In this chapter, the narrator reflects on his 30th birthday, which he sees on the calendar as a "mark of adulthood" . He compares it to his 20s, when he didn't notice the changes in himself until he was in his mid-thirties. The narrator wonders if religion is necessary because the world is unfair to women. He wonders if the fear of getting older is just an illusion. He also wonders if it's better to devote one's life to something than to "work nothing special" on someone else's end. He feels awkward now that he's not able to visit the site as often as he used to. He's also worried about his relationship with Yonhap, who he thinks is "just being nice" to his subordinate. He asks Yonhap to speak to him formally.