Tears of Themis – Dates with Artem
In this post, I will summarise the dates or outings with Artem that are only available through the card stories. The focus is on uncovering new aspects of Artem’s personality that can help us to understand him and his backstory better. The stories are listed in the order that I got them.
Background: Artem is an academic genius and legend in Stellis University law school. In addition to being an outstanding senior attorney who has never lost a case before, he is also your mentor and partner in Themis Law Firm. Artem’s parents are also university professors but they were too busy to raise Artem hence he grew up under the tutelage and care of Professor Neil Hume whom he has a lot of respect for.
Hobbies: Artem is a workaholic and spends most of his time preparing for his cases. To relax, he enjoys taking leisurely drives, cooking, reading sci-fi novels and watching classical movies. He is also adept at fishing and shooting amongst others though he isn’t someone who likes to keep up with fads. Artem has never dated before.
Feelings about MC: Artem regards you highly as his peer, someone who can supplement him in his work and life. To a certain extent, he sees a younger version of himself in you (though not as academically inclined, but with the right heart and attitude) thus he wants to mold and mentor you in the field just as how Neil had guided him. Artem is ready to take his relationship with you to the next level though he is often at a loss of how to do it – he wants you to let your guard down around him, depend on him to take care of you, and is happy to just let other people misunderstand your relationship with him. When triggered by anything remotely romantic, his ears turn brilliantly red.
Feelings towards Artem: MC respects Artem greatly as a caring senior and outstanding boss. She knows that colleagues often misunderstand Artem’s intentions because he is so strict, so she tries hard to help others get to know him better. MC takes everything Artem says to heart and learns from his advice so that she can one day become as accomplished an attorney as him. As she gets to know him better through various interactions, she often muses over what a great husband and father he will be. Artem is clueless how his actions is causing the MC to become more aware of him as a man.
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Focus Fire (SR)
One weekend, Artem invites you to a shooting range in the outskirts of the city so that you can learn some self-defense skills after he read about the dangers attorneys go through as they go about collecting evidence. When you got there, you found Artem in the middle of an informal competition with a troublemaker.
“No need to be apologising. That shot earlier had nothing to do with you… Besides, even if you called out to me, it is my responsibility for losing focus. I don’t like pushing my own responsibilities onto others. If you keep blaming yourself, that will distract me.”
“You will encounter many unforeseeable situations in the future. You must always remain calm, no matter what happens. The calmer you are, the more confident your client will be that you will win the case for them.”
“The law is the means and the verdict is the result. But the result isn’t necessarily the end.“
When you told Artem that you record everything he tells you, even something from two years ago, his ears turned red in embarrassment and he is momentarily at a loss for words.
Artem then teaches you the ropes to shoot a shotgun. As the gallery has ran out of noise cancelling mufflers, you proposed having him cover your ears for you. During the process of covering your ears while guiding you on how to use aim properly, you feel the heat of Artem’s body behind you and it caused you to stiffen visibly though Artem was too preoccupied in teaching you to notice.
“But I knew that that was merely a fear of the unknown. To overcome it, I had to understand it. So I told my teacher that I would learn how to shoot a gun. Just as I thought it would, the fear gradually disappeared the more I learned about guns. Eventually, I began to enjoy shooting.”
“Sorry I accidentally overheard your conversation with Kiki in the pantry that day…”
You realised that Artem might have misunderstood what you said about being afraid hence he invited you to learn how to use a gun with him to encourage you to face your fears.
“Why are you apologising? I was the one who misunderstood. You are not to blame. Why would I be angry? Because of a misunderstanding? Am I that sort of person to you? Or do you mean since I’m strict all the time, I must like being angry? Are you scared of me?“
“But even so, it had been my plan to teach you how to shoot anyways. I don’t want you to pull out guns and fight back… it’s not a reliable method most of the time. I don’t want you to be encountering any dangers either. But it’s best to be prepared for the unknown. Expect the unexpected. Just like how an attorney must have all the evidence to defend a client successfully. Understanding weapons will help you remain calm in those situations, giving you time to react. That way, you will have the best chance to defend yourself. That is the real technique I want you to master.”
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Sparks (SR)
It was the annual team building event. This time Celestine had organised an outdoor field trip for everyone. After a 5-hour bus ride along the windy mountain road, everyone suffered from carsickness as a result of Artem working on his laptop immediately after he got on, then you and the rest of the colleagues followed suit.
“You’re right. I should have been more aware of my actions since they could affect the employees. I’m very sorry.”
As you were the most badly affected, Celestine offered to bring the rest of the staff on a farm excursion and left Artem to look after you. When you’re feeling better, you accompanied him to go fishing.
“I haven’t thought about changing careers, if that’s what you mean. But I like to watch movies and take leisurely drives to relax… Looks like you have quite the misunderstanding about me. I like my job, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get tired. I do relax… “
When you froze in fear after a furry caterpillar crawled up your hands, Artem calmly brushed it off you and held onto you against his chest to calm you down. When you finally come to, you realised how close he was but the moment was broken when the fishing rod started to jerk.
“Celestine told me that we were going to be doing our own cooking, so I brought some tools along… I just do some basic home cooking. When I first learned how to cook, I could only follow the step-by-step instructions in the cookbook…”
You marvel at how adept Artem is at killing the fish he just caught and preparing it for grill and fell into silence thinking about your own incompetence.
“Are you bored? I must be boring you since I don’t know any trending topics to talk about. Sorry.”
“Do you think girls need to be good at cooking? There’s no need for that. People cannot, and should not, be defined by their genders as to what they should be and what they can do. People are multi-faceted. There is more than one way to be excellent. You are excellent in your own way. No matter if it’s being an attorney or being a girl. Besides… if you can’t cook, all’s fine so long as you have someone else who can do it for you.“
When you blurt out that Artem will make a great husband, he drops the bottle of spice in his hands.
When the food is finally ready, you realised that none of the colleagues were coming over to collect the food so you tried to call them over.
“Don’t call them over. Bring it over to them. What I mean is that there isn’t any real need for them to come here. Everyone is nervous around me. Whether as their senior or superior, my presence means they won’t be able to relax. The purpose of today’s team building is for everyone to relax. This is the best way for everyone to relax.”
Not wanting Artem to feel left out, you managed to entice the rest of the colleagues over to the pit with his delicious skewers, which allowed them to witness a different side of Artem. Artem thanks you for the effort and invites you out to go on a leisure drive with him the following weekend.
Back in office Artem is back to work mode again with his usual strictness, dispelling all notions he was ‘human’ after all. You tried your best to defend him which brought redness to his ears as he listens in from his office.
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Autumn Dreams (SR)
One weekend, Celestine invites you to study with her for the advancement examinations with Artem as your tutor. Then she unceremoniously bails out, leaving you in the care of Artem.
“We’re not in the office. There’s no need to be so formal. I’m not here as an attorney today. Here’s I’m just your… senior. So relax a little.”
As Artem guides you through some of the difficult question, you marvel at how he managed to scale so many academic heights in his youth. You also found out that your mentor at the university is Artem’s mother!
“My mother doesn’t like publicity. When I was at school, she made sure no one knew about our relationship even though she was our teacher. She believed that I should work hard for my own achievements, and not because I am the son of a professor. Do you think she’s too harsh sometimes?”
“If you’re feeling sick, you don’t have to shoulder it alone. Just let me know… You’re still the same as ever. You only thought to call me when you were delirious from a high fever. If anything like that happens again in the future, remember to let me know immediately.”
After completing your revision for the day, you and Artem come across a couple quarrelling with one another and they sought your advice to resolve the problem, seeing that both of you are such a lovely couple.
The man sees your desire to help and rushes to your side as if you’re his last hope. “Ahem!” He sees Artem and quickly puts some distance between you two. Artem doesn’t seem in any rush to clear the couple’s wonderful misunderstanding about both of you.
“Do you mind it that much? No need, there’s no need to apologise.”
To thank you for resolving their dilemma, the man offers to paint both of you as a gift. You took to sitting at a bench with Artem side by side and decide to pass time reviewing your notes again. You soon fell asleep and leaned your head on Artem’s shoulders. The man quickly captures this tender moment as his girlfriend swoons over how Artem appears like the shy lover at a loss of what to do in front of you.
After the couple leaves, Artem contemplates putting his arm around your shoulders to embrace you but hesitates and pulls his hand back.
“… Did you sleep well? No need to panic. I was just admiring the scenery while you were asleep… and also people-watching… it’s my pleasure.”
“Speaking of which, have you ever done anything similar to what that couple does?”
“As my partner, you are hardworking and very outstanding. Don’t push yourself too hard… It’s not worth getting sick over it and I’ll worry if you do.“
A few days later, you meet Artem at the university to pick up the painting from the couple. After looking at the tender moment that he captured, you were filled with awkwardness and not sure how to approach this.
“I like it. Can I keep it?”
“Or maybe… people unwillingly become other people’s dream?”
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In Sickness or in Health (SR)
You have caught the flu. Despite your insistence that it was nothing, Artem catches wind of it and sends you home to rest. In a bid to quickly recover, you downed several pills but it seemed to have created the opposite effect. Concerned for you, Artem pays you a visit after work. He does an excellent job nursing you but your fever does not subside thus he decides to bring you to the hospital. Based on his reactions, you guess that Artem is too embarrassed to enter your bedroom hence he leaves to buy a thermometer and get you his jacket from his car instead. Then he carries you to his car setting your heart ablaze as you take in his woody scent.
You realised that the music was still running in the car and he had parked it haphazardly by the side of the road, betraying his state of mind when he came to visit you. After buckling you in, he insisted that you do not fall asleep until you get to the hospital. You asked him to talk to you to keep you awake.
“About the strategic cooperation agreement you drafted today… Sorry, it’s rare that I get to talk about something other than work… I couldn’t think of anything else.”
At the hospital, the doctor reprimanded you for taking all kinds of medicines together which had worsened your condition. He prescribed you a drip though it was not your preference as you did not like the cold numbing feeling. He then addressed Artem and told him to take better care of you and to comfort you if you’re afraid of drips, mistaking him for your boyfriend which he doesn’t attempt to correct.
As you drifted in and out of consciousness, you kept moving your fingers to dispel the numbness until you felt a warm hand in it acting like a furnace dissipating the cold. When you awoke later, you realised that Artem was still there. He told you that he had to leave for awhile but he got another nurse to tend to you. She placed a hand warmer in your palm as requested by Artem.
When Artem returned in a flurry, he placed his hand on your forehead to check your temperature. When you peeked open your eyes you realised that he was very close to your face sending a wave of redness to your cheeks. You quickly closed your eyes pretending that the lights were too bright so he covers your eyes with his hand and asked softly if this was better for you.
“Your face is still red. The nurse said that she’ll be back in five minutes to take your temperature again.” Oblivious to what is causing you to blush.
Later Artem feeds you homemade congee which he brought in a thermos.
“There are restaurants nearby, but they use too much oil and salt. I made a light congee that is easier to digest.” He holds the congee to your mouth since your hand is still weak from the IV drip. The congee was delicious and reminiscent of taste of home since you’ve only been eating take-outs since you moved out.
“Work is important, but you should really learn how to take better care of your body. One look at your kitchen is all it takes. Have you been only ordering takeout out of convenience?” Artem looks at you with dissatisfied eyes calling you out. When you explained that you’ve been busy with work and exams, he apologises for being too harsh. He adds that your fever keeps coming back so he has applied leave of absence on your behalf and would accompany you in the hospital despite your protests. He continues to work while sitting next to your bed.
“Maybe I should contact your parents… No, I think I’ll stay. I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving.”
The next morning Celestine visits with some canned fruits but Artem does not let you them take. Instead he buys fresh fruits for you and cuts them for you after fetching you home. He also tells you to think about what you want for dinner so he can cook for you. As he leaves, you processed what exactly had happened – Artem’s actions had conjured up familial feelings but not quite family and you wonder what Artem sees you as.
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