The scene opens with a flashback to the beginning of the novel, in which Hirokazu's father, Hiroshi, explains that he was in love with Hiro's mother, and that his love for her was unrequited. The flashback reveals that Hiroshi's first love for his mother was unrequited, and his second love was for his father. Hiroshi had wanted to marry his mother, but his mother had died, and he had been forced to return to his father's home. He had hoped that his mother's love for him would be reciprocated, but she had died before he could marry her.