The journalist who had asked the contract question leaned forward one more time. She had a particular look, the kind that meant she'd saved something for last.
"One more," she said. "Between you and Ms. Han, which of the two of you would you say is more daring?"
A small pause in the room.
The word daring was doing a lot of work in that sentence and everyone present, including Haejin, understood exactly what kind of daring she was talking about. It wasn't about who took more professional risks.
He looked at her.
He understood the question completely and let her see that he understood it, which was its own kind of answer.
Then he smiled.
"I would never speak for her," he said. "But I will say she's more surprising than most people expect."
The room laughed. The journalist laughed too, which meant she'd gotten enough.
Soorin pressed her lips together very hard and looked at the table.
Doyun turned to her immediately.
"Surprising," he said.
"Don't."
"He said surprising."
