She filed it with everything else she was quietly collecting tonight and turned back to the room.
The energy in it was the good kind. Journalists leaning forward. Cameras steady. Translators working without anyone needing to wait. The session had found its rhythm.
She shifted to her other foot and kept watching.
The second question went to Minjae.
A journalist in the third row leaned into her microphone. "JAY-san, nihongo wo benkyou shite iru to kikimashita ga, jissai ni wa dono kurai hanaseru n deshou ka?"[1]
The translator started to step forward.
Minjae raised one hand.
The translator stopped.
The room went just slightly quieter the way it did when something unexpected was about to happen and nobody wanted to miss it.
Then Minjae answered. In Japanese.
Not like someone who'd grown up with it. Not smooth or easy. But careful. Deliberate. Every single word placed like he'd gone over it until he was completely sure.
