In this chapter, the comic's main character, Shmoop, explains how he fell in love with a young woman named Maekawa while he was working as a comic artist. After Maekawa found out that he was a nerd, she began to poke her nose into his business. She was interested in his work, but he explained that she was actually a professional artist who had mental health issues that kept her away from drawing. He decided to support her in her attempt to break free from her "trifling cycle." He promised to give her some of his "tamagoyaki" , which is a kind of dried seaweed dish. Maekawa is upset that he is trying to buy her forgiveness with "hmph" . She tells him that her ex-boyfriend, kidoguchi, knew she was worried about how she would act in front of him. He told her that he would wait until she felt like it. She apologizes for stealing her first kiss and says that she will never understand what it is like to be "normal." She says that most people think of whether or not they can kiss before they start a relationship, but she doesn't understand what "normal" is. She asks him to shake her hand and prove that they have made up so that they won't be in trouble in the future. He says that sometimes he acts cold to her, but that he has always wanted a replacement for the parts of him that he couldn't have. He knows that acting cold makes him a wretched person, and he wants to be able to commit to a relationship that is easily ruined.