My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 72

“Oh, Detective, what do we do then? We can’t just fight based on mere possibilities, can we?”

“That’s right. So, we’re going to start from scratch.”

“From scratch?”

“The timeline of the abduction, I mean.”

Park Do-joon said with a serious face.

“Right now, everyone is fixated on Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan’s death. But I think the core of this case is Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan’s disappearance.”

The perpetrator took Jeon Gu-wan away without anyone knowing. What’s even stranger is that even though Jeon Gu-wan disappeared, they remained silent until his body was discovered.

“It doesn’t make sense logically. Jeon Gu-wan is a member of the National Assembly.”

He’s a National Assembly member whose schedule is tracked minute-by-minute and who meets with numerous people every day. For such a person to disappear for two days without a word and be unreachable, yet no one reported it.

“Conversely, it means he had those two days cleared in his schedule.”

“Ah, I didn’t think of that.”

“Yes, let’s start there first.”

Park Do-joon took a deep breath and said.

“But it won’t be easy.”

***

“I have nothing to say to you.”

The aide drew a firm line with Park Do-joon.

Numerous journalists and police officers had come and gone. But Jeon Gu-wan’s office hadn’t said a word.

They must be shocked by this incident and have nothing to say.

Moreover, who is Park Do-joon? He’s the guy who ruined the life of Jeon Gu-wan’s son, Jeon Bu-man.

Jeon Bu-man was arrested for murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison. That’s just for the three deaths; the numerous rape cases that occurred afterward are still on trial, so the sentence will only increase, not decrease.

In their eyes, Park Do-joon was the culprit behind that.

And now he comes and asks about Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan’s schedule? Of course, they wouldn’t tell him.

“We’re here to find the culprit behind Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan’s case.”

“Then find the real culprit. Don’t harass the victim’s office. And isn’t there already a culprit?”

“There’s a high possibility that the arrested person isn’t the real culprit. And to properly indict the guilty party, it’s important to thoroughly understand the progress of the case.”

“That’s a problem for other police officers to handle, not you, so get out of here right now.”

The staff of Jeon Gu-wan’s office forcibly pushed Park Do-joon out.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Detective, why are they like that? It seems like they really didn’t like you messing with them last time?”

“That’s definitely possible.”

Park Do-joon nodded. That possibility was certainly there.

“Right? Right? I have a hunch! Detective, there’s something suspicious. Did you get anything?”

“No, I checked with the police too. But they said they didn’t receive Jeon Gu-wan’s itinerary either.”

It’s not like Park Do-joon was kicked out of the police force, and the team leader is helping Park Do-joon. Of course, he has access to the minimum information needed for the investigation.

“Really? That’s strange.”

“It is strange. It’s not the typical behavior pattern of a victim’s office.”

Victims experience injustice and anger. Even if the office staff aren’t family members and don’t have a direct relationship, they are practically unemployed in the current situation, so there should be anger resulting from that.

“But they didn’t have any of that. Rather, they seemed extremely keen on hiding something.”

“Uh… there’s definitely something like that. I thought it was because they hated you, Detective.”

“Well, that could be it.”

Park Do-joon is the one who put Jeon Bu-man in jail. So, they might be angry in that way.

“But you know, looking at their behavior pattern… it’s not so much that they’re angry at me, but rather that they’re trying to hide something, and they’re wary of me approaching it.”

It was as if they were under strong pressure to hide Jeon Gu-wan’s records.

“But is there anything problematic about that?”

“There is. Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan’s office will be closed anyway. Their superior is Jeon Gu-wan. But he’s dead. Usually, in this case, they would cooperate with the investigation by showing Jeon Gu-wan’s appointments or records. Since there’s no superior, there’s no room for arbitrary decisions.”

When the police investigate a murder case, cooperating with them is generally common sense.

“But they’re trying to hide it, not cooperate. It’s not a typical pattern. So, who could be instructing them to do that?”

“Huh? That’s right?”

There’s no one who can instruct them.

Jeon Gu-wan is dead, and there’s no reason for another National Assembly member to do that. Rather, in the current situation, if another National Assembly member were to do that, it would be the perfect behavior to be suspected as the murderer.

“Then the only ones left are… the bereaved family?”

“Correct. In this situation, the only ones who can control them and prevent information leaks are the bereaved family. But why would they do that?”

It’s a time when their anger towards the person who killed Jeon Gu-wan should be sky-high. But the bereaved family is uncooperative with the police investigation?

“They strongly want to hide something.”

Park Do-joon stroked his chin while analyzing their behavior.

“There’s something behind this that we don’t know.”

And Park Do-joon was going to dig into it.

# There Are Two Victims

That day Jeon Gu-wan disappeared.

The official position of Jeon Gu-wan’s office was simple: that day was Jeon Gu-wan’s day off, so there were no official schedules. In fact, that day was Sunday, so there were no official National Assembly schedules.

“But National Assembly members don’t rest on Sundays. No, to be exact, they can’t rest.”

“Why, Detective? Isn’t it possible to rest on Sundays?”

“Because of the election law.”

“What does the election law have to do with resting?”

“The election law prohibits election campaigning outside of the official election period.”

But National Assembly members who hold power want to keep holding it.

Of course, they want to campaign even if it means skirting the law.

“So, on weekends, they make excuses to campaign. The most typical one is attending weddings.”

A wedding is a major event for a family, so greeting the people who are attending the wedding is one of the things that the election commission doesn’t usually interfere with.

“Wedding halls are where a tremendous number of people gather. Especially in rural areas, most of the guests are local residents. If the person getting married is a local influential figure, the number of guests increases even more.”

“Ah!”

Of course, it’s a golden opportunity to campaign, so National Assembly members can’t afford to rest on weekends.

“Weddings are just one example… In fact, many events take place on weekends.”

Unity rallies, hometown gatherings, large-scale school reunions, etc. There are countless events that take place on weekends because participants don’t have time on weekdays.

“But there’s none of that? That can’t be.”

“But still, they might want to rest. Coincidences can overlap.”

“That’s possible. But you know, wouldn’t they still call their driver?”

“Yes?”

“There was no driver listed among the victim reports. That means Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan didn’t use a driver that day. It varies from person to person, but Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan isn’t the kind type. He’s not the type to tell his driver, ‘Go home and rest,’ just because he’s resting.”

Jeon Gu-wan was a person who tried to cover up a murder case to protect his son.

Profiling-wise, he’s extremely selfish and thinks it’s natural to use others for his own benefit.

“Would such a person not call his driver just because he’s resting? That doesn’t make sense.”

“If he had no reason to go out, wouldn’t that be possible?”

Park Do-joon shook his head from side to side at Jung Yi-yeon’s words.

“That’s true if he had no reason to go out. But he did go out. It’s not like someone came and kidnapped him while he was sleeping at home.”

The apartment he lives in has tight security. Strangers can’t easily enter.

Besides, there’s no reason why Jeon Gu-wan wouldn’t resist or shout for help while being taken away.

“And since it’s the weekend, there’s a high possibility that his family was at home. In other words, if the abduction had occurred at home, there would have been more victims.”

But the family members are still alive. That means Jeon Gu-wan wasn’t home that day.

“Jeon Gu-wan drove his own car that day but went out without his driver. And he didn’t come back. And the family didn’t report it until the next day.”

“Could it have been something urgent?”

“Maybe.”

Park Do-joon fell into thought. That’s possible. But if that’s the case, there’s no reason why Jeon Gu-wan’s family wouldn’t disclose his whereabouts.

“I don’t think it was something urgent. If it was for public reasons, there’s no reason why Jeon Gu-wan’s family wouldn’t provide his whereabouts.”

“Then?”

“It’s probably something illegal or taboo.”

Jung Yi-yeon frowned at Park Do-joon’s words.

“Something illegal?”

“Yes, how many illegal things do National Assembly members do? Receiving bribes, accepting lavish hospitality, or meeting someone to ask for favors… Of course, they generally use other methods to avoid revealing their involvement…”

They usually send aides as messengers or make calls with burner phones [disposable cell phones] to avoid being exposed.

But he bothered to move in person?

“Then there are two possibilities. One is someone with such strong power that such behavior wouldn’t be considered impolite to them.”

But there are few people with as much power as Jeon Gu-wan, and they have to be careful of each other. Of course, they also dislike Jeon Gu-wan coming to them in person.

Aside from politeness, the very act of being seen together is a political burden.

“So, in the end, people of that level don’t meet each other often?”

“Yes, they’d rather meet officially in such cases. That way, there won’t be rumors later.”

Why didn’t Jeon Gu-wan come in person when he was trying to save his son and instead sent Hong Woo-jong? Wasn’t it to avoid showing that he was directly involved?

“For each other’s safety, people with that much power avoid personal meetings. So, let’s pass on that.”

Receiving bribes? That’s also difficult these days. Jeon Gu-wan isn’t stupid enough to receive it himself. It’s common sense for Korean politicians these days to just send an aide or have a family member go and receive it, without revealing the connection.

“So, let’s pass on receiving money or favors too.”

In the end, what’s left is something that Jeon Gu-wan had no choice but to do directly.

“I have no idea.”

“I have a rough idea.”

“Detective, what do you think it is?”

“A woman.”

Jung Yi-yeon’s eyes widened strangely at Park Do-joon’s words.

‘A woman?’

But Park Do-joon said it as a matter of course.

“Looking at the various possibilities, there’s a high chance that Jeon Gu-wan went to meet a woman. Probably a mistress.”

“A mistress, out of the blue?”

“It’s not exactly a secret that politicians or powerful people meet women separately, is it? Humans… no, men are like that. And I told you, the other party is a professional. They’ve been preparing for quite a long time to kidnap Jeon Gu-wan.”