My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 75

“But if they’re holding a woman captive to fulfill their desires, the situation changes.”

Imprisoning someone implies a lot. It means securing a space to hold them, solving the problem of food and drink, and avoiding drawing attention from the people around them.

“So, you’re saying the killer is still in Korea.”

“Yes.”

The police probably assumed the killers had already fled to China and were trying to pin the blame on someone else to avoid taking the fall themselves.

But the culprit is still in Korea?

That would be a real disaster.

“Let’s go.”

At Park Do-joon’s words, the team leader gestured to head outside.

Once they were away from the other detectives, the team leader lowered his voice and said,

“The higher-ups won’t like this. We need to investigate thoroughly and quietly.”

“That’s what I intend to do. That’s why I’m asking you to dispatch me to this case.”

“Under the guise of investigating a simple missing person case?”

“Yes, either way, Gu-wan’s people won’t be able to say anything.”

Gu-wan’s people can’t interfere regarding Yoo Jung-ah. It’s not certain if they know her identity, and even if they do, interfering with a police investigation could raise suspicion.

“If what you say is true, it means there’s an organization operating in Korea, but isn’t it unlikely that such an organization exists?”

“No, it’s very likely.”

Koreans tend to think that if something bad happens, the culprits are always Chinese.

But not all Koreans are good.

“And as you know, Team Leader, this case is full of political landmines. Realistically, whoever committed this crime is likely someone with power and influence.”

Contract killing is premeditated.

And powerful people can run such organizations.

“Someone like that… I don’t know who it could be.”

“Neither do I; there are so many of them.”

Do Korean conglomerates not run violent organizations?

They do. It’s just not officially 드러나지 [revealed]. For example, the thugs who appear during redevelopment disputes. They beat people, threaten them, destroy property, and even commit murder if necessary. And their employer is the construction company.

Let’s think logically. If those guys are committing personal crimes as the construction company claims, what do they live on when there’s no work?

Do they live honestly and then suddenly turn violent, beating, threatening, and kidnapping people only when they get a job?

That’s unlikely. In Korea, violent organizations run by companies operate as external entities.

However, the companies pretend not to know when problems arise. If someone is involved in running a violent organization, it’s not strange for them to run a murder organization as well.

“However, the problem with Gu-wan is that he has too many enemies, so it’s hard to pinpoint anyone.”

Gu-wan didn’t have much of a faction within the party due to his arrogant personality. Of course, there were people who wanted his help, but hardly anyone followed him.

“This is a headache.”

The team leader frowned.

“For now, I’ll look into the missing Yoo Jung-ah.”

That was the best they could do for now.

***

Finding Yoo Jung-ah wasn’t difficult. Her agency knew her address. She lived in a somewhat old officetel [a type of multi-purpose building, often used for both residential and office space] on the outskirts of Seoul.

“There are no CCTV cameras around here. But the officetel itself is clean.”

“That’s unexpected. Isn’t it common for places like this to have a lot of CCTV cameras?”

“It’s a matter of cost.”

“What do you mean?”

Jung Yi-yeon tilted her head.

“You can’t install CCTV cameras everywhere. The government doesn’t have unlimited money. As a result, CCTV cameras are mostly installed in two types of places: places with a lot of foot traffic or places with poor security. But look at this neighborhood.”

It’s quiet and peaceful. It’s not a place with a lot of foot traffic. Moreover, although this is an officetel, most of the surrounding area is detached houses.

“These places generally have good security. Therefore, there won’t be many incidents. There’s no reason for local residents to be afraid and ask for CCTV cameras to be installed. Plus, the police station is right over there. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Criminals don’t come here often?”

“That’s right. There’s no reason to install CCTV cameras here.”

It would be better to install CCTV cameras elsewhere to prevent crime.

“Here it is.”

Park Do-joon went up to the officetel. Nowadays, officetels have door locks installed at the entrance for security, but this old-fashioned officetel doesn’t even have CCTV cameras inside.

“I checked with the company, and they said that Yoo Jung-ah found this officetel herself, not provided by the company.”

“What about her family?”

“Her family thinks it was provided by Yoo Jung-ah’s company.”

“I think I understand the situation.”

People often find living spaces for their mistresses for their secret rendezvous. Gu-wan probably has that kind of money.

“And the contact was cut off exactly after Gu-wan disappeared.”

Park Do-joon stood in front of the door locked with an electronic lock. He glanced at the side of the door and opened it without hesitation using the password he received from the company.

Inside, there was a space of about 14 pyeong [approximately 46 square meters]. It was an old officetel, but still enough space for a woman to live alone.

“It doesn’t look particularly strange, does it?”

A neatly organized space. A perfect place for a woman to live.

Park Do-joon looked around and went to the kitchen, checking the drawers and inside the refrigerator.

Then he said to Jung Yi-yeon,

“There’s something strange, already.”

“Really? I don’t see anything.”

“That’s because you’re not trained. Go outside and look at the side of the door.”

“The side of the door?”

Jung Yi-yeon went outside and looked at the side of the door. There was something wrapped in a bag.

“What is this?”

“Probably delivery food.”

“Delivery food?”

“There are no ingredients to cook here.”

Park Do-joon gestured towards the kitchen and refrigerator.

“There’s hardly any food sent by her parents either. Well, that’s natural, since she hasn’t succeeded yet.”

Diet control is mandatory for celebrities. It’s said to be less strict once they succeed, but Yoo Jung-ah, who hasn’t succeeded yet, can’t avoid it.

“So, she wouldn’t keep anything she could cook at home.”

The only thing to eat in the room was a bag of nuts.

“But did you see the menu outside?”

“Yes, it was tonkatsu [Japanese pork cutlet], right?”

“Would a celebrity who’s on an extreme diet eat tonkatsu? And tonkatsu is more of a male preference.”

It’s said that if tteokbokki [spicy rice cakes] is the soul food of women, then tonkatsu is the soul food of men.

“You’re saying a man was here with her.”

“That’s right. And I think I know how the abduction happened.”

“Delivery food?”

If Gu-wan comes here, he can’t starve for two days. Eventually, they have to order something.

The criminals probably knew that.

“They can’t break down the door by force.”

Carrying that kind of equipment would be too conspicuous, and the noise would alert the neighbors.

“But people usually don’t suspect delivery people.”

Moreover, delivery people wear helmets, so their faces aren’t visible. If they said they were delivering at the scheduled time, Yoo Jung-ah probably opened the door without much suspicion.

“Then the discarded tonkatsu next to it…?”

“The real delivery person probably left it there because there was no answer when they knocked later.”

Probably by that time, the two had already been dragged away.

“The criminals probably opened the door with the excuse of delivery. And then they pushed their way in. So, there are at least three criminals.”

With two people, they could subdue one person each, but it would be difficult to maintain vigilance while moving. Moreover, even though he’s old, Gu-wan is a man. He wouldn’t resist if threatened.

“It would take at least two people to subdue him.”

Yoo Jung-ah could just be pushed against the wall and have her mouth covered. But Gu-wan would struggle to escape no matter what. Someone would have to cover his mouth then.

“A kidnapping group of three. They came in.”

Park Do-joon looked around the room, checking the movements. Then he frowned at something below.

“A robot vacuum cleaner.”

The robot vacuum cleaner probably cleaned the floor according to the schedule, so there wouldn’t be any footprints left.

“It’s clean. It looks like they were dragged away before they could even do anything.”

“But, Senior, we can’t identify who the man here was, can we? Saying it’s Gu-wan is just a guess.”

“That’s right.”

It’s definitely a suspicious situation, but it’s just a situation. There’s nothing concrete here. Of course, because they were forcibly dragged away, things are quite disarranged, but that’s all.

“Wouldn’t the neighbors have seen or heard anything?”

“We should assume they didn’t. If they had, they would have reported it already.”

It’s not just anyone; Gu-wan’s photo has been on TV for days, so they couldn’t have failed to recognize him.

“But it’s not like there’s no way.”

Park Do-joon left the officetel and went to the underground parking lot.

Then he started walking around the underground parking lot.

“Senior, what are you doing?”

“Looking for a car with a sticker on it.”

“A sticker?”

“These old officetels have severe parking problems. So, they warn external vehicles if they park for a long time. You know that, right?”

“Ah, I know. Apartments do that too.”

To prevent vehicles from outside from parking without permission, they put warning stickers on the windows of external vehicles.

Usually, they’re attached with a strong adhesive, causing stress to the driver.

“It’s unlikely that the vehicle is registered here.”

Park Do-joon searched the parking lot for a while. And soon, he found a Korean luxury car in the corner.

There was a warning sticker on the driver’s side.

And fortunately, they wrote the date the sticker was attached, so he could tell that this vehicle was stickered the day after Gu-wan disappeared.

“Then who does this vehicle belong to?”

“Is it a ghost car [unregistered car]?”

“That’s unlikely. It would be a problem if a congressman was caught driving a ghost car. They wouldn’t use a ghost car for something they don’t know about. It’s probably under someone they know’s name. For example…”

Park Do-joon searched the vehicle number on his phone. The name that came up was a familiar name. None other than Gu-wan’s aide.

“Someone like an aide.”

Even if he has a car under his aide’s name, there’s no legal problem as long as the driver’s insurance is set to ‘all’.”

But the aide himself had never mentioned this vehicle. Even though it’s his car.

Then who brought this vehicle here?

“Bingo! Found it.”

Park Do-joon smiled at the vehicle.