The painting is beautiful, and the narrator tells us that he has a lining in it. He says that when he was younger, he and Niki used to compare themselves with each other, but they never listened to their hearts. The narrator says that he doesn't think it's okay to be ugly just because you're getting older. He thinks that people don't judge you just because of how old you are, and that you deserve to be liked. He also says that Niki taught him how to cook chicken soup, which makes him happy. He tells the narrator that he didn't like to see him again after he turned him down, but that he still wants to tell him something about what happened to him recently. He apologizes to the narrator for not handling their relationship well, and he says he'll try to listen to Niki more. He adds that he won't act on his own as before. He'll start to accept himself, he says. The ring that the narrator left in the hotel has been returned, and it'll be convenient for him to pick it up.