The chapter opens with a flashback to Todano's meeting with Hiroyuki. The flashback shows that Hiroyuki's friend, Tosato, is still alive and well, and that he is still in love with him. Hiroyuki, however, is now dead. He has died of a heart attack. As the flashback continues, the narrator tells us that he was the one who first met Hiroyuki when he was a young boy. He was the first person to meet Hiroyuki in his early twenties, and he was also the first to meet him in his mid-thirties. As a result, he has a special relationship with the young man.