It was indeed different but Anastasia found it oddly comforting. Used to being surrounded by so many people that had a bigger-than-life air around them, where everything in your life could be inspected under a microscope, it was nice to think that one indeed was part of a crowd. Everyone around her had full, complex, and intimitate lives but it was theirs only.

She was slightly surprised by the tap-- it was a small, brief touch but she wasn't expecting it from Jisun, who seemed to prefer to stay as far away from people as possible.

Anastasia followed her out into the cool night. Anastasia kept close to Jisun; there was still a jumpiness about her elicited from the darkness of the night. Thankfully, the restaurant was not too far from the station. It would definitely take some getting used to going around the city at night.

She couldn't help but feel slightly odd when she saw that mostly everyone inside was in jeans and sneakers. Anastasia meant a mental note to buy some jeans, perhaps it would help her blend a little better with the city crowd. It wasn't like she never wore them, she just was more used to dresses and skirts. Sneakers, however, she would keep them for exercising or activities like hiking. She did not like the combination at all.

The restaurant was down to earth and smaller compared to the high-end places she was used to. From the moment Jisun opened the glass door, Anastasia was hit with the delicious scent of meats and seasonings. Although it was not what Anastasia had expected, not that she even knew what to expect, seeing that everyone in the tables seemed content and that the food on the plates looked good -although the presentation was not refined at all- made Anastasia feel like she was walking into someone's home. Something very intimate and welcoming at the same time.

The interaction between Jisun and the restaurant staff was also not something she had expected either. Jisun's rather neutral demeanor didn't change much but the others seemed very happy to see her. It's her favorite restaurant, after all, Anastasia thought. She's probably a regular.

Anastasia felt their positive energy and couldn't help but smile brightly, although she didn't understand what they were saying.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you, Byeoljji," she said kindly with a wave. Her British accent stood out and she couldn't help but wonder if she sounded silly in their ears. She turned her light brown eyes to the two men, "You two as well. You have a lovely restaurant."

Anastasia gave another small wave as they walked back to the kitchen and followed Jisun to a seat.

Picking up the menu, she scanned through the foreign names and their English descriptions. There were some pictures and they all looked delicious. "What would you recommend?"

Bernadette took a moment to look around the room at the faces of other students as Professor Chaudhary commented on the quality of the class. The university was very competitive and the fact that most of its population was elite meant that most had an upper hand in whatever field they entered. Art was no exception. Still, there was definitely ranks of expertise amongst the students.

As Professor Chaudhary mentioned the assigning of groups, there was a stir in the classroom. Art students tended to be solitare beings when it came to the work; unlike other artistic industries like the music and film, it was not common to find a piece that was worked on by artists. Bernadette had not heard anything about Professor Chaudhary assigning groups so this must have been a first and her very luck left her feeling a small flame within her, despite the silence and unphased expression coming from her.

Bernadette listened carefully to the names called out. Everyone around her was talented, without a doubt, but there was an issue of clashing visions, styles, and personalities that often accompanied artists.

"Yael Yahalom . . . and Bernadette Dubois."

Her eyebrows narrowed into a small, almost undetectable, frown. After their encounter a previous nights prior, Bernadette did not expect for there to be any more reason to spend time together. The professor finished listing out the pairs.

"As artists," The Professor continued, "We must take a close look at the world around us-- step beyond ourselves and see the world for what it really is. Wonderful and haunting, a perfectly balanced world sent into chaos by humanity."

He moved to the front row and gave the student a small stack of papers. The student took one copy and began to pass it down. From her seat, Bernadette noticed that there were barely any words on the page. "The instructions for the project are brief but I am demanding. I expect pairs to work together; a shared vision and immaculate execution is expected while allowing each artist to stand out.

"Our classes will switch between this auditorium, art room Alpha 405, and places around the city for field studies. I expect a good semester and will be here for guidance. Now, please take some time to get together with your partner to read over the project and start planning."

Anastasia's brown eyes moved across the menu to where Jisun's slender fingers pointed at the image of bulgogi. The meat looked juicy, its dark color constrated by the green onion and sesame seeds. She was taken back by the flow of words that followed her simple inquiry.

As Jisun continued to explain the dish, Anastasia's eyes traveled up the length of Jisun's arm and paused at her face. The other young woman's pale expression had barely changed from the neutral, almost emotionless, state it was often found in but it was clear that this was something that Jisun cared about.

Dal and Korean food-- Korean culture, Anastasia made a mental list, remembering the show Jisun had been watching. At first, Anastasia thought there wasn't much that interested Jisun but it was clear that it wasn't the case, she just had to be very attentive.

As she listened to Jisun speak, Anastasia realized that she had never taken a moment to really look at the other young woman. Despite her black attire and overall dark demeanor, her facial features were round and soft.

"I'm alright with trying anything as long as it's not too spicy," she said softly, not wanting to say much more so that Jisun could continue. It was quite nice hearing her speak, even if there still wasn't much intonation in her voice.

"Sounds good," Anastasia nodded as Jisun said she'd just explain as it came. She glancd over at Yoonseok, who was giving the receipt to a couple at a table. "It all sounds and looks delicious."

Anastasia listened as Jisun explained more about the restaurant. It didn't take long for some of the plates to come out from the kitchen.

Anastasia wondered if Jisun was like Byeoljji and Bokyung since it was a detail that she wouldn't expect someone to bring up unless it meant something to them. There was no being sure unless she asked but Jisun kept speaking, even saying something about having to cook the meat. That part confused her-- Aren't the chefs supposed to cook the food for you?

She watched as Jisun picked up the chopsticks and used them to pick up a piece from the side dishes. When Jisun asked if she knew how to use them, Anastasia shook her head.

Looking down, Anastasia realized that a small long, paper bag had been placed on her side as well. Picking it up, she opened it to find two long wooden sticks combined at the top.

Are there any forks? Anastasia asked herself, realizing that Yoonseok had not set down a cultery set on the table yet. Maybe it would come with the later dishes, or maybe they didn't use them?

Anastasia soon realized that she was being overwhelmed with information, as wonderful as it was learning about it and seeing and smelling the delicious plates in front of her. She didn't want to seem stupid in front of Jisun but there was little she could do; it was either ask or not learn.

"Can you show me how to use the chopstick?"

Bernadette watched as Yael walked over to her.

She looked down at the printed assignment. There wasn't much required on paper but she knew, of course, that the expectations were going to be extremely high. Professor Chaudhary was not easy to please. With it being a group project, Bernadette was not quite sure how to approach it. The two artist must be distinctly seen in the piece while also blending together.

She had been in a few art classes with Yael but couldn't quite remember what the other young woman preferred in terms of "artistic style."

Bernadette's art learned towards realism with the subject matters usually focusing on the human body. Like the Greeks, she found the human body fascinating and painting it was like a science, a cross between the creative and the logical. She loved painting undertones and bruises and veins and the translucency of skin.

"I paint hyperrealism," she said. "Usually the human body or military art."

"What is your style?"

Anastasia didn't move as Jisun reached out to grab her hand and instruct her on how to hold to chopstick. It was certainly unexpected and she felt that any sudden moves from her part would scare her off. She felt as the young woman's cold skin made contact with her own and, although it last for no more than a moment, it left a cool sensation on her skin.

She tried to pick up one of the fishcakes. The first try was unsuccessful and the piece plopped back down onto the plate immediately. Anastasia frowned and tried again. Her hold was wobbly but she managed to eat it. A soft mm left her lips as she tasted the combination of fried seafood and vegetables. She went for another dish; the process wasn't the smoothest, but she was a fast learner.

Her phone ring broke through her concentration and made her flinch, dropping a piece of cheongpomuk on the table. With a quickly apology, Anastasia picked up the piece with a napkin to clea up the small mess and reached for her phone. Reading the screen, she was Leo's name on it and a soft sigh left her lips. Right, I forgot to call him earlier.

"Excuse me, I have to answer this," she said, picking up the call. "Hi, Leo."

"Hi, flower. I've missed you."

She could hear a hint of sleepiness in his deep voice and remembered that they were no longer in the same time zone.

"I've missed you too," she replied, feeling her heart pound.

Normally, back at the Academy, she would miss Leo. Whenever he visited, he would take her out for the weekend. It was one of the few moments she had throughout the school year to get away from the Academy and, of course, she spend a lot of summers around him before and after the engagement. Here, it had only been two days, but there was so much more to think about and see that there had been barely any time for him in her thoughts. Here, he was something that held her back, one of the very things she was running away from.

"How are you liking New York? Did you arrive well?"

"It's wonderful here. How was your day?" Anastasia didn't know why but she felt awkward talking to Leo in front of Jisun. Maybe it was because she felt like Jisun would have a lot to say -well, would have a very strong, unspoken opinion- about it. "It's really late over there."

"It was a long and I didn't get back until late, but I wanted to talk to you, you never called me when you arrived," Anastasia heard him sigh, "I still can't believe we're finally able to be together and you move across the globe... Sorry, are you out? It's loud on your end."

"Yes, I'm having dinner at a restaurant."

"Alone?" She could hear him moving on the other end, his tone becoming a little more serious with the question. "Be careful, you know the city can be dangerous at night."

"No," Anastasia said after a moment, glancing up at Jisun. "There's another student living in my building. I didn't want to eat out alone so I invited her."

"Have you seen the Fates? I'm sure they can take you around, much better than a stranger."

"I did see them earlier today," She supposed there was no need to elaborate on their brief interaction or how little she wanted to see them in her future. "But don't worry about me."

"I kind of have to," he said with a laugh.

"I'm safe. I promise."

"Well, I'll let you finish dinner and I'll head off to bed. Call me tomorrow? We can video call."

"Okay."

"Love you, flower."

There was a moment of hesitation, the words caught at the back of her throat. Come on, Anastasia scolded herself. You say it all the time, it's not like you're telling your mom this... "Love you, too."

Hanging up, Anastasia was left looking at the phone screen for a moment. The calls between them were usually... different. Shaking off the odd feeling she was left with, Anastasia put her phone away and picked up the chopsticks, determined to continue normally with her night and learn how to use chopsticks better.

"This is all really delicious, by the way," Anastasia commented. "I would love to learn how to cook the meat, if you don't mind showing me. Maybe next time I can do it for us?"

The question slipped out before she even thought about it. Would there be a next time? Anastasia didn't know if, once university began, Jisun would want to see much of her at all.

Anastasia remembered the conversation they were having earlier about German, which the Fates had broken up. "You said something about German earlier," she said, "Are you fluent? I began studying it earlier this summer but I don't know much yet."

Jisun's answer seemed to sound like she wouldn't mind having dinner a second time. That was enough for Anastasia.

Jisun mentioning how she picked it back up in university meant that she had probably studied it beforehand. With German, it added up to at least three languages Jisun had a handle around. Anastasia knew three languages as well but wanted to continue learning, seeing languages as a way to connect with others and something more self-fulfilling.

"The beginner Spanish and Japanese classes were full by the time I was able to choose electives," she replied with a small shrug, popping in another bite and passing it down before she added, "Maybe I'll be able to get in one of them next semester but I'd just love to learn another language, any language, really."

"It'd be nice if I could practice it with you," she chimmed in, "Doesn't have to be all the time, of course, I don't want to bother you."

As Anastasia took a bite of another side dish, Jisun brought up Leo. She froze at the question, her eyebrows drawing together in a brief moment of confusion. It wasn't a question she was used to hearing; the comments were always somewhere along the lines of, you're so lucky! or you'll make him so happy! No one really asked her what she thought about him or the situation, not even when it was being set up. What was she supposed to say?

"Yes, that was him."

He always smelled nice, he was certainly handsome, he knew how to kiss... There was perhaps a lot of things Anastasia could say about Leo but did those things mean that she was fond of him?

She took another bite of food. She began to feel very aware of the ring again.

"He's... kind and attentive. I've known him for a long time now."

"Have you had boyfriends?" Anastasia asked, wanting to change the subject. "Oh, sorry-- or do you have a boyfriend?"

Bernadette listened as Yael spoke, her left hand playing with the pen in her hand, moving it quickly between her fingers. Bernadette had to stop herself from frowning when she heard the words "pretty varied style." There was nothing wrong with being inspired by several movements and experimenting with techniques, of course, improvement required constant experimentation, learning, and pushing boundaries. She herself had gone through endless phases by now-- impressionism-inspired had been one. Expressionism, however, was not something she had ever been fond of, although her father had several paintings from the 20th century movement in his personal collection.

However, not having a clear understand of one's art was, to Bernadette, like not knowing oneself. And all-over-the-place wasn't something Bernadette was known for.

The two young women's painting styles were clearly different from what she could hear, but it could be to their advantage-- if they played it right. The pen in her hand stopped moving around and she began to sketch something in one of the margins of the assignment page.

"We can combine my realism and your surrealism," Bernadette said after a moment, "Make it seamless yet distinct. "

A landscape could work, but she always preferred to work with people. Capturing their nuances and the challenge of hyperrealism was something she enjoyed. "We'd have to brainstorm the subject matter as well, but perhaps use a muse?"

The gender-neutral term went unnoticed by Anastasia at first. It just wasn't something she was used to hearing. At the Academy, all you would hear was the girls swooning over the guys at the all-boy academy that hosted events with them and male protagonists in cheesy romantic movies. However, she had done some reading ahead for her elective class and connected the dots. The other young woman didn't hesitate to turn the conversation back to her, not giving her a moment to comment. "No," Anastasia replied after a moment. "He was my first boyfriend. We were friends for years until our parents announced the engagement. I... suppose I've never dated? I suppose it's too late now." It sounded so stupid when she said it to someone outside of her circle-- engaged and yet she had never dated. Even her friends had harmless summer flings with pool boys. Anastasia had never even come close to that, never come close to kissing someone else except Leo. An old forgotten memory flashed through her mind; the after-hour dare game her friends had forced her into and the taste of vanilla lip balm. Anastasia blinked quickly, brushing away the thought. "So," Anastasia cleared her throat softly, her eyes looking down at the almost-empty plates before back up at Jisun. There were a lot of questions running through her head that she wanted to ask.