently trying to dismiss Song Do-jong’s words.

“We can’t ignore it. This is a case where eleven people died. He might be crazy, but what he said might be true.”

And someone else agreed, saying that there’s a possibility that Song Do-jong’s words aren’t entirely false.

“Song Do-jong said he’s never even met Kim Song-rim, right? So, how could he be used?”

“Kim Song-rim might have known about the signs. But she might have hidden them.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“It could be true, right? Don’t you remember her bringing a bunch of lawyers that day? She brought them in a group because she was feeling guilty, right?”

“Well, that’s….”

“Do you think it makes sense for them to come in a group, say one word of apology, and leave? After spending 120 million won [approximately $90,000 USD]?”

“That’s because it’s under investigation….”

“No one spends 120 million won during an investigation. There weren’t even any charges at that time. She’s feeling guilty.”

“How can she use someone she’s never seen? And what benefit is there in using him like that?”

“That’s….”

As the commotion continued among the police, Jo Sang-gyu, who couldn’t stand it any longer, raised his voice.

“Everyone, stop fighting. Don’t you know that we have to investigate since the statement came out? What are you going to do if we don’t investigate? Cover it up? And what if it turns out to be true later? Are you going to take responsibility?”

“…….”

Responsibility is one of the scariest words for a public official. Especially when it involves a serial killer who murdered eleven people. Of course, one of them was killed by Song Do-jong’s gang for revenge, and ten were killed through the site.

“But there’s no reason, is there? There’s no benefit in killing them.”

Still unable to accept that he’s losing, one policeman pouted. At those words, Jo Sang-gyu turned his gaze to Park Do-joon.

“Hey, Park Do-joon, what do you think? Is there really no benefit?”

“Well? Should we say there is, or should we say there isn’t?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“There’s no direct monetary benefit. But there could be indirect benefits.”