In this chapter, we are introduced to the protagonist, a young doctor who falls in love with a woman named Yahiko. She sends him fish, photos, and little notes, like letters, to thank him for the gifts he has given her. He tells her that he has finished off a great amberjack and is going to send her some photos he took recently. He asks her if she thinks of him as a man, and she replies that she does not. He then tells her he wants to talk to her face-to-face and touch her, but she is already dripping wet from the wet bed she has just fallen asleep in. She tells him that she wants to come and kiss him, but he says he will not because he is afraid to do so after she has fallen asleep. She then tells him she has applied to be a doctor in a remote part of the world, and he tells her she will be able to do this because she is anxious.