The novel opens with a conversation between a novelist and his student about love. The two discuss the possibility of taking a two-day leave from work to go on a vacation together. The novelist tells his student that he and his friend have talked about taking a trip before, but that they haven't been able to do so because they've been busy with school and tests. He says that he's so happy to be going on the vacation with his friend, who's been by his side all this time. He tells his friend that they're going on their first trip since they became "real lovers" , and he asks his friend if he'd slept first. The young man says he'll sleep first, and the two of them head off to the train station, where they'll wait for each other at the station. The narrator asks if the young man is treating him like a "child," and he says he loves watching him "ber when he frolic about well" . He then asks if he should be careful not to step over the train tracks, and she says he shouldn't be, because she'll be hurt if he does. She tells him to