Kemal invites Sibel to the office for sex. He is briefly relieved of his pain. They go to Fuaye after, where Sibel confronts him over his recent behavior. Kemal admits that he doesn’t understand the problem he is going through, but he worries he may lose her because of it. Sibel reassures him that there is no risk of this happening, though she suspects he knows more about his problem than he is letting on.

Sibel suggests that Kemal talk to a professional about his problem. The psychoanalyst Kemal consults does not offer him any useful insights, even when Kemal tells him that his fear of life may be causing the loss of his intimacy with Sibel.

Kemal returns to the parts of Istanbul he associates with Füsun, though as expected, these places exacerbate his pain. He returns to the Merhamet Apartments and attempts to evoke her essence from his mementos of her. He does this for several more days, keeping these visits secret from Sibel. Every time he plays with these objects, they make him feel better and hopeful. Whenever he is with Sibel, however, he longs to return to the apartment again.

Kemal writes an apologetic letter to Füsun, promising to leave Sibel. He asks Ceyda to pass the letter along to Füsun. Ceyda expresses her sympathy for Kemal, which encourages his hopes of reuniting with Füsun.

Another month passes without any word from Füsun. Kemal starts to take various signs as omens, reassuring him of his eventual reunion with Füsun. During one sleepless night, Kemal encounters his father, who guesses that he cannot sleep because of regret. He cautions Kemal against accumulating regrets so early in his life.

Kemal and Sibel agree to throw an end-of-summer party for their friends. While Sibel prepares for the party, Kemal roams the streets, eventually ending up outside Füsun’s house. He learns that Nesibe has moved out, leaving the house completely vacant. The news fills Kemal with so much despair that he rushes to the Merhamet Apartments for consolation.

Kemal returns home for the party, still consumed with melancholy. He forces himself to play host to his friends as they arrive, putting on music for them and serving them drinks. He learns that Nurcihan and Mehmet have gotten together after all.

Kemal tries to push his feelings away by getting drunk. The party gets characteristically rowdy, which Kemal interprets as an outlet for his friends’ inert anarchic feelings. Nevertheless, Kemal remains sad about missing Füsun.

At sunrise, Kemal and Sibel’s friends depart for home. Kemal watches Sibel throw down a scarf she had left behind from the balcony. Kemal describes this as his final happy memory of Sibel.

Sibel asks Kemal where he had gone before the party. Out of guilt, Kemal confesses his affair with Füsun, drawing Sibel’s revulsion. Kemal lies that he has already ended the affair, however, and that Füsun is now married. To answer her initial question, he adds that he had gone to the Merhamet Apartment to play with childhood toys. Sibel forbids him from returning there. Later that morning, Sibel resolves to rescue Kemal from his “obsession.”

Kemal and Sibel move into Sibel’s parents’ seaside house to help Kemal recover from his obsession. Kemal is rejuvenated by his proximity to the Bosphorus. Though Sibel is affectionate toward him, Kemal also senses a hidden contempt in her, which he relates to their failure to have any sex in the meantime. They both quietly fear that Kemal will return to Füsun once he hears news of her.

Kemal regularly goes swimming in the Bosphorus as a form of therapy. Sometimes, he veers dangerously close to passing ships, which he invites as an outlet for his melancholy. Over time, Kemal realizes that he isn’t healing, but mastering his pain. He secretly revisits the apartment to renew his memories of Füsun.

The change of seasons exacerbates Kemal and Sibel’s mood, highlighting their isolation from their social circle. They visit Fuaye, but this fails to uplift their spirits. Kemal reveals that Osman is beginning a new business venture with Turgay and Kenan. Sibel encourages Kemal to join Osman’s endeavor. When Kemal remains indifferent to the venture, Sibel accuses him of being defeatist.

Sibel theorizes that Kemal has fallen out of love with her and only remains close to her to prove that he survived a close call with disaster. She refuses to believe his reassurances.

Tayfun approaches their table and shares the rumor that Kemal and Sibel have become so passionate with each other that they have eloped. After Tayfun leaves, Sibel allows Kemal to look for a payphone outside to invite Nurcihan and Mehmet to join them. Instead of returning to the restaurant, Kemal makes a detour at the Merhamet Apartments. He returns one hour later to find Zaim, Mehmet, and Nurcihan with Sibel. As Kemal is in a better mood, Sibel immediately deduces where Kemal has been. Nurcihan later confides in Kemal that she knows he has broken Sibel’s heart.

Despite Sibel’s attempts to seduce Kemal, both of them resign themselves to the idea that Kemal will never get over Füsun. Kemal cannot find it in himself to suggest that they marry immediately, nor can Sibel find it in herself to break off their engagement. Part of the dilemma is that the end of the engagement would reflect poorly on Sibel, not Kemal.

Sibel considers going on vacation with Nurcihan to Paris. Kemal encourages her plans, likewise hoping to use her absence to go looking for Füsun.

Kemal meets with Ceyda to find clues to Füsun’s whereabouts. She responds cryptically, telling him only that she is in Istanbul and that he will not be happy to find her. This sends Kemal on a hunt across the city, eventually moving into a hotel to go on excursions of Istanbul’s various neighborhoods. The search, though exhausting, fills Kemal with joy.

At the start of the new year, Sibel calls after hearing a rumor that Kemal has moved somewhere other than his parents’ house. She suspects that Kemal has returned to Füsun, which Kemal strongly denies.

Zaim expresses his concern for Kemal. Zaim later admits that he is speaking on behalf of their social circle. He invites Kemal to join them on holiday in Uludağ. Kemal guesses that Sibel has already returned to Istanbul without telling him. He promptly declines the invitation. Zaim tries to convince him not to break his engagement with Sibel. Kemal fears being humiliated before his friends, which Zaim tries to reassure him about. Kemal refuses to join the trip.

Kemal meets with Sibel at Fuaye. Sibel confronts him over his obsession, emphasizing that he wants to leave her for a “shopgirl.” Kemal assures her that his obsession has nothing to do with either woman’s social class. Sibel argues otherwise, indicating that Kemal’s wealth made it easier for Füsun to accept his advances. This upsets Kemal, but Sibel presses her point that love should be between people of equal social standing.

Kemal tries to deflect from the topic by offering to invite their friends to join their dinner table. Sibel announces her intention to pursue further studies in Paris. When Sibel refuses to answer Kemal’s question of whether he should come as well, Kemal encourages her plan.

Sibel argues that Kemal shouldn’t leave her for Füsun just because he was Füsun’s sex partner, reminding him that he was her first sex partner as well. Kemal retorts that Sibel is better off than Füsun. Sibel gets angry with Kemal for carrying on with their engagement. Kemal assures her that he felt real companionship with her and apologizes for his actions.

Kemal then invites Tayfun and his wife, Figen, to join their table. Sibel feigns enthusiasm about their wedding plans, then leaves early, claiming that she needs to meet her parents. She returns her engagement ring through Zaim. Kemal does not see her again for 31 years.

News spreads of the end of Kemal and Sibel’s engagement. A few weeks later, Mümtaz dies of heart failure, prompting Kemal to move back into his family home. Like with Füsun, Kemal finds consolation in touching his late father’s belongings.

Kemal wonders if Füsun will attend Mümtaz’s funeral. She does not, increasing his melancholy. Kemal comes to believe that the grief over losing his father and the grief over Füsun’s absence are one and the same. At the same time, he understands that Füsun and her family stayed away from the funeral to discourage their affair.

Osman confronts Kemal over his bias against Kenan. Vecihe overhears the conversation, but is misled into thinking they are talking about happiness. Kemal convinces them to let him have Mümtaz’s car and Çetin’s driving services. Osman agrees to the request, but urges Kemal to drop his grudge against Kenan.

One night, Vecihe’s maid, Fatma, gives Kemal Füsun’s missing earring, which she had found in his laundry. Fatma reveals that Vecihe confiscated the earring, believing it to be Mümtaz’s gift for a secret mistress. She also gives Kemal a photograph of Mümtaz’s former lover, who bears some resemblance to Füsun.

Kemal meets with Ceyda once again and gives her a letter to pass on to Füsun, implying that he is apologizing for a past transgression. In truth, the letter indicates that Kemal has found Füsun’s earring. Several weeks later, Kemal receives a letter from Füsun. The letter provides Füsun’s new home address and invites him to have dinner with her family in two days.