Yukim's Ongoing Courtship of Cleastra

Yukim's courtship of Cleastra is a small but recurring workplace relationship thread, shaped by Kazumi's role as the person who knows both of them. He seeks her advice before approaching Cleastra, then returns to their shared lunch setting as the courtship develops. The glimpses establish his hopeful intentions and Cleastra's apparent interest, while leaving her final answer unresolved.

Beginnings and Kazumi's Role

Yukim is one of the workers at the company where Kazumi is an assistant, and Cleastra is also a company worker as well as Kazumi's friend. Their connection enters the story through a cafeteria conversation: while Kazumi is eating, Yukim sits across from her and greets her. He appears nervous when he asks whether she knows Cleastra, then explains that he intends to court her and wants Kazumi's help understanding what she likes and dislikes in a man.

Kazumi is therefore more than a passing listener. Her friendship with Cleastra gives Yukim access to practical advice, and she responds warmly to his request rather than treating it as an imposition. She tells him Cleastra dislikes manipulative, self-pitying men and people who are hurtful or aggressive; Cleastra prefers someone gentle, soft, and on her wavelength. The preferences are relayed through Kazumi, making her the intermediary who helps Yukim approach the courtship with some knowledge of Cleastra's boundaries and temperament.

The Planned Courtship

Yukim says he may begin the next day, intending to buy Cleastra chocolate and roses. Even with that plan, he asks Kazumi to continue helping him and proposes meeting at the cafeteria during lunch. Their exchange turns the cafeteria into a practical meeting point for the courtship: it is where Yukim can consult the friend who knows Cleastra, and where the pair can continue discussing his efforts.

Kazumi encourages him and hopes Cleastra will accept. Her response makes clear that she sees promise in the match, but that is her hopeful assessment, not confirmation of Cleastra's feelings or consent. Yukim's planned gifts and request for continued help show that he regards courtship as something he is about to undertake, rather than a relationship already established.

Progress and Unresolved Outcome

Several days after Yukim begins courting Cleastra, Kazumi goes looking for him at the cafeteria, where they regularly meet at lunch. She has noticed Cleastra and Yukim spending time together often, and reads Cleastra's demeanor as one of excitement. The repeated sight of them together marks a change from Yukim's initial nervous planning: his pursuit is now underway, and Cleastra appears responsive to it.

When Kazumi asks whether Cleastra has accepted him, Yukim explains that an answer is still forthcoming. Cleastra has said she may give him her answer in about two weeks or so. Yukim shares this news with a broad smile and excitedly kicks Kazumi's foot as he speaks, a playful gesture that conveys his anticipation without settling the question. The scenes thus present an ongoing courtship with signs of mutual warmth, but they do not establish that Cleastra ultimately accepts or that the two become a couple.

Narrative Function

The relationship provides a gentler counterpoint to the story's more painful conflicts. Its movement is modest and legible: Yukim asks for advice, prepares to court Cleastra, and later reports that her decision remains pending. The cafeteria conversations give that progress a recurring everyday setting, while Kazumi's involvement links the romance to her workplace friendships. Because the account is limited to Yukim's hopeful plans and the early signs Kazumi observes, the courtship's open ending remains part of its significance: promise is present, but the outcome is not supplied.