My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 99

“Ugh!”

“Heo Kang-soo! You’re under arrest.”

“Who the hell are you, you bastard!”

At that moment, police officers swarmed from behind Park Do-joon. The reason the *jajangmyeon* [Korean black bean noodles] was late was because of this. They couldn’t all fit in the elevator together, so the other detectives took the emergency stairs.

Park Do-joon stood on the threshold, preventing the door from closing.

The moment they arrested Heo Kang-soo, the only man inside, the other police officers rushed in.

“Aaaagh!”

“Devil… !”

“It’s, it’s heresy!”

The women screamed and scattered, and Heo Kang-soo struggled against the officers.

“Who are you! You bastard! Who are you!”

Park Do-joon raised the helmet he was holding and said.

“I’m a cop, you bastard!”

“Police?”

“I’m arresting you on suspicion of 20 murders and child abduction. Oh, and it looks like we can add underage rape to the list, you bastard.”

“Shit. Let go! You won’t let go?”

“Like hell I will.”

Park Do-joon twisted his arm and handcuffed him tightly. As the handcuffs clicked shut, a smile appeared on Park Do-joon’s face.

“I really like that sound.”

***

Click. Click.

The flashes were blinding, like daylight.

Heo Kang-soo was dragged to the police station by the officers.

“Now my work is done.”

Now it was up to Kim Seong-gyun, the detective in charge, to write the report.

“I’m so sorry about this. I feel like I’m stealing your credit.”

“Profilers are just supposed to point the way. So don’t worry about it. Just make sure you tie that bastard up tight.”

“I’ll be sure to tie him up tight.”

Heo Kang-soo’s life was over. He couldn’t escape, not with the testimonies about the 20 murders.

“We can proceed with the abduction case slowly over time. Anyway, 20 murders are enough to get him the death penalty.”

The investigation into the abduction would now be conducted to satisfy the victims’ desire for revenge, not just punishment.

“The only problem is that we can’t do anything about the Eunha Order.”

Park Do-joon chuckled.

“Of course we can.”

“What? Is there anything we can do about the Eunha Order?”

“We can. Heo Kang-soo isn’t the type to just take the fall.”

Heo Kang-soo and Bang Young-soo were extremely selfish people. Would guys like that just repent and live quietly? No way.

“Those guys are probably going to try to implicate Gu Bon-seong. And Gu Bon-seong will have no choice but to get involved.”

Either way, Gu Bon-seong was the second-in-command. He may not have buried the bodies himself, but he knew that the murders were taking place and condoned them.

“Gu Bon-seong and his gang will probably be punished as accessories.”

“Ah!”

Of course, the Eunha Order, which has been investigated by the police twice, will probably fall apart.

“And the Eunha Order doesn’t have a central leader yet.”

With Gu Bon-seong not yet fully in control of the Order, it would collapse if key figures, including Gu Bon-seong, were arrested.

They’d probably be fighting each other to take over the Order.

“And in the meantime, we can do a tax audit.”

The Order probably hasn’t paid any taxes. Religious organizations don’t typically pay taxes. The same goes for gift taxes.

However, this isn’t the case for all religious organizations, and even money related to large religions is only taxed if it is recognized within the scope defined by presidential decree [a legal decree in South Korea].

“And when the investigation proceeds, it will be clear that it is a pseudo-religion.”

Of course, they will now have to pay back those taxes, and since they won’t have the money, all the Order’s assets will be seized by the government.

‘However, I don’t know where the people of the Order will go after that.’

People who fall into pseudo-religions don’t get out easily. They will probably be tricked by someone inside and create another pseudo-religious order and dedicate their lives to it.

‘I can’t save them all.’

“Oh? Is that so?”

Kim Seong-gyun smiled broadly at the thought of his performance review improving. Of course, only one person, Heo Kang-soo, couldn’t smile.

“I don’t know! I don’t know anything!”

“We already have testimonies.”

“Shit! I said I don’t know. I don’t know!”

Heo Kang-soo continued struggling as he was dragged away.

Park Do-joon was staring at Heo Kang-soo when he felt someone nudge him. He turned his head and saw the team leader standing there.

“Team leader?”

“How does it feel to have pulled off a big one?”

“Well, I don’t have any special feelings.”

“Hey, even for a profiler, this kind of case is a big deal.”

“Does it matter?”

“I guess not.”

The team leader chuckled at Park Do-joon’s words.

“Hey, let’s have a company dinner tonight.”

“A company dinner? What kind of company dinner? Just the two of us? I don’t think anyone else will come?”

“Of course not. It’s a company dinner with everyone.”

“Will the others come? Are you perhaps trying to reconcile them with us?”

“Of course not.”

The team leader already knew that Park Do-joon and the other team members had passed the point of no return. And since he was on the side of Park Do-joon, who had the ability, he didn’t really want to reconcile them.

In fact, he was hoping that the other team members would apply for a transfer so that he could reorganize the team altogether.

“But the chief is getting a sweet deal because of this.”

“Ah!”

Since he solved a big case, the chief’s personnel rating will jump tremendously. And such a chief would have no way of knowing about the profilers who are fighting. The rumors are already widespread.

“So, reconcile appropriately and stop… well, that’s what it is.”

“I don’t think that’s possible?”

“You’re so firm.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but I don’t think they’ll do it.”

Park Do-joon glanced in the direction of the office. It was a huge case, a super-sized case for the Metropolitan Profiling Team.

It was a big case of one child abduction, 20 murders, and the collapse of a pseudo-religious order, and the media was already in an uproar, but not a single person was coming down here.

“Well, what can I do? At least pretend to try. Just bend over appropriately. The chief is right. We can’t keep fighting.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“Then I’ll see you later. Good work.”

The team leader walked away, and Park Do-joon turned his gaze back to the reporters. At that moment, someone clung to Park Do-joon.

“Detective, are you the one? The profiler who solved this case. Just say one word.”

A female reporter suddenly clung to Park Do-joon. Park Do-joon was dumbfounded and turned his head, recognizing her.

“Ah, Reporter Seo.”

“You remember me, right? Just say one word.”

“No. Please get the story about the case through official channels.”

“Wow, stingy.”

Reporter Seo Joo-ran.

She is a resident reporter at the police station. A resident reporter is a reporter who stays inside the police station, where a super-sized case may come in at any time, and covers it when a big case comes in.

Of course, most of these resident reporters are inexperienced rookies with little reporter experience.

The reason is that they don’t know when they’ll be able to go home, and the waiting period is endlessly long. It’s fortunate if they send someone to replace them, but in most cases, senior reporters don’t even replace them, telling them to suffer a little.

So, usually, they can’t go home for as long as three weeks and just stay at the police station.

So you endured and endured and got something big? If you cover it and hit the jackpot, you won’t feel wronged, but the first thing they have to do when they encounter a case is to call their senior reporters.

If you don’t call your seniors and just cover it yourself, you’ll really get in trouble at the company and be virtually buried, so you have no choice but to quit the company.

In other words, it’s like a living CCTV [closed-circuit television]. It’s a crime to actually spy on cameras or steal from the computer system.

‘Tsk, tsk, looks like she’s been pushed back.’

While other reporters are scrambling to cover Heo Kang-soo, Seo Joo-ran is unable to approach.

It seems that the reporters pushing from the other side are fierce, and she’s been pushed back in terms of experience.

Since she’s a resident reporter, she heard that Park Do-joon is the detective in charge of this case, but that doesn’t mean Park Do-joon will give her information.

“I’ll buy you something delicious later.”

“No. It is illegal to accept food from a person involved in a case.”

“Stingy.”

Seo Joo-ran pouted. But Park Do-joon said to Seo Joo-ran.

“Reporter Seo, acting cute doesn’t work with that greasy hair. In the first place, that outfit is the same one I saw five days ago, isn’t it?”

“Woo! I hate profilers, really!”

“I think anyone could tell, not just a profiler.”

Park Do-joon said with a smirk, and Seo Joo-ran retorted.

“I’m not going to tell you anything, Detective.”

“You don’t have to. Anyway, I’m investigating the assigned case…”

At that moment, a memory flashed through Park Do-joon’s mind.

The face of a person.

The face of a woman completely covered in blood. And…

‘And what was it? Damn it.’

The memory that popped up like magic was cut off as quickly as it came. But one thing was certain. Seo Joo-ran’s blood-soaked face was in his memory.

‘What is it? Why don’t I remember? No. Wait… wait…’

Park Do-joon frowned as he watched Seo Joo-ran walk away.

‘Reporter Seo Joo-ran… so… I don’t remember…’

He doesn’t remember. He definitely doesn’t remember. Of course, there is a distance between reporters and detectives. And Park Do-joon was the type to keep his distance from reporters.

So there may be no contact with Seo Joo-ran. But.

‘I don’t have any memory of ever meeting Reporter Seo Joo-ran at all.’

Her face was covered in blood.

That’s where the memory ended.

In fact, the resident reporter system is not just a bad habit. The reason for having a resident reporter is to get to know the detectives and create even a little bit of a connection. Of course, there is some bad practice mixed in there.

Even now, Seo Joo-ran knew Park Do-joon and approached him, and Park Do-joon also knew about Seo Joo-ran and talked to each other.

If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have even answered.

‘But when I think about it, I don’t remember meeting Reporter Seo Joo-ran.’

It’s not just that I met her here, but I don’t even remember Seo Joo-ran contacting me later to ask for information.

‘Then there are two possibilities.’

One is that Seo Joo-ran quit her job as a reporter and went to another job. But looking at Seo Joo-ran’s current state, she doesn’t look like that kind of person.

It’s never easy for a woman to stay at the police station for two weeks without being able to wash or change her clothes.

Many reporters with no patience are filtered out here. Social affairs reporters are trying to filter out those guys.

It’s a kind of tradition.

‘But I don’t remember…’

Park Do-joon knows when his memory is uncertain. When it’s related to a crime.

In his memory, Seo Joo-ran was bleeding.

‘This is a headache.’

Seo Joo-ran’s death… that was an unexpected problem.