The novel opens with a soliloquy by the young protagonist, Shmoop, in which he tells the story of how he fell in love with Mi-Kun, who is now twenty-one years old and has begun her studies at a university in Yokohama. He tells her that he has joined a tennis club in order to flirt with her, and she responds by saying that he is the one who has changed. She tells him that she is tired of being in a relationship where the two of them hurt each other, and that she will bring him a dish of pancake mix the next time she visits her. She also warns him not to call for help, as she is standing in for her land lord.