The meeting finally ended, and Ririko made up an excuse to slip away from Oswald.
Before Oswald could stop her and say, "Wait for me a moment," she had already passed through the crowd and disappeared around the corner of the side corridor.
Ririko circled around the outside of the conference hall and spotted Clark standing at the end of the passage.
That old hand Jonathan stood in front of him, holding the brand-new trophy and saying with a thoroughly insincere expression:
"Newcomers always have to face a few setbacks. You've got a solid foundation. Keep working hard, and sooner or later, you'll succeed."
Clark's expression barely changed, but his body was rigid with tension.
Jonathan hefted the trophy in his hand and continued gloating:
"Your report this time was certainly decent, but you need to understand that this industry values experience. Enthusiasm alone won't get you ahead."
Ririko listened from the corner of the passage for a while, then walked briskly over to them.
She glanced at the trophy in Jonathan's hand, then turned to Clark and said:
"I thought being a reporter was supposed to be hard. Turns out even garbage reporting can win awards."
After saying that, she looked Jonathan up and down with contempt. "Looks like Metropolis isn't much better than Gotham."
Jonathan was about to lecture this Gotham woman who had appeared out of nowhere, but when his gaze settled on Ririko's face, an incoherent grunt escaped his throat.
His self-important expression vanished instantly, and all he managed to say was, "Miss, journalism is a highly specialized profession. Not just anyone can dig up a worthwhile story."
Ririko took off her sunglasses, met Jonathan's eyes, and said in a beguiling voice:
"Why don't you tell us... what you did to win that award?"
At the