In this short scene, we are introduced to the protagonist of the novel, Miss Betsey, who is a student at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. She has just returned from her first day of classes in which she was forced to skip class with her friend, Yonsei's student, because she was unable to attend class due to a cold. The protagonist, who does not want to be identified by her first name because she is afraid of retribution from Yonsei, tells us that she is tired and wants to go to the gym to get some exercise. When she arrives at the gym, she finds that Yonsei is already there. She asks him if he is okay, and he tells her that he is, but that he has not been feeling well lately. She tells him that she has been working out for a year, and that it is now time for her to get back into shape. He asks her if she would like to continue working out with him, and she says that she would, but she would rather not, because it would make her life miserable. She then asks him to continue running with her