The chapter opens with the narrator's confession that he knew he was going to get a "hangover" when he heard about the "horrible" incident between Shimizu and Tetamura. He wishes that he could have been there to witness it. He tells the narrator that he saw the two arguing about something "extremely seriously" and that there is "something going on between them" . The narrator tells the story of how he and Shimozu met and got married a year ago. He says that even though they still like each other, they do not want to be "strangers" because they don't want to have children. He explains that he wanted to stay connected to his best friend, Chihiro, even though he knew she was closer to him than he was. When he saw a picture of her with the man she was with, he realized that he was in love with her but that he had to wait a few years before seeing her again. He admits that he has been "distant" from her ever since, but when he finally met her, he noticed that she was "more mature" than before and that she gave him a "extreme ly happy" smile