At the end of the chapter, the narrator laments that it is too late to fall in love. He is drenched in sweat, and the sound of his lover's "swoop" jolts him. He feels "squint grip" and "snatches" at her. He thinks that she is "stunned" by the sound, and that she has been waiting for him all along. He tells her that he wants her to have sex with him, but she says that she does not need anything else to do it. She tells him that even though the time has changed, people still make sex with tatami mats, or mats on the ground. She says that if she were to strip naked, it would match the style of the house where they are having sex. The narrator says that he would like to go see autumn colors, but that he is not in a hurry, since he is busy at work. He says that his struggle with ambition has made him a better cook, but he does not understand why a man who "burns with ambition" would want to work for someone who does not care for ambition. He adds that he has heard stories of people who have been "strung along" by their girlfriends and boyfriends, just to "be dumped for a younger person." The narrator wonders what he should do, since his bag and his phone are still in his apartment. He suggests that they go outside together.