Thrilled by a friend's poetry collection, Takuboku begins to lose confidence in himself. Kyousuke tries to cheer him up, but when he finds out that Takuboku was involved in talks of someone buying Oen, the prostitute from the same province as them, he can't conceal his indignation. Meanwhile, at the milk hall, Yoshii, Sakutarou, and Bokusui hold a poetry contest, refereed by Nomura, to see who will confess their feelings to Kiku, the waitress.