My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 700

And if Kim Song-rim was being controlled, she would naturally need permission for this situation, so she would inevitably look to the lawyer with the most influence.

‘That lawyer, huh.’

Park Do-joon smiled as he looked at the gray-haired man.

“Alright, let’s start the interrogation.”

A 4:1 situation. It seems disadvantageous at first glance, but this is a psychological battle, not a physical one. Of course, it looks like 4:1, but in reality, it’s a 1:1 fight between that senior lawyer and Park Do-joon.

That’s why Park Do-joon confirmed who the leading figure was first.

“You’re Kim Song-rim, correct?”

“Yes.”

“You’re 33 years old.”

“Yes.”

“And your address is in Mapo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul.”

“Yes.”

Questions that aren’t particularly strange – personal questions. But there was a subtle trap in these questions too. It was to observe Kim Song-rim’s physical reactions and response speed while confirming facts she couldn’t deny.

Simply remembering Kim Song-rim’s reaction when telling the truth, rather than just a ‘Yes’ answer, makes it easier to compare with her subsequent behavior.

After confirming her identity, Park Do-joon looked at Kim Song-rim and asked,

“Kim Song-rim, you operate a website for facilitating prostitution, don’t you?”

Instead of answering, Kim Song-rim turned her head to look at the gray-haired man.

‘She’ll get caught. Okay.’

Not just a sponsorship site, but a sponsorship site for prostitution. Even if Kim Song-rim is an idiot, she wouldn’t fall for that kind of obvious trap. So she won’t be able to answer, and instead, she’ll look for someone to answer for her.

“Isn’t that a leading question? Prostitution? That site is purely a matchmaking site for finding sponsors.”

“We call that ‘sponsoring.’ And the name of the site is ‘SponsorNet,’ isn’t it?”

“The term ‘sponsor’ means a supporter, not necessarily prostitution. After all, company names appear as sponsors in international competitions, don’t they?”

“But it doesn’t seem like athletes gather on that site, do they?”

“There are many people in the world with dreams, and many people need support. SponsorNet was created for the purpose of allowing those people to meet each other.”

“Didn’t you know that prostitution was happening within it?”

“The client had no idea about that at all. In the first place, our client never told anyone to engage in prostitution on her site.”

“It was openly written that if you want to receive sponsorship, you have to do everything the sponsor wants, wasn’t it?”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean prostitution. Who sponsors someone who has no value? They sponsor people who have potential and can achieve their goals. That’s the meaning.”

International groups sponsor famous sports stars, not local amateur soccer clubs.

The lawyer retorted to Park Do-joon’s words. Watching that, Park Do-joon chuckled inwardly.

‘What a load of crap. But one thing has become clear.’

Numerous questions were asked, but the answers only came through that lawyer. That means all control is in the hands of that lawyer.

‘Given his experience, he must be a senior lawyer.’

It’s not just because he’s old that he’s the leader. In an interrogation, each answer is often very sensitive.

So, when a member of a *chaebol* [South Korean family-owned conglomerate] appears at the police station, they react sensitively to even the smallest question, wondering if there’s a trap, and put their heads together to discuss it.

For example, if a *chaebol* family member appears at the police station and they are asked, ‘On [Date], where did you drink alcohol?’ even though the route is obvious, the lawyers mull over the question and consult with each other before answering ‘Yes.’ And then, if they ask, ‘Did you drink whiskey or *soju* [Korean distilled rice liquor]?’ they spend a long time discussing it again, and the answer that comes out is ‘I don’t remember.’

Lawyers put their heads together to discuss the possibility of traps and try to defend against even questions that have nothing to do with the case or have no impact at all.

That’s why when interrogating *chaebols*, even after twelve hours of interrogation, nothing comes out. Because the answer to each question is delayed by at least 5 minutes, sometimes hours.

There’s no time limit to prevent lawyers from consulting during interrogation, so the police end up having to shut up. In reality, it’s not revealed, but there are many cases where, after summoning a *chaebol* and conducting a full twelve-hour investigation, the only information received is obvious information like their name, resident registration number, and address.

Because even though the information is obvious to anyone, they deliberately drag out the time under the name of lawyer consultation, preventing them from answering.

In such cases, they externally say that they received a ‘thorough’ investigation, but from the police’s perspective, they didn’t hear a single word.

‘But right now, that lawyer isn’t consulting at all.’

It’s a question that they should be discussing with each other. But he’s answering without hesitation. That doesn’t just mean he prepared the answers in advance.

‘He has no intention of defending.’

To be precise, he has no intention of protecting Kim Song-rim.

‘Is that so? Hahaha, it’s too predictable; it’s not even fun.’

In fact, summoning Kim Song-rim was a trap. Knowing that things would turn out this way, the person Park Do-joon wanted to interrogate wasn’t Kim Song-rim, but the lawyer.

Because lawyers can’t shut their mouths, even for defense. Of course, if they were lawyers who came with a real *chaebol*, they would drag out the time to prevent questions in any way possible, but since they don’t intend to protect Kim Song-rim that much, they’re only defending at a fundamental level.

Of course, the lawyer’s skills are so good that even that fundamental defense is quite effective.

‘But he probably doesn’t even realize he’s being interrogated.’

Lawyers will naturally think they’re defending. That’s why they make mistakes.

“Okay, let’s change the questions a bit.”

“Yes.”

“So, how much did you pay these lawyers for their services?”

At those words, Kim Song-rim looked at the lawyer, somewhat flustered.

And at those words, the lawyer, who had been answering calmly until now, reacted very sensitively.

“Why are you asking that?”

“I’m pursuing additional charges.”

“Additional charges?”

“Yes.”

“Our fees are confidential according to the contract.”

“Ah, I’m not curious about the fees. I’m curious about where you got the money. You didn’t report your taxes while running that site, did you…?”

Everyone looked dumbfounded at those words. But they couldn’t ignore it. Just as it’s legal for lawyers to delay by consulting, it’s legal for the police to pursue additional charges. And this time, the answer was quick again.

“That has nothing to do with this case.”

“No, it’s related. The accusation this time is related to contract killing. In other words, we’re very sensitive to the source of the money.”

The lawyer’s face turned sour at Park Do-joon’s words.

Because that wasn’t wrong.

“I will exercise my right to remain silent.”

‘So, there’s something they’re caught on.’

Watching them exercise their right to remain silent on something they couldn’t answer, Park Do-joon roughly figured out what kind of system they were operating under.

Once that interrogation started, it mostly passed with the exercise of the right to remain silent. There was no choice. Interrogation basically has to become sharper and sharper. If it’s a loss whether you answer or not, people don’t answer.

That’s why Park Do-joon didn’t expect anything. Rather, the only question he was expecting was one thing.

‘And finally…’

Park Do-joon glanced at Kim Song-rim and asked,

“Do you know someone named Jo Yu-soon? And Ahn Tae-ik? What happened between those two?”

Not multiple choice, but short answer. And the answer?

“Let’s have a meeting for a moment.”

As soon as the names Jo Yu-soon and Ahn Tae-ik came out, one of the lawyers stepped in. Then, the four lawyers started talking to each other in the corner.

‘They must be wondering how I found out. Yes, they will. Hahaha.’

In fact, these names were confirmed in Kim Song-rim’s call history. Since a formal accusation of aiding and abetting murder had been filed, it was natural to investigate the phone call history, and they couldn’t stop it.

But the fact that two people were identified out of the thousands of numbers in that call history is a pretty big deal to them.

‘Because they’re the ones who requested it from them.’

Of course, it’s no coincidence that they were singled out. The fact that Kim Song-rim quickly hired a lawyer after being indicted means that they had been in contact for a considerable period of time.

So, all you have to do is track the numbers that have been in contact for a long time based on that point in time. Of course, the lawyers don’t know that at all.

Of course, even if they were tracked down like that, it’s impossible to know whether they really hired a lawyer, or whether they were sponsoring and swapping.

‘But this is something that individuals can’t help but make different judgments on.’

Since each of them has different clients, they have to try to protect each other’s clients. One side can’t unilaterally say ‘I know’ or ‘I don’t know.’ Otherwise, the blame could fall on one person.

In other words, this answer is a question that requires them to share their opinions and answer.

Moreover, it’s not multiple choice, but short answer.

Of course, that was the trap. The very fact that the lawyers are sharing their opinions with each other is proof that they know the two people they pointed out.

‘And the answer is…’

As expected, it’s the right to remain silent.

It’s natural. There are four lawyers, and two have been identified. In a situation where they don’t know whether the other two weren’t caught or whether it’s a trap, the best option the lawyers can choose is to remain silent.

“Alright. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Is it over?”

“Yes, well, it is.”

“Already?”

“Whether it’s already or not, everyone knows that Song Do-jong is talking nonsense, right?”

“Hmm… that’s true.”

“Go back for now. You’ve worked hard, so get some rest.”

Park Do-joon finished greeting the lawyer and Kim Song-rim and left the place. And after a while, Kim Song-rim disappeared with the lawyers, just like when she came.

“Detective, how was it?”

“They were very sensitive about the guys named Jo Yu-soon and Ahn Tae-ik. Those two definitely hired lawyers.”

“Then if we dig into them, we’ll find something, right?”

“Probably.”

Park Do-joon said with a beaming smile.

“We’re almost there.”

All that’s left now is the arrest.

Profiling as a Vocation