THE MOMENT
"Haha, that's funny," Jun laughed at the comment, but the American in charge, Bill, shook his head with a concerned expression.
"I don't know what you're on about, but the idea of 'cursed springs' is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. It ain't a joke son, I'm not buying any of your ridiculous stories."
"I...," Jun tilted his head. "...what?" he asked. It was technically only the first day, within the first few hours of the planned 3-day survey. The goal was to start bright and early, and Jun had met with the Americans he would be interpreting for the previous day. To say he wasn't impressed would've been accurate; he quickly got an impression of how divided they were. He talked with the scientists who seemed knowledgeable and courteous, and then he talked with the leadership, which included Bill. It was easy to identify him as a man who achieved his position outside of normal means. He liked to talk loudly and give orders, but he was easily the one who knew the least about what everyone else was doing.
"You deaf or something? Not much of an interpreter," Bill chuckled. "I said, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU."
"But you just said -!" Jun was frustrated, but he quickly realized it was a losing fight. The man hadn't even processed his own words as he spoke them, so it would be silly to try and correct him. And, it might end up hurting his position as an interpreter. Bill was apparently an idiot, but he was in charge. "That's totally understandable," Jun sighed and nodded, and did not understand Bill at all.
"Alright, well don't go jumping in any of the pools trying to prove anything, we don't want to contaminate them," Bill added. Jun gave a barely polite wave as he shuffled off, completely defeated.
"Hey, you okay?" Jun was sulking alone, watching the scientists work, when one of their assistants wandered over. Her name was Deborah, and Jun got along well with her the previous day.
"Yeah, just annoyed," Jun nodded. "How do you guys work for that idiot?"
"We ignore him a lot," Deborah giggled with a nod. "He's just 'in charge' in case there's a misunderstanding or something, and it has to fall on someone. He doesn't actually know what we’re doing. What'd he do?"
"He...," Jun chuckled at the absurdity. "...didn't believe me."
"What!??" Deborah was already giggly, and that comment prompted a heartier laughter as she leaned against him. "Are you sure? Maybe you're mis-interpreting it," she added.
"He said, 'the idea of cursed springs is dumb', and that he's not 'buying any of my ridiculous stories'," he said. "Then, he reiterated that he does not believe me'."
"Huh, well, I guess I'm not surprised," Deborah nodded. " The good thing is, it doesn't matter whether he believes you or not. Everyone’s doing what they’re supposed to."
"I know, but still," Jun shook his head with a chuckle. He was feeling better thanks to Deborah. "It's just, I'm curious how his mind works. He called me an interpreter! He knows my job!" He was feeling better until he started thinking about it again. Fortunately, Deborah patted him warmly on the shoulder and smiled.
"He's dumb, the moment passed. Move on," she said.
"Yeah, I'm trying," he sighed. "Seriously though? HOW does that work? I said, according to the locals, every pool is cursed, and he's just like, 'I don't believe you??' What's not to believe!? I literally told him what I was told, INTERPRETING the message. It's not like I'm sitting here telling him they're cursed because it's something I made up?????"
"Hey," she leaned into him. "You know, you're thinking about it a lot more than him," she said.
"You're right...," he calmed down finally. "...thank you. I appreciate it."
"You appreciate it?" Deborah giggled and winked at him as she stood up to get back to work. "I don't believe you."