Truth be told, Saturday wasn’t free. Yet, by some miraculous coincidence, or rather, by obvious design, Konstantin had suddenly cleared his schedule for the entire day. Only for this week, and only for him.
"...It must’ve been agreed upon by the father and daughter."
The signs were impossible to miss. Konstantin Lev Artyomov was not the type to hand out favors, let alone rearrange workloads for anyone beneath him.
And yet, somehow, Dimitri Ilya Mikhailov had been granted a full Saturday off at precisely the moment Yuliya invited him out.
It didn’t take a genius to put the pieces together. The old man was pushing his daughter toward him, and pushing him toward his daughter in return.
To most Soviet citizens, this would have been a dream come true. Yuliya Tatiana Artyomov was not only beautiful but also brilliant and competent in ways that far exceeded those of her peers.
Her family name alone held enough influence to secure a comfortable future for anyone attached to it. And Konstantin, respected in public and feared behind closed doors, was a man whose approval could change the trajectory of an entire career.
"Dimitri!"
There, she was standing by the station entrance, waving as soon as she spotted him. Her platinum-blonde hair, usually tied back in a strict work bun, was let down today in waves.
She wore a long woolen ushanka-style winter coat lined with faux fur. Underneath it, the hem of a deep sapphire dress peeked out, paired with high boots fit for the cold Moscow weekend.
For a moment, Julius almost forgot she was the same sharp-tongued researcher from the lab.
"You’re early," he said as he approached.
"I didn’t want to keep you waiting," she replied, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. There was a faint pink across her cheeks, perhaps from the cold, or perhaps from something else.
"You look... different today."
"Different good, or different strange?"
"Good."
Her lips curved immediately. "Hehe~ You look quite handsome yourself, Dimitri. I didn’t think you dressed like this outside work."
"I don’t."
"E-Eh?"
"But I thought I should look presentable for Miss Yuliya."
She stared at him, utterly frozen, the pink on her cheeks deepening into a full blush.
"D-Dimitri... don’t say things like that so casually..."
"Why not? It’s the truth."
She covered her face with both hands. "You can’t just say that... my heart isn’t prepared!"
Julius blinked, feigning confusion. "Is it that strange to be honest?"
"It is when you look at me like that while saying it!"
"...Then I’ll keep my eyes forward."
"No! That’s worse!" she squeaked.
For a woman like Yuliya, this was the best possible approach. She already admired his crafted aloofness. Adding a handful of quiet sincerity and those perfectly timed, understated compliments only amplified the effect.
And Julius knew it.
"Miss Yuliya," Julius said, "if my looking at you is so troublesome, then I will restrain myself."
"N-No!! I mean... Not like that...!" She tugged at his sleeve again. "You’re doing this on purpose!"
"Is it unpleasant?"
Yuliya’s hands slowly fell from her face. She looked up at him, with her eyes brighter than the winter lights around them.
"...N-No," she murmured. "It’s not unpleasant at all..."
When he offered his arm, she looked as though the warmth of the moment alone might overwhelm her.
"Shall we?" he asked.
Yuliya looked up at him again. The sincerity in his expression hit her harder than anything else that evening. To think she would fall for a man this deeply. If someone had told her a year ago that she would end up like this, she would have laughed in their face.
She slid her hand through his arm shyly. "...Y-Yes. Let’s go."
That evening could very well have been one of the best days of Yuliya’s life. She walked beside him with a lightness she hadn’t felt in years, laughing at the smallest things, talking about everything from her favorite cafés to her childhood memories.
Every moment seemed to sparkle for her, as if the city itself was conspiring to make the evening perfect.
For Julius, however, it was a different kind of experience entirely. The entire day had drained him more than a week’s worth of Directorate work ever had. Yuliya, at her core, was a genuinely bright and earnest woman, and that part of her had shone through the entire evening.
To put it kindly, she was bubbly, overflowing with enthusiasm and emotion. To put it bluntly, she was exhausting. She talked endlessly, shifting from one thought to the next without a break.
It was an utter contrast to the woman he first met at the institute. A stern, sharp-tongued superior commanding entire rooms with her authority. But this version of her, the one linking shyly to his arm while rambling about her favorite novels, was the true Yuliya Tatiana Artyomov.
A woman with far too much heart and far too little restraint.
Still, Julius followed as best he could. He responded when needed, offered his remarks when appropriate, and even allowed himself a few smiles here and there whenever she grew flustered.
The truth was, she adored him, and Julius needed her.
But by the time the evening finally wound down, he could already feel the beginnings of a headache building at the base of his skull. Yet even so, he didn’t regret coming. Her reaction had been... useful. And the information she promised him was something he needed to hear.
"Have you ever been to an oceanarium, Dimitri?"
"It’s sad to admit, but no."
Yuliya stopped in her tracks and turned to him fully, eyes wide. "Seriously? Not even once?"
Julius paused for a moment, adjusting the expression on his face to fit Dimitri’s persona.
"Yes, well. I never really had the time to enjoy things like that. I moved around a lot."
Her smile fell immediately. "Oh—" she covered her mouth. "I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to pry into anything uncomfortable. I just... I didn’t think."
"It’s fine," Julius said, shaking his head. "You weren’t being insensitive. It honestly doesn’t bother me."
"But still... Now I feel terrible."
"There’s no need to. If anything, I should experience one eventually."
"Then come with me!" she said. "At least once! The oceanarium here is beautiful! The largest in all of Moscow! Dimitri, you absolutely have to see it!"
Her enthusiasm hit him like a tidal wave.
"Is that part of your wish?" he asked.
"No. But... it can be, if that makes it easier."
"...I didn’t say I wouldn’t go."
"Hehe~ Let’s go!"